U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, did his best to make “good trouble” during President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress since taking office in January.

Brandishing his cane, the Lone Star septuagenarian rose from his seat in the U.S. House chamber and challenged Trump’s claim that he has a sweeping mandate to enact the tidal wave of changes his Republican administration has unleashed within the federal government.

Green stood alone, with his Democratic colleagues content to sit silent and hold quaint church fan signs with words that called the president a liar and criticized billionaire bureaucrat Elon Musk.

“If [Democrats] are going to use a 77-year-old heckling congressman as the face of their resistance, then bring it on,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, told Fox News after Trump’s speech. “But we’re not going to tolerate that on the House floor, and I don’t think the American people are going to tolerate that either.”

For the time being, let’s set aside Johnson’s apparent amnesia when it comes to far more outlandish outbursts from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and other GOP lawmakers during former President Joe Biden’s speeches to Congress. Their antics occurred despite pleas from Johnson for decorum.

Otherwise, the speaker’s assessment of Democrats is spot on. Before, during and since Trump’s address, they have been hard pressed to present a united front or take advantage of the mayhem that has ensued since Trump, Musk & Associates set upon their mass purging of government jobs, on-again/off-again tariffs and a 180-degree turn on U.S. global diplomacy.

The chaos has even led some diehard Republicans to question the administration’s direction, notably U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. Otherwise a Trump dieheard, he’s consistently issued warnings against any alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the senator has called “a gangster” and “an evil man” who “makes Jeffrey Dahmer look like Mother Theresa.”

Yet even with the current situation begging for a voice of reason, Democrats have fumbled to present a coherent message. And for a party that’s desperately trying to make headway after losing last year’s presidential election and its slim U.S. Senate majority, that’s not a recipe for success.

Rachel Janfaza has paid attention to the Democrats’ decline for a while now. She’s a journalist who follows Gen Z political trends and young voters (I recommend her Substack), a group that will be critical in next year’s midterms and the 2028 presidential election when Trump (presumably) won’t seek another term.

Before Trump’s speech to Congress, Janfaza took note of Democrats’ cringeworthy use of social media. First, nearly two dozen Senate Democrats posted almost identical Instagram reels with the caption “Sh-t That Ain’t True” ahead of Trump’s address. Next, they latched on to a months-old “Choose Your Fighter” Tik Tok trend.

Watch those links, especially if you’re part of Gen X, a boomer or even a millennial. Tell me they don’t give you that same feeling I get when my teen daughter says: “Dad, stop dancing!”

The awkwardness – and lack of impact – certainly made an impression with Janfaza in the most recent of her newsletter, The Up and Up.

“The futile social media plays come as every hour, if not minute, young Americans are getting real-time alerts about how Trump (and yes, Musk) are dismantling core government systems – rolling back federal employment protections, gutting funding, and targeting programs that could directly impact their futures (including internship and educational programs),” she wrote.

Democrats are also failing to fill the void here in Louisiana, where Republican state leaders and lawmakers have adroitly held the spotlight on matters such as criminal justice and reproductive health. Progressives can’t gather enough support to steer the party where they think it needs to head, and moderates desperately long to regain the middle ground they lost long ago to the GOP.

There’s one lesson for Democrats to learn from Rep. Al Green’s quixotic moment on the House floor, and it comes straight from the soul music mainstay with whom the congressman shares a name: “Let’s Stay Together.”

If they can’t at least do that, they should get used to another greatest hit from Green: “Tired of Being Alone.”

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The family-owned company of President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign co-chair in Louisiana has agreed to pay $1.025 million to resolve allegations that it hired workers ineligible to work in the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week.

Bollinger Shipyard LLC of Lockport was accused of violating the False Claims Act for knowingly billing the U.S. Coast Guard for the labor the illegal workers performed. The company’s settlement with the federal government is not an admission of guilt but effectively brings the matter to a close.

Bollinger is a longtime military contractor that manufactures the Coast Guard’s fast response cutter (FRC) vessel. The Justice Department alleged the shipbuilder’s violations took place from 2015-20 under its FRC contracts.

