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T u e s d ay, O c T O b e r 14, 2025
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Hostages, prisoners released
PRIME TIME READING
Complex issues remain for ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
BY MELANIE LIDMAN, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press
PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy
Baranco Elementary instructional leader Stephanie Dupuis, left, engages with children attending the Prime Time Reading Program on Oct. 7.
Students at Baranco Elementary learn love for books in school’s award-winning program
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
For the past five Tuesdays, after the rest of the school went home, the library of Dr. Raphael Baranco Elementary stayed open to welcome a small group of students and their families. After dinner and learning about community resources, students gathered cross-legged on the library’s carpet at the feet of Principal Cayce Otwell for a story time. When she finished, they discussed the story to ensure students understood it, its themes and how its central message might show up in their own lives. It’s the second time Baranco has offered the six-week Prime Time Reading Program. The program is designed to bring children and their families together to foster a love for reading and model how to engage with a book. Over the course of the program, families receive 12 free books for their home library. “I hope that families see the importance of reading to their children and how much their children get out of a good story,” Otwell said. “I’m hoping to help families develop lifelong readers in their children.” The program was the winner of the 2025 American Prize from
ä See HOSTAGES, page 6A
Kaislee Mitchell, 6, and her mother, Evangeline Mitchell, check out the door prize box she won during the program at Baranco Elementary. the Library of Congress, which is awarded to organizations for making a significant and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels in the United States or the national awareness of the importance of literacy. “This year’s winners and honorees, based in various states and countries, have a particular focus on family and community,” acting Librarian of Congress Robert Ran-
dolph Newlen said in a September news release. This month, the program will roll out to the four Prime Time Head Start and Early Start centers in Lafayette and Iberia parishes. Prime Time Inc., an initiative of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, oversees those centers. Baranco first hosted the reading
ä See READING, page 4A
Two shootings on LSU campus left three injured
interest in running. Democrats left “Most of the energy was not searching for candidate coming from his inclination to run.
Staff writer
Former Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday dashed the dreams of Democrats who hoped he would jump into next year’s U.S. Senate race. Edwards said he will stay out of an election where Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, is facing a strong challenge from four other Republicans. Edwards had never shown any
WEATHER HIGH 89 LOW 59 PAGE 6A
It was coming from our interest in him running,” said Randal Gaines, the Louisiana Democratic Party chair. “That was our first hope.” Edwards acknowledged receiving numerous entreaties to do so, less than two years after ending his two-term governorship. The New York Times reported earlier this year that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, was among those who wanted him to run.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ODED BALILTy
People react as they gather to watch a live broadcast of Israeli hostages being released from Gaza at a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday.
Game day incidents prompt call for action
Former Gov. Edwards won’t run for Senate BY TYLER BRIDGES
JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas moved ahead on a key first step of the tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement on Monday by freeing hostages and prisoners, raising hopes that the U.S.-brokered deal might lead to a permanent end to the twoyear war that ravaged the Palestinian territory. But thornier issues such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza — and the question of Palestinian statehood — remain unresolved, highlighting the fragility of an agreement that for ä Trump calls now only pauses the deadliest for a new era of conflict in the history of Israel harmony in the and the Palestinians. Middle East. For Israelis, the release of the 20 remaining living hostag- PAGE 3A es brought elation and a sense of closure to a war many felt they were forced into by Hamas, although many pledged to fight on for the return of deceased hostages still in Gaza. But with the living hostages freed, the urgency with which many were driven to call for an end to the war will likely diminish, easing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance the next phases of the agreement. Four deceased hostages were returned to Israel on Monday, and another 24 are supposed to be turned over as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which also requires Israel to allow a surge of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza. While there was an outburst of joy in Gaza for prisoners returning from Israel and hope that the fighting may wind down for good, the torment
BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Former Gov. John Bel Edwards says he will not run for the U.S. Senate ä See EDWARDS, page 4A next year.
Two game day shootings on the LSU campus Saturday — one that wounded two, including a bystander, and another deemed accidental by police — prompted Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday to order four law enforcement agencies to improve security for next weekend. One shooting took place near
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Highland Road and Dalrymple Drive near the campus’s north gates. LSU police were dispatched to the scene about 8:30 p.m., and a campus alert went out about 8:40 p.m. On Monday, Lt. L’Jean McKneely Jr. said at least two different people opened fire during the incident, which resulted in two men suffering injuries and being hospitalized. No suspects have been taken into custody and the investigation is ongoing, but one of those injured is believed to be an innocent bystander, McKneely said.
ä See INCIDENTS, page 4A
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