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M o n d ay, M ay 19, 2025
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LANDRY ORDERS AUDIT OF N.O. JAIL
GOVERNOR SLAMS SHERIFF, ORLEANS DISTRICT ATTORNEy, JUDGES AFTER MASSIVE ESCAPE FRIDAy
2025 LEGISLATURE REVENUE
Lawmakers consider tax cuts Some warn the numbers don’t add up
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
With little public attention, state legislators are moving forward with a package of bills that would cut taxes and attempt to offset the revenue loss by freeing up money that has flowed into a state savings account. The sponsor of the three bills, Rep. Julie Emerson, RCarencro, has said the numbers would balance out. Emerson But the Legislature’s economists are forecasting that the proposals — if approved during the final three weeks of the legislative session and by the public through changes to the state constitution next year — would leave lawmakers with a massive shortfall of $590 million in 2027 when they meet to pass the budget and later have to face voters. Economists and former legislators are warning lawmakers that passage of the tax cuts could put Louisiana on the same difficult path they had to follow after the Legislature and then-Gov. Bobby Jindal approved a big tax cut in 2008. Jindal and others said the tax cut would generate enough new investment and spending to pay for itself. It didn’t, economists say. In fact, years of crippling budget cuts
ä See TAX CUTS, page 4A
STAFF PHOTO By JUSTIN MITCHELL
Gov. Jeff Landry, center, speaks at a news briefing alongside New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, left, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell, right, at Benson Tower on Sunday, two days after 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center. The governor said an investigation is being launched into the escape as well as the jail’s policies and the number of inmates awaiting sentencing.
7 of 10 inmates still at large BY LARA NICHOLSON and KASEY BUBNASH Staff writers
With seven men still on the lam three days after a brazen jailbreak in New Orleans, Gov. Jeff Landry tightened his grip on local affairs in the name of public safety, ordering multiple state investigations into an escape he said “epitomizes a progressive criminal justice system.” In a Sunday evening news conference, Landry said the Attorney General’s Office, the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections and the state Inspector General’s Office would investigate the escape, the Orleans Justice Center’s policies and the number of inmates awaiting sentencing, respectively. The governor will also order the state’s judiciary commission to investigate Orleans judges who have high acquittal rates or whose cases are slow
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson makes her way from a news conference Friday after speaking to the media about 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center earlier that morning.
to reach trial. Flanked by Louisiana State Police, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, Landry said the moves were a needed check on a New Orleans justice system that has spiraled out of control. “Now there is no excuse for the escape of these violent offenders,”
Landry said. “There is also no excuse for the way these cases are currently being mismanaged in our criminal justice system.” He also sought to springboard his lawand-order agenda and cast blame on Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and judges at Orleans Parish Criminal Court, at one point demanding that Williams and judges explain why the men who escaped had not been tried in court. At another point, he said “elected officials with no front-line experience” were to blame for “a lack of safety and order.” Hutson was the city’s independent police monitor before she became sheriff. Williams was a City Council member and a defense attorney. Asked for comment, Hutson said she views the governor’s audit “as another necessary step toward transparency.” “But it is equally critical that we recognize the longstanding, systemic challenges that have impacted this facility for years, challenges I have been working to address since the beginning of my tenure,” she said in a statement.
ä See LANDRY, page 3A
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday. Biden was seen by doctors last week after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.” Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.
Louisiana teen John Foster finishes second on ‘Idol’ ‘There’s such a sweet spot in your voice,’ judge tells the aspiring country singer
BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer
After rocketing to “American Idol’s” top 3, Louisiana teen John Foster finished second in the ABC singing competition series during its grand finale on Sunday night. Grabbing the “Idol” title was Jamal Roberts, 27, of Meridian, Mississippi, an elementary school physical educa-
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 70 PAGE 6B
tion teacher. Roberts’ finale songs included “First Time” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” Finishing third was Breanna Nix, 25, a stay-at-home mom from Denton, Texas. Foster started off the finale with a bang, performing his first solo song of the night, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” by the late Toby Keith.
“Now, John. Now, now, John. That’s the way you run for office. I mean, you run — you run. That’s the way you work it for ‘American Idol,’ ” judge Lionel Richie said. “You know, it’s the time to pull out all the stops and you’re pulling out all the stops. I’m so proud of you and all you have accomplished about this whole
ä See BIDEN, page 4A
Louisiana teen John Foster sings during the first half of Sunday night’s ‘American Idol’ finale. PROVIDED PHOTO By CHRISTOPHER WILLARD/ DISNEy
ä See FOSTER, page 3A
Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
12TH yEAR, NO. 280