Louisiana
Shoppers react to rule changes for those under 18 at Mall of Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On June 25, the Mall of Louisiana announced its implementation of the ‘Parental Guidance Required’ (PGR) program that will go into effect on Friday, June 28.
Mall of Louisiana announces adult supervision policy for guests under 18
WAFB spoke with many shoppers about what this means and heard their thoughts on the new changes.
Meleia and J.B. Nelson say they think this is a great idea that will keep shoppers and employees safe.
“Sometimes the kids get rowdy…you know, especially on Fridays and Saturdays,” Meleia says.
“A lot of them don’t mean any harm, they’re just having fun but sometimes they can get out of hand and they need someone like maybe more security guards that might be around at that time,” J.B. says.
Other shoppers agree. Carmen Richard and Aaliyah Rodruiguez say they saw a group of young men being escorted out by security guards and voices being raised the last time they were at the mall.
“I feel like it is definitely a benefit to the whole mall.” Richard says.
The friends say it may be tough for those almost 18 years old, but they believe it will be beneficial in minimizing the potential of unsupervised incidents.
“Yeah I think it’s sad we have to do it, but hopefully it’ll be better to make it more of a family environment,” Rodruigez says.
WAFB also spoke to one woman who is visiting Baton Rouge from Egypt, Nada Elkaffas. She says in the malls she shops at in Egypt, there are no such rules.
“Coming from a culture that is so strict and conservative, we don’t do this there, so it’s kind of weird, it’s kind of bizarre actually,” Elkaffas said. ” It’s a very critical age, but at the same, time we should trust our kids.”
Mall officials say this rule is a permanent change. Guards will be located at every entrance of the malls and at the entrances to the malls from department stores.
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Louisiana
After redistricting battles, Southern gathers for Juneteenth celebration: ‘Continue the fight’
Hundreds of community members, alumni and students gathered Thursday to observe Juneteenth on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge.
The theme of the festivities was “celebrating freedom through culture and community,” but weeks after Louisiana’s bitter redistricting battles, the speakers Thursday morning had one message driving their remarks: Get out and vote.
“Freedom does not come in on the wheels of inevitability,” Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice John Michael Guidry said to the crowd. “But it takes the prodigious work and the tireless efforts of those who are willing to continue the fight.”
Great Beginnings summer camper Myni, 4, gets a hello kitty face painting during Southern’s Juneteenth celebration on Thursday, June 18, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson
The speech kicked off a day of discussions and cultural events centered on the holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger brought news of emancipation to enslaved people in Texas more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Speakers at Southern emphasized the need for protection of hard-won rights for Black Americans in the context of redistricting. The sentiments followed a contentious state legislative session that ended with the elimination of one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
“That Voting Rights Act is under attack,” Guidry said. “There’s voter intimidation, there’s voter suppression, there are voter ID laws and all types of laws and legal decisions that are trying to deny us our right to vote, and we are the ones who have to go forward and litigate these issues.”
The day opened with a libation ceremony and a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Southern University student Claire Floyd.
Southern University alumnus Jeanet Cazenave said she felt it was important to celebrate Juneteenth on campus as not only a relative of the first dean of Southern University but also a descendant of the GU272, a group of enslaved individuals who were sold to plantations in Louisiana in 1838 by Jesuit priests to pay the debts of what is now Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Juneteenth “means everything,” Cazenave said. “It means the past, the present and the future.”
BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Governor Landry has officially declared Louisiana under state of emergency.
The state emergency declaration covers Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
The declaration was issued Thursday following the impacts of Tropical Storm Arthur, which brough rainfall and strong storms to parts of the state on June 17 and 18.
Officials said the National Weather Service has confirmed three tornadoes tied to the storm system.
Officials also reported record or near-record rainfall totals in Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee parishes over a 12-hour period.
The order allows the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to coordinate resources and provide assistance to local governments if needed.
Certain state purchasing and bidding requirements have been temporarily suspended to speed up emergency response efforts.
The declaration took effect immediately and will remain in place through July 18 unless it is lifted or extended.
State officials are urging residents to stay weather aware, avoid flooded roadways and follow guidance from local emergency managers.
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