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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered new parents a bit of advice Sunday, telling them it’s perfectly normal to fight, but just not in front of the children.
Francis warned of the “anguish” of children who see their parents fight during a ceremony to baptize 27 newborns, an annual tradition that fills the frescoed Sistine Chapel with babies, their parents and godparents.
Amid coos and wails, Francis told parents that they had taken on an important new job of transmitting the faith to their children — a job he said begins at home, in the family.
Francis then offered some off-the-cuff advice to help them do just that.
“It’s normal for spouses to fight,” he said. “It’d be strange if they didn’t. Do it, but don’t let the children hear it or see it. You have no idea of children’s anguish when they see their parents fight.”
Francis frequently offers such real-world advice to couples, stemming from his years ministering to ordinary families when he was a priest, bishop and cardinal in Buenos Aires.
One of his favorite axioms is that couples should make a habit of saying “Please, thank you and sorry,” and should never go to bed mad.

A 23-year-old man was booked on an armed robbery charge stemming from an incident where he robbed a woman at gunpoint in Patterson, Police Chief Garrett Grogan said in a news release.

—Tamoz Allen, 23, of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Patterson, was arrested Sunday on a charge of armed robbery. No bail was set yet.

The armed robbery charge stems from a Jan. 2 incident that occurred in the area Plum and Clements streets in Patterson.

Allen allegedly pointed a gun in the face of woman and demanded that she give him any money she had or he’d shoot her. The woman gave him the money, and Allen left, police said.

Grogan reported the following arrests:

—Ronald Johnson, 59, of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Patterson, was arrested Sunday on a charge of simple battery involving domestic violence. Bail was set at $2,500.

—Leslie Favors, 17, of Taft Street in Patterson, was arrested Sunday on a charge of resisting an officer. Favors posted $3,500 bail.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responded to 102 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Caleb J. August, 18, of Egle Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:36 a.m. Friday on warrants charging him with criminal trespass, criminal mischief by tampering with property, possession of stolen property less than $1,000, simple burglary and access device fraud.

August was located at his home and arrested on warrants. The warrants stem from a Thursday incident when August allegedly committed a vehicle burglary on Palm Street and tried using one of the credit cards that were taken during burglary. August was jailed.

—Gannon T. Broussard Jr., 28, of Seventh Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:29 p.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with two counts of failure to pay fines.

Broussard was located on Ditch Avenue and arrested on a city court warrant. Broussard was jailed.

—Jeremy J. Walker, 38, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:54 p.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to pay a fine.

Walker was located in the area of La. 182 near Everett Street and arrested on a city court warrant. Walker was jailed.

—Ty Q. Thai, 48, of Vivian Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:47 p.m. Sunday on a charge of disturbing the peace intoxicated.

Officers responded to a business on Brashear Avenue in regard to an individual that was possibly intoxicated. Officers arrived and located the individual identified as Thai, who appeared intoxicated, Blair said. Thai was jailed.

—Kevin J. Rodriguez, 45, of Onstead Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:49 p.m. Sunday on a charge of disturbing the peace intoxicated and warrants charging him with disturbing the peace intoxicated and simple battery.

Officers responded to a business on First Street in regard to an individual causing a disturbance. Officers arrived and located the individual identified as Rodriguez, who appeared to be intoxicated, Blair said.

A warrant check revealed that Rodriguez had warrants for his arrest. Rodriguez was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that deputies responded to 125 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:

—Mandi Hatfield, 31, of Florence Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 1:23 p.m. Friday for no driver’s license and hit and run.

A deputy was dispatched to an area on Teche Road in Bayou Vista reference to a vehicle theft complaint. When in route, the deputy was made aware that the vehicle had pulled into a business parking lot on Southeast Boulevard and struck another vehicle before leaving the scene, Smith said.

The deputy observed the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on U.S. 90 near Thorguson Drive in Berwick. The deputy made contact with the driver, Hatfield, and through the stop, the deputy was unable to get a valid license from Hatfield, the sheriff said. Hatfield was booked into jail and later released on $1,250 bail.

—Joshua Jones, 31, of Lacy Street in Franklin, was arrested at 7:32 p.m. Friday on a charge of attempted burglary of an inhabited dwelling.

