Louisiana State Police Troop D will have additional troopers on patrol this Labor Day holiday.  

U.S. Senator David Vitter today called on Charlie Melancon to apologize to the large number of tea party members and voters in Louisiana for comparing them to the fringe, far-left activist group MoveOn.org.

An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday, the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months.

The U.S. Department of Education awards a 170-million-dollar grant to a consortium of 26 states, including Louisiana, to develop new common assessments for public school students.

An early morning fire Thursday in the 2200 block of Curtis Street kept Baton Rouge firefighters busy for a while. 

Baton Rouge police report that officers responded to a shooting about 3:30 Thursday morning in the 1500 block of North Marque Ann Drive where they found a black male lying in a parking lot who had been shot. 

(Houston, TX)  --  The Texas billionaire accused of operating a seven-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme will remain behind bars until at least Tuesday afternoon.  A Texas judge said he will not rule on Allen Stanford's bail request until that time.  Government prosecutors told the judge Stanford should remain in jail pending his trial in August because he would pose a flight risk.  Prosecutors said about one-billion dollars in investor deposits is still missing, which Stanford could possibly use to fund a quick getaway.  Stanford was brought to the Houston federal court for the third time Monday, clad in a dark business suit and shackles.  Stanford has been in federal custody since June 18th, after surrendering to the FBI in Virginia following his indictment on charges of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice.  The maximum prison sentence for the 21 charges he faces is 375 years. 

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Stanford, along with the help of the executives at his firm and a top financial regulator in Antigua, operated a massive Ponzi scheme for over a decade that centered on certificates of deposit in his bank in Antigua. 
 

 (Undated)  --  Credit card issuers are taking advantage of loopholes in the new credit reform bill signed last month by President Obama.  While the so-called Credit Card Holders Bill Of Rights limits the way issuers can raise rates and fees on existing debt it doesn't put any cap on the overall interest rates and fees charged for plastic.  "USA Today" reports as a result increases in credit card rates have been widespread recently.  Both Bank of America and Chase have bumped balance-transfer fees from three-percent to four-percent for B of A and five-percent for Chase which is also stretching the definition of who can be hit with a penalty interest rate. 

Analysts say the recent hikes are both in reaction to the new restrictions that go into effect next April and to an increasing number of defaults on credit card debt.  Industry watchers say about the only thing consumers can do is keep a very close eye on the fine print in bills and contracts with card issuers.
 

(New York, NY)  --  Nestle has issued a recall for Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after E. coli bacteria was discovered in a sample.  Now the FDA and Centers for Disease Control are looking into whether that cookie dough might have been the source of an E. coli outbreak covering 29 states.  The FDA says the dough in question was produced at a Nestle facility in Danville, Virginia.  Nestle has promised full cooperation with government agencies to track down the source of the bacteria that can, in severe cases, cause kidney failure.  The company says the sample that tested positive for E. coli was from a 16-ounce Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip dough bar with a "best before June 10, 2009" label.  Those products should be returned to stores for a full refund.