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W e d n e s d ay, a p r i l 8, 2026
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Mayor, police chief arrested in corruption probe
CONFLICTT IN THEE MIDDLE EAST
Public officials, 3 officers accused of malfeasance
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during a Monday news conference at the White House.
Trump, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire
Official says passage through strait will be allowed
BY BASSEM MROUE, JON GAMBRELL and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran — U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, swerving to deescalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate or else a “whole civilization will die.” Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Tehran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped during peacetime. He also said Iran has proposed a “workable” 10-point peace plan that could help end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted a two-week ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said passage through the strait would be allowed for
ä See IRAN, page 3A
The Mamou police chief, the Ville Platte mayor and three other police officers were arrested Tuesday by the Louisiana State Police on malfeasance counts. The five public officials are accused of accessing state or government databases and sharing protected information. Mamou Police Chief Charles “Pat” Hall faces one count of malfeasance in office and trespassing against state computers, according to Louisiana State Police. Hall Ville Platte Mayor Ryan Leday Williams faces one count of malfeasance in office. Additionally, Ville Platte Police Sgt. Darrian Guillory, 911 dispatch officer Chasessica Basco and Opelousas police Officer Williams Yolanda Lewis are each accused of one count of malfeasance in office and trespassing against state computers, according to State Police. The five were arrested Tuesday by the State Police following a March request by the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office to investigate allegations of malfeasance
ä See PROBE, page 3A
ELECTION 2026
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANCISCO SECO
Bystanders try to comfort and assist a woman Tuesday as she reacts near the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half the Khorasaniha Synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran.
Confirmation delay emerges as issue in Senate race Cassidy blocking Trump’s surgeon general pick
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
ter after the spill. “This is not a new problem, but it is one that needed a new approach, something this administration recognized from the start,” said Patrick Courreges, spokesperson for the Department of Conservation and Energy. “But this may be the generation where the bill is finally coming due.” “Orphaned wells” are inactive and unplugged oil and gas wells that fall to the state to plug and remediate, often after the company that owned them goes bankrupt, dissolves or repeatedly violates state regulations. In 2025, more than 1,600 wells were added to Louisiana’s orphaned well list. So far in 2026, 517 wells have been added.
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial choice of Casey Means for surgeon general, her nomination has emerged as an issue in Louisiana’s increasingly bitter Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate. That’s because incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has delayed for six weeks Means a vote that will decide Means’ fate. Cassidy chairs the Senate Committee for Health Education Labor and Pensions. U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, the Baton Rouge Republican who Trump endorsed to unseat Cassidy in the May 16 party primary, has repeatedly castigated the senator for not scheduling the committee vote Means needs for her confirmation to progress.
ä See WELLS, page 4A
ä See SENATE, page 3A
La.’s abandoned oil wells hit high of 6,500 Record reflects a 35% jump in two years
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
The number of abandoned oil and gas wells in Louisiana has surged over the past year despite efforts to address the problem, reaching a record high and placing a heavy financial burden on the state to plug them. The recent increase follows a trend that has been building for years, partly due to industry fluctuations and shifting regulations, officials say. More than 2,100 wells have been officially labeled as “orphaned” since the start of 2025, leaving the state
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with nearly 6,500 in total, according to the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy. High well-plugging costs, compounded by decades of lax regulatory requirements, have created the dilemma Louisiana now faces. The state recently strengthened rules on well owners and created a new authority to oversee how companies meet their financial obligations, but there are questions over whether those changes will be enough. Many wells on the orphaned list were drilled decades ago and risk blowing out if they are not plugged. That’s what happened to an inactive, though not yet orphaned, 82-year-old well in Plaquemines Parish last year. The Coast Guard recovered more than 170,000 gallons of oily wa-
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101ST yEAR, NO. 282