President updates Congress on his turbulent first few weeks in office
BY ZEKE MILLER and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump took credit for “swift and unrelenting action” in reorienting the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign policy Tuesday in an address to Congress and the American people about his turbulent first weeks in office as Democratic legislators immediately registered their dissent with stone faces, placards calling out “lies” and one legislator’s ejection.
Trump’s joint address to Congress was the latest marker in his takeover of the nation’s capital, where the Republicanled House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake America’s place in the world. With a tight grip on his party, Trump has been emboldened after overcoming impeachments in his first term and criminal prosecutions in between his two administrations to take sweeping actions that have featured a dismantling of the federal government, tensions with America’s allies and a trade war compounding economic uncertainty
“It has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action,” Trump said of his opening weeks in office.
“The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it.”
Trump, who has billionaire adviser Elon Musk orchestrating his efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, said he is working to “reclaim democracy from this unaccountable bureaucracy” and threatened federal workers anew with firings if they resist his agenda.
Musk, who was seated in the House gallery, received a pair of standing ovations from Republicans in the chamber, as Trump exaggerated and shared false claims about alleged government “abuse” uncovered by the Tesla and SpaceX founder and his team of disrupters.
Trump repeated false claims that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, prompting some Democrats to shout, “Not true!” and “Those are lies!”
Trump spoke at a critical juncture in his presidency, as voters who returned him to the White House on his promise to fix inflation are instead finding economic chaos. All the gains the S&P 500 have made
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
King Gabriel LXXXVI, John Albert Guilliot waves to his subjects as King Gabriel’s Parade rolls on a windy Fat Tuesday.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE
ABOVE: Queen Suzanne Simonne’ LXVII Hailey Rae Leonard waves to her subjects at the Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade on Monday.
LEFT: An attendee uses a large net to bring in the beads during the Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade.
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
A float rider gets ready to toss beads to the crowd during the Queen’s Parade as it rolls through downtown on Monday.
RIGHT: Queen of Carnival, Evangeline LXXXVI Bella Elisabeth Cortez, waves to the crowd during Queen Evangeline’s Parade on Monday.
BELOW: A rider taunts the crowd with throws at the King’s Parade on Tuesday.
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
ä Louisiana congressmen invite guests to Trump speech. PAGE 5A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN CURTIS President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
See TRUMP, page 4A
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Kenya refugees injured in clashes with police
NAIROBI, Kenya At least four people sustained gunshot wounds as police clashed with protesters in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, in the country’s north.
Thousands of refugees in the camp, which hosts people fleeing from conflict and drought in neighboring South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and Congo, protested Monday against food rationing due to funding constraints.
The World Food Program, which is in charge of food distribution at the refugee camp, said in last December the food rations to refugee camps were “at 45 percent of the minimum food basket due to resource constraints.”
The WFP has warned for years that it is facing shortfalls in the contributions from governments it relies on for funding, and on Monday it announced that it is closing its office in South Africa due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s cuts in foreign aid.
A refugee from neighboring South Sudan, John Garang, held up a roughly 1 gallon pot
“This is the container they are now using to measure beans and oil and the other one for rice. And this is equivalent for one month for your food. Assume you don’t have another income, it’s only this. Is this enough for you,” he asked.
Baby seal rescued from street dies at aquarium NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A baby seal found stranded on a street near Connecticut’s Yale University last month has died from severe digestive issues, a local aquarium announced Monday Mystic Aquarium said “Chappy,” a nod to Chapel Street in New Haven where he was rescued, died while recovering at its Animal Rescue Clinic.
“The Mystic Aquarium staff are proud that they were able to give Chappy the best chance possible and are devastated by this outcome,” the aquarium wrote on Facebook. “The reality of working with stranded animals can be tough sometimes, but Chappy was surrounded by love until the very end.” The underweight gray seal pup was brought to the clinic on Feb 16 after being spotted by a passerby, who reported to police that the animal was potentially injured.
The seal, which was believed to be about 5 to 6 weeks old, was more than 1,000 feet from the nearest river
The aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, said Chappy had been responding well to treatment for dehydration, malnutrition and a mild pneumonia but began having digestive difficulties as he transitioned to eating whole fish.
Residents flee as Afghan, Pakistani forces clash
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Residents fled a border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan after forces from both sides clashed into the early hours of Tuesday a Pakistani official said.
It was the second consecutive day of tit-for-tat gunfire at Torkham, a key crossing between the two countries that has been closed since Feb. 21 because of a dispute between the two neighbors. The Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media, said that gunfire overnight Monday spread fear and panic among residents.
They fled to safer locations as security forces on both sides shot at each other with light and heavy weapons.
“The situation remains tense and security is on high alert,” the official said. Three Pakistani security personnel were wounded in the latest clash. There were no civilian casualties.
One person waiting to cross into Pakistan was Sana Gul He said drivers, patients, passengers and traders were all in trouble because of the prolonged closure and that Torkham should not be shut over “minor incidents.”
In Kabul, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said Tuesday that authorities would continue their efforts to resolve the issue through talks.
Zelenskyy says he’s ready to work for peace
BY SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that the Oval Office blowup with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump last week was “regrettable,” adding that he stands ready to work under Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace.
Zelenskyy’s remarks — an apparent attempt to placate Trump — came in a social media post on X, hours after the White House announced a pause in military aid to Ukraine that is critical to fighting Russia’s invasion.
But later during his nightly address, Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine didn’t receive direct notification from the U.S. that aid had been cut, and was seeking confirmation.
“I have instructed Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, the heads of our intelligence agencies, and our diplomats to contact their counterparts in the United States and obtain official information. People should not have to guess,” he said.
“Ukraine and America deserve a respectful dialogue and a clear position from one another. Especially when it comes to protecting lives during a fullscale war,” he added, saying that military aid had been cut once before in January for a brief period.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is ready to sign a lucrative deal on rare-earth minerals and security with Washington. Trump was weighing whether to agree to the signing Tuesday, when he is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress, after Zelenskyy’s sign of contrition, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
In an apparent reference to Trump’s criticism following the contentious White
House meeting on Friday that Zelenskyy does not want a peace deal, the Ukrainian leader said, “None of us want an endless war.”
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” he said.
Asked by reporters in Moscow about Zelenskyy voicing readiness for the resumption of talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “It’s good, it’s positive.”
In his post, Zelenskyy said the Oval Office meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be.”
“It is regrettable that it happened this way It is time to make things right,” he added. “We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”
The pause of U.S. military aid catapulted Ukraine into alarm and apprehension. Zelenskyy’s statement came before Trump was expected to address the U.S. Congress later Tuesday
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone successively with Trump and Zelenskyy, Macron’s office said, and “welcomes” the Ukrainian’s “willingness to reengage in dialogue with the U.S.” It released no details about the discussion with Trump.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also spoke to the Ukrainian leader and “welcomed President Zelenskyy’s steadfast commitment to securing peace.”
Serbian lawmakers injured as smoke bombs, flares thrown in parliament
BY JOVANA GEC Associated Press
BELGRADE, Serbia At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday, one of them seriously, after chaotic scenes in Serbia’s parliament, during which smoke bombs and flares were thrown, further fueling political tensions in the Balkan country
Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a law that would increase funding for university education, but opposition parties said the ruling majority was also planning to approve dozens of other decisions. They said that was illegal and that lawmakers should first confirm the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and his government.
Chaos erupted about an hour after the parliamentary session started, with opposition lawmakers blowing whistles and holding up a banner reading “Serbia has risen so the regime would fall!”
Hundreds of opposition supporters rallied outside the parliament building during the session.
Video footages from the assembly hall showed clashes between lawmakers and flares and smoke bombs being thrown. Serbian media said eggs and water bottles also were thrown.
U.S. storms bring threats from fire to blizzard conditions
BY JEFF MARTIN and JACK BROOK Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS Powerful storms tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma, damaged a high school near Dallas, and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wideranging weather
The large storm system also brought blinding dust storms to the Southwest, blizzards with whiteout conditions to the Midwest and raised fears of wildfires in other parts of the country
In New Orleans, high winds were forcing some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The city moved up and shortened the celebration’s two biggest parades, hoping to wrap them up before high winds moved in.
The weather wasn’t stopping Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats Tuesday and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd.
“We was coming out rain, sleet or snow,” Jones said.
The alarming weather expected Tuesday could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts across the U.S. could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the impact on forecasts and warnings for this storm.
Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma early Tuesday morning brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. Power outages were climbing Tuesday morning in the storm’s wake, with nearly 400,000 customers without power in Texas; about 30,000 in Louisiana and another 25,000 in Mis-
sissippi, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. More power outages were expected as a line of storms raced across Mississippi and Louisiana late Tuesday producing gusts of 70 mph, the weather service said. In the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, where the apartment and nursing home roofs were torn away the damage indicates there was likely a tornado that touched down early Tuesday morning as a line of powerful thunderstorms rumbled across the state, said Bruce Thoren, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Gusts up to 85 mph were recorded in the area, he said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, said Jeff Rollins, the emergency management director in the nearby town of Byng, who was assisting Ada.
In North Texas, strong thunderstorms with gusts over 70 mph damaged apartments, schools and RVs on Tuesday. At the Las Haciendas Apartments in Irving, northwest of Dallas, strong winds blew out windows and the brick siding along the walls of one of the buildings. A nearby grocery store’s sign was damaged and its parking lot littered with tree limbs and power lines.
The storms knocked out power to several Irving schools, prompting some canceled classes and early releases. In Plano, north of Dallas, winds tore off parts of a high school’s metal roof. In Parker County, west of Fort Worth, firefighters responded after at least three RV trailers were overturned by strong winds.
The Central Plains and Midwest were bracing for blizzard conditions later Tuesday that forecasters warned could “make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening.” In Des Moines, Iowa, gusts up to 65 mph were expected Tuesday night — a rare occurrence, forecasters said.
Officials later said three people were injured in the disturbance, including lawmaker Jasmina Obradovic who was taken to hospital. Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, who accused the opposition of being a “terrorist gang.”
Defe nse M iniste r Bratislav Gasic described those behind the incident as “a disgrace to Serbia.”
“The vandalism of opposition MPs has exposed the nature of their personalities and the essence of their political agenda,” Gasic said.
Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic visited Obradovic in hospital “Jasmina will win,
Serbia will win,” Vucic said in a post on Instagram, showing him holding the lawmaker’s hand in an emergency room. The incident reflects a deep political crisis in Serbia where monthslong anti-corruption protests have rattled a populist government.
Vucevic resigned in January as the government faced protests over the collapse in November of a concrete train station canopy in the Serbia’s north that killed 15 people and which critics blamed on rampant corruption. Parliament must confirm the prime minister’s resignation for it to take effect.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROMAN CHOP
A Ukrainian serviceman prepares to fire a M777 howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline near Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.
BY JOSH BOAK, PAUL WISEMAN and ROB GILLIES Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin as the U.S. faced the threat of rekindled inflation and paralyzing uncertainty for business
Just after midnight, Trump imposed 25% taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy Trump also doubled the tariff he slapped last month on Chinese products to 20%.
Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would plaster tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days.
“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator Make that make sense,” Trudeau said.
Later in the day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle,” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday Lutnick told Fox Business News that the tariffs would not be paused, but that Trump would reach a compromise.
“I think he’s going to figure out, you do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle in some way,” Lutnick said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will respond to the new taxes with its own retaliatory tariffs. Sheinbaum said she will announce the products Mexico will target on Sunday. The delay might indicate that Mexico still hopes to deescalate Trump’s trade war.
The president is abandoning the free trade policies the United States pursued for decades after World War II. He argues that open trade cost America millions of factory jobs and that tariffs are the path to national prosperity He rejects the views of mainstream economists who contend that such protectionism is costly and inefficient. Import taxes are “a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said Monday “And now we’re using them.”
