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W e d n e s d ay, J u ly 15, 2026
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HOUSE passes legislation after three weeks of gridlock SENATE still tough road for GOP with narrow majority TRUMP refusing to sign bills until voting legislation passes
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Arrest made in killing of U.S. marshal Shooting occurred while warrant was being served
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
An Alexandria man has been federally charged in the fatal shooting of a U.S. deputy marshal during the service of an arrest warrant Monday in Alexandria. Clarence A. Frazier Jr., 48, of Alexandria, was charged by criminal complaint with the murder of Deputy U.S. Marshal Drew Hanson, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. Hanson was shot while serving an arrest warrant alongside the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office for Frazier on Monday after Frazier failed to appear in court on a charge of sexual battery of a person with infirmities, according to a news release. “Our men and women put their lives on the line every day to apprehend the country’s most dangerous criminals,” said Gadyaces Serralta, director of the U.S. Marshals Service. “When a Deputy U.S. Marshal is killed in the line of duty serving an arrest warrant on a violent fugitive, this agency and, indeed the entire country mourn that loss. While we are all profoundly heartbroken by Drew Hanson’s tragic death, we are at the same time grateful for his unselfish devotion to protecting his community and those he loved.” Law enforcement located Frazier at his
ä See MARSHAL, page 4A
ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, accompanied by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — After three weeks of legislative paralysis that required Congress to go home early for the July Fourth holiday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, was finally able Tuesday to narrowly pass legislation that included the partisan voter restrictions demanded by President Donald Trump and making daylight saving time permanent. But the legislation faces a tougher path in the Senate, largely because of the sudden death of prominent Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and the illness of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, told The Hill, a political trade publication, that the Republican agenda in the Senate seems stalled. “The next four weeks are going to look like the happy hour at an airport Chili’s,” Kennedy said. Much of the legislative constipation
Alleged terrorist in Lafayette pleads not guilty
came about because Trump refused to sign bills into law until Congress approved one that would tighten the use of mail-in ballots, require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and show a photo ID when casting ballots. Called the SAVE America Act, the legislation doesn’t have the votes in the Senate to pass on its own. And the House still has plenty left on its plate. “We have a lot of work still to do,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, told reporters before the vote on the House bill. “You’re going to see this week the budget committee move the beginnings of reconciliation 3.0 out of committee. And we’re moving more bills through the floor this week, another appropriations bill.” Before the July Fourth holiday break, Trump had refused to sign a bill that authorizes spy agencies to gather information about foreign nationals and another giving incentives to build more homes and lower housing costs
“We’re not going to have a lot of time to get things if it has to go through both chambers, but the appointments (confirmation of presidential nominees) are what I’m most comfortable with because that only has to go through the Senate.”
A Middle Eastern man arrested in Lafayette, who federal prosecutors allege participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israeli civilians that left hundreds dead, has pleaded not guilty to all charges contained in a superseding indictment. A two-count indictment was issued in October of 2025 against Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi, a Gaza native who resided and worked briefly in Lafayette until his arrest last year. Prosecutors allege he aided a terrorist group and lied on his visa application, entering the United States via Dallas in September 2024, nearly a year after the attack
ä See CAPITOL, page 4A
SEN. BILL CASSIdy, R-Baton Rouge
ä See PLEADS, page 6A
Gaza native was arrested in connection with attack on Israel
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO
Staff writer
ICE to suspend most vehicle stops after 2 deadly shootings Trump administration orders halt
Tuesday. The policy change came after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after one shot and killed a motorist in Houston, renewBY PATRICK WHITTLE, JACK ing criticism of the agency’s BROOK, REBECCA SANTANA enforcement tactics that and MICHAEL R. SISAK were widely condemned last Associated Press winter after the killings of BIDDEFORD, Maine — Trump Alex Pretti and Renee Good administration officials told in Minnesota. In Florida on Tuesday, a Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to third man in roughly a week suspend most vehicle stops died during an encounter after two deadly shootings with immigration officers. within a week, people fa- This time, a 28-year-old man miliar with the decision said was killed after he was hit
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by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said. The suspension of vehicle stops allows room for exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies, according to a person who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations. Matthew Felling, a spokesperson for Maine Sen. Angus King, said the senator’s office was also told
ä See ICE, page 6A
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Protesters gather near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Scarborough, Maine, on Tuesday, one day after the shooting of Johan Sebastián durán Guerrero. ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By ROBERT F. BUKATy
102Nd yEAR, NO. 15