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Prices good at all Baton Rouge, Zachary, Gonzales and Prairieville stores July 8th - July 15th, 2026.
BIG LEAGUES: LSU BASEBALL PLAyERS EXPECTED TO BE SELECTED EARLy IN MLB DRAFT 1C
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BR HOMICIDE RATE HOLDING STEADY
LSU to host summit on funding athletics Top donors invited to Governor’s Mansion
BY ALYSE PFEIL and JON BLAU Staff writers
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Police cars fill the parking lot on April 23 after a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.
Police say more work remains as numbers keep pace with 2025 BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer
Homicides this year are tracking at the same pace as 2025 within the Baton Rouge city limits and parishwide, with numbers so far nearly identical. Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse said the city’s homicide rate for the first half of 2026 has remained steady when compared to last year, with 42 homicides reported since January, the same number as at the midpoint of 2025. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office has recorded 11 homicides this year, the same as last year at this time, bringing the parishwide total to 53 as
of June 30. In 2025, there were also 53 homicides in the parish by the end of June. “Overall, we would like our homicide numbers to be better, but we are about equal to what we were last year, and last year was lower than the year before. So it’s not time to throw up a red flag yet,” Morse said. Even though the homicide number has stayed the same, Morse said more work remains, as overall gun violence is up 2% from last year. The Baton Rouge Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office do not include homicides that have been
Baton Rouge homicide stats, first half of 2026
ä See HOMICIDE, page 6A
Sources: Baton Rouge Police Department, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office
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Gov. Jeff Landry and LSU President Wade Rousse plan to host the top 40 donors to LSU sports at the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge for a presentation on the financial future of the university’s athletics department, a university spokesperson said Thursday. The gathering will be held the first week of August, and the two leaders will unveil “a first look at an alternative revenue generating opportunity for LSU athletics that is first of its kind nationally and could quite possibly change the future of college sports in America,” according to the event invitation. The meeting was first reported by LouisianaSports.net. Tiger Athletic Foundation President and CEO Matt Borman sent the invitation to donors Thursday. “College athletics is at financial crossroads, and we’re feeling it every day at LSU,” Borman wrote. “As someone who has contributed generously to our athletic programs to keep them operational, you know how unsustainable the budget of the athletic department looks and how hard TAF has worked with our donors to assist.”
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’25 ’26 June Staff graphic
U.S., Iran exchange more attacks Back-and-forth fire bigger than in prior days
BY JON GAMBRELL
Cathey joins race to fill Letlow’s House seat State senator’s entry pushes field to four
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
The campaign to replace U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow got a bit more crowded Thursday, when state Sen. Stewart Cathey, a Republican from Monroe, joined the race.
WEATHER HIGH 91 LOW 75 PAGE 8B
Letlow is giving up her seat representing the 5th Congressional District to run for the U.S. Senate. Cathey is a second-term senator with a solid conservative voting record who chairs Cathey the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development.
“I’m running for Congress for the same reason I ran for the state Senate: the people of the 5th Congressional District deserve a represenH H H H H H tative who shows up, tells the truth, and gets things done,” Cathey said in a news release. “I’ve spent my career serving this country in uniform and standing up for Louisiana families in Baton
ELECTION
Associated Press
Rouge, and now I’m ready to take that fight to Washington.” A consultant with his father on IT issues, Cathey, 45, served two tours in Afghanistan as a member of the Army Reserves. Two candidates — state Rep. Michael Echols and Board of Regents Chair Misti Cordell — have had a head start in raising money and winning over key endorsements in the 5th District because they’ve been
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Mideast countries in an exchange of fire that threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East. Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire. But Thursday’s appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.
ä See HOUSE, page 6A
ä See IRAN, page 5A
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102ND yEAR, NO. 10