By Elise Plunk | Reporter
“ It makes a nice story if you can try to show that I have some sort of conflict … but under Louisiana’s ethics laws, I don’t.” — State Sen. Jay Morris to Floodlight news, in response to land deals and votes he made to advance Meta’s Hyperion data center in Richland Parish. Read more in today’s top story.
Sen. Jay Morris denies any wrongdoing involving legislation he supported and the series of real estate deals he was a part of near the Meta data center project in Richland Parish. He said his land holdings are public record and that tax breaks he voted for apply to all data centers — not just the Meta project. (Wes Muller/LAI)
By Garrett Hazelwood, Floodlight
While state Sen. Jay Morris used his political position to advance the massive Meta data center project and the Entergy deal to power the facility, he and his business partners were buying and selling the land around it over the past 15 months. These were among the findings of a Floodlight investigation, in collaboration with the Louisiana Illuminator and Verite News.
Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry said it is unlikely that lawmakers will provide another temporary stipend for public school teachers and support staff after voters rejected a constitutional amendment to permanently lock in that compensation. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate-Pool)
By Julie O’Donoghue
Gov. Jeff Landry said earlier this no state employees will receive pay raises if K-12 public school teachers don’t see an increase. But as the Louisiana Legislature prepared to advance next fiscal year’s state budget with days left in their session, leaders were seeking clarity from the governor as to whom his edict should apply.
President Donald Trump wants lawmakers to attach the SAVE America Act to unrelated housing and surveillance legislation after it stalled in the U.S. Senate. (Alex Brandon/Getty Images-Pool)
By Jonathan Shorman
President Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, as Democrats and voting rights groups assemble a sprawling effort to guard against federal election interference.
By Julie O’Donoghue
The Louisiana Legislature is one vote away from allowing the state Republican and Democratic parties to exclude unaffiliated voters from participating in their primary elections. The bill is nearing the finish line just days after the state’s first semi-closed primaries in over a decade.
By Elise Plunk
Louisiana’s top weather official says the 2026 hurricane season is expected to produce an average number of storms, perhaps slightly less. Even though a forecasted super El Niño makes storm development less likely, Jay Grymes is reminding the public any single storm can be devastating.
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