 | By DREW BROACH | Deputy metro editor |
CARNIVAL 2023: Beset by an understaffed police force, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell raised the specter of canceling 2023 Carnival parades, telling a community meeting Thursday night: “If you don't have adequate police, it could mean there will be no Mardi Gras. That’s a fact.” About 18 hours later, however, she said, that's not going to happen.
ABORTION: The decision by a Louisiana hospital to deny an abortion for a woman carrying a fetus without a skull raised new questions this week about the clarity of Louisiana’s ban on the procedure, as doctors and hospitals work to interpret which abortions are legal and which could result in a prison sentence. Two legislators who support the abortion ban say the hospital erred in its judgment, but many of the law's opponents say the ban should be suspended. New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, meanwhile, denied Friday that officers have been ordered to investigate reports of abortion. He said the agency’s policy mandates nothing more than barebones recordkeeping.
IDA EXPENSE: When Hurricane Ida damaged Kenner City Hall last year, Mayor Ben Zahn moved municipal operations into the vacant Macy’s building at The Esplanade shopping mall. He said the monthly rent would be about $60,000. It turns out Kenner was paying $78,750 just for portable toilets, new Mayor Michael Glaser says.
Welcome to the weekend. Keep up with today's breaking news on NOLA.com. D.B. | 
