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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
W e d n e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 25, 2026
‘WE’RE WINNING SO MUCH’ Trump delivers State of the Union amid signs of rising economic anxiety and his popularity with voters in decline
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Audit finds problems in Healthy BR Investigation probes 2022 federal grants BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
A Baton Rouge government initiative under investigation often failed to properly bid contracts, justify its expenses or comply with basic federal rules governing half the $1 million in grant money that “Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative helped fund it, a 2022 audit found. did not comply, Independent auditors rein all material viewed the Mayor’s Healthy respects, with City Initiative, or Healthy the compliance BR, months before federal requirements.” investigators issued subpoenas about the program AUDITORS FROM and its sub-initiative, Safe, KOLDER, SLAVEN & Hopeful, Healthy BR. COMPANy The nonprofit is governed by its own board and coordinates violence prevention and public healthy programs in partnership with the city-parish. The audit scrutinized $1 million in federal grants issued that year. It found more than half were noncompliant, prompting an “adverse opinion” — the most severe audit response possible — pointing to a lack of internal controls and unreliable financial statements. “Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative did not comply,
ä See AUDIT, page 6A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KENNy HOLSTON
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. BY WILL WEISSERT and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared during Tuesday’s marathon State of the Union that “we’re winning so much,” saying he’d sparked a jobs and manufacturing boom at home while imposing a new world order abroad — hoping that offering a long list of his accomplishments can counter approval ratings that have been falling. His main objective was convincing increasingly wary Americans that the economy is stronger than many believe, and that they should vote for more of the same by backing Republicans during November’s midterm elections. In the process, he shat-
tered his own record, going longer than the 100-minute speech he gave before a joint session of Congress last year. Trump tried at points to appeal to bipartisan patriotic sentiments, introducing a series of surprise guests that included U.S. military heroes; a former political prisoner released after his administration toppled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; and the Olympic gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team. “Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, ‘Please, please, please, Mister President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore,’ ” Trump said before introducing the team.
The hockey players, wearing their medals and sweaters that said “USA” in large letters, drew a bipartisan standing ovation. Trump pointed to the Democratic side of the chamber and quipped, “That’s the first time ... I’ve ever seen them get up.” In another made-for-TV moment, Trump announced he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, to the hockey team’s goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck. Trump made a similar surprise announcement in 2020, bestowing the award on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh during the speech. Trump championed his immigration crackdowns and his push to
ä See WINNING, page 3A
Landry seeks funds for fortified roofs from insurer
Governor wants LWCC to commit excess reserves BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry is asking the state-created Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. to use its balance sheet to help pay for stronger roofs for homeowners in a bid to alleviate a homeowners insurance crisis that has proved an enduring political problem. Landry, in a letter to LWCC’s leadership dated Monday, noted that the nonprofit company has sizable reserves and is in a strong financial position. He said unaffordable property insurance is threatening the state’s economy, and asked LWCC to commit “a portion of its excess reserves” to
ä See ROOFS, page 7A
Letlow’s late disclosure of 210 stock trades draws scrutiny to the stock trading report Ad targets issue amid cording — known as the Periodic TransacReport — that she filed on Jan. race for Senate seat tion 13, 2026.
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who President Donald Trump has endorsed to be Louisiana’s next senator, did not follow a federal law that required her to report 210 individual stock trades over the past two years, according to a document she filed with Congress last month. In 100 of those trades, Letlow, RBaton Rouge, reported the transactions more than a year late, ac-
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In all, the trades involved stocks worth anywhere from $225,000 to $3,185,000. Members of Congress provide a range of the value for each trade. A super PAC supporting U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, is broadcasting TV and radio ads attacking Letlow’s failure to report the trades on time. Under a 2012 law passed by Congress known as the STOCK Act, Letlow and all members of Congress have to report individual
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stock trades within 45 days of the transaction. But the report she filed last month shows that she violated federal law by failing to do so in those 210 transactions. That was a significant number, said Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. “The public has to have confidence that the decisions of their elected officials are based on pro-
tecting the public interest and not their financial interest,” Payne said. “The only way to do that is have accurate reporting of the members’ financial interests.” Matt Smith, a spokesperson for Letlow, did not dispute the stock trading violations. But he said Merrill Lynch, her broker, handled the transactions without her input and that she self-reported her failure to report them on time. “Congresswoman Letlow did not direct, approve, or have prior knowledge of any trades,” Smith said. “They were executed
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, speaks on Feb. 13 after ä See LETLOW, page 4A qualifying to run for the U.S. Senate.
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