Tag Archives: Louisiana

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports: A Baton Rouge lawyer who is part of the legal team representing a Central church and its pastor defying state social distancing orders during the coronavirus pandemic has been hospitalized because of the coronavirus. The lawyer, Jeff Wittenbrink, attended two events at Life Tabernacle Church — an April 2 news conference and an April 5 …

CBS News New Orleans reports: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell today said she does not expect any large events to take place in the city for the remainder of 2020. While discussion has begun about how to re-start the economy and more normal activities when the coronavirus pandemic ends, the mayor said it is likely that a certain amount of …

The Associated Press reports: Hundreds of worshippers attended services at a Louisiana church on Sunday, flouting a ban on large gatherings, angering neighbors and seemingly turning a deaf ear to their governor, who once again warned that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus. An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Seventy-year-old New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond climbed into the open-air cockpit of a World War II-era biplane on Good Friday morning and roared off on a 25-minute mission. As a pilot steered a course from the Lakefront Airport to Kenner to Gretna, to the French Quarter and back, Aymond blessed the population, which has been …

TMZ reports: “If they die, they die.” Yes, a now-infamous Louisiana pastor got all “Rocky IV” on us, saying, if any of his church members die from the virus, they’ll have done so in the name of God and freedom. Tony Spell, leader of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, tells TMZ he thinks true Christians do not mind dying …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday announced she had formed a regional “death care task force” for the proper handling of coronavirus victims as coroners offices and funeral homes throughout the metro area reported a rush to properly store bodies and hold funeral services. In announcing the city initiative, Cantrell publicly shared guidelines on managing, preparing …

Fox News reports: In an effort to alert residents to a parish-wide curfew in Acadia Parish, police in Crowley, Louisiana, rode around town broadcasting an alarm signal at 9:00 p.m. local time last night — but for fans of “The Purge” films, the alarm had an eerie ring to it. In a video provided to Scripps station KATC in Lafayette, …

Reuters reports: “We’re defying the rules because the commandment of God is to spread the Gospel,” Louisiana pastor Tony Spell said in an interview with Reuters. Spell, 42, who plans to hold three services at his 1,000-member Life Tabernacle megachurch in a Baton Rouge suburb on Palm Sunday, has defied state orders against assembling in large groups and has already …

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports: The pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Central went ahead with an evening religious service Tuesday night just hours after city police cited him over allegations he violated a state order to limit crowd sizes during an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Pastor Tony Spell is accused of violating provisions of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ …

NBC News reports: A Louisiana pastor who continues to flout a ban on large gatherings was issued a summons from police for violating the governor’s executive order. The pastor, Mark Anthony Spell, who goes by Tony, of Life Tabernacle Church, told NBC News in a brief phone interview Tuesday afternoon that police had given him the summonses for the six …

The New Orleans Advocate reports: Louisiana is taking drastic steps to surge its medical capacity to prepare for what officials fear could be an overwhelming tide of coronavirus patients in the coming days, with the state planning to put more than 1,100 beds in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to ease the strain on New Orleans area hospitals. The …

Reuters reports: New Orleans is on track to become the next coronavirus epicenter in the United States, dashing hopes that less densely populated and warmer-climate cities would not be hit as hard by the pandemic, and that summer months could see it wane. The plight of New Orleans – with the world’s highest growth rate in coronavirus cases and where …

USA Today reports: A Louisiana man has been arrested after allegedly making a social media post that claimed Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputies had been ordered to shoot on sight those suffering from the coronavirus. Waylon Allen Bailey, 27, of the 3800 block of La. Highway 112, was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on one count of terrorizing, according …

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports: The presidential primary elections in Louisiana slated for April will be delayed by two months, the latest in a series of dramatic steps government leaders have taken to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Sec. of State Kyle Ardoin was set to announce the delay at 11:30 a.m. Friday, using a provision of state …

Baton Rouge’s NBC News affiliate reports: Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham says he won’t seek another term in Congress representing northeast Louisiana’s 5th District. The Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor says he’s sticking to a campaign pledge to serve only three terms in the U.S. House. Abraham announced his decision Wednesday in a statement that touted President Donald Trump’s …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump turned sports fan for an evening as he watched No. 1 Louisiana State University and No. 3 Clemson battle it out in the College Football Playoff championship. Trump flew to Louisiana for Monday’s night’s game at the Superdome in New Orleans, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump. “It’ll be a great game. It’ll …

ESPN reports: President Donald Trump is planning to attend the Jan. 13 College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans. The game features No. 1 Louisiana State University versus No. 3 Clemson, which is looking for its third national title in the last four seasons. Both teams are undefeated. Trump has attended a handful of sports events in recent months, …

NPR reports: A Roman Catholic church in rural Louisiana hoping to maximize its blessings has come up with a way to do it: filling up a crop-duster plane with holy water and letting the sanctified liquid mist an entire community. “We can bless more area in a shorter amount of time,” Rev. Matthew Barzare of St. Anne Church in Cow …

CBS News reports: Incumbent Governor John Bel Edwards will remain the only Democratic governor in the deep south, after winning a tightly-contested governor’s election against Republican businessman Eddie Rispone Saturday night, according to the Associated Press. The Democratic candidate’s win is a discouraging sign for Republicans and President Donald Trump, who were using this race as a barometer for Mr. …

Politico reports: The Republican National Committee is pouring another $1 million into the Louisiana governor’s race ahead of Saturday’s runoff — a move that comes amid mounting GOP concerns about losing a second major election in a conservative state in as many weeks. The last-minute spending doubles the committee’s investment in the race, where Republican Eddie Rispone is trying to …