SAINTS ANALYSIS Burning questions after loss in preseason opener 1C
N O L A.C O M
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T u e s d ay, au g u s T 12, 2025
‘IT’S WORKING’
U.S. Secretary of Education McMahon praises gains in reading scores in Louisiana during visit to BR school
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Firm hired to repair orphan wells sued State alleges leaders drained money ‘for personal gain’
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, center, talks with Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley while touring Jefferson Terrace Academy on Monday in Baton Rouge. At left is Shanna Beber, Louisiana Department of Education executive director of literacy. BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited a Baton Rouge elementary school on Monday morning to praise Louisiana’s improved reading scores, her first stop on a cross-country tour as the Trump administration pushes to dismantle the Department of Education and grant more educational authority to the states. McMahon said during a stop at the Jefferson Terrace Academy that she embarked on the “Returning Educa-
tion to the States” tour to collect best practices that have shown educational success. With Louisiana’s unprecedented improvement in national rankings, the state seemed a natural starting point, she said. State Superintendent Cade Brumley, East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent LaMont Cole, Baton Rouge Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and other officials toured classrooms Monday morning at the East Baton Rouge Parish public school with McMahon, the former head of World Wrestling Entertainment and
ä See WORKING, page 5A
D.C. officials question move, say crime is already falling
BY ALYSE PFEIL
BY JOSH BOAK and DAVID KLEPPER
Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 88 LOW 77 PAGE 6B
PHOTO PROVIDED By THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
An orphaned and leaking oil well site undergoes testing in the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.
Trump taking over Washington police
La., N.y. case could help define post-Roe v. Wade era
ä See ABORTION, page 4A
ä See WELLS, page 5A
the administrator of the Small Business Administration in President Donald Trump’s first term. McMahon watched intently as Melanie Arceneaux’s first grade class sat cross-legged on the carpet and broke down words that use a “short A” sound. Following Arceneaux’s lead, the group spelled out C-A-T, tapping on each letter sound with their fingers before writing the word. “It’s just like being back in first grade,” McMahon said as she walked
Abortion pill fight has high stakes Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022 ended a constitutional, nationwide right to abortion, states have passed their own, oftentimes widely divergent laws. Louisiana has a near-total ban and criminal penalties for providers, for example, while in New York, there is an “absolute right” to abortion until 24 weeks in a pregnancy. As some states outlaw abortion, others have passed shield laws to protect abortion providers and patients within their borders from states that have restricted
Louisiana is suing a company it had tasked with plugging orphan oil and gas wells, alleging its leaders engaged in “self-dealing” with the help of a former state official who oversaw them. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the 19th Judicial District Court, asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its directors from getting rid of business records or spending funds as the state seeks to recover money from the company. Louisiana terminated its deal with LORA after an audit and a financial review of the company raised questions about its spending — including facilitating a $700,000 “bridge loan” to help the state official buy a house. The lawsuit states LORA misrepresented its finances; it failed to plug most of the wells for which it was responsible or pay the state to do so; and it collected unauthorized late fines from operators who failed to pay their fees when it should have reported those operators to the state. It also lacked financial controls, breached its fiduciary duties and collected more money in
Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Monday.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital. The president, flanked by his attorney general, his defense secretary and the FBI director, said he was
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declaring a public safety emergency and his administration would be removing homeless encampments. “We’re going to take our capital back,” Trump declared, adding he’d also be “getting rid of the slums.” For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. The District of Columbia’s status as a congressionally established federal district gives him a unique opportunity to push his tough-oncrime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime. Attorney General Pam Bondi will assume
ä See TRUMP, page 4A
12TH yEAR, NO. 365