SCOTT — On a recent Saturday, hundreds of motorcycles rolled through Acadiana — with a curious figure at the head of the pack on his own 2016 Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
A black-headed gull stood atop an abandoned oil wellhead on a recent afternoon in a waterway known locally as Pencil Canal. Nearby, a rusted oil pipe and valve protruded from the briny water. A sign warned against dropping anchor or dredging becau…
A year since the state passed massive criminal justice reforms, much of the focus has been on Louisiana newly shedding its notorious title as the nation’s top jailer.
Friday, July 20, 2018
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A candidate who had just registered to run for one of Louisiana's congressional seats was arrested after signing up for the race.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is attending the National Governors Association's annual summer meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico this week, where he is expected to take part in discussions with other governors on the opioid crisis, Opportunity Zones and othe…
In the final moments before qualifying for the November election ended Friday, interim Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin reversed previous statements that he would not run and joined the race.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Incumbent Congressmen Steve Scalise, Garret Graves and Clay Higgins picked up more opponents Thursday in what was a relatively quiet day for candidates to officially sign up for the November elections.
WASHINGTON — Former Louisiana Congressman John Fleming is up for a position as assistant Commerce Department secretary overseeing the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The spat between Gov. John Bel Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry over Louisiana's long-stalled use of capital punishment continued to play out on Thursday, as Edwards accused Landry of "deliberately misrepresent(ing) the facts" about why th…
Thursday, July 19, 2018
In an apparent statement on how Louisiana selects and funds construction projects, the State Bond Commission on Thursday took a routine vote that ensured contractors get paid and turned it into a debate on the capital outlay process.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
WASHINGTON — Louisiana's GOP lawmakers led the charge on Capitol Hill to express support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and score political points over a handful of Democrats who've called for dismantling the agency.
Attorney General Jeff Landry is blaming Gov. John Bel Edwards for the continued delay of executions in Louisiana and has withdrawn his office from a lawsuit challenging the state's lethal injection protocol.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Both New Orleans-area congressmen and Acadiana’s U.S. House representative picked up opponents on the first day of qualifying for the November elections.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Candidates seeking seats in Louisiana's fall election have to declare their intentions and register for their races this week, in the sign-up period opening Wednesday.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
WASHINGTON — Louisiana's Republicans in Congress blamed Russia for attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential elections but largely avoided direct criticism of President Donald Trump for remarks made during a joint news conference with Russian…
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Nearly a decade after the Deepwater Horizon disaster gushed more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is preparing to spend $60 million in recovery money to enhance outdoor recreation offerings in coastal parishes.
Construction of the long-awaited Comite River Diversion Canal will begin in two or three weeks.
Black defendant: Confederate statue at Louisiana courthouse shows 'oppression,' 'racial intolerance'
A black man charged with a gun offense claims he can't get a fair trial in East Feliciana Parish because a statue of a Confederate soldier that has stood outside the parish’s antebellum courthouse in Clinton since 1909 symbolizes "oppression and r…
Monday, July 16, 2018
Former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards extolled the virtues of former Gov. Kathleen Blanco to the New Light Missionary Baptist Church Sunday, recounting a career of not only her government initiatives but her unpublicized individual acts of kindness.
After teetering on the brink of more bad news, Louisiana's credit rating outlook is trending more positively because lawmakers agreed to extend part of an expiring sales tax hike to shore up the state's finances.
On Feb. 9, Rebecca Ellis received a letter in the mail that she'd waited more than 10 years to see. Her 13-year-old son Jackson, who has developmental delays stemming from autism, had finally been approved for a Medicaid waiver allowing him to rec…
Louisiana no longer has the nation's highest average sales tax rate — just barely losing that distinction to Tennessee.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
A former LSU student charged with negligent homicide in the Sept. 14 alcohol-related hazing death of freshman fraternity pledge Max Gruver was told just days before the fatal incident to tone down his interaction with pledges, a recent court filin…
Friday, July 13, 2018
WASHINGTON — A retired 25-year veteran of the U.S. Marshals Service is President Donald Trump's pick to serve as the next U.S. Marshal for the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Who's footing the bill? Cassidy helps lead Senate push for paid family leave, but big question looms
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy found bipartisan agreement on offering working Americans paid family leave at a Wednesday subcommittee hearing he chaired, with conservatives and liberals chiming in favor of doing something.
