The Acadiana Advocate 04-26-2025 by The Advocate

Gus Rezendes, left, and Thad Duplechin along with the rest of the band Que Beleza entertain a fired-up crowd at Festival International on Thursday.

HIGH NOTES

Festival International de Louisiane takes over downtown Lafayette

Downtown Lafayette is alive with the cultural celebration that is Festival International de Louisiane. The 39th annual festival offers local and global music and cuisines, as well as art, clothing and festival souvenirs from vendors.

ABOVE: The opening ceremonies of Festival International features French immersion students carrying flags representing the countries that have bands performing this year.

RIGHT: Ava McDowell keeps herself cool while enjoying the music of the band Son De Madera from Mexico on Thursday.

INSIDE

ä Moroccan band yallah yallah electrifies the crowd on Thursday at Festival International. Page 1B

ä For many festivalgoers, the food is the main event at Festival International. Page 1B

Landry orders end to remote work

State employees to return to offices by July 1

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

authority “are strongly encouraged” to follow any new return-to-ofﬁce policies set up by the administration.

Youngsville development worries residents

Some fear project will lead to traffic problems

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

A 700-acre, 1,600-home community is coming to Youngsville, with construction beginning as early as next year

The news of the development elicited concern from some residents, who say rapid growth in the small suburban city has caused outsized trafﬁc problems. But there are plans to

ä See YOUNGSVILLE, page 5A

ICE reverses termination of international students’ legal status

More than 1,200 affected across nation

BY JANIE HAR and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO The U.S government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the country after many filed court challenges against the Trump administration crackdown, federal ofﬁcials said Friday

The records in a federal student database maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been terminated in recent weeks. Judges across the U.S. had already issued orders temporarily restoring students’ records in dozens of lawsuits challenging the terminations. More than 1,200 students na-

tionwide suddenly lost their legal status or had visas revoked, leaving them at risk for deportation. Many said they had only minor infractions on their record or did not know why they were targeted. Some left the country while others have gone into hiding or stopped going to class.

In Louisiana, more than a dozen international students have had their visas revoked, according to university ofﬁcials.

In response to the restoration, U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, conﬁrmed that a number of international Southern University students had their visas restored.

“While I’m glad this situation is getting resolved, these sudden and unfounded decisions by the Trump administration continue to cause unnecessary confusion and hardship for students, schools, and families,” Fields said in a statement. “I look forward to working with this

Congress and this administration to continue ﬁghting for students in my district and throughout this country.”

In one of the lawsuits, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Kurlan read a statement in federal court in Oakland, California, saying ICE was restoring the student status for people whose records were terminated in recent weeks A similar

ä See ICE, page 5A ä See REMOTE, page 5A

PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy

U.N. food agency: Food stocks in Gaza depleted

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the U.N. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFPbacked kitchens are the major ones in Gaza. Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceaseﬁre with Hamas.

U.S. reports nearly 900 measles cases

With one-ﬁfth of states seeing active measles outbreaks, the U.S. is nearing 900 cases, according to ﬁgures posted Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s conﬁrmed measles cases count is 884, triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The vast majority 646 are in Texas, where an outbreak in the western part of the state that’s approaching the three-month mark.

Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other states with active outbreaks defined as three or more cases — include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee Bear spotted playing on family’s backyard slide

SIMSBURY, Conn. — Sarah Loving had just returned home from lunch last Saturday with her husband and two young children when she looked out the window and spotted two bears walking across her backyard in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Her wildlife visitors didn’t really surprise her In recent years, bears have been pretty common in Simsbury, a suburban community of 24,500, located about 12 miles northwest of Hartford, where overturned garbage cans are often found along the road on “trash day” after a bear has searched inside for a snack.

But when one of the bears stopped at her family’s wooden playset and began climbing up the stairs, Loving started ﬁlming. What came next, took her by surprise.

“He made it to the landing and then went down the slide, like he had done it before,” she said. In the video, the bear nonchalantly slides head ﬁrst, its front paws breaking its fall in a pile of soft sand at the bottom. The bear then lays there for a few seconds, calmly looking around.

Loving said the pair hung out for a few more minutes before moving on to her neighbor’s yard. Their appearance lasted about 10 minutes.

CORRECTION

An article in Friday’s edition about proposed changes to Louisiana’s ethics laws incorrectly said that a bill would allow judges to order the end of an investigation by the Board of Ethics. The bill would allow judges to block all or part of a subpoena, not the entire investigation The Advocate regrets the error

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREM LUKATSKy

A police officer passes by the remains of cars on Friday that were damaged in a Russian missile attack that struck homes Thursday in Kyiv, Ukraine, killing 12 civilians and injuring 87.

Trump: ‘Crimea will stay with Russia’

President says he seeks end to war in Ukraine and wants mineral deal

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

KYIV Ukraine U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview published Friday that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” the latest example of how he’s pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while the country remains under siege.

He also demanded on social media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “IMMEDIATELY” sign a long-delayed agreement giving the United States access to his nation’s mineral resources.

With Trump envoy Steve Witkoff making another visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Trump wrote that “SUCCESS seems to be in the future!”

Progress on ending the war has been elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine on Friday, killing three people with a drone strike on an apartment building in a southeastern city

Despite a rare admonishment of Putin this week, Trump’s focus has largely been on urging Zelenskyy to cut a deal that would involve ceding territory to Ukraine’s invader In an interview with Time magazine, Trump described Crimea as a place where Russia has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian.”

“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump said. “And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”

When asked by reporters, Zelenskyy said he didn’t want to comment on Trump’s statement but repeated as he has many times during the war, that recognizing occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line for his country

Crimea is a strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. It was seized by Russia in 2014, while President

Barack Obama was in ofﬁce, years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

Trump has been accusing Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Putin Western European leaders, however, have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battleﬁeld momentum.

The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options Senior U.S. ofﬁcials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to a settlement. That could potentially mean a halt of crucial U.S. military aid for Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters Friday as he left the White House to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Trump said there is no deadline for the conclusion of peace talks.

“I just want to do it as fast as possible,” Trump said. Negotiators are “pretty close” to a deal, he said.

He promised to meet with foreign leaders while in Rome, and said it was “possible” he could meet with Zelenskyy Zelenskyy said late Friday, however, that he was not sure he would make it to Rome in time for the funeral.

Witkoff’s meeting with Putin on Friday was their second meeting this month and the fourth since February Witkoff’s trip coincided with the death of a senior Russian military ofﬁcer in a car bomb near Moscow

The Kremlin released a short video of Putin and Witkoff greeting each other “How are you, Mr President?” Witkoff could be heard saying. “Fine, just ﬁne, thank you,” Putin responded in rare remarks in English, as the two shook hands.

Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who attended the talks, said the meeting lasted three hours and was “constructive” and “useful.” Further talks are expected, he said.

Putin and Witkoff discussed, “in particular the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” according to Ushakov Delegations from the two countries last met in the weeks following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor

India say troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers

BY AIJAZ HUSSAIN and RAJESH ROY Associated Press

SRINAGAR,India Indian and Pakistani sol-

diers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian officials said Friday, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists.

India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian, as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in Indiacontrolled Kashmir It was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.

With the region on edge, three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers fired at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the report.

Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region. Since then, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is

split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

On Wednesday, India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the countries and closed their only functional land border crossing. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday Pakistan responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India. Nationals from both sides began heading back to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Friday

Islamabad also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert the ﬂow of water would be considered an “act of war.” The suspension of the water treaty could lead to water shortages at a time when parts of Pakistan are already struggling with drought and declining rainfall. Pakistan has also warned it could suspend the Simla Agreement in what would be a major and worrying step. The peace treaty signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war established the Line of Control, a highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between the acountries.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Santos sentenced to over 7 years in prison

BY PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y Dis-

Where do I see it?” she asked as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. “It’s always someone else’s fault.”

graced former U.S. Rep. George Santos was sentenced Friday to over seven years in prison, sobbing as he learned his punishment for the crimes that led to his expulsion from Congress.

Santos, who pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, appealed for mercy In a federal court a short drive from his old congressional district, he said through tears that he was “humbled” and “chastised” and realized he had betrayed his constituents’ trust.

“I offer my deepest apologies,” he said, adding: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”

U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert evidently wasn’t convinced.

“Where is your remorse?

The New York Republican served in Congress less than a year before becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues.

Santos admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties.

“From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,” U.S. Attorney John Durham, whose office prosecuted the case, said outside court. Santos, 36, is due to report to prison July 25.

Man pleads not guilty in insurance CEO’s killing

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEWYORK Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty and the judge warned the Justice Department to stop making public comments that could spoil the case.

Mangione, 26, stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone on the defense table as U.S District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if understood the indictment, which charges him with stalking and shooting Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last December Mangione said, “yes.”

Asked how he wished to plead, he said simply “not guilty” and sat down. A cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry, Mangione’s arraignment attracted several dozen people to the Manhattan federal courthouse, including former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served prison time for stealing classiﬁed diplomatic cables. Mangione, held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived to court in a mustard-colored jail suit and chatted with one of his lawyers, death penalty counsel Avi Moskowitz, as they waited for the arraignment to begin.

Late Thursday night, federal prosecutors ﬁled a required notice of their intent to seek the death penalty

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FBI arrests judge in Milwaukee

Official accused of helping man evade immigration authorities

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, DEVI SHASTRI and SCOTT BAUER Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

The FBI on Friday arrested a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door last week after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot.

President Donald Trump’s administration has accused state and local ofﬁcials of interfering with his immigration enforcement priorities. The arrest also comes amid a growing battle between the administration and the federal judiciary over the president’s executive actions over deportations and other matters.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov Tony Evers, in a statement on the arrest, accused the Trump administration of repeatedly using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”

“I have deep respect for the rule of law, our nation’s judiciary, the importance of judges making decisions impartially without fear or favor, and the efforts of law enforcement to hold people accountable if they commit a crime,” Evers said “I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law.” Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning on the courthouse grounds, according to U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later Friday before being released from custody She faces charges of “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest” and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.

“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing. He declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter following her court appearance. Court papers suggest Du-

gan was alerted to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the courthouse by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway. The FBI affidavit describes Dugan as “visibly angry” over the arrival of immigration agents in the courthouse and says that she pronounced the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers It says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest team inside the courthouse, displaying what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”

After a back-andforth with officers over the warrant for the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, she demanded that the arrest team speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom, the affidavit says After directing the arrest team to the chief judge’s office, investigators say, Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through a jury door into a nonpublic area of the courthouse. The action was unusual the affidavit says, because “only deputies, juries, court staff, and incustody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”

A sign that remained posted on Dugan’s courtroom door Friday advised that if any attorney or other court ofﬁcial “knows or believes that a person feels unsafe coming to the courthouse to courtroom 615,” they should notify the clerk and request an appearance via Zoom.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the man was facing domestic violence charges and victims were sitting in the courtroom with state prosecutors when the judge helped him escape immigration arrest.

The judge “put the lives of our law enforcement officers at risk. She put the lives of citizens at risk. A street chase it’s absurd that that had to happen,” Bondi said on Fox News Channel.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat who represents Wisconsin, called the arrest of a sitting judge a “gravely serious and drastic move” that “threatens to breach” the separation of power between the executive and judicial branches

The case is similar to one brought during the ﬁrst Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a back door of a courthouse to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent.

About 250K say goodbye to pope

3 days of public viewing of Francis concludes

BY COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press

VATICAN CITY More than 250,000 people paid their last respects to Pope Francis over three days of public viewing by ordinary mourners, church and political leaders that ended Friday, when his cofﬁn was sealed ahead of his state funeral in St Peter’s Square and burial in a basilica outside the Vatican’s walls.

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei, along with royalty converged on Rome for the funeral. But the group of marginalized people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis’ humble persona and disdain for pomp.

The Vatican said that 164 delegations are conﬁrmed, including 54 heads of state and 12 reigning sovereigns. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will also attend the funeral, was among those who made it in time to pay last respects to the pope.

Tens of thousands of mourners waited hours in line over three days to bid farewell to Francis, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilica’s opening hours overnight

Angele Bilegue, a nun, was among the last mourners. It was her third time to pay her respects, including once inside the Vatican at his residence in the Santa Marta Domus, where she said she spent six hours praying at his cofﬁn.

“He was my friend, so I went one last time to say goodbye,” she said. “I cried.”

A changing of the guards at Francis’ open cofﬁn signaled the end of the viewing period of the pontiff, who was laid out in red robes, a bishop’s pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands. He was being buried with his well-worn black shoes, including scuff marks on the toe emblematic of the simple life he espoused.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell presided over the closing and sealing of the cofﬁn in his role of camerlengo, or interim Vatican administrator According to photos released by the Vatican, a white cloth was placed over the pope’s face, and a bag containing coins minted during his papacy was put in the cofﬁn along with a one-page written account of his papacy

The account, called a rogito, summarized his whole life’s story, from his childhood in Argentina as the son of parents with Italian heritage through his priesthood and promotions eventually to archbishop and cardinal in Buenos Aires — and then pope. It highlighted his “defense of innocents,” his encyclicals and also his illnesses.

“He was a simple and much loved pastor in his archdiocese, who traveled far and wide, also by subway and bus,” read the text of the document, recounting his life as archbishop. “He lived in an apartment and he prepared dinner alone, so he could feel like an ordinary person.”

Roman neighbors and retired ﬂight attendants Aurelia Ballarini and Francesca Codato came to pay respects to Francis on Friday with very different motivations. Ballarini, 72, was coming to terms with her grief, and Codato, 78, was seeking forgiveness.

For Ballarini, the pope’s death leaves

a hole in her life. While only 16 years younger than Francis, she considered him a grandfather ﬁgure. Every morning, she would log on to Facebook for his daily greeting, and respond “with a couple of words.”

“He gave everything, gave all of himself, up to the end,” said Ballarini. “I spent the last two days crying. I was not well after his passing I can’t even say the word. For me he ﬂew away One day, we will see each other again.”

Codato said that she feels tremendous guilt toward Francis, having forsaken him out of devotion to one of his predecessors, St. John Paul II. When Francis became pope “he was an outsider to me.”

“I feel guilty, because through videos I have seen in these days, I have understood he was a man of enormous humanity, close to the simple people,” she said. “So I came to ask forgiveness, because I feel guilty towards him, like a worm.”

The work of the conclave to choose a new pope won’t start until at least May 5, after nine days of public mourning. Cardinals have been arriving in Rome, with 149 meeting on Friday morning to discuss church business. They won’t meet again until next week, meaning a conclave date is unlikely to be set until after the funeral.

