Claire Grunewald

Border Patrol sweeps begin in Louisiana's Capital Region amid 'Catahoula Crunch' operation Here’s what we know.

Here’s what we know.

Louisiana attorney general sues Livingston Parish Library Board over open meetings law Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the Livingston Parish Library Board for allegedly violating Open Meetings Law when the board ousted its library director.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the Livingston Parish Library Board for allegedly violating Open Meetings Law when the board ousted its library director.

Always a great time talking to you all. Happy GW150914 anniversary!

Amid concerns over potential cuts, Livingston's LIGO scientists mark 10th anniversary of monumental discovery BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD | Staff writer Sep 14, 2025 A signal lasting less than a second traveled about 1.3 billion light years before it reached an obser vatory deep in the piney woods of Livingston 10 years ago. The brief signal — caused by a pair of black holes colliding - the first gravitational waves ever detected, and it created a new way for scientists to look into the uni-verse. The Sept. 14, 2015, detection con-tirmed a key prediction of Albert Einstein's general theory of rela-tivity, earned the Nobel Prize in physics and kick-started a new era of astronomy. "Most of us had figured that with nature being perverse, that the first signal would be really hard to pull out of the noise. And then the signal came beautifully, beautifully clear," said Joseph Giaime, head of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Livingston.

@clargrune.bsky.social of The Advocate covered the 10th anniversary of our GW detection. www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Livingston Parish library director removed by parish president, library board The Livingston Parish president and the majority of the library board decided to not renew the library director's contract, ultimately removing her from the position, amidst years of ongoing turmoil surrounding the parish library system.

The Livingston Parish president and the majority of the library board decided to not renew the library director's contract, ultimately removing her from the position, amidst years of ongoing turmoil surrounding the parish library system.

Louisiana LIGO scientists fear Trump administration's proposed cuts: 'So much science would be lost' Scientists believe if the Trump administration's proposed budget is approved, the Louisiana LIGO could be on the chopping block and "would cripple our scientific mission."

Scientists believe if the Trump administration's proposed budget is approved, a Louisiana space observatory could be on the chopping block and see its scientific mission crippled. @theadvocatebr.bsky.social @nolanews.bsky.social
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Trump administration's budget cuts could close down Louisiana LIGO observatory The Louisiana observatory that made a historic scientific breakthrough by detecting gravitational waves from black holes in space in Livingston is now at risk of shutting down from the Trump administration's proposed federal budget cuts.

The Louisiana observatory that made a historic scientific breakthrough by detecting gravitational waves from black holes in space in Livingston is now at risk of shutting down from the Trump administration's proposed federal budget cuts.

LSU professor's lawsuit will not be heard by Louisiana Supreme Court, justices rule Levy told The Advocate that the Supreme Court's decision "was very disappointing."

The tenured law professor filed a lawsuit in January against the LSU Board of Supervisors, claiming his suspension violated his free speech and due process rights and asked to be returned to the classroom.

Louisiana's foster child numbers hit record highs in some parishes. 'You can't turn a blind eye.' "You can't turn a blind eye once you see what's out here, and you know that there's not enough people out here willing to do it with you … you just stay in the trenches a lot longer than you should," ...

My latest: The shortage of available foster homes is widespread across Louisiana. Parishes like West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee, where children are entering foster care in growing numbers, currently have zero foster homes available.
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Momentum builds in Livingston Parish to extend pause on solar farm development As solar energy development has surged in Louisiana in the past few years, Livingston Parish issued a halt on developing solar panel farms and plants back in May. Now, parish council members want to e...

Livingston Parish loves its farms — as long as they aren't the solar kind. Here's its latest move to stall large solar development:
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

'This is not happening:' Inside the day LSU's William Schmidt rocked the baseball world Here's what happened the day freshman William Schmidt decided to stay at LSU and pass up the MLB Draft.

NEW: “It was probably 50/50.”

William Schmidt didn’t know what his decision would be on the morning of the 2024 MLB Draft.

All he knew was that he needed to drive back home and talk about it with his parents.

On the day Schmidt joined #LSU:

www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Southern University loses $600K USDA grant over false claim targeting trans men Louisiana's Southern University secured a $600,000 USDA grant to study sustainable feminine hygiene products, Federal agency scrapped it after claim the research involved transgender men's menstrual c...

