Bill Cassidy challenges Julia Letlow to a series of televised debates. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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The dismissal of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary came days after Republican Senator John Kennedy questioned Noem about a 220-million-dollar ad campaign. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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Bill Cassidy has challenged Julia Letlow to a series of three televised debates as the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is heating up. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says the fact that Cassidy is suggesting this at all is a clear indication that alarm bells are going off within his campaign.
Cut 3 (10) “…own electoral chances.”
Hogan says Cassidy challenging Letlow to the debates, on top of his campaign’s messaging that includes labeling her as “Liberal Letlow,” proves that Cassidy views Letlow as a serious threat to his re-election chances.
Cut 4 (10) “…to move ahead.”
While Cassidy challenged Letlow, he did not challenge the other major candidate in the race, John Fleming. Hogan says Cassidy likely wants to debate just Letlow to avoid getting ganged up on.
Cut 5 (06) “…against one scenario.”
The three debates are slated to be held in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The Baton Rouge debate is being organized by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and Leaders for a Better Louisiana and is scheduled for April 16th. Letlow says she cannot attend due to her commitments in the U.S. House. But Fleming, who organizers did invite, says he will attend.
Organizers for the Shreveport and Lafayette debates also invited Fleming, and he said he would attend the Shreveport debate. He did not say whether he would attend the Lafayette debate. No dates have been announced for those two debates yet.
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The University of Louisiana System filed a lawsuit on behalf of Louisiana Tech against Conference USA Wednesday. In July, LA Tech announced plans of exiting the conference to join the Sun Belt before the 2026 football season, but the move has been delayed, thanks to pushback from Conference USA and bylaws that require 14-month notice. Lincoln Parish Journal Publisher Malcolm Butler says these rules didn’t stop an exodus of member schools in 2021.
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The suit claims that Louisiana Tech approached Conference USA with a financial offer providing two full years of conference distributions. The conference responded with a proposal that included NCAA distributions for player welfare typically given to schools but done so through conferences, a difference Butler estimates to be more than two-million dollars.
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In 2022, Conference USA initially released a conference schedule including Southern Miss, Marshall, and Old Dominion as they negotiated an exit before releasing a final one without them. With 2026 conference schedule releases already underway, Butler says the clock is ticking.
Cut 8 (10) “…interesting to see.”
Last year, the C-USA schedule was announced on February 6th, and the Sun Belt released its schedule on February 28th.
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Days before President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy took Noem to task for a 220-million-dollar ad campaign that he says was more about boosting her name recognition than encouraging immigrants to self-deport.
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President Trump said he never knew anything Noem’s border security advertising campaign and that he spent less money than that to become president.
In congressional hearings before her firing, Noem defended the ad campaign that prominently features her riding on horseback at Mount Rushmore in her home state of South Dakota.
Cut 10 (14) “…terribly awkward spot.”
The firm used to produce the spot reportedly has ties to Noem, and the competitive bidding process was not followed. Kennedy grilled Noem about that aspect.
Cut 11 (11) “…it’s not, sir.”
Noem says she had nothing to do with picking the contractors that produced the spot.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved the expansion of black bear hunting areas from three last year to seven across the state this season. Black bear hunting has been legal for the last two years after previously being banned in 1987. LDWF large carnivore program manager John Hanks says tag allotments will be very conservative.
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The total number of permits awarded this year is expected to increase from the 26 last season, but no official number has been set. Hanks says only 16 bears were successfully harvested last year.
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Hunters may apply to take part in the tag lottery from July 28th to August 28th. The 2026 season will begin December 5th and will run for 16 days. Hanks says receiving a black bear permit is not as simple as just paying an extra fee.
Cut 14 (07) “…and go hunting.”