The Times-Picayune 03-25-2025 by The Advocate

Hyundai plans to build

$5.8B

steel mill in La.

Landry joins Trump at White House to announce project

BY ALYSE PFEIL, STEPHANIE RIEGEL and DAVID MITCHELL Staff writers

Flanked by Gov Jeff Landry and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Donald Trump on Monday trumpeted carmaker Hyundai’s announcement that it will build its ﬁrst U.S. steel mill in Louisiana, bringing billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.

Hyundai Motor Group, which also owns Kia Corp., will invest $5.8 billion in a new manufacturing facility on a 1,700-acre site in Donaldsonville at the RiverPlex MegaPark on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish, according to a news release from Louisiana Economic Development.

The “ultra-low carbon steel production plant” is expected to create more than

1,300 direct new jobs with an average salary of $95,000, the announcement says.

“Money is pouring in, and we want to keep it that way,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House. The facility plans for which were ﬁrst

reported by The Advocate | The Times-Picayune in January, will supply car parts via rail and truck to the company’s U.S. auto factories — which include a Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama, and a Kia Plant in West Point, Georgia — and other U.S. automakers.

Hyundai Steel Company plans to import an estimated 3.6 million tons of iron ore and produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, according to the LED news release. The Donaldsonville site attracted the carmaker because of the state’s cheap natural gas and electricity, both of which could be used to power the plant, and because of easy access to shipping, rail lines and a state highway route that connects to Interstate 10, sources have said previously

See STEEL, page 4A

Officials say 108 people moved from temporary N.O. facility to apartments

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry’s administration closed its temporary homeless shelter in New Orleans on Friday, marking an end to the governor’s controversial effort to tackle homelessness in downtown New Orleans during the busy Super Bowl and Mardi Gras tourist seasons. Shelter leaders have rushed to place residents into permanent housing in recent weeks as the state moved to close down the 70,000-square-foot warehouse, which housed over 170 people at its peak. By Friday, 108 people had been moved into subsidized apartments and paired with case management services, said Mike Steele, communications director with the state’s Ofﬁce of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Another 59 people had left the 200-bed shelter on their own since it opened Jan. 15, Steele said. It is not clear whether all of the people who left on their own moved back onto the street, or why they left. Another 15 people were moved into New Orleans’ low-barrier homeless shelter

The unprecedented state intervention into the city’s homelessness crisis drew a mixed local response after it launched ahead of Super Bowl LIX. After state officials kicked off widespread sweeps of the city’s homeless encampments, some city officials said the effort — which came with a price tag of up to $17.5 million — was a poor use of resources and that it would threaten existing city housing initiatives.

Homeless advocates also questioned whether an industrial warehouse on France Road could

Trump officials texted Yemen war plans to journalist

Material contained operational details of forthcoming strikes

BY TARA COPP, AAMER MADHANI and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including Defense

Secretary Pete Hegseth, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”

Trump told reporters he was not aware that the sensitive information had been shared, 21/2 hours af-

ter it was reported. The material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iranbacked Houthirebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg

reported. It was not immediately clear if the speciﬁcs of the military operation were classiﬁed, but they often are and at the least are kept secure to protect service members and operational security The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Houthis since the militant group began targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023. Just two hours after Goldberg

received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The National Security Council said in a statement that it was looking into how a journalist’s number was added to the chain in the Signal group chat, which included Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence,

Hegseth

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

President Donald Trump, flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, left, and Gov. Jeff Landry, speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Monday

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

London’s Heathrow defends response to fire LONDON Heathrow Airport executives on Monday defended their response to a ﬁre that shut down Europe’s busiest air hub for almost a day, after Britain’s energy system operator suggested that the facility had enough electricity from other sources to keep running.

More than 1,300 ﬂights were canceled on Friday after a ﬁre knocked out one of the three electrical substations that supply Heathrow with power More than 200,000 passengers had journeys disrupted, and industry experts say the chaos will cost airlines tens of millions of dollars.

The airport reopened after about 18 hours when Heathrow had reconﬁgured its power supply — something Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that “required hundreds of systems to be safely powered down and then safely powered up with extensive testing.”

Heathrow said that it ran a full schedule on Saturday and Sunday, with 400,000 passengers passing through on 2,500 weekend ﬂights.

The ﬁre’s huge impact raised concern about the resilience of Britain’s energy system to accidents, natural disasters or attacks. The government has ordered an investigation into “any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.”

Flammable devices found at Tesla store

AUSTIN, Texas Austin police say they’re investigating several incendiary devices found at a Tesla dealership Monday on the city’s north side, the latest in a series of events targeting the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Austin police responding to a report of hazardous materials found the devices and called in the city’s bomb squad, which took them into police custody without incident, the department said in an email to The Associated Press. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

“This is an open and ongoing investigation, and there is no further information available for release at this time,” the department said.

Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electriccar company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas, along with protests nationwide in response to the billionaire’s work with the Trump administration cutting federal funding and the workforce.

On Saturday, a man drove his car into protesters outside a Tesla dealership in Palm Beach County, Florida. No one was injured, and the man was arrested on an assault complaint. In California, police said a counterprotestor was arrested Saturday after activating a stun gun during an anti-Musk demonstration outside a Tesla dealership near downtown Berkeley Nobody was hurt. The 33-year-old man was awaiting charges Monday

Several more cases of violence targeting Tesla include Cybertrucks being set on ﬁre in Seattle and shots ﬁred at a dealership in Oregon. Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars also have been targeted.

Cherry blossom season begins in Japan

TOKYO Japan’s official cherry blossom spotters on Monday confirmed the first blooming of the country’s favorite flower, declaring the official start of the festive season in the Japanese capital.

An ofﬁcial from the Japan Meteorological Agency carefully examined the specimen tree of Somei Yoshino variety at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine and announced that more than ﬁve blossoms — the minimum required for the announcement — were flowering on it.

The opening matched the average year and was ﬁve days earlier than last year, according to the JMA. Cherry blossoms, or “sakura,” are Japan’s favorite ﬂower and usually reach their peak in late March to early April, just as the country celebrates the start of a new school and business year Many Japanese enjoy walking or picnicking under the trees.

Justices seem divided over La. congressional districts

BY MARK SHERMAN and SARA CLINE Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court seemed closely divided Monday over a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map, which added a second majority-Black district

Several of the court’s conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act.

The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life

Just two years ago, the court by a 5-4 vote affirmed a ruling that found a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act in a similar case over Alabama’s congressional map.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined their three more liberal colleagues in the outcome.

That decision led to new districts in both states that sent two more Black Democrats to Congress.

At issue in the Louisiana case is a majority-Black district that winds from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. Roberts described it as a “snake” that might violate the standard practice of drawing compact electoral districts.

The case features an unusual alliance of the Republican-led state government, which is defending the congressional map, and civil rights groups that more often ﬁnd themselves ﬁghting the state’s redistricting plans.

The United States is halfway to the next once-a-decade census, but the court is still dealing with lawsuits that grew out of the last one.

It has been a winding road.

The court fight over Louisiana’s congressional districts has lasted three years. Two maps were blocked by lower courts, and the Supreme Court has intervened twice. Most recently, the court ordered the new map to be used in the 2024 election.

The state’s Republican-dominated Legislature drew a new congressional map in 2022 to account for population shifts reﬂected in the 2020 census. But the changes effectively maintained the status quo of five Republican-leaning majority-White districts and one Democratic-leaning majorityBlack district.

Civil rights advocates won a lower court ruling that the districts

second majority-Black district.

likely discriminated against Black voters.

The Supreme Court put the ruling on hold while it took up the Alabama case. The justices allowed both states to use congressional maps in the 2022 elections even though both had been ruled likely discriminatory by federal judges.

The high court eventually afﬁrmed the ruling from Alabama, which led to a new map and a second district that could elect a Black lawmaker The justices returned the Louisiana case to federal court, with the expectation that new maps would be in place for the 2024 elections.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave lawmakers in Louisiana a deadline of early 2024 to draw a new map or face the possibility of a court-imposed map.

The state complied and drew a new map. One of the questions before the court is whether race was the predominant factor driving the new map. That’s what White Louisiana voters claimed in their separate lawsuit challenging the new districts. A three-judge court agreed.

But Gov Jeff Landry, a Republican, and other state ofﬁcials argue that politics, not race, helped set the boundaries. The congressional map provides politically safe districts for House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, fellow Republicans. The state acted to “protect our most high-profile incumbents,”

state Solicitor General A. Benjamin Aguiñaga told the justices.

Some lawmakers have also noted that the Republican lawmaker whose district was greatly altered in the new map supported a GOP opponent of Landry in the 2023 governor’s race. Former Rep. Garret Graves chose not to seek reelection under the new map. Louisiana argues that dueling lawsuits over redistricting make it almost impossible for states to know what to do.

Justice Elena Kagan was among the liberal justices who seemed supportive of the state, saying that states have to have “breathing room” to comply with court rulings, but also take other factors, including protecting incumbents, into account when redrawing districts.

“If the state can’t do that, the state has no breathing room,” Kagan said.

In a separate case, Louisiana is arguing that the section of the Voting Rights Act that allows minority groups to challenge state redistricting plans is unconstitutional. That issue could come to the high court in the next year or so, but the justices seemed unlikely to address it now

Following arguments, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she’s unsure what the outcome will be but is hoping that the court will give more guidance to legislators about the redistricting process.

Murrill, who was in the courtroom Monday, said it is the Legislature’s job to draw new maps for the state and that the process should not be “a game of litigation experts and constant litigating” in federal courts.

U.S. holds talks with Russians after meeting

BY JON GAMBRELL and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

Ukrainians

DUBAI,UnitedArab Emirates U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceaseﬁre in the 3-year-old war in Ukraine on Monday, meeting representatives from Russia one day after holding separate talks with a team from Kyiv

It has been a struggle to reach even a limited, 30-day ceaseﬁre — which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week with both sides continuing to attack each other with drones and missiles.

One major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike, even after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, because the parties disagree

While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would also like to see infrastructure like railways and ports protected.

Talks Monday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh were expected to address some of those differences, as well as a potential pause in attacks in the Black Sea to ensure the safety of commercial shipping. Russian state media reported late Monday local time that the talks had ended.

In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump said territorial lines and the potential for U.S. ownership of a key nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine have been part of the talks.

Last week, Trump ﬂoated the idea of the U.S. taking control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The six-reactor facility one of the world’s largest — was seized by Russia early in the war

“Some people are saying the United

Firefighters put out a blaze Monday following a Russian attack in Donetsk region, Ukraine.

States should own the power plant — work it that way because we have the expertise” to get the plant operating, Trump said. “Something like that would be ﬁne with me.”

Since falling under Russian control, the plant’s conditions have deteriorated While its reactors have been shut down for years, they still require power and staff to maintain cooling systems and safety features. The facility is connected to Ukraine’s energy grid without producing electricity

U.S. and Russian representatives met in the morning in Riyadh, Russia’s state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies reported. The U.S. and Ukrainian teams met Sunday Serhii Leshchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency said the delegation remained in Riyadh on Monday and expected to meet again with the Americans. In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said representatives from Ukraine and the U.S. will meet again, although he did not specify when.

Lawyers seek to free prisoners detained in El Salvador

Venezuelans deported there by U.S. under 18th-century law

BY MARCOS ALEMÁN Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador Lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government ﬁled a legal action Monday in El Salvador aimed at freeing 238 Venezuelans deported by the United States who are being held in a Salvadoran maximum-security prison.

Jaime Ortega, who says he represents 30 of the imprisoned Venezuelans, said they ﬁled the habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber He said that by extension they requested that it be applied to all Venezuelans detained in El Salvador The maneuver essentially compels the government to prove someone’s detention was justiﬁed.

The Salvadoran government has been silent about the status of the Venezuelan prisoners since the U.S. government sent them more than a week ago, despite a U.S. federal judge’s verbal order to turn the planes around.

The Trump administration is using an 18th-century wartime law to justify sending the Venezuelans, who it says were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the administration declared an invading force.

“We represent at this moment 30 Venezuelans who have given us the power to act, but by extension, we are asking for habeas corpus for the rest of the Venezuelan citizens who are detained in our country,” Ortega said.

Salvador Ríos, another lawyer with the firm, said they were contracted by the Venezuelan government and the Families of Immigrants Committee in Venezuela. He said the Venezuelans they represent are not members of the Tren de Aragua and had migrated from their country and “don’t have any criminal record.”

Landry

PROVIDED PHOTO By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

ASSOCIATED

BALCE CENETA

The U.S Supreme Court seemed closely divided Monday over a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map, which added a

Judges seem divided in case of Trump’s deportations

Panel hears arguments about block of use of 18th-century law

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON A panel of appeals court judges appeared divided Monday on a Trump administration push to lift an order blocking deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law — a case that has become a ﬂashpoint amid escalating tension with the federal courts.

Circuit Court Judge Pa-

tricia Millett said Nazis detained in the U.S. during World World II received better legal treatment than Venezuelan immigrants who were deported to El Salvador this month under the same statute

“We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy,” Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign responded during a hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Millett is one of three appellate judges who will decide whether to lift a March 15 order temporarily prohibiting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. They didn’t rule from the bench Monday. A second judge appeared

open to the administration’s argument that the migrants should be challenging their detention in Texas rather than the nation’s capital.

The third judge on the panel didn’t ask any questions.

The administration has transferred hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II.

President Donald Trump’s administration appealed after Chief Judge James Boasberg blocked those deportations and ordered planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to return to the U.S. That did not happen.

The Alien Enemies Act allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to

go before an immigration or federal court judge. Trump issued a proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.

Ensign argued that Boasberg’s ruling was an “unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch.”

“The president has to comply with the Constitution and the laws like anyone else,” said Millett, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2013.

Judge Justin Walker, whom Trump nominated in 2020, seemed to be more receptive to the administration’s arguments based on his line of questioning. Walker pointed to the government’s arguments that the plaintiffs

U.N. to reduce staff in Gaza after strike

World body blames Israel for attack

BY WAFAA SHURAFA,

EDITH M. LEDERER and LEE KEATH Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip The United Nations said Monday it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding ﬁve other employees.

The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. He pointed to the increased danger after Israel relaunched its military campaign last week with bombardment that has since killed hundreds of Palestinians. Israel has also cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza’s population for the past three weeks.

Dujarric’s statement was the U.N’s ﬁrst to point the ﬁnger at Israel in the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza He said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”

Hamas members and positions, blaming the group for civilian deaths because it operates among the population.

Air raid sirens and explosions were heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and central Israel on Monday evening as the military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency rescue service said “teams are en route to search areas where reports of rocket strikes have been received.”

should have ﬁled their lawsuit in Texas, where the immigrants were detained.

“You could have ﬁled the exact same complaint you filed here in Texas district court,” Walker told American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt.

“We have no idea if everyone is in Texas,” Gelernt said.

Walker also pressed the plaintiffs’ lawyer to cite any prior case in which a judicial order blocking “a national security operation with foreign implications” survived appellate review Gelernt accused the administration of trying to use the law to “short circuit” immigration proceedings. Plaintiffs’ attorneys had no way to individually challenge all the

deportations before planeloads of Venezuelans took off on March 15, he added.

“This has all been done in secret,” Gelernt said. Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was nominated by Republican President George H.W Bush in 1990, was the third judge on the panel. She didn’t ask any questions during a hearing that lasted roughly two hours. Boasberg, an Obama nominee, ruled that immigrants facing deportation must get an opportunity to challenge their designations as alleged gang members. He said there is “a strong public interest in preventing the mistaken deportation of people based on categories they have no right to challenge.”

White House wants high court to halt judge’s order on firings

BY LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt a ruling ordering the rehiring of thousands of federal workers let go in mass ﬁrings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.

The Israeli military repeated its denial that it was responsible for the strike, which took place a day after Israel shattered Gaza’s 2-month-old ceasefire with a surprise bombardment across the Gaza Strip.

Dujarric said the U.N “has made the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.”

He said the U.N “is not leaving Gaza,” pointing out that it still has about 13,000 national staff in Gaza, mainly working for UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

New Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed more than 60 Palestinians around Gaza, the territory’s Health

Ministry said. The ministry’s count does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

The ministry on Monday put out a list of the names of more than 15,000 children, 17 and under, killed by Israel’s campaign since it began more than 17 months ago. The list included nearly 5,000 children under the age of 6 who had been killed, including 876 infants who had not reached a year in age, Israel, which launched its campaign .in retaliation for Hamas’ October 2023 attack, says it has restarted its bombardment and cut off food to Gaza to force Hamas to accept new terms for the ceaseﬁre and release more hostages. It says it targets

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have ﬁred a handful of longrange missiles at Israel in the days since it resumed the war in Gaza. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Houthis.

Two rockets from the Gaza Strip were also intercepted after crossing into Israeli territory earlier Monday evening, setting off sirens, the Israeli military said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The emergency appeal argues that the judge can’t force the executive branch to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees. The California-based judge found the ﬁrings didn’t follow federal law, and he ordered reinstatement offers be sent as a lawsuit plays out.

The appeal also calls on the conservative-majority court to rein in the growing number of federal judges who have slowed President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda.

“Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab,” the appeal stated. The nation’s federal court system has become ground zero for pushback to Trump with the Republican-led Congress largely supportive or silent, and judges have ruled against Trump’s administration more than three dozen times after ﬁnding violations of federal law

The rulings run the gamut from birthright citizenship changes to federal spending to transgender rights.

Trump’s unparalleled ﬂurry of executive orders seems destined for several dates at a Supreme Court that he helped shape with three appointees during his ﬁrst term, but so far the majority on the nine-member court has taken relatively small steps in two cases that have reached it.

BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press

ALBUQUERQE, N.M. — Au-

thorities have released body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February

The redacted footage shows deputies talking with the two workers who called authorities to report seeing someone lying on the

ﬂoor inside the home. With no signs of forced entry or other evidence of suspicious circumstances, the deputies asked about the possibility of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the workers said they didn’t see how that could have been the case.

“Something’s not right,” one of the workers said.

Authorities soon determined there were no leaks that could have been fatal, further fueling a mystery

that captured the public’s attention.

It was solved about a week later when medical investigators conﬁrmed that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s about a week after hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare, rodentborne disease — took the life of his wife.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released only some of the footage from the investigation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on Wednesday following an Israeli tank strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

safely accommodate residents, and raised concerns about early challenges with that facility like chilly indoor temperatures and residents’ belongings mistakenly winding up in an inaccessible storage area. But state ofﬁcials worked quickly to resolve those issues and several shelter residents in February described the facility as wellmaintained and well-staffed

The shelter’s cost has continued to come under ﬁre by City Council member Lesli Harris, who has called repeatedly on the state to fund the city’s plan, launched by Cantrell in 2023, to permanently house all of New Orleans’ homeless residents.

In a statement Monday, Harris said the city’s work has housed over 822 people for a fraction of the per person cost of the temporary shelter

“The numbers speak for themselves; investing in permanent housing and supportive services is not only more humane but far more cost-effective,” Harris said Representatives for both

Cantrell and Landry declined to comment on Monday Business owner Shane Guidry, the governor’s point person on New Orleans affairs, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is unclear how much the state ultimately paid to operate the shelter An initial, two-month contract for more than $11 million expired March 11 and was renewed for another two weeks on a week-byweek basis. Extending it for a full 30 days would have put the total cost at $17.5 million, according to the contract.

Last week, Landry’s administration included the costs of operating the shelter in a $50 million funding request to the federal government to reimburse the state for spending on preparations for Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras. The $50 million total also covered costs the state spent on overtime for State Police troopers and Louisiana National Guard members who manned the French Quarter and downtown Steele said in mid-March that state officials had been in talks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ahead of submitting the request and were “optimistic” that they would be reimbursed in full.

The Port of South Louisiana and Hyundai are partnering to build a deep water dock on Ascension Parish’s west bank for steel and materials shipments, the LED announcement said.

Steel mill construction could begin as early as 2026 and production could start in 2030, said LED Deputy Secretary and Chief Financial Ofﬁcer Anne Villa, who also said the agency has been working on the deal for 15 months.

As part of the state’s incentive package, Louisiana is offering Hyundai an annual $20 million performance-based grant for ﬁve years.

Louisiana’s economic development agency offered Hyundai several incentives, including longterm tax breaks and rebates in return for creating new jobs, sources said previously Hyundai Chair Euisun Chung on Monday said the company will invest $21 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. He called the Louisiana steel plant “a key part” of that commitment.

PLANS

Continued from page 1A

and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, who was also in the group chat.

In a statement late Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president still has the “utmost conﬁdence” in Waltz and the national security team.

Trump told reporters, “I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time.” He added that The Atlantic was “not much of a magazine Government officials have used Signal for organizational correspondence, but it is not classified and can be hacked. Privacy and tech experts say the popular endto-end encrypted messaging and voice call app is more secure than conventional texting.

The sharing of sensitive information comes as Hegseth’s ofﬁce has just announced a crackdown on leaks of sensitive information, including the potential use of polygraphs on defense personnel to determine how reporters have received information.

Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for Hegseth, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the defense secretary posted war operational plans on an un-

Chung added Hyundai this week is also opening a new $8 billion plant in Georgia, allowing the company’s U.S. vehicle production “to exceed 1 million units per year.”

Johnson, a Republican from Benton, said Trump’s leadership is bringing about “great growth ”

“There’s this great sense of relief, almost euphoria out there, because they know that America is back,” Johnson said, referring to his travels last week for campaign and fundraising events. “This is the America-ﬁrst agenda.”

Landry said securing the deal for Louisiana was a matter of “seeing the America-ﬁrst policy in action” and of efforts over the last year aimed at public safety, education and tax reform.

Many of the permanent jobs generated by the project will be ﬁlled by “individuals trained right here in Ascension Parish,” said Clint Cointment, Ascension Parish president.

“Education and training are essential in addressing poverty and inequality and laying the foundation for lasting economic growth.

Today marks a milestone in our community’s journey toward a

brighter and more prosperous

future for all of Ascension,” he said Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan on Monday said the project is “proof that the west bank is not just ready, but primed for growth.”

At the state level, the south Louisiana steel mill marks another huge victory for Landry and his economic development chief, LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois.

