Louisiana

Lawsuits expected over Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2024

Lawsuits expected over Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE)—A new Louisiana law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments is fueling debate inside the state and around the country, with promises of legal challenges.

Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, signed House Bill 71 into law this week, but the ACLU of Louisiana plans to sue Landry in federal court over the new law, citing constitutional grounds.

“When children have the Ten Commandments, which are a very sacred Judeo-Christian text within the context of the classroom, we’re certainly suggesting to them, if not, in fact, even endorsing a particular religion in the classroom, and that we find to be violative of both the Constitution and the First Amendment,” said Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana.

However, Christian conservatives and others who support the new law strongly support the requirement.

“We’re certainly, at [La.] Family Forum, excited about the possibility of reintroducing authentic history and a little bit of Western civilization in the education system. So, we think it’s a positive move in the right direction, and done appropriately, will have positive effects,” said Gene Mills, President of Louisiana Family Forum.

Odoms said two clauses in the U.S. Constitution apply to problems with the new law.

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“The first is called the free exercise of religion clause and that means that each person has the opportunity and the right to be able to decide what faith they will be, and they also have the opportunity to decide whether they will have a faith at all,” Odoms said. “And so, that actually works in conjunction with another really important clause in the First Amendment called the establishment clause.”

Further, she said, “The government cannot select or prefer one religion over another, and cannot prefer religion over a non-religion. So, it can’t proselytize. it can’t coerce people to choose a certain faith and so what we find with HB 71 is that it actually violates both clauses, the free exercise clause and the establishment clause of the first amendment.”

Mills said in response, “I disagree. I would follow up with a question that’s not a rhetorical question, which religion does it impose?”

Some argue that if opponents do not prevail in court against the new law, it could allow those of other faiths to demand that tenets of their religion be posted in Louisiana’s public school classrooms.

“I think people certainly could make an argument that in order to ensure that the government is not favoring one religion over another, that other religious ideas and other religious texts, perhaps should also be in the classroom,” Odoms said. “But I think the more important thing to think about is the fact that there’s 40 years of longstanding precedent in this country, which was articulated in a case called Stone versus Graham, that says that you cannot pass a law that has a non-secular purpose or a religious purpose. and you cannot essentially validate the government choosing a religion, one religion over another.”

Mills believes the law will withstand legal challenges.

“My sense is this is going to withstand constitutional challenge because it was written in such a way to reflect both the secular and the historical context that the Decalogue has had in both America’s foundation and in Western civilization. There is no censorship, there’s no forced religion, there is no imposing, there’s no public expenses. This is done at not a taxpayer dollar, but with resources that are found outside of taxpayer dollars,” he said.

Decalogue is another term for the Ten Commandments.

Odoms said, “And if we mandate that children go to school, we also have to be really careful that the government is not mandating a certain religion.”

Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill issued the following statement:

“The 10 Commandments are pretty simple (don’t kill, steal, cheat on your wife), but they also are important to our country’s foundations. Moses, who you may recall brought the 10 Commandments down from Mount Sinai, appears eight times in carvings that ring the United States Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. I look forward to defending the law.”

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Louisiana

57-foot-tall homemade Christmas tree lights up Kinder

Published

8 hours ago

December 25, 2025

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57-foot-tall homemade Christmas tree lights up Kinder

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Two Kinder men decided not to get a tree, but instead to build one of the largest Christmas trees the state of Louisiana has ever seen.

Kaleb Deaton and Donnie Domingue wanted a tree as big as they could imagine.

“Last year, we had a tree we built that was 20 feet, and this year we wanted to bring something special to the table. We came up with this 57-foot tree. We had all the supplies,” Deaton said.

The 57-foot-tall tree is lit up in their backyard, believed to be one of the largest man-made Christmas trees in Louisiana’s history

The tree is dressed with 20,000 bulbs connected to over a mile of wire and topped with an 8-foot star.

“I have some little girls, and I just love putting smiles on their faces,” Deaton said. “It’s just warming, and I wanted to do something special for them this year. Like I said, Donnie is a fabricator, and we put our heads together, and we just made it happen.”

They say they’ve been planning how big they were going to make the tree since last year.

“Our first plan was actually a 150-foot tree,” Domingue said.

It was a work in progress to be able to build the massive Christmas tree.

“It took an army to be able to put this thing up,” Deaton said. “I have a Treco in the back that has a lot of horsepower; it had to lift this baby up and Donnie’s welding machine.”

(KPLC)

They say it looks like lots of welding, cutting, and grinding.

Since the Christmas tree has been up in Kinder, hundreds of people have come out to enjoy the holiday spectacle. They say being able to bring Christmas cheer to the area of Kinder is fulfilling.

“Oh, it’s great seeing people come line up down my driveway. I live on a dead-end road, and it’s awesome to come out and see everybody here with us. Having people talk on Facebook about what joy it’s brought to them, it’s been great,” Deaton said.

They’re already coming up with ideas on how to top next year’s tree

“We got something special, we are not going to let that out just yet, but we got something we talked about earlier. You’ll be here next year,” Deaton said.

The tree will be lit up and on display in Kinder until Jan. 6.

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Louisiana

Cuban families in Louisiana celebrate Christmas with traditional lechon feast

Published

21 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Cuban families in Louisiana celebrate Christmas with traditional lechon feast

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – For many Cuban families in Louisiana, Christmas means gathering for a traditional lechon, a pig roast that serves as the centerpiece of their holiday celebration.

Vivian Nieto, owner of Churro’s Cafe in Metairie, said the Cuban tradition parallels Louisiana’s French Acadian cochon de lait but uses distinct seasonings and preparation methods.

“The Cuban use, basically, is the garlic, the naranja agria, and salt,” Nieto said. “If you don’t add anything else, that would be perfect.”

Traditional mojo marinade starts with citrus and garlic

The marinade, called mojo, always starts with garlic and citrus, specifically bitter orange juice known in Spanish as naranja agria. Nieto adds cumin and oregano to the base mixture.

At her Cuban restaurant, Nieto uses a Boston butt instead of a whole pig and lets it marinate overnight.

“I remember when I was a kid, the night before, they cleaned, they marinated,” Nieto said. “In our family, we exposed our babies early to the big pig that gets seasoned and marinated the night before.”

Pig roasted all day on Christmas Eve

Like the Acadian cochon, the lechon is roasted all day on Christmas Eve. Nieto said the taste testing during preparation bonds families together.

“Not too many people realize how tight is Cuba with New Orleans,” Nieto said. “The food, you respond deeply.”

The pork is served with congri, black beans and rice with onions and garlic, and yuca.

Nieto said she finds deep joy in making food that connects Cuban culture across generations.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for Dec. 23, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 23, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 23 drawing

15-37-38-41-64, Mega Ball: 21

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 23 drawing

3-1-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 23 drawing

4-6-9-2

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 23 drawing

9-0-4-5-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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