Judge blocks Trump’s collective bargaining

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that a labor union says would cancel collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that a key part of President Donald Trump’s March 27 order can’t be enforced at roughly three dozen agencies and departments where employees are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union.

The union, which represents nearly 160,000 federal government employees workers, sued to challenge Trump’s order The union said it would lose more than half of its revenue and over two-thirds of its membership if the judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction.

Friedman said he would issue an opinion in several days to explain his two-page order. The ruling isn’t the ﬁnal word in the lawsuit He gave the attorneys until May 2 to submit a proposal for how the case should proceed.

Some agencies, including the FBI, are exempt from a law requiring federal agencies

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREW MEDICHINI People line up Friday to pay their respects to Pope Francis lying in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Dugan

Thousands travel to N.M. for Gathering of Nations

BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thou-

sands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world

Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicked off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into the center of an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds.

Participants wear elaborate regalia — some with jingling bells and others with feathers. They dance to the tempo of rhythmic drumming, each coming to the gathering for their own reasons.

“It’s not just for show,” said Deshava Apache, who is Mescalero Apache and Navajo. “It’s for healing, it’s for strength, it’s for reconnecting.”

The event also features the crowning of Miss Indian World, as well as horse parades in which riders are judged on the craftsmanship of their intricately beaded adornments or feathered headdresses and how well they work with their horses.

Powwows are a relatively modern phenomenon that emerged in the 1800s as the U.S. government seized land from tribes throughout the Northern and Southern Plains. Forced migrations and upheaval during this period resulted in intertribal solidarity among Plains people and those from the southern prairies of Canada.

Alliances were formed, giving way to the exchange of songs and dances during gatherings between different tribes. In the decades that followed, powwows were advertised to pioneers heading westward as “authentic” Native American dance shows. For some, it was an exploitation of their cultures.

The word powwow was derived from pau wau, an Algonquian Narrtick word for “medicine man,” according to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Scholars say English settlers misused the word to refer to the meetings of medicine men and later to any kind of Native American gathering Today, some of the large powwows like the Gathering of Nations have become more commercialized events that use dancing and drumming competitions,

Nuclear talks

between Iran,

the U.S. return to secluded Oman

BY JON GAMBRELL

Associated Press

MUSCAT, Oman Negotia-

tions between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program will return on Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where experts on both sides will start hammering out the technical details of a possible deal. The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian ofﬁcials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weaponsgrade levels. Neither Iran nor the U.S. has offered any explanation on why the talks will return to Muscat, the Omani capital nestled in the Hajar Mountains. Oman has been a mediator between Tehran and Washington. Last weekend’s talks in Rome offered a more-equal ﬂight distance between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who are leading the negotiations But Rome remains in mourning after the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral will be held on Saturday And Iranian state television, in covering last weekend’s talks, complained at length on air about the “paparazzi” gathered across the street from the Omani Embassy in Rome’s Camilluccia neighborhood.

Araghchi himself took time out Friday night to sign copies of his latest memoir, “The Power of Negotiation,” at the Muscat International Book Fair But he found himself swarmed by cameras even in the Omani capital, showing the intense international interest in the talks.

Asked by The Associated Press about the negotiations on Saturday, Aragchi simply replied: “I’m here for the book.” The Muscat talks come as Iran appears to have lined up Chinese and Russian support. Araghchi traveled to Moscow last week and this week visited Beijing On Thursday, Chinese, Iranian and Russian representatives met the head of the International Atomic

with prize money at stake, to provide a glimpse into Indigenous cultures

At ceremonial dances, participants wear traditional regalia speciﬁc to their tribe, whereas powwow attire often is more contemporary and ﬂashy with sequins and sparkles. It is about dressing to impress the judges, said Warren Queton, a Kiowa Tribe legislator and adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma who has

participated in community dancing and cultural events since he was a boy

Queton, who served as the head gourd dancer at the university’s recent spring powwow, said ceremonial dances are deeply rooted in community, identity and cultural values.

It is a struggle to keep traditional cultural practices and commercial powwows from being lumped into the same category, he said Pow-

wow ways and ceremonial traditions have different meanings in Native American and Indigenous cultures. There has been a focus on promoting smaller powwows held in tribal communities. Queton said these gatherings serve as a way for people who live elsewhere to return home and reconnect with their families and the land, and to share traditions with younger generations.

“Knowing where you come from, your land, your oral traditions, your language, but also values and traits — that can only be learned from a community,” he said. “That’s why those smaller dances are so important because people learn those community values. They’re all a part of our identity.” There still are elements of tradition woven in to modern powwows. Competitors wear feathered bustles, buckskin dresses, fringed shawls and beaded head and hair pieces. Some of the elaborate outfits are handstitched designs that can take months to complete. The sounds, movements and emotions that radiate from the dancing are challenging to capture on canvas But Cochiti Pueblo painter Mateo Romero did just that when he partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to create a series of powwow stamps unveiled Friday during Gathering of Nations. Powerfully hypnotic, atavistic and somatic is how the artist describes the dancing. One of his pieces depicts what is known as a fancy shawl dance with its dips, pivots, hops and twirls. Each tassel on the shawl ﬂows and ﬂips, accentuating the dancer’s movements.

Man convicted in rock-throwing killing

BY COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press

GOLDEN, Colo.

Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that likely will verify compliance with any accord like it did with Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That deal included China and Russia, as well as France Germany and the United Kingdom, in addition to Iran and the U.S. However, Iran has greatly restricted the IAEA’s inspections leading to fears internationally that centrifuges and other nuclear material could be diverted for non-peaceful purposes.

The IAEA offered no readout from the talks, but China’s state-run Xinhua news agency on Friday described the three nations as saying the agency has “the necessary potential and expertise to contribute constructively to this process.”

“China, Russia and Iran emphasized that political and diplomatic engagement based on mutual respect remains the only viable and practical path for resolving the Iran nuclear issue,” the report said. It added that China respects Iran’s “right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

The Trump administration has kept France Germany and the U.K. out of its direct negotiations with Iran, something similarly reflected in Witkoff’s negotiations with Russia over ending its war on Ukraine. Witkoff traveled Friday to Moscow ahead of Saturday’s meeting in Muscat.

Araghchi meanwhile has said he’s open to visiting Berlin, London and Paris to discuss the negotiations.

“The ball is now in the E3’s court,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X on Thursday, using an acronym for the countries.

“They have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path.”

Two Iranian deputy foreign ministers, Majid Takhte Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi, are expected to lead Tehran’s expert team, the semiofﬁcial Tasnim news agency reported. Takht-e Ravanchi took part in the 2015 nuclear talks, while Gharibabadi as well has been involved in atomic negotiations

The U.S. technical team, which was expected to arrive in Oman on Friday, will be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff. Anton does not have the nuclear policy experience of those who led America’s efforts in the 2015 talks.

— The last of three friends accused of killing a driver in Colorado during a night of throwing rocks at cars faces life in prison after being convicted of ﬁrstdegree murder Friday

Jurors found Joseph Koenig guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Alexa Bartell in 2023, after the other young men riding with him reached deals with prosecutors and testiﬁed against him Koenig was also convicted of attempted murder and other less serious crimes for rocks and other objects thrown at vehicles the night Bartell was killed and in previous weeks.

Bartell’s family and friends hugged and cried in court after the verdict

Her mother, Kelly Bartell, later said justice had been done but had mixed feelings, expressing some sympathy for Koenig and the other two young men.

“It’s hard to be happy or

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. — Rob Holland, a famed aerobatic pilot who wowed airshow crowds and championship judges with tight spirals, meticulous loops and inventive sequences in the sky, has died in a plane crash. He was 50.

Holland died Thursday while landing his custombuilt, singleseat aircraft at Joint-Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, in preparation for an upcoming airshow at the military installation.

The plane was making a normal landing and was not conducting aerobatic maneuvers, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dan Boggs said at a Friday news conference. The crash remains under investigation.

Holland’s death was confirmed by his official Facebook page, Rob Holland Aerosports, and by Jim Bourke, president of the International Aerobatic Club, for which Holland served as vice president Holland was probably the best-known airshow pilot and the winningest competitor in aerobatic contests, Bourke said. The airborne competitions could be compared to figure skating for the required grace, precision and discipline, but with punishing gravitational forces.

feel satisﬁed that justice was served today because I feel one amazing life was lost and three others are also lost and impacted,” she said.

Jurors had to consider shifting and competing versions of the truth offered by Koenig’s former co-defendants during the two-week trial.

No one disputed that a landscaping rock taken from a Home Depot parking lot crashed through the windshield of Alexa Bartell’s windshield, instantly killing her, on April 19, 2023. Her car went off the road into a ﬁeld. The issue was who threw it The only DNA found on the rock was Bartell’s, making the testimony from the other friends, Zachary Kwak and Nicholas Karol-Chik, key to the prosecution. Koenig, now 20, insisted that Kwak threw the rock that killed Bartell. But the two friends — whose agreements to plead guilty to less serious charges could lead to shorter prison sentences — said Koenig threw it

“I ﬂew against him many times, and, like a lot of people, I couldn’t beat him,” said Bourke, who was Holland’s friend rival and teammate on the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team. “They didn’t have anyone who could beat him. He was just that good.”

Holland won 12 consecutive U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, which was a record, according to his web-

Chief Deputy District Attorney Katharine Decker told jurors the damage to Bartell’s car was consistent with Koenig — who is lefthanded and was driving throwing the rock, shotputstyle, out the driver’s side window at Bartell’s car, as Karol-Chik testified Even if jurors weren’t convinced Koenig threw the rock, she had urged them to still ﬁnd him guilty of first-degree murder as a conspirator with his friends. Koenig’s attorneys argued he did not know anyone had been hurt until Bartell’s car went off the road and that he had borderline personality disorder which affected his impulse control and judgment.

Defense lawyer Martin Stuart told jurors to instead find Koenig guilty of manslaughter, the least serious charge he faced in Bartell’s death, because he didn’t knowingly try to kill her. Jurors also had the option of finding Koenig guilty of manslaughter as a conspira-

site. He also racked up ﬁve world Freestyle Aerobatic Championships and a prestigious award for showmanship from the International Council of Airshows.

tor even if they didn’t think he threw the rock himself. After seeing Bartell’s car leave the road after being hit, the three friends circled back a few times to look again, according to testimony and investigators. One of them, Kwak, took a photo as a memento but no one checked on the driver or called for help, according to their testimony

Bartell’s body would not be discovered until her girlfriend, Jenna Griggs, who was on the phone with her that night when the call abruptly cut out, tracked her phone to the ﬁeld, she testiﬁed.

The friends agreed not to talk to anyone about what had happened But Kwak, the newest one to the group, later told investigators that Koenig had thrown the fatal rock. Karol-Chik, who said Koenig was like a “brother” to him, pointed the ﬁnger at Kwak before changing his story and saying that Koenig had thrown the rock that killed Bartell.

“A lot of people expect an airplane to ﬂy like an arrow it’s moving very fast in one direction,” Bourke said. “With Rob, the airplane would be pointed in some crazy direction. It wouldn’t be pointed the way it’s traveling. It would be ﬂipping on an axis that would be unexpected.”

Holland was known for inventing new maneuvers that no one saw before, Bourke said. One of them was his famous “Frisbee” that rotated his 1,200-pound (540-kilogram) plane horizontally while the “inverted Frisbee” pulled off the same maneuver upside down.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SUSAN MONTOyA BRyAN

Native American and Indigenous dancers take part in a grand entry procession on Friday at the annual Gathering of Nations powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

statement was read by agovernment attorney in aseparatecase in Washington, said lawyer Brian Green, who represents theplaintiff in that case.Greenprovided The Associated Press with acopy of the statement that the government lawyer emailed to him. It says:“ICEisdeveloping apolicy that will provide aframework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such apolicyisissued, the SEVIS records forplaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarlysituated plaintiffs) will remain Active or shall be reactivatedifnot currently activeand ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC ﬁnding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.”

SEVIS is the Studentand Exchange Visitor InformationSystems database that tracks international students’ compliance with their visa status. NCIC is the National Crime Information Center,adatabase of criminal justice information maintained by the FBI.

Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant Homeland Security secretary,said ICE had not reversed course on any visa revocations but did“restore SEVIS access for people who had not had their visarevoked.”

Greg Chen, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said some uncertainty remained: “It is still unclear whether ICEwill restore status to everyoneit has targetedand whether the State Department will helpstudents whose visas were wronglyrevoked.”

Legal fights maynot be over Green, who is involved in lawsuits on behalf of several dozen students, saidhis cases onlysought restorationofthe student status and that he would be withdrawing themasaresult of the statement

REMOTE

Continued from page1A

“Whenpeopleremote work, they don’tget an opportunity to work insidethe work environment with their other colleagues,” Landry said in asocialmedia video announcing the change. “It’s time forpeople to come back to work because they are more productive.”

Landry said letting employees work remotelywas “one of the biggest negative effects”ofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

YOUNGSVILLE

Continued from page1A

thecity tookcontrol of the road from the state in 2021.

The first phase of improvements is expected to be completed by 2026, with aroundabout connecting the highway with FortuneRoad opening this summer.Constructionwillthencontinue south.

Another project that is about to startisanimprovement of South Larriviere Road near Southside High School. It’s expected to begin sometime in the summer, Ritter said.Itwillbe atotal reconcentration and widening of the road with sidewalks.

Construction is expected to last 12 months.

Ritter said the city could one day see the expansion of Chemin Metairie, at least the portion that falls within the city

“As soon as we have funding and as soon as we make that apriority,then we can expand Chemin Metairie from basically East Milton, where Rouses is, all the way to nearly Highway 90,” he said.

The mayor said he is also looking at grants to fund an improved roundabout with dedicated turn lanes near Rouses Market on East Milton Avenue. In the meantime, the city is looking for ways to add turn lanes to East Milton Avenue from the Field Crest neighborhood to the Crawfish Boss location.

However,some of the most nagging traffic jams areoutside of the city limits or on roads either controlled by the parish or the state Ritter said. Those places

Friday from ICE.

Butlawyers in the Oaklandcase are seeking anationwide order from the court prohibiting the government fromarrestingor incarcerating students, transferring them to places outside their district or preventing them from continuingwork or studies.

Pam Johann, agovernment lawyer,said it was premature to consider anything like that given that ICE was in the process of reactivatingrecordsand developing apolicy.“We should takeapause while ICE is implementing this change that plaintiffs are seeking right now,onits own,” she said.