Dartmouth College economist Douglas Irwin, author of a 2017 history of U.S. tariff policy, has calculated that Tuesday’s hikes will lift America’s average tariff from 2.4% to 10.5%, the highest level since the 1940s. “We’re in a new era for sure.” As the trade disputes escalated, stocks racked up more losses Tuesday on Wall Street, wiping out all the gains since Election Day for the S&P 500. Markets in Europe also fell sharply. Trump has said tariffs are intended to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration. But he’s also said the tariffs will come down only if the U.S. trade deficit narrows.
The American president has injected a disorienting volatility into the world economy, leaving it off balance as people wonder what he will do next.
During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs only after lengthy investigations into the national security implications of relying on foreign steel, for example, said Michael House cochair of the international
Lawsuit
BY LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
trade practice at the Perkins Coie law firm
But by declaring a national emergency last month involving the flow of immigrants and illicit drugs across U.S borders, “he can modify these tariffs with a stroke of the pen,” House said. “It’s chaotic.”
Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize the tariffs.
“Presidents don’t get to invent emergencies to justify bad policies,” said Rep Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Abusing emergency powers to wage an economic war on our closest allies isn’t leadership it’s dangerous.”
Even some Republican senators raised alarms. “Maine and Canada’s economy are integrated,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, explaining that much of the state’s lobsters and blueberries are processed in Canada and then sent back to the U.S. Truck driver Carlos Ponce, 58, went about business as usual Tuesday morning, transporting auto parts from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, just as he’s done for decades.
Like many on the border, he was worried about the fallout from the tariffs.
“Things could change drastically,” Ponce said
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to block a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies have fueled cartel gun violence.
Both liberal and conservative justices appeared skeptical that the claims could clear hurdles in U.S. law that largely shield gun makers from lawsuits when their products are used in crime.
Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations where gun companies are accused of violating the law
An attorney for Mexico argued the case over economic harm linked to gun violence is still in its early stages and should be allowed go forward.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, though, pointed to arguments that many products, from baseball bats to prescription drugs, can misused, and a flood of lawsuits could hurt the U.S. economy. “That’s a real concern, I think, for me, about accepting your theory,” he said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it appeared that the lawsuit ultimately seeks “changes to the firearm industry” of the kind that the shield law was aiming to forestall.
Justice Samuel Alito raised questions about whether U.S. states could file suit against Mexico for “illegal conduct” it links to activities there. The arguments coincidently come as President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada go into effect. Trump has said the tariffs are aimed in part on forcing the two U.S. neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop
illegal immigration. The case began four years ago, when the Mexican government filed its blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock Inc.
Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country’s powerful drug cartels every year
The Mexican government
says at least 70% of those weapons come from the United States. The lawsuit claims that companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market. The companies reject Mexico’s allegations, arguing the country comes nowhere close to showing they’re responsible for a relatively few people using their products to commit violence.
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since Election Day are now gone, while consumer sentiment surveys show the public sees inflation as worsening. For a president who believes that announcements of corporate investments can boost attitudes about the economy the speech was suddenly a test of his ability to rebuild confidence in his economic leadership.
“Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” Trump said He promised to organize the federal government to lower costs on eggs and energy, blaming his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for the situation and offering scant details of his own plans.
Trump also called for the extension of his first-term tax cuts and additional federal funding for his border crackdown, including for his promised efforts at “mass deportation” of people in the U.S. illegally
The backdrop was the new economic uncertainty unleashed after the president opened the day by placing stiff tariffs on imports from the country’s neighbors and closest trading partners.
A 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect early Tuesday — ostensibly to secure greater cooperation to tackle fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration — triggering immediate retaliation and sparking fears of a wider trade war Trump also raised tariffs on goods from China to 20%.
Trump seemed prepared to double down on his trade war, which experts have warned will raise prices for consumers.
“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them,” Trump said.
Republicans were boisterous as Trump stepped to the lectern in the House, chanting “USA! USA!” as
the president basked in the cheers. The GOP lawmakers were jubilant, having won a trifecta of the White House, Senate and House in the elections. However they face a high-stakes task of delivering on Trump’s agenda as well as avoiding a government shutdown later this month.
Across the aisle, out-ofpower Democrats set the tone early with most remaining seated without applauding or making eye contact with Trump as he was introduced in the chamber
After several interruptions, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, jumped in and called for decorum to be restored in the chamber as Republicans shouted “USA” to drown out the cries from the other side of the aisle. Johnson then ordered Texas Rep. Al Green removed from the chamber
Other Democrats held up signs like “Save Medicaid” and “Protect Veterans” during Trump’s remarks, seeking to drive public awareness to elements of Trump’s agenda they believed might offer them a pathway back to the majority
Other Democrats in attendance chose to highlight the impact of Trump’s actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests, including a disabled veteran from Arizona, a health worker from Maryland and a forestry employee who worked on wildfire prevention in California. They also invited guests who would be harmed by steep federal budget cuts to Medicaid and other programs.
“It’s worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up” to Trump, Green told reporters after being thrown out of the chamber Trump used his speech to address his proposals for fostering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he has unceremoniously upended the policies of the Biden administration in a matter of just weeks. On Monday, Trump ordered a freeze to U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, ending years of staunch American
support for the country in fending off Russia’s invasion.
Trump was tightening the screws after his explosive Oval Office meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the U.S. leader tries to pressure the erstwhile American ally to embrace peace talks with its invader Many Democratic lawmakers wore blue and yellow ties and scarves in a show of support for Ukraine.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, DTexas, who was wearing a blue and yellow tie Tuesday accused Trump and Vice President JD Vance of “bullying a statesman last week on behalf of a thug.”
In the Middle East, negotiations to extend a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have stalled, with Trump floating the permanent displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and a U.S. “takeover” of the territory straining partnerships with countries in the region and undoing longtime American support for a two-state solution to end the IsraelPalestinian conflict.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were joined in the motorcade to the Capitol by Musk, who is orchestrating Trump’s efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government. Musk was seated in the House gallery overlooking where Trump spoke.
The whole scene for Trump’s speech was a marked contrast to his final State of the Union address in his first term. Five years ago, Trump delivered his annual address just after the Senate had acquitted him during his first impeachment trial and before the COVID-19 pandemic had taken root across society
As he finished, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, stood and dramatically ripped up a copy of Trump’s speech.
Trump’s Tuesday’s address, which was not referred to as a State of the Union because he is still
ä See TRUMP, page 5A
Vice President
JD Vance, center, and Speaker of the House
Mike Johnson, R-Benton, left, clap as President Donald Trump, arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
ASSOCIATED
PRESS PHOTO By MANDEL NGAN
La. congressmen invite guests for Trump speech
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Both Louisiana congressional Democrats invited guests affected by recent federal layoffs and funding cuts to attend President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night.
Chanté Powell, who had recently started working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Finance Center in New Orleans, was fired on Valentine’s Day She was the guest of Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans
Funding for Southern University student Kennedy Orr’s scholarship was initially blocked when Trump’s administration suspended a swath of federal programs. The funding was later reinstated. Orr was invited by Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, invited Olivia Hayes, of Kinder, whose husband, Wesley, was killed in a traffic accident by an immigrant who was in the country illegally He also invited Noa Agramani, an Israeli who was taken hostage by Hamas and released in June. Johnson also brought several officials and conservative commentators. Carter and Fields said they wanted to put a human face on Republican policies.
“Unfortunately, under the Musk-Trump administration, many federal employees, like Chanté, have faced unjust hardships,” Carter said Tuesday “Their decisions have caused widespread instability in the workforce, leading to cruel layoffs and uncertainty for hardworking Americans who contribute to their communities via public service.”
Carter continued: “Democrats are prioritizing policies that protect and uplift federal workers, ensuring they are treated with the respect and fairness they deserve. Clearly, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are not.”
In addition to unilateral
PROVIDED By REP CLEO FIELDS
Orr, who is president of student government at Southern and a student member of the Louisiana Board of Regents, has been able to attend college on a U.S. Department of Agriculture 1890 scholarship for historically Black college and university students from rural and underserved communities studying food, agriculture, natural resources and related sciences.
moving Pell grants, which 74% of Southern’s students use, from one department to another and the possibility of that funding being reduced.
in the first year of his new term will be received very differently, said Speaker Johnson.
“We will not be ripping up the speech tonight,” the Republican said. “I would like to frame it in gilded gold.” Trump said he had ended a “weaponized government” that he said Democrats had wielded against him, referring to his legal troubles over the years, claiming they were political persecution.
The president also used his high-profile moment to press his efforts to reshape the country’s approach to social issues, as he looked to continue to eradicate di-
Rep.
cuts to already appropriated federal funding, Trump has assigned billionaire Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to reduce the number of federal employees.
Democratic leaders asked congressional members to invite everyday Americans who they say typify the disruption and human costs of Trump’s actions.
About two dozen recently fired employees from all over the federal government, including safety offices in the Federal Aviation Administration and assistance offices in Veterans Affairs — will be sitting in the chamber’s galleries as guests of Democrats. Smallbusiness owners impacted by Trump’s tariffs, California firefighters and Medicaid recipients also will attend.
Powell worked for the Office of Inspector General for a year, but moved a few months ago to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Finance Center in New Orleans. She was laid on off Valentine’s Day as part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate positions in federal government.
The National Finance Center helps other agencies with financial and human resources management to im-
versity, equity and inclusion efforts across the country and to roll back some public accommodations for transgender individuals.
Trump said he ended the “tyranny” of diversity, equity and inclusion policies that he rolled back for the federal government and military, along with pushing similar moves in the private sector “Our country will be woke no longer,” he declared.
Watching from the gallery with the first lady were guests including 15-year-old Elliston Berry, of Aledo, Texas, who was the victim of an explicit deepfake image sent to classmates. Other White House guests included Stephanie Diller, the widow of New York Police Department Officer Jonathan Diller, who was
prove cost effectiveness and efficiency Founded in 1973, it handles payroll for more than 661,000 employees.
“I stand here to represent the thousands facing uncertainty, hoping for solutions that protect those who dedicate their careers to serving this country,” Powell said.
“I am hopeful that my presence (at Trump’s speech) will magnify their voices for the stability and security they deserve.”
Powell had worked for two New Orleans mayors and served on the Parent Advisory Council for the Orleans Parish schools superintendent. She had previously worked for Ochsner Health as a health care regulatory compliance and privacy professional.
In taking a new job with the federal government, Powell was still in her probationary period, which does not afford the same legal protections as she would have received when she became a full-fledged civil servant.
When the Trump administration ran into a slow response to a buyout offer and opposition to laying off federal workers, they fired recently hired employees because they could do so more easily and without running afoul of civil service laws.
killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop in March 2024; Marc Fogel, the Pennsylvania teacher who came home last month after years of detention in Russia, and his 95-year-old mother Malphine; and relatives of Corey Comperatore, the former Pennsylvania fire chief who was killed as he protected his family during an assassination attempt on Trump last summer Trump was also expected to recognize additional guests in the room.
The Democrats’ guests also include at least one government watchdog dismissed by Trump in his bid to emplace loyalists across positions of influence.
Republicans lawmakers, too, are trying to make a point with their invited guests.
Trump froze the $19.2 million set aside for the program while the administration reviewed whether the spending aligned with the president’s political views on diversity After a storm of protest, the administration last week allowed the roughly 300 scholarships to remain in place while the students finished their studies.
Fields said it’s not just the back and forth on the 1890 scholarships, but talk about
“The problem is the uncertainty She puts a face on how these policies affect real students,” Fields said. “We need to do everything we can to create more opportunities for them, not destroy the opportunities they already have.”
Orr, 22, said she wanted to be voice for students who are trying to secure a college education without being overwhelmed in debt.
Democrats aren’t the only members bringing guests to the House chamber galleries.