The USDA in partnership with DOGE canceled a $600k grant to Southern University in Louisiana over claims that it was researching “menstrual cycles in transgender men.” The university has since denied these claims.
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Librarians reading 30,000 books in Livingston Parish to check for explicit material Livingston Parish libraries have found a solution for the community's concerns about the possibility of sexually explicit material in children's books: read every single book on the shelf.

Livingston Parish in Louisiana has pulled 30k print and audiobooks for young adults from its collection. They are going to be read and reviewed by librarians for sexually explicit material. Story from @clargrune.bsky.social

www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Folks, here's a starter pack of Nola dot com and sister publications journalists, give it a follow: go.bsky.app/2Pff1sm

Baton Rouge victim of Bourbon Street attack honored as loving father and joyful friend "He was probably the funniest person I ever met," Landon Hunter said of his father, Reggie Hunter, who was buried Saturday after being killed in the Bourbon Street attack on Jan. 1.

Reggie Hunter, 37, was one of two people from Baton Rouge, and among 14 total victims, killed as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar drove a pickup through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early on Jan. 1.

He is survived by his two sons, 11-year-old Landon Hunter and 18-month-old Tristan Hunter.

Hats off to the @nolanews.bsky.social team for this outstanding piece on the Bourbon Street terror attack, told from eyewitnesses’ perspective.

Incredible feat of collaborative reporting to interview so many & pore through all the footage. Love seeing how many contributed in the footnote.

Livingston Parish Council to its entire library board: You're fired After potentially one of the most heated council public comment sessions the parish council has dealt with, the majority of the council removed every sitting library board member in one swift move.

The parish council's solution to solving the ongoing Livingston Parish library conflict? Removing every single library board member. Here's the latest in the library drama saga:
www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

One week later, 7 front pages (and one digital front page we produced on the day of) of the fatal attacks on Bourbon Street that killed 14. Local journalism matters.

Louisiana bird flu patient dies, becoming the first death from the disease in the US, officials say The first Louisiana patient with bird flu has died, officials with the state health department said Monday. The death is the first U.S. H5N1-related human death, the agency said.

The first Louisiana patient with bird flu has died, officials with the state health department said Monday.

The death is the first U.S. H5N1-related human death, the agency said.

Biden, New Orleans pack St. Louis Cathedral to pray and grieve after Bourbon Street attack Jee Biden, Gayle Benson, Helena Moreno and other officials attend a prayer service at Basilica of St. Louis King of France.

Joe Biden, Gayle Benson, Helena Moreno and other officials attend a prayer service at St. Louis Cathedral Monday night.

Killed in New Orleans attack, Baton Rouge student was 'all about others,' coach says Kareem Badawi, who graduated from Episcopal in Baton Rouge and went to the University of Alabama was a trusted friend and selfless teammate, people who knew him said.

Kareem Badawi, who graduated from Episcopal in Baton Rouge and went to the University of Alabama, was a trusted friend and selfless teammate, people who knew him said.

Fight 'beaten out of them': Bob Dean patients finally set to receive payments three years later After waiting three years, Bob Dean's patients found out how much money they'll receive from their lawsuit. “Their fight has just been beaten out of them."

My latest: It's been over 3 years since Bob Dean sent hundreds of elderly and frail nursing home residents to a tepid warehouse for Hurricane Ida. Many found out this week that they'll receive between $10,000 to $55,000 in settlement $. They say it's not enough:
www.nola.com/news/courts/...

Budget cuts, documentary, AG letter: What's next for Livingston Parish libraries in 2025? "If you look in the wider scheme of things, you have to look at the hierarchy of needs. The library is on the bottom tier of that, as far as needs and the impact that it has on the community," said bo...

"You have to look at the hierarchy of needs. The library is on the bottom tier of that, as far as needs and the impact that it has on the community," Livingston Parish Library Board President-Elect Larry Davis said. @theadvocatebr.bsky.social www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Inside the Classrooms at the Center of the Church-State Battle Louisiana wants to put the Ten Commandments in classrooms — and that’s just the beginning

For @rollingstone.com's January issue I spoke with the parents and teacher leading the lawsuits against the Ten Commandments law in Louisiana www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Miami already short on shade trees. Plan would make it easier to remove them, activists say ‘We have [an ordinance] that’s ineffective at improving our urban tree canopy, and there’s little to suggest this would improve it, and much to suggest that it worsens it.’

Miami is struggling to maintain its tree canopy. Homeowners & developers are chopping them down nearly as fast as the city can replace them.

A proposed rule change could make that even easier. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...