By Julie O’Donoghue | Senior Reporter
On this day in 1867, the United States purchase of the Russian colony of Alaska was approved and the American flag was flown over the Sitka, the Russian capital of Alaska at the time.
Rep. Debbie Villio authored the proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate the ability of judges to set bail for people convicted of certain crimes against minors. In this 2022 photo, Villio is seated next to former state Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Piper Hutchinson
Louisiana voters could remove the power of judges to grant bail to persons convicted of certain crimes with minors as victims. Constitutional Amendment 3, one of 10 proposed changes on the Nov. 3 ballot, was proposed by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, who chairs the House Criminal Justice Committee.
Democrats and Republicans running for Congress in Louisiana have different approaches to bringing down prices for gas, groceries and other consumer goods. The Illuminator interviewed candidates for the U.S. Senate race and in the competitive 5th District and 6th District races about rising living expenses. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)
By Julie O’Donoghue
Voters are focusing on the high price of gas, groceries and other affordability issues ahead of the Nov. 3 election, according to political experts and national polling. Democrats and Republicans running for Congress in Louisiana have different approaches to bringing down the cost of living.
By Greg LaRose
The Louisiana Department of Health announced Friday that the federal government approved the state’s application for Medicaid coverage that becomes available 60 days before a person is released from prison.
MORE LOUISIANA NEWS
Medicaid coverage in Louisiana through Healthy Blue will no longer be available in 2027. Its current members can join one of the state's remaining four Medicaid plans over the next month or be assigned to one by the state health department. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)
Healthy Blue, offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and Elevance Health, is pulling out of Louisiana’s Medicaid program at the end of the year. The plan’s 274,000 members must join one of the four remaining Medicaid plans.
State Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, was the sole defender of some of President Donald Trump’s more controversial policies as the only Republican taking part in a candidates’ forum for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District candidates.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issued an emergency declaration to close the amberjack season for recreational fishers this week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined that the annual amount of fish allowed to be harvested, just over 167 tons of fish, had been met in federal waters.
IN NATIONAL NEWS
A growing number of state officials fear prediction markets are opening the door to a new era of gambling on elections — a practice many states have long prohibited. In this photo, a voter casts a ballot during the March 3, 2026 primary in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate)
Prediction markets have emerged as a flashpoint in state and federal relations, as a host of states struggle with the Trump administration over who has authority to regulate the platforms and whether state laws restricting gambling apply to them.
Urban hospitals are closing at roughly the same rate as rural ones, and the shuttered hospitals are more likely to have served communities with high poverty rates and fewer transportation options, according to a new study published this week.
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures. No industry has driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s.
COMMENTARY
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