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Lawyers for a former BP engineer are pressing federal prosecutors to explain how their client impeded a grand jury probe by deleting text messages about the company's response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a court filing Monday, Kurt Mix's attorneys also seek a court order requiring prosecutors to specify which deleted texts form the basis for the obstruction-of-justice charges against him.

BATON ROUGE — Officials at Louisiana's health department are looking for ways to cut $859 million from the state's Medicaid program for the poor and uninsured. It would strip 11 percent of the funding for health services. 

A Mississippi man has been found mentally competent to stand trial in August on charges he shot at three men in what prosecutors call a racially motivated attack in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Roland Bourgeois Jr., who is white, is accused of wounding at least one of the three black men he fired at with a shotgun. 

Anthony Davis has a left ankle sprain that must be evaluated later this week before he can practice with the U.S. team. Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman says Davis hurt his ankle at the team's training center in Westwego on Saturday and that the club considers his status as day-to-day. 

Independence Day comes alive on Bayou St. John as the Krewe of Kolossos celebrates with its first boat parade. We go Inside the Arts for conversation with the Grand Marshall of the Krewe of Kolossos, Katrina Brees.

Festivities kick off July 4, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Bayou St. John at Orleans Avenue.

The National Weather Service has issued a weather alert this evening for parts of four parishes, in advance of a cluster of strong thunderstorms approaching the region.

The storms, which are moving north at about 5 mph, may produce one to two inches of rain in a short period of time, says the Weather Service. That much rain may result in the ponding of water around low-lying roadways.

The alert covers upper Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes, as well as New Orleans and New Orleans East.

The New Orleans Hornets have waived Rashard Lewis, a move they've been expected to make since acquiring the 14-year veteran forward in a trade with Washington. The Wizards had sent Lewis and the 46th overall pick in this year's NBA draft to New Orleans on June 20 in exchange for forward Trevor Ariza and center Emeka Okafor. 

Four Louisiana law enforcement agencies will get federal money to rehire community policing officers or to hire military veterans for new positions. The New Orleans Police Department and St. Helena Parish Sheriff's Office are the largest of the departments. Each covers three years of pay. Louisiana's total comes to more than $1.5 million. 

BATON ROUGE — Southern University administrators tell The Advocate the university is now in better shape to concentrate resources on successful programs such as engineering and nursing, and better equipped to guide students toward graduation. The university is emerging from an eight-month financial emergency period with fewer students, degree choices and faculty. 

The Super Bowl is costing a Mardi Gras parade krewe on New Orleans' west bank its usual floats and its usual route.

There won't be any Carnival parades during Super Bowl weekend. That's the weekend The Krewe of Choctaw usually rolls.

Krewe captain Chuck Favrot tells The Times-Picayune that Choctaw usually shares floats and themes with a Baton Rouge group, the Krewe of Jupiter. But moving Choctaw's parade puts both on the same day — Jan. 26.