Bollinger Shipyard’s Lockport office directed a reporter’s call with questions to executive vice president Geoffrey Green, who has not yet responded.

The federal government requires contractors to confirm their employees are eligible to work in the United States, and officials alleged Bollinger failed to comply with this requirement. As a result, “several ineligible employees worked on the contract,” according to the Justice Department, and the company was paid for the work they performed.

“Companies that conduct business with the United States are required to do so in a legitimate manner,” U.S Attorney Duane Evans said in a news release.

President Joe Biden appointed Evans to lead federal prosecutions in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

As of November, Bollinger delivered 58 of the 67 fast response cutters the Coast Guard has ordered from the company at a cost of about $2 billion.

The former chairman and CEO of Bollinger Shipyard, Donald “Boysie” Bollinger Jr., has served as co-chair of the Trump campaign in Louisiana for the past three elections. Bollinger’s nephew, Ben Bordelon, took over as company leader in 2014, marking the third generation of family leadership at the 79-year-old business.

Bollinger has served as treasurer of the Republican Party of Louisiana and chaired the Louisiana presidential campaigns for George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

Since 2016, Bollinger has donated more than $1.13 million to Republican candidates through Bollinger Enterprises, his separate investment company, based on numbers from OpenSecrets.org.

Over the same period, Bollinger’s donations to Democrats totaled $5,600, though he notably backed Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu in her re-election loss to Bill Cassidy in 2014.

Bollinger’s largest political contributions in 2024 were $113,000 to the Republican National Committee and $100,000 to Make America Great Again Inc.

Last June, Bollinger hosted a $3,300-a-person fundraiser at his New Orleans home for Trump. The event raised $5 million, The Times-Picayune reported.

Efforts to reach Bollinger for comment were unsuccessful.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The Louisiana patient who contracted what officials said was the nation’s first “severe” case of avian influenza has died, the state health department said Monday.

The person who contracted the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic bird flu in southwest Louisiana had been hospitalized since mid-December. The patient was over age 65 and had an underlying medical condition, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. They contracted the virus from exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds, officials have said.

State health workers have conducted an “extensive public health investigation” and identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission, LDH said in a news release. The patient has been the only human case of H5N1 reported in Louisiana.

The state Department of Agriculture and Forestry has confirmed the presence of H5N1 in two “backyard flocks” in the state, one in Northwest Louisiana and another in Southwest Louisiana.

There have been 66 human cases of avian influenza confirmed in a total of 10 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has the most cases with 37, followed by Washington with 11 and Colorado with 10.

H5N1 infects birds and poultry. It can be passed on to humans who work in close contact with sick and dead birds. Human cases reported in other states have mostly been linked to dairy workers where the virus has been spread to cattle.

The virus can cause severe breathing problems and death in birds. Similar, severe flu-like symptoms can appear in humans, though the risk for public health is considered generally low.

Nearly 13 people out every 100,000 in Louisiana died annually from flu-related illnesses from 2018-22, based on the most recent figures available from the National Center for Health Statistics. That rate has decreased every year since 2020.

More than 12,400 persons in the U.S. who believed they were exposed to avian influenza have been monitored, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of that number, 560 have been tested for H5NI, resulting in confirmation of the 63 cases.

State health officials say the best way for families to protect themselves from H5N1 is to avoid sources of exposure, such as direct contact with wild birds or other animals that might be infected.

Experts also advise against eating uncooked or undercooked food. Cooking poultry, eggs and other animal products to the proper temperature helps lower the risk from any possible contaminants.

For anyone who works on poultry or dairy farms, health officials suggest talking to a health care provider about getting a seasonal flu vaccination. It will not prevent infection with avian influenza viruses, but it can reduce the risk of coinfection with avian and flu viruses.

Sick birds or animals should be reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture at 1-866-536-7593 or the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Diagnostic Lab at 318-927-3441.

Persons who suspect they were exposed to sick or dead birds or other animals or work on a farm where avian influenza has been detected should watch for respiratory symptoms or conjunctivitis (pink eye).

If you develop such symptoms within 10 days after exposure to sick or dead animals, officials urge you to tell your health care provider you have been in contact with sick animals and are concerned about avian influenza. This information will help them give you appropriate advice on testing and treatment.

