The Acadiana Advocate 05-10-2025

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

A calling, a privilege, a responsibility

VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV said Friday that his election was both a cross to bear and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass and details began to emerge of how votes swiftly coalesced to make him history’s first American pope Freed from their conclave, cardinals began describing the hours leading up to the final ballot Thursday afternoon that brought Leo past the two-thirds majority needed Many marveled that the Chicagoborn Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost reached the threshold so quickly, given the vast diversity of voters and the traditional taboo against a U.S. pope because of the secular power the country wields. “It is a miracle of the Holy Spirit,” said Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, archbishop

ä See POPE, page 5A

La. House members consider habitual offender bill

Widow of slain Lafayette police officer urges support

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

The widow of a slain Lafayette officer urged Louisiana House members on Thursday to implement a law that would force habitual offenders to serve out more of their sentence. Almost a year after her husband, Lafayette Police officer Senior Cpl Segus Jolivette, was killed during an alleged hostage situation involving a felon with a history of early releases, Alexis Jolivette teared up as a she asked lawmakers to support House Bill 11 — the Segus Jolivette Act.

ä See BILL, page 6A

Acadian honors top medics during annual celebration

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

Acadian Ambulance honored its top medics of the year during its annual celebration Friday at the Cajundome.

Now in its 54th year, Acadian honored Alison Cagle, an emergency medical technician from its Hub City District, and Joannie Sanchez, a flight registered nurse from its Air Med division, as the best among its 14 regions in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Sanchez, a native of LaPlace, recalled that her journey began back when she was 13 years old and her father asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She wrote down three career choices, and he told her to pick one and “chase it with everything you’ve got,” she recalled.

He then took her to a ca-

reer fair where she met a flight nurse, and she now says something clicked that day She became a certified nurse’s assistant, an emergency room technician and later a nurse. She also worked at a women’s shelter

“This job changes you,” Sanchez said. “It asks you to

walk into the worst moment of someone’s life and leave a piece of yourself behind every time you do. EMS isn’t just a job. It’s a calling, it’s a privilege, and it’s a responsibility.”

Cagle, who began her EMS career while still in high school, earned her EMT cer-

tification in 2021 and worked in California for two years before joining Acadian. She is currently in paramedic school.

“I kind of accidentally stumbled upon an EMR class, and I took it and instantly fell in love,” she said. “For me to be named EMT of the year, it means I’ve found my place. I can stop looking for a home because I’ve found it here at Acadian.”

The celebration was the first for Acadian since the death of founder and longtime CEO and chairman Richard Zuschlag, who died in August following a bout with cancer The Pennsylvania native moved to Lafayette in 1970 and a year later started a company with two ambulances that became the largest privately held medical transportation company in

ä See MEDICS, page 6A

La. lawmakers want to cut taxes for oil

Raised taxes on natural gas would pay for it

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

a legislative fiscal note.

To offset those losses, Geymann’s House Bill 495 would limit a severance tax exemption for natural gas produced from

horizontally drilled wells, resulting in $99 million in additional revenue during the same period, according to its fiscal note. Taken together, the bills would mean slightly more tax money for Louisiana over the next five years. But long term, the changes would likely result in a net reduction of tax revenues, according to an economist who worked on the proposal and said the higher taxes on gas activity would not make up for the losses from oil drilling. Reducing Louisiana’s sever-

ance tax on oil has long been a priority of the business lobby energy industry and Republican elected officials, including Gov Jeff Landry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice. At 12.5%, it’s the highest severance tax in the continental U.S. and hasn’t changed since 1973. Landry’s transition committee argued that reducing the tax would “incentivize and amplify drilling in south Louisiana,” and DeVillier sponsored bills each

ä See OIL, page 5A

Pope Leo XIV

PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy

Emergency medical technician Alison Cagle walks up to receive her award for EMT of the year from Dr Charles Burnell on Friday at the Acadian Ambulance EMTs of the year banquet at the Cajundome in Lafayette.

State Sen. Fred Mills Jr speaks at the ceremony.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Mexico sues Google for ‘Gulf of America’ label

MEXICO CITY Mexico has sued tech giant Google over its labelling of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a change made by U.S. President Donald Trump via executive order, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday Mexico’s Foreign Relations ministry had previously sent letters to Google asking it to not label Mexican territorial waters as the Gulf of America. The body of water has shared borders between the United States and Mexico. Trump’s order only carries authority within the U.S. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.

Mexico argues that Gulf of America should only apply to the part of the Gulf over the United States continental shelf.

In February, Sheinbaum shared a letter from Cris Turner, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, stating that Google will not change the policy it outlined after Trump declared the body of water the Gulf of America. The Gulf appears in Google Maps as Gulf of America within the United States, as Gulf of Mexico within Mexico and Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) elsewhere. Turner in his letter said the company was using Gulf of America to follow “longstanding maps policies impartially and consistently across all regions.”

U.S. has 1,001 measles cases, mostly in Texas

The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday, even as Texas posted one of its lowest counts of newly confirmed cases since its large outbreak began three months ago. Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in the U.S., with 709 confirmed as of Friday in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas 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 North America has two other ongoing outbreaks, all of which are the same measles strain One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,440 cases from mid-October through May 6, up 197 cases in a week. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,041 measles cases and one death as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January just over 1.7% of the county’s residents

The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.

Woman shoots Tesla dealership, police say

ATLANTA A woman has been arrested after police said she damaged a Tesla dealership with an automatic BB gun in Gwinnett County, one of several acts of violence targeting the electric vehicle company across the United States in recent months Alexa Beckstead, 23, was charged with felony second-degree criminal damage to property after police said she fired several shots into the dealership on Satellite Boulevard near Duluth early on April 28, blowing out the windows.

According to her warrant, the two custom glass windows were valued at about $20,000. The warrant stated she shot the compressed gas gun “indiscriminately into the building from a moving vehicle.”

“Investigators did not identify a specific motive,” police spokesperson Juan Madiedo told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Former court justice Souter dies

He was nominated by G.H.W. Bush, but became liberal voice

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a favorite of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, has died. He was 85. So ute r d ie d Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement Friday He r etired from the court in June 2009, giving President Barack Obama his first Supreme Court vacancy to fill. Obama, a Democrat, chose Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina justice. Souter was appointed by Republican President George H.W Bush

in 1990. He was a reliably liberal vote on abortion, church-state relations freedom of expression and the accessibility of federal courts. Souter also dissented from the decision in Bush v. Gore in 2000, which effectively handed the presidency to George W. Bush, the son of the man who put him on the high court

In retirement, Souter warned that ignorance of how government works could undermine American democracy

“What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough some one person will come forward and say, ‘Give me total power and I will solve this problem.’ That is how the Roman republic fell,” Souter said in a 2012 interview

His lifestyle was spare — yogurt and an apple, consumed at his desk was a typical lunch and

he shunned Washington’s social scene. He couldn’t wait to leave town in early summer

Yet for all his reserve, Souter was beloved by colleagues, court employees and friends. He was a noted storyteller and generous with his time.

“Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service,”

Chief Justice John Roberts said Souter continued hearing cases on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for more than a decade after he left the high court, Roberts said.

When Bush plucked Souter from obscurity in 1990, liberal interest groups feared he would be the vote that would undo the court’s Roe v. Wade ruling in favor of abortion rights He was called a stealth nominee by some. Early in his time in Washington,

Air traffic controllers lose radar at Newark — again

BY JOSH FUNK Associated Press

The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday That’s similar to what happened on April 28.

That first radar outage led to hundreds of flights being canceled or delayed at the Newark airport in the past two weeks after the FAA slowed down traffic at the airport to ensure safety Five controllers also went on trauma leave after that outage, worsening the existing shortage. It’s not clear if any additional controllers will go on leave now

The number of cancellations of Newark departures jumped from the low 40s to 68 Friday after this latest outage to lead the nation, according to FlightAware.com. Newark ranks second in the number of canceled arrivals with 73, but that number also increased Friday morning. Nearly 400 delays were reported at the airport. Officials said there have been more than 1,700 cancellations and delays at the airport this week.

These radar outages in such a crowded airspace are alarming because seconds

BY LINDSEY BAHR AP fi

writer

lm

James Foley a journeyman director best known for “Glengarry Glen Ross,” has died. He was 71.

He died earlier this week after a yearlong battle with brain cancer, his representative, Taylor Lomax, said Friday

In his long and varied career, Foley directed Madonna music videos, 12 episodes of “House of Cards” and the two “Fifty Shades of Grey” sequels, but it was his 1992 adaptation of David Mamet’s foul-mouthed Pulitzer Prize-winning play that stood above the rest Although it wasn’t a hit at the time, “Glengarry Glen Ross” wormed its way into the culture and grew into an oft-quoted cult favorite, especially Alec Baldwin’s made-forthe-film “always be closing” monologue. Critic Tim Grierson wrote 20 years after its release that it remains “one of

matter but Allied Pilots Association spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer said “it’s not an impending disaster that some are suggesting.”

“The system is wired to run really well when everything’s functioning. But the most important part is that it’s prepared to function when things go wrong,” Tajer said. “Even when it sounds frightening, know that the air traffic controllers and the pilots have training and we go to that.”

When pilots lose contact with controllers their first action is to continue on their last-directed path, but if the outage continues, pilots will start broadcasting their position to every other plane in the area — much like pilots do at small airports that don’t have a control tower

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer blamed the problems that have plagued Newark on the lack of proper air traffic controller staffing and modern technology He said Friday that there are currently about 20 controllers working, and that number should be in the 60s. And many of the lines connecting controllers to the radar are outdated copper wires. He said the April 28 outage was caused by one of those copper wires getting fried.

“Enough is enough. The connection between New York air space and the Philadelphia air traffic control center must be fixed now The backup system that is not working must be fixed. Now,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

the quintessential modern movies about masculinity.” He added, “while there are many fine Mamet movies, it’s interesting that the best of them was this one the one he didn’t direct.”

