When Facebook rumors turn dangerous; how the national bus driver shortage affects local schools

The Advocate's Top Headlines

with Matthew Albright | Assistant metro editor

Good morning! Here are some of our best reads from yesterday:

When the Facebook rumor mill turns dangerous

After a murder or other crime, rumors often spread quickly and widely on Facebook and other social media. Sometimes those rumors include accusations that people were involved in the crime when they weren't, and that can quickly lead to retaliation.

This story looks at several recent incidents in Tangipahoa Parish where police had to intervene because of untrue social media scuttlebutt. In one case, a grandmother's house was sprayed with bullets.

A dearth of school bus drivers

It wasn't that long ago that the Livingston Parish School District had a list of substitute bus drivers that was three pages long. Now it has only a handful of names.

The district isn't alone in facing a school bus driver shortage. In fact, it's a problem all over the country, to the point that one state called in National Guard members to drive buses.

This story looks at what's going on and what districts are doing to deal with the issue.

The delicate balance of insurance

After Hurricane Ida, Louisiana put a freeze on insurance companies revoking or non-renewing insurance policies. That pause is coming to an end.

This story explains how the state insurance commissioner says he's balancing protecting homeowners while also preventing catastrophic losses for companies, which could wreak havoc on the state's insurance market.

Thanks for reading, and have a great afternoon!