Anyone who suspects they are infected with avian flu should stay away from others while symptomatic.

This is a developing story

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

NEW ORLEANS – The FBI has released video — some of it obtained from terrorist Shamsud-Bin Jabbar — that shows him in the French Quarter in the hours before he killed 14 people and injured dozens more, and his view as he rode a bicycle through the historic district more than two months earlier.

The footage comes from French Quarter surveillance cameras and scenes Jabbar recorded on Meta glasses in October, during what the FBI said was the first of two trips he took to New Orleans before his early New Year’s Day massacre.

Authorities recovered three homemade bombs they said Jabbar placed in small coolers, including two that he’s seen on video placing on Bourbon Street. One of the explosive devices was found in the pickup truck he drove after he sped through a crowd of pedestrians and was killed in a shootout with police.

Also recovered from the truck was what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms considers a remote detonation device. Jabbar, a 42-year-old IT professional and U.S. Army veteran from Texas, could have used it to set off the bombs had New Orleans police not responded soon enough, ATF Special Agent Joshua Jackson said during a news conference Sunday.

The FBI compiled all of the footage it shared into a single video that’s nearly four minutes long. The timestamps that follow detail the content of the segments:

0:00 – Footage Jabbar recorded on his Meta glasses Oct. 31 on from his bike ride in the French Quarter and Canal Street. The FBI said Jabbar was Meta glasses early Wednesday, but there is no indication that he was recording or live streaming his attack

1:36 – Jabbar records himself wearing Meta glasses looking into a mirror at a home investigators say he rented during his October trip to New Orleans.

1:41 – French Quarter surveillance video recorded at 1:53 a.m. Wednesday shows Jabbar with a blue cooler that investigators said had an improvised bomb inside. The FBI said Jabbar left it at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Peter streets, and it was found a block away at Orleans Street after “multiple unknowing Bourbon Street visitors grabbed the cooler’s handle and moved it.”

2:20 – At approximately 2:20 a.m., surveillance footage shows Jabbar leaving the second explosive device inside a “bucket-style” cooler at Bourbon and Toulouse streets. The video shows him standing next to a trash can receptacle as visitors walk and dance around him.

At one point, Jabbar is seen waving his hand while looking down Bourbon Street then walks away from the cooler. Investigators did not address who or what Jabbar might have been waving to or why during Sunday’s news conference.

2:42 – A still image from surveillance video clearly shows Jabbar walking down Governor Nicholls Street. The FBI said he was returning to his truck to pick up the second cooler. The brown long coat he is seen wearing was recovered from the truck at the scene of the deadly attack.

3:00 – Jabbar is seen on surveillance video walking up and down Governor Nicholls Street.

Federal investigators provided an update on their continuing investigation Sunday, saying they still believe Jabbar acted alone. However, they continue to look into trips they say Jabbar took to Egypt and Canada over the summer. He also traveled to the Atlanta and Tampa, Florida, areas.

Lyonel Myrthil, the FBI’s special agent in charge of its New Orleans office, said investigators are trying to determine who Jabbar might have come into contact with during his travels.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she has asked the Biden administration to provide an expert who can assess the city’s terrorism vulnerabilities ahead of the Super Bowl, which takes place Feb. 9 at the Superdome, and Mardi Gras.

Carnival season officially begins Monday and culminates on Fat Tuesday, March 4.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

Editor’s note: This commentary discusses the topic of suicide. If you or someone you know if contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Lost in the furor over whether Congress could agree on a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown was another rift over the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which even has some powerful Republicans at odds with one another.

The bill purports to hold social media companies accountable for cyberbullying over their platforms, and its supporters include parents whose children have taken their own lives or were harmed as a result of social media harassment.

The KOSA proposal, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., easily cleared the chamber in a 91-3 vote in late July. Yet it has not advanced to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, and its proponents have turned up the pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as of late to advance the bill before year’s end. Republicans who’ve rallied behind the bill and urged its passage include Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabeee Sanders.