In addition to Hayes and Agramani, Johnson also invited Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar; Ben Dell, managing partner
with Kimmeridge, which controls Commonwealth LNG, a Houston company that recently received conditional authorization to develop a liquified natural gas facility in Cameron Parish; and right-wing commentators Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh.
“This common-sense agenda is very different than our Democrat colleagues,” Johnson said Tuesday morning. “They are defending wasteful government spending right now. They’re opposing tax cuts for working families. They’re supporting open borders and sanctuary cities.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said Tuesday that “it’s been a riveting pace that President Trump took to start getting our country back on track, but the work is just beginning.”
PHOTO
Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, and Kennedy Orr, the president of student government at Southern University, prepare to attend President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday.
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Chez La Fête to host concert series
‘High Notes’ to have 3 spring, 3 fall shows
BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer
A new downtown Lafayette event space is set to offer a free spring concert series featuring a unique perk.
Chez La Fête, located behind the Lafayette Public Library Main Branch and across the street from the U.S. District Courthouse, has been open since last fall as an event and shortterm rental space.
This spring, the venue is hosting a free outdoor concert series in partnership with The Apothecary Shoppe, a medical marijuana dispensary with locations in Lafayette and New Iberia.
The High Notes Concert Series will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday with a performance by Flow Tribe, of New Orleans. This funk rock band was founded over 20 years ago with the goal “to bring the next generation of the New Orleans’ sound of unstoppable
ä See CONCERT, page 2B
Actress Dunlap focuses
on her best role yet
Balancing motherhood, life takes new turn at home in Lafayette
BY JA’KORI MADISON
Staff writer
Starring in notable films and television roles such as “Scream Queens,” “Unhuman,” and Fox’s prime-time series “Filthy Rich,” Lafayette native Lauren Graham Dunlap has made her mark in the entertainment industry
Having proved herself in Hollywood, Dunlap now has taken time to rediscover her passions and focus on her best role yet — motherhood. She and her husband, Caleb Dunlap, welcomed their baby boy, Carter Graham Dunlap, in September. Since then, Dunlap has spent much needed time
ä See DUNLAP, page 2B
THE BIG DAY
MARDI GRAS FEST,TOP: A costumed performer marches in the Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade on a windy Fat Tuesday in Lafayette.
KING’S, LEFT: A drum major leads the Carencro High marching band as the King’s Parade rolls.
QUEEN’S, BELOW: Beads are tossed to the crowd during the Queen’s Parade on Monday
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
BEGGING FOR BEADS
DUNLAP
soaking in her new role as a mom, while dedicating her spare time to the Lafayette community as she navigates work and personal life.
“It’s all about balance,” Dunlap said “I feel like my experience so far has taught me the meaning of the expression, ‘It takes a village,’ and I think that my support system is the reason I’m able to continue doing my work.”
Although work-life balance has always been important to Dunlap, she said her priorities shifted after having Carter.
In the past year, Dunlap has taken a more relaxed approach to her career by diving into her local community in the field marketing and advertising at the Graham Group. The agency was founded in Lafayette by her father, George Graham, in 1979. The Graham Group offers clients marketing solutions, public relations, brand development, creative concepting motion graphics and animation, consumer engagement, social media and custom interactive applications.
Acadiana Center for the Arts.
Dunlap’s mom, Roxanne Graham, also dabbled in the artistic world she and worked as a writer
The two have supported their daughter’s career from a young age Dunlap’s first experience with acting was at a local theater where she recalls telling her parents she wanted to audition for “Snow White.” She was about 12 and says she felt fueled by that performance.
In this new phase in her personal and work life, she says, “My transition into motherhood has its challenges and balancing it with work has not always been black and white or a one-size-fits-all.
“I’ve learned that doing what makes you happy is so important. For me, that looked like finding other ways to step into my creativity Sometimes that looks like acting, sometimes it planning what’s next, sometimes it was motherhood. And sometimes that looks like creating social media and advertising campaigns, which has all been a very exciting venture,” said Dunlap.
This time in her life also feels like a full-circle moment, she said. Working in the Graham Group’s office feels nostalgic, as she remembers spending time with her father there as a child
Dunlap grew up with parents that were both very talented creatives, she said. George Graham is the creator of Acadiana Table, a food blog about Cajun and Creole cooking Most recently, Graham’s exhibit, CuriousArt, was
Many auditions later, Dunlap, who is also professionally known as Lo Graham, landed her first role at 14 when she appeared in “The Vampire’s Assistant.” Although she began to do more in Hollywood, Dunlap continued to reside in Louisiana. She attended the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, where she majored in broadcast journalism and minored in theater. While in college, she continued a path forward into acting, appearing in “This is the End,” “NCIS: New Orleans” and “Scream Queens.”
“I moved to Los Angeles after college for a crash course in acting and I enjoyed it so much. I met so many amazing people. In two years, I returned home to be closer to family and do what I love,” Dunlap says. During this time, there was an increased pool of talent and local scouting in Louisiana. The increased job opportunity in the film industry is due in part to Louisiana’s Motion Picture Production Tax Credit Program.
She landed a role on “Filthy Rich” on Fox in 2020. That role was followed by her most recent role in 2022, “Unhuman,”
a horror-comedy film from Blumhouse Productions.
“I was working consistently at that time, but when it’s your passion, it doesn’t often feel like a job. I guess it’s similar to motherhood in a way You are mentally and physically diving into this immersive experience, but you love it so much,” said Dunlap.
She added, “Through it all, it’s been such a blessing to have my husband by my side. I am simply taking it one day at a time.”
When asked what’s next for her, Dunlap said she would love to do a Christmas movie or produce a movie But for now she said she is excited to be collaborating with the Graham Group and diving into the advertising world.
“I don’t think that you have to do one thing. I think that people have lots of different passions, and I think it’s important to not label yourself and explore all of those passions because different times of your life call for different transitions.”
Follow Dunlap on Instagram @lo_graham for behind the scenes updates on her life, style and upcoming roles.
Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.
GRAHAM DUNLAP
Dunlap and Carter Graham Dunlap
BOWIE
Editor’s note: This editorial, slightly modified, has appeared on previous Ash Wednesdays in this newspaper.
To get a “black mark,” we understand from the common lexicon, isn’t a good thing except on Ash Wednesday, when many Christians observe the beginning of Lent with a smudge of ash on their foreheads as a reminder of their mortality
The message is more relevant than ever:
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” as the Ash Wednesday admonition goes, a somber recognition that in the great cycle of earthly life, none of us is here for very long It’s a reality that resonates among those of all faiths, or even those with no particular religious faith at all, although our culture does much to deny it.
Cosmetics and fashion falsely promise eternal youth, and politics promotes the equally hollow promise of power as a permanent commodity, as if our smallest desires might be attained by legislation or decree.
Ash Wednesday points us to a different — and healthier — perspective on the human condition, one that acknowledges the limits of personal ambition, the boundaries of earthly human life itself.
Lent reminds us how small we are in the scheme of things, a welcome corrective to the narcissism of our politics, the narrowness of our generosity, the nastiness of reality TV and the darker corners of social media.
The start of Lent today also means another chance to embrace the cause of personal improvement, a prospect that couldn’t come at a better time. This is the point of the year, after all, when many of us realize that those well-meaning New Year’s resolutions haven’t come to very much
Many people use Lent as a season to either give up some small pleasure, like chocolate or cake, or resolve to do something extra like helping a neighbor or volunteering at a food bank. The hope is that these small personal disciplines will help deepen our spiritual resolve for bigger challenges. As we move through a divisive time in our country we also hope that our Lenten practices help us lessen the vitriol rampant in our society and elevate our political discourse
At the very least, Lent brings the news that although we remain imperfect in a year still young, there’s a new opportunity to become a little thinner, a little stronger, maybe even a little kinder
And with Friday fish fries and crawfish boils, Easter and Lent are also linked in a spirit of fellowship
Although Lent isn’t meant to be a jolly time, it serves as a bridge between winter and spring. The march of Lent is taking us, slowly but surely, to a warmer place, a destination softened by pastel skies, greening lawns, a flowering landscape.
A new season, blessedly, is just around the corner.
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. TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE
Louisiana has established itself as a global leader and forward-thinking energy source, thanks to our strong workforce and infrastructure, our proximity to offshore energy resources and ongoing investments in innovative technology like carbon capture and sequestration. With today’s pro-energy leadership at both the state and federal level, as well as the strong support from the oil and natural gas industry, Louisiana’s CCS investments will continue to play an intricate role as we enter the next phase of America-first energy dominance.
CCS is complimentary to oil and natural gas, not its competitor If you’re proenergy, pro-Louisiana and pro-oil and natural gas, then you should support CCS too.
The industry’s interest in low-carbon energy production remains strong, and Louisiana’s energy companies are among the top investors in CCS technology
The state has received over $20 billion in private investment for CCS projects, creating thousands of jobs and positioning Louisiana as a global hub for this essential technology
Since Jan. 20, the Trump administration has undertaken a blitzkrieg attack on two fundamental principles of our Constitutional system: separation of powers and checks and balances.
The duty of the executive is to carry out the laws enacted by Congress. If a president wishes to pursue policies contrary to current law, he proposes legislation changing the law If Congress agrees, those changes are made. Instead of following the legal route, Elon Musk, Russell Vought and other presidential delegates have simply closed down agencies created by Congress, impounded funds it appropriated and illegally accessed sensitive personal data in Treasury Department records.
The Constitutional remedy to redress such illegal actions is to resort to the judicial branch, whose role is to ensure that no branch encroaches on the power and authority of the others. As courts have begun to enter orders halting, at least temporarily, the administration’s illegal actions, President Donald Trump’s spokesmen have begun an astounding, if not surprising, campaign
Last year, regulators granted Louisiana primacy over class VI wells to expedite the permit process. This decision not only ensures safe and effective CCS activities, but it also safeguards and enhances CCS investment projects throughout the state. Major energy companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Air Products are already making significant strides in the class VI permit process, which demonstrates their long-term commitment to advancing CCS projects in Louisiana.
This journey to America-first energy dominance began during President Trump’s first term. Under his new administration, the industry’s efforts have been reignited and Louisiana energy and American energy — have never been better positioned to win. By embracing energy innovation like CCS in Louisiana, the industry can continue to deliver on the promise to expand American-made energy, securing both state and national energy interests while contributing to a cleaner and more prosperous future. TOMMY FAUCHEUX president, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
to delegitimize any court enforcing laws they have violated.
On Feb. 9, Vice President JD Vance falsely compared rulings that Trump appointees committed illegal acts to a judge trying “to tell a general how to conduct a military operation” or “to command the attorney general how to use her discretion as a prosecutor.” A Yale law graduate, Vance knows that these situations are entirely different from those at issue. Earlier, Musk said Judge Paul Engelmayer should be impeached for blocking illegal DOGE actions and shared a post suggesting that the administration openly defy his order
These attacks on the judiciary are alarming. If a president is allowed to disregard the law and ignore legitimate court rulings, our constitutional system has failed, and he has become a dictator Every citizen should fight back, regardless of sympathy with ultimate policy goals. Our democracy hangs in the balance.
STEPHEN BULLOCK New Orleans
I, respectfully, disagree with letter writer Clarence A. Sprick Jr.’s opinion criticizing Walt Handelsman’s cartoon. What Sprick calls “hatred” for conservatives, specifically Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, I call love of humanity, in conformity to the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are not called to hate people, but we are called to condemn hateful actions. It is our responsibility to speak out against actions that are inhumane and unconscionable. This is what God is calling us to do. Handelsman used his talents to shine the spotlight on behaviors that are despicable. Many in positions of leadership lack backbone to go against the hatred that is on display by our president and Musk. Sprick has the right to interpret the Musk Nazi salute however he wishes. I don’t think people cognizant of the Holocaust would approve of such a gesture. In fact, no caring, loving, respectful person would not be horrified by the utter hatred in the actions of Musk and President Donald Trump. I believe many conservatives turned away from Christianity, specifically Jesus’ teachings, when they started watching Fox News. It was then, it appears to me, that something in their brains misfired. A priest I know is particularly upset with Roman Catholics who support President Trump. That makes perfect, legitimate sense to me. Since I never watched Fox News, I attribute that as to why my brain, along with many others’, has maintained the ability to think properly As with many, we progressive liberals are horrified at the state of our country However, we are not surprised.
