The Advocate 03-26-2025

‘DREAMS FULFILLED IN THE FULLEST’

He was not considered flashy, but got things done, lawmakers say

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

J. Bennett Johnston, a pro-business Democrat who during 24 years in the U.S. Senate steadfastly defended Louisiana’s oil and gas interests and worked in a bipartisan fashion to win congressional funding for infrastructure projects throughout the state, died Tuesday He was 92 and had been living in Sperryville, Virginia, outside of Washington. Johnston was overshadowed during much of his career by flashier politicians in Louisiana during an era where populist Democrats dominated. He didn’t rouse crowds with table-thumping speeches. Instead, Johnston cultivated relationships with Republicans and other Democrats in Washington, D.C., at a time when working across party lines

got things done. Johnston had a lowkey and friendly style that served him as he became an effective advocate for his moderate-to-conservative views and for Louisiana’s interests.

During more than 30 years in elected office, Johnston’s two biggest moments in the spotlight came in 1971, when he fell just short of winning the governor’s race, and in 1990, when he won reelection to the Senate over the surprisingly strong candidacy of David Duke.

The loss in the governor’s race came at the hands of Edwin Edwards, but it ended up benefiting Johnston because it gave him enough political strength the next year to challenge veteran Sen. Allen Ellender, who was 81. Ellender died during the campaign, and Johnston won easily

Longtime senator J. Bennett Johnston dies at 92 ä See JOHNSTON, page 10A

Fewer La. students seeking college aid

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

order to graduate. Experts warn that college enrollment could dip if more students don’t complete the FAFSA, which unlocks federal loans and grants, including Pell grants for low-income students, and is often crucial for helping fami-

ä See AID, page 9A

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

A TikTok video of a local rapper’s recent visit to his former Baton Rouge middle school has prompted an East Baton Rouge Parish school district human resources investigation after drawing harsh criticism from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Rapper Realbleeda, whose birth name is David Catherine, stopped by Park Forest Middle School on Friday to hand out snacks and donate a PlayStation 5 to the magnet school’s e-sports program. During the visit, the 22-year-old rapper

Attorney general criticizes video that includes students ä See RAPPER, page 9A

FILE PHOTO By G. ANDREW BOyD

J. Bennett Johnston served in the U.S Senate for 24 years before retiring in 1996.

FILE PHOTO

J. Bennett Johnston celebrates with supporters during his 1971 campaign for governor He was defeated by Edwin Edwards.

Iowa book ban on hold again after federal ruling

DES MOINES Iowa Iowa cannot, for now, continue to enforce part of its book ban law, a federal judge said Tuesday, giving major publishers that sued the state the second temporary reprieve they requested.

The new decision from U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher again temporarily blocked the part of the law that prohibits school libraries and classrooms from carrying books that depict sex acts.

The law was first approved by Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov Kim Reynolds in 2023, but key parts, including the book ban, were temporarily blocked by Locher before they became enforceable. That decision was overturned in August by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning the law has been enforceable during the current school year

The appellate court told the lower court that it failed to apply the correct analysis in determining whether to temporarily block the law In Locher’s decision Tuesday, he stated that the unconstitutional applications of the book restrictions “far exceed” the constitutional applications “under both legal standards the Court believes are applicable.”

Expecting an appeal, Locher also included an alternative standard where the restrictions could be considered constitutional but added he does not believe it should be applied in this case.

Escaped otters cavort as zoo search continues

Two river otters, Louie and Ophelia weaseled their way out of their Wisconsin zoo enclosure last week during a winter storm, appearing on security camera footage cavorting across the snow as the search continued Tuesday

The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park said the two North American river otters escaped through a small hole that they enlarged in a buried fence, and their flight was quickly noticed by zookeepers on their morning rounds.

But Louie and Ophelia don’t appear to have gone far, their tracks showed them exploring nearby bodies of water and returning to the zoo’s perimeter now and again, the zoo said in a news release.

Footage released by the zoo shows an otter leaving the stoop of a building and launching itself into a belly slide on the snow, its forepaws snapping to its side, nose leading the way and back legs thrusting for an extra boost. Louie and Ophelia are expected to stay close because otters are territorial creatures, the zoo said, adding their species are native to the area and capable of surviving, with the local ponds and streams offering food and shelter

Waymo plans driverless taxis for D.C. in 2026

Waymo on Tuesday added Washington to its pioneering robotaxi service’s steadily expanding list of U.S. markets, although passengers will have to wait until next year until they can take a driverless ride around the nation’s capital city

For now, Waymo’s robotaxis will continue to map Washington’s streets and corridors with a safety driver sitting behind the wheel to take control of the vehicle if something goes wrong — a precaution required under the regulations currently in force in the District of Columbia.

That’s something Waymo already has been doing since it began sending out its robotaxis in Washington in late January after a brief trial run in the capital last year While the robotaxis continue to learn their way around the city, Waymo executives expressed confidence they will be able to work with regulators to clear the way for completely driverless rides at some point next year through its Waymo One app.

If Waymo’s ambitions pan out, Washington and Miami next year will be added to four other U.S. markets where its robotaxis are transporting passengers — Phoenix Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas, as part of a partnership with ride-hailing leader Uber Waymo and Uber also are teaming up to begin dispatching its robotaxis in Atlanta later this year

U.S. says deal will end fighting in Black Sea

BY HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine The United States said Tuesday that it had reached a tentative agreement for Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting and ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea in separate talks with both sides, but many details were unresolved, and the Kremlin made the deal conditional on lifting some Western sanctions

The announcement was made as the U.S. wrapped up three days of talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on prospective steps toward a limited ceasefire.

While a comprehensive peace deal still looked distant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the talks as the early “right steps” toward a peaceful settlement of the 3-year-old war

“These are the first steps — not the very first but initial ones — with this presidential administration toward completely ending the war and the possibility of a full ceasefire, as well as steps toward a sustainable and fair peace agreement,” he said at a news conference.

U.S. experts met separately with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, and the White House said in separate statements after the talks that the sides “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”

Details of the prospective deal were not released, but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey but halted by Russia the next year.

“We are making a lot of progress,” U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the White House “So that’s all I can report.”

When Moscow withdrew from the shipping deal in 2023, it complained that a parallel agreement promising to remove

obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer had not been honored. It said restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade. Kyiv accused Moscow of violating the deal by delaying the vessels’ inspections.

After Russia suspended its part of the deal, it regularly attacked Ukraine’s southern ports and grain storage sites.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in televised comments Tuesday that Moscow is now open to the revival of the Black Sea shipping deal but warned that Russian interests must be protected.

In an apparent reference to Moscow’s demands, the White House said the U.S. “will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, hailed the results of the talks as a “major shift toward peace, enhanced global food security and essential grain supplies for over 100 million additional people.”

Trump “is making another global breakthrough by effective dialogue and problem-solving,” he said on X.

But the Kremlin warned in a statement that the Black Sea deal could only be implemented after sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial organizations involved in food and fertilizer trade are lifted and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments is ensured.

The agreement is also conditional on lifting sanctions against Russian food and fertilizer exporters and ships carrying Russian food exports, and removing restrictions on exports of agricultural equipment to Russia, the Kremlin said.

The deal emphasized that inspections of commercial ships would be necessary to ensure they aren’t used for military purposes. Zelenskyy bristled at Russia’s demand for lifting sanctions, saying that doing so “would weaken our position.”

Sudan aid groups say 54 killed in

airstrike blamed on military

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

CAIRO — Aid groups in Su-

dan said Tuesday at least 54 people were killed in a military airstrike on a local market in the country’s western region.

The strike on Monday on the village of Tora caused a huge fire, according to Adam Rejal, a spokesman for the General Coordination, a local group helping displaced people in Darfur Monday’s strike was the latest deadly attack in a war that started in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country

Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sudanese military, said civilians had not been targeted adding the allegations were “incorrect” and “are raised whenever our forces exercise their constitutional and legal right to deal with hostile targets.”

The strike tore apart a large part of the weekly market in Tora, which is located 50 miles north of el-Fasher, the capital city

of North Darfur province.

The Emergency Lawyers, a coalition of rights defenders tracking war violations across Sudan, said in a statement the strike hit “an area densely populated with civilians,” which amounts to a “systematic war crime.” It blamed the military for the strike and called for an independent investigation to “ensure that those responsible for these crimes are held accountable before international courts.”

Support Darfur Victims, a local group that provides support to victims of the Darfur conflict, shared graphic video footage appearing to show burnt structures and charred bodies on the ground.

More than half of the dead were women, according to a list of casualties provided by Rejal. At least 23 people were wounded and seven were missing, the list showed.

Rejal said that the strike was “a crime against humanity and a clear violation of all international and humanitarian laws and conventions.”

The city of el-Fasher is held by the Sudanese mil-

Fired federal workers face choice after judge wants them rehired

BY MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press

Sam Peterson is one of thousands of fired federal workers who was offered his job back under a judge’s order, but he didn’t jump at the chance to go back to his park ranger position at Washington state’s Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

Instead, he quickly turned it down, opting to move with his wife to start a career outside the government at an Oregon museum.

“We signed a lease Monday and who knows what the next few months would bring if I were to return to federal employment,” said Peterson, 26.

Whether to return to the federal workforce is a decision confronting thousands of fired employees after two judges this month found legal problems with how President Donald Trump is carrying out a dramatic downsizing of the U.S. government. One ruling by a California federal judge would reinstate 16,000 probationary employees.

On Monday the Trump administration sought to stop giving fired workers any choice by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the rehiring orders. It was not clear how quickly the nation’s high court could rule on the emergency appeal, which argued that U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, went beyond

his legal authority

Although it is unknown how many federal workers are taking up the offers to return to work, some employees have already decided to move on, fearing more reductions down the road.

Others who were asked to return were immediately put on administrative leave, with full pay and benefits, or offered early retirement. For those who chose to return, some say the decision came down to their dedication to the work and a belief that what they do is important.

Eric Anderson, 48, got word last week that he can return to his position as a biological science technician at the Indiana Dunes National Park. He said he’s excited to go back on Tuesday, where he’ll lead a crew conducting prescribed burns to limit wildland fire impacts, but is concerned about the uncertainty “I’ve heard that some people’s positions have changed from doing what they normally do to doing something completely weird and different,” Anderson said. “It’ll be interesting going back and seeing if stuff still changes by the day.”

Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, has not disclosed how many probationary workers were cut, how many were reinstated or how many rehired workers were placed on leave.

itary despite near-daily strikes by the powerful rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF

The war has wrecked the capital and other urban cities across the country It has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.

The military has made steady field advances in recent months against the RSF in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country In March, It regained control of most of the strategic and government buildings in the capital, including the Republican Palace the seat of the pre-war government.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

A worker for DTEK climbs up a stepladder Tuesday during repairs for a substation destroyed by a Russian drone strike in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

President Donald Trump, left, and Elon Musk depart the White House to board Marine One en route to New Jersey on Friday in

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BY MARK THIESSEN Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska A pilot and two girls survived on the wing of a plane for about 12 hours after it crashed and was partially submerged in an icy Alaska lake, then were rescued after being spotted by a good Samaritan.

Terry Godes said he saw a Facebook post Sunday night calling for people to help search for the missing plane, which did not have a locator beacon. On Monday morning about a dozen pilots including Godes headed out to scour the rugged terrain Godes headed toward Tustumena Lake near the toe of a glacier and spotted what he thought was wreckage.

“It kind of broke my heart to see that, but as I got closer down and lower, I could see that there’s three people on top of the wing,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday After saying a prayer, he continued to approach and saw a miracle.

“They were alive and responsive and moving around,” Godes said, adding that they waved at him.

The missing Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, piloted by a

man with two juvenile immediate family members aboard, was on a sightseeing tour from Soldotna to Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula.

The three were rescued on the eastern edge of Tustumena Lake on Monday by the Alaska Army National Guard after Godes alerted other searching pilots that he had found it. Another pilot, Dale Eicher, heard Godes’ radio call and related it to troopers since he was closer to Skilak Lake and figured he had better cell reception. He was also able to provide the plane’s coordinates to authorities.

“I wasn’t sure if we would find them, especially because there was a cloud layer over quite a bit of the mountains, so they could have very easily been in those clouds that we couldn’t get to,” Eicher said. But finding the family alive within an hour of starting the search was very good news.”

The three were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered lifethreatening, Alaska State Troopers said.

Godes said many miracles were at play, from the plane not sinking, to the survivors being able to stay atop

the wing, to them surviving nighttime temperatures dipping into the 20s.

“They spent a long, cold, dark, wet night out on top of a wing of an airplane that they weren’t planning on,” Godes said.

Alaska has few roads, leaving many communities to rely on small airplanes to get around.

Last month 10 people died when a small commuter plane that was overweight by half a ton crashed onto sea ice in the Norton Sound, near Nome on the state’s western coast.

And five years ago, a midair collision near the Soldotna airport claimed seven lives including that of a state lawmaker

For this week’s rescue, the National Guard dispatched a helicopter from its base in Anchorage.

The initial plan of using a hoist to pluck them from the wing proved too dangerous, as the the smallest girl was being buffeted and blown around by the wind created by the helicopter, said Lt. Col. Brendon Holbrook, commander of the 207th Aviation Regiment. So instead the aircraft hovered to the side and pulled them on board.

Trump portrait removed from Colo. Capitol after he criticizes it

BY MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Filling an empty space on the wall of presidential portraits in the Colorado Capitol with a new painting of Donald Trump could take time after one he disliked was removed and put into storage.

Legislative leaders from both parties will decide how to replace the painting that Trump derided Sunday night on social media and that by Tuesday morning had been taken down.

When they will meet about a new painting is anyone’s guess. The Legislature is focused on more pressing matters including the state budget.

“We have no idea when a new portrait is going to go up, how it’s going to be fundraised, who is going to pay for it, who is going to paint it, etc.,” Joshua Bly, a spokesperson for Colorado Senate Republicans said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Bly also said no one knows yet whether Trump will get to approve a new portrait.

Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 to commission the Trump painting that had been in the state Capitol since 2019, alongside other U.S. presidents.

Actor Depardieu acknowledges bad behavior but denies assault

BY SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

PARIS French actor Gérard Depardieu acknowledged Tuesday that he aggressively subjected a woman who accuses him of sexual assault to vulgar and heated language and that he grabbed her hips but denied that his behavior was sexual as he testified for the first time at his landmark trial in Paris.

The woman told the court that the Oscar-nominated actor behaved “like a madman” who took “pleasure in frightening me.”

Day 2 of the Paris trial centered on the 76-yearold actor’s behavior during filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”), where two coworkers allege that he groped them on the set.

The chief judge said the trial will be extended two days to end Thursday

Depardieu has denied assaulting the women. But in his testimony Tuesday in a packed Paris court, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language with one of the plaintiffs, a 54-yearold set dresser and grabbed her hips during an on-set argument about the artistic merits of a painting.

Depardieu said he’d been in a “bad mood” because the set was hot, which was hard for him because he is overweight.

“I understand perfectly if she’s a bit upset,” he said in his gruff, deep voice so familiar to cinemagoers. “I don’t have to talk like that, get angry like that, voilà.”

But he insisted that he isn’t a sexual predator, saying: “I don’t touch women’s butts.”

He recognized that the

woman may have felt “suffocated” by his behavior which he described as a “type of aggression.”

“But certainly not sexual Non!” he exclaimed, raising his voice.

ing” her behind and “in front, around.”

She ran her hands near her buttocks, hips and pubic area to show what she allegedly experienced. She said he then reached for and grabbed her chest.

The actor faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted. The verdict isn’t expected immediately after the trial.

After Depardieu spoke first for more than an hour, the set dresser then testified. She described the alleged assault in detail, saying the actor pincered her between his legs as she squeezed past him in a narrow corridor

She said he grabbed her hips then started “palpat-

“That’s when I had a reflex of ‘My God.’ I tried to free myself, I tried to take his hands away, I couldn’t do it,” she testified. “He terrified me, he laughed, he looked like a madman.”

“It was very brief, there was no shouting,” she said, adding that she’d been too “petrified” to speak and that he was too strong for her to break free. She said someone came and removed Depardieu’s hands from her

Sometime late Monday or early Tuesday, the Trump portrait by Colorado Springs artist Sarah Boardman was removed and put in storage with History Colorado, overseer of a state museum in Denver It is unlikely to be displayed elsewhere, Bly said. The move came at the request of Colorado Republicans after Trump claimed the artist had “purposefully distorted” him. He praised the portrait of Barack Obama, painted by the same artist.

the Denver suburb of Aurora a focus of his illegal immigration message.

It’s not the first time that Trump’s attention has turned to Colorado, which has shifted from leaning red to leaning blue over the past two decades. He criticized the Colorado Supreme Court in 2023 for declaring he was ineligible for the White House and could not appear on the state ballot because of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S Capitol insurrection. While campaigning last year Trump made

Before his portrait was installed, a prankster placed a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin near the spot intended for Trump. Boardman did not return phone and email messages seeking comment. In 2019, she said painted him with a “nonconfrontational” and “thoughtful” expression, drawing criticism from those who said that’s not who he really is. She said her portraits of Trump and Obama were not political statements.

The presidential portraits are not the purview of the Colorado Building Advisory Committee.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVID ZALUBOWSKI

A woman takes a photograph of the empty spot where the portrait of President Donald Trump was placed after the picture, which was part of a display of all of the country’s chief executives, was removed from the wall of the rotunda in the State Capitol following complaints about the likeness from Trump on Tuesday in Denver.

Depardieu

Postmaster General

Louis DeJoy resigns after 5 years in role

BY LISA BAUMANN Associated Press

The head of the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service, Louis DeJoy, resigned Monday after nearly five years in the position, leaving as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have floated the idea of privatizing mail service.

DeJoy had said last month he planned to step down but hadn’t set a date. He leaves an agency with an uncertain future. Trump has said he is considering putting USPS under the control of the Commerce Department in an attempt to stop losses at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has operated as an independent entity since 1970. It has struggled at times to balance the books with the decline of first-class mail. Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino will take on the role until the Postal Service Board of Governors names a permanent replacement for DeJoy, who became postmaster general in the summer of 2020 during Trump’s first term. He was a Republican donor who owned a logistics business and was the first person to hold the position in nearly two decades who was not a career postal employee. DeJoy’s tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic,

Luigi

surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses through cost and service cuts.

The National Association of Letter Carriers’ president, Brian L. Renfroe, said in a statement Monday that the union stands ready to work with whomever the board selects as the next postmaster general.

The Postal Service Board of Governors said in a statement Monday evening that they had retained global search firm Egon Zehnder to help find the agency’s next leader There’s no established timeline for when the announcement of the next postmaster general will be made, the statement said.

Earlier this month, DeJoy said he planned to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from the USPS budget and he’d do that working with DOGE, according to a letter sent to members of Congress.

USPS workers, including mail carriers, have gathered over the past week to protest the cuts and the plan they say will dismantle the service. Critics of the plan fear negative effects of the cuts will be felt across the country Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly, of Virginia has said in response that turning over the service to DOGE would result in it being undermined and privatized.

Carolinas wildfires fueled by drought, wind

By The Associated Press

Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene fueled wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina, where evacuation orders were in effect Tuesday

Many people in the area are still getting over the hurricane that hit in September, according to North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Bo Dossett.

“A lot of the damage and the blowdown, the downed trees from Hurricane Helene are contributing to the difficulties that our firefighters are facing trying to contain this fire and so that has just been kind of one ongoing crisis from September all through into the spring for a lot of these residents,” Dossett said. “This is one more thing that they’re having to deal with on top of what they experienced back in the fall.”

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for parts of the South Carolina Upstate, western North Carolina and northeast Georgia through Tuesday night, as conditions were expected to be favorable for the rapid spread of wildfire with lingering dry air and winds picking up to 10 to 20 mph and gusting 25 to 35 mph.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for 146 properties in rural Polk County on Tuesday, about 80 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon. Three fires there have burned at least 9.6 square miles in that county and

Mangione requests laptop while he awaits trial in killing of UHC CEO

BY JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

NEW YORK Luigi Mangione

is asking for a laptop in jail, but just for legal purposes

— not for communicating with anyone as he awaits trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.

In a court filing made public late Monday, Mangione’s lawyers proposed that he get a laptop configured solely to let him view a vast amount of documents, video and other material in the case surrounding the shooting of Brian Thompson. Similar limited-laptop provisions have been made for some other defendants in the federal lockup where Mangione is being held. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting Mangione on a rare New York state charge of murder as an act of terrorism, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment According to Mangione’s lawyers, prosecutors are frowning on the laptop request, saying that some witnesses have been threatened. Defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote

that there’s “no connection to Mr Mangione for any of said alleged threats.”

Mangione, 26, is accused of gunning down Thompson in December outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealthcare was about to hold an investor conference. Thompson, who was 50 and had two children in high school, worked for decades within UnitedHealthcare and its parent company Mangione, an Ivy League computer science graduate from a Maryland real estate family has pleaded not guilty to the New York state charges. He also faces a parallel federal case that carries the possibility of the death penalty He hasn’t entered a plea to the federal charges or to state-level gun possession and other charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested days after Thompson’s death. Thompson’s killing alarmed the corporate world, where some health insurers hastily switched to remote work or online shareholder meetings. But at the same time, the case channeled some Americans’ frustrations with health insurance companies. Mangione’s writings and

words on bullets recovered from the scene reflected animus toward health insurers and corporate America, authorities have said.

Some people have lionized the accused killer, donated money to his defense and even flocked to his court appearances. Others, including elected officials, have deplored the praise for what they cast as ideological violence and vigilante justice. Through his lawyers, Mangione has released a statement thanking supporters.

If he does get a laptop, it would be unable to connect to the internet, run video games or play movies or other entertainment, his lawyers said in Monday’s filing. But it would let him examine, from his jail cell, more than 15,000 pages of documents and thousands of hours of video that prosecutors gathered and were required to turn over to his attorneys.

Otherwise, he can view the material when meeting with his lawyers. But they say there aren’t enough visiting hours in the day for him to do that and properly help prepare his defense.

in neighboring Henderson County as of Tuesday, and the two larger fires are uncontained, according to the forest service. Officials released maps Tuesday that show evacuation zones in the two counties.

