LSU TO CELEBRATE BASEBALL TEAM WEDNESDAY 1C
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T u e s d ay, J u n e 24, 2025
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‘TOTAL CEASEFIRE’
TRUMP SAyS DEAL REACHED; IRAN SAyS IRAN LAUNCHES RESPONSE IT’LL STOP STRIKES IF ISRAEL DOES ON U.S. BASE IN QATAR
BR agency merger slated
Fire, EMS move to reduce duplication BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER
Staff writer
PHOTO PROVIDED By IRANIAN ARMy PRESS SERVICE
Iran’s army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami, center, accompanied by high-ranking army commanders, speaks Monday in a video call with top commanders of the army in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran, as portraits of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hang on the wall. Iran launched a missile strike Monday against a U.S. base in Qatar in response to the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites. BY DAVID RISING, JON GAMBRELL and MELANIE LIDMAN
Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump said that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” soon after Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites. Iran’s foreign minister said that as long as Israel stopped its attacks by 4 a.m. Tehran time Tuesday, Iran would halt its own. But Israel’s military warned its public Tuesday that Iran had launched missiles toward it near an hour after that time. Sirens sounded in areas of Israel ahead of the missile barrage’s arrival. It’s unclear what the detected missile launch would do for the ceasefire’s timeline. Israel did not immediately acknowledge any ceasefire, but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 a.m. Heavy Israeli strikes continued in Tehran and other cities until shortly before that time. Israel in other conflicts has stepped up its strikes just before ceasefires took effect. “As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” Iranian Foreign Minister
Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.” His message was posted at 4:16 a.m. Araghchi added: “The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.” Trump posted on Truth Social that the 24-hour phased-in ceasefire will begin about midnight Tuesday Eastern time. He said it would bring an “Official END” to the war. The Israeli military declined to comment on Trump’s statement and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Trump went so far as to give the conflict between Israel and Iran the name of the “12 Day War.” That recalls the 1967 Mideast war, known by some as the “Six Day War,” in which Israel fought a group ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CARLOS BARRIA of Arab countries including Egypt, JorPresident Donald Trump speaks Saturday dan and Syria. Trump’s reference carries emotional from the East Room of the White House weight for the Arab world, particularly in Washington after the U.S. military Palestinians. In the 1967 war, Israel capstruck three Iranian nuclear and military tured the West Bank and east Jerusalem sites. Trump announced Monday that from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the SiIsrael and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. nai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Though Israel Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X. later gave the Sinai back to Egypt, it still “However, provided that the Israeli re- holds the other territories. gime stops its illegal aggression against ä See CEASEFIRE, page 7A the Iranian people no later than 4 am
La. Senate puts brakes on several big bills Stalled measures shed light on legislative politics
ban companies from owning both pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies, a prospect that had initiated a flood of lobbying texts from CVS and ignited a fiery debate in the House. Now, it was up to the Senate to BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN decide whether House Bill 358 Staff writer by state Rep. Dustin Miller, DWith less than two hours to go Opelousas, would pass. In the end, the Senate didn’t in the legislative session, all eyes bring it up for a vote. Sen. Kirk were on the Louisiana Senate. A day earlier, the House had Talbot, R-River Ridge, took to the passed on an 88-4 vote a bill to dais to introduce Senate Resolu-
WEATHER HIGH 93 LOW 74 PAGE 6B
tion 209, which urged the Louisiana Department of Health to study the impact of legislation such as House Bill 358. That signaled Miller’s bill was dead. HB358 was not the only piece of legislation that passed the House, only to meet its end in the Senate. A number of bills, and one major budget measure, all stalled or were killed by the upper chamber. “The House does their job
The departments that run Baton Rouge’s fire trucks and ambulances are merging, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards announced Monday. East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services will fold into the Baton Rouge Fire Department, Edwards said in a news release. “This merger is a potential opportunity to create a more unified and responsive emergency services Edwards system,” Edwards said. “While a transition like this will take time, it positions us to deliver faster, smarter, and more effective service to the people of Baton Rouge.” The merger aims to reduce duplication between the two agencies. It will be phased in gradually, according to the release. EMS employees will move into the Fire and Police Civil Service system, which the release states would give “greater job protections, clearer career advancement, and consistent standards across public safety roles.”
ä See MERGER, page 4A
Henry questions program oversight Lawmaker sees ‘conflict’ in Education Department operating LA GATOR BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
as diligently as they can, but sometimes through the process, by the time it gets to us, people have had more chance to look at it, and they’ve found something in it that they didn’t like or didn’t realize that were in it, and it stays on the Senate calendar,” said Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie. Talbot said it is natural for the legislative process to slow down
After a bruising fight over funding, Louisiana’s new LA GATOR program is set to start giving families tax dollars to pay for private education. But now a new question has come up: Who should run the program? The state Department of Education oversees the program, which in the coming days will give about 6,000 families access to state money they can use to pay for private school tuition or homeschool expenses. On Friday, a legislative budget committee approved the
ä See SENATE, page 4A
ä See LA GATOR, page 4A
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
100TH yEAR, NO. 359