All posts tagged: Louisiana

Federal judge rules that Louisiana shalt not require public schools to post the Ten Commandments

Federal judge rules that Louisiana shalt not require public schools to post the Ten Commandments

Published by skeptic

(The Conversation) — Do the Ten Commandments have a valid place in U.S. classrooms? Louisiana’s Legislature and governor insist the answer is “yes.” But on Nov. 12, 2024, a federal judge said “no.” U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles blocked the state’s controversial House Bill 71, which Gov. Jeff Landry had signed into law on June 19, 2024. The measure would have required all schools that receive public funding to post a specific version of the commandments, similar to the King James translation of the Bible used in many, but not all, Protestant churches. It is not the same version used by Catholics or Jews. Officials were also supposed to post a context statement highlighting the role of the Ten Commandments in American history and could display the Pilgrims’ Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, a federal enactment to settle the frontier – and the earliest congressional document encouraging the creation of schools. The law’s defenders argued that its purpose was not only religious, but historical. Judge deGravelles, though, …

Louisiana HBCU becomes second school to cancel UN Ambassador’s address amid Gaza protests

Louisiana HBCU becomes second school to cancel UN Ambassador’s address amid Gaza protests

Published by skeptic

Xavier University of Louisiana, an HBCU in New Orleans, became the second school to cancel the United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s address amid the students’ Gaza protests.  The institution reversed course on its choice of a commencement speaker after pressure from students and the community over Thomas-Greenfield’s voting record at the UN.  University President Reynold Verret announced the news in a Wednesday email.  “Everyone’s goal is to have a commencement ceremony that appropriately honors the graduates and their achievements,” Verret wrote in the email, according to WGNO. “The vast majority of students want to be able to enjoy a commencement ceremony free of disruptions. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with the commencement speaker as originally planned.” The school initially revealed that Thomas-Greenfield would be the commencement speaker last Sunday. Following the Sunday news of the speaker lineup, nearly 1,800 people signed a petition demanding a new commencement speaker. “Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has repeatedly voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, resulting in the decimation of all 13 universities in Gaza, the loss of over 30,000 …

A Teen Said a Deputy Threatened Him as He Filmed His Mom’s Arrest. A Jury Awarded Him 5,000.

A Teen Said a Deputy Threatened Him as He Filmed His Mom’s Arrest. A Jury Awarded Him $185,000.

Published by skeptic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A teenager who video-recorded his mother’s forceful arrest by Louisiana sheriff’s deputies in 2020 has been awarded $185,000 by a federal jury in a lawsuit filed over one deputy’s attempt to interfere with the recording. De’Shaun Johnson was 14 when deputies arrived at his family’s home in St. Tammany Parish to question his mother, Teliah Perkins, about allegations she had ridden a motorcycle without a helmet — a charge her attorneys said was baseless and that was never prosecuted. The confrontation turned physical, and video showed the woman being forced to the ground. A lawsuit against the deputies was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Reid Collins & Tsai as part of the ACLU’s Justice Lab project, aimed at addressing allegations of police abuses. A federal appeals court largely sided with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office on many of the allegations, squelching much of the lawsuit over the deputies’ use of force. But it allowed the litigation to continue over allegations that one deputy …

It’s Cinco De Mayo Time, and Festivities Are Planned Across the US. but in Mexico, Not So Much

It’s Cinco De Mayo Time, and Festivities Are Planned Across the US. but in Mexico, Not So Much

Published by skeptic

The United States is gearing up for Cinco de Mayo. Music, all-day happy hours and deals on tacos are planned at venues across the country on Sunday — May 5 — in a celebration with widely misunderstood origins that is barely recognized south of the border. In the U.S., the date is largely seen as a celebration of Mexican American culture stretching back to the 1800s in California. Typical festivities include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile folklórico, or folkloric dance, with whirling dancers wearing shiny ribbons with braids and bright, ruffled dresses. For Americans with or without Mexican ancestry, the day has become an excuse to toss back tequila shots with salt and lime, and gorge on tortilla chips smothered with melted orange cheddar that’s unfamiliar to most people in Mexico. The focus on drinking and eating has brought some criticism of the holiday, especially as beer manufacturers and other marketers have capitalized on its festive nature and some revelers embrace offensive stereotypes, such as fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic straw …

New Orleans’ Own PJ Morton Returns Home to Jazz Fest With New Music

New Orleans’ Own PJ Morton Returns Home to Jazz Fest With New Music

Published by skeptic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer PJ Morton comes home with a new album and memoir dropping soon amid a Saturday afternoon performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which nears the end of an eight-day run. Morton, a preacher’s kid whose parents — the Revs. Paul and Debra Morton — are well-known in the city, said he looks forward every year to taking the stage at the Fair Grounds. “Jazz Fest always feels like home,” Morton said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It feels like a family reunion. We want the food, just like everyone else does. You get to see all your friends, see everybody. There’s nothing better than that.” Morton said he does not take for granted the love he feels in his hometown or in performances done around the world. “I’m amazed at the crowds and the rooms we get to play,” he said. “The joy started in small clubs where we were playing to 20 to 50 people. Now it’s thousands. I …

