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Judge lifts block of teacher raise plan Law firm representing education advocates disqualified BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to cut public school budgets to pay for teacher stipends can proceed after a judge on Monday lifted an order blocking the plan, which is set to take effect Wednesday. Judge Richard “Chip” Moore, of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, also granted a
motion by the state to disqualify Baker Donelson, the law firm representing education advocates who sued to stop the funding cut. Lawyers for the state argued, and the judge agreed, that the firm should be disqualified because it is representing the state in a federal court case while at the same time representing plaintiffs suing the state in the school funding case. Under Landry’s plan, which
lawmakers approved last week, the state will reduce funding for public schools by $168 million this school year, and instead use the money to give $2,000 stipends to teachers and $1,000 to school support staff. In a statement Monday, state Attorney General Liz Murrill praised the judge’s ruling, and said the state had canceled its existing contracts with Baker Donelson.
“A law firm cannot represent the governor in one courtroom and sue him in another without proper consent,” she said, adding that, with the court order lifted, “I am hopeful we can all move forward with the pay raise that our teachers Beuerman deserve.” Greg Beuerman, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs, said they plan to swiftly review
their options with the hope of potentially taking action before Landry’s plan goes into effect Wednesday. “I think they’re going to be deciding very, very quickly what their next move is going to be,” he said, adding that the advocates believe Landry’s order raises important legal questions about the governor’s authority to reallocate education dollars. “I would be surprised if there’s not more to be played out
ä See JUDGE, page 5A
High court upholds overturning of death sentence
La. leading research on GLP-1 drugs
Duncan is 10th prisoner freed over discredited testimony
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
your body composition, and what does it do to your energy expenditure?” His study will track the resting metabolic rate, or the number of calories burned while at rest, and muscle mass while participants receive a weight loss drug. The research tackles what’s known as “metabolic adaptation,” a survival mechanism to protect the body from starvation that can cause some people using the medications to plateau in their weight loss. As people lose weight on the drugs, the body becomes very “energy efficient,” Ravussin said — too efficient to continue
Louisiana’s Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower court decision overturning a Ouachita Parish man’s death sentence, ruling that the man’s conviction 28 years ago rested on discredited science that “no rational juror” would use to reach a guilty verdict today. The 33-page high court ruling in favor of former death row prisoner Jimmie “Chris” Duncan represents a potential landmark victory for supporters of a post-conviction law Louisiana approved in 2021. The law sought to give prisoners who obtain fresh evidence of their innocence easier paths to jettisoning unjust sentences. Penned by Justice Cade Cole, the ruling excoriates state prosecutors’ use of “bite mark analysis” during Duncan’s 1998 trial, which ended with Duncan’s conviction on firstdegree murder for the death of his former girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux. A district court judge in north Louisiana, Alvin Sharp, vacated Duncan’s sentence last May after finding there were “not sufficient grounds” to have prosecuted him for first-degree murder. Duncan was freed on bail in November after 27 years on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Prosecutors from the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate Duncan’s capital sentence. But the high court’s decision Monday, which came in response to that request, broadly affirms Sharp’s order. Duncan proved “by clear and convincing evidence that no rational
ä See RESEARCH, page 5A
ä See OVERTURNS, page 7A
GLP-1 weight loss drugs are available as injectables or pills.
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Pennington Biomedical Center studying effects of popular weight loss medication on muscle mass, metabolic rate BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have been hailed as near-miracle drugs that have revolutionized how people lose weight. The drugs mimic a hormone produced by the body that manages blood sugar and triggers a feeling of fullness. People who take the medication generally lose between 15% and 25% of their body weight in a year, studies found. But what about the drawbacks that can come with such dramatic transformations? In addition to short-term side effects like nausea and constipation, some pa-
tients experience muscle loss and a slowing of their metabolism. With a state obesity rate of 40%, more and more Louisianans will have to manage those outcomes. One potential solution might lie at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, where Dr. Eric Ravussin is both measuring the extent to which the medications affect Ravussin muscle mass and exploring a way to prevent the drugs from decreasing patients’ metabolic rate. “They have spectacular weight loss,” Ravussin said. But pharmaceutical companies “want to know, what does it do to
State’s response to sexual assault needs improvement, report finds BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Louisiana should create a more cohesive system for responding to sexual assault cases to comply with state law, and it lacks the resources to consistently provide adequate services to victims, a report from the Legislative Auditor’s
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Office found. The study, released Monday, was the result of a bill passed in 2025 that required the state to audit sexual assault services. In Louisiana, organizations such as law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers and advocacy centers are all involved in responding to reports of sexual as-
sault. The report found that a lack of coordination between such entities creates a fragmented system of care for survivors. Each of the state’s nine Louisiana Department of Health regions has a Regional Sexual Assault Response Plan, auditors said, adding that they “identified instances where the SAR plans do not com-
ply with state law and could be improved to better respond to survivors of sexual assault.” Some plans do not meet a state requirement that they be approved by the coroner — and, even when they technically comply with the law, the plans often lack detail about which entities are responsible for implementing state re-
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quirements. The report also found that four parishes were not served by an accredited sexual assault advocacy center. Under state law, survivors are all supposed to have access to such facilities, but “gaps and challenges” limit that access.
ä See REPORT, page 5A
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