Eleven days. That's how long state lawmakers have to complete work in the 2012 session of the Legislature. The session ends at 6 p.m. June 4.

The best players aren't always found on championship teams, but in Class 1A, the softball and baseball champions had the Outstanding Player in their respective squads as voted on by a panel of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

HOOVER, Ala. — Leftfielder Demarcus Henderson's RBI single in the sixth inning Wednesday broke a 2-2 tie, and right-hander Chris Stratton earned his 11th win of the season as No. 21 Mississippi State defeated No. 2 LSU, 3-2, in the SEC Tournament at Regions Park.

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposal to hike the amount rank-and-file state workers pay for retirement has advanced to the full House for debate, despite criticism that tying it to pay raises could cost the state more than it benefits.

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas-based independent oil company has admitted that its negligence caused three oil spills in Jefferson Parish bayous. Cedyco Corp. of Houston agreed to pay a $557,000 fine and stop operating in Louisiana as part of a plea bargain signed Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Justice.

BATON ROUGE — Over objections of unconstitutionality, a House committee sent state employee retirement changes to the full House for a final vote.

Patricia Mason-Guillory estimates that between 300 and 350 people attended the Salute to the Veterans of St. Landry Parish, held Tuesday at the Opelousas Civic Center. The event was sponsored by the St. Landry Parish Veterans Memorial Committee, in conjunction with the City of Opelousas.

A St. Landry Parish deputy was involved Wednesday in a shooting incident with a suspect after a traffic stop at mile marker 40 on Interstate 49, near Whiteville.

St. Landry Parish third- to eighth-grade students showed no improvement or a slight decline on the state standardized tests it took this spring, compared to last spring and years past, according to Louisiana Department of Education data released Wednesday.

Ville Platte business owners Marla and Barry Giglio have filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police and the state Office of Children and Family Services, claiming the agencies' gross negligence led to the married couple being wrongfully implicated in a "fabricated" aggravated rape of three prepubescent girls, according to the suit.