But U.S. DistrictJudge Jeffrey S. Whiteasked her to humor the

court. “It seemslike with this administration, there’sa newworld order everysingleday,” he said.“It’s like whack-a-mole.”

He ordered the governmentto clarify the new policy

Confusion

Last month,SecretaryofState Marco Rubio said his department was revoking visas held by people acting counter to national interests, including somewho protested Israel’swar in Gaza and those who face criminalcharges. But many studentswhosestatuswas terminated said they did not fall under those categories.

Asurvey by The Associated

Press-NORC Center forPublic Affairs research found that even the visa revocations for students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests aremore unpopularthan popular

About half of U.S. adults oppose this policy,and only 3in10are in support.Among college educated adults, 6in10strongly oppose, compared with 4in10who aren’t college graduates.

In lawsuits,students argued they weredenied due process. Many were toldthat their status wasterminatedasaresultofa criminal records check or that their visa had been revoked.

International students andtheir schools werecaught offguard by

the terminations of the students’ records. Many of the terminations were discovered when school ofﬁcials weredoing routine checks of the international student database.

Charles Kuck, whoﬁled acase in Atlanta on behalf of 133 students across the country,said ICE’sreversal can’tundo the distress and hardshipthey have faced in recent weeks.

“I’ve got kids wholost their jobs, who might not getthem back,” he said. “I’ve got kids wholost school opportunitieswho mightnot get them back.We’vegot kids who missed ﬁnals, missedgraduation. How do youget anyofthatstuff back?”

Jodie Ferise,ahighereducation attorneyinIndiana,saidsome students at schoolsher lawﬁrm works with have already left the country after receiving instructions to self-deport.

“This unprecedented treatment of student statushad caused tremendous fear among international students,” Ferise said. “Someof them were too frightened to wait and hope forthe administration to change course.”

Earlierthis week,beforethe government’sreversal,Ferise said the situationcould hurt international student enrollment.

“The world is watching, and we will lose students, not just by the technical revocation of their status, but by themessage we’re sending that we don’twant them anyway and that it isn’tsafeto even try to go to school here,” she said.

At least 1,220 students at 187 colleges, universities and university systemshave had their visas revoked, their legal status terminated or both, since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school ofﬁcials andcourt records. The AP hasbeen working to conﬁrmreports of hundreds morestudents who arecaught up in thecrackdown.

The change of course was expected after the governor brieﬂy previewed thepolicy last monthataluncheon address in Covington, saying “It’stimetoget back towork.” Landry spokesperson Kate Kelly on Friday said the executiveorder does not apply to Louisiana’s public higher education institutions, but said “weencourage them to adoptsimilar policies.”

Aspokesperson for Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras also saidthe order does not apply to the four publichighereducation systems. Those include the Louisiana Community and

“Assoon aswehave funding and as soon as we make that apriority, then wecan expand Chemin Metairie from basically East Milton, whereRousesis, all the waytonearly Highway90.”

KENRITTER, youngsville mayor

include all of VerotSchool Road and problematicintersectionssuchasChemin Metairie and Fortune Road

“The fact that aroad hasn’tbeen in our jurisdiction hasn’tstoppedusbefore, but the reality is,we can’tsingularly bail out every government agency of their responsibility,” Ritter said.

Verot SchoolRoad and its improvement is something that Ritter has pushed for a long time. The road, which is controlled by thestate, is one of the major arterial roads in Youngsville and can become regularly clogged duringmorning andafternoonrushes. There was state capital outlay money out there for improvements, said Ritter, whocollaborated closely with former Mayor-Presi-

Technical Colleges System, LSUSystem, Southern UniversitySystem and UniversityofLouisiana System. Butsomehighereducation leaderssaidthe ordercould require them to take similar action.

LSU spokesperson Todd Woodwardinitially said the order applies to LSU. When told the governor’soffice said it didnot,hedeferred to Kelly’sstatement; he did not immediately respond to an additional questions.

Astatement from the UL System said, “The University of Louisiana System is aware of Governor Landry’s

dent JoshGuillorytobring theproject to fruition

Butwhen Guillorylost reelection, the project was no longer aprioritytoMonique Boulet’sadministration, Ritter said.

“I’m not saying that offers an excuse.” Ritter said, “WhatI’m saying is that we all need to be making aconcerted effort to work with thestate, workwith theparish.”

Boulet did notimmediately respond to arequest for comment.

Ritter,inaninterview after the development announcement,saidthatthe Bailey Groveproject has been aknown quantitysince he took ofﬁce in 2015.

He addedthatcity improvementstoutilities, such as water andsewage, and to roads have been made with theunderstanding that amassive community like this would come to the town. Bailey Grove, being so large,willlikely take 20-25 yearstobecompleted, giving the cityample time to make moreimprovements, Ritter said.

“Wereally were just focused on where we were growing and to make sure thatwehad our best foot forward. We’ve been preparing for this moment,” he said.

Executive Orderregarding thereturnofstate employees to in-personwork

We are currently awaiting additional clariﬁcation and guidance from theDivision of Administration.

Thestate’s community college system has been expect-

ing an executive order from the governor’sofﬁce ending remote workarrangements, saidLCTCS Vice President of Education Chandler LeBoeuf. In light of theorder, it is now assessing “operational practicalities” andintends to voluntarilycomplyand

align with the order whenever and wherever possible. The Southern University System did notrespond to an emailed request forcommentFriday afternoon. Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse pfeil@theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ROSS D. FRANKLIN

Students march at Arizona State University in protest of threatened deportations of students on campus in January.

Forecasterswarnoffirerisk as Pine Barrensblaze burns

BY MIKECATALINI

Associated Press

Forecasters on Friday warned low humidityand gusty wind increasedthe risk that fire could develop across parts of NewJersey Philadelphia and its suburbs and Delaware as firefighters continued to battle avast wildfire in the Pine Barrens.

The National Weather Service discouraged any outdoor burningwith low humidity,temperatures reachingnear 80 degrees and southerly winds that could gust up to 20 mph acrossa swathofthe MidAtlantic. There’sachance of rain over theweekendin the region, where ofﬁcials said firesalsoburned uncontainedin Pennsylvania on Friday In its most recent update, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said about 60% of the fire spread over nearly 24 square miles in the southern part of the state was contained. No injuries or deaths have been reported, but buildings have burned along with cars. Ofﬁcials havechargeda

19-year-old man from the area withstarting the blaze thatled tothe wildﬁre.

ProsecutorsonThursday said Joseph Kling, 19, from Waretown, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with arson andaggravated arson, saying he litwooden pallets onﬁre and leftthe area before they were fully put out.

Apublicdefender representinghim during the hearingsaidshe had“nothing further” when asked by ajudge.

“The New Jersey Ofﬁce of the Public Defender cannot comment on pending cases at this early stage of the legal process, other than to remind everyone that individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in acourt of law,” said Cristina LiBassi aspokesperson with the Ofﬁce of the Public Defender in an email Friday

Attempts to reach Kling by phone were not successful.

Authoritiesfirst spotted the blaze Tuesday morning from aﬁre tower when asmoke column appeared amid thepines.Law en-

forcementsaidtheyused aGPS to plot the originof the ﬁre anddetermined the cause was abonfire that hadn’tbeen put out.

SpeakingThursdayafternoon at anews conference, Ocean County Prosecutor BradleyD.Billhimer said “wecan confidently say that we think the fire was set intentionally.” He declined further comment on whyauthoritiesbelieve the man they arrested was responsible and other matters related to theinvestigation since it remains ongoing.

It’s forest fire season in the pinelands, awilderness that encompasses more than1million acres —an area roughly as large as the Grand Canyon. Fireﬁghters are contending with low humidity and theaftermath of amonthslong drought in the region.

New Jersey is thenation’smost densely populated stateand officials have warned theﬁre could threaten developments nearby,although parts of the PineBarrens areuninhabited. The ﬁrehad grown to morethan 23.8square miles on Thursday

BY HOLLYRAMER Associated Press

CONCORD,N.H. Nineteen

states that refused to comply with aTrump administration directive aimed at eliminating diversity,equity and inclusion programs in public schools went astep further Friday,ﬁling afederallawsuitchallenging what they consider an illegal threat to cut federal funding.

Thelawsuit ﬁled in Massachusetts by Democratic attorneys general seeks to block the Departmentof Education from withholding

money based on its April 3 directive ordering states to certify theircompliance withcivil rights laws, includingthe rejection of what the federal government calls “illegal DEI practices.”States also weretold to gather signaturesfromlocal school systems certifying their compliance byApril 24. Instead,the plaintiffsinformed the government that they stand by their prior certiﬁcations of compliance with the lawbut refuse to abandon policies that promote equal access to education.

“Diversity,equity,and inclusion initiativesare legal effortsthat help studentsfeel safe, supported andrespected.The Trump administration’sthreats to withholdcriticaleducationfunding due to the use of these initiatives are not only unlawful, but harmful to our children, families, andschools,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.

The newlawsuit comes aday after judgesinthree statesruled against the Trumpadministration in separatebut related cases. 19 states

benefits.When those benefits endwith retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to put offoreven go without care

Simply put—without dental insurance, theremay be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

When you’recomparing plans

Medicare doesn’tpay for dentalcare.1

That’sright. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything That means if you wantprotection,you need to purchase individual insurance.

Earlydetection canprevent small problems from becomingexpensive ones. The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. The American Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

Even if you’ve

‘Thisfeels like home’

Moroccan band electrifies second nightofFestivalInternational

BY JOANNABROWN |Staff writer

nYallah Yallah’sFestival International debut, the Moroccan andMiddleEastern ’80s popthrowback band had thecrowd jumping, dancing and singing.

People filled thestreets forFestival International de Louisiane’ssecond night, just hours after heavy rainsflooded downtownLafayette. As Yallah Yallahplayed thefirst nightoftheirfour-set weekend,itwas clear the band was enjoying the crowd just as much as the audiencelovedthem —waving, smiling and filmingfrom stagetomemorialize their first visitto Louisiana.

Yallah Yallah’smusicisrooted in Middle Eastern and NorthAfrican folk traditions,withnotes of pop, rock and hip-hop to createa thoroughly modern,fun-loving sound bursting with percussive energy.A belly dancer joined the band onstage for several songs, encouraging the crowd to dance and join the spirit of Festival at thestart of downtown’smarathon music weekend.

Band leader Amit Peled toldthe crowd that the band felt sowelcomed in Lafayette, “It’slike we’ve been here forever.” “It’srare to feel somuchlove,”said the New York-based Peled, who is also the lead guitarist for Mediterranean “surf rock” band Habbina Habbina

He describes Yallah Yallah’ssound as “trashy ’80s,” adirect homage to the drum machine-basedpop music found on original recordings from the region.

Top10foods at Festival International

BY JOANNA BROWN |Staff writer

Festival International de Louisiane providesanunmatched atmosphere formusic lovers, in the heart of Lafayette —and allthatdancing can makeaperson hungry For manyfestivalgoers, the food is the mainevent. Every year,Acadiana festivaldelicacies like bread bowls, jambalaya andboudin balls are offered alongsideoptionsfrom local restaurants like Patacon Latin Cuisine,Blu BasilAsian Fusion and PhoHome, ensuring thatattendees can taste Festival’sinternational ﬂair forthemselves.

Long-standing favorites,like the crawﬁsh boats from Bon Creole, attract long lines every year— but don’tworry,food vendors come prepared to serve their goods by the thousands.It’sagood idea to come with ameal plan, as eateries are spread throughout Festival International’s seven-stageradius across downtownLafayette. This year’sfood vendors can be

Thirdpersonarrestedinshooting

Crowley police arrested aman suspected in aMarch 31 shooting that left awoman injured. Jamirion Thomas, 19,ofCrowley,was arrested Wednesday and faces threecounts of attempted second-degree murder and onecount of possession of aﬁrearm by afelon, according to a Crowley PoliceDepartment announcement.

BLOTTER Advocate staff reports

Twosisters, Ashley Dugas and Jakayla Jones, were arrested last week in connection withthe shooting, according to KATC. Dugas and Jones both face charges of principal to attempted second-degree murder.

On March 31, police responded to a shooting that occurred around 11 p.m. in the 500 block of North AvenueA Thomas is alleged to have followed a

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B ä See FOODS, page 2B ä See BAND, page 2B

woman to alocation to confront another woman.Analtercation broke out before Thomas shot at the other woman along with two additional people. Thomas’ bullets struck the targeted woman four times, according to police. Shesufferedserious injuriesbut hassince been released from the hospital.

Police: Woman accused of shooting up an Abbeville home

Vermilion Parish deputies arrested aKaplan womanafter she allegedly shot up an Abbeville home. Lacy Joan Perro,32, was arrested Thursday and faces five countsofillegal dischargeofaﬁrearm and shooting in aﬁrearm-free zone, according to an Abbeville Police Department announcement.

La.could repeal wrongful conviction compensation law

BY MEGHANFRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana lawmakers are debating whether to amend or do away with alaw thatallows people who were wrongfully convicted to seek compensation from the state.

Astate law passed in 2005 givespeople whose sentences were vacated or reversed the chance to prove theirinnocence before ajudge and earncompensation, whichis capped at $480,000 and depends on how long aperson was incarcerated. The attorney general is responsible for defendingthe stateinthose cases, and thestate has afund from which to pay out compensation.

In itsoriginalform, House Bill 101, by state Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, R-Hammond, would have eliminated that fund andshifted responsibilityfor handling such cases and paying out compensation to local parishes. The bill also would have made it more difficult to apply forcompensation. AttorneyGeneral LizMurrill backed that proposal, saying an influx of wrongful conviction compensation cases out of OrleansParish is aproblem for heroffice and forstate taxpayers.

However,onWednesday,during aHouse Administration of Criminal Justice Committeemeeting, state Rep. Debbie Villio

ä See REPEAL, page 2B

PHOTOSByROBIN MAy

The band yallah yallah performs at Festival International in Downtown Lafayette on Thursday. Their music is rooted in MiddleEasternand NorthAfrican folk traditions.

yallah yallah performs at Festival International on Thursday

Mike theTiger ‘pleads’

forlitter-free celebrations

Corks, confetti endupinhis habitat andcan be hazardous

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

LSU’sspring graduation is three weeks away,but graduating seniors are alreadycelebratingbytaking pictures in front of the iconic Mike theTiger habitatonNorth Stadium Drive.

The popular photo spot will be even busier on graduation days May 16-17.

Champagne corks and confetti will ﬂy —and someof it will, without adoubt, blow through the fencing and into the tiger mascot’syard. Nobody wants to rain on agraduate’sparade, but Mike the Tiger made aspecial plea on social media.

