LOUISIANA

“The governor opposes a bill (SB 48) that would put an end to the automatic increase in TOPS awards that thousands of students receive each year. The legislation is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday (April 22).”–Times-Picayune

“The Louisiana Cottage Food law, adopted last year, required raw honey sold to individuals to have a label affixed to it indicating it was homemade. If House Bill 79, sponsored by Richard Burford, R-Stonewall, is adopted into law, unpasteurized or unprocessed honey can go from the hive, to the jar, to the consumer — in exchange for payment. No label will be required.” —Times-Picayune

“CATS Chief Executive Officer Bob Mirabito will now earn a base salary of $175,000 a year — higher than the salaries of both the mayor and police chief — under the terms of a new three-year contract, which goes into effect May 1. Mirabito, who has led CATS through a controversial and tumultuous past year-and-a-half, has been paid $147,000 a year.” —The Advocate

“Charles R. Scott, the Caddo Parish district attorney, was found dead Wednesday morning inside his hotel room at the Cook Hotel and Conference Center on LSU’s campus.” —The Advocate

“Following an investigation sparked by a recent complaint from a Baton Rouge high school student’s mother, sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday arrested a Christian Life Academy teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with the student about two years ago.” —The Advocate

“After four straight years of defeats, a bid to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act is back on the legislative agenda Wednesday.”–The Advocate

“The 2015 NFL schedule has been released. For the fifth time in six years, the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys will meet. The matchup will take place in front of a national television audience on Sunday night, Oct. 4 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.” —Shreveport Times

“Louisiana is facing a $1.6 billion deficit, according to the most recent estimates, and state lawmakers are looking at various ways to close the deficit.

One popular option among state legislators is to increase tobacco taxes. But disturbingly, some are looking to expand those taxes to include e-cigarettes.” —by yours truly at the R Street Institute

NATIONAL

“National Review’s Jillian Kay Melchior reported Wednesday that, along with Al Sharpton and Melissa Harris-Perry, two more MSNBC stars are not paying their fair share of taxes. Touré  Neblett, co-host of “The Cycle” owes the IRS a cool $59,000.  Joy-Ann Reid, a former anchor and now a regular contributor to the “Lien” Forward network, owes New York almost $5,000 in back taxes.” —Breitbart

“During an interview on Michael Medved’s radio show on Tuesday, Bush heaped praise upon the National Security Agency’s harvesting of cell phone metadata on all Americans, crediting President Obama with expanding the program and maintaining it against fierce criticism from both Left and Right.” —Breitbart

“The Queer Student Union at California Polytechnic University recently orchestrated a three-day “shit-in” at which students preached “Gender Diversity” and encouraged students to use solely gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.” —Breitbart

“So, Earth Day is here…again. Don’t get me wrong; I firmly believe we should use the planet’s God-given resources wisely and not at all in a wasteful manner, but that’s not really the point of this day every April, is it? The “celebration” is usually a blitz from celebrities and anointed media-types whose goal is to impart their passion for “Mother Earth”. And by passion I mean borderline lunacy. It’s always refreshing to hear how harmful I’m being toward the environment from those who jetted in from somewhere with an entourage and an enormous carbon footprint. Then again, self-awareness has never been a hallmark of those in the environmental movement.” —Red State

“Rove’s generation and their Establishment focused, centralized thinking is over and gone. They are still here fighting to remain relevant but their sun is setting. It’s time for them to go home.”–Red State

“More to the point, this is what we are training future commissioned officers: wearing heels lets you understand women. Can you think of anything more superficial?” —Red State

“Global warming fanatic and television host Bill Nye, who shames anyone who questions the “science” behind global warming claims, will be celebrating Earth Day with a ride on Air Force One.” —Townhall

“In a new campaign ad, Rubio answers some of the most commonly Googled questions about himself, including, bizarrely, if he has a twin.” —Townhall

“Earth Day should be a day we celebrate the amazing resources the earth provides that enable us to live a better life. We too often take for granted that just about everything we do involves some use of fossil fuels. Most of mankind depend on fossil fuels to heat our homes, to construct the roads we drive on, and to provide mobility and transportation. Fossil fuels have done more to improve our lives than just about anything else nature has provided. So on Earth Day, rather than condemn fossil fuels, lets celebrate the amazing lives we are fortunate to live – because of them.” —Townhall

“Scientists from Australia, Amsterdam and China studied vegetation over the past two decades and found that while tropical forests have declined, that loss was made up by increases in mixed forests and tropical savannahs and shrublands.” —Rare