Louisiana has long been a leader in American energy production, with decades of experience in offshore oil and gas. That same knowledge and infrastructure now gives us a strategic advantage in a growing market: Offshore wind.

This is not a partisan issue; it’s a Louisiana opportunity. Offshore wind development means more jobs for welders, mariners, engineers, and energy workers who already know how to build and maintain offshore structures. It means more demand for our ports, shipbuilders and manufacturing base.

Just as important, offshore wind contributes to energy security. It diversifies our energy portfolio, reduces our reliance on foreign adversaries, and helps stabilize the grid, all priorities for conservatives and policymakers focused on national defense.

And as power demand continues to grow at a rapid pace, American offshore wind energy must be a key player in meeting that demand. Louisiana’s legacy as an energy powerhouse can continue through innovation and leadership in offshore wind.

With smart policy and support from both state and federal lawmakers, we can build on what we do best: Powering America. Let’s urge our leaders to embrace this all-of-the-above energy strategy and make Louisiana the Gulf’s wind energy hub.

Will Hardy is the state director for Conservatives for Clean Energy – Louisiana.

(The Center Square) – Drive through almost any Tennessee town and you will likely pass a retailer selling cannabis or hemp-related products, even though recreational marijuana is not legal in the state.

So why are these products legal to sell? The reason goes back to a bill approved by Congress in 2018.

Recreational marijuana is still against federal law. But the 2018 farm bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump legalized sales of cannabis products with a THC level of less than 0.3%. THC is the psychoactive compound that gives the “high” of marijuana.

Since the farm bill’s passage, states where recreational marijuana is not legal have been forced to set regulations. Only 24 states have legalized it, with Pennsylvania possibly becoming the 25th one this year, according to NORML, a group that advocates for legal and responsible use of marijuana.

In Tennessee, Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, likened the cannabis industry to the “wild west” during the 2025 session of the Tennessee General Assembly. He sponsored Senate Bill 1413, which would move the regulation of hemp products from the Department of Agriculture to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

The bill also adds taxes to cannabis products. A two-cent per milligram tax would be added to vapes and edibles and a 10-cent tax on drinks with hemp. Flower sales would be taxed at 50 cents per ounce.

The legislation bans products with THC-A and THC-P, which were part of the farm bill.

Tennessee is not the only state trying to regulate products that have become very popular.

Part of the reason states have been scrambling since the farm bill passed is because the Food and Drug Administration did not move fast enough to regulate the products, Morgan Fox, NORML’s political director, said in an interview with The Center Square.

“So we are faced with a situation, where because the FDA did not move quickly enough to regulate CBD and there was not place to sell it, people started getting creative and started developing products from their naturally hemp-derived compounds that they could turn into sellable products that had a huge market,” Fox said.

From an access point of view, it’s good, Fox said. But from a consumer safety point of view, it’s not.

“Because there are a lot of really bad actors out there and all of these products are unregulated,” Fox said. “There is no age-gating and a lot of them are sold online. There are a lot of bad manufacturing practices at work. I mean there are good actors out there, don’t get me wrong. But there are also people that will say that their products are lab tested and have QR codes take you to websites that have falsified lab reports.”

On the safety side, there’s not a lot of information on the impact of the substances outside of the banned Delta-9 THC, according to Fox.

Fox is not sure Senate Bill 1413 is going to help lawmakers corral the “wild west.”

“You are probably going to see a lot of Whac-A-Mole,” Fox said. “I think it’s going to be almost impossible to enforce on the synthesized cannabinoid end of the spectrum. Basically all this bill does is regulate CBD products.”

The bill, which would take effect on Jan. 1, is awaiting Gov. Bill Lee’s signature.

(The Center Square) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-District of Columbia agents arrested 189 illegal foreign nationals and served notices of inspection to 187 local businesses during an enhanced targeted enforcement operation focused on finding “criminal alien offenders” illegally living in the Washington, D.C. area.

“The District of Columbia is exponentially safer today because of countless hours of investigative work and dedication to duty displayed by ICE Washington, D.C. and our law enforcement partners,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott said.

The ICE operation was part of ongoing Trump administration efforts to target the most violent offenders and with removal orders from federal immigration judges.

The multi-agency operation focused on finding “the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most crime-infested neighborhoods in the city of Washington, D.C.,” Hott said. “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. I commend the efforts of everyone involved, as all were truly committed to the success of this operation.”

Agencies involved in the four-day operation included ICE-ERO, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Virginia Department of Corrections, FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.

They focused on targeting “criminal alien offenders including members of transnational criminal organizations known to operate in and around Washington, D.C.,” including MS-13, Tren de Aragua and 18th Street Gang, ICE announced Tuesday. TdA and MS-13 were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration in February.

“The success of this enhanced operation highlights the resolve of ICE and our federal partners in keeping our country safe from criminal alien offenders,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck said. “Many of the aliens arrested have egregious criminal histories to include violent crimes against residents of our Washington, D.C. communities.”

Many arrests were made after local jurisdictions and so-called sanctuary cities refused to honor immigration detainers and released illegal foreign nationals onto the streets, ICE said.

After District of Columbia officials implemented a wide range of so-called sanctuary policies and as the border crisis worsened, the mayor declared a public emergency in 2022. Her repeated requests for assistance from the National Guard were rejected by the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.

Last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to implement consequences for local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement, including losing federal funding, The Center Square reported.

In addition to finding and arresting criminal offenders at large, ICE also served 187 notices of inspection to Washington, D.C.-area businesses to ensure they comply with federal immigration and employment law.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and this administration’s focus on law and order, these arrests represent a major step forward in making Washington, D.C., safer for legal citizens and their families,” U.S. Attorney Edward Martin Jr. said. “These arrests make clear that violating our nation’s immigration laws will not be ignored.”

Examples of violent offenders arrested are all men illegally in the country. They either illegally reentered after previously being deported or illegally entered as a gotaway, those who illegally enter between ports of entry, don’t make asylum or other immigration claims and evade capture.

They include a 47-year-old Guatemala national with a criminal history of drug possession, illegal reentry, aggravated assault, trespassing, disorderly conduct and sexual assault. His current criminal charges include “unlawful reentry of a previously deported alien, lewd acts, sex abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon,” among others. He also appears to have gang-affiliated tattoos on his arms, leg and chest, according to images posted by ICE.

Others were charged with “alien present without admission or parole,” meaning they illegally entered as a gotaway. They include a 25-year-old Guatemala national with a criminal history of “threat to kidnap, attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, threats to bodily harm and simple assault;” a 30-year-old Salvadoran national with a criminal history of driving while intoxicated, brandishing a machete and unauthorized use of a vehicle; a 36-year-old Mexican national with a criminal history of larceny, indecent exposure, theft and possession of a prohibited weapon-knife, among others.

Under the Biden administration, more than two million gotaways were reported, the most in U.S. history, The Center Square exclusively reported.