Move comes just weeks after fatal D.C. plane crash
BY TARA COPP Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Trump admin-
istration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Probationary workers were targeted in late night emails Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement
The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar,
ä Delta jet overturns at Toronto airport. PAGE 2A
landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told The Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement Monday it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”
Other FAA employees who were fired were working on an urgent
and classified early warning radar system the Air Force had announced in 2023 for Hawaii to detect incoming cruise missiles, through a program that was in part funded by the Department of Defense. It’s one of several programs that the FAA’s National Defense Program manages that involve radars providing longer-range detection around the country’s borders. Due to the nature of their work, staff in that office typically provide an extensive knowledge transfer before retiring to make sure no institutional knowledge is lost, said Charles Spitzer-Stadt-
ON THE BENCH
ABOVE: Newly sworn-in Judge Roya Boustany speaks to children from Cathedral-Carmel School after her investiture ceremony at Lafayette City Court on Monday. Boustany was elected to fill the seat previously held by the late Judge Jules Edwards III.
RIGHT: Boustany takes the oath of office while her husband, Alfred, holds the Bible during Monday’s swearing-in.
Possible campaign violations probed
State Senate race won by Myers
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
An investigation is underway into possible campaign violations leading into the Saturday state Senate election in Lafayette Parish.
State Rep. Brach Myers, who defeated Broussard City Council member Jesse Regan for the District 23 seat, said Sunday he spoke with investigators with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office about three weeks ago regarding potential state and federal campaign laws being broken.
Myers said there is an open investigation.
His complaint is that someone set up one or more fake organizations, one example being Lady Democrats of Lafayette, and sent campaign paraphernalia to registered Republican voters saying the Lady Democrats had endorsed Myers.
Myers said polls before the fake endorsement showed him well ahead of Regan. His lead shrank, he said, after the false endorsement.
Complete but unofficial results from the election show Myers defeated Regan, both Republicans,
See CAMPAIGN, page 4A
Lawsuit challenges wording of ballot language for amendment
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Gov Jeff Landry and Louisiana
one more step: A March 29 vote of the people to approve revising the state constitution But a law firm went to court in Baton Rouge on Monday to keep that question off the ballot, saying the wording is illegally slanted in favor of the proposition and misrepresents what the proposed changes would do.
easily understood.”
Amidst the lengthy ballot language for Amendment 2 next month, voters are told that voting for it would “provide a permanent teacher salary increase.”
teachers may be paid less.” Landry takes issue with the thinking behind the lawsuit.
legislators overhauled the state’s tax system in November, but for the full plan to take effect requires
The lawsuit notes that state law requires ballot language to be “simple, unbiased, concise, and
“But there is no salary increase,” the lawsuit says, “only the extension of an existing stipend that has been in place for several years. No teacher will be paid any more than they currently are due to this potential amendment, and some
“This lawsuit attempts to deny citizens their right to vote to grant teachers a permanent pay raise, lower income taxes for seniors, reduce the maximum income tax rate, and limit the growth of state government,” he said in a statement. “Amendment 2 was thoroughly debated and passed by a bipartisan supermajority of both
houses of the Legislature. I am confident that voters across Louisiana will see through this political charade and pass Amendment 2 overwhelmingly on March 29.” The lawsuit was filed by Most & Associates, a New Orleans firm. William Most declined to identify who is behind the lawsuit, which lists three citizens as filing it. They are the Rev Willie Calhoun Jr., a
Landry’s tax changes require revising state constitution ä See LAWSUIT, page 4A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA
An American Airlines jet takes off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Feb 6 as salvage crews work on recovering wreckage from a deadly midair collision on Jan. 29.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP
ä See FAA, page 5A
Leader of cultlike group
linked to killings booked
BOSTON The apparent leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians has been arrested in Maryland along with another member of the group, Maryland State Police said Monday Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko 33, of Media, Pennsylvania They face multiple counts including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in the vehicle
A bail hearing for the two is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allegany District Court.
The Zizians have been tied to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California Maland, 44, was killed in a Jan. 20 shootout following a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles from the Canadian border
Officials have offered few details of the cross-country investigation, which broke open after the Jan. 20 shooting death of Maland Associated Press interviews and a review of court records and online postings tell the story of how a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and became increasingly violent.
N.Y. officials resign over mayor’s corruption case
NEW YORK Four top deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams are resigning in the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end a corruption case against Adams and ensure his cooperation in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown a bargain that has raised questions about the mayor’s political independence and ability to lead the city In a statement Monday, Adams confirmed the departures of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker
“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future,” said Adams, who faces several challengers in June’s Democratic primary “But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day.” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the latest Democrat to call on the mayor to resign, saying that with the deputy mayor resignations it’s clear he “has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government and New Yorkers.”
Rebels tighten grip on major city in Congo
BUKAVU Congo Rwanda-backed rebels tightened their grip on Bukavu on Monday, a day after seizing the second major city in eastern Congo whose residents appeared resigned to their fate under the new rulers.
On Sunday, M23 rebels captured the city of 1.3 million people after it was abandoned by Congolese forces. Bukavu lies 63 miles south of Goma, which was captured by the rebels in late January
The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that’s critical for much of the world’s technology The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N experts.
The decadeslong fighting has displaced more than 6 million people in the region, creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Plane flips on landing in Toronto
Authorities say child among 19 hurt on Delta flight
BY MICHAEL CASEY and JIM MORRIS Associated Press
A Delta Air Lines plane flipped upon arrival at Toronto Pearson International Airport and ended up on its roof Monday, injuring 19 people including three who are in critical condition.
The airport confirmed on X that an “incident” occurred with the Delta flight from Minneapolis and that 76 passengers and four crew are accounted for Delta said in a statement the accident happened at 3:30 p.m.
Video from the scene shows the Mitsubishi CRJ900LR upside down on the snowy tarmac as emergency workers hose it down.
The plane was somewhat obscured by snow from a winter storm that hit Toronto over the weekend.
Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one pediatric patient to Toronto’s
SickKids hospital and two adults with critical injuries to other hospitals in the city “Emergency teams are responding,” the airport said in a post on the social platform X. “All passengers and crew are accounted for.”
It is too early to say what caused the plane to flip but weather may have played a factor According to the Meteorological Service of Canada, the airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph gusting to 40 mph. The temperature
was about 16.5 degrees. An audio recording from the tower at Toronto Pearson International Airport shows the flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. local time. The tower warns the pilots of a possible air flow bump in the glide path as the plane comes into land because of a preceding aircraft in front of it
“It’s very rare to see something like this,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“We’ve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but it’s pretty rare.”
Cox, who flew for U.S Air for 25 years and has worked on NTSB investigations, said the CRJ900 aircraft is a proven aircraft that’s been in service for decades and does a good job of handling inclement weather
“The weather conditions were windy The wind was out of the west at 27 to 35 knots, which is about 38 miles an hour So it was
windy But the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that. The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would head up the investigation and provide any updates. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is leading a team of U.S. investigators to assist in the Canadian investigation. It is at least the fourth major aviation mishap in North America in the past month. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground and 10 were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. Delta said in a statement that “initial reports were that there are no fatalities.”
“Several customers with injuries were transported to area hospitals. Our primary focus is taking care of those impacted,” the airline added.
Russian, U.S. officials to hold talks without Kyiv
Envoys to meet in Saudi Arabia about ending Ukraine war
BY MATTHEW LEE, JUSTIN SPIKE and BARRY HATTON Associated Press
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Senior American and Russian officials, including the countries’ top diplomats, will hold talks on improving their ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, officials said Monday, in what would be the most significant meeting between the sides since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly three years ago.
The talks scheduled for Tuesday in Saudi Arabia mark another pivotal step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia, and are meant to pave the way for a meeting between U.S President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The recent U.S. diplo-
matic blitz on the war has sent Kyiv and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that won’t be favorable to them. France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K on Monday to decide how to respond.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov arrived in the Saudi capital on Monday, according to Russian state TV Ushakov said the talks would be “purely bilateral” and would not include Ukrainian officials
The U.S. delegation, he said, is made up of “serious people” but said Russia “came with a serious approach too.” It is important, Ushakov said, “to start the real normalization of relations” between Russia and the U.S. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio national security adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the Russian delegation, State Department spokesperson
Bruce said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the talks will be primarily focused on “restoring the entire range of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents.” Bruce said the meeting is aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started.
“I think the goal, obviously for everyone is to de-
Source: Musk’s DOGE seeks access to taxpayer data at IRS
BY FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to troves of sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS, two people familiar with the inner workings of the plan who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Associated Press on Monday. If successful, Musk and his group would have access to millions of tightly controlled files that include taxpayer information, bank records and other sensitive records.
Advocates fear that the potential unlawful release of taxpayer records could be used to maliciously target Americans, violate their privacy and create other ramifications.
Musk
The people who spoke to the AP and requested anonymity said DOGE is specifically seeking to access the IRS’ Integrated Data Retrieval System, which enables employees “to have instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts,” according to the IRS website
Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that “waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.”
“DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers are trying to fight against DOGE plans to access IRS data. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter Monday to acting
IRS Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell, demanding copies of any memos that would grant IRS system access to Musk or DOGE
The senators are also seeking justifications for DOGE efforts to inspect tax returns and private bank records.
Along with fears that DOGE access to taxpayer data may not be legal, “we are also extremely concerned that DOGE personnel meddling with IRS systems in the middle of tax filing season could, inadvertently or otherwise, cause breakdowns that may delay the issuance of tax refunds indefinitely,” the letter reads.
“Any delay in refunds could be financially devastating to millions of Americans who plan their budgets around timely refunds every spring.”
Jan. 27 was the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and the IRS expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline.
termine if this is something that can move forward,” she told reporters traveling with Rubio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bruce said that even though Ukraine would not be at the table for Tuesday’s talks, actual peace negotiations would only take place
with Ukraine’s involvement. Kyiv’s participation in any peace talks was a bedrock of U.S. policy under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program, Witkoff said he and Waltz will be “having meetings at the direction of the president,” and hope to make “some really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine.” Witkoff didn’t directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a “significant portion” of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia — two key items on Putin’s wish list.
PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN 24TH MECHANISED BRIGADE Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire an MRLS BM-21 ‘Grad’ on Saturday toward Russian army positions near Chasiv yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine.
‘Life-threatening cold’ hits parts of U.S.
Death toll at 13 from weekend storms
BY JACK DURA and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D Harsh cold descend on the nation’s midsection
Monday as a polar vortex gripped the Rockies and Northern Plains on the heels of weekend storms that pummeled the Eastern U.S. with floods, killing at least 13 people
The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening cold” as wind chills dropped to minus 60 in parts of North Dakota on Monday and minus 50 in parts of Montana. Tuesday morning was forecast to be even colder
Extreme cold warnings were issued for an 11-state swath of the U.S. stretching from the Canadian border to Oklahoma and central Texas, where the Arctic front was expected to bring near-record cold temperatures and wind chills in the single digits by midweek.
Meteorologists had predicted that parts of the U.S. would experience the 10th and coldest polar vortex event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are pushing chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe
Deadly flooding
The death toll in flood-battered Kentucky rose to 11, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday Nine of the deaths were flood-related. Two fatal vehicle crashes were connected to the severe weather he said and at least 1,000 people stranded by floods had to be rescued.
Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches of rain as severe storms swept across the South. Water submerged cars and build-
Israel’s
ings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia. West Virginia had one confirmed flood-related fatality with several people still missing, Gov Patrick Morrisey said Monday At least 13 counties were under a state of emergency and some areas were cut off to vehicle traffic.
In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday.
Flood warnings were extended Monday across most of Kentucky and portions of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Virginia and Ohio
Parts of U.S. hit by snow storms
In Nebraska, where much of the state was under a winter weather advisory, a state trooper was killed Monday morning while responding to a crash on Interstate 80 near the town of Greenwood. The trooper’s name and further circumstances of the fatality were not immediately
released.
Ice and snow made travel treacherous in large swaths of Michigan, which remained under a winter weather advisory until Monday afternoon.
Authorities in Colorado reported eight people were killed in fatal vehicle crashes since Valentine’s Day and warned drivers to be cautious.
Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains, with the danger rated high in portions of Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning Monday for areas of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Two ice climbers were rescued in the White Mountains on Sunday after triggering an avalanche that partially buried one of them, officials said. Detroit water main bursts
Parts of a southwest Detroit neighborhood were submerged af-
ter a nearly century-old water main burst Monday, flooding streets, sidewalks and yards under several feet of water
Firefighters used a ladder to help one person from the roof of a car in waist-deep water and a bulldozer was used to navigate a flooded street and help people leave a home, according to the fire department. The 54-inch transmission main was built in 1930, according to the Great Lakes Water Authority Crews were attempting to isolate the break. It was not clear what caused it, but overnight temperatures had been well below freezing. No injuries have been reported.
Extreme cold
This is the coldest month of the year for many locations, and air temperatures may approach record lows in some areas, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Anglin in Bismarck.
People should cover exposed skin and limit time outside to avoid frostbite, which can happen in minutes in such low temperatures, Anglin said. Neighbors should check on each other and those who are vulnerable and monitor heater vents to make sure they don’t ice up. Due to the frigid conditions and a “lack of adequate heating fuel,” North Dakota Gov Kelly Armstrong on Monday waived hours-of-service requirements for commercial-vehicle drivers hauling propane and petroleum products. The waiver is for 30 days. The cold snap in North Dakota was expected to reduce oil production by about 5%, or about 50,000 to 80,000 barrels a day — pretty typical for such conditions, North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad said. It takes about a week once temperatures warm up for volumes to rebound, he said.
ceasefires with Hamas, Hezbollah in doubt
BY MELANIE LIDMAN and SALLY ABOU ALJOUD Associated Press
JERUSALEM Israel’s military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group, as Lebanon’s government expressed frustration over another delay.
A separate ceasefire in Gaza was also in doubt as the region marked 500 days of Israel’s war with Hamas, while Israel and the United States sent conflicting signals over whether they want the truce to continue. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
Military spokesperson Lt. Col Nadav Shoshani said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis are still displaced He said the “temporary measure” was approved by the U.S.-led body monitoring the truce, which earlier was extended by three weeks. Under the agreement, Israeli forces should withdraw from a buffer zone in south-
ern Lebanon to be patrolled by the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers. The ceasefire has held since taking effect in November Israel is committed to a withdrawal in “the right way, in a gradual way, and in a way that the security of our civilians is kept,” Shoshani told reporters.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters the ceasefire “must be respected,” saying “the Israeli enemy cannot be trusted.”
