COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Players with Louisiana ties among this year’s nominees
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T u e s d ay, J u n e 2, 2026
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2026 LEGISLATURE SESSION ENDS
Legislators tighten oversight of La. child welfare agency
Evidence against alleged hit man allowed Trial set for gun and drug charges tied to 5400 Boys
BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Speaker of the House Phillip DeViller, R-Eunice, bangs the gavel to end the 2026 legislative session on Monday.
‘Everyone feels like this is a step in the right direction’
Senate Bill 237 requires more thorough reviews of child abuse and neglect cases, and it orders the department to give more detailed information about child deaths to a state watchdog and legislators. BY ALYSE PFEIL “I feel like there’s consensus that what Staff writer we have in the bill is going to make a difOn the final day of the legislative ses- ference in helping kids without ballooning sion, lawmakers passed a bill to have costs,” said state Rep. Stephanie Berault, stricter oversight of how Louisiana’s child R-Slidell, who played a key role in negowelfare system handles deaths caused by tiating the final version of the legislation. abuse and neglect. “And it’s giving the department an opporWhile lawmakers stopped short of abol- tunity for those changes to work and also ishing the Department of Children and getting them more help and support.” Berault said members of the House and Family Services, which has faced intense scrutiny over how it handles such deaths, Senate, the department, the Governor’s some legislators said they are not done Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the asking whether the agency needs a big- State Child Ombudsman’s Office and Louisiana’s child advocacy centers played a ger overhaul.
part in negotiations. “At this moment, everyone feels like this is a step in the right direction,” she said, adding that it moves Louisiana toward the larger goal of “making sure that no vulnerable child slips through the cracks.” Department Secretary Rebecca Harris celebrated the legislation. “The passage of Senate Bill 237 reflects what can happen when leaders come together around a shared goal: protecting Louisiana’s children,” Harris said in a statement. She said lawmakers, advocates and other stakeholders “worked through difficult conversations to find common ground on an issue that matters deeply
ä See SESSION, page 5A
Evidence from surveillance collected against a man described by authorities as a hit man for the 5400 Boys gang will be allowed to be introduced at his trial on gun and drug charges. Defense attorneys for 36-yearold Marvin Payne sought to suppress documents detailing multiple days of surveillance on him and his associates carried out by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office in May 2021. But Judge Louise Hines ruled last week that prosecutors will be able to use the evidence in court. In addition to physical and digital surveillance, the evidence includes descriptions of jail phone calls involving Payne and information from multiple confidential informants on his alleged heroindealing operation. Payne and three co-defendants face numerous gun and drug charges. He is charged with a count each of possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. In March, Payne was the focus of a subpoena against Baton Rouge, seeking information about a 2022 gun safety event involving him and bankrolled by the city-parish government. Payne, known in police records as “Madd Marvin,” was awaiting trial on a murder charge at the time. The charge was later dropped. The newly entered evidence demonstrates what day-to-day
ä See EVIDENCE, page 5A
Trump may back off $1.8B fund, source says
Volunteers to expand disaster resilience hubs
BY ERIC TUCKER, SEUNG MIN KIM and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
BY IANNE SALVOSA
Community Lighthouses provide power when needed
Staff writer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is reconsidering whether to move forward with a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate his allies, a person familiar with his thinking said Monday, as the Justice Department said it would temporarily pause its implementation to comply with a court order. The potential retreat is a recognition of the legal setbacks the fund
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives at the ä See FUND, page 7A White House on Sunday.
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 71 PAGE 6B
When 90 mph winds pummeled Baton Rouge in 2008 during Hurricane Gustav, the Rev. Thomas Clark, of Immaculate Conception Church in Scotlandville, said the congregation felt “paralyzed.” The church had planned to assist people throughout the city, but a widespread electricity outage hindered its ability to lend a helping hand. But after the floods that swept the area in 2016, the church was able to step up to provide food and other support to those affect-
Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
ed. The difference? The church maintained power in 2016. “Power makes a difference,” Clark said at the second annual gathering of Community Lighthouse keepers. Community Lighthouses are buildings with a solar power and battery system that provides power when electricity is down, creating a place for people to charge their devices and for electrical workers to rest while fixing the outage. About 95 community and faith leaders gathered at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Training Facility on Saturday for an annual training on preparing and running Community Lighthouses, focused on taking
ä See HUBS, page 7A
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