CAROL POOLEY Donaldsonville
Run Scrim, run! Be free! No one can catch and hold you! Such a happy dog!
MICHAEL KIERNAN Metairie
Reborn patriotic belief in Western virtues is needed
From an unlikely place the upper reaches of the technology industry — comes an unexpected summons to an invigorated patriotism. The summons will discomfit progressives by requiring seriousness about the nation’s inadequate defenses, which endanger peace immediately and national survival ultimately Conservatives will flinch from the new actually a recovered — patriotism that calls them up from an exclusively market-focused individualism, to collaboration between public and private sectors in great collective undertakings.
demands in this “software century.”
In the “The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West,” Alexander C. Karp, CEO of the software firm Palantir with co-author Nicholas W Zamiska, connect the ascent of Silicon Valley and the decline of the nation’s cultural confidence. The former is a symptom of the latter Karp thinks “the loss of national ambition,” which produced the atomic bomb and the internet, is today manifest in Silicon Valley’s devoting mountains of cash and legions of engineers to “chasing trivial consumer products.” (Disclosure: The columnist’s son David Will is a lawyer at Palantir ) The 20th-century union between science and government, the latter leveraging the former, was driven by the exigencies of World War II. Today’s geopolitical dangers require what the nation’s cultural agnosticism impedes: a rebirth of belief in the importance — the virtues — of the West
The collective endeavors of the previous century are forgotten. Today’s preoccupations are market-rewarded “shallow engagements” with technology: a banal internet serving the quotidian desires of the individual. There is scant interest in constructing the technical infrastructure national security
The manned F-35 fighter, conceived in the 1990s, is scheduled to be in service for another 63 years, until 2088. Karp thinks not. “The arrival of swarms of drones capable of targeting and killing an adversary, all at a fraction of the cost of conventional weapons, is nearly here.” Yet the Defense Department budget devoted just onefifth of 1% of its 2024 budget to artificial intelligence.
Few of today’s capable coders, Karp says, even know a military veteran. Many are reluctant to assist military-connected endeavors. “Why,” Karp writes, “court controversy with your friends or risk their disapproval by working for the U.S. military?”
Instead, retreat from the communal purpose of national defense, into the profitable building of photo-sharing apps and algorithms “that optimize the placement of ads on social media platforms.”
“In 2022, YouTube made $959 million from advertising that was targeted at 31.4 million children under the age of 12.” “We must,” Karp says, “rise up and rage against this misdirection of our culture and capital.”
Righteous rage, however, requires passion born of confidence in the rightness of the American project. This confidence has been a casualty of “the hollowing out of the American mind.”
Not since Allan Bloom’s astonishingly successful 1987 book “The Closing of the American Mind” — more than 1 million copies sold — has there been a cultural critique as sweeping as Karp’s. He connects our national flaccidity to a “cultural hesitation” born of what Bloom presciently diagnosed 38 years ago.
Vacuous celebrations of “openness “diversity,” etc., produce, Bloom warned, a “meaningless country” in
which there is no intense experience of national purpose: “Students now arrive at the university ignorant and cynical about our political heritage, lacking the wherewithal to be either inspired by it or seriously critical of it.”
Much of today’s intelligentsia has what Karp calls a “vacant neutrality” regarding our national project, or the West generally, as distinct from other cultures Karp: “At present, the principal features of American society that are shared are not civic or political, but rather cohere around entertainment, sports, celebrity, and fashion.” How many internet “influencers” influence anyone about anything concerning national survival?
Karp defines a “thin conception of belonging to the American community” respect for two unquestionably indispensable components of a good society, individual rights and economic freedom. He prefers a “thicker conception.” It involves a grander narrative of “this wild and rich experiment in building a republic.” The current agnosticism, which borders on nihilism, about America’s virtue as a nation, Karp says, dilutes recognition that the nation-state is the indispensable means of “collective organization in pursuit of shared purpose.”
To some, reconnecting engineering and ethics is pointless. If all national identities are merely contingent emanations of transitory, unjudgable and hence ultimately fungible cultures, why make arduous and expensive preparations to be able to fight in defense of ours?
“Is that all there is?” sang Peggy Lee. “If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing.” Until the music stops. Dangerous men elsewhere are preparing to stop it.
Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
Marlean Ames of Akron, Ohio, is not gay or a member of a racial minority. But, please, she points out, don’t hold that against her, as she alleges her employers have, as she takes her “reverse discrimination” case all the way to the Supreme Court I wish her well. As an African American male, I strongly oppose unfair discrimination against any race, gender or sexual preference, although I also know the charge can be very difficult to prove.
Or, at least, it has been. Ames’ case aims to change that and, considering how much the high court and official Washington have shifted to the right in recent years, she could hardly have chosen a more opportune time to try The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in her case, Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, which has drawn a lot of attention since it could redefine how discrimination claims of all types are handled under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The core issue is whether so-called “majority-group plaintiffs,” legal language for White or heterosexual employees who allege discrimination, are so unusual that they must meet a higher standard of evidence than other plaintiffs in such cases.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund argued in a friend-ofthe-court brief in the case that different standards were appropriate for majority and minority groups because minorities are historically the target of discrimination.
Before Ames’ suit went to trial, lower courts ruled against her finding that she was unable to meet that standard. Ames’ lawyers argue that the standard is unconstitutional So do the Trump administration and other conservative legal groups.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE
v. Bakke, the 1978 landmark Supreme Court case that challenged the use of racial quotas in college admissions.
The court ruled in favor of Bakke, finding that the university’s affirmative action program violated the Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. When the high court ruled against specific racial quotas, many defenders of such policies mourned the beginning of the end for civil rights reforms.
Instead, the effort to protect and defend civil rights continues despite periodic pushbacks yet also with many refinements and improvements.
As more people than ever seem to be quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortal plea for “all men” to be “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,”
The Biden administration also filed an amicus brief in support of Ames’ position, as JURISTnews reported, “with former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar agreeing that the background circumstances requirement is not supported by the text of Title VII.”
On the other side were conservative groups like America First Legal, founded by prominent Trump aide Stephen Miller, which has campaigned nationwide against DEI programs as vigorously as his better-known campaign to tighten border restrictions.
“It is highly suspect in this age of hiring based on ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’” he has said, that minority groups face more discrimination on the job than majority groups do.
That faint praise is a backhanded tribute to the success of DEI campaigns, even as many Americans still scratch their heads in confusion over what DEI really is.
Having covered civil rights debates off and on for about a half-century, I am reminded of perhaps the most famous reverse discrimination case: Regents of the University of California
I am reminded that he was not being descriptive about the present as much as hopeful for a better future.
Our best way to get there as Americans is to help each other up, as we work together despite our many divisions, and not to waste too much energy trying to put each other down.
In that spirit, I wish Marlene Ames well, and I hope the Supreme Court will be wise in its judgment.
There’s nothing simple about our racial, gender and other conflicts, but finding solutions together despite our petty differences has served us well in the past and it still can work again, if we can build faith in each other Marlean Ames has taken on a complicated task, trying to work her way through our national tangle of history group conflicts and tribal rivalries, looking for what most of us want: peace and justice. I only hope the Supreme Court comes up with a decision that, even if we don’t love it, we can work with it. Let’s hope.
Email Clarence Page at cpage47@ gmail.com.
There was a sinking feeling in my stomach when I read the story of the Clarksdale Press Register, a newspaper in northwest Mississippi that had been ordered by a court to take down an online editorial that was critical of local leaders. As a newspaperman, I am dismayed whenever the government steps in to prevent something from being published. The freedom of the press from government interference, as specifically guaranteed by the First Amendment, is a bedrock constitutional principle that courts should protect rather than trample. I’m even more dismayed when a court doesn’t vigorously protect the rights of the publisher
But I’m never surprised. Conflicts between elected leaders and the media are nothing new Like almost all reporters, I have fielded angry calls and threats from politicians who didn’t like something I wrote. Sometimes they threaten to sue. The prospect of civil or even criminal legal action can provoke worry, even if the claims seem legally frivolous and threat-issuers rarely follow through.
But when they do, it can be devastating. Joan Meyer, the 98-year old owner of the Macon County Record, a tiny newspaper in Kansas, died after police raided the paper’s office and her home, seizing phones and computers as part of a 2023 investigation into whether someone at the paper may have committed a crime by using a government website to confirm a tip.
That raid was clearly illegal, and the police chief behind it was later charged. But that’s likely of little consolation to Eric Meyer, Joan’s son and the publisher of the paper
The Kansas case was an extreme example of a blatantly unconstitutional action causing actual harm. In other words, it was far from the “theoretical harm” the leaders of Clarksdale claimed they faced.
There, the newspaper was not given notice of an upcoming meeting of the city’s board of commissioners. At that meeting, the board approved a resolution calling on the Mississippi Legislature to pass a 2% tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.
All in all, a pretty minor development. City councils pass resolutions all the time. Many are forgotten as soon as the votes are counted.
But what angered the city’s mayor and commissioners was that the paper then wrote an editorial criticizing the city for not advertising the meeting, which included the following lines: “Have commissioners or the mayor gotten kickback from the community? Until Tuesday we had not heard of any Maybe they just want a few nights in Jackson to lobby for this idea — at public expense.”
At a subsequent meeting, the commissioners voted to ask a judge to force the paper to remove the piece from its website. The city argued that the mayor, Chuck Espy, a Democrat, had suffered due to the “libelous assertions and statements” made in the editorial.
That’s bad enough. But even worse, they got a judge to agree. In her ruling, Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin said the publication interfered with public figures’ “legitimate function to advocate for legislation.” I mean, come on.
Wyatt Emmerich, the paper’s publisher, said he believed the suit was fueled by enmity Espy feels stemming from earlier reports in the Press Register about pay increases in city government and other issues. Emmerich acknowledged that the editorial should have used the word “pushback” instead of “kickback,” but noted that regardless of the poor word choice, the editorial still fell clearly under the First Amendment.
The Clarksdale Press Register is a small outfit that serves a city of 14,000. It’s not hard to imaging a pitched legal battle becoming a real financial crisis for the newspaper Thankfully, some First Amendment advocacy groups are available to lend legal expertise pro bono.
The assistance of those advocates should have been unnecessary Judges, including the one who granted the motion, are supposed to be First Amendment guardians since it’s, you know, in the U.S. Constitution and all. This judge should have tossed the motion as soon as it landed in her court.
But there’s a happy ending. Last week, the city dropped its lawsuit. Maybe, just maybe, the mayor and the other city leaders looked the legal merits of the case and decided it wouldn’t stick. Maybe cooler heads prevailed.
But I doubt it. I think what happened is that they suddenly found themselves the center of media attention they really didn’t like, from outlets that would be much tougher to intimidate, including The New York Times and The Associated Press. Maybe, in their zeal to suppress legitimate coverage, they actually got more — and much worse — media coverage than they ever dreamed.
Long live the Press Register Thank God and our country’s founders for a free press.
Faimon A. Roberts III can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
The U.S Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
Faimon Roberts
George Will
Clarence Page
Many Americans are fortunateto havedental coverage fortheir entire working life, through employer-provided benefits.When those benefits end with retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to putoff or even go without care. Simply put —without dental insurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.
When you’re comparing plans ...
SPORTS
Cajuns take another shot at SEC team
be important down the road.”
