LSU SEASON OPENER: Milwaukee at LSU 2 p.m. SECN+ 1C l
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■ FRIDAy, FEBRUARy 13, 2026
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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F r i d ay, F e b r u a ry 13, 2026
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EBR mayor calls for state audit of City Hall
Move comes amid indictments, criminal probe of officials
CHASING G R E AT N E S S LSU baseball looks to
SE ASON PR E VIEW
earn a second straight
College World Se i C
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Lee Mallett to lead LSU board
Calcasieu businessman named by governor to replace Scott Ballard BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Broome’s Safe, Hopeful, Healthy program, which have been the subject of federal subpoenas. Asked if the review would include past initiatives like Safe, Hopeful, Healthy, Edwards said that would be up to the Legislative Auditor’s Office. “My motivation is to look at anything going forward,” he said. “I want to make sure as we’re going forward, we’re doing everything right.”
Gov. Jeff Landry chose a new chairperson on Thursday for the LSU Board of Supervisors, and his pick was no surprise to political insiders. The new chair is Lee Mallett, a business owner from Calcasieu Parish who has been a major donor to Landry and the previous two governors who appointed and reappointed him to the board. Mallett, who has served on the board for 14 years, Mallett longer than any other current member, displayed his political muscle last year when he worked behind the scenes to get the backing of Landry and his colleagues to select Wade Rousse as LSU’s new president in November. Mallett replaces Scott Ballard, a Tulane graduate who, with partners, owns the PJ’s Coffee chain. Ballard oversaw the board during the past year, a time of dramatic change when it chose Rousse to be the new president and James Dalton to be executive vice president and chancellor of LSU A&M. They, in turn, made two highprofile hires: Verge Ausberry as athletic director and Lane Kiffin as the football coach, a move that generated headlines in the sports world. Landry faced a storm of criticism for calling for the ouster of Ausberry’s predecessor, Scott Woodward, who then resigned, and
ä See AUDIT, page 5A
ä See MALLETT, page 5A
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards answers questions during a news conference on Thursday to announce plans to bring in the Louisiana legislative auditor to review all city-parish finances. BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
As indictments pile up from an investigation into potential corruption and bribery by Baton Rouge officials several years ago, Mayor-President Sid Edwards announced Thursday that he is bringing in the Louisiana legislative auditor to review city-parish financial practices from top to bottom. The outside review is expected to examine procurement procedures, grant com-
pliance and contract oversight. “Public trust is at an all-time low,” Edwards said at a news conference Thursday. “I haven’t slept in a while with this stuff. Everybody wants to see what’s happening behind the curtain, and I can’t think of a better way than … bringing in the expertise of our Louisiana legislative auditor.” Some City Hall initiatives have been under increased scrutiny in the past two years, like the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative and former Mayor Sharon Weston
Trump rolls back climate regulations
Disaster declaration sought for La. storm
dangerously low Winter weather outages, temperatures and significant to infrastructure. killed nine, closed damage He requested the federal roads, knocked government pick up all the costs for 30 days and asked out utilities for additional financial assis-
EPA revokes key scientific finding
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the Republican president to roll back climate regulations. The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency rescinds a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
WEATHER HIGH 76 LOW 59 PAGE 8B
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI
President Donald Trump speaks during an event Thursday with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announcing that the EPA will no longer regulate greenhouse gases. ä EPA ends credits for automatic start-stop vehicle ignition. PAGE 3B ä Trump directs Defense Department to buy electricity from coal-fired plants. PAGE 7A threaten public health and welfare. The Obama-era finding is the legal underpinning of nearly all climate
regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet. The repeal eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could unleash a broader undoing of climate
ä See TRUMP, page 4A
WASHINGTON — All eight members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation are asking President Donald Trump to issue a disaster declaration, which would open the spigots of federal recovery money, for the winter storm in late January that killed nine people, closed Interstate 20, and cut power to more than 175,000 homes. On Feb. 4, Gov. Jeff Landry requested federal help to recover from the Jan. 23-27 storm that brought ice accumulation, power and water
Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................1E Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....6D-8D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
tance for resilience projects to protect against future winter weather threats. State agencies already spent $11,394,461, which meets the threshold for a disaster declaration. Landry requested federal help for Bienville, DeSoto, East Carroll, Franklin, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas and West Carroll parishes, primarily in northeast Louisiana. Trump authorized some services before the storm, but he needs to sign the declaration for the full funding to flow to Louisiana. In a letter to Trump,
ä See DISASTER, page 4A
101ST yEAR, NO. 228