“Once again Iask my graduates to celebrate responsibly,” an Instagram post reads.“When you use confettiand pop champagne near my habitat, it inevitably

BAND

Continued from page1B

“This music is so beautiful,” he said. “The most important thing to us is not just to preserveit—it’snot amuseum piece. We want to actually play it forpeople and celebrate it.

“A lot of the guitar players who played this style were very unsung heroes. They didn’tbecome big millionaires or big producers. Some had avery tragic story, much like blues musicians For us it’sabout learning their craftand trying to play it note for note,and then you ﬁnd your own voice in it.”

FOODS

Continued from page1B

viewed on Festival International’swebsite, and through the mobile app, if you are hungry and looking for guidance in between stage sets. If you’d like afew suggestions before descending on the five-day music event, read on for our top 10 suggestions for Festival foods to try Crawfish spinachboat

This Festival International standard can only be described as adelicious (and shareable, although that’sa personal call) caloriebomb. Fortunately,calories don’t count when you’re spending all weekend dancing with thousands of your closest friends.

The breadbowlcraze has caught on at Festival, with downtown restaurants like Pop’sPoboys serving a “Crawfish Mimi Mac” bread bowl that offers crawfish mac and cheese pillowed in ahalo of carbs. But the gold standard of Festival bread bowls is still served at the Bon Creole booth at Pavillon de Cuisine, where people line up by the dozens to purchase aclassic crawfish spinach boat for $12 (filled with crawfish and spinach cream sauce).

Meat pies

Norbert’s Restaurant can be found at Scène LUS Internationale serving up classic Natchitoches-stylemeat pies, with aﬂavor kick that is unmistakably Acadiana. These $7 handheld pies are the perfect savory,portable bitefor dashingbetween bands.

Beignetfries

If you are running around Festival with kids, abasket of beignet fries are the perfect snack to bring along in the buggy.They are crispy, ﬂuffy and covered in powdered sugar —just like a classic pillowy beignet but eating asingular fry is

BLOTTER

Continuedfrom page 1B

PROVIDED PHOTO Trash from celebrations surrounding spring graduations at LSU was cleaned up from Mikethe Tiger’shabitat earlier this month.

blows in. Then my caretakers havetopick it up because ingestingit could be harmful. It also litters ourbeautiful campus. Be good, Tigers.”

“We’ve dealt with this every year,twicea year,for the past fewyears,” said Ginger Guttner,communications manager for theLSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Champagne corksand confetti, these daysoften made of plastic, pose potential health risks for the tiger,

“We’re always evolving and our sound is evolving,” added guitarist and band co-founder Segev Harosh

“We’retrying to preserve the beautiful parts of the tradition —the melodies, therhythms —and communicatethattoanew crowd.” Yallah Yallah is playing themost sets out of any band at Festival International this weekend. In addition to the Thursday performance, Festivalgoers can catch them againFriday night,Saturday morning andSundayafternoon —but it’sclear that thebandislooking to have a fun Louisiana festival weekend,ontop of their crowded performanceschedule Peled said that the band’s

alot less messy thanbiting into afull beignet. Beignet fries can be purchasedfor $9 at theMandez’sbooth,located at Pavillon de Cuisine.

Cubansandwiches

Café Habana City is one of Lafayette’s best-kept secretsfor deliciously authentic Cubancuisine, and they set up shop at Festival every year.Their traditional Cubano comes with roast pork, ham, cheese,pickles, mustard and butter, creating asandwich that retains all of itsﬂavor and moisture, freshlygrilled and delivered piping hot for $10. Café HabanaCity can be foundat Festival International at Pavillon de Cuisine.

Kimchi fries

There’s nothing better than apile of French fries at afestival —especially when they come dressed withthe bright,acidic crunch of authentickimchi. TheAsian fusion elevates these fries from amindlesssnack to aonce-a-yearexperience, availablefor $12 from Blu Basil at Pavillon de Cuisine.

Crawfish pistolettes

It’scrawﬁshseason in Louisiana, so of course thecrustacean has abig role toplay in Festival treats likebread bowls, and these fried, butter-soaked pistolettes ﬁlled with adelicatecrawfish cream sauce. These pipinghot buns canbefound atthe Poupart Bakery booth for $9, at ScèneLUS Internationale.

Alligatorballs

If you’re looking forsomething alittle more exotic than aboudin ball,why not tryanalligator ball?The flavor profileisvery similar but succulentchunks of alligator meat provide amore robust filling forthis festival treat, making them agreat way to try Louisiana’s “other whitemeat.”Alligator balls cost $7 at Jambalaya by Shake, at Pavillon de Cuisine, andare typically served with aspicy mustard dippingsauce that is just as

Guttnersaid.

“Graduation is ahuge milestone,and we certainly want to encourage people to celebrate, butwejustask them to pick up any litter,” she said.

“Mike could accidentally eat it, especially if it gets in water,” Guttner said.

The tiger’s14,000-squarefoot enclosure contains two swimming pools.

Mik e’sc ar etakers aretwo LSUveterinarianstudents who hold theirroles fortwo years, Guttnersaid.

They pick up thetiger’s habitattwice aday,seven days aweek, when Mike is safely inside his indoor enclosure. Oneofthe caretakers —theytaketurns —has to be 30 minutesfromBaton Rouge at all times, Guttner said.

The photoinaMike the TigerpostonApril 4shows 12 Champagne corks nestled in abed of confetti, all trash picked up that day

“This is just asample of what my caretakers had to pick up today.Celebrate, Tigers, but pleasedosoresponsibly,” the post said.

first taste of Lafayette included fried pickles, fried okraand shrimp po-boys all of which wereahit.He even shouted out fried pickles on stage while bantering with thecrowd, and the crispy,briny,umami-filled bites were still on hismind after his energetic set was over on Thursday night.

“You can’tsay no to eating fried pickles andplaying vintage guitarsinLouisiana,” according to Peled. Watch YallahYallahperformatFestivalInternational de Louisiane on at 8:45 a.m. SaturdayatScène Ochsner Lafayette General Fais Do Do, and at 2p.m Sunday at ScèneWellcare Lafayette.

crave-able as theballs themselves.

Patacon

Apatacon is atraditional Latin American plantain dish often made intoasandwich using plantains in the place of bread.For Festival, PataconLatin Cuisineserves them ﬁlled withyour choice of beef or chicken, with vegetables and an herby green sauce that provides the perfect amount of zest. This meal does not really have much in common withyour classic Evangeline Maid sandwich, making themthe perfect Festivalfood to try this year for the first time. Patacons areavailable for $12 at the Patacon LatinCuisine booth at Galeries du Festival.

Sweetpotatobeignets

Poor Boy’sRiverside Inn broke the mold when they created asweet potato beignet that is crunchy on the outside, hot andsoft and just abit gooey on theinside, dressedwithanorange hazelnut sauce. Check them out for $7 at the Poor Boy’s boothatScène LUS Internationale.

Festival punch

Thebeverage boothsat Festival International provide the usualcomplement of beers and mixeddrinks, along withanexciting specialty beverage referred to as “Festival punch.” This fruity rumdrink is deﬁnitely foradults, with just enough fun to make strolling festival withyour signature pink drinkevenmoredelightful. Festivalpunch is available for sale at ofﬁcial beverage booths spread across the Festival grounds

On Wednesday, policerespondedaround 11:35 p.m. to reports of shots being fired in the 1100 block of SouthState Street Upon arrival, police learnedthataPerroallegedly ranoff easttothe intersection of South Jefferson and Murrel Street after ﬁring ﬁve shotsatahome.

Aday later,deputies with the VermilionParishSheriff’s Ofﬁce pulled over Perro around 10 a.m. at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and SouthEast Street and arrested her One indicted in ’24 killing in Opelousas

ASt. LandryParish grand jury indicted a19-year-old in connection with aDecember 2024 murder.

MarquesMalik Sonnier and a16-year-old were both indicted in the second-degree murderofKendrick Lewis, who was found shot on Honey Lane in Opelousas, according to astatement from theSt. LandryParish district attorney Arraignment forSonnier is scheduled for May 22. The juvenile’sarraignment is scheduled for May 15.

In aseparate case, Jakob Sedrick Oakley,22, of Opelousas, was indicted for ﬁrst-degree rape and aggra-

REPEAL

Continuedfrom page1B

successfullyintroduceda new version of the bill one that wouldrepeal the wrongful conviction compensation statute entirely

The committee, which Villio chairs, voted 7-4 to send herversionofHB101 to thefull House. The vote fellalong party lines, with Democratsopposed to the bill andRepublicansinfavor of it

“I believe that Section 1983 is the appropriate remedyfor wrongful convictions involving misconduct and support therepeal of thestate statute,” Villio saidinastatement, referring to Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, whichallows individuals to sue governmentofﬁcialsfor civil rightsviolations.

Proponents of the bill, including Murril, presented Section 1983 —a federal law —asaviable alternative to seeking compensation through Louisiana’s statute. Butcriticssay the federal law would not cover all wrongfully convicted people, andthat it is very difﬁcult to succeed in such federal lawsuits.

Muscarello said the earlierversion of thebill was scrappedbecause shifting thecompensation case burden to local entities wasn’t viable, as parishescouldn’t afford to payout judgments. Buthethinks there is still work to do on the latest version, to ensure people whowere wrongfully convicted can get compensation by somemeans.

“It’smyopinion that people whoare wrongfully convicted should be compensated,” he said. “If the statemesses up, we need to paythemfor ourmistakes.”

Thirty-nine states have wrongful conviction compensation statutes, according to the National RegistryofExonerations, which is run by the University of Michigan Law School, MichiganState University College of Law andthe University of California, Irvine Newkirk Center for Science and Society

vated second-degreebattery of aLafayette woman. Thevictimwas found on McClelland Road in the Lawtellarea on Oct. 2, 2024, when she was brought to alocal hospital Oakleywill be arraigned on May 15.

Officerarrested on domestic incident

An Opelousas police ofﬁcer has been arrested following an investigation by the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division at the request of Opelousas PoliceChiefGraigLeBlanc.

An investigation revealed that a39-year-old ofﬁcer,Romalis Thomas,was involved in an off-duty domesticviolenceincident outside Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino on Easter Sunday

Troopers obtained an arrest warrant for Thomas on onecount of domesticabuse battery. He turnedhimself in at the St. Landry Parish Jail on Monday. “I have requestedthe LouisianaState Policetoconduct this investigationtouphold transparency andreinforce the trust our community places in us,” LeBlancsaid.

He said Thomas has been placed on administrative leave pending results of an internal investigation.

Counterfeit money results in arrest

ALake Charles man con-

Reason forthe bill

HB101 cameabout because thestate saw an influx of wrongful conviction compensation cases, according to Muscarello Murrill, when presenting thebill to the Administration of CriminalJustice Committee, attributed that influx to OrleansParish In recent years, Orleans Parish DistrictAttorneyJason Williams hasmade deals that shortened or overturned hundreds of prisoners’ sentences through aprocess known as post-conviction relief. Hisofficeoften justified those deals by citing shoddy police work or suspect tactics by prosecutors.

Murrill andRepublican state lawmakers have criticized Williams over those deals, arguing his office gave prisoners fartoo many breaks. Murrill toldthe House criminal justice panel that they have caused the spike in wrongfulconviction compensation claims—and that shedoes notbelieve all those claims are legitimate.

“Orleans, right now, Ithink we have over 20 cases pending, andthatisinmyopinion notbecause they have necessarily valid cases to make those claims,but it’s because of the high volumeofrelief that was granted by thedistrict attorney,and now that hasprompted morelawsuits under this statute,” Murrill said.

Murrill saidher office is being forced to defend “cases that Ihad nothing to do with.”

Shearguedthatthe parish whereawrongful conviction occurredshould be responsible for handling the corresponding compensation case,addingthatstate taxpayers from Monroe should notbepaying forwrongdoing in NewOrleans.

Some former prisoners are also seekingmoney both through state statute and the federalCivil Rights Act, Murrill said.

Bill drawscriticism

Jee Park, executive director of the Innocence Project NewOrleans, an organizationfocusedonfreeing innocent prisoners, said she was“shocked” that the state

ﬁrmedhis useofcounterfeit money “on multiple occasions” to police ofﬁcers. CalcasieuParish Sheriff’s Office Financial Crimes Unit detectivesassigned to the U.S. Secret Service Task Forcewerenotified April 15 that28-year-old Lake Charles manJason Thibodeaux, Jr.was possibly using counterfeit money in the area, according to anews release.

On April 17, detectives foundThibodeaux, who hadatanactive warrant for contempt of court, at aLake Charles restaurant and took him into custody Detectives found over $600 of counterfeitmoney on Thibodeaux, accordingtothe Sheriff’sOfﬁce Aftersearching hiscar, they found more counterfeit money and “suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia.”

“When detectives spoke with Thibodeaux, he conﬁrmed he used counterfeit money on multiple occasions,”the releasestated “He further stated he was doing it withthe intent to obtain real money as change.” Thibodeaux wasarrested andbooked into the CalcasieuCorrectionalCenter and charged withmonetary instrument abuse,possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hisbond wasset at $82,000.

is considering repealing its wrongful conviction compensation statute.

“Most of ourclients are on Medicaid andMedicare. They’re on food stamps. They’re barely able to make theirends meet,you know, and so giving them alittle bit of something to help them pay forrent, to help them pay for their transportation, fortheir insurance, goes alongway,” shesaid “Andit’ssomething thestate should do —they did take away their lifefor decades. It’s years they will neverget back.”

As for thepossibility of winning damagesthrough a federal lawsuit, Park said it is “incredibly challenging” to succeed in suchlawsuits because governmentofficialshaveimmunity Andnot allexonerees qualify to ﬁleSection 1983 claims because notall their cases involve government wrongdoing, shesaid. Park citedMalcolm Alexander’sstoryasanexample of one case where it would not be possible to ﬁle afederal civilrights lawsuit. In the 1980s, Alexander was convicted of rape. In 2013, hair evidence recovered froma crimelab that showed he could not have committedthe crime, according to the Innocence Project, which says he spent 38 years behind bars. Alexander won wrongful conviction compensation from the state last year, Park said.

Muscarello said he understands such concerns and is workingonanamendment to HB101 so thatit would keep the wrongful compensation statuteintact forpeople whose wrongful convictions did not involve government wrongdoing but would not cover those who areeligible to ﬁle Section 1983 claims. But if Muscarello can’t get the amendment right, he won’tmove the bill forward, he said.

“Am Iman enough to say the bill needs work? Absolutely,”hesaid. “Mygoal is to do theright thingfor the stateofLouisiana andfor my constituents, and speciﬁcally for people that are wrongfully convicted.”

