(The Center Square) — Louisiana’s steep drop in a national education policy ranking is the result of lawmakers’ decision to scale back funding for the state’s school choice program, according to a report released by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
(The Center Square) — The U.S. House finished the last of its fiscal year 2026 appropriations work Thursday with the passage of the last four government funding bills, sending them over to the Senate for final approval.
At Elton High School, James McKay’s Civics class welcomed Stuart John, a member of the Coushatta Tribal Council, who shared various aspects of tribal government. Principal Amy Gobert was happy to have John speak with the high school students.
(Editor’s Note: An arrest does not indicate whether a person is guilty of the crime with which they have been charged. A person is not considered guilty until they are convicted of a crime in a court of law.)
The use of checks may be declining, but check crimes are actually on the rise due to new, creative criminal schemes. Once a check is stolen, it can be altered or signed on your behalf to withdraw money from your account, and there are online marketplaces where criminals will sell stolen checks for other criminals to use for fraud.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities say they have arrested Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder facing charges related to drug trafficking and the killing of a federal witnesses. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed Friday that Wedding has been arrested. They were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The former Olympian who competed for Canada was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Wedding was charged in 2024 with running a drug ring that used semitrucks to move cocaine.
(Editor’s note: This is the last of a two-part series that contains the verbatim script of answers from the recent District 37 Representative Forum. The first half of the story was released in Friday’s edition of Jennings Daily News.)
The Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury adopted a resolution to appoint Scotty Cormier to fill the seat of his father, District 12 Juror Owen Cormier, who passed away Jan. 8 after a long battle with cancer. Scotty will fill the vacant seat until an election can be held in November where candidates will have a chance to run for the remainder of the District 12 term, which expires in January 2028. Scotty and Roger Mallet, both residents of District 12, which includes Roanoke and parts of Welsh, were nominated for the temporary appointment. Scotty said he would like to fulfill the role in honor of his father’s legacy for completing tasks undertaken. “Most of you know me from many years of working with my father,” he said. “It’s an odd feeling coming up here under the circumstances we are here for tonight. Dad worked for the parish for a long time and I have seen many jurors come and go over the years. It was a big accomplishment for daddy that he was proud of. Myself approaching to take his place is kind of a responsibility. Dad never quit anything. Never. To fill his seat would be an honor and mean a lot to me.”
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