Axios New Orleans

May 19, 2026
What's up, fam? It's Tuesday. Make it a good one.
Today's weather: Partly sunny with a high of 87. Afternoon storms possible.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios New Orleans members Patrick Widhalm, Ashley Salmen and Meagen Moreland!
🎧 Sounds like: "Ain't That Deep" from Tank and the Bangas' new album.
- Check out the music video.
Today's newsletter is 944 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 📉 Homicides down 26%


Homicide rates in New Orleans continue to fall year over year, extending a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.
Why it matters: Crime remains one of the country's most politically potent issues, even as many major cities report sustained declines in violence.
The big picture: Data from 67 major U.S. law enforcement agencies shows violent crime fell across major categories during the first quarter compared with the same period in 2025.
- The quarterly reports collected by the Major Cities Chiefs Association have historically tracked closely with the annual FBI crime data released in the fall.
Zoom in: In New Orleans, homicides fell 25.9% year over year. Last year's figures don't include the 14 victims from the Bourbon Street terror attack, officials say.
- For the three-year period, homicides are down 67%, NOPD says.
- Nationally, homicides dropped 17.7%, according to the MCCA data.
Worth noting: Some of the nation's bigger cities posted dramatic homicide declines in the first three months of 2026 — Washington (64.7%), Philadelphia (54%) and Memphis (34.4%).
Between the lines: The new numbers complicate the political narrative around crime heading into the 2026 midterms. President Trump has repeatedly described major Democratic-led cities as gripped by violent crime.
- Data shows many urban areas have become significantly safer over the last two years, with drops beginning in the second half of the Biden presidency and continuing under Trump.
- Trump cited violent crime as his reason for sending federal troops to Democrat-led cities, including New Orleans.
- Earlier this year, he extended the federal deployment through the summer. He credited their efforts for improved crime rates, while Mayor Helena Moreno credited NOPD's multi-year effort.
Yes, but: The recovery remains uneven.
- Minneapolis, Atlanta and Virginia Beach, Virginia, were among the cities that posted overall increases in violent crime totals during the quarter.
- Police leaders also caution that crime trends can shift quickly heading into the summer months, when violence historically rises.
2. 🐶 K-9s at work

Bomb-sniffing dogs padded through the Caesars Superdome recently, searching for the scent of homemade explosives as part of an ATF training exercise.
Why it matters: Authorities say the man accused in last year's Bourbon Street terror attack placed coolers filled with homemade explosives in the French Quarter, but they failed to detonate.
The big picture: The attack was one of the reasons ATF brought the specialized training to the Dome earlier this spring, says James "JJ" James, lead instructor for ATF's national recognition testing program.
- The dogs and their handlers sweep stadiums, festivals and airports before major events across the Gulf South.
- The homemade explosives training is important because local K-9 teams don't normally have access to the volatile compounds, James says.
- Improvised explosives are easier to make now because instructions and materials are readily available online, he adds.
Case in point: A Missouri man was charged last week with posting instructional videos that authorities say Shamsud-Din Jabbar used to make the bombs he planted in New Orleans.
How it worked: The dogs at the Dome learned the odors of 10 basic compounds and then trained on homemade explosives.
- ATF arranged a ring of metal canisters, with only some containing explosive scents. The dogs worked their way around the circle and signaled when they detected the odors.
- The dogs were rewarded with a treat or toy.
💭 Carlie's thought bubble: I wafted my hand over the canisters and didn't smell a thing.

3. Fully Dressed: 🏀 New Pelicans coach
🏀 The Pelicans hired former Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley as the team's new head coach. (NBA.com)
🎓 Congrats to Delgado grads! The school celebrates the largest graduating class in its 104-year history tonight — 1,846 students.
- The oldest grad is 82, and the youngest is 16, we're told.
- And congrats to Jimmy Chilimigras, the 18-year-old who became the youngest person ever to graduate from Loyola's law school. He's among the youngest CPAs in the world. (People)
✈️ Frontier Airlines is adding nonstop flights from MSY to Dallas-Fort Worth and Orlando. (The Times-Picayune 🔒)
🎨 Dabito, dubbed a "design daredevil," gave Architectural Digest a tour of his color-soaked home near the Marigny Opera House. (Photos)
📚 Two New Orleans library nonprofits — The Friends of New Orleans Public Library and the New Orleans Public Library Foundation — have merged to create a new nonprofit called the Library Foundation of New Orleans. (Fox 8)
4. 🦞 A dip worth sharing
👋 Carlie here. Cafe Malou is a new-ish Uptown cafe that's connected to Octavia Books.
The big picture: Restaurateur Mani Dawes opened the full-service restaurant last fall in the former Toast space.
- It serves breakfast, lunch, coffee, smoothies and pastries. (Menu)
Zoom in: I met a mom friend for brunch the other day and shared the spicy crawfish dip.
- It came with fat crawfish tails on top of ricotta and artichokes. It was drizzled with spicy Calabrian chili oil and served with a hunk of bread.
- I love artichokes and dips and thought this was a tasty, shareable option.
The vibe: Remember in high school when you'd get a drink at Starbucks and walk around Barnes & Noble?
- Cafe Malou feels like the grown-up local version of that.
🏈 Carlie is eager for an answer about Cam Jordan's and Alvin Kamara's future with the Saints.
🐣 Chelsea is on parental leave.
Tell a new grad to subscribe.
Thanks to our editor Jen Burkett, who is back at work and loving mom life.
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