BRIEFS FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

Big Tech carries Wall Street in wild week

Big Tech stocks carried Wall Street Friday to the close of a winning, roller-coaster week, one that saw markets swing fromfear to relief andback to caution because of President Donald Trump’strade war

The S&P 500 rose to add some more to abig three-day rally, and it’sback within 10.1% of its record setearlier this year Spurts for influential tech stocks sent theNasdaqcomposite up. But they masked amixed dayoftrading on Wall Street, wheremore stocks fell within the S&P 500 than rose, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose marginally Alphabet climbed 1.7% in its ﬁrst trading after Google’s parent company reported late Thursday that itsproﬁt soared 50% in the beginning of 2025 from ayearearlier,more than analysts expected.

Alphabet is one of thebiggest companies on Wall Street in terms of size, and thatgives its stock’smovements extra inﬂuence on the S&P 500 and other indexes.Another market heavyweight,Nvidia,was also amajorforcepushingthe S&P 500 index upward after thechip companyrose 4.3%.

Consumer sentiment slides on inflation fears

U.S. consumer sentiment fell to one of the lowest readings on record and long-term inflation expectations climbed to the highest since 1991 on fears of the economic fallout from tariffs. The ﬁnal April sentiment index fell to 52.2 from 57 amonth earlier,accordingtothe University of Michigan. While aslight improvement from the preliminary gauge of 50.8, the latest ﬁgureis the fourth-lowest in data back to the late 1970s.

Consumers anticipated inflation will rise at an annual rate of 4.4% over the next five to 10 years, thedata out Friday showed. They expect prices to rise at a6.5% pace over thenext year. While down from apreliminary reading of 6.7%, year-ahead price expectations are still the highest since 1981.

The survey began March 25 and concluded April21, aperiod that included President Donald Trump’sannouncement of a90day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of U.S. trading partners. In addition to stoking fears of higher inflation, the Trump administration’strade policies areelevating anxiety about the economy and labormarket. The university’s expectationsindex slumped to 47.3, the lowest since 2022, as 60%ofrespondentsoffered unsolicited comments about the hit from tariffs.

7-Eleven’snew chief confident about value

Theﬁrstforeigner tapped to head 7-Eleven expressed conﬁdence Friday the Japanese convenience store chain willcontinue to attract thrifty customers, eveninaneconomic slowdown.

But Stephen Hayes Dacus, an American with aJapanese mother,declined to comment on the speciﬁcs of thevarious investment plans now being studied, includinganacquisitionproposal by Alimentation Couche-Tard of Canada.

Aspecial company committee, which he isn’tpart of, is charged with studying the options “totally objectively,” he said.

“The process is moving forward very constructively,” Dacus, who is currently adirector, told asmall group of reportersat the Tokyo headquarters of Seven &iHoldings Co., which operates 7-Eleven. Fluent in Japanese and English, Dacus saidhewas determined to build aculture of leadershipthat he’slearned to admire from his experience working at Walmart, Uniqlo and other retailers.

“If you’renot humble, you’re not listening to your customers. You’re not learning. But if you’re not aggressive, you’re going to get beat by your competitors,” he said.

Callsfor cuts maynot help consumers

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

President Donald Trumpisbadgering the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but even ifthe Fed gave intothe pressure, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to lower borrowing costsfor consumers.

In fact,economists say, Trump’s ongoing attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell andhis tariff policies could keep the longer-term interestrates that matter forconsumers and businesses higher than they otherwise would be. Alessindependent Fedcan lead, over time,to higher borrowing costs, as investors worry that inﬂation may spike in the future. As aresult they demandhigher yields to own Trea-

sury securities.

Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to cutthe short-term interestratethatthe central bank controls. TheFed typically reduces its rate during an economic downturn to encouragemore borrowingand spending, and raises it to cool the economy andﬁghtinﬂation when prices rise.

Butlong-term ratesonthings like mortgages, auto loans, andcredit cards arelargelyset by market forces.And in recent weeks,fears that Trump’ssweeping tariffs could raiseinﬂation, alongwiththe administration’sthreats to the Fed’s independence, have led markets to push those longer-termrates higher.It’snot clear that the Fed can fully reverse those trends by itself.

“It’snot automatically true that even if the Fed were to cut rates, that youwould seea measured decline in long-term interest rates,” said Francesco Bianchi, an economist at Johns Hopkins University “This kind of pressure on theFed might backﬁre …ifmarkets don’t believethe Fed has inﬂation under control.”

Trump renewed calls on Wednesday and Thursday for Powellto reduce theFed’sshort-termrate, telling reporters that the chairis “making amistake” by not doing so.

And last week, Trump suggested he could fire Powell, while atop aide said that the White House was “studying” whether it could do so.

The threats to the Fed’s independence unnerved Wall Street inves-

tors because they see aFed free from political pressure as critical to keeping inflation in check. An independent Fed can take unpopular steps, such as raising rates, to fight inflation.

“Threatening the Fed doesn’t soothemarkets —itspooks them,” said Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York LifeInvestments. “And theresult is often the oppositeofwhat any administration wants to see: higher rates, weaker confidence and more marketturmoil.”

SinceTrump beganimposing tariffs in early March, when he slapped dutiesonCanada and Mexico, the 10-year Treasury yieldhas risenfrom4.15% to about4.3%. The yieldisa benchmark formortgage ratesand other borrowing. Mortgage rates,inturn, have increased duringthattime, from 6.6% to 6.8%

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor

Adatacenter inside Bon Carré Technology Park hasbeensoldfor $9.4 million,more thanfour years after aSouth Carolina firm paid $8 million forthe 800,000-square-foot business center DartPoints, aDallas-baseddata center operator,bought the nearly 90,000-square-foot data center in adeal that was filedThursday with the East Baton Rouge ClerkofCourt’s office. The seller was EdgePWR. EdgePWR of MountPleasant, SouthCarolina, bought BonCarré in December 2020. The company specializesindatacenters in second- and third-tier markets such as Charleston,South Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska.

BonCarré is located on FloridaBoulevard, at the former BonMarche Mall site. The mall closed in the1990s after it lost retail tenants to thenewer Cortana Mall and was rebranded as abusiness and technology park.

Bon Carré hasanoteworthymix of tenants that includes GMFS, Capital Area Human Services,the Louisiana Department of Health and the Baton Rouge PoliceDepartment .Italso housesthe Nexus Louisiana Tech Park business incubator.The former Montgomery Ward building is separately owned by Cox Communications.

Afew months after the deal closed, EdgePWR spent $10 million renovating Bon Carré, painting the property,replacing the roof and adding landscaping. It also brought in newtenants including theGovernor’sOfﬁce of Homeland Security& Emergency Preparednessand TheVolunteers of America.

“We’ve had good luck leasing the ofﬁce space,” said BenGrahamofStirling,who

along with Scott Macdonld, represented EdgePWR in the deal.

BonCarré’s location in themiddleofBaton Rouge,along withthe ample parking, makesita“good landing spot” for state agencies.

DartPoints has been in the local market since 2023 when it acquired Venyu, alocal data centeroperator andcloud service provider. Venyu operated two data centers in BonCarré

DartPoints officials said the growth of sectorssuchastelehealth, gaming andAI have pushed the demand for computerstoragethatisclosertoindividual clients. GrahamsaidDartPoints bought its property as part of an expansioneffort across the U.S. Grahamsaid he and Macdonald will continue leasing space in Bon Carré, looking for ofﬁce tenants.

“We’velooked at some conversions for sports-orienteduses,” he said. “We’re open to anything.”

BY ELAINE KURTENBACH AP business writer

SHANGHAI Boothsofbig Chinese, German and Japaneseautomakers were bustling atShanghai’sauto showthisweek as the industry kept its focus on awider globalmarket notsubject to steep U.S.tariffs on importsofcars and auto parts.

Signs are that U.S. President Donald Trump’s25% tariffs on auto importsiscausingcompanies to recalibrate their strategies, andinsome cases ﬁnd new opportunities.

“When governments up above are at odds, it’sgoing to impact the busi-

nesses down below,” said Ma Lihua, general manager at Soling, aChinese maker of domain control units and otherelectronicsusedinsuch things as rearview camera displays. Soling,headquartered in Shanghai, counts Ford MotorCo.,Toyota Motor Corp. and many other top tier global and Chinese automakers among its customers. It’s also setting up amanufacturing base in Vietnam, whose local electric vehicle maker VinFast hasambitions to becomeSoutheast Asia’sleading automaker

Many of thedozens of auto parts and components companies exhibitingatthe Shanghai autoshow have operations spanning boththe Chinese and world markets. Metal components maker Gestamp, asupplier of chassis, battery boxes and other key auto parts, has

suffered from aslowdown in the U.S.and western European marketsbut is expanding in Asia, Latin America andEastern Europe.

The tariffs are nowanaddedcomplication, as automakers watch to see what comes.

“In the past, supply chains usually wouldrun likeSwiss clockwork, but now it’sthe opposite,” ErnestoBarcelo, chief ESGofﬁcer for Gestamp, said of the uncertainty now dominating the market

“The lack of stability now, it’s somethingvery. ﬂuffy,” Barcelo said.

Afundamental criteria for investing in any market is political stability,Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor Co., told reporters when asked about his company’splans to expand manufacturing overseas. That applies to countries likeHun-

gary,where the companyhas notyet decidedonwhether to builda factory,hesaid,but also to the United States underTrump.

“Ifa countryisnot politically stable, it’svery risky,”said Wei, who also goes by thename Jack Wey. With U.S.tariffs so high, Great Wall can focus elsewhere, such as on tradebetween Chinaand Europe, which is bound to grow,hesaid. He didn’taddress the tariffs of up 45.3% that theEUhas imposed on electric vehicles madeinChina Tianshu Xin, CEO of Leapmotor International,a joint ventureofStellantis andChina’s Leapmotor, said the U.S. market wasn’tits ﬁrst focus. Now, “wewant to monitor the regulatory environment,and also customer preferences are slightly different compared with other markets,”Xin said.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

OPINION

ARTISTS’ VIEWS ANOTHERVIEW

Ignoring realitywon’t help make schools better

It seems there is afull-scale effort to beat up public schoolsinlow-income areas. Here is the latest. Proposed legislation by stateRep. BarbaraFrieberg is agut punch to schools inlow-income areas.The Baton Rouge Republican wants thestate to give money to schools based on attendance data fromthe districts This is supposed to encourage higher attendanceat those schools. It would address absenteeism, she says. Sounds plausible until therealities of manychildren and families in low-incomecommunitiesare considered.

Nowlet me explain some realities that Ihave witnessedﬁrsthandasamember of groupthatgives Thanksgiving boxes and Christmas moneytostudents in need at my old high school.

These will be the students who maybeout for days at atimebecause the importance of theclassroom may not match up withthe realitiesof survival. There were three youthsinthe family, but both parents were in jail. The older daughter,acollege student and parttimeworker,was trying to manage the family

Edward Pratt

She pushed her siblings to school, but sometimes one of them just found the situation overwhelming and didn’tattend every day

Another family of threelived in ahomelessshelter. The mother made surethey got to school. Acoupleof monthsago, she wasinthe hospital fora fewdays.The childrenleftthe homeless shelter and stayedatthe hospital withtheir mom. Luckily,school was not in session at thetime.But, given their love for their mom, they would havespent those days at the hospitalifso.

There was aHispanic student among agroup of six that Imentored at theschool for ayear. Shepointed out to me that several of her friendsand neighbors leave school to go to work. Some dropouts go to work and others might work for afew daysata time,then return to school. Imaginewhatadozen or so of those students will do to your school’sattendance report. Theseweresome of the cases we raninto. Iknow darn well those are not isolated. It would be beneﬁcial if people who drawupthese plans would sit and talk withschool guidance counselors and community leaders who work in thetrenches with families to get some idea of what theyare planning.Ithink sometimestheydon’twant to do it because it might poke ahole in theblinders they are wearing.

Recently,one of my best friends and Iweretrying our best to help afamilynear him ﬁnd ahomelessshelter or somewhere that would takeinafamily of nine. Several of the sevenchildren attendedpublic schools

As theyscrambled to ﬁnd somewheretolive, Idon’t think school the next daywas apriority

Look legislators, if you wanttohelpstudentsattend school, ﬁnd out some of therealitiesthatare keeping themaway.Granted, someparents andstudents may notview attendance like others.

But, what about ﬁnding ways to raisethe salariesof teachers in low-income schools because manyofthem leaveasquickly as they can? Getmuch-needed equipment into those classrooms.

Can’tdothat, you say? Well, youfound millions of dollarstopave the way forpublic school money to ﬁll the coffers of private schools.

Find those students Ican ﬁndevery day who need familyassistance and providethatto them.SNAPis notthe sole solution.

Getprograms intothose schoolstiedtoschool attendance,where some businesses will be there to offer payingjobstoteenagers.

Venture out from your gated communitiesorupper and high-income neighborhoodstosee whatiscausing attendance problems. My friends andI do it allthe time, just trying to help some of them. Then maybe you’ll get abetterideaofthe reality of these families. Ipromise you will ﬁnd some of those reasons for low attendance as aresult of situations you could never imagine.

Email Edward Pratt, aformer newspaperman,at epratt1972@yahoo.com.

SPORTS

NF DR Saints select QB at pick No. 40

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

When news broke in early April that Derek Carr’s 2025 season may be in jeopardy because of an injury to his shoulder, the New Orleans Saints suddenly became a destination for quarterback draft prospects.

The Saints put an end to the speculation about their future at quarterback early Friday night when they selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No 40 overall pick

There was some thought that the Saints may have to trade up to address the position, but they did not have to touch any of their current assets. Shough was the ﬁrst quarterback selected Friday night, and the third quarterback overall in the 2025 draft.

New Orleans was on Shough throughout the process Shough said Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien spent “about the whole day” with him prior to his pro day, going over offensive concepts on a white board before getting lunch and dinner Shough also visited the Saints’ facility prior to the draft. Shough is a nontraditional rookie quarterback. He dealt with injuries throughout his college career, which included stops at Oregon and Texas Tech, and he will enter his rookie season as a 26-year-old His shoulder collarbone and leg injuries were all season-ending, but none of them required extensive rehabilitation

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball team has landed one of the top players in the transfer portal.

MiLaysia Fulwiley, a dynamic guard who spent the ﬁrst two seasons of her career at South Carolina, took to social media on Friday to announce that she had committed to coach Kim Mulkey and the Tigers.

