Authorities in Iberia Parish and LA State Police are looking for Paul Stanley Collins Jr. who is accused of shooting to death his estranged wife - the mother of his two children.

The government is doling out $20-million to farmers in eight states, including Louisiana, to create habitats for migratory birds whose usual Gulf wintering spots may be fouled by the massive BP oil spill.

Louisiana is entering the grip of a summer heat wave for the weekend and into next week.

His conviction on charges stemming from a brawl on Bourbon Street in September of 2007 will likely keep an ex-Tulane University student and football player in prison for a long time. The "Times-Picayune" says an Orleans Parish jury convicted 23-year-old Ray Boudreaux Jr. of Abbeville of four-counts of attempted manslaughter and one-count of aggravated battery. He had originally been charged with five-counts of attempted murder. The newspaper reports that Boudreaux could face up to 60-years in prison on just the attempted manslaughter charges. The jury turned back Boudreaux's claims that he acted in self-defense when allegedly attacked by an angry mob. Sentencing is scheduled for July 22nd.

Brenda Jefferson, the 52-year-old sister of embattled Representative William Jefferson has pleaded guilty to concealing a crime. She becomes the fourth relative of the Louisiana lawmaker to be caught up in the family's legal problems and faces up to three years in prison plus a 250-thousand dollar fine. The congressman was charged last year with racketeering and other crimes. He has pleaded not guilty and announced this week he will seek re-election in the fall.

Louisiana State Police say a one-vehicle accident Wednesday evening on U.S. 84 in Natchitoches Parish killed the driver of the vehicle and injured the lone passenger. Troopers say 39-year-old Elton Patterson the Second of Louisville, Kentucky was fatally injured when his Dodge van left the highway and struck a tree. His passenger, 41-year-old Kim Martin, also of Louisville, was ejected from the vehicle and received moderate injuries. Neither Patterson nor Martin was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Here's a look at stories making national news.

A new national poll finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is currently the Republican with the chance of defeating President Obama in 2012. 

Arizona has filed an appeal in the federal lawsuit which resulted in an injunction against portions of the state's new immigration law.