louisiana

October 18, 2013 - The special election for Louisiana's impoverished 5th congressional district is set for Oct. 19, and Democrats are trying to turn it into the Democratic district it appears to be on paper -- and save the Affordable Care Act from continued assault from the right.

October 4, 2013 - Held in solitary confinement at Louisiana's notorious Angola prison for 41 years for a murder he did not commit, Herman Wallace passed away today -- just three days after his conviction was overturned and he was set free.

September 20, 2013 - As U.S. incarceration rates fall, private prison companies are taking steps to guarantee profits with contracts requiring states to either meet prison occupancy quotas or pay for empty beds. Louisiana and Virginia are among the states locked into the highest occupancy guarantee requirements.

September 16, 2013 - A new report documents an overall rise in homicides in states that have passed versions of the controversial self-defense law. The increase in "justifiable" homicides has been especially dramatic in some Southern states, and African Americans have borne the brunt of the increase in deadly violence.

September 4, 2013 - People from across the Gulf Coast will join in a national action on Sept. 21 calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline and the toxic burden it will bring to communities already suffering from dirty energy production.

August 29, 2013 - If we're going to claim New Orleans has made progress since the unnatural disaster of Katrina eight years ago, perhaps we should first define what we mean by "progress."

August 21, 2013 - A new report documents the extensive pollution released in Louisiana last year during Hurricane Isaac, a relatively mild Category 1 storm. It serves as a warning for storm-vulnerable states like Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina now considering opening up their coasts to energy exploration.