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Louisiana Illuminator

@lailluminator.com

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Independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on decisions made in Baton Rouge and their impact across the state. Subscribe to our FREE daily e-newsletter: https://lailluminator.com/subscribe/

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Jane Norman @janenorman.bsky.social · 15h

BREAKING, FROM OUR REPORTER AT THE ALEXANDRIA COURTHOUSE: Former FBI Director Comey pleads not guilty to criminal charges demanded by Trump -- @ashleymurray.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/form...

Former FBI Director Comey pleads not guilty to criminal charges demanded by Trump

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in federal court in Virginia, in response to an indictment that followed an extraordinary pressure ...

www.newsfromthestates.com

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Jennifer Shutt @jennifershutt.bsky.social · 16h

Speaker Johnson appears to say furloughed federal workers should get back pay under 2019 law

"It has always been the case. It is tradition and I think it is statutory law that federal employees be paid. And that’s my position."

Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 15h

Louisiana will not hold public flu vaccine events or promote it through advertising for the second year in a row under Gov. Jeff Landry. Though @jsodonoghue.bsky.social reports Surgeon General Ralph Abraham provides flu shots at his NE Louisiana practice.
lailluminator.com/2025/10/08/f...

For the second year in a row, Louisiana won’t promote the flu vaccine • Louisiana Illuminator

It’s a departure from practice for Louisiana’s health agency, which held mass flu vaccine events for several years under previous governors.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 2d

The entire U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal will weigh the legality of Louisiana’s law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all classrooms. @greglarose.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/06/l...

Full 5th Circuit to hear case on Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms • Louisiana Illuminator

The entire U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal will weigh the legality of Louisiana’s law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all classrooms.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 2d

An LSU student arrested last week for protesting at a presidential search committee meeting said police became hostile toward her once they learned she is transgender. @piperhutch.bsky.social reports. lailluminator.com/2025/10/06/l...

LSU student alleges anti-transgender discrimination after her protest arrest • Louisiana Illuminator

An LSU student who was arrested after speaking out of turn at a public meeting alleges police discriminated against her for being transgender

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 2d

Tulane terminated an academic director after the syllabus she’ helped create for an infectious disease class was rejected by an instructor because it included an academic article about a polio outbreak in Gaza.
Delaney Nolan reports for @thelensnola.bsky.social lailluminator.com/2025/10/06/t...

Tulane changes syllabus, fires academic director over Gaza article • Louisiana Illuminator

Some say that the incident is yet another glimpse of the tense climate experienced on local and national campuses by people who support Palestine.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 5d

The EPA says it has begun additional water sampling from areas where contamination remains from the Aug. 22 Smitty’s Supply Inc. industrial explosion in Tangipahoa Parish. @wesmuller.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/briefs/water...

EPA begins additional water sampling in wake of Smitty’s Supply disaster

The EPA said it has begun additional water sampling where contamination is suspected from an industrial explosion in Tangipahoa Parish.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 6d

SHUTDOWN BREAKDOWN - DAY 2: Hundreds of thousands of workers are face furloughs, while the public struggles to understand what’s open, what’s closed and what might be delayed. The @statesnewsroom.com DC Bureau looks at the latest impacts. lailluminator.com/2025/10/02/r...

How the federal shutdown is playing out across the government • Louisiana Illuminator

The first federal government shutdown in seven years has left the public struggling to understand what’s open, what’s closed and what might be delayed.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 6d

NEW: Petrochemicals still blanket nearby bodies of water six weeks after the Smitty's Supply fire. Residents believe federal & state gov't have failed in their response and aren’t telling the truth about health & environmental risks. @wesmuller.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/02/s...

Smitty’s Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA

Large amounts of petrochemicals still blanket the environment after an industrial explosion in Tangipahoa Parish, where some residents believe the government isn't telling the truth about the health r...

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 6d

Hospitals are some of the most violent workplaces in America, where health care workers experience violence at 3X rate of all other private industries combined. @acvollers.bsky.social reports for @stateline.org some states are taking action. lailluminator.com/2025/10/02/r...

Doctors and nurses are punched, choked, even shot. States want to stop that. • Louisiana Illuminator

Hospitals have become some of the most violent workplaces in America, where health care workers experience workplace violence at triple the rate of all other private industries combined, federal stati...

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 6d

Liz Murrill and 13 other state AGs want the Trump administration's support for their efforts to overturn a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that placed the death penalty off limits for persons who rape children. @greglarose.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/02/d...

State AGs push Bondi to support death penalty for child rapists • Louisiana Illuminator

Liz Murrill has joined attorneys general from 13 other states in asking the Trump administration to challenge a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that placed the death penalty off limits for persons who ...

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

FAST TRACK: The committee handling the search for LSU’s next president has again accelerated the timeline for hiring someone for the job, with the goal of having someone picked by Halloween. @piperhutch.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/l...

LSU could hire its next president by the end of October • Louisiana Illuminator

The committee handling the search for LSU’s next president has again accelerated the timeline for hiring someone for the job.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

Senate Democrats and Republicans remained at a stalemate Wednesday as government offices closed and hundreds of thousands of federal workers faced furloughs on the first day of a government shutdown that shows no sign of ending. From @statesnewsroom.com DC Bureau lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/r...

Shutdown standoff in US Senate extends as thousands of federal workers are sent home • Louisiana Illuminator

U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans remained at a stalemate Wednesday as government offices closed and hundreds of thousands of federal workers faced furloughs.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

BREAKING: Seven LSU students arrested at presidential search committee meeting. @piperhutch.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/l...