It follows a December announcement that Meta will build its largest data center in Richland Parish in north Louisiana The $10 billion investment will result in a 4 million-square-foot facility that is expected to employ 500 permanent workers.

The type of operation being planned, an electric arc furnace, is known for its reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

State ofﬁcials say the mill would have 70% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a traditional blast furnace, which relies on coalbased coke for fuel.

This claim roughly matches those from industry sources and from groups like the nonproﬁt Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which advo-

on Thursday.

classiﬁed app. The breach in protocol was swiftly condemned by Democratic lawmakers. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation.

“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a ﬂoor speech Monday afternoon

“If true, this story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,”

Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island,

the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. He said American lives are “on the line. The carelessness shown by Trump’s Cabinet is stunning and dangerous. I will be seeking answers from the Administration immediately.”

Rep. Jim Himes, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that he was “horriﬁed” by the reports.

Himes said if a lower-ranking ofﬁcial “did what is described here, they would likely lose their clear-

cates for a clean energy transition in manufacturing.

The Nucor Steel mill in Decatur, Alabama, has an electric arc furnace plant that produced about 7% more steel than the proposed Hyundai would. The Alabama mill emitted little more than a ton of potent toxic chemicals like mercury zinc and chromium but also had about a dozen tons of those metals that were shipped off-site to a landﬁll, according to an EPA database.

If the Hyundai mill’s emissions are similar to the Decatur mill’s, the proposed plant’s emissions would be dwarfed by the emissions of facilities already in the area, including the CF Industries complex just down the river

The mill would be built in an area of poor mostly minority communities that federal regulators say is already near the acceptable cancer risk from air pollution. One nearby community, near Modeste, has a risk that is twice the federal standard for cancer risk from pollution.

Some environmental groups, like the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and a local Ascension group, Rural Roots, have already come out against the project.

ance and be subject to criminal investigation. The American people deserve answers,” which he said he planned to get at Wednesday’s previously scheduled committee hearing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to learn more about what happened.

“Obviously, we got to run it to the ground, ﬁgure out what went on there,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.

The handling of national defense information is strictly governed by law under the century-old Espionage Act, including provisions that make it a crime to remove such information from its “proper place of custody” even through an act of gross negligence.

The Justice Department in 2015 and 2016 investigated whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke the law by communicating about classiﬁed information with her aides on a private email server she set up, though the FBI ultimately recommended against charges and none were brought.

In the Biden administration, some ofﬁcials were given permission to download Signal on their White House-issued phones, but were instructed to use the app sparingly, according to a former national security official who served in the Democratic administration.

The ofﬁcial, who requested anonymity to speak about methods used to share sensitive informa-

“We are already inundated with polluting facilities and no government agency, state or federal, has protected our interests,” said Ashley Gaignard, president of Rural Roots. “We have no reason to believe there will be any oversight of this plant.”

Electric arc steel furnaces have fewer emissions but rely on scrap steel to operate It is a step that saves on pollution, but the furnaces still have signiﬁcant power demands that can result in their own greenhouse gas and other emissions, depending on the source, according to the World Steel Association.

The steel industry also has heavy competition for scrap metal, and it is often sourced from foreign markets.

Entergy President and CEO Phillip May said the company will supply all of the steel plant’s power via transmission lines supported by the company’s existing energy generation plans. Those plans could include proposed power plants in the New Orleans area and in southwest Louisiana, May said.

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

tion, said Signal was most commonly used to communicate what they internally referred to as “tippers” to notify someone when they were away from the ofﬁce or traveling overseas that they should check their “high side” inbox for a classiﬁed message.

The app was sometimes also used by officials during the Biden administration to communicate about scheduling of sensitive meetings or classified phone calls when they were outside the office, the official said.

The use of Signal became more prevalent during the last year of the Biden administration after federal law enforcement officials warned that China and Iran were hacking the White House as well as officials in the first Trump administration, according to the official.

The official was unaware of top Biden administration officials such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan — using Signal to discuss sensitive plans as the Trump administration officials did.

Some of the toughest criticism targeted Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel weekend host Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, said on social media that Hegseth, “the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in history, is demonstrating his incompetence by literally leaking classiﬁed war plans in the group chat.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Locals inspect a site reportedly hit by U.S airstrikes overnight in Sanaa, yemen,

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

A warehouse at 5601 France Road in New Orleans served as a temporary homeless shelter operated by the state during the busy Super Bowl and Mardi Gras tourist seasons.

Palestinian director attacked by Israeli settlers

Ballal, one of the co-directors of the joint Palestinian-Israeli production, leaving his head bleeding, the activists said. As he was being treated in an ambulance, soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man, the group said.

BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israeli settlers

beat up one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning ﬁlm “No Other Land” in the occupied West Bank on Monday, and he was then detained by the Israeli military Jewish activists on the scene said.

Dozens of settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, destroying property, said the activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence

They attacked Hamdan

The Israeli military said it was looking into the episode but did not immediately comment.

“We don’t know where Hamdan is because he was taken away in a blindfold,” Josh Kimelman, one of the activists who was at the scene, told The Associated Press.

A group of 10 to 20 masked settlers attacked him and other Jewish activists with stones and sticks, and smashed their car windows and slashed their tires.

Video provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence

showed a masked settler shoving and swinging his fists at two activists from the group in a dusty field at night. The activists rush back to their car. “Get in, get in!” one shouts, and they duck inside as the thuds of rocks being thrown can be heard. “Car window was broken,” the driver says as they drive off.

“No Other Land,” which won the Oscar this year for best documentary, chronicles the struggle by residents of Masafer Yatta to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. It has two Palestinian co-directors, Ballal and Basel Adra, both residents of Masafar Yatta, and two Israeli directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

The ﬁlm has won a string of international awards, start-

ing at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024 It has also drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach brieﬂy proposed ending the lease of a movie theater that screened the docu-

mentary The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta as a live-ﬁre training zone in the 1980s and ordered residents, mostly Arab Bedouin, to be expelled. Around

French actor Gérard Depardieu stands trial in Paris

Performer

accused of sexual assaults on set

BY SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

PARIS French actor Gérard Depardieu went on trial

Monday in Paris on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set, in a case seen as a potential watershed for the #MeToo movement in France.

Depardieu, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-yearold set dresser and a 34-yearold assistant director during ﬁlming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”).

The actor faces up to ﬁve years in prison and a ﬁne of $81,000 if convicted.

Depardieu denies any wrongdoing.

To reporters massed outside the courtroom, he briefly said, “I’m OK.” Inside, he told the judges that he was prepared to answer the court’s questions. “We will be able to show in an impartial, objective and incontestable manner that all of the accusations are lies,” his attorney, Jérémie Assous, told journalists “The truth will be obvious and the truth is on our side,” he said.

Assous, right, in Paris.

Depardieu’s long and storied career has turned the trial into a post-#MeToo test of the willingness of France and its movie industry to confront sexual violence and hold inﬂuential men accountable. Depardieu has been a darling of French cinemagoers for decades and was Oscarnominated in 1991 for his

Turkey detains journalists as protests grow over official’s jailing

By The Associated Press

ISTANBUL A media union

said Turkish authorities arrested several journalists at their homes in a crackdown Monday, amid growing protests over the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor, a top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A court on Sunday formally arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and ordered him jailed pending a trial on corruption charges. His detention on Wednesday sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade, deepening concerns over democracy and the rule of law

The Disk-Basin-Is media workers’ union said at least eight reporters and photo-

journalists were detained in what it called an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth.”

It called for their immediate release

The social media platform X said it was objecting to multiple court orders from Turkish authorities to block more than 700 accounts, including of news organizations, journalists and political ﬁgures in Turkey.

A total of 1,133 people have been detained since the mayor was arrested at his home, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. As many as 123 police ofﬁcers were injured in the protests, he said, adding that materials such as acid, ﬁrebombs and knives were seized

“Some circles have been

exploiting the right to assemble and demonstrate, attempting to disrupt public order incite street unrest and attack our police,” Yerlikaya said on social media.

The minister said some of the detained were identiﬁed as having ties to groups listed as terrorist organizations and others had criminal records.

Hundreds of thousands of people have come out for the largely peaceful protests across Turkey in support of the mayor There has been some violence, with police deploying water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray and firing plastic pellets at protesters in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir Some protesters hurled stones, ﬁreworks and other objects at riot police.

performance as swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.

But his alleged boorish behavior off-screen has also long made headlines. He has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some others were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.

Feminist and historian Florence Montreynaud described Depardieu’s court appearance as “a historic moment” for women’s rights, as she joined other campaigners who demonstrated outside the court. A dozen chanted “Sexist violence, complicit judicial system” as they danced to techno music.

“Times are changing #MeToo has swept through At last, mentalities are changing,” Montreynaud said to French broadcaster BFMTV

The trial also follows in the wake of the historic case last year involving Gisèle Pelicot, whose bravery put the spotlight on sexual violence in France. She demanded that the drugging-and-rape trial for 51 men tried for a horriﬁc catalog of abuse on her be held in open court, arguing that doing so would help make shame change sides.

Prosecutors say Depardieu trapped the set dresser with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. She says the actor also used obscene language and had to be pulled away by bodyguards.

The assistant director alleged that Depardieu groped her both on set and in the street.

The women sat side by side in court. The Associated Press doesn’t name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identiﬁed. Neither has done so in this case. The trial is expected to last at least two days, but could be extended beyond Tuesday, if the chief judge wants more time. The trial was initially scheduled for October but then postponed because of Depardieu’s health. A verdict is expected at a later date.

France has often been ambivalent — even resistant — toward the #MeToo movement. While Hollywood saw powerful men fall swiftly and publicly, the French ﬁlm industry was slower to respond. Some dismissed #MeToo as an American export incompatible with French values, citing concerns over free expression and what they viewed as an erosion of ﬂirtation culture. At the time of the alleged assaults, Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024, prosecutors requested that it go to trial.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By THIBAULT CAMUS

Actor Gérard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives Monday with his lawyer Jérémie

Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and yuval Abraham, winners of the award for best documentary feature film for ‘No Other Land,’ hold their Oscars on March 2 at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Jury orders Monsanto parent to pay $2.1B

A jury in Georgia has ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to attorneys representing the plaintiff. The verdict marks the latest in a long-running series of court battles Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide. The agrochemical giant says it will appeal the verdict, reached in a Georgia courtroom late Friday, in efforts to overturn the decision

The penalties awarded include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages, law

ﬁrms Arnold & Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC said in a statement. That marks one of the largest verdicts in a Roundup-related case to date.

Plaintiff John Barnes ﬁled his lawsuit against Monsanto in 2021, seeking damages related to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Germany-based Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has continued to dispute claims that Roundup causes cancer But the company has been hit with more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weedkiller and set aside $16 billion to settle cases.

StubHub plans initial stock offering

StubHub, the events ticketing platform, has ﬁled for an initial public offering of its common stock.

The online marketplace where users can buy and resell tickets to sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events said Friday that it had applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “STUB.”

Paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not disclose the number of shares or an expected price range.

StubHub, which is based in New York, said buyers in more than 200 countries and territories used its platform to purchase more than 40 million tickets last year

StubHub Holdings Inc. includes StubHub in North America — billed as the ﬁrst online marketplace for secondary tickets since its launch in 2000 — and viagogo internationally James Hardie offers AZEK $8.75B deal

Australian building products company James Hardie Industries is buying U.S. outdoor products maker AZEK in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $8.75 billion, including $386 million in debt.

It’s the second major acquisition in the building supplies sector in less than a week, with QXO Inc. announcing on Thursday that it was buying Beacon Rooﬁng Supply Inc. in a deal worth about $11 billion, including debt.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to the lowest level in nearly 30 years. Analysts said uncertainty in the housing market was driving the deals. Under the James Hardie deal, shareholders of The AZEK Company Inc. will receive $26.45 in cash and 1.034 ordinary shares of James Hardie for each share of AZEK stock that they own. AZEK is based in Chicago. James Hardie shareholders will own about 74% of the combined company, with AZEK stockholders owning 26%. The combined company will sell siding, exterior trim, decking, railing and pergolas, among other building goods

Wall Street gains ground, shakes off slump

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP business writers

Stocks closed broadly higher Monday amid hopes on Wall Street that the Trump administration may take a more targeted approach as it tees up a new round of tariffs on imported goods next week

The S&P 500 was up for the day

The index was coming off its ﬁrst winning week after a four-week losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite closed higher “The market was primed to respond well if the administration pulled back on some of the tariff

threats or even provided off ramps for the tensions, and that’s kind of what we’re seeing here,” said Ross Mayﬁeld, investment strategist at Baird.

Despite the gains, the benchmark S&P 500 has lost 1.9% so far this year out of concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inﬂationary pressures. Wall Street remains focused on how tariffs could eventually impact inﬂation, consumer spending and economic growth. Stocks have been riding waves of hope and worry as tariffs are announced, then either implemented or pulled. A new round of tariffs scheduled to be implemented on April 2 could also be softened or postponed rather than

take effect.

Trump has been somewhat closely guarded about his plans for tariffs, saying Monday that even though he wants to charge “reciprocal” rates — import taxes to match the rates charged by other countries that “we might be even nicer than that.”

“The exact breadth and scale of the tariffs remain to be seen, and a cycle of tit-for-tat escalation is also possible in the weeks following the announcement, potentially triggering further bouts of market volatility,” said Ulrike HoffmannBurchardi, chief investment officer of global equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Gains on Monday were broad, with 84% of stocks within the S&P

IRS uncertainty adds to tax stress

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writer

NEWYORK There’s a lot of information (and money) on the table during tax season. That also makes it a prime time for scams.

Year-round, fraudsters may use a handful of common tactics to try to steal your identity, money or other sensitive information

As you prepare your annual tax return, due April 15, experts stress it’s important to be extra vigilant.

This year, scammers might take particular advantage of uncertainty stemming from recent workforce cuts impacting thousands of jobs at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. These layoffs and the potential for even more widespread reductions also raise questions about resources, including the IRS’s bandwidth to respond to scams reported by consumers.

“Uncertainty is probably one of the biggest motivating emotions that social engineers take advantage of,” said Dave Chronister, a prominent “ethical hacker” and CEO of

Parameter Security, noting that scammers might use news of these cuts and impersonate the IRS to falsely promise taxpayers “new” ways of ﬁling. Similar tactics emerged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and following legitimate rounds of federal aid with some scammers making false claims about additional stimulus checks, for example.

All it takes is just “a little bit of common knowledge” to “nudge you” into trusting them, Chronister said.

Beyond how scammers use the news, the IRS workforce cuts could slow the agency’s ability to actually respond to scams, Chronister and others note. As a result, malicious websites or predatory social media campaigns may not be taken down as quickly — and victims of fraudulent returns could have to wait longer for answers.

“There is potential for reduced oversight,” said Chris Pierson, chief executive of cybersecurity ﬁrm BlackCloak. “If you have less individuals to be proactive within an agency that is housing, I mean, an amazing treasure

trove of data and information — that obviously is concerning (and could) create a riskier environment for the consumer.”

Asked for comment, the IRS pointed to its “Dirty Dozen” list of common tax scams to watch out for this year, among other steps taxpayers can take to protect themselves from identity theft and fraud. But the agency did not immediately comment on whether recent or future workforce cuts would impact its enforcement resources.

The key is to ﬁle as soon as you can.

Nobody is eager to sit down and do their taxes, but getting it out of the way early — and before any scammers potentially try to ﬁle something in your name — makes a huge difference, Chronister said. Taxpayers can play it safe by sticking to what they know

“If you’ve always been using TurboTax, use TurboTax. If you always use an accountant, use your accountant,” Chronister said. He notes that you should also keep your information safe by password-protecting any past ﬁlings downloaded to your device and using a VPN when on public Wi-Fi.

23andMe files for Chapter 11 as co-founder and CEO resigns

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business

writer

NEW YORK — 23andMe has ﬁled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs San Francisco-based 23andMe announced on Sunday that it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a courtapproved reorganization plan Anne Wojcicki, who cofounded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, is also stepping down as CEO effective immediately, the company said — but will remain on the 23andMe board. Her resignation comes just weeks after a board committee rejected a nonbinding acquisition proposal from Wojcicki who has been trying to take the company

private. And Wojcicki intends to still bid on 23andMe as the company pursues a sale through the bankruptcy process. In a statement on social media, Wojcicki said that she resigned as CEO to be “in the best position” as an independent bidder 23andMe has faced an uncertain future for some time. Beyond battles to go private, the company struggled to ﬁnd a proﬁtable business model since going public in 2021 Privacy concerns related to customers’ genetic information have also emerged, notably spanning from a 2023 data breach — along with questions around what new ownership could mean for users’ data. 23andMe was founded in 2006, with a promise to revolutionize the

future of genetics and health care. The company became known for its saliva-based DNA testing kits — purchased by millions of customers eager to learn more about their ancestry — and later dived further into health research and drug development.

But recent years have been far from smooth sailing for 23andMe. And Sunday’s voluntary bankruptcy ﬁling caps months of turmoil. Last September all of its independent directors resigned in a rare move following acquisition negotiations with Wojcicki. The company then announced in November that it would lay off 40% of its workforce, or more than 200 employees, and discontinue its therapeutics division. And in January, the board’s special committee said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.

23andMe says its bankruptcy ﬁling won’t change the way it stores or protects data.

John Bringardner, of Debtwire, notes that any new buyer of 23andMe will have to comply with regulatory approvals that ensure “customer data won’t end up in unscrupulous hands.”

Still, who will end up owning 23andMe down the road is unknown. And experts note that risks remain.

“Personal data collected by 23andme has always been at risk,” Bringardner wrote in emailed commentary on Monday — pointing particularly to a 2023 data breach that compromised ancestral information for nearly 7 million 23andMe customers. He adds that litigation spanning from the aftermath of this breach helped drive up liabilities that eventually contributed to the current bankruptcy ﬁling.

Wojcicki

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PETER MORGAN

This year, scammers might take particular advantage of uncertainty stemming from recent workforce cuts impacting thousands of jobs at the U.S Internal Revenue Service.

Firefighters in Carolinas battle multiple wildfires

By The Associated Press

Fireﬁghters in North and South Carolina were battling multiple wind-driven wildﬁres Monday in rugged terrain that complicated containment efforts, officials said.

Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said.

“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.”

Both South Carolina and North Carolina have issued statewide bans on outdoor burning.

Mandatory evacuations continue for about 165 properties in parts of Polk County in western North Carolina, about 80 miles west of Charlotte, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon.

Three fires burned at least 7.5 square miles in the county and the two larger blazes were completely un-

contained, Cannon said in a social media update Monday morning. The Black Cove Fire, one of the larger ones, was moving toward neighboring Henderson County, Cannon said Kim Callaway, who lives near one of the evacuated areas in Polk County, has prepared her home, WLOSTV reported.

“We’ve already actually evacuated everything that we thought that was important,” Callaway said. “And now we’re just staying at the house and trying to do what we can to get our house prepared if the ﬁremen need to show up and hold the line.”

A downed power line sparked the Black Cove Fire, but the causes of the other two ﬁres in Polk County were under investigation, according to North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Jeremy Waldrop.

A number of other wildfires burning across the state including one that damaged 500 vehicles at a salvage yard in Burke County, ofﬁcials said.

Two ﬁres in the South Carolina mountains have led Gov Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency

One ﬁre was in Table Rock State Park in Pickens Coun-

Greenland’s leader

ty and the other was on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County Winds and difﬁcult mountainous terrain allowed blazes to grow, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

The Table Rock Fire expanded to more than 2 square miles, including several hundred acres that firefighters intentionally burned to try to contain the flames, officials said.

laments

‘mess’ as U.S. VP’s wife to visit island

BY JAMEY KEATEN and VANESSA GERA Associated Press

Greenland’s people are bracing for another visit from U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle, with second lady Usha Vance set to travel to the autonomous Danish territory this week as her husband ratchets up talk about U.S. security and “territorial” interests in the vast Arctic island coveted by the administration.

Greenland’s prime minister has warned of “American aggression” and lamented a “mess” caused by the upcoming visit from Vance, who will be joined by Trump’s national security adviser and energy secretary On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance her husband — blasted Denmark for “not doing its job” and “not being a good ally.”

“So you have to ask yourself: How are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?” JD Vance said on Fox News. “If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us.”

Trump on Monday took a more conciliatory tone, casting the visit this week as based on “friendliness.”

Denmark is a NATO ally of the United States, and northwestern Greenland already houses the U.S. Pitufﬁk military base that falls under the Pentagon’s Space Force. Danish national police on Sunday sent extra personnel and sniffer dogs to Greenland as part of regular security measures taken during visits by dignitaries. A police spokesperson declined to give details, but news reports

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA Boys play on a frozen beach on March 11 in Nuuk, Greenland Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, is planning to visit the island.

said dozens were ﬂown in.

Before the president began his second term in January, a visit by Trump’s eldest son heightened concerns in Greenland about possible U.S. ambitions. Donald Trump Jr told its residents that “we’re going to treat you well” weeks before March 11 elections that had centered on possible independence from Denmark. Greenlandic news outlet Sermitsiaq posted images of two U.S. Hercules workhorse military aircraft on the tarmac Sunday in Nuuk, the capital, adding that the planes later departed. News reports said four bulletproof cars had also been ﬂown in.

On her visit, Vance will attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race which features about 37 mushers and 444 dogs, her ofﬁce said. Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also be traveling to Greenland, the White House said.

“The U.S. has a vested security interest in the Arctic region and it should not be a surprise the National Secu-

rity Adviser and Secretary of Energy are visiting a U.S. Space Base to get ﬁrsthand briefings from our service members on the ground,” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Greenland is also in the process of political transition. The pro-business Demokraatit party, which favors a slow path to independence, won a surprise victory in the recent elections, outpacing the two leftleaning parties that formed the last government Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede, who remains in the post until a new government is formed, acknowledged Sunday on Facebook that there is worry on the island.

The visit of “the wife of the United States vice president and the United States president’s highest security adviser cannot be seen only as a private visit,” he said. “We can already see now, how big a mess it’s caused.”

Egede said there would be no ofﬁcial meetings with the U.S. visitors because a new government has yet to be formed.

