T-BONE STEAKS
KINGSFORD CHARCOAL
FAMILY PACK
$999
24 LB
$1299
LB
CANTALOUPE
METAIRIE 504-885-5565 | RIVER RIDGE 504-737-8146 GARDEN DISTRICT 504-262-6017 | CHALMETTE 504-262-0750 BELLE CHASSE 504-393-1012
EA
COOKIE CAKE 12 INCH
2/$5
PRICES VALID 6/11/25 - 6/17/25
$999
EA
BEACH BOYS FOUNDER BRIAN WILSON DIES AT 82 3A
N O L A.C O M
|
T h u r s d ay, J u n e 12, 2025
$2.00X
Trump wants to phase out FEMA
President says states should be responsible BY MARK BALLARD
more on their own when responding to natural disasters. Talking with reporters in the WASHINGTON — President Donald Oval Office, Trump said he planned Trump wants to phase out the to phase out FEMA as it exists now Federal Emergency Management and “wean” states off federal aid. Agency at the end of this year’s The agency handles relief and rehurricane season and leave states covery after hurricanes, floods, Staff writer
tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and other catastrophic disasters. “We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump said Tuesday night. “If a certain state gets hit by a hurricane or tornado, the governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle
it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor,” he added. “We’re going to give out less money. We’re going to give it out directly. It’ll be from the president’s office.” Gov. Jeff Landry, an ardent supporter of Trump’s, did not respond to requests Wednesday for a comment.
MARDI GRAS MIKE HEADED TO OMAHA
Trump said he wants to change FEMA after hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Over the past four years, FEMA has provided more than $12 billion to individuals and $133 billion to state and local governments, tribal
ä See FEMA, page 7A
Cantrell’s approval rating falls in new poll
Increase in popularity seen for police chief, district attorney BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Studios and Mardi Gras World, and his sons, the float took three months to design and plan and three more months to build. “This is really something cool that kind of integrates what we do from Mardi Gras with the spirit of LSU and LSU Tiger fans,” Kern said. “Why don’t we do something that will just bring all this together in
Months of plummeting crime rates in New Orleans have eased voters’ worries about public safety — but credit still isn’t going to Mayor LaToya Cantrell, whose job approval sank below 30% in a new poll. The mayor’s approval ratings have dwindled over her eight-year tenure, but hit a new low of just 27% in the new survey, commissioned by the New Orleans Crime Coalition and conducted by pollster Ron Faucheux. Last year, the same poll found 31% of respondents approved of Cantrell’s performance, while a separate poll by the University of New Orleans’ Survey Research Center placed her approval mark last fall at 33%. The city’s police chief and dis- Cantrell trict attorney, meanwhile, are more popular than before. That’s likely because participants associated law enforcement officials with vast improvements in violent crime rates, Faucheux said in an interview. “The mayor is dealing with issues other than crimes,” he said. “The survey shows that street (repairs) are viewed as very important, so she’s dealing with people’s feelings about those, as well.” Cantrell’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the poll’s findings. The results — the second of two sets of findings Faucheux released this week — add to a body of interviews, focus groups and earlier polls that
ä See MIKE, page 5A
ä See POLL, page 5A
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
A giant Mike the Tiger Mardi Gras-style float by Kern Studios visits Alex Box Stadium on Wednesday during a sendoff for the LSU baseball team before they leave for the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
13.5-foot-tall float to cheer on LSU at College World Series BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer
A 13.5-foot-high, 31-foot-long fiberglass Mike the Tiger float is on its way to Omaha, Nebraska. The Kern Studios float debuted Wednesday morning as more than 100 fans gathered at Alex Box Stadium to send the LSU baseball team on its way to Omaha for the College World Series. The float will travel the 15 hours
from Baton Rouge to Omaha on highways and interstates, along with the LSU baseball faithful who will have a chance to tailgate with Mardi Gras Mike at Charles Schwab Field. Throughout the College World Series, Mardi Gras Mike’s tenders also plan for the giant tiger to show up around Omaha wherever LSU fans gather. Imagined six months ago by Barry Kern, CEO and president of Kern
Pharmacy bill stirs heated debate; CVS texts warn of closures 2025 last day of the legislative session, provoking a furious debate on the LEGISLATURE House floor and a massive public lobbying campaign from drugStaff writers store chain CVS. House Bill 358 surfaced Wednes- dition: It would ban pharmacy A bill that could reshape the landscape of Louisiana pharma- day afternoon from a conference benefit managers from owning cies emerged on the second-to- committee with a major new ad- pharmacies. The goal, supporters BY ALYSE PFEIL, MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 76 PAGE 8A
said, is to stop those big companies from using their buying power to squeeze out local independent pharmacies and give consumers fewer choices. But CVS, which owns both a pharmacy benefits manager and a chain of drugstores, said the bill
Business ......................6A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
would force them to close 119 Louisiana pharmacies, affecting 1 million patients across the state and 22,000 patients who receive highcost specialty drugs that smaller pharmacies could find difficult to
ä See PHARMACY, page 5A
12TH yEAR, NO. 304