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/ 14 December 2004
A white judge who wore blackface make-up, handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit at a Halloween party will be suspended for six months, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices voted 5-2 to suspend Judge Timothy Ellender for a year without pay for dishonouring his position, but to defer half of that penalty.
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/ 22 November 2004
More than 60 countries agreed to ban the killing of sharks for their fins in the Atlantic Ocean, a move that conservationists hope will increase protection of threatened species around the world. The agreement bans the practice known as shark finning in which fishermen slice off a shark’s fin and throw the carcass overboard, leaving room for more fins.
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/ 19 September 2004
Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and civil unions, one of up to 12 such measures on the ballot around the country this year. Only in New Orleans, home to a politically strong gay community, was the race relatively close.
Seven years after the action was filed, a trial may be starting this week on a lawsuit claiming cigarette makers plotted to get smokers addicted and keep them hooked.