The Black Cove Fire is one of the larger blazes. Officials said a downed power line sparked that fire, but the causes of the other two fires are under investigation.

Henderson County has issued voluntary evacuation orders and opened an emergency shelter Volunteer fire departments were on standby, Henderson County spokesperson Mike Morgan told WLOS-TV.

“Especially near some of the homes where if the fire did jump, we can be there to help protect those homes,” Morgan said. “We’re here to monitor the situation very closely.”

Two fires were burning in

the mountains of South Carolina. The fires in Table Rock State Park and nearby Persimmon Ridge have burned a combined 2.3 square miles, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. Officials said both fires were ignited by human activity and neither were contained as of Monday night. No injuries were reported, and no structures were imminently threatened as of Monday night, but voluntary evacuations were issued for about 100 homes over the weekend. On Tuesday morning, the forestry commission updated an earlier announcement to say no evacuations were planned near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents were urged to be prepared to leave their homes if an evacuation is suggested in the future.

“The weather over the next few days remains con-

cerning, as relative humidities are expected to remain very low, and the forecasted wind speeds will still be conducive to spreading the fire,” the forestry commission said.

Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane

“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.” Despite recent rain, most of the Carolinas are abnormally dry or experiencing a moderate drought, according to federal monitors.

Trump downplays military operation texts as ‘glitch’

BY DAVID KLEPPER and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the texting of sensitive plans for a military strike against Yemen’s Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, saying it was “the only glitch in two months” of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.

Trump told NBC News that the lapse “turned out not to be a serious one,” and expressed his continued support for national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Waltz, according to an article posted online Monday by The Atlantic, appeared to have mistakenly added the magazine’s editor-inchief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a chat that included 18 senior administration officials discussing planning for the strike.

“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good

man,” Trump said. He also appeared to point blame on an unnamed Waltz aide for Goldberg being added to the chain. “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there.”

But the use of messaging app Signal to discuss a sensitive operation has opened the administration to blistering criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White House’s and senior administration officials’ insistence that no classified information was shared. Senior administration officials have struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter Waltz makes comments

Waltz said Tuesday he was not sure how Goldberg ended up on the chat.

“This one in particular, I’ve never met, don’t know, never communicated with,” Waltz said.

Trump, for his part, continued to attack The Atlantic and Goldberg and sent mixed messages on whether the ad-

ministration would change how it goes about sharing sensitive information going forward.

“We won’t be using it very much” in the future, Trump said of Signal. “That’s one of the prices you pay when you’re not sitting in the Situation Room with no phones on, which is always the best, frankly.”

Trump added, “If it was up to me everybody would be sitting in a room together The room would have solid lead walls and a lead ceiling and lead floor.”

One official reported to be on the Signal chain, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, acknowledged during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that she was traveling overseas during the exchange. She wouldn’t say whether she was using her personal or governmentissued phone because the matter is under review by the White House National Security Council.

‘An embarrassment’

Both Gabbard and CIA

Director John Ratcliffe, who also was a participant in the Signal exchange and also testified at Tuesday’s intelligence hearing, faced blistering criticism from lawmakers.

“Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake, correct?” asked Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat.

After a brief pause, Ratcliffe shook his head. “No,” he said.

Ratcliffe attempted to interject as Ossoff asked a follow-up question, leading the two men to speak over each other

“This is an embarrassment,” Ossoff said, silencing Ratcliffe. “This is utterly unprofessional. There’s been no apology There has been no recognition of the gravity of this error.”

In the run-up to his 2016 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump urged criminal prosecution of the former secretary of state for communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up. The matter was investigated,

but the FBI ultimately recommended against charges. None were brought.

Clinton was among Democrats this week to criticize Trump administration officials’ use of Signal.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.

Trump also faced charges for mishandling classified information at his Mar-aLago resort following his first White House term. Those charges were later dismissed.

Democratic outrage

But on Tuesday, top administration officials were insistent the Democratic outrage was misplaced.

Ratcliffe and Gabbard told lawmakers that no classified information was included in the texts about U.S. attack plans in the message chain.

But The Atlantic reported that the messages included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing, but did not pub-

lish those details.

Pressed on whether such information should be classified, Gabbard hedged. “I defer to the secretary of defense, the National Security Council, on that question,” she said.

Democrats pushed back, saying the leaked military plans show a sloppy disregard for security, but Ratcliffe insisted no rules were violated.

“My communications to be clear in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers in the hearing that was supposed to be focused on global security threats.

Facing heated questions from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Gabbard said there’s a difference between “inadvertent” releases of information and intentional leaks. “There was no classified material that was shared,” Gabbard said.

Warner, though, said the lapse in security could have cost lives.

Greenlanders unite as Trump seeks control of the Arctic island

BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

NUUK,Greenland Lisa

Sólrun

Christiansen gets up at 4 a.m. most days and gets to work knitting thick wool sweaters coveted by buyers around the world for their warmth and colorful patterns celebrating Greenland’s traditional Inuit culture.

Her morning routine includes a quick check of the news, but these days the ritual shatters her peace because of all the stories about U.S President Donald Trump’s designs on her homeland.

“I get overwhelmed,” Christiansen said earlier this month as she looked out to sea, where impossibly blue icebergs floated just offshore.

The daughter of Inuit and Danish parents, Christiansen, 57, cherishes Greenland. It is a source of immense family pride that her father, an artist and teacher, designed the red-and-white Greenlandic flag.

“On his deathbed he talked a lot about the flag, and he said that the flag is not his, it’s the people’s,” she said.

“And there’s one sentence I keep thinking about. He said, ‘I hope the flag will unite the Greenlandic people.”’ Island of anxiety

Greenlanders are increasingly worried that their homeland, a self-governing region of Denmark, has become a pawn in the competition between the U.S., Russia and China as global warming opens up access to the Arctic. They fear Trump’s aim to take control of Greenland, which holds rich mineral deposits and straddles strategic air and sea routes, may block their path toward independence.

to control its own destiny at a time of rising international tensions when Trump sees the island as key to U.S national security.

David vs. Goliath

While Greenland has limited leverage against the world’s greatest superpower, Trump made a strategic mistake by triggering a dispute with Greenland and Denmark rather than working with its NATO allies in Nuuk and Copenhagen, said Otto Svendsen, an Arctic expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Trump’s actions, he says,

have united Greenlanders and fostered a greater sense of national identity

“You have this feeling of pride and of self-determination in Greenland that the Greenlanders are not, you know, cowed by this pressure coming from Washington,” Svendsen said. “And they’re doing everything in their power to make their voices heard.”

Denmark recognized Greenland’s right to independence at a time of its choosing under the 2009 Greenland Self-Government Act, which was approved by local voters and ratified by the Danish parliament. The

right to self-determination is also enshrined in the United Nations charter, approved by the U.S. in 1945. But Trump is more focused on the economic and security needs of the U.S. than the rights of smaller nations. Since returning to office in January, he has pressured Ukraine into giving the U.S. access to valuable mineral resources, threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state. Now he has turned his attention to Greenland, a territory of 56,000 people, most from indigenous Inuit backgrounds.

Those fears were heightened Sunday when second lady Usha Vance announced she would visit Greenland later this week to attend the national dogsled race. Separately National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will visit a U.S. military base in northern Greenland.

The Trump administration’s push got even heavier on Tuesday when U.S. Vice President JD Vance shared a video saying he would join his wife Friday at the military base in Greenland.

“We’re going to check out how things are going there,” Vance said. “Speaking for President Trump, we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think it’s important to protecting the security of the entire world ”

The announcements inflamed tensions sparked earlier this month when Trump reiterated his desire to annex Greenland just two days after Greenlanders elected

a new parliament opposed to becoming part of the U.S. Trump even made a veiled reference to the possibility of military pressure, noting the U.S. bases in Greenland and musing that “maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers go there.”

News of the visit drew an immediate backlash from local politicians, who described it as a display of U.S. power at a time they are trying to form a government

“It must also be stated in bold that our integrity and democracy must be respected without any external interference,” outgoing Prime Minister Múte Boroup Egede said. Greenland, part of Denmark since 1721, has been moving toward independence for decades. It’s a goal most Greenlanders support, though they differ on when and how that should happen. They don’t want to trade Denmark for an American overlord.

The question is whether Greenland will be allowed

Trump signs order seeking to overhaul U.S. elections

BY ALI SWENSON and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press

NEW YORK President

Donald Trump on Tuesday

signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day

The order says the U.S. has failed “to enforce basic and necessary election protections” and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply

The move, which is likely to face swift challenges because states have broad authority to set their own election rules, is consistent with Trump’s long history of railing against election processes. He often claims elections are being rigged, even before the results are known, and has waged battles against certain voting methods since he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden and falsely blamed it on widespread fraud.

Trump has focused particularly on mail voting, arguing without evidence that it’s insecure and invites fraud even as he has shifted his position on the issue given its popularity with voters, including Republicans. While fraud occurs, it’s rare, limited in scope and gets prosecuted.

The order’s documentary proof of citizenship requirement signals that the president is not waiting for congressional Republicans to pass their long-anticipated Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, which has aimed to do the same thing. Republicans have defended that measure as necessary to restore public confidence in elections. Voting in federal elections by noncitizens is already illegal and can result in felony charges and deportation.

Voting rights groups have expressed concerns that the requirement could disenfranchise people. An estimated 9% of U.S. citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of citizenship readily available, according to a 2023 report by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups. There are also concerns that married women who have changed their names will encounter trouble when trying to register because their birth certificates list their maiden names. Such hiccups happened in recent town elections in New Hampshire, which has a new state law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Trump’s order directs federal agencies including the Department of Homeland

Security the Social Security Administration and the State Department to share with election officials federal data that could help them identify noncitizens on their rolls.

It also says the attorney general should “prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws” in states that don’t share information about suspected election crimes with the federal government.

The order aims to require votes to be “cast and received” by Election Day and says federal funding should be conditional on state compliance Currently, 18 states and Puerto Rico accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Trump’s order is likely to face legal challenges, given that the Constitution gives authority over elections to the states While Congress has the power to regulate voting — and has done so to pass such laws as the Voting Rights Act the Constitution makes clear that states have primary authority to set the “times, places and manner” for elections.

Colorado’s Democratic secretary of state, Jena Griswold, called the order an “unlawful” weaponization of the federal government

and said Trump is “trying to make it harder for voters to fight back at the ballot box.”

Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the ranking member of the House committee that oversees elections, said the executive order “is not just misguided — it is immoral and illegal.”

At least one Democratic attorney on Tuesday threatened legal action. Marc Elias, who has been the subject of Trump’s ire, said in a social media post: “This will not stand. We will sue.”

The executive branch does have some authority over elections, said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law expert and former White House senior policy adviser during the Biden administration. He said some federal agencies provide election support, including the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grant money to states and runs a voluntary certification program for voting systems. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency helps election officials protect their systems.

Former President Biden issued an executive order in 2021 directing federal agencies to take steps to boost voter registration, which drew complaints from Republicans who called it federal overreach. Trump has rescinded that order

Noticed is herebygiven pursuant to Article7,Section 23(C) of the Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 47:1705(B) that apublic hearing of the Assessment District of East Feliciana Parish will be held at its regular meeting place at the Assessor’s Office located at 12064 Marston Street, Clinton, LA on Wednesday, May14, 2025 at 9:00a.m. to consider levying additional or increased millage rateswithout further voterapprovaloradopting the adjusted millage ratesafter reassessment and rolling forwardtorates not to exceed the prior year’s maximum.The estimated amount of tax revenues to be collected in the next year from the increased millageis$2,550,113.18, andthe amount of increase in taxes attributable to the millageincrease is $6,480.03.

‘DOGE person’

Bisignano gets Social Security

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration faced questions Tuesday at his confirmation hearing about efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to close field offices and cut back on phone service at the beleaguered agency Frank Bisignano, a selfprofessed “DOGE person,” was called to account for recent upheaval at the Social Security Administration, which provides benefits to roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children. The agency has taken center stage in the debate over the usefulness of DOGE cuts to taxpayer services and their effect on Social Security, the social welfare program long regarded as the third rail of national politics — touch it and you get shocked.

During the 2 1/2-hour hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts illustrated a scenario of a person with limited internet access and mobility issues being turned away from an understaffed Social Security office hours away from home. She ended with a question for Bisignano: “Isn’t that a benefit cut?”

Bisignano responded, “I have no intent to have anything like that happen under my watch.”

Bisignano, a Wall Street veteran and one-time defender of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, has served as chairman of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm since 2020. He told CNBC in February that he is “fundamentally a DOGE person” but “the objective isn’t to touch benefits.”

The hearing follows a

series of announcements of mass federal worker layoffs, cuts to programs, office closures and a planned cut to nationwide Social Security phone services.

Asked during the hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

Republicans were largely in favor of Bisignano’s nomination. “If confirmed, you will be responsible for leading an agency with a critical mission, and numerous operational and customer service challenges,” said Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho “Based on your background, I am confident you are up to the task.”

The chaos at the Social Security Administration began shortly after acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down in February, a move that came after DOGE, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, sought access to Social Security recipient information

Later that month, the agen-

cy announced plans to cut 7,000 people from the agency payroll through layoffs, employee reassignments and an offer of voluntary separation agreements, as part of an intensified effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce through DOGE.

Most recently, the agency’s acting commissioner, DOGE supporter Leland Dudek, announced a plan to require inperson identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices. That sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Tuesday’s hearing “showed that Frank Bisignano is not the cure to the DOGE-manufactured chaos at the Social Security Administration. In fact, he is part of it and, if confirmed, would make it even worse.”

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By REBA SALDANHA

Supervisor of the Checklist for the State of New Hampshire Leslie Dombroski, left, registers Elise Collins, 18, to vote in Derry, N.H., on March 11.

Plan for data center faces scrutiny

Groups challenge

Entergy’s building of power plants

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Entergy’s plan to power Meta’s $10 billion AI data center to be built in northeast Louisiana faced new scrutiny on Tuesday, with advocacy groups arguing before a judge that the tech giant should come to the table to answer basic questions about job creation, sustainability and electricity demands for what amounts to one of the state’s biggest economic development projects.

The hearing was part of Entergy’s request to the state’s Public Service Commission to allow it to build three new natural gas-fired power plants for the project at a cost of over $3 billion. The environmental and consumer advocacy groups have challenged aspects of the application, with Tuesday’s hearing focusing on whether Meta should be included as one of the applicants in addition to Entergy

Without direct participation from Meta, the nonprofits said key information is missing from Entergy’s proposal. Entergy and a lawyer for the PSC said granting the advocacy groups’ request could set a bad precedent and harm future economic development. They argued that state law does not require Meta or its subsidiary to be a party in the case.

Under PSC procedures, administrative law judge Melanie Verzwyvelt heard arguments in Baton Rouge from the groups and Entergy

“This is a new ballgame,” said Paul Arbaje, an energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, one of the advocacy groups “I don’t quite buy that (Meta) can sit this one out and not have to answer tough questions.”

Susan Miller, a lawyer representing the advocacy groups, said information that only Meta and its subsidiary could provide is needed to shed light on how the power

plants fueling the data center will affect ratepayers These missing details are “keystones of the application,” Miller said.

“The (advocacy groups) have a number of questions that they need to have satisfied in order to be able to argue that or support that the application is in the public interest, and without that information, they cannot make their case,”

Miller said

But Skylar Rosenbloom, a lawyer representing Entergy, called some of the advocates’ requests “extreme and draconian.” Dana Shelton the PSC lawyer said the move could have a chilling effect on future economic development.

“It could likely say to prospective customers, such as another Meta, ‘Don’t come here to do business,’” Shelton said.

Meta did not respond to requests for comment.

While much of the hearing focused on technical procedural law, Verzwyvelt’s decision could have major consequences for a project touted as a change-making win for Louisiana.

In December, Gov Jeff Landry

announced the deal in Richland Parish, where the four million square foot data center will be located, after months of behindthe-scenes negotiations The data center will be used to train AI models and advance the skyrocketing technology

But it comes at a steep cost when it comes to power The amount of new power generation could account for up to 30% of Louisiana’s electricity, state officials have said. Meta has committed to paying the full annual revenue for the planned generators for 15 years, though the advocacy groups have questioned whether there could be a long-term impact on ratepayers. Entergy’s application for the gas plants relies on “hearsay statements,” the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists allege. They point to a number of instances where Entergy representatives have said they did not have the necessary information in response to questions from the advocacy groups. For instance, the Alliance for Affordable Energy requested analy-

Ukraine lions settle in England

Five cats rescued from war zone

BY KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH

Associated Press

SMARDEN, England One malnourished lioness had spent her life confined to an apartment. Another was so shellshocked she could barely walk. They are among five traumatized lions rescued from the war zone in Ukraine who are settling into a new home in England after an international effort to bring them to safety Male African lion Rori and lionesses Amani, Lira and Vanda arrived this month at the Big Cat Sanctuary after a 12-hour journey by road and ferry from temporary homes at zoos and animal shelters in Belgium. They join lioness Yuna, who arrived in August, at the

sanctuary’s new Lion Rescue Center, which officially opens on Tuesday All five were found near the front line in Ukraine’s war against Russian invasion, neglected and abandoned by their owners.

“All of these five lions were originally from the illegal pet trade and wildlife trade,” said Cameron Whitnall, managing director of the Big Cat Sanctuary near Ashford, about 50 miles southeast of London. “None of them came from zoos.”

Yuna was kept in a small brick cell and was shellshocked after missile debris fell near her enclosure. Rori was mistreated in a private menagerie, while sanctuary staff believe siblings Amani and Lira were bred to have their photos taken with tourists as cubs.

Vanda, kept inside an apartment, was malnourished and infested with parasites.

Whitnall says in her new home Vanda, like the others, can “become the lion she deserves to be.”

The lions were saved by the Wild Animals Rescue Center run by Natalia Popova, a Ukrainian woman who has saved hundreds of abandoned pets and zoo animals since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, deer, monkeys and more have passed through her shelter, a converted horse stables near Kyiv

Hundreds have been sent abroad for treatment and recovery. Whitnall was determined to bring the five lions to Britain, even though the sanctuary had nowhere to put them. A fundraising campaign launched in May 2024 raised more than $650,000 to cover the costs of transportation, veterinary care and building a new home for the cats.

sis or documentation supporting Entergy’s claim that the data center will provide 300 to 500 new jobs Entergy responded that it does not have any documents and linked to a Louisiana Economic Development news release with the statistics, according to the legal filings. The utility offered similar responses to questions about Meta’s need for a specific amount of power, the tech company’s sustainability commitments for the data center, and the company’s “urgent” need for power While Entergy is asking the commission to approve the three power plants, the application stresses that the plants will be set up for clean energy production in the future. Entergy directed questions from the advocacy groups about Meta’s sustainability goals to the company’s sustainability report.

Meta representatives have said that the data center’s power use will be fully matched with clean and renewable energy, and that its energy consumption will be disclosed once it goes online.

Verzwyvelt asked the three law-

yers presenting their cases whether there were other ways that the advocacy groups could obtain the information they were seeking. Shelton, representing the PSC staff, said the groups have other ways of finding out this information, such as depositions and subpoenas.

But Miller said the groups have exhausted all means of discovery, because Entergy has said it doesn’t have the information and “we’ve taken them at their word.”

“If Meta is not in the proceeding, then we can’t depose them,” said Logan Burke, the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy

Last month, the advocacy groups challenged another part of Entergy’s application to power the data center, arguing that the utility didn’t sufficiently show that the three gas plants are the most cost-effective generation option. Verzwyvelt deferred that motion until further hearings are set for later this year

Email Josie Abugov at josie. abugov@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JILL PICKETT

Earthwork was underway in December at the site of a future Meta artificial intelligence optimized data center in the Holly Ridge area of Richland Parish

lies realize they can afford higher education.

Students have until June 30 to apply But with an estimated 37% of seniors completing the FAFSA so far, Louisiana has fallen from 5th ationally last year to 29th, according to NCAN.

Louisiana’s decline “is striking and I think it’s unfortunate, but it’s not particularly surprising” given the state policy change, said Bill DeBaun, NCAN’s senior director of data and strategic initiatives. “I sure hope we don’t see a commensurate decline in Pell grant recipients and postsecondary enrollment, but it’s certainly possible that we will.”

Ted Beasley, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Education, called the decrease “a natural result” of ending the requirement. He said schools continue to inform students about the FAFSA, but families should decide whether to apply for federal grants and loans

“It should not be a mandate for a diploma that their child has already earned,” Beasley said in a statement, adding that Louisiana citizens have more than $25 million in student loan debt. High school seniors who complete the FAFSA are far more likely to enroll in college. Yet each year about half of 12th graders nationally don’t fill out the form, leaving billions in federal aid on the table

In 2018, Louisiana became the first state to require seniors to complete the FAFSA or request an opt-out waiver

RAPPER

Continued from page 1A

filmed a video of himself dancing with students, which was later uploaded to TikTok accompanied by his explicit song, “Step 2k25.”

The video caught the attention of Murrill, who released the following statement on X on Friday:

“The principal says he didn’t know that the person had a known gang affiliation, but then let school children make a video mimicking holding guns and displaying acts of violence,” Murrill said in the post.

“Since when can you just show up on campus and make a video with school kids? That violates a number of school privacy laws. This is appalling on so many levels.

“Crime is already out of control in Baton Rouge. Let’s not glorify violence at our schools or any place of learning.”

According to local law enforcement, Catherine has ties to Baton Rouge’s Bleedas gang, a criminal outfit known to be connected to multiple homicides and armed robberies across the city At the time of his visit to Park Forest Middle School, the rapper was out on a

It had an immediate effect: Louisiana’s FAFSA completion rate soared by 26% that year the highest increase of any state, while the national rate grew just 2%, according to an analysis by NCAN. The policy also appeared to steer more students to college. In Louisiana’s Class of 2018, about 7,000 more students received federal Pell grants and nearly 1,500 more enrolled in college than would be expected based on national trends, according to a study by researchers at The Century Foundation, a liberal policy think tank.