Yet Johnson has remained steadfast in his decision not to rush the act through in its current form. Pressed by reporters in the Capitol hallways in recent days, the speaker insists he still stands behind the spirit of the proposal. He was asked a week ago if KOSA would be approved before year’s end.

“I don’t see that as being likely at this point,” Johnson said.

The speaker has frequently spoken favorably about the need to address children’s safety online, spokeswoman Athina Lawson told the Illuminator in an interview Wednesday. The KOSA bill has been referred to a House committee and will continue to move through the legislative process, she added.

Blackburn believes more than parliamentary procedure is holding up her bill, however. In a joint statement with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Issued Tuesday, she was very blunt in her criticism of House leadership.

“To be clear: the blockade against safeguards and accountability was about padding Big Tech’s financial bottom line, not principle,” the senators said.

Blackburn and Blumenthal also referenced the suicide of 15-year-old Jesse Harrington in October. He took his own life “after becoming addicted to Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, while the House sat on its hands at the behest of Mark Zuckerberg,” they wrote.

“The House’s active obstruction of the Kids Online Safety Act will tragically result in the deaths of even more children like Jesse,” their statement said.

Johnson’s specific concerns within the bill include its potential to impinge on First Amendment free speech rights and a “duty of care” provision that defines what social media companies can be held accountable if young users are harmed through their content.

Lawson noted that Johnson has held more than 20 meetings with KOSA advocates and is committed to working on a consensus solution to the issues he has with the bill.

Maureen Molak is among the KOSA supporters who’s met with the speaker and his staff multiple times. Her 16-year-old son David took his life in 2016 after he was the target of bullying on Instagram. Molak said the company did nothing to curtail the abuse even after his friends reported it online.

In an interview this week with the Illuminator, Molak said she personally met Johnson in April during an invitation-only Republican fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, in San Antonio.

“I asked him if he would commit to advancing KOSA, passing KOSA this year,” she said. “ … And he said, ‘Oh, yes, you know, we’re going to advance KOSA. It is so needed. Thank you so much for your advocacy. Keep it up, because what kids are experiencing online is terrible, and we’ve got to do something about it.’”

Molak said the Senate’s overwhelming bipartisan support left her feeling confident the measure would become law. But as months went by with no action in the House, she met with Johnson’s staff and others on Capitol Hill to get an explanation. Molak said she considered the hangups mentioned in those meetings fairly minor.

“There’s just a lot of powerful people who are in support of this bill,” she said, “and if you have an issue with something, you don’t just dig your heels in and not come out with a solution.”

Molak said she was aware that Meta has proposed a $10 billion artificial intelligence data center in Louisiana, but she stopped short of saying it has anything to do with Johnson’s stance on KOSA.

Lawson, the speaker’s spokeswoman, also dismissed any connection between the project and the legislation’s current status.

Other members of the House Republican Conference have KOSA concerns similar to Johnson’s, given its potential to squelch conservative viewpoints on social media.

Their opposition to KOSA is mirrored on the other end of the political spectrum.

Voices from the LGBTQ community fear the guidelines could limit their expression online, and the American Civil Liberties Union feels the legislation would control what people can access online and censor protected speech

Molak said there was hope that the KOSA provisions would find their way onto the stopgap spending bill lawmakers need to approve in order to prevent a government shutdown this weekend. But Johnson’s stance and the precarious status of the continuing resolution needed to keep the federal government afloat make that scenario extremely unlikely.

President-elect Donald Trump has been noticeably silent on the matter, something that Molak said she has noticed.

“If Trump was able to weigh in on this right now, and we were able to get it passed this year, it sure would make him a hero,” she said, “because it would be one less thing the Republicans would have to worry about next year.”

(Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.)

A law to require all public school classrooms in Louisiana display the Ten Commandments won’t take effect until a court case plays out on whether the law is constitutional, a federal appellate court has ruled.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s request to throw out a temporary hold on enforcement of the law, issued Nov. 12 by U.S. District Judge John deGravelles. The law, which the Republican-dominated Legislature and GOP Gov. Jeff Landry approved, is supposed to take effect Jan. 1

Nine parents filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Louisiana’s Middle District in Baton Rouge, arguing the new statute violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on government-sponsored religion. deGravelles, a federal court appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued an injunction to delay enforcement until the case is decided. The judge said in his ruling that it was unlikely the state would prevail because the law is “unconstitutional on its face.”

