
Category: Top Story
This category showcases the lead coverage readers need to know, offering context, clarity, and insight into issues shaping New Orleans and beyond.


New report ranks states on climate-related health risks, clean energy policies
Health care systems nationwide are vulnerable to extreme weather and climate threats.

Louisiana cancels another major coastal restoration project
Gov. Jeff Landry scraps sediment diversion planned for Breton Sound marsh.

‘I’ll fight for your rights like I fought for my own freedom’
Calvin Duncan, an uncommon man with an all-too-common story, is vying to become clerk of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court – and his campaign may have gathered enough momentum to draw fire from high-powered Louisiana officials.

Alfred Marshall, a voice of experience
Marshall is one of the main forces behind the Oct. 11 charter amendment that would amend the New Orleans Bill of Rights to add “conviction history” alongside race, religion, disability, and gender.

Louisiana sues Food & Drug Administration to stop mailing of abortion medication
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill escalates her campaign against mail-order abortion pills, suing the FDA over its pandemic-era policy that permits remote prescriptions of mifepristone while pursuing criminal charges against out-of-state doctors she claims violated Louisiana’s strict abortion laws.

Leah Chase School principal resigns
The school faces a sizable budget gap. Proponents say that it’s expensive to launch a stand-alone school, especially one that aspires to be a “beacon of culture.”

Silence from Smitty’s Supply, EPA’s lagging response leave lasting stains
While Gov. Jeff Landry was quick to denounce the speed of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led clean-up, he's silent in holding Smitty's Supply itself accountable for the explosion, fire and recovery.

Success for whom? Twenty years of school reform.
The writers, an educator and a parent who works as an advocate within schools, contend that the state takeover removed Black teachers who provided continuity and did not improve academic outcomes for Black students who too often changed schools frequently.

Back to school: How and when to ask for a special education evaluation
If parents notice their child struggling academically or facing more discipline in school, it may be time for a special education evaluation. Roughly 15% of students in Louisiana have special education plans.