Next week is Christmas week, and that means scores of people will be heading out of town to celebrate the holidays. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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This weekend is the last weekend before Christmas, and more people than ever are expected to get their last-minute shopping in. Andre Champagne has more.
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It’s being called one of the biggest child predator busts in state history. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Christmas week is next week, and that means another busy travel week. And Triple-A says this year will be another record-breaker, with more than 122-million Americans heading out of town for the holidays, with the automobile being the most popular mode of travel by far. Don Redman with Triple-A Louisiana says the closer we get to Christmas Day, the busier the roads will be.
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Redman says whereas everyone seems to be traveling at once for Thanksgiving, that’s not the case for Christmas.
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Redman says if you want to avoid heavy traffic on your way home, your best bet is to watch the ball drop at Times Square in your vacation destination.
In the west-south-central region, which includes Louisiana, 11-million people are expected to take a road trip of more than 50 miles to celebrate the holidays.
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The National Retail Federation is expecting almost 160-million shoppers to hit the stores on the last Saturday before Christmas. LSU marketing professor Dan Rice says even though there are more shoppers than ever, the most money is being spent by one group more than the others.
Of those shoppers, the NRF is expecting more than 41-million to do so online. Rice says doing your Super Saturday shopping online is becoming easier each year.
The NRF has predicted that shoppers in the U.S. will spend more than one-trillion dollars for the first time. Rice believes the numbers are deceiving, though.
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The American Tort Reform Foundation is out with its ranking of its worst judicial hellholes of 2025. President Tiger Joyce says one long-running state case rose to close to the top of the list.
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The award that Joyce is referring to was the 744-million-dollar verdict handed down by a jury to Plaquemines Parish; when after deliberating for four hours, it found Chevron liable for environmental damages and degradation of coastal wetlands. Joyce says litigation like this is not good news for one of the biggest drivers of the state’s economy.
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Chevron appealed the verdict on the grounds that state court was not the proper venue in the case, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments January 12th. Joyce says Chevron has a good case.
The foundation says lawsuit abuse forces Louisiana residents to pay what is effectively a tort tax of more than a thousand dollars a year, and it leads to almost 40-thousand lost jobs each year.
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A massive enforcement operation in North Louisiana targeting registered sex offenders nets 67 arrests. It’s one of the biggest child predator busts in state history. Attorney General Liz Murrill says it happened during a month-long operation last month called Operation Access Denied.
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Murrill says agents from 26 sheriff’s offices, three police departments, the Department of Public Safety and the Bossier Marshal’s Office used the sex offender registry and other resources to identify the sex offenders who were engaging in illegal online activity, and that led to the discovery of other crimes.
Murrill says these arrests underscore the importance of parents diligently supervising their kids’ online activity at all times.
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Tulane makes its first appearance in the College Football Playoff Saturday, where it’ll face Ole Miss for the second time this season. Head coach Jon Sumrall credited his team’s success to its closeness and says he has full belief in its ability to pull off an upset.
In Tulane’s first game against Ole Miss, junior quarterback Jake Retzlaff only completed 5 of 17 passes for 52 yards. Sumrall says Retzlaff has done a great job bouncing back and says he’s a completely different quarterback at this point in the season.
Kickoff in Oxford on Saturday is at 2:30 p.m.
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The Saints look to win their third straight game Sunday when they take on the New York Jets. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough says the team’s confidence is as high as it’s ever been and says he wants to keep the city of New Orleans happy.
Tight end Juwan Johnson knew Shough prior to playing for the Saints, as both started their careers at Oregon. Johnson says he’s seeing Shough play with lots of confidence lately.
Running back Devin Neal has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, and wide receiver Devaughn Vele has been ruled out with a shoulder injury.