Tag Archives: Louisiana

NAACP calls for athletic boycott of vote-suppressing states

Posted on May 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if anything comes of this. The NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, called on athletes and fans to boycott schools in eight Southern states that have “moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation” since the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS halts Fifth Circuit’s bogus ban on mailing mifepristone

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

For now. As always, we must say “for now”. The Supreme Court will keep mifepristone available as usual, it ruled in a Thursday order, blocking a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that would reimpose in-person dispensing requirements and prevent … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS puts administrative stay on unhinged Fifth Circuit mifepristone ruling

Posted on May 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

On hold for now. The Supreme Court on Monday restored nationwide access to a widely used abortion medication in a temporary order that will, for now, allow women to once again obtain the pill mifepristone by mail. In a brief … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit invents new law to block mifepristone

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is bullshit. A federal appeals court packed with conservatives has handed abortion opponents a major victory against the US Food and Drug Administration, reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone and shutting down telemedicine providers—at least temporarily—from prescribing the … Continue reading →

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RIP, Voting Rights Act

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

JFC. Wednesday’s 6–3 party-line decision in Louisiana v. Callais will go down in history as one of the most pernicious and damaging Supreme Court decisions of the last century. All six Republican-appointed justices on the court signed onto Justice Samuel … Continue reading →

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A brief history of shield laws

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long and detailed story about abortion shield laws and the significant effect they’ve had on abortion access post-Dobbs. You should read the whole thing but I wanted to focus on this bit from Texas that I had not … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Ten Commandments law to be enforced

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They do what they always do. Texas can enforce a state law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A 9-8 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Lousiana’s Ten Commandments law to go into effect

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not great, but not the end of the line. A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears Ten Commandments appeal

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves…From the inbox: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state laws in Texas and Louisiana that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. … Continue reading →

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Three abortion stories

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Two of them at least have the potential to be positive. That’s good, right? Texas court clears path for Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging state abortion law A Texas appeals court has allowed three Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates to move forward … Continue reading →

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In which I learn something about whooping cough

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I started here, yet another story about how whooping cough is on the rise in Texas. Bexar County is seeing a dramatic rise in cases of whooping cough this year alongside potentially record-breaking increases statewide. So far in 2025, San … Continue reading →

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Class action lawsuit filed over the Ten Commandments law

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

About time. After receiving two favorable rulings from judges, a coalition of advocacy groups filed their third lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in Texas. The new … Continue reading →

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Another ruling against the Ten Commandments law

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Two for two so far. A federal judge sided with 15 Texas families suing public school districts — including Conroe ISD — to stop the Ten Commandments from being displayed in classrooms, saying the requirement interferes with their religious freedoms. … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough hits a new high

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, anti-vaxxers! Couldn’t have done this without you. More than 3,500 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases have been reported in Texas so far this year, already reaching a 11-year high even though two more highly infectious months are … Continue reading →

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Texas sues Roblox

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a new one on me. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation, the latest in a flurry of lawsuits from his office aimed … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues Galveston ISD over Ten Commandments display

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We need some real guidance here. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Galveston Independent School District on Friday for not following a new state law requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms while the legislation is challenged in … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit to hear Ten Commandments case in January

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. The U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals says it will hear appeals in January in the legal fights in Texas and Louisiana over whether public schools must display copies of the Ten Commandments. Oral arguments for the … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over Texas app age verification law

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. A coalition of major technology companies has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas over its new App Store Accountability Act, arguing that the measure violates the First Amendment by imposing sweeping age-verification and parental consent requirements. … Continue reading →

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Judge blocks Ten Commandments law

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in San Antonio temporarily halted a Texas law that would require public schools to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom by siding with a group of families who claimed the requirement harmed their children’s religious development. U.S. … Continue reading →

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First Ten Commandments lawsuit heard

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We are promised a ruling before September 1, the date the law would go into effect. The debate surrounding a state law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools intensified Friday as attorneys representing 16 Texas families … Continue reading →

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The latest lawsuit to go after mifepristone

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

These guys will never stop. A Galveston man is suing a California doctor for allegedly providing his girlfriend with abortion-inducing drugs, the latest effort to test Texas’ anti-abortion laws against blue states’ protections for abortion providers. Unlike other ongoing legal … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed over the Ten Commandments law

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. Sixteen Texas families of different religious and nonreligious backgrounds filed suit in federal court today to block a new state law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Ten Commandments law

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Expect there to be a lot of litigation over bills passed this session(s). Six parents and religious leaders have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a newly signed law set to require the Ten Commandments in Texas public school classrooms. Leaders … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough is way up in Texas this year

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is what happens when vaccine rates decline. Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years, pertussis cases are spiking as well. Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is surging across Texas and the nation. Already … Continue reading →

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It’s not just measles

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back, whooping cough. We didn’t miss you, but here you are again. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed … Continue reading →

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New York county clerk refuses to file judgment against Dr. Carpenter

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. A county clerk in New York refused Thursday to file a more than $100,000 judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, setting up a potential challenge to laws … Continue reading →

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Dr. Carpenter ordered to stop sending abortion pills to Texas

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. A Collin County judge has ordered a New York doctor to stop prescribing abortion-inducing medication to Texas residents and ordered her to pay a $100,000 fine. Thursday’s ruling is the opening salvo in what’s expected to be … Continue reading →

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More on the legal attacks against Dr. Carpenter of New York

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Slate legal expert Mary Ziegler weighs in on Louisiana’s attempt to prosecute New York doctor Margaret Carpenter for sending abortion pills to a woman in that state. Dr. Carpenter has also been sued by Ken Paxton for the same thing … Continue reading →

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Louisiana indicts NY doctor for providing mifepristone

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And the stakes get raised again. A New York doctor was criminally indicted Friday for allegedly prescribing abortion pills to a girl in Louisiana in what appears to be the first time an abortion provider has been prosecuted since Roe … Continue reading →

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Snow Day 2025

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That sure was something. Houston woke up to a winter wonderland Tuesday as a fresh blanket of snow fell across the region. The winter storm that also brought sleet should taper off through Tuesday afternoon. How does this snow — … Continue reading →

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Where the Lege might go next on abortion

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There’s always further to go. Last legislative session was the quietest in decades for abortion. After successfully banning nearly all abortions, Republicans were wary about continuing to push an issue that is widely unpopular with voters. This session, coming off … Continue reading →

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Bird flu update

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just something to keep an eye on. Federal health officials say that not only has a Louisiana resident contracted the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S., but that the virus likely mutated in the patient. The findings raise concern regarding … Continue reading →

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The legislative attacks on mifepristone are coming

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. A Louisiana law that reclassified abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances has made it more difficult for doctors to treat a wide range of gynecological conditions, doctors say. Now, a similar proposal has been filed in Texas. Texas Rep. … Continue reading →

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ERCOT will connect to the US grid

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? The power grid better known as the Texas Interconnection, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is famous for being isolated from the other major U.S. grids. But that may soon finally change. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced … Continue reading →

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