He said Lebanese officials were working diplomatically for the withdrawal. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said Sunday “there can be no excuses” for any delay past Tuesday
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s military said its drone strike killed Muhammad Shaheen, head of Hamas’ operations in Lebanon. The strike in the port city of Sidon was the deepest inside Lebanese territory since the ceasefire took effect. Associated Press video footage showed a charred vehicle.
“Now the fear has come back to people,” said Ahmed Sleim, a Sidon resident who worried about a return to war Israelis held protests call-
ing for the Gaza ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack can be freed.
An Israeli official said four bodies are expected to be returned to Israel on Thursday The official gave no further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because details were being arranged. So far, no bodies have been handed over during the ceasefire’s current phase. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Israeli officials have said they believe eight of the 33 people to be returned in the ceasefire’s first phase are dead. Hamas is gradually releasing the 33 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.
This first phase ends in less than two weeks. Negotiations on the more difficult second phase — which would release more hostages and see the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — should have started two weeks ago.
“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable condi-
‘No kings on Presidents Day’ rings out at protests against Trump, Musk
BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press
BOSTON Protesters against President Donald Trump and his policies braved frigid temperatures to demonstrate Monday at rallies corresponding with the Presidents Day holiday Dubbed “No Kings on Presidents Day” by the 50501 Movement, the latest protests came less than two weeks after a similar nationwide event on Feb. 5 drew participants in dozens of cities. Both protests denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, an outside-government organization designed to slash federal spending. Nearly 1,000 people marched in the snow from the Statehouse in Boston to City Hall, chanting “Elon Musk has got to go” and “No kings on Presidents Day!” The temperature was below freezing with wind chills in the teens. Boston protesters, some dressed in Revolutionary War-style clothing from the 1700s, carried signs saying such things as “This is a Coup” and “Cowards Bow to Trump, Patriots Stand Up.” One sign had a depiction of Uncle Sam saying “I Want You to Resist.” “I thought it was important to be here on Presidents Day to demonstrate for what America stands for,” said Emily Manning, 55,
ASSOCIATED
People demonstrate Monday as part of the ‘No Kings on Presidents Day’ protest near the Capitol in Washington in support of federal workers and against recent actions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
a Boston engineer who came to the rally with her two teenage sons. “American values are not the values of the plutocracy or the limited few rich people.” Organizers of Monday’s protests, which were focused on state capitals and major cities including Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Seattle, said they were targeting “anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.” One sign at the rally that attracted hundreds in the nation’s capital said, “Deport Musk Dethrone Trump.”
tions” Ohad Ben Ami, released a week and a half ago, told Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Families have described loved ones barefoot or in chains. “It’s just not within the realm of possibility that they’re still there,” said
protester Eleanor Satlow in Jerusalem Others rallied in Tel Aviv, where newly released hostage Iair Horn told them: “I’m telling you, the hostages don’t have time, we don’t have time.” His brother Eitan is still in Gaza.
European leaders want say in talks with Russia
BY SYLVIE CORBET and RAF CASERT Associated Press
PARIS European leaders insisted Monday they must have a say in international talks to end the war in Ukraine despite the clear message from both Washington and Moscow that there was no role for them as yet in negotiations that could shape the future of the continent.
Three hours of emergency talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris left leaders of Germany the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, NATO and the European Union without a common view on possible peacekeeping troops after a U.S diplomatic blitz on Ukraine last week threw a once-solid trans-Atlantic alliance into turmoil.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for U.S. backing while reaffirming he’s ready to consider sending British forces on the Ukrainian ground alongside others “if there is a lasting peace agreement.” There was a rift though with some EU nations, like Poland, which have said they don’t want their military imprint on Ukraine soil. Macron was noncommittal.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof acknowledged the Europeans “need to come to a common conclusion about what we can contribute And that way we will eventually get a seat at the table,” adding that “just sitting at the table without contributing is pointless.” Starmer said a trans-Atlantic bond remained essential. “There must be a U.S. backstop, because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again,” he said.
PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN
DETROIT NEWS PHOTO By ANDy MORRISON
Lisa Muscat carries her dog, Zoey, to safety on Monday after a water main break in Detroit caused massive flooding, triggering evacuations.
Plan to power data center challenged
Entergy seeks to build 3 gas power plants
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
Two environmental and consumer protection groups are challenging Entergy’s plan to power a mass cent compan The ergy Scientists ing deny three over dard side Entergy pro resubmit plants able. En show cost-effe that serve the public interest, the groups allege. They say the state’s largest utilit did quire Louisiana sion’ utility sess meet our because ta found will Logan tor Energy the form opment, funding from the tech giant for the speed investment formal on person highlighted the benefits the data center would bring to a region in need of new economic prospects. The project is expected to create 300 to 500 jobs.
ment for the state creating new job opportunities both during construction and in long-term opScardigli, the representative, aid. key susrt Meta’s ur comenergy and ediately recomment. nounced build largRichland east Moncausing airport-sized cilities to can also
two of which would be located near the facility and a third elsewhere in the state. The utility wants the proposal approved by October, around a year after it submitted the application to the regulators.
An administrative law judge will handle the motion and offer a recommendation to the commission Whoever loses on the motion has the right to appeal, members of the environmental groups noted.
advocacy groups, represented by the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice, argue it does not meet the standard for these exceptions. They want the commission to require Entergy to submit a proposal request and deny the utility’s application in the interim.
over fast tracking the process or massive power needs to be unfounded.
“The industrial customer being the guarantor of the construction is a game changer,” Skrmetta said, referring to Meta’s financial commitments to the new power plants.
“We are protecting the folks that need to be protected and at the same time creating the energy for industrial expansion.”
The electricity generaup to 30% Louisiana, though plants will nergy producthe future.
The Richland Parish complex is planned at 4 million square feet, the size of around 70 football fields. Entergy is asking the commission to approve the construction of the three new gas power plants,
Typically, a company requesting new power generation from state regulators would undergo a request for proposal, where it lays out all types of available sources of generation, from conventional to battery storage. These rules were updated last year, with the goal of including “a broad spectrum of supply-side options to provide the commission, stakeholders, and customers with information and participation from multiple generation types.”
There are exceptions, including for smaller contracts or the purchasing of emergency power The utility can also propose an alternative if it can prove that the regular process would not be in the public interest.
Entergy is seeking a broad waiver to the requirements, but the
The advocacy groups said Entergy should be able to expedite the proposal request process and still meet Meta’s timeline. Entergy’s application stresses the need for a quickened process.
“The commission’s competitive RFP process is likely to bring cleaner, less expensive proposals for meeting the data center’s energy needs,” said Paul Arbaje, an analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ climate and energy program.
Commissioner Davante Lewis said it was too early to comment on the motion, but that the filing raises questions that the commission should look into.
“Having a review process is important to ensure we are building generation that is needed that is also the most cost-efficient,” Lewis said.
Eric Skrmetta, another commissioner, similarly declined to comment on the motion specifically, but said he believes the concerns
According to Entergy’s redacted application to the regulators, the tech company will pay the full annual revenue for the planned generators over the course of a 15year term, translating to “a large percentage of the costs that would otherwise be borne by all of (Entergy Louisiana’s) customers.”
The advocacy groups, however argue that ratepayers could be at risk in the future.
“The expert witnesses are examining the complicated filing now to determine the impact on ratepayers, but there is every reason to believe the project will impact ratepayers even if Meta does not terminate early and resigns a new agreement when the agreement’s first term ends,” Arbaje said.
Staff writer David Mitchell contributed reporting.
”It represents a major invest-
LAWSUIT
Continued from page 1A
pastor at Fairview Baptist Missionary Church in New O teacher lives cob humanities liv cial Landry reduce ished chise tax by ve ings, ing proportionatel w who, the siana economy Legislature House pages other tution on
The lawsuit says the 91word question is hopelessly complicated
“There is no person in the State of Louisiana — including the legislators who passed HB7 — who under-
be used to give teachers a $2,000 bump in salary
But teachers would not receive more than they are getting this year because it would only replace a onetime, $2,000 pay increase last contentiononethey laced amendment arishes theproperty the theirannual arder inwouldallow that toetaxes
and would impose a limit on the growth of state spending if certain spending triggers are met. The proposal does not touch two popular tax pro-
tections in the state constitution: the $75,000 homestead exemption and the sales tax exemption for the purchase of groceries, residential utilities and prescription drugs.
If the proposed amendment is knocked off the ballot or does not pass, the tax changes approved in November would remain in effect.
CAMPAIGN
andHeather Louvierre have chosen anew site forDaiquiriDepot, at 241 Donlon Ave. along the Evangeline ThruwayinLafayette. The business suffered significantdamagenearlya year agowhenthe former locationburned down.
Continued from page 1A
55% to 45% with a 14.1% voter turnout.
“I’m going to pursue this to the fullest,” Myers said Regan on Monday denied he or his campaign had anything to do with the false endorsement. He said he does not know who is responsible.
“Hopefully, they find the culprits and bring them to justice,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately reply to a request seeking confirmation of the investigation. Louisiana Revised Stat-
original location for its returning customers, she noted, “but it was bigenough for us to do adrivethru plus it had cooler spaces for us to store our daiquiris and crawfish,” Louvierre said. The building, which became available when the franchisee for that location closed it along with another in Lafayette in December,isdoublethe size of their old building. Louvierre said they may expand the menu to include aseafood market located at the entrance of the business
“Weare trying ourhardest
ute 18:1463 states that “an election cannot be held in a fair and ethical manner when any candidate or other person is allowed to print or distribute any material which falsely alleges that a candidate is supported by or affiliated with another candidate, group of candidates or other person or a political faction.”
which owner Vincent Starwood opened bought last summer and has since worked to put back into commerce. Abody contour shop and a laundromat will openinthe development,which wasthe former Hanger Prosthetics& Orthotics. It already houses asmall grocerystore,called Starwood Marketplace, and a beauty salon/barbershop. “Everywhere yougo, you gotta get on the road and go to the otherside of town to get anything you need,” Starwood said. “And Isaid I’ll put asmallgrocerystore there to help the community out. It was just heartbreaking when Isee these older folksget on the bus to go all the way on the other side of town just to get grocer-
Sunday he expected about a 10% voter turnout on Saturday The 14.1% turnout “is an indication of the chronic voter,” he said.
Another section of the statute further prohibits anyone from distributing material “containing any statement which he knows or should be reasonably expected to know makes a false statement about a candidate.” Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret said on
“I called everyresourcein Lafayette to help me, even with thiscoronavirus,” he said. “The government claimed to have all these resourcesfor smallbusinesses, but we couldn’tseem to find adollar of it.” Other developments along the Thruway include: n Baton Rouge attorneys Harry DanielsIII andChristopher Washington bought property at 718 NW Evangeline Thruway and later at 800 NW Evangeline
“They were certainly targeted by ungodly amounts of direct mail and text messages,” Perret said.
Myers will be filling the seat vacated by Jean-Paul Coussan, who was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission in 2024. He took over the House District 45 seat in January 2024, replacing Coussan after he was elected to the state Senate.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
Pope to require continued hospitalization
BY NICOLE WINFIELD and MARIA CHENG Associated Press
ROME Pope Francis’ respiratory infection is presenting a “complex clinical picture” that will require further hospitalization, the Vatican said Monday, as concerns grew about the increasingly frail health of the 88-year-old pontiff.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection that has necessitated a second change in his drug therapy since being hospitalized Friday Scientists say polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
There was no time frame given for his hospitalization, which at Day 4 has already sidelined Francis for longer than a 2023 hospitalization for pneumonia. Bruni said the complexity of his symptoms “will require an appropriate hospital stay.”
In a late update Monday, Bruni said Francis’ condition was “stationary,” and that he had resumed some work activities and reading.
Francis had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man and is prone to bouts of bronchitis in winter. He was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stationary” condition.
Bruni said Francis ate breakfast, read the newspapers and received the Eucharist on Monday after a third peaceful night. And in a sign Francis was still keeping up with some of the essentials of his routine, the parish priest of the Catholic Church in Gaza, the Rev Gabriel Romanelli, reported that Francis had maintained his daily video call to the church on Friday and Saturday night. He sent a text message on Sunday “We heard his voice. It’s true, it was more tired,” Romanelli told Vatican News. “But we heard his voice clearly and he listened to us,” said the Argentine priest, whom Francis has phoned every day of the Gaza war Bronchitis, or an inflammation
FAA
Continued from page 1A
lander, one of the employees in that branch who was terminated.
The Hawaii radar and the FAA National Defense Program office working on it “is about protecting national security,” Spitzer-Stadtlander said. “I don’t think they even knew what NDP does. They just thought, ‘Oh, no big deal; he just works for the FAA.’”
“This is about protecting national security, and I’m scared to death,” SpitzerStadtlander said. “And the American public should be scared too.”
Spero said messages began arriving after 7 p.m. on Friday and continued late into the night. More might be notified over the long weekend or barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, he said.
The employees were fired “without cause nor based on performance or conduct,”
Spero said, and the emails were “from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address” — not a government email address. A copy of the termina-
of the airwaves, can be relatively mild in a healthy person but can become much more severe in someone who is older or has existing lung problems, especially when they are unable to cough up and expel the accumulating mucus. Bacteria and other organisms can colonize, leading to further infection that may be harder to treat.
Dr Maor Sauler, who specializes in adult pulmonary medicine and critical care at Yale School of Medicine, said it’s not uncommon for people suffering from bronchitis to develop an infection with more than one organism in their lungs.
The concern, however is that antibiotics and other drug therapies don’t work in isolation and require the body to respond, which given Francis’ other problems may make recovery more challenging.
“Being older, wheelchair-bound, all those are risk factors for a situation in which we can’t treat it despite our best efforts,” said Sauler,
tion email that was provided to the AP shows the sending address from the address “A SK_ A HR _EX EC _O rders@usfaa.mail.outlook. com.”
The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.
In the Jan. 29 fatal crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet, which is still under investigation, one controller was handing both commercial airline and helicopter traffic at the busy airport
Just days before the collision, President Donald Trump had already fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The committee is charged with examining
who is not involved in Francis’ care. As people get older, their immune systems don’t work as well, making doctors especially concerned when elderly patients develop multiple problems.
A decline in lung function and muscle strength can also impair the body’s ability to effectively clear respiratory secretions, increasing susceptibility to infections like pneumonia, a deeper and far more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs.
“It’s in the public record that he’s had chest problems in the past, he’s been admitted to hospital with pneumonia (in 2023), he’s had part of one lung removed,” noted Dr Nick Hopkinson, medical director of the Asthma + Lung UK foundation, who is not involved in Francis’ treatment “All of that makes him a little bit more vulnerable potentially but we just have to wait and see.”
