Louisiana senators voted 4-3 early this morning to advance a congressional map that eliminates one of the state's majority-Black districts.

Why it matters: The proposed map pits U.S. Rep. Troy Carter against U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields for their seats, which are currently in two different districts, writes Piper Hutchinson of the Louisiana Illuminator.

The latest: Senate committee members stayed up overnight to hear hours of testimony from residents about the proposals.

• The nearly 10-hour meeting ended around 4:30am, Hutchinson writes.
• The full Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on the bill, sending it to a House committee next week.

The big picture: Louisiana currently has six U.S. House districts. Four are majority-white and two are majority-Black.

• Gov. Jeff Landry says a new map is needed before U.S. House races can move forward. He suspended those elections April 30 after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Callais case.
• Lawmakers are racing to approve the new map before the legislative session ends June 1.

Zoom in: The committee debated two proposals overnight.

• The winning proposal was a map (SB 121) from Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican from West Monroe.
• He says it's based on the state's previous map from 2022 and has a majority-Black district that stretches from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. It redraws the others to be majority-white.

The killed option: The other proposal, which was widely supported by residents at the meeting, was a map (SB 407) from Sen. Ed Price, a Democrat from Gonzales.

• It proposed four majority-white districts and two "opportunity" districts that he says would give Black voters a chance to elect candidates of their choice, Hutchinson says.
• The map did not get enough votes to advance to the full Senate.

Behind the scenes: Sen. Sam Jenkins, a Democrat from Shreveport, said lawmakers agreed not to advance a 6-0 map that would eliminate all majority-Black districts, Hutchinson reported.

👋 Carlie here. Netflix has a new scary movie just in time for hurricane season.

The big picture: In "Thrash," a Category 5 storm slams a North Carolina town, trapping residents in the floodwaters.

• Plot twist: Ravenous sharks are in the water. Yeah, I rolled my eyes, too.
• Upside: Phoebe Dynevor ("Bridgerton"), Djimon Hounsou ("Quiet Place" and "Amistad") and Whitney Peak star.

Zoom in: I saw the trailer and wanted to hate this movie.

• I don't watch scary movies, and I don't need help worrying about hurricane season in New Orleans.

Yes, but: I started watching "Thrash" for journalism and it wasn't what I expected.

• The movie opens with a warning that storm surge is the deadliest part of a storm, something the National Hurricane Center warns about every year.
• Then comes the mandatory evacuation order for a fast-moving storm. Some people leave. Others stay because they don't have a car, they have to work or they think the storm won't be that bad.
• All painfully believable reasons.

What happens: The flood walls break, trapping people in homes and cars as the water rises.

• Honestly, that was already terrifying enough for this coastal resident.
• I didn't need the sharks to up the ante. Maybe those are for folks who haven't been through a storm.
• I wound up turning the movie off halfway through because it stressed me out.

Zoom out: "Thrash" was Netflix's No. 1 movie in the U.S. when it debuted last month and spent three weeks in the Top 10.

• "The Requin," another shark movie with Alicia Silverstone, has popped back up into the Top 10, too.

What's next: The National Hurricane Center begins issuing its daily outlooks Friday for the 2026 Atlantic season.

Share this

📖 Michelle Obama will headline Essence Fest this summer. She'll talk about her book, "The Look," at the Caesars Superdome. (Essence)

• See the music headliners. Single-night tickets go on sale today.

⚖️ Chelsey Richard Napoleon is suing Mayor Helena Moreno and Council President JP Morrell in hopes of blocking the appointment of an interim clerk of court. (WWL)

• She and state AG Liz Murrill argue the position belongs to Napoleon after lawmakers consolidated the civil and criminal clerk offices.
• Calvin Duncan, who lost his seat in the consolidation, filed a civil rights lawsuit to overturn the law. (Verite)

📹 A Missouri man is accused of making IED instructional videos, which were used by Shamsud-Din Jabbar in his Bourbon Street attack. (Press release)

🎷 The proposed music museum is inching forward. Organizers finalized a lease in the River District, but they still need to secure nearly $172 million in funding. (The Times-Picayune 🔒)

🔎 Former Mayor LaToya Cantrell needed an NOPD bodyguard for "physical and emotional protection" during her term, new court filings say, because she "was most vulnerable and justifiably felt that way at all times." (Fox 8)

🏟️ Morris F.X. Jeff Stadium, the home field for Edna Karr and L.B. Landry high schools, is getting upgraded. Turf from Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans will be used, along with $600,000 in private and city funding. (Press release)

🇮🇹 The ancient Roman grave marker found in an Uptown yard has been repatriated to Italy, the FBI says. (Press release)

• The backstory on how it got here.