BY VICKI FERSTEL | Staff writer 'Our way or the highway': That's been the attitude of some fellow Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. But Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both LSU graduates, have risen to the challenges. Johnson acknowledges the “personality politics and the frivolous character assassination.” Despite that, he says, the House has done significant work. Staff writer Mark Ballard has the story. 'You blew it': A New York woman blames a botched potential adoption on the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. On paper, the woman and the Louisiana girl appeared a perfect match, but DCFS dragged its feet on providing the necessary medical records, according to staff writer Andrea Gallo. The situation, Gallo says, is an example of larger systemic problems with DCFS. Read the story here. Gators and skeeters and snakes, oh my! Hugh Clifton was working with two friends in the Atchafalaya Basin, collecting data for an LSU Forest research project. A bit spooky but not too bad … until they got lost. Clifton, who lives in Baton Rouge, recounts the tale in this Human Condition essay. | 