Tag Archives: Louisiana

NewsNation reports: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) doubled down Tuesday on blaming progressive politics for the escape of 10 inmates from a New Orleans jail. Half of the escapees remained at large as of Wednesday morning, after a fifth was captured Tuesday evening. Landry, a staunch conservative and ally of President Trump, has repeatedly pointed to billionaire Democratic donor George …

The Washington Post reports: For two years, New Orleans police secretly relied on facial recognition technology to scan city streets in search of suspects, a surveillance method without a known precedent in any major American city that may violate municipal guardrails around use of the technology, an investigation by The Washington Post has found. Police increasingly use facial recognition software …

The Baptist Press reports: Shane Wiggins, pastor of Baldwin Baptist Mission Church, Baldwin, Louisiana, was arrested April 9 on charges of rape and molestation. Wiggins has been with the Baldwin congregation, a mission of Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton, La., since March 2015. According to the police department of Morgan City, La., Wiggins was arrested in Paris, Texas, and faces …

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: A pastor in Slidell was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of probation for taping the mouths of three students shut while serving as headmaster of a Christian school. John Raymond, formerly in charge of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell, was convicted of cruelty to juveniles after authorities said he disciplined the …

The Washington Post reports: A Louisiana law professor’s return to teaching in the aftermath of using profanities to criticize President Donald Trump and his state’s governor is on hold after an appellate court intervened Thursday. Tenured professor Ken Levy was placed on leave by Louisiana State University Jan. 17, three days after he made comments about Trump and Gov. Jeff …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham sent an internal directive to state health workers Thursday ending long-standing mass vaccination efforts and banning staff from promoting seasonal vaccines, while publicly issuing a letter criticizing the state’s COVID response and public health institutions. The letter was posted on the Louisiana Health Department’s website as the U.S. Senate voted …

The Associated Press reports: New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country. Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge issued an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter; …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, penned the letter on behalf of her colleagues and sent it Monday to Phillip Sherman, chairman of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, and Robert Vosbein Jr., chairman of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, which oversees the Superdome. Hodges cited previous Super Bowl halftime performances that she found objectionable. She …

Newsweek reports: Florida’s 24-hour snowfall record has been surpassed as a “historic” winter storm swept along the Gulf Coast. According to The National Centers for Environmental Information, the previous Florida record for the most snow in 24 hours was set in Milton, Santa Rosa County, on March 6, 1954, when four inches was recorded. This record was smashed after more …

Courthouse News reports: Louisiana officials asked the Fifth Circuit Tuesday to overturn a lower court finding that the state’s congressional map illegally dilutes the Black vote and must be redrawn. In 2022, the Louisiana Legislature drew a new congressional map that included only one majority Black district. A group of Black Louisiana voters and civil rights organizations sued, arguing the …

CNN reports: At least 15 people have died in the attack in New Orleans, according to an official statement from New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that unfolded in the French Quarter. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected,” McKenna’s statement read. “As of now, …

The Associated Press reports: The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism and said it does not believe the driver acted alone. An Islamic State group flag was found on the vehicle’s trailer hitch, the FBI said. Guns and pipe bombs were also found in the vehicle, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: The Allstate Sugar Bowl is expected to be played as scheduled Wednesday night in the wake of a suspected terrorist attack in downtown New Orleans earlier in the day, city officials said. The game between Georgia and Notre Dame, which is scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. in the Caesars Superdome, “is still expected …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Dozens of people were evacuated from the St. Roch area Wednesday morning after a fire broke out an Airbnb that investigators believe is connected to a deadly New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street. Law enforcement officials and bomb squad detectives were called to 1329 Mandeville Street after firefighters doused flames that broke out at …

ABC News reports: A man in a white pickup truck, who was “hellbent” on killing as many people as possible, drove around barricades and plowed his vehicle through a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street, leaving at least 10 dead and injuring dozens of others early Wednesday, city and federal officials said. In addition to going at a …

New Orleans’ NBC affiliate reports: A former New Orleans priest who pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping has died at 93, according to his attorney, Bobby Hjortsberg. Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, Dec. 18, after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape, and theft. He died at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center on …

Ars Technica reports: Flu season is ramping up across the US, but Louisiana—the state that has reportedly barred its health department from promoting flu shots, as well as COVID-19 and mpox vaccines—is leading the country with an early and strong surge. Louisiana’s flu activity has reached the “Very High” category set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according …

New Orleans’ NPR affiliate reports: A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events. Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the department and another official that department leadership had a new policy: Advertising or otherwise promoting the COVID, …

Via press release from the CDC: A patient has been hospitalized with a severe case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”) infection in Louisiana. This marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States. The case was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday, December 13. Since …

The Associated Press reports: Louisiana’s plan to make all of the state’s public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments remains blocked under an order Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state request to temporarily stay an earlier order by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in Baton Rouge while …