Louisiana saw an increase in tourism and visitor spending last year. Mel Bridges has the totals.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Mel Bridges.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed Republican Julia Letlow and Garret Graves in their re-election efforts. But Graves’ sixth district is changing to a majority-minority district and Graves has said he’s looking at other districts to represent. Political observers say Johnson’s endorsement of Graves is to send a message he should seek re-election in the sixth district, not Letlow’s district.

In House Criminal Justice today, committee members will hear from the Jewish community, who are pushing a bill to remove gassing as a form of execution in Louisiana. In February, during a special session on crime, gassing was added as a means to carry out the death penalty. Jacquelyn Stern says that’s when they started the coalition Jews Against Gassing…
Cut 7 (11) “…for anybody.”
The bill cleared the Senate on a 22-to-16 vote.

A Belle Rose man faces a theft charge after he allegedly ran a Ponzi Scheme that allowed him to steal thousands of dollars from his friends. Assumption Parish Sheriff’s office spokesperson Lonny Cavalier says 44-year-old John Michael Thibodeaux collected significant amounts of money from the victims, claiming they would receive high returns on their investments through E-trade…
cut 11 (09) “…this point”
Thibodeaux says victims became suspicious when dividend payments either stopped or never started.