Doctors in Louisiana are sounding the alarm over potential funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health. Joe Gallinaro reports.
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State Treasurer John Fleming says the K-12 School Transparency Project has identified questionable spending by some public and charter schools. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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Governor Landry is expected to announce next Tuesday that SpaceX will build a multi-billion-dollar spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish that will be used to launch rockets into orbit. Kace Kieschnick has more.
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Louisiana doctors are sounding the alarm over a proposed massive funding cut to the National Institutes of Health. For the 2027 fiscal year, President Trump is proposing slashing five-billion dollars from NIH funding, representing 12-percent of its operating budget. Dr. Chancellor Donald, the interim chief of the division of hematology and medical oncology at the Tulane University School of Medicine, says if Congress doesn’t restore that funding by September 30th, the impact will be devastating.
Cut 4 (10) “…in their toolbox.”
Dr. Donald says the clinical trials that lead to breakthrough treatments for debilitating diseases are all funded by money Congress allocates to the National Institutes of Health.
Cut 5 (10) “…here in Louisiana.”
Donald says if NIH funding is cut, that would greatly slow down the progress in finding cures for life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Cut 6 (11) “…tomorrow’s blockbuster cures.”
Donald says NIH funding has paid huge dividends over the years. He notes that the five-year survival for breast cancer has jumped from 75-percent to more than 91-percent, metastatic melanoma survival has jumped from less than 10-percent to more than 50-percent, and childhood leukemia survival has soared from 10-percent to 90-percent.
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State Treasurer John Fleming says the K-12 School Transparency Project has identified questionable spending by Louisiana public and charter schools. The online portal which launched last year allows citizens to see how public and charter schools spend taxpayer dollars, and Fleming says it has uncovered potential misuse of public funds.
Cut 7 (09) “…stores and restaurants.”
Fleming says the portal also shows how school systems have spent thousands of dollars on balloons and fireworks, and there’s also a case where a political donation was made. The state treasurer says nearly everyone wants to see teachers make more money, and it’s possible that could happen if state dollars were spent appropriately.
Cut 8 (10) “…misdirecting these funds.”
Fleming says the financial data that the K-12 School Transparency Project provides to the public led to a complaint investigated by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
Cut 9 (13) “…a private institution.”
Fleming urges the Legislative Auditor and the Attorney General’s office to investigate any questionable use of public funds.
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We have our first poll in the U.S. Senate general election matchup between Republican Julia Letlow and Democrat Jamie Davis. The poll conducted by Public Policy Polling shows Letlow leading Davis by four points, 41 to 37-percent, with 22-percent undecided. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says it’s important to note that this is the only poll out thus far.
One finding of the poll of 518 registered voters is that more than half had neither a favorable nor an unfavorable opinion of Davis, compared to just over one-fourth for Letlow. Hogan says it underscores the gap in name recognition.
Cut 11 (10) “…the Republican nomination.”
Hogan says over the next two-plus months, those 22-percent of respondents who are currently undecided will eventually make up their minds, and he says Letlow has the advantage.
Cut 12 (09) “…towards her side.”
Among the 518 respondents, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 14 points. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus four-percent.
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Governor Jeff Landry will reportedly announce next Tuesday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to build a multi-billion-dollar spaceport in Vermilion Parish. The Advocate reports the spaceport would be built on 130 acres of coastal marshland near Pecan Island, about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette, and would launch rockets into orbit. Advocate reporter Stephanie Riegel says the project could potentially bring thousands of jobs to Louisiana.
Cut 13 (11) “..in Richland Parish.”
As part of the deal, a decade-long coastal damages lawsuit filed by Vermilion Parish and the state against ExxonMobil has been dismissed. Riegel says more details will be announced Tuesday at 11 a-m in Abbeville.
SpaceX and Landry have not commented. Musk says the company needs more launch sites to support its goal of deploying up to a million Starlink satellites.
There have been whispers about the proposed project for weeks, and Riegel says there are many in Vermilion Parish concerned about what this will mean for their way of life.
Cut 15 (11) “…Pecan Island community.”
The area is popular for recreational hunting and fishing.
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UL-Lafayette football coach Michael Desormeaux says redshirt junior wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr. is progressing in his rehab but is still sidelined during practice. Sampson was the Cajuns’ leading receiver with 32 catches for 537 yards and six touchdowns last season. Desormeaux says he has been out longer than expected.
Cut 16 (14) “…the conditioning part.”
The Cajuns are relying on dynamic redshirt junior quarterback Lunch Winfield to make the next step after leading the team to a 4-and-4 record as the starter last season. Desormeaux says he has done a better job of taking what the defense gives him and has been more accurate through fall camp. He tries to complete 70-percent of his passes every day.
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Three weeks into fall camp, Desormeaux has been very impressed with freshman linebacker Harrison Kidder.
Cut 18 (16) “…good football player.”
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The Saints will participate in their final joint practice of the preseason against the Rams today. Los Angeles is coming off a 12-and-5 season behind MVP Matthew Stafford, so Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman says they will be a great test for the defense.
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More than 10 fights broke out during the Saints and Cowboys joint practice on Tuesday. Stutsman says those scuffles can take away from the work being put in on the field, but they do help bring the team together.
Cut 20 (15) “…have everyone’s back.”