Born Dec. 28, 1953, in Brooklyn, Foley studied film in graduate school at the University of Southern California Legend has it that Hal Ashby once wandered into a film school party where his short happened to be playing at the time and he took a liking to him. Foley would later attribute his ability to make his first feature, “Reckless,” a 1984 romantic drama about mismatched teenagers in love starring Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn and Adam Baldwin, to the Ashby stamp of approval. He followed it with the Sean Penn crime drama “At Close Range,” the Madonna and Griffin Dunne screwball comedy “Who’s That Girl” and the neo-noir thriller “After Dark, My Sweet,” with Jason Patric.

Souter was called a moderate conservative. But he soon joined in a ruling reaffirming woman’s right to an abortion, a decision from 1992 that is his most noted work on the court. Thirty years later a more conservative court overturned that decision and the constitutional right to abortion.

Souter asked precise questions during argument sessions, sometimes with a fierceness that belied his low-key manner. “He had an unerring knack of finding the weakest link in your argument,” veteran Supreme Court advocate Carter Phillips said.

Souter was history’s 105th Supreme Court justice and only its sixth bachelor

Though liberals were initially wary of his appointment, it was political conservatives who felt betrayed when in two 1992 rulings Souter helped forge a moderateliberal coalition that reaffirmed the right of abortion and the court’s longtime ban on officially sponsored prayers in public schools.

Treasury secretary says U.S. debt ceiling will be hit in August

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

businesses and the federal government.”

Earlier this week, Bessent twice testified in front of congressional committees that the Treasury’s debt ceiling is “on the warning track.”

WASHINGTON The U.S. is on track to run out of money to pay its bills as early as August without congressional action, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Friday He is calling on Congress to either raise or suspend the debt ceiling by mid-July “A failure to suspend or increase the debt limit would wreak havoc on our financial system and diminish America’s security and global leadership position,” Bessent wrote in the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton. “Prior episodes have shown that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can have serious adverse consequences for financial markets,

The Treasury Department has stopped paying into certain accounts, including a slew of federal worker pension and disability funds, to make up for the shortfall in money Bessent has continued to notify Congress about the use of extraordinary measures in an effort to prevent a breach of the debt ceiling. In his latest letter Bessent attributed the August deadline, known as the “X-date,” in part to receipts from the latest tax filing season. The letter to Johnson comes as Republicans consider a massive tax cut and border security package that includes an increase in the debt limit. Bessent’s request could give GOP lawmakers greater incentive to reach an agreement.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Travelers make their way through security Monday at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark N.J Early Friday, for the second time in two weeks, the airport lost radar

Souter

Bessent

Foreignmoney in La.ballotmeasuresmay be restricted

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry is backing achange that would further restrict political contributions by noncitizens and foreign entities.

As part of thisyear’slegislative session, two companion measures have been introduced to accomplish that goal: One is aproposed constitutional amendment in Senate Bill 109, and the other is acorresponding change to state statute in House Bill 590.

“No funds, goods, or services donated by aforeign government, foreign entity,ornoncitizen shall be used to advocate for or against any ballot proposition or question, candidate, issue, or politicalparty,either directly or indirectly,” reads the proposedconstitutional amendment, which hasalready passed the Senate and is awaiting consideration by the House.

Sen. Alan Seabaugh, aShreveport Republican who is sponsoring SB109,said the change would prevent foreign money fromflowing into Louisiana to influenceballot questions or political candidates.

“The sanctity of our elections is important,” he said.

Louisiana law already prohibits foreign entities and noncitizens from contributing to the election of acandidate to political office. However,legal permanent residents arecurrently allowed to make contributionsunder

Lafayette Parish registrar of voters office in Lafayette. A proposed amendment to Louisiana’sconstitution would banpolitical contributions by noncitizens or foreignentities to advocate for or against ballot questions or politicalcandidates.

Louisiana law,but theproposed legislation would bar them from doing so.

Federal law also prohibits foreignentities and noncitizens from contributingtofederal, state and local elections,with an exception for legalpermanent residents, according to the Federal Election

Commission.

This year’sproposed change would shore up aloophole in federal lawthatallowsnoncitizens and foreign entities to make political contributions for ballot measures, said Rep. Annie Spell, R-Lafayette, who is sponsoring HB590, which passed theLouisianaHouse this

week with an 86-8voteand only

Democrats opposed.

In Louisiana, ballot measures include items like constitutional amendments and local tax propositions, for example.

“HB590 puts Louisiana at the front line of election integrity,” shesaid.

Noncitizens or foreign entities could face felony charges forviolating the proposed law.And anyonewho knowinglyaccepts foreign political contributions would be required to return those funds.

Spell saidshe isn’tawareofdata or evidence that points to the influence of foreign fundinginLouisiana elections, butsaidthe issue has comeupinother states. The legislation can be seen as “preventative” in that “it puts us on thefrontend of apossible problemrather than responding to a problem,” she said.

Secretary of State spokespersonJoel Watson said Landry’sofficeisn’taware of any problems in recent yearswithnoncitizens making political contributions in Louisiana.

ButWatsonsaid Landry supports thechangeinlight of aFederal ElectionCommissiondecision “toallow foreign funding of ballot measures, and the exploitation of this loophole in several other states.”

He also pointed to a2024 report from the right-leaning group Americans forPublic Trust, which has supported efforts in other

states to limit political funding by foreigners.

That report raises concerns about the funding of campaigns forballot measures in 25 states by aleft-leaning group called the Sixteen Thirty Fundthat has received $243 million in contributions from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, according to the report.

Wyss’ contributions to the Sixteen Thirty Fund also came up at public hearings on the two pieces of legislation during testimony presented by Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead, who said the Sixteen Thirty Fund hasspent “anextraordinary amount of money” to influence ballotmeasuresinmorethan25 states.

“The Sixteen Thirty Fund and Mr.Wyss have proved that it is alarmingly easy to exploit gaps in our lawsand launder foreign money into ballot measure contests through intermediary groups,” said Snead, whospoke about the legislation at Landry’sinvitation.

“Decisions as significant as amending astate’sconstitution belong exclusively in the hands of the citizens of our country and the voters of thisstate,” he said. “Foreign nationals have no business influencing those campaigns, and they should never be allowed to serve as aTrojan horse for foreign interference.”

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

Pentagon orders librariestoremovebooks on DEI, racism,gender

personnel.

Purgemustbe

donebyMay 21

BYLOLITAC.BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Pentagon has ordered all military leaders and commands to pull and reviewall of their library books that address diversity,anti-racismorgender issues by May 21, according to amemo issued to the force on Friday It is the broadest and most detailed directive so far on Defense Secretary Pete

Hegseth’s campaign to rid themilitary of diversityand equity programs, policies andinstructionalmaterials. And it follows similar efforts to remove hundreds of books from thelibraries at themilitary academies. The Associated Press obtained acopyofthe memo, which was signed Friday by Timothy Dill, who is performing the duties of the defense undersecretary for

Educationalmaterials at the libraries “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with theDepartment’score mission,” the memo states, adding thatdepartment leadersmust “promptlyidentify booksthatare not compatible with that mission and sequesterthem by May 21. By then, the memo says, additional guidance will be provided on how to cull that initial list and determine what should be removed and“determine an appropriate ultimate disposition” for those materials. It does not

Trumpfires Librarian of Congress

BY SEUNG MIN KIM, LISA MASCAROand ZEKE MILLER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President DonaldTrumpabruptly

saywhat will happen to the books or whether they will be stored away or destroyed. According to the memo, a temporary AcademicLibrariesCommitteeset up by the department will provide information on the review and decisionsabout the books. Thatpanel provideda listof search terms to use in the initial identification of the books to be pulled and reviewed. The search terms include: affirmative action, antiracism, critical race theory discrimination,diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity andtransition,

transgender,transsexual and white privilege.

Earlylast monththe U.S. Naval AcademyinAnnapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Hegseth’soffice to get rid of those that promote DEI. About twoweeks later,the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find books related to diversity,equity and inclusion.

The NavalAcademy’s purge led to the removal of booksonthe Holocaust, historiesoffeminism, civil

rights and racism, and Maya Angelou’sfamous autobiography,“IKnowWhy the Caged Bird Sings,” based on the list of 381 books that have been taken out of its library The list also includes “Memorializingthe Holocaust,” whichdeals with Holocaust memorials; “Half American,” about African Americans in World WarII; “A RespectableWoman,” aboutthe public roles of African American womenin19th century New York; and“Pursuing Trayvon Martin,” about the 2012 shooting of the Black 17-year-old in Florida.

“Carla,” theemail began.

motes trans-ing kids,”AAF said on its Xaccount earlier Thursday,just hours before the firing was made public. “It’stime to get her OUT and hire anew guy for thejob!”

fired Librarian of Congress CarlaHaydenasthe White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the president and his agenda. Hayden was notified in an email late Thursday from the White House’ s Presidential Personn el Office, accordingto an email obtained by The Associated Press. Confirmed by the Senate to thejob in 2016, Haydenwas the first woman and the first African American to be librarian of Congress.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, Iam writingto inform you that your position as theLibrarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for yourservice.” Aspokespersonfor the Library of Congress confirmedthatthe White House told Hayden she was dismissed. Hayden, whose 10-year term was set to expire next year,had come under backlash from aconservative advocacy group that had vowed to root out those standing in theway of Trump’sagenda.The group, American Accountability Foundation,accused her andother libraryleadersof promoting children’sbooks with “radical” contentand literary material authored by Trumpopponents.

“The current #LibrarianOfCongress CarlaHayden is woke, anti-Trump, and pro-

The unexpected move Thursday against Hayden infuriated congressional Democrats, who initially disclosed thefiring.