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
UL coach Alyson Habetz said she was pleased with her team’s 3-2 effort during a weekend tournament at Auburn
But she would have preferred at least one win over the host Tigers.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Ragin’ Cajuns get another chance at their
LSU puts 3 on All-SEC first team
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
The LSU women’s basketball team’s three stars are featured prominently in the Southeastern Conference’s 2025 postseason awards, the league office unveiled Tuesday League coaches voted Aneesah Morrow, Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams onto the All-SEC first team Morrow also was given a spot on the all-defensive team.
second Southeastern Conference win of the season against Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi.
“Overall, I felt like we played well,” Habetz said.
The losses to Auburn 6-3 and 4-3 — both included missed opportunities for the Cajuns.
“Gabbie’s (Stutes) ball in the 3-4 hole, if it drops, I think it’s a different game,” Habetz said. “So I feel like we’re right there I thought we could have made better adjust-
ments at the plate.
“She (Auburn ace pitcher SJ Geurin) just made it move and the changeup just kept us off balance. But we will grow from that and hopefully it’ll prepare us for something bigger down the road.”
Offensively, the top of the order for the Cajuns (11-6) remains on fire with Maddie Hayden (.370, 4 RBIs, 9 SBs) and Kayla Falterman (.457, 9 RBIs) providing juice.
“Kayla Falterman is still doing what she does,” Habetz said. “They had five people on the infield and she found a way to get it through She’s fun to watch.
“Those timely hits are going to
Other offensive standouts have been Cecilia Vasquez (.404, 2 HRs, 20 RBIs), Stutes (.400, 6 RBIs), Emily Smith (.306, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs) and Mia Liscano (.394).
“Even the ones who struggled, the more you see those type of pitchers, the more you can say, ‘OK, I’ve seen this before,’ so you don’t panic anymore,” Habetz said.
“I think this is all going to help us for later down the road.
“It’s about mentally staying confident. There’s going to be ebbs and flows to the season. There are ma-
DEJA LOSE
Williams Morrow Johnson
Texas forward Madison Booker is the SEC Player of the Year; Kentucky forward Clara Strack is Defensive Player of the Year; and Kentucky point guard Georgia Amoore is the Newcomer of the Year Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer was named Coach of the Year LSU, the only team with multiple first-team honorees, put three players onto the All-SEC first team for the first time in program history That’s happened only 10 times in league history most recently in 2016 when a trio of South Carolina stars
BY STEVE REED AP sportswriter
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Dawn Staley has won eight Southeastern Conference Tournament titles since taking over as head coach at South Carolina in 2008. She sees winning a ninth as the biggest challenge yet. To say the SEC is loaded is an understatement. The conference boasts five teams in the top 12 of the most recent AP poll, including No 1 Texas, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 12 Kentucky. In all, seven teams are ranked in the Top 25, and that doesn’t include 17-time tournament champion Tennessee. The SEC is so competitive that the Sooners, despite their top-10 ranking, finished fifth in the conference and didn’t even receive a double
UL shortstop Drew Markle fields a ground ball during practice on
Slow starts have been trend for Cajuns in recent seasons
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
If the weekend sweep at UC Irvine that dropped the UL Ragin’ Cajuns to 5-7 on the season sounded as familiar as it was disappointing, you’re not alone.
Coach Matt Deggs is having the same thoughts. In 2022, his Cajuns got swept in a tournament in Round Rock, Texas, on their way to a 6-6 start to the season. Last year, UL didn’t win a game in an event at Minute Maid Park in Houston on its way to a 5-6 start. Those two teams rebounded in style on their way to NCAA regional appearances
This year’s club hopes to find the come-
back trail starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday against UNC-Wilmington at Russo Park.
“Honestly, just a little perspective, we’ve been in the same position two of the last three years,” Deggs said. “Last year, we were almost in the exact same spot coming off Minute Maid.
“The schedule isn’t very forgiving at all, so you’ve got to weather the storm and work to get better By the time you get in the middle of conference play, there’s probably not going to be anything you haven’t seen or gone through.”
It won’t be easy, though. The visiting Seahawks (7-5) beat Georgia 6-2, and three of their losses are to Georgia 7-3, Duke 8-4 and Coastal Carolina 6-1. UNC-Wilmington will play a threegame series at Southern Miss starting Friday
“This game is super important for us,” Deggs said. “We need to go out and get after it. Look, UNCW is good. They’re well coached, they’re a regional team and highly thought of The East Coast plays some great baseball, which we’ve seen over the last few years, obviously.”
The Seahawks are hitting .243 as a team with eight homers, 10 stolen bases and an
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
with a .457 batting average.
See CAJUNS, page 3C
5:30
6
Lewis, CHNI take it to Sarah Reed
Panthers guard leads surge in regional win
BY NEAL MCCLELLAND
Contributing writer
Tristan Lewis is known as a streaky shooter
When first-year Catholic-New Iberia coach Dylan Vincent took over, he challenged Lewis to take fewer outside shots and go to the basket more.
On Monday night, it paid off for Lewis and the Panthers.
The senior guard scored a gamehigh 17 points, mostly on drives to the goal, to help sixth-seeded Catholic beat No. 11 Sarah Reed 63-48 in the Division III select regionals in New Iberia.
The Panthers will face the winner of Tuesday night’s Country Day vs. Independence in the quarterfinals on Friday
“When I got here, I knew that he liked to shoot from outside,” Vincent said of Lewis. “But the coaching staff and I challenged him to go to the hoop more and he took on that role this year
“I think tonight he took one shot from outside and went through the lane to the basket. He really had a good night.”
Lewis kick-started Catholic’s fast start as the Panthers built a six-point lead at the end of one quarter and pulled away
“We did a good job coming out,” Vincent said. “The guys were locked in We went over a lot of different things that the could throw at us.
“In the third quarter, we got a little hung up on their up-tempo and I felt like we got dragged back. We could have gone from a 19-point lead to a 30-point lead, but instead we we from a 19-point lead to a 10-point lead so there is always room for improvement.”
Outside of that, the Panthers
showed why they came in as a sixth seed.
“I came in and the guys all were listening to me and the coaching staff,” Vincent said. “With that, they learned multiple styles. Not just my style but many styles so that we can win a fast-paced game a slow-paced game, a guard game, a power game.
“We want to be successful in many styles as the need dictates.”
Lewis said he has benefitted
from that coaching style.
“I learned how to expand my game and go to the goal more,” he said. “The goal of the game was to make them play our way If they wanted to play fast, we’d play fast. If they wanted to show it down, we’d slow it down.
“The past couple of years we were more defensive-focused. Now we’ve learned not to settle for the (first) shot and to go to the goal more to force action and get
to the (free-throw) line.”
The Panthers, in the quarterfinals for the third straight season, lost in the quarterfinals last season aft er making the semifinals two years ago.
“We want to play three more games,” Vincent said.
“We’re not content with getting there. We want to go further. We feel like we have one of the best teams in the state and we want to show that.”
J.S. Clark aims for repeat despite coach change
BY MIKE COPPAGE
Contributing writer
J.S. Clark High School didn’t graduate a player from last year’s Division V select girls basketball state championship team.
The Bulldogs did lose their coach, Ross Rix, who took a job at Northside.
His replacement, Joseph Levier, is in his first year in the profession and actually attended school with the players he’s now coaching.
“The crazy part is that when I was still in school here, I knew some of the girls,” said Levier, a 2021 J.S. Clark graduate whose third-seeded Bulldogs take on No. 2 Cedar Creek in the Division IV select semifinals at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the University Center in Hammond.
“It was surreal to get this job. There was no way I expected to be in this position.”
Two years ago, the Bulldogs (24-5) finished as runner-up to Oak Hill before turning the tables on the Rams last season for the program’s first state title.
Clark moved up to Class 1A this year Meanwhile, Levier was planning a move to Houston after graduating from Wiley University with a business management degree.
“I keep using the word ‘surreal,’’’ he said. “Being on the bench as coach feels so different than as a player The thing I’ve learned is to really just take it one game at a time and build on the good things.”
Clark remains a young team with only two seniors, shooting guard Ramya Pickney (out with
injury) and forward Erianna Ned. Juniors Taylor Barnaba and Tristanie Albert often lead the team in scoring along with Ned.
“I love how my point guard, Taylor, is such a great leader,” Levier said. “She picks everyone up. She does score a lot. She does a lot of good stuff on and off the court.”
Junior center Akeelah Williams is a defensive force who has been finishing shots at the rim. Freshman Jailee Edwards played considerable minutes last season.
“It’s really our team chemistry, knowing the job isn’t finished, that keeps us working harder and looking forward to the next game,” Levier said.
“We’re excited and pushing forward. All that matters is getting that repeat. We’re working hard for it.”
The Bulldogs, who thrive on forcing turnovers with their full-court press, advanced to the state tournament with wins over No. 14 Westminster Christian (68-27) and No 11 Ascension Catholic (64-36).
Cedar Creek (28-3), which ousted No. 15 St. Frederick 59-24 and No. 7 Hamilton Christian 47-28, is led by 6-foot-2 junior Avery Ryan, a transfer from Class 5A Benton High who averages 13 points per game.
“I think it will be a good game,” Levier said.
“No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. They’re not coming in wanting to lose. I think our experience benefits us very well. We won’t be coming in star struck.”
Clark is on a nine-game winning streak that includes a victory over Division II select tourney team Madison Prep.
Loreauville boys can’t build off start, fall to Westlake
BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer
Loreauville High basketball
coach Darrell Caesar is fond of saying that basketball is a game of runs.
The No. 7-seeded Tigers had a good run the entire season, setting new benchmarks for the program, and the hosts ran to an early 10-0 lead against No 10 Westlake in a Division III nonselect regional game on Monday But the Rams rallied and took the lead for good early in the second half to depart with a 58-48 win and a berth in the quarterfinals against either No. 2 Red River or No. 15 Rayville
“They came out and hit us in
the mouth early,” Westlake coach
Doug Morris said. “We just responded. We cut down the turnovers. Our game-plan was to get after them.”
The Tigers (17-9) were crisp on offense while taking a 14-4 lead on a follow by senior Pharell Nora midway through the first quarter
Dylan Singleton’s second-chance bucket made it 20-14 at the end of the period.
Loreauville built its biggest lead (26-14) on a bucket by Blaise Romero early in the second quarter.
The Rams (16-8) took their first lead on a 3-pointer from Kevin Rideau, who finished with 15 points, just before halftime. Another McNeese football com-
mitment, Ryan Allen, scored 25 points.
“Even when things got bad, we stayed together and got it done,” Allen said. “We came in here to work. “We trust each other If he (Rideau) shoots it, I can’t tell him anything because I’m going to shoot the next one. If one of us gets hot, it’s game over.” Nora, who paced the Tigers with 12 points, hit two clutch 3-pointers. The first cut the Westlake lead to 44-42 early in the fourth quarter The second pulled the Tigers within 51-48 with two minutes left.
“We had opportunities early where we could’ve extended the lead to make things easier on
ourselves, but we missed some layups in the first half,” Caesar said “In the second quarter, those shots that fell in the first quarter weren’t falling.”
Singleton, a Texas Tech football signee, scored six of his nine points in the first quarter for Loreauville. Senior Kylon Polk accounted for five of his 10 points in the first quarter Senior Vaschon Blount also finished with nine points.
“I’m proud of my team,” Caesar said. “They came a long way Nobody thought Loreauville would have a chance to go to the quarterfinals five years ago when I took over Hopefully, this will jump-start the program in the right direction.”
LSU gymnast Chio wins SEC award for 7th week
Make it five straight Southeastern Conference freshman of the week awards and seven overall for LSU gymnast Kailin Chio in her superb inaugural season.
SEC honors were released Tuesday with the Henderson, Nevada, native taking her familiar honors from the league office.
