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Thursday, October 29, 2026

Early voting tops 520,000 and a judge clears a path for RJ Luis Jr. at LSU

Plus, Louisiana approves the air permit for Hyundai-POSCO's $5.8 billion Ascension Parish steel mill.

The Daily Baton Rouge team8 stories43 sources11 min read

Election 2026Top story

More than 520,000 Louisianans voted early, and Election Day is Tue., Nov. 3

East Baton Rouge Parish cast the most early votes of any parish

Source: Louisiana First News

View as table
Value
East Baton Rouge53,645
Orleans47,645
Jefferson44,086
St. Tammany40,958
Lafayette26,858
Caddo24,556

If you haven't voted yet, you've got one more shot. 520,942 people voted early across Louisiana, up about 38% from 2022, WBRZ reports, citing Secretary of State data. East Baton Rouge Parish had 53,645 of them, the most of any parish.

The U.S. Senate race between Democrat Jamie Davis and Republican Julia Letlow is the big draw. WAFB reports Democrats led Republicans in early voting by about 16,000 votes. Trump plans a tele-rally for Letlow on the eve of the election, WDSU reports.

Registered Democrats cast the most early votes, ahead of Republicans

Source: Louisiana First News

View as table
AmountShare
Democrats221.1K42.4%
Republicans205.1K39.4%
No party92,92217.8%
Other parties1,8690.4%
  • Polls: Tue., Nov. 3, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Early ballots: 448,525 in person, 72,417 absentee
  • East Baton Rouge Black early votes: up 93% from 2022
  • Parish ballot: district attorney race, Ryan Thompson vs. Hillar Moore

Asked

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Asked

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LSU

A Baton Rouge judge signed an injunction that blocks the SEC from penalizing LSU over RJ Luis Jr.

Judge Ronald R. Johnson signed an order Wednesday that temporarily blocks the SEC from punishing LSU if it adds RJ Luis Jr. to the roster. It also bars LSU from using SEC policies as a reason to keep him out. Newsday reports it takes effect Nov. 3 and lasts until a Nov. 13 hearing. Luis' attorney says he can play until then.

Luis' court fight moved from the NCAA to the SEC in a little over two months

  1. Aug. 24Johnson grants Luis a preliminary against the NCAA.
  2. SeptemberThe SEC gives Commissioner Greg Sankey power to suspend coaches and fine schools.
  3. Oct. 27Luis' lawyers file a petition to block the SEC from penalizing LSU.
  4. Oct. 28Johnson signs an injunction covering LSU and the SEC.

Sources: Crescent City Sports, Newsday

LSU hasn't put Luis on its roster, Crescent City Sports reports, and coach Will Wade has said the Tigers will follow SEC protocols. Attorney Tony Clayton told Louisiana Sports why he sued LSU too.

“They (LSU) were not going to go against the SEC even though we had the law on our side.”

Tony Clayton, attorney for RJ Luis Jr.

What the SEC fight comes down to

Half
of a sport's budget: the most the SEC can fine a school
Nov. 13
hearing where Sankey and LSU officials are ordered to appear

Source: Newsday

  • LSU's opener: Nov. 3 vs. LSU New Orleans, Pete Maravich Assembly Center
  • Federal hearing: Nov. 18 in Birmingham, Alabama, in the SEC's lawsuit

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Business

Louisiana approves the air permit for Hyundai-POSCO's $5.8 billion Ascension Parish steel mill

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality () has approved the final air permit for Hyundai-POSCO's mill near Donaldsonville, WBRZ reports. The Advocate says the 96-page approval was issued Friday, and Hyundai wasn't authorized to build until it came through. Baton Rouge Business Report calls it an expedited permit.