“Hayden, has spent her entirecareer serving people —fromhelping kids learnto read to protecting some of ournation’s most precious treasures,”said Rep.Joseph Morelle of New York,the top Democratonthe HouseAdministration Committee that oversees the Library

TheLibrary of Congress holds avast collection of the nation’sbooksand history, whichitmakes availableto the public and lawmakers. It houses the papers of nearly two dozen presidentsand more than three dozenSupremeCourt justices.

can come as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care

Simply put— without dentalinsurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

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

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensive ones. The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

Hayden

STAFF FILEPHOTO By LESLIEWESTBROOK

Lafayette residentKenny Duhon looks over sample ballots before casting his votesatthe

Hegseth

of Santiago, Chile. He noted that 133 men who barely knew one another from 70 countries came to an agreement in just over 24 hours. A miracle, he said, “and also an example for all our countries where nobody comes to an agreement.”

Leo presided over his first Mass before those same cardinal electors Friday morning, speaking off-the-cuff in English in the Sistine Chapel He acknowledged the great responsibility they had placed on him before delivering a brief but dense homily in Italian on the need to joyfully spread Christianity in a world that often mocks it.

“You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community, as friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel,” he said.

Leo on Saturday meets with cardinals formally On Sunday, he is set to deliver his first noon blessing from the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica while his formal installation Mass is set for May 18.

Americans share details

There seemed to be mixed messages coming from a briefing with American cardinals who saw one of their own become the 267th pope Before they arrived, the auditorium at the U.S. seminary up the hill from the Vatican blasted “Born in the U.S.A.” and “American Pie.” But more conservative cardinals seemed to distance Leo from both his citizenship and the political polemics of the Trump administration back home. They pointed to the decades Prevost spent as a missionary in Peru and said, regardless, he has a new identity now “Where he comes from is sort of now a thing of the past,” said New

York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who had been President Donald Trump’s pick for pope. “Robert Francis Prevost is no longer around. It’s now Pope Leo.”

But Cardinal Joseph Tobin, an old friend of Prevost’s who repeatedly called him “Bob,” said he expected the pope would be true to himself. He said that was the advice conveyed to all the electors by the retired preacher of the papal household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, who delivered a meditation in the Sistine Chapel before they took their first vote.

Tobin revealed that he had warned Prevost of his real chances of winning in the days before the voting began. But Tobin recounted the moment when saw it had sunk in for Prevost himself: Tobin had just cast his ballot before Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment’” and was returning to his seat when he saw Prevost “And he had his head in his

tee hearing Monday Landry is the president of Industrial and Oilfield Services, an oil and gas construction firm.

hands,” Tobin said. “And I was praying for him because I couldn’t imagine what happens to a human being when you’re facing something like that.” “And then when he accepted it, it was like he was made for it,” Tobin said.

A papal Mass

The cardinals urged the public and faithful to give Leo time to get used to his new role before trying to understand what kind of pope he will be.

But some clues were already apparent. Two women delivered the readings of Scripture at the start of Leo’s Mass, perhaps an indication of an intention to continue Francis’ focus on expanding women’s role in the church. As a cardinal, Leo put into practice one of Francis’ most revolutionary reforms by having three women serve on the Vatican board that vets bishop nominations.

Speaking in near-perfect Italian, Leo lamented that the Christian faith in many parts of the world is “considered absurd,” mocked or opposed in the face of temptations such as money, success and power He complained that in many places Jesus is misunderstood, “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”

“This is true not only among nonbelievers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said. “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”

The cardinals applauded as the Mass concluded. Leo was seen wearing simple black shoes — eschewing, as Francis did, the red loafers of the papacy preferred by

some traditionalist popes. In another signal he might break with tradition, Leo spent his first night as pontiff in his residence in the Sant’Uffizio Palace, and not the Apostolic Palace where popes traditionally reside, Vatican News reported. Francis chose to live in an apartment in the Santa Maria guesthouse.

English helped Cardinals revealed that they got to know Prevost during the preconclave discussions, not because he made some showstopping speech like Pope Francis did in 2013. Then, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio spoke about the need for the church to go to the “existential peripheries” to find wounded souls and was elected a short time later

“It wasn’t that he got up and made some overwhelmingly convincing speech that just wowed the body,” said Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C.

This time, Prevost made an impression with his manner, in small groups. Although Italian had always been the primary language of past conclaves, this time English seemed to prevail, participants said.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a close adviser of Francis, said he took note of the man who would become pope — an American with deep experience in Latin America, strong linguistic and cultural fluency, and a history of leadership as superior of the Augustinians.

“That convinced me to say this could be a possibility,” Marx told reporters Friday “I can tell you, I’m very happy.” Marx also recalled meeting the future pope last year and being struck by his temperament.

“We had a very good conversation,” he said “I realized he’s a man who listens, takes arguments seriously, weighs them. You can’t just place him into one camp — he really tries to build bridges. I liked that very much.”

year from 2020-2023 that would’ve reduced the rate, though none became law

During Landry’s special tax session last fall, Republican state Rep. Neil Riser of Columbia again tried to reduce the tax with a 40-page bill that would have revised the tax rate for both crude oil and natural gas and the method for calculating their value and quantities. But the bill was eventually whittled down to two pages and, though enacted, made few changes to existing law

After that fizzled, Landry, DeVillier and Geymann brought in Greg Upton, executive director of LSU’s Center for Energy Studies, to help craft a simpler proposal that would be revenueneutral over a five-year period, Upton said.

Finding the sweet spot

Supporters of the proposals argue that cutting the severance tax on oil to 6.5% will result in more oil production, particularly in south Louisiana

“Getting the severance tax lowered on oil will bring some much needed prosperity back to the coast,” state Rep. Jacob Landry, R-Erath, told lawmakers at a commit-

“We’re looking at projects that are feasible now with the lower severance tax,” he added.

Geymann said he hopes that the tax cut will spur enough new oil production to make up for the loss in revenue

“In my thinking, if you incentivize an industry, and they have more production than they normally would, you would see an increase in revenue,” he said.

But Upton said that’s unlikely While more wells would be drilled, Upton said he doesn’t think it would be significant enough to offset the revenues lost from reducing the tax in the first place In long run, Upton said, the changes are likely to result in less revenue for Louisiana.

That’s because the severance tax reduction in HB600 is only for new oil wells, so as time progresses, more and more wells will be at the lower rate, resulting in fewer revenues over time, Upton said.

Meanwhile, the boost in revenue from limiting the tax exemption for natural gas will be felt more immediately Louisiana currently exempts severance taxes on natural gas produced from

new horizontal wells for the first 24 months of operation or until the cost of constructing the well is recuperated. HB495 reduces that to 18 months or until well payout is achieved.

The measure is also aimed at making Louisiana more competitive with its neighbors. The severance tax on oil is 4.6% in Texas and 5% in both Arkansas and Mississippi, though Texas and four other states also charge property taxes on oil and gas reserves in the ground, while Louisiana doesn’t.

Meanwhile, natural gas production in Louisiana is taxed at a relatively low rate. “It’s just true that oil has a way higher tax burden than natural gas in Louisiana,” Upton said.

Geymann said he’s working with both oil and natural gas interests to make sure everybody is happy “You don’t want to hurt one to help the other,” he said. “We’re trying to find that sweet spot where everybody can win.”

On the decline

The severance tax used to be a big generator of state revenues. In the 1970s, mineral revenues — which include severance, royalties, bonuses and rental payments accounted for upward of 40% of state revenues. But oil production on state lands and water bottoms

has been on the steady decline since the oil bust in the 1980s. In fiscal year 2024, mineral revenues accounted for roughly 7% of state revenues. The state severance tax doesn’t apply to oil produced offshore in federal wate rs,

which has increased in recent years. Local governments will be watching the tax changes closely Twenty percent of severance tax collections, by law, go to parish governments, though the amount that’s remitted to each local

PHOTO PROVIDED By VATICAN MEDIA

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, center, leaves after celebrating Mass with the College of Cardinals on Friday in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

BY GABRIELAAOUN

REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

WASHINGTON The new head ofthe federal agency tasked with responding to disasters across thecountry warned staff in ameeting Friday not to try to impede upcomingchanges, saying that “I will run right over you” while also suggesting policy changes that would push more responsibilities to the states. David Richardson, afor-

mer Marine Corpsofficer whoserved in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, was named acting administratorofthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency onThursday just after Cameron Hamilton, who’d been leadingthe agency,also in an acting role, was fired. Richardson hasbeen the DepartmentofHomeland Security’sassistantsecretaryfor countering weaponsofmassdestruction He does not appear to have any experience inmanaging natural disasters, but in an

early morningcallwiththe entire agency staffhesaid that theagency would stick to its mission and said he’d be the one interpreting any guidance from President Donald Trump.

Prefacing his comments with the words “Now this is thetoughpart,” Richardsonsaid during the call with staffers across the thousands-strong agency that he understands people can be nervous during timesof change. But he hadawarning for those whomight not like the changes —agroup

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The bill would require people to serve up to 50% of their sentenceontheir third felony offense,and 75% after the fourth and subsequent offenses. The law wouldalso allow prior convictions to be known to a jury,the bill states

“It was that day one person’sfate beingreleased early from prison stole the life from someone who was worth more than good behavior or time served,” Alexis Jolivettetoldthe House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee. Segus Jolivette was killed on July 25 in Iberia Parishin the town of Jeanerette. Jeanerette City Marshals were attempting to serve

MEDICS

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the United States. Acadian was about 80% employee-owned at the time of his death and Zuschlag owned the remaining 20%. The company is now 100% employee-owned, current CEO Eddy Dupuis said. Zuschlag was “the man whomade Acadian what it is today,the man whose impactonour communities

Alexis Jolivette,center,wife of Lafayette

Segus Jolivette, sitsbefore the state House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee on Thursday to speakabout supportfor the Segus Jolivette Act.

awarrant for Nyjal Hurst when Hurst allegedlytook twopeoplehostage in amobile home in the 2500 block of MartinLutherKing Bou-

and ourstate will last for decades, and theman whose faith, love and friendshiphas touched us all,” he said. Retired AirForce pilot Nicole Malachowski was theevent’sguest speaker.A combat veteran whowas the firstfemale pilot on the Air Force’sThunderbirds Air DemonstrationSquadron, Malachowski stressedthe importanceofteamwork in herprofession and howitrelates to those at Acadian or any other company “Asanoutsider,Ican as-

levard.