Louisiana governor fires back after Mick Jagger says he’s taking the state ‘back to the Stone Age’

Louisiana governor fires back after Mick Jagger says he’s taking the state ‘back to the Stone Age’

Published by Sam

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger took aim at Louisiana’s new governor during the band’s headline performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday 2 May. Jeff Landry, a hard-line Republican and former attorney general, secured control of the southern state in October last year. “We’re a welcoming crowd aren’t we?” Jagger asked, according to local news reports. “I hope Mr Landry is enjoying the show. He’s real inclusive you know. He’s trying to take us back to the Stone Age.” During his tenure as Louisiana’s top lawyer, Landry supported the state’s abortion ban, advocated for prayer in public schools and challenged governor John Bel Edwards on LGBT+ issues. Earlier this year, Landry signed a bill into law expanding execution methods in the state to include nitrogen gas and electrocution. On Twitter/X, the governor, 53, fired back at Jagger’s on-stage comments, making a joke about …

These Cities Raised Taxes — for Child Care. Parents Say the Free Day Care ‘Changed My Life’

These Cities Raised Taxes — for Child Care. Parents Say the Free Day Care ‘Changed My Life’

Published by skeptic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Last summer, Derrika Richard felt stuck. She didn’t have enough money to afford child care for her three youngest children, ages 1, 2 and 3. Yet the demands of caring for them on a daily basis made it impossible for Richard, a hairstylist, to work. One child care assistance program rejected her because she wasn’t working enough. It felt like an unsolvable quandary: Without care, she couldn’t work. And without work, she couldn’t afford care. But Richard’s life changed in the fall, when, thanks to a new city-funded program for low-income families called City Seats, she enrolled the three children at Clara’s Little Lambs, a child care center in the Westbank neighborhood of New Orleans. For the first time, she’s earning enough to pay her bills and afford online classes. “It actually paved the way for me to go to school,” Richard said one morning this spring, after walking the three children to their classrooms. City Seats, she said, “changed my life.” This series on how the child care crisis affects …

Republican-Led States Sue to Block Biden Protections for Transgender Students

Republican-Led States Sue to Block Biden Protections for Transgender Students

Published by skeptic

(Reuters) -Nine Republican-led states and several conservative groups on Monday filed lawsuits challenging new Biden administration regulations that bar schools and colleges that receive federal funding from discriminating against students based on their gender identity. The states and advocacy groups filed the lawsuits in federal courts in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas challenging new U.S. Department of Education regulations that extend sex discrimination protections in federal civil rights law to LGBTQ students. The department said the regulations issued on April 19 clarified that the prohibition against sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges that receive federal funding contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 also includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The department cited a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that a ban against sex discrimination in the workplace contained in a different law, Title VII, covered gay and transgender workers. Courts often rely on interpretations of Title VII when analyzing Title IX as both laws bar discrimination on the basis of sex. The regulations also change how schools subject …

Gunman shoots 3 police officers, 2 bystanders outside New Orleans

Gunman shoots 3 police officers, 2 bystanders outside New Orleans

Published by skeptic

Five people were shot and injured, including three police officers, at a suburban New Orleans home on Sunday, local police said. Police responded to reports of a shooting in Kenner, La., at about 9:45 a.m., arriving to find two gunshot victims outside a home, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said.  A standoff began between police and the gunman, 31-year-old Matthew Lathers, who already had an outstanding warrant for attempted murder and armed robbery. The home belonged to one of Lathers’ family members, police said. When police obtained a search warrant and a SWAT team approached the home, they “immediately began receiving fire,” police said in a statement. “At least one SWAT member returned fire. Three officers were shot, and it is unknown at this time if Lathers was struck during that initial contact.”  After multiple attempts to negotiate Lathers’ surrender, a sheriff’s department sniper shot and killed Lathers, police said. Two of the officers shot have already been released from the hospital, and the three other victims have been described as in stable condition. Copyright …

The Rolling Stones Set to Play New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024, Opening Thursday

The Rolling Stones Set to Play New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024, Opening Thursday

Published by skeptic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It looks like the third time is the charm as the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival prepares, again, for The Rolling Stones to perform. The festival, which spans two weekends, is set to open Thursday with dozens of acts playing daily on 14 stages spread throughout the historic Fair Grounds race course. The Stones play next Thursday, May 2, tickets for which have long been sold out. In 2019, festival organizers thought they had landed the legendary rock band, but the appearance was canceled because lead singer Mick Jagger had heart surgery. They tried again in 2021, but a surge in COVID-19 cases ultimately forced the fest to cancel. Now, says festival producer Quint Davis, “It’s gonna be special.” This will be the first time the Stones play Jazz Fest. Opening day acts include rock bands Widespread Panic and The Beach Boys, reggae artist Stephen Marley and jazz vocalist John Boutte. Photos You Should See – April 2024 “The talent is great, the weather is projected to be good …