largest selection & lowest prices on wine, spirits & beer Very best selection
NEW!
of wine and o spirits
LB
THC
— ONLY —
24
$
LB
24 PACK 12 OZ
Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Light, Budweiser or Yuengling
— ONLY —
— ONLY —
49
16
$ 750 ML SELECTED
Decoy Red Wine
23
$
99 1.75 LITER
LB
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials!
— ONLY —
99
10
200 ML
LIMIT 3
Buzzballz Cocktails
30 PACK 12 OZ
— ONLY —
— ONLY —
22
$
3/$
4 PACK 12 OZ
Busch or Busch Light
1399
$
99
Cheech & Chong’s THC Seltzer
Prices good at all New Orleans, Gretna, Kenner, Metairie, Marrero, Slidell, Mandeville and Covington stores May 21st - 28th, 2025.
MAN CHARGED IN KILLING OF TWO ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFFERS 2A
N O L A.C O M
|
F r i d ay, M ay 23, 2025
$2.00X
Active hurricane season predicted nounced Thursday from the New NOAA says warm Orleans area, but the outlook isn’t as grim as it was this time surface temperatures quite last year. in Atlantic biggest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association officials prefactor in forecast sented their 2025 outlook from the
Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center in Gretna, ahead of the 20th anniversary of HurriStaff writer cane Katrina. They touched on lesAnother above-average hurri- sons learned since the devastating cane season is in store for the U.S., 2005 storm, and praised Jefferson federal hurricane forecasters an- Parish in particular for its storm
BY KASEY BUBNASH
2025 LEGISLATURE
Senate passes car insurance bills
NOAA’S HURRICANE SEASON FORECAST
13-19 Named storms
6-10 Hurricanes
preparations. NOAA is predicting 13 to 19 named storms this year, thanks to warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and a lack of wind shear. Of those, six to 10 are expected to become hurricanes, and three to five
3-5 Major hurricanes
of those are expected to become major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or more. An average season ends with 14 named storms, seven hurricanes with three major hurricanes. “Warm sea surface temperatures
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, announces the final vote total after the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump’s budget bill on Thursday.
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
ä See SENATE, page 13A
WEATHER HIGH 89 LOW 74 PAGE 8B
ä See ACTIVE, page 10A
DA asks sheriff to turn over evidence
Contentious legislation backed by governor
Gov. Jeff Landry showed who’s the boss at the State Capitol when he rammed a car insurance bill through the Senate late Wednesday night over the vehement objections of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and business trade groups. House Bill 148 would grant the insurance commissioner greater authority to reject “excessive” rate increases, which Landry has said several times would prompt him to blame Temple if rates remain high. With a last-minute amendment sought by the governor, HB148 also would require insurance companies to make their rate filing requests public. They say this could force them to expose trade secrets. But balancing out the scales, the Senate also passed five bills that affect who can sue and how much they can collect — measures that Temple, the insurance industry and their business allies say would reduce payouts and thus reduce rates. The Senate passed the bills over the opposition of trial lawyers and their Democratic allies. “What just passed out of the Senate, and if passed into law, would be the most comprehensive insurance reform in Louisiana’s history,” said Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington. “These changes are geared toward addressing the unaffordable car insurance crisis in Louisiana.” Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria,
are probably the No. 1 contributor to the whole thing,” National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said, because they provide the fuel tropical storms need to form and grow. Another factor is the unlikely return of El Niño, which is generally associated with higher wind shear and less tropical activity in the Atlantic. Instead, Graham said neutral conditions are likely
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams speaks after going into the Orleans Justice Center on Thursday, a week after 10 inmates escaped the jail.
Separate state inquiry underway focusing on delay in notification, sources say BY JOHN SIMERMAN and MISSY WILKINSON Staff writers
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson faced a new round of criticism Thursday over last week’s brazen jailbreak and her response, this time from District Attorney Jason Williams, as the manhunt for five remaining escapees slowed with none captured in two days. In a pair of letters Thursday, Williams asked Hutson to turn over any fingerprints or DNA that had been collected for jail employees and contractors, and to preserve all evidence related to the escape. Williams asked Hutson
side job. A spokesperson for Hutson’s office did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the office issue any news releases as of late Thursday afternoon. The letters from Williams add to a parade of investiOrleans Parish Sheriff Susan gative bodies now looking Hutson speaks during a New under the hood of Hutson’s Orleans City Council meeting office in the aftermath of the mass escape, which has Tuesday. drawn a national spotlight on New Orleans and its justice to save emails, text messages system. Attorney General Liz Murand other messaging, as well as surveillance video, visitor rill’s office also is investigatlogs and other data. ing. And on Wednesday, Gov. Williams wrote that his Jeff Landry issued an execuoffice was investigating the tive order calling for a host jailbreak by 10 inmates, as well as allegations of an in- ä See EVIDENCE, page 14A
Business ...................12A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
House passes ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’
Extension of tax breaks, cuts to Medicaid, GOMESA cap increase included BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Louisiana’s four House Republicans helped pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” early Thursday morning by one vote, while the state’s two Democratic members voted no. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, held the voting machine open for a few minutes and the bill passed on a 215-214 vote. The bill cuts Medicaid and food stamp spending, as well as phasing out Biden-era clean energy incentives. It includes much of President Donald
ä See HOUSE, page 10A
12TH yEAR, NO. 284