The Persimmon Ridge Fire, which started Saturday, spread to more than 1.25 square miles despite many dozens of water drops, the commission said.

Scheller, the North Carolina State University professor, predicted this busy ﬁre season if the region saw dry weather following Helene.

trees left behind. Pines and their waxy needles dry out and become very flammable, Scheller said. The fallen trunks can also block roads and paths used to fight fires, experts said.

The last ingredient to fuel wildﬁres is dry weather. Despite recent rain, the Carolinas are undergoing an extreme drought, according to federal monitors. The common denominator for many fires on the East Coast is human activity, whether people burn debris, light a campfire that isn’t well watched or toss out cigarette, Scheller said. And more people living next to areas that can burn make ﬁres a bigger threat, he said.

A forest fire burning in New Jersey’s million-acre Pinelands region was 100% contained on Monday morning, the New Jersey Forest Fire Services said in a post on X. The ﬁre was ﬁrst spotted

BY JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/ Report for America

DENVER A portrait of President Donald Trump hanging at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump claimed it was “purposefully distorted,” state ofﬁcials said Monday House Democrats said in a statement that the oil painting would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature

“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Democrats said.

The portrait was painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term and unveiled in 2019. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting. In a Sunday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would prefer no picture at all over the one that hangs in the Colorado Capitol. The Republican lauded a nearby portrait of former President Barack Obama — also by Boardman — saying “he looks wonderful.” “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves,

but the one in Colorado, in the state Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump wrote. The portraits are not the purview of the Colorado governor’s office, but the Colorado Building Advisory Committee. Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. She previously told The Denver Post that it was important her depictions of both Obama and Trump looked “apolitical.”

Human activity ignited both the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge ﬁres. No injuries had been reported, and while no structures were imminently threatened, voluntary evacuations of about 100 homes remained in place.

Scientists saw something similar in 2022 when a fire burned more than 51 square miles of timberland in the Florida Panhandle. The Bertha Swamp Road Fire almost directly followed the eye pattern from 2018’s Hurricane Michael and the fallen pine

U.S. postmaster general resigns

BY CAILLEY LAPARA Bloomberg News (TNS)

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has resigned, hastening his previously announced departure as the nation’s postal agency looks to stem ﬁnancial losses and overhaul its operations.

The head of the U.S. Postal Service informed the agency’s board of governors that Monday would be his last day, DeJoy said in a statement. Deputy Postmaster General Doug

Tulino will take over until a permanent successor is named.

The abrupt exit adds to the volatility gripping the post ofﬁce, which has seen sputtering gains in DeJoy’s yearslong plan to cut costs, reverse losses and improve efﬁciency President Donald Trump has mused recently about taking the service private or folding it into the Department of Commerce, while Elon Musk also called for privatization. DeJoy told lawmakers

earlier this month that he signed a deal with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to collaborate on reforms to the sprawling service. Under the agreement, at least two DOGE staffers would work under the postmaster’s supervision on efficiency efforts at the agency While DeJoy said last month that he had asked the board to begin the succession process, he hadn’t given a specific date for his departure.

Your hearing is an integral part of your overall health and wellbeing. Studiesshow that untreated hearingloss has been linked to many health issues, including cognitivedeclineand dementia.1

We are hosting aSpecial Eventduring the month of March! During this event, we will be offering these FREE services:

•FREE Hearing Consultations

•FREE Video Otoscope Exam: Hearinglossorjust earwax?

•FREE Clean &Check on currenthearing aids

•FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment

•FREE Familiar Voice Test

•FREE Demo of Audibel’s latest hearing technology!

AreYou or Anyone YouKnow Experiencing the Following?

1. Asking people to speak up or repeat themselves?

2. Turning theTVuploud tounderstandwhat is being said?

3. Ringing or noises in your ears?

4. Hearing but not understandingcertain words?

Audibelis NOW Offering...

•Hearingaids at NO COST to those who qualify!•

• That’s Right. No Co-Pay!NoExamFee! No AdjustmentFee! If youhavethiscard, youmay qualifyfor free hearing aids! Call today to verifyyour benefits

Simply call one of our ofﬁcesbelow to scheduleyour FREE hearing test.

Appointments areavailable on afirst-come, first-served basis and thereisNOCOST for these services.

MARCH 2025

3026 Gause Blvd., Ste. E 985-718-3589 BOGALUSA 2801 S. Columbia St. 985-545-3733

215 St Ann, Suite 5 985-796-2041

Jan Risher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Renovation keeps Alarios busy

Trina Edwards Alario has a deﬁnite sense of style

And she’s taking that style to her husband’s beloved Gretna, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River just east and across the river from Uptown New Orleans.

Since she married John Alario on June 1, 2023, the couple has, until recently, maintained two homes the one Trina had in Baton Rouge and the home in Westwego where he’s lived for nearly six decades. (He and his ﬁrst wife built it for $19,000 in 1966.) This month, they sold her Baton Rouge University Club home and plan to eventually sell his Westwego home.

A 99-year-old house on historic Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna set the couple’s real estate domino effect in motion. They both say they knew it would take a special place, meeting a lot of requirements, for them to consolidate their lives into one home.

Putting it into the universe

“I’m a Baton Rouge girl,” Trina said. “But when John showed me Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna, I thought, ‘I could live here.’” The problem was that the homes of Gretna’s Historic District are loaded with curb appeal and rarely come on the market a reality that did not deter her Once she decided that was where she wanted to go, when people asked, she would simply say, “Oh, we’re moving to Huey P. Long Avenue.”

ä See RISHER, page 2B

Race for District E seat takes shape

City Council veteran, newcomer have announced runs

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

A former New Orleans City Council member and a political newcomer will run this fall for the District E seat Oliver Thomas will vacate next year due to his bid for mayor Former District E council member Cyndi Nguyen, now a community outreach strategy advisor with the Regional Transit Authority, and Danyelle Christmas, a dental assistant, each say they are best suited to represent New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward. Meanwhile, former District E council member Jon Johnson, who resigned his seat in 2012 after pleading guilty to swiping federal funds from a nonproﬁt he controlled after Hurricane Ka-

St. Tammany deputy mourned

Sheriff: Sergeant killed in ‘senseless’ high-speed chase

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

The St. Tammany Parish Sher-

iff’s Ofﬁce was in mourning Monday, the day after a well-known deputy sheriff who had been named the department’s Deputy of the Year in 2023 was killed during a high-speed police chase that spanned two parishes.

“He was a very outgoing very proactive deputy,” Sheriff Randy Smith said of 37-year-old Sgt. Grant Candies, who was struck

and killed shortly after midnight Sunday while deploying a spike strip on an Interstate 10 onramp near the Oak Harbor exit in Slidell to stop the speeding vehicle Three 17-year-olds have been arrested, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said.

“He was a former Marine, so he was a go-getter, a really tough guy,” Smith said of Candies during an interview Monday in Slidell.

Candies joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2016 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was pro-

moted to sergeant in 2023, the same year he was named Deputy of the Year for helping save the lives of two people a hit-and-run victim and someone experiencing an opioid overdose.

Candies was also a field training ofﬁcer, training new deputies. Smith said he was “really liked not only by his co-workers, but by the public he served.” He leaves behind his wife, Courtney, and two children, Bryson, 8,

SCALEY SURGERY

LSU Vet School performs first-of-its-kind procedure in U.S

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

A rare white alligator at the Audubon Zoo has become the ﬁrst in the United States to undergo cataract surgery

The zoo’s staff noticed something wasn’t right with the 7-foot-long, blueeyed alligator named Victor when the reptile didn’t notice his dinner — typically whole ﬁsh or raw meat when it

Case revived after 2023 dismissal

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

was held out in front of him.

“The food would be right next to him and he would miss it, or he couldn’t grab his food as well,” senior zookeeper Ashley Rabenau said. “Normally, they’re taking the food right from the tongs.”

Instead, Victor was following the tong’s shadow on the wall of his enclosure.

Concerned, the staff reached out to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge, where ophthalmologist Dr Renee Carter and her team examined the 12-year-old alligator and discovered he had an advanced cataract in the left eye, along with some inﬂammation The retina itself was healthy and

charge

well. So on Feb. 19, Victor made history as the ﬁrst alligator in the nation to have a cataract surgically corrected.

The only typical thing about the operation was the injection used to put Victor asleep in the large animal surgical suite of the LSU Vet School.

“You can get a vein in an alligator and inject between the scales,” Carter said. “It was deﬁnitely more of a production. We used ultrasound to help us ﬁnd the veins.”

At other times during the procedure, a neuromuscular blocking agent was

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish is reopening its weekly recycling drop-off sites on each side of the Mississippi River starting Saturday

Both sites, located at 700 David Drive in Metairie and 6440 Lapalco Blvd. in Marrero, will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Jefferson Parish contracted with Glass Half Full to provide the service and collect the following materials: n Glass bottles and jars (no mirrors or broken glass, ceramics, pottery, etc.)

Kenner police allege Carter was a recent hire who had been on the job for about three weeks when he stopped a driver during the

A former Kenner police officer, accused of accepting money from a driver during a 2023 traffic stop, pleaded not guilty in the case Monday after the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office refiled the charge against him. Trey Carter, 29, previously pleaded not guilty to malfeasance in office in November 2023. The District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case in February 2024 when Carter entered its pretrial diversion program, according to Jefferson Parish court records. The program allows some first-time offenders to avoid charges if they participate in counseling or other activities. Prosecutors, however, reserved the right to refile if Carter didn’t complete the program’s requirements, which can vary depending on the individual. The District Attorney’s Office refiled the malfeasance charge in November, and the court record called it a “diversion refile.” The district attorney on Monday declined to comment because it is an open case. Carter, who told the court he is now working as a truck driver in Old Hickory, Tennessee, appeared Monday in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court via Zoom to be arraigned.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Victor a blue-eyed white alligator from Audubon Zoo, was the first alligator in the U.S to undergo cataract surgery on Feb 19 at LSU’s Vet School.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sgt. Grant Candies was killed during a high-speed police chase.

See KILLED, page 2B

Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Les Miles

Former LSU coach fighting for

Hall of Fame eligibility

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

A Louisiana judge dismissed all the claims in a lawsuit ﬁled by former LSU football coach Les Miles against the school, the NCAA and the National Football Foundation over his ineligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame.

District Judge Ronald Johnson issued the ruling Monday inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. Miles’ attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said they would review the decision and consider their options in regard to an appeal.

Miles sued in September, more

DISTRICT E

Continued from page 1B

trina, also said he is eyeing the race.

Whomever voters choose to represent in the October municipal election will have to satiate a constituency longing for more economic investment in a region that has struggled to recover since Hurricane Katrina.

Qualifying for the election, in which voters will also elect a new mayor and seven council seats, among other city ofﬁces, is in July

But the race for District E has solidiﬁed following Thomas’ ofﬁcial bid to succeed Mayor LaToya Cantrell last week.

Nguyen In the four years since voters ousted Nguyen in favor of Thomas, she has plotted a return to politics. Nguyen, 55, cited unfinished business in her first and only term, as the first two years of it were interrupted by COVID-19.

If reelected, she’d see the reopening of Lincoln Beach through. As chair of the council’s Economic Development and Special Projects Committee, she supported the Cantrell administration’s plans to hire a consultant to come up with a revival plan for Lincoln Beach and the abandoned Six Flags amusement park.

Nguyen also said she wants to transform the corridor leading to Lincoln Beach into a culture and arts hub, similar to how Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard was revitalized after Katrina.

Nguyen plans to visit and talk with district residents in the coming months about their most immediate needs.

“I believe it is really the people that run the district, not a council member,” she said. “I’m here to connect with our community leaders that are on the ground every day advocating for issues in their neighborhood.”

Johnson

Johnson, 70, highlighted the 23 years he spent in the state Legislature and and the two years he spent on the council which

BRIBERY

Continued from page 1B

early morning hours of Aug. 19, 2023. Police have never disclosed what trafﬁc infraction led to the stop But it ended after the driver gave Carter an undisclosed amount of money to avoid arrest, the department said.

Within a few hours, a friend of the driver who learned of the bribe contacted Kenner police. Investigators identified Carter as the officer involved in the stop, authorities said. He was fired and arrested, according to authorities.

Carter’s case returns to court for a status hearing April 21.

RECYCLING

Continued from page 1B

helps avoid contamination and mold.

n Don’t bag recycling Toss recyclables directly in the bin. Thin, plastic garbage bags can actually clog the mechanics of recycling sorters. This sort of ﬁlmy plastic, like packaging and single-use plastic bags, must be recycled through a separate process. Most grocery stores will take back these kinds of bags.

n Break down boxes and crush cans to ﬁt more in your bin.

than a year after LSU voluntarily vacated 37 wins from his tenure as part of an investigation into the men’s basketball and football programs. His record across 18 seasons at Oklahoma State, LSU and Kansas officially dropped to 108-73 (.597) as a result, putting him below the .600 mark required for consideration.

The wins were vacated June 22, 2023, after LSU received a notice of allegations from the NCAA. The case involved a Level I violation in which the father of former LSU offensive lineman Vadal Alexander received roughly $180,000 from a booster who embezzled funds from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Alexander was a fouryear starter from 2012-15.

The lawsuit sought a declaratory judgment that would have restored Miles’ eligibility for the Hall of Fame and allowed

he said would guide his efforts to reshape the East and provide the retail options residents have thirsted for

“Leadership is what the community needs now more than ever,” he said “We know that we need retail development. I’m already in communication with developers about the future development of the Plaza site.”

Like Thomas, who resigned from his post in 2007 and served a stint in prison on federal bribery charges, Johnson’s campaign would also come after federal charges — conspiracy, in Johnson’s case — that led to his resignation in 2012 and a six-month stint in prison.

“One experience doesn’t deﬁne an individual,” he said, referencing the case. “I’ve served the community in various capacities. People know who I am.”

Johnson, a member of the City Planning Commission, said the image of New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward as crimeridden, impoverished communities is a fallacy he intends to turn around.

Christmas Christmas, 30, has also tossed her hat in the ring, the youngest contender to do so thus far this year

Christmas ﬁred off a number of issues she plans to center during her campaign including affordable housing, energy regulation amid skyrocketing living costs and consistent infrastructure woes.

“New Orleans East and the Lower 9th Ward were hit the hardest by Hurricane Katrina, and I still haven’t seen us bounce back yet,” she said.

Christmas views her youth as an advantage that will appeal to a younger generation hungry for change. Simultaneously, she acknowledged, her age could be a turnoff for an older band of residents who make up the majority of District E

“We need something different. I’m tired of career politicians. It’s always the same story,” she said.

Email Joni Hess at joni.hess@ theadvocate.com

KILLED

Continued from page 1B

and Brenna, 13. Smith said that when he spoke to Courtney Candies on Sunday, she said she was in shock She was still waiting for her husband to return home from his shift Grant Candies was the son of a longtime St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce captain, Mark Candies. In a Facebook post, the department said Mark Candies early Sunday “received the heartbreaking news that no parent should ever have to hear,” also calling Grant Candies a devoted husband and father A family member set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses.

The effort had raised $38,350 as of Monday afternoon.

‘It’s just senseless’

What turned out to be a “very violent night” started with an attempted trafﬁc stop several miles away, Smith said.

Deputies tried to stop the vehicle on Brownswitch Road in Slidell for careless operation.

The vehicle also did not display a license plate, authorities said.

When the driver sped off, a pursuit ensued, initially into the Slidell city limits and then out to I-10. The car was trav-

the vacated wins to be considered in his nomination. Miles’ attorneys argued his right to due process was violated when LSU vacated the wins and that doing so breached his contract from when he was LSU’s coach.

LSU fired Miles, 71, four games into the 2016 season after 12 years with the team He won the 2007 national championship and played for another in 2011. Miles was hired three years later by Kansas, where he went 3-18 across two seasons.

In March 2021, LSU released an investigative report that found Miles had acted inappropriately with female student workers during his tenure. He was ﬁred at Kansas three days later, and he has not coached since Coaches can become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame three years after retire-

ment or immediately following retirement starting at age 70. According to the Hall of Fame, a candidate’s “post-football record as a citizen is also weighed.”

Miles’ attorney argued Monday the vacated wins did not inherently make him ineligible for the Hall of Fame because, Ginsberg said, 15% of the inductees have received exemptions. One of the schools Miles worked for would have to nominate him, and the National Football Foundation’s attorney said that no one did in the ﬁrst year he was eligible.

In response to the lawsuit, LSU, the NCAA and the National Football Foundation argued Miles submitted his claims two months after the one-year deadline in Louisiana and that Miles did not have facts to back up that he had not received due process.

Victor, Audubon Zoo’s blue-eyed white alligator, underwent cataract surgery in February at LSU’s Vet School. He has been returned to the zoo.

ALLIGATOR

Continued from page 1B

injected into Victor’s eye so his iris would open. Veterinarians also inserted a temporary tubing system through the reptile’s eyelid, which is thick and hard to maneuver, to administer postop medications.

“Overall, there are a lot of differences, in size and shape and structure inside the eye,” she said.

Victor is now back home at Audubon Zoo, hanging out with his pal, a fellow blue-eyed, white alligator named Two-Spot, who is 35 years old.

Both have leucism, a rare genetic condition that’s different

eling over 100 mph when it went onto the I-10 westbound on-ramp at Oak Harbor, heading toward the twin spans over Lake Pontchartrain. Grant Candies and his team were at that on-ramp setting up spike strips to deflate the vehicle’s tires, when he was struck and killed.

Smith said deputies hoped to stop the vehicle with spike strips before others were injured or killed. “They’re a helpful tool and have worked in the past,” he said.

Deputies generally deploy spike strips when a felony has been committed or when they want to stop a vehicle going into a busier area. Like other tools that require officers to be outside their vehicles during deployment, Smith said, there is a safety risk involved.

“It goes to show you how dangerous this job can be,” he said.

The vehicle continued across the twin spans into New Orleans, where ofﬁcers from the New Orleans Police Department joined the Sheriff’s Office and State Police in the pursuit. The vehicle was finally stopped when it hit an NOPD patrol unit, authorities said.

There were ﬁve passengers in the vehicle: three males, including the driver and two females, Smith said.

If they asked, “Which house?” She would reply, “I don’t know yet.”

Trina isn’t shy about putting into the universe what she wants. She’s a woman who knows a lot about dreaming big

In April 2024, she got exactly what she wanted — the perfect house on Huey P. Long in Gretna. Though she wouldn’t describe the path toward its renovations as “dreamy,” the home is coming together, after much ado and with a dedicated design team.

After months of meetings with the Gretna Historical Society for approvals, they’re making progress.

A rule follower

In the past few weeks (since photos for this story were taken), the outside of the couple’s new home has been painted — with a historical society-approved color of course. The walls have been ﬁnished on the inside and some have been painted.

“Other than that, it’s going slow as hell,” Trina said Monday

The Alarios are working with Flynn Designs in River Ridge to redecorate the home, which was originally built in 1926. They have gutted and re-imagined it, keeping its architectural integrity and abiding by all rules and historical society recommendations.

Trina describes her husband as a rule follower

“I married one rule breaker and one rule follower,” she quips, referencing her previous husband, Edwin Edwards, who died in 2021 at 93 years old. Edwards served four terms as Louisiana’s governor — along with an eight-year stint in federal prison after he was found guilty of racketeering charges. Edwards and John Alario were close friends and longtime political allies in Louisiana government. John Alario served 48 years in the Louisiana Legislature, both as president of the Senate and speaker of the House. These days, he’s playing a different role, by Trina’s side, making decisions about a different house. As the couple reviews plans for John Alario’s writing desk, they look at a photograph of the chair they will use, adding that the room will also include his chair from when he was president of the state Senate.

“I had to buy from the state,” John Alario said, adding that it cost about $1,300.

Designing a new home

from albinism. Alligators with leucism have a partial loss of pigmentation, resulting in white or pale skin with blue eyes, unlike albino gators which have pink eyes and complete pigment loss.

Rabenau said young gators with leucism don’t survive long in the wild because their white skin doesn’t camouﬂage them.

But Victor was found at an early age by agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, she said. His vision is much improved, Rabenau said.

“He is deﬁnitely doing better,” she said “We’re not relying on shadows anymore.”

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate.com.

“It’s just senseless that his death was preventable,” Smith said of Grant Candies. He said they have evidence and can prove the driver intentionally used his “vehicle as a weapon” and caused the deputy’s death. The incident is still under investigation, Smith said, but the driver identiﬁed as Adrian Waughtal, 17, of Slidell, has been booked on counts of aggravated flight, first-degree murder and attempted firstdegree murder

Under a law adopted last year, 17-year-olds in Louisiana are treated as adults in the criminal justice system.

Two others inside the vehicle, identiﬁed as passengers, were also arrested.

Mason Paul Eugene Fischer, 17, was booked on counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and possession with intent to distribute Schedule I drugs. Michael Emanuel Lanier, 17, of Slidell, was booked on counts of ﬁrst-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder

Even though they were passengers, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that they were booked “for the role they played in (Grant Candies’) death.”

Email Willie Swett at willie. swett@theadvocate.com.

The Alarios invited me to join them for one of their regularly scheduled meetings with Kristine Flynn, owner and designer at Flynn Designs, and designer Jennifer Cheatham, followed by a visit to their work-in-progress Gretna home.

Before the meeting at the designers’ office, they had arranged for five test wood stains on the Gretna home’s recently sanded floors, awaiting the couple to choose the winner

“Oh, this what I wanted to tell you,” Flynn said. “The ﬂoors are not white oak. They’re red oak that’s why it keeps pulling the red.”

The wood-stain choice was only one of the decisions to review

Alongside pages of oversized architectural plans, ﬁve large acrylic trays — each representing a different room and ﬁlled with samples and swatches of tiles, fabrics, decorative trims for curtains, carpets, paint colors, molding and wood stains — crowded the meeting table.

The tray dedicated to Jan Alario’s room got a lot of attention as everyone in the room is highly considerate of what John Alario’s 57-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome, wants her room to be

Jan Alario will have her own space downstairs, as will Trina’s 11-year-old son with Edwards, Eli.

“She doesn’t want sconces,” Trina said. “She says that those are too hard to work She wants desk lamps.”