Seven LSU students arrested at presidential search committee meeting • Louisiana Illuminator

Seven LSU students were arrested after exceeding their allotted comment time during a presidential search committee meeting.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

Louisiana domestic violence shelters have doubled the number of beds available in recent years with millions in state funding, but 1,300 people were turned away for a lack of space over the past 12 months. @jsodonoghue.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/l...

Louisiana doubles capacity of domestic violence shelters with state funding • Louisiana Illuminator

Louisiana domestic violence shelters doubled the number of beds available for emergency housing in recent years with millions in state funding.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

Cervical cancer has a known path of prevention after the approval of the first HPV vaccine in 2006. But health advocates say that possibility is in doubt under RFK Jr.'s anti-vax policy. @kelciemmorris.bsky.social reports for @statesnewsroom.com lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/r...

Cervical cancer could be eradicated, experts say. But not with Medicaid cuts and anti-vax politics. • Louisiana Illuminator

Cervical cancer is one of few cancers that has a known path of prevention after the approval of the first HPV vaccine in 2006.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 7d

The Louisiana League of Women Voters is part of a lawsuit that claims the Trump administration is illegally culling protected personal information from millions of Americans to support its immigration and political motives. @greglarose.bsky.social reports. lailluminator.com/2025/10/01/t...

Voting rights, privacy advocates sue to stop Trump administration’s ‘national data banks’ • Louisiana Illuminator

The Trump administration is breaking the law with its efforts to cull protected personal information from millions of Americans, according to a new lawsuit.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 8d

NEW: A report sounds the alarm over "forever chemicals" and heavy metals found in SE Louisiana drinking water supplies, @eplunk.bsky.social reports. Though the amounts don't reach what regulators consider harmful levels, doctors says no exposure is safe. lailluminator.com/2025/09/30/f...

‘Forever chemicals’ found in nearly all Southeast Louisiana drinking water samples • Louisiana Illuminator

A new report is sounding the alarm over the presence of harmful chemicals and heavy metals in Southeast Louisiana’s drinking water.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 8d

'CLEAR AS MUD": Louisiana pharmacies are making their own rules for administering the COVID vaccine, citing a lack of clear info from official channels. Drew Hawkins reports for @gulfstatesnewsroom.bsky.social lailluminator.com/2025/09/30/p...

Louisiana pharmacies make their own rules amid confusing COVID guidance: ‘It’s clear as mud’ • Louisiana Illuminator

Anyone looking for a COVID shot in Louisiana faces a new maze of pharmacy restrictions after changing federal guidance on the vaccine.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 8d

Southeastern is now explaining why it removed a professor from a Lake Maurepas research project. @wesmuller.bsky.social reports lailluminator.com/2025/09/30/s...

Southeastern explains reasons for removal of Lake Maurepas researcher • Louisiana Illuminator

The decision to pull the researcher from the Air Products Lake Maurepas Monitoring Project this summer sparked backlash against the university because Southeastern didn’t immediately explain her remov...

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 8d

As local groups attempt to restore the region’s depleted hurricane buffer, there's a bigger discussion on just how much of the lower Mississippi Delta can be saved - or should be. Lue Palmer & Minh Ha report, thanks to @pulitzercenter.org lailluminator.com/2025/09/30/m...

Tough choices lie ahead for saving what's left of the Mississippi River Delta • Louisiana Illuminator

With limited sediment and funding, planners might have to make tough calls about which part of the lower Mississippi River Delta can realistically be restored — and which parts could be yielded to the...

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 8d

Today is the final day Planned Parenthood clinics in Baton Rouge and New Orleans will see patients. @elishabrown.bsky.social reports for @statesnewsroom.com ://lailluminator.com/2025/09/30/repub/medicaid-planned-parenthood-2/

Medicaid patients lose quick access to basic care after Planned Parenthood cuts and closures • Louisiana Illuminator

Even though the U.S. government already bans Medicaid funding for abortion in most cases, Planned Parenthood and other clinics can no longer receive federal Medicaid funds for any services.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 9d

PUMPKIN SPICE SACRIFICE: Did you know that by skipping one seasonal beverage per week this fall, you'd have $60 extra to support Louisiana's top source for accountability journalism? DONATE TODAY: lailluminator.com/donate/

a chef holding a chainsaw in front of pumpkins with faces carved into them

ALT: a chef holding a chainsaw in front of pumpkins with faces carved into them

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 12d

UPDATE: More than a month after the Smitty's Supply industrial fire in Tangipahoa Parish, the EPA has identified what was stored and made at the facility. @wesmuller.bsky.social reports the agency was waiting for Smitty's to say the info wasn't a trade secret lailluminator.com/2025/09/26/e...

EPA releases list of hazardous inventory at Smitty’s Supply

Four weeks after a major industrial fire in Louisiana, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an inventory list of the petrochemical products at the site.

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Louisiana Illuminator @lailluminator.com · 12d

WHAT TO EXPECT when you're expecting a government shutdown – from our @statesnewsroom.com DC Bureau. lailluminator.com/2025/09/26/r...

A federal government shutdown is nearing. Here's a guide for what to expect. • Louisiana Illuminator

States Newsroom offers you a quick guide to what could happen if Republicans and Democrats don’t broker an agreement in time to avoid a government shutdown.

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