Louisiana Illuminator

5:00 News Story Herman Evans, who spent decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, embraces a supporter after a Louisiana Senate committee approved a bill Tuesday, April 29, 2025, that would allow persons convicted by a split jury verdict to seek a retrial. The bill failed on the Senate floor, but a similar measure has advanced from a Senate committee again this year.

Democrats on a U.S. House spending panel slammed President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to farm and nutrition programs Thursday, as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pledged to collaborate with members of both parties to address their concerns.

WASHINGTON — An effort to force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for further war actions in Iran failed in the U.S. Senate for the fourth time Wednesday, with all but one Republican continuing to support the president’s Middle East conflict. Senators voted down the measure, 47-52, with a similar partisan breakdown as earlier votes that saw one Republican and one Democrat break with their parties. Sen.

by Kevin Hardy, Louisiana Illuminator April 15, 2026 Though public scrutiny of data centers is growing, 14 states do not disclose how much revenue they lose to data center tax breaks. That’s according to a new report from Good Jobs First, a watchdog group that focuses on economic development incentives. The lack of disclosure comes as other states record mounting losses in tax revenue to data center subsidies.

Two years ago, my grandmother’s warning started ringing in my ears again. As a child, she would tell me, “Baby, if you start off wrong, you gon’ end up wrong every time. You got to start right to end right. Watchu self.” She was so right. Two years ago, Gov. Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Legislature overhauled the state’s parole system. New laws eliminated parole for almost everyone whose offense was committed after Aug. 1, 2024 and now require most people to serve at least 85% of their sentences.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XIV Sunday night following the pontiff’s sharp criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and wider Middle East conflict. In a lengthy post, littered with falsehoods, on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump accused the first U.S.-born pope of being “WEAK on crime” and of supporting Iran having a nuclear weapon.

by Kevin Hardy, Louisiana Illuminator April 13, 2026 As states enact stricter work requirements for the federal food stamp program, a new analysis suggests those requirements won’t enhance employment and will push more people off of food assistance. The researchers conducted a review of studies on work requirements and concluded that “the best evidence shows they do not increase employment.

WASHINGTON — Spikes in energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran drove up inflation for Americans in March, according to the latest consumer price index figures released Friday. Costs jumped 0.9% in March compared to the previous month — that’s up from the 0.3% increase in February. Prices for all items together, including food, energy, shelter and other commodities like vehicles, rose by 3.3% from a year ago.

by Andrea Hagan, Louisiana Illuminator April 10, 2026 The Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 5 board convened an emergency meeting this week after a leaked audio recording allegedly captured Fire Chief Joe Koczrowski using the N-word during an internal meeting, WAFB-TV reported.

I took my first oath to defend the U.S. Constitution when I was 17 years old. Growing up, we watched the news every night and saw two kinds of stories side by side: American service members killed overseas, and elections in other countries marred by bombings, kidnappings and violence. Even then, I found myself asking a basic question: Why were American elections more stable than so many others, and what made them worth defending? That question stayed with me.