Desk lamps it is.

“I thought the process was gonna be more difﬁcult for Jan, but really, she’s been very decisive,” Trina said.

Jan Alario has charmed the design team, as has her father, who, throughout the process, has been his usual diplomatic self.

The designers agree that the Alarios have similar tastes, with few style differences.

“But every now and then, he’s the tiebreaker,” Flynn said.

LOTTERY

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2025

PICK 3: 0-1-3

4: 9-4-3-2

5: 5-0-5-0-9 Unof

PROVIDED PHOTO

Calcagno Jr., Salvador

Evans,Ashley

Perkins Jr., Eddie

Roussell, Eva

Saputo,Albert

Traill, Robert

Wilson, Robert Calcagno Jr., Salvador

Saputo,Albert

Evans, Ashley Beckerman

Wilson, Robert

Virgin DeGeorge Alhaits, 94, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died on October 11, 2024, of natural causes after along and fulfilling life.

Virgin was born to Edward and Katherine Sanchez on August 23, 1930, in New Orleans. After graduating from McMain High School, Virgin briefly worked for the American Can Company before leaving to raise her four children -Donald, Denise, Dana, and Dinah.

Known for her lively spirit, Virginhad amyriad of interests and was active in several local organizations.She was amember of the Miley Golden Age Club. She loved Carnival season and maintained her membership in the Krewe of Pandora. Also an avid Saints fan since the team's formation, Virgin was a season ticket holder and was thrilled to attend their 2010 Super Bowl victoryin Miami.

Virgin worked as a bookkeeper for Muller Electric and later for her son at DeGeorge Glass Company before retiring.

Virgin spent her retirement traveling the country, and abroad, as well as spending time with her 9 grandchildren -Beth Biven (Tim), Jeremy Borras (Jenna), Kim Rome (David), Christy Murphy (Darby), Kevin Rome (Michele), Dana DeGeorge, Katie Ruckert (Casey), Christopher DeGeorge (Danielle), and Benjamin DeGeorge (Alissa).

Virgin is survived by three of her children.Denise Rome (Septime), Dana DeGeorge (Cathy), and Dinah Kern (Keith)her nine grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph; father, Edward; mother, Katie; brother Carol DeGeorge (Beverly); sister, Elsa Kreider (Roy); and son, Donald ADeGeorge II.

Amass will be held at St. Edward the Confessor Church, 4921 W. Metairie Avenue, Metairie, LA 70001, on March 27, 2025, at 10:00 am with aprivate burial to follow. Visitation will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.

Salvador Julius Calcagno Jr was born on July 28, 1940, in New Orleans and passed away on March 22, 2025, at the age of 84 years. A 44-year resident of St Bernard Parish Julius spent his last 20 years in St Charles Parish He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Miriam (Betty) Bourg Calcagno; three sons, James (Jimmie), Jerry and Johnny; his three daughters-in-law (his An‐gels) Laura (Jimmie), Jodie (Jerry) and Karen (Johnny); his grandchildren, Jared Rebekah (Justin), Jennifer (Mark) Michael (Faith), Jordan (Christal), James (Sarah), Adam, Daniel; and his great-grandchildren, Braydon, Rylee, Brantley, Kye, Slade and Nico He is also survived by his sib‐lings Ronald Calcagno and Christopher Calcagno and sister-in-law Paulette Arm‐strong Calcagno (Joseph); Nieces Rhonda, Tresa and Laurie; and nephews Kevin and Ronnie. Julius was a dedicated member of the community, serving as the president of the St. Robert Bellarmine Usher Society, a member of the St. Charles Parish Council on Aging Advisory Board and a trea‐surer and vice chair of the St Charles Parish TRIAD He coordinated the St Charles Parish Senior Bowling League and worked as a vessel man‐ager in New Orleans for various steamship agen‐cies for 49 years. Julius was preceded in death by his parents, Salvador Julius Calcagno, Sr., and Muriel M. Longuefosse Calcagno, as well as his brother Joseph Calcagno and sister Carolyn Calcagno Bridges and brother-in-law Pascal Kent Bridges and Nephews Michael Joseph Calcagno and Paul Kurk Bridges. Julius’s life was marked by his dedication to his faith, his family and his commu‐nity He was a proud Father and Pawpaw, always rel‐ishing the achievements of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was passionate about his community work in St Charles Parish and wanted to maintain a high quality of life for himself and his fellow seniors Relatives and friends are invited to visit Greenwood Funeral Home, 5200 Canal Blvd., New Orleans LA 70124, on Thursday, March 27, 2025, starting at 11:00 AM. A fu‐neral Mass will follow the visitation at 1:00 PM Inter‐ment immediately follow‐ing will occur at St. Louis Cemetery No 3, New Or‐leans. We also invite you to share your thoughts fond memories, and condo‐lences online at www greenwoodfh com. Your shared memories will help us celebrate Julius’ life and keep his memory alive.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Ashley Beckerman Evans, at the age of 43. Ashley was a beloved wife, mother, daughter and sister, who passed away on March 10th, 2025. Ashley resided in Baltimore, MD, where she lived with her husband and children, but her heart and soul still shined bright in her hometown of New Orleans.

Ashley was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 11th, 1981. She lived life to the fullest, and had apersonalitythat was larger than life.

Her giving nature and passion to make those around her laughcannot be replicated. She leaves behind alegacy of warmth and love, that will always be cherished by her family and friends.

Ashley is survived by her husband,Dan Evans, and her two children Eli and Chloe Evans. Her parents Marie "Mandy" Kovacs, and Robert Beckerman, and her two sisters, Sarah Sonnier and Mollye Palmer.

Aprivate service was held on March 19, 2025 in Baltimore, MD. There will be acelebrationofher life in New Orleans on Saturday, June 14th, her birth monthtohonor her life and legacy. Ashley attended Tulane University, which always held aspecial place in her heart.The commemoration will take place at 5pm at The Boot on Broadway Street Please join us to celebratethe life of Ashley Beckerman Evans.

Deborah Ann Nasser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on September 19, 1951, to James A. and Helen L. Nasser. Her family later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was raised and lived until Hurricane Katrina. She passed away on March 14, 2025, in Wilmington Delaware.

Debbie attended PrytaniaPrivateSchool and pursued acareer in cosmetology, earning her license from Ms. Bonnie Daspit's Beauty School in Metairie. Her passionfor the industry led her back to Ms. Daspit's, where she obtained her teaching license and mentored many aspiring cosmetologists. She eventually opened Silver Shears Hair Salon, where she built aloyal clientele and was highly regarded among her peers for her skill and artistry. She also participated in shows and platform work, sharing her expertise with others in the field.Her daughter worked alongside her mother during summer breaks.

Among Debbie's fondest indulgences were Brocato's cannolis from Carrollton Avenue, which she enjoyed with great delight, as well as McKenzie's chocolateturtle cookies and petit fours. Hubig's Lemon Hand Pies and Manuel's Hot Tamales were also among her New Orleans' favorites. Her infectious laughter and warm smile brought joyto those around her, making everyone feel at ease in her presence.

Debbie's greatest joys in life were her daughter, Shawn, and her son, Charlie "Chuck." She was predeceased by her parents and her son. She is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Dr. Shawn Kelly Pritchett(George Bobnak); twograndsons, Charles James Spath and Zen Raven Kelly; and a great-grandson, Landon.

her daughter, Dr. Shawn Kelly Pritchett (George Bobnak); twograndsons, Charles James Spath and Zen Raven Kelly; and a great-grandson, Landon Debbie will be laid to rest at Lake Lawn Mausoleum alongside her family. In her memory, a memorial bench and oak will be placed in City Park—an invitation for all to sit beneath its shade and feel the breeze carry her spirit. The next time you visit asalon, generously tip your stylist as Debbie knew the importance of making someone feel beautiful. Devotions to Our Lady of Mount Carmel are appreciated.

Perkins Jr., Eddie J.

“Is a Blue Bird Blue Eddie J. Perkins Jr. age 80 passed away at 10:59 am Thursday 6 March 2025 at Our Lady of the Lake Hos‐pital Baton Rouge La. Beloved Husband of Jessie C. Smith Perkins Father of Eddie J. Perkins III, Son of the late Eddie and Lucille Perkins, He is preceded in Death by his Brother Allen James Howard Sisters Car‐olyn Louise Kennedy and Jaquelyn Ramsey. He is survived by Kenneth Jack‐son, Doris Tucker, and Veronica Washington Grandkids Eddie IV An‐gelique, Christian, Ashanta and Bridgette Perkins. Great Grandkids Jovyn, and Jovie A Host of Nieces and Nephews The late Veteran Served in the U. S Air Force 1962-1987 as a Personal / Administrative Technician and Continued service as a civil servant with U.S Army Recruiting Command New Orleans Battalion for 20+ years. Service will be held on March 26th at Professional Funeral Services, 1449 N Claiborne Ave., New Or‐leans La At 10 a.m. and laid to rest at the Veterans Cemetery, 34888 Grantham College Dr., Slidell, LA, United States, Louisiana Services Entrusted to the Caring Staff of: Profes‐sional Funeral Services, Inc. “Celebrating Life” 1449 N. Claiborne Ave. New Or‐le LA 70116. 504-948-

Roussell, Eva Dumas

Eva Dumas Roussell, 82, of Vacherie, Louisiana en‐tered eternal rest on Wednesday March 19, 2025, at Lafourche Home for the Aged in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Eva was born in Vacherie Louisiana, to John Earlis Dumas and Felma Saul Dumas on De‐cember 15, 1942. Eva is sur‐vived by her husband, Alvin Roussell, Sr.; two daughters, Sandra Dumas Cook and Cathy (Harold) Roussell Dennis; two sons, Alvin (Tiffany) Roussell, Jr. and Brandon Roussell; ﬁve grandchildren, Bianca Cook, Mikaela Dennis, LaShae Roussell, Kobi Den‐nis, and Evan Roussell; two great-grandchildren, Ivy Chatman and Kane Dennis; one sister, Yvonne Dumas; one brother, Ronald (Helen) Hampton; two brothers-in-law Mervin Roussell and Warren Rous‐sell, Sr.; one sister-in-law, Florence D. Roussell; and a host of loving nieces, nephews cousins and friends. Eva was prede‐ceased by her parents John Earlis and Felma Dumas; two sisters, Odealia Dumas Gibson and Marie Dumas Bovie; and four brothers, Earlis Dumas, Adam Dumas, Louis Dumas, and Guy Dumas. Relatives and friends of the family and employees of Lafourche Home for the Aged and St Catherine’s Hospice, also priest and parishioners of the West St. James Parish Catholic Church family and all neighboring churches are invited to attend the Funeral Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church 13281 Highway 644 Vacherie, Louisiana on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Father Mike O'Rourke ofﬁciating Visitation will begin at 8:00 a.m. and recitation of the rosary at

PATSY PATTERSON

HAPPYBIRTHDAY MOTHER Loveyourchildren, April,Vanessa,Fred, Zina andPatrick

Theheart that has truly lovednever forgets. Your love is foreverstrong, nomatterwhere in this worldyou are. Thereis no more amazingfeeling thana mother’slove,and we will always cherishthis unconditional gift yougave us. Theloveyou shared is like anever-endingbook; the pages keep turningeven when youare notaround Amother’slove knows no bounds. Thereare notmany things in ourlifetime that areeternal,but the love yousharedwithusindeed is. Ourmother’slove is the mostpotentforce in the universe.Love is always stronger thandeath.

Alhaits, Virgin

Alhaits, Virgin DeGeorge

Calcagno Jr., Salvador Julius

Roussell, Eva

Perkins Jr., Eddie

Traill, Robert

Schilleci, Rosario

Nasser, Deborah

The latest U.S. Census ﬁgures for 2024 reveal a mixed bag for Louisiana, which has long struggled to stem the tide of its residents leaving for better jobs and better lives elsewhere While the state’s population ticked up a bit, nearly two-thirds of Louisiana parishes saw population declines — bad news that shows the widespread nature of the population loss.

Even worse news is that two parishes — Orleans and Caddo — were in the top ﬁve in the country for population loss among counties with 100,000 or more people. Caddo’s population dip of 1,567 people, or .71%, was the fourth fastest rate of population loss from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, among large counties. Orleans Parish’s decline of about 2,466 people, or 0.68%, gave it the ﬁfth fastest rate of population loss in that time period. This was at a time when two-thirds of the nation’s largest counties saw population gains.

Among metro areas, the New Orleans region was among those losing population at the fastest clip year over year Looking over the threeyear period from 2000-2023, it topped the list of fastest-shrinking metro areas, with a population loss of 3.9%. Further underscoring New Orleans’ slide is that nine of the top 10 fastestgrowing metro areas were in the South

However there were some bright spots in the census report. And it’s important that we focus on these, because they may well provide a road map to how the state can turn things around. Five parishes — Calcasieu, Livingston, Ascension, Tangipahoa, and Lafayette saw population gains of between 1% and 2%. After years of population declines, East Baton Rouge and Jefferson posted growth of 0.5% and 0.4% respectively

The largest growth was in Lafayette Parish, which added 3,760 people, a 1.5% increase. It also had the largest amount of net migration at 2,536 residents. Its international migration was the fourth-highest in the state.

So what to make of all these numbers? First, we must admit that reversing out-migration is a tougher problem than many thought. We note that Gov Jeff. Landry has made it a point from his inaugural address, to send the message that Louisiana residents who have ﬂed the state in recent years are now “welcome home ”

His economic team has made impressive strides in attracting new jobs and new industries to the state by embracing new strategies, but we’d like to see similar coordinated actions to tackle outmigration.

Louisiana must send a message that we are open to all who want to build a prosperous life We must redouble our efforts to improve the quality-of-life measures that we so often score low on. We must have all parts of our society engaged in this ﬁght — from businesses and civic leaders to activists and artists.

With all hands on deck, we have no doubt that Louisiana can turn the tide and ﬁnally be a place that lives up to its promise for newcomers and long-suffering residents as well.

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

OPINION

YOUR VIEWS

Levee board commissioners were courageous to stand up for the people

I commend the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – East Board of Commissioners for standing up to Roy Carubba, the governorappointed board president, and the governor’s surrogate Shane Guidry, by voting to search for a qualiﬁed regional director rather than continue with the police chief, who did not meet the minimum qualiﬁcations for that position, although Carubba stated in bank documents that the police chief was the regional director Since Carubba’s appointment, several key staff members have resigned or been dismissed. Although Carubba claims that morale is at an all-time high, staff members I’ve spoken with describe the employees as a dispirited group who are concerned about the future of this organization.

The public demanded that the three separate east bank districts be combined into a single entity and professionals be placed in charge following the catastrophic failures resulting from Hurricane Katrina. By law the board is mostly composed of professionals with

Every dentist in Louisiana should be excited and happy to support the proposed legislation by state Sens. Mike Fesi and Patrick McMath to eliminate ﬂuoridation in our water It will be a great boon for dentists in our state. Their practices will increase with the need for more teeth to repair more extractions and more bridges and dentures for their patients.

You would think that after decades of scientiﬁc proof of the advantages of ﬂuoride to our water to help improve oral health, these senators would turn their attention to some of the real problems facing Louisiana such as a new bridge in Lake Charles or an Interstate

knowledge and experience in ﬂood protection. Since the FPA’s founding, the districts have been consolidated and the professionalism of the staff greatly enhanced.

Gov Jeff Landry and Guidry should remember that the will of the people created the FPA following Hurricane Katrina with a mission to keep politics out of the FPA’s critical responsibility: protecting our communities from ﬂooding. I served as a commissioner for eight years; two as president. Until the recent resignations, the board was mostly comprised of commissioners I served with who are professionals that took their responsibilities seriously The power grab by the governor to appoint the chairmen of some other state boards may have valid reasons, but not for the FPA. If Carubba continues to do Guidry’s bidding rather than the public’s, the commissioners should consider invoking Article IV, Section 2 of the bylaws to remove him from the presidency HERBERT MILLER former board member of SLFPA-East

Article brought back memories of Jazz Fest’s embrace of newcomer

12 roundabout in Baton Rouge and not another bridge to nowhere for Interstate 10. After spending my whole life and career in Louisiana, almost nothing surprises me about politics in our state. I would hope if this proposal goes forward, that Dr Ralph Abraham would testify against it. If it should ever reach Gov Jeff Landry’s desk, I would hope that he would immediately veto this ridiculous bill for the protection of oral health for the children and citizens of Louisiana.

DR. RONALD B MARKS past president, Louisiana Dental Association and Louisiana State Board of Dentistry

Proposal to remove fluoridation will cause harm Where is the proof of fraud claimed by Elon Musk?

So, isn’t it impressive that the Trump administration, with the help of Elon Musk, has found “billions and billions” of dollars of fraud and corruption within the federal government? I assume the courts will be overwhelmed with all the cases against the people responsible. With billions involved, there must be thousands of miscreants.

Wait! What? Not one person has been charged? How can that be? Why haven’t they provided details or proof of any speciﬁc crime? Not one?

It’s become painfully obvious that all these claims of fraud and corruption are

just generalized assumptions. To add insult to injury, their firings are being blamed on unsatisfactory performance, a charge not substantiated by previous performance reviews in most, if not all, cases. No one denies that there is waste and corruption in the federal workforce, but eliminating qualified, dedicated personnel that protect U.S. citizens every day from all kinds of dangers, diseases, financial scams, etc., is not the way to approach it. This will not end well. PAUL DUFFY Baton Rouge

When I opened the paper recently and saw the article by Keith Spera about the Neville Brothers and the Wild Tchoupitoulas at 1977 Jazz Fest, memories filled my being. My late husband, the guitarist, singer and songwriter Spencer Bohren, and I moved to New Orleans in October 1976, and this was our first Jazz Fest. Actually, this day was my first day of that festival. Our first son, Django, was born March 19, and I didn’t have a community of mothers around me to tell me that it was OK to take my baby to such an event. Spencer went the first day with a visiting friend, while I cried over my duty to our baby When Spencer came home with tales of the music and atmosphere and told me there were babies there, I decided to take a chance on it, and of course, it worked. Not only that, the music swept all three of us away and reminded us that we had made the right choice relocating from Boulder, Colorado, to New Orleans. The very set Keith wrote about was the linchpin to many grateful years. I’ll never forget dancing with our Django to that set.

MARILYN BOHREN

Could the courts be the answer for bad water?

Monterey is a tiny unincorporated community on the banks of Black River Lake, a sinewy oxbow nestled in Concordia Parish about 25 miles southwest of Natchez. It’s in the heart of Louisiana’s prime agricultural zone, surrounded by some of the most fertile soil in the state. So unless you really like to farm or bass ﬁsh, you probably haven’t been to Monterey And if you like drinking water from the tap, it might be best to stay away Its obscurity may not last long, however Earlier this month, a group of Monterey residents ﬁled a lawsuit against their local water system, called the Monterey Rural Water System, and its management company, Harrisonburg-based JCP Management.

The system responded in a series of letters noting that the water plant needed signiﬁcant repairs because some drains on its water softeners had corroded. Necessary parts took weeks arrive, and the repairs were complex. In addition, a company installing ﬁber had repeatedly punctured water mains during the fall, necessitating more boil advisories.

At the time the suit was ﬁled on March 7, the entire system had been under a boil advisory for more than one month, the suit says.

The suit, ﬁled on behalf of a handful of residents but seeking class action status, alleges that the district and the company have been negligent in providing the system’s roughly 1,800 customers with “clean, safe and potable water.”

It’s not hard to see why they’re frustrated. One resident, who is not a named plaintiff and did not want her name used, said she often gets a chlorine smell from the water handwashes all her dishes and refuses to cook with the tap water or give it to her pets. Dozens of pictures on a Facebook page for Monterey Rural Water System customers showed brown water running from taps. Sometimes, it was silty or salty, residents noted. After scores of comments were posted, the Facebook page’s admins collected a list of 85 complaints and sent them to both the system and to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Providing clean water is one of the basic services of a functioning government. No one should have to go to court to make sure they get it. But more and more, residents in Louisiana towns and cities are not able to rely on the water their local authorities provide.

In Killian, a well problem forced Livingston Parish ofﬁcials to spend thousands of dollars per day to truck in water

In Richland Parish, low water pressure allowed a farmer’s herbicide to backﬁll into the system, and residents were warned not just to avoid drinking the water, but to avoid touching it.

Urban areas are not immune. The saltwater wedge moving up the Mississippi River in 2023 threatened both New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Baton Rouge is facing saltwater increasingly creeping into its aquifer Shreveport’s system could use signiﬁcant upgrades. In a state where water is abundant — under the ground, on top of the ground and, often, falling from the sky — Louisiana has long treated it as an inexhaustible resource. But that’s

changing. In places all over the state, ofﬁcials and residents are grappling with aging infrastructure and declining water quality It’s rapidly becoming a real crisis, one that will not yield to a quick — or cheap — solution.

That may be a hard pill for many residents, who have been accustomed to cheap water for decades and balk at higher fees and taxes. Many politicians are hesitant to implement them because of the perceived political cost.

But what would be the cost of a major failure, such as what happened in Flint, Michigan, or Jackson, Mississippi? Then we won’t be talking about political futures, but people’s health and lives.

This is where the Monterey lawsuit comes in. If the residents there are successful, if they win some sort of legal victory against the water system, then other communities may take notice. Some of them may decide to take their problems to the courts, and Monterey could provide the playbook. The suit could also jolt elected leaders and their voters into doing something meaningful about water problems.

A 2021 law passed by the Legislature assigns grades to water systems, largely based on the condition of their infrastructure, operations and ﬁnancial viability The grades take into account whether the system has had any federal or state water quality violations and customer complaints.

It’s a good ﬁrst step, but more is needed. Just ask Monterey residents. In 2023, the last year for which grades are available, their system got an A. Faimon A. Roberts III can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Trump distracts from a more dangerous threat

Obscured by the absurd theatricality of this Donald Trump presidency is a dangerous erosion of the principle upon which the nation was founded: the rule of law

The genius of the Constitution is its system of checks and balances, with three equal branches of the federal government sharing power Trump is claiming the authority to rule as he pleases, arrogantly daring Congress and the judiciary to stop him.