“She’s bringing her incredible playmaking ability to Baton Rouge,” Mulkey said in a statement, “standing out as one of the most electrifying talents in college basketball. Her ability to impact winning has been clear throughout her career and we can’t wait to see her shine in purple and gold at the PMAC soon.”

Fulwiley will be a junior next season and is one of the most coveted transfers of the 2025 cycle In two years with the Gamecocks, LSU’s chief Southeastern Conference rival, she entered games off the bench and frequently changed their complexion, usually sparking coach Dawn Staley’s offense with dazzling transition ﬁnishes.

‘Splinge’

pitch fueling LSU reliever Evans’ big season

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Casan Evans calls it a changeup. But that’s not what it looks like coming out of the freshman’s right hand. The pitch bares a closer resemblance to a splitter because of its late downward break. It’s a combination of a splitter and a changeup. Some have even called it a “splinge.”

“I’ve had this pitch since my junior year of high school, and it’s like a mix between a changeup and a splitter,” Evans said. “It’s just what was most comfortable to me. And ever since high school, I’ve been able to throw it whenever and wherever I want, in any count.”

When Evans was a freshman and sophomore in high school, the pitch was a splitter But the stress it placed on his forearm

JOHNSON

LSU lands highly touted Fulwiley from rival South Carolina

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

Fulwiley now will bring that scoring touch to Baton Rouge, where she’ll share a backcourt with Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams.

The Tigers had a clear offseason need to add frontcourt contributors, but they also lost both of their lead ballhandlers. Shayeann Day-Wilson exhausted her eligibility, and Last-Tear Poa transferred to Arizona State. Fulwiley, a 5-foot-10 combo guard, is neither a traditional, pass-ﬁrst point guard nor a consistent, efﬁcient scoring threat. But she is a gifted athlete, a dangerous transition bucket-getter and a former highly rated recruit who has served as a key piece on a pair of teams that reached the national championship game.

The Columbia, South Carolina, native averaged 11.7 points per contest in both seasons of her career As a freshman, she shot 44% from the ﬁeld and 34% from 3-point range. As a sophomore, she converted 43% of her ﬁeld-goal tries and 26% of her long-range attempts, with per-game averages of 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and

Trying to snap out of a late-season slump usually results in athletes being encouraged to focus on the next game, but the LSU softball team is well aware of the stakes.

The No. 10 Tigers have lost six of their last seven SEC games and return home at 1 p.m. Saturday for a three-game series against No 8 Florida. Three days after that series ends, the Tigers travel to Arkansas to meet the No. 9 Razorbacks for three in the ﬁnal conference series.

Because of the quality and quantity of SEC teams, its going to be a mad scramble through the SEC Tournament to secure one of the eight national seeds and that allow a team to stay at home until the Women’s College World Series.

LSU shortstop Avery Hodge said it’s a fact that can’t be ignored. “It’s in the back of all of our heads,” Hodge said. “We just need to focus on these next two weekends. Playing our game and playing strong will help us achieve those goals.”

Tigers coach Beth Torina isn’t trying to hide it from her players, and she likes her team’s chances of responding positively

“They are resilient and have proven to be that throughout the season,” Torina said “They still have everything they want to accomplish right in front of them. It’s going to be tough getting into the top group because it’s so competitive with just SEC teams. We’re out here trying to play the best version of LSU softball we can, but everybody understands the implications.”

RACING

7:55 a.m. FIM MotoGP: Sprint Race FS2

9:30 a.m. NASCAR Cup qualifyingPRIMEVIDEO 11:30 a.m.ARCA Series: GeneralTire 200 FS1

3p.m. NASCAR Xfinity: Ag-Pro 300 CW BOWLING

2p.m. PBAElite League FS1 COLLEGE BASEBALL

11 a.m. Miami at Boston CollegeACCN

at Georgia SECN

2p.m. Arkansas at Florida SECN

3p.m. Texas A&M at Texas ESPN2 Tulane at East CarolinaESPNU

5p.m. Vanderbilt at Ole Miss SECN

7p.m. Tennessee at LSU ESPNU COLLEGE FOOTBALL

11 a.m. Maryland springgame BTN

1p.m.Rutgers spring game BTN

3p.m. Oregon spring game BTN

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

11 a.m. Texas at Oklahoma ESPN2

1p.m. Florida at LSU ESPN2

5p.m. Nebraska at Washington BTN

6p.m. Clemson at Georgia Tech ACCN

8p.m. Missouri at Alabama SECN

BROADCASTHIGHLIGHTS

COLLEGE TRACK ANDFIELD

12:30 p.m.Penn Relays CBSSN

2p.m. DrakeRelays CBSSN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

7p.m. Kansas at Nebraska BTN FISHING

7a.m. Bassmaster Elite Series FS1 GOLF

noon PGATour:Zurich ClassicGOLF

2p.m.

PGATour:Zurich ClassicCBS

PGATour Champions GOLF

LPGA: Chevron ChampionshipNBC

4p.m. LIV Golf FS1

HORSE RACING

noon America’sDay at the Races FS2

8p.m.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

UFC: Garryvs. Prates ESPN2

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

noon* Baltimore at DetroitMLBN

3p.m. PhiladelphiaatChicagoCubsFOX

6p.m. Houston at Kansas City FS1

9p.m.* Miami at Seattle MLBN NBA PLAYOFFS

noon Cleveland at Miami TNT

2:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Memphis TNT

5p.m. DenveratL.A.Clippers TNT

7:30 p.m. Houston at Golden State ABC

noon Tampa BayatFlorida TBS

3p.m.Vegas at MinnesotaTBS

6p.m.Toronto at Ottawa TBS

8:30 p.m.DallasatColorado TBS

MEN’S SOCCER

6:30 a.m. Burnley at Queens Park CBSSN Everton at Chelsea USA

9a.m.Sunderland at Oxford United CBSSN Ipswich Town at Newcastle U. USA

6p.m.MLS: Atlanta at Orlando City FOX

WOMEN’S SOCCER

noon NWSL: NJ/Ny at Washington CBS

6:30 p.m.NWSL: San DiegoatChicagoION

9p.m.NWSL: Seattle at BayION UFL

6p.m.Michigan at St.Louis ESPN

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

7p.m.Pro Volleyball Federation FS2

*Joinedinprogress

LSUmen’s hoopscheckingboxes

McMahon addressesneeds with transfers

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

This offseason has seen agood deal of turnover for LSU men’s basketball, which is enteringa fourth seasonunder coach Matt McMahon.

Seven players have transferred, and as of Friday,ﬁve players have been added to the roster from the transfer portal.

McMahon spoke to The Advocate regarding the offseason and how the 2025-26 team is taking shape. This conversation wasbefore Curtis Givens became the most recent player to enter the portal when it was reported on Wednesday. McMahon said he is thrilled with his team’stransfer portal haul thus far as the program has been “very intentional” with the piecesithas acquired.

The Tigers set the tonewiththe acquisition of sophomore Dedan Thomas from UNLV, whoisrated as the No. 18 player in theportal, according to 247Sports. After subpar point guard play last season, McMahon saidheand hisstaff needed someone who could make an immediate impact.

“Just love his electricitythat he brings to theposition, hisability to create not only for himself, but for others,” McMahon said. “(They) always say the ultimate compliment of apoint guard is they make everyone else around them better and Ithink he certainlydoes that in many ways.”

Thomas,who is 6-foot-1,185 pounds, averaged 15.6 points on 41.3% from the field and 35.3%

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coachMattMcMahon has added five transfers during the offseason, and he said the Tigers are still considering‘players that fill important needs.

fromthe 3-point line, 4.7 assists and 1.9 turnovers pergame.

While thetwo-timeAll-Mountain West Conference player’s3-point percentage is solid, his3-point volume (2.6 attempts) was unexpectedly low for aplayer of his size andskill.

McMahonisn’t concernedand said he expectsThomas to shoot more from beyondthe arc.

“His catch-and-shoot 3s have been done at areally high percentage, and Ithink he’sanexcellent shooter from behind the arc,” McMahon said. “I thinkhe’ll be in good positiontohelpusstretch the ﬂoor,not only with his ability to shoot the 3, but just his craftiness and creativity off the dribble.”

In the frontcourt, LSU added bigs in sophomoreMichael Nwoko

from Mississippi State and senior Marquel Sutton from Omaha.

“Wewanted to addsize, physicality,defensive rebounding, rim protection, and we feel like we were able to check those boxes,” McMahon said.

With thesignings of seniors Rashad King and Max Mackinnon from Northeastern and Portland, respectively,McMahon was enamored with both having good size as 6-6 guards.

While everyone outside of Mackinnon is rated in the top 150 of 247Sports transfer portal rankings,the team isn’tﬁnished adding transfers to the team

“Wewant to continue to add players that fit, players thatfill important needs forus,”McMahon said. “So we’re definitely not complete at this point, but I’m really fired up aboutthe directionwe’re headed. And Ithink if we can add another piece or two, we’ll be really excited aboutour rostergoing into thesummer.”

When asked whetherthere is a preferred position to add depth at, he said theTigers are just searching for whoever is the “best ﬁt.”

Outside of thetransfer portal, they have madeadditions to their staff. On April 17, LSU announced thehires of generalmanager Ronald Dupree and assistant coach Yasir Rosemond.

McMahon described Dupree as a“perfectperson” forthe new position as aformer LSU star andexecutive in an NBA front ofﬁce. On Rosemond, he said he’s agreat asset to the program with his coaching experience from Oregon, Alabama, Georgia and most recently Indiana.

“I’vealways been abig fanof Yasir,”McMahonsaid. “I think he’sfantastic in player development,relationships with players, and is one of the country’s eliterecruiters, so really excited to add him to our staff.”

WNBA training campsopenthisweekend

BYDOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier will beback on the court Sunday to renew their chase for acoveted WNBA championship when training camps open and last year’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark begins Year 2in theleague. Stewart and the New York Liberty will be chasing asecond straight WNBA title, something Wilson and the Aces did in 2022 and 2023. There has been lots of movement in the offseason with the Acesadding Jewell Loyd in athree-team trade that sent Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles. Las Vegas still has asolid core withWilson, Loyd,Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. New York added NatashaCloud to bolsterits rosterwithguard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton sidelined for afew months after having knee surgery No team made more changes this offseason then the Fever,who are ledbyClark. Indiana added Sophie Cunningham throughatrade and signed free agents DeWanna Bonner,Natasha Howard,Sydney Colson, and Brianna Turner.Add that to Clarkand Aliyah Boston and there’salot of excitement in Indiana. There’sanew energy in Dal-

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ABBIEPARR Newyork Liberty forward Breanna Stewartdrives past Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton during aWNBAFinals game on Oct. 18 in Minneapolis.

las as well with No. 1pickPaige Bueckers joining the team. The Wings are hopingthatthe former UConnstarcan bolstera roster that features ArikeOgunbowale. Golden State will be thefirst new WNBAteam totake the court since the Atlanta Dream began play in 2008. Newleadershiponsidelines

Eight ofthe 13 teams will have new headcoachesthis season. Atlanta andLos Angeles turned

to college coaches Karl Smesko and Lynne Roberts, respectively Indiana brought back former coach and player Stephanie White to lead the Fever.Whitehad been in charge of theConnecticutSun, whoreplacedher with former Belgium national team coach Rachid Meziane. Chicago, Dallas and Washington turned to former WNBA assistant coaches Tyler Marsh, Chris Koclanes and Sydney Johnson, respectively.GoldenState also

Poirier’sretirement match setfor UFC 318 in N.O Dustin Poirier announced Friday that his ﬁnal UFCﬁght will take placeinhis home state of Louisiana.

On July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Poirier will face BMF champion Max Holloway in theLafayettenative’s farewell ﬁght at UFC318. “There’snot abetter guy Icould think to fight in my retirement ﬁght,” Poirier said. “He’salegend, former (undisputed) champion, current BMF champion, so we’re going to put on another war.”

The BMF belt is an unofﬁcial title awarded to the ﬁghter whohas showntoughness,aggressionand willingness “to engage in war-like” contests, according to ufc.com. Poirier, 36, hasarecord of 30-9. Holloway,33, hasa 26-8 record.

Grizzlies guard Morant doubtful for Game 4 MEMPHIS,Tenn. Memphis guard Ja Morant is doubtful to play Saturday when theGrizzlies face elimination in Game 4of their Western Conference series against OklahomaCity because of abruised hip.

In Game 3, Morant wasona fast break with teammateScotty Pippenwhenhejumpedand was struck at the feet by astumbling Lu Dort. The contact led to Morant hitting the court without breaking his fall. Despite reports that Morant would be out forGame 4onSaturday, interim coachTuomasIisalo declined to conﬁrm that. Later Friday,the Grizzlies listed Morant as doubtful on their injury report for Game 4, meaning he is unlikely to play

LSU freshman DL Battle enterstransferportal

LSU freshman defensive tackle Dilan Battleentered thetransfer portal Friday,multiple sources conﬁrmed to The Advocate. Battle was athree-star recruit in the 2025 class from Texas who enrolled early in January.Heparticipated in spring practice before entering the portal. Battlewas theﬁrstLSU scholarship playertoenter in thespring transferportal window,which closed Fridaynight. Graduate students can enter the portal at any time.

LSUishosting SouthFlorida defensive linemanBernard Gooden until Saturday.Gooden,asenior, recorded 35 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 11/2 sacks while starting 11 games last season,and LSUhopes to secure his commitmenttoadd an experienced player to the defensive line.

Butler’sstatus uncertain for game againstRockets

brought in aformer assistant coach, Natalie Nakase, to be its ﬁrst head coach.

Bignames change teams

Indiana is notthe onlyteam to make major moves with several franchises adding marquee names to rosters during theoffseason via free agency

Atlanta picked up former Mercury All-Star Brittney Griner,who had spent her entire career playing in Arizona since being drafted No. 1in2013 by Phoenix. The Dream also added former Connecticut standout Brionna Jones. Phoenixwas active in bolsteringits roster, tradingfor Alyssa Thomas and signing Satou Sabally

The Sun lost their entire starting ﬁve from last season and brought back former UConnAll-American Tina Charles as well as Diamond DeShields. Taurasi,Delle Donneretire

Twoplayers that won’tbein camp this year are Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

Both announced their retirements this offseason. Taurasi had played her entire 20-year career in Phoenix,leadingthe Mercury to threeWNBAchampionships

Delle Donne played in bothChicago and Washington, helping the Mystics win thefranchise’slone title in 2019

SANFRANCISCO Warriors forward Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable forGame 3ofGolden State’s ﬁrst-round playoffseriesagainst theHouston Rockets after he suffered apelvic contusion in a frightening fall during Game 2. Butler flewhome from Houston andunderwentanMRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area that revealed he injured his pelvis and has adeep gluteal muscle contusion. The team announced the update Friday,with the best-of-seven series tied at onegameapiece as it shifts to Chase CenterinSan Francisco forGame 3onSaturday night. Game 4isMonday Butler wentdown hard when fouled by Amen Thompson late in the ﬁrst quarter and then missed the rest of Wednesday’sgame.