The requirement also closed the application gap between poorer and wealthier districts by getting more low-income students to fill out the form, the researchers found

The policy “communicated how important the FAFSA is for families that may

$36,000 bail for multiple drug and firearms charges and resisting an officer Court records also show arrests for multiple charges in 2022 and 2023.

In an interview with The Advocate, Murrill called the video “appalling.”

“The leadership at the school failed our children. You don’t let people just come into your middle school in the middle of the day and make a rap video,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s the pope. It violates the privacy rights of these children and their families.”

The TikTok video has since been deleted, but in a version of the video posted on Instagram, Catherine is seen shaking hands with Park Forest Middle School Principal Xavier Rawls-Stromile.

Then the rapper walks into a gym filled with students, with his arms draped around a male student.

A group of students then join Catherine dancing, briefly imitating pointing a gun at the camera.

“Somebody arranged all of this intentionally,” Murrill said in the interview

An East Baton Rouge Parish school district spokesperson said Monday that Catherine invited himself to the middle school and the principal accepted his invitation

not have already understood its value,” said Peter Granville, a higher education fellow at The Century Foundation who led the study It also “sparked conversations between students and counselors that may not have occurred otherwise.”

And because students could opt out, the policy did not keep students from graduating, researchers found. Other states soon followed Louisiana’s lead, and today 11 states have adopted similar policies, Granville said.

Yet some Republican lawmakers opposed Louisiana’s FAFSA mandate, arguing that it burdens students and pressures families to share their financial information with the government.

Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley also has been an outspoken critic of the policy, saying in 2016 that “governmental

The district spokesperson declined to make RawlsStromile or the school’s assistant principal available for an interview Monday with The Advocate.

The PlayStation and snacks the rapper brought to the middle school for students were intended as motivation for students taking upcoming state standardized tests, according to a statement the school district released Friday

The attorney general said she plans to appear at the next East Baton Rouge Parish School Board meeting to hear an explanation how Catherine’s visit was arranged and by whom.

In response to Murrill’s remarks, Shashonnie Steward, School Board president, said in a statement Saturday she plans to contact the attorney general to discuss her concerns regarding visitor access to schools.

Also, the school district has opened an internal investigation related to the rapper’s visit to the Park Forest school “to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all students,” according to Steward’s statement.

Email Aidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com.

which it did.

The move confounded some proponents of the FAFSA requirement.

All the policy “did was open up college opportunities to students who didn’t have college on their radar because they thought it would be unaffordable,” said state Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why they eliminated that.”

This school year, schools have continued to share information about the FAFSA and help interested students complete it, said Amanda Kruger Hill, executive director of Tulane University’s Cowen Institute, which promotes college access. However, the work might have lost some urgency now that it’s not a graduation requirement.

this year’s legislative session that would add college grants and scholarships to the list of topics covered in a financial literacy course that all high schoolers must take. And the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance continues to support students who want to apply for college aid, said Ebony Holmes, the office’s director of public information and advising. It conducts workshops at high schools, hosts virtual office hours and organizes “FAFSA Frenzy” events at colleges to help students complete the application.

intrusion into the lives of private citizens should always be minimized.” Last year, Brumley recommended that the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education repeal the policy,

“While many counselors see it as important, it isn’t necessarily prioritized in the same way,” she said.

In part to keep the FAFSA on schools’ radars, Willard plans to introduce a bill in

“We will continue to reevaluate our outreach efforts in light of the repeal of the FAFSA policy to ensure Louisianans have access to the resources and assistance they need to pursue their postsecondary goals,” Holmes said in a statement.

Email Patrick Wall at patrick.wall@theadvocate. com.

FILE PHOTO The number of Louisiana students who have applied for federal financial aid for college is

construction of Interstate 49, the widening of Interstate 10 in Jefferson Parish, obtaining $150 million to protect wetlands and hundreds of millions of dollars to conduct research at LSU, construction of the Russell B Long Federal Building and Courthouse in Baton Rouge, and dozens of other projects across the state, including the establishment of two national parks and seven wildlife refuges.

But as Johnston began his reelection campaign in 1990, his pollster’s initial surveys revealed disquieting news: With the state deeply in recession, with the state’s unemployment rate higher than the national average for the 10th year in a row and with many residents — particularly recent college graduates — leaving the state in droves looking for new opportunities, Johnston’s achievements didn’t excite many voters.

That created an opening for Duke, who was blaming the state’s plight on Washington and government programs that aimed to help Black people.

For much of the campaign, Johnston didn’t take Duke seriously

Not only did Duke have a Klan past, but he had celebrated Hitler’s birthday and spent years demeaning Jews.

But many White people saw voting for Duke as a way to express their grievances to Washington.

On election day, Johnston pulled out a yellow legal pad and calculated his expected winning percentage. His last poll, a week earlier, had given him 55% of the vote. So he allocated himself 55% of the undecideds This meant he would receive about 65% of the overall vote Instead, Johnston won with 54%, to 43.5% for Duke.

Duke won an astounding 59% of the White vote, clobbering Johnston in White working-class neighborhoods and rural areas.

SEN. DAVID PRyOR, D-Arkansas, at

“I was disappointed we didn’t win by the 2-1 I thought,” Johnston said years later “Race is just very powerful.” In 1995, after announcing his retirement from the Senate, John-

ston flirted with running again for governor He toured the state, trying to determine whether voters saw him as the person to revitalize Louisiana. “For someone who now has a reputation and a history to risk, it’s kind of like the guy at the casino,” he said in an interview “He just won the jackpot. He won all these chips He can go home and have a great time. But he says, ‘How about one more roll of the dice?’” He chose not to roll the dice in that race and never ran for office again.

Johnston’s survivors include his wife, Mary, and four children: Hunter, Sally, Mary and Bennett. Funeral plans have not yet been announced.

After Johnston stood on the Senate floor in 1995 and broke the news that he would not seek reelection, Democrats and Republicans took turns expressing sorrow at the impending departure of a senator who worked across party lines.

“I have a feeling that Sen. Bennett Johnston has never seen that middle aisle as a line of demarcation nor as a line of division but

merely as a line of invitation to join hands and join parties,” said Sen. David Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas. Minutes earlier the normally stoic Johnston briefly teared up as he remembered telling Mary while they were at LSU 40 years earlier that he dreamed of becoming a senator

“I’m one of those few fortunate human beings who have seen his dreams fulfilled in the fullest and most satisfying sense,” he said.

Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Retired U.S Sen. J Bennett Johnston testifies in favor of a $2.5

Bennett Johnston receives a kiss from his wife, Mary, after winning election to the U.S Senate for the

PHOTO PROVIDED By LSU LIBRARIES

U.S. Sen. J Bennett Johnston, third from right meets at the White House with, among others, President Ronald Reagan, second from right, and Vice President George H.W Bush fourth from right, on April 16, 1985.

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Holden company sells fire trucks to Calif.

Ferrara units to be used to fight wildfires

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD

Staff writer

A Louisiana-based company known for manufacturing fire trucks quickly is selling fire engines to parts of California to help the state fight disastrous wildfires. Ferrara Fire Apparatus, part of the REV Group and based in Holden off Interstate 12, manufactures equipment for fire departments across the country Destructive wildfires broke out in Los Angeles County, California, in January, destroying large areas in the southern part of the state and killing more than 10 people.

3 vying for juvenile court judgeship

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

Voters in Livingston, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes have the opportunity to pick a new juvenile judge from three candidates in Saturday’s election.

Three Republican women are vying for the 21st Judicial District Court juvenile judge spot to replace Judge Blair D Edwards, who was recently elected unopposed to the Court of Appeals.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 29.

Rebecca Davis-Lee

Davis-Lee, of Tangipahoa Parish, is a defense attorney in French Settlement and is an assistant juvenile public defender for the 21st Judicial District.

Davis-Lee wants to get more community partners and more resources across the three parishes to lessen the number of juvenile cases, she said.

“My passion lies in juvenile justice. I firmly believe that to break the generational cycles of crime and poverty that afflict our community, we must start with the children,” Davis-Lee said on her campaign website.

Jenny Richardson Fore Fore, of Livingston Parish, is an assistant public defender in the 21st Judicial District and was once a law clerk for Edwards in the juvenile court Fore wants to prioritize rehabilitation and education for children in order to avoid repeat offenses, she said when she announced her candidacy

“I will continue to lead our juvenile court with the personal care and attention our children need, and with unwavering toughness against those who would neglect and harm our most vulnerable citizens,” Fore said.

Jessica C. Ledet

Ledet, of St. Helena Parish, is the town of Independence prosecutor She also is a parent attorney in the Juvenile Court for Child in Need of Care for the 21st Judicial District Public Defender’s Office.

Ledet wants to get the churches and the community more involved with the juvenile population to lead to better schools and families, she said in her candidacy announcement.

“This is a calling for me and not just a job. I will have tough love for juveniles while holding parents accountable. I will work to keep our families our schools and our community safe,” Ledet said in the post.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.

Ferrara announced in March it was making 10 severe service pumpers as replacement trucks for the Orange County Fire Authority said Julie Nuernberg, REV Group director of marketing and communications. Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief

Mark Backoff said the agency has 78 fire stations and about 200,000 incidents per year The new pumpers will help it serve the community

“These new fire engines will provide our firefighters the updated safety and technology features not currently enjoyed on our apparatus,” he said.

The Holden company also sold 10 fire engines to San

Bernardino County, California, in February The county fire protection district said it was in response to recent wildfires that have used up the firefighters’ resources.

“We ran out of fire engines before we ran out of firefighters,” department spokesman Eric Sherwin said.

Departments turn to Ferrera Fire because of how quickly it can make its products. The trucks can arrive to the buyers in eight to 10 months. The Holden area is no stranger to manufacturing supplies for areas in need of putting out fires. In 2020, the US Fire Pump equipment company also based in Holden, sent equipment to the U.S. Navy

THE LITTLE THINGS

ABOVE: Andrew Pitre, an LSU engineering student and employee at The Dairy Store, holds a 2-week-old goat named Daisy for freshman Nicole Dixon and senior Tatyana Lichowid to pet at a special petting zoo on Friday in Baton Rouge. The Dairy Store has been holding weekly petting zoo visits in March with a

Daisy walks around the petting zoo.

Feds indict Prairieville consultant, N.O. chef

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

AIDAN MCCAHILL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Vitter hired as lobbyist for Plaquemines Port

Push on for West Bank container terminal

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Plaquemines Port has enlisted former U.S. Sen. David Vitter as a lobbyist to help make its case to Gov. Jeff Landr y’s admin istration and other policymakers that a new downriver container terminal on the West Bank is a better option than the $1.8 billion Port of New Orleans project in St. Bernard Parish. Vitter, who in 2004 was the first Republican to be elected to the senate from Louisiana since Reconstruction, held office until 2017, when he relinquished the seat after an unsuccessful run for governor

He then joined Mercury Public Affairs, a prominent Washington-based government relations and public affairs firm, where his clients have included the American Chemistry Council and the government of Libya.

Officials at Plaquemines Port, which rebranded itself last week as the Louisiana Gateway Port, declined to provide information on when Vitter was hired, how much he is being paid or other details of the contract. A public records request for the information was pending

“David Vitter is the port’s state and federal lobbyist through Mercury, and he is working closely with the port on growth strategies,” Charles Tillotson, executive director of the Plaquemines Port, said via email Thursday Vitter deferred to Tillotson and declined to comment.

Vitter has been reaching out to some members of the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission, which Landry created last year to overcome years of parochial infighting over scarce resources among its dozens of ports Vitter also has been talking to some of Landry’s closest advisers on economic and business issues.

The idea of a new downriver container ship terminal on the Mississippi River has long been recognized as a key strategic goal for the state, which has been losing business to rival Gulf ports like Houston and Mobile for decades.

The Port of New Orleans’ container terminal at Napoleon Avenue is becoming obsolete as container ships, which now account

for about 70% of global trade, are growing ever larger Already, many cannot make it past the Crescent City Connection to dock at the upriver facility

The Port of New Orleans has made significant progress in recent years on its project to build the Louisiana International Terminal at Violet, about 83 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River In 2020, the port purchased a 1,100-acre site there and in late 2022 secured an $800 million investment commitment from New Jersey-based Ports America and the U.S investment arm of Mediterranean Shipping Co. to help develop the facility It has also been awarded a record $300 million in federal grants.

However, the Violet terminal still faces widespread opposition from St. Bernard Parish residents, including all current members of the Parish Council. There are several outstanding lawsuits that challenge it on the grounds that it is potentially harmful to the environment and would disrupt the lives of residents.

Tillotson, who took over as executive director of Plaquemines Port two years ago, revived the idea of a container terminal on the West Bank that was first discussed several years ago by his predecessor In the past few months, Tillotson has been pitching a scaled-down, $500 million version of the terminal that would be located about 35 miles farther downriver from Violet, around West Pointe à la Hache He has also suggested that the proposed terminal could be a 50-50 joint venture with the Port of New Orleans. For it to work, the port proposal would require infrastructure investment that would need public funds from state and federal sources.

Infrastructure investment

Tillotson said they’re not pitching the downriver terminal as an alternative to any others in the state, though many of the points they’ve pushed aim at making favorable comparisons to the Port of New Orleans’ Violet project.

“It would be far nearer the mouth of the river where the river is straighter, wider and naturally deep,” Tillotson said “And with the Peter’s Road Rail Bypass Project, it would enjoy a straight rail shot to the Dallas market/distribution hub, where we could steal some portion of what has to be railed there now from congested West Coast ports.”

The Peter’s Road proj-

ect, which is in the planning stage, is designed to address the challenges of freight rail transportation in Jefferson Parish and along the West Bank of the Mississippi River. That would include increasing capacity at Plaquemines Port, which currently is connected by a short-line rail link. It would require hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from state and federal sources It would also require land acquisition and an environmental impact study

Businessman Shane Guidry, one of Landry’s closest advisers, said he is sympathetic to the case for a West Bank container terminal but doesn’t think it should hold up progress on the Port of New Orleans’ Violet project.

“Every parish wants to do what it can to get more tax revenue and improve its quality of life, and I applaud that,” Guidry said.

“But from what I know of it, the Port of New Orleans project is much further along, and at the end of the day you have to go with the most cost-effective and quickest solution. It sounds to me like the (Louisiana International Terminal at Violet) is the path of least resistance.”

The Landry administration officially has taken a neutral position on Plaquemines Port’s pitch for a joint venture

Julia Cormier, commissioner for the state’s office of intermodal transport and a member of the Waterways Investment Commission, spoke for Landry when she responded that the two ports should keep their options open and continue to talk.

Port of New Orleans Chair Michael Thomas said they will evaluate the Plaquemines proposal with an open mind. However, he noted that they haven’t yet acquired any land, and would need major rail investment and environmental study

State Sen. Patrick Connick, a Republican who represents District 8 and is one of the two state legislative members of the Waterways Investment Commission, said he has met recently with representatives of both ports, including Vitter, and takes the same position as Guidry

“We’re not going to stop the New Orleans LIT project from going forward,” he said.

“If Plaquemines can do another container terminal on the West Bank, then give us a plan that shows it’s feasible with the rail and make sure you have the money,” he added.

“But we’re not going to stop so that they can get up to speed for a joint venture and maybe delay it 10 years.”

FRAUD

Continued from page 1B

government funds, according to court records. Manuel declined to comment on the allegations. Scott and his attorney Rachel Conner, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Nonexistent care provider

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana the indictment alleges the men stole $74,250 of CARES Act funds intended to subsidize child care facilities to allow low-income families to use their services.

According to the indictment, Manuel worked as a consultant for the Louisiana Department of Education in the Office of Early Childhood Operations between April 2020 and

KILLING

Continued from page 1B

Rowland.

Having waived his right to an extradition hearing, Seghers is expected to be transferred to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison within 30 days, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson said. Seghers had been staying in a trailer on Rowland’s property on Jean Street, a few blocks from Istrouma High School, according to a police affidavit. Rowland’s sister told investigators that since Seghers’ mother died, the two men’s relationship had been “terrible.”

On March 9, law enforcement officials conducted a welfare check at Rowland’s property after his sister reported he had missed their weekly meeting She informed officers Rowland used a white Ford van for work and was protective of it, never allowing others to drive it.

Upon arrival at Rowland’s property, officers found Rowland and the van missing. Authorities later learned Rowland’s cellphone hadn’t shown any activity since March 1.

The next day, March 10, a license plate reader captured the white van in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Detectives learned a mutual friend of Seghers and Rowland had contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, after an encounter with Seghers and the van in Pearl River, Louisiana, about a 40-minute drive from Bay St. Louis. Seghers asked the friend to borrow a shovel “so he could bury his dog,” before walking into a nearby wooded area, according to

March 2021, where he certified child care providers for the program.

The document alleges the two created a nonexistent child care provider, and Scott submitted a direct deposit authorization form for the fake provider tied to his personal bank account. Manuel then altered an internal spreadsheet to falsely reflect the provider had applied for funds, the indictment said.

The two communicated about the plan over text and audio, the document adds. Manuel allegedly texted Scott in May 2020, telling him to create “‘a free gmail account for your biz kidscompany or something like that. That’s how they communicate with these folks.’”

Arrested in 2021

The two were arrested by Louisiana State Police in connection with the al-

the affidavit.

On Friday law enforcement in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, received a call from Seghers’ brother, Sean Crawford, who reportedly knew where Seghers was staying.

According to local Ocean Springs television station WLOX, Crawford had received a series of disturbing phone calls, text messages and voice recordings from his brother that led him to think Seghers had killed his stepfather, and that as a result, he was staying with a family friend in Ocean Springs.

Steven Dye, interim police chief in Ocean Springs, said in an interview with The Advocate that his officers and members of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office established surveillance in the area about 11 p.m. Friday After confirming with the homeowner that Seghers was staying there, authorities obtained a search warrant and combed the property and surrounding woods af ter midnight, but found trace of Seghers.

The following morning, Seghers contacted a family friend, revealing he hiding in the woods requesting his belongings be placed in front of house.

leged scheme in June 2021, and court records show both face charges in East Baton Rouge Parish, including bank fraud, criminal conspiracy and money laundering. Court records state Manuel posted bail at $50,500 and Scott at $40,000 that June, and neither case has had an update since then. Scott, a barbecue chef in New Orleans who operates Chef Scott’s Creole BBQ food truck, also made the news in June 2023 after he was reported missing and didn’t show up at that year’s Zydeco Fest, where he was supposed to be a vendor “Life kicked me,” he said at the time. “I just needed time for me to sit around and think.”

Email Christopher Cartwright at christopher cartwright@theadvocate. com.

search for their stepfather, who is still missing.

Email Aidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com.

About 11 a.m. Saturday, Jackson County SWAT and Ocean Springs police secured the area. Shortly thereafter, Dye said a K-9 unit from Jackson County located Seghers trying to conceal himself on the floor of his family friend’s shed and arrested him.

Meanwhile, Seghers’ brother Crawford, who had alerted law enforcement, has started a GoFundMe campai aid in the

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street drifts in quiet trading day

Wall Street edged higher in a quiet Tuesday after roaring the day before on hopes that President Donald Trump’s tariffs may not be as sweeping as earlier feared.

The S&P 500 added after jumping 1.8% Monday to one of its best days of the last year

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up by a few points and the Nasdaq composite rose.

U.S stocks have recovered a chunk of their losses since falling 10% below their all-time high earlier this month, for their first “correction” since 2023 The S&P 500 is now down 6% from its record, and that drop has left the market looking less expensive than before, which had been a major criticism following its euphoric rise in earlier years.

But strategists along Wall Street warn that more sharp swings are still likely on the way with an April 2 deadline looming. That’s what Trump has called “Liberation Day,” when he will begin tariffs on trading partners that he says will roughly equal what he sees as the burden each of them puts on the United States.

Kroger blames merger demise on Albertsons Kroger is denying Albertsons’ claims that it didn’t do enough to ensure regulatory approval of the companies’ planned supermarket merger

In court papers filed Tuesday in the Delaware Court of Chancery, Kroger said Albertsons disregarded the companies’ merger agreement and worked secretly with a partner, C&S Wholesalers, to try to force Kroger to divest more stores to C&S.

Kroger also claimed that Albertsons was secretly planning to sue Kroger if the deal didn’t go through long before the merger actually fell apart in December

Kroger said in Tuesday’s court filing that it should not be forced to pay Albertsons a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees.

In a statement Tuesday, Albertsons said it was Kroger that failed to honor the merger agreement Kroger and Albertsons first proposed the merger in 2022. They argued that combining would help them better compete with big retailers like Walmart and Costco.

But the Federal Trade Commission and two states — Washington and Colorado — sued to block the merger last year, saying it would raise prices and lower workers’ wages by eliminating competition. In December, judges in Washington and Oregon halted the merger in two rulings issued within hours of each other

Kroger said even after lower courts ruled, it believed the merger still had a chance of going through.

But instead, Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Kroger the day after the lower court rulings. Albertsons said Kroger refused to divest more stores, even as it became clear that regulators weren’t satisfied with its plans. Albertsons said Kroger also should have sought other buyers beyond C&S to satisfy regulators’ concerns.

Chinese EV maker BYD tops Tesla’s sales

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD logged a record $107 billion in revenue last year as its sales of battery electric and hybrid vehicles jumped 40%.

The report late Monday coincided with BYD’s launch earlier this week of its Qin L EV sedan, a midsized model similar to Tesla’s Model 3 but at just over half the price. Tesla’s 2024 revenue was nearly $97.7 billion.

BYD’s net profit last year was about $5.6 billion, up 34% from the year before.

Nearly 29% of the company’s sales were in markets outside Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, last year, up slightly from 27% the year before.

Consumer confidence is sliding

Americans’ view of financial futures slumps to 12-year low

BY MATT OTT Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S consumer confidence continued its sharp 2025 decline as Americans’ views about their financial futures slumped to a 12-year low, driven by rising anxiety over tariffs and inflation.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January 2021. The reading was short of analysts expectations for a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet

The business group found that the measure of Americans’ shortterm expectations for income, business and the job market fell

9.6 points to 65.2.

That’s the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. The proportion of U.S. consumers anticipating a recession remains at a nine-month high, the board reported.

“Consumers’ optimism about future income — which had held up quite strongly in the past few months — largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board.

The administration of President

Donald Trump has largely played down the souring mood among Americans, saying it doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s happening in the actual economy. This argument is similar to what officials in former President Joe Biden’s administration said as high inflation suppressed consumer confidence without undermining growth.

Yet some of the nation’s biggest retailers, who have noted a shift in consumer behavior, are telling a different story Walmart has thrived with Americans trying to offset higher prices by seeking bargains. Late last month, however, the nation’s largest retailer slashed its profit forecast for this year Its sales outlook was also conservative and the company does not include the potential

address? Changeof

Struggling Postal Service awaits new leadership as president talks about privatization

BY SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press

The U.S. Postal Service is facing an uncertain future after the resignation this week of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the suggestion by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, that the mail service could be privatized.

Unions representing postal workers have balked at the idea of privatization, staging protests across the country While they support modernization efforts, including those initiated by DeJoy, union leaders warned that allowing private corporations to run the U.S. mail will ultimately harm everyday citizens, especially the estimated 51 million people living in rural areas who depend on the Postal Service.

“It’s a terrible idea for everyone that we serve,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Brian L. Renfroe said during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday What happens next may depend on who becomes the next postmaster general. The U.S Postal Service Board of Governors, an independent establishment of the executive branch that oversees the Postal Service, has retained a global consulting firm to conduct a search for the 76th postmaster general and CEO.

USPS employs about 640,000 workers tasked with making deliveries from inner cities to rural areas and even far-flung islands. In February, Trump said he may put the federal agency under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive branch takeover of the agency, which has operated as an independent entity since 1970.

“We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money,” Trump said during the swearing-in ceremony for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “We’re thinking about doing that. And it’ll be a form of a merger, but it’ll remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better.”

While he didn’t say anything about privatization at the event, the president has voiced support for the idea in the past. In December, he suggested privatizing the service given the competition it faces from Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others.

Since a reorganization in 1970, the USPS has been largely self-funded. The bulk of its annual $78.5 billion budget comes from customer fees, according to the Congressional Research Service. Congress provides a relatively small annual appropriation — about $50 million in fiscal year 2023 to subsidize free and reduced-cost mail services.

Amid challenges that include the decline in profitable first-class mail and the cost of retiree benefits, the Postal Service accumulated $87 billion in losses from 2007 to 2020. However, the service reported a $144 million profit last quarter, attributing it to DeJoy’s 10-year plan to modernize operations and stem losses. The service had reported a net loss of $2.1 billion for the same quarter last year

Union leaders said Wednesday that they hope the next postmaster general sticks with the modernization plan and considers harnessing the Postal Service to provide other services to the public, including basic banking, electric vehicle charging and even U.S. census work.

“Our network of physical locations, retail locations our delivery network, puts us in a position to do so many different things,” Renfroe said.

impact of tariffs in its expectations for 2025.

Target’s sales and profit slipped during the crucial holiday quarter, and the company predicted that there would be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year in part because of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

Macy’s, Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dollar General and others also have grown cautious about their expectations for 2025, with many citing “economic uncertainty.”

The board’s survey showed that purchasing plans for both homes and cars declined. However, in somewhat of a surprise given respondents’ anxiety about the future, intentions to buy big-ticket items like appliances increased. The board said that could reflect a desire to buy before the tariffs kick in, leading to price increases.

Judge orders June trial for Boeing

By The Associated Press

A federal judge in Texas has set a June trial date for the U.S. government’s yearsold conspiracy case against Boeing for misleading regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people.

U.S District Judge Reed O’Connor did not explain in the scheduling order he issued on Tuesday why he decided to set the case for trial. Lawyers for the aerospace company and the Justice Department have spent months trying to renegotiate a July plea agreement that called for Boeing to plead guilty to a single felony charge. The judge rejected that deal in December saying that diversity inclusion and equity policies the Justice Department had in place at the time might influence the selection of a monitor to oversee the company’s compliance with the terms of its proposed sentence.

Since then, O’Connor had three times extended the deadline for the two sides to report how they planned to proceed His most recent extension, granted earlier this month, gave them until April 11, but the judge revoked the remaining time with his Tuesday order

A Boeing spokesperson said the company did not have a comment on the judge’s order, which laid out a timeline for proceedings leading up to a June 23 trial.

The deal the judge refused to approve would have averted a criminal trial by allowing Boeing plead guilty to conspiring to defraud Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved minimal pilot-training requirements for the 737 Max nearly a decade ago. More intensive training in flight simulators would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the then-new plane model.

The development and certification of what has become Boeing’s bestselling airliner became an intense focus of safety investigators after two of Max planes crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019. Many relatives of passengers who died off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia have pushed for the prosecution of former Boeing officials, a public criminal trial and more severe financial punishment for the company

In response to criticism of last year’s plea deal from victims’ families, prosecutors said they did not have evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception played a role in the crashes. Prosecutors told O’Connor the conspiracy to commit fraud charge was the toughest they could prove against Boeing.

O’Connor did not object in his December ruling against the plea agreement to the sentence Boeing would have faced: a fine of up to $487.2 million with credit given for $243.6 million in previously paid penalties; a requirement to invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs; and outside oversight during three years of probation.

Instead, the judge focused his negative assessment on the process for selecting an outsider to keep an eye on Boeing’s actions to prevent fraud. He expressed particular concern that the agreement “requires the parties to consider race when hiring the independent monitor ‘in keeping with the (Justice) Department’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.’”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLIE RIEDEL

The U.S Postal Service employs about 640,000 workers tasked with making deliveries from inner cities to rural areas and even far-flung islands.

An angel has been called home to rest. Gloria Young Brooks, adevoted spouse, mother, grandmother, great-grandmoth-

and friend

Born on August 16, 1946, in New Roads, Louisiana, Gloria was the beloved daughter of the late Willie Young Sr. and Louella Young (Johnson). Her family moved to the Baton Rouge area during her childhood, acommunity that would serve as her lifelong home. Gloria excelled academically at Capitol Senior High School, where she graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 1965. She then continued her education at Southern University in Baton Rouge, earning aBachelor's degree in Accounting in 1969. This accomplishment marked the beginning of an exemplary 35 year career as an agent with the Internal Revenue Service.

On January 1, 1966, Gloria married James Brooks Jr. (deceased),and together they established aloving home in Baton Rouge before later residing in Baker, Louisiana.Their 55year partnership was marked by enduring love and companionship, spanning countless cherished memories until James's passing in September 2021.

Gloria was not onlya devoted caregiver to her husband and children but also actively engaged in her community. She was a proud member of the CHS 65 Civic and Social Club and was initiated into the graduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. However, her true home away from home was Greater King David Baptist Church, where she worshiped under the pastoral guidance of Reverend Dr. John E. Montgomery, II.

Left to cherish Gloria's remarkable legacy are her two children, Charlene Evette Brooks-Lockett (Lewis) of Harvest, Alabama, and Dr. Derrick D. Brooks Sr. (Vinette) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.She is also survived by five grandchildren: Anthony D. Pigott II of Harvest, Alabama; Kirstin Brooks Arellano

ton Rouge, Louisiana. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Anthony D. Pigott II of Harvest, Alabama; Kirstin Brooks Arellano (Irvin) of Seattle,Washington; and Kennedi L. Brooks, Derrick D. Brooks Jr.,and Victoria M. Brooks, all of Baton Rouge.Additionally, Gloria leaves behind one great-grandchild, Isabella G. Arellano of Seattle, Washington, and her beloved sister, Gwendolyn Young Peters (Ernest) of Amite, Louisiana

In addition to herlate parents, (Willie and Louella Young) and husband (James), Gloria was precededdeath by her sisters, Helen Fisher Humble (George) and Dorothy Fisher, as well as her brother, Willie Young Jr.,all of Baton Rouge,Louisiana.

Visitation Thursday, March 27, 2025, Hall'sCelebration Center, 9348 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge,LA. 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Visitation continue Friday, March 28, 2025, GreaterKing DavidBaptist Church, 222 Blount Rd, Baton Rouge, LA., 9:00 am until religious service begins at 10:00 am.

Entombment Heavenly Gates Mausoleum, 10633 Veterans MemorialBoulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Homegoing arrangements have beenEntrusted to Hall Davis &Son Funeral Services.

Gloria Young Brooks will be deeply missed, yetshe will forever remain in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

Wiilie Mae Hayes Gho‐ram entered into eternal rest at her residence in Zachary, Louisiana on Monday March 17, 2025 She was a 98-year old na‐tive of Baton Rouge Louisiana Viewing at Miller & Daughter Mortu‐ary on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 from 4-6:00 pm; Viewing at New Pilgrim Baptist Church on Thurs‐day March 27, 2025 at 7:00 am until Celebration of Life Service at 9:00 am con‐ducted by Pastor Derrick Williams; interment at Port Hudson National Cemetery Survivors include her chil‐dren, Lucille Ghoram (Eddie) Edith Brown (Al‐bert), Ella White, Shenna Johnson (Robert), all of Zachary and Wayne Gho‐ram (Tambren), Midwest City, Oklahoma; 23 grand‐children; 44 great-grand‐children; other relatives and friends; preceded in death by her husband, Sam Ghoram, Jr.; parents; four children; and 10 grandchil‐dren.

Heidingsfelder, Lawson Cole

Lawson Cole Heidings‐felder, lovingly known by his family as “HD” unex‐pectedly passed away on Friday March 21, 2025, at his home in Port Allen at the age of 23. He was a beloved son, brother, grandson and friend and a lifelong resident of Port Allen Lawson was a heavy equipment operator and was always eager to learn He was a history buff and had a strong passion for American history He loved the outdoors – especially shooting guns and riding 4wheelers Lawson loved singing and cooking at home in his spare time. His caring, thoughtful person‐ality will be dearly missed by all who loved him Law‐son is survived by his par‐ents, Dana and Shonda Heidingsfelder Rowell; brother and sister-in-law, Logan and Lindsey Four‐roux Heidingsfelder; sister, Linden Heidingsfelder; pa‐ternal grandparents, Hessler Sr. and Pamela Rowell; uncle and aunt, Hessler “Buddy” Jr and Leah Rowell; cousin, Victo‐ria “Tori” Carvalho; family friend, Kevin LaCombe; and many other friends and family members. Lawson was preceded in death by maternal grandmother Ju‐dith “Judy” Heidingsfelder Visitation will be at Wilbert Funeral Home in Port Allen on Friday, March 28, from 4 to 8 p.m. and again at Holy Family Catholic Church on Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 am until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am celebrated by Rev Jerry Martin Entombment will follow in St John the Bap‐tist Catholic Church Mau‐soleum in Brusly. Although Lawson’s time on earth was far too short, the last‐ing impact and memories he made will be forever cherished. Pallbearers will be Logan Heidingsfelder Kevin LaCombe, Patrick Moore, Jacques Monceret Logan Crawford, Trent D’Amico and Devon Tun‐stall Please share memo‐ries at www wilbertserv ices.com

Irvin, Alana Collins

Alana Collins Irvin en‐tered into eternal rest at her residence in Denham Springs, Louisiana on March 12, 2025. She was a 41-year old native of Baton Rouge Louisiana and em‐ployed at the Louisiana De‐partment of Public Safety as a Human Resource Man‐ager. Viewing at Mt. Pil‐grim Baptist Church Family Life Center, 9700 Scenic Hwy, Baton Rouge, on Thursday, March 27, 2025 from 9:00 am until Celebra‐tion of Life Service at 10:00 am; interment at Roselawn Mausoleum Survivors in‐

Hwy, Baton Rouge, on Thursday, March 27, 2025

from 9:00 am until Celebra‐

tion of Life Service at 10:00 am; interment at Roselawn

Mausoleum Survivors in‐

clude her husband, Robert J Irvin, Jr.; daughter, Carys Duheart; parents, Patricia Cushenberry and Dave Collins Jr; Godparents

Harold Miles (uncle) and Barbara Mason (aunt); sib‐lings Keith and Keondria Cushenberry, Pamela Graves, Ronald Carter Stephen Cornelius, Dave, III, Chance, Vernice and Denzell Collins, and Rhonda Harris; mother and father-in-law, Sherry and Robert Irvin, Sr.; God‐daughter, Kenzie Willis (niece); other relatives and friends; preceded in death by her maternal grandpar‐ents, Hazel and Albert Miles; paternal grandpar‐ents, Dollie Hines and Dave Collins Sr Arrangements entrusted to Miller & Daughter Mortuary.

Melancon, Danny Peter

Danny Peter Melancon, aloving husband, father and grandfather, passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the age of 70. He was along-time resident of Denham Springs, Louisiana. Danny was born to the late Leeroy andShirley Melancon on July 10, 1954. He grew up in Belle Rose, Louisiana, where he graduated from Assumption High School in 1972. Danny was amaster carpenter, having built many "artworks" throughouthis career. He had alove for cars and trucks and enjoyed attending car shows. There was nothingmore importanttohim than his wife and his children.Danny loved spendingtime with his grandchildren.He dedicated his life to protecting andproviding for his family.

He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Brenda Melancon; their children Meghan Yerby (Todd), Brittney Melancon, Beaux Melancon,Brandy Porter (Chad), Brooke Weeks (Earl), Boone Melancon (Natalie); ten grandchildren -with one more on theway; and his sisters Glenda Blanchard and Phyllis Schexnayder.

Relatives andfriends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 15615 Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. AVisitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March28, 2025, at Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Highway, and at the church on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Intermentwill follow at Resthaven Gardensof Memory.

Family andfriends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to the family at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com

importanttohim than his wife and his children.Danny loved spendingtime with his grandchildren.He dedicated his life to protecting andproviding for his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Brenda Melancon;their children Meghan Yerby (Todd), Brittney Melancon, Beaux Melancon,Brandy Porter (Chad), Brooke Weeks (Earl), Boone Melancon (Natalie); ten grandchildren -with one more on theway; and his sisters Glenda Blanchard and Phyllis Schexnayder. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church,

Ghoram, Wiilie Mae Hayes

Leona "Lee" Mae Braud Perque was called to her Lord and Savior on March 19, 2025, at the age of 93 years, 11 months and 19 days. She was anative and resident of Gonzales, LA. Leona was akindhearted lady who loved spending time with her family, playing Bingo and Pokeno. She was agreat employee at Cal's Bakery and LeBouef's Leona is survived by her 2sons, Murphy Anthony Perque Jr. and DalePerque (Donna); 2grandchildren: Jennifer and Ian; 3sisters: Mary Robbins (Roy), Agnes Heintze (Hank) and Shirley Delatte (Ronald). Leona is preceded in death by her parents, Estress and Juliet Braud; Her twin sister, Leola Lambert; 3brothers, Leo, Leon Jay andHubert Braud. Mass will be held at St. Theresa Catholic Church on her birthday, March 29, 2025, at 11:00 am. Special thanks to the Gonzales Baptist Temple off Hodgeson Ave., Gonzales for providing the Bereavement Luncheon. Thanks to Gentiva Hospice for their loving care and Church Funeral Services for their services. Awarm hearted ThankYou to the family members who cared for Tont Tont at her bedside and completed the Family Circle with Love.

Cody Patrick Scivicque, agentle and loving soul passed awayatthe age of 33 in Denham Springs, Louisiana, on March 13, 2025, after acourageous battle with stomach cancer. Born on September 14, 1991, Cody's warm presence and resilient spirit were agift to all who knew him. Cody's familywas the cornerstone of his life. He was the beloved son of Stephanie Langlois Lawson and the late Ron Scivicque, and acherished stepson to Michael Lawson. His sister, Maddie Scivicque, shared many treasured moments with him, and his bond with his paternal grandfather, Pat Scivicque, was one of mutual love. Cody was preceded in death by his father, Ron Scivicque; his paternal grandmother, Janice Scivicque; and his maternal grandparents, J.C. and Patsy Langlois. Each of them held aspecial place in his heart.

ACelebration of Life will be held on March 27, 2025, from 2:00 -4:00 p.m. at Seale Funeral Home, 1720 S. Range Ave., Denham Springs, LA. Full Obituary may be viewed at Seale Funeral Home.

Sirmon Jr., William Jewell 'Bill'

William Jewell Sirmon Jr., a devoted husband, fa‐ther, and community leader, passed away peacefully on March 11 2025, surrounded by his three sons Born on Febru‐ary 1, 1943, in Abbeville, Louisiana Bill was raised on a rice farm in Gueydan His early years were marked by resilience as his family relocated due to a drought leading him to at‐tend many different schools over the course of 2-3 years before settling in Hahnville and finally Lul‐ing Bill attended Hahnville High School where he be‐came a standout in foot‐ball and track. His excep‐tional talent earned him a track scholarship to the University of Southwestern Louisiana, where he be‐came one of the fastest freshman in the nation in the 880. He shattered mul‐tiple records, including the 880 and mile relay which stood for years It was dur‐ing this time that he met the love of his life, Edith After graduating from Nicholls State University Bill began his career in ed‐ucation working in the St Charles Parish Public School System as a teacher and coach at Mi‐mosa Park J.B. Martin and Carver Jr High. He played a key role in desegregation of the public school sys‐tem He co-founded both the parish’s Biddy basket‐ball program as well as the Adult Community Educa‐tion program He was named the Transportation Director of St. Charles Parish Schools before ulti‐mately becoming the Ath‐letic Director at Hahnville High School He left the school system to pursue a career in sales for several pipe, valve and fittings companies Bill’s passion for service led him into politics, where he worked diligently on Edwin Ed‐wards’ first campaign for Louisiana Governor and was later a member of his Kitchen Cabinet He served on the St Charles parish council, the Lafourche Levee Board and the Mar‐itime Board as well. He was also honored as a threetime King of the Krewe of Lul. Later in his career, he worked at River Birch in sales and government rela‐tions. Beloved husband of Edith Hanisee Sirmon. Lov‐ing father of William Jewell Sirmon, III (Erin) Robert Quin Sirmon and Kristo‐pher Charles Sirmon (Hillary). Grandfather of William Sirmon IV Ander‐son Sirmon, Sarah Beth Sir‐mon, Hanisee Sirmon, Addie Sirmon, Quin Sirmon, Lennon Sirmon, Isla Sir‐mon, Rush Sirmon, Kateri Sirmon and the late Ben‐jamin Sirmon. Son of the late Dorothy Trahan Sirmon and William Jewell Sirmon, Sr Brother of Louis Edward Sirmon (Sally) and the late Francis Sirmon Fonseca and John Steven Sirmon (Joette). Also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are invited to at‐tend the Visitation and Fu‐neral Mass. Visitation will be held on Friday March 28, 2025 at L A. Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home, 2607 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m and on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 155 Holy Family Lane Luling, LA from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m A Private Interment will be held at a later date in Woodlawn Cemetery, Crowley LA In lieu of flow‐ers, please consider a do‐nation in his memory to the John Clarke Perry Foun‐dation for the Miracles to Milestones Forsythe Park inclusive playground pro‐ject c/o The Sirmons 2769 Pointe Drive, Monroe, LA 71201. To share memories or condolences, please visit www muhleisen.com

on the St. Charles parish council, the Lafourche Levee Board and the Mar‐itime Board as well. He was also honored as a threetime King of the Krewe of Lul Later in his career, he worked at River Birch in sales and government rela‐tions Beloved husband of Edith Hanisee Sirmon. Lov‐ing father of William Jewell Sirmon III (Erin) Robert Quin Sirmon and Kristo‐pher Charles Sirmon (Hillary) Grandfather of William Sirmon IV Ander‐son Sirmon, Sarah Beth Sir‐mon, Hanisee Sirmon, Addie Sirmon, Quin Sirmon Lennon Sirmon, Isla Sir‐mon Rush Sirmon Kateri Sirmon and the late Ben‐jamin Sirmon Son of the late Dorothy Trahan Sirmon and William Jewell Sirmon Sr. Brother of Louis Edward Sirmon (Sally) and the late Francis Sirmon Fonseca and John Steven Sirmon (Joette). Also survived by numerous nieces and nephews Relatives and friends are invited to at‐tend the Visitation and Fu‐neral Mass. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 28, 2025 at L A. Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home 2607 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA from 5:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m and on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church 155 Holy Family Lane, Luling, LA from 9:00 a.m to 11:00 a.m followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. A repast will be held at St Anthony of Padua in the CA Building 234 Angus Drive, Luling, LA from 12:00 p.m to 2:00 p.m A Private Interment will be held at a later date in Woodlawn Cemetery Crowley, LA. In lieu of flow‐ers please consider a do‐nation in his memory to the John Clarke Perry Foun‐dation for the Miracles to Milestones Forsythe Park inclusive playground pro‐ject, c/o The Sirmons, 2769 Pointe Drive, Monroe, LA 71201. To share memories or condolences, please visit www muhleisen.com

Snyder, David Eugene David Eugene Snyder, a resident of Baywood passed away on Saturday, March 22, 2025. He was 82 years old Graveside Ser‐vice will be at 11am on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at Baywood Perkins Ceme‐tery, Baywood He is sur‐vived by his son, Ronald E Snyder and wife, Carolyn of Zachary, A grandson, John Hunter Synder His sister Mildred and his sister-inlaw, Sharon He is pre‐ceded in death by his wife of 11 years, Sue Snyder and his siblings Linfield and Alton Snyder He was a lov‐ing husband and father David enjoyed fishing whenever he could. Share sympathies, condolences, and memories at www Cha rletFuneralHome.com

y s of 11 years, Sue Snyder and his siblings, Linfield and Alton Snyder. He was a lov‐ing husband and father David enjoyed fishing whenever he could. Share sympathies, condolences, and memories at www Cha rletFuneralHome.com

Weakley, Leska Augusta Moore Maglone

Church in Zachary, Louisiana. Mom was born on September 15, 1937, to Fulton Davis Moore, Jr. and Leska Iris Powers Moore, (Gaga). She enjoyed the love of two larger than life husbands; thefather of her children,Gordon Rice Maglone andher childhood sweetheart and renewed love, Pat Larry Weakley. In addition to her husbands and parents, Momburied three others dear to her heart. Her grandson, Reginald Daniel Ory, hergreat granddaughter Mallorie Rose Magloneand her grandson-in-law, Joseph (Joey) Ernie Lee Cart, Jr. Mom loved her three children and those the Lord sent to marry them, Amy Denise (Daniel Ory), Joel Keith (Suzonne Chase) and Iris Jeanet (Vaughn Sutton). MawMaw's grandchildren broughther much joy, Leska LaTrelle Oudkirk Cart, Gordon Lance Maglone andBrady Fulton Maglone. Grammie's great grandchildren inspired renewed strength,Joseph Robert (JR) Cart, Georgia Grace (Gigi) Cart, JackBelizaire Cart, Joel Michael Maglone and Rylee Jane Maglone. Her great-great grandson,Lee Allen Cart, inspired her to newhope. Visiting for Mom will be held at theSlaughter United Methodist Church beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 28, 2025, and continuinguntil religious services, officiated by Reverend Nan Riffe, at 11:00 a.m. Mom will be buried at the Feliciana Rest Cemetery. Friends and family are encouraged to return to the church for food and fellowship. Pallbearers will be Joel Maglone, Lance Maglone, Joel Michael Maglone, Brady Maglone, JR Cart, Vaughn Sutton, Daniel Ory and Randy Maglone. Honorary Pallbearers will be Jack Cart and Lee Cart. Mom wasa Christian womanall herlife. She raised us to be confident that she is with Jesusin

Our Mom, Leska Weakley, died on Saturday, March 22, 2025, living 87 years. Mom graduated from Istrouma High School in 1955, attended collegeat Southeastern Louisiana University, retired from HAWCO and was amember of theFirst Baptist Church in Zachary, Louisiana. Mom was born on September 15, 1937, to Fulton Davis Moore, Jr. and Leska Iris Powers Moore, (Gaga). She enjoyed the love of twolarger than life husbands; the father of her children, Gordon Rice Maglone and her childhood sweetheart and renewed love, Pat Larry Weakley. In addition to her husbands and parents, Momburied three others dear to her heart.Her grandson, Reginald Daniel Ory, her great granddaughter Mallorie Rose Maglone and her grandson-in-law, Joseph (Joey) Ernie Lee Cart,Jr. Mom loved her three children and those the Lord sent to marry them, Amy Denise (Daniel Ory), Joel Keith(Suzonne Chase) and Iris Jeanet (Vaughn Sutton). grandchildren joy, Oud Cart glone Maglone. grandchildren ired strength, Joseph eorgia

Scivicque, Cody Patrick

OUR VIEWS

Recommendations on the latest proposed constitutional amendments

Louisiana voters have become accustomed to being asked to make tweaks to the state’s governing document. Saturday will be no different, with four proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot Here are our recommendations.

Amendment 1: Related to attorney discipline and specialty courts. No.

The first part of this amendment would clarify and explain the Louisiana Supreme Court’s role in disciplining out-of-state attorneys who practice in state courts for specific proceedings. The second part would expand the Legislature’s ability to create specialty courts that cross judicial district or parish boundaries. While we applaud the use of specialty courts, we do not think adding more judges and courts is warranted. Additionally the Supreme Court already has power to discipline attorneys who practice in the state. We urge voters to reject this amendment

Amendment 2: Making major changes to the article of the constitution that governs revenue and finance No. Not since the current constitution was adopted in 1974 have voters been asked to cast a single up-or-down vote on as many consequential provisions as are contained in Amendment 2, which would enshrine changes laid out in a 115-page bill adopted in a November special legislative session. Its highest profile provision would allow teachers to keep receiving the $2,000 awarded as a stipend in recent years; the money would come from liquidating several trust funds and paying down the retirement system debt The amendment would also offer incentives for localities to stop charging inventory tax, give lawmakers some more spending flexibility by reducing the amount locked away in trust funds and make it harder to enact tax exemptions.

There’s much to like here, but some provisions raise serious concerns.

For all the added flexibility lawmakers would have if more money flows into the general fund and less into protected funds, these funds have served the state well. Other changes would give future lawmakers less room to maneuver than they have now including a hard cap on the income tax rate and less flexibility to grow spending to address Louisiana’s ongoing needs. And dissolving education trust funds could make it harder to fund education priorities such as early childhood education.

We don’t believe the rushed adoption of this far-reaching proposal allowed for the level of vetting that these extensive proposals warrant. While we applaud Gov Jeff Landry’s administration and lawmakers for revisiting how best to fund government, we believe the conversation should not be short-circuited by hasty passage of this amendment. We therefore recommend a no vote.

Amendment 3: Related to juvenile justice. No.

This newspaper has consistently opposed proposals that would make it easier to try those under the age of 17 as adults. This proposal would remove the current list of 16 mostly violent felonies for which juveniles can be tried as adults from the constitution and give the Legislature the ability to add and remove crimes at will.

We feel the current rules are sufficient We recommend a no vote.

Amendment 4: Changing the timing requirements for filling judicial vacancies. Yes.

Currently, the constitution requires that an election for judge be held and a seat filled within 12 months of a vacancy occurring. But the newly adopted closed primary for Supreme Court seats could require an extra election to choose a new justice, making it impossible to fill the seat if a vacancy occurs at certain times of the year

This fix would require the governor to call the election to fill the role on the same date as a gubernatorial or congressional election if either of them is within 12 months of the vacancy If not, then the election would occur on the first already scheduled election date after the vacancy occurs. We recommend support

OPINION

Absence of U.S. leadership on vaccines worrisome

Our United States of America is trying to rewrite “promote the general welfare” of our preamble to the Constitution. Recently the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s expert committee on vaccines was ordered to cancel its annual meeting that determines which influenza strains will be included in the fall 2025 immunization. This annual meeting has religiously gathered every year since the late 1960s, even during the COVID pandemic, to optimize the year’s influenza immunization. Does this mean we may need to depend on the Mexican, Canadian, European or Chinese agencies for international development to keep our public health safe for the next influenza season?

But we must be aware of communica-

ble disease traps en route to Canada or Mexico should we not wait for foreign agencies for international development to send us their public health immunizations. The Texas measles outbreak may cut off our attempt to receive virus protection from Mexico. The New Jersey measles outbreak may spread to cut off our attempt to receive virus protection from Canada. I remain optimistic that other countries will step up to the plate to continue repairing the world in the absence of the role we have had.

Others will need to contain the polio virus, the next COVID virus and other viruses in the absence of our leadership.

MARC SAMUELS Baton Rouge

Country has joined ranks of bad guys on world stage

I can hardly recognize the United States of America in which we are currently living. I’m not young. I’ve lived through Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. We haven’t always done things perfectly as a nation, but I always thought we were on the right side of history. After witnessing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s recent visit to the Oval Office, I realized we are now the bad guys. Our president seems to have felt disrespected by the Ukrainian president — or, as many believe, the Ukrainian president was ambushed in order to justify Donald Trump’s acts of affection for a coldblooded and murderous Russian president. As a result, 40 million Ukrainians will be punished by Donald Trump to the advantage of Russia. Actions speak louder than words. In

his few weeks as president, Trump has: asked the Treasury and State departments to identify sanctions on Russia that could be loosened, ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to suspend operations against Russia, called for regime change in Ukraine, sided with Russia and North Korea against a U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, halted approved weapons shipments and aid to Ukraine.

Most of this occurred before Zelenskyy’s visit. Russian state media and politicians are giddy Trump’s allies in Congress are congratulating Trump for standing up for the U.S. Against whom? Ukraine? I see him standing up for Vladimir Putin.

STEVEN LEVAN Baton Rouge

Making Mardi Gras fun means making room for revelers

James Rosenbloom’s guest column “Chads, Cherubs need a neutral ground in turf battle” is on target. Accommodating people is an important component of the Mardi Gras spirit, culture, camaraderie and enjoyment. Perhaps New Orleans and surrounding towns could extend its neutral ground infrastructure by incorporating permitting. For example, a specified amount of space in a designated area could be established and a permit required to reserve a site, specifying the maximum number of persons allowed

to assemble in the permitted area. A nominal fee for a permit could be assessed for each site based upon size and number of people

A permit diagram could be developed, posted and publicized before and after the permit sites and purchases are finalized. Permits granted could be posted at the site or available for inspection. The funds could be used for a worthy cause, such as litter cleanup and control.

KAREN POIRRIER Lutcher

Prosecutors’

responsibilities not properly understood

Both your staff editorial, “Lack of consequences for misbehaving prosecutors undermines justice system,” and your article “Louisiana is a hotbed for overturned convictions. Why prosecutors rarely face discipline,” repeat a quote by Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino that misstates the law His misstatement is critical to an understanding of the “Brady doctrine,” which sets out a prosecutor’s constitutional obligation before trial to disclose to the defense exculpatory evidence. Prosecutors can face discipline for failure to do so but are rarely disciplined. As explanation, Professor Ciolino is quoted as saying, “You have to prove the prosecutor knew the evidence was exculpatory and didn’t turn it over knowing that. It’s not an offense of negligence.”

In fact, it is an offense of negligence. Under Louisiana Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(d), “The prosecutor in a criminal case shall make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that the prosecutor knows, or reasonably should know, either tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense[.]”

The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that this rule is coextensive with the prosecutor’s constitutional obligation under the Brady doctrine to disclose favorable evidence. To be clear, even if a prosecutor did not actually know the evidence was exculpatory, but should have known, discipline is appropriate. Professor Ciolino’s misstatement, twice repeated, means a prosecutor could escape discipline by simply saying, “I did not know” a certain piece of evidence was exculpatory

Louisiana has a terrible history of prosecutors withholding favorable evidence from an accused and leading to wrongful convictions. Law schools should be at the vanguard of teaching this basic constitutional requirement to future prosecutors.

JANET HOEFFEL

Catherine D Pierson, Professor of Law Tulane Law School

La. seniors like me worry as Social Security cuts 7K jobs

President Donald Trump and deputy president Elon Musk have been slashing and burning as much of the federal government as possible before someone stops them.

Lots of people support what they consider long overdue government efficiency and right-sizing moves unless they’re seniors who recently heard about the Social Security Administration staff cuts and the closing of Social Security offices. I guess it’s wonderful to see someone FINALLY cutting government waste — unless they view your Social Security access as unnecessary and see your Social Security benefits as something they can get to when they can. The Social Security Administration has listed 47 Social Security offices scheduled to close in 2025. That included the Houma office.

I’m wondering whether the New Orleans office is next.

I’m at a certain age and a certain stage that I regularly check in and check on Social Security goings-on Any workers who have had money taken out of their regular paycheck wish they had that money for other things rather than sending it to the federal government to keep the Social Security fund going until they realize they’ll receive benefit checks for the rest of their lives when they’re older and eligible to get monthly checks.

There’s a lot more to Social Security calculations, but a basic calculation is based on your average indexed monthly earnings in your 35 highest earning years after adjusting for inflation. Your earnings history might include job changes and significant salary dips and increases, so this might not be as easy as determining a benefit based on making $50,000 a year for 35 years. There are far more ways to calculate what level of benefits you might receive than you might imagine That’s why help is important.

I’m a perfect example why you shouldn’t rely solely on an online calculation or take the first answer you get from a Social Security representative. It turns out that with more specific,

deeper dives you might not get as much as you thought you might or you could get hundreds more than a basic calculation suggests. I’m fortunate that I fall in the latter category But it took some time to learn that. It took snail mail, appointments, telephone calls — sometimes being on hold for two hours — and in-person office visits. I’m not done. There’s more. I have another appointment. But I can’t go to the New Orleans SSA office I know I have to go to Kenner That’s more than 14 miles and 24 minutes away from the office where I’ve seen my friendly, helpful reps.

It’s not as though I know the bureaucrats there by their first name, know their children or their birthdays. But I recognize them, I know when and where to park and what to expect as I sit in a chair to wait after walking through the metal detector

The office in Suite 500 at 400 Poydras St. in the Warehouse District has been closed since March 17 — “Due to construction.”

The official word is that the office is scheduled to reopen after the work is done on April 18.

Normally I’d believe that and move on. But the Trump-Musk fire-first, aimlater approach threatens nearly anything

stable. Including Social Security

“Yelpers report this location has closed,” a Yelp post says. They did not say temporarily, or due to construction Some think it’s been closed as a part of the lean and mean cuts. The office employees are working remotely, but it’s not the same. I’m going to Kenner to see someone.

Until recently people in the Houma region were able to visit the Suite 100 office at 178 Civic Center Blvd. with or without an appointment, just like in New Orleans. (WARNING: Appointments save you wait times as long as six hours.) Turns out there’s more to the story SSA told WWL, “This is a small hearings PRS, which is a room within another SSA office. As most of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many inperson hearings sites.”

I’m all for government assessments leading to greater efficiencies. But helping seniors get what they’re owed — without delay — is not a game. Trump, Musk and feds with a political antenna should realize it’s not worth upsetting seniors. Young people, check your status before they take away that service. Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

A dismal scorecard after two months of the Musk-Trump administration

If the remaining 46 months of Donald Trump’s resurrection resemble the first two, this administration will have a remarkably high ratio of theatrical action to substantial achievement. And it will exacerbate the fiscal incontinence that is the nation’s foremost domestic crisis.

Trump is the taunter of Canada, coveter of Greenland, threatener of Panama, renamer of the Gulf of Mexico, scourge of paper straws and demander that Major League Baseball “get off its fat, lazy ass” and enshrine Pete Rose in Cooperstown. He fulminates about everything. (Does he even know for what he promises to pardon Rose? Tax evasion, not betting on baseball.)

The in-your-face-all-the-time trophy goes, however to Trump’s apprentice The black-clad, chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk is a master of the angry adolescent’s dress and of the now-presidential penchant for vulgarity (“LITERALLY, F*** YOUR OWN FACE!” Musk responded with a meme to an X user who annoyed him.)

In this fiscal year’s first five months, beginning Oct. 1, the government borrowed $1.1 trillion almost $8 billion a day In February, the first full month of the Musk’s government-pruning “revolution,” borrowing was $308 billion because spending was $40 billion more — a 7% increase — over February 2024.

This is not Musk’s fault His “efficiency” crusade is a gnat nibbling at the elephantine government’s accelerating growth

Much attention has been given to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s monthly outlays being cut last month from $547 million in February 2024 to $226 million. But, the Financial

Times says, “a mere 3 % rise in monthly health care spending” cost an additional $5 billion. And a 6 % increase in Social Security outlays cost an additional $8 billion. And a $10 billion increase in the monthly cost of debt service brought the total for February alone to $86 billion.

Many of Musk’s DOGE firings, canceled grants and contracts, etc., are in the subjunctive mood, pending Congress’s awakening from its hibernation. And Musk’s theatricalities are impotent: Government spending will grow as long as baby boomers continue to retire, the population ages and Congress continues to enlarge the national debt with gargantuan budget deficits.

Debt service, says Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, is “the fastest growing budget line item.” It is larger than the Defense Department’s budget, larger than any expenditure other than Social Security. MacGuineas notes that House Republicans this month attached the debt ceiling increase “to a plan for more borrowing.”

Then there is the matter of Muskproof Medicaid, the expansion of which was the largest consequence of the otherwise-not-very-consequential Barack Obama presidency Created 60 years ago to cover poor parents and disabled people, it was expanded in 2010 by the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Today, in almost all the 40 states that have embraced federally subsidized expansion, Medicaid is the largest budget item. Nine states have “trigger” laws that would automatically reverse their Medicaid expansion if the federal contribution were substantially diminished

The Economist says Medicaid covers 72 million people, paying for 40 % of births and 60 % of nursing-home resi-

Abandoning DEI won’t fix academia’s left problem

The academic DEI apparatus that grew up over the past decade seems to be collapsing even more abruptly than it arrived Even the University of California system, a pioneer in using diversity statements to shape faculty hiring, just announced it will stop using them.

The diversity statement’s demise is a reminder that though the Trumpian remedy may be excessive and destructive, it aims to cure a real problem: These statements were often political litmus tests, one of many ways academia delivered the message “no conservatives need apply.” The intellectual monoculture this promoted was prone to groupthink and a political liability for institutions that depend heavily on public support No one should be sorry to see them go

But conservatives who are giddy about such victories should note that this is a very limited win. After all the diversity offices are renamed and the diversity statements withdrawn academia will remain near-monolithically left. This is a problem for conservatives on campus and an even bigger problem for society, because it takes a lot of scholarly expertise to maintain a modern industrial economy Scholarship that excludes half the available ideas isn’t up to the job — if only because such lopsided expertise can’t command the public trust. That problem can’t be cured, however, by forcing academia to abandon the most overt and annoying manifestations of its political skew Nor can the right simply demand that academia hire more conservatives, because in most disciplines there aren’t enough conservative Ph.D.s to staff ideologically balanced campuses, or even provide otherwise leftleaning campuses a vibrant conservative counterweight.

Getting to that point means rebuilding a pipeline of right-leaning academics that will have to start with graduate students and spit out full professors 20 years later Rational students know their CV and publications will often be reviewed by committed progressives looking for reasons to blackball. Even where that isn’t the case, there are subtler ways that majority groups inadvertently exclude minorities During job searches, they’ll need to be extra charming to overcome the fact that they won’t naturally come across as “one of us.”

The prize, if they succeed, will be to end up as the ideological oddball in a mostly left-of-center department. Many will look at the prospect and reasonably say, “No thanks.”

If you really want to rebalance academia, you’ll need something much more ambitious to overcome those human realities — something, in fact, that looks similar to what we call DEI.

dents. Medicaid is an important reason the median portion of state revenue coming from federal sources is, according to Tony Woodlief of the Center for Practical Federalism, “39 % and climbing.” Were the Musk-Trump administration to try cutting Medicaid, Congress might try to participate in government to protect this program. But, then, why bother pretending to participate? Before Trump’s inauguration, Congress passed an anti-TikTok law meticulously specific about the timetable for TikTok’s being either sold or banned. Trump, however, issued an executive order instructing the attorney general to disregard the timetable. From the Republican-controlled Congress came its anthem, Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”

The Constitution’s Article II says the president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” (emphasis added). Trump says, “I have an Article II, where I have a right to do whatever I want as president.”

Trump lost in 2020 because voters, weary of a political diet consisting of huge dollops of turmoil smothered in a gravy of malice, thought Joe Biden promised tranquility Trump won in 2024 partly because Biden whisperers convinced him that voters craved highoctane progressivism, from trilliondollar spending tranches to innumerable pronouns. In 2025, one party is prostrate before its Dear Leader, and the other is unembarrassed about pathetically waving a sign proclaiming “This is not normal.” This has become normal: In our two-party system, when one party drives itself into a ditch, the other swerves into the opposite one.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Imagine yourself as a university president desperate to diversify your school ideologically You’d want to convince prospective graduate students and faculty that your campus is a welcoming place for people like them, not a progressive hothouse where they’ll be left in the cold. Stern memos would warn professors of the importance of making their conservative students and colleagues feel included, and you should probably create a special campus center for conservatives where they can just relax and be together It might be worth conducting training, too, where your left-wing faculty are exposed to the basics of conservative thought so they won’t accidentally say something offensive.

While you’re at it, revamp your brochures and website to highlight the great times conservatives are having on campus. It would also be smart to create some scholarships aimed at pro-life or MAGA students, to ensure enough critical mass to form a community Armed with these materials, you can begin an aggressive outreach program to the places where conservatives are likely to be found, such as home-schooling communities and smaller religious schools And when you’re deciding between a conservative candidate and yet another progressive — well, shouldn’t the conservative candidate get a little “plus factor?”

This thought experiment isn’t just a warning to conservatives to think bigger It’s also a reminder that for all its excesses, DEI had its heart in the right place. Universities should want to “look like America” ideologically, economically and, yes, racially Building that kind of community from a country of 340 million wildly different people takes a lot more work than formally announcing you won’t discriminate. Which is also, of course, a reminder to progressives: They have failed to live up to their own beliefs. Progressives are right that majorities of any kind tend to exclude those who don’t fit the mold sometimes deliberately but often inadvertently And they’re right to push back when exclusionary majorities interpret their dominance as a sign that there’s something wrong with the excluded minority, rather than a problem with their own behavior If they took their own ideas seriously, progressives would have been the ones leading the charge for more ideological diversity rather than spearheading the efforts to oppress it.

Megan McArdle in on X, @asymmetricinfo.

George Will

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President Donald Trump and his efficiency czar, Elon Musk, want to trim the Social Security Administration by 12% across the board.

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LSU 17, UL 4

OVER AND OUT

LSU catcher Cade Arrambide celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against UL on Tuesday at Alex

Arrambide’s homer crashed off the left field video board and increased LSU’s lead to 5-1

LSU scores nine in first inning in lopsided win over UL in seven innings

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

It didn’t take long for LSU to take care of business against UL on Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.

Trailing 1-0, the Tigers scored nine runs in the first inning. The offensive onslaught was more than enough for LSU to take down the Ragin’ Cajuns 17-4 in seven innings.

Eight of the nine runs in the inning were charged to senior left-handed starter Andrew Herrmann. Despite holding opponents to a .234 batting average and holding a 3.54 ERA before Tuesday, he surrendered five hits, two walks and had just one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

Herrmann walked the first two batters he faced before allowing consecutive doubles to

juniors Daniel Dickinson and Ethan Frey The extra-base hits handed LSU a 3-1 lead.

The Georgia native appeared to settle down after that, getting a strikeout and a pop-out before freshman Cade Arrambide walked up to the plate.

On the first pitch of the at-bat, Herrmann left an off-speed pitch right down the middle that Arrambide didn’t miss. He blasted a two-run home run that

crashed off the left field video board and stretched LSU’s lead to 5-1.

Herrmann never came close to recovering after that, surrendering two singles and hitting a batter before coming out of the game for senior right-hander Matthew Holzhammer After falling behind in the count 1-0, he threw a low fastball that

See OVER, page 2C

‘Really scary’

LSU rolling through March Madness after another blowout win

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

A close first half sent Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff to the halftime break with confidence that her team could compete with LSU and maybe even score an upset, toppling a national title contender in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Yeah,” Wyckoff thought, “we’re in this.” Then that hope dissipated quickly Before the No. 6 seed Seminoles could blink the LSU women’s basketball team built a double-digit third-quarter lead, which set the foundation for the 101-71 rout that gave the third-seeded Tigers a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

“They came out of halftime on a mission,” Wyckoff said. “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.”