He said that after doctors have identified clinically what is wrong, they can start treating the underlying infection with the correct therapies.
The Argentine pope is a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his increasingly precarious health.
In addition to his frequent bouts of respiratory infections in winter, he uses a wheelchair, walker or cane because of bad knees and suffers from sciatica nerve pain.
In 2021 he had 13 inches of his colon removed because of a narrowing, and then had a further surgery in 2023 to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia.
When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left the hospital after three days and only acknowledged after the fact that he had been admitted urgently after feeling faint and having a sharp pain in his chest. This time around,
Francis insisted on finishing his morning audiences Friday before leaving the Vatican, even though he was having trouble speaking at length because he was so short of breath.
Francis’ continued hospitalization has already forced the cancellation of some events connected to the Vatican’s Holy Year and put others in question. The official Vatican calendar online has no more papal appointments or activities for February, and picks up only on March 5, Ash Wednesday This week’s weekly general audience was canceled.
Outside the Gemelli hospital, people were praying for the pope, including Nigerian nuns in front of a giant statue of St. John Paul II. He had so many hospitalizations at Gemelli that the main entry way is decorated with a permanent photo exhibition of his ailments over the course of his quarter-century pontificate.
safety issues at airlines and airports.
Spitzer-Stadtlander suggested he was targeted for firing for his views on Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, not as part of a general probationary-level sweep. Both companies are owned by Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s effort to cut the federal government.
Spitzer-Stadtlander is Jewish and was angered by Musk’s straight arm saluting at Trump’s inauguration. On his personal Facebook account, he urged friends to get rid of their Teslas and X accounts in response.
That post drew the attention of a DOGE Facebook account, which reacted with a laughing emoji. Soon after, he saw the same account reacting to much older posts through his personal Facebook feed.
“The official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter,” Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote in a post over the weekend on Linkedin. “Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security.”
He added: “When DOGE fired me, they turned off my computer and wiped all of my files without warning.”
Spitzer-Stadtlander said he was supposed to be exempted from the probationary firings because the FAA office
he worked in focused on national security threats such as attacks on the national airspace by drones.
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Last week, Meredith Cooper at Forage Floral put out a call for volunteers to help deliver Valentine’s Day flowers. I quickly threw my name in the hat and was happy when she told me to arrive at 9:30 a.m. Valentine’s morning.
Once I arrived at Cooper’s Government Street shop in Baton Rouge, she was handwriting cards for customers. One was a husband’s take on a sonnet for his wife.
Cooper said Rebecca Nelson would be my floral delivery partner Forage Floral is not your typical florist shop. It’s more of a studio. She has preplanned arrangements customers can choose from — with names like Gal Pal, Wild Child and Classic, but Cooper doesn’t do the standard dozen red roses for Valentine’s.
As she took thin pieces of wire and ran them up the stems of scabiosas — long, graceful and delicate flowers Cooper chatted with me about her career as a florist.
It’s a small operation. Folks don’t pop in and pick up flowers. Arrangements have to be ordered and planned in advance — except for the occasional pop-up she hosts, one of which was going on for Valentine’s across the street behind Barracuda’s Tacos. But primarily, she operates her floral business with a combination of creativity and parameters — and the help of other part-time florists.
She has to use her ingenuity because she’s also a nurse, working at Baton Rouge General. Cooper told me she sees lots of similarities between nursing and being a florist. She said they are both about caring for other people. Both require lots of planning and organizing. The last commonality she mentioned caught me off guard and harkened back to putting the wires in the scabiosa.
“I don’t know if you saw me wiring the scabiosa. I think this so often that wiring flowers is so similar to starting IVs,” she said. “Oh my gosh, like the feeling that you have whenever you’re in the right spot and like when you’re guiding it in.”
During the height of COVID, she decided that nursing was more important than flowers and put her floral business on hold. These days, Cooper is back in the full swing of flowers
On Valentine’s morning, as Cooper went from one arrangement to the next, she shared tips for making flowers even more beautiful. For example, she removes all the outer rose petals that may look a little bruised. She holds the roses upside down, spins them back and forth between both hands and then blows on them — and the roses look so much fluffier and prettier Cooper’s standard arrangements are anything but standard and she customizes them on request. For example, one husband had asked that all yellow and peach-colored flowers be removed from the arrangement for his wife. Not a problem She plucked out the yellow and peach-colored flowers and replaced them with purple and pink. Cooper uses all the sustainable means she can as a florist — no plastic holders for cards at Forage. Instead, she splices the long stems she cuts from roses and wedges the cards in to include in the arrangements. After much ado about getting
Arrested activist exonerated
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
An LGBTQ+ activist arrested in 2022 for speaking out of turn at a Lafayette Public Library board meeting was exonerated Friday and received an apology from a local judge.
Matthew Humphrey, former president of the local Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays group, was arrested in February 2022 during a Library Board meeting.
Humphrey and others had earlier jeered then-board President Robert Judge, who had previously opposed LGBTQ events and library content. Humphrey was singled out by a Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy who told him to be quiet and ordered him to leave the meeting. Humphrey refused, saying he had a right to speak at a public meeting. Later in the meeting, when Michael Lunsford, of the conservative group Citizens for a New Louisiana, approached the
microphone to discuss a book he opposed, Humphrey said a sarcastic “Yay,” prompting off-duty sheriff’s deputies to handcuff him and escort him outside to a police car He was charged with disturbing the peace by disruption of a lawful public assembly, a misdemeanor Judge had met with the deputies outside the meeting room, but it isn’t known what was said.
About a year later, 15th Judicial District Attorney Don Landry de-
cided to prosecute the case. Humphrey said he received little to no help from the Public Defender’s Office in obtaining evidence such as video of the incident from onlookers and the news media. He also had a list of 13 potential witnesses who were not subpoenaed by the office. In court Friday, Humphrey presented 15th Judicial District Court Judge Royale Colbert, Assistant District Attorney Chris
UNITED IN PROTEST
Lafayette joins national demonstrations against Trump on Presidents Day
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer
About 70 people gathered Monday in downtown Lafayette to protest President Donald Trump and his administration as part of a nationwide demonstration on Presidents Day.
The diverse crowd spent about two hours protesting Trump’s actions during his first month back in office, especially the appointment of billionaire Elon Musk to lead a government efficiency team.
“It’s clear that we don’t all have to be here for the same reason,” said Malek Richard, who leads the Lafayette Activist Guild. “We’ve seen a diversity of
causes, but we’re all here because we respect each other and we want better for the United States.”
Similar protests took place in cities across the nation Monday The demonstrations were organized by the 50501 Movement — 50 protests, 50 states, one movement — against the “antidemocratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration.” The group held another nationwide protest earlier this month.
Protests come after a series of executive orders by Trump and actions led by Musk aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.
“I’m here because I believe in ‘of the people, by the people, for the people,’” Steve Breaux said “No matter your race, gender or persuasion of anything, you will have a government that you can say you elected, and that is not happening now We want our America to be free with a strong Constitution,
president and sidekick who can be respectful of that Constitution.”
Acadiana demonstrators shared a number of reasons they felt compelled to protest on Monday
They were fighting for religious freedom, gay rights, the environment, women’s reproductive rights and vaccines. They were pushing for diversity equity, inclusion, accessibility, safety, freedom and respect. They spoke on behalf of their children and their grandchildren.
“We’re all here for different causes,” Richard said. “However, we’ve all got one unified reason why we’re here because we want to have a safe country for us all.”
Phoebe Lim is the daughter of an immigrant and a graduate student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lim said she is especially concerned
See ACTIVIST, page 4B ä See PROTEST, page 4B
St. Landry board to shutter several schools Washington-area residents threaten to sue
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
The St. Landry Parish School Board voted to shutter several schools in the district during a brief Thursday meeting. The board voted 10-2 in favor of closing three schools around the parish. The vote is expected to save the district $2.5 million a year The decision comes after the state Education Department told the board it operated too many schools. Board member Raymond Cassimere brought up a vote to save
Washington Elementary from the chopping block but the vote failed. At Thursday’s meeting, the board voted to:
n Move Opelousas Middle School students to Creswell Middle School.
n Move Washington Elementary schools to Grand Prairie Elementary, Plaisance Middle, Palmetto Elementary or Port Barre Elementary and repurpose Washington Elementary into Washington Career and Technical Education Center n Move Eunice Elementary students to East Elementary or Glendale Elementary and expand Highland Early Learning Center to include kindergarten and repurpose Eunice Elementary to include the Alternative School and expand the
Cool front, possible rain forecast for week
Plan to bundle up for parades
BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
As Lafayette prepares to host Mardi Gras parades and celebrations, paradegoers can expect cooler weather and possible storms this week, according to National Weather Service forecasters. For those expecting to catch the Lafayette Krewe de Canailles walking parade Friday night or any other parades this weekend, weather service forecaster Cameron Kowalski said to bring a raincoat or umbrella, just in case. Going into Tuesday, Lafayette
will see a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, and some of those showers can plow into the weekend.
“Followed by the storms on Tuesday, the forecast is expected to be clear with temperature drops on Wednesday. The highs on Wednesday are near the 50s and the lows are 20s. This cool weather will stay consistent until Friday evening and warm up a little Saturday,” Kowalski said.
Although temperatures will rebound to the 60s come the weekend, there is still a 30% chance of showers in Lafayette on Saturday Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@theadvocate. com.
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Demonstrators voice their opposition to the Trump administration and its policies during a rally on Monday outside the old City Hall building in downtown Lafayette.
OUR VIEWS
Public health in La. takes a step backward with vaccine order
With the official word last week that Louisiana’s Department of Health would end mass vaccination events and ban its staff from promoting seasonal vaccines, our state took another step backward.
Retreating from longstanding, common-sense measures to keep Louisianans safe from disease and protect public health is a bad idea on its face. And it’s particularly disturbing coming from a physician, state Surgeon General and former U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham.
Abraham had previously telegraphed his opposition to promoting vaccinations late last year when DOH said it would shift away from offering “paternalistic guidance” and toward “a more informative approach aimed at enabling individuals, in consultation with their doctor, to make better decisions for themselves.” But last week’s official directive to state workers still hit hard, as it came on the same day the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of noted vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr to head the federal Department of Health and Human Services
Abraham coupled the order with a letter questioning public support of COVID vaccines and claimed that “public health agencies at the state and federal level have viewed it as a primary role to push pharmaceutical products.”
That’s a cynical way to describe policies aimed at safeguarding the overall good while not interfering with individual rights or privacy
Certainly, there were missteps during the unprecedented, deadly pandemic that became clear in hindsight. Science does not claim to be perfect
But the rapid development of COVID vaccines saved lives and helped our country get back to normal. And vaccines such as the ones public health agencies have long promoted — for seasonal flu, for example, as well as RSV and mpox — have done immeasurable good
Even more discouraging is that the DOH directive comes in a season in which Louisiana has already experienced spikes in flu and RSV cases. We’re also already seeing more parents opt out of childhood vaccination in our state That’s alarming because a vaccine’s overall success relies on widespread usage that can produce “herd immunity,” which is the point at which a disease has trouble spreading to larger populations, including those who are most medically vulnerable.
Given these challenges, we were glad to see U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician, speak out about the order’s practical effect
“Advertising the benefit of vaccines and where to get them helps parents improve the health of their child,” he said “Removing these resources for parents is not a stand for parents’ rights It prevents making health care more convenient and available for people who are very busy.”
This paper had urged Cassidy to fall back on his medical training and experience and vote against confirming Kennedy We were disappointed that he chose not to, but we think he’s exactly right here.
Like Cassidy Abraham is speaking not just as a governmental official, but as someone with medical expertise. We’d hope he’d use his platform and his official powers to bolster public health, not undermine it.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
OPINION
Thank Livingston council for defending libraries
At the January Livingston Parish Council meeting, five courageous councilmen — Ricky Goff, John Mangus, Billy Taylor, John Wascom and Lonnie Watts — acted to restore funding and order to the Library Board of Control by replacing board members who implemented draconian cuts and created dissension. These included chair Larry Davis and vice-chair Abby Crosby A video of opposing sides at the meeting shows which side behaved in a more civil, rational manner Commenters who supported defunding the library threw every argument they could think of against the council.
One anti-library commenter invoked her status as a crime victim in a pitch for sympathy Their four council supporters made excuses for their board appointees, calling them inexperienced newbies who didn’t understand that budget cuts reduce services and who needed more time to learn to do their jobs.
The most ironic development was council member Erin Sandefur’s vociferous objection to removing all LBOC members to eliminate five troublemakers.
The irony is that their removal was possible because Sandefur and her legislative benefactors obtained a change in state law in the 2024 legislative session, enabling the council to remove LBOC members at will. Seeing this change used to remove board members who had supported it, one dismissed board member threatened to sue the council. This episode provides cautionary lessons.
Most important is that state Sen. Valarie Hodges promoted the change in the law making LBOC members “at will” appointees, and her aide Tori Hymel and another supporter remain on the board. Moreover, Hymel has been colluding with Michael Lunsford, director of the Council for a New Louisiana, who orchestrated the attack on our library system.
Hymel met at Lunsford’s office with other anti-library accomplices in 2024.
The five councilmen who acted deserve thanks for doing so and for their continued vigilance. It will be necessary CLARK FORREST Holden
EV charging stations signal progress, not an agenda
Regarding the misplaced ire of a few about the placement of a charging station at a public library, what a shame that some have so little to keep themselves busy besides poking their little stick at every sign of progress. The fact is that most Americans prefer the idea of clean energy Inherently there is nothing clean about combustion engines.
Entergy is establishing EV charging sites across its service areas, as is every utility in the nation. Why?
Because there is considerable demand for clean vehicles and better networks for charging. As these innocuous plugins begin to appear again and again at locations both public and private, it would benefit those with heads in the past to begin looking to the future when these same people probably will be maligning local entities for not doing enough to facilitate broad net-
works of charging stations at spaces public and private alike.
In a 2024 study, the Pew Center found that 30% of Americans favor buying an electric vehicle or roughly the same percentage of all eligble voters who voted for Donald Trump in the most recent election. I would suggest more, not less, of these partnerships (as this simple, single charging station was likely federally funded under a nationwide program to build out charging networks in places such as this). Folks upset about popular projects of progress like this example typically represent their agenda — looking backward by stumbling forward and trying to find another person or institution to blame for the most inevitable of all forces, change (Look it up — it’s in your local library.)
