| BY CHAD CALDER | Staff writer |
From salt to lead: As if the salt wasn't bad enough, there's growing concern that the salt water that will threaten in the region’s drinking water systems in the coming weeks could also lead to a spike in lead contamination. Lead pipes are common in New Orleans, and salt water can corrode pipes and free up toxic doses of the brain-harming heavy metal. Tristan Baurick has the details. A monumental step? Criminal justice reform groups have supported Gov. John Bel Edwards' attempt to empty Louisiana's death row, but the effort got support this week from the Vatican. In a letter sent to Edwards' office on Tuesday, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Life, said granting the clemency requests filed by people sentenced to execution "would be a monumental step towards the abolition of the death penalty.” James Finn has the story. Out of space: The detention center that holds juvenile offenders until they are convicted or released in New Orleans has run out of beds and has begun using cots to accommodate the newly arrested. The center's director recently sent a letter to Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, explaining that the center has been gradually turning from a short-term facility to more of a long-term facility for a variety of reasons. Gabriella Killett has this report. Thank you for starting your day with Morning Headlines. Check out all the latest news, sports and entertainment coverage from The Times-Picayune. Chad | 