Govt + Politics
Louisiana legislative leaders steer millions of dollars in pet projects to their own parishes
A state senator’s nonprofit organization has been allocated $1.5 million. The booster club for an East Baton Rouge high school is getting $1.1 million. Catholic churches in St. Martin Parish will receive a combined $170,000, and a Shreveport group devoted to roses will get $100,000. These are just a few of the $104.2 million in […]
Top Texas Republicans push for more armed teachers, police after Uvalde shooting
In the hours after a gunman killed more than 20 people at a South Texas elementary school Tuesday, the state’s top Republicans sought to immediately squelch the possibility of gun control measures in the wake of yet another mass shooting. As the death toll mounted from the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde and President […]
Lawmaker seeking to end Confederate holidays in Louisiana says he’s received death threats
The New Orleans lawmaker who wants to end official state recognition of Confederate holidays in Louisiana told his colleagues that he has received death threats over the proposal. House Bill 248, authored by Rep. Matthew Willard, would remove Robert E. Lee Day and Confederate Memorial Day from the state’s legal holiday calendar. The bill has […]
Bill to give adoptees access to birth certificates advances to Senate floor
Some lawmakers call it the most difficult piece of legislation they have ever considered. A bill that would allow adopted people to obtain their original birth certificates when they reach age 24 cleared a Senate committee Tuesday but not without hours of debate. House Bill 450, filed by Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, cleared the Senate […]
Who is Sgt. William Henry Johnson, the recommended new namesake for Fort Polk?
The Naming Commission has recommended updating Fort Polk, named after a Confederate Army commander, to honor World War I legend Sgt. William Henry Johnson. (Department of Defense photo)
Summer hurricanes, wildfires and storms loom as FEMA faces pressure to step up
WASHINGTON — Another grueling summer disaster season is arriving, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is under intense pressure even as its portfolio balloons, it pleads for more money from Congress and criticism comes on several fronts. The agency manages more than 300 disaster declarations a year, a dramatic increase from the average of 108 […]
Louisiana lawmakers ponder gasoline stockpile for hurricanes
Louisiana already has 1 million gallons of fuel available if needed for its hurricane response efforts. State lawmakers are considering setting aside another 4 million gallons to address critical shortages in the wake of major storms. Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Hessmer, has proposed the Louisiana Strategic Fuel Reserve in House Bill 1057. It calls for the […]
Louisiana lawmakers approve study of university tenure policy
The House gave final passage Monday to a resolution to study tenure policies at universities in Louisiana. Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, sponsored by Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, creates the Task Force on Tenure in Postsecondary Education. The task force would report back to lawmakers with suggestions on changing tenure policies in the state. The resolution […]
Louisiana House approves CROWN Act to end natural hairstyle discrimination
Louisiana students and workers may soon be protected from discrimination based on their hairstyle. House Bill 1083, authored by Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, would include “skin color, facial characteristics, hair texture, natural hairstyles and protective hairstyles” as traits protected against discrimination in Louisiana. The bill passed in the Louisiana House by a 74-24 vote. […]
Louisiana looks to avoid monopoly on electric vehicle charging stations
Louisiana lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill that would provide an initial framework for a commercial market of electric vehicle charging stations in the state. Senate Bill 460, sponsored by Sen. Rick Ward, R-Port Allen, advanced unopposed from the House Committee on Commerce and will head to the House floor for consideration. The bill received […]
Air monitors alone won’t save communities from toxic industrial air pollution
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. One summer night last year, air began flowing into a steel canister across the street from the Little Bo Peep Child Development Center in Calvert City, Kentucky. The pollution monitor hummed into […]
Waiting at a closed border
The inner courtyard of Casa del Migrante in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, looks like a day care center. Plastic toys are scattered from one end to the other. Tiny baby clothes hang on the chain link fence, drying in the sun. Toddlers throw a ball in the direction of a blue and yellow basket hoop, jumping […]