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LSU BLOWS PAST TEXAS TECH TO SECURE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TRIP TO SWEET 16 1C
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Bill sparks debate over jailed youths
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M o n d ay, M a r c h 23, 2026
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‘WELCOME TO THE CHAOS’
TSA delays at airport lasting hours, causing many to miss flights
Proposal seeks to increase incarceration time before trials BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
A bill in the Louisiana Legislature would dramatically increase the time officials can keep juveniles in jail before their trials. The proposed changes would overhaul juvenile court procedures by extending the length of time prosecutors have to try juvenile cases, pausing those timelines when defense attorneys file pretrial motions and allowing prosecutors to receive extensions after cases pass their adjudication deadlines. Currently, the Louisiana Children’s Code — a set of rules that governs juvenile court proceedings — is designed to move juveniles through the court system much more quickly than adults, who can sit in jail for years before they are tried. State Rep. Vincent Cox Cox, R-Gretna, filed House Bill 140 at the behest of the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, and prosecutors across the state have thrown their support behind it. Proponents argue the court system’s current deadlines do not grant enough time to gather evidence, and that youth already have ample opportunities for release at the beginning of their cases. Supporters also contend the change would benefit public safety and protect against defense attorneys who say
ä See BILL, page 5A
Fort Walton Beach is ready for tourism Surge expected as more flights added
STAFF PHOTOS By ENAN CHEDIAK
Lines snake through the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Sunday. A Transportation and Security Administration staff shortage due to the government shutdown has led to significant delays and challenges for travelers at the airport. BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer
The headaches that have recently affected travelers at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport worsened Sunday, as security lines snaked through the terminal, creating hourslong delays and causing some passengers to miss their flights. It looked a bit like an emergency evacuation as passengers exited the elevator on the first floor of the airport’s short-term parking garage, where thousands of people were queued up in an elaborate line that circled through the parking area several times. Airport staffers waved flags to mark the path. “Welcome to the chaos,” one worker said to newcomers joining the crowd. Garrett Harper and his family of six were among those in line. They had just returned from a Norwegian Cruise
Lines at the New Orleans airport stretch out to the short-term parking lot on Sunday. Line trip and were making their way back to Kansas City. Like most people in the garage, the family was in remarkably good spirits despite the long odds of making their flight. “We knew things weren’t right when we could barely get to the baggage check-in,
because all the lines everywhere are just flooding the whole airport,” Harper said. “You can hardly move anywhere in this whole building, so you’re just cutting through lines, and nobody knows what’s going on. We’ve got two hours until our flight, and I don’t know if we’re gonna
Staff writer
ä See BEACH, page 3A
WEATHER HIGH 83 LOW 63 PAGE 6B
ä See CHAOS, page 3A
State’s Medicaid rolls are dropping
BY MARTHA SANCHEZ The shores of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, have long been a drive-in destination, a place where packed family cars arrive on summer break, just across the bay from bustling Destin. But a new class of tourists is arriving. Five nonstop flights from cities around the country will start landing at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport this spring and summer. And now that Allegiant Air built a new $11 million concourse a few years ago, many tourists are flying in. New hotels are rising. Restaurants are hiring.
make it.” Nearby, Larry Albert and Treasure Fryer were trying to get back to Atlanta after spending the weekend in Biloxi, Mississippi, for a bowling tournament and to celebrate Fryer’s birthday. They already canceled their 11:45 a.m. flight and were searching for alternatives later in the day as they joined the epic procession in the garage, which fortunately was cool and breezy. Much farther ahead in line, Bruce and Carolyn Stafford, who came to New Orleans from Tampa, Florida, for their son’s wedding last week at Hotel Peter and Paul, were chatting with a new friend they made during their surprise ordeal. They arrived at the airport at 8 a.m., then had to wait to check their bags before queuing up.
In fact, the waitlist Providers say demand. for the Odyssey House LouiBroadmoor building patients will suffer siana’s runs dozens of names long.
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE
It’s because the facility cannot treat the growing number of people arriving For months, around half of at its doors without health the 147 beds at one of New insurance. It’s a problem health care Orleans’ largest addiction treatment facilities have sat facilities are confronting empty. It’s not because there’s no ä See MEDICAID, page 5A
Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
A sign on a door reminds Medicaid members to stay covered at Odyssey House Louisiana in New Orleans on Thursday.
Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 223