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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
T u e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 24, 2026
Three AI data centers set for northwest La. Officials announce $12B development plan to build facilities in the region, creating 540 permanent jobs
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EPA rollback of climate rule could raise risks in state Repeal of scientific finding affects legal basis for federal regulation
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
officials also have announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Richland and West Feliciana parishes. The two data centers announced Monday are part of a
The Trump administration has rolled back a scientific finding that serves as the backbone for federal climate change policy, a move that could leave Louisiana’s industrial players in a state of regulatory uncertainty while exposing the state to more extreme weather, rising seas and hotter temperatures. The Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 12 rolled back the “endangerment finding,” which allowed planet-heating greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide to be regulated like other pollutants under the Clean Air “This is Act. That finding has served as the foundation of federal the single regulations aimed at limiting largest act of the long-term impacts of clideregulation mate change. in U.S. history In practical terms, stanand will make dards for tailpipe emissions and other climate rules buying a car aimed at power plants and more affordable major industrial sources for Louisiana could be stalled, rewritten families.” or struck down in court. That could leave companies LIZ MURRILL, and regulators operating in Louisiana attorney a gray area for months or general years as lawsuits play out. “This radical rule became the legal foundation for the Green New Scam, one of the greatest scams in history,” said President Donald Trump at a news conference announcing the move. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill praised it as a step toward eliminating a slate of climate change policies, often referred to as the “Green New Deal,” that some Democratic lawmakers have championed. “This is the single largest act of deregulation in U.S. history and will make buying a car more affordable for Louisiana families,” Murrill said. The Trump administration estimated that the change will save $1.3 trillion in costs over three decades, mostly by reducing the price of new cars, though environmental groups like the Sierra
ä See CENTERS, page 7A
ä See CLIMATE, page 5A
STAFF PHOTOS By JILL PICKETT
Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at an event Monday to announce that Amazon plans to build data centers in Caddo and Bossier parishes. He is joined by Roger Wehner, left, vice president of economic development for Amazon, and Matt Vanderzanden, CEO of STACK Infrastructure. BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry announced what he called “the largest investment in the history of northwest Louisiana” on Monday, two Amazon Web Services AI data centers to be built in Shreveport and Bossier Parish. Economic development officials say the third, in rural Caddo Parish near Blanchard, is “coming.” The governor was joined by Amazon and STACK Infrastructure at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium to unveil the $12 billion development plans. Construction on the centers is beginning “imminently,” said Roger Wehner, Amazon’s vice president of economic development. “When you just look at the seriousness of it, the size of it, the scale of it and just the cumulative nature of it, it’s really remarkable,” said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois. “You layer that on to other things that we’ve been talking about. I would argue that north Louisiana hasn’t seen this
Abraham leaving CDC Ex-La. surgeon general cites ‘family obligations’ BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and MARK BALLARD Staff writers
Ralph Abraham, the former Louisiana surgeon general and congressman, is stepping down from his role as second-incommand at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “address unforeseen family obligations,” the agency said in a statement. Abraham “Dr. Abraham led with clarity and discipline, advancing the CDC’s mission to protect the
ä See ABRAHAM, page 7A
WEATHER HIGH 65 LOW 52 PAGE 6B
Audience members applaud during Monday’s announcement at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. kind of momentum.” Monday’s announcement was the latest sign of how Louisiana is capitalizing on the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence data centers and the economic promise they hold. Over the past couple of years, Landry and other top state and local
Mexico security forces keep up fight with cartel BY MEGAN JANETSKY and MARÍA VERZA Associated Press
TAPALPA, Mexico — A day after the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, the picturesque town where it happened was a study in contrasts. Tourist shops in Tapalpa were open Monday, and workers were on the job. But gunshots also rang out, and in the street was a dead man lying beside a bullet-pocked vehicle. Meanwhile, heavily armed Mexican security forces kept up their battle with cartel gunmen followASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARCO UGARTE ing the killing that sparked a surge A charred truck blocks a road in Guadalajara, Mexico, on in violence and put the country on edge. Cartel fighters continued to Monday, the day after the Mexican army killed Jalisco New block roads as smoke rose on the Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, outskirts of the town in the state known as ‘El Mencho.’ of Jalisco.
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
ä Baton Rouge family trapped in Mexico amid unrest. PAGE 1B More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and the aftermath, authorities said Monday. Known as “El Mencho,” he was the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico. The body count taken by security officials included security forces, suspected cartel members and others. Officials did not offer details, and the circumstances of most of the deaths were unclear. Oseguera Cervantes was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico,
ä See MEXICO, page 5A
101ST yEAR, NO. 239