While earthquakes in Louisiana are not exactly unheard of, yesterday’s magnitude 4.9 tremor in Red River Parish was highly unusual for the state. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Governor Landry announces the state is very close to reaching a settlement with ConocoPhillips over lawsuits that allege the oil and gas producer is financially responsible for damaging the coast. Jeff Palermo the story.
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Meta pledges not to pass the costs of its data centers onto the communities, including in Richland Parish. Andre Champagne reports.
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While earthquakes in Louisiana aren’t all that unusual, yesterday morning’s magnitude 4.9 tremor in Red River Parish certainly was. Cynthia Ebinger (uh-BING-er) with the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering says earthquakes are caused by the release of stresses that have built up in the rocks that cause parts of the rocks to fail. She says the oil and gas industry may play at least a partial role.
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Ebinger says we’re seeing an uptick in earthquakes in neighboring states.
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As for whether yesterday’s earthquake is a precursor to the so-called “big one,” Ebinger says that’s completely unpredictable.
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Governor Jeff Landry announces the state is very close to settling lawsuits against ConocoPhillips that allege the energy company is responsible for damaging the state’s coastal marshes, leading to land loss. There are 42 such lawsuits pending, and ConocoPhillips is named in 13 of them. Landry says coastal litigation has held up progress that the coast desperately needs.
Landry says the settlement calls for ConocoPhillips to give the state access to 150-thousand acres of land it owns and to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in coastal investment.
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It is not clear where the federal funding would come from. The governor says Conoco will pay into the state’s coastal trust fund, and Landry says the settlement will allow for the state to move forward with a 94-mile coastal land project across Plaquemines and Terrebonne parishes, which would protect the Houma-Thibodaux area.
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The ConocoPhillips settlement follows others that involve Freeport-McMoRan, BP, Shell and Hilcorp. Chevron and Exxon have yet to settle the coastal lawsuits against them.
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Meta is pledging not to pass the costs of operating its data centers onto the people in their respective communities by signing the Ratepayer Protection Pledge at the White House. Diana Doukas (DOO-kis), the director for economic opportunity and advocacy at Meta, says Meta will ensure that those in communities where data centers are located, including Richland Parish, are not impacted by rate hikes.
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Doukas says at the same time it’s protecting residents and businesses from utility rate hikes, Meta is also creating economic opportunities both during and after construction of its Richland Parish data center.
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Doukas says as part of its pledge, Meta is launching the Community Action Grant Program.
Cut 12 (09) “…building sustainable communities.”
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For the first time in his 15-year NFL career, Saints veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan will test the free agency market. Ross Jackson, the host of the Locked On Saints podcast, says even though Jordan didn’t reach an agreement with the Saints yet, the team can still bring him back.
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This year, Jordan put together his most productive season in New Orleans since 2021, recording 10-and-a-half sacks. However, at 36 years old, Jackson does not expect NFL teams to sign him to a long-term contract.
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Jackson says that no matter what happens with Jordan’s future, the Saints will need to look for potential defensive ends to pair with rising star Chase Young.
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The LSU baseball team suffered its third consecutive midweek loss Wednesday, falling 7-2 to U-L-Lafayette. The Tiger pitchers struggled, issuing three walks, hitting a batter and throwing three wild pitches. Coach Jay Johnson says the loss gives him insight into which players he can rely on moving forward.
Over the past six games, LSU has hit just .209. Johnson says he plans to spend more time in the batting cages to help the Tigers snap their offensive slump.
In order for LSU to snap its offensive slump, Johnson says hitters have to do a better job of working opposing pitchers.
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The Louisiana Tech baseball team dropped its fifth straight game Wednesday night after falling 8-2 to Arkansas State. Coach Lane Burroughs says the Bulldogs have to continue to go to work while putting the losses behind them.
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With its big upset win over LSU, U-L-Lafayette has won nine of its last ten games. During that stretch, the Cajuns are allowing just 3.3 runs per game. Head Coach Matt Deggs credits the team’s success on the mound to the work of new pitching coach Taylor Sandefur.
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