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22
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Whole Chicken
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96¢
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1299
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Louisiana Crawfish Tails
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Kraft Mac & Cheese
79 ¢
Prices good at all New Orleans, Gretna, Kenner, Metairie, Marrero, Slidell, Mandeville and Covington stores February 19th - February 22nd, 2026.
OLYMPICS U.S. women’s hockey tops Canada in overtime for gold medal
Alysa Liu first U.S. woman to win gold in figure skating since 2002
N O L A.C O M
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F r i d ay, F e b r u a ry 20, 2026
‘For the public good’
Moreno reveals plan for Municipal Auditorium
SPORTS 4C
$2.00X
Challenge to La.’s private pre-K rules dismissed Two Christian schools sought to block law regulating programs
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD
Mayor Helena Moreno, center, and other city officials with representatives from Save Our Soul Coalition announce the launch of the Armstrong Park and Municipal Auditorium master plan during a news conference outside the Municipal Auditorium in Armstrong Park on Thursday. BY JONI HESS Staff writer
Redevelopment plans for the Municipal Auditorium took a step forward Thursday after New Orleans leaders said they will spend $750,000 to bring long-held visions for the historic site closer to reality. Mayor Helena Moreno’s administration will use unassigned bond money to begin a master planning process for the shuttered 95-yearold building, the latest endeavor to thwart a potential loss of nearly $39 million in federal funding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the city the cash on a reimbursement basis in 2018, after years of negotiations over the extent of building damage caused by Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters. But the city had an end-of-2025 deadline to spend the money and be reimbursed. Though officials applied for an extension, FEMA has not yet approved that request, Mayor Helena Moreno said at a news conference Thursday. “What ultimately becomes of this amazing place has to be something
ä See CHALLENGE, page 14A
Municipal Auditorium has been closed since suffering damage from Hurricane Katrina. that is for the public good, has to be something that is about preserving our culture, has to be something all of us here in the city of New Orleans can be really proud of,” Moreno said. Through a partnership with the Save Our Soul Coalition and the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the city will spearhead a community engagement process and find a developer to draft a master plan that, once completed, could attract alter-
nate funding sources, such as state or philanthropic dollars, and new investment opportunities. Generations of families remember the massive auditorium, nestled within Armstrong Park in Treme, as a once-popular site for Mardi Gras balls, concerts and graduations in New Orleans. It looms beside Congo Square,
ä See AUDITORIUM, page 14A
Trump, Iran signal they are ready for war with both the United States and Iran sig- ing time for final war preparations. President warns of ‘bad naling Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable they are prepared for war if talks things’ if deal isn’t reached on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out. than ever following 12 days of Israeli President Donald Trump said Thurs- and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and on nuclear program day he believes 10 to 15 days is “enough military last year, as well as mass pro-
time” for Iran to reach a deal. But the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider Associated Press U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran held back its missile program and sever ties annual military drills with Russia on to armed groups. Indirect talks held in Thursday as a second American aircraft recent weeks made little visible progcarrier drew closer to the Middle East, ress, and one or both sides could be buy-
BY JON GAMBRELL
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 68 PAGE 8B
A federal judge has dismissed two Christian schools’ challenge of Louisiana’s new rules for private preschools, saying the rules protect children and do not discriminate against religious institutions. U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty on Wednesday granted the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in October and which sought to block a state law that requires private prekindergarten programs to get state licenses. Under Act 409, passed unanimously by the state Legislature last year, the schools must meet dozens of child care regulations and pass mandatory inspections to be licensed. The lawsuit alleged that Act 409 unconstitutionally singled out religious schools, and that the expansive regulations would force schools to raise tuition or shut down their pre-K programs due to compliance costs. But Doughty rejected that argument, noting that the law requires pre-K programs at all private schools, secular and religious, to obtain a state “early learning center” license. He also said that Montessori schools must meet “rigorous” certification standards and public schools are “dually regulated” by the state and local school
tests in January that were violently suppressed. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian ambassador to the U.N., said that while Iran does not seek “tension or
ä See WAR, page 10A
Services set for Norman Francis BY JOHN POPE
Contributing writer New Orleans will bid farewell to Norman C. Francis on March 2-3 in events at Xavier University, which he led for 46 years, and at St. Louis Cathedral. His body will lie in repose from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 2 in Xavier’s Convocation Center, on 7910 Stroelitz St. Francis’ family will be there from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Most Rev. Curtis Guillory, a former bishop of Beaumont, Texas, will deliver opening and Francis closing remarks, and a program will begin at 5 p.m. A Mass will be said at 10 a.m. on March 3 at St. Louis Cathedral after visitation there from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., will be the principal celebrant. In the half-hour before the service, the rosary will be said, and people will offer remarks about Francis. Burial will be in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, 3421 Esplanade Ave. D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Francis, who became a force at city, state and national levels, died Wednesday. He was 94.
Business ...................12A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................8D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-7D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 192