Latest Louisiana Headlines
All the headlines from our Louisiana Topic Page, ordered by recency.
NTSB: Louisiana Offshore Lift Boat Flipped While Lowering Legs, Turning
May 19 2021 // An offshore oil industry boat had begun to lower its legs and was trying to turn to face heavy winds when it flipped in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana last month, according to a preliminary federal report released on May...
Heavy Rains Flood Homes, Cars in South Louisiana
May 19 2021 // Heavy rains that swept across southern Louisiana flooded homes, swamped cars and closed a major interstate on May 18. The brunt of nature’s fury was taken once again by Lake Charles, in a coastal zone still...
State of Emergency in SW Louisiana as Severe Weather Continues
May 18 2021 // State offices in the Louisiana parishes of Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge and Iberville were ordered closed Tuesday, May 18, due to extreme flooding, the governor’s office reported. A day earlier, Gov. John...
Louisiana ‘Justice Lab’ Aims to Expose, Litigate Claims of Police Bias
May 17 2021 // A woman forced to the ground by two sheriff’s deputies in an arrest recorded by her son. Demonstrators tear-gassed and hit by rubber projectiles while protesting the death of George Floyd. A man stunned with a Taser...
Louisiana Crawfish Processor Sued Over Low Wages, Overtime Pay
May 17 2021 // Two migrant workers from Mexico are suing a Louisiana crawfish processor over wages they say fell well below the minimum wage. The federal lawsuit filed in Alexandria says the two routinely worked 10 or more hours a day,...
Higginbotham Expands in Louisiana with Haik Insurance
May 13 2021 // Fort Worth, Texas-based independent insurance and financial services firm, Higginbotham, has partnered with Haik Insurance, an independent broker in Lafayette, Louisiana, to establish Higginbotham’s third office in...
Louisiana Insurance Agent Arrested on Fraud Charges
May 12 2021 // A Louisiana insurance agent was arrested on May 10, following an investigation by Louisiana State Police into allegations of insurance fraud. The Louisiana Department of Insurance had revoked the property/casualty producer...
NTSB: Lack of Monitoring Aggravated $900K Louisiana Shipyard Fire
May 7 2021 // A 2020 fire at a Louisiana shipyard in April 2020 that caused $900,000 in damage was able to start and spread without notice because no one was continually monitoring the vessel while fire detectors were shut off during...
Ahead of Biden Visit, Louisiana Seeks More Hurricane Disaster Aid
May 6 2021 // U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy has asked President Joe Biden, ahead of his May 6 visit to Louisiana, to back disaster aid to help the state with recovery from the 2020 hurricanes. Louisiana’s Republican senior senator and...
Louisiana House Passes Bill to Expand Medical Marijuana Program
May 4 2021 // Patients in Louisiana’s medical marijuana program would be able to smoke raw cannabis, rather than rely on the more processed forms of marijuana currently available, if the Senate agrees to a bill that easily won...
Louisiana State Roadways Finally Cleared of 2020 Hurricane Debris
May 4 2021 // Eight months after Hurricane Laura devastated southwest Louisiana, the state transportation department has finished removing storm debris from state roadways. The Department of Transportation and Development said it...
Update: Louisiana Bill Would Ban Insurance Rates Based on Gender, Race, More
May 3 2021 // A bill currently before the Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee and backed by Gov. John Bel Edwards would ban certain discriminatory practices in auto insurance rate determinations. Senate Bill 55, introduced by Sen. Jay...
Lawsuit Over U.S. Wage Rule Focused on Louisiana Crawfish Processors
Apr 30 2021 // Federal regulators are using an illegally adopted rule and unreliable research in allowing Louisiana crawfish processors to hire foreign workers at “depressed and stagnated wages” — wages that also hold down...
Louisiana 2020 Hurricane Insured Claim Costs Still Rising
Apr 30 2021 // Insurers have increased by 25% since the end of last year estimates of the claims costs for three hurricanes that struck Louisiana in 2020, according to the state insurance department. The Louisiana Department of Insurance...
Louisiana Refineries to Pay $5.5M for Lake Charles-Area Contamination
Apr 28 2021 // Nine oil refineries and chemical companies in the Lake Charles area have agreed to pay the federal government $5.5 million for their contamination of parts of the northern Calcasieu River estuary. The settlement was...
Louisiana Bills Target LSU Sex Assault, Harassment Scandals
Apr 23 2021 // Louisiana senators on April 21 started moving legislation prompted by the sexual misconduct scandals at Louisiana State University, measures aimed at tightening rules for how colleges must handle allegations of sexual...
Northwest Louisiana Condominium Building Destroyed by Fire
Apr 23 2021 // A fire at a northwest Louisiana condominium complex has destroyed 30 units. The Shreveport Fire Department tells local news outlets that it took three-and-a-half hours on April 21 to bring the blaze under control at the...
Louisiana Bills Promote Private Flood Insurance, Target Staged Accidents
Apr 20 2021 // Louisiana insurance regulators have proposed separate pieces of legislation that would promote the writing of private flood insurance in the state and increase penalties associated with staged auto accidents. A third bill...
Another Earthquake Reported Near Louisiana-Texas Border
Apr 19 2021 // A second earthquake has sent some shock waves to parts of north Louisiana near the Texas border. A 3.1 magnitude earthquake was registered about 7:43 p.m. on April 15, about 6 miles west of Blanchard, Louisiana and near...
Louisiana Accuses Alabama Agency, Owner of Fraudulent Marketing, Submissions
Apr 16 2021 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) has issued a cease and desist order to a Birmingham, Ala., insurance agency, Senior Care Services LLC, alleging the company uses false or misrepresentative facts and information...
