BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer A “Day of Hope” event last September drew more than 2,100 students, pulling in seniors from every high school in the parish public school system as well as a couple of other local high schools. Now the event has drawn a lawsuit. Two mothers are suing the East Baton Rouge Parish school system over the "Day of Hope," saying the district used lies and coercion to get students to take part in “a harmful and traumatizing church service on a school-sponsored field trip on school time.” The women say the event violated their U.S. constitutional rights under the First and 14th amendments by promoting “a specific religious agenda to unwilling students within their care and control.” Marking yet another phase in the evolving battle with coronavirus, a new shot that protects against the latest variant is now available at many chain pharmacies. Louisiana is currently in its eighth COVID surge, but there are signs the state is in the process of peaking, officials said. Most Louisiana residents opted not to take the previous booster, a bivalent shot that protected against the original version of the virus and the omicron variant. After campaigning on an ambitious policy platform but never gaining traction in polls, state Rep. Richard Nelson, a Mandeville Republican, has dropped out of the race for governor and endorsed current front-runner Attorney General Jeff Landry. "It’s the way the cookie crumbles," Nelson said in a brief phone interview. | 