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Sunday Brunch

A fact-based menu

Julie ODonoghue
Julie ODonoghue

Aug 9, 2026

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2 min read

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By Julie O’Donoghue | Senior Reporter

On this day in history in 1974, Gerald Ford took the presidential oath of office the day after disgraced President Richard Nixon resigned. Ford addressed the nation on television by saying, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

The number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Louisiana was down nearly 21% from the same time last year. (Stock photo by hapabapa/Getty Images)

La.’s SNAP numbers drop, but not due to work requirements or citizenship

By Wesley Muller

Far fewer people in Louisiana are receiving federal food aid than a year ago, and state data suggest the decline is not from new work requirements or a citizenship verification test that President Donald Trump’s welfare cuts now require.

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Consumer, science and environmental advocates are pushing harder for transparency from Meta and Entergy about their plans to power the massive Hyperion data center in Northeast Louisiana. (Wesley Muller/LAI)

As Meta data center expands, advocates push harder for transparency

By Elise Plunk

The data center is among the largest industrial development deals in Louisiana history, and much of its key aspects have been cloaked through nondisclosure agreements state and local leaders have signed with Meta.

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Watchdog agency more than doubles budget with new emphasis on waste

By Julie O’Donoghue

The Office of Inspector General’s budget went from $2.2 million to $5.5 million annually in the fiscal year that started July 1, a year-over-year increase of 131%.

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MORE LOUISIANA NEWS

The Atalco bauxite refinery in Gramercy. (Wes Muller/LAI)

More than two years after environmental regulators first documented industrial “red mud” waste from the Atalco Gramercy alumina refinery escaping into public waterways, the state has yet to fine or penalize the company. 

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An environmental group argues Louisiana officials did not account for all of the harmful emissions Meta’s data center in Richland Parish will produce when it approved the facility’s Clean Air Act permit revisions in June.  

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The Louisiana Department of Health is warning residents to take precautions against a potentially fatal bacteria found in warm coastal waters that has killed five people this year. 

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SOCIAL SCENE

Reporter Piper Hutchinson explains why LSU is getting “bigger” for the purposes of raising its ranking among other schools.

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IN NATIONAL NEWS

Erica Schwartz testifies during her confirmation hearing to become director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

Dr. Erica Schwartz will be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination.

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As millions of acres burn across the western United States, some wildland fire veterans are fearful that aggressive fire suppression tactics ordered by the Trump administration — coupled with extreme, fast-moving blazes — could put firefighters in danger.

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The U.S. House Ethics Committee said this week that it will review allegations that Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio may have “engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.” 

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COMMENTARY
  • Preserving vaccine progress depends on fact-based policy| Crystal Rommen

  • A bureaucratic move could force Louisiana childcare sites to close | Rochelle Wilcox

  • Arkansas’ smoking ban just turned 20. Can the state find common ground on public health again? | Andrew DeMillo

  • Virginia legislator was allowed to use campaign funds for her defense | Roger Chesley

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