Attorney General Jeff Landry is no stranger as a guest on conservative radio and television shows, but on Wednesday he slipped into the role of host and took over an Acadiana airwaves for two hours.
East Baton Rouge Parish Assistant District Attorney Chris Hester announced Wednesday he'll run for the Baton Rouge City Court seat being vacated by retiring Judge Laura Prosser.
The state has replaced the director of the Louisiana School for the Deaf in Baton Rouge after a report earlier this year blasted school operations, officials said Wednesday.
Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal may have luckily escaped the embarrassment that Sarah Palin is facing this week after the former Alaska governor admitted that she was duped into taking part a satirical TV show debuting this weekend.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Louisiana's political lawmakers eye U.S. Supreme Court nominee to gauge his possible impact on state
While many high-profile national issues have taken the spotlight since President Donald Trump announced Brett Kavanaugh as his pick to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice, any shift in the makeup of the nation's high court also will have an imp…
WASHINGTON — When Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh heads into confirmation hearings, it will be relatively familiar territory.
Barely changed from last year, about one out of three public school students in 2018 reached Louisiana's latest target for educational achievement, according to results released Tuesday.
Monday, July 09, 2018
President Donald Trump on Monday morning continued to seek input about two judges who are apparently the finalists for his pick to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a New York Times report.
Sunday, July 08, 2018
In the two years since Louisiana expanded its Medicaid health care program, more than 400 women enrolled have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are receiving treatment.
Saturday, July 07, 2018
Abortions could be banned immediately in Louisiana if the U.S. Supreme Court one day overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision — a previously distant possibility that has become tangible now that Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the court.
With the fiscal cliff under control for at least a few years, legislators and the governor took off on vacation leaving the State Capitol quiet, at least as far as governing issues go.
First, the good news for consumers in Louisiana: Since July 1, you’ve been paying slightly lower sales taxes than you had been for the past two-plus years.
Friday, July 06, 2018
WASHINGTON — A Metairie native who's built a bright career outside Louisiana as a conservative legal scholar finds herself just steps away from a possible lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, a frontrunner as President Donald Trump pond…
Thursday, July 05, 2018
Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation announced full funding for the Comite River Diversion Canal on Thursday, calling it a "a major win" for communities that suffered through devastating floods in 1983 and 2016.
Wednesday, July 04, 2018
During the waning weeks of the regular legislative session, a bill sought by owners of Harrah’s New Orleans Casino ran into headwinds in the state Senate over growing concerns that it favored Harrah’s at the expense of state taxpayers.
Louisiana consumers should get another Christmas where taxes aren't collected on many internet purchases. But after the beginning of the new year, the state hopes to charge taxes for all direct website sales by vendors in other states.
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
In a first nationally, Louisiana residents can now essentially carry their driver's license on their iPhone, officials announced Tuesday afternoon.
Women hold fewer seats in the Louisiana Legislature than nearly any other state in the country, according to a new data analysis from the New York Times.
Monday, July 02, 2018
Lawyer David Opperman, who failed to unseat 20th Judicial District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla in a heated 2014 election, was cooperating in a federal criminal probe of D'Aquilla when Opperman was accused in December of molesting a teenage girl 15 year…
Louisiana could be in for even more federal assistance to aid the state's flood control efforts, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves said Monday.
Louisiana’s credit outlook improved Monday for one of the big Wall Street rating firms in the wake of a legislative session that extended nearly half of an expiring sales tax for seven years.
Louisiana upgraded its website to track government spending, gave it a new name and user-friendly, graphics-focused look that lawmakers hope will draw more people to review how the state use taxpayer dollars.
Sunday, July 01, 2018
When the Louisiana Legislature left the State Capitol on June 25 with an agreement to continue nine-twentieths, or 0.45 percent, of an expiring 1-cent sales tax set to expire, lawmakers were relieved.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Louisiana voters have a long history of electing fix-it governors to handle tough situations, then turning them out after a single term.