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T u e s d ay, M a r c h 31, 2026
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TSA pay eases lines at airports
‘THIS IS HOME’
New coach Will Wade welcomes second chance with LSU basketball, sets goal to make Tigers ‘national force’
Wait times start to decrease Monday
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — The nation’s 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers who screen passengers at airports started receiving paychecks Monday for the first time in the month since Congress held up funding in a dispute over how the Trump administration is handling immigration roundups. Wait times to get through airport security, which had exceeded four hours in large airports, started to decrease Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Lines that recently had snaked into the parking lot at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport since the shutdown began Feb. 13, decreased significantly Monday. MSY spokesperson Erin Burns said wait times were long in the early morning hours, but as of 6 a.m. Monday, they
ä See AIRPORTS, page 5A
2026 LEGISLATURE STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU President Wade Rousse, left, and athletic director Verge Ausberry, right, hold up a jersey as they introduce Will Wade as the new men’s basketball coach during a news conference on Monday.
Bill to end inspection stickers advances
INSIDE
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry didn’t hide from the face-lift the LSU men’s basketball program needed when he took over for predecessor Scott Woodward. “I came here to a lot of (basketball) games lately,” Ausberry said. “It was half empty.” The culture change started at Monday’s introductory news conference for returning coach Will Wade in front of excited fans, administrators and alumni at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. “In fact, there were more people here today, probably, than some of our last basketball games,” Ausberry said about Wade’s news conference. “So we had to change our culture.” Wade is back in Baton Rouge after being fired for cause by LSU in 2022 over allegations of NCAA rule infractions. Wade, the last coach to lead LSU to the NCAA Tournament, aims to get the Ti-
ä Scott Rabalais: Wade embodies
LSU and wants to give school something back. Page 1C ä Will Wade previews plan for next season’s staff, roster. Page 1C the two schools. “Did I think this was possible?” Wade said about coming back to LSU. “I mean, I guess you never count anything out in life. But when we left here, we never thought we’d be back. No, I wouldn’t say I thought it was possible.” New LSU men’s basketball coach Wade’s return came together quickly. Will Wade greets the student section Traction picked up Wednesday as LSU following an introductory news worked to hire McNeese State athletic conference on Monday. director Heath Schroyer to become its senior deputy athletic director and exgers back to March Madness and beyond ecutive director of external relations for after a two-year stint at McNeese State the LSU system. Schroyer hired Wade and, most recently, his lone season at at McNeese in 2023 and also will reunite NC State. Wade made the NCAA Tourä See WADE, page 5A nament in all three seasons combined at
Emissions testing in BR area would still be required BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Drivers in most of Louisiana would no longer need to get inspection stickers under a bill advancing in the Legislature with Gov. Jeff Landry’s support. Instead, personal vehicles would just need a sticker that lists its vehicle identification number. Drivers in some parts of the state, however, would still have to get
ä See STICKERS, page 5A
High school students learn to fly Program at Live Oak offers first step to pilot’s license
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
On a February afternoon, Luke Hetherwick took off flying in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk over the Mississippi River as Kaiten Campo manned the air traffic control station to ensure a safe flight. “I’m currently at 1,500, and
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 66 PAGE 6B
we’ve established two-way communication into Class C airspace,” Hetherwick said into his headset to Campo. After a few minutes of flying, Hetherwick began his descent with Campo checking to make sure the air space was clear for landing. Hetherwick smoothly touched down at Baton Rouge Metro Airport. “He regularly sticks the landing — but it’s far more advantageous to crash in a simulation,” Campo said, because while the pair have aspirations to relive this exact
situation as professionals one day, they are now still only high school students who were using a flight simulator that afternoon inside a Livingston Parish classroom. Live Oak High School offers aviation classes to students like Hetherwick, a junior, and Campo, a senior, providing them with some pilot training for free. Students use certified flight simulators, watch training videos and hear from guest speakers, all to prepare for the Federal Aviation
ä See FLY, page 7A
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Live Oak High School aviation students line up to poke their heads inside the cockpit of an Airbus H125 helicopter during a field trip on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
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