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How a family legacy sparked a tribute to the King of Zydeco

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thecurrentla.com – Scott Jordan – 2025-07-27 09:00:00

SUMMARY: Cajun musician Joel Savoy co-produced *A Tribute to the King of Zydeco* honoring Clifton Chenier, blending cultural legacy with fresh collaborations. Initiated by the Arhoolie Foundation and recorded at Dockside Studios, the album features legends like Taj Mahal, John Hiatt, and Charley Crockett, and includes a standout Rolling Stones track. The project draws on deep family and musical ties, including Savoy’s parents and Arhoolie founder Chris Strachwitz. With powerful accordion-driven roots and modern star power, the tribute raised global awareness of zydeco music and funds for a University of Louisiana at Lafayette scholarship in Chenier’s name.

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The post How a family legacy sparked a tribute to the King of Zydeco appeared first on thecurrentla.com

News from the South - Louisiana News Feed

Saints Justin Reid says he is focused on leadership role

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www.youtube.com – WWLTV – 2025-07-26 12:01:28

SUMMARY: The New Orleans Saints completed day three of training camp with encouraging progress under new head coach Kellen Moore, especially in quarterback play. Spencer Rattler stood out among the QBs, connecting well with wide receiver Mason Typton, who impressed with his speed, intelligence, and reliable hands. Tight end Jawan Johnson praised the improved locker room vibe, reminiscent of the 2021 season. New safety Justin Reid, acquired from Kansas City, is stepping up as a vocal leader, aiming to foster leadership across the team. Reid, longtime acquaintance of former leader Tyrann Mathieu, is seen as a natural successor in leadership and accountability.

WWL Sports Report Seth Lweis and Ricardo Lecompte dive deep into the Saints at their training camp and some of the …

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News from the South - Louisiana News Feed

Trump voters wanted medical bill relief. For millions, their bills are about to get bigger.

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lailluminator.com – Noam Levey, KFF Health News – 2025-07-26 08:03:00


President Trump’s recent tax cut legislation includes significant Medicaid cuts and rollbacks of federal health protections, risking millions losing insurance and facing higher medical bills. Premiums on state insurance marketplaces are rising, pushing people toward dropping coverage or choosing plans with higher out-of-pocket costs. Federal rules allowing insurers to stop covering some COVID-19 vaccines and increased copays for Medicaid visits will raise expenses. The administration also halted protections removing medical debt from credit reports, threatening credit scores for those unable to pay. Experts warn these changes will increase medical debt and worsen financial strain for many Americans.

by Noam Levey, KFF Health News, Louisiana Illuminator
July 26, 2025

President Donald Trump rode to reelection last fall on voter concerns about prices. But as his administration pares back federal rules and programs designed to protect patients from the high cost of health care, Trump risks pushing more Americans into debt, further straining family budgets already stressed by medical bills.

Millions of people are expected to lose health insurance in the coming years as a result of the tax cut legislation Trump signed this month, leaving them with fewer protections from large bills if they get sick or suffer an accident.

At the same time, significant increases in health plan premiums on state insurance marketplaces next year will likely push more Americans to either drop coverage or switch to higher-deductible plans that will require them to pay more out-of-pocket before their insurance kicks in.

Smaller changes to federal rules are poised to bump up patients’ bills, as well. New federal guidelines for covid-19 vaccines, for example, will allow health insurers to stop covering the shots for millions, so if patients want the protection, some may have to pay out-of-pocket.

The new tax cut legislation will also raise the cost of certain doctor visits, requiring copays of up to $35 for some Medicaid enrollees.

And for those who do end up in debt, there will be fewer protections. This month, the Trump administration secured permission from a federal court to roll back regulations that would have removed medical debt from consumer credit reports.

That puts Americans who cannot pay their medical bills at risk of lower credit scores, hindering their ability to get a loan or forcing them to pay higher interest rates.

“For tens of millions of Americans, balancing the budget is like walking a tightrope,” said Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “The Trump administration is just throwing them off.”

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White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not respond to questions about how the administration’s health care policies will affect Americans’ medical bills.

The president and his Republican congressional allies have brushed off the health care cuts, including hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid retrenchment in the mammoth tax law. “You won’t even notice it,” Trump said at the White House after the bill signing July 4. “Just waste, fraud, and abuse.”

But consumer and patient advocates around the country warn that the erosion of federal health care protections since Trump took office in January threatens to significantly undermine Americans’ financial security.

“These changes will hit our communities hard,” said Arika Sánchez, who oversees health care policy at the nonprofit New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

Sánchez predicted many more people the center works with will end up with medical debt. “When families get stuck with medical debt, it hurts their credit scores, makes it harder to get a car, a home, or even a job,” she said. “Medical debt wrecks people’s lives.”

Medicaid changes: Q&A with Jeff Reynolds, Rural Hospital Coalition of Louisiana

For Americans with serious illnesses such as cancer, weakened federal protections from medical debt pose yet one more risk, said Elizabeth Darnall, senior director of federal advocacy at the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. “People will not seek out the treatment they need,” she said.

Trump promised a rosier future while campaigning last year, pledging to “make America affordable again” and “expand access to new Affordable Healthcare.”

Polls suggest voters were looking for relief.

About 6 in 10 adults — Democrats and Republicans — say they are worried about being able to afford health care, according to one recent survey, outpacing concerns about the cost of food or housing. And medical debt remains a widespread problem: As many as 100 million adults in the U.S. are burdened by some kind of health care debt.

Despite this, key tools that have helped prevent even more Americans from sinking into debt are now on the chopping block.

Medicaid and other government health insurance programs, in particular, have proved to be a powerful economic backstop for low-income patients and their families, said Kyle Caswell, an economist at the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

Caswell and other researchers found, for example, that Medicaid expansion made possible by the 2010 Affordable Care Act led to measurable declines in medical debt and improvements in consumers’ credit scores in states that implemented the expansion.

“We’ve seen that these programs have a meaningful impact on people’s financial well-being,” Caswell said.

Trump’s tax law — which will slash more than $1 trillion in federal health spending over the next decade, mostly through Medicaid cuts — is expected to leave 10 million more people without health coverage by 2034, according to the latest estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The tax cuts, which primarily benefit wealthy Americans, will add $3.4 trillion to U.S. deficits over a decade, the office calculated.

The number of uninsured could spike further if Trump and his congressional allies don’t renew additional federal subsidies for low- and moderate-income Americans who buy health coverage on state insurance marketplaces.

This aid — enacted under former President Joe Biden — lowers insurance premiums and reduces medical bills enrollees face when they go to the doctor or the hospital. But unless congressional Republicans act, those subsidies will expire later this year, leaving many with bigger bills.

Federal debt regulations developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Biden administration would have protected these people and others if they couldn’t pay their medical bills.

The agency issued rules in January that would have removed medical debts from consumer credit reports. That would have helped an estimated 15 million people.

But the Trump administration chose not to defend the new regulations when they were challenged in court by debt collectors and the credit bureaus, who argued the federal agency had exceeded its authority in issuing the rules. A federal judge in Texas appointed by Trump ruled that the regulation should be scrapped.

 

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This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF, and subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

The post Trump voters wanted medical bill relief. For millions, their bills are about to get bigger. appeared first on lailluminator.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This content emphasizes the negative impacts of policies implemented by a Republican administration, particularly under former President Donald Trump, on healthcare affordability and patient protections. It highlights concerns commonly raised by progressive and center-left perspectives, such as cuts to Medicaid, increased medical debt, and reductions in federal healthcare protections. The article relies on critiques from consumer advocates and references policies enacted under Democratic leadership as protective measures. While it is critical of Republican policies, the tone remains factual and presents data and expert opinions without overt partisan rhetoric, placing it in a center-left position on the political bias spectrum.

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WDSU investigates the other times inmates have been mistakenly released from OJC

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www.youtube.com – WDSU News – 2025-07-25 22:27:56

SUMMARY: Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson apologized after deputies mistakenly released inmate Khalil O’Brien due to a clerical mix-up with a similar last name. This is the third such error under her administration. In November 2023, Louis Stokes was released without a court-ordered ankle monitor, fled for two weeks, and was later charged with assault. Two deputies were disciplined for that mistake. In December 2023, Norwood Charleston was also released without an ankle monitor because of inconsistent name listings in the system. Sheriff Hutson pledged to improve internal processes to prevent future releases and reaffirmed her commitment to public safety.

WDSU investigates the other times inmates have been mistakenly released from OJC

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