ANDREA ROMERO New Orleans
Too late for nonvoters to weigh in on St. George
Remember these numbers: Approximately 86,000 people live in the “city of St. George:” Around 53,700 is the number of people who did not get out to vote; 17,422 are the yeas for creation of the “city of St. George” while 14,871 are the nays. It amuses me, yet galls me at the same time, to hear that “the majority has spoken on the new city.” I don’t call 17,422 the “majority,” yet because of the lazy 53,707 that refuse to do their civic duty and rely on the rest of us to do it for them, that is our reality
How many of you who did not vote showed up at the meeting for the discussion and vote on the salaries? Wasn’t it an outlandish amount? Did y’all expect your voices to be heard? Why? We thought the salary amount was outlandish, but we were the ones who did our civic duty Well, it now is what it is, and we cannot go back and undo it.
I was never in favor of the new city and thought from the start that there was no plan in place and that it would be a waste of my taxpayer dollars. Mark my words, every new city that has incorporated in recent history promised they wouldn’t raise taxes and in just a few years was forced to do so. So next time something arises of great importance, that will likely affect how and where we live, you need to do one thing. Get out and do your civic duty and don’t rely on a handful to do it for you.
ANGELA COOPER
Cars without license plates should be on police radar
I am amazed as to how often I observe a car in Baton Rouge without a license plate. It seems to happen every time I go out in traffic. Recently, within a short distance, I observed four cars without plates. I wonder if the Baton Rouge Police Department has this issue as very low priority and does not enforce it.
ERNEST GREMILLION Baton Rouge
St. George
Pushing back on Trump-Musk deals
It’s not easy to steal the spotlight from two seasoned publicity lovers like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, but Musk’s 4-year-old son X AE A-Xii, or “X” for short, made it look easy during his Oval Office visit. Now viral on the web, little X seemed to teach his dad a lesson I learned the hard way when I agreed to take my own son to my office on Take Your Child to Work Day
The most memorable lesson he seemed to pick up was that Dad’s job is pretty boring, especially for a 4-yearold.
Little X Musk offered his own version of that lesson in an executive order signing event Tuesday in the Oval Office with his dad, an adviser to the president as head of DOGE, the president’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” which is not a real federal department, since Trump apparently decided he could not spare the time to make it into one.
Although it is not easy to make out what the mics picked up of the young Musk’s voice in a video shared by media in the room, he seems to say “Shush your mouth” to the president as his daddy spoke — a sentiment I am certain was widely shared.
And it was not the only push-back that Trump and his team heard.
On Thursday, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, resigned rather than carry out an order from Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to dismiss the criminal indictments against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Later in the day, five other top Justice Department officials resigned, including the head of the Public Integrity Section in Washington, which oversees corruption prosecutions, where Bove went next seeking a prosecutor to dismiss the case.
The drama carried over into Friday, according to Reuters, when Bove assembled the career integrity section lawyers and told them they had an hour for a volunteer to step forward. After weighing a mass resignation, a veteran prosecutor in the section stepped forward to do the dirty work.
For old Washington hands, it calls to mind President Richard Nixon’s infamous “Saturday Night Massacre,” when the desperate president ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who was taking his job investigating the Watergate affair too seriously for Tricky Dick’s liking.
To his credit, Richardson resigned rather than carry out the order, as did his subordinate, William Ruckelshaus. Eventually, a man was found to do the deed, Solicitor General Robert Bork. Richardson and Ruckelshaus, it should be noted, were Republicans. They were loyal to their party and to their president, but they were public servants of conscience. Their highest loyalty was to the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
In that regard, Sassoon is cut from the same cloth. Although Trump’s MAGA World has denounced her as though she were some sort of infiltrator left behind by the radical left, in fact her conservative credentials are impeccable.
As she pointed out in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, she is a Harvard College and Yale Law School graduate, a former clerk for the late conservative icon Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and a member of Federalist Society, the prestigious conservative legal group.
Explaining her resignation to Bondi, Sassoon called Bove’s order to dismiss the case “inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts.”
The resignations matter They are a stunning repudiation of the administra-
tion’s attempt to force the dismissal of the charges against Adams for reasons that hopefully will become clearer They are an encouraging sign that some political conservatives remain true to the standards we would like to see in the face of Trump’s countless other attempts to pollute the integrity of the criminal justice system with oldfashioned machine-style politics.
A cloud of suspicion is raised by Sassoon’s charge that the mayor’s lawyers had “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.”
In one eye-catching passage in her letter, Sassoon said that Bove had scolded a member of her team for taking notes during the meeting and ordered that the notes be collected at the meeting’s end. What is being hidden? That’s a question that Americans have been asking themselves repeatedly as the unelected Musk has bragged of his DOGE teams rummaging through and slashing government departments without much accountability and highly questionable authority As that big argument rambles on, Sassoon and her fellow dissenters deserve our gratitude for reminding us that accountability matters, when others sound like little X, telling us to “Shush your mouth.”
Email Clarence Page at cpage47@ gmail.com.
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the briefing room is now open to reporters for “new media,” including podcasters and websites, she was acknowledging the power and reach of these outlets, which was demonstrated in the last election when President Donald Trump made himself available to outlets that were ignored by the Kamala Harris campaign. The “legacy media” are in decline and the new media are surging. Part of this has to do with evaporating trust in what many regard as biased coverage by The New York Times from which broadcast news frequently takes its marching orders — and other major newspapers and networks that reflect built-in biases. Just two weeks after Trump’s inauguration, a guest essay appeared in the Times titled “Trump is Already Failing. That’s the Key to a Big Democratic Rebound.” Is anyone other than the liberals who read the Times paying attention to Democrats’ real problem? It appears not.
Chuck Todd, who has been with NBC News for 18 years, is resigning. The former host of “Meet the Press” once said he would never have a guest on the program who didn’t believe in “climate change.” Liberal Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus has resigned from the paper’s editorial board to focus more on her column. The Post has laid off 100 employees and 25,000 subscribers have canceled their subscriptions, outraged that the paper declined to endorse Kamala Harris. The Post continues to lose money.
On “The View,” co-host Sunny Hostin blamed Trump and those who voted for him for the recent collision between an American Airlines commercial jet and an Army helicopter. These and other outrageous and biased claims may feed the anger of many anti-Trumpers, but they do nothing to improve the credibility of the media, or increase their subscriptions, advertisers and ratings. As reported by the conservative Newsbusters.com, “ The leftist media began (the week) by attacking Trump’s cabinet nominees and dumping on his (inauguration) moment. They then proceeded to libel Trump and Elon Musk as a bunch of fascist Nazis, while tossing final bouquets to Joe Biden.”
As one who shared the hope, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, that representative government, guaranteed liberties and global capitalism laced with some measure of welfare state protections would spread across the globe, I naturally look back over the intervening long generation and ask what went wrong.
In the 1990s, it seemed to many that the vision of Francis Fukuyama’s “The End of History and the Last Man” would prevail. Not that bad things would never happen again. Fukuyama’s more subtle thesis was that after the debacle of communism, there was no intellectually viable alternative to some combination of political democracy and market capitalism as the means to a decent society
But the past three decades have seen the vitality of politically viable alternatives — China’s dictatorial and Russia’s authoritarian state-directed capitalism, the oppressive clerical regimes of Shiite Iran and various Sunni Muslim states. By Freedom House’s sophisticated measures, 2004 saw a high point in global freedom, which has been in decline ever since.
How to explain this trend, the opposite of what I hoped for and predicted?
As I have reflected on this question, I’ve fallen back on an article I wrote in 1993 for Irving Kristol’s Public Interest, in which I identified four types of political parties. Two were based on European conflicts over religion: Religious parties favored established churches, and liberal parties favored the separation of church and state. Two others, socialist and nationalist had their beginnings in attempts to rally the masses in the failed European revolutions of 1848, appealing to their working-class interests or their folk national yearnings.
American politics over the past 30 years provides some confirmation. The market-respecting liberalism of former President Bill Clinton’s Democratic Party yielded to the woke socialism of former presidents Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s.
My conclusion in 1993 and, tentatively, now is that nationalism is the glue that holds parties and nations together
The problem we have encountered over the last 30 years is that other countries’ nationalisms are not like America’s.
It turns out that the leaders of Western Europe, traumatized by the horrifying wars of the first half of the 20th century, seek a transnational harmony that overrules nations’ democratic electorates and smothers market capitalism with regulations. In reaction, Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016, as the formerly (under Tony Blair) liberal Labour Party split into socialist and Scottish National parties, and the long-dominant Conservatives into high-education Conservatives and the Trumpish Reform UK party In the 1990s, there was reason to hope that Russia was moving toward democracy and that China, despite the Tiananmen Square massacre, would move away from repression and toward convergence with rules-based market economies. Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin grabbed power from the flailing Boris Yeltsin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping jailed one rival and abolished his predecessors’ term limits.
Putin has been following a nationalist policy that dates back not only to Stalin but also to the czars, expanding Russia’s power outward from Muscovy in every direction though not as far in Ukraine as he hoped and expected. Something similar has been happen-
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ing in Mexico. Economic integration with Mexico and replacement of its one-party authoritarian rule by democratic rotation in office and the rule of law was the goal of the North American Free Trade Agreement, pushed in the 1990s by Presidents George H.W Bush and Clinton. NAFTA was ratified, the economies converged, and, as I witnessed, the opposition party ended 71 years of Institutional Revolutionary Party rule in July 2000.
But Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, elected in 2018, has reinstalled oneparty rule and government control of the economy, and his handpicked successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, was elected with 61% of the vote.
One lesson seems to be that national character matters and that it is more a product of deep-seated history than of recent American policy initiatives
The hopes of the 1990s were not totally dashed.
Eighty-five years ago, in 1940, a time when some current leaders, such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were living, Adolf Hitler and Stalin were allies in command of or with their allies holding most of the landmass of Eurasia, opposed actively only by Great Britain, whose air force and navy were stretched to the limit.
Representative government, guaranteed liberties and global capitalism laced with some measure of welfare state protections are much better off today than they were then, thanks in large part to the leadership at the time of the British nationalist Winston Churchill, the American nationalist Franklin Roosevelt and the French nationalist Charles de Gaulle something to keep in mind as we bewail our current discontents.
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
Then there was the legacy media cover-up of the Biden family’s business dealings, Biden’s cognitive decline and the infamous Hunter Biden laptop.
During other cultural transitions of the past there were die-hards who tried to keep the future from happening. People opposed to civil rights legislation to protect minorities from discrimination may be the most obvious recent example, but there are many others. There were those who resisted the transition from horses to motor cars. There were some who thought the telephone was a fad and that man was not made to fly. Some Hollywood moguls believed TV wouldn’t last. There were people who once opposed coffee and refrigeration. Now it’s driverless cars that are raising alarms.
The one constant among resisters to change is that they are left behind when change comes. This is a continuing problem for much of the legacy media. Most seem incapable of self-reflection and have an ideological view that resembles “eat your vegetables because they are good for you.” Their attitude seems to be that consumers of news should swallow whatever they offer, whether they like it or not.
This doesn’t mean the media should avoid questioning the policies and pronouncements of President Trump or anyone in his administration. What it does mean is that their approach should not be one of “he can do no right.” (Yes, some conservative media think Trump can do no wrong, which is equally bad). It also means when Trump and other Republicans succeed, that success should be acknowledged, instead of ignoring it and moving on to new rounds of cynical questioning.
It may be too late for legacy media to redeem itself given the leftist bent of many within that cocoon If they go the way of previous outmoded and irrelevant things, they will have only themselves to blame A free press is essential to a strong America. The arrival of new media may be journalism’s savior
Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump and Musk’s son listen at the White House on Feb 11 in Washington.
Michael Barone
Clarence Page
Cal Thomas
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Richard and public defender Mike Jones, who was recently assigned the case, with 16 pages of testimony, including photos, links to news stories and social media posts about the arrest.
Humphrey said he advised his attorney he wanted the case either dropped or he wanted to go to trial Friday
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about federal funding cuts that could impact access to higher education.
“I’m not only speaking for the freedoms of those here, but also for those who voted for Trump Their freedoms are also being impacted and taken
Colbert said he read Humphrey’s statement and the prosecutor’s factual basis for the case, noting there is evidence missing that the prosecutor is unable to obtain.
“I just don’t see where he disturbed the peace,” Colbert said from the bench “It was an open public meeting. He had a right to speak.”
Colbert told the prosecutor he could pursue the case, but he would find Humphrey not guilty
away,” Lim said “I just want us to be in a country that gives equal opportunity to everyone. And I truly mean everyone.”
Dale Pierrottie, who is of Chitimacha Indian descent, said he worries that more Americans aren’t speaking out about what he says are violations of the Constitution under the new administration. “This is Fascist 101 to the
He then apologized to Humphrey for having had to go through the arrest and prosecution. At a January 2023 Library Board meeting, Judge had another speaker escorted from the meeting room, prompting a federal lawsuit against him, Lafayette Consolidated Government and others for alleged free speech violations.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate. com.
letter, and I fear, if it goes much further, it’s actually going to be here,” Pierrottie said. “Most people are going to be quiet about it, and they’re too proud to admit that they’re wrong. We can change things if we speak up now before they get momentum.”
Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@theadvocate. com.
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the right combination of 14 arrangements loaded into Nelson’s car in the right order, we were off. Nelson has lived in Baton Rouge for more than 20 years and knew her way around. She’s a longtime supporter of Forage, including ordering one of the weekly subscriptions of floral arrangements. We went to small houses. We went to large houses Nobody was home. We went to a school. We went to more houses. We met a housekeeper
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Eunice Career and Technical Education Center
In attendance were Washington-area council members, teachers and the principal of their elementary school that is set to be closed by the 2025-26 school year The group left the meeting saying they were disheartened and threatening a lawsuit over the closure.
“We’re not gonna stop,” said Mary Lavergne, a Washington council member “Because we’re getting ready to get together and organized, and we’re planning to file a lawsuit against the St. Landry Parish School Board.” Washington Elementary houses around 120 students with 24 staff members. The school received a “C” rating in 2024, with test scores dropping slightly since 2023. Around 80% of children in the school are minorities, with around the same amount considered economically disadvantaged
Enrollment trends, much like in other areas of the state, are down across the parish. Many parents are either leaving for schools in nearby Lafayette Parish or enrolling their children in private or charter
Nelson and I discovered that we have children in the same age range. Delivering flowers gave us time to visit in between stops and it turns out that very few people are home. We had more than two hours to get to know each other We both like reading. We are both interested in art. We have creative husbands. We realized we had mutual friends. She knows the person hosting the rehearsal dinner of the wedding I was going to — that kind of thing. It was fun, and a welcomed social respite from my normal Friday morning editing and writing deadlines. I would venture to say
schools, said Superintendent Milton Batiste III.
