| By KASEY BUBNASH | Staff writer |
Good morning and thanks for joining us. Here's a look at some of our top headlines. 'Not guilty': In his first court appearance since he was indicted by a federal grand jury last month, Jeffery Vappie pleaded not guilty Wednesday to seven counts of wire fraud and a count of making false statements, denying that he conspired to hide a romantic relationship with Mayor LaToya Cantrell. James Finn has the details from court. Brandt mansions sold: The Old Metairie compound where auto megadealer Ray Brandt and his family lived for years before his death in 2019 has sold for $5.9 million following a legal battle over control of the estate. Here's what John Simerman was able to dig up about the sale. Outages in Jefferson: Jefferson Parish Council members want the state to conduct a third-party audit of Entergy Louisiana's maintenance practices after repeated power outages impacting thousands of customers this summer. Lara Nicholson explains the audit effort and what comes next. We've got plenty more news, entertainment and sports from The Times-Picayune here. Thanks for reading. Kasey | 