By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
Yes, you are correct — this Friday edition is brought to you by the letter “F.”
New restrictions on how public food assistance can can be spent in Louisiana went into effect Feb. 18. (Julie O’Donoghue/LAI)
By Julie O’Donoghue
Louisiana residents who rely on public assistance to buy groceries face new restrictions on their purchases as of last week. The federal government, which pays for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, granted Louisiana a waiver to impose the limitations through Jan. 12, 2028, at the request of Gov. Jeff Landry.
A tree blocks a road in Nashville on Jan. 28, 2026, following a weekend ice storm. (John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
By Cassandra Stephenson
The amount of time between a disaster and a major disaster declaration — and the federal assistance that typically follows —has steadily increased since 1985. While FEMA does offer individual assistance after some disasters, it’s approved less often than public assistance, and it’s not meant for everyone who suffers damage.
Jackson Square during French Quarter Fest on April 11, 2025. (Photo by John Gray/Verite News)
By Jasmine Robinson, Verite
Local activists have announced the French Quarter Festival would no longer receive sponsorship from Chevron beginning next year. Chevron has been a title sponsor of the New Orleans festival for the last 13 years.The change follows a monthslong pressure campaign from a coalition of local pro-Palestine groups and local chapters of national, left-leaning organizations.
By Nada Hassanein
Tuberculosis cases have been rising nationwide since 2021, and in 2024 — the most recent year for which data is available — they reached the highest level since 2011. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia reported increases in TB case counts and rates from 2023 to 2024, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
COMMENTARY
By Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré
Fossil fuel industry insiders have known for half a century their product is damaging our climate. Rather than stopping the harm or investing in renewables, they have put their money into sowing confusion, backing anti-science politicians and offering false solutions to the very crisis that industry created.
NEWS FROM THE STATES
Bill would require voter verification through iffy federal database | IA Capital Dispatch
Policeman accused of misusing surveillance cameras | WI Examiner
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