Total enrollment is down by 1,340 students since the 2018-19 school year, school officials reported, with the majority of schools in the parish witnessing population declines. Opelousas Middle School lost the most students at 456, while several other schools lost about 70 students on average, data shows. Washington Elementary Principal Kyle Sylvester said the district has yet to come up with a plan for his staff and him and added that the school was an “easy target” due to low enrollment numbers. He added this isn’t the first time the school has been under threat of closure. In 2021, the board proposed to close the school. Lavergne added that the closure could have negative economic impacts on their community, which already struggles with quality jobs. Other residents like Johnnie Fontenot said the district could focus on cuts to central office staff or superintendent pay During public comment, residents also raised concerns about transportation, saying that many residents lack vehicles, which could cause truancy rates to increase. Many generally criticized the plan, arguing that school changes impact students
Carmichael, Mary Sue Christian
Mary Sue Christian Carmichael of Opelousas, La., passed away on Saturday, February 15 2025, after living 18 years with Parkinson's Disease. She was 95. Mary Sue was born August 19, 1929 to Albert and Penny DeWalt Christian in Trinity, Tex. The third of four children, she excelled in school, where she was acheerleader and earned therank of valedictorian. After graduation, she worked briefly as acorporatesecretary in Houston, Tex., where she met her late husband, Charles Joseph "Charlie" Carmichael Jr., to whom she was devoted for 72 years.
Together, they had three sons: Carl Christian (Joy) of Daphne, Ala.; Charles Brian (Lisette) of Baton Rouge, La.; and Clint Daniel (Marty) of St. Amant,La.
In addition to her children, Mary Sue is survived by her sister, Jo Lynnette Reesing of Alpine, Tex., and five grandchildren: Alyce B. Bordelon (John); Mary Colleen Andrew (Peter); Ellen Gugenberger (Walter); Andrew Carmichael (Maggie); and Catherine Carmichael. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren: Madeleine Andrew; Elizabeth, Christian and Camille Gugenberger; and Alice and Charles "Charlie" Carmichael.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband;her brother, Harold Christian; and her sister, Virginia Christian Jordan.
Adevout Christian, Mary Sue was alongtime active member of First Baptist Church of Opelousas.
Opelousas. In her spare time, she was an exceptional puzzle solver andenjoyed playing bridge with her dearest friends. Each week, she performed with her musical group, nicknamed "Sweet Sue and Her Psychedelic Syncopated Sidekicks," for residents at local nursing homes. She sang beautifully and played pianobyear, atestament to hermusical gifts. Friends admired her gentle and generous nature. In 2004, theSt. Landry Parish Governmentnamed her the "Humanitarian of the Year." She will be missed dearly by all whoknew her, especially herchildren and grandchildren whose lives have been filled by the warmth of herearnest and unconditional love.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to theParkinson's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Hospital.
The family sincerely thanks Mary Sue's caregivers: Carla Mickens, Joan Pollock, Charlotte Antia,
Foundation or St. Jude Children's Hospital. The family sincerely thanks Mary Sue's caregivers: Carla Mickens, Joan Pollock,
I made a new friend — a most appropriate way to mark Valentine’s Day
On our last delivery, we finally had someone in the Goodwood area answer the door and accept her floral arrangement. Even though my involvement was minimal, it was still a strange feeling of accomplishment.
Overall, helping deliver Valentine’s flowers made me reflect on all the people and parts that go into all the things delivered to our homes so many hands and hearts make it happen.
Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.
and parents.
The Louisiana Department of Education told the parish it operated too many schools, Batiste said, citing conversations with state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley He added that more closures and consolidations are likely if enrollment trends do not improve “It’s probably based on student number year by year but we do have to come back with future plans to put our kids on better academic outcomes,” he said. Batiste added that education saving accounts might have further impact on enrollment in the district but it’s too early to tell. Last March, the board voted to oppose ESAs, warning of the possibility of consolidations and closures if the bill were to pass.
Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.
SUNDAY, FEB 16, 2025
PICK 3: 6-9-6
4: 7-6-6-6
5: 6-8-1-4-4
In her spare time, she was an exceptional puzzle solver and enjoyed playing bridge with her dearest friends. Each week, she performed with her musical group,nicknamed "Sweet Sue and Her PsychedelicSyncopated Sidekicks," for residents at local nursing homes. She sang beautifully and played piano by ear, atestament to her musical gifts.
Friendsadmired her gentle and generous nature. In 2004, the St. Landry Parish Government named her the "Humanitarian of the Year."
She will be missed dearly by all who knew her, especially her children and grandchildren whose lives have been filled by the warmthofher earnest and unconditional love.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Parkinson's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Hospital.
The family sincerely thanksMary Sue's caregivers: Carla Mickens, Joan Pollock, Charlotte Antia, D'wan Brooks, Addie Matthews and Mary Melancon, as well as Hospice of Acadiana staff Kristina Morman, Colleen Perkins and Tanya Kramer.
of Opelousas, 4708 I-49 North Service Road, (337) 407-1907, rangemen
The family requests visiting hours be observed from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Friday, February 21, 2025 at Melancon Funeral Home of Opelousas, followed by funeral services officiatedby PastorChad Norman of First Baptist Church at 1:00 p.m. Agravesideservice at Bellevue Memorial Park in Opelousas immediately following. View the obituary and guestbook online at www.melanconfuneralhom e.net.
Melancon Funeral Home of Opelousas, 4708 I-49 NorthService Road, (337) 407-1907, is in charge of arrangements.
STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER
Meredith Cooper owner of Forage Floral in Baton Rouge makes last-minute additions to an arrangement about to be delivered for Valentine’s Day.
SPORTS
SOUTH CAROLINA AT LSU • 8 P.M.
• SECN
FOLLOW-UP ACT
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
Matt McMahon felt no need to downplay the difficulty of keeping players engaged and committed to playing with full effort during a monthlong losing streak
“It’s hard, tough, very challenging,” the third-year coach for LSU men’s basketball said Monday
As the team felt the pangs of defeat eat at it more with each of its seven consecutive losses, the challenge McMahon had was getting players to “attack that adversity.”
“You’re trying to find the right balance as a coach of ‘we got to get better,’ ” McMahon said. “There’s got to be accountability in these areas to improve, but we also have to maintain confidence and be-
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
The best way to put a series loss in the past is to win the next game. The UL Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team won’t have to wait as long as it thought to do so. For weather reasons, Tuesday’s home game against Texas Southern was moved up to a 3 p.m. start at Russo Park.
lief in each other.”
LSU (13-12, 2-10 SEC) struck the right balance in its 82-79 road victory over Oklahoma on Saturday its first win since Jan. 14. The Tigers should have a chance to do that once again when they face South Carolina (10-15, 0-12) at 8 p.m Tuesday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center McMahon described the Gamecocks’ record as deceiving because they have lost six games by five points or less against Southeastern Conference opponents.
At the top of the scouting report is South Carolina sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles, who is projected to be a firstround NBA draft selection after this season.
The 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward is a re-
ä Texas Southern at UL, 3 P.M.TUESDAy
“We don’t want to get them all the way over here and then start, stop start, stop and create a situation where we burn pitchers and end up playing in a lot colder temperatures,” UL coach
Matt Deggs said The Tigers matched the Cajuns 1-2 opening weekend after
liable rebounder and disruptive defender that averages 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
McMahon complimented the Gamecocks star for having an “incredible skill set” combined with physicality MurrayBoyles is also an efficient scorer, averaging 15.5 points while leading the SEC in field-goal percentage (57.4%).
LSU will need its front court to have an impressive showing on both ends. That starts with availability, which was an issue in LSU’s win against the Sooners. The only playable rotation big men on Saturday were redshirt junior Daimion Collins and freshman Robert Miller Redshirt freshman Corey Chest, who averages a team-high 7.3 rebounds, is
a 23-25, 19-6 SWAC West title season in 2024.
The Cajuns will start true freshman pitcher Parker Smith.
“He had one of the better falls of anybody this fall,” Deggs said of Smith. “He loves to compete. I don’t think he’s going to get overwhelmed by anything. He’s 88-92 with the fastball and really good breaking ball and a changeup. He’s athletic, can hold runners and field his position.
“He’s a catcher as well, which makes it difficult. So we really haven’t worked him behind the plate a ton to save his arm.”
The Cajuns hope their bats get going. UL hit .228 in the weekend series against San Jose State with only Sam Ardoin (.500 in four ABs) and Luke Yuhasz (.300) hitting over .222 among the regulars.
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
AUSTIN, Texas Texas certainly had its struggles against the LSU women. Coach Vic Schaefer acknowledged that fact Sunday not long after he squinted his eyes and rummaged through a box score, searching for the reasons why his Longhorns pulled off a comeback win. Then it dawned on him.
“I thought they played really hard defensively all game long,” Schaefer said after he put down his pen and looked up.
“And that’s really what kept us in it.”
LSU nearly won its first regular-season game against a top-five opponent under coach Kim Mulkey on Sunday But the No. 3 Longhorns (26-2, 12-1 SEC) simply defended the No. 5 Tigers too well, especially in the fourth quarter of what turned into a 65-58 win with important postseason implications.
LSU took a 43-31 lead — its largest of the day — at the 4:30 mark of the third quarter Then Schaefer called a timeout, shed his blazer and watched Texas storm back. From that moment on, the Longhorns outscored the Tigers 34-15. LSU converted only five of the next 25 field goals it took, and Texas nailed 10 of its next 18.
The Tigers (25-2, 10-2) built their lead with effective half-court offense.
Flau’jae Johnson ran behind a stagger screen, then buried a 3-pointer Aneesah Morrow sealed her defender in the paint, caught a lob pass and finished an easy layup. A baseline out-of-bounds action set Mikaylah Williams up for a mid-range jumper, a shot she hit on the possession after she timed a backdoor cut nicely, opening a passing lane for Morrow and an easy bucket for herself. Then those open looks disappeared. Texas contested every shot, challenged every pass and swarmed every cut. At the other end, its shots finally started to fall.
By the end of the day, the Longhorns and Tigers had identical shooting numbers: 21 of 63 (33%) from the field, with LSU sinking only one more shot from beyond the arc than Texas did. What was the difference?
“Both teams got to the foul line,” Mulkey said. “They made theirs, and we missed (ours).”
Texas hit all 21 free throws it took, and LSU converted only 13 of its 19.
Because the Tigers struggled on offense for most of the second half, they couldn’t hit enough shots to offset that free-throw disparity
LSU is scoring 86.3 points per game this season — the fifth-most among Division I teams. On a per-possession basis, it has one of the 10 best offenses in the country The Tigers are also grabbing offensive rebounds at the nation’s third-highest rate, and they’re making more free throws per game than all but seven Division I squads.
Yet LSU now has dropped both games
Pirates’ ace working on 2 new pitches
BY WILL GRAVES AP sports writer
BRADENTON, Fla. — Paul Skenes
spent his rookie season dutifully following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ plan to bring their young ace along as slowly and safely as possible. It worked. Maybe better than all involved imagined during an electrifying 2024 in which the towering right-hander from LSU started the All-Star Game and captured the National League Rookie of the Year award while becoming perhaps the game’s hottest young star in a decade It was an incredible ride. Yet when Skenes arrived last week for
his second spring training, he did it with the kind of freedom he lacked a year ago. Oh, and a couple of new pitches, too.
The 22-year-old is tinkering with adding a cutter and a running twoseam fastball to an arsenal that already includes a four-seamer that tops out north of 100 mph and a “splinker” that was one of the best put-away pitches in the majors in 2024. “Just trying to create more swing decisions,” Skenes said. Or nondecisions.
Veteran second baseman Adam Frazier who reunited with the Pirates last month, volunteered to be the first batter to face Skenes during a live batting practice Saturday The first pitch the left-handed hitting Frazier saw was a splinker that darted down and away while
catching the outside corner of the strike zone. Frazier’s bat never moved as the ball whizzed by, a pitch “nobody is going to do anything with,” as the former All-Star put it.
“If you hit it, you’re hitting it straight in the ground,” Frazier said. “So it’s like, ‘All right, strap it on and get ready.’ ” Frazier, second baseman Nick Gonzales and first baseman Darick Hall all failed to make solid contact off Skenes during a 25-pitch session in which a few dozen fans surrounded one of the practice fields at Pirates City, many of them with their phones raised to capture the
ä Georgia at LSU, 8 P.M.THURSDAy SECN
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU forward Daimion Collins, left, battles UNO forward MJ Thomas for position in the paint on Dec. 22 at the PMAC.
Notre Dame ascends to No. 1
LSU drops from fifth to seventh
BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer
Notre Dame is the new No. 1 in
The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, ascending to the top spot Monday for the first time since 2019.
The Fighting Irish replaced UCLA, which lost its first game of the season last week, falling to rival USC, 71-60 Notre Dame was last No. 1 on Jan. 21, 2019.
“It’s definitely an honor to be the nation’s top team, but we are just focused on getting better every day,“ Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said.
The Irish, who received 16 firstplace votes from a 30-member national media panel, defeated No. 11 Duke 64-49 on Monday
Texas moved up to second for its best ranking since 2017. The Longhorns, who garnered eight firstplace ballots, became the first team
to beat three straight top 10 teams since 2004-05, according to ESPN, topping South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU.
The Bruins had been No. 1 for 12 straight weeks after beating South Carolina in late November UCLA fell to third and received the other six first-place votes
USC moved up to fourth and UConn was fifth after routing then-No. 4 South Carolina 87-58 on Sunday
The Gamecocks, who saw their 71-game home winning streak end, fell to sixth. LSU and Ohio State were next.
North Carolina climbed up three spots to ninth for its highest ranking in three seasons after beating N.C. State 66-65 on Sunday TCU was 10th.
Ins and outs
Illinois reentered the poll this week at No. 25 after beating Penn State and Nebraska. The Illini spent the first few weeks of the season ranked.
Florida State fell out after losing to Louisville and edging Miami.
Falling Wildcats
It was a rough week for Kentucky One week after earning its best ranking in a decade, Kentucky fell six spots to 14th. The Wildcats lost games to Ole Miss and Texas before beating Georgia.
Conference breakdown
The Southeastern Conference still reigns with seven ranked teams. The Big Ten has six while the ACC and Big 12 each have five.
The Big East has two.
NCAA reveal
With a month left to the start of the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee revealed the top 16 teams to that point Sunday UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and Notre Dame were the one seeds The reveal came before South Carolina’s loss.
Games of the week
No. 1 Notre Dame at No. 13 North Carolina State, Sunday The Irish currently have a two-game lead in the ACC race over the Wolfpack Five teams are within two games
of second place. No. 17 West Virginia at No. 10 TCU, Sunday Two of the top teams in the Big 12 square off as the Horned Frogs hope to remain at top of the conference standings.
