Around the Pelican State – June 05, 2025
A roundup of Louisiana news stories and topics curated from the community.
Disclaimer: The opinions and commentary of the content do not represent the views of How To Louisiana. All content is the product of the author(s) and all their rights are reserved to them alone.
The Spectacle Podcast: Biden’s Immigration Failures and The Boulder Attack
Source: thehayride.com |
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The Boulder attack in Colorado that injured eight people was the result of the Biden administration’s poor handling of the immigration crisis. Join Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on this episode of The Spectacle Podcast as they discuss the current issues facing the immigration crisis, such as Chinese spies, lack of affordable housing, and false deportation claims. […]
The post The Spectacle Podcast: Biden’s Immigration Failures and The Boulder Attack appeared first on The Hayride.
We Apparently Have Our Most Lied-About Bill Of The Louisiana Legislative Session
Source: thehayride.com |
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Every year when the Louisiana legislature convenes at the state capitol for a lawmaking session, a strange phenomenon occurs. The state’s Democrat media will find a bill somebody brings – usually it’s a bill a Republican legislator will author as a means of clarifying some bureaucratic mess or other – and interpret that bill as […]
The post We Apparently Have Our Most Lied-About Bill Of The Louisiana Legislative Session appeared first on The Hayride.
SADOW: Start Wringing Liberal Populism Out of LA Budget
Source: thehayride.com |
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Liberal populists largely may have been evicted from power in Louisiana, but their ethos lives on, according to budgetary politics in the Senate to date for next year’s state spending plan. More often than not, after the general appropriations bill HB 1 makes it way from the House of Representatives, where constitutionally it must start, […]
The post SADOW: Start Wringing Liberal Populism Out of LA Budget appeared first on The Hayride.
Report criticizes proposed industrial expansion in Ascension Parish
Source: louisianaweekly.com |
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By Fritz Esker Contributing Writer On Tuesday, May 27, local nonprofits Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade released the report Ammonia Parish, the first
Devil’s Bargain: How the slave trade built and sustained New Orleans
Source: louisianaweekly.com |
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By Ben Estes Contributing Writer (Veritenews.org) — Stretching three miles from the Mississippi River to New Orleans’ City Park, Esplanade Avenue is today a leafy
Landry signs bills to lower auto insurance rates
Source: louisianaweekly.com |
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By Anna Puleo Contributing Writer (LSU Manship School News Service) — Gov. Jeff Landry signed a sweeping package of auto insurance reform bills Wednesday, promising
Lafayette City Council signs Pride proclamation
Source: thecurrentla.com |
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Lafayette Consolidated Government issues dozens of proclamations each year. But observing Pride month has been a point of controversy.
Contentious road swap sparks discussion over unequal treatment at council meeting
Source: thecurrentla.com |
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A contentious swap of road ownership between Lafayette and the state finally passed, but sparked a discussion over whether other streets should receive similar treatment.
Can school vendors sponsor events at his bar? LPSB’s Hidalgo wants to know
Source: thecurrentla.com |
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Companies and firms awarded major contracts are sponsoring events at the school board member’s bar in Broussard. Now he’s asking whether that’s permissible under the state ethics code.
As feds resume student loan collections, states try to catch borrowers before they sink
Source: lailluminator.com |
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Over the past few months, Celina Damian’s phone has been ringing off the hook with one bewildered, anxious question after another: “What kind of loan is this?” “Am I in default?” “Will the government really take my wages?” “Sometimes they just don’t know where to start,” said Damian, California’s student loan servicing ombudsperson. “I’m talking […]
Trump opens investigation into Biden autopen use
Source: lailluminator.com |
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump late Wednesday ordered the White House legal counsel and U.S. attorney general to investigate when Biden administration staff used an autopen to sign the former president’s name on official documents, alleging that Biden might not have known or approved of their actions. The inquiry represents an escalation in Trump’s animosity […]
Trump issues travel ban on 12 countries
Source: lailluminator.com |
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued a long-awaited “travel ban” late Wednesday to bar entry of nationals from a dozen countries and partially restrict entry for nationals from a smaller set of countries. Countries that will have a full ban are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan […]
Coast Guard searches for missing man around Westwego
Source: wgno.com |
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The United States Coast Guard is currently searching for a man in the Westwego area after he reportedly fell off of a crane barge.
Multiple CBD apartment residents evacuated following two-alarm fire
Source: wgno.com |
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Crews with the New Orleans Fire Department were on the scene of an early morning fire in the Central Business District.
New Orleans mayor heading to France
Source: wgno.com |
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other representatives will travel to Nice, France for the United Nations Ocean Rise and Coastal Summit.
LSU pitcher Kade Anderson named May’s Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month
Source: wbrz.com |
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BATON ROUGE — LSU pitcher Kade Anderson was named May’s Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month.
Anderson beat out several other athletes from Baton Rouge, New Orleans and south Louisiana for the award. Anderson graduated from St. Paul’s School in Covington and is now a sophomore at LSU.
In his May starts, he helped lead the Tigers to a record of 4-1. After his dominant may with a 2.30 ERA with 54 strikeouts, LSU baseball secured the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
This season, the southpaw has a 9-1 record for his starts with a 3.28 ERA and 156 strikeouts. As of June 1, he was ranked No. 1 in the nation for strikeouts.
