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News

Timely coverage of the people, policies, and events shaping New Orleans and Louisiana. This category delivers clear, factual reporting that keeps readers informed about local government, community issues, and stories that matter most to everyday residents.

Hands tightly grip a chain-link fence, with a blurred figure standing behind it, suggesting detention or confinement.

ICE has been deporting pregnant and postpartum immigrants. Now we know how many.

Though federal policy discourages the detention of pregnant women and other at-risk people, Homeland Security numbers show that many have been caught up in the immigration enforcement surge over the past year.
by Shefali Luthra, The 19th News March 25, 2026 Updated March 25, 2026

Do the ‘climate-tech’ startups headed to old Navy base signal innovation—or a cover for Big Oil?

A startup hub planned for the old Navy Base boasts of green “deep tech”— but experts warn some of that tech only provides cover for polluters, while one was founded by an Israeli arms developer.
by Delaney Nolan March 24, 2026 Updated March 31, 2026

The classroom as first courtroom: Jada’s story

Jada and other Black girls often take the first steps toward the delinquency pipeline in the schoolroom, where teachers too often misread curiosity as sassiness—or as Louisiana law describes it, "willful disobedience."
by Andrea Hagan March 23, 2026 Updated April 6, 2026

The troubling side of public surveillance

The NOPD recently proposed using drones as first responders. Across the nation, cameras seem to be popping up everywhere. But many agencies have few safeguards to prevent abuse by individual officers.
by Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project March 20, 2026 Updated March 21, 2026

For 100 years, Big Oil knew it was turning Louisiana’s coast into ‘Swiss cheese,’ records show

Oil giants knew that their practices were devastating coastal land, water, and habitats. That history is worth revisiting now, as the Supreme Court prepares a decision that could determine whether oil companies pay billions to rebuild Louisiana’s coast.
by Emily Sanders, ExxonKnews March 18, 2026 Updated March 17, 2026

As gas prices soar, Trump is ignoring the lessons of the last oil crisis

When federal officials did away with fuel-efficiency standards, they assumed — wrongly — that oil prices would fall to dramatic lows and that gas would become cheap enough to wipe out the increased fuel costs of less-efficient vehicles.
by Jake Bittle, Grist March 16, 2026 Updated March 15, 2026

Abortion pill crackdowns clear two legislatures; Hawley looks to revoke mifepristone’s FDA approval

Republican lawmakers are focused on limiting the availability of abortion medication, the most common way to terminate early pregnancies in the United States.
by Elisha Brown March 16, 2026 Updated March 15, 2026

Gov. Landry orders Louisiana schools to begin posting Ten Commandments

In the wake of an appeals court ruling, some Louisiana public school leaders are now making plans to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Others await guidance because plaintiffs in the case could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
by Marta Jewson March 15, 2026 Updated March 15, 2026

Louisiana’s LNG exports are driving out fishermen and driving up utility bills across the U.S.

The multibillion-dollar liquified natural gas industry has reshaped the landscape, the economy and the daily lives of the people who have lived in Cameron Parish for generations.
by Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom, and Paul Blest, More Perfect Union March 13, 2026 Updated March 13, 2026

Trump’s rush to expand offshore oil leases in the Gulf is bad for the environment. It’s also illegal.

The Trump administration pushed lease sales through without environmental review. This is illegal because it violates several of the country’s bedrock environmental laws, writes Mathews, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups that has sued the administration.
by Rachel Mathews March 12, 2026 Updated March 15, 2026

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About The Lens

The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region.

Staunchly defending the public's right to know, we are deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.

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