BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT | Staff writer The Livingston Parish school system is suing TikTok and Instagram, two of the biggest social media apps used by teens. Its argument: The social media companies intentionally made their product addictive for teens to use, despite evidence that prolonged use can harm mental health and cause other problems. Here's why the district says the appmakers need to change — and pay to fix the problems. The Baton Rouge Police Department is disbanding its street crimes unit and shutting down an interrogation center at the orders of Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome after new allegations of abuse by officers. Here's what we know about the latest controversies, and what spurred Broome to make the dramatic moves. Louisiana's got lots of pageant queens. There's the Shrimp and Petroleum Queen, the Rice Queen, the Frog Queen — the list is huge. And for years, they've competed in a "Queen of Queens" competition that includes an evening gown competition and on-stage questions. But in many places, pageants are going out of style amid complaints that they objectify women. And organizers recently decided the Queen of Queens would be selected only through interviews. That has not sat well with a bunch of previous queens, who are launching a campaign to get the change reversed. Here's a look inside the controversy. |