With Roe v. Wade hanging by a thread, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a major rollback of abortion rights.

It is the second time in weeks that the court's new conservative majority has signaled a willingness to reconsider long-established legal doctrine, this time on abortion, and just weeks ago, on guns.

This story was co-published with the Louisiana Illuminator.

As far back as Fannie King, 39, can remember, there have been problems with the drinking water in Tallulah, a small city in northeastern Louisiana. King's experienced water outages, discolored water and backups that cause the water to drain slowly. “As long as I’ve been living, there’s always been a complaint about what they were going to do,” she said. “The piping system that runs through Tallulah is so old in the residential areas.”

Forecasters are predicting another busy hurricane season -- and New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell is urging residents to start preparing ahead of the season’s official start date, June 1.

At a press conference Friday, Cantrell told people to make a plan and have a go-bag ready. But this year, Mayor Cantrell is calling for an extra step.“Get vaccinated,” she said. “There is absolutely no excuse not to be vaccinated.”

Amtrak wants to restore a love of trains along the Gulf Coast and has plans for a line that would go back and forth between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. twice a day. Supporters say this will be an economic shot in the arm, especially for the Mississippi towns along the way.

“It’s one of the best things that will happen to the coast,” said Nikki Moon, the owner of the Bay Town Inn in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

PANEL FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF—Arkansas Governor  Asa Hutchinson has formed a panel to come up with ways to spend the $1.5 billion dollars  the state is receiving from the latest federal coronavirus relief package. Democrats passed the bill in Congress without a Republican vote through the budget reconciliation process.   The Republican governor on Tuesday signed an order creating a 14-member steering committee for the state’s share of the $1.9 trillion relief measure that became law in March.

Federal safety officials found it necessary this past week to remind Americans not to put gasoline in plastic bags. Hey folks, that's dangerous. Remember?

(Warning: This column contains descriptions of racialized violence and discusses some plot points in The Underground Railroad series.)

After more than a year of telling Americans to cover their faces and keep their distance whenever they're in public, the Centers for of Disease Control and Prevention is now advising that masks aren't necessary in most indoor spaces, as long as someone is fully vaccinated.

"Now is the moment" to relax the guidance for vaccinated Americans, said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Thursday.

She credited a drop in infections, effective vaccines and availability of the shots to nearly everyone who wants one.