Multiple agencies, including the Lafayette SWAT team,responded to the incident.

sure you, this is averybeautifulthing to behold,” said Malachowski, whoovercame atick-borne illness thatleft her struggling to walk and speak for almost nine months

“You have each other to lean on each other, especially during turbulent times. I think it’sthe people that can lean on each other,that have acommunity like this, that can better navigate turbulenceand headwinds when theyindeed come along.” Acadian also honored its

NewactingFEMAheadwarns staff‘don’tget in my way’

he estimated to be about 20% of any organization.

“Don’tget in my way if you’re those 20%ofthe people,” he said. “I know all thetricks.” “Obfuscation. Delay.Undermining. If you’re one of those20% of thepeople and youthink those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will notbecause Iwillrun rightover you,”hesaid. “I will achieve thepresident’s intent.I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as Iwas on making sure that Idid

The standoff escalated into ashooting that resulted in thedeathofSegus Jolivette and wounded three otherofficers. Theofficer’s deathwas thefirstline-ofdutydeath the department hassufferedsince thefatal shooting in October 2017 of Cpl. Michael Middlebrook.

Though not substantiated by officialsources,a media report andpeople involvedin the shooting suggested that Jolivette died from afellow SWAT officer’s bullet.Alexis Jolivette acknowledged that Hurst did not directly kill Jolivette but argued his actions led up to his death.

“The bullet thatkilled my husband did notcome from Nyjal Hurst’s weapon —that is my reality.Iwas torn between the badge my husband stood for and the person who initiated it all. But today I stand withthe badge he dedi-

regionalwinners: n Bayou: Paramedic Bryce Poinconand EMTTanya McPherson

n Capital: ParamedicKate Pringle andEMT Kaydee

Kider

n Central Louisiana: Paramedic Lee Thompson and EMT Thando Pahla

n CentralTexas:Paramedic Kim Cole and EMT MacKenzie Dowse

n Houston: Paramedic Chad Johnston and EMT BrandonJones

n Hub City: Paramedic

my duty whenItookmy MarinestoIraq.”

In apreview of what might be coming in terms of changes in policy,Richardsonalso said there would be more “cost-sharing with the states.”

“We’re going to find out howtodothings better,and we’re going find out how to push things down to the states that should be done at the state level. Also going to find out how we can do morecost sharing with the states,” he said. This issue —how much

cated his life to,” she said. Hurst had alengthy criminal history filled withearly releases and failed parole obligations, according to Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections records.

DusonPolice Chief Kip Judicebegan floating the idea of the Segus Jolivette Act less than aweek after Jolivette was killed, arguing thatstate sentencinglaws didn’tgofar enough.

Judice, who was in attendance with the Jolivette family this week,toldlawmakers that if something like the Segus Jolivette Act were in place on July 25, Jolivette would likely be alive today

“If we do the math, on July 2024,the date he hada standoff, (Hurst) would still be incarcerated,” Judice said. “I heard the wordcommon sense, so we brought to

Brandi Leonard

n Mississippi: Paramedic

Charles Wise and EMT Noah Esparza

n North Louisiana: Paramedic Elaine Carter and EMT Kurstie Doles n North Texas: Paramedic MarcelaVazquezand EMT Mela Trimble

n Northshore: Paramedic MegMcLeod andEMT

Christian Kinsley

n Orleans: Paramedic Whitney Houston and EMT

Shannon Majcina n SouthCentral Texas:

states,asopposed to the federal government, should pay for disaster recovery —has been agrowing concern, especially at atime of an increasing number of natural disasters that often require Congress to repeatedly replenishthe federal fund that pays for recovery Butstatesoften arguethat theyare alreadypaying for most disasterrecoveries on their ownand are only going to the federal government for those events truly outside of theirabilityto respond.

you guys what we thought wasacommon-sense law.” Lafayette police detective CharlesBroussard Jr.shared Judice’ssentiments arguing that the proposed law would save lives.

“This isn’tabout vengeance, it’sabout public safety.It’sabout restoring credibility to our justice system and ensuring that dangerous repeat offenders do notget another chance to harm our community and our police officers,” he added. Rep. Chad Boyer,who authored the bill, deferred the bill at the committeehearing but motioned to name HB260 after the fallen officer.The bill would add enhanced sentencingfor second-degree murder if one violently resists arrests and would allow for those selling drugs to be chargedwithmanslaughter if adeath occurs.

Paramedic Sandy Castorena and EMT Nicholas Wiatrek

n Southeast Texas: Paramedic Andrew Heuler and EMT Joseph Bessard

n Southwest Louisiana: Paramedic Nathan Emmons and EMT Sydney Horne

n Tennessee: Paramedic EricaShipp andEMT Tykelia Bowen

n Safety Management Systems: Remote paramedic Trish Krampe.

EmailAdam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

Family of deported 2-year-old girl dropscase

BR family was flown to Honduras in April

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

The father of aLouisiana-born 2-year-old deported to Honduras has dismissed alegal challenge against the Trump administration, citing “the traumatizing experiences the families have been through” since the young girl was deported with her motherand older sister last month.

Family members “are taking a step backtohavefulldiscussions about alltheir options, the safety andwell-beingoftheir children, and the best ways to proceed so the harms they have sufferedcan be fully addressed,” said Sirine Shebaya, executive directorof the NationalImmigration Project,

whose attorneys representedthe father in acomplaint filed April 24 in federalcourt in the state’sWestern District. Thecase had become aflashpoint over Trump’ssweepingsecondterm immigrationagenda, highlighting how the administration is ensnaringpeoplewho may not be subject to deportation withouta formal legal process.

The administration has flown hundreds of Venezuelan men to a notorious prisoninElSalvador underanagreement withthatcountry’spresident, alleging that they weremembersofthe Venezuelan Tren deAragua gang.

That operation spurred questions from federal judgesabout what they havedescribed as alack of due process themen received prior to their removal,aswell as findings that amajorityofthe men had no documented gang affilia-

tionsand lacked criminal records.

The 2-year-old girl, identified in court documents as V.M.L., was deporteddaysafter attorneysfor her father filed their complaint asserting to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that V.M.L. had been born in Louisiana and was aU.S. citizen. Deporting acitizen is “illegal andunconstitutional,” Judge Terry A. Doughty,aTrumpappointee, wrote in ablistering order on April 25,hours after ICE deported the mother andher two daughters.

Doughtyorderedahearing for May 16 at thefederal courthouse in Monroe“in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that thegovernment justdeporteda U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

ICEagentshad detainedV.M.L. April 22 in New Orleans alongwith hermother,Jenny Carolina Lopez

Villela, and her11-year-old sister as they attended aroutine checkin at the ICE field office in New Orleans that morning, according to court records. Lopez Villela and V.M.L.’ssister,who werenot U.S. citizens, hadactive deportation orders, according to court records.

The family lives in the Baton Rouge area. The father’sattorneys described speaking with ICE agents on multiple occasions before thegirl was deported. Still, federal officials refused to release V.M.L. to alegal custodian, Trish Mack, even after immigration lawyers made the argument toICE officials that the girl is aU.S. citizen, the attorneys said.

Government attorneys saidthe littlegirl’smother“made known to ICE officialsthat shewanted to retain custody of V.M.L.” and that she wished to bring the girl with her to Honduras.

Filings indicate that after being taken to an ICE detention center in Alexandria,the girl,her sister and her mother were put on a plane and flowntoHonduras on April25.

Acopy of V.M.L.’sbirth certificate included in court filings shows she wasborn in Baton Rougein2023. Hermotherand fatherwere born in Santa Bárbara, Honduras, according to court records. The court filing dismissing the caseremained underseal Thursday evening. Shebaya described the dismissal as “voluntary.” “Theyare voluntarilydismissing this case to give themselves space and time to consider all the options that are available to them,” Shebaya said.

Email James Finn at jfinn@ theadvocate.com.

Lawyer:Detaineddoctoralstudent optedfor deportation

University of Alabama

manwillreturntoIran

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

After more than amonth in a central Louisiana detention center, aUniversityofAlabamadoctoral studentopted Thursday to returnto his native Iran “to avoidprolonged and unnecessary detention,” his lawyer said.

Alireza Doroudi, 32, who was arrested March 25 near hishome in Tuscaloosa on an allegedly revoked visa, appeared before Judge Maithe

FRAUD

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period between April 2021 and February 2023. The defendants used their federal health insurance benefits to pay for the fraudulent prescriptions so local pharmacies submitted claims to Medicaid to be reimbursed. Many of the scripts were for promethazine, codeine and hydrocodone, but feds say other controlled substances wereincludedin the scheme.The trio often resoldthe pharmaceuticals after the prescriptions were filled.

Stampley’sburglaryplea stems fromstealing 54 different drugs valued at over $10,000 from aLouisiana pharmacy,federal court records indicate In addition to their Medicaid scheme, the defendants bilked the government out of thousands in pandemic relief money andunemployment ben-

POPE

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is auniversal pastor with the mission given to the first pope, St. Peter,bythe resurrected Jesus Christ, ‘Feed my sheep’ and ‘I have prayer for you Peter that your faith may notfailand that you may strengthen the faith of the others.’” Deshotel continued, “May the Lord Jesus Christ, whose vicar he is, be with Pope Leo XIV and guide him with the light of the Holy Spirit as he shepherd’s the flock of Christ.”

That 133 cardinals took less than two days to come to a two-thirds conclusion sends astrong message, state Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, of Lafayette,a Catholic, said Thursday.

“Weneed peace. We need to help those most in need,” Boudreaux said. “A pope from the United States to lead that movement is going to be very,very impactful.”

