| BY BOB WARREN | Staff writer |
Essence star power: The Essence Festival has an impressive lineup of talent this weekend. Janet Jackson. Nicki Minaj. The Isley Brothers for the old-school crowd. Keith Spera breaks down all the headliners here. Meanwhile, the city is enacting French Quarter vehicle restrictions and other security measures this weekend. Suspicious cargo? A ship en route to New Orleans from Russia was intercepted after authorities became suspicious that its cargo might violate the current U.S. ban on oil imports from that country. The tanker was moored at a dock in St. Rose Wednesday; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hadn’t responded to requests for comment. Speaking of oil, even with gasoline prices through the roof the Gulf of Mexico’s energy outlook for the rest of this year and beyond is “a bit murky.” For more business news, please sign up for the NOLA Business Insider newsletter. Blowout sales: Plan on celebrating Independence Day with fireworks? (From the sound of things, seems some of you have already started.) You'll notice fireworks are more expensive this year. Sign of the times. Rookie mistake: New Orleans is a culinary destination on par with the world’s greatest cities. So when Pelicans first-round pick Dyson Daniels arrived here Wednesday and had a meal at -- wait, for it . . . Chipotle -- social media took notice. Vapors! Daniels is a good sport. His tweet, “Food suggestions in New Orleans? Since y’all are killing me for eating Chipotle,” has garnered hundreds of replies. For more Pelicans news, please sign up for our Pelicans Insider newsletter. Hope you enjoyed today’s Lunch Line. Thanks for reading. BW | 