The big picture: Lawmakers in other states, like Texas, South Carolina and Utah have recently attempted similar legislation, but none have yet passed any as stringent as Louisiana appears likely to approve.

• The efforts to require the Ten Commandment displays began after Supreme Court rulings in cases like Kennedy v. Bremerton School District indicated a looser interpretation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
• That clause prevents state-sponsored religion.

Flashback: The U.S. Supreme Court found a Ten Commandments display requirement unconstitutional in a 1980 ruling on a Kentucky case.

Zoom in: The Louisiana bill, HB71, was authored by Rep. Dodie Horton (R-Bossier), whose 2023 bill requiring the words “In God We Trust” be posted in every classroom also became law.

• The new bill requires the text of the Ten Commandments be printed on a poster no smaller than 11 inches by 14 inches and that the words be “the central focus” of the document.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2024/05/17/louisiana-10-commandments-classrooms

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The mile-long crash on Interstate 55 in Louisiana’s St. John the Baptist Parish, near New Orleans, occurred during a morning “super fog” that lowered visibility to near zero, according to Louisiana State Police.

The crash, which caused a number of vehicles to catch fire including a tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid, shut down I-55, I-10 and I-310. I-55 remained closed in both directions throughout the night as crews continued to clear wrecked vehicles and transportation workers inspected the interstate for damage.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/10/23/louisiana-deadly-massive-crash-fog-interstate/3921698115772/

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In the city of Kyle, officials said water should “only be used to sustain life at this point.”

In Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, there are long lines for food, gas and supplies. Things are also bad in Oklahoma, where President Biden declared a state of emergency after the longest stretch of sub-zero temperatures there on record. At least 34 deaths were attributed to the storm, 20 of them were from Texas.

The winter weather also created a political storm. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was criticized for flying to Cancun with his family this week, while his constituents suffered in record-low temperatures.

San Antonio to open water distribution stations

The San Antonio Water System announced Thursday that it will begin providing water distribution at seven pump locations around the city. Residents will receive up to five gallons per person and are advised to boil the water they receive as a precautionary measure.

The City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Food Bank will also provide bottled water distribution at sites around the city.

San Antonio has experienced water outages due to the winter weather emergency, and the San Antonio Water System on Wednesday issued a boil water advisory for customers who still have access to water. ~April Siese

Power restoration to continue into Thursday night

ERCOT is continuing its power restoration efforts, according to CBS Houston affiliate KHOU. Restoration will continue into Thursday night, and ERCOT told KHOU that its progress has so far come without additional outages.

That could change later on Thursday or Friday morning depending on how stable the grid is as its load increases.

“The generating units that were online this morning have remained on throughout the day. With generation holding steady, we are hopeful that more generation will continue to become available,” ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin told KHOU. ~ April Siese

Winter storms disrupt COVID vaccine effort as variants fuel new fears

As Americans yearn for their pre-pandemic lives, the distribution of coronavirus vaccines is hitting delays as winter storms pummel the U.S. The disease has not only impacted how Americans live, but how long. Jonathan Vigliotti reports for “CBS Evening News.”  See video here.

Winter storm continues to pummel South as freezing temps persist

CBS New York weathercaster Lonnie Quinn has an updated look at the frigid forecast.  See video here.

34 deaths tied to the winter storm

As of Thursday, 34 deaths have been linked to the severe winter weather across seven states.

The most deaths were recorded in Texas, with 20 residents dying from storm-related incidents. Here’s where they occurred: Houston (7), Taylor County (6), Sugarland (4), Galveston County (2) and San Antonio (1).

Earlier this week, a grandmother and three children were killed in a house fire in Sugarland. City officials said the neighborhood had been without power. The cause of the fire is under investigation. ~Zoe Christen Jones

“This is a nightmare”: Over 13 million Texans face water crisis

For many Texans, it’s been unbearable. Thousands of homes have been ravaged by the storm. More than 13 million — almost half of the state’s population — have water issues.