Until Monday no Division I team had scored at least 100 points in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games since 1988, according to ESPN. Then LSU caught fire in a lopsided third quarter, burying Florida State under the avalanche

LSU coach Kim Mulkey argues a call in the third quarter against Florida State during their NCAA Tournament second-round game Monday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center LSU defeated Florida State 101-71.

ä LSU vs. North Carolina State. 6:30 P.M. FRIDAy, ESPN

of offense it rode to another blowout win, another 100-point outing and another trip to the second weekend of the tournament.

The Tigers led only 50-49 after two quarters. But by the time the last horn sounded, they had built a 30-point win.

Before this season, LSU hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game by at least 30 points since 2008. Its largest tournament margin of victory so far in coach Kim Mulkey’s tenure was the 27-point advantage it earned in a win over Middle Tennessee, the No. 11 seed that faced the Tigers last season in the Round of 32. Now LSU’s two largest tourna-

ment wins of the past four seasons are its past two games.

The Tigers throttled No. 14 San Diego State by 55 points on Saturday before they raced past Florida State on Monday, clearing 100 points for the third time in the past four games. LSU has now enjoyed three of its four highest scoring games of this season (excluding the nonconference slate) in the past three weeks. In the first two rounds, no team in this NCAA Tournament field scored more points than the Tigers. Only one has a larger average margin of victory (42.5). What unlocked this version of LSU?

“Ball reversals,” senior guard Last-Tear Poa said. “Obviously, the last two games we’ve seen that

ä See LSU, page 3C

LSU bats awaken in 11-4 rout of Cajuns

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Neither offense did much until the bottom of the third inning. But once the UL Ragin’ Cajuns scratched for four runs in that inning, it somehow opened the floodgates for LSU’s powerful offense. The No. 3-ranked Tigers responded to those four runs with six in the fourth and five more in the fifth on their way to an 11-4 over the Cajuns on Tuesday at Lamson Park in Lafayette.

LSU improved to 30-2 on the season with the win, while the Cajuns dropped to 16-15.

The Tigers return to SEC play with a home series against South Carolina starting Friday UL hits the road to meet Coastal Carolina on Friday in Sun Belt play UL’s third inning began with a single from Mia Liscano and a sacrifice bunt from Eric Ardoin. But Ardoin was called back to the plate because of an illegal pitch, and Ardoin lined into a double play Still, the Cajuns collected four runs in the inning. It began with a fielding error and a Dayzja Williams’ single to right ahead of a walk to Cecilia Vasquez.

Emily Smith delivered the big blow with a three-run double to center Sam Roe followed with an RBI single for a 4-0 Cajuns lead. Somehow that woke up LSU’s bats. UL starting pitcher Tyra Clary opened the Tigers’ fourth by walking the leadoff batter A ground ball was then booted at second base three batters later Other than that, LSU’s bats flexed in the frame with an RBI double by McKenzie Redoutey, Avery Hodge’s two-run homer to right and Maci Bergeron’s run-scoring single to left for a 6-4 Tigers lead. In the fifth inning, UL’s crowd and

ä See BATS, page 3C

Getting physical on OL priority for LSU

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

As he watched LSU’s offensive line on film last season, Jack Pyburn said he thought the group struggled with physicality Pyburn, a Florida defensive end at the time, was on to something.

LSU allowed a season-high seven sacks and 11 tackles for losses in a 27-16 defeat to the Gators But since transferring to LSU, Pyburn said he’s noticed a difference.

“I feel like the offensive line has come off the ball much more physically,” Pyburn said.

“They’re trying to emphasize the run.

“They’re trying to establish physicality, which is something that I know last year was a struggle with them.

“The more I see it, the more excited I am because those guys are really coming at us and making it a challenge.”

Physicality has been a priority as LSU tries to improve the offense, particularly in the run game. The Tigers were unbalanced last season without a consistent rushing attack, putting a lot on first-year starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and making it more difficult to score LSU averaged 116.4 yards rushing per game, which ranked 107th in the FBS. Partially as a result, it scored touchdowns 56.6% of the time in the red zone.

LSU coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan

both acknowledged LSU needs to be more physical. Kelly said “it’s just a mindset that we lacked at times last year.” Sloan said establishing physicality begins with the offensive line, but LSU also has to work with its receivers on their perimeter blocking.

“When they’re doing it up front, then it carries over to receivers,” Sloan said. “The way we’ve been blocking on the perimeter, I think that’s changing. That’s a massive piece to what we need to do for our offense, and it opens up so many different things. But I definitely think it’s going to start up front and the emphasis on coming off the ball and moving people.”

In order to do that, Sloan made some adjustments within the offense.

On Friday, he said during a presentation about play-action passes at LSU’s coaches clinic that the team presented different looks to defenses but ran the same routes out of them after struggling to throw the ball downfield in 2022. LSU’s passing game turned into one of the best in the country with quarterback Jayden Daniels a year later and Sloan wants to apply a similar concept to the run game.

“I think the whole thing is simplicity, showing the same pictures to the offense and then letting them execute in those situations,” Sloan said. “That’s where you bring out their physicality That’s where you bring out

See PHYSICAL, page 2C

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Box Stadium.

76ers’ Butler appreciates NBA journey

Reserve native now starting for Philadelphia

BY ROD WALKER Sports columnist

made look so easy Like this time four years ago when he marched right through all the madness of March to lead Baylor to its first national championship while earning Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four He still gets emotional today watching the NCAA Tournament And there were the steps that weren’t so easy Just a few months after that magical Final Four run, he waited longer than expected to hear his name called at his NBA draft party at the Belle Terre Country Club in LaPlace. He fell to the second round, starting his roller coaster of an NBA ride. Butler, a Reserve native, is now with his fourth NBA team in as many seasons. His NBA career started with the Utah Jazz with stops along the way with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards. He’s played on two-way contracts, bouncing back and forth some between the NBA and the G League.

But through it all, the former Times Picayune Player of the Year after a stellar high school career at Riverside Academy, has endured

“It’s been a journey for sure,” Butler said Monday night. “Ups and downs. Some highs and lows. I think the Lord has been faithful and allowed me to have some opportunities and allowed me to capitalize on some opportunities.”

He’s been with the 76ers for about six weeks now, acquired in a February trade with the Wizards for Reggie Jackson. That trade led Butler back to Louisiana on Monday when the 76ers came to New Orleans to play the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center

This was Butler’s second trip to

PHYSICAL

Continued from page 1C

their violence. If we can continue to do that and build that way and be confusing for the defense but simple for us, our guys can go play fast.

“We’re trying to create that for them, but we’ve got to be multiple in the run game.”

Nussmeier also has a responsibility He was hesitant to run last season, something he continues to work on, and he said he needed to improve how he managed the running game.

“Garrett needs to run more. He knows that, right? That’s something that we’ve talked about,” Sloan said. “But Garrett’s not going to run for 1,000 yards next year I don’t think you guys need to worry about that. So, we need

Smoothie King Center this season.

He played a game here while with the Wizards in early January, but only logged a little more than a minute in that one. This time he was a starter

“Other times I came here, I wasn’t playing a ton,” Butler said.

“Those times it was more like ‘I wish I could be out there playing.’

So I’m glad I got some burn today and just thankful for that.”

It was Butler’s ninth start since joining the 76ers.

“He’s really got some game,”

76ers coach Nick Nurse said of the 6-foot-3 guard. “He really knows how to play the game. I like that he’s a true point guard.

He sees a lot of the situations. He’s a good leader and really great as a

coach on the floor and in timeouts. A really positive force. So we are just giving him as many minutes as he can handle right now to see if he can improve.”

Butler finished with a team-high 19 points, the second most he’s scored in a 76ers’ uniform His career-high is 26, scored with the Wizards in January

In addition to his 19 points in Monday’s 112-99 loss to the Pelicans Butler also had two rebounds, two assists and two steals He shot 8 of 16 from the floor, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. The three 3-pointers also tied a season high. Butler estimates he had about 25 family members and friends in attendance. It included his parents

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU offensive lineman Braelin Moore blocks fellow offensive lineman Carius Curne during a spring practice on Saturday.

to be multiple in our run attack and be able to attack people in different ways.” That would make a difference

in the red zone, an area where LSU struggled last season. LSU ranked 74th nationally and 14th in the SEC in red zone touchdown

Richard and Juanea, who wore their No. 12 76ers jerseys in section 113. They have watched their son play in this arena before, back when Butler was in the fifth grade just dreaming of one day playing in the NBA.

“You think about it and now I’m starting in the NBA,” Butler said. “It’s really crazy.”

Only 10 games remain this season. The 76ers have long been eliminated from playoff contention. So Butler’s goal for what’s left in his fourth NBA season?

“Just get better and use this as a runway to the next season,” he said.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

percentage, the lowest mark in three years under Kelly Sloan pointed to a few elements that LSU needs to work on in the red zone. LSU has to block the extra defender who would otherwise account for the quarterback, develop the quarterback run game, improve the perimeter blocking with receivers and attack in different ways. He also said LSU needs to make sure it can scheme one-on-one chances for its best playmakers.

“It’s something we’ll focus on from now all the way through the season, and we know we’ve got to be great there,” Sloan said. “Because we’re going to be in a lot of games that come down to the fourth quarter, and it’s going to be about, ‘did you settle for three (points), or did you get (seven),’ a couple of those times when you had those trips? I think that will be key for us.”

McNeese State names Armstrong new coach

LAKE CHARLES Bill Armstrong, a former associate head coach with Will Wade at LSU, was named McNeese State’s new baskeball coach, athletic director Heath Schroyer announced Tuesday Armstrong, an assistant at Baylor last season, replaces Wade who was named the coach at North Carolina State on Tuesday A news conference to introduce Armstrong will be held at noon Wednesday in the Legacy Center Armstrong spent the 2024-25 season at Baylor Before that, Armstrong served as the associate head coach at LSU from 2020-22 after spending three years in Baton Rouge as an assistant coach from 2017-20. Before his time at LSU, Armstrong spent 11 seasons at Ole Miss, five as the director of basketball operations and six as assistant coach.

Bibby hired to coach Sacramento State

Former Sacramento Kings star

Mike Bibby was hired to take over the struggling basketball team at Sacramento State.

Athletic director Mark Orr announced the move on Tuesday, saying he believed that Bibby can help generate excitement for the program.

“Since 2001, Sacramento has felt like home to me,” Bibby said in a statement. “The people, the fans and the passion they have for the city and their teams is unmatched. I have always felt that passion, and will always be thankful for how I was embraced.”

Bibby won an NCAA title as a player at Arizona in 1997 and then starred in the NBA for 14 seasons, with his biggest success coming in seven seasons with the Kings.

UConn star says she’ll return next season

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn women’s basketball star Azzi Fudd announced Tuesday that she will return to use her redshirt season of eligibility with the Huskies in 2025-26.

Fudd signed with UConn as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, but the 5-foot-11 guard has appeared in just 72 games with injuries limiting her for extended periods in the past four years.

Fudd appeared in two games in 2023-24 before suffering a seasonending injury, and she didn’t return to the court until UConn’s Nov. 20 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Since returning, Fudd is the third-highest scorer on the team averaging 13.4 points, and she leads the Huskies in 3-point percentage.

No. 1 women’s recruit commits to Oklahoma

LUBBOCK, Texas Aaliyah Chavez, the top-rated women’s basketball recruit in the county, committed to Oklahoma on Tuesday She made her announcement the day after the Sooners advanced to the women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013.

Chavez, a 5-foot-11 point guard who recently led Lubbock Monterey High School to a Texas state championship, picked the Sooners over power programs South Carolina, Texas, LSU and her hometown university Texas Tech. Chavez is rated by ESPN HoopGurlz as the No. 1 recruit in the nation in the class of 2025. She was the Naismith and Gatorade national player of the year and a McDonald’s All-American.

junior Jared Jones cleaned out for a grand slam. The blast gave LSU a 9-1 lead and was the 51st home run of Jones’ career, placing him seventh on LSU’s all-time career homers list. The Tigers went on to score a run in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth to take a 15-4 lead. Every starter had a hit for LSU (23-3). Arrambide was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. Sophomore Steven Milam also went 2 for 4 with a run-scoring single.

LSU’s big first inning overshadowed a good start for the Cajuns attack. UL (11-15) put runs on the board in three of the opening four innings. Senior Jose Torres reached

on an error that scored a run in the first inning before sophomore Sam Ardoin shot a run-scoring double in the second that cut the LSU lead to seven. Both runs came off right-handed starter Jaden Noot. Noot lasted three innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out two batters.

Freshman right-hander William Schmidt replaced him in the fourth and allowed two runs on a wild pitch and a run-scoring single from freshman Brooks Wright, a teammate of Schmidt’s last season at Catholic High The runs cut the UL deficit to 9-4. Junior Caleb Stelly, freshman Owen Galt and Ardoin led the Cajuns with two hits apiece. LSU resumes Southeastern Conference play on Thursday when the Tigers host Mississippi State at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on

Saint Francis moving to Division III in ‘26

LORETTO, Pa. The first run to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament in more than 30 years by Saint Francis (Pa.) could also be its last. The school announced Tuesday it would move from Division I to Division III in the summer of 2026. The announcement comes a week after the Red Flash played in March Madness for the first time since 1990. The Northeastern Conference Tournament champions were edged by Alabama State in the First Four on a last-second layup. The private Catholic school, with an

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Josh Jordan sends left fielder Derek Curielhome to score against UL on Tuesday at Alex Box Stadium.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared Butler gets through the New Orleans Pelicans defense for two points during a game at the Smoothie King Center on Monday.

Women’s tourney not ready for expansion

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

Expanding the men’s NCAA Tournament would not be a good move for women’s March Madness.

The numbers don’t add up, though that may not matter If the men’s field expands to 72 or 76 teams as has been a topic of conversation the last few months, it would be almost a foregone conclusion that the women’s field would grow as well for equity reasons. Though it is questionable whether the men’s tourney is ready for expansion, it seems clear women’s March Madness is not. It’s not ready from a competitive or a financial standpoint.

Consider this: The first round of the women’s tourney this year featured a near record number of blowouts and noncompetitive games; six teams scored over 100 points in the opening two days; there were a handful of 50-point routs; and for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994, no team seeded 11 or worse advanced to the second round.

Coaches, however, have mixed feelings on expansion. For some, it depends on who gets in with any additional spots.

“Expanding the tournament? Who doesn’t look forward to March to watching six more teams, 4-12 in their league, playing for the national championship,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma sarcastically quipped He later warmed up to the idea if it gives potentially more mid-major teams a chance.

“If that was going to be the case, hey, we want to expand by 32 more teams. 20 of those 32 are going to be mid-majors that had great years, let’s let them in,” he said. “Do you really think that’s going to happen? No,” adding if that were to happen, “I’d be all for it.”

Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell wouldn’t mind seeing more teams get in.

His Bulldogs were on the outside looking in last year, ending up on the wrong side of the bubble. This year, they got in after navigating a competitive Southeastern Conference schedule.

“I think there is lots of good teams that you see that didn’t get in,” he said.

“Obviously I’m one of those teams that is always on the back end because of how tough my conference is, especially as we continue to add more powerful members.”

Of course there are procedural steps to take before anything happens. For example, if the NCAA were to expand the 2026 tournament they would need to get it done by this spring. For that to even be considered, either the men’s or women’s basketball selection committee would have to put forth the recommendation. Then it would need approval by the Division I Board of Directors.

And if every domino falls into place, looming on the horizon would be the potential to weaken the competition and dilute earnings.

This year, 37 of the 68 teams came from the Power Four conferences. The Ivy League was the only other conference to get more than two bids. The first four teams left out of the field were Virginia Tech, James Madison, Saint Joseph’s and Colorado; two more power conference schools and two mid-majors.

There there’s the money.

Women’s teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament received “units” — financial incentives for tournament appearances for the first time. Adding teams without adding more money from the NCAA’s television partner ESPN would lessen the value of those financial units for each team There is no chance that either the women’s or men’s tournament would expand if it would decrease unit value.

Adding teams would also raise NCAA costs which could impact charter flights, hotels, buses, food and other expenses associated with teams in the tournament that are paid for by the sports’ governing body Schools like William & Mary and Columbia both competed in the play-in games Both were victorious earning an extra $250,000 for their conferences over the next three years through the financial units. Add in another four to eight teams and the value of those units would decrease. Instead of expanding the field, reseeding the field could be a more viable option The NCAA could create brackets that allow 16 seeds to compete in more play-in games, leading to more competitive early round games and more distribution of the money As it is now, two of the four playin games involve 16 seeds. This year 16th-seeded Southern beat UC San Diego by 12 and William & Mary, another 16 seed, won by six in its game. By contrast, the average margin of victory in the first-round games featuring No. 1 seeds against 16 seeds was 47 points. In the history of the women’s tournament, Harvard is the only 16 seed to beat No. 1 seed when The Crimson upset Stanford in 1998. Even then, there were extenuating circumstances: The Cardinal had several players injured and no one to contain three-time Ivy league player of the year Allison Feaster, who was the fifth overall pick in the 1998 WNBA. Now the vice president of team operations and organizational growth for the Boston Celtics, she is also the mom of current stellar UConn freshman Sarah Strong. With the women’s tournament enjoying increased popularity and flourishing monetarily, it might seem like the time to branch out. But the numbers just don’t add up on or off the court

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every time we reverse the ball, we score.” Florida State kept sending extra defenders to LSU’s three stars. Yet each of them evaded that added pressure by dishing quick, decisive passes to open teammates, either from one side of the court to the other or through tight windows in the paint.

The five Tigers starters combined to record 19 assists.

LSU assisted at least 20 shots in only two of its 16 SEC games this season, but now it’s hit that mark in both of its NCAA Tournament contests. Against Florida State, the Tigers tallied a tournament-program-record 29 assists also their highest total in any game across the past 17 seasons.

Against conference foes in the regular season, LSU assisted 46% of its field goals — one of the three lowest rates in the SEC.

Across the first two rounds of the bracket, the Tigers assisted 64% of their baskets — one of the 15 highest rates

in the 68-team tournament field.

“During the (regular) season when we were beating teams, we were fighting for it,” LSU’s Mikaylah Williams said “But I mean, when everybody does their job and everybody executes, we get teams with these big margins, and we get to rest, and everybody’s having fun, and everybody’s eating and getting theirs.”

That’s especially true for Sa’Myah Smith, the 6-foot2 forward who scored in double figures just twice from the start of January through the end of the regular season. Across LSU’s two NCAA Tournament games, however, the sophomore scored 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, to pair with 20 rebounds, seven assists three steals and a block.

Other contributors have elevated their games as well.

Senior point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson drained a season-high three 3-pointers on Saturday, then logged 17 second-half minutes on Monday, driving the LSU transition offense through one of its most productive stretches of the year Foul trouble forced LSU to

USC’s title hopes take hit with loss of Watkins

BY BETH HARRIS AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES If Southern California wants to win its first national championship in 41 years, the Trojans will have to find a way to get it done without star guard JuJu Watkins.

They notched their 30th win for the first time since 1986 by walloping ninthseeded Mississippi State 96-59 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. But they lost Watkins to a season-ending right knee injury in the first quarter

She was streaking down the court on a fast break with two Bulldogs defenders nearby when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right foot. She immediately crumpled to the court. Watkins had to be carried off, unable to put any weight on her leg. She will have surgery and then rehabilitate, USC said, without specifying her injury

The sight of Watkins writhing in pain on the court, holding her injured knee while her teammates stood around her and coach Lindsay Gottlieb rushed to the 19-yearold’s side shocked the crowd of 7,808 at Galen Center

“JuJu is a generational talent,” Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan said “She’s changed the game in so many ways at such a young age. Seeing her go down was really tough I said my prayers for her.”

Losing Watkins just five minutes in on a non-contact play turned the home fans angry and they booed the Bulldogs the rest of the

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game. At halftime, they jeered the MSU cheerleaders’ routine.

“You had to be here to feel it,” Gottlieb said. “I don’t know if people saw that through the TV but it was a palpable thing.”

The top-seeded Trojans, meanwhile, were all business. Buoyed by the raucous crowd, they hit buzzer-beating shots at the end of the first, second and third quarters and ran their lead to 46 points in the fourth.

“I wouldn’t say this is our defining moment,” said Kiki Iriafen, who scored a season-high 36 points. “It’s what we expect of ourselves. We expect to win in this tournament regardless if it’s going our way, we have people, we don’t have people. That’s the standard here.”

Next up is the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Washington, where the Trojans (30-3) play fifthseeded Kansas State (28-7) on Friday

USC has yet to know what it’s like playing without one of the biggest stars in college basketball. Watkins started all 34 games as a freshman, leading the Trojans to the Elite Eight while boosting attendance with strong support from her nearby community of Watts.

“I hope she can at some point see just the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what’s really generational about it, the way she’s galvanized everyone, and the way that her team had her back and also really is a team.”

This year was supposed to be about winning it all.

It still could be, but the picture looks a lot different without Watkins.

Iriafen, a Stanford graduate transfer, showed what she can do without her running mate, shooting 16-of-22 to go with nine rebounds.

“Kiki is one of the best players in the country She was electric,” Bulldogs coach Sam Purcell said. “We had our center on her, our guard on her, we doubled her we went 2-3, we went man-to-man, we trapped her We never stopped her.” USC had five players in double figures against the Bulldogs, including three freshmen. One of them, Kaleigh Heckel, along with sophomore Malia Samuels, ran the offense in Watkins’ absence. They combined for nine assists, five steals and two turnovers. Heckel also scored 13 points and had six assists.

Another freshman, Avery Howell, tied her career high with 18 points and had four 3-pointers and six assists. A third freshman, Kennedy Smith, had 10 points and five steals.

“We have a pretty big role this year,” Howell said. “We’re prepared for most moments because of the time we’re given in games and how hard we work in practice.”

The Trojans won their first two tournament games by a combined 83 points.