“And Kade, as Kade has been all year, was the best pitcher on the planet tonight. And executed at a high level,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said after a victory over Dallas Baptist in a Baton Rouge-hosted Regional.
LSU then went on to beat the Little Rock Trojans 10-6 in Game 7 of the Regional. The team is now set to host a Super Regional against West Virginia starting Saturday. The first game of the series is at 1 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
Trump announces travel ban and restrictions on 19 countries set to go into effect Monday
Source: wbrz.com |
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions.
The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., a cushion that may avoid the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice in 2017. Trump, who signaled plans for a new ban upon taking office in January, appears to be on firmer ground this time after the Supreme Court sided with him.
Some, but not all, 12 countries also appeared on the list of banned countries in Trump’s first term. The new ban includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
There will be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
In a video released on social media, Trump tied the new ban to Sunday’s terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. The Department of Homeland Security says he overstayed a tourist visa.
Trump said some countries had “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their own citizens.
His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of visa overstays of tourists, business visitors and students who arrive by air and sea, singling out countries with high percentages of remaining after their visas expired.
“We don’t want them,” Trump said.
The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long war there.
Afghanistan was also one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.
“To include Afghanistan — a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years — is a moral disgrace. It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold,” said Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of #AfghanEvac.
Trump wrote that Afghanistan “lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.” He also cited its visa overstay rates.
Haiti, which avoided the travel ban during Trump’s first term, was also included for high overstay rates and large numbers who came to the U.S. illegally. Haitians continue to flee poverty, hunger and political instability deepens while police and a U.N.-backed mission fight a surge in gang violence, with armed men controlling at least 85% of its capital, Port-au-Prince.
“Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States,” Trump wrote.
The Iranian government government offered no immediate reaction to being included. The Trump administration called it a “state sponsor of terrorism,” barring visitors except for those already holding visas or coming into the U.S. on special visas America issues for minorities facing persecution.
Other Mideast nations on the list — Libya, Sudan and Yemen — all face ongoing civil strife and territory overseen by opposing factions. Sudan has an active war, while Yemen’s war is largely stalemated and Libyan forces remain armed.
International aid groups and refugee resettlement organizations roundly condemned the new ban. “This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
The travel ban results from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the departments of State and Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the U.S. and whether entry from certain countries represented a national security risk.
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the U.S. or detained at U.S. airports after they landed. They included students and faculty as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family.
The order, often referred to as the “Muslim ban” or the “travel ban,” was retooled amid legal challenges, until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
The ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.
Trump and others have defended the initial ban on national security grounds, arguing it was aimed at protecting the country and not founded on anti-Muslim bias. However, the president had called for an explicit ban on Muslims during his first campaign for the White House.
EBR Transportation Director Fred Raiford shares updates on May Street closure, other city projects
Source: wbrz.com |
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BATON ROUGE — Maintenance on Highland Road from South Boulevard to LSU is one of several projects the city-parish transportation department is working on over the next several months, Director Fred Raiford said in a 2une In interview Thursday morning.
“It needs to be done. We have lighting we’re looking at also enhancing,” Raiford told traffic reporter Lauren Hawkins, noting that this will at least start by the end of the year.
Raiford added work will also be done on Hollywood and Amarillo streets, in addition to the ongoing pothole-filling project announced Wednesday.
Raiford also shed some light on the changes coming to the area around May Street, which closed Wednesday until late next year as work continues on the University Lakes Projects. He said the new bridge being built for the road will provide “great drainage work between…University Lake and also City Park.”
There will also be 14-foot multi-use paths on each side of the road to tie Dalrymple to East Lakeshore drives.
“To me, that’s a big deal because we do get a lot of concerns about the safety in that area and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Raiford said, adding that he wants to improve more than just infrastructure with the May Street work.
Lighting will also be improved to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians, Raiford said.
“People are gonna be amazed,” he said. “I look at some of the renderings that we’re gonna have of that, and the Lakes Project is gonna be our biggest asset.”
Raiford also addressed concerns that the roadway closure would cause issues with school transportation. He said he is working with East Baton Rouge School District Superintendent LaMont Cole on the details of working around navigating the closure for buses and other school transport.
Services set for Ceci Neustrom
Source: katc.com |
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Neustrom was the wife of Mike Neustrom, who served Lafayette Parish as sheriff for 16 years. She was also a painter, a mother of six, a grandmother of eight and a friend to many.
Judge threatens to remove Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from courtroom for interacting with jury
Source: katc.com |
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The judge overseeing Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial threatened to have him removed from the courtroom on Thursday if he continued interacting with the jury.
‘Without me, Trump would have lost the election’: Musk and Trump clash over GOP spending bill
Source: katc.com |
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President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are trading barbs after the billionaire criticized the Republican funding bill making its way through Congress.
AMBER alert process improved after Brunett case, Sheriff says
Source: wwltv.com |
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WWL Louisiana obtained a timeline that shows it took nearly 4 hours to issue an AMBER alert when 4-year-old Erin Brunett and her sister were found missing.
Louisiana Supreme Court requires domestic violence, trauma training for judges
Source: wwltv.com |
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The Louisiana Supreme Court mandates judges undertake biannual training on domestic violence and trauma-informed practices.
Sprinklers stop fire in Downtown high-rise apartment, but water damages several floors
Source: wwltv.com |
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A kitchen fire forced 135 residents out of a downtown New Orleans high-rise apartment due to significant water damage.
