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M o n d ay, o c t o b e r 6, 2025
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State detention lawsuits can go forward Inmates claim they were held past release dates
dates, opening the door for thousands of former inmates to join the case. The plaintiffs argue the Department of Public Safety & Corrections knew about the problem yet BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN | Staff writer failed to take proper action for at least a decade. While the judge has A federal judge has granted not yet ruled in their favor, grantclass-action status to lawsuits ing class-action status recognizes claiming Louisiana regularly kept the scope of the problem, they say. inmates in prison past their release “This is a major victory for ac-
countability — and we hope it is the beginning of the end of the state’s pattern of illegally imprisoning thousands of Louisianans at taxpayer expense,” William Most, one of the attorneys on the case, said in a statement. State officials plan to appeal, saying the information in the lawsuit is outdated and that a new system they implemented has mostly fixed the problems. They also say
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sentencing calculations rely on clerks of court and sheriffs’ offices, which the agency cannot control. “We disagree with the judge’s ruling and we intend to appeal. Everything in the lawsuits is either long outdated, out-of-context or just flatly false,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. “The release date for an incarcerated person is not a simple calculation. It involves multiple offi-
cials and complicated calculations of time served and good time eligibility,” the statement continued. “The Department of Corrections is frequently at the mercy of local officials and other branches of government.” The Department of Corrections declined to comment on pending litigation.
ä See LAWSUITS, page 5A
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OHHH YEAHHH!
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, center, celebrates with teammates after his second interception Sunday. He was responsible for two of New Orleans’ five takeaways in a 26-14 victory over the New York Giants. It was the Saints’ first victory since December and the first at the Superdome since November. It was also the first career win for head coach Kellen Moore and quarterback Spencer Rattler, but it didn’t come easy. The Saints trailed 14-3 early before Rattler hit Rashid Shaheed for an 87-yard touchdown, the team’s longest play from scrimmage since 2016. Later, Bryan Bresee forced a Giants fumble and Jordan Howden returned it 86 yards for a touchdown to pad the lead.
Government shutdown enters into the fifth day Lawmakers remain at an impasse over reopening
BY JOSH BOAK | Associated Press WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers at an impasse on reopening the federal government provided few public signs Sunday of meaningful negotiations talking place to end what has so far been a five-day shutdown.
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Leaders in both parties are betting that public sentiment has swung their way, putting pressure on the other side to cave. Democrats are insisting on renewing subsidies to cover health insurance costs for millions of households, while President Donald Trump wants to preserve existing spending levels and threatening to permanently fire federal workers if the government remains closed. The squabble comes at a moment of troubling economic uncertainty.
ä See SHUTDOWN, page 5A
ä SEE COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE SAINTS GAME. PAGE 1C
‘Blending science and art’
Photographer’s coastal exploration included in Ogden regional exhibit
BY JOSIE ABUGOV | Staff writer In the middle of a black and white photograph, a cow and a bull stand side-by-side flanked by dying trees and a warning sign: “Do not anchor or dredge.” Facing the camera, the cows look ahead at the water around Venice, near the bottom of Plaquemines Parish where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf. Photographer Virginia Hanusik took the photo in 2022 while on coastal advocate Richie
Blink’s boat, where Hathe natural world is and prioritizing being outnusik said she’s “been a million times.” Like doors and having such much of her work, the pride in the food and the photo draws together imlandscape, yet there’s also an insidious side to ages of the natural envithe infrastructure.” ronment and man-made Three years after structures to tell a story taking the photograph, about Louisiana’s disap- Hanusik “Marsh Cows Near Venpearing coast. The warning not to anchor is because of a ice,” the piece is one of nine crude oil pipeline underwater. images by Hanusik included in “I’m continuously curious “The Unending Stream: Chapabout this relationship that Loui- ter II,” the final installment of siana has with the natural world,” ä See EXHIBIT, page 4A Hanusik said. “How important
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