“We will make sure that we’re pouring into this team, to JuJu and keeping us together because as you saw we are capable of a lot of greatness,” Gottlieb said. “That’s what will continue to be the message to our team.”

play the whole second quarter of the win over Florida State without both Williams and Flau’jae Johnson.

Yet the Tigers managed to preserve their lead in that frame, in large part because reserve guards Jada Richard, Kailyn Gilbert and Mjracle Sheppard combined to score 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Add those contributions to the ones LSU has received so far from Williams, Flau’jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow, and you’ll have the makings of a team that can win two more games and reach the Final Four for the second time in three seasons.

Though No 2 seed North Carolina State will certainly try on Friday in the Sweet 16, not many opponents can compete with the LSU team that emerged from the locker room before the second half of the second-round win over Florida State.

Just ask Wyckoff, whose Seminoles couldn’t find any answers for the Tigers.

“They played phenomenal,” Wyckoff said. “I mean, 29 assists and 52 points in the paint. That’s a team that’s really scary moving forward.”

dugout went to verbal warfare with home plate umpire Johnny Paz, who ejected UL assistant coach Lacy Prejean from the game. UL reliever Mallory Wheeler walked in two runs to make it 8-4 and bring on Bethaney Noble. Bergeron greeted her with

a three-run double to rightcenter for a commanding 11-4 LSU lead. It was only LSU’s second hit in the fiverun inning that put the Tigers on easy street. In the circle McNeese State transfer Ashley Vallejo got the start for the Tigers. She didn’t last long enough to get a decision, giving up four unearned runs on four hits, one walk and one strikeout in 22/3 innings. Jayden Heavener’s relief effort stabilized things for LSU, limiting UL’s offense to no runs on two hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 41/3 innings to get the win. Clary ended up allowing four runs on five hits four walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings to get the loss. Replacing injured left fielder Kayla Falterman, Dayzja Williams collected two singles in the Falterman’s familiar two-hole to account for UL’s only multi-hit game.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Mikaylah Williams yells to the student’s section after a basket against Florida State on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JESSIE ALCHEH Southern California guard JuJu Watkins reacts on the floor after an injury during the first half against Mississippi State in the NCAA tournament on Monday in Los Angeles.

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT

‘Just win and advance’

Sampson knows Houston can beat teams in variety of ways

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP basketball writer

Houston and Gonzaga met in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup last weekend in Wichita, Kansas, that could as easily have been played in the Final Four, the way Kelvin Sampson’s and Mark Few’s teams had played throughout the season.

The Cougars were No. 1 in scoring defense, more than a half-point better than the next-best team.

The Bulldogs were No. 2 in scoring offense, trailing only Alabama in putting up nearly 87 points per game. Yet one of the biggest reasons that Houston was able to advance to the Sweet 16 with an 81-76 victory over the Bulldogs was its ability to play any style of basketball. Sure, the Cougars managed to hold Gonzaga nearly 10 points below its season average, but they also ramped up their own scoring, proving that they are more than just a bunch of defensive stoppers. “Just win and advance,” Sampson said afterward. “Do what it takes. That’s all that matters.”

Throughout the 68-team field, those that were able to survive the first weekend were often those that were willing to change things up if the moment dictated it. The defensive dynamo was able to get into

transition and pile up points, or the team that loves to score buckled down at the other end of the floor, making life difficult for its unsuspecting opponent.

That has been the case with Ole Miss so far in the tournament.

The Rebels rolled into the postseason in the top 50 nationally in scoring, but their defense was middling at best: 175th out of the 364 teams in men’s Division I basketball.

Yet the same bunch who scored 98 points against Kentucky and 100 against Oral Roberts in the regular season stifled North Carolina in a 71-64 first-round win, then held Iowa State below its season scoring average in a 91-78 victory that pushed Ole Miss into the regional semifinals.

“Their defensive versatility is terrific,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger marveled afterward.

“Their switch ability — guards on bigs, bigs on guards. They do a great job. Their defense really tries to frustrate you by not allowing the ball to get in the paint and trying to keep it on one side of the floor And when they’re at their best, they’re doing that really well.”

It will take Ole Miss doing it at their best with Michigan State up next; the Spartans are among the most versatile of any team left.

They are top 50 in both scoring and defense, and they showed it off last weekend, putting up 87 points against Bryant and holding New Mexico to 63 in a pair of wins.

“We’re just a team that can play multiple ways,” the Spartans’ Jaden Akins said.

So is Duke, which was fourth nationally in scoring and sixth in scoring defense. And when you have that combination, the results in the opening weekend were not surprising: 93-49 over Mount St. Mary’s and 89-66 over Baylor Kentucky was sixth nationally in scoring this season, but coach Mark Pope’s bunch — 315th in scoring defense — played a more patient game with plenty of success in a 76-57 first-round win over Wofford.

It wasn’t a surprise that Arizona averaged 90 points in wins over Akron and Oregon, but it may have been that the Wildcats held the Zips to just 65 in the first round.

Then there’s Alabama, which looked every bit like the nation’s highest-scoring team in a tougher-than-expected first-round win over Robert Morris and a secondround blitz of Saint Mary’s. But the Crimson Tide also looked a lot like, say Houston the way it defended the Gaels, holding them to just 66 points in advancing to the Sweet 16.

Auburn’s depth helps it shrug off a late-season lull

BY GARY B GRAVES Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Auburn has brushed off a late-season lull that had some questioning whether the Tigers deserved their top billing as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, Auburn is in its first Sweet 16 since 2019 looking to top that Final Four run with its first national championship. Most notable in this run is the different Tigers stepping up to help Associated Press All-American Johni Broome carry the load.

Broome’s scoring is down to 11 points per game in March Madness from his average of 18.9 — including just eight in the Tigers’ second-round comeback victory over No. 9 seed Creighton — his 11.5 rebounds are up slightly from his 10.6 average coming in.

Offense matters in the postseason, and Broome is encouraged his teammates made sure he has a chance to bounce back against No. 5 seed Michigan in the South Region semifinal on Friday night in Atlanta.

“I came here to win,” Broome said. “This season is about winning. I know my teammates got my back, and they know I have theirs.”

Auburn’s bench has stepped up the most, outscoring No. 16 seed Alabama State and Creighton by a 61-24 combined margin in the opening weekend.

Guard Tahaad Pettiford provided the biggest boost scoring 39 combined points off the bench, including a freshman school-record 23 against Creighton.

Senior forward Chaney Johnson contributed 13 against the Bluejays and 21 points through two games.

“My guys helped me get the ball, get me open and find the shots that I wanted to get,” said Pettiford, who had 16 after halftime.

Auburn’s starters have had their moments.

Guard Miles Kelly did the heavy lifting in an opening victory over Alabama State with 23 points keyed by 7-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. Denver Jones scored 15 against Creighton, including both 3-point attempts in a game that featured 16 lead changes and seven ties.

Forward Chad Baker-Mazara

jump-started the second-half rally by scoring 12 of the Tigers’ first 16 points over six minutes with Pettiford jumping in. Auburn shot 60% after halftime and committed just seven turnovers.

“My coaches and teammates kept helping me, telling me they believed in me,” the emotional Baker-Mazara told media in the locker room after the game. He finished with 17 points and an ice pack on his right hip after landing hard while being fouled.

Baker-Mazara has emphasized

Auburn’s ability to spread the ball around along with the Tigers creating opportunities every chance they get.

Coach Bruce Pearl credits a veteran core but noted that winning in the NCAA Tournament has instilled confidence that he hopes to build on.

“I’m really happy for this group because they’ve been so good over the last three or four years and now to get awarded by getting to really feel like we’re playing for a national championship,” Pearl told CBS. Something had to give for Auburn after losing three of four entering the NCAA Tournament, including to Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals. On the other hand, the SEC has seven teams in the Sweet 16 as proof of the league’s most competitive season ever

“We went back home and made a couple changes that we had to do,” Baker-Mazara said last week. “So now we just keep going, doing the right things and listening to the coaches.” He added, “It’s special but the job isn’t done.

“We’ve got to go back to the lab, fix a couple things and get ready for Michigan.”

Wade thankful for a 2nd power-conference shot

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

RALEIGH, N.C. — Will Wade stood on stage, hearing the applause from Wolfpack supporters enthralled with his vision of turning a tradition-rich men’s basketball program back into a consistent Atlantic Coast Conference winner

The appreciation was mutual. Three years had passed since Wade’s firing at LSU over allegations of money-fueled recruiting violations, which came amid a federal corruption investigation into the sport that had coincidentally entangled N.C. State among multiple programs nationally.

Now, he’s back in a power-conference job, this time in a very different college landscape.

“I’d be lying if I told you I thought three years ago that I knew an opportunity like this would come again,” Wade said during his introductory news conference Tuesday “I did not, I did not. I’m thankful.”

There’s never been any questioning the coaching chops for the 42-year-old Wade, who started as Chattanooga’s head coach at 30 and has seven NCAA bids through eight tournaments in stops at VCU, LSU and McNeese. His ouster at LSU, however offered baggage that made him a pariah as he sat out of coaching for a year, then served a 10-game NCAA suspension to start his McNeese tenure. In that regard, there were two elements that stood out Tuesday for Wade, who stood on the Reynolds Coliseum stage in a gray suit sporting a red-and-white striped tie to go with a Wolfpack lapel pin There was still brash confidence,

KRUPA

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES

McNeese State coach Will Wade questions a call during the first half against Purdue on Saturday in Providence, R.I.

sure, with promises of next-year success. There were also offerings of humility and contrition. He thanked McNeese for taking “a chance” on him. He promised a passionate approach here “without all the arrogance that got me in trouble,” adding N.C. State would “get the best version of me.”

‘I paid for it’

During a later interview with The Associated Press, Wade also refused to use today’s changed climate in the sport — with allegations of payments tied to Wade’s LSU ouster essentially legal now with college athletes allowed to profit from their fame — as a pass.

“That to me is a cop-out,” Wade told the AP “When I was doing that, it was illegal. Just because it’s legal now doesn’t mean it was the

right thing to do then. And I think that’s the way that some people rationalize some things, but that’s not the reality of what it was. It wasn’t right to do then and, you know I paid for it.”

Specifically, suspicions of wrongdoing had followed Wade since 2019 reports about leaked excerpts of an FBI wiretap capturing Wade speaking with a person convicted of funneling illegal payments to the families of recruits. In transcripts, Wade discussed presenting a “strong” offer to an apparent third party who represented thenLSU player Javonte Smart. Wade said during his news conference that the LSU aftermath forced him to have “some hard conversations” with himself. Wolfpack athletic director Boo Corrigan needed to hear about those, too, when he met with Wade in

Houston during the search.

“To hear him be repentant for what occurred, to hear him own what occurred, to hear him talk about what he’s learned,” Corrigan told the AP “Think about it: how hard is it when you’re 35 years old, you’re making millions of dollars, you’ve never lost and everyone’s on you saying how great you are.

Imagine your ego gets bigger and bigger and bigger

“I think it’s one of those (things) that he’s learned it’s not him, it’s what he does and everyone around him. He was just really, really good when we were there.”

Regardless, Wade’s self-belief remains intact.

“You’ve still got to have the same confidence, but it’s not a cockiness or an arrogance to the sense of you’re never going to get caught or nothing’s ever going to (happen),” Wade told the AP “That’s where the line is.”

Pushing the Pack

The Wolfpack announced Wade’s hiring Sunday, a day after his McNeese team fell to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a first-round upset of Clemson. It completed a smooth search process for the Wolfpack and Corrigan, who replaced the fired Kevin Keatts with a coach with a vocal top-choice backing among N.C. State fans on social media — down to it’s meant-to-be mentions of the fittingly named Wade Avenue running right by the Wolfpack’s home arena in Raleigh.

N.C. State had three NCAA trips in eight seasons under Keatts, and was positioned for another before the COVID-19 pandemic forced

the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament. And Keatts last year directed the wildest of rides, with N.C. State improbably winning its first ACC Tournament title since 1987 and its first Final Four trip since the late Jim Valvano’s “Cardiac Pack” did it in an improbable 1983 NCAA title run.

But this year’s season was a 12-19 crashout, a continuing trend of the program being unable to sustain consistent success. And it comes within the tough-neighborhood dynamic of building a winning program in the Triangle region in North Carolina, where UNC, Duke and N.C. State — boasting a combined 13 NCAA championships — share the 919 area code and are all within a half-hour’s drive of one another Wade isn’t deterred by that challenge. And when it came to oncourt topics, Wade had the select group of Wolfpack donors and supporters attending the news conference downright bubbly

“Everybody’s singing from the same sheet of music,” he said during his news conference. “When that happens at N.C. State, there’s going to be a reckoning for the ACC, there’s going to be a reckoning for college basketball. And it’s coming. And it’s coming soon.

“I want to be very clear: this is not a rebuild. We’re going to be in the top part of the ACC next year and we’re going to the NCAA Tournament.” Supporters broke into immediate applause and yelps of glee. Then Wade pounced on the chance to double down. “Make sure you got that on camera,” he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TRAVIS HEyING

Houston guard Emanuel Sharp reacts after a foul by Gonzaga forward Graham Ike, right, during the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Wichita, Kan.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara, left, high-fives Tahaad Pettiford after he was fouled Saturday against Creighton.

THE VARSITY ZONE

Windups to weights

ACHS pitcher turns focus to state powerlifting

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH

Staff writer

Forman signs with Lamar; Zachary girls rated No. 1

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

To say it has been a memorable few weeks for Shaila Forman is no understatement.

Southern Lab’s senior star added one more accomplishment Monday night. She signed with Lamar University after leading the Kittens to their third Division IV select title in four years earlier this month.

Notebook

Forman’s college decision came roughly 48 hours after she was selected the MVP of the LHSCA’s East-West All-Star game played in Lake Charles.

“The coach (Lamar’s Aqua Franklin) did a good job of explaining to me what my role would be if I came there,” Forman said. “I could see where I am going to fit in their system.

“That was important to me. I also know the things I need to work on before I get there. I feel good about my decision.”

The 5-foot-10 Forman averaged 22 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Kittens. She missed her junior season with a torn ACL and came back to play more of an inside role but occasionally also played in the backcourt.

Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State were among the other schools Forman, the daughter of former SLHS boys star Shannon Forman, considered.

Broncos are No. 1

Two weeks after winning the school’s first girls basketball title in 98 years, Zachary claimed the No. 1 ranking in the final Sports Illustrated/si.com Louisiana poll released earlier this week.

The Broncos (26-4) were ranked fourth in the poll that includes teams from all classes before beating Parkway of Bossier City to win the Division I nonselect title in Hammond. Lafayette Christian was No. 2, followed

by Monroe-based Wossman at No. 3. Division IV select champion Southern Lab (fifth) and Division I select runner-up Woodlawn were the other Baton Rouge schools in the top 10. Also of note, Zachary and Wossman (Division II nonselect) were the only schools to sweep boys/girls basketball titles this spring.

BY STEVE MEGARGEE AP sportswriter

pre-meet favorites.

“It’s two different kind of challenges,” Melancon said of his two current sports.

“I feel like we are starting to put everything together as a team.

Mace Melancon already completed one sports star turn three days ago. The right-hander recorded a complete game as Class 1A Ascension Catholic defeated 5A Dutchtown 4-1 in a nondistrict baseball ga me between Ascension Parish rivals. Melancon has not touched a baseball since Saturday He won’t do any practice tosses until Thursday That’s because another possible star turn looms.

The LHSAA state powerlifting meet is Melancon’s focus now The senior hopes to lead the Bulldogs to a Division V team title on Wednesday Boys competition for Division IV-V begins at 10 a.m. at the Pontchartrain Center Wednesday’s action kicks off the four-day meet that concludes Saturday with competition for Division I, II, III boys. The Bulldogs Cedar Creek and Sacred Heart of Ville Platte are

“In baseball, it’s all about taking care of my arm, since the only thing I do for the team is pitch.

“Powerlifting is a total body thing. It forces me to take care of my body in every way You have to make weight and perfect your technique.”

Melancon enters the meet as the top seed at 198 pounds. He qualified with a three-lift total of 1,445 pounds. That includes a squat of 600 pounds, bench press of 315 and a deadlift of 530 pounds.

So instead of mixing pitches, Melancon’s focus is a concerted effort to go beyond his limits one final time as a high school powerlifter

He enters the meet with the top qualifying total in the 198-pound weight class — a total that is over 100 pounds better than the next closest competitor

Though individual accolades are nice, winning a team title with his Bulldog teammates is the ultimate goal.

“I feel pretty good about this meet,” Melancon said.

PREP REPORT

“We’re working together more as a team and competition wise I think we are on a hot streak.”

If Melancon sounds like a prototypical football leader, it’s because he is. Melancon earned All-Metro small schools honors last fall as a linebacker for an ACHS team that advanced to the Division IV select semifinals.

The transition from football to powerlifting is a logical one. Melancon hopes the combination of the two brings a late offer to play college football on some level.

“Mace is one of the those kids who could compete in any of the divisions and win,” Ascension Catholic powerlifting coach Delmond Landry said. “More important than that is this he is a natural born leader We see it in powerlifting and football.

“He doesn’t shy away from that role. He sets a good example and the others follow To me, he’s the type of kid you want in your program, an all-around athlete who is always working.”

GOODYEAR, Ariz. Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy Finding a solution could prove much more challenging. Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely reason for the increase in injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.

“It makes sense,” Cleveland Guardians righthander Tanner Bibee said.

“You do anything at a max capacity, you’re going to be at more risk for injury If you try to squat your absolute max, you’re going to get hurt more often than if you’re squatting a plate and a bar.”

The study showed that

major league pitcher injured list placements increased from 212 in 2005 to 485 in 2024. Days on the IL rose from 13,666 to 32,257. Tommy John surgeries for major and minor league players increased from 104 in 2010 to a peak of 314 in 2020, though they slipped to 281 last year

The study recommended “considering rule changes at the professional level that shift the incentives for clubs and pitchers to prioritize health and longevity.” Instituting those types of rule changes could prove challenging when pitchers of all ages understand how much MLB organizations are emphasizing velocity

“I don’t know if rules are the right way to go about it,” said Chicago Cubs lefthander Matthew Boyd, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023. “You can’t tell someone to throw softer But I was a guy in college that threw high 80s. I would randomly throw a hard num-

ber, but I didn’t know how to do it consistently right. But I got outs. But I knew that some wise people ahead of me told me outs are going to get you to the big leagues, velocity’s going to get you drafted. So therein lies the problem.”

Perhaps most concerning were the statistics involving younger pitchers.

Prospects who threw 95 mph or higher at the Perfect Game National Showcase for top high school players increased from three in 2018 to 36 in 2024. Thirtyfive players selected in the top 10 rounds of last year’s amateur draft had Tommy John surgery, up from four in 2005.

The evidence of increasing injuries

An

STAFF FIE

PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Southern Lab’s Shaila Forman takes a shot over Ouachita Christian forward Gracyn Reppond in a Division IV select semifinal

Hovland’s mission is hitting pure golf shots

Golf doesn’t have to be that complicated. Viktor Hovland only makes it sound that way Hovland was confounding as ever at the Valspar Championship. His confidence was so low that he arrived at Innisbrook uncertain if he was even going to play, and then five days later he delivered two clutch swings during the toughest stretch on the Copperhead course to rally for a one-shot victory he never saw coming. Only the trophy was satisfying.

Johnson, who made a careerdefining decision to go from hitting a draw to hitting a fade.

“Yeah, it’s still not great,” he said when asked if he was happy with his swing Hovland rarely is. And that’s why the 27-year-old Norwegian star could say without sounding offensive how proud he was to win on such a tough golf course “with not my best stuff.”

There is constant searching, not just to win but to hit shots the way he expects. Hovland has questions and he wants answers, and he won’t stop looking until he finds them. He is not wired like Dustin

After winning the U.S. Open and a World Golf Championship in consecutive starts in 2016, Johnson was asked how he went about making such a big change. “Well, I was just struggling with the draw to get it in the fairway,” he replied “So I said, ‘I’m going to hit a fade.’ And I started hitting a fade.”

Simple, right?

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have had the same swing coach since they were about 8.

Hovland has made 11 coaching changes since leaving Oklahoma State in 2019, some of them brought back on more than one occasion

What hasn’t changed is his mission — to hit pure shots — no matter how many detours.

Hovland reached what looked like the summit in August 2023 when he had a 65-61 weekend at Olympia Fields to win the BMW Championship, and then a 66-63 weekend at East Lake to win the Tour Championship and capture the FedEx Cup. He went 3-1-1 at the Ryder Cup, including partnering with Ludvig Aberg for a

9-and-7 win over Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. He returned from a winter’s break in Norway and felt lost again.

It was at Bay Hill a year ago when Hovland was asked the difference between winning without his best stuff or hitting it great and finishing fifth.

“I guess that’s kind of the insane part of my brain is that I just enjoy flushing a golf shot,” he said.

“Obviously, we’re out here to compete and win tournaments. But I really just cherish being able to hit the shots exactly the way I want to. I think it’s a better predictor of how you’re going to play in the future.”

Therein lies the secret. He can win without his best stuff because he’s very good. What he lacks is consistently strong finishes. He has never gone more than five straight tournaments in the top 10, which pales compared with the elite in the game.

But he can contend out of nowhere, such as his third place in the PGA Championship last year at Valhalla when he wondered why he even bothered showing up. That wasn’t a threat, more

a state of his mind. He also was runner-up at a FedEx Cup playoff event last year

He doesn’t doubt his ability, only what he has referred to as the “machinery.”

Perfection in golf is something to chase, not attain. That’s why Hovland was amused at the label of being a perfectionist.

“I guess you can use that word to describe it,” he said. “I just view it as if you put your heart and soul into doing something, you might as well do it right. I’ve swung the club extremely well and I think my ball striking has been really really good over a long period of time. And then when it’s not doing that, I’m go-

Legendary gymnast Biles pays visit to No. 1 LSU

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Sports columnist

The GOAT paid a visit to the Tigers on Tuesday Simone Biles, the seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast, was in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and stopped by the LSU gymnastics facility as the Tigers began preparations for next week’s NCAA regional at Penn State.

