Sophia Germer

Ferdinand Woolens IV confidently crossed the stage at Xavier University Convocation Center Tuesday morning to accept his high school diploma. He was set to start classes in a few short weeks at LSU, where he had earned a full-ride scholarship and planned to study engineering.

Roadwork continues in the 900 block of Decatur Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

The New Orleans Police Department respond to a suspect barricaded in a home in the 3800 block of Ursula Spencer Way in New Orleans, Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

A pedestrian walks across Poydras Street as traffic lights shine out of sync in New Orleans, Thursday, May 21, 2026.

of 6 University of New Orleans President Kathy Johnson, who led the university through a financial crisis and has helped navigate its shift

of 14 The former Oleander Hotel photographed in Grand Isle, La., Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)

Young sailors scrambled like seafaring spiders up a web of rope ladders strung from masts stretching 15 stories high above the Eagle, a U.S. Coast Guard tall ship.

Thirteen NORD pools opened Saturday for the 2026 summer season, including Lemann Pool on the Lafitte Greenway. The pool reopened for the first time since 2020 after years of closure tied to vandalism, maintenance issues and staffing shortages. Lafitte Greenway Partnership handed out goggles and refreshments to families are they arrived to the community pool.

Keith Thomas, center, stands as his supporters get ready to celebrate his win as King Zulu 2027 during the announcement of the Zulu leadership and royalty election winners outside the

The Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival returned to the area around Lafitte's Barataria Museum and Wetland Trace. The festival celebrated the Town of Jean Lafitte, seafood and music.