The Associated Press

COVINGTON, La. (AP) — St. Tammany Parish authorities are working to identify a woman's body found along Interstate 12.

The body was discovered Sunday afternoon near Covington.

WWL TV reports (http://bit.ly/Jb5uxp ) the identity of the body is unknown, but officials with the St. Tammany coroner's office said the body is that of a female.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Stocking up on flashlights, batteries and other items to get ready for hurricane season this summer? You might want to wait until May 26 and 27, when the state holds a sales tax holiday for hurricane preparedness items.

That weekend, Louisiana residents won't have to pay the 4 percent state sales tax on a list of items like flashlights and candles, weather radios, waterproof sheeting, gas or diesel fuel tanks, batteries and chargers and storm shutter devices. The sales tax holiday exempts the first $1,500 of the purchase price.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans police will be buying guns from citizens who want to dispose of them on May 12 at the Little Zion Baptist Church.

The program, in partnership with the Greater New Orleans/Jefferson Gun Buyback Committee, will start at 9 a.m.

The church is at 4821 Earhart Blvd.

Police say they will pay $75 for handguns and $200 for assault rifles in a no-questions-asked effort to get guns off the street.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The city of New Orleans holds its second abandoned vehicle auction of 2012 on Thursday. The auction will have 98 vehicles for sale, all of which have been discarded on neighborhood streets or left unclaimed by residents with excessive parking fines and fees.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Bankruptcy filings in the New Orleans region are on the decline. New figures from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana show they dropped 9.5 percent in April compared with the same month a year ago. New Orleans CityBusiness reports there were 305 filings last month compared with 337 in April 2011.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — William Jefferson, who rose from north Louisiana poverty to become the state's first modern era African-American congressman and one of its most powerful politicians, is expected to report to a federal prison Friday.

A federal investigation dissolved his power and turned him into a laughing stock over bribe money hidden in his freezer.

He was convicted in 2009 of soliciting bribes in connection with African business deals. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has pushed back the start of a civil trial for claims against BP PLC and other companies involved in the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The judge on Thursday set a date of Jan. 14, 2013. The litigation centers on the oil spill that began in April 2010 from BP's Macondo well.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu's office says the senator planned visits to post offices in Moss Bluff and Lafayette. Friday's visits were set after Landrieu wrote to the Postmaster General, urging the U.S. Postal Service to extend the current moratorium on post office and mail processing facility closures.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joshua Ledet is still alive on "American Idol." The singer from Westlake, La., advanced on Thursday after 18-year-old Skylar Laine of Brandon, Miss., received the fewest votes.

NEW YORK (AP) — A former U.S. attorney hired by the NFL to evaluate its investigation of the New Orleans Saints' bounty program says the evidence shows payments were handed out and received for some hits on targeted opponents. She adds the players always had the option to say no, but didn't.