A FEMA cruise ship controversy; a big honor for two Baton Rouge schools

The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Matthew Albright | Assistant metro editor

Good morning! There's a lot going on in the Baton Rouge area: Let's get you all up to speed.

$46,000 a person

That's about how much FEMA paid to house workers responding to Hurricane Ida in a New Orleans cruise ship. The agency spent about $4.8 million, and planned for as many as 2,600 people to stay on board. But only 103 showed up.

This story looks at what happened and FEMA and state officials are saying about it.

Top of the class

The U.S. Department of Education's National Blue Ribbon award is one of the most prestigious a school can win, and two Baton Rouge magnet schools were just named to the list.

See what it took for Baton Rouge Magnet High and Westdale Heights Academic Magnet to get the award and what other schools in Louisiana won it in this story.

What's ahead for LSU football

LSU announced its schedule for next football season yesterday, and you can read all about it here.

But Coach Ed Orgeron's eyes are firmly on Saturday's opponnent, Mississippi State. Last year, the Bulldogs absolutely shredded the Tigers' defense with their passing game — have Orgeron and company come up with a way to stop that from happening again this year? This story looks at what could be in store.

Thanks for reading, and have a great afternoon.