Activists in St. James Parish have been fighting the development of a giant plastic manufacturing plant there for years. They have filed lawsuits, protested at the state capitol, and committed acts of civil disobedience. Now, two of them are facing felony charges and they say they’re being targeted for their activism.

A week after the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office announced that there were no known cases of coronavirus at the New Orleans jail, a man being held at the facility collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office on Tuesday confirmed that he was positive for COVID-19 at the time of his death.

A bill meant to shield schools from civil lawsuits related to COVID-19 is now on its way to Gov. John Bel Edwards for final approval, but late changes made by a conference committee raised concerns on the House floor and almost killed the legislation.

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck a Louisiana anti-abortion law nearly identical to one deemed unconstitutional in Texas four years ago, in a landmark ruling for abortion rights. The law was expected to decimate abortion access in the state — shutting at least two of the state’s last three clinics, or perhaps all three.

Louisiana lawmakers spent the penultimate day of the special session ducking in an out of backroom negotiations as they finalized the language of tort reform legislation, proposed tax breaks, coronavirus response measures and the state operating budget. 

Updated at 5:35 p.m.

A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court stood by its most recent abortion-rights precedent Monday, delivering a major defeat to abortion opponents who had hoped for a reversal of fortunes at the court with the addition of two new Trump-appointed justices.

By a 5-4 vote, the court struck down a Louisiana law that was virtually identical to a Texas law it invalidated just four years ago. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the fifth and decisive vote.