USC recruit Arenas out of coma after carcrash

LOS ANGELES The family of Southern California basketball recruitAlijah Arenas saysheisout of an induced coma after avehicle crash in Los Angeles.

The family says in astatement to ESPNthatthe 18-year-old Arenas remains intubated but has “shown signiﬁcant signs of progress within the last 24 hours.”

The LosAngelesPolice Department says officers responded shortly before 5a.m.Thursday to asingle-vehicle crash in the Resedasection of theSan Fernando Valley. The LosAngeles FireDepartment says the vehicle was aTesla Cybertruckthatstruck atree and aﬁre hydrant with ﬁre involved. No cause of the crashhas been announced.

man class.

1.5 steals.

In three career games against LSU, Fulwileyaveraged 13.3 points on 45% shooting and drained 6of13tries frombeyond the arc. She also tallied six steals. Her top showing vs. the Tigers was a24-point outing in the 2024 SECTournamenttitlegame,a matchup that South Carolina won 79-72.

Fulwiley has scored at least 20 points only seven times, but she played just 19 minutes per game across the ﬁrst two years ofher career.Her per-40-minute scoring average last season was 24.9 ppg, one of the six highest rates among Division Isophomores and ahigher average thanones posted by other SEC stars in her

TIGERS

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LSU isn’tinabad position but was much better off before going 1-5 in aswing through TexasA&M and Texas. The Tigers’ RPI is No. 7 and strength of schedule is No. 10, but that can improve afterthe next two weekends, particularly if they can capture both series Torina is hoping atweak of her lineup will help. Hodge was moved from the No. 9spot in the batting order to No. 6. She’sfourth on the team with a.356 average and has a .423 on-base percentage. She also leads theteam with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.

Hodge doesn’tcarry much power with six extra-base hits among her42, butshe didconnect for herfirst career homer against UL in March. More importantly, she’sbeen acapable replacement at shortstop for four-year starter Taylor Pleasants.

Ajuniortransfer from national champion Oklahoma, she’s playing shortstop full time for the ﬁrst time andhas 17 errors,but only one in the last 13 games.

“Knowing it would be Taylor’s last year,wehad abig question mark as to who could ﬁll that spot,” LSU pitcher Tatum Clopton said. “It couldn’thave gone better for us

“She’ssuchagreat human on and off the ﬁeld and apresenceout there. She providessomuchpeace and comfortwhen I’m in the circle. Ispeak for all the pitchers when I say we knowshe has our back and is so great at communication

Hodge said she adaptedquickly after arriving at LSU.

“It happened for me in the fall with everyonebeing so welcoming,” Hodge said. “Wegot to work right away and that was ahuge

Fulwileyaveraged 13.3 points on 45% shootingand made 6of13 tries from beyond the arcin three career games against LSU.She alsotallied six steals. Hertop showing vs. the Tigers wasa24-point outing in the 2024 SEC Tournamenttitle game

class,such as Williams (21.9) and Madison Booker of Texas(20.5).

LSU is replacing eight of the 13 scholarship players from last season’steam. It has only four returning contributors —Johnson, Williams, Kailyn Gilbert and Jada Richard— andthey’reall guards,justlike three of the four recruits signed to its No. 1fresh-

Those facts didn’tstop Mulkey from pursuing Fulwiley,then landing herinone of themost noteworthy moves of the 2025 offseason.

Fulwiley will be the third transfer to sign withthe Tigers this offseason. LSU already inked former Notre Dame forward KateKoval and former East Carolina forward Amiya Joyner.Both are expected to play signiﬁcantroles next season.

LSU also is still in the mix for former Wisconsin star Serah Williams,a6-4 forwardalsoranked as oneofthe 10 best transfers of 2025, per ESPN. She visited Baton Rouge on April 17-18.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

LSU shortstop AveryHodge rounds first after getting

Alabama in the second inning of their game on April

part.Makingmefeelcomfortable and the coaches pushing me hard is what Iwanted. Thetransition hasbeen reallyeasy

“I’m comfortable leading. Leadershiplooksdifferent in alot of ways. Some days it’sbyexample or sharingmythoughts.”

LSU has its work cut out for it this weekend. Floridaleads the SEC in runs scored(391), homers (85) and hits (453). Taylor Shumak-

er andMia Williams are in afourwaytie forthird with 16 homers, which includes LSU ﬁrst baseman Tori Edwards. Three other Gators have at least 10. Leadoff hitter Kendra Falbyis batting .469 with a.538 on-base percentage and 34 steals.

“Their lineup is incredibly deep, no moment whereyou can catch your breath,” Torina said. “It’sprobably the deepest lineup we’ve seen.”

Jets select LSU TE Taylor in second round

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

After putting together the most productivecareer by atight end in LSU history,Mason Taylorwas picked earlyinthe second round of the2025 NFLDraft, goingwith the No. 42 overallpicktothe New York Jets. Taylor wasthe third tight end off theboard, following Michigan’sColston Loveland and Penn State’sTyler Warren in the ﬁrst round.

Athree-year starter,Taylor endedhis LSU career with the school records for most receptions (129)and yards (1,308) by atight end. He also caught

six touchdowns and famously grabbed a2-point conversion to beat Alabamainovertimeasa freshman.

Taylor becamethe latest member of his family to reach the NFL. His dad, Jason Taylor,was a Hall of Fame defensive end after recording 1391/2 career sacks. His uncle, Zach Thomas, also reached the Hall of Fame as alinebacker with the MiamiDolphins and the Dallas Cowboys.

Taylor was the second LSU player to get picked in the 2025 draft afteroffensive tackle Will Campbell went No. 4overall to the NewEngland Patriots on Thursday.They now will play in the samedivision.

SAINTS

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“It’sonly mademestronger,” Shough said. “I’vehad thebone breaks. It hasn’taffected me physically,and it’s strengthened me mentally.I feel so prepared to come into NewOrleans, continue to learn,continuetogrow and compete. At this point, I’mready for this opportunity.”

He stayed healthy in 2024 and enjoyed astrong season with Louisville, throwing for 3,195 yards and 26 touchdowns.

“Itwas huge,” Shough said of his ﬁnal season. “Just to be

Continued from page1C

forced him to grip it differently, widening his ﬁngers on the ball for amore comfortable delivery and turning it into more of a changeup.

“Just being able to throwthe pitch at any time builds my confidence,” Evans said, “knowing that Ihave aput-away pitch.”

The pitch has gone along way toward making Evans one of the best relieversincollege baseball. Entering this weekend’s serieswith Tennessee, he has a 0.67 ERA and has struck out 38% of the battershe’sfacedin27innings. He andjunior right-hander Zac Cowan have combined to form one of the strongest bullpen duos in the country.Cowan cameinto this weekend with a1.21 ERA and a32.4% strikeout rate in 371/3 innings.

It probably isn’tacoincidence thatCowan and Evans’out pitch is someversion of achangeup.

“I think aright-on-right changeup is the toughest pitch in baseball,” junior Daniel Dickinson said. Whathas made the off-speed pitches so effective forCowan andEvans is their ability to locate

LSUtight end Mason Taylor signals a first down after abig play against Alabama on Nov. 9atTiger Stadium. STAFF FILE

in that style of offense under coach (Jeff) Brohm, you’re running pro-style concepts and having alot more control of everything,havinga full season where you have to manage the ebbs and ﬂows.

“Obviously, I’ve been around and seen alot of ball and started alot of games, but getting afull season and being able to showcase what Ican do was my main goal.”

In Shough, the Saints selected aquarterback with prototypical size (6-foot-5, 219 pounds) and an NFL-caliber arm.

Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

it wherever they want.

Cowanhas allowedthe only home run between them,and both pitchers have awalkrate that’sunder 9%. In other words they throw strikes without leaving theballoverthe heartofthe plate.

“Hitting is about timing; pitchingisabout disrupting timing,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Timing is correlated to how well yousee the ball, andtheyhave an abilitytocreate deceptionin hitters.

“Theyalso throwall theirpitches forstrikes, andthe morethat you do that, the more doubt that you put in the hitter,and then it makes it hard for them to get a really good swing off.”

The plus command and plus changeup they possesshavedone wonders for an LSU bullpen that hasotherwise had an up-anddownyear

“Somepeople just are able to throw (the changeup) alot easier than others, and Ithink that’s something that just comes very naturally to them,” junior lefthander Conner Ware said, “and it’skind of their pitch, and it’s whatthey’ve been doing their whole lives.”

Email Koki RileyatKoki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

ahit against

5atTiger Park.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHRISCARLSON

South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwileyshoots over LSUcenter Aalyah Del Rosario during the firsthalf of the SEC Tournament final on March10, 2024, in Greenville, S.C. Fulwileyhad a24-point outinginthe titlegame.

PHOTO

MICHAEL JOHNSON

BR-area shops to host first bookstore tour

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

In some cities, a new bookstore opening could be seen as competition For Tere Hyﬁeld of Red Stick Reads in Baton Rouge, it’s a reason to organize a book crawl.

The last Saturday in April is Independent Bookstore Day, and for the first time, four bookstores in East Baton Rouge, Livingston and West Feliciana parishes are coming together to host a bookstore crawl. They hope to expand it in the future. It’s not an original idea, Hyfield clarified, but it’s the first time in a while, they’ve had enough bookstores to have a crawl.

“Until recently it was just us here (in Baton Rouge),” she said “I’m like, who am I crawling with? What am I doing?”

But in April, TBR Books and Tea opened on Highland Road.

To Hyﬁeld, the book crawl is a way to welcome TBR Books and Tea into the fold and to “go out with a bang” in their old location before they relocate to 3829 Government St., behind Baton Rouge Music Studios and near Rocca Pizza, Cannatella Grocery and Mid City Beer Garden.

Last chef standing Word on the street

To participate in the book crawl, people can pick up “passports” to collect stamps at each participating store. If they collect all four (a roughly 76-mile loop), they can drop the passport off at the last bookstore they visit to be entered into a drawing, which will have a collective grand prize with swag and gift cards donated by all four bookstores.

Here are the special events, giveaways and book recommendations by booksellers at each of these independent bookstores:

The Conundrum’s owner Missy Couhig

The Conundrum n 11917 Ferdinand St., St. Francisville

The Conundrum is the only independent bookstore in St. Francisville, and when Tere and James Hyfield were considering opening their bookstore in Baton Rouge, they called owner Missy Couhig. The Hyfields consider her a mentor and friend to this day The Conundrum will be running giveaways throughout the day and providing lemonade, tea and snacks. At 11 a.m., they will have a sing-along story time and book signing with Britt Gondolfi, author of “Look Up! Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution.” From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., authors will be Suzanne Duplantis, “Lagniappe Leftovers,” and Julie Hooks, “Hannah Bear & Lulu’s Festival to Remember.” For those looking for a local book, Couhig said “Broken

ä See BOOKS, page 6C

Nini Nguyen relishing opportunity, stress of Food Network competition

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

New Orleans chef and culinary competition

regular Nini Nguyen

watched the ﬁrst season of Food Network’s “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing” and yet she still applied for its sophomore season.

‘24 IN 24: LAST CHEF STANDING’ 7 p.m. Sunday l Food Network (streaming next day on Max) l foodnetwork.com

“I was like, ‘This is a crazy show and I am crazy and I kind of want to do it.’ They cast me and it’s exciting,” Nguyen said Monday “I’m 38 years old and I’m not a spring chicken like some of the other people who are on this season, but, you know, I wanted to see how I held up.”

While the title hints at what this competition is all about, here’s the ofﬁcial network synopsis: “Shot in real time, the hosts have gathered a group of 24 talented and fearless chefs for 24 challenges over the course of 24 straight hours. Skill, creativity and stamina are tested while the clock never stops — and

only one competitor will survive to become the last chef standing and win $75,000.”

During the 24 hours, the challenges, divided into eight shifts, test each chef’s skills in tasks such as speed, resourcefulness, artistry and adaptability If the guest judges aren’t impressed, the chef will probably be told to pack up those knives and leave.

“Chefs who last a long time will cook for 24 hours. There’s sometimes eliminations throughout the show Sometimes they eliminate one person. Sometimes they eliminate multiple people,” Nguyen said.

“It’s just torturous because you could be tired. You know when’s the last time I feel like you stayed up for 24 hours? And so your mind plays tricks on you.”

Staying awake for 24 hours while cooking wasn’t something Nguyen said she practiced in advance.

“I think with ﬁlming things like

this, it’s part energy but also your adrenaline’s up. You know, you can’t really train your adrenaline to be up,” she explained. “I already stay up late, I don’t sleep very much, so I felt like that wasn’t gonna be the problem. The focusing, that was what was going to be difﬁcult for me.” She likened the experience to spending an extended amount of New Orleans chef

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

PROVIDED PHOTOS By NICK AGRO/FOOD NETWORK

Fresh off her appearance on Food Network’s ‘Tournament of Champions,’ New Orleans chef Nini Nguyen will tackle ‘24 in 24: Last

Chefs Nini Nguyen, left, and Gabriele Bertaccini work against time and fatigue on ‘24 in 24:

Standing.’

Beingcautious around theelderly

works great!

Dear Heloise: I’m getting close to 82 years old, and whenI see acrush of people, Istay out of the way becausethey could so easily knock me over.I’vebeen knockeddown in the past —Polly,inCalifornia Polly,thanks for your letter.Readers, older people can lose their balance easily and get pushed to the ﬂoor by people rushing past them, so please slow down around the elderly.They could break abone if they fall. —Heloise Threehints in one

Whichisit, soda or water?

Dear Miss Manners: Self-service fountain machines at pizza parlors and delis have the different sugary sodas labeled with big buttons, while there are often smaller black “water” and “soda” buttonsbelow

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Ihave read your wonderful column for years; thank you for all your great hints! Here are three of my own:

n Sometimes cookies, pastries, bread, etc., come out of the oven looking beautifully golden-brown on the top, but the bottoms are burned. Irun the burned bottoms along my cheese grater so that the food looks and tastes perfect! (I usually “sand themdown” over the sinksoI can easily rinse away the evidence!)

n To clean the coffee or tea stains from acup, Ispraythe inside of the cup with ableachbasedkitchen cleaner,rinseit, and stick it in the dishwasher.It

n My very favorite way to make grilled cheese, especially when Iammaking multiple sandwiches, is in theoven! Ibutter one side of several even-numbered pieces of breadwhile my oven is warmingto375 F. Then Ilay all thebread on a baking sheetwith the buttered side down and put onepiece of cheese on top of each piece of bread. I can then add items such as bacon,ham, onions and tomatoes on top of the cheese.

