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W e d n e s d ay, a p r i l 30, 2025
‘TALK OF THE TOWN’
Addis teen John Foster sings his original song, ‘Tell That Angel I Love Her,’ on ‘American Idol’ earlier this month. PROVIDED PHOTO By ERIC MCCANDLESS/ABC
John Foster’s hometown elated as ‘American Idol’ contestant advances
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$17.5B La. LNG facility gets final approval BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor
Woodside Energy has made a final investment decision to build a $17.5 billion liquefied natural gas production and export facility in Calcasieu Parish, which state officials said is the largest foreign investment in Louisiana history. Construction of the Louisiana LNG facility has been underway for three years. It will be located on a 1,200-acre site on the west bank of the Calcasieu River south of Lake Charles and is slated to produce 16.5 million tons per year of LNG. It is expected to create 500 to 1,000 permanent jobs and 8,000 construction jobs. Gov. Jeff Landry referred to the “long and winding road” that it took to make the export facility a reality during a news conference Tuesday announcing the project. “We’ve addressed obstacles and moved things out of the way, and we’ll continue to do it, as long as you keep investing in Louisiana,” he told Woodside officials during the event in the courtyard of the Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge.
ä See LNG, page 6A
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
John Foster may not be in town, but his face is everywhere. In the “American Idol” contestant’s hometown of Addis, on the west bank of the Mississippi River, signs of support dot the drive along La. 1. They are just one manifestation of the pride and excitement felt by West Baton Rouge Parish as the 18-year-old country artist many watched grow up continues to advance in the national singing competition on ABC that started in 2002. “John Foster Benoit,” one reads, using the full name of the singer by which the locals know him, “from Addis to Idol!” The LSU freshman made the cut for Idol’s Top 10 Monday night, after performing Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” with the old-country twang and Southern manner that have distinguished his performances on the show. He dedicated the song to Carrie Underwood and, as he sang the final lines, he tipped his hat to the American Idol
FBI pushes back on reported ties to N.O. attack STAFF PHOTO By HALEy MILLER
A sign supporting ‘American Idol’ contestant and Addis native John Foster hangs outside Emma’s Garden in Port Allen on Tuesday.
veteran and now judge. hung banners outside her husband’s “He’s such a great representation garden shop telling passersby to vote of West Baton Rouge Parish,” said for “Cutie-Patootie” John Foster. Christy Fabre, who taught the singer ä See ‘IDOL’, page 4A in middle school typing class and has
BY ALYSE PFEIL
2025 LEGISLATURE
road and bridge construction — but they haven’t yet decided on an alternative way As part of a plan to overhaul the Louisiana to fund the paychecks of roughly 4,300 state Department of Transportation and Develop- workers. Since the 1990s, lawmakers have used monment, state lawmakers are considering a major change to how the state pays for the sala- ey from the Transportation Trust Fund, which ries of DOTD employees. Legislators say the gets money from the state gas tax, to pay for move would free up money for spending on DOTD employee salaries and benefits. Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 88 LOW 70 PAGE 8B
BY SAM KARLIN and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writers
But as inflation and labor costs have risen, money received from the gas tax hasn’t kept up, and personnel costs have eaten up a bigger share of the fund, which was designed to pay for construction and maintenance of Louisiana highways and bridges. That’s why Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville, who chairs the House transportation committee, is sponsoring legislation that would bar lawmakers from using the fund to pay DOTD salaries and benefits.
The FBI said Tuesday that it continues to believe that the man who rammed a truck into revelers on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day acted alone, despite new reports that Iraqi officials arrested an alleged ISIS member overseas for allegedly inciting the attack. “The FBI’s investigation into the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans remains active and ongoing,” the agency said in a statement. “While we continue to work with our law enforcement partners, both in the U.S. and internationally, based on the information to date, we continue to believe that Shamsud Din-Jabbar acted alone in carrying out the attack on Bourbon Street.” Al Arabiya News, a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news channel, reported over the weekend that Iraqi authorities arrested a suspect “for inciting the January 2025 truck attack in the United States.”
ä See DOTD, page 4A
ä See ATTACKER, page 6A
Funding for DOTD employee pay could be in limbo Legislature considering change in spending
Agency continues to believe Bourbon Street suspect acted alone
Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
100TH yEAR, NO. 304