By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor SOAKED AGAIN: Today brings a 30% to 50% chance of rain. If it comes down hard and fast, the streets might flood. Duh! It's rained almost every day in July - so much this year that New Orleans is likely to exceed its average annual rainfall before August begins. The intense, relentless rain is a product of a warming planet. It's regularly flooding streets, interrupting outdoor construction jobs, stalling lawn work and leaving golf courses devoid of golfers throughout the New Orleans area. More than eight inches of rain fell on the Mandeville area early Tuesday, swamping cars and flooding some houses as it strained the drainage infrastructure.
RE-COVERING: As new coronavirus cases kick up yet again, New Orleans officials are considering reinstating the mask mandate. Louisiana this week surpassed 500,000 suspected COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, with new cases more than quintupling since the beginning of July. The surge was enough to get U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, a vaccine holdout, inoculated this week.
DARK AND DEEP: The grim search for signs of Ellis Baudean entered a new phase Tuesday when pumps began draining part of the canal where the 4-year-old boy disappeared last week in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
All this and much more are in today’s Lunch Line and on NOLA.com. Thanks for starting your day with us. D.B. | 
