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M o n d ay, M a r c h 9, 2026
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Iran names son to succeed slain leader
Khamenei, and despite never being hind him. The station broadcast scenes Mojtaba Khamenei backed as war toll grows Ali elected or appointed to a government of people celebrating in parts of Tehran. There has been only one other transfer position.
BY JON GAMBRELL, SAM METZ, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and SAMY MAGDY
M. Khamenei
day, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his fatherās killing took a dramatic turn. Associated Press The younger Khamenei, who had not DUBAI, United Arab Emirates ā Mojtaba been seen or heard from publicly since Khamenei, a son of Iranās late supreme the war started, had long been considleader, has been named his successor, ered a contender for the post, even beIranian state TV announced early Mon- fore an Israeli strike killed Ayatollah
The announcement came after signs of a rift among Iranian ofļ¬cials as the country awaited a decision by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics that selects the supreme leader. State TV read a statement from the assembly saying he was selected based on āstrongā votes and urging the nation to unite be-
Does higher education in La. need overhaul?
of power in the ofļ¬ce of supreme leader since the Islamic Revolution almost a half-century ago. A secretive figure, the 56-year-old Khamenei now stands at the heart of Iranās theocracy and will have ļ¬nal say
Ƥ see LEADER, page 5A
Bill would allow for removal of judges, DAs Proposal gives power to Landry, Legislature BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN staff writer
sTAFF FILE PHoTo By JoHN McCUsKER
Prospective students and their families tour the University of New orleans.
Colleges struggling with enrollment stagnation, budget challenges BY HALEY MILLER and MARIE FAZIO staff writers
Between the LSU system, the University of Louisiana system and the Southern University system, students have
ucation leaders say itās time to reevaluate: Is that simply too many colleges, at least in their current form, for a state of approximately 4.6 million people? āIf you look at those metrics per pupil, itās hard,ā LSU system President Wade 18 public schools ā and 12 more within Rousse said at a news conference in Febthe Louisiana Community and Technical ruary. āItās hard to understand how it all Colleges System ā to choose from when works and how itās sustainable.ā considering where to earn a degree in the As the purpose and return on Bayou State. Ƥ see HIGHER, page 4A Some Louisiana ofļ¬cials and higher ed-
Gov. Jeff Landry, who has gone after the judiciary for decisions he says are too liberal, could get the power to recommend that Louisiana district attorneys and judges be suspended or removed. Senate Bill 123, ļ¬led for the legislative session starting Monday, would give him that power pending the passage of a constitutional amendment. That means Louisiana voters would have to approve the change at the polls. State Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, who authored the legislation, said it was his idea to ļ¬le the bill, which he hopes will help hold judges and prosecutors accountable for incompetence and misconduct. He has not yet spoken with the governor about SB123, he said, though he hopes to win Landryās support. Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, declined to comment. Under the bill, the state Senate would have to afļ¬rm the governorās removal recommendation by a two-thirds vote. Critics of the proposal argue it is unconstitutional because it would make judges beholden to the governor, infringing on the independence of the judiciary. āI donāt know what purpose itās serving
Tech giants poised for tax breaks on data centers state officials say trade-off is worth it BY SAM KARLIN staff writer
When Meta officials came to Louisiana in 2024 to negotiate a potential data center project, they told state officials that they would need significant tax breaks in order to close the deal. āIt was āIf you donāt have this, we will not consider your state,ā ā Louisiana Economic DeBourgeois velopment Secretary Susan Bourgeois said in an interview. Two years later, Meta has broken ground on a $27 billion data center campus in north Louisiana. Amazon is not far
behind with plans for a $12 billion data center near Shreveport. And the state and local governments are poised to give potentially billions in tax breaks to the tech giants, based on projections of Louisianaās generous tax exemptions and the expected expenditures of the companies. The tax breaks are part of a complex puzzle that states are grappling with to land so-called āhyperscaleā data centers, which are massive warehouses ļ¬lled with servers that power artiļ¬cial intelligence products offered by tech giants including Amazon, Meta and OpenAI. In some states, backlash to data centers has swelled where residents and elected officials say they are worried about them raising electric costs, draining tax revenue and straining water systems ā as well as job losses their AI outputs may cause. Louisianaās data centers
Ƥ see REMOVAL, page 4A
Classified .....................6C Comics-Puzzles .....3C-5C Deaths .........................7A Living............................1C opinion ........................8A sports ..........................1B WEATHER HIGH 81 LOW 69 PAGE 10C 101sT yEAR, No. 252
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Meta is building an artificial intelligence data center in Ƥ see TAX BREAKS, page 5A Richland Parish.
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