Ballot confusion: Voting for Louisiana’s May 16 elections will proceed, with early voting beginning on Saturday, May 2. And while U.S. House races will remain on voters’ ballots, any votes cast in those races will not be counted, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced this afternoon. The move comes in light of a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that Louisiana’s current U.S. House District maps are an unconstitutional gerrymander and their use in the upcoming congressional elections would violate law. All other measures on the ballot will continue as scheduled. Says Landry, “Our office will post notices at each of the early voting sites to alert the public of this change.”
Revenue boost: Behind Caterpillar’s strong first quarter might be considered an unlikely driver: artificial intelligence. As CNBC reports, the company’s power equipment business benefited directly from the AI infrastructure boom, while higher sales to dealers boosted its construction unit—prompting Caterpillar to raise its annual revenue forecast. Power & Energy revenue rose 22% to $7 billion, with power generation sales up 41%, supported by demand from data center customers. Construction Industries led overall growth with a 38% revenue jump to $7.2 billion. CNBC has the full story.
FDA targets copies: Millions of Americans who rely on cheaper compounded versions of Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro could be impacted by a proposed FDA ban on large-scale compounding of those drugs, CNBC reports. The move would potentially force patients back to more expensive brand-name medications. The agency said it found “no clinical need” for bulk compounding now that manufacturer shortages have been resolved. Novo Nordisk shares jumped nearly 6% and Eli Lilly gained more than 8% on the news. Public comments are accepted through June 29 before any final decision. Reuters has the full story.
