BY DEANNA B. NARVESON | Staff writer Extreme heat: A federal judge in Baton Rouge has ordered the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola to immediately improve conditions for some inmates required to work as farm laborers while a lawsuit claiming inhumane conditions in Louisiana's extreme heat goes to trial. Read the full story. Into the Gulf: Hurricane Beryl's track beyond the next three days is getting increasingly challenging to predict, and the "cone of uncertainty" once the storm enters the Gulf shifted north Tuesday afternoon to include Texas. See the latest. Improving the backlog: Sexual assault victims in Louisiana will now be able to track the status of their rape kit after the state on Monday launched a centralized tracking system, which lawmakers hope will address backlogs. A law passed last year, Senate Bill 169 by Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, mandated that the state create such a system. Read the full story. | 