By Drew Broach | Deputy metro editor TEEN'S BODY FOUND IN RIVER: Brandy Wilson's father said the missing 14-year-old's body was found Thursday evening in the Mississippi River near the Domino Sugar refinery at Chalmette. A Harbor Police spokesperson said authorities retrieved the body but would not say whether it was that of a male or female, or estimate the person's age. WWL television, however, quoted Allen Berry saying it's his older daughter, who disappeared upriver and on the opposite bank 12 days earlier with her boyfriend and her sister. PERSONAL CRUSADE: In much of Louisiana, being anti-abortion is not just a widely held political position; for tens of thousands of residents, it is a personal crusade that has them offering prayers for the unborn, holding protest signs outside abortion clinics and helping women and men with lingering guilt from past abortions. Carving time out of their busy private lives, these volunteers devote themselves to their cause, viewing it as a matter of life and death - one that has taken new urgency as the U.S. Supreme Court considers overturning its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. POLITICAL CRUSADE: The New Orleans City Council on Thursday squashed Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s veto of a ballot proposition that could permanently weaken the office she holds, underscoring the strength of a new council majority intent on asserting more control over City Hall. The council also decided to hire an outside investigator to oversee its burgeoning inquiry into Cantrell’s smart city plan, which collapsed last month when a private consortium chosen by the administration exited contract talks amid bid-rigging accusations. Thanks for starting your Friday with us. Check out NOLA.com for more news throughout the day. D.B. |