BY TIMOTHY BOONE | Staff writer Louisiana schools brace for possible cuts after Trump administration withholds funding: Louisiana schools are bracing for potentially painful cuts, including to after-school programs and teacher training, after the Trump administration said this week that it is withholding nearly $7 billion in education grants. About 22,000 Louisiana students attend summer and after-school programs funded by the grants, advocates said. The federal money, which Congress approved earlier this year, also pays for programs for summer learning, migrant students, English learners, adult literacy, arts and science education and violence prevention in schools across the country. Schools had expected to receive the money on July 1, as required by federal law, which would allow them to plan and budget for the fall. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education told states in a brief memo Monday that it would not release the funds until it had reviewed the grant programs, adding that funding decisions for the upcoming school year "have not yet been." Read the full story from Education Reporter Patrick Wall: Home prices are stagnant in Louisiana. Here's how brokers are getting deals done. Veteran Realtor Jerry Del Rio has been selling houses in Baton Rouge for more than four decades. Over the years, she’s advertised on TV, partnered with national brokerages and earned top-performing agent awards. This year is the toughest she’s ever had. “I am doing as much marketing as I possibly can,” she said. “I’ve never worked harder.” Del Rio is not alone. Three years after rising interest rates and insurance premiums iced the white-hot housing market of the pandemic era, real estate brokers across Louisiana — and much of the U.S. — are struggling to move a growing inventory of houses that have been sitting for months. Read the full story from Business Reporter Stephanie Riegel. Baton Rouge councilman got a $36K offroad vehicle for his district. Why was it at his house?: An East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member has kept a taxpayer-owned, $36,000 off-road vehicle at his home, but says he broke no rules by doing so and uses it for his district. City-parish records show council member Darryl Hurst bought the 2025 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 Northstar with his District 5 budget in February. The money came from a new franchise fee the council imposed on Entergy in December. The council member said the vehicle is kept "for the most part, in a trailer or office" at the center in his district, though "sometimes I'll ask somebody 'Hey man, let me store it here.'" Read the story by City Hall Reporter Patrick Sloan-Turner. | 