By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
On this day in history in 1986, an explosion destroyed the nuclear power plant in Chornobyl, Ukraine. Radioactive material contaminated 1,600 square miles and exposed an estimate 5 million people in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Wesley Muller/Louisiana Illuminator
By Piper Hutchinson
Deepfakes are becoming more accessible with the rise of generative artificial intelligence. There are many services available online that can freely or cheaply take an authentic image of a clothed person and produce a picture or video that appears to show them naked or even engaged in sexual activity.
In this Sept. 30, 2025, file photo, petrochemicals fill ponds near the Tangipahoa River across the street from the destroyed Smitty's Supply facility in Roseland nearly six weeks after it caught fire and exploded. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Wes Muller
The filing does not ask for any financial award or damages. By intervening in the case, the organizations would take part in any negotiations between the two sides and could effectively ensure the government doesn’t accept a weak settlement that favors the company with small fines.
By Wes Muller
Fierce debate this week in the Louisiana Legislature over a criminal defendant’s right to waive their right to a jury trial led to accusations of “tyranny” with some lawmaker-lawyers questioning the constitutionality of a proposal that has the backing of the attorney general.
Rep. Jessica Domangue punched back at online critics who say she has sided with the fossil fuel industry on legislation involving carbon capture and sequestration. (Instagram)
MORE LOUISIANA NEWS
District Judge Billy Burris and state Appellate Judge Blair Downing Edwards are running for the District 1 seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Republicans face each other in a primary election May 16. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
When thousands of voters cast their ballots next month to decide who will join the Louisiana Supreme Court next, none will be registered Democrats. The state’s new semi-closed primary election system, pushed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, has shut Democrats out of picking the state’s newest justice entirely.
Earth Day brought Louisiana-based environmental groups to the State Capitol Wednesday to voice their outrage over stalled legislative proposals intended to rein in carbon capture and sequestration projects in progress and planned around the state.
Environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over its approval of a BP development project in the Gulf of Mexico on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which occurred 16 years ago lasy week.
IN NATIONAL NEWS
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., in December. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Dr. Mehmet Oz said the Trump administration will require every state to turn in a plan within 30 days to revalidate health care providers that participate in their Medicaid programs.
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve vowed the central bank would remain “strictly independent” if he’s confirmed to the top spot, even as the president has broadcast his demand for the new Fed chair to lower interest rates.
Voting rights groups have launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s effort to sweep up sensitive data on millions of Americans with the aim of identifying noncitizen voters, arguing that the U.S. Department of Justice is building a dangerous centralized national voter list ahead of the midterm elections in November.
COMMENTARY
AI companions can give constant support, but distort real relationships | The Conversation
Healthy food is cheaper than chronic disease | Melissa Weissler
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