Louisiana

Louisiana senators Cassidy, Kennedy still seeking flood insurance reforms

Published

2 years ago

August 20, 2024

Louisiana senators Cassidy, Kennedy still seeking flood insurance reforms

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Amid increasing flood insurance costs, Louisiana’s U.S. senators say they are continuing to push for reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program.

Property owners are seeing higher flood coverage premiums, on top of soaring property insurance costs.

Katherine Drezek is a Louisiana homeowner who said she has seen her flood insurance premium rise in recent years.

“Yes, I think all the insurance has gone up, not only flood insurance. Fire insurance, just the house insurance period, has gone up,” she said.

Still, Drezek has not considered dropping her flood coverage.

“No, I live too close to the lake not to have flood insurance. I mean we live in Louisiana, we need flood insurance,” Drezek said.

With Congress in recess, Republican senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy were speaking Tuesday (Aug. 20) in the New Orleans area.

Cassidy toured Wrstbnd, a company in the Elmwood section of Jefferson Parish, after he spoke to the River Region Chamber of Commerce. And on the north shore, Kennedy addressed the St. Tammany Chamber.

“We need to fix the flood insurance program. The first thing we need to do is expand it,” Kennedy said.

Only a fraction of the properties in the U.S. are covered through the National Flood Insurance Program. According to FEMA, the NFIP protects more than $1.28 trillion in assets through nearly 5 million policies.

“We’ve got about 5 million people across America that’s got flood insurance. That’s not enough,” Kennedy said. “That’s not enough, because the more people you have, the more risk you can spread.”

Fox 8 asked Cassidy if there should be an effort to get more properties covered by flood insurance.

“There should be,” he said. “Banks are supposed to require it if homes are at risk. One thing we know is that more homes are at risk. So, for example, more people are building next to the coast. People want to live next to the water, and so that almost inherently puts them at risk.”

But he added that high costs are keeping some property owners from either acquiring or keeping flood insurance.

“On the other hand, if the premium is so expensive people can’t afford it, it drops off,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy said he wants Congress to mandate FEMA to take into account more levees when determining flood insurance rates.

“Right now, if a levee works but it’s not federally recognized, FEMA does not include that levee in their kind of risk assessment,” Cassidy said. “But the levee works. People can show flood water on one side, dry homes on the other. So, we would require FEMA to begin taking into account these non-federally recognized levees which work.”

Kennedy said, “I’m for creating some sort of national catastrophe fund that includes flood, that includes fire, earthquake. That’s harder to do than it sounds, but you get 15, 20, 30 and 40 million people in a fund, you can spread the risk better than you can with only five million.”

Under Risk Rating 2.0, the methodology FEMA has been using in recent years to determine premiums, rates can legally be increased up to 18% a year.

“This algorithm apparently can look into the future and tell whether your home is going to flood 45 years from now. I don’t believe it. I think it was an excuse to raise premiums,” Kennedy said.

With U.S. House members and some senators up for reelection in November, pundits say Congress will hesitate to pass consequential legislation before the end of the year.

On the prospects of getting NFIP reforms approved this year, Cassidy said, “I can’t tell you that it’s going to happen, but I can tell you that we’re in active negotiation as to how we could help lower-income Americans afford their flood insurance.”

Kennedy concedes that reaching a consensus on how to change the program will be difficult.

“We need to fix it,” he said. “But it’s not easy to do, because you’ve got a lot of people who, first, don’t care. They’re in a state that’s never flooded. And No. 2, we’ve got a lot of different points of view about how to fix it.”

Drezek said she has a message for Congress.

“Lower it. Please, please, please lower the insurance,” she said.

Kennedy said Congress will not let the program expire.

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Louisiana

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.

Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.

63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.

Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.

“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”

Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.

“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.

Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.

Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.

“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.

The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.

The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.

Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.

“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.

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Louisiana

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

The children of a disgraced Louisiana mayor told cops that they both caught their mom fooling around with a 16-year-old boy at a boozy pool party, according to video played at her rape trial.

Misty Roberts, the 43-year-old former head of DeRidder, Louisiana — population 9,8000 — faces a charge of third-degree rape over the 2024 incident.

Roberts’ son told investigators in an interview played for jurors that he saw his mom having sex with his pal through a crack in a window.

Misty Roberts is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy in 2024.

But, when asked about his recollection, he demurred — telling the court he wasn’t exactly sure what he saw that night, according to KPLC.

The jury also reviewed pictures from the party, which showed kids holding drinks as well as a photograph of Roberts and the victim that prosecutors described as “lewd.”

That picture showed Roberts at the party in her bikini, with the teen victim looking up at her smiling.

Roberts’ son texted his mom that night, incredulous about what was happening, and told her that his sister was crying, according to messages presented by prosecutors.

“He is seventeen,” the son texted Roberts.

The boy was later confirmed to be 16 years old, according to KPLC.

Roberts’ daughter also took the stand while prosecutors played her interview with detectives, in which she said she saw her mom and the boy “on top of each other” that night.

The former mayor’s nephew also admitted he tried to sneak a peek — using his phone to try and get a peek at what was going on in the room. He testified that he wasn’t sure if he hit “record” — but if he did said he never sent it to anybody.

Roberts was in her second term as mayor when she resigned. 7 KPLC

None of the three witnesses who testified said they saw the “private parts” of Roberts and the victim. The teen boy, they noted though, was shirtless.

After the alleged tryst, the victim’s mother texted Roberts to ensure that she was not pregnant, to which she replied she was on birth control. Roberts shared a screenshot of that message to a group chat with her friends, who urged her to take Plan B.

A DoorDash driver testified that he delivered an emergency contraceptive to Roberts’ house, which he recognized from trick-or-treating with his children there.

In other texts shown in court, Roberts asked her son what kind of alcohol her son and other kids wanted for the party.

Days after police launched their investigation into the alleged crime, Roberts resigned as mayor of DeRidder, a city of just under 10,000 people about 20 miles east of the Texas border.

Roberts was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Feb. 28, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 28, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

06-20-35-54-65, Powerball: 10, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

8-3-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

5-4-7-5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

9-9-1-3-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

04-17-21-27-33

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

08-10-15-21-22-33

Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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