Last Saturday, in defiance of a federal court order, Trump used the Alien Enemies Act — a 1798 law previously invoked only in wartime — to deport 137 Venezuelan migrants flying them and 124 others to El Salvador for open-ended detention in a grim prison complex accused of brutal human rights violations The White House claims, without offering proof, that the Venezuelans were members of a violent gang called Tren de Aragua, which officials call a “terrorist” group waging “war” against the United States. The irony is rich, because the whole made-for-television episode — complete with video of migrants being hauled away in shackles, having their heads shaved and being forced to kneel before their Salvadoran jailers — was clearly intended to terrorize the millions of undocumented migrants who remain in the United States.

Early Saturday evening, U.S District Judge James Boasberg issued a ruling barring the deportations and ordering that aircraft ferrying the migrants be turned around if necessary Yet according to The Post’s analysis of ﬂight records, the three planes landed in El Salvador hours after Boasberg’s ruling. “I don’t care what the judges think,” said Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar Trump went so far as to call Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge” on social media and proclaim that he “should be IMPEACHED.” That outburst prompted a rare statement from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who said that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to a disagreement concerning a judicial decision” and that the “normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” No one should have sympathy for violent criminals who have no legal right to remain in the United States.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE

I certainly don’t. But I do cherish the rule of law — and you should, too. We have no way of knowing whether those deported migrants are gangsters, because they were given no due process. They never had their day in court.

Trump has been equally contemptuous of the legislative branch. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive authority to write laws and set spending levels. This president seeks to usurp those powers as well. Using the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, as his sledgehammer, Trump has smashed an entire agency established and funded by Congress — the U.S. Agency for International Development and threatens to eliminate another, the Education Department. Federal judges have repeatedly ordered the administration to disburse billions of dollars in congressionally authorized spending by USAID, much of it to provide lifesaving food, shelter and medical care in countries racked by war and disease. But by all accounts, only a trickle of that money is getting through The will of Congress, as expressed in its appropriations legislation, is being ignored. The will of the federal judiciary, as expressed in multiple court rulings, is being ignored. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vice President JD Vance declared last month. That is indeed true. But Trump is exercising

power that does not legitimately belong to him — and challenging Congress and the courts to do anything about it.

That’s what is really happening while Trump distracts everyone with relentless bluster and a nonstop barrage of look-over-here pronouncements. He trumpets punishing tariffs against our trading partners, then cancels them, then reimposes them. Or maybe not. He picks ﬁghts with our closest allies and makes a show of renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

Recently apropos of nothing, he declared on social media that the preemptive pardons President Joe Biden issued to members of the Jan. 6 Committee were “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen.”

He also announced the immediate withdrawal of Secret Service protection for Biden’s son Hunter and other members of the former president’s family And he ﬂoated the idea of serving as emcee in chief at the next Kennedy Center Honors ceremony I get it. Every day is a new episode of Trump’s reality show and another opportunity for boffo ratings. But each day is also another step in the weakening of the rule of law — and the undemocratic, un-American concentration of power in one man’s hands. Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_ Robinson.

Even Will Rogers might be hard pressed to come up with an appropriately harsh jibe about the current state of the Democrats.

“I am not a member of any organized political party,” the 20th-century humorist famously said.

“I am a Democrat.”

Now, the problem isn’t a lack of organization per se, but the hangover of their dogged, dishonest support for a comprehensively failed presidency, joined to an irrational commitment to outlandish positions on cultural issues.

The Democrats shouldn’t be shocked that after insisting that Joe Biden was hale and hearty and ﬁt to serve as commander in chief until January, 2029, the public has a dim view of their party

The Democrats attempted to perpetrate one of the worst frauds on the American public in recent history, and then followed it up with another lie — that Biden’s overmatched emergency replacement, Kamala Harris, was joyful and impressive.

In a new CNN poll, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating is 29% — a record low going back to 1992.

In a new NBC poll, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating is 27% — a record low going back to 1990.

Detect a pattern?

Part of the reason for the dismal rating is that Democrats themselves want their party to be more confrontational with Trump and are dissatisﬁed.

But the party has taken a broader hit in the NBC poll, only 11% of independents have a favorable view of it, and 56% unfavorable.

The agonized state of the party was encapsulated by its psychodrama over the so-called continuing resolution that 10 Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted to pass recently Progressives consider Schumer’s support a rank betrayal, and he’s had to postpone a book tour amid “security concerns.”

The New York senator, who warned conservative Supreme Court justices a few years ago, “You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price,” is now paying one himself. Schumer made the right tactical call. If Senate Democrats had successfully ﬁlibustered the spending bill, they would have been blamed for the resulting shutdown, further tanking the party’s image with the middle of the electorate. In the ﬁerce backlash against Schumer for saving his party another embarrassment, the left-wing congresswoman from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is getting promoted as a potential primary challenger to Schumer, and even a national leader for Democrats.

In the CNN poll, Democrats were asked which political ﬁgure best represents the “core values” of their party, and AOC narrowly led.

She has as good a claim to this title as anyone — and that’s the problem.

AOC is Kamala Harris, if the California Democrat hadn’t ﬂipped-ﬂopped away from all the fringy things she said in 2019.

She’s Bernie Sanders, if the Vermont socialist were about 50 years younger and could plausibly appear on the cover of Vanity Fair wearing the latest fashion.

She’s Mahmoud Khalil, if the Columbia University activist that the Trump administration wants to deport somehow managed to get himself elected to Congress.

AOC rejects the term “woke,” but there is no woke policy that she doesn’t support.

She loved the neologism Latinx (“gender is ﬂuid, language is ﬂuid”), and still supports biological males competing in female sports (“trans girls are girls”).

She’s never met an immigration restriction that she likes.

The reason Joe Biden won in 2020 is he didn’t seem like a progressive, and one reason his party lost in 2024 is that he governed like one.

AOC’s brand is the 2024 Biden rather than the 2020 Biden, except even more so.

She’s charismatic and adept at social media, which easily could bring her greater fame and inﬂuence, but she’s a cartoonish version of the Democratic Party that the GOP hopes to run against.

Will Rogers also once commented, “You’ve got to admit that each party is worse than the other The one that’s out always looks the best.” If their fervor to oppose Trump throws Democrats into the arms of AOC, they will test the accuracy of this proposition.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Faimon Roberts

Rich Lowry

Eugene Robinson

ABACA/TNS PHOTO By yURI GRIPAS

President Donald Trump speaks March 13 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

New Orleans Forecast

Roussell, Eva Dumas

Forecast From WWL-TV, Your Local Weather Experts

Saputo, Albert Carl

Eva Dumas Roussell, 82, of Vacherie, Louisiana, en‐tered eternal rest on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at Lafourche Home for the Aged in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Eva was born in Vacherie, Louisiana, to John Earlis Dumas and Felma Saul Dumas on De‐cember 15, 1942. Eva is sur‐vived by her husband, Alvin Roussell, Sr.; two daughters Sandra Dumas Cook and Cathy (Harold) Roussell Dennis; two sons Alvin (Tiffany) Roussell, Jr. and Brandon Roussell; ﬁve grandchildren, Bianca Cook Mikaela Dennis, LaShae Roussell, Kobi Den‐nis, and Evan Roussell; two great-grandchildren, Ivy Chatman and Kane Dennis; one sister, Yvonne Dumas; one brother, Ronald (Helen) Hampton; two brothers-in-law, Mervin Roussell and Warren Rous‐sell, Sr.; one sister-in-law, Florence D. Roussell; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Eva was prede‐ceased by her parents, John Earlis and Felma Dumas; two sisters, Odealia Dumas Gibson and Marie Dumas Bovie; and four brothers Earlis Dumas, Adam Dumas, Louis Dumas, and Guy Dumas. Relatives and friends of the family, and employees of Lafourche Home for the Aged and St Catherine’s Hospice, also priest and parishioners of the West St. James Parish Catholic Church family and all neighboring churches are invited to attend the Funeral Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, 13281 Highway 644 Vacherie, Louisiana on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 10:00

DEATHS continued from

a.m. Father Mike O'Rourke ofﬁciating Visitation will begin at 8:00 a.m and recitation of the rosary at 9:00 am Interment in Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church cemetery Arrange‐ment by D W. Rhodes Fu‐neral Home, 3933 Washing‐ton Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana Please visit www rhodesfuneral com to sign the online guestbook

Albert Carl Saputo passed away on March 20 2025; at the age of 64. He was born on January 20 1961, in New Orleans, to Joseph Saputo and Leona Giangrosso Saputo, both whom preceded him in death Also, Albert is pre‐deceased by his father-inlaw Frank Gagliano, Sr., Brothers-in-Law Jack Gagliano and Joseph Gagliano He is leaving be‐hind to cherish his memo‐ries by his beloved wife and soulmate of 25 years Anna Gagliano Saputo and his adored children Leona Phylis Saputo and Joseph Frank Saputo Brothers: Joseph Saputo (Wanda), Paul Saputo (Juliana), and Sal Saputo (Jeanne). Also his best friend, cousin, and brother by choice Ronnie Laporte. His mother-in-law Phylis Rizzuto Gagliano and brothers-in-law Frank Gagliano Jr (Gina) and Philip Gagliano (Mary), and sisters-in-Law Hetty Gagliano (Joseph) and Brenda Brunet (Jack) Al‐bert was the godfather of Marc Lester, Amanda Carter Perkins, Jolie Sa‐puto Camet, and Mary Frances Gagliano. He also leaves behind many nieces and nephews great nieces and nephews, as well as, many friends. Albert also enjoyed his grand dog, Jax Albert attended St. An‐thony of Padua Elementary and was a proud graduate of De La Salle High SchoolClass of 1980. He was a certiﬁed Scuba diver and in his early years he volun‐teered for the New Orleans

Albert Carl Saputo passed away on March 20, 2025; at the age of 64. He was born on January 20, 1961, in New Orleans to Joseph Saputo and Leona Giangrosso Saputo both whom preceded him in death. Also, Albert is pre‐deceased by his father-inlaw Frank Gagliano, Sr., Brothers-in-Law Jack Gagliano and Joseph Gagliano He is leaving be‐hind to cherish his memo‐ries by his beloved wife and soulmate of 25 years, Anna Gagliano Saputo and his adored children Leona Phylis Saputo and Joseph Frank Saputo. Brothers: Joseph Saputo (Wanda), Paul Saputo (Juliana), and Sal Saputo (Jeanne). Also, his best friend, cousin, and brother by choice, Ronnie Laporte His mother-in-law Phylis Rizzuto Gagliano, and brothers-in-law Frank Gagliano, Jr (Gina) and Philip Gagliano (Mary) and sisters-in-Law Hetty Gagliano (Joseph) and Brenda Brunet (Jack) Al‐bert was the godfather of Marc Lester, Amanda Carter Perkins, Jolie Sa‐puto Camet and Mary Frances Gagliano He also leaves behind many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, as well as many friends Albert also enjoyed his grand dog, Jax Albert attended St An‐thony of Padua Elementary and was a proud graduate of De La Salle High SchoolClass of 1980. He was a certiﬁed Scuba diver and in his early years he volun‐teered for the New Orleans Police Department Dive team. He was a member of the Italian American Marching Club for over 40 years Albert was the owner of Nice Guys Social Club in Metairie and he en‐joyed a good cigar and so‐cializing with his cigar buddies. When in Florida he co-owned and operated True Cigar Lounge in Boca Raton, Florida. Albert was also a partner in Saputo Bros. Inc., a real estate de‐velopment company. Al‐bert was a kind and gentle person who loved spend‐ing time with family and friends He will be missed every day but his memory will never fade away In lieu of ﬂowers please con‐sider donating to Capital One Bank account #36337655066 in Albert s name for his children's col‐lege fund Relatives and friends are invited to visit Greenwood Funeral Home 5200 Canal Blvd., New Or‐leans LA 70124, on Thurs‐day, March 27, 2025, start‐ing at 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM and again on Friday, March 28, 2025, at 8:30 AM. A fu‐neral Mass will follow the visitation at 12:00 PM. The burial will be private

Wilson, Robert Bernard 'Willie'

Schilleci, RosarioJohn RJ

September 15, 1937March 22, 2025 Rosario John Schilleci, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on March 22, 2025 surrounded by his loving family.Hewas bornon September 15, 1937, in New Orleans. He is preceded in death by his parents, Rosario Giovanni Schilleciand Philomena Scalco Schilleci, his sister Carol Scalise (Alfred), and hishigh school sweetheart Patricia, whom he was marriedto for 67 yrs. He was the proud father of three children: Keith Schilleci, KarenOltman (Jeff), and KimberlyLee

September 15, 1937March 22, 2025

Rosario John Schilleci, a devoted husband,father, grandfather, and friend passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on March 22, 2025 surrounded by his loving family. He was born on September 15, 1937, in New Orleans.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Rosario Giovanni Schilleci and Philomena Scalco Schilleci, his sister Carol Scalise (Alfred), and his high school sweetheart Patricia, whom he was married to for 67 yrs. He was the proudfather of three children: Keith Schilleci, Karen Oltman (Jeff), and Kimberly Lee (Phillip). He was also afun loving grandfather to five grandchildren: GarrettLee (Chelsea), Tanner Lee (Morgan), Marshall Lee (Sabrina), Hailey Oltman, and Hunter Oltman (Rebecca).

Rosario was aproud graduate of Jesuit High School where he made many friendships that remained close in his life for the past 68 years. He also enjoyed his career at Ross Laboratories where he sold pediatric pharmaceuticals for over 30 years. Outside of work, he found immense joy in thethrill of horse racing, whether placing a bet at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans or attending Churchill Downs Kentucky Derbyannually with friends. The racetrack was his second home—a place filled with excitement,camaraderie, and tradition.

Rosario's legacy of love, laughter, and awell-placed bet will live on in the heartsofall who were lucky enough to know him. There are no services scheduled at this time.

Robert Edward

Robert Edward Traill of Folsom Louisiana, passed away peacefully in his home March 11, 2025 at the age of 95. Bob, as he was known to almost everyone was born on June 9,1929 in Lansing, Michigan to Clarence and Helen Traill and was the oldest of seven children A graduate of Holt High School, Bob served his country in the U.S Air Force and it was while stationed in Wash‐ington, D.C. he met his bride Lois Albert Traill Bob and Lois shared 70 wonder‐ful years together - travel‐ing the world, enjoying their family, and ﬁnding a reason to celebrate with a slice of pie. Bob is survived by his two children, Robert Eric Traill and Melissa Traill Constance; daughter-inlaw, Susan (Sava) Traill; grandchildren, Eric Jonathan Traill (Angela), Melina Elizabeth Traill Heather Traill West (Aron),

Robert Edward Traill of Folsom, Louisiana, passed away peacefully in his home March 11, 2025 at the age of 95. Bob, as he was known to almost everyone was born on June 9,1929 in Lansing Michigan to Clarence and Helen Traill and was the oldest of seven children. A graduate of Holt High School Bob served his country in the U.S. Air Force and it was while stationed in Wash‐ington, D.C. he met his bride, Lois Albert Traill Bob and Lois shared 70 wonder‐ful years together - travel‐ing the world, enjoying their family and finding a reason to celebrate with a slice of pie Bob is survived by his two children, Robert Eric Traill and Melissa Traill Constance; daughter-inlaw, Susan (Sava) Traill; grandchildren, Eric Jonathan Traill (Angela), Melina Elizabeth Traill Heather Traill West (Aron), Erica Constance Campeau (Robert), Emily Grayson Nee (Alastair); and great grandchildren, Mia Traill, Ellie Traill, Adam West Lil‐lian West, William Campeau, and Emily Campeau He is also sur‐vived by his sister Patricia Traill and brother Michael (Binnie) Traill. He was pre‐ceded in death by his par‐ents, Helen and Clarence Traill, and his brothers Ger‐ald Traill, Ronald Traill, Phillip Traill, and Richard Traill. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the prayer service at E. J Field‐ing Funeral Home, 2260 W 21st Avenue Covington, LA 70433 on Thursday, March 27 at 3:00 PM with visita‐tion beginning at 2:00 PM until service time Bob will be deeply missed by all those whose lives he touched In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Associa‐tion or to the charity of your choice E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been en‐trusted with funeral arrangements The Traill family invites you to share thoughts, fondest memo‐ries, and condolences on‐line at E J. Fielding Funeral Home Guest Book at www ejfieldingfh.com

Wilson, Robert Bernard 'Willie'

Bernard Wilson (“Willie”)

away peacefully on Friday,

14th,

Kellie Wellenreiter (Walter), and the late Robert B. Wilson, Jr Grandfather of Jacob (Kylie), Olivia (Francisco), Caitlyn (Alex), Sophia (god‐child), Nicholas, and Lucas. Great Grandfather of Ande and Bene Brother of late Sam Wilson (Jean) Brother-in-law of Chris Cancienne (Barbara) and the late Lena Rita Cullinane (Peter), Lois Spellman (Mickey) Herman Canci‐enne, Ray Cancienne, and Leroy Cancienne Brotherin-law of Gerry Cancienne Son of late Bernard Peter Wilson and Mary Alice De‐Bardelaben. He was 83 years of age and resided in Gretna LA Robert served our country in the Louisiana National Guard 159th Aircraft Maintenance Group Squadron and worked at Chevron Oil and Gas Company for over 40 years. He was a

Robert Bernard Wilson (“Willie”) passed away peacefully on Friday, March 14th, 2025. Beloved husband of the late Mary Cancienne Father of Sheree Yerby (Scott), Kellie Wellenreiter (Walter), and the late Robert B. Wilson, Jr Grandfather of Jacob (Kylie), Olivia (Francisco), Caitlyn (Alex), Sophia (god‐child), Nicholas, and Lucas. Great Grandfather of Ande and Bene Brother of late Sam Wilson (Jean) Brother-in-law of Chris Cancienne (Barbara) and the late Lena Rita Cullinane (Peter), Lois Spellman (Mickey), Herman Canci‐enne, Ray Cancienne, and Leroy Cancienne Brotherin-law of Gerry Cancienne Son of late Bernard Peter Wilson and Mary Alice De‐Bardelaben He was 83 years of age and resided in Gretna, LA. Robert served our country in the Louisiana National Guard 159th Aircraft Maintenance Group Squadron and worked at Chevron Oil and Gas Company for over 40 years He was a graduate of Loyola University He en‐joyed ﬁshing, reading, walking, going to the gun range with Sophia, watch‐ing his grandsons’ hockey games, traveling with his family across the US and Canada, and spending time with his Papillon Dolly. Rel‐atives, friends, employees and friends of Chevron, Bill Bravender State Farm In‐surance Agency American Legion Post No 218, Gretna America Legion Post 216, and Westbank Veterans No. 1 are invited to attend the Visitation at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church 3101 Eton Street in Algiers on Wednesday, March 26th, 2025, from 9:00 – 11:00 am. A funeral mass will follow Interment Westlawn Memorial Park. Mothe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Flowers are appreciated or donations to American Le‐gion Charities Family and friends may view and sign the online guest book at www mothefunerals com.

Saputo, Albert Carl

Traill,

Traill, Robert Edward

Schilleci, Rosario JohnRJ

Wilson, Robert Bernard 'Willie'

Robert

passed

March

2025. Beloved husband of the late Mary Cancienne Father of Sheree Yerby (Scott),

No. 1 LSU headed to Penn State Regional

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Every week, it seems, LSU gymnast Konnor McClain gets a notiﬁcation on her phone about some new historic thing the program has done.

What the Tigers achieved Monday, in some ways, tops them all.

LSU earned the No 1 overall seed for the 36-team NCAA gymnastics championships on Monday, the ﬁrst such distinction for the Tigers LSU, which won the Southeastern Conference championship on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama, will be the top seed in the nine-team Pennsylvania Regional, April 2-6 at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.

“It means everything to us,” McClain said after the team held a low-key gathering in its practice facility to watch the regional assignments. “We started out the season pretty well and each week we accomplished something more.”

LSU’s regional semiﬁnal is set for 6 p.m. April 3 and will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Tigers will compete in their semi along

ä See REGIONAL, page 6C

Cooks has no regrets about

departure

N.O. wide receiver looking forward to fresh start

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Brandin Cooks doesn’t believe in burning bridges.

The wide receiver said he’s held that belief throughout life. And it’s a mantra that has suited him well in the NFL as he has gone from one team to the next Cooks has been traded four times in his 11-year NFL career, so it was fitting when he finally hit free agency for the first time earlier this month, he chose to sign back with the New Orleans Saints — the team where it all began.

There were no hard feelings involved.

“I think it’s unnecessary,” Cooks said of burning bridges “It’s like drinking poison and hoping something happens to the other person. It’s just energy that’s wasted You wish each other the best and in all aspects of life, and you move on.” Cooks’ mentality is what allowed him to a sign a two-year, $13 million deal to return to the Saints last week — nine years after his initial departure. In 2016, the Saints traded the former ﬁrst rounder and a fourth round draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for ﬁrst- and third-round

The

NC AA TOU RN AM EN T

LSU VS. NC STATE TBD FRIDAy • ESPN

SWEET VICTORY

LSU rides third-quarter avalanche to win over Florida State, advances to Sweet 16

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

If it wanted to reach the Sweet 16, the LSU women’s basketball team had to ﬁrst outrun, outgun and outcompete No. 6 seed Florida State, which operates one of the quickest, most productive offenses in the country

The No. 3 seeded Tigers checked all of those boxes in a lopsided third quarter

LSU outscored the Seminoles 31-6 in that frame, propelling itself to a 101-71 win and a third consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16.

On Saturday, the Tigers scored a program-record 103 points in a commanding ﬁrst-round win over No. 14 seed San Diego State.

On Monday, they shot a season-high 56% from the ﬁeld and set another NCAA Tournament team record, this time by tallying 29 assists — the most they’ve notched in any game since 2008. LSU also forced Florida State, the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, to miss 27 of its 36 second-half ﬁeld-goal attempts.

“You saw a lot of offense,” coach Kim Mulkey said.

“You just needed to play a little defense, I felt like, to win it.”