In many homes, the tap is dry. Finding bottled water is nearly impossible. Some have resorted to boiling snow. Houston opened 11 sites Thursday to help give away water.

When the pipes burst in Texas Representative Shawn Thierry’s home, her world exploded. She and her 8-year-old daughter are in a hotel, but they won’t be able to live there long term.

“I mean this is a nightmare, this is everyone’s nightmare,” Thierry told CBS News. “Your home is your abode, it’s where you go to find your peace and work and now, I’m uprooted.”

Thierry is among millions in a new phase of misery. As lights come back on, the horrors of the storm are revealed.

Water is everywhere — or nowhere, as many treatment plants were knocked offline. A line to get into a plumbing supply store ran for blocks. Even food has become hard to come by as some grocery store shelves lay bare. ~Janet Shamlian

Read more here.

Relief groups rush to offer aid in Texas

Local organizations in Texas are using their resources to help residents in need.  Warming stations across the state are still open and are urging residents to come if their situation becomes dangerous.

Organizations from outside the state are also sending teams to brave the storm. Mercy Chefs, a non-profit based in Portsmouth, Virginia, sent a team to Dallas to provide meals to those without water, gas, heat, or a way to leave their homes.

“This winter storm has affected so many people over such a widespread area in communities that simply aren’t prepared for this kind of weather – we’ve never seen anything like it,” Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs, told CBS News. “We are glad Mercy Chefs can respond quickly and get meals to those in need.” ~Zoe Christen Jones

Over 325,000 still without power in Texas

More than 325,000 Texas residents are still without power, Governor Greg Abbot said in a Thursday news conference.

Abbot promised to reform the state’s power utility, claiming that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas assured him Texas was “ready” for the extreme temperatures.

The state legislature will now investigate the company to find out what went wrong.

“Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred, and how they’re going to be corrected and Texans will get those answers,” Abbott said Thursday.

Some Texas gas stations are running out of fuel

Texas residents are encouraged to stay home or drive with caution. But those who do leave might have trouble finding gas. The winter storm has slowed down deliveries, leaving some gas stations across northern Texas completely out of fuel, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reported.

Hundreds of thousands of residents are still without power and have resorted to using their cars for auxiliary power, charging phones, medical devices, or simply trying to get some heat.

But traveling is still a risky endeavor.

“Certainly what’s important for drivers to know is this is really more of a temporary outage, not a shortage,” AAA Texas Daniel Armbruster told CBS Dallas/Fort Worth. “So it’s really important that drivers not panic, and certainly don’t rush to the gas station to purchase fuel.” ~Zoe Christen Jones

A gas station ran out of gasoline in Euless, Texas, on February 18, 2021. MICHAEL AINSWORTH / AP

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NBA and NHL postpones more games

The severe weather in Texas is forcing major sports leagues to postpone games.

The NBA has postponed Friday’s matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets after the city of Houston suspended operations at the Toyota Center. The league said the game would be rescheduled for a later date.

The NHL was also forced to postpone Saturday’s match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. The league said it is working to re-schedule the four games postponed in Dallas this week. ~Justin Carissimo

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As of 10 p.m. EST, the National Hurricane Center says Laura has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph with higher gusts. That’s 7 mph shy of becoming a Category 5 hurricane.

The eye remains about 45 miles off the Louisiana coast and is expected to make landfall around 1 a.m EST on Thursday.

However, the extremely strong wind may not be the most pressing issue for people caught in the storm’s path. The National Hurricane Center said Laura will bring “unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves” to areas near the Texas-Louisiana border and as far as 40 miles inland. The NHC predicts flood waters will not fully recede until several days after the storm.

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There are possible tornadoes approaching southeastern Louisiana and extreme southwestern Mississippi, the hurricane center said in its 8 p.m. CDT update. The storm’s maximum sustained winds reached 150 mph, a “chilling” development, according to the hurricane center. That’s 7 mph away from being a Category 5 storm, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

“I think all evidence right now indicates that we’re probably going to be looking at a Category 5 storm,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones.

On Twitter, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he ordered the state to close the Interstate 10 eastbound at the Texas-Louisiana border and westbound west of the Atchafalaya Basin.

Hurricane Laura could bring 20-foot storm surge: Where is it, where will it be the worst?

Officials urged roughly 7,000 residents to evacuate from a coastal Louisiana parish that could be covered by ocean water when Laura makes landfall. But at least 150 people refused to leave, officials said.

“It’s a very sad situation,” Ashley Buller, assistant director of the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, said. “We did everything we could to encourage them to leave.”

Edwards said: “They’re thinking Cameron Parish is going to look like an extension of the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of days.”

Laura, which grew to a Category 4 storm Wednesday afternoon, is forecast to bring a “catastrophic” storm surge, “extreme winds and flash flooding to eastern Texas and Louisiana, according to the hurricane center. It was 75 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and 75 miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, at 10 p.m. CDT.

Water levels are forecast to rise quickly Wednesday evening and overnight due to storm surge and the tide, the hurricane center said.

The National Weather Service has urged people who have been ordered to evacuate to take shelter in sturdy structures in a room away from windows.

“Dangerous winds will last for hours in many locations tonight and/or tomorrow,” NWS tweeted.

Laura is the strongest August hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since infamous Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said.

More than half a million people were ordered to evacuate as the storm approached, including the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur.

“Hurricane Laura is a very dangerous and rapidly intensifying hurricane,” President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. “My Administration remains fully engaged with state & local emergency managers to continue preparing and assisting the great people (of) Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.”

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday, “This is a tough storm – big, powerful, and every forecast seems to increase the intensity.”

Edwards has activated the entire Louisiana National Guard for Laura. Several refineries along the Gulf Coast have also shut down before the hurricane makes landfall.

‘Rapid intensification’ for Hurricane Laura:Here’s why that could be so dangerous

The storm intensified a “remarkable” amount in 24 hours, the hurricane center said. And Laura is growing: “Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles,” forecasters said.

“It looks like it’s in full beast mode,” said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. “Which is not what you want to see if you’re in its way.”

It’s the first major hurricane of the 2020 season.

“We are expecting widespread power outages, trees down. Homes and businesses will be damaged,” said Donald Jones, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles. “I’m telling you, this is going to be a very serious situation.”

More:Fifteen years and $15 billion since Katrina, New Orleans is more prepared for a major hurricane – for now

The hurricane center said parts of the Louisiana coast from Johnson Bayou to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge could see waters rise as much as 20 feet from “the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide.”

Storm surge could reach as far as 30 miles inland from the coastline, the hurricane center said. “Actions to protect life and property should be rushed to completion as water levels will begin to rise later today.”

Edwards said he expects Interstate 10 in Lake Charles and beyond to go under water, hampering search-and-rescue efforts. “It will be inundated,” he said Wednesday.

First Rita, then Ike:Now the ‘resilient’ residents of this Texas town brace for Hurricane Laura.

Founded in the late 1800s, Sabine Pass has been smashed repeatedly in recent years, first by Rita in 2005, then Ike in 2008.

Flying? Change your Gulf Coast flight without a fee

The hurricane threatens a center of the U.S. energy industry. The government said 84% of Gulf oil production and 61% of natural gas production were shut down. Nearly 300 platforms have been evacuated.

After Laura makes landfall, the storm is expected to weaken rapidly as it makes its way north, then turns northeast.

The most recent major hurricane to make landfall in Texas was Harvey in 2017, which had 130-mph maximum winds, Klotzbach said. In Louisiana, it was Rita in 2005, with 115-mph maximum winds.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been a record-breaker. Laura is the earliest L-named storm in the Atlantic Basin, breaking a record held by Luis, which formed Aug. 29, 1995. This season has had 13 named storms, which is well above-normal activity.

Rick Jervis reported from Sabine Pass, Texas. Contributing: Greg Hilburn, The Monroe (La.) News-Star; The Associated Press;

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/08/26/hurricane-laura-path-update-storm-category-4-texas-louisiana/3441543001/

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