SAVE 72 ¢
SAVE $ 11 5
LB
LB
4 DAY SALE JUNE 18TH - 21ST
CUT & WRAPPED FREE!
THUR FRI
SAT SUN
18
20
19
21
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USDA PRIME BEEF
Whole Shortloin (T-Bone)
— ONLY —
USDA GRADE A SANDERSON FARMS
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When You Buy 2
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11 88 Whole Chicken 97 ¢
$
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SAVE $ 11 2
10 - 13 OZ
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2
$ 88
Taylor Farms Chopped Salad Kit
46 - 48 OZ
Blue Bunny Frozen Dessert
6
2/$
Prices good at all Baton Rouge, Zachary, Gonzales and Prairieville stores June 18th - June 21st, 2026.
THE
ADVOCATE T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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F r i d ay, J u n e 19, 2026
$2.00X
Plan to cut school budgets blocked
Landry can’t reduce funding to pay teacher stipends, judge rules BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
A Louisiana judge halted Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to pay for teacher stipends by cutting public school funding by nearly $170 million after advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing that Landry lacks the legal authority to order the cut. Judge Richard “Chip” Moore of
the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge granted the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order to stop the governor from enacting his executive order, which calls for a $168 million reduction in state education funding this school year to pay for $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff. The 11-day restraining order also forbids Landry from continuing to
collect ballots from the Legislature, two-thirds of which must approve his plan for it to take effect. The court-ordered delay is likely to push the vote past the deadline for the governor to veto budget items. Some lawmakers have expressed concern that Landry could slash funding for projects in their districts if they opposed his plan, according to people who have spoken with them.
TROPICAL STORM
The lawsuit argues that Landry overstepped his constitutional authority by effectively reallocating education funds, which the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education controls under Louisiana’s constitution. It also says Landry circumvented the proper legal procedure by issuing the order on June 2, a day after the legislative session ended, and asking lawmakers to vote remotely
without a public hearing or debate. “The Executive Order is a glaring abuse of executive power in violation of the state constitution,” says the Landry June 18 petition. If the cut is allowed to proceed, the petition adds, it will cause “irreparable harm” to the state’s public schools, and “will eliminate
ä See BLOCKED, page 6A
Southern marks Juneteenth, says fight continues
ARTHUR
Arthur’s remnants soak southern Louisiana
Speakers focused on getting out the vote
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
Hundreds of community members, alumni and students gathered Thursday to observe Juneteenth on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge. The theme of the festivities was “celebrating freedom through culture and community,” but weeks after Louisiana’s bitter redistricting battles, the speakers Thursday morning had one message driving their remarks: Get out and vote. “Freedom does not come in on the wheels of inevitability,” Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice John
ä See JUNETEENTH, page 6A
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Debris from a trailer is strewn Thursday amid a neighboring structure it smashed into after a possible tornado touched down in Avondale as Tropical Storm Arthur passed through the region.
Widespread flooding reported, tornadoes cause damage BY MIKE SMITH, MICHELLE HUNTER and LARA NICHOLSON
Staff writers
The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur swept through southeast Louisiana early Thursday with torrential rains and tornado strikes, causing flooding in parts of the New Orleans metro area, injuring at least two people and leaving thousands without power. While Arthur did not remain a tropical storm for long after moving ashore in Texas on Wednesday, its sprawling bands and severe
weather lingered and raked across broad swaths of south Louisiana, missing the Baton Rouge area but slamming parishes north and south of it. Avoyelles Parish was inundated by heavy rains, with 275 structures flooded and 150 people displaced, according to parish officials. Canals were overtopped in Kenner while street flooding occurred in other areas of Jefferson Parish as well as in St. Charles. Tr e e s w e r e d o w n e d throughout the area and
Vance delays trip for Iran nuclear talks U.S. lifts blockade on Iranian ports
BY WILL WEISSERT, SEUNG MIN KIM, MICHELLE L. PRICE and MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
A stalled SUV is pushed out of high water on Thursday ä See ARTHUR, page 7A on Loyola Drive in Kenner during Tropical Storm Arthur.
WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday night that Vice President JD Vance was delaying a trip to Switzerland to lead a new round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program — raising questions about what’s next for the tentative agreement to end the war. It said the team lead by Vance had been
ä See IRAN, page 5A
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Business ......................4D Commentary ................5B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................8D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....5D-7D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
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