Cathy McKoin, aparishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Baldwin, acommunity in St. Mary Parish, said she was praying Thursday morning thatthe right man would be selected to replace PopeFrancis.

Gonzalez inside theICE detention facility in Jenaand made the“difficultdecision to askfor andwas granted voluntary departure,”attorney David Rozas said in astatement Doroudi wasn’tdetained for acrime, but for are voked visa and an allega tionthat he was not “in status.”Rozas saidThursday that records submitted in court show that the revocation was onlysupposedtotake effect if Doroudileft the UnitedStates “Thisacknowledgesthat the initial reason for arrest 45 days ago wasinerror,”Rozassaid. He added

efits, prosecutors say Hills and Stampley were accused of working in concert to file for nearly $300,000 in fraudulent PPP loans through the CoronavirusAid,Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, posing as small-business ownersseekingfederalrelief funds. They falsified bank statements, taxforms and other documentsintheir applications submitted to theU.S. Small Business Administration andreceived at least $87,663 in aid, then used thefunds to make personal purchases, Leon said.

Guess also sought CARES Actfunds, making about $126,000 infraudulent claims for unemployment insurance in multiple states during a26week span between April and October2020. She managed to score $15,859 in unemployment payouts from the Louisiana Workforce Commission and MaineDepartment of Labor,prosecutors alleged.

Doroudi

thatGonzalez, the judge, refused afresh request forabond forDoroudi, who thenchose to leavevoluntarily rather than remain locked up any longer “He turned andlooked at me and said, ‘I love this country,but they don’t want me here, so Iwill go home,’”Rozas said. Doroudi was swept up in PresidentDonaldTrump’simmigration crackdown,which has resulted in several high-profile student detainees landing in ICE detention centers operated privately in Louisiana.

Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, theformer Columbia University graduatestudent and Palestinian activist. The Trumpadministration claims Khalil’sbeliefs presenta threat to foreign policy interests, according to amemo from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Wednesday, afederal judge in New Jersey told the government to spell out the legal precedent for its plan to deport Khalil, according to Reuters. Also Wednesday,afederal appeals court ordered the return of aTuftsUniversity student from Turkey to New England to decide if her rights were violated,

The Associated Press reported. Rumeysa Ozturk, whohelped pen an op-ed last year criticizing the school’sresponse to Israel’swar in Gaza, washeldatanICE facility in Basile formorethan six weeks. The complex in Jena where Doroudi and Khalil both were held, called the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center,isone of several privately run facilities undergovernment contractsthat have made Louisiana the secondleading state for U.S. immigrant detainees, behind only Texas. Several thousand detainees are now being held in the Pelican State.

BILL

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voted against doing so.

U.S.Rep.ClayHiggins, R-Lafayette —ahardcore conservative andformer St.LandryParishsheriff’s captain —also has come out in support of the bill, urging the Legislature to pass it in a May 3letter

“Every elected representative has an obligation to ensure faithful service to ourcitizenry by preserving due process, including theright to afair trial, as a core principle of our constitutional system,” Higgins wrote. “SB 218 advances that mission and offers an opportunity to extendrelief to those who may have been wrongfully convicted under theformer non-unanimous jurysystem in Louisiana, struckdown by the US SupremeCourt.”

Not everyone is in favor of thebill.

anans voted to ban thepractice, defendants in Louisiana could be convicted by juries with 1or2 dissenting votes. That custom madeLouisiana an outlier amongthe states —only Oregon also permitted nonunanimous jury verdicts.

Then, in 2020, the United States Supreme Courtruled thatnonunanimous jury verdicts were unconstitutional. Butitdeclined to apply the decision retroactively States wereleft to decide whether to do so, and in 2022, theLouisiana Supreme Court ruledthat thenonunanimous jury ban did not void old convictions. The decision, however,specifically allowed the Legislatureto determine whether to do so. State lawmakersnow find themselves grappling with just that.

Duplessis’ billwould allow prisoners convictedbynonunanimousjuries to set their cases back to pretrial status through aprocess known as post-conviction relief.

people the bill would impact. Daniels puts the number at 1,600 prisoners, while the PJI puts it at about 800.

Some proponentsofSB218 decry the roots of nonunanimous jury verdicts, which were legalized in Louisiana’s1898 constitutional convention. Delegates there sought to “perpetuate the supremacyofthe Anglo-Saxon race in Louisiana,” largely by purging roughly 130,000 Black voters from the rolls.

They also drew up alaw to allowconvictions with only nine of 12 jurors agreeing. That made it easier to discount Black voicesifone, twoorthree Black people madeitonto the jury

“It’saJim Crow legacy that remains until this is resolved because these individuals, mostly Black men, are dying in custody in pris-

on for crimes that are not legitimate convictions, and until we resolve that, that is astain that Louisiana simply cannot get away from,” said Ward.

During the1973 constitutionalconvention, the lawwas changedsothat at least10jurors would have to agree to reach aconviction.But into the21stcentury,thatpolicydisparately impacted Black defendants, an analysis of 6yearsoftrial data published by The Advocate in 2018 found. According to that research,Black defendants were 30% more likelythan Whitedefendantstobeconvicted by asplit jury in Louisiana.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

The Louisiana District Attorneys Association is opposed to SB218. Zach Daniels, the organization’sexecutive director,said it would create the “biggestlogjam our criminal justicesystem has ever seen.”

Now she prays that Pope Leo XIV “can help Catholics reuniteintheir faith and go back to the church.”

“TheHolySpirit,” McKoin said, “guidedthe cardinals as towho to vote for. Now we need to prayfor the new Pope to follow the Holy Spirit, too.”

Theselection of the first American pope is abig deal, Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet said Thursday,“not justfor ourcountry but for communities like Lafayette, where faith runs deep and shapes so much of who we are.

“It’ssomething to be proud of,” shesaid, “and it reminds us of the strength and heart found in our shared beliefs across the world.”

Email Claire Taylorat ctaylor@theadvocate.com

“I had just finished my novena for the cardinals to pick theHoly Spirit’s choice,” McKoinsaid Thursday

He predicted that it would not be possible to retry most of the cases, noting that witnesses may have died and evidence been destroyed.

“At this point we would not be able totry most of these cases again for reasons that have nothing to do withguilt or innocence,” Daniels said. Courtrulings cast doubt Until 2018, when Louisi-

Hardell Ward,Director of Community Impact for The Promise of JusticeInitiative,anorganization that representspeople convicted by nonunanimous juries and amajor proponent of SB218, disagreed that thebill would create the backlog Daniels described. Hisorganization estimates that on average, assistant districtattorneys in each parish would take on an additional three cases with the bill’spassage.

The LDAA andthe PJI also disagree on howmany

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

FedEx board member

picked to lead USPS

David Steiner,aformer CEO of thenation’slargest waste managementcompanywho currently serves on theFedEx board of directors, is poised to take over controlofthe U.S. PostalService, becoming the nation’s 76th postmaster general.

TheannouncementofSteiner’sappointment, which heightened concerns from postal unions over possible efforts to privatize the USPS, was made Friday by Amber McReynolds, chairperson of the USPS Board of Governors, during ameeting of the independent group that oversees the service.

“Weanticipate that Mr.Steiner will jointhe organization in July,assuminghis successful completion of the ethicsand security clearance processes that are currently underway,” McReynolds said.

Friday’sannouncement by theBoard of Governors comes as President Donald Trump and his adviserElon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have raised the idea of privatizing the nearly 250-yearold Postal Service, whichhas facedfinancial challengesamid achanging mail mix and other issues.

The choice of Steiner has been seen by thepostalunions as a harbinger for possible privatization of some or all of the venerablequasi-publicinstitution

Home testkit approved for cervical cancer

U.S. regulators have approved thefirst cervical cancertesting kit that allows women to collect their own sampleathomebefore shipping it to alaboratory, accordingtoamedical device company

Teal HealthsaidFridaythe Food and Drug Administration approved its Teal Wand for home use, offering anew way to collect vaginal samples that can detect the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer.Currently,HPV tests andPap smears areperformed at ahealth clinic or doctor’s office.

An influential federalpanel recommended last year the use of self-collection of HPV samples to boost screening. The FDA also recently expanded the useoftwo older HPV tests for self-collection,but those must be done at amedical office or mobile clinic.

Teal Health’skit requires a prescription,which customers can obtain through one of the company’sonline health providers. TheSan Francisco-based company said it will initially begin selling the kits in California next month before expanding to other states.

Texas looking at rising insurance costs

Texas lawmakers hope to rein in homeowners’ rising insurance bills even as they acknowledge there’sonly so much they can do to tackle costs. Legislators have advanced bills to limit how much insurance companies can hike rates and help homeownersmaketheir homes more insurable. They’ve alsosought to compel insurers to be more upfront with homeowners when they decide to yank coverage, or deny it in the first place.

Texans pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country.Onaverage, Texas homeowners saw their insurance rates spike by double digits in recent years —afar cryfrom the previous decade when such increases wereunheard of. Homeowners’ insurance ratesclimbed by nearly 19% in 2024, according tothe Texas Department of Insurance, slightly down from more than 21% the previous year

Even as lawmakers look for ways to tackle theinsurance crisis, they acknowledge many of the drivers of insurance costs are beyond lawmakers’ control, they say “Wecan’tcontrol the weather, we can’tcontrol inflation,” state Rep. TomOliverson, aCypress Republican behind one such proposal, told aHouse committee last month.

Fedofficial notreadytocut rates

tious, though are not yet engaging in steep job cuts or other behavior typical of arecession.

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Atop Federal Reserveofficial saidFridaythat massive uncertaintycreated by President Donald Trump’stariffs has caused some businesses to cutback on hiring and spending, threatening to slow theeconomy,but he added that it’snot yet clear whether the central bank shouldcut its key interest rate.

TomBarkin,president of theFederal Reserve’sRichmond branch, said businesses have turned cau-

“The way I’ve been describing it is, it’s really hard to drive when it’s foggy,” Barkin said in remarks to theLoudoun County,Virginia Chamber of Commerce. “That’s what I’m seeing on the business side. Hiring freezes,discretionary spending being cut back, but not major layoffs.”

