The Louisiana Legislature has less money to spend than originally projected. Jeff Palermo on what this means.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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The Hantavirus outbreak on a sight seeing cruise ship sailing through the South Atlanta has some worried another pandemic could happen. Joe Gallinaro has the story.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”
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***Note: The meeting was still in progress as of the posting of this AM Newscall. Adjust the lede accordingly.***
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee pulled an all-nighter in adopting a new congressional map. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 3 (38) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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The Revenue Estimating Conference has adopted a forecast that will result in fewer available dollars to spend for Louisiana lawmakers. Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council says the changes adopted will lessen state general fund dollars by 104-million dollars for next year’s fiscal year.
Cut 4 (10) “…run into problems.”
Deslatte says this jeopardizes Governor Landry’s request to double the funding of the Louisiana GATOR Scholarship program, which provides low-income families with state dollars to pay for private school tuition and other education expenses. She says Senate President Cameron Henry was not on board with doubling the size of L-A GATOR anyways.
Cut 5 (11) “…funded right now.”
The House has already approved a budget for next fiscal year, so the Senate will have to shrink the spending plan. Deslatte says Governor Landry’s tax reform plan that went into effect in 2025, which lowered state income and business taxes, is the main reason in the decline in state revenue.
Cut 6 (10) “…is driving this.”
The legislature is expected to approve a budget for next fiscal year by June 1st.
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News of three people on a cruise ship dying from the hantavirus and several others infected has some people worried about the possibility of another pandemic. LSU Health New Orleans infectious disease expert Dr. Fred Lopez says hantavirus is not nearly as contagious as other viruses.
Cut 7 (07) “…we’re talking about.”
Hantavirus spreads from rodent droppings to people, and usually a person cannot transmit it to another person. But Lopez says this is a special type of Andes virus, where it can spread between people.
Cut 8 (06) “…who are infected.”
Lopez says health officials will use the hantavirus outbreak on the nature-sightseeing cruise ship to get a better understanding of how the Andes virus transmits between people.
The cruise ship was forced to dock in Spain, and the crew members and passengers on board are now being quarantined at facilities around the globe. Symptoms can develop between 4 and 42 days from exposure, which is why the quarantine can last that long.
Lopez says hantavirus should not be of high concern to the general public.
Cut 9 (08) “…able to contain.”
Betsy Arkaway, the 65-year-old wife of actor Gene Hackman, died in February of 2025 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. It is suspected she fell ill from the severe respiratory disease from an infected rodent dropping in their New Mexico home. New Mexico often leads the nation in hantavirus cases.
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While it’s improving, misrepresentation in the origin of shrimp in Louisiana restaurants remains an issue. A recent audit of 44 Baton Rouge restaurants by SeaD (“seed”) Consulting found that nine failed to disclose that their shrimp was imported. SeaD Founder David Williams says while six of those restaurants had no signage or menu disclosure, there was another issue with the other three.
Cut 10 (09) “…ask your server.”
When SeaD’s undercover diners asked those servers, they told them that their shrimp was American wild-caught shrimp, when genetic testing found them to be imported shrimp. Williams calls that a Cardinal sin.
In all, 14 restaurants were found to be serving imported shrimp, including five which clearly stated such. Williams says of those 14, there were instances of co-mingling of the shrimp – that is, mixing domestic shrimp with imported shrimp.
Cut 12 (07) “…the processor level.”
There is a bill making its way through the legislature which is aimed at cracking down on co-mingling shrimp.
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***Note: The meeting was still in progress as of the posting of this AM Newscall. Adjust the story accordingly when necessary.***
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee took all night and several hours into this morning to hash out a new congressional map. Gonzales Democrat Ed Price presented his map first; and after more than five hours of public discussion, it was voted down 4-3. Price’s map would have protected the strength of Louisiana’s Black voters.
Cut 13 (10) “…the Callais decision.”
Like the map that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional, Price’s map, based on party registrations as stated in his Senate Bill 407, would have created four safe Republican districts and two safe Democratic districts.
Cut 14 (11) “…registered than Republicans.”
At around 12:30 this morning, after the committee voted down Price’s map, West Monroe Republican Jay Morris presented Senate Bill 121, which would reinstate the map from 2022.
Cut 15 (08) “…what this does.”
New Orleans Democrat Royce Duplessis asked Morris where in the Supreme Court’s order was it ordered that the current U.S. House election be scrapped and new maps needed to be drawn right now.
Cut 16 (14) “…Western District ordered.”