Govt + Politics
Criminal justice reforms didn’t cause Louisiana’s crime spike, study says
Louisiana’s recent criminal justice reforms, which significantly reduced prison populations, are not the cause of the recent spike in violent crime, according to a new report from the Pelican Institute. The Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a right-leaning organization, released a report Wednesday that analyzes crime numbers and incarceration rates in an effort to inform […]
Chronically understaffed Texas prisons set stage for escape, family massacre
Seven months after Texas saw one of the nation’s deadliest prison escapes, investigations into what went wrong have come back to one factor: The state’s lockups are dangerously short-staffed. On May 12, convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez was on a prison transport bus in central Texas when he managed to escape his handcuffs, cut into the […]
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and has registered as an independent. The first-term senator wrote in an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic that she does not intend to change the way she legislates or casts votes, but plans to be “an independent voice […]
Marriage equality bill heads to Biden’s desk following bipartisan U.S. House vote
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that would ensure same-sex and interracial couples continue holding many of the rights they have now, should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the cases that established those constitutional protections. The measure now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who plans to […]
Louisiana medical board’s marijuana stance prompts threats from senators
A Louisiana Senate panel on Wednesday accused the state medical board of exploiting nuances in state law to obstruct patient access to medical marijuana as part of an agenda that dismisses the drug’s value to medicine. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee called on the attorney for the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) to testify […]
Attempt to help states ease banking for marijuana businesses stumbles in Congress
The annual Defense Department policy bill members of Congress released late Tuesday did not include measures to loosen federal marijuana restrictions, to the disappointment of advocates. That leaves few avenues to pass marijuana measures seen as boons to states where the drug is legal before Congress adjourns for the year. As one of the last […]
Future of U.S. election law at stake as Supreme Court hears North Carolina case
WASHINGTON — North Carolina Republicans appeared to have at least three of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on their side Wednesday in a case that could determine the future of elections nationwide, and leave decisions about federal elections in the hands of state legislatures and beyond the reach of state courts. The Supreme Court […]
Congress on track to scrap Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in defense bill
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. military would no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine under a proposal Congress could pass as soon as this week. The provision eliminating the vaccine mandate is tucked into the massive National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that Congress has passed each year for […]
Supreme Court admissions case could upend environmental justice laws
In recent years, more states have crafted environmental justice policies to help communities of color plagued by polluted air and water, poor health outcomes and limited access to green space. But now they fear that work could be upended by a pair of pending U.S. Supreme Court cases examining affirmative action admissions policies at universities. If the court […]
Lawmakers need more info before choosing Capitol police chief
A panel of Louisiana lawmakers interviewed three finalists Tuesday for the new Capitol police chief, but they are not ready to make a choice yet. The Capitol Security Council, which consists of House and Senate members, met almost exclusively in executive session to conduct the interviews. Senate President Page Cortez said afterward lawmakers need more […]
Raphael Warnock wins U.S. Senate runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat majority
ATLANTA – Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will return to Washington to represent Georgia for the next six years after winning his Senate runoff Tuesday, handing Senate Democrats a coveted 51st seat. The Associated Press called the race at 10:26 p.m. Tuesday. By early Wednesday morning, Warnock had 51.3% of the vote, edging out Republican […]
Trump’s nonsense wins yet another news cycle
Former President Donald Trump has a true knack for keeping himself very relevant in the political news realm, despite mounting data and dialogue that indicate his chance of getting back to the White House is shrinking. Trump’s latest instance of headline-grabbing folderol involves his weekend statement on Truth Social calling for “the termination of all […]