Flooding in Lafitte, Louisiana
Ida is now a tropical depression after spending 16 hours as a hurricane over Louisiana and Mississippi and the storm left behind plenty of destruction. Hurricane Ida left scores of coastal Louisiana…
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Mississippi pharmacist, Louisiana marketer plead guilty in health care fraud scheme
A Mississippi pharmacist pleaded guilty today and a Louisiana marketer pleaded guilty on Aug. 12 in the Southern District of Mississippi for their roles in a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud TRICARE and private insurance companies by paying kickbacks to distributors…
Ochsner Health now requiring employees to get vaccine
By KEVIN McGILL NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s largest hospital system, Ochsner Health, said Tuesday that it is requiring all of its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 29. The announcement came a day after the Pfizer vaccine received…
Saints alter season ticket refund policy amid scrutiny
By BRETT MARTEL NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Amid public and political scrutiny, the New Orleans Saints have adopted a new refund policy allowing fans to relinquish their season tickets and get their money back. The Saints plan to fill the…
U.S. 90 bridge at Pearl River closed for emergency bridge repairs
The Louisiana Department of Transportation on Tuesday closed the U.S. 90 bridge near Pearl River to make emergency repairs on the East Pearl River Bridge. The LADOTD issued the advisory just before noon, advising motorists to find an alternate route…
Louisiana reinstates indoor mask mandate amid COVID surge
By MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana is reenacting a statewide mask mandate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents across all indoor locations, including schools and colleges. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ announcement Monday came as the…
William Carey University announces fall registration
William Carey University announces their fall term starts Monday, Aug. 23, at campuses in Hattiesburg, Biloxi and Baton Rouge, La. Walk-in, open registration is Aug. 19. Admissions staff will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. New students will…
Mississippi Lt Gov: Corps ignored spillway operating manual
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers ignored its own operating manual when it twice opened a Mississippi River spillway in 2019, causing an environmental and economic disaster in Mississippi and Louisiana, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Tuesday. He spoke on the way…
Variant could mean mask mandates at big New Orleans events
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Efforts to mitigate COVID-19 at large New Orleans events — including mask mandates or requirements attendees be vaccinated or have a negative test — will likely continue into the fall because of low state vaccination rates…
Ex-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards died; knew power and prison
By KEVIN McGILL NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Edwin Washington Edwards, the high-living four-term governor whose three-decade dominance of Louisiana politics was all but overshadowed by scandal and an eight-year federal prison stretch, died Monday. He was 93. Edwards died…
CITGO agrees to settlement for 2006 Louisiana refinery spill
NEW ORLEANS - CITGO Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay $19.7 million to restore natural resources damaged during a 2006 spill at its southwest Louisiana refinery that saw millions of gallons of waste oil and wastewater sent into the Calcasieu…
Sheriff: Moss Point suspect dies in New Orleans custody
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans jail inmate awaiting extradition to Mississippi to face a homicide charge died at a hospital where he was taken Tuesday after he was found unresponsive at the lockup, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office…
New Orleans health system pushes further into Mississippi
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A large New Orleans-based health system with hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi plans a merger that will deepen its presence in Mississippi. Ochsner Health and Rush Health Systems said in a news release Thursday that officials…
Louisiana lawmakers OK sports betting rules, send to Edwards
By MELINDA DESLATTE The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Months after most Louisiana voters agreed to legalize sports betting, lawmakers Thursday gave final passage to rules that will allow wagering through sports book sites, mobile apps and kiosk…
Louisiana man convicted of sex crimes against girl, teen
COVINGTON, La. (AP) — A 22-year-old Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to raping a teenager after her high school graduation party and to the sexual battery of a 12-year-old at his house. District Attorney Warren Montgomery said in a news…
Low-flying chopper to follow rivers, mapping aquifers
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — People along rivers in seven states may see a low-flying helicopter towing a long cylinder, starting late this month and going into July. The 30-foot-long tube holds an electromagnetic instrument that the U.S. Geological Survey uses…
Search for survivors of capsized lift boat ends
CUT OFF, La. (AP) — The search for survivors from a capsized lift boat in the Gulf of Mexico has closed and attention now turns to comforting the loved ones of the five known dead and eight missing, as a…
1 dead, 6 rescued, 12 still missing from capsized ship
PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — The Coast Guard searched for 12 people missing off the coast of Louisiana on Wednesday after finding one crew member dead and pulling six survivors from rough seas when their commercial platform vessel capsized in…
Coast Guard rescues two from sinking boat near Lake Pontchartrain
The Coast Guard med-evaced two sailors Thursday from a vessel taking on water near Lake Pontchartrain. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report at 11:47 a.m. from a good Samaritan reporting a half-submerged 20-foot recreational vessel taking on…
'Gonna be sore:' Louisiana troopers boasted of beating Black man
By JIM MUSTIAN, Associated Press Louisiana State Police troopers joked in a group text about beating a Black man after a high-speed chase last year, saying the "whoopin" would give the man "nightmares for a long time," according to new…
Gulf Islands superintendent Dan Brown to retire
After more than 43 years of public service, Gulf Islands National Seashore Superintendent Dan Brown will retire on January 2, 2021. Brown has been Gulf Islands’ superintendent since 2010, arriving just as the Deepwater Horizon oil washed ashore. Steve McCoy,…
Court: Texas, Louisiana can end Planned Parenthood funding
A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas and Louisiana can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood.
New Orleans cancels all Mardi Gras parades for 2021 due to COVID-19
NEW ORLEANS (WXXV) — New Orleans will not roll any parades during Carnival season in 2021, the city announced on the mayor's website on Tuesday. Mayor LaToya Cantrell's website offered an "Frequently Asked Questions" section that included the question, "Will…
Louisiana braces to relive a nightmare with Hurricane Delta
By REBECCA SANTANA and STACEY PLAISANCE Associated Press LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - Hurricane Delta is bringing bands of rain and blustery winds to Louisiana as it spins toward the state's southwest coast. Forecasters said the 25th named storm of…