SAINTS FREE AGENTS Who will stay and who will go? 1C
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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 5, 2026
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Arguments begin in staged-crash trial
CONFLIC CT IN THE
MIDDLE EAST
U.S. sinks Iranian warship
Sprawling government case outlined against two lawyers
Iran vows widespread destruction in region
BY JON GAMBRELL, ELENA BECATOROS and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the Middle East commenced for a sixth day after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed ä Hegseth: Hezbollah militant group in U.S.‘can’t stop Beirut’s southern suburbs. everything’ Iran The fighting continued afsends. PAGE 4A ter the U.S. and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran on Wednesday. The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict. President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military Wednesday for “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war. Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel as the conflict spiraled. Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace. The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Vanessa Motta, center, leaves the Hale Boggs Federal Building with attorneys after a day of opening statements on Wednesday. BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Once a Hollywood stuntwoman, Vanessa Motta was shaky on her feet as a “baby lawyer” when she hooked up with the wrong guy, her defense attorney told a federal jury on Wednesday. Motta had been fired from the Mike Brandner law firm in late 2016 and set out to open a solo practice when she met Sean Alfortish, an older, disbarred attorney who rented her office space in Kenner, where he once served as a magistrate. They fell in love, and Motta Law began to take off, said attorney Sean Toomey. Several victims in crashes with 18-wheelers signed on as clients. Life seemed good. “She foolishly thought, ‘I’m the hottest new lawyer
in town. Look at me. I got a bunch of cases,’ ” Toomey said of Motta, who began appearing on billboards around New Orleans. “All the while, Sean Alfortish is working behind the scenes, in the darkness to make sure she’s successful. So he gets to enjoy all the benefits of that, because he’s sleeping with her.” An attorney for Motta’s co-defendant, personal injury attorney Jason Giles, also pleaded ignorance over what they acknowledge in hindsight to be a massive, yearslong scheme to defraud insurance companies — and ultimately ratepayers — by filling cars with people and slamming them into trucks across New Orleans. Their denials came
STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK
Attorney Jason Giles and his lawyer arrive at federal ä See TRIAL, page 7A court for the start of his trial on Wednesday.
Louisiana police pension system clashes with city Administration accused of not paying contributions BY BEN MYERS
Staff writer
Louisiana’s police pension system is accusing Mayor Helena Moreno’s administration of failing to pay $3.5 million in required pension contributions, and has asked the state Treasury Department to strip the city of that amount. The head of the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System said on Wednesday that the city owes the system $800,000 in employee contributions withheld from New Orleans Police Depart-
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ment retention bonuses awarded in January, plus $2.7 million in employer contributions associated with the bonuses. “Once employee retirement contributions are deducted from an officer’s compensation, those funds are no longer general municipal revenues and must be transmitted to the retirement system,” Ben Huxen said. “Failure to remit employee contributions that have already been withheld raises significant legal and fiduciary concerns.” Huxen asked the treasurer to redirect $3.5 million from city funding that flows through state government, including federal grants. He said the city will be on the hook for accrued interest
ä See POLICE, page 5A
ä See WARSHIP, page 7A
ELECTION 2026 U.S. SENATE
Cassidy
Senate race heating up with flurry of attack ads Cassidy strikes at Letlow; Fleming counters Cassidy
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer Letlow
Fleming
First impressions count, and that explains why U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and an allied group are launching attacks on U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow now that the Senate campaign is formally underway. A pro-Cassidy super PAC has been hitting Letlow for a month with TV, radio and digital ads that tie her to former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because of stock trades she failed to disclose
and to former President Joe Biden because of some votes in Congress. The early beneficiaries of the attacks appear to be Cassidy and Treasurer John Fleming, who is pitching himself as the most conservative among the three Republican candidates. The pro-Cassidy ads label her “Liberal Letlow” in an effort to tarnish her conservative credentials in advance of the May 16 Republican primary. Letlow has responded with an ad that plays her strongest card, her endorsement by President Donald Trump. For now, Cassidy’s side has a huge money
Business ......................6A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
ä See SENATE, page 5A
13TH yEAR, NO. 205