The 1,700-acre mill site anchors the 17,000-acre RiverPlex MegaPark

Area of the mill site, beside places you know

The mill site1,700 acres
RiverPlex MegaPark17,000 acres
A football field1.3 acresend zones included

1,286 football fields would fit inside the mill site

Source: Gonzales Weekly Citizen

View as table
Area
The mill site1,700 acres
RiverPlex MegaPark17,000 acres
A football field1.3 acres (end zones included)

Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade says there's “just no way” DEQ weighed complex comments in six weeks. The Sierra Club says the company improved its plans but needs to do more to cut pollution. Hyundai-POSCO calls the permit “an important step forward for the project and the community.”

DEQ approved the permit six weeks after comments closed and eight after the hearing

Source: The Advocate

View as table
Value
After the public hearing8 weeks
After the comment period closed6 weeks
  • Permit expires Oct. 23, 2031, unless renewal is filed earlier
  • Hiring: up to 300 employees by the end of 2027
  • Jobs: more than 1,300 direct; WBRZ cites 5,400 in all
  • Opening: first quarter of 2029, 2.7 million metric tons yearly

Business

South Korea's ambassador visited LSU and called Louisiana a “key diplomatic state.”

South Korean Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha joined a panel on investment and innovation at the LSU Student Union on Tuesday, Oct. 27. She said Louisiana is quickly becoming a “key diplomatic state,” NOLA.com reports. She said her two visits in less than two months show how much the state matters to the relationship.

$95.2 billionSouth Korean investment in the U.S. in 2025

That's more than double from the previous decade, per the Congressional Research Service, The Reveille reports.

Source: The Reveille

WBRZ reports the stop wrapped up a two-day tour that began Monday at Tulane University in New Orleans. State economic officials project more than 1,300 direct jobs and roughly 4,100 indirect jobs from the Hyundai-POSCO mill.

State officials project more than 1,300 direct jobs and roughly 4,100 indirect jobs

Source: WBRZ

View as table
AmountShare
Direct jobs (more than)1,30024.1%
Indirect jobs (roughly)4,10075.9%
  • Average pay: $95,000 a year for direct jobs
  • Mill's planned launch: 2029
  • Panel co-hosted with the Korea Economic Institute of America

Courts

LaMont Cole's lawyers filed two motions Wednesday to toss the new indictment against him

Lawyers for East Baton Rouge Parish schools Superintendent LaMont Cole filed two motions Wednesday to toss the new indictment in the attorney general's bribery case. The Advocate reports the new version, issued Oct. 14 according to WBRZ, cut his charges from five to three. A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said the change was to “clarify the indictment for the jury.”

The new indictment cut Cole's five counts to three

2Conspiracy to commit public bribery1
2Money laundering1
1Malfeasance in office1

Sources: WBRZ, The Advocate

One motion says only Assistant Attorney General John Luke Walker signed it, not District Attorney Hillar Moore, who has said in the past that the signature wasn't legally necessary. The other says the new indictment “does not carry forward any of the allegations from the original indictment.”

Cole's lawyers filed two motions against the new indictment

MotionThe argument
First motionMoore's signature is missing
Second motionOriginal allegations were not carried forward

Sources: WBRZ, WAFB

  • Defense lawyers: Lewis Unglesby, Steve Irving and Joel Porter
  • Co-defendants: Terral Jackson and Erica Jackson
  • Not mentioned now: the alleged $40,000 in cash and gifts
  • Contract payments listed: $22,500 to $75,000

Crime

Bond is set at $150,000 for the man accused of rape at LSU's Spruce Hall

A commissioner set bond Wednesday for Ronald White, 21, who's accused of raping a woman in a study room at LSU's Spruce Hall, Unfiltered with Kiran reports. The Advocate says he's a non-student, arrested Friday night, Oct. 23. WBRZ reports the report came in around 11:15 p.m.

$150,000bond set for Ronald White

A commissioner set it Wednesday, Unfiltered with Kiran reports.

Source: Unfiltered with Kiran

Residents told WAFB they weren't notified. LSU Police Sgt. Marlon Hawkins said no alert went out because White was caught within 10 minutes: “There was no threat to campus safety at that time.” White told investigators the encounter was consensual and denied having a gun. Police recovered a pistol the next morning.

