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M o n d ay, a p r i l 13, 2026
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U.S. says it will blockade Iranian ports Ceasefire talks end without deal
BY MUNIR AHMED, JOSH BOAK, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
ISLAMABAD — President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would swiftly begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. U.S. Central Command announced that it will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at
9 a.m. CENTCOM said the blockade will be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” It said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Trump wants to weaken Iran’s key leverage in the war after demanding that it reopen the strait to all global traffic on the waterway that was responsible for 20% of global oil shipping before fighting began. Traffic in the strait has been
Vice President JD Vance, left, talks to Asim Munir, right, Pakistan’s chief of Defense Forces and chief of army staff, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, center, Sunday before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan.
limited even in the days since the ceasefire. Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire. A U.S. blockade could further rattle global energy markets. Oil prices rose in early market trading on Sunday after the blockade announcement. The price of U.S. crude rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel, and Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7% to $102.29. Brent crude cost roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN
ä See BLOCKADE, page 4A
2026 LEGISLATURE
Bonnet Carre Spillway openings scrutinized Coastal Mississippi communities push for changes amid new analysis of operations BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
It has protected the New Orleans area from Mississippi River flooding for nearly a century, but changing conditions, environmental damage and new scientific analysis are raising a thorny question: Is there a better way to operate the Bonnet Carre Spillway? Mississippi Gulf Coast communities hit hard by the influx of fresh water and pollution from recent spillway openings believe there is, and they presented new scientific evidence to make their case last week. But while there may be widespread agreement
on the problem, addressing it is no simple matter. Suggestions for how to alter the lower river’s flood control systems have drawn strong opposition in parts of Louisiana, and much of what is being envisioned would likely require Congress to change laws. Mississippi officials say the time has arrived to do so. More frequent spillway openings in recent years, including a record-setting deluge of water in 2019, have killed off oyster reefs, fueled harmful algae blooms, badly hurt tourism and taken a toll on local revenue along the Mississippi coast. The two studies released last week propose specific limits on how much river water should be allowed through Bonnet Carre to protect vulnerable oyster reefs in the Mississippi Sound. Future installments of those studies will delve further into spillway-related issues. The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the spillway, is also engaged in a larger study on the future of the lower river that includes ways of alleviating some of those concerns. There is increasing pressure to act. Mississippi communities have sued the Corps over damage
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tests opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco. STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
ä See SPILLWAY, page 4A
Documentary puts Natchez in the spotlight skirts, still, despite criticism Residents question hoop that they romanticize a time stained slavery. Standing before three whether attention by dozen people — mostly women, on city’s past will help mostly baby boomers — in her dining room, Pack explained why she or hurt tourism instead picked a slim, silky number.
BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The tour began as many do in this historic river city: with shined silver, a grand chandelier and a bit about the antebellum house’s original owners. But the current owner, Tammy Pack, skipped the hoop skirt. Many of the historic homeowners who partake in Natchez’s annual Spring Pilgrimage don traditional
WEATHER HIGH 83 LOW 66 PAGE 6B
Construction on Pack’s home, long christened Holly Hedges, began in the 1790s. “‘Why not consider dressing to the oldest period of our home?’” Pack said, quoting a fellow homeowner. “‘Your house is more ‘Bridgerton’ style, really.’ … “All I heard was I get a new dress without a hoop skirt,” Pack said with a grin. “OK, you sold me on it!” The ladies chuckled.
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Tammy Pack gives a tour of her home, called Holly Hedges, in Natchez, Miss. Each spring, Natchez gussies itself up as ä See NATCHEZ, page 6A homeowners, many in costume, open their mansions to tourists
Classified .....................7D Living............................1D Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Lottery..........................2B Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro .........................1B Sports ..........................1C
Bill would make sleeping on street a crime Proposal creates ‘homelessness courts’
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Over the past several years, Lashauna Williams says, she has struggled to afford permanent housing while trying to get treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Williams, who said she grew up in foster care, described bouncing between shipping containers, rented apartments and friends’ houses. She spent several months at a New Orleans shelter where, she said, she was often treated harshly. Sometimes, she would leave the shelter early in the morning to catch a few extra hours of sleep in the park, a brief escape before she began her day, she said. Now, a proposal in the Louisiana Legislature would make camping in unauthorized public spaces a crime. Supporters of the idea, which would also allow local jurisdictions to establish “homelessness courts,” say it will give law enforcement a tool to steer homeless people toward services and help draw down funds from President Donald Trump’s administration. House Bill 211, sponsored by state Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, is part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s legislative agenda. The bill lays out a mechanism for homeless people to avoid prison time by pleading guilty, going on probation for at least a year, and completing a treatment program. Someone who successfully completes the program could have their conviction tossed. HB211 “prioritizes and balances accountability, compassion, fiscal responsibility and the long-term well-being of individuals, families and neighborhoods,” Villio told the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol on Thursday. “This legislation calls for a coordinated strategy that integrates criminal justice, housing, health care and homelessness response systems into a continuum of care.” But to Williams, HB211 would create a “cycle of shame.”
ä See BILL, page 6A
13TH yEAR, NO. 244