Louisiana

Court upholds suspension of LSU professor who vulgarly criticized Trump and Louisiana Governor

Published

9 months ago

February 5, 2025

Court upholds suspension of LSU professor who vulgarly criticized Trump and Louisiana Governor

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana appeals court on Tuesday upheld the suspension of an LSU law professor who criticized Gov. Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump using vulgar language.

While teaching a constitutional law class last month, tenured Prof. Ken Levy stated “f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) the Governor” and employed the expletive to talk about Trump and students who supported him.

Within a few days, LSU’s administration informed Levy he had been suspended from his teaching responsibilities “pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in your class,” according to a lawsuit Levy filed last week.

The three-member First Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling overturned East Baton Rouge district judge Donald Johnson’s order last week that LSU immediately reinstate Levy to his teaching role. This would require a “full evidentiary hearing,” the appeals court ruled.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday, lawyers for both parties say.

The appeals court ruling upheld the rest of the district judge’s temporary restraining order barring LSU from retaliating against Levy “on account of his protected academic freedom and free speech.”

Levy’s attorney Jill Craft said she is pleased with the appeals court’s decision to uphold “the bulk” of the restraining order on behalf of her client.

“What it means is his rights are protected and LSU can’t take any action against him and so that’s a good thing,” Craft told The Associated Press.

Jimmy Faircloth, Jr., an attorney representing LSU, said that the elements of the restraining order upheld by the appeals court are “superfluous” and “doesn’t do anything other than tell LSU ‘you can’t break the law’ which we know and we’re not doing.”

Levy’s suspension is “not a question of academic freedom” but rather about “inappropriate conduct in the classroom,” LSU’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Todd Woodward said in an emailed statement.

“Our investigation found that Professor Levy created a classroom environment that was demeaning to students who do not hold his political view, threatening in terms of their grades, and profane,” Woodward added.

Levy said in a sworn affidavit that he had made his comments “in a joking manner” in order to highlight his support for the First Amendment and to emphasize the no recording policy in his class.

Levy had issued a no recording rule “because he did not want to be Governor Landry’s next target — although that is ironically what happened,” Levy’s lawsuit said.

Last November, Gov. Landry had publicly called for LSU to discipline another law professor, Nicholas Bryner, who during a lecture criticized Trump and students who voted for him. Bryner remains employed by LSU.

In a Tuesday post on X, Landry stated that Levy’s conduct “should not be tolerated at our taxpayer funded universities.”

Levy’s lawsuit said that LSU’s actions violated his due process and “chill and restrict…free speech rights.”

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Oct. 25, 2025

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Oct. 25, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

02-12-22-39-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

9-3-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

3-5-6-6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

5-9-5-0-5

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

06-10-16-22-31

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Oct. 25 drawing

16-18-26-34-37-41

Check Lotto 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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Louisiana

Louisiana lands a rare earth milestone

Published

2 days ago

October 24, 2025

Press Room

iStock

The nation’s first U.S. heavy rare earth separation facility is coming to Louisiana.

Louisiana Economic Development officials this morning announced a $277 million investment by Aclara Resources Inc. to build the facility at the Port of Vinton in Calcasieu Parish.

LED characterizes the deal as one that will “establish Louisiana as a leader in sustainable rare earth production and strengthen the nation’s advanced technology supply chain.” With the new facility comes an anticipated 140 new direct new jobs.

LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois says the investment “underscores the importance of development-ready sites and strong local partnerships that give global companies the confidence to choose Louisiana,” also noting that it reinforces the central role Louisiana plays in energy and defense security.

Bloomberg reports that Aclara, in which the Hochschild Group owns a majority stake, has a $1 billion-plus plan to mine rare earths in Latin America and develop processing facilities.

The Louisiana project comes as President Donald Trump is focused on enhancing critical mineral-supply chains, currently dominated by China. The media outlet reported this morning that the Louisiana plant’s capacity for minerals dysprosium and terbium would represent about 14% of China’s official output.

The new facility will use Aclara’s proprietary sustainable extraction technology to produce the heavy rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, drones and robotics, which rely on advanced permanent magnets. By processing material from Aclara’s mineral deposits in Brazil and Chile, the Louisiana operation is expected to create a “reliable and sustainable” U.S. supply of these materials, LED says.

Last month, Aclara secured funding from the U.S. government for a Brazilian mining project.

In a statement, Gov. Jeff Landry said that in choosing Louisiana for its first U.S. facility, “Aclara is recognizing what we already know: Our state is leading the next generation of energy and technology innovation.”

Aclara Resources CEO Ramón Barúa noted in the announcement that Louisiana’s access to key reagents made the location preferable, ensuring operational reliability and lower transportation costs.

“The state’s world-class chemical industry and highly skilled workforce made the decision even more compelling,” Barúa added. “Simply put, Louisiana has everything we were looking for.

Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027. The facility will be built in phases, beginning with the rare earth separation plant, followed by potential future expansions to support downstream processing and alloy production as part of Aclara’s long-term growth strategy.

The state incentives package includes LED FastStart workforce development solutions and a $3 million performance-based grant for utility and infrastructure improvements. The company is also expected to participate in the state’s High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption program.

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Louisiana

Two Louisiana High School Football Teams Cancel Games Amid Safety Concerns

Published

3 days ago

October 23, 2025

Press Room

Two Louisiana High School Football Teams Cancel Games Amid Safety Concerns

Numbers can be tough in Louisiana’s Class 1A, the smallest football-playing classification. Two schools- Gueydan and Highland Baptist – canceled their games this week, citing the health and well-being of their student-athletes.

Gueydan (0-7) canceled its game against Westminster Christian-Lafayette, which was coming off a 49-14 win over Highland Baptist. Gueydan and Highland Baptist, which share the same mascot (Bears), are both members of District 6-1A. The two schools are scheduled to meet in Week 10.

Highland Baptist was set to face undefeated Ascension Episcopal tonight. The Bears, who have been shutout four times, played Berchmans Academy tough in Week 3 (lost 25-19). Last year, Highland Baptist recorded its one win with a 42-20 defeat of Gueydan.

Gueydan was coming off its closest loss of the season, a 30-20 setback to Trhive Academy. Located in rural western Vermilion Parish, Gueydan has a population of a little more 1,000 residents and is known for its annual duck festival.

District 6-1A is also home to Vermilion Catholic, which went undefeated in 2024 and won the Division IV select state championship. Vermilion Catholic blanked Highland Baptist 63-0 in Week 5 and is scheduled to host Gueydan next week.

Elsewhere in Class 1A, Oberlin forfeited its Week Six game against Elton, which affected the race for the state’s rushing leader. Elton’s Makelin Lemoine, who is second behind Trevin Simon (Ascension Catholic) has played one less game.

Oberlin (2-4) resumed play last week with a 51-48 win over Merryville. The Tigers from Allen Parish have 120 students. Gueydan has an enrollment of 125; Highland Baptist 134. Undefeated Hamiton Christian of Lake Charles has only 87 students.

By comparison, the largest non-football playing school in Class B (Choudrant) has 213 students.

The future should be brighter for Highland Baptist located in New Iberia, a city of approximately 30,000. The Bears have only a couple of seniors with six juniors and 13 sophomores. In 2021, the Bears finished 5-5 under retired coach Rick Hutson. Hopefully, both the Gueydan and Highland Baptist programs can return to action soon.

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

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