This week’s award comes on the heels of her performance Friday in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane’s River Center. Chio took home uneven bars and balance beam titles with 9.95 scores, and finished second to senior Haleigh Bryant in the all-around competition with a 39.675. Chio leads LSU with 16 individual titles and is the nation’s fifth-ranked all-arounder with a season average of 39.635. She is second in the nation on vault and tied for fourth on beam.
Jets release WR Adams as part of roster overhaul
Davante Adams’ reunion with Aaron Rodgers lasted just 11 games with the New York Jets.
The team released the veteran wide receiver Tuesday ahead of the start of the NFL’s new league year next week.
The move, which was expected, will save the Jets $29.9 million in salary cap space. It follows the team’s announcement on Feb. 13 that they’re also moving on this offseason from Rodgers, Adams’ longtime teammate and friend. Adams was acquired by the Jets from Las Vegas last October for a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
The 32-year-old three-time AllPro was scheduled to make a nonguaranteed $35.64 million in each of the next two years.
Eagles make Barkley highest-paid RB ever
Saquon Barkley will become the highest-paid running back in NFL history after his record-setting season helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.
The Eagles are giving Barkley a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million with $36 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday under the condition of anonymity Barkley’s new deal includes $15 million in incentives. Barkley ran for 2,504 yards in the regular season and playoffs, breaking Terrell Davis’ record for most yards rushing combined in one season.
He had 2,005 yards in the regular season before sitting out the final game with a chance to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season mark.
Cowboys, DT Odighizuwa agree on 4-year contract
The Dallas Cowboys and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa agreed Tuesday on an $80 million, four-year contract with $58 million guaranteed, his agent said.
The agreement came a few hours before the deadline for clubs to apply the franchise tag on one player Odighizuwa was a consideration for the $25 million tag for defensive tackles It includes a $20 million signing bonus.
The Cowboys also agreed to a one-year deal with special teams ace C.J. Goodwin and restructured star receiver CeeDee Lamb’s contract to create $20 million in salary cap space. Lamb signed a $136 million, four-year deal last year. Odighizuwa was a 2021 third-round pick who blossomed into one of Dallas’ best defensive linemen.
Rangers All-Star OF García to undergo MRI for oblique Rangers outfielder Adolis García was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday’s spring training game against the Athletics and will undergo an MRI on his left oblique, the same one that he injured during their World Series run two years ago.
A two-time All-Star, García is trying to bounce back from a disappointing season in which he hit .224 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs in 154 games. He had six hits and two walks in 21 plate appearances so far this spring training. The injury throws into question whether García will be available by opening day on March 27 against the Boston
PHOTO By LEAH MCCLELLAND
Catholic High of New Iberia’s Tristan Lewis shoots against Sarah Reed during their Division III select regional playoff game on Monday in New Iberia.
Continued from page 1C
winning a coin flip on Sunday with Texas. Both teams finished 15-1 in conference play and split the season series with South Carolina winning 67-50 on Jan. 12 in Columbia and the Longhorns responding with a 66-62 victory in Austin on Feb. 9. A highly anticipated rubber match could come Sunday in Greenville — if both teams are able to make it through the gauntlet that awaits.
The Gamecocks have plenty of big-game experience. They’ve won four of the last five SEC Tournament titles and two of the last three national championships. But Staley said all of that “goes down the drain” this year given the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference.
“We have two teams that we didn’t have to deal with last year and that is Texas and Oklahoma, and that will have an impact on the outcome,” Staley said. “They had an impact in the regular season and now (will have an impact on) the tournament.”
Texas (29-2) enters the tournament on a 13-game winning streak and ranked first in the country for the first time in 21 years, a testament to the job coach Vic Schaefer has done in Austin.
It helps that the Longhorns have one of the best players in the country in Madison Booker, who is averaging 16 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. With Booker leading the way, Schaefer believes the Longhorns are capable of winning out.
“We have a three-game tournament and a six-game tournament in front of us, and the gauntlet that this group’s been through, there’s not going to be anything that they haven’t seen,” Schaefer said
Although the Longhorns were disappointed they didn’t win the coin flip, they can take heart knowing that being the No 2 seed might give them an easier path to Sunday’s championship game.
That’s because No. 3 seed LSU (27-4), a potential opponent in the semifinals, will be without star Flau’jae Johnson, who’ll miss the conference tournament with a shin
LSU
Continued from page 1C
cracked the group. Since SEC play began, Morrow, Johnson and Williams have each scored at least 17 points per game. Morrow also has grabbed 13.7 rebounds per contest, the most in the nation. On Sunday, in the Tigers’ 85-77 loss to Ole Miss, the senior posted her 100th career doubledouble, becoming just the second woman in NCAA Division I history to reach that milestone.
Williams is leading LSU in assists (3.5), and she has the highest field-goal percentage (47%) among LSU guards.
Johnson’s scoring average (17.2) is a career high. LSU has ruled her out of the SEC Tournament to give her case of shin inflammation more time to subside before the
CAJUNS
Continued from page 1C
jor-leaguers making millions who go through 0-for-21 stretches.”
injury Tigers coach Kim Mulkey said she wants Johnson to get rested for the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky lured coach Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech last offseason and it has been a boon for the Wildcats, who finished fourth in the league despite having 11 new players Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack followed Brooks to Lexington, as did some of his incoming recruits, and the team has a very Atlantic Coast Conference feel to it.
But the Wildcats (22-6) have adjusted well.
“The beautiful thing about the SEC being stacked is we’re part of the stack, and we’re excited about that,” Brooks said.
Brooks called Amoore, who needs just eight assists to break the school’s single-season assist record, “the best point guard in the country.” Strack, who had 23 points in Sunday’s loss at South Carolina, has taken a huge step
forward as a sophomore.
The Sooners (23-6) are on a seven-game winning streak, including a 91-84 win over No. 20 Auburn on Sunday, but would need to win four games in four days to capture the tournament. A potential quarterfinal matchup with Kentucky awaits.
Eighth-seeded Vanderbilt (21-9) might not have the deepest team in the SEC, but the Volunteers have two women who can really fill it up. Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre rank second and fourth in the SEC in scoring, both averaging more than 20 points per game.
A potential second-round matchup with in-state rival Tennessee appears imminent, providing the ninth-seeded Lady Vols get by No. 16 seed Texas A&M. Tennessee (21-8) has struggled down the stretch and will have to play on the first day of the tournament, a shocking development for this once-dominant program.
Saints cut Williams after 2 quiet seasons
RB rushed for just 470 yards, two TDs
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
The Saints released running back Jamaal Williams on Tuesday parting ways with the veteran who failed to pan out in his two seasons with the team. Williams signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Saints in 2023 coming off the heels of a 1,000-yard season with the Detroit Lions. He was supposed to serve as a complement to star Alvin Kamara and boost the team’s rushing attack. But in his two seasons with the Saints, Williams averaged only 3.05 yards per carry (470 yards on 154 attempts) with two rushing touchdowns. He of-
ten was used as a pass blocker and in short-yardage situations. Williams’ release is set to save the Saints $1.6 million toward the salary cap Before Tuesday’s transaction, the Saints were an estimated $47.1 million over the cap and must become cap compliant by the start of the new league year next week. Williams’ contract also leaves $2.3 million in dead money, the figure left on the books because of an already paid signing bonus. He was set to count $3.9 million against the cap if the Saints had elected to keep him. Instead, Williams, 29, can get an early start on free agency The eight-year veteran has played with the Lions and Green Bay Packers previously
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average of 5.7 runs a game. The leaders are Brock Wills (.455, 1 HR, 5 RBIs) and Bromley Thornton (.318, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs). On the mound, UNC-Wilmington has a 3.65 ERA with opponents hitting only .187 against it. In 1032/3 innings, the staff has walked 58 and struck out 110.
The Seahawks are expected to start right-hander Khris Morris, who walked five and struck out three in 21/3 innings in his only outing of the season.
The Cajuns are expected to start sophomore right-hander Tate Hess, who allowed three runs on five hits in one inning and only 26 pitches in California.
“It’s just not being able to get off the field with two outs and two strikes,” Deggs said of his team’s woes. “We lost the twos all weekend.” There were a few bright spots during the three losses at UC Irvine. The Cajuns hit seven of their eight home runs on the season last week.
“If you look at the week as a whole, our slugging percentage went way up,” Deggs said. “We hit a lot of jacks. It was good to see us lengthening the field a little bit, which we hadn’t done until last week. That’s a positive.
“The negative, though, is we’re punching out way too much for this ball club.”
Conor Higgs is suddenly hot at .316 with four homers and six RBIs. Other UL hitting leaders are Drew Markle (.298, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs), Lee Amedee (.290, 1 HR, 5 RBIs) and Caleb Stelly (.279, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs).
“A lot of things they do well are things we’re striving to do,” Deggs said of UC Irvine. “They swing the bat one time. It’s not a foul ball straight back, it’s on a line going out to the big part of the ballpark. They didn’t miss.
“Just kind of where we’re at right now, it’s two or three swings to catch a barrel.
“We spoil some good pitches to hit and then put ourselves in position to try to spoil good pitchers’ pitches, which is a losing battle.” Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.
First team Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama Georgia Amoore, Kentucky Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU Aneesah Morrow, LSU Mikaylah Williams, LSU Raegan Beers, Oklahoma Joyce Edwards, South Carolina Madison Booker, Texas Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt Second team
DeYona Gaston Auburn Clara Strack, Kentucky Madison Scott, Ole Miss Jerkaila Jordan, Mississippi State Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee All-Defensive Clara Strack, Kentucky Aneesah Morrow, LSU Sania Feagin South Carolina
NCAA Tournament begins March 19
The No. 3-seeded Tigers will open play in the conference tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bon
Raven Johnson, South Carolina Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee Rori Harmon, Texas All-Freshman Yuting Deng, Auburn Liv McGill, Florida Trinity Turner, Georgia Mia Woolfolk, Georgia Sira Thienou, Ole Miss Joyce Edwards, South Carolina Jordan Lee, Texas Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Grace Slaughter, Missouri Player of the Year: Madison Booker, Texas Freshman of the Year: Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt Newcomer
Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.
“She continues to get better,” Habetz said of Noble (2-2, 4.10 ERA).
“What makes her different is mentally, she’d play the Yankees and be fine. It would be like, ‘Let’s go.’ No
In the circle, there’s the case of junior transfer pitcher Bethaney Noble, who had two more effective bullpen outings against Auburn. Consequently, the staff is giving her a start against Mississippi State.
one intimidates her She can give up a home run and it’s ‘OK, next hitter, no big deal.’ Nothing affects us, which is a huge deal.” That approach will be interesting against a Bulldogs lineup that has 31 home runs on the season. Mississippi State is 18-3 with some impressive wins, including against Texas Tech 3-1, Nebraska 3-0 and Louisiana Tech 10-1. Most recently, though, Mississippi State lost to Northwestern State 5-0.
The Bulldogs are hitting .318, led by Sierra Sacco (.458, 4 HRs, 22 RBIs), Morgan Bernardini (.351, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs) and Kiarra Salls (.339, 6 HRs, 19 RBIs).
The pitching staff is anchored by LSU transfer Raelin Chaffin, who is 9-1 with a 1.11 ERA on the season. “They have effective pitching and at times a really potent offense,” Habetz said. “They have really good coaching. I know their coaches very well.
“It’s a matter of us playing our best softball and attacking the strike zone, making adjustments at the plate and getting some timely hitting.”
Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NELL REDMOND
South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts reacts after being charged with a foul during the second half against Auburn on Feb 2 in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks have won four of the past five SEC Tournament titles.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL THOMAS
Texas coach Vic Schaefer flashes the ‘Hook ’em Horns’ sign while wearing a net cut down after defeating Florida on Sunday in Austin, Texas. The top-ranked Longhorns enter the tournament on a 13-game win streak.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler hands the ball off to running back Jamaal Williams during a game against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 17 in the Caesars Superdome.