A deputy patrolling the area of Morgan City was dispatched to a medical facility in reference to a subject with an active warrant being released from the facility.

Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the subject, identified as Jones, and advised him of the warrant. Jones was jailed with no bail set.

—Christopher Plouet, 46, of U.S. 90 in Patterson, was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday on a charge of possession of legend drug without prescription.

A deputy patrolling the area of Baldwin was dispatched to an area of U.S. 90 in reference to a reckless driver. The deputy observed the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The deputy made contact with the driver, identified as Plouet, and through the stop, drugs were found in Plouet’s possession for which he had no prescription, Smith said. Plouet was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Chanedra Jones, 32, of First Street in Patterson, was arrested at 10:43 p.m. Friday on charges of possession of marijuana and license plate lights required.

A deputy patrolling the area of Baldwin was observed a vehicle without proper license plate lights. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Jones. Through the stop, drugs were found, Smith said. Jones was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Michelle Ramkhalawan-Ocasio, 41, of Cypress Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:02 a.m. Saturday on charges of driving under suspension and improper lane usage.

A deputy patrolling Bayou Vista observed a vehicle swerving in the lane of travel on U.S. 90 east. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Ramkhalawan-Ocasio.

Through the stop, the deputy learned that Ramkhalawan-Ocasio’s license was suspended, Smith said. She was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Sean Dupont Jr., 24, of Bayou Black Drive in Gibson, was arrested at 3:37 a.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of synthetic cannabinoids and possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Mia Blair, 21, of Greenwood Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:37 a.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of stolen things and improper use of registration/license plates.

A deputy went to a home on Hickory Street in Patterson in reference to Blair who held an active warrant for her arrest. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with Blair and a male subject, identified as Dupont, who also held an active warrant.

The deputy advised Blair and Dupont of the warrants and transported to parish jail. No bail was set.

—Krystal Meranta, 29, of Clark Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested, at 1:04 p.m. Saturday on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft.

A corrections deputy made contact with Meranta when she turned herself in at parish jail. Meranta was jailed with no bail set.

—Waylon Young, 47, of Tara Street in Houma, was arrested at 12:19 a.m. Sunday on charges of possession of marijuana, driving under suspension and on two warrants for failure to appear on charges of simple battery and criminal neglect of family.

—Kristain Sanders, 20, of North Walker Road in Rockport, Texas, was arrested at 12:01 a.m. Sunday on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A deputy patrolling U.S. 90 observed a stalled vehicle on the Siracusa high rise near mile marker 179. The deputy stopped and made contact with the driver, identified as Young and a passenger, identified as Sanders.

During the stop, the deputy learned that Young’s license was suspended, and drugs were found in the vehicle, Smith said. The deputy was advised by dispatch of active warrants for both Young and Sanders. Young and Sanders were jailed. No bail was set for Young. Sanders was released on $3,500 bail.

—Yvonne Vilo, 60, of Washington Street in Patterson, was arrested at 3:56 p.m. Sunday on a charge of theft.

A deputy patrolling the area of Bayou Vista was dispatched to a business in reference to a theft. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with business personnel who stated that a woman, identified as Vilo, attempted to leave the store with merchandise. The deputy made contact with Vilo and arrested her. Vilo was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Daniel Griffin, 41, of La. 182 in Berwick, was arrested at 7:26 p.m. Sunday on charges of resisting an officer, possession of crack cocaine and on a warrant for failure to appear on the charges of speeding, operating a vehicle without a driver’s license and failing to honor a written promise to appear.

A deputy patrolling Bayou Vista was dispatched to a business in reference to a suspicious person on the premises. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with business personnel who pointed out the suspicious person to the deputy.

The deputy made contact with the person, identified as Griffin and began to question him. The deputy learned of an active warrant for Griffin’s arrest and advised him of the warrant. Griffin then fled on foot from the deputy and was apprehended moments later, Smith said.

A witness informed the deputy of a bag that she observed Griffin throw down as he was fleeing. The bag was recovered and contained drugs, the sheriff said. Griffin was jailed with no bail set.

—Melissa Wynne, 38, of Linda Anne Avenue in Gray, was arrested at 10:10 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of marijuana.