Barkin and other Fed speakers Friday underscored the difficult challenge the central bank faces right now.Ifthe tariffs push up inflation, the Fed would keep rates elevated —orraisethemfurther.But if theduties worsen the economy the Fed would typically cut rates

On Wednesday, Chair Jerome Powell said the risks of higherinfla-

tionand higher unemployment are rising andthatthe Fed would wait for greater clarity about where the economy is headed before making itsnextmove. Powellspoke after the Fed kept its key rate unchanged for the third straight meeting.

Trump, however,has continued to assailPowell for notcutting rates, which over timecould lower borrowing costs forconsumers and businesses.

Trump is pushing for rate cuts because he argues that the economy no longer suffers from the high inflationthat spurred the Fed to sharply raise borrowing costs in 2022 and 2023. Butthe most likely reason for the Fed to reduce its key rate in the comingmonths, economists say,

would be to offset asharp slowdown in theeconomy stemming from the tariffs. As companies see their costs rise because of higher duties —about half of imports are partsused by Americancompanies —theycould institutewidespread layoffs, pushing up unemployment and risking recession.

Gregory Daco, chiefeconomist at EY,aconsulting firm, said he thinks the Fed should cut rates soon because “the economyisslowing and will continue to slow and flirt with the recession.”

Akey challenge forthe Fed right now,however,isdetermining whichrisk is biggerfor the economy,inflation or unemployment.

Barkin said it was too early to say that lower borrowing costs are needed to boost growth.

weaker revenue

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

Expedia Group saidFriday that reduced travel demand in the United Statesled to its weaker-than-expected revenue in the first quarter

Expedia, which owns thelodging reservation platforms Hotels.com and VRBO as wellasan eponymous online travelagency,was the latest American companytoreportslowing business with both internationalvisitors anddomestic travelers.

Airbnb and Hilton noted the sametrends last week in their quarterly earnings reports. Most major U.S. airlines pulled their full-year financial guidance in April and said they planned to reduce scheduled flights, citing an ebbin economypassengers booking leisure trips. The U.S. Travel Association hassaid that

economic uncertainty and anxiety over President Donald Trump’stariffs may explain the pullback. In April, Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for afifthstraight monthtothe lowest level since theonsetof the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abroad, anger about thetariffs as wellas concern about tourist detentions at the U.S border have made citizens of someother countries less interested in traveling to the U.S., tourism industry experts say

TheU.S. government said last month that 7.1 millionvisitors entered the U.S. from overseas this year as of the end of March, 3.3% fewer than during the first three months of 2024.

The numbers didnot include land crossings fromMexico or travel from Canada,where citizens haveexpressedindignationover Trump’sremarks about making their country the 51st state. Both U.S.and Canadian government data have shown steepdeclinesinborder crossings from Canada.

ExpediaChief FinancialOfficer ScottSchenkel said the net value of the travel technology

company’sbookings into the U.S.fell 7% in the January-March period, but bookings to the U.S. from Canadawere down nearly30%.

In aconference call with investors Friday, Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said U.S. demand was even softer in April thanMarch

“We’re still continuing to see pressure on travel into the U.S., but we’ve also seen some rebalancing,” Gorin said. “Europeansare traveling lesstothe U.S but more to Latin America.”

Airbnb said last week that foreigntravel to the U.S. makes up only 2% to 3% of its business. But within thatcategory,it’s seeing declining interest in theU.S. as a destination

“I think Canada is the most obvious example,where we see Canadiansare traveling at amuch lower ratetothe U.S. but they’re travelingmore domestically,they are travelingto Mexico, they are going to Brazil, they’re goingtoFrance, they’re going to Japan,” Airbnb ChiefFinancialOfficerEllie Mertzsaidina conference call with investors.

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted through aquiet Friday as Wall Street closed an unusually calm week. The S&P500 slipped to finish the week with amodestdip. It’sthe first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts moved by less than 1.5%, aftercareening on fears about President Donald Trump’s tradewar and hopes that he’ll relent on someof histariffs. TheDow Jones Industrial Averagedipped, whilethe Nasdaq composite edged up slightly.They

finished the week with even more modest losses than the S&P500. The week’s main eventfor financial markets is likelycoming on Saturday.That’swhenhigh-level U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Switzerland for theirfirst talks since Trumplaunched an escalating tradewar between theworld’s two largest economies.The fear among investors and economists is that arecession could hit if the United States doesn’treach trade deals that lower its tariffs by enough and quickly enough. Trump on Friday floated theidea of bringing tariffs on Chinese imports down to 80% from their current 145% rate, but he said it’ll be up to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whowill be in Switzerland. While 80% wouldindeed be are-

duction, it would still be high, and Trump’sposting on social media caused abrief jolt in financial markets. Futuresfor U.S. stocks sank immediately. Butmarkets quickly calmed as thewait continued for what U.S. and Chinese officials will say after their meeting. In the meantime, theflow of earnings reports for thestart of theyear from companies is slowing but still moving the market Sweetgreen wilted by 16.2% after thesalad seller reported aslightly larger loss forthe latest quarter than analysts expected.The fastcasual restaurant chainalsogave aforecast for revenue over the full year that fell just short of analysts’ estimates. They helped work against a28.1%

rally for Lyft, which delivered a stronger profit forthe latest quarterthananalysts expected.The companysaid it reached the highest weekly ridership levels in its history during thelast week of March Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the chip giantknown as TSMC, offered an encouraging report,saying its revenue in April leapt48.1% from ayear earlier. That sentits stock thattrades in the UnitedStates up 0.7%.

Insulet jumped 20.9% for the biggestgain in the S&P 500 after the medical device company reported stronger results for the latest quarterthananalysts expected.The company, which sells tubeless insulin pump technology,alsoraisedits forecast for an underlying revenue trendfor the full year

OPINION

For awhile there, senators were droppinglike flies Well, flies with big pensions, that is.

Five U.S. Senate incumbents have recently announced they won’tberunningin2026.Thatnumbercould increase. Of the 13 Democratic incumbents who’d be up for reelection, four are calling it quits. Of the22Republicanincumbentswhose termswill be up, one is retiring. Currently,Republicans have a53-47Senate majority, which means Democrats need anet gainoffour seats to win control of the chamber next year.That’sa tough nut to crack.

Democratsbowingout are Richard DurbinofIllinois, JeanneShaheenof NewHampshire,Tina Smith of Minnesota and Gary Peters ofMichigan. The oneRepublican incumbent notrunning is Mitch McConnellofKentucky Retirements areopportunities notjust for partisan, but generational, change McConnell, 83, hasalreadystepped down from his post as SenateRepublican leader and was replaced by John Thune,R-S.D., who is nearly two decades younger.

The four Democrats not running arealso Medicareeligible: Durbin is 80, Shaheen is 78, Smith is 67and Peters is 66.Likely replacements are mostly in their 40s. Durbin is now number two in the Senate’s Democratic leadership.

Looking at the five openseats,Illinois is most likelyto remain Democratic andKentucky is most likely to remain Republican. Democrats are only slightly favored to hold New Hampshire and Minnesota. Michigan is up for grabs.

Another big break for Republicans: 21oftheir22 seatsonthe ballotwill be in redstates carried by Donald Trump three times in arow.Thatmakes it difficult for Democratstomake adent

Both parties have to focus onkeeping what they already have, while trying to scoregains. For Republicans, an expanded majority runs through Georgia and Michigan.For Democrats,flipping Maine, North Carolina andOhio is their path to Senate gains.

Georgia is astate to watch. DemocratJon Ossoff won atight race in 2020, benefiting from lucky breaks from Joe Biden’svictory in his state to DonaldTrump’s discouraging Republicans to vote by mail. Ossoff lucked out again last week when GOP Gov.Brian Kemp decided not to run against him next year.

Defeating Ossoff depends upon the quality of hisRepublican challenger.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll showed Kemp, before he took himself out ofcontention, leading Ossoff by threepoints. It alsoshowed Ossoff beating U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who mayrun, by 17 points.

Another key battle will be in Maine,where moderateRepublican Susan Collins is seeking asixth term. If she’sdefeated, the Senate’sideologicalcenterwould diminish to almost nothing.

Three Republican incumbents fromTrump states have tough primary challenges. Louisiana’s Sen.Bill Cassidyfaces RepublicanState Treasurer John Fleming, and maybe others.MAGA loyalistsare out to bring down Cassidybecause of his vote to convict Trump in his2021impeachmenttrial. The state’s new party primary law doesn’thelp Cassidy, either.National Democrats are trying to convince former Gov. John Bel Edwards to carry theirbanner In Texas, Jon Cornyn is battling hard-right RepublicanAttorney General KenPaxton in the primary.In North Carolina, Republican Thom Tillis, who sometimes strays from conservative and pro-Trump orthodoxy, also faces primary oppositionfrom theright. Ultimately,Republicans are favoredtokeep Louisiana and Texas, regardless of primary outcomes. Democrats think they have abetter shot atpicking up North Carolina, especially if Democratic formerGov.Roy Cooper runs and Tillis is damagedinthe GOP primary Senate contests are just warming up. Michiganand Georgia, both of which Trump won in 2024, aretests of the president’scontinued strength. Louisiana,Texas and North Carolina willtestthe muscle of MAGA’s base within the Republican Party.Minnesota and New Hampshirewilltelluswhether Democratscan still count on competitive blue-leaning states.

In addition to terrain and retirements,Republicans have another ace in the hole:Democrats asa whole are polling even worse than they are. It would take afullfledged Trump meltdown forDemocratstocapture Senatecontrol next year

As Damon Runyan said, “The race isn’talways to the swift,nor the battle to thestrong, but that’sthe way to bet.” The safest wager: Republicans keep theSenate. Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana. He publishes LunchtimePolitics.com, anationwide newsletteron polls and public opinion

In January 2024, theLouisiana Public Service Commission voted to put our state’senergy efficiency program under thecontrol of athird-party administrator instead of allowing the utilities to continue running it.