KEMP
Try these bright new flowers for landscape color
BY NORMAN WINTER Tribune News Service (TNS)
Last year was an eye-opening year for me, when it comes to Jamesbrittenia. You might be asking, “Who is Jamesbrittenia?” I still struggle with it too.
Jamesbrittenia is a genus with about 83 species of plants, mostly from South Africa, Sudan and Egypt. James Briton, for whom the plant was named in 1807, was the keeper of botany at the British Museum of Natural History
So, the plant that first caught my eye a couple of years ago when I grew it came with a couple of shots of excitement.
The first came courtesy of the Young’s Plant Farm Annual Garden Tour in Auburn, Alabama.
The second one and perhaps the most exciting one came from Andrea Owens Schnapp, a master gardener from Florida’s Walton County
It’s not just any old Jamesbrittenia but the new and growing Safari series. A plant called Safari Dawn just sounds perfect for a plant from South Africa. Shoot, it sounds like a movie. There are two other selections in the series: Safari Sky and Safari Dusk, which made its debut last year
Jamesbrittenia finds itself in the Scrophulariaceae family and has a common name of South African phlox. There is no relationship to the phlox, other than the likeness of the little blooms.
The plants reach about 12 inches tall with a spread of 2 feet. In the South those numbers may be more.
a yellow white center
it is seen blooming along with Superbells Double Amber calibrachoa and Supertunia Royal Magenta.
They make an ideal filler and in my hanging baskets they certainly could be classified as spillers too. As seen at the Young’s Plant Farm Annual Garden Tour, they are magical component plants in designer recipes like one called Surfin Safari. Surfin Safari features Safari Dawn Jamesbrittenia, Superbells Double Amber calibrachoa and Supertunia Royal Magenta petunia. The color mix is simply amazing and reminiscent of a display of fine jewels. Then there was another large container mix featuring the new Safari Dusk Jamesbrittenia, with Goldilocks Rocks bidens and Superbells Cherry Red calibrachoa. You might never consider partnering cherry red and lavender rose together, but these two will steal your heart. Safari Dawn is a rose with yellow center while the Safari Dusk is lavender with a hint of rose but stands out as being different with little whiskers like a pansy Safari Sky reminds me of lavender blue with a white center with a dot of orange The
LIVING
‘WE DO WHAT WE LOVE’
History is served at this Lafayette restaurant with links to famous Louisiana dishes
BY JOANNA BROWN
ew Acadiana restaurants are as steeped in local lore as Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn, located in Broussard just off of U.S. 90.
It’s thought to be the oldest restaurant in Lafayette Parish, opened by Hulo “Poor Boy” Landry in 1932 in downtown Lafayette. He started the eatery as a sno-ball stand, selling icy treats to local businessmen — and quickly began doing a brisk business proffering the po-boys that he packed every day as his own lunch.
According to third-generation owner Lori Hurst, the huge sandwiches were a novelty in Acadiana at that time. Landry had learned to make them while working at the Roosevelt in New Orleans not for guests, but for family meals during time off with the rest of the kitchen staff The po-boys were enough of a hit with the Lafayette crowd that Landry’s customers (including a young Kaliste Saloom, who would go on to become a Lafayette City Court judge) urged him to open a sit-down restaurant
Nicknamed “Poor Boy” thanks to his specialty, Landry’s eponymous
different iconic Lafayette company Before starting his restaurant, Landry worked for the family business at Evangeline Maid, which was started in 1919 by his mother’s family, the Huvals of Youngsville. An expectation of quality and taste was already baked into the recipe by the time Poor Boy’s came around, and according to the Hursts, that tradition is still being carried on 92 years later
Baton Rouge.
restaurant was a fast success.
“It just evolved into this great family tradition, from a great family that knew business and had a palate,” said Hurst, who now owns Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn along with her husband, Richard Hurst — Landry’s grandson.
A restaurant with roots
That palate had already been honed in the food business with a
“We make everything from scratch. We don’t have any timers on the fire, so you just need to know how to cook,” said Richard Hurst, who learned alongside his father, Larry who cut his teeth at Don’s Seafood in Lafayette and at Houston restaurants before moving back home to take care of the family restaurant with his bride, Kathlyn Landry Hulo’s only daughter
It was Larry and Kathlyn who would cement Poor Boy’s place in Louisiana culinary fame, in yet another brush with history According to Lori Hurst, legendary Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme picked up the idea of blackening redfish from Larry who Hurst says taught Prudhomme the recipe
See RIVERSIDE INN, page 6C
TNS PHOTO By NORMAN WINTER Safari Dawn Jamesbrittenia is rose with
Here
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE
Owners Richard and Lori Hurst raise a toast at Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn on Feb 26 in Broussard
Fried shrimp and a stuffed potato are on the menu at Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn.
By The Associated Press
Today is Wednesday, March 5, the 64th day of 2025. There are 301 days left in the year
Today in history
On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who’d been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people.
On this date:
In 1933, in German parliamentary elections six days after the Reichstag fire, the Nazi Party won 44% of the vote; the Nazis joined with a conservative nationalist party to gain a slender parliamentary majority In 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in which he said: “From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
In 2004, Martha Stewart
was convicted in New York of conspiracy obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she’d sold her Imclone stock just before the stock’s price plummeted; her ex-stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, also was found guilty in the stock scandal. (Each later received a fivemonth prison sentence.) In 2022, a promised ceasefire in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror in the besieged town. The number of people fleeing the country reached 1.4 million just 10 days after Russian forces invaded. Today’s birthdays: Actor Fred Williamson is 87. Magician Penn Jillette is 70. Actor Adriana Barraza is 69. Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is 59. Actorcomedian Aasif Mandvi is 59. Rock musician John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 55. Actor Eva Mendes is 51. Model Niki Taylor is 50.
Half and half seafood
BEST
Continued from page 5C
fish-focused options today
On Fridays, Oak Point Grocery at the corner of Siegen Lane and Perkins Road, serves fish-based plate lunches. The options include fried shrimp and/ or fried catfish. You can pick one or the other or get the combination. I opted for the fried shrimp plate. The shrimp are bountiful and I mean bountiful (as in on my $13.99 plate, I was so overwhelmed by the sheer number that I decided to count the shrimp. There were 49!) My friend got the combo Her plate had two sizeable pieces of fried catfish and a heaping pile of shrimp (she didn’t count hers like I did). The catfish is wellseasoned and tasty The plate comes with two sides — a choice of French fries, potato salad and coleslaw Notes: Be sure to pick up utensils, salt, ketchup or whatever sauces you want while you’re in the store, because they are not in the bag and you will be sitting in your car trying to figure out how to eat coleslaw with your fingers. Also, they stop serving lunch at 1:30 p.m.
— Jan Risher, Louisiana culture editor
STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER The fried catfish and fried shrimp plate lunch at Oak Point Grocery in Baton Rouge is seriously filling as the meal comes with two sides.
Half and Half Fried Seafood Platter n The Chimes, 3357 Highland Road, Baton Rouge
Everyone and their mom has talked to me about the Chimes. It’s an institution, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long since moving to the city to actually make it there to eat The seafood platter (I got half catfish and half stuffed shrimp) did not disappoint. The catfish was great, and the shrimp stuffed with crab meat was a real decadent treat. The fries were well-seasoned and everything you’d want them to be. The plate was so large that I had plenty of leftovers.
— Serena Puang, features writer
Best to get on with the meeting
Dear Miss Manners: The office where I work has about 20 people, half working in person and half remote. A young woman early in her career, who works remotely and is on several of the regular video calls I attend each week, is friendly and goes out of her way to say nice things to people. She is always the first to notice a new haircut or pair of glasses. I see that she values these types of compli-
ments, and I try to reciprocate. The issue is that this person dresses wildly — far outside the company dress code, with truly bizarre outfits and hair and makeup combinations that constantly catch me off guard. Think fuzzy bunny costumes with long floppy ears, dramatic eye shadow, tops made from repurposed straitjackets, and so on.
I’m not her supervisor and it’s not my job to cri-
tique her style, but these sartorial choices are going to hold her back if she stays in our field. I don’t want to encourage it (“Cool bunny ears!”), but am having a hard time thinking of appropriate, complimentary things to say in the moment.
Gentle reader: We agree that it is not your job to critique her clothing choices. Why then, would you think it is your job to praise them?
It is immaterial whether the meeting is remote or in person or for that matter, whether “in-person”
would be the right way to describe someone arriving at the office in a bunny costume. This is supposed to be a place of work. Wish her a good morning and get on with the meeting.
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.
when the chef would stop by Poor Boy’s.
“I teased my father-in-law for years that he’s the reason we have redfish limits, because now people realize it’s a great fish, but he was the first to blacken the fish, the first to top it, the first to sell it as a special,” said Hurst. “Paul Prudhomme went on to become famous in New Orleans off [Larry Hurst’s] recipe of blackening redfish.”
Recipe development is so synergistic that, in the case of famous dishes associated with famous chefs, it’s hard to prove who was the first to ever do it. Prudhomme certainly receives the lion share of credit for the redfish, but then again, his turducken claim to fame is also disputed by a Lafayette-area food family — the Heberts of Hebert’s Specialty Meats, who assert that they invented the turducken at their Maurice shop in 1984.
On the map
With redfish, and other dishes like crawfish étouffée, Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn has become known over the years for leading the pack with many famous south Louisiana entrées. According to Richard Hurst, his father was also one of the first to make crawfish étouffée a restaurant dish
— it was mostly prepared at home previously
“This is long before even buying boiled crawfish at a restaurant,” said Hurst. “You bought crawfish, and you boiled it, and you started peeling, and you had crawfish étouffée at home so it’s not wasted.”
Lori Hurst can reel off a list of other dishes that Poor Boy’s has put on the Lafayette dining map through the decades. In addition to crawfish étouffée and red-
FLOWERS
Continued from page 5C
Jamesbrittenia, ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus, Ladybird Sunglow Texas primrose, White Cora Cascade vinca and a Summer Wave trailing torenia was stunning.
fish, the restaurant popularized dishes like crab meat imperial, lump crab in butter, stuffed fish, salads with a truly extravagant amount of seafood on top Maine lobsters and more.
“There’s so many things that were here first, and when people talk about being farm to table, I’m like, we were Gulf to table way before anyone even understood that concept,” said Hurst.
“I didn’t realize we’re a rare breed. Way before it was a theme, we were cooking from scratch. We don’t cook out of a bag. And we still work in it.”
The Hurst’s efforts have
The fact that it was rocking in mid-summer was another testament to the Safari Jamesbrittenia. Andrea and Proven Winners recommend doing a late summer trim like many of us do with Supertunias to stimulate new growth and blooms through fall.
All three selections in
earned them many accolades over the years, the latest being the opportunity to be featured on America’s Best Restaurants, a roadshow that features spots across the country known for community-defining food Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn was nominated to be on the the show by an unknown customer and their episode will air on ABR’s social media channels sometime in April. More than 92 years is a long time to keep going, and the Hursts have no plans to stop any time soon — but the Lafayette restaurant landscape has become undeniably more challenging over the years. The COVID-19
the Safari series have won awards, from Florida to Michigan State. Fertilize containers that you water daily though the long growing season with a dilute water-soluble mix every two to three weeks.
The Safari Jamesbrittenia varieties are also recommended for fertile land-
pandemic hit particularly hard, closing mom-and-pops and tightening the restaurant workforce. While recent data from the Lafayette Economic Development Authority finds that restaurant sales are up in the city of Lafayette, business owners say that locally owned places may not be benefiting as much from those dollars.
“We do what we love and never work a day in our lives, but COVID made us work at such a different level and it’s a different beast now,” said Lori Hurst.
“The restaurant industry is a tough business. We’ve seen so many dreams close.
