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M o n d ay, S e p t e M b e r 15, 2025
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GOLDEN DISAPPOINTMENT
Audit: La. pregnancy centers lack oversight Millions budgeted for services BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
The Louisiana legislative auditor recently found that the state’s effort to steer women toward childbirth instead of abortion has weak oversight, according to a report released this month. The Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative, created by lawmakers in 2024 and run through the Department of Children and Family Services, was meant to expand services for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Lawmakers earmarked $4 million in state funds to pay nonprofit centers for specific services. But less than a year later, auditors found that DCFS contracts don’t match state law in what they define as services eligible for state funding,
ä See AUDIT, page 4A
State’s chronic absenteeism rate falls STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, bottom, loses the ball on fourth down at the end of the game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. In front of a Superdome crowd that had more 49ers faithful than home fans, the Saints played out what’s becoming a familiar storyline. They were competitive (Spencer Rattler had a career-high three touchdown passes) and gave themselves a chance at an upset win, but ultimately, San Francisco came up with sacks on two game-deciding plays and held on for a 26-21 victory. The loss drops the Saints to 0-2 as they embark on a difficult road trip to Seattle and Buffalo, New york. It’s also their sixth consecutive loss dating to last season and their fifth straight loss at the Superdome — the franchise’s longest such skid since 199495.
Drop comes after two years of increases
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
The share of Louisiana students who regularly miss school dropped 2 percentage points last year — a notable improvement after absenteeism rates climbed two years in a row. The state’s chronic absenteeism rate hit 22.5% during the 2024-25 school year, down from 24.6% the year prior, according to data recently released by the state Department of Education. It still hovers slightly above the pre-pandemic rate of about 18% in 2018-19. The decline is positive news for Louisiana, which, despite being one of only three states where average
ä See ABSENTEEISM, page 4A
Local scientists mark 10th anniversary of signal discovery Observatory braces for potential cuts by Trump administration BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
A signal lasting less than a second traveled about 1.3 billion light years before it reached an observatory deep in the piney woods of Livingston 10 years ago. The brief signal — caused by a pair of black holes colliding — was the first gravitational waves ever detected,
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and it created a new way for scientists to look into the universe. The Sept. 14, 2015, detection confirmed a key prediction of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, earned the Nobel Prize in physics and kick-started a new era of astronomy. “Most of us had figured that with nature being perverse, that the first signal would be
really hard to pull out of the noise. And then the signal came beautifully, beautifully clear,” said Joseph Giaime, head of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Livingston. The observatory is one of two in the United States funded by the National Science Foundation with its
Joseph A. Giaime, right, observatory head of LIGO Livingston, explains the science behind the catenary arch to his daughter Domenica on Saturday. STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
ä See SIGNAL, page 5A
Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 34