Auburn strengthens its hold on
BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer
Auburn’s win at Alabama assured the Tigers would keep the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a sixth consecutive week. The Tigers (23-2) received 59 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, reclaiming nearly all the support lost when they fell at home to Florida on Feb. 8. Auburn had been the unanimous No. 1 for three straight weeks before that loss, but remained at the top last week despite seeing nearly half of those first-place votes go primarily to Alabama, with a few to Florida and Tennessee.
But the Tigers won Saturday in a 1-vs.-2 road matchup against the rival Crimson Tide, hours after the committee that will choose the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament put Auburn as its No. 1 overall seed in its preliminary rankings.
The top tier
The two teams to beat the Tigers sit right behind them. Florida and Duke were tied for third last week, and the Gators inched past the Blue Devils to break that
tie and take the No. 2 spot while claiming the remaining first-place vote.
Alabama fell to No 4, followed by Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M — with its highest ranking since December 2017 — Iowa State, Texas Tech and St. John’s to round out the top 10.
Of that group, the Red Raiders represented the only change from last week’s set of teams, climbing three spots to replace Purdue for their first top-10 appearance in three years.
Grant McCasland’s squad, which has lost just twice since the start of 2025, was unranked until cracking the poll at No. 22 on Jan. 27.
Rising
Michigan had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams, climbing eight spots to No. 12 after beating Purdue last week and pushing its win streak to six games. No. 15 Missouri jumped six spots, while No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 18 Clemson and No. 20 Maryland each rose five spots.
In all, 12 teams moved up from their position last week.
Sliding
Memphis took the biggest tumble of the week, falling eight spots
to No. 22 after its overtime loss at Wichita State ended an eightgame winning streak. No 13 Purdue No 19 Arizona and No. 23 Kansas — the preseason No 1-ranked team — all fell six spots, while No. 24 Ole Miss tumbled five. Ten teams fell from last week’s poll.
Welcome back No. 25 Louisville was the week’s lone new addition, returning to the poll for the second time after a two-week stint in January Firstyear coach Pat Kelsey has guided the program to its first 20-win season since 2019-20. The Cardinals have lost just once since mid-December Farewell (for now) Creighton (No. 24) fell out of the rankings for the second time this season. The Bluejays were ranked for the first four weeks, then returned last week for what turned out to be a one-week stay Conference watch The Southeastern Conference had a national-best nine teams, including three of the top four and five of the top 10.
Alcaraz holds off Cilic to advance at Qatar Open
DOHA — Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz overcame Croatian veteran Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 at the Qatar Open.
The 36-year-old Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion who has fallen to No. 192 in the rankings, was playing his first match of the season after recovering from a longterm knee injury
The Croatian led 4-3 and 0-40 on Alcaraz’s serve in the second set, but the Spanish four-time major winner managed to recover and then broke in the next game. Alcaraz will play either Zhang Zhizhen or Luca Nardi next. Earlier, seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov lost 6-4, 6-4 to Jiri Lehecka eighth-seeded Jack Draper beat Alexei Popyrin 6-2, 7-6 (4) to set up a meeting aga, Christopher O’Connell.
Angels moving Trout from center field to right field
TEMPE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Angels oft-injured star Mike Trout is moving from center to right field in hopes of better preserving his health.
The three-time AL MVP played in 82 or fewer games in three of the past four seasons while dealing with an assortment of injuries. That doesn’t include the 53 games he played in 2020 because that season was shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trout approached the club about the position switch. Trout said there could be situations where he plays center field, but his focus will be on learning his new spot. He also could see time at designated hitter
Athletics extend contract with manager Kotsay MESA, Ariz. — Manager Mark Kotsay has agreed to a contract extension with the Athletics through the 2028 season that includes a club option for 2029.
The deal was announced Monday, which coincided with the team’s first full-squad workout of spring training.
The 49-year-old Kotsay is in his fourth season with the A’s leading the franchise through a period of upheaval that’s included a move from Oakland to Sacramento, California, where they’ll play at a minor league stadium for the next few seasons.
The eventual plan is to end up in Las Vegas. The Athletics went 69-93 last season, a 19-win improvement over a 112-loss season in 2023.
Azarenka rallies from set down to advance in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka rallied from a set and a break down to beat Anhelina Kalinina 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 Monday and reach the second round of the Dubai Championships.
The 35-year-old Azarenka trailed 5-2 in the second set and was down 4-2 in the tiebreaker before winning the next five points.
Just two days after winning the Qatar Open title in Doha, Amanda Anisimova lost 6-2, 6-3 to fellow American McCartney Kessler No. 11-seeded Diana Shnaider ousted Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 while No. 12 Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Avanesyan 6-2, 6-1 to set up a meeting with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Azarenka will face second-seeded Iga Swiatek, who had a bye into the second round.
Mets shut down pitcher because of a strained back
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. Mets righthander Frankie Montas will be shut down from pitching for six to eight weeks because of a strained back. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday it was a high-grade lat strain and that Montas was heading to New York for an injection. After the shutdown, Montas will need a spring training-like buildup, meaning Montas won’t pitch until May at the earliest. He signed a two-year, $34 million freeagent contract in December The injury creates uncertainty for a starting rotation that went through a makeover in the offseason. Montas missed most of the 2023 season because of shoulder surgery He returned last season but went 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA while playing for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, right, is fouled by Pittsburgh’s MaKayla Elmore during the
rst
No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s poll after UCLA lost to USC last week. Notre Dame
“Baseball is a crazy game,” Deggs said. “DeBo (Kyle DeBarge) was like 1-for-10 last year at the same time.
“Look, if we were rolling, San Jose State is still good enough to beat us two out of three.”
UL getting outscored 20-7 over the last two games went deeper than not hitting or playing defense.
“It’s about finding a way to help us win, whatever that might be — defense, base running, reaching base, moving a runner, drawing a walk, wearing a hit by pitch — whatever it is,” Deggs said.
“That’s where I felt like we had some breakdowns this weekend. As the weekend progressed, you start to see some weak early outs
Weak early outs are a recipe to crash and burn real quick like.”
Having so many slow starts makes the preseason narrative of “What to do with so many talented young players on the roster?” more relevant right out of the gate.
“Look, I’m going to go through
— I don’t care what the cost is — I’m going through every guy on this roster, and we’re going to find out what’s what and we’ll proceed from there, because this is a ros-
ter and a team worth investing in,”
Deggs said. “I’m not very patient, but we all need to be a little patient right now.”
True freshman outfielder Brooks Wright certainly looks like he’s earned more at-bats — 4-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a stolen base over the weekend — but the potential of so many remains high.
“I’ve got about 20 hitters, which is probably about five more mouths than I’m used to feeding,” Deggs said “The difficult part with this team that you don’t see every year, like every kid on this team with the right amount of at-bats or innings, they can all play
“That creates what you call a double-edged sword. It can be good if you know how to manage it or it can create logjams and stunt somebody’s growth.”
Veterans Lee Amedee, Caleb Stelly and Conor Higgs were a combined 2-for-22 with two RBIs against San Jose State.
“Obviously you want to limit the errors, but that stuff is going to happen,” Deggs said. “But little bit better starts and finish some atbats, we’re right there to take the series or sweep it.
“It didn’t happen. We’re not there yet, and we’ve got to keep working to get better.”
Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com
of LSU
LSU MEN
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up for
alongside 6-10 forward Nick Pringle.
“Their ability to get secondshot opportunities is highly concerning for us,” McMahon said.
SKENES
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admitted perfectionist is too consumed with his craft to cultivate his celebrity And for as dominant as he was at times last summer, Skenes knows he’s hardly a finished product after 23 majorleague starts.
His numbers as a rookie — an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings — were dazzling. They also were just the beginning.
Eyeing efficiency
While Skenes stressed he is not looking to get away from his identity as a strikeout pitcher, he is trying to find a way to get to strike three a little more quickly
“Getting ahead, winning the 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 (pitches), winning those counts, that stuff is important,” he said.
That’s where adding a couple of more options to a repertoire that already includes six pitches comes in.
“Anything that looks like a fastball and doesn’t end up being a fastball (helps),” pitching coach Oscar Marin said. “I think we all know how special his fastballs are. (More options are) just something that is going to really open up the zone for him as well.”
There is a sense of ease around Skenes that he didn’t necessarily have when he arrived at spring training a year ago as a rookie just trying to make the team.
to believe it, that that was how it was going to be when I came into camp.”
Not this time. Skenes is a lock to be on the roster when the Pirates break camp. The questions now are whether he’ll be the opening day starter something Skenes thinks would be “really cool” — and whether Pittsburgh is ready to take a step forward into contention despite a relatively quiet offseason.
Different vibe
Skenes knows his performance at the top of the rotation is a vital part of that equation. He also knows it’s hardly only up to him.
Keller to finish before the two slowly walked off the practice fields together
The jitters he felt in 2024 are a fading memory He has a little more experience to go with his ever-present swagger and the kind of stuff that few can match.
Skenes wasn’t sure how fast he was throwing on Saturday, though he smiled while noting that it was probably faster than 94 mph because if it wasn’t “some other people would have been concerned if it were.”
probable to return Tuesday He experienced back issues pregame against Oklahoma. McMahon said fifth-year senior Derek Fountain, who was out because of an illness, practiced Monday alongside Chest.
Freshman Trey’Dez Green was out last game and will not be available for LSU. The dual-sport athlete is stepping away from the team with the hope of rejoining later as he focuses on academics.
The depth of LSU’s front court is also important in assisting its best rim protector Collins, who had a career-high 22 points and four blocks last game, in slowing down Murray-Boyles.
The 6-9 Collins weighs 45 pounds less than South Carolina’s star who could be a problem on the offensive glass
When the Tigers collect defensive rebounds, they’ll have to limit turnovers, which has been a weakness until recently.
“The last four games, our ball security has been much better,” McMahon said. “Not turning the ball over as much, getting more shots on goal.”
LSU has averaged only 9.3 turnovers in the previous four games. In the first eight games of SEC play, it had 14 or more turnovers in six of them.
Limiting giveaways will allow leading scorer Cam Carter to have more opportunities to excel offensively as he did when he scored a career-high 29 points against Oklahoma.
If that happens, LSU’s chances of a third conference win improve drastically
GREEN STEPS AWAY FROM LSU BASKETBALL TEAM
Two-sport freshman Trey’Dez Green will be away from the LSU basketball team with the hope of rejoining later as he focuses on academics, coach Matt McMahon said Monday Green, who is also a tight end for the LSU football team, played his first game on the basketball team Jan. 25 at No. 4 Alabama.The decision to leave the basketball team was made after a “collaboration meeting” with McMahon, Green and football coach Brian Kelly
“Just after visiting with coach Kelly and Trey’Dez, the academic workload is very heavy, so he’s going to be focusing on those academics for the time being and rejoin us at a later date,” McMahon said.
The 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward played in six games and was averaging 6.7 minutes, 1.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game His best game was when he played 11 minutes and scored four points against Texas.
Kelly told reporters Feb 5 that Green was still training with the football team in the weight room.
“He is not tapped out of that, which obviously we’re excited about,” Kelly said.“But he’s lost a little bit of weight running up and down the (basketball) court.”
In LSU football’s 44-31 win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31, Green had six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns Toyloy Brown III
He didn’t initially, not because he wasn’t good enough, but because it was part of the team’s plan to methodically build him up rather than rush him to the majors.
While Skenes admits that was “frustrating,” he understands it was the right call.
“They did a really good job with me last year,” he said. “I kind of knew, as much as I didn’t want
LSU WOMEN
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it’s played against the top two teams in the Southeastern Conference, and in those two losses, it scored 57 ppg on 31% shooting. In four seasons under Mulkey, the Tigers have converted less than 35% of their shots nine times. Four of those instances in games against Washington, No 4 South Carolina, Texas A&M and now Texas — have come this year Before this season, LSU was 66-2 under Mulkey when its opponent shot worse than 40% from the field. It has since held both the Gamecocks (37%) and the Longhorns (33%) below that threshold of efficiency, yet it dropped both contests. Now the Tigers are 82-4 in those games.
“Our kids played so hard defensively,” Schaefer said. “You have no idea — no idea — how hard that group is to guard, and we had made a decision to do some different lineups, different matchups, untypical of maybe what you think, but I just thought our kids were so locked in and so tough guarding.”
Despite the loss, LSU is still on track to earn a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament and begin a potential run to the Final Four at home. But now it will need not only to win its last four regular-season
It’s one of the many reasons he plans to take on a more visible leadership role in 2025. There were small signs under a nearly cloudless mid-February sky Wearing long sleeves underneath his black No. 30 jersey, Skenes dapped up support staff, chatted with video coordinator Kevin Roach and made it a point to wait for veteran pitcher Mitch
There are no concerns about Skenes at the moment, just optimism at the possibilities. Marin knows the season Skenes put together as a rookie will be difficult to match but allowed “that’s the expectation.”
The team’s expectation anyway While he hasn’t come out and said it, Skenes is likely aiming even higher
“His expectation is probably a little bit different than mine,” Marin said. “But that’s what makes him great.”
games but also, perhaps, win the SEC Tournament to move back into consideration for a No. 1 seed. The NCAA selection committee revealed Sunday morning that it had the Tigers ranked sixth overall and penciled into the No. 2 seed of the Spokane 1 region, alongside No. 1 UCLA, No. 10 Duke and No 16 Tennessee.
If LSU wants to win that region (or another one like it), then its offense can’t sputter down the stretch of games like it did Sun-
day against Schaefer’s Texas team, now just the sixth opponent to prevent Mulkey’s Tigers from scoring 60 points.
“You have to execute and be extremely tough,” Mulkey said, “when it requires the toughest of you.” Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
UL left fielder Brooks Wright was the brightest spot from the freshman class during the opening weekend.
PHOTO By STEPHEN SPILLMAN Texas forward Madison Booker goes to the basket between LSU guard Mikaylah Williams, left, and guard Shayeann Day-Wilson during a game in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By KAREEM ELGAZZAR Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes throws during a game against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 22 in Cincinnati
PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON
Daimion Collins
goes
two over Matthew Murrell of Ole Miss at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Feb 8.
LCA girls ready for state run as No. 1 seed
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
The Lafayette Christian girls basketball program has been on quite a run in recent years. Not only has the school won a basketball state championship in each of the past four seasons across two different divisions, but the Knights also have claimed the state title in their respective division seven of the past eight seasons.
“No, we don’t get tired of winning,” Knights coach Errol Rogers said with a laugh. “Records are made to be broken, and we know that sooner or later it (the streak) will end. That is just part of life. One day, somebody is going to beat us. So, we’re trying to enjoy the ride while we can.” On Monday, the Knights learned the path they’ll have to take to win a fifth state title when the LHSAA released the girls select and nonselect playoff brackets. The Knights received the No. 1 seed in Division III select.