“Seeing that, I thought, ‘Damn it, I’m getting this place to 100.’ I hope I see the fourth, fifth generation carry on. They better be ready to rock and roll out there.”
Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn is located at 240 Tubing Road, Broussard It was first located on St John Street in downtown Lafayette before moving to a spot on the Vermilion River in 1939, by the Pinhook Bridge. The restaurant moved to its current location in 1977.
Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@
scape beds with good drainage. Incorporate controlled release granules at planting and side dress again in midsummer
Jamesbrittenia is a funny sounding name for beautiful flowers, but the Safari series will make you a believer and your mixed containers will start to dazzle.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
STAFF PHOTO By SERENA PUANG
platter from the Chimes
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Check out every avenue before deciding your next move Patience will help you find your way to a better place. Put your energy into self-improvement, and you'll realize what's best for you.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Refuse to let anger set in when positive action is necessary. Simplify your life, take care of unfinished business and organize your space to ensure you can optimize your time and talents.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Hesitation will work against you. When in doubt, take a pass and focus on what you feel comfortable doing. Be cognizant of situations that might jeopardize your health or well-being.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Pay attention, take notes and protect your interests. Refuse to pay for or buy into someone else's poor choices. Choose quality over quantity to ensure you satisfy your expectations.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Efficiency is the way forward. How others perceive you will depend on what you achieve. Put your best foot forward and make a lasting impression. Steer clear of volatile situations.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Remain in your comfort zone. Refuse to let anyone talk you into something questionable. Don't feel you have to impress anyone. A new look will boost your confidence.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take a moment to evaluate your position and prospects. Try not to make comparisons
between yourself and others. Set your goals and standards to suit who you are and the lifestyle you aspire to.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) An open mind will lead to new beginnings and a new version of yourself. Trust your instincts and adjust what no longer suits your needs. Move on; taking advantage of something you encounter will help you gain ground.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Get out, strut your stuff and leave a lasting impression. It's time to take a leadership position, believe in yourself and pursue what you love most.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Revise your to-do list and eliminate tasks and requests that don't fit your schedule or help you get where you want to go. It's time to put yourself first. Be friendly but not a pushover.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Do what you have to do, and don't look back. It's up to you to make the moves that will satisfy your needs. You can't please everyone, so make a point to please yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb 19) Sit tight; wait, watch and assess situations. Timing will make a difference regarding domestic issues and finances. Smart moves take planning, precision and patience.
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
Mark Twain said, “There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.”
At the bridge table, though, it is not cowardice to avoid temptation if that would risk your going down in a contract that must succeed with an alternative line of play. This deal features one of the strongest lures in bridge. How should South play in four spades after West leads the diamond jack?
Two no-trump is the right opening bid with that South hand. If North had raised tothreeno-trump,therewouldhavebeen nine easy tricks. But it was normal to use Stayman.
South starts with four potential losers: threeheartsandoneclub.Hehasninetop tricks: five spades, three diamonds and one club. It is tempting to draw trumps and to try the club finesse. If it wins, declarer is trying for an overtrick, but whathappenswhenitloses?UnlessWest unwisely shifts to hearts, South should lose three hearts and go down one.
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
toDAY’s WoRD — LouVERs: LOO-vers: Openings provided with slanted fins to allow the flow of air.
Average mark 28 words
Time limit 30 minutes
Can you find 33 or more words in LOUVERS?
YEstERDAY’s WoRD — WIDGEon
loCKhorNs
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
hidato
mallard fillmore
BRIEFS
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Reddit co-founder joins bid to acquire TikTok
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has joined billionaire Frank McCourt’s bid to acquire TikTok as a strategic adviser
McCourt’s internet advocacy organization, Project Liberty, announced this week that Ohanian, an investor married to tennis star Serena Williams, had joined a consortium called “The People’s Bid for TikTok.”
“I’m officially now one of the people trying to buy TikTok US and bring it on-chain,” Ohanian said in a series of posts made Tuesday on X, referencing a decentralized, blockchain-based platform that Project Liberty says it will leverage to provide users more control over their online data.
If successful in its bid, Project Liberty said the technology “will serve as the backbone of the redesigned TikTok, ensuring that privacy, security, and digital independence are no longer optional but foundational.” When asked by an X user on Monday what he would call TikTok if he purchased it, Ohanian said: “TikTok: Freedom Edition.”
McCourt’s consortium which includes “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary has already offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for the U.S. platform Some analysts estimate TikTok could be worth much more than that even without its coveted algorithm, which McCourt has said he’s not interested in.
Starbucks brings in new finance chief
Starbucks named a new chief financial officer on Tuesday as part of a larger turnaround strategy Cathy Smith, who has been Nordstrom’s CFO since 2023, will join Starbucks in the next month, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said in a letter to employees. Smith previously served as the chief financial officer of Target and Walmart International. Smith will replace Rachel Ruggeri, who is leaving the company. Niccol said Smith brings extensive experience in retail, global operations and corporate turnarounds.
Ruggeri will stay at Starbucks for a period of time to assist with the transition, he said.
Niccol is trying to reinvigorate Starbucks’ sluggish sales with faster service times, a less complicated menu and others moves he says are intended to restore a community coffeehouse feel to the company’s stores In January the company reversed its open-door policy and said only customers who bought something would be allowed to hang out or use the restroom at a local Starbucks.
BlackRock strikes Panama ports deal
A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical shipping lane.
In a filing, CK Hutchison Holding said Tuesday that it would sell all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium in a deal valued at nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt.
The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the Panama Canal. Other ports are in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Some 70% of the sea traffic that crosses the Panama Canal leaves or goes to U.S. ports. The U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter Trump has claimed that Carter “foolishly” gave the canal away
BUSINESS
THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business
Losses wipe out S&P postelection gains
Trade war between the U.S. and its partners escalates
BY DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP business writers
Stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street on Tuesday as a trade war between the U.S and its key trading partners escalated, wiping out all the gains since Election Day for the S&P 500.
President Donald Trump’s administration imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday and doubled tariffs against imports from China. All three countries announced retaliatory actions,
sparking worries about a slowdown in the global economy
The S&P 500 fell, with more than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing lower The Dow Jones Industrial Average also slid.
The Nasdaq composite slipped.
The tech-heavy index briefly reached a 10% decline from its most recent closing high, which is what the market considers a correction, but gains for Nvidia, Microsoft and other tech heavyweights helped pare those losses.
Financial stocks were among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 index JPMorgan Chase fell 4% and Bank of America lost 6.3%.
Markets in Europe fell sharply, with Germany’s DAX falling 3.5% as automakers saw sharp losses
Stocks in Asia saw more modest de-
clines.
“The markets are having a tough time even setting expectations for what this trade war could look like,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “This is clearly a level step higher than anything we saw during (Trump’s) first term.”
The recent decline in U.S. stocks has wiped out all of the markets’ gains since Trump’s election in November That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses. Worries about tariffs raising consumer prices and reigniting inflation have been weighing on both the economy and Wall Street. The tariffs are prompting warnings from retailers, including Tar-
get and Best Buy, as they report their latest financial results. Target fell 3% despite beating Wall Street’s earnings forecasts, saying there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.
Best Buy plunged 13.3% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after giving investors a weakerthan-expected earnings forecast and warning about tariff impacts.
“International trade is critically important to our business and industry,” said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry Barry said China and Mexico are the top two sources for products that Best Buy sells, and it also expects vendors to pass along tariff costs, which would make price increases for American consumers likely
Energy prices squeeze Saudi plans
Aramco reports 12% lower profits
BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco reported a $106.25 billion profit in 2024 on Tuesday down 12% from the prior year as lower energy prices now squeeze the kingdom’s multi-trillion-dollar development plans.
Already, Saudi’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been digging for the $500 billion project to build the straight-line city of NEOM in Saudi Arabia’s western desert on the Red Sea. He also will need to build tens of billions of dollars’ worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the kingdom hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, he’s also pledged potentially $600 billion in investments in the U.S. to entice President Donald Trump to the kingdom on his first foreign trip as president.
BY MARIA DI MENTO and JIM RENDON Chronicle of Philanthropy
For the second year in a row, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the most to charitable causes, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s exclusive Philanthropy 50 list of the Americans who donated the largest sums to nonprofits last year In 2024, he gave a total of $3.7 billion to support arts, education, the environment, public-health groups and programs aimed at improving city governments. He gives directly to charities and through his Bloomberg Philanthropies, which last year awarded a $1 billion grant to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins
Saudi Arabia is also the possible venue for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
All that and OPEC+ moving toward increasing production means Saudi Arabia likely will need to take on new debt to fund the crown prince’s vast ambitions.
A filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange showed Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., had revenues of $436 billion in 2024. That compares to $440.88 billion in 2023.
Aramco reported a $121 billion annual profit in 2023, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices as well.
“The decrease was primarily driven by lower revenue and other income related to sales, higher operating costs, as well as lower finance and other income,” Aramco said in its filing.
Stock in Aramco traded just over $7 a share Tuesday, down from a high over the last year of $8.71. It has fallen over the past year as oil prices have dropped. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at around $70 a barrel, down over 15% over the last year
University to make medical school free and to provide financial aid to nursing and public health students.
“I’ve never understood people who wait until they die to give away their wealth. Why deny yourself the satisfaction?” he wrote in an email to the Chronicle. “I’ve been very lucky, and I’m determined to do what I can to open doors for others and to leave a better world for my children and grandchildren.”
Bloomberg was one of six donors who gave $1 billion or more in 2024. The others were Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin (No. 2), Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell (No. 3), investor Warren Buffett (No. 4), Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, physician Priscilla Chan (No. 5), and retired professor Ruth Gottesman (No 6) The majority of those gifts went
Aramco has a market value of $1.74 trillion, making it the world’s sixth-most valuable company behind Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon and Alphabet, which owns Google.
The Aramco results come as OPEC+, an alliance of the oil cartel and other energyproducing states, met online Monday and agreed to proceed with an increase in oil production starting in April. It’s the first oil production increase by the group since 2022 and likely will push down oil prices further The increase slowly will add up to 2.2 million barrels of additional crude oil a day over the coming months.
“This is not the opening of the floodgates,” wrote Bjarne Schieldrop, the chief commodities analyst at SEB Research “It is about lowering the oil price to a level that is acceptable for Putin, (Prince Mohammed), Trump, U.S. oil companies and the U.S. consumers.”
The OPEC+ decision follows criticism by Trump of the cartel as well.
Experts suggest the price per barrel for oil could sink to the $60 range, further tightening budgets in Saudi Arabia.
to foundations and donor-advised funds that support causes including education, economic mobility, social justice and scientific research. Gottesman, like Bloomberg, gave to make medical school free. She donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Together the 50 donors on the list contributed a total of $16.2 billion to charity in 2024. The median amount they gave was $100 million. While those numbers are sizable, not all of the nation’s wealthiest people appear on the list. Only 19 of the richest Americans on the Forbes 400 list donated enough to appear in the Philanthropy rankings. Among those who gave big — but are less well known: n Thomas Golisano, the billionaire founder of Paychex, is No. 8. He gave away $500 million last year Almost $400 million of that
went to 123 nonprofits in New York and Florida with no strings attached. About 90 of those gifts were $1 million to $5 million, often to small groups that rarely get contributions of that size. Many were to organizations that serve people with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities. The issue has great meaning to Golisano, whose son has a developmental disability
n Retired insurance executive Hyatt Brown and his wife, Cici, at No. 20, gave the Museum of Arts & Sciences, in Daytona Beach, Florida, $150 million for a new building and to turn its current home into a children’s museum. n Businesswoman and venture capital investor Michele Kang, at No. 28, gave $84 million last year, including $4 million to help the USA Women’s Rugby Sevens team prepare for the Olympics.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By AMR NABIL
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