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T h u r s d ay, au g u s T 14, 2025
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President Donald Trump speaks at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday.
Crowded buses causing concern
Trump warns Putin ahead of summit
Associated Press
BERLIN — President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the two leaders meet for a summit later this week in Alaska. Trump made the comment in response to a question from a reporter after announcing this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients in Washington. He did not say what the consequences might be. The remark came soon after Trump consulted with European leaders, who said the president assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he speaks with Putin on Friday in Anchorage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined several of Kyiv’s main allies in the virtual meeting with the U.S. leader, and Zelenskyy told the group that Putin “is bluffing” ahead of the planned summit about Russia’s ability to occupy all of Ukraine and shake off sanctions.
Vote set on power for Meta facility PSC decision coming earlier than expected
BY JOSIE ABUGOV
Staff writer
President threatens ‘severe consequences’ if war isn’t stopped BY GEIR MOULSON and SYLVIE CORBET
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STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Lafayette Parish school buses line up before dismissal at Edgar Martin Middle School on Wednesday.
Officials working on problem, say district changes may have exacerbated issues BY ASHLEY WHITE
Staff writer
District leaders said they’re working to fix issues after some Lafayette Parish school system students reported filing onto crowded buses, sitting three to a seat or in aisles. Lafayette Parish school system Transportation Operation Manager Ross Cloteaux said the district is aware of the issue and is working with drivers, school administrators and families to quickly address the issue. “Our focus is the safety of these students,” he said. “We’re knocking the overloads out as quickly as possible.” While the problem of overcrowded buses isn’t new to this school year, the issue has been made more challenging this year because of several district changes. The Lafayette Parish School Board voted last fall to close S.J. Montgomery Elementary and rezone students to the Lafayette Middle
“Our focus is the safety of these students. We’re knocking the overloads out as quickly as possible.” ROSS CLOTEAUX, Lafayette Parish school system transportation operation manager School site. Lafayette Middle School students were rezoned to several different schools, including Acadian Middle and Paul Breaux Middle. The board also voted to make Katharine Drexel Elementary a dedicated early childhood education site similar to the Truman Early Childhood Education Center, rezoning K-5 students who attended the school and some pre-K students. All of those site changes were on top of a decision to change school start times.
ä See BUSES, page 4A
A controversial plan to power Meta’s largest artificial intelligence data center anywhere in the world, to be built in rural northeast Louisiana, will head for a vote by state regulators next week, far ahead of initially planned. The fast-tracked approval by the Public Service Commission is drawing concern from advocates who say average ratepayers and other industrial companies are being put at risk of covering electricity costs for the giant facility, equivalent to the size of around 70 football fields. Entergy and supporters of the plan say enough safeguards are in place and that there is no reason to further delay a project that could be transformational for the impoverished region. Entergy, which is proposing to build three gas-fired plants to power the data center, requested that the commission take up the issue two months before the regulators were initially expected to vote. The vote at the Aug. 20 meeting will also occur before a judge who oversaw a recent hearing into the proposal will be able to release her recommendations. “I really want folks across the state to understand that this decision is not just about one of the world’s largest data centers in north Louisiana,” said Logan Burke, the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy consumer advocacy group. “Whether it sets a precedent or not, and it most certainly will, the costs will show up on people’s bills across the state.” A coalition of the largest oil, gas and petrochemical companies operating in Louisiana have similarly argued that the request poses huge risks for them. Around 30 companies are part of the coalition, including Exxon, Shell and Dow, under the banner of the Louisiana
ä See META, page 5A
ä See SUMMIT, page 5A
‘They could be pretty much anywhere’ Sheriff’s Office also tried to track forcement agencies and highlightInside the search to them down. ing an often overlooked concern in As Desormeaux continued the world of missing and exploited find two brothers who searching for his sons, their faces children: What happens when they went missing in a flashed on national news screens. are with a parent when they go Investigators had not been able to missing? Experts say such misscustody battle determine their specific location, ing persons cases generally re-
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer
Chase Desormeaux feared the worst after he stopped hearing from his two sons. Cohen, 7, and Colton, 5, missed the first day of school, Christmas and their birthdays. After they did not show up for a routine custody drop-off, alerts went out last December across Louisiana asking people to be on the lookout for the boys. The U.S. Marshals Service joined the search, while the Calcasieu Parish
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saying the boys could be as near as still in Louisiana or Texas, or as far away as California, Michigan, Illinois or Pennsylvania. “They could be pretty much anywhere,” said a host of “On Patrol: Live” on the Reelz network, which featured their case in March and told viewers they were with their mom. “But it also means that she’ll probably be interacting with people, so if you know her, you see her, you recognize her, please help.” The case of the missing Desormeaux boys wound up taking nine months, spanning two states, including multiple law en-
ceive far less attention than those that involve strangers who abduct children. It was 2:30 a.m. on March 31 when a phone call woke up their dad from his sleep. There was news about the boys. The Desormeaux boys went missing amid a messy custody battle. After their parents, Chase and Sharlene Desormeaux, separated in February 2022, a Lake Charles judge granted them shared custody. Chase Desormeaux was named
PROVIDED PHOTO FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN
Cohen Desormeaux, 7, left, and his brother, Colton, 5, went missing in ä See SEARCH, page 4A 2024 amid a custody battle in Lake Charles.
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