A deputy patrolling the area of Bayou Vista observed a vehicle fail to use a proper turn signal in a J-turn lane. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver and a passenger, identified as Wynne. Through the stop, drugs were found, Smith said. Wynne was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Larrian Harris, 20, of Shannon Drive in Violet, was arrested at 11:10 p.m. Sunday on a charge of reckless operation.

A deputy traveling east on U.S. 90 in the area of Morgan City observed a vehicle traveling west at a high rate of speed. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Harris, who was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

—Eric Harvey, 33, of Adams Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:01 a.m. Saturday on a charge of possession of schedule I drugs.

A deputy with the K-9 section of the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office was patrolling Bayou Vista assisted another deputy on a traffic stop on U.S. 90 near Southeast Boulevard when he made contact with the passenger of the car, Harvey. During the stop, the deputy found drugs in Harvey’s possession, Smith said. Harvey was released on a summons to appear in court April 4.

Berwick Police Chief David Leonard reported no arrests.

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana residents hoping to see the governor and lawmakers tackle the state’s entrenched problems and enact sweeping change might need to lower their expectations. This year probably won’t be the year for them.
The two-month regular legislative session that starts in April comes after 10 mostly contentious legislative sessions — including seven special sessions to deal with state finances — were packed into three years. It also comes in an election year.
Many lawmakers are likely to be less ambitious after the exhausting budget and tax battles they’ve waged since 2016. In addition, lawmakers and Gov. John Bel Edwards likely will be less interested in irking voters in a year where they’re running to hold onto their current seats or to advance to new elected positions.
Election-year sessions often aren’t memorable, and they’re not typically known as reform years.
That’s not to say some people won’t try to be ambitious. A few lawmakers are talking about trying to rewrite Louisiana’s tax laws. Chatter continues about trying to raise the gas tax to address a multibillion-dollar backlog of road and bridge work. Others want to overhaul Louisiana’s method of collecting sales taxes. Some want to revisit additional hot-button topics of years past.
The question is whether any of those big-picture ideas can rally enough support among skittish politicians trying to preserve their chances on the ballot.
The governorship, six other statewide jobs, and all 144 state legislative seats are up for grabs in the Oct. 12 primary election.
Edwards, a Democrat running for a second term, gave a sneak peak of his legislative agenda to the Press Club of Baton Rouge last week. The list was largely a modest one.
The governor will revisit his failed proposals to increase the state’s minimum wage and to enact new equal pay provisions, but their chances of passage seem slim. He’ll push state-level legislation to prohibit health insurers from refusing coverage to people because of their medical conditions — aimed at duplicating a provision of the federal health overhaul that is threatened by litigation.
Edwards’ top priority is a $1,000 teacher pay raise, the start of an effort to return salaries to the Southern average.
Passage of the pay hike would be significant, but it’s also not exactly touching on a controversial subject. Republicans and Democrats seem to be in widespread agreement about backing some sort of teacher pay raise, with most of the questions centering on how much to boost salaries and whether to extend the increase to school support workers as Edwards wants.
The largest fight on teacher pay may simply be about who gets to take credit for the raise.
House Republican leaders, who regularly clash with the governor, have blocked the income forecast boost that Edwards wants to use to pay for the salary increases, saying the state has too much financial uncertainty for the changes. They say they want to wait more months into the year to see if the projections stay on track.
If the House GOP leaders continue to hold out on the forecast changes, that could complicate Edwards’ plan to include the teacher raises in the budget proposal he’ll release in February. House Republicans could then adopt the forecast changes later and add the money for the teacher raises into the budget themselves.
The main events in the 2019 legislative session may be political posturing and the battle to take credit. The looming elections are expected to provoke more partisan wrangling and even less willingness to compromise.
Republicans in the majority-GOP House and Senate likely will be angling to put Edwards in uncomfortable positions with some of the maneuvers they make and the bills they propose. Meanwhile, the Edwards administration will be trying to protect its prior-year wins and stop anything that would put the governor in a politically tricky spot from reaching his desk.
The differing sides won’t necessarily want to make it easy for their opponents to claim a win. That could make it difficult to find compromises in policymaking this year.
Melinda Deslatte has covered Louisiana politics for The Associated Press since 2000. Follow her at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte