Baton Rouge Voice

A group of California-based aluminum companies will pay $549.5 million to settle federal allegations that they ran a scheme to dodge antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions imported from China. The Justice Department announced the settlement on May 13, calling it a direct product of President Trump’s America First Trade Policy. The alleged scheme…

Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper testified before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that the recent U.S. military action against Iran had eradicated 90 percent of Iran’s defense industry. The commander also stated that Iran’s navy has been severely crippled for a generation, with drone and missile capabilities requiring years to rebuild. Cooper inadvertently…

Governor Ron DeSantis has publicly accused Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez of prioritizing a “personal agenda” over voter expectations during the state’s recent legislative session. DeSantis claimed Perez deliberately refused to advance two key bills—medical freedom legislation and an AI Bill of Rights—despite their passage by the Senate in the regular session. “The reason they…

An improvised explosive device was discovered underwater at the Converse Reservoir dam in Mobile, Alabama, which supplies drinking water to the city. Divers conducting routine maintenance on the dam identified a grenade-type improvised explosive device (IED). The MAWSS immediately alerted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, which coordinated a multi-agency response for analysis, retrieval and safe…

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has accused the Central Intelligence Agency of unlawfully seizing dozens of boxes containing classified documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the agency’s MKUltra mind-control program. According to Luna, the CIA took these materials—scheduled for declassification under a presidential executive order—during its second tenure under former President Donald Trump….

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a two-hour bilateral meeting in Beijing Thursday morning, with discussions covering critical issues including Taiwan, the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, trade, and technology. The White House described the session as “good.” During private talks, Xi Jinping warned that U.S.-China relations would remain stable if Taiwan was…

The Louisiana Senate on Thursday approved a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections by a vote of 27-10. The legislation would eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic-held U.S. House seats and sends the redistricting plan to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a two-thirds majority. The amended map removed…