TRIAGE: For the fourth consecutive day, Louisiana set a pandemic record for the most people hospitalized with COVID-19, the Health Department said Friday. If the precipitous increase continues, hospitals might have to take what once doctor calls "the worst possible step": implementing a crisis plan that helps determine who gets admitted for treatment and who gets turned away.
WHO DECIDES? As for coronavirus protections, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry are once again on opposite sides of an issue. Edwards says he has authority to order masks indoors (and has issued just such an order), while Landry says that when it comes to schools, the authority rests with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Vaccines? Two more people won lottery prizes Friday for being inoculated, one getting $100,000 cash and the other getting a $100,000 college scholarship.
AIRING IT OUT: Day 8 of Saints training camp saw Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston shredding the defense with their passing accuracy. Both put up good numbers in their competition to be the team's starting quarterback.
You'll find all this and much more in today’s Front Page and on NOLA.com. Welcome to the weekend.
Escalating a political feud, state Attorney General Jeff Landry issued an opinion Friday that said Louisiana's top school board has the final say on face mask rules despite Gov. John Bel Edwards' order that students wear them. Read more
A day after both quarterbacks had an up-and-down practice against their teammates on the New Orleans Saints defense, both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill enjoyed an excellent day as their receivers roamed free in the Saints secondary. Read more