Bout with FSU became a rout, as Tigers look dangerous again in March

Flau’jae Johnson flashed to the free throw line, swished a jumper and Kim Mulkey decided to call an “Oh, why not?” time out with 7:05 remaining. Mulkey strolled out onto the court in a subdued, for her in March, cerulean jacket (someone else described the color and I went with it), allowed herself a satisfied grin and clasped forward Sa’Myah Smith around the back of the head in appreciative delight. The scoreboard, which once threatened to go “TILT!” because of the way LSU and Florida State were firing broadsides back and forth in Monday night’s first half, now read 91-57 Tigers. In a showdown of two of the very best offensive teams in the nation, the heavyweight bout had become a rout. Anyone who thought/hoped/fervently wished that LSU would be an easy out because the Tigers lost three of four games coming into the NCAA tournament probably should reconsider LSU has scored 204 points combined in back-to-back blowouts of San Diego State (103-48) and now Florida State

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Mikaylah Williams, left, and guard Flau’Jae Johnson dance up the court following the win over Florida State in their NCAA Tournament second-round game on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU defeated Florida State 101-71 to advance to the Sweet 16.

picks.

trade happened in part because Cooks was

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks, right, celebrates a catch with tight end Coby Fleener on Dec. 24, 2016. Cooks signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Saints.

Scott Rabalais

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Saints sign Radunz to a one-year deal

Amadi returns for third season with New Orleans

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

Did the New Orleans Saints just find their starting left guard in free agency?

The Saints signed former Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Dillon Radunz to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday Radunz, the 53rd overall pick in 2021, started 15 games at right guard last season and spent his ﬁrst four years with the Titans. Radunz’s signing comes after starter Lucas Patrick departed the Saints to a sign a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Radunz figures to compete for a starting spot in New Orleans, likely at left guard along with Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Kyle Hergel and Will Clapp. The Saints could also look to continue to add in free agency or the draft. But Radunz brings starting experience. Including his duties last year, the 26-year-old has started 31 of 54 career games. The 6-foot6, 301-pound lineman also brings positional ﬂexibility as he has experience playing at tackle.

Pels’

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

The North Dakota State product started at right guard in 2024. He played 166 of his 774 snaps in 2023 at left guard Radunz visited the Saints last week.

Amadi returns Ugo Amadi is returning to the Saints on a one-year deal the team

role players

The schedule said New Orleans Pelicans vs. Philadelphia 76ers. But both teams, decimated by injuries this season, were just a shell of themselves Monday night at the Smoothie King Center

The list of guys not playing was about as long as the list of guys who did. No Zion Williamson No Joel Embiid No Paul George or Tyrese Maxey No CJ McCollum. No Trey Murphy. No Herb Jones. No Dejounte Murray or Eric Gordon That’s just to name a few

In a game that lacked star power, the Pelicans prevailed with a 112-99 victory Guys who are typically role players played key roles for the Pelicans.

Rookie center Karlo Matkovic tied his career-high with 19 points to go with eight rebounds.

Rookie Antonio Reeves came off the bench and led the Pelicans with 17 points to go with nine rebounds Reeves shot 6 of 10 from the ﬂoor, including 5 of 7 3-pointers Kelly Olynyk finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Gretna native Elfrid Payton, signed last week to a 10-day contract, dished out 14 assists Yves Missi scored 16 points and had

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

reportedly unhappy with his role and seeking to become one of the league’s highest-paid receivers.

But reﬂecting on the situation Monday, Cooks said he has no regrets how his time with the Saints initially ended. He pointed out the trade beneﬁtted both sides, and that’s true: The Saints ultimately selected former All-Pro tackle Ryan Ramczyk with the firstround selection they acquired from the Patriots.

And in general, Cooks said he thinks back to the production the Saints had over his ﬁrst three seasons — when they were one of the most electric offenses in the league. In the last two of those campaigns, Cooks had back-to-

announced Monday afternoon. This will be Amadi’s third season with the Saints, and he is coming off the best season of his career Though he only appeared in 11 games, Amadi recorded career highs in tackles (65), tackles for loss (6), and sacks (2) while matching his career-best in pass breakups (7).

He is a versatile player who has lined up either as a safety or as a slot corner He spent most of last season playing in the slot, effectively taking over as the starter in Week 10.

Amadi will turn 28 years old in May He was originally a fourthround draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks and has also appeared in games for the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans.

Eyes on QBs?

The Saints started off the week getting a look at two of the better quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class.

Each of the 32 NFL teams were in attendance for the University of Miami Pro Day Monday, but the Saints had a big group of important decision makers there, including (but not limited to) head coach Kellen Moore, offensive and defensive coordinators Doug Nussmeier and Brandon Staley and college scouting director Jeff Ireland.

The Hurricanes have several notable prospects in the upcoming draft, but the biggest name of the bunch is quarterback Cam Ward, the potential No. 1 pick.

New Orleans also scheduled a dinner with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, according to a Sports Illustrated report. While anything can happen, Ewers is not expected to be selected in the ﬁrst round of next month’s draft.

step up in victory over 76ers

nine rebounds. The Pelicans, one year removed from a 49-game win season, improved to 20-53, The 76ers, who won 47 games last year dropped to 23-49.

It’s been a frustrating season for both franchises.

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse knows exactly what Pelicans’ coach Willie Green has gone through this season. Nurse has gone through it too Embiid, his best player, has suited up for just 19 games this season. He’s had six other players who have battled injuries, including George who has also been shut down for the remainder of the season.

“It’s never fun, never easy and certainly not anybody’s expectations at the start of the year to be where both of our teams are at,” Nurse said “ It gets a little long and overwhelming in a lot of ways.”

The Pelicans started their 40th different lineup. Rookie Keion Brooks scored 10 points in his ﬁrst start. He was joined in the starting ﬁve by Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Olynyk and Missi. “It’ll be collective again,” Green said before the game. “We’ll need all hands on deck from everybody. It’s really an opportunity that these guys have to relish to step on the floor and compete. Play hard and play fast, play together and go after it.”

back 1,000-yard seasons.

“You just never know, right?”

Cooks said of his return.

Things are different now for the 31-year-old. Cam Jordan is the only teammate left from his ﬁrst go-around from the Saints, meaning he’ll have to get acclimated to plenty of new faces. And he’s coming off, statistically, the worst year of his career after catching just 26 catches for 259 yards in nine games with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

But Cooks said he can still bring a lot to the Saints. He raved about the team’s receiving core, noting the “blazing” speed of Rashid Shaheed and route running of Chris Olave. He said he believes there’s a lot of “unselﬁshness,” ﬁlled by guys who “just want to win.”

And Cooks was more than excited to work with wide receivers coach Keith Williams. The two have long

For the Pelicans, it was their ﬁrst win after the All-Star break without Zion Williamson, who missed the game with a low back contusion.

Jared Butler, who played high school ball at Riverside Academy, scored 19 for Philly The 76ers used their 48th different lineup.

had a relationship, dating back to their Stockton, California, roots.

“He’s been recruiting me since I was 17 years old,” Cooks said. “He was at Fresno (State), and I was like, “Keith, I’m not going to Fresno.’ I really do believe he’s the best receiver coach in the league.”

Cooks said he’s been in contact with quarterback Derek Carr, as well. The two, the wideout noted were part of the same draft class in 2014 and they’ve known each other for a long time. He praised Carr as a “great leader” and a “tough cat” who can throw any ball.

As for his role with the Saints next season, Cooks said he’d let the coaching staff determine that He’s spent most of his time as an outside receiver, but also has experience in the slot. At 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds, he has a similar build to Olave and Shaheed. But Cooks said he was a fan of

No March Madness brackets remain perfect Brackets, busted.

The handful of remaining perfect brackets in the NCAA Tournament busted out on Sunday, ending the hopes of millions against exceptionally long odds.

The ﬁnal perfect brackets on Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports were shredded with Saturday’s games. Top-seeded Florida’s 77-75 win over two-time reigning national champion UConn continued the carnage on Sunday Duke’s 89-66 win over Baylor left one remaining perfect bracket on ESPN’s tracker and it didn’t last long. That bracket imploded with Kentucky’s 84-75 win over Illinois, creating 24.3 million imperfect brackets.

The Wildcats’ win also killed off the last bracket of the 34 million on the NCAA’s platform.

Gold Cup opener to be played at SoFi Stadium

MIAMI The opening match of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 14 will be played SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the governing body announced Monday

The opening match of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 14 will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the governing body announced Monday While CONCACAF announced the 14 venues for the tournament last September it has not given locations of speciﬁc matches other than the opener and the championship. There are no venues on the U.S. East Coast. Mexico has won nine Gold Cups, including 2023. The U.S. has won seven, including 2021, and Canada won in 2000. The draw is April 10.

Pitino named Naismith Coach of the Year finalist

Rick Pitino is one step closer to college basketball’s top national coaching honor

The St John’s coach was named one of four finalists for Naismith Coach of the Year, joining Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Duke’s John Scheyer Monday’s announcement followed a year in which Pitino led St. John’s to a 31-5 record, its first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 and its first Big East Tournament crown since 2000.

St. John’s was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, marking its ﬁrst trip to the Big Dance since 2019. By rolling to an 83-53 victory over No. 15 Omaha in the ﬁrst round, the Red Storm picked up their NCAA Tournament win in 25 years.

Titans sign Slye, replacing Folk after two seasons NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have signed six-year veteran Joey Slye as their new kicker, choosing not to bring back 40-yearold Nick Folk for a third season. The Titans announced the deal Monday

Slye has big shoes to fill with Folk leading the NFL in ﬁeld goal percentage in each of the past two seasons making 96.7% of his kicks in 2023 and 95.5% in 2024. But Folk, who turns 41 in November, missed three games as the Titans went 3-14 last season.

“At some point, you ‘ve just got to accept that this is what’s happening,” Nurse said. “Especially when (players) get ruled out for the season. Then my approach was to keep coaching, keep working, keep preparing, stay super positive. Give these young guys a chance to succeed.”

coach Kellen Moore, noting how he’s been able to adapt to his personnel at each of his stops.

Cooks, too, is 462 yards away from reaching the 10,000 milestone in his career Asked about potentially reaching that feat next season, Cooks said he feels like he should have hit the ﬁgure already and that he’s not thinking about it.

“That’ll take care of itself,” Cooks said. If it does happen next season, though, Cooks will record the accomplishment with the same team that he gained his very ﬁrst yard. And that likely wouldn’t have been possible if he decided to hold a grudge.

“We both got a lot of respect for one another,” Cooks said. “I think that shows by being back here.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Slye turns 29 on April 10. After playing at Virginia Tech, Slye started in the NFL in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers. In 2021, he kicked for three different teams starting with three games for the Houston Texans, three more with San Francisco and six with Washington.

Cornet to resume tennis career a year after retiring PARIS Less than a year after ending her tennis career, veteran Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet is making a comeback.

Cornet said in a statement relayed by Rouen tournament organizers on Monday that she will be playing at the indoor clay-court event next month.

“You thought you’d got rid of me, but it’s not quite the case yet,” said Cornet, who added that she had resumed training two months ago. Cornet retired last year after a 6-2, 6-1 loss to No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen in the ﬁrst round of the French Open.

The 35-year-old Cornet has been granted a spot in the main draw at Rouen through a

organizers of the WTA

The

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi celebrates defending a pass against Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker during the first half of a game on Dec. 29 at Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD New Orleans Pelicans forward Keion Brooks Jr dunks the ball over the Philadelphia 76ers defense during the first half of the game on Monday at the Smoothie King Center

‘It just wasn’t our best day’

LSU softball playing

UL on heels of rough game against Georgia

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

The No. 3 LSU softball team was poised to ﬁnish a weekend in Georgia with a bang and a breakthrough but stumbled badly instead

In the course of an 11-3 loss — and a ﬁve-inning, mercy-rule loss at that — LSU had a 14-game winning streak snapped and blew a chance to start the week alone in ﬁrst place in the Southeastern Conference. Given a loss by topranked Oklahoma Saturday, LSU might have even risen to No. 1 when the polls come out on Tuesday.

Instead, coach Beth Torina settled for winning the series as it goes into Tuesday’s visit to UL for a nonconference game at 6 p.m

“The last game was tough, a lot of things seemed to go wrong,” Torina said. “I really didn’t think we were prepared to play It just wasn’t our best day It’s less about the loss and more about the way we approached the game.

“At the end of the day, winning the series was good. Our team has played incredible all year It was an opportunity maybe to evaluate the way we go about our business and make improvements.”

At 29-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play LSU is still among the nation’s elite. The Tigers are tied for second in the league standings with Texas and Mississippi State behind the reigning national champion Sooners at 8-1.

On Sunday, ace pitcher Sydney Berzon suffered her ﬁrst loss in 14 decisions. Berzon, who pitched a ﬁve-hitter to win Friday’s game 5-3, allowed a career-high nine earned runs in 31/3 innings. She had allowed only eight earned runs in 13 appearances entering the game. The big blow was a grand slam by Mua Williams to cap a seven-run third inning and erase a 2-0 LSU lead.

LSU also committed two errors and managed only six hits. McKenzie Redoutey, Sierra Daniel and Jadyn Laneaux each had run-scoring singles for the Tigers.

Tigers’ bullpen strategy examined

Other takeaways from Texas series also discussed

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball had a rough trip to Austin this past weekend.

After taking down Texas 8-2 in the series opener on Friday, the Tigers lost 11-7 on Saturday and 6-2 on Sunday, dropping consecutive games for the first time this year Here are five takeaways from LSU’s first series defeat.

Bullpen usage on Saturday LSU’s struggles in relief on Saturday were glaring. The Tigers allowed nine runs, seven hits, walked ﬁve batters and only had one strikeout in 32/3 innings.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there were a few moves LSU coach Jay Johnson could have made with the bullpen that would have given the Tigers a better chance of winning that game. And in turn, the series.

First, Johnson could have turned to freshman right-hander Casan Evans in the sixth or seventh inning after LSU retook the lead on freshman Derek Curiel’s two-run home run in the sixth.

problem, but he’s also not generating a lot of swings and misses. He only has eight strikeouts over his past two outings.

Coming off of Tommy John surgery, Shores was likely going to need some time before getting back to what he was before the injury But with LSU’s recent bullpen struggles and junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson’s shorter starts, the Tigers are going to need Shores to step up sooner rather than later.

Why the offense took a step back

LSU’s offense had a productive day on Friday, scoring eight runs on 13 hits and eight free passes (walks and hit by pitches combined). It also had seven runs through six innings on Saturday. But from the end of Saturday’s game and throughout Sunday, LSU struggled at the plate. It only scored two runs on eight hits over the ﬁnal 12 innings of the series.

In Johnson’s eyes, it was twostrike hitting that hurt the Tigers at the plate, particularly on Sunday They consistently found themselves getting behind in counts and failed to work their way into better ones.

LSU struck out 14 times over the last 12 innings of the series.

BY GUERRY SMITH

Contributing writer

Linebacker Jesus Machado was two tackles away from becoming the ﬁrst Tulane player in 10 seasons with 100 stops when he tore an ACL in the ﬁrst quarter of the 2023 Military Bowl.

Two years later he is looking to recapture the form that had him on the verge of surpassing Sam Scofield’s 104 tackles in 2013. A week into spring practice, he could not be happier with his recovery

“It feels great coming back and being out there with my teammates playing the game I love and just getting back into the swing of things,” he said. “I feel 100 percent. I feel very confident. I’ve been waiting on it for so long.” With only three returning defensive starters from 2024, the Green Wave needs Machado’s experience. A sixth-year senior, he played in 17 games over his ﬁrst two seasons and had 44 tackles as a junior before his huge breakthrough in 2023. The linebacker room has a double does of maturity in him and senior Sam Howard, who became a vocal presence soon after he transferred from Austin Peay last summer

“Jesus has been awesome,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said. “What a great teammate and leader. It’s unfortunate he had to miss last year, but it could be a blessing in disguise. He’s a tough, bluecollard dude who does things the right way Anytime you have an inside linebacker that wears 99, you know he’s probably a rock star.” Machado, from Miami, credited former Miami legend and fourtime, ﬁrst-team All-Pro defensive

tackle Warren Sapp for his jersey number His dad asked Sapp what number his son should chose and Sapp said “99 because it’s close to 100.”

Machado actually was 100-percent cleared to play late last year Sumrall considered using him for four games, the maximum allowed for a player to be redshirted, but decided to wait because Machado was not totally conﬁdent yet

“It was really hard,” Machado said. “I just played through my teammates. Every time I touched the ﬁeld, I knew I wasn’t going to play, but I was just being the best

The previous game was tight until the Tigers broke it open with their own big inning, highlighted by Jalia Lassiter’s grand slam to win 10-2 in six innings. Lassiter, an Ole Miss transfer, hit her ﬁrst homer as a Tiger over the center field fence to cap a six-run inning. The Tigers also got a solo home run from Daniel who had a career-high three RBIs. LSU hitters worked Georgia pitching for eight walks.

Freshman LSU left-hander

Jayden Heavener won her first SEC decision despite allowing seven walks. She struck out ﬁve and allowed only two hits.

“Our offense did an incredible job always showing up prepared

and sticking to the plan (assistant coach) Bryce (Neal) has set forth for them,” Torina said. “It was tough. The atmosphere was loud, it felt fast. The crowd feels like it’s right on you. The dugouts are close to home plate. Friday felt very uncomfortable. It was nice for our team to be in that environment and come out with a win.

“Practice this week will be a good opportunity to reset and learn some things, take some lessons and try to keep getting better If we try to stay the same in the spot we’re at, we’re not going to have a ton of success this season It’s going to get harder and tougher so we have to stay focused.”

team player I could be.”

The extra four months from November to March made a big difference in his mindset, and he is eager to prove the new-look defense can perform at a championship level.

“We can do great,” he said. “The sky’s the limit. We just have to put in the work day in and day out.”

Not there yet

With two-time 1,000-yard rusher Makhi Hughes having transferred to Oregon, third-year Booker T. Washington product Arnold Barnes is Tulane’s only experienced returning running back.

Don’t take that as clear evidence he will start, though. The biggest thing for Duda is consistency and being detailed in everything he does,” Sumrall said after the second spring practice.

“Today one time he blew an assignment. It’s like, man, you can’t make that mistake when you are an older player It’s just about being detailed in everything he does. No gaps. No lapses. He’s hard to tackle because he’s physical with a compact, low-to-the-ground body

He just has to do the right thing all the time.”

Barnes looks the part at 5-foot10, 216 pounds. He rushed for 405 yards and six touchdowns as Hughes’ primary backup last season. He knows it is up to him to hold off the other four scholarship backs on the roster — talented redshirt freshman Jamauri McClure, Florida Atlantic transfer Zuberi Mobley Louisville transfer MauriceTurner and early-enrolling freshman Javin Gordon.

Lagniappe

Tight end Ty Thompson, who was having a strong first week after moving from quarterback, tweaked his knee early in Saturday’s practice. Sumrall said it appeared to be nothing long term but might be a lateral meniscus injury that could sideline him for a while.

…Former Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt and former cornerbacks Lorenzo Doss and Parry Nickerson addressed the team after watching Saturday’s third practice of the spring. After a slow start, the offense celebrated wildly after Donovan Leary hit wide open Kentucky transfer Anthony Brown-Stephens for an easy touchdown in 11-on-11 work. Tulane will have its Pro Day at the Saints indoor facility on Tuesday morning and its ﬁrst scrimmage on Saturday at Yulman Stadium.

But Johnson didn’t use the Houston native until Sunday when Evans allowed just one earned run in 32/3 innings. He threw 60 pitches in that outing, indicating that he had the stamina to ﬁnish Saturday’s game if called upon. Johnson also could have saved junior right-hander Zac Cowan for Saturday if he hadn’t let him throw 55 pitches in three shutout innings on Friday Johnson has said on numerous occasions that Cowan is the best relief pitcher in college baseball. Then why use him for an extended period with a six-run lead?

“That’s a good team. It’s a good offense,” Johnson said “They’ve all been here forever, like we’ve played them three years, and I feel like we’re playing the same team. So (they’re) at home, good and dangerous.”

A third maneuver Johnson could have utilized was turning to junior left-hander Conner Ware for a longer stretch on Saturday Ware, despite throwing two shutout innings against Missouri last weekend, only threw to one batter He also didn’t pitch on Sunday or Friday

This season hasn’t been perfect for Ware — he has a 6.94 ERA but Johnson has said he was LSU’s best pitcher during the fall. There’s a reason why opponents are hitting just .143 against him.

“I trust Conner 1000%,” Johnson said on Sunday. “It’s just I thought Casan was our best available pitcher, and it was good to see him extend like that.”

Chase Shores is getting hit His towering stature and fastball velocity suggest otherwise, but redshirt sophomore righthander Chase Shores has been getting hit through six starts this season.

Opponents are hitting .300 off of Shores. He’s allowed eight earned runs and 11 hits in 72/3 innings over his ﬁrst two starts in Southeastern Conference play Walks have been a part of the

“We’ve been elite with two strikes, two-strike hitting to this point,” Johnson said Sunday “They beat us in that regard today.”

Will Jones get more time at 3B?

Don’t count on it.

Johnson said after Sunday’s game that the only reason why Jones moved to third base, sophomore Jake Brown slid to ﬁrst and junior Ethan Frey was put into right ﬁeld was because LSU wanted to keep Frey in the lineup.

Frey had pinch-hit for redshirt junior Tanner Reaves in the top of the sixth. But Frey didn’t get to ﬁnish his at-bat because Brown got thrown out at second base while trying to allow a runner to score from third.

“Once we made the decision to do that, that’s why we had to do the defense (that way) to keep those guys coming up, to keep Ethan up for (the next inning),” Johnson said. “Otherwise, we take (Frey) out there and we don’t get the value of him getting an at-bat against (left-hander Dylan) Volantis.

The next step for Eyanson Through three innings, Eyanson looked like the Saturday starter Johnson hoped he was getting when the UC San Diego transfer decided to come to Baton Rouge.

Eyanson had struck out five Longhorns and hadn’t allowed a hit. But once he had to go through the heart of the Texas order a second time, he ran into some trouble.

He allowed four hits and four earned runs over the next 11/3 innings. He only had one strikeout during that stretch.

It wasn’t a disastrous outing, but this weekend was the second consecutive start where Eyanson had trouble getting through an SEC lineup a second time through. It’s something he’ll need to improve on in order for LSU’s rotation to reach its potential.

