Jane Goodall, renowned chimpanzee expert and conservationist, dies at 91 3A
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T h u r s d ay, O c T O b e r 2, 2025
N.O. to host 2028 CFP title game
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Parties play blame game as shutdown takes effect Debate continues over funding and negotiations
BY MARK BALLARD and ALYSE PFEIL Staff writers
WASHINGTON — Congressional party leaders spent much of Wednesday, the first day of a government shutdown, pointing the finger at each other and saying they did not know just how long some government services will remain closed. Republican House leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson — spent much of the day talking to the media. But real action, or lack thereof, was in the Senate. The House last month passed a resolution, on a largely party-line vote, to authorize government spending past the Sept. 30 deadline to Nov. 21. For the third time Wednesday morning, the Senate rejected the “continuing resolution” on a vote of 55-45. Sixty votes are needed for passage of financial instruments, and Republicans hold only 53 seats in the Senate. “We need a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to reopen the government and once we do that, then we can talk about the issues that Democrats are raising,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said before the vote.
ä See SHUTDOWN, page 7A STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Gov. Jeff Landry has a laugh during a news conference Wednesday announcing that the 2028 College Football Playoff National Championship game will be played in New Orleans.
It’s the second time the championship has come to Superdome Staff writer
ä Saints set to announce Superdome lease deal. PAGE 7A
New Orleans will host the College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2028, bringing the title game back to the Caesars Superdome and thousands of fans and national media attention along with it. The matchup will cap the 2027 season and marks the second time the
Superdome has staged the College Football Playoff finale, the first being LSU’s victory over Clemson in 2020. For a city renowned for major sporting events, festivals and conventions, the championship represents a high-profile showcase as well
BY ANTHONY MCAULEY
as a potential boost to New Orleans’ tourism-driven economy. On Wednesday, Gov. Jeff Landry, Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley and the other civic leaders were on hand at the Superdome to announce that New Orleans’ bid to host the game was accepted. They called the game another opportunity to showcase the city and state.
ä See HOST, page 7A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
The West Lawn of the Capitol and the National Mall stretch into the distance as seen from the terrace of the Capitol on the first day of a government shutdown on Wednesday.
Louisiana private schools seek to delay new pre-K regulations
from his children to plead his case task force after the legislation he’d schools to obtain a day care center school accountability. But critics Leaders say rules to lawmakers. He testified repeat- championed, Act 409, had been license — a lengthy process involv- call the regulations excessive and excessive, unnecessary edly that private preschools, like signed into law. “This law is not ing background checks and site in- unnecessary given private schools’
the one where he says his daughter was harmed by another student, must be better regulated. Staff writer But when Williams returned to Roger Williams spent many long the Capitol in August, it was to celdays in the state Capitol this year, ebrate. taking time off work and away “We did it,” he told a child abuse
BY PATRICK WALL
WEATHER HIGH 88 LOW 73 PAGE 8B
just words on paper — it’s a shield for Louisiana’s children.” The sweeping 32-page law regulates hiring and training, child supervision and abuse reporting at day cares and preschools. It requires pre-K programs at private
spections — and allows families to sue for damages if their children are abused at school. Advocates like Williams tout the law, which the state Legislature passed unanimously this year, as a major victory for child safety and
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existing safety protocols and warn that tuition might rise to offset the costs of compliance, including extra teachers, background checks and facility upgrades.
ä See PRE-K, page 8A
13TH yEAR, NO. 51
OCT 4 - OCT 5 New Orleans Lakefront
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