Biles, who is from Spring, Texas, is friends with LSU freshman gymnast Zoe Miller, who is also from Spring. Both train at a facility there called the World Champions Centre, which is owned by Biles’ parents.

Biles was expected to attend the LSU-UL baseball game Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium with some of the LSU gymnasts Miller’s boyfriend is Tigers third baseman Michael Braswell.

Biles, who is married to Chicago Bears and former Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens, is considered the most decorated gymnast of all time.

She has seven Olympic gold medals, along with two silver and two bronze from the 2016, 2020 and 2024 games.

Last year in the Paris Olympics she won the all-around gold medal, the vault gold medal and team gold medal with a silver on floor exercise. Biles has also won

30 world championship medals, including 24 gold.

LSU senior gymnast Aleah Finnegan also competed in the Paris Olympics alongside Biles.

The LSU gymnastics team earned its first No. 1 national seed for the NCAA Championships after winning the SEC championship meet Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. The Tigers will travel next week to University Park, Pennsylvania, where they will compete in a semifinal at 6 p.m. April 3 against Arkansas, Michigan and the winner of an April 2 play-in meet between Maryland and West Virginia.

The top two teams from each semifinal will meet in the regional

SCOREBOARD

State-LSU winner, TBA SPOKANE 4 Second Round Sunday’s games At Memorial Coliseum-Lexington, Ky.

St. 80, Kentucky 79, OT Monday’s games At Galen Center-Los Angeles Southern Cal 96, Mississippi St. 59 At Lloyd Noble Center-Norman, Okla. Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62 At Harry A. Gampel Pavilion-Storrs, Conn. UConn 91, S. Dakota St. 57 Regional Semifinals Saturday, March 29 Southern Cal vs. Kansas St., 7 p.m. UConn vs. Oklahoma, 4:30 p.m.

Regional Championship Monday, March 31 Southern Cal-Kansas St. winner vs. UConnOklahoma winner, TBA BIRMINGHAM 2 Second Round

Sunday’s games At Colonial Life Arena-Columbia, S.C South Carolina 64, Indiana 53 At Cameron Indoor Stadium-Durham, N.C. Duke 59, Oregon 53 Monday’s games At XFINITY Center College Park, Md. Maryland 111, Alabama 108 (OT) At Carmichael Arena-Chapel Hill, N.C. North Carolina 58, West Virginia 47

Regional Semifinals At Legacy Arena at BJCC Birmingham, Ala. Friday, March 28 South Carolina vs. Maryland, 4 p.m.

Duke vs. North Carolina, 1:30 p.m.

Regional Championship Sunday, March 30 South Carolina-Maryland winner vs. DukeNorth Carolina winner, TBA BIRMINGHAM 3

Second Round

Sunday’s games At Value City Arena-Columbus, Ohio Tennessee 82, Ohio St. 67 At Purcell Pavilion-South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame 76, Michigan 55 At Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena Fort Worth, Texas TCU 85, Louisville 70 Monday’s games Texas 65, Illinois 48 Regional Semifinals At Legacy Arena at BJCC-Birmingham, Ala. Saturday, March 29 Texas vs. Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. TCU vs. Notre Dame, noon

Regional Championship Monday, March 31 Texas-Tennessee winner vs. TCU-Notre Dame winner, TBA NIT glance (men) Quarterfinals Tuesday’s games At Carver Arena-Peoria, Ill. Chattanooga 67, Bradley 65 At Gallagher-Iba Arena-Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma St.

2-2 9. Totals 34-87 17-19 99. NEW ORLEANS (112) Brooks Jr. 4-9 0-0 10, Olynyk 5-8 3-3 14, Missi 6-7 4-4 16, Alvarado 3-12 2-2 9, Hawkins 4-14 0-2 9, Cain 0-1 0-0 0, Robinson-Earl 3-4 0-0 7, Matkovic 7-11 2-2 19, Payton 3-8 0-0 6, Quinones 2-3 0-0 5, Reeves 6-10 0-0 17. Totals 43-87 11-13 112. Philadelphia 23 26 26 24 99 New Orleans 29 29 32 22 — 112 3-Point Goals—Philadelphia 14-42 (Edwards 5-9, Butler 3-7, Okeke 2-6, Yabusele 2-6, Hood-Schifino 1-4, Council IV 1-5, Bagley 0-2, Dowtin Jr. 0-3), New Orleans 15-35 (Reeves 5-7, Matkovic 3-4, Brooks Jr. 2-4, Quinones 1-1, Olynyk 1-2, Robinson-Earl 1-2, Alvarado 1-6, Hawkins 1-9). Fouled Out— None. Rebounds—Philadelphia 37 (Okeke 9), New Orleans 51 (Olynyk 11). Assists—Philadelphia 19 (Council IV, Okeke, Yabusele 4), New Orleans 36 (Payton 14). Total Fouls— Philadelphia 16, New Orleans 17. A—16,987 (16,867) Hockey NHL glance

Doug Ferguson

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA Viktor Hovland reacts as he holds the trophy after winning the Valspar Championship on Sunday at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor Fla.

final at 4 p.m. April 5, with the top two teams there going on to the NCAA national semifinals, April 17 in Fort Worth, Texas.

LSU PHOTO

Gymnastics legend Simone Biles, center front row, poses with members of the LSU gymnastics team on Tuesday at their practice facility

Lauren Cheramie BON VIVANT

the danger noodle bowl from Chow yum, 2363 Hollydale Ave., Baton Rouge.

Learn something new Ruffino’s Cooking Experience: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. April 8, at Ruffino’s, 18811 Highland Road, Baton Rouge

Ruffino’s is hosting “A Culinary Tour of Italy” five-course dinner with hand-selected wine pairings. The meal is prepared and served right before your eyes, so participants have a chance to learn and ask questions. Tickets are $150 per person, available for purchase at shopruffinos.com.

Wine and spirits

Marco Bonfante wine dinner:

6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 2, at The Little Village, 14241 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge Palermo Ristorante’s executive chef Justin McVey will prepare a menu with wine pairings from Marco Bonfante Winery in Piedmont, Italy Bonfante will also be in attendance. Tickets are $150 per person and available for purchase by calling the restaurant at (225) 751-4115. Arrival will begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner starting promptly at 7 p.m. Markets, festivals and more

Local Pop-Up Market: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Electric Depot, 1509 Government St., Baton Rouge Join local makers and food vendors for March’s Local PopUp Market. Holi Festival: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m Saturday at Repentance Park, 141 S River Road, Baton Rouge Experience the unique festival of colors, harmony, friendship and love in downtown Baton Rouge. Although an Indian festival, the Baton Rouge Holi event attracts people from various cultures and backgrounds. Enjoy henna artists, face painting, cultural dance performances, food and spirits. Admission is free, and the event is family-friendly Crawfish on Commerce: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at The Mallory, 5747 Commerce St., St. Francisville Grab some crawfish from The Francis while enjoying live music from Spoon Fed Jr and watching the LSU baseball game. Tickets are $15 per person at the door and $10 for pre-sale, available for purchase at bontempstix.com/

SEE YOU IN COURT

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Attention pickleball lovers: Big things are coming to Baton Rouge. Court to Table will take the place of the former The Shed BBQ at 477 Burbank Drive. Once completed, the space will feature 11 pickleball courts, a music stage with regular live entertainment on the weekends, a full-service kitchen with a variety of options and a separate 5000-square-foot space, The Funky Pickle, which will be rented out for events. The venture is spearheaded by personal injury attorney Gordon McKernan and Ozzie Fernandez, founder and CEO of Go Eat Concepts, which includes Izzo’s Illegal Burritos, Rocca Pizzeria, Modesto and Lit Pizza. They hope to open in June.

The vision, McKernan said, is “eatertainment.”

“It’s a place where you’re gonna go and have a wonderful meal or cocktails and have a good time eating, but also be entertained, whether it’s with the pickleball set up of the 11 courts or our outdoor games that we’re going to have or the music stage,” he said. McKernan noted that the concept was inspired by a beer garden in Austin, Texas — Bouldin Acres — which also features pickleball courts. He went while visiting his daughter at the University of Texas a few years ago.

“I was wowed by it,” he said. “I’d love to try to bring this type of feeling and experience to Baton Rouge.”

From there, he teamed up with Fernandez, who McKernan has worked with before as partners in Modesto and Lit Pizza. For this newest addition to the Go Eats family, McKernan will take a more active role in marketing. Their other business partners are Bob Barton, Destin Thibodeaux and Clay Furr According to Fernandez, the restaurant’s menu is going to be a

PROVIDED IMAGES

An artist’s rendering of Court to Table depicts an inside view of the concept set to open in June.

An artist’s rendering offers a view outside Court to Table, slated to open on Burbank Drive.

Stuck with hospital roomie

Dear Miss Manners: Having been raised in a strongly evangelical home, and having painfully walked away from those beliefs, religion is an emotionally distressing subject for me, one that I am only able to discuss with those very close to me. A few months ago, I was hospitalized for a couple of weeks. For most of that time, I shared the room with a very friendly, talkative woman who had been in the hospital for a long time. While still needing medical care, she was clearly on the mend; she was bored, a little lonely from her long stay, and pleased to have a new roommate to talk to. It immediately became obvious she was a committed evangelical Christian and all she wanted to talk about was religion. I started by making short, noncommittal responses and trying to change the subject, but my lack of enthusiastic response made her decide I needed to be “saved.” For the remainder of our time sharing the room, I was bombarded by “give your

heart to Jesus” appeals, which I found upsetting. Being confrontationaverse, and already on the border of emotional overload, I resorted to pretending to be sleeping to avoid conversation. I was exhausted and sleeping more than usual, but not 23 hours a day!

Eventually she was discharged and the problem went away, but I’m wondering if there was a way I could have shut this down short of sitting up and yelling, “Would you shut up about religion?” (Which, believe me, was tempting.)

I know how to politely stop this type of thing at work, and I can be more blunt with family and friends, telling them we need to drop the subject or stop spending time together However, I was at a loss in this situation I could not simply leave.

Gentle reader: Although she resists making every etiquette problem into a medical question, Miss Manners is willing to make exceptions in a hospital setting — where many things you are used to doing for yourself

will, for the time being, require assistance.

If a friend cannot speak with your roommate, ask a nurse or doctor to tell her that you are easily fatigued — and that, because of your own history, the subject of religion is particularly taxing for you.

Dear Miss Manners: When is it acceptable to specify the ending time of an event?

Generally if I am inviting guests for dinner, I ask them to please arrive at a certain time, with no ending time given. But for a child’s birthday party one would invite guests from, say, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m , so parents know when to pick up their children.

If I am hosting a cocktail party, is it acceptable to invite guests from, say, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., so that it is clear that this is not a dinner party? How about a reception where the venue is only rented for a certain number of hours? What is the rule? Gentle reader: Specifying a time for the party on the invitation is fine — so long as you do not intend to enforce it.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

Husband refuses vasectomy

Dear Harriette: My husband and I have been blessed with five children. When we got married, we didn’t plan for this many We’ve decided that we are happy with our family size as is and do not want to have any more children. We both had the bright idea that the other person should undergo the necessary procedure to make that happen. Since we couldn’t agree, I suggested that we both go through with it. If he expects me to get my tubes tied, I think a vasectomy makes sense on his end. He refuses. I don’t know how to feel about him wanting to make changes to my body without making the same sacrifice to his own.

No More Babies Dear No More Babies: Your husband is being unfair One way to get him to pay attention to your request is to draw a line in the sand: No more sex until you both have undergone the procedures. This will get him to take you seriously It is not fair for you to bear the burden on your own.

Dear Harriette: Why won’t my parents treat me like an

BON VIVANT

Continued from page 1D

events/crawfish-on-commerce-3-29-2025.

Taste of Mid City: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 250 S. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge

adult? I am 18 now, and I’m the oldest of my siblings. I have my own car and a job and lots of responsibilities, but my parents still try to be in control. They don’t approve of my job and think I only wanted to get a job so that they can’t tell me what to do. They constantly remind me that as my parents, their job is to tell me what to do. If I do everything I can to prove I’m responsible, when will my parents trust me? How can I get them to understand how I feel? —YoungAdult DearYoungAdult: Congratulations on taking on so much responsibility in your family As the oldest child, you certainly have done a lot already to be independent and strong. You are also very young. From your parents’ perspectives, they are probably concerned that you are becoming independent too fast. Parents want to protect their children and guide their steps. Their rules seem controlling to you now — and they very well may be — but their intentions are likely to protect you. What you can do is ask them to give you some space and observe what you

The third annual Taste of Mid City food festival will bring together Baton Rouge’s restaurants and chefs for the family-focused event that benefits Kids’ Orchestra. Guests will enjoy food tastings, games, a bookmobile and live music from BR Music Studios, Kids’ Orchestra and John Gray.

are doing. Ask them to support you as you build your independence. Be open to suggestions from them; they have lots of life experience, after all. As you are maturing, your relationship with your parents is naturally changing. Give it time to evolve into something more comfortable. Continue to be respectful to them. Listen to their wisdom. Consider what they are saying. While you live with them, know that you should be following their directions. As you become more independent, maintain respect even as you start making your own decisions over time. Believe it or not, they know a lot about life. While it is excellent that you are taking steps to be able to care for yourself, you are fortunate to have them to help guide you along the path. Remember that, especially when they say things that annoy you. Take a deep breath and listen.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Some of the participating vendors include Chicken Shack, French Truck Coffee, Posh Pop, Spoke and Hub and Hannah Q Smokehouse. Tickets are $8 for kids ages 4-12 and $35 for adults, available for purchase at tasteofmidcitybr.com.

If you have an upcoming food event or a kitchen question, email lauren. cheramie@theadvocate. com. Cheers!

“mixed category” with everything from pizza to TexMex to seafood.

“We will take what we do best from our other concepts and apply it here,” Fernandez said.

In the 4000-square-foot restaurant space, they’ll make New York-style pizza in the deck oven, slice their own rib-eye for Philly cheesesteaks, and in the future, he hopes to have crawfish boils. The menu will also include salads, wraps, tapas, po-boys, 36 beers on tap and frozen drinks.

“We are Court to Table,” said Fernandez. “It’s kind of a play on farm to table.” He’s looking forward to collaborating with local purveyors like Maggie Mushrooms for fresh ingredients. Out in the courtyard, Court to Table will have yard games, lounge areas and a live music stage where they

to book local artists and musicians There will also be a 23,000-square-foot pickleball building which will include 10 pickleball courts in

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

Wax on,

Dear Heloise: Your method of removing wax from candlesticks for Stacy M., in Royal Oak, Michigan, was to use a hair dryer on medium heat. I find that putting the candlesticks in the freezer (usually overnight) allows you to remove the now frozen wax with a flick of your nails. Good luck with this idea! — Vicky L., Hendersonville, North Carolina Vicky, yes, freezing wax is another method that works well. Heloise Ice for plants

By The Associated Press

Dear Heloise: Watering my plants always ended up with one or two pots overflowing or spilling and created a mess to clean up. Now I use ice cubes. They melt slowly and saturate the plant soil, and I don’t have stale old cubes in the freezer anymore. — Matt the Plant Whisperer, via email Grandma basket

Dear Heloise: I was just writing about an idea that I have been thinking about a lot. I am an older co-worker who gets invited to lots of bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, etc., and know that it will never be reciprocated. So, my co-workers did a wonderful thing for me:

When I had my first grandchild, they gave me a “Grandma Basket” with many useful and wonderful things that I did not have at my house: a sippy cup, baby wipes, a few diapers, a spoon, a bowl, toys, bibs, a baby’s first aid kit, a hooded baby towel, and more. It was so thoughtful and appreciated. — A Reader, via email Reader, I love this idea. No doubt there will be times when you’ll have the baby for the day, and having a well-stocked baby cupboard will come in handy Best wishes to you and your grandbaby! — Heloise Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

Acadian Superette’s

sh and chips is available on Fridays during

It comes

three pieces of cat

sh, fries, slaw and homemade tartar sauce

BEST

Continued from page 1D

sweet and savory flavors

The dish reminded me that all good things in life should be savored.

— Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator Shrimp and Grits

n Cecilia’s Creole Bistro, 421 N. Third St., Suite B, Baton Rouge

Cecilia’s Creole Bistro was the perfect destination for a recent celebratory dinner with friends. A hidden gem in downtown Baton Rouge, the eatery has an intimate and charming atmosphere with a warm, friendly environment. We started by sampling three appetizers: sweet and spicy alligator, skillet cornbread and fried green tomatoes. Although these dishes may sound conventional in a Louisiana restaurant, Cecilia’s makes them special by the local and housemade ingredients.

I must mention the fabulous French martini that nearly stole the show — Absolut vanilla vodka, Chambord liqueur and pineapple. The subtle sweetness and fruity flavor conjured up happy memories of ambrosia fruit salad.

For my entree, I chose the shrimp and grits because I wanted something homey and flavorful. The corn grits were extra creamy and topped with New Orleans-style barbecue butter shrimp and green onions. The luscious butter sauce was dark and seasoned well, and the shrimp were large and cooked to the right temperature. The shrimp and grits were served with a pistolette, made for dipping into the memorable barbecue butter sauce.

Joy Holden, Louisiana Inspired coordinator Fish and chips n Acadian Superette, 600 Lamar St., Lafayette

My family is from north-

ern Michigan. Surrounded by the Great Lakes and dotted with hundreds of small inland lakes, Friday fish fries are a year-round staple. During Lent in south Louisiana, it’s always a treat for me to try to find the best fish and chips.

I’ve grown accustomed to catfish instead of cod or whitefish. But there’s still an art to getting the batter just right enough for a nice crunch but not too thick.

On a recent Friday, I headed over to Freetown in Lafayette, where Acadian Superette is dishing up fish and chips every Friday through Lent. The serving was generous, with three big pieces of fresh, tender catfish, a pile of fries and slaw They coated the fish with a Canebrake beer batter, which was slightly sweet, and they got it just right.

I like a sweet slaw, so it wasn’t my favorite. But I think they might have the best fries in Lafayette.

The best thing on the platter, however, might have been the homemade tartar sauce, which had a bit of dill in it.

If you’re in Lafayette, Acadian Superette definitely deserves to be in your Friday rotation.

— Kristin Askelson, Acadiana managing editor

Today is Wednesday, March 26, the 85th day of 2025. There are 280 days left in the year Today in history

On March 26, 2024, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship, killing six maintenance workers on the bridge. (Maryland officials have announced plans to replace the bridge by late 2028.)

On this date:

In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing as many as 30,000 deaths. (The U.S. Congress later approved $50,000 in food aid to be sent to Venezuela — the first example of American disaster assistance abroad.)

In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and

witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at the White House.

In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison on rape charges. (Tyson would ultimately serve less than three years of the sentence.)

In 2018, a toxicology report obtained by The Associated Press revealed that the late pop superstar Prince had levels of fentanyl in his body that multiple experts described as “exceedingly high.”

In 2021, Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, saying the cable news giant falsely claimed that the voting company rigged the 2020 election. (Fox would eventually agree to pay Dominion $787.5 million in one of

STAFF PHOTO By JOy HOLDEN Shrimp and grits from Cecilia Creole Bistro

STAFF PHOTO By KRISTIN ASKELSON

fi

Lent.

with

fi

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Choose the path that leads to self-awareness, personal growth and gratitude. Refuse to let your emotions take the reins when making financial choices. Focus on routine, stability and economic security.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Consider your next move and contemplate what's best for you. Refuse to let anyone talk you into something that doesn't feel right. Adjust your surroundings to make life easier and less stressful.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Hanging on to things that are irrelevant to your wellbeing or lifestyle will detract from what you want or are meant to do next. Pay more attention to your needs, desires and lifestyle.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Choose your path and put your energy into what brings the most joy, and you'll have no regrets. Adjust your life to suit your needs and take action instead of complaining.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Steer clear of joint financial ventures or taking on someone else's burdens. You can offer support without paying for someone else's mistakes. It's never too late to try something new.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Participate in groups that share your concerns. The people you encounter will help you find your purpose and encourage you to use your skills in new and exciting ways.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Look at every possibility before deciding on what you want to do or where you want to go. Be

creative, think outside the box and do what suits you best. You don't have to accommodate anyone but yourself

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) A change will do you good. Pick a destination that intrigues you. Take the time to reach out to people you lost touch with who made you laugh, think and live life to the fullest.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put your wallet in your pocket. You can't buy love. If someone asks for too much, know enough to decline. Invest time and money into yourself and your surroundings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put more energy and effort into meeting new people or relationships that are meaningful to you. Attend a reunion, chat with old friends and revisit old dreams.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Never say never. Don't underestimate the power of positive thoughts and the ability to make things happen. Let your innovative imagination take the lead, and you won't be disappointed with the ideas that sprout.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) When uncertainty arises, find a solution. The only things you need to get what you want are time, patience and a desire to make your dream come true. Trust and believe in your abilities.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Napoleon Hill, who was one of the pioneers of personal-success literature, said, “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

At the bridge table, patience and persistence are excellent If you are perspiring, the air-conditioning or heating system must be on the blink. How is patience a virtue in this deal? Southisinfourhearts.Westleadshissingleton diamond. East overtakes with his ace and continues with the king, which South ruffs with the heart king. What happens after that?

South made a textbook triple-jump overcall. North was not sure if game would make, but since it could have been laydown, he sensibly raised to four hearts

South has three aces to lose. To make his contract, he must not concede a second trump trick.

Note that East’s winning the first trick with his ace and then leading the king were suit-preference signals for spades What will happen depends on West’s patience. Since he knows East has the spade ace, there will be a temptation to overruff with the heart ace and shift to a spade. East will win with his ace and leadanotherdiamond,butSouthwillruff high, draw trumps in two more rounds, and claim

West must be patient, discarding at trick two.

South will continue with a high trump, but West wins and puts his partner on lead in spades. When East plays a diamond, it promotes a second trump trick forWest.Southhasonlytwohightrumps left, and West still holds the nine and the three. © 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 — TAFFRAIL: TAF-rale: A rail around the stern of a ship.

Average mark 23 words

Time limit 40 minutes

YEsTERDAY’s WoRD — cAPYBARAs

Can you find 32 or more words in TAFFRAIL? capybara

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore