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Court rejects commandments law AG vows to appeal 5th Circuit ruling against placement in schools BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisiana’s controversial law requiring public schools and colleges to post the Ten Commandments violates the U.S. Constitution and cannot be enforced, a federal appeals court ruled unanimously Friday, upholding a lower court’s decision and raising the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will
be asked to weigh in. A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law, which took effect Jan. 1, is “plainly unconstitutional.” The ruling affirms a lower court’s order barring the state from enforcing the law, which says that Ten Commandments posters must be displayed in every classroom. Passed last year by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature,
the law turbocharged the national debate over religion’s proper place in public life. Critics say the law shatters the historic divide in the U.S. between church and state and restricts religious freedom, while supporters — including President Donald Trump and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry — say it reflects America’s Christian roots and represents a much-needed return to traditional values in public educa-
gued that the Ten Commandments have historical significance and educational value. In a 50-page decision, the 5th tion. Just days after Landry signed Circuit panel wrote that “unwantthe law last year, a multifaith ed exposure to government-spongroup of public-school parents sored religious displays” would sued in federal court, saying the violate students’ First Amendment mandate violates students’ First rights. Amendment right to practice their If the law goes into effect, “stufaith free of government interfer- dents will be subjected to unwelence. Attorneys for the state coun- come displays of the Ten Comtered that the legal challenge was mandments for the entirety of premature because schools had ä See COURT, page 5A not yet put up the posters, and ar-
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES FINALS GAME 1: LSU VS. COASTAL CAROLINA l 6 P.M. l ESPN
TIGER TAKEOVER
LSU baseball fans once again descend on Omaha
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
ABOVE: LSU fans enjoy the patio at Rocco’s as Tigers faithful begin to fill up Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series on Friday. RIGHT: LSU pitcher Kade Anderson, center, practices with the rest of the Tigers at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Friday.
OMAHA, Neb. — If anyone knows what to expect from LSU baseball fans pouring into town this weekend for the College World Series championship series, it’s LSU superfan Chris Guillot. His succinct appraisal at Thursday’s pep rally at the Tigers’ team hotel? “The zoo starts tonight.” You could say Guillot is the keeper of that zoo, the man who roams the stands Scott whether at Alex Rabalais Box Stadium or here in Omaha rallying the faithINSIDE ful with chants of “Go!” answered ä Superfan by “Tigers!” Chris Guillot Or, “Geaux” and “Tigers,” if you never misses prefer. a College Omaha is celWorld Series. ebrating its 75th Page 1B anniversary this ä Coastal year as the permanent home of Carolina has the College World history with Series. In that LSU and Jay time, a few things Johnson. have changed: Page 1C The ballpark where the games are played used to be called Rosenblatt Stadium, south of downtown next door to the actual Omaha zoo. Now they play at Charles Schwab Field, a modern 24,500-seat venue surrounded by bars, hotels and restaurants on the north side of downtown, just a couple of Jared Jones home runs from the
ä See RABALAIS, page 4A
Lawsuit claims texts from CVS manipulated patients Customers received messages urging them to oppose bill
oppose a bill that would have affected the company, a new lawsuit claims. Law firm Broussard, David and Moroux filed the lawsuit last week in St. Martin Parish and is seeking class-action status. BY ASHLEY WHITE “Patient information is meant for Staff writer health care, not political manipulaCVS improperly used Louisiana tion,” attorney Jerome H. Moroux customers’ personal information said in a statement. “No one goes when it sent text messages urg- to the pharmacy expecting their ing them to ask their legislators to personal data will be turned into
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a campaign tool. That crosses a bright ethical and legal line.” CVS’s communication with customers and patients was consistent with the law, spokesperson Amy Thibault said in a statement. “Our focus is and remains serving the people of Louisiana: lowering drug costs, providing access to care, and helping improve health,” she said. “We look forward to working productively with policymakers to continue to make prescrip-
tion drugs more affordable and accessible and to promote the value of community pharmacy.” House Bill 358, which ultimately failed to pass, would have barred companies from owning both pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, and pharmacies. PBMs act as gobetweens for pharmacies, health care plans and drug manufacturers to negotiate lower drug costs. Supporters of the bill argued it would stop big companies, who
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they say have too much power over the drug market, from pushing out independent pharmacies. CVS, which oversees a PBM and a nationwide chain of drugstores, said the bill would have forced it to close its 119 Louisiana stores, affecting about 1 million patients across the state. The company sent mass texts to customers urging them to contact
ä See CVS, page 5A
100TH yEAR, NO. 356