  • Charges: first-degree rape, resisting an officer, firearm on school property, drug possession
  • Arrested: found hiding under a vehicle near Iowa and West Chimes streets

White's bond came five days after the Spruce Hall report

  1. Oct. 12, 2024White allegedly threatened to kill a Wendy's employee with a firearm on LSU's campus.
  2. Oct. 23LSU Police get a report of a sexual assault at Spruce Hall around 11:15 p.m.
  3. Oct. 23Officers find White hiding under a vehicle near Iowa and West Chimes streets.
  4. Oct. 24LSU Police recover a pistol along the path White ran.
  5. Oct. 28A commissioner sets White's bond at $150,000.

Sources: WAFB, Unfiltered with Kiran, The Advocate, WBRZ

Crime

Bond is set for the driver in the I-10 crash before Christina Munn-Holliday disappeared

Sandrea Davis, 21, the alleged driver in the Sept. 30 crash on I-10 in Iberville Parish, had bond set at $10,000, WBRZ reports, citing court documents. She faces charges of reckless operation with accident and simple escape, Louisiana First News reports. Munn-Holliday, 22, was last seen walking east on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge after the crash.

Davis allegedly escaped handcuffs two days after detectives interviewed her

  1. Sept. 30Munn-Holliday, 22, is last seen after a two-car crash on I-10.
  2. Oct. 20Detectives interview Davis and a passenger; Davis allegedly admits speeding.
  3. Oct. 22Davis escapes handcuffs at LSP Troop A and is caught at the front desk.

Sources: KLFY, Louisiana First News, WBRZ

Her vehicle's data recorder showed about 105 mph, KLFY reports. State Police said they “cannot confirm or discuss specific evidence or investigative findings at this time.” WBRZ says jail records show Davis is also held on felony probation.

  • Speed: about 105 mph, per her vehicle's data recorder
  • Reward: $20,000 for information leading to her safe return
  • Search: LSP, United Cajun Navy and family near Atchafalaya Basin Bridge

The crash and search by the numbers

105 mph
Davis's speed at the crash, per her vehicle's data recorder
$10,000
Davis's bond, per court documents
$20,000
cash reward for Munn-Holliday's safe return
milepost 128
on I-10 east in Iberville Parish, where the crash happened

Sources: KLFY, Louisiana First News, WBRZ

Crime

A Donaldsonville man was arrested after a hit-and-run near the Sunshine Bridge that killed 3 horses

Carlo Phillips, 43, of Donaldsonville was arrested Wednesday morning after the Saturday, Oct. 24, crash on LA 70 in Ascension Parish, WAFB reports. Unfiltered with Kiran reports he turned himself in to State Police troopers and was booked.

Three of the four horses in the trailer died

3 of 4

  • died
  • 1 was injured

Sources: Louisiana First News, KLFY

View as table
CountShare
died375%
was injured125%

“These horses weren't just animals to us. They were our babies.”

Situated Riderz, the horseback riding group that owned them

The group says a vehicle struck its trailer from behind, and it started a GoFundMe to help cover costs for the horses' deaths, fix or replace the damaged trailer and vehicle, and buy new equipment and supplies. KLFY reports State Police say the crash remains under investigation.

  • Charges: hit and run, careless operation, driving under suspension
  • Crash: three vehicles, Sat., Oct. 24, near the Sunshine Bridge

Phillips was arrested four days after the crash

  1. Oct. 24A three-vehicle crash on LA 70 near the Sunshine Bridge kills two horses at the scene.
  2. Oct. 25A third horse dies the following day from internal bleeding.
  3. Oct. 28Carlo Phillips is arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Sources: Unfiltered with Kiran, Louisiana First News, KLFY, WAFB

News Notes

Siegen Lane

Northbound Siegen Lane, south of Perkins Road, closed Wednesday, Oct. 28, for emergency sewer repairs, and no reopening date is set. Questions go to the Department of Environmental Services at 225-389-5456. brproud.comWBRZ

