On Sept. 3, 1963 Aurelius Paul Martinez became the first enrolled Black student to step inside Baton Rouge High School. Aurelius passed Feb. 11, 2025. I'm honored I could hear from his friends, family and former classmates about that first step. theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/ne…

Next installment of the Baton Rouge bus worker strike saga reveals that each side believes it's up to the other to come back to the table. Why the confusion?: theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/ne…

The USDA in partnership with DOGE canceled a $600k grant to Southern University in Louisiana over claims that it was researching “menstrual cycles in transgender men.” The university has since denied these claims. theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/so…

Today’s front pages of NOLA.com and The Advocate after Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years and first using nitrogen gas. So grateful for our team of reporters, photographers, copy editors, digital crew & all others who made this happen on deadline last night.

Today’s Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

"...a woman and two children walked along the highway, lugging backpacks and tote bags toward another vehicle. Both kids were still in their pajamas — unicorns for the girl, 'Bluey' cartoons for the boy." Story from Haley Miller

If you drive through West Baton Rouge, you might have noticed “Vote John Foster” signs all over the parish. Here’s a fun story in print today about how the American Idol contestant’s hometown is showing pride for its rising country star.

Read "Limestone Post Contributors Win 8 ‘Best in Indiana’ Journalism Awards" online at LimestonePost.com #LimestonePost #LimestoneMedia #LocalNews #BloomingtonIN #BloomingtonNews

While at OPSO for this story, I had a phone call from my own mom interrupt an interview. Before we could continue, I had to guarantee all of the residents I would call her back immediately. Happy mother's day 💐 theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/en…

My story on foster youth rates doubling in recent years in some Louisiana parishes that either have not enough foster homes — or none at all — in The Advocate and NOLA.com print

The energy for John Foster yesterday in Addis and Plaquemine was off the charts. Even the “American Idol” crew was stunned by the size of the crowd. Foster said through tears on stage later he felt gratitude, peace and terror all at once ahead of Sunday’s finale.

In one sense, she said, the mansion’s destruction was also the destruction of enslaved people’s “blood, sweat and tears” — a tangible ancestral connection. But the ancestors themselves likely wanted the place to go up in smoke, she said. Story from Haley Miller

What a great quote in Haley Miller’s story on the Nottoway fire: “Maybe Sherman’s soul came back and torched it.” theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/ne…

Late last night, the Livingston Parish president and the library board decided to remove the library director from her post. This marks the second parish library director shakeup in the past two years for the Louisiana parish known for its library turmoil.

Why is life expectancy in Baton Rouge 4-5 years lower than the rest of the country? A new report shows five causes of early death might have something to do with it. theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/ne…

What on earth is going on at Indiana University?