The culmination of 14 years of work, this was hard-won progress for thepeople of Louisiana. We consumemore energy per capita than anyone else in thecountry,showing that when the companies that make money from selling us energy run the efficiency program, there’sobviously no incentive to help us save energy With this glaring conflict of interest resolved, that was finally going to change.

Butrecently,the Public Service Commission, in ahastily called vote held at aremote golf club hours from where they normally meet,voted along party lines to kill that program just weeks before its details wereto have been unveiled By holding this vote on short notice at aremote location, the Republican majority on thePSC showed us they knew they were doing something they needed to keep outofpublic view They showed us they don’twork for thepublic, but forthe utilities they’re supposed to regulate. They showed contempt and disrespect fortheir constituents and their lack of con-

cern forour needs. If Commissioners Eric Skrmetta, Jean-Paul Coussan or Mike Francis represent you on the PSC, keep that in mind the next time one of them is on your ballot.

Ialso call on Commissioners Foster Campbell and Davante Lewis to obtain and makepublic the details of the canceled program

We paid forits development, so as taxpayers, we are entitled to know what wasinit. And as voters, we are entitled to know what was in the program the Republican majority on the PSC voted to kill before it could see the light of day

It is always afightfor our people, mostly by and on behalf of the poorer (even by Louisiana’slow benchmarks), to express the vital need for PBS.

Time and again, using one excuse or another,political efforts have been made to removethe freedom of information. For adults, the news provided acrossPBS networks is lessbiased on the“premium” networks. For children, the educational programming is so well studied, no one can say it isn’tvital to theformation of better citizens.

Andyet some feel that thenews offered via thetax funds is biased, expressing their own bias and misunderstanding.

This doesn’tamuse me half as

Ivery much agree with Marc Morial’sviews in arecent guest column regarding thecurrent effortsto whitewash history.Growing up in the1960s in an all-White small Pennsylvania city, my education probably provided amuch moreaccurate picture of history.However,Ihave never thought support of the inaccuratecauses of the Civil War, thesubsequent Jim Crow laws, segregation, etc., was dead and gone.

What we are seeing today in the

much as it saddens me.The assumption is theprevalence of alternatives means we can cease apublic option. This is abad argument foranything.

Ourpublic transportation hasn’t been phased out because people have cars. We haven’tended the mail service, public education or road repairs. We haven’tclosed up our police and military so we could promoteprivatemilitias. So why target thenews, otherthanthatit offers an opinion other than what a politician wants? PBS serves ahidden, truepurpose.Itlets us socially audit our state and our elected officials NATHAN MEAUX Crowley

elimination of diversity,equity and inclusion practices invites the justification of racism, misogyny and discrimination. President Donald Trump’sfirst terminthe WhiteHouse and recent presidential campaign covertly and sometimes overtly exhibited these themes. Sad as it is to say,that was thechoice theAmerican voters made.

MARK WEBER NewOrleans

Our forefathers set up our government to have three independent branches to avoid exactly what President Donald Trumpisdoing right now

Youmay agree with manyofthe things that he is doing now,but he is doing them in away that our Constitution did not intend. He is ruling by decree. He does not need Congress to makethe laws. He will makethe laws. He has hand-picked the Department of Justice’sleaders to ensure his decrees are carried out. Right now,heisactively defying the SupremeCourt. He is showing that he is independent of the SupremeCourt and that it does not and cannot control him We elected apresident, not aking. Congress has already given away much of its power and authority to Trump. There is still timetoact, but timeisrunning out. Nothing that he is doing right now may directly affect you, but eventually it will. What he does to the least among us, he does to all of us. The SupremeCourt is trying to exert its authority.Congress must exert its. Trumphas already given orders that could be considered impeachable, but defying the Supreme Court is impeachable. Congress must exert its authority while there is still time.

WALLACE JEANFREAU NewOrleans

BEATRICE WINKLER Baton Rouge

Ron Faucheux

Mississippi State in the fi

of their game on March 29

A look at how Shores has evolved since moving into new role

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

When Chase Shores entered the game, it was his first relief appearance in over two years.

Tommy John surgery sidelined Shores for a season and a half, but his first nine outings in his return to the mound this spring came as a starter Being in the rotation was the expectation for the 6-foot-8 right-hander, a pitcher seemingly so valuable that LSU coach Jay Johnson compared his injury to if the football team had lost quarterback Garrett Nussmeier last season.

But at the halfway point of Southeastern Conference play, Shores found himself in a new role. Junior left-hander Conner Ware unexpectedly started LSU’s series finale with Alabama before Shores entered the game in relief.

“I just felt like to hold them down as best we could,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said, “we were going to need more guys.”

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY Arkansas at LSU began after this edition went to press. For complete coverage, visit theadvocate.com ä See LSU, page 3C

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

In the end, UL’s offense just wasn’t enough Through pure determination, somehow the Ragin’ Cajuns won 10 of their last 11 Sun Belt games to reach the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals again as the No. 3 seed.

But most of that was achieved with few runs being scored and that trend caught up with the Cajuns on Friday when No. 7-seeded Coastal Carolina claimed a 6-1 win over UL to advance to the championship game.

The loss ended the Cajuns’ season at 29-25 overall. Coastal Carolina improved to 40-17 with the win.

“I’m obviously heartbroken because I

really wanted it for the seniors, because they deserved it but for whatever reason it didn’t happen the way that we planned it to happen,” UL coach Alyson Habetz said.

“It’s just a tremendous group of young ladies that I’m extremely proud of and honored to coach.” It’ll be the first time since 1998 UL doesn’t

Reese ready to start winning in WNBA

BY ANDREW SELIGMAN AP sportswriter

CHICAGO Angel Reese’s rookie year surpassed nearly all expectations. The Chicago Sky All-Star set records before her season got cut short by an injury and helped the league soar to new heights in popularity after she and the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark took their rivalry from the college ranks to the pros. One thing the former LSU standout didn’t do was win. Not the way she is accustomed to winning. That’s something she wants to change, starting with a marquee opener at Indiana on May 17.

“I wasn’t used to that,” Reese said. “It just takes an adjustment. It’s something that you don’t want to get used to because you don’t want to get in a mindset, like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to be losing every night.’ We were right there every night.”

The Sky finished 10th in the WNBA with a 13-27 record last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The disappointing results were despite getting significant contributions from Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso. The two young stars are back, and the team made major roster changes to give them some help.

Chicago fired former coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one year and hired Las Vegas assistant Tyler Marsh to replace the Naismith Hall of Famer The Sky also brought in veteran leadership, including franchise career assist leader Courtney Vandersloot and acquiring two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins from Washington. Chicago hopes the additions will help Reese and Cardoso take their games to another level.

“She wants to compete, she wants to win, she’s somebody that puts that above everything else,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said of Reese. “With all the time that she puts into building her brand and flying all over the world, she still has proven to us time and time again she puts basketball first.

“Only a competitive player is going to have all these things in her life that are so special but still want to be the greatest player she can be.”

Reese and Clark helped change the landscape of the WNBA, drawing sellout crowds

ä See REESE, page 3C

compete in an NCAA regional.

“I’m responsible and I take full responsibility,” Habetz said. “We fell short this year but definitely

LSU pitcher Chase Shores delivers a pitch against

rst inning

at Alex Box Stadium. Shores has taken on a new role as a reliever. STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese dribbles up court against the Brazil National Team on May 2 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Saints come to termswithsix 2025 draftpicks

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

With rookie minicampinfull swing,the New Orleans Saints announced they have reached contract agreements with most of their nine-member NFL draft class.

Offensive lineman Kelvin Banks, linebacker Danny Stutsman, cornerback Quincy Riley,running back Devin Neal, tight end Moliki Matavao and edgerusher FadilDiggs all signed their first professional

REESE

Continued from page1C

and record ratings whilespurring debates about the sportand society.The rivals from LSU andIowa showcased astyle and swagger that captivated the nation when they were going at it in college Reese, who finished second to Clark in the Rookie of the Year voting, averaged13.6 points and a league-record 13.1 rebounds. She set aWNBA record withdoubledoubles in 15 straight games and finished with 26 on the season the most ever by arookie.

Reese briefly held the mark for total rebounds with 446, onlyto missthe final six games with a wrist injury.While she was out, league MVPA’jaWilson finished with 451.

But while the records piled up, so did the losses.

In two seasons at Maryland and two more at LSU, Reese’s teams lost atotal of 20 games and never dropped more than two in arow She won an NCAA championship with the Tigers in 2023, beating Clark and Iowa in the final.

The Sky,meanwhile, lost12of their final 14 games last season. They dropped seven in arow before beating theLos Angeles Sparks on Sept. 6, only to have Reese suffer ahairline fracture in her left wristthatrequired surgery. With their star sidelined, they won their next game and lost the final five.

“Obviously,that left abad taste in my mouth,” she said. Reese had abusy offseason, playing in the Unrivaled3-on-3 league and trying to increase her range and develop into the sort of stretch power forward theSky envisionher becoming. Sheshot 39% last season and made just3 of 16 3-pointers.

“Wewant her to be dynamic,” Marsh said. “Wewant her to be able to score inside. We want to be able to create space for her

Continued from page1C

the win.

Meanwhile, Coastal ace pitcher

NicolettePicone dominated in the circle to improve to 27-9 on the season, allowing one run on four hits, two walks and four strike-

contracts on Friday

The onlyplayers from the draft class whohavenot yet signed are quarterback TylerShough, defensive linemanVernon Broughton and safetyJonas Sanker —all of the Saints’ Day 2selections.

New Orleansbegan itsrookie minicamp Friday, anditwill go through the weekend. While three players remain unsigned, they are still able to participate in the Saints’ rookie minicamp.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

By

ChicagoSky forwardAngel Reese takesashot during warmups beforeagameagainst the Brazil National Team on May2atthe PMAC.

to have more one-on-one finishes inside and to not have to have to feellikeshe’s gottoplayina crowd.Wewanttoput theball in herhandsonthe perimeter and allowher to facilitate andcreate off thedribble as well.”