Email Koki Riley at Koki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU softball coach Beth Torina talks with Tori Edwards at third base in the first inning against UL on March 11 in LSU’s Tiger Park.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU pitcher Chase Shores delivers a pitch against North Alabama in the first inning on March 9 at Alex Box Stadium.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Tulane coach Willie Fritz walks behind defensive back Kiland Harrison, left, and linebacker Jesus Machado after the Green Wave’s 26-14 loss to SMU during the American Athletic Conference championship at yulman Stadium Dec. 2, 2023.

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Looking like her old self

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Sa’Myah Smith began to trot back on defense before the points were added to the scoreboard

The LSU women’s basketball forward received a no-look pass in trafﬁc in the paint from one of her point guards. The 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore corralled it and in mid-stride whipped it to Mikaylah Williams in the right corner

The 39% 3-point shooter canned the shot and Williams was already near halfcourt as it tickled the net with her arms raised in joy as the Pete Maravich Assembly Center roared in the third quarter

“I had seen her in the corner as I was running,” Smith said, “the way I caught (the ball) I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get the layup. She a shooter, shooters shoot.”

Unselfish plays for buckets were a part of the formula in LSU’s 101-71 win over Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday Another major factor in the win was Smith’s outstanding performance. Smith had a season-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, a seasonhigh six assists and three steals She was 9-of-9 shooting, but she didn’t even realize that until she was told in the locker room Her execution in all phases of

LSU

Continued from page 1C

This Round-of-32 contest was a relatively new challenge for LSU. The Tigers hadn’t faced a top-10 offense in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament since 2022, Mulkey’s first season in charge. That year ended in a close secondround loss to No. 6 seed Ohio State, which entered that matchup averaging 78.2 points per game. Florida State began Monday’s clash averaging 87.4 ppg And once it tipped off in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center the Seminoles’ offense was its efficient self but only through two quarters. LSU simply kept its transition attack rolling for longer In the third quarter, the Tigers converted 10 of their 17 field-goal tries, while forcing the Seminoles into six turnovers at the other end. They also assisted all but three of their field goals and drained all 10 of their free-throw tries. Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson combined to score 19 of LSU’s 31 third-quarter points.

Aneesah Morrow ﬁnished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Florida State couldn’t ﬁnd an answer for either her drives to the rim or her quick dishes to Sa’Myah Smith, who scored a season-high 20 points (on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting, grabbed 12 boards and assisted 6 shots. Williams totaled

the game was as immaculate as her field goal percentage. She dominated the boards and when she didn’t grab the ball, she boxed out effectively against the similarly tall and athletic Florida State forwards.

Smith was often in the perfect spot for quick and easy layups and wasn’t shy about letting her mid-range shooting skills shine.

The root of these crisp plays was her composure — an aspect of her play and personality.

Calmness is one of the things Williams, who had a team-high 28 points, takes away from Smith, who happens to be her roommate.

“She’s quiet and calm, but we’ll joke around,” Williams said. “But on the court, she’s a leader She knows how to calm you down in the game, and she’s always evenkeeled. So that’s kind of what I’ve taken from her, is being evenkeeled.”

Smith said her even-keeled nature on the court is a product of the hard practices under coach

Kim Mulkey

“It’s easy to keep cool heads in games like this especially when we built up that repetition,” Smith said.

The calmness is why she’s able to make split-second passes while running on the fast break and trusting her shooter to catch and release on target.

“We do things like this in prac-

28 points on 10-of-12 shooting, and Flau’jae Johnson added 13.

Seminole junior Ta’Niya Latson — the nation’s leading scorer — ﬁnished with 30 points. But she scored 23 of those points in the ﬁrst half.

“We made a slight change on guarding Latson,” Mulkey said.

“Instead of fighting to get over the screen that they were setting at the top, go under She makes 3s, we live with it. I don’t know that she made a lot.”

Latson shot 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.

A frenetic ﬁrst half ended with LSU clinging to a 50-49 lead.

Latson had 23 points, LSU had shelved both Johnson and Williams for the duration of the second quarter while they each battled foul trouble.

Still, a blistering 74% shooting start and a few important contributions from role players helped the Tigers withstand the ﬁve turnovers that Florida State forced them to commit in the second.

LSU gave away only one possession in the third quarter, then rode an avalanche of points into the Sweet 16. The Tigers tallied exactly 31 points in both the ﬁrst and third — now two of their six highest scoring quarters of the season (since Southeastern Conference play began).

“Start writing about the other ﬁve,” Mulkey said, “the other six, because this weekend they were special. Our bench was special Our entire team was special.”

Sticky defense, Booker are Texas’ recipe for success

By The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas Madison Booker scored 20 points and No. 1-seed Texas used a smothering defense to earn a 65-48 victory over No. 8 Illinois in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The win sends the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past ﬁve seasons. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 19 points for Texas.

Oklahoma will play UConn on Saturday in Spokane, Washington.

tice like we’re always looking for each other,” Williams said. “This is what we work on. And so I’m just glad that she found me and I made the shot, and then we got the crowd back into it again.”

LSU was robbed of these sequences involving Smith when she suffered a season-ending knee injury during her true sophomore season last year She played in only seven games and was averaging 12 points and eight rebounds.

When asked if she dreamed of recovering and playing games like this, Smith said she dreamed of “honestly just to be on the court” — once again contributing. Now she looks like her old self at the right time — in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s my best game this year,” Smith said as she couldn’t hold back her smile. “You can only go up from here.”

Her teammates and roommate are thrilled that she is not only helping but is looking more like the version of the player she was before the knee injury

“Before she tore her ACL last year, she was playing out her mind as well,” Williams said. “But I’m just glad to ﬁnally see her get back comfortable in her body and play like we know she can play

“I’m so proud of her for staying down and working hard and not giving up on herself.”

Mulkey-coached teams are 18-4 in second-round NCAA Tournament games. LSU has also now reached the Sweet 16 in three consecutive seasons — a feat it has accomplished three times in program history The Tigers advanced past the Round of 32 in six straight tournaments from 2003-2008.

LSU will face NC State on Friday in the Sweet 16. In November, those two teams met for a neutral-site game in The Bahamas, and the Tigers won 82-65.

The Wolfpack has since won all but two of its conference games, reached the ACC title game and breezed through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, beating No. 15 seed Vermont 7555 in the first round and No. 7 seed Michigan State 83-49 in the second.

LSU was similarly dominant in its ﬁrst two games. Especially because it caught ﬁre in the third quarter of what turned into a another convincing tournament win.

“I explained to them,” Mulkey said, ‘This is why you came here.’

We don’t play to just get to a Sweet 16 at LSU women’s basketball anymore. Not that we take it for granted, but our goal every year is just to make a run and see if you can get to another Final Four and see if you can upset somebody you’re not supposed to upset.

“We weren’t talked about at all when we won it two years ago. So let’s go see what we can do.”

Texas outscored Illinois 18-6 in the second quarter then broke the game open at the start of the third when the Longhorns stretched the lead to 24 after steals by Booker and Rori Harmon led to quick baskets.

Roundup

Adalia McKenzie led Illinois with 13 points.

MARYLAND 111, ALABAMA 108 (2OT):

Sarah Te-Biasu made a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, then scored eight of her 26 points in the second overtime to help fourth-seeded Maryland outlast ﬁfth-seeded Alabama to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Terrapins advance to play top-seeded South Carolina, but to get there they had to overcome a career-high 45 points by Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker — and a 17-point Crimson Tide lead in the third quarter.

After Te-Biasu forced the ﬁrst overtime with her 3-pointer, Barker was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left in overtime. She calmly swished all three attempts to tie it at 96 and send the game to a second extra session.

OKLAHOMA 96, IOWA 62: In Norman, Oklahoma, Skylar Vann scored 17 points, Payton Verhulst added 16 and No 3 seed Oklahoma cruised into the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament, dispatching No. 6 seed Iowa. Raegan Beers had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 18 minutes for the Sooners. Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk beat her alma mater and advanced past the second round for the ﬁrst time in her four years with the Sooners.

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

(101-71). Those teams aren’t USC or South Carolina, but the Seminoles especially were a dangerous Big Dance partner, led as they were by Division I’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson. Latson got her buckets — 30 points worth and deserves her flowers. But even her stratospheric scoring wasn’t good enough, not by a wide margin, to lift the Seminoles to an upset victory like another No. 6 seed, Ohio State, sprang on LSU here in the second round three years ago. That LSU team’s engine was running on one less cylinder because point guard Alexis Morris played sparingly with a sprained knee. The concern entering the tournament was that the same might prove true, times two, for Flau’jae Johnson (shin splints) and Aneesah Morrow (sprained foot). Both played their purple and gold off, especially Morrow She had to shoulder most of the load for most of the second quarter because Johnson and Mikaylah Williams, the other two members of LSU’s “Big Three,” were glued to the bench with two fouls each. Morrow, playing the last game in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center of her brief but brilliant two-year stay, bravely took charge, scoring 14 points with five rebounds. She would finish with 26 points and 11 rebounds.

With Johnson and Williams out, Florida State more than held its own with LSU, trailing the Tigers only 50-49 at the end of a breathless ﬁrst half.

The Seminoles’ hopes proved to be fool’s gold, however When Johnson and Williams returned, LSU dropped the ceiling on FSU, outscoring the Seminoles by a whopping 31-6 in a doomsday third quarter “They’ve been there,” FSU coach Brooke Wycoff said. “They know what it takes. They’re really

N.C. STATE 83, MICHIGAN 49: In Raleigh, North Carolina, Aziaha James scored 26 points and second-seeded N.C. State made an NCAA Tournament program-record 15 shots from 3-point range in a victory over seventh-seeded Michigan State. James connected for six 3-pointers and Madison Hayes, who had 17 points, drilled ﬁve 3-pointers. Saniya Rivers added 17 points and 11 assists and Zamareya Jones had 12 points for the Wolfpack (28-6).

N.C. State will meet LSU, which beat Florida State 101-71, in a Sweet 16 matchup Friday in Spokane, Washington. The Wolfpack will be in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in coach Wes Moore’s 12 seasons.

NORTH CAROLINA 58 WEST VIRGINIA 47: In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Alyssa Ustby scored 16 of her 21 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat West Virginia in a the second-round game

The fifth-year senior’s big night included 10 third-quarter points for the third-seeded Tar Heels, who reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. North Carolina will face Duke in a regional semifinal in Birmingham, Alabama the first meeting between the rivals in the women’s March Madness bracket. Jordan Harrison scored 10 points to lead the sixth-seeded Mountaineers, who haven’t made the Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994. UCONN 91, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 57: In Storrs, Connecticut, Paige Bueckers matched her career high with 34 points in her home finale, and second-seeded UConn reached its 31st straight Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 10 seed South Dakota State.

Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and Sarah Strong finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Huskies, who will face Oklahoma in a regional semiﬁnal in Spokane, Washington.

good players. They came out of halftime on a mission. We couldn’t get a couple stops, and then the ball wouldn’t go in for us. Good teams are going to prey on that and they’re going to keep going,” These Tigers early on exposed a fatal ﬂaw the Seminoles had around the basket. LSU carved them up time and again when they focused too much on Morrow and forgot about Sa’Myah Smith. She reached a double-double before her All-American counterpart Morrow did and ﬁnished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on 9 of 9 shooting in the best and most meaningful game of her LSU career Another time, Johnson drove the baseline and drew the defense away from Morrow who scored on an easy bank shot.

In all, the Tigers had a program NCAA Tournament-record 29 assists on 41 made baskets. When teams are sharing the basketball like that in March, displaying that brand of unselﬁshness and chemistry, it’s never a bad sign for that team. It is a bad sign for the opposition.

“We’ve had games through the year when I saw it,” Mulkey said of the way her team shared the ball Monday night. “But we haven’t done it consistently Our wings are elite. They can come off any ball screen after any pass. They’re so conﬁdent in their ability sometimes they just go up and shoot the ball, not realizing, ‘Hey, let’s have a little ball reversal. I’ll get you another shot.’

“When they see that happening they realize, ‘This is fun. Scoring is fun. ‘ But winning and having everybody score the ball and contribute is a lot more fun and it takes you a long way.”

Now LSU heads a long way away to Spokane, Washington, where No. 2-seeded NC State awaits in the Sweet 16. Will LSU make it to the Final Four before it comes home? Hard to say But keep this up, and that time-out grin on Mulkey’s face will threaten to become a permanent ﬁxture.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU forward Sa’Myah Smith holds up her hands after a play against Florida State in the fourth quarter of their NCAA Tournament second-round game on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU defeated Florida State 101-71.

LSU loses Williams, Chest to transfer portal

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

LSU’s Mike Williams, a sophomore, entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports, including 247Sports and On3.

The 6-foot-3 shooting guard played 24 games and averaged 4.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and shot 31.3% from the ﬁeld in 11.2 minutes per game. Williams’ position in the rotation was in ﬂux for most of the year He played a more diminished role than his freshman season when he started 22 games and played 33. He averaged 7.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and shot 37.1% in 19.5 minutes.

The Baltimore native did not start a game this season

Coach Matt McMahon incorporated him more in the rotation late in the season once he employed four-guard lineups for the majority of games. Williams played 19.7 minutes and scored 7.6 points on 38% ﬁeld-goal shooting in the ﬁnal seven games.

The scoring guard’s best game was a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and one turnover in 14 minutes against South Carolina on Feb. 18. He was the team’s second-leading scorer, and his three 3-pointers were a team-high McMahon during the season complimented the guard’s work ethic as his place on the team ﬂuctuated “I’m really proud of him,” McMahon said after the South Carolina game. “He’s had a challenging year, disjointed at times. But, you know, I think he’s been really good for us here of late. He’s practiced at a high level. I think he’s invested time in the gym.”

Williams was the No. 166 player and No. 26 shooting guard in the country in the 2023 class, accord-

LSU guard Mike Williams shoots a 3-pointer against Alabama State on Nov. 10 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

ing to 247Sports Composite. Chest was the only other signee in that recruiting class.

Chest also enters portal

Corey Chest, a redshirt freshman, will also enter the transfer portal, according to his social media.

The 6-foot-8 forward played 26 games and averaged 6.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game.

Chest didn’t play the ﬁnal four games of the 2024-25 season because of a foot issue. Before his injury, he was replaced in the starting lineup after making 19 starts. McMahon employed a fourguard lineup and kept redshirt junior Daimion Collins as the lone big.

McMahon repeatedly complimented Chest’s rebounding abilities and motor this season.

“It’s energy, it’s effort,” McMahon said. “Nothing I can coach He just has a natural feel for how to go chase rebounds and pursue the ball, and he continues to do it at a high level. One of the better instinctual rebounders I’ve been around in my time.”

The athletic forward’s best game was a 12-point and 18-rebound outing against then-No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 25.

Chest was the No. 121 player and No. 27 power forward in the country in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports Composite.

Williams and Chest join Tyrell Ward in the transfer portal, which ofﬁcially opened on Monday

Duke’s opening-week offense was a display of elite efficiency

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

RALEIGH, N.C. Baylor coach Scott

Drew knew beating No. 1 seed Duke would be a tough task considering the Blue Devils’ elite efﬁciency rankings at both ends of the court.

“The analytics showed they didn’t have any weaknesses,” Drew said Sunday after a 89-66 loss to Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament And the Blue Devils have lived up to that heading into the Sweet 16. Sure, the point margins are impressive enough. But the underlying data for teams still alive in the Sweet 16 can indicate which teams ﬁt the proﬁle of those that reach the Final Four or cut down the nets, and the Blue Devils have been absolutely dominant — notably at the offensive end behind junior Tyrese Proctor going on a sudden outside-shooting tear

“First of all it helps when Tyrese is on the heater he was on,” graduate guard Sion James quipped

“But we’ve built this throughout the year This isn’t something that just kind of came on. We’ve been building toward this for the season. And now we’re hoping for the next few weeks that we can keep it sustained.”

Profiles of a winner

Going back to the 2001 tournament, 16 of 23 national champions were ranked inside the top 25 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efﬁciency for KenPom entering March Madness, with six owning top-10 status at both ends.

Take a step back, and more than half of the Final Four teams (51 of 92) were inside the top 25 at both ends, with 18 of those being top 10 in both areas. As for the others, slightly more than half of the remaining teams held at least top-10 status at one end of the ﬂoor to offer one commonality

The tiers

That creates three tiers of Sweet 16 teams for this week:

—Five favorites who entered the tournament with top-25 rankings for both ends: the Blue Devils, fellow 1-seeds Florida, Houston and Auburn; and 2-seed Tennessee. Of that group, the Blue Devils are top 5 at both ends, while the Gators and Cougars are in the top 10.

—Six teams that ranked in the top 10 to offer elite play at one end

Tulane’s Willams enters transfer portal

BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing writer

Tulane’s Kam Williams, who was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Freshman team last week in men’s basketball, entered the transfer portal on Monday and is the first confirmed departure of what could be several from a team that showed plenty of promise in league play ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported the decision ﬁrst on X, formerly Twitter, through Williams’ agent, and a source conﬁrmed it. Givony added Williams also would “test the NBA Draft waters.”

Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward from Lafayette who averaged 9.3 points, had one of his best games of the season when the fourth-seeded Green Wave lost to top-seed Memphis 78-77 in a heartbreaking AAC tournament semifinal He scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a tying 3-pointer with 2:32 left, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

His season was uneven offensively, but six days earlier he scored a career-high 24 points in an 85-68 rout of defending AAC tournament champion UAB. He hit the second-most treys on the team (63), connecting on 41.2% of them and was second in blocked shots with 35.

In addition to Williams, a source revealed four other players did not attend Monday’s ﬁrst practice for next week’s College Basketball Crown, an inaugural postseason tournament in Las Vegas, and are expected to enter the portal. Second-team All-AAC player Kaleb Banks, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Indiana who averaged 14.7 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, is one of them along with key backup guard Mari Jordan, who averaged 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds. Jordan, a redshirt freshman Georgia transfer scored 10 points in each of the Wave’s two AAC tournament games and supplied energy at

of the court: 2-seeds Alabama and Michigan State; 3-seeds Kentucky and Texas Tech; and 4-seeds Purdue and Maryland. Of that group, the Spartans were the only top-10 defense and also ﬂirted with joining the aforementioned top tier by entering the tournament ranked 27th offensively (118.1 points per 100 possessions).

—Five outliers: 4-seed Arizona, 5-seed Michigan, 6-seeds BYU and Mississippi; and 10-seed Arkansas. Of that group, BYU and Arizona were slightly outside of the top-10 offensively, while Michigan ﬂirted with top-10 status defensively

Duke’s start

The Blue Devils entered the tournament ranked third in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efﬁciency (128.0 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in defense (89.8). They have started their push for a sixth national title with home-state romps against Mount St. Mary’s and Baylor as the headliner in the East Region, led by an offense exceeding its own elite season-long performance.

Duke has scored on 79 of 123 possessions (64.2%) through two games and is averaging 1.48 points per possession. By comparison, UConn began its blowoutﬁlled march last year to a second straight NCAA title by averaging 1.29 points per possession and scoring on 59.7% of its possessions

in the opening weekend.

Defensively Duke has allowed 0.927 points per possession, a slight downtick from its regularseason numbers.

When it comes to this year’s Sweet 16 teams, Duke’s effective ﬁeld-goal percentage — which factors in the added value of 3-point shots — was 67% through two games, according to Sportradar, with the Crimson Tide (61%) as the next-best team. The Blue Devils also have a Sweet 16-low eight turnovers through two games while posting a nearly 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

And Duke’s 67-point victory margin through two games is 24 points better than Houston’s as the next closest team, with the Blue Devils standing as the only member of the Sweet 16 to win both tournament games by at least 20 points.

Tournament tests

The other 1-seeds offer statistical proﬁles close to Duke, but they also have faced something the Blue Devils haven’t: a test. The Gators entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in adjusted offensive efﬁciency (128.6) and No. 10 in defense (92.4), while the Cougars were the inverse by ranking 10th in offense (123.2) and second in defense (87.8). And No. 1 overall seed Auburn was slightly outside of that group by ranking third and 12th, respectively

both ends of the ﬂoor

The other two who skipped practice are little-used redshirt freshman reserve center Spencer Elliot, who averaged 0.9 points in 16 games, and junior guard Michael Eley a Siena transfer who averaged 1.3 points in 12 games.

Versatile junior center Gregg Glenn, who averaged 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists, announced last week he was returning next year Point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, a first-team All-AAC pick who averaged a team-best 15.7 points and 4.8 assists, was at Monday’s practice along with backcourt mate Asher Woods, who averaged 19.0 points in the Wave’s past four games. Neither has committed publicly to returning, but sources expect them to be back.

Tulane (19-14) finished fourth in the AAC after being picked to tie for 11th in the coaches’ preseason poll, with sixth-year coach Ron Hunter having to replace all five starters. The Wave faces USC (16-17) next Tuesday at 10 p.m. Central time in the final first-round game of the 16-team College Basketball Crown.

Laurendine moving from Shaw to Brother Martin

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Wesley Laurendine won a district championship the last time he coached basketball in the Catholic League His next chance will come next season with Brother Martin, which announced his hiring Monday Laurendine, who coached the past 10 seasons at Shaw, will replace former coach Chris Biehl, who the school said in an earlier release Monday had stepped down from his position after 12 seasons.

“It was a very emotional last week or so,” said Laurendine, who coached Shaw to an LHSAA Division II select state runnerup ﬁnish earlier this month. “It was very difﬁcult for me to do. It was a family decision we had to make about what was best for my family my two girls and my wife.”

Laurendine built the Shaw basketball program from the depths of the Catholic League when it won the District 9-5A championship in 2022. But the school dropped out of the league when it opted not to play in the higher enrollment classification — a decision influenced by how poorly the football program had fared in recent years. The Eagles reached the basketball state tournament that season and in the three subsequent years, finally reaching the state final for the first time since 2001 when the Eagles dismantled Madison Prep in a lopsided state semifinal at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.

Laurendine said the decision to leave Shaw was “made with a lot of tears.”

“The last 10 years at Shaw have been magical,” Laurendine said.

