Speaking at this week's Americas LNG Summit in @LakeCharlesCity U.S. Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit mapped out an aggressive vision for the nation’s energy future: americanpress.com/2026/10/14…

It took jurors just over four hours to convict Aaliyah Jack of second-degree murder in the death of her 4-year-old son, Legend, and cruelty to a juvenile for abandoning his 1-year-old brother, Kingtrail. americanpress.com/2026/09/14…

Igor Proestakis proposed the Plan B drilling strategy that successfully reached the 33 miners trapped in Chile in 2010. Proestakis recently spoke with me about the rescue ahead of tonight's @NatGeo premiere of “Chilean Mine Resuce: A Race Against Time” americanpress.com/2026/09/25…

Contractors will completely transform and expand the 4,910-square-foot structure — historically used as the @McNeese police headquarters — into an 8,460-square-foot, state-of-the-art behavioral health center. americanpress.com/2026/09/16…

Jurors have received instructions from Judge Canaday and have begun deliberations.

In answer to Alexander's statements, Assistant District Attorney Jacob Johnson reminded jurors "it's a choice she made each mile she chose to drive away from the scene."

"No one saw it, there's no recording, no one knows what happened," Alexander tells jurors as his client, Aaliyah Jack, swiveled back and forth in her chair.

"There is no evidence anyone placed (Legend) in the water other than himself ... but the state won't be happy unless Aaliyah Jack dies in prison."

Public Defender King Alexander is now giving his closing statements. Alexander insists 4-year-old Legend "simply drowned" and 1-year-old King was "completely unharmed except for some bug bites."

"When people choose to mistreat children and they die, they must face consequences of that choice," Johnson told jurors. "This is not a case about negligence, this is a case about choice. Felony murder can be hard to grabble with but we cannot minimize ... the death of a child."

Johnson also reshowed jurors a clip of Aaliyah Jack's on-air confession to a local television station. "Did you kill your kids?" the reporter asks. "Yeah, I did that," Jack responds.

Johnson also showed jurors transcript from a jail phone call between Aaliyah Jack and her mother, Conswella. "I hurt my kids before anyone hurt my kids," Aalyiah tells her. "You really did that?" her mom asks. "Yes, ma'am," she says. "Aw, no," her mom responds.

"It doesn't particularly look like she cares," ADA Jacob Johnson said. "On July 6 Tiffany Jackson is texting her trying to find the kids. Only July 7, she responds, 'OK. Thanks. They're safe now.' She sent that message long after the kids had been suffering."

"After she got rid of Legend and dumped off King, she was in Baton Rouge, she posted advertisements seeking money to make her escape. She's smiling in videos while one of her sons is dead and the other is suffering."

As for 4-year-old Legend Jack, "I believe she led that baby to water and left him there. That's where she chose to get rid of Legend — a child who was scared of water, who could not swim, and drowned. He drowned due to her choice to leave him there."

Johnson said Aaliyah Jack "chose to leave a 1-year-old baby who could walk in a ditch alone, without food, without shelter. In a watery ditch next to barbed wire with no body."

"This is a a case about choices, and choices have consequences," Assistant District Attorney Jacob Johnson is telling jurors in closing statements. "It's not forgetfulness. It's a choice."

Jurors are being given the opportunity to review the state’s evidence before the prosecution rests. The defense has indicated it will not call any witnesses.

“Yes,” Canaday responded before ordering the deputy to take the pen.