“I’m not going to say getting the No 1 seed was our goal because we just wanted to be in the top four so we can be at home and not have to travel,” Rogers said. “But being No. 1 doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win.”
The Knights, who are 25-5 overall, are among 28 teams from the Acadiana area to earn a playoff berth. LCA is the only No. 1 seed, while North Vermilion (Division II nonselect) and JS Clark (Division IV select) received No 2 and No 3 seeds in their divisions, respectively
“We definitely didn’t expect to be the No. 2 seed,” Patriots coach Jack Leblanc said. “It is tough to get up there You have to win a lot of games and have things to go your way Our goal was to be in the top eight.” It has been a stellar season for the Patriots, who won their first district championship since moving to Class 4A with a per-
fect 7-0 record en route to finishing the regular season with an impressive overall record of 25-2.
“We’re definitely excited. This season has been one of the more enjoyable seasons I have been a part of,” Leblanc said. “Not just because of the winning — obviously winning makes it better — but because it has been a four-year process. It has been awesome to see the girls gel together.”
One thing the Patriots are hoping to accomplish this time around is to get past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades.
“Our juniors and seniors have been to the second round every year, so they have some playoff experience,” Leblanc said. “Every year we keep putting ourselves in a better position to do that.”
With a first-round bye, Rogers and Leblanc are hoping their programs can make the most of the week off and remain sharp.
“We have a few nagging injuries,” Rogers said. “So, having the bye week is going to give us a chance to recuperate.”
“It’s going to be a long seven days,” Leblanc said. “It’s going to be important that we keep the girls fresh and not lose our conditioning.”
AES seeks to finish the job with state title
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
Ascension Episcopal’s boys soccer team is thrilled to have advanced to the Division IV state final.
But they are far from satisfied with just getting there.
“The job is not finished,” Blue Gators assistant coach Ricardo Calliman said.
The Blue Gators will get the opportunity to finish the job at 5 p.m. Tuesday when they face top-seeded Newman at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond.
“I’ve heard great things about them,” Calliman said. “But honestly I haven’t followed their journey too much. We are focused on what we need to do. We feel if we take care of our end of the bargain, then we have a good shot.”
The Blue Gators (18-3-2), are going to have their hands full against the Greenies. Newman, which is undefeated with an overall record of 22-0-1, has been one of the more dominant programs in the state.
Newman, which has posted 15 shutouts this season, has allowed only eight goals, while scoring 135. In the playoffs, the Greenies have outscored opponents 30-2.
“I’ve been hearing that they are a very strong team,” Calliman said. “They are intense and extremely physical. I definitely don’t expect this game to be a high-scoring game.”
Especially considering how well the Blue Gators have been playing this season as well. The Blue Gators have posted 12 shutouts including eight in their past 12 matches.
Calliman is confident in the Blue Gators’ ability to score with an offense that is led by Hayes Trotter, Gian Llopis and Rubens Vega.
“We have people on our team that we trust to be able to put the ball in the back of the net,” Calliman said.
Newman, led by Cole Spady Ryan Claverne and George Villere who each scored two goals in the Greenies’ 6-0 win in the semifinals over Calvary Baptist, are in the state finals for the first time since 2022 when they won the Division IV title
“We like to think that we are locked in for every game,” Calliman said. “It is easier to get up for this type of game. The key for us is that we can’t have any mistakes in the back line. This is a game that is going to come down to whoever makes the fewest mistakes and does the best job of limiting opportunities.”
SCOREBOARD
EAST West Virginia 70, Kansas St. 57
MIDWEST Ohio St. 86, Iowa 78, OT College softball
(Curry 4-8, Tatum 3-4, Irving 1-1, Harden 1-2, Brown 0-1, Lillard 0-1). Team Rebounds: None. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 0 Turnovers: 4 (Curry 2, Irving 2). Steals: 5 (Curry 2, Irving 2, Durant). Technical Fouls: None. FGFTReb GLOBAL MinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS Siakam 3:11 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Towns 10:40 4-7 0-0 2-4 1 0 8 Jokic 10:21 1-3 0-2 2-4 2 0 2 Glgus 6:02 1-4 1-2 1-1 0 0 4 Mitchell10:400-7 0-0 0-3 2 0 0 Wmbnma7:295-7 0-0 1-3 0 0 11 Young 4:38 0-3 0-0 1-2 2 0 0 Sengun 0:19 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals60:0011-311-48-187025 Percentages: FG .355, FT .250. 3-Point Goals: 2-16, .125 (Wembanyama 1-2, Gilgeous-Alexander 1-3, Jokic 0-2, Towns 0-2, Young 0-3, Mitchell 0-4). Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 1 (Wembanyama). Turnovers: 5 (Mitchell 2, GilgeousAlexander, Jokic, Wembanyama). Steals: 1 (Mitchell). Technical Fouls: None. OGs41—41 Global Stars2525 A_17,539 (18,064). T_:32. College basketball Men’s state schedule Sunday’s games No games scheduled. Monday’s games Nicholls at UNO, n Prairie View A&M at Grambling n McNeese at Southeastern, n Lamar at Northwestern State, n Texas Southern at Southern, n Tuesday’s games South Carolina at LSU, 8 p.m.. Men’s national scores Monday’s games EAST Howard 86, Md.-Eastern Shore 62 Women’s state schedule Sunday’s games Texas 65, LSU 58 Monday’s games No games scheduled. Tuesday’s games No games scheduled. Women’s national games Monday’s games
Sunday’s games Tennessee 6, Nicholls 0 LSU 7, Virginia Tech 4 NorthwesternState12,JacksonvilleSt.1 Tulsa 6, McNeese 2 Southeastern 4, UTSA 0 Arkansas 10, UL-Monroe 0 Memphis 3, Northwestern 2 UL 9, Central Arkansas 1 Ole Miss 5, UL 0 Louisiana Tech 7, Southern Miss 4 Monday’s games No games scheduled. Tuesday’s games Wiley at Grambling (DH), 1 p.m. Jackson State at UL-Monroe, 6 p.m. Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m. Wednesday’s games Wiley at Grambling, TBA Alcorn at Nicholls (DH), 2 p.m. Southeastern at South Alabama, 6 p.m. Thursday’s games Louisiana Tech vs. East Tennessee State, 10 a.m. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Southern, 1 p.m. Louisiana Tech vs. Ole Miss, 4 p.m. Stephen F. Austin at UL-Monroe, 5 p.m. Friday’s games Northwestern State vs. Yale, 9 a.m. Nicholls vs. Penn State (Baton Rouge), 10:30 a.m. Louisiana Tech vs. Auburn (Madison, Ala.), 1 p.m. Nicholls vs. Southern Miss (Baton Rouge), 1 p.m. Northwestern State vs. North Texas (Arlington, Texas), 2 p.m. Southeastern at Florida State, 2 p.m. Penn State at LSU, 3:30 p.m. Stephen F. Austin at UL-Monroe, 4 p.m. Houston at McNeese, 4 p.m. Southeastern at Florida State, 4:30 p.m.
Houston Christian at UL-Monroe, 6 p.m. Little Rock at Nicholls, 6:30 p.m. Loyola Marymount at Tulane, 6:30 p.m. Golf
LPGA Tour Statistics Through Feb. 16 Scoring 1, Yealimi Noh, 65.75. 2, A Lim Kim, 67. 3, Jin Young Ko, 67.63. 4 (tie), Jin Hee Im, Nelly Korda and Miyu Yamashita, 67.75. 7, Minami Katsu, 68 8, Linn Grant, 68.25. 9, Nasa Hataoka, 68.5. 10, 5 tied with 68.75. Driving Distance 1, Julia Lopez Ramirez, 303.75. 2 Auston Kim, 291.5. 3, Nataliya Guseva, 270.75. 4, Polly Mack, 280.25. 5, Bailey Tardy, 279.75. 6, Emily Kristine Pedersen, 279.25. 7, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 278.75. 8 (tie), Bianca Pagdanganan and Dewi Weber, 277.5. 10, Lauren Hartlage, 276.5. Greens in Regulation 1, Yealimi Noh, .93%. 2, Ana Belac, .92%. 3, Gurleen Kaur, .86%. 4 (tie) Pajaree Anannarukarn, Jin Hee Im, Megan Khang and Albane Valenzuela, .85%. 8, 4 tied with .83%. Putts per GIR 1, Nataliya Guseva, 1.68. 2 (tie), Celine Borge, Minami Katsu, Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee and Maja Stark, 1.7 7 (tie), A Lim Kim and Yuri Yoshida, 1.71. 9, 7 tied with 1.72. Birdies 1, Nelly Korda, 43. 2, Jin Young Ko, 39. 3, Celine Boutier, 37. 4, Ashleigh Buhai, 36. 5 (tie), Minjee Lee and Leona Maguire, 34. 7, Megan Khang, 32. 8, 3 tied with 31. Eagles 1 (tie), Minjee Lee and Angel Yin, 2 3, 17 tied with 1 Sand Save Percentage 1 (tie), In Gee Chun, Danielle Kang, A Lim Kim, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Madelene Sagstrom and Fiona Xu, 1.00%. 7, Ariya Jutanugarn, .88%. 8, Paula Reto, .83%. 9, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, .80%. 10, Xiaowen Yin, .78% Rounds Under Par 1 (tie), Hannah Green, Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda, .88%. 4, 7 tied with .75%. PGA Tour Statistics Through Feb. 16 FedExCup Season Points 1, Ludvig Aberg, 978. 2, Hideki Matsuyama, 909. 3, Sepp Straka, 854. 4, Thomas Detry, 843. 5, Nick Taylor, 777. 6, Rory McIlroy, 756. 7, Maverick McNealy, 664. 8, Justin Thomas, 594. 9, Harris English, 553. 10, Scottie Scheffler, 520 Scoring Average 1, Bud Cauley, 69.330. 2, Webb Simpson, 69.524. 3, Alex Smalley, 69.808. 4 (tie), Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, 69.837. 6, Matt Kuchar, 69.844. 7, Adam Schenk, 69.923. 8, C.T Pan, 69.955. 9, Kevin Roy, 70.030. 10, Hideki Matsuyama, 70.084. Driving Distance 1, Aldrich Potgieter, 328.7. 2, Rory McIlroy, 326.7. 3, Gary Woodland, 323.9. 4, Tim Widing, 321.7. 5, Alejandro Tosti, 320.9. 6 (tie), Min Woo Lee and Jeremy Paul, 320. 8, Trey Mullinax, 319.4. 9, Adam Schenk, 318.6 Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Takumi Kanaya, 80.61%. 2, Ben Kohles, 74.29%. 3, Brice Garnett, 74.12%. 4, Chez Reavie, 72.62%. 5, Lucas Glover, 72.27%. 6, Collin Morikawa, 72.09%. 7, Paul Peterson, 69.64%. 8, Sepp Straka, 69.55%. 9, Russell Henley, 69.30%. 10, Aaron Rai, 68.50%. Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. Total Driving 1, Kevin Roy, 35. 2, Rico Hoey, 52. 3, Alejandro Tosti, 53. 4, Taylor Pendrith, 71. 5, Daniel Berger, 77. 6, Henrik Norlander, 82. 7 (tie), Ricky Castillo, Jeremy Paul and Gary Woodland, 84. 10, Steven Fisk, 97. SG-Putting 1, Will Chandler, 1.672. 2, Brandt Snedeker, 1.247. 3, Brendon Todd, 1.099. 4, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, .970. 5, Trey Mullinax, .894. 6, Lee Hodges, .847. 7, Harry Hall, .832. 8, Sami Valimaki, .797. 9, Harris English, .767. 10, Sungjae Im, .695. Birdie Average 1, Collin Morikawa, 5.67. 2, Patrick Cantlay, 5.56. 3, Cam Davis, 5.5. 4, Sepp Straka, 5.45. 5, Adam Scott, 5.33. 6, Harry Hall, 5.22. 7, Russell Henley, 5.19. 8, Justin Thomas, 5.1. 9, Matt Kuchar, 4.88. 10, Robert MacIntyre, 4.83. Eagles (Holes per) 1, Ludvig Aberg, 46.8. 2 (tie), Rory McIlroy and Alejandro Tosti, 48. 4 (tie), David Skinns and Jackson Suber, 49.5. 6, 5 tied with 54. Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. All-Around Ranking 1, Collin Morikawa, 252. 2, Alex Smalley, 310. 3, Justin Thomas, 343. 4, Sepp Straka, 357. 5, Patrick Cantlay, 360. 6, Keith Mitchell, 393. 7, Rory McIlroy, 402. 8, Lee Hodges, 408. 9, Scottie Scheffler, 418. 10, Cam Davis, 423. Champions Tour Statistics Through Feb. 16 Charles Schwab Cup Money List 1, Ernie Els, $560,700. 2, Miguel Angel Jimenez, $550,000. 3, Justin Leonard, $358,208. 4, Steven Alker, $313,000. 5, Billy Andrade, $200,950. 6, Bernhard Langer, $181,748. 7, Alex Cejka, $168,450. 8, K.J. Choi, $165,167. 9, Darren Clarke, $164,600. 10, Stewart Cink, $148,000. 11, Richard Green, $142,800. 12, Adilson da Silva, $120,750. 13, Fred Couples, $117,800. 14, Jerry Kelly, $115,320. 15, Thomas Bjorn, $112,320. 16, Tim O’Neal, $104,289. 17, Steve Flesch, $96,956. 18, Brett Quigley, $95,650. 19, Ken Tanigawa, $93,223. 20, Heath Slocum, $90,800. 21, Padraig Harrington, $90,000. 22, Joe Durant, $88,900. 23, Doug Barron, $86,650. 24, Paul Stankowski, $82,800. 25, Jason Caron, $78,450. Scoring 1 (tie), Miguel Angel Jimenez and Vijay Singh, 68. 3, Bernhard Langer, 68.33. 4 (tie), Steven Alker and Darren Clarke, 68.5. 6 (tie), Alex Cejka, Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker, 68.67. 10, Ernie Els, 68.78. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Paul Goydos, 97.62%. 2, Paul Stankowski, 95.24%. 3, Steve Flesch, 94.05%. 4 (tie), Michael Muehr
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
Lafayette Christian girls basketball coach Errol Rogers hopes to win the school’s fifth consecutive state championship.
STAFFF PHOTO By ROBIN MAy Ascension Episcopal’s Cameron Foret and the Blue Gators will be challenging No. 1 Newman in the state championship game Tuesday in Hammond.
LET THEM BAKE CAKE
Baton Rouge bakery offers king cake classes and bingo!
BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer
While many Louisianans took to Bourbon Street and the French Quarter or stayed at home and made snacks to watch Super Bowl LIX, I went to Eloise.
At 5:30 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, I sat inside Eloise Market and Cakery, a bakery on Lee Drive, with 15 other non-football fans making king cake from scratch.
The bakery provided the dough, icing, sprinkles and bingo for the class. First, the owner and head baker, Madelyn
Schmidt Burr explained to us why she started the king cake classes.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that we all eat king cakes every year, but none of us know how to make them,” she said. “We have no secrets here.”
Each person was given a single serving of premade dough from the bakery that had already done its first rise. The first rise, according to Burr, gives the king cake dough enough air to have a fluffy consistency when baked.
Then, each person in the class rolled out their dough into a rectangular shape and
$12.5M
BY CAITIE ZEILMAN Staff
spread out a cinnamon sugar mixture.
The amount of filling in the king cake was left for each person to decide I personally love a sugary, caramelized king cake, so I nearly doubled the amount of cinnamon sugar
Then, we all rolled the cinnamon-sugar dough into a log to get that classic cinnamon swirl pattern. Burr instructed the class to connect the logs’ ends to make a circle (or heart, or oval it’s a chooseyour-own adventure at Eloise!).
ä See CAKE, page 6C
BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer
As Louisiana weather works its way back toward warmer temps, flowers are getting ready to bloom, ACs are humming, and as of this weekend, Meltdown Snoballs stands are coming back.
The Meltdown, known for its finely textured ice and inventive flavors, reopened locations in Brusly and Baton Rouge on Saturday Now in his fourth season of operation, owner Zein Clayton wants to expand. He plans to open his first outof-state location by year’s end, and for the first time, the sno-ball stand is going to stay open year-round.
Clayton grew up in Addis and attended Math Science Arts Academy-West. He came up with the idea for the business at 15 years old while he was in high school.
“As a child, I always had a love for sno-balls,” he said.
As he was growing up, he frequented sno-ball stands, sometimes multiple times a day On the weekends, he’d start his day with a snoball before eating breakfast. On weekdays, his mom would take him to a sno-ball stand on the way home from school and sometimes again after he finished his homework. He wanted to get into the business himself, and when an old barbershop stand in Brusly became available, he used $6,000 which he had made selling popsicles out of his house and flipping golf carts and reselling them to lease the place. He was too young to sign the papers himself, but his mom filled out the LLC paperwork in her name and put him as an agent. By the time all was said and done, he was 16 and running a small business.
“I feel like it was over 200 pages (of paperwork),” his mother, Amy Nichole Clayton, said. “It was a lot of stuff that we
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Zein Clayton holds a Meltdown Juice and Strawberry snoball outside Meltdown Snoballs last
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Owner Madelyn Schmidt, left, hands Katherine Messer her freshly baked and buttered king cake during a king cake making class at Eloise Market and Cakery in Baton Rouge.
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
ABOVE: Owner Madelyn Schmidt puts a freshly baked and buttered king cake into a box during a king cake making class at Eloise Market and Cakery.
RIGHT: Staffer Jane Whalen weighs dough out during a king cake making class.
STAFF PHOTO By MARGARET DELANEy
A finished cake from the king cake making class.
Recently divorced mom worried about dating
Harriette Cole
SENSE AND SENSITIVITy
DEAR HARRIETTE: When it comes to relationships, I feel completely lost. I’m a 35-yearold divorced woman with two children, and while part of me feels like I might be ready to step back into the dating world, another part of me is terrified. My relationship with my ex-husband ended painfully, and I don’t want to go through that kind of hurt again. The idea of opening up to someone new trusting them and potentially getting my heart broken feels overwhelm-
ing. On top of that, I know dating is going to be much more complicated now that I have children. I’m not just looking for someone who is right for me; I need to consider how a new partner would fit into my children’s lives as well. Will they be understanding of my responsibilities as a mother? Will they accept that my kids will always come first? If I do find someone great, when is the right time to introduce them to my children?
I also worry about how to balance my own happiness with my kids’ needs. I don’t want to rush into something just because I feel lonely, but at the same time, I don’t want to close myself off
Keep brags out of the group text
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I
socializing with a group of women in my community
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
There is a group text for 14 of us who often get together for social events. Recently, a few of the ladies discussed how much fun they had had boating, and it was obvious half the group hadn’t been invited. This isn’t the first time this has happened.
I think they should keep such texts private. It’s their choice not to include me, but I believe it’s rude to brag.
GENTLE READER: Rude to brag?
Isn’t it the national sport?
Social media has sabotaged the tactful rule against mentioning social events to people who were not invited. Miss Manners would caution against posting about parties online, unless to a group restricted to the guests, if she thought she had even the least chance of success. But she knows that people are not listening. They can’t wait to show off to the world what a fabulous event they hosted (or attended).
So let us work on it from the other end, starting with the acknowledgment that everyone cannot be invited to everything. There are only so many people you can get onto a boat. To be offended, you really should have been systemically excluded on occasions where everyone else in your circle had been invited. Even then, you may cut ties with these friends, or you may probe to see if you have somehow caused offense. But you should not challenge the hosts’ prerogative of choosing their guests.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am blind and have been since birth. Unlike some people I know I don’t get offended if people ask me ques-
tions or say something about it.
I’m comfortable with the way I am, and even make jokes about it myself sometimes.
But sometimes, when people I don’t know well say something like “Good to see you,” the conversation becomes awkward because they think I must be offended by that.
For one thing, it’s just a figure of speech, and for another I say that to people jokingly all the time.
What do I say to people in these awkward moments when they start apologizing, even though I don’t feel that it’s necessary?
GENTLE READER: “I see what you’re getting at. But I don’t really see it as being offensive.”
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband recently passed, and I sent thankyou notes to everyone who gave a monetary gift or sent flowers.
Are thank-you notes required to those who attended the wake services? I heard that a friend of a friend was offended at not receiving a thank-you.
GENTLE READER: Really? Someone thought that attending your husband’s wake was a favor to you?
Miss Manners does not want to discourage letters of thanks, which are in short supply If hosts want to write to thank their guests she is not going to discourage them. But unlike the ordinary obligation of guests to thank their hosts, it is not necessary. Any such expectation is particularly ugly in connection with funerary services, where the purpose is to show respect for the deceased and offer comfort to the bereaved.
Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
Continued from page 5C
mean, anything for my child.” Now at 20, Zein Clayton says, he eats, breathes and sleeps snoballs. He’s typically on the sno-ball machine in Brusly
“That’s my favorite part,” he said. “But I also love interacting with the customers. I just love seeing a bright smile on people’s faces when they walk up to the order window.” His business has expanded to a food trailer called the MELTMOBILE (typically parked outside the Brusly location when it’s not at an event) and a Highland Road location near LSU’s North Gate. He said he has already earned more than six figures from his business and works on the side coaching other young entrepreneurs to do
from the possibility of love. How do I continue this next chapter without letting fear hold me back? — Want To Date DEAR WANT TO DATE: Take a deep breath and trust that you can do this. You do not have to figure out the way it is all going to work out before you go on date one. Allow yourself to meet people and go out and have a nice time. Don’t include your children. Get to know your potential suitor Find out their interests and desires. If you use a dating site, list what’s important to you — including your children. Make no requirements. As you get to know anyone who interests you, take the time to
see if they might be right to meet your children. Take it one step at a time, and remember to have fun along the way DEAR HARRIETTE: I was dating a guy for a few months, and it was really sweet. He understood me so much that I really started to believe that there was something special between us that is, until he ghosted me. Throughout our relationship, I noticed that he would disappear for a few days at a time in terms of calling or texting. He assured me that’s just how he is. This time, though, it has been a few weeks with nothing. I reached out by text to ask why he stopped calling me. No response.
HISTORY
By The Associated Press
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2025. There are 316 days left in the year Today in history
On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr died in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500; he was 49.
On this date:
In 1885, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S. for the first time.
In 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.
In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of
1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
In 1983, 13 people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and were sentenced to life in prison; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault.)
In 1994, in the final race of his Olympic career at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen broke the world record in the 1,000 meters, winning the gold medal.
In 2001, veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
My feelings are hurt, but I think I should stop asking even though I desperately want to know what I did to make him disappear — Ghosted DEAR GHOSTED: Trust your instinct, and don’t reach out again. Obviously he doesn’t intend to answer you, or he would have already Dry your tears and move on. I’m so sorry you can’t get closure on this one, but begging him to respond is not healthy for you. Let him go.
Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
parole.)
In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed nearly 200 lives. In 2021, the rover Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, where it continues to explore the planet’s surface today Today’s birthdays: Artist-singer Yoko Ono is 92. Restaurateur-TV host Prue Leith (TV: “The
Zein
Clayton loads a block of ice into the shaving machine at Meltdown Snoballs on Feb 10.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
the same. He’s particularly proud of returning to his elementary school last year and serving snoballs out of the MELTMOBILE. The Meltdown has 72 standard flavors and three special ones every year that rotate out. It’s everything from dill pickle to white chocolate chip. This year, the flavors will be the Meltdown Juice, strawberry cheesecake and king cake. Zein Clayton’s overall favorite flavor is the Meltdown Juice: a tropical flavored sno-ball that matches the bright blue exterior of all the Meltdown locations.
“It’s sweet, but it’s not too sweet,” he said. The Meltdown Snoballs, 2625 Highland Road, in Baton Rouge, and 6243 La. 1 in Brusly, is open from noon to 7 p.m.
Email Serena Puang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com.
Burr and her bakers then picked up the king cakes and placed them on trays for a second proof, or rising period. This process expands the dough and gives it air (aka makes it even more fluffy after handling)
The king cakes were placed on flour-lined trays wrapped in cling film and then put in a warming unit at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. The bakers suggested that at home, you place the king cake in a warm, dry place until it doubles in size.
Enter bingo.
Our class played four rounds of bingo while we waited for the king cakes to rise, after which the cakes were transferred to the oven to bake (around 30 minutes in total).
We had an opportunity to chat with our table about their king cakes (whether they were rooting for the Eagles or the Chiefs in the Super Bowl) and play to win some Mardi Gras-themed prizes.
Unfortunately for me and my friend who tagged along, we did not win a single round of bingo.
We didn’t even come close to five in a row While waiting between rounds of bingo, Burr regaled the class with stories about why she opened the bakery in 2021 and why she chose to name it after her sister, Eloise. “There was already La Madeleine,” she said. “And Eloise was the next name on the family call sheet.”
Burr also spoke about her newest venture: a stand-alone bakery in the Garden District
The new building, set to feature
outdoor space for socializing and a full baking classroom in the back, will be the new home of Eloise Market and Cakery in August. Burr hopes to offer more baking classes and private events in the space as well as cakes and baked goods to regular customers.
After the bingo and the baking, we were all given white icing and three colors for sprinkles (the classics: purple, gold and green) to decorate our king cakes with.
This is when it got fun.
Everyone at the table had a different flair for decorations. Some sprinkled all three colors across the whole cake, while one woman didn’t put icing on hers and just had the gold sprinkles. Another participant took that extra icing and drenched the cake in frosting.
I chose a modest amount of icing, with alternating sprinkles around the cake — and I hid a purple king cake baby inside.
The best part was, when we were done, we all got to enjoy a freshly baked, warm and gooey king cake of our own creation. I would highly recommend making these king cakes at Eloise with friends, partners, family and more.
The bakery is B.Y.O.B., so if you want a drive-thru daiquiri, bottle of wine or Dr Pepper while you bake, you are more than welcome to bring that with you.
These king cake classes are selling out fast. Make sure to sign up for the two-hour class at eloisemarket.com. Some classes will host bingo with drag queen host Tara Royale as well as a special pink king cake class for Valentine’s Day If you can’t make the class, Eloise also has the recipe for king cakes on its website to make at home.
Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Eloise Market and Cakery owner Madelyn Schmidt, standing, walks around to check on participants during a king cake class.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Consider a change, but don't make a move that isn't financially suitable. Lowering your overhead will buy you time and peace of mind. Sell off items you no longer need.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Set boundaries, focus on what's important and enjoy yourself. A smile coupled with a compliment will help you win favors. Be hesitant to make unrealistic suggestions or promises that you cannot fulfill.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Put more time and effort into home improvements and your relationships. A career option will turn out to be more inviting than you anticipated. Be secretive about your plans until you have everything in place.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) You have more control than you realize. Show passion in your voice and gestures. Refuse to let anyone derail your plans or lead you astray. Stick to your original idea and budget.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Take a deep breath and rethink your strategy. Be careful of anyone trying to take charge or redirect you. Research is your best friend and ticket to success.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) You can mesmerize those you engage in conversation. Get out and mingle with folks who can offer insight and help you get ahead. Attend events that interest you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Concentrate on getting ahead and enhancing your investments. Use your charm and a friendly nudge to convince others to make your dream a reality.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take a stand and discuss what you can do to address matters that you find troubling. Your input will put you in a key position, allowing you to have an impact.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Follow the money. Be creative with investments, and put in the time and effort to outsmart anyone who tries to stand in your way. Refuse to let your need to keep the peace cost you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Study your options, develop a unique plan and pursue your destiny Attend events that will help you use your knowledge and experience to outshine the competition.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Set your sights on connecting with the right people. Recognize who is reliable and who is trying to take advantage of you. Talk is cheap; actions speak.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look at joint ventures carefully. Not everyone will share the same interests or standards. A physical outlet will help you blow off steam and define your goal.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
TODAy'S CLUE: F EQUALS U
CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
SherMAn’S LAGoon
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
BY PHILLIP ALDER
William James, an eminent 18th- and 19th-century psychologist, said, “To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.” Today’sdealseemstocontainanormal play, but is it time for an abnormal one? South is in three no-trump West leads the diamond king. What should declarer do?
South had seven top tricks: one spade, one heart, one diamond and four clubs. He saw that at least two more tricks would come from spades. And since he knew a Bath Coup when he saw one, he played his low diamond at trick one. However,Easthadcorrectlyplayedhis diamond three. And West knew that his partner would have thrown out the jack or ace if he had held it, or played a high spot card. So West cleverly shifted to the heart jack. This time, East encouraged enthusiastically with his nine. Declarer ducked, but West continued with the heart 10, and East accurately overtook with his queen. Now South could not succeed If he had taken this trick, crossed to the dummy with a club, and tried the spade finesse, West would have won with his king and led his last heart to give the defenders one spade, four hearts and one diamond.
And if South had ducked the second heart, East would have reverted to dia-
monds, giving the defense one spade, two hearts and four diamonds (unless declarer cashed his seven top tricks). South should have won the first trick, crossed to the dummy and run the spade queen. Yes, the finesse would have lost, but declarer’s
