The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Jennifer Wadsworth | Assistant metro editor

Welcome back to your top-of-the-morning news roundup. 

Strip club's million-dollar payday

Of $8 million in federal aid to help capital region businesses weather the pandemic, a sizable chunk went to a Baton Rouge strip club. Though the grant rules explicitly exclude venues with performances "of prurient sexual nature," a million bucks wound up in the pockets of The Penthouse Club.

Business reporter Kristen Mosbrucker has the scoop.

Shockingly little accountability

Alton Sterling's death by two BRPD officers in 2016 prompted protests, scrutiny and vows to change. But in the five years since, Baton Rouge police have continued to run into controversy over excessive force, questionable searches and corruption. Now, activists want the feds to intervene. 

Fentanyl-detecting tests now legal

Small rectangular strips that detect whether there's fentanyl in a batch of drugs are now legal in East Baton Rouge. Now that the Metro Council OK'd their use, advocates and first-responders can distribute them to people who struggle with addiction. The hope is that allowing people to test what's in their drugs will prevent accidental overdose deaths. 

Reporter Paul Cobler has the story.

Plan to divert library funds fails

Also in East Baton Rouge, a proposal to pull tax revenue from libraries to bankroll flood protections failed to muster enough votes. 

Reporter Terry Jones covered the council meeting where the idea inspired heated debate. 

Here's his dispatch.

Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the morning.