Ipop the tray into theoven fora coupleofminutes until the cheeseismeltedand bubbly

ThenItake the tray out and ﬂip one sideofeach sandwich on top of its partnerwith aspatula. Each sandwichturns out perfectly lightly brown on the outside and meltedonthe inside.Also, the add-insare slightlycooked and don’tfallout of the sandwich because theyare already stuckin the melted cheese.

People can ask for the type of bread, cheese andadd-ins they want, and all thesandwiches are made at one time! —A.R., in Pennsylvania

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday,April 26, the 116th day of 2025. There are 249 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On April 26, 1986, in theworst nuclear disaster in history,an explosion and ﬁre at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing intothe atmosphere. Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster,while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands

On this date:

In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-dayCape Henry,Virginia, on an expedition to establish the ﬁrstpermanent English settlement in the WesternHemisphere.

In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of PresidentAbraham Lincoln,was surroundedby federal troops near Port Royal, Virginia, and killed.

In 1913, Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old worker at aGeorgia pencil factory,was strangled; Leo Frank, the factory superintendent, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to death. (Frank’sdeath sentence was commuted, but he was lynched by an antisemitic mob in 1915.)

In 1994, voting began in South Africa’sﬁrst all-race elections, which resulted in victory forthe

BOOKS

Continued from page5C

Bayou,” by Jennifer Moorhead, has been arecentfavorite. It’s set in West Feliciana Parish, in a made-up town that is amash-up of Louisiana towns the author has visited. For children, she recommends “Astronaut Hayley’sBrave Adventure,” which is about Hayley Arceneaux,a physician associate and pediatric cancer survivor from St. Francisville who was the youngest U.S. citizen to go to space. Otherwise, she said, “Scrim on the Run,”about the famous runaway dog from New Orleans, has been abestseller Cavalier HouseBooks n 114 N. Range Ave., Denham Springs For the book crawl, Cavalier House Books is hosting Rachel Kumar with Little Learner Games from 10 a.m. to 1p.m.and Jordan Lahaye Fontenot, author of “Home of the Happy,”from 1p.m.to3 p.m. They will also have giveaway items from the American Booksellers Association. John Cavalier recommends “Homeofthe Happy,” atrue crime memoir about the murder/ kidnapping of the author’sgreatgrandfather in EvangelineParish. “It’sfantastic,” he said, “If you haven’tgotten it, go ahead and get it. Everybody’sshelfinsouth

Ihave always believed that the aerated water dispensed by the“soda” button is still just water, meaning Ican ﬁll up acup for free. After all, it is not on the menu for purchase. Is my assumption correct? My partner says that this is stealing and Ineed to pay for it.

water is still water? Idoacknowledge that the soda button uses a small amount of the aeration cartridge shared by the other beverages. Iamhappy to change my practice and ask each time, but now I’mjust irritated with my partner and digging in my heels.

African National Congress and theinauguration of Nelson Mandela as president. In 2000, Vermont Gov.Howard Dean signed thenation’sﬁrst bill allowingsame-sex couples to form civil unions. In 2018, comedian Bill Cosby was convicted of drugging and molestingTemple University employee Andrea Constand at Cosby’ssuburban Philadelphia mansionin2004. (Cosby was later sentenced to threeto10 years in prison, butPennsylvania’shighest court threw out theconviction andreleased him from prison in June2021, ruling that the prosecutor in the case was boundbyhis predecessor’s agreementnot to charge Cosby.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 92. Composerproducer GiorgioMoroder is 85. Olympic swimming gold medalist Donna de Varonais78. Actor Giancarlo Espositois67. Actor Joan Chen is 64. Actor Jet Li is 62. Actor-comedian Kevin James is 60. Former U.S. Poet Laureate NatashaTrethewey is 59. Actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste is 58. First ladyMelania Trumpis55. Singer Tionne“T-Boz” Watkins (TLC) is 55. Country musician Jay DeMarcus(Rascal Flatts) is 54. Actor TomWelling is 48. Actor PabloSchreiber is 47. Actor JordanaBrewster is 45. Actor Channing Tatum is 45. New York Yankees outﬁelderAaron Judge is 33.

Louisiana is going to have acopy of that book.”

TBRBooks andTea n 7276 Highland Road,Baton Rouge

TBR Books and Teaopened on April 12. For thecrawl, they’ll be hosting agolden ticket giveaway with Libro.FM, an audiobook companythat givessomeofits proceeds to local independent bookstores. OwnerJamie Freeman and her staff will hide the golden ticket somewhere within thestore, andthe winnerwho ﬁnds it will get12free credits Freeman recommends “EverythingisTuberculosis,”byJohn Green,onthe history of the deadliest infectious disease, and “We Solve Murders,”byRichardOsman, which is part murder mystery,part romance.

RedStick Reads n 541 S. EugeneSt.,Baton Rouge

RedStick Readsplanstohave abig moving sale(20-25% off) to minimizethe number of books they have to move to their new location. They also plan to have food and drinks throughoutthe day.

Hyﬁeld said she’sbeenona true crimekickrecently andrecommends “The Girl’sa Killer,” by Emma C. Wells. Or as apalate cleanser,she recommends “You Can’tSpellTreason without Tea,” acozy fantasy about two women whoescapetheir lives and run a tea/book shop together

Email Serena Puang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com.

Ionce asked at the register to conﬁrm this was OK, and the young guy there said “sure.” But at lunch at adifferent restaurant, Isaid Iwas going to get some soda and mypartner said “OK, if you want to steal it” —right in front of theowner,who was walking by our table.

Idonot identify as athief, and I felt hurt. Is there something Iamoverlooking? Should Iask each time, at each restaurant? Or is my assumption OK that aerated or not,

Please weigh in.

Gentle reader: The argument that compels Miss Manners the mostisthat soda water is not otherwise on the menu. Is this true for every establishment? That would be thequestion to ask:“May I have acup forsoda water,oris that something Ican purchase from you?”

Youthen have full permission to give asmug, satisﬁed smile to your partner when the answer is in your favor.Provided you still want to dine with someone who has been calling you athief Dear Miss Manners: Iwas born a natural redhead. But as the years went by,myhair color faded away,and now Ineed extra help from my beautician to keep my hair red.

My entire life, strangers have asked me, rather frequently,if red is my natural color.Now,I feel inclined to explain that it once was,but that Icurrently dye it. However,that feels awkward and unnecessary

What would you suggest Isay when someone asks me this very direct question?

Gentle reader: “My hair is naturally red.” This is not only technically truthful, but moreimportantly succinct. Youdonot owe anyone, much less impertinent strangers —and it is indeed impertinent to ask someone such aprivate question —adetailed confessional. Miss Manners will leave it up to you if you feel compelled to divulge the whole truth to your friends —but she holds out hope that your friends are too polite to ask. Or already know the answer

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

FYI

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location will also feature 24-hour availability for members in the coming months. Formore information, visit ymcabr.org/construction.

American Red Cross holds aid certification

TheLSU HilltopArboretum will host the American RedCross Wilderness and Remote First Aid course 8a.m. to 5p.m. May 10-11 at theLSU Hilltop Arboretum,11855 Highland Road,Baton Rouge. This two-daycourse will provide individuals with afoundationoffirst aid principles and skills to be able to respond to emergencies and give care in areas that do not have immediate emergency medical services, suchaswilderness and remote environments andduring urban disasters. The American RedCross certification is viable for two years. The Wilderness and Remote FirstAid course requires active participation in aclassroom or field experience. Current adult CPR/ AED certification is aprerequisite for participation in theWilderness andRemoteFirst Aidcourse.Participants mustalsobe14yearsof

NGUYEN

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time in agambling casino.

“You know how like in casinos there’sthe oxygen andthe lights and no windows. So you can never tell what time it is? Ifeel like being in that stadium (as they refer to Food Network kitchens),”she said. “It’skindofthat same feeling like you’re not really paying attention to everything else because you’re so busy andsostimulated.Ididn’thaveatrouble with it.” With each chef’s strengths and weaknessesonfull display during the 24 hours, Nguyen sees her ability to think on her feet as aplus, but possibly not being able tocook everything (as in all dishes) as her weakest link. “A lotofthese chefshaverestau-

will be pagedthrough simultaneously.Volumes 1-3 contain 100 plates each, while Volume 4contains 135 plates. Visitors are welcome to take photographs without ﬂash. Limit personal belongings to avoiddamaging thefolios, and purses and bags will either be locked or placed along the side of the room.

The event is free, but atimed reservation is required to view the folios. Learn more and register at lib.lsu.edu/special/audubon.

TheBRIrishClub15th annual Film Festival

age on or before thelast scheduled session of the course. Tuition is $270, and the class is limited to 12 participants. Registration is required ahead of time. Formore information, call (225) 767-6916 or emailinfo@friendsofhilltop.org

Libraries to hostviewings for Audubon Day

Calling all birders: LSULibraries will hosta viewing of the famed double elephant folio edition of John James Audubon’s“Birds of America”(London, 1827-1838) from 10 a.m. to 2p.m.May 3atHill Memorial Library,95Field House Drive, Baton Rouge.

During each viewing, the four volumes of “Birds of America”

rants and they’re cooking all the time. Icook at home,but Idon’t cook at that kind of level all of the time,” she said. “But Ifeel like it’s not always about everything you know,but what youcan do —like basic skills and how to makeitdelicious, being creative and under pressure.”

Nguyen, formerlyofNew Orleans bakery Sucré and restaurant Coquette in addition to Michelinstar restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York, now devotes her time to teaching cooking classes, writing cookbooks (“Dac Biet: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook”) and competitive cooking. Shewon theﬁrstseason of Food Network’s“Last Bite Hotel” and hasappeared on “Top Chef: Kentucky,”“TopChef:All-Stars L.A.” and most recently “Tournament of Champions.” Nguyen also hope to open aVietnamese restaurant in her home-

The Baton Rouge Irish Club will hold its15th annual Film Festival Aug. 2, at the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center,100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge. This signature event coincideswith the club’s75th anniversary Events of the day include the ever-popularshort film series, an inspiring documentary and afeature film, alongwithbagpipers and dancersfromthe Ryan School of Irish Dance. For furtherinformation, visit batonrougeirishfilmfestival.com, emailbatonrougeirish@gmail com,orfollow @BRIrishFilmFest on social media. Email Joy Holdenatjoy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

town, New Orleans, in thenext year She reached the top 16 on “Champions” before being bested by Kentucky contestant Sara Bradley “I had so muchfun. It’ssucha great opportunity,and it’slike one of the best showsthat I’ve participatedininrecenttimes,”Nguyen said. “Sara Bradley’sadear friend of mine and she’smyperson —the person that Inormally call for(advice on) competitions. So if Iwere to lose to anyone,I’m happyto have lost to her.” Looking ahead to Sunday’spremiere, Nguyensaid there are advantages and disadvantages to be earnedalong forthe contestants, and just when viewers think they know what will happen next, wait. “At any given minute, things can change,” the chef said.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

VisitorstoHill Memorial Library, from left, CatherineReuter,Jim Jeansonne, Ellen McFarland and Mary McFarland admire work in thedoubleelephant folio edition of John James Audubon’s‘BirdsofAmerica’ in 2015.

PROVIDED PHOTO Irish music captivates the crowd at one of Baton RougeIrish Club’smonthly meetings at Café Américain.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Clear up unfinished business and rework your space to suit your needs. Declutter, donate or sell what you don't use, and you'll make your life easier.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Connect and brainstorm with like-minded people, and you will bring about positive change in your community. Travel, research and communication are all favored.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Look within for solutions and concentrate on making a positive personal shift to accommodate your goals. Refuse to let negativity set in or take you in the wrong direction.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Push boundaries, initiate change and learn all you can to support your efforts. Discuss your intentions with someone you want to include in your journey. A passionate attitude is the key to gaining momentum.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Adopt a unique perspective and see where it leads. Dedication, thoroughness and finishing what you start will endear you to those you care about most.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Playing fair will encourage others to give you more leeway to do as you see fit. Put your energy into your relationships, and everything else will fall into place.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Avoid pressure tactics. You'll have much better luck if you are straightforward, pleasant and

accommodating. Road rage and toxic situations will escalate if you react aggressively.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Think before you act. Look for peaceful solutions and worthwhile ways to expel excess energy. Pay attention to investments, spending and bringing in additional cash.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Your perception is off, so don't jump to conclusions. What you do and how you react will be important. Verify facts, and you'll gain insight into how best to proceed.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Follow your heart, not the crowd, and happiness will prevail. A social or networking event will encourage you to connect with someone who will contribute to your objective.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Set standards, a tight budget and boundaries regarding home improvements and joint ventures. Downsize, declutter or alter anything that suggests excess or indulgence.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Socialize and engage in activities that challenge and encourage you. Resurrecting your dreams, hopes and wishes will enable you to revamp your schedule.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: y EQUALS M

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Joey Adams, a comedian and author said, “It’s very easy to be witty tomorrow, after you get a chance to do some research and rehearse your ad libs.” Itiseasytobeclevertomorrow—after a deal has finished. Experts, though, usually make the right plays before they get to trick 13.

In today’s deal, how should South play in five spades after West leads the diamond queen? North’s three-diamond cue-bid showed spade support and at least game-invitational values. East doubled to indicate diamond support. So West went on to five diamonds, hoping that if he went down, it would be a cheap sacrifice. And South, unsure who could make what, competed to five spades. Note that five diamonds goes down only if North leads a spade. Otherwise, with hearts 3-3 and with several dummy entries in trumps, West can make the contract.

In five spades, declarer tried dummy’s diamond king, then ruffed East’s ace. South drew two rounds of trumps ending on the board, ruffed the last diamond to eliminate that suit, then played a club. West took his ace and would have done best to shift to a low heart, forcing declarer to decide what to do immediately. But West, thinking that he might get two heart tricks by force and worried that South might have the heart 10, exited with the club queen.

Declarer cashed dummy’s club tricks, crossed to hand with a trump, and led a low heart, West playing low smoothly. That was excellent defense, but since West was marked with at least one heart honor, South had to call for dummy’s jack. And when it held, he claimed. © 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