TRUMP AND NETANYAHU REACH DEAL TO END WAR IN GAZA 5A
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
T u e s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 30, 2025
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Landry seeks Guard troops for La. 1,000 soldiers requested to patrol in cities BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry has asked President Donald Trump’s administration for a federally funded deployment of 1,000 National Guard troops in Louisiana cities to sup-
port law enforcement. In a letter to the Pentagon, he cited crime in cities like Baton Rouge, Shreveport and New Orleans. He did not lay out a precise plan for where Guard members would be deployed. “Federal partnerships in our
toughest cities have worked, and now, with the support of President Trump and Secretary (Pete) Hegseth, we are taking the next step by bringing in the National Guard,” Landry said in a release Monday night. “This mission is about saving lives and protecting families.
To the criminals terrorizing our communities: your time is up. Law and order are back in Louisiana.” The move would mark another high-profile deployment of the National Guard since Trump began his second term, following his controversial decision to send thousands of members to Washington, D.C., as part of a crackdown on crime and immigration.
Governor pledges faster cleanup of Tangipahoa plant fire site
The Trump administration also recently announced plans to send the Guard to Memphis, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon, although in much smaller numbers. In his letter to Hegseth, Landry says the troops would remain in Louisiana until the end of the 2026 fiscal year, though he does not
ä See TROOPS, page 6A
Man gets 25 years for trafficking young girls Authorities say he was notorious for preying on runaways BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
A boom helps stop oil runoff from the explosion at Smitty’s Supply from floating down the Tangipahoa River in Independence on Aug. 25.
Video on social media prompts action from state BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry has promised changes to the cleanup of the Smitty’s Supply Inc. fire after he saw aerial video of oiled sections of the Tangipahoa River. The video from Saturday posted on social media shows an oiled pond next to Smitty’s and an oiled section of the river, which received potentially millions of gallons of runoff from the Smitty’s lubricants plant near Roseland. It caught fire and exploded Aug. 22 and was not fully extinguished until Sept. 8. After seeing the video, Landry said
“My commitment is to the citizens of this state and especially those in Tangipahoa Parish to make sure that facility and the effects of the fire are cleaned up and that area is restored to the same way it was before the fire.”
site,” Landry said in a video posted on X. “My commitment is to the citizens of this state and especially those in Tangipahoa Parish to make sure that facility and the effects of the fire are cleaned up and that area is restored to the same way it was before the fire,” he said. Landry offered no details about what kind of changes were coming. His spokesperson, Kate Kelly, didn’t GOV. JEFF LANDRy return an email requesting comment. An EPA spokesperson for the cleanup said he was preparing a response but hadn’t Sunday that he spoke with the regional provided it by Monday evening. The video was shot and posted, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the leaders of his state governor said, by Eric McVicker, a Manenvironmental and oil-and-gas agencies. deville resident and Republican politi“Collectively, we had a call and tomor- cal consultant who owns a photography row morning, things are getting ready to ä See CLEANUP, page 5A start changing on the cleaning up of that
A Baker man described by authorities as one of East Baton Rouge’s biggest sex traffickers was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for running a prostitution ring out of area motels. Kevontae Kindel Reed was part of an operation that forced at least three underage girls to have sex with men for money. Prosecutors said he preyed on girls as young as 12, many who were troubled teens or runaways from the foster care system. He stashed the girls in seedy motel rooms where he forced them to “earn their right” to stay by having sex with random men for money, according to court records. “Mr. Reed, making money off young children in these circumstances was just deplorable,” District Judge Fred Crifasi said moments before doling out Reed’s sentence. “They were marginalized. They didn’t have any family support, they didn’t have any school support, they didn’t have a community. “You exercised control and power over these young victims and took advantage of unfortunate circumstances,” the judge added. Reed sat in the courtroom two days shy of his 30th birthday. As part of his sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Reed had a string of arrests for soliciting prostitutes and sex crimes involving minors dating back to 2015. District Attorney Hillar Moore said Reed had become one of the most active human traffickers in the parish by the time he was arrested in 2021.
ä See TRAFFICKING, page 6A
Congress struggles to prevent government shutdown National Flood Insurance Program faces uncertainty BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — After a closed-door meeting with the president, congressional leaders of both parties took hard lines Monday, setting the stage for the federal government to shut down at midnight as Tuesday turns to Wednesday.
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 67 PAGE 6B
The situation was fluid and could change. Just what federal agencies would be targeted for closure if a deal could not be reached had yet to be made public. Some services would continue. The military will still protect the nation. Social Security benefits will still be paid. Commercial airlines will still fly. Veterans Affairs
medical facilities will remain operational. A letter from the Office of Management and Budget stated that agencies receiving money in the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, such as efforts to deport immigrants, will be protected. But most government workers would be put on temporary leave
— at least that’s what happened in the 10 previous shutdowns going back to 1980. This time, however, the Trump administration has ordered agencies to consider firing thousands of federal workers, instead of furloughing them, though nothing concrete had been released. Perhaps the most immediate effect for Louisiana would be an end, at least temporarily, to flood insurance.
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The National Flood Insurance Program will expire unless the Senate accepts without changes the House-passed resolution to continue government operations for another seven weeks. About 458,000 of Louisiana’s home and business owners have flood insurance. Current policies will remain in effect until their expiration dates,
ä See SHUTDOWN, page 6A
101ST yEAR, NO. 92