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Stephanie Grace: Congressional delegation shares a little of what’s on their minds, 8A • See photos, 9A llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
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Parents sound alarm as summer camps turn away kids
Catholic preschoolers lose spots because of new state law BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
ON A ROLL
ABOVE: A float rider untangles beads before throwing them during the Krewe of Oshun parade in Scotlandville on Saturday. STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
MARDI GRAS 2026
ä See CAMPS, page 13A
FOR MORE,
LSU researchers utilizing staph to fight cancer
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RIGHT: Members of the Flamingeauxs march in the Krewe of Denham Springs Mardi Gras parade in Denham Springs on Saturday. STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Jury deadlocks in Baton Rouge club shooting trial
No date was set for a retrial or Robinlate Friday evening. Suspect was on probation liberations The two-week trial was punctuated by son’s sentencing on the weapons charge. legal jousting over surveillance videos Robinson was being tried for an earlyat time of incident and other key pieces of evidence that morning shooting that marred a South-
BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
A deadlocked jury was unable to reach a verdict on Michael Robinson’s seconddegree murder charge in a mass shooting outside a packed Baton Rouge nightclub. Chief District Judge Donald Johnson, who presided over the case, declared a mistrial after more than six hours of de-
WEATHER HIGH 47 LOW 28 PAGE 8B
With plans to send her two children to camp at their Catholic school in New Orleans, Laurie Martin thought she might escape the dreaded scramble to secure summer child care. That changed when she got the email. Days before Christmas, the Christian Brothers School informed families that, due to a new state law, the school would not accept children under 5 into their Little Falcons Summer Camp. Now Martin has no idea what to do with her 4-year-old daughter, Colette, when she’s out of school this summer but Martin and her husband are still working full time. “We can’t take off work for three months because the 4-year-old can’t go to camp,” she said. “There is no other option.” Summer camp sign-up is always a nervewracking process for parents who race to nab spots during the registration period, which typically starts in January. But parental anxiety has spiked this year after several Catholic schools said they will no longer enroll preschool-age children in camp, leaving families to search
prolonged the proceedings by several days. The hung jury composed of 10 women and two men did find Robinson, 25, guilty of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was on probation at the time of the Oct. 20, 2024, shooting, which happened less than six months after he pleaded guilty to illegal use of weapons in a separate case.
Bacteria would spare health tissue, target deadly cells
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
ern University homecoming weekend with bloodshed. The party was hosted at the Sunrise All Event Entertainment Center, a now-shuttered after-hours venue located in a strip mall in the 9700 block of Greenwell Springs Road. Dexter Cormier, a 35-year-old Dallas resident in town for the festivities, was killed
The staph bacterium, sometimes called a “superbug,” is one of the most common causes of infection in the hospital, and it can be deadly. But new research at LSU shows how staphylococcus aureus might be used for good — by harnessing the bacteria to kill cancer cells with minimal harm to healthy tissue. “When we study those mechanisms and we understand them better, we can reengineer them to do something good for us,” said Dr. Chen Chen, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
ä See TRIAL, page 14A
ä See RESEARCHERS, page 13A
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Classified ..................... 2F Living............................1D Nation-World................2A Commentary ................7B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
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