Reese said the issue was more herhesitancy to take the shots thanher ability to hitshots from theperimeter

“I always justtellmyself if I work out and make the shots I might as well take theminthe game,” shesaid Reese gota taste ofthe championshipatmosphere whenshe sat courtside during the WNBA finals between New York and Minnesota. She showed up forGame 5wearingwhat looked like acustom outfit splitdown the middle with aLiberty jersey on her left side and Lynx jersey on theright.

Reese also excelledinUnrivaled.

Her team Rose BC won thechampionship, though shemissed the playoffs after hurting her surgically repaired wrist.She likesthe makeup of the Sky andbelieves Chicago will be difficult to beat.

“I think we have the right pieces this year,” Reesesaid. “We have thegreat veteran leadership. We have coaches that just built aculture from the beginning and built thestandards, so I’m excited.”

outs. Oneday after throwing 117 pitches, Picone got the complete game in 90pitches in this contest.

“It was somewhat surprised because when we playedthem at Coastal,our lefties didgreat against her and our righties struggled,”Habetz said. “Today,she owned our lefties. Our lefties just weren’t seeing it.”

The onlyrun Piconeallowed

The Associated Press

CHICAGO It’sthe biggest victory for the strugglingChicagoWhite Sox in along time.

PopeLeo XIV is aWhiteSox fan

—and theorganization is embracing the news.

Elected on Thursday,Robert Prevost is thefirst pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. And Prevost’s brother,John,said theChicagoborn missionary cheered for the WhiteSox.

“Proud moment forChicago,” White Sox manager Will Venable said before Friday night’sgame against Miami. “It’sawesome.” It was initially reported that

the newpope was aCubs fan. The team congratulated Pope Leo XIV in apost on Xthat had apicture of Wrigley Field’siconic marquee with the message: HEY,CHICAGO. HE’SACUBSFAN!

But JohnPrevost set the record straight in an interview with WGN-TV.“He was always aSox fan,” John said.

The WhiteSox posted aclip from the brother’sinterviewonX,along with apicture of the Rate Field videoboard with themessage:HEY CHICAGO,HE’S ASOX FAN!

That message wasstill on the videoboard in center whenthe White Sox began batting practice Friday Venablesaidhecouldn’tblame theCubs.

ChicagoWhite Sox players walkonthe field as the scoreboard honors Pope Leo XIV before agame against the Miami Marlins on Friday in Chicago.

His first appearanceasa reliever since March 31, 2023,didn’tgo smoothly.Shores allowed three earnedruns and four hits in 22/3 innings and LSU lost 7-4, but that wouldn’tbethe end of his time out of the bullpen.

Shoreshas allowedjust two hits in three innings in apairof relief appearancesthe last two weeks. TheTexas native hassurrendered two earned runs, but theformertop recruithas looked better on the bump since transitioning to the bullpen.

“I feel like he’s getting hislegs underneath him,” Johnsonsaid, “andjust at the right time.”

Since his outing against Alabama, Shores has thrown the ball harder and for more strikes over thelast two weeks against theAggies and Volunteers

Hisfastball velocityhas sat at around99-100 mph, anoticeable uptick from where he was at as astarter,sitting at 95-97 mph. He also tossed 14 of 24 pitches for strikesagainst Tennessee and threw 24 of 35 pitches over the plateatCollege Station.

He’s hitthreebatters and walked two across his last two appearances. But, particularly in hisoutingagainst the Aggies, Shorespitchedwith alevel of ag-

came in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Sam Roe.

“We’re not used to striking out awhole lot, especially aMaddie Hayden, she never strikes out —but shewas making it move,” Habetzsaid.“Maddie toldmein her last at-bat she hadn’tseen that pitch before. She had alittle extra juice on it andobviouslyshe’s a competitor

gressionthatwasn’taspresent when he was starting.

“I seealittle more aggressiveness out of him,which is really good,” sophomore right-hander Jaden Noot said. “And Iwouldn’t say he wasmissing that coming back fromsurgery at all, because he wasn’t,but there’sjust alittle moregiddy up to what he’sdoing now out of thepen.”

Noot, whoalso had Tommy John surgery as afreshman, saidthat Shores’ transitiontothe bullpen has given him more permission to be aggressive on the mound.

“She was better than us today for sure, making the ball move.”

In addition to the11hits, the Chanticleers leftnine others on base.

Wheeler gave up four runs on six hits, two walks and no strikeouts in 3.1 innings. Sam Ryan finished out her career in style, tossing 3.1 innings shutoutwinning with one walk and one strikeout.

“I getit,”hesaid. “I thinkweall want the pope on our side, so Icertainly understand. But I’mglad he chose the right team.”

The White Sox said they sent a jersey and ahat to the Vatican after the announcement. The organization also congratulated the new pope in ascoreboardgraphic that was shownbefore Friday night’s first pitch.

The White Sox are last in the AL Centralthis season,ayear after they went41-121 to break the post1900 major league record forlosses in aseason. So they welcomed a reason to celebrate.

“We’ll take it,” Venable said with asmile. “It’sgreat to have him on our side, forsure.”

Instead of worrying about how he has to save energy as his outinggoes alongasa starter,hecan leave everything out on the line not knowing how long he’ll stay in the gameasareliever

“Ifyou’re astarter,nomatter how muchmyself or apitching guy drives that into your head, like, ‘Hey, Iwantyou to treat this inning like you’re closing the game,’ “Johnson said. “It’shard to get that through when you may pitch four or fiveorsix innings.”

For the last two weeks, freshman right-hander Casan Evanshas ascended to Shores’ old spot in the rotation and has pitched well. He’s allowed just three earned runs in 91/3 innings in his new role. Shoreshasn’t been as prolificas Evanswas when he wasinrelief, but theirroles have essentially flipped since LSU’sseries victory over Tennessee. It’s aswitch that undeniably helped the Tigers hold the Volunteers to two runs last Sunday and Texas A&M to 10 runs last weekend.

“When you look at how you can shape up aweekend(in relief),” Johnsonsaid, “whenyou look at Jaden throwing the ball as well as he is, Mavrick (Rizy) throwing the ball as well as he is, Chase throwing the ball as well as he is... that changes the dynamic of what this (bullpen) is.”

Email Koki Rileyat Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

“Sam Ryan don’ttalk enough about her,” Habetz said. “It’sone thing forasenior to buy in witha new coach and very rarely does a seniorget that much better.Sam Ryan got that much better

“Everytime we gave herthe ball, she was ready.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU pitcher Chase Shores delivers apitch against Tennessee in the seventh inning of their game on April 26 at AlexBox Stadium

STAFF PHOTO

MICHAELJOHNSON

AP PHOTO By DAVID BANKS

TerryRobinson

FAITH MATTERS

Closeddoors prepared this Lafayette pastor forministry

The doors that closed on Cory Young helped open the door to ministry

“The Lord knew what he was doing. He was just preparing me,” said Cory Young, the pastor of St. James Baptist Church in Lafayette Young, 48, charted his own plans 25 years ago that didn’t involve ministry.After graduating from the Universityof Louisiana at Lafayette in 2000 with adegree in criminal justice, Young had aspirations of working at the Lafayette Police Department, the Louisiana State Police and finally the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

The Marksville native got on for atime with the Police Department. Later,Young reached the second-to-last round of the State Police application process, which involved apsychological evaluation.

“I failed it,” he said. “I was distraught because Iknew Ihad it.Isaid, ‘I know I’m not crazy, and that did something to me That was one door that closed.”

Another door closed when his private investigator business started losing clients, leading to “financial distress.”

For more than two years, Young went from doors closing to virtually any doors at all. He found himselfstaying withfraternity brothers and homeless for about 18 months.

“It was rough,” he said. “I didn’twant to do anything. All I wanted to do was go to church and come back home.”

Even going back “home” to his parents in Marksville strained Young’sfinances. He had ajob in law enforcement but couldn’tafford car insurance or gas money

“Granted, my mom would have given me money,but I was prideful,” he said. “I was suffering in silence. Icouldn’t tell even my parents. They were Christians, but they wouldn’tunderstand. It was something between God andI.”

Adefining moment in his life came in December 2002

“I couldn’tbuy anybody Christmas gifts. Ididn’thave any money,” he said. “I couldn’t ask my fratbrothers for money.Finally,Isaid, ‘Lord, Isurrender.I’ll do what you have called me to do.” In January 2003, Young sharedwith his pastor,Ricky Carter,atGood Hope Baptist Church that God was calling him to preach the Gospel.

“(Carter) said, ‘I saw it in you every since you joined the church. I’m glad you were finally obedient to God. He said, ‘You’ve been running, and the Lord shut doors for you to go his way.’” Young served at Good Hope before being named the senior pastoratSt. James about101/2 yearsago.

“Overall, it has been awonderful experience,” Young said of the church at 1001 Plum St. “Leading people, you have your ups and your downs at it relates to dealing with people with different personalities and getting people on board.” Young is excited about his journeyatSt. James, a blue-collar congregation that embraces the motto, “We’re achurch that’sconnected,

Aschoolreunion fora legend

West Baton RougeMuseum celebrates life of Edward Searcy

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Shelton Berry first encountered

Edward Searcy while exiting Port Allen HighSchool’sband room.

Berry doesn’tremember theexact date, only that he was astudent dressed to the nines for aschool function. Washeinthe ninthgrade or 10th? He doesn’tremember But he does recall thinking he looked pretty good in hissuituntil Searcy set him straight.

“I had on some dress shoes, and (Searcy) said, ‘Young, man, come here,’ ”Berry said. “So Iwalked over,and he stuck out his hand for me to shakeit. He said, ‘Edward Searcy.Next time Isee you, Iwant those shoes clean. Youunderