NATIONAL NEWS

Baby pig that was tossed like a football is adopted and pardoned at Louisiana Capitol

Feb 28, 2024, 10:36 AM | Updated: 12:18 pm

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A baby pig that was rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans was “pardoned” Wednesday and has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker.

The weeks-old little pink critter — dubbed Earl “Piglet” Long, a play on the name of the former 45th governor of Louisiana — was ceremoniously pardoned by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser on the Louisiana Capitol steps.

“He will live out his life without any threat of being thrown like a football or being part of jambalaya or boudin in someone’s kitchen here in Louisiana,” Nungesser said referring to two popular dishes that contain sausage.

While beads, stuffed animals and hand-decorated souvenirs are frequently catapulted through the air during Carnival Season in Louisiana, pigs are not among those items.

The piglet’s journey to a new home began earlier this month when a bystander noticed men in a park, not far from a Mardi Gras parade, throwing “what appeared to be a mini-football” to one another and laughing, according to the Humane Society of Louisiana.

As the bystander approached they could hear squealing and realized the object flying through the air was a baby pig. The bystander approached the men and asked for custody of the terrified animal.

“The rowdiness, endless parades, and party-like atmosphere often lend themselves to questionable behavior — like how three grown men behaved a few days ago,” the Humane Society said in a social media post.

The piglet, who is expected to grow to be 80 pounds (36 kilograms), has since been adopted by state Rep. Lauren Ventrella and will live on a farm in the Capitol region.

“As a Republican, sometimes we like to cut the pork,” Ventrella said, alluding to the GOP’s reputed conservative approach to fiscal spending. “But, I will tell you this is the pork we won’t be cutting.”

National News

Associated Press

AP Race Call: Democrat Val Hoyle wins reelection to U.S. House in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon on Thursday. Hoyle, a first-term congresswoman, defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran. She succeeded longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio in 2022. The 4th District runs along the western portion of the state and includes Eugene. The Associated Press declared […]

14 minutes ago

A Norway Spruce that will serve as this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is placed on a fla...

Associated Press

A green giant: This year’s 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A giant Norway spruce that will serve as this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree was en route to New York City on Thursday from its tiny Massachusetts hometown. The 74-foot-high (23-meter-high) conifer was cut down Thursday morning in West Stockbridge and hoisted onto a flatbed truck by crane. It will travel […]

24 minutes ago

Associated Press

AP Race Call: Independent Angus King wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Maine

Independent Sen. Angus King won a third term in the U.S. Senate representing Maine on Thursday, turning back challenges from a former Republican state party chair and a Democratic environmental activist. The 80-year-old former governor would be the oldest senator from Maine to serve if he completes his term, which ends in 2030, but he […]

38 minutes ago

Associated Press

Florida’s iconic Key deer face an uncertain future as seas rise

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — The world’s only Key deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer, are found in piney and marshy wetlands bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Keys. For years, their biggest threat was being struck by vehicles speeding along U.S. Highway 1 or local […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Rescuers respond after bus overturns on upstate New York highway

CHILI, N.Y. (AP) — Rescue operations were underway after a bus with passengers aboard rolled over on a highway near Rochester, New York, on Thursday morning, according to the governor. It was not immediately clear if there were serious injuries. The bus overturned on Interstate 490 west of Rochester, forcing the highway’s closure in both […]

2 hours ago

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R...

Associated Press

The Latest: Biden to deliver remarks following Trump’s win, House control hangs in the balance

President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks to the nation in what will be his first appearance on camera in the aftermath of Donald Trump ’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris. Control over the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance, teetering between a Republican or Democratic majority with dozens of races left […]

3 hours ago

Baby pig that was tossed like a football is adopted and pardoned at Louisiana Capitol