NEW ORLEANS - As 2016 comes to a close, The Associated Press looks at the biggest stories of the past year.

It was a year of protracted budget negotiations as the cash-strapped state once again struggled to make financial ends meet.

The shootings of two ex-NFL players in the New Orleans area grabbed headlines and shocked residents.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capitol to protest the shooting death of a black man at the hands of two white police officers. Then the city was shocked by the shooting death of three law enforcement officers.

And massive flooding swept the state from north to south.