“We’re hoping that we can have the same success over there.”

Laurendine noted how he had been responsible for creating every game plan as he oversaw nearly every practice and offseason workout session during his time at Shaw — a time-consuming venture that required several long hours at the school. And that coaching at Brother Martin will

provide a larger coaching staff in which some responsibilities could be shared.

Laurendine declined to answer when asked if he would be making this move if Shaw stayed in the Catholic League. But he will arrive at Brother Martin with plenty of familiarity with a league whose rivalries date more than 100 years — having attended Rummel as a 2005 graduate and then coaching ﬁve seasons at Jesuit as an assistant coach before Shaw hired him in 2015.

Laurendine gave thanks to Shaw athletic director Tom Alef for “always supporting me.” With Biehl as coach, Brother Martin won the Catholic League twice and once reached the state ﬁnal in 2017, losing by one point to a Scotlandville team that included future pros Reece Beekman and Javonte Smart.

Biehl told school administrators near the beginning of the season that he would step down when the season ended. He ended his tenure as the Brother Martin all-time wins leader with 255. Biehl decided it was “probably best at this time for everybody, for them to go in a different direction,” he said. “I feel like that’s really what led to this.”

Biehl would consider coaching at another school “if the right opportunity presented itself,” he said. “I would deﬁnitely jump on it.”

Laurendine said Brother Martin contacted Shaw “during the season, but I told them I wouldn’t discuss anything about that because I wanted to make sure my team was my ﬁrst priority.”

Brother Martin and Laurendine ﬁnally spoke after the state championship, which was played March 15. He told the Shaw players on Monday about his decision to leave the school.

“They understand I have a family,” Laurendine said. “This move was strictly about my family If it was about the players I was telling you about, then I would never leave. This was strictly about what was best for my family. I hope the Shaw community can understand where I’m coming from.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH

From left, Duke guard Tyrese Proctor forward Cooper Flagg, center Khaman Maluach, guard Sion James and guard Kon Knueppel react to their team’s lead during the second half in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

Tulane guard Kam Williams shoots a foul shot against UNO during the second half of a game on Nov. 22 at Devlin Fieldhouse.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Michelle Obama, brother to launch podcast

BY MARK KENNEDY Associated Press

NEW YORK Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, will host a new weekly podcast series starting this month featuring a special guest pulled from the world of entertainment, sports, health and business.

“IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” will address “everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us,” according to a press release. IMO is slang for “in my opinion.”

Some of the guests slated to speak to the former ﬁrst lady and Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, include the actors Issa Rae and Keke Palmer and psychologist Dr Orna Guralnik. Other guests include ﬁlmmakers Seth and Lauren Rogan; soccer star Abby Wambach; authors Jay Shetty, Glennon Doyle and Logan Ury; editor Elaine Welteroth; radio personality Angie Martinez; media mogul Tyler Perry; actor Tracee Ellis Ross; husband-and-wife athlete and actor Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union; and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

The ﬁrst two episodes — the ﬁrst is an introductory one and the second features Rae — will premiere on March 12 New episodes will be released weekly and will be available on all audio platforms and YouTube.

“With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” Obama said in a statement. “There is no single way to deal with the challenges we may be facing — whether it’s family, faith, or our personal relationships but taking the time to open up and talk about these issues can provide hope.”

ä See PODCAST, page 2D

AP FILE PHOTO By MATRIANA ELIANO

The Impressionist painting called ‘Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie’ painted in 1897 by Camille Pissarro, is on display in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

U.S. Supreme Court revives case of looted painting on display in Spain

BY SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press

MADRID The fate of a French impressionist painting once stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish woman is in question once again after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday revived a case that could decide its ownership At issue is whether the painting, Camille Pissarro’s “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain,” should remain in the hands of a prominent Spanish museum where it now hangs — or with the descendants of the woman. On Monday, the Supreme Court said the case should be reconsidered under a California law passed last year that aims to strengthen the claims of Holocaust survivors and their families seeking to recover stolen art. In doing so, the justices overturned previous lower court decisions that sided with the ThyssenBornemisza museum in Madrid

ä See PAINTING, page 2D

NOLA.COM | Tuesday, March 25, 2025 1dN

Raised to fight for White supremacy, Derek Black grew up to renounce racism

RIGHT: At about 8, Derek was photographed with a white nationalist flag Derek later renounced racism and antisemitism

BELOW: Derek is shown with father Don around Christmas at age 4 or 5.

BELOW: Derek took on the role of a Confederate soldier at age 12 during a reenactment of the 1864 Battle of Olustee in Florida.

ABOUT FACE

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

David Duke was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives on Feb. 18, 1989, three days after his ex-wife and her new husband in Florida welcomed a baby boy

A decade later, these two events seemed to provide an intriguing convergence for the slice of American society that wanted a racially segregated country

The Florida-born boy was named Derek Black, and at age 10, in 1999, he appeared in the media for the ﬁrst time, showing a precocious ability to articulate a message when he declared on a nationally syndicated TV show that his father had taught him to be proud of his White heritage. Young Derek’s father, Don, had coached him on what to say

And this is where it ties back to Duke Don had been Duke’s top lieutenant in the Ku Klux Klan and had gone on to create Stormfront, the biggest racist website in the world. Derek’s mother, Chloe, had been Duke’s wife, before marrying Don.

In 1991, Duke generated head-

lines nationwide when he mobi-

lized Louisiana White people to mount a surprisingly strong bid to be elected governor Duke ﬁnished second to Edwin Edwards but won notice for collecting over half the White vote in Louisiana. But when 10-year-old Derek made his media debut in 1999, Duke was losing his perch as America’s preeminent White supremacist after being defeated in four more races for ofﬁce.

Don and Chloe raised Derek to be Duke’s successor one day Apparently, they failed.

Renouncing the path

Derek, now grown, has renounced White supremacy and is making public appearances to explain why — a move that has stunned Duke and his parents. The onetime heir apparent tells the story in the recently published book, “The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism” (Abrams Press, $30).

“I am haunted by the White nationalist movement I inherited, and whose future I helped advance,” Derek writes. “Its violence is a source of inﬁnite guilt and irreparable harm.

“I fear for our future, because I know that its ideology is not isolated or fringe — it rises up every time a politician talks about ‘woke ideology,’ a columnist writes about ‘the immigration invasion,’ or a radio host rants about ‘crime in our inner cities.’

“No matter what choices I made, I cannot escape its impact on our society, and none of us can.”

ä See BLACK, page 2D

Obama

PROVIDED PHOTOS FROM R. DEREK BLACK

Try this deodorizing hint

Dear Heloise: The best way to get the stink out of anything is to put 1 teaspoon of shampoo in a gallon of water and use it to wash out whatever is inappropriately smelly It works for skunk-sprayed dogs, too. — C., via email

Length of shirts

Dear Heloise: I wish you could use your influence to get women’s clothing companies to list the length of their shirts on their website or in their catalog I’m tall, and it’s difficult to see how their shirts would fit on me It would not have to be for each size, maybe just for the medium size. At least it would be a starting point. Thank you! — L., in New Orleans Lost keys

of preheating for the ﬁnished product, I wait until I’m about 5 minutes from ﬁnishing the prep to start the oven. — S., in Virginia

Storing schoolwork

Dear Readers: Use this hint for storing paper and artwork that your children bring home from school: You can buy a jumbosized plastic storage bin for each child and label each bin with their names. As the papers come home, they can all get displayed on the refrigerator for a week, but then they’ll be stored away in their own bins, which should be kept in a place inside your home that has easy access. — Heloise

Making objects easier to move

Is there a deadline for returning phone calls?

Dear Miss Manners: How long should someone wait for a call to be returned?

My friend and I talk frequently on the phone. Lately when I call, I get a text that says, “I’ll call you back.” I thought the returned call would come in a short time, but it is taking longer and longer It was taking as long as a week, but now it doesn’t come at all and I must call again.

Dear Readers: We all have mislaid or lost keys at some point in our lives. Use these hints to help prevent you from losing them again:

n Put all the keys in a central spot for hanging, or put them in a bowl near the front or back door

n Put your keys on or near anything you need to remember to take or check so that you will not go out the door without them.

n Give teens their own set of keys to family cars when they start driving. Color-code the keys or key chains for each family member Heloise

Preheating oven

Dear Heloise: Almost every recipe I read starts with: “Preheat oven to the appropriate degree.”

Most ovens will preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 10 minutes. Some recipes’ prep time is 30 minutes or more; therefore, you are wasting energy and money While I realize the importance

Dear Heloise: I recently learned something from my appliance repairman. When moving the washing machine, he squirted some water under the machine and was able to move it quite easily I have a very heavy coffee machine on my kitchen counter, and when I needed to move it, I wet the counter surface with a dishcloth, then moved it quite easily across the counter — A.C., via email

Removing pet hair

Dear Readers: To remove cat or dog hair from upholstery, use a rubber glove and swipe it over the upholstery The hair will roll into a pile with each glove stroke.

To minimize pet hair, brush your pets regularly Some dogs even like to be vacuumed. However, it may take time for your pet to get used to combing and brushing — Heloise

Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday March 25, the 84th day of 2025. There are 281 days left in the year Today in history:

On March 25, 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when a ﬁre broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. garment factory in New York; the tragedy led to legal reforms for workers’ rights and workplace safety

Also on this date: In 1894, Jacob S. Coxey began a march from Massillon, Ohio, leading an “army” of as many as 500 unemployed workers to Washington to demand help from the federal government.

In 1931, in the so-called Scottsboro Boys case, nine young Black men were taken off a train in Alabama and accused of raping two White women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, they were eventually vindicated.

In 1947, a coal dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, killed 111 miners; 31 survived.

In 1965, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr led 25,000 people to the Alabama state Capitol in Montgomery, completing a ﬁve-day

PAINTING

Continued from page 1D

The oil painting from 1897 depicts a rainswept Paris street and is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars

Its owner was once Lilly Cassirer Neubauer, a German Jew who surrendered the painting to the Nazis in order to get visas for herself and her husband to leave Germany

The painting changed hands a number of times for years, traveling to the United States where it spent 25 years with different collectors before it was bought in 1976 by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza of Lugano, Switzerland. He owned it until the 1990s when he sold much of his art collection to Spain.

On Monday, Neubauer’s great-

PODCAST

Continued from page 1D

march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to Black Americans.

In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid. (Faisal bin Musaid was executed for the killing three months later.)

In 1990, 87 people were killed when ﬁre raced through the Happy Land social club in New York City (The ﬁre was set by Julio Gonzalez, who had been thrown out of the club following an argument with his girlfriend; Gonzalez died in prison in 2016.)

In 1996, an 81-day standoff by the Montana Freemen, an antigovernment militia, began at a ranch near Jordan, Montana. Today’s birthdays: Film critic Gene Shalit is 99 Former astronaut James Lovell is 97. Activist and author Gloria Steinem is 91. Musician Elton John is 78. Actor Bonnie Bedelia is 77. Actor Marcia Cross is 63. Author Kate DiCamillo is 61. Actor Lisa Gay Hamilton is 61. Actor Sarah Jessica Parker is 60. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 59. Comedian-actor Alex Moffat (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 43. Actor-singer Katharine McPhee is 41. Comedian-actor Chris Redd (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 40. Rapper Big Sean is 37. Actor Mikey Madison is 26.

grandson and California resident David Cassirer said in a statement that he was thankful to the U.S. high court “for insisting on applying principles of right and wrong.” He took over the family’s ﬁght for the painting after his father Claude Cassirer — who had ﬁrst discovered that the painting was not lost but on display in the Madrid art museum died in 2010.

A lawyer representing the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation said that the foundation would continue working toward confirming the painting’s ownership “as it has for the past 20 years.”

Thaddeus Stauber also said the U.S. high court’s order provided a first opportunity to examine the new California law and what effect it could have on the museum’s “repeatedly afﬁrmed rightful ownership.”

husband, Barack Obama, offered a series of conversations about American life between him and Bruce Springsteen.

The new podcast is a production of Higher Ground, the media company founded in 2018 by the former president and ﬁrst lady

Gentle reader: Years ago, when Miss Manners pointed out that the telephone was an inherently rude instrument — demanding that others drop whatever they were doing and attend to it immediately nobody listened to her

And when they all got cellphones, the problem of giving calls preference over those actually present got worse.

But telephone usage is evolving, creating the hope — or illusion — that we will arrive at some reasonable understanding. One encouraging sign is that many people consider it wrong to telephone without ﬁrst texting to set a convenient time to talk. There are also those who prefer to avoid using the telephone for speaking, now that there is a less intrusive way of sending instant messages.

BLACK

Continued from page 1D

‘Virtually unprecedented’

Derek has a unique story to tell. Some White Supremacist leaders move on to other things. But few actually repudiate their anti-Black and anti-Jewish views.

Mark Potok published Derek’s disavowal for the Southern Poverty Law Center 12 years ago.

“For Derek Black to leave was virtually unprecedented, and for him to go to us — well, Don Black ﬂipped his wig,” Potok said recently “I dealt with a lot of people who left the movement for a variety of reasons. Not one of them was as intelligent and thoughtful as Derek Black.”

Derek has gone through an additional transformation. Now 35 and pursuing a doctorate in medieval studies, he has come out as transgender and has taken the name Adrianne. (We’ll use Derek when describing his younger activities and Adrianne when we quote them.)

Old pals from early neo-Nazi days Duke and Don Black met in 1969 when they drove together to attend a meeting of the National Socialist White People’s Party, a neo-Nazi organization in Virginia.

They became friends and served as leaders together in the Klan group that Duke reactivated in Louisiana in the early 1970s. In 1989, Don surreptitiously established a digital communications hub for Duke’s 1989 legislative campaign in Metairie.

Don needed to be out of sight because Duke was telling the public that his own Klan and anti-Semitic activities had been a youthful indiscretion. In an ironic twist, Don had learned his computer skills while serving two years in prison for a bungled attempt hatched in New Orleans to invade the Caribbean island of Dominica and overthrow its leftist government.

Derek’s parents steeped Derek in their ideology, home-schooling their child in West Palm Beach, Florida, after third grade.

At age 10, Derek gave his ﬁrst public interview, on a daytime talk show It was “my ﬁrst time claiming publicly my intention to lead White nationalism into its next generation,” Derek writes.

White supremacist creeds, codes

Derek made more public appearances and learned the White supremacist code numbers of 14 (a 14-word phrase promising to secure a future for White people and their White children) and 88 (for the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and representing “Heil Hitler”).

Derek became completely inculcated in the White nationalist beliefs that White people are innately more intelligent and capable than Black people and that Jews control the media and ﬁnancial institutions and use their power to force White and Black people to live, study and work together According to this ideology, the inevitable racial mixing weakens the sacred gene pool of the White race. In time, Duke called Derek “the heir,” Derek writes.

So let’s not jump to condemning your friends by setting rules and deadlines for returning calls. Yours are evidently not quick requests for information, much less emergencies, but rather, friendly chats. It may be that they are too frequent or too long for your friend, or just inconveniently timed. A more practical rule, then, is to ask people what methods of communication they prefer, and to work out a compromise that respects your own preferences. Perhaps you and your friend could set a regular time to talk, or shift to meeting in person, if that is feasible. Or you could start an old-fashioned written correspondence instead although presumably electronically Dear Miss Manners: Fifty years ago, when my father was stationed in Vietnam, he sent the military exchange catalog to my mother back home. From it, she ordered a complete bone china set for 12 people, with every possible dinnerware piece. There are dinner plates, salad plates, bread and butter plates, soup bowls, fruit saucers, cups and saucers, and serving pieces. It is a beautiful set in a simple ivory pattern rimmed in gold. My mother passed away almost

30 years ago, and since then, I have used the china for many years when hosting holiday dinners. Now I have downsized and am living in an apartment, and the china is in several boxes in a storage unit. What should I do with it?

Gentle reader: Use it. Do so even if you can only keep on hand the plates that are relevant to your menus, and even if only to feed yourself and your prospective heirs.

Miss Manners cannot promise that they will develop the same aesthetic and sentimental attachment to the set that you seem to have. The use of ﬁne china is rare now especially when it should not be subjected to a dishwasher — as yours, with its gold trim, should not. Yet your loved ones may acquire a fondness for the set through its association with you, somewhat like yours with your mother And in any case, you will have had the pleasure of using it.

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.

Derek decided to attend New College, a small liberal arts university in Sarasota.

Don and Duke weren’t worried that attending a free-thinking university would pose problems for Derek.

Duke’s extremist views had only hardened during his studies at LSU after arriving there in 1968 and becoming a campus celebrity for spouting off against Black people and Jews during the weekly “Free Speech Alley” forum in front of the student union.

But at New College, Derek began to live a dual life, embracing the friendship and compassion of Jewish and Black classmates even as he kept appearing on his father’s talk radio program five days a week and attending White supremacist gatherings elsewhere.

“I was split between the community that had raised me, told me every day that we were hated by the world, and the one that I loved privately, but expected to reject me as soon as they learned who I really was,” Derek writes.

That inner struggle only intensified during his years at New College after students learned of Derek’s racist activities and put him on the spot.

Making the break

In 2013, Derek ﬁnally decided to break with his parents, Duke and the movement that had spawned him.

Turning his back on everything he knew wasn’t easy for him, and it happened only after a long transformation Then he acted decisively, going public on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a mortal enemy of Don and Duke.

“I felt in that moment like I was jumping off a cliff into the abyss,” Derek writes.

His father didn’t believe the news. “I think you’ve been hacked,” Don texted. “Call me back.”

When Derek confirmed it was true, Don’s “familiar jokey tone ended. He said he needed to go, and hung up.”

During a radio program immediately afterward, Duke said Derek was suffering from Stockholm syndrome, having spent years with “liberal captors” during their undergraduate and graduate studies.

In an interview, Duke elaborated, saying that Derek has been brainwashed by Jews, who in Duke’s view, control the media and are bent on destroying the White race to ensure their domination.

“Derek is part of the Jewish enmity toward Europeans and European Christians,” Duke said. “They have motives to try to discredit anybody who dares to speak out against Jewish supremacism in the world, which is the greatest threat to humanity.”

Dukeaddedthathehasn’tgivenup on Derek: “I believe that some day he’ll say, ‘You know, I had it wrong. I was ostracized. I wanted a career in academia. I gave in to them to get their boots off my neck.’”

‘I wanted to say who I am’

Adrianne dismisses Duke’s notion, saying the change reflects personal growth.

“I felt boxed into a corner and wanted to say who I am and want to be,” Adrianne said in an interview “Now I’m not a White nationalist I’ve moved on. I don’t have these beliefs.”

Adrianne is invited now to speak about their changed beliefs and uses the communication and organizational skills developed as a young White supremacist to inform their audience.

In the meantime, Adrianne’s relationship with their family remains a work in progress.

“Mine was a family that deﬁned itself through their shared beliefs,” Adrianne said in the interview

“I knew that condemning White nationalism would be condemning them, and our relationships. They were shocked that I could understand it, be raised in it and think it was wrong. There’s never a conversation whether they don’t say they are horriﬁed and shocked by what has happened.”

Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM R. DEREK BLACK

A reunion of some of Derek Black’s college Shabbat crew in 2017

Hints from Heloise

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

PHOTO COURTESy OF R. DEREK BLACK Derek’s mother sewed this childsized Confederate soldier uniform as a Halloween costume.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Take a direct route and maximize your time. Be the one to push for change and to convince others to join your team. Lead the way, and you will make a difference.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Look at your to-do list and map out how you plan to clear out the backlog. Do your best to stay on track and to keep busy. Say no to anyone who tries to redirect or take advantage of you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Size up situations, and you'll quickly see who is on your side and who isn't. Take control and be the one to bring about positive change.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Be discreet regarding your agenda. Not everyone will agree with what you want to do, and some will mislead or take advantage of you if you are too accommodating with information.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Learn, observe, gain experience and talk to experts. How you use your time and energy will determine how far you get. Connect with those capable of caring for obligations you can't do yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Embrace change and learn from experience. Your growth will change how you feel and who you choose to connect with.

Strive for security.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Trust and believe in your ability to do what's best

for you, and don't let anyone speak on your behalf. It's time to expand your interests and verbalize your plans.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Set your sights on something unique, and let your creative imagination lead the way. Refuse to let your emotions dictate your reaction to domestic situations that you have no control over.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for exciting opportunities but don't be foolish or trust everything you hear. Verify information and adjust whatever you discover to suit your needs.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listening to too many people's versions of a certain matter will convolute communication. Consider your options and how to make the most of your situation.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep the momentum and the money flowing. Consider joint ventures or shared expenses to ease stress and simplify your life. Strive to make things more comfortable and convenient.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Your focus and energy need to be on your goals. Refuse to let anyone intervene or throw you off track. Uncertainty is the enemy. Leave nothing to chance.

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: H EQUALS T

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe peAnUtS zItS

And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

nea CroSSwordS

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Author Isaac Asimov said, “If my doctortoldmeIhadonlysixminutestolive,I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.”

Whenever you are on defense and the dummy has come down, ask yourself from where you might get the winners that you need to defeat the contract.

In this deal, East-West need six tricks to beat two spades. When West leads the heart king and East signals enthusiastically with the 10, West can see five winners: one spade, three hearts and one club. But from where is the sixth winner coming?

South’s two-spade overcall was part of the Cappelletti convention, showing spades and either minor.

West should realize that it is unlikely his side will get two diamond tricks. South must have something for his vulnerable overcall. And if that is the case, West probably needs to take two trump tricks, which will be possible if East began with exactly four hearts. (East won’t have five, because he would have transferred out of one no-trump.)

After the king and queen of hearts, West can play a heart to East’s ace. Then leading the last heart promotes a second trumptrickforWest.(IfSouthruffslow, Westoverruffs;ifSouthruffshigh,West discards.)

But will East know to play the last heart? Probably not; he is highly likely to shift to a diamond. To save East from himself, West should cash the diamond ace before playing the third heart. This acedeniestheking;withtheaceandking of diamonds, West would cash the king first, not the ace. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD = gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

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 — cAPYBARAs: Tailless semiaquatic South and Central American rodents, often exceeding four feet in length.

Average mark 14 words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 22 or more words in CAPYBARAS?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD — LEsIon

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a