The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Matthew Albright | Assistant metro editor

Good morning. Here are some of our most important and interesting reads from yesterday, all in one place.

A deep dive on homicides

As Baton Rouge broke its record for homicides last year, our reporters were out gathering data, talking to victims' families, studying crime scenes and interviewing experts and law enforcement leaders. 

In this story, we summed up all that reporting: It puts the 141 killings in context of other years and other cities, explains what kind of crimes are driving the surge in violence and gives the best explanations we have for what's behind it. 

But to give you a real sense of the scale of suffering the violence has caused, you need more than stats and analysis. So we assembled this list of all 141 victims to try and put it in perspective.

A reminder of the hurricane's fury

It has been nearly a year and a half since Hurricane Laura smashed into Lake Charles, causing widespread devastation. But there are still far too many reminders that the area hasn't fully recovered.

Perhaps the most glaring is the Capital One Tower, the landmark 22-story building downtown. It still lies in ruins, its blown-out windows and wrecked facade like a scar that can be seen for miles. 

This story looks at what the beleagured city is trying to do about the tower. 

Careful where you chase the dog

Many pet owners know the aggravation of chasing down a dog on the loose. But it doesn't usually go as badly as it did for one man near the Amite River: While pursuing his pup, he got so lost that he wandered around for about eight hours and had to get rescued by firefighters in a boat. 

Click here to read details the St. George Fire Department gave us.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!