Apartment fire

About 15 people were displaced by a kitchen fire at 1201 N. Foster Drive on Tuesday afternoon, and no injuries were reported. Fire officials ruled it accidental. Louisiana First NewsThe Advocate

Forbes list

Two Baton Rouge companies made Forbes' 2027 list of America's Dream Employers: FMOL Health at No. 19 and Lamar Advertising at No. 108. WBRZBaton Rouge Business Report

Downtown

Baton Rouge Police are investigating after a woman's body was found in bushes along North Third St. near the Claiborne building around 7 a.m. Wednesday. Her name hasn't been released. Unfiltered with Kiran

Blount Road

Braylen Square, 3, remains in the ICU 10 days after a vehicle hit him and his father, Brandon Dewaunn Square, 44, on Blount Rd. around midnight Oct. 18. His father died at the scene. Unfiltered with Kiran

Job

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FMOL Health ranks No. 19 on Forbes' dream employers list

Forbes' 2027 list of America's Dream Employers

19thof 500

FMOL Health
Lamar Advertising 108th
Lamar Advertising 108th
1 Top of listNo. 500 500

Sources: WBRZ, Baton Rouge Business Report

View as table
PlaceRank of 500
FMOL Health19th
Lamar Advertising108th

Quoted

I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.

— Louisa May Alcott

The Buy

Around Louisiana

Entergy help

If you're an eligible Entergy Louisiana residential customer, applications opened Wednesday at 9 a.m. for the $2 million utility bill assistance program. United Way Southwest Louisiana is taking them at unitedwayswla.org/entergy-bill for the parishes served by it, the United Way of Central Louisiana and the United Way for South Louisiana. American Press

Credit upgrade

Fitch Ratings upgraded Louisiana's general obligation bond rating from AA-minus to AA, which could let the state borrow at lower interest rates. The state Treasury hasn't estimated any savings. Baton Rouge Business Report

Orphan wells

A new report identifies more than 6,300 abandoned oil and gas wells statewide, up from 4,900 in March 2025, and eight environmental groups are urging Gov. Jeff Landry to act. The state plugs about 125 wells a year. Baton Rouge Business Report

Execution suit

Attorney General Liz Murrill asked a federal judge in the Middle District of Louisiana to dismiss Todd Wessinger's lawsuit over the state's execution method. State attorneys say the state agreed to let him choose lethal injection over nitrogen hypoxia if a warrant is issued. Louisiana First News

Louisiana's orphan well count grew from 4,900 to more than 6,300

Source: Baton Rouge Business Report

View as table
Value
March 20254,900
Now (more than)6,300

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Today’s puzzles

A new puzzle in each one every morning, played right here.

All 13 games

Things to Do

Things to Do

Baton Rouge, LA

Thursday, Oct. 29

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Around the Block

Around the Block

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Neighbors

Louisiana is making national and international news for record number of people voting early.

“After an apathetic turnout for the governor’s election, it's incredible to witness people being engaged TODAY is the final day to vote early. Please, if you haven't voted yet, consider voting today ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️Geaux Vote Louisiana! ! ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️”

— A neighbor, Broadmoor

104 likes · 43 comments

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The Wrap

Sip for a good cause. Cap City Beer Fest is back from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, on Fourth Street between North Street and Spanish Town Road downtown. Breweries and homebrewers pour samples, and there's food and live entertainment. Proceeds help Companion Animal Alliance. Tickets are on sale online: $50 general admission, $100 VIP, and $15 for designated drivers. Taking turns behind the wheel? Grab the $15 one.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Lamont Cole's indictment shrinks to 3 counts; Entergy $100 credit opens today

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Every source in this edition43 links · 19 outlets
  1. The Weather Channelweather.com
  2. Louisiana First Newslouisianafirstnews.com
  3. WBRZwbrz.com
  4. WAFBwafb.com
  5. WDSUwdsu.com
  6. Newsdaynewsday.com
  7. nola.comnola.com
  8. Crescent City Sportscrescentcitysports.com
  9. Louisiana Sportslouisianasports.net
  10. Gonzales Weekly Citizenweeklycitizen.com
  11. WBRZwbrz.com
  12. The Advocatetheadvocate.com
  13. Baton Rouge Business Reportbusinessreport.com
  14. NOLA.comnola.com
  15. The Reveillelsureveille.com
  16. WBRZwbrz.com
  17. WBRZwbrz.com
  18. WAFBwafb.com
  19. The Advocatetheadvocate.com
  20. Unfiltered with Kiranunfilteredwithkiran.com
  21. The Advocatetheadvocate.com
  22. WBRZwbrz.com
  23. WAFBwafb.com
  24. WBRZwbrz.com
  25. Louisiana First Newslouisianafirstnews.com
  26. KLFYklfy.com
  27. WAFBwafb.com
  28. Unfiltered with Kiranunfilteredwithkiran.com
  29. Louisiana First Newslouisianafirstnews.com
  30. KLFYklfy.com
  31. brproud.comlouisianafirstnews.com
  32. WBRZwbrz.com
  33. Louisiana First Newslouisianafirstnews.com
  34. The Advocatetheadvocate.com
  35. WBRZwbrz.com
  36. Baton Rouge Business Reportbusinessreport.com
  37. Unfiltered with Kiranunfilteredwithkiran.com
  38. Unfiltered with Kiranunfilteredwithkiran.com
  39. American Pressamericanpress.com
  40. Baton Rouge Business Reportbusinessreport.com
  41. Baton Rouge Business Reportbusinessreport.com
  42. Louisiana First Newslouisianafirstnews.com
  43. Baton Rouge events calendardailybatonrouge.com

Past issues

  1. Mon., Nov. 2LSU hosts Alabama Saturday; storms could reach Baton Rouge Election Night
  2. Sun., Nov. 1Xavier Young picks LSU, and storms are forecast for Election Day
  3. Sat., Oct. 31Baton Rouge lands a federal crime grant, and a new poll shows a Senate tie
  4. Fri., Oct. 30Louisiana says it has lethal injection drug ready for Wessinger
  5. Wed., Oct. 28Lamont Cole's indictment shrinks to 3 counts; Entergy $100 credit opens today
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Daily Baton Rougeto me · Thurs., Oct. 296:00 a.m.

Early voting tops 520,000 and a judge clears a path for RJ Luis Jr. at LSU

Plus, Louisiana approves the air permit for Hyundai-POSCO's $5.8 billion Ascension Parish steel mill.

The TLDR

  1. More than 520,000 Louisianans voted early; Election Day is Tue., Nov. 3
  2. A judge signed an injunction that could clear RJ Luis Jr. to play for LSU
  3. Louisiana approves the air permit for the $5.8 billion Hyundai-POSCO steel mill
Read this edition

More stories this week

From Daily Baton Rouge’s other editions

All the news
LSU FootballLSU hosts Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 7, to start a four-game NovemberIf you're planning your weekend around LSU, the Tigers come off the bye week at 6-2 after a 38-17 win at Auburn. They're still No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll released Sunday, holding that spot ahead of Week 10 and going into the Alabama matchup. They're also 4.5-point favorites over Alabama, according to BetOnline Sports & Casino. Both teams have two losses, so a third would sting.Today’s editionRead WeatherStorms could arrive late on Election Day, with cooler weather behind the frontIf you're voting Tuesday, we suggest going earlier in the day. WAFB says the latest trend has low pressure moving farther north, leaving a chance of rain and a few isolated severe storms Tuesday night and early Wednesday, mainly north of the I-10/12 corridor.Today’s editionRead LSU BasketballLSU basketball opens Tuesday with five of six players with eligibility questions able to playCoach Will Wade called it a "calculated risk" to build a roster with six players who weren't guaranteed eligibility. It mostly paid off: five of them have nothing preventing them from playing in the season opener against LSU New Orleans on Tuesday, Nov. 3.Today’s editionRead

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