The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana honors Assistant United States Attorney John Luke Walker and victim-witness coordinator Vicki Chance for their decades of service. Walker retires after 36 years, and Chance departs after 33 years to continue public service with the federal district court.

The Louisiana Committee on Parole will hold live hearings at Louisiana Tech University on January 15, giving students and the public a chance to observe the parole process firsthand. Hearings promote transparency, community engagement, and public safety.

Families are invited to a Mardi party at the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum on January 25, with games, king cake decorating, mask-making, and a second line parade. Admission is $10 per person.

The University of Louisiana Monroe will hold a donation drive January 14–16, 2026, as part of its annual MLK Service Project. The initiative invites students, faculty, staff, and community members to donate food, hygiene items, and household supplies to support The Renewal Center of Northeast Louisiana and the on-campus ULM Food Pantry, reinforcing the university’s commitment to service, dignity, and community engagement.

As Louisiana prepares to implement a computer science graduation requirement, students at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts are already applying coding skills through an innovative interdisciplinary course that blends data analysis with history, literature, music, and culture.

In a joint statement, leaders of eight countries said they stand in "full solidarity" with Denmark and Greenland. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen added: "Europe will not be blackmailed."

Syria's new leaders, since toppling Bashar Assad in December 2024, have struggled to assert their full authority over the war-torn country.

The move comes after President Trump again threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to control ongoing protests over the immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis.