En route: The Louisiana House passed a proposal Wednesday to join more than 40 other states in regulating ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, thereby expanding access and standardizing rules. The Associated Press reports House lawmakers voted 79-12 to approve the measure sponsored by Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson. Havard had argued that state regulations would allow the companies to operate in Louisiana’s smaller cities and result in more drunken drivers staying off the road. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, would have the state and local municipalities share 1% of each fare. Ninety-five percent of that fee would go to local municipalities, while the rest would go to the agriculture department to address overhead expenses. Airports would also be able to negotiate extra fees.
End of an era: Roger Ailes, the founder and CEO of Fox News who was ousted from the company last year amid a sexual harassment scandal, has died. Fox News reports Ailes’ widow, Elizabeth Ailes, issued a statement this morning confirming his death. The 77-year-old, Ohio-born television pioneer founded Fox News in 1996, building it into a conservative media empire, and was a confidante for some presidents. Ailes left Fox News under a cloud of controversy last August. The sequence of events that led to his departure began when Gretchen Carlson sued him for sexual harassment after her contract was not renewed. Ailes strongly denied her allegations of sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Read more.
Rattled: Stock markets around the world fell sharply this morning as investors fretted over a raft of developments surrounding President Donald Trump that may put a brake on his economic agenda. The Associated Press reports the FTSE 100 index in Europe was down 1.1%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.6% and the CAC 40 in France was 1% lower. U.S. stocks were poised for modest declines at the open, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.2%. A run of Trump-related developments have rattled investors this week, ending a long period of calm in the markets. This week’s sell-off was triggered by a report saying Trump asked now-fired FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was ousted less than a month after taking his job. Read more.