The new state law calls for 11-inch by 14-inch displays of the Ten Commandments to go up in every classroom at schools that accept state dollars. Murrill, who is also a Republican, maintains the commandments merit inclusion alongside other historical documents that form the basis of U.S. law.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.

A federal judge’s order that blocks a Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments displays to go up in classrooms doesn’t apply to the school districts that aren’t defending it, a U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled.

Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is defending the law that the Legislature and Gov. Jeff Landry approved earlier this year, filed an appeal after U.S. District Judge John DeGravelles issued an order Tuesday that stopped the law from going into effect Jan. 1. In his 177-page ruling, the judge said the state wasn’t likely to win the case.

In 2-1 ruling, a 5th Circuit panel agreed with Murrill that DeGravelles’ decision should apply to Louisiana’s other 68 public school districts. Judges Kurt Engelhardt, a federal court nominee of former President Donald Trump, and Jerry Smith, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, ruled in Murrill’s favor. Judge James Graves, a court pick of former President Barack Obama, wanted to deny the stay.

DeGravelles, who is also an Obama appointee to the federal court, had said in his ruling that all 72 school districts should be notified of his ruling.

On social media Friday, Murrill celebrated the appellate court’s granting her motion. She had argued DeGravelles ruling should only apply to the five school districts who are defendants in the lawsuit nine plaintiff parents have filed, arguing that placing the Ten Commandments in classrooms violates the U.S. Constitution.

“I look forward to immediately working with all of our school boards who are not involved in this lawsuit to implement the law soon!” Murrill posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The parish public school districts named as defendants in the case are East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon. Education Superintendent Cade Brumley and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members are also defendants.

Two of the groups representing plaintiffs in the cast – the ACLU of Louisiana and Americans United for Separation of Church and State – consider the 5th Circuit order “a minor procedural issue,” according to the Associated Press.

The new law requires 11-by-14-inch displays along with an accompanying “context statement” that explains the commandments’ role in education. It applies to any school that accepts state money, including colleges and universities. The schools are not compelled to spend money on the posters though they can accept donated materials.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.

An LSU student was arrested Tuesday after Louisiana State Police said he posted a threat online to kill Gov. Jeff Landry.

Jackson Pemberton, 21, told police he was upset with the governor’s decision to bring a live tiger to the sidelines before LSU’s game with Alabama, according to an arrest warrant the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office provided. Jail records show Pemberton was charged with one count of threatening a public official.

State troopers were forwarded a picture of a post they say Pemberton made on X, formerly Twitter, that stated: “I am going to kill you @JeffLandry.” Investigators used Pemberton’s social media accounts to locate him at an off-campus apartment complex.

“Pemberton stated that he was upset with the governor’s decision regarding the live tiger

that was brought on the LSU football field this previous weekend,” the arrest warrant said. “Pemberton further stated disagreement with the governor’s decisions. Pemberton stated he did not wish to harm the governor and that the post was made as a joke.”

The crime of threatening a public official in Louisiana is punishable by a fine of up to $500 dollars, a maximum of six months in prison, or both.

Landry and Surgeon General Ralph Abraham have been the most ardent supporters of bringing a tiger back inside Tiger Stadium. LSU ended the tradition in 2015 after its live mascot, Mike VI, grew resistant to entering his travel cage before football games. The university decided not to revive the ceremony when it acquired Mike VII in 2017.

Representatives of LSU’s veterinary school, who provide care for Mike, held firm against Landry’s idea to bring the tiger back into the stadium. He and Abraham then connected with Mitchel Kalmanson, an exotic animal handler in Florida, to bring a 1.5-year-old live Bengal tiger named Omar Bradley to Baton Rouge. The animal was placed into Mike’s cage, brought into the stadium and removed ahead of kickoff.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has compiled an extensive list of federal infractions against Kalmanson for the alleged mishandling of tigers and other big cats in his possession.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.