Ahead of the class: Former U.S. Sen. John Breaux will teach a fall seminar on the inner workings of Washington, D.C., to students at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. The class will be part of the school’s political communication concentration. Aside from leading the seminar, Breaux also will mentor students, serve as a guest lecturer in other classes and give public presentations. Breaux—a senior counsel at the D.C.-based Squire Patton Boggs law firm—is no stranger to the Manship School. The annual Breaux Symposium, which bears his name and takes on a major public policy issue in an open forum, is held at the school. The symposium is directed by the school’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs. Breaux served in the U.S. House and Senate for 33 years. Read more.
All together: Mayors along the Mississippi River say President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of a worldwide climate agreement could severely damage U.S. agricultural exports. The Associated Press reports the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative point out that nations remaining in the Paris agreement will impose carbon pricing through taxes or trading systems, without any say from the United States. In a news release, the group says the 10-state corridor, which includes Louisiana, moves $164.6 billion a year in agricultural products—including 55% to 70% of all exported corn, soy and wheat. The U.S. has a trade surplus in those commodities, the group adds. Chris Coleman, the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, says, “The Mississippi River Basin allows our nation to lead the global commodities market. Now, we have ceded that status to other nations.”
Up and down: Louisiana’s weekly tally of active oil and gas rigs declined this week. According to the latest count from Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes, the state has 63 rigs, one down from last week’s tally of 64. The lost rig was in north Louisiana. This time one year ago, Louisiana had 47 rigs. Although the state’s rig count decreased this week, the U.S. rig count climbed as eight additional rigs actively explored for oil and gas. The total U.S. rig count is 916, up from 908 last week. For the comparable week one year ago, 408 rigs actively sought oil and gas in the U.S. Among major oil producing states, Colorado, North Dakota and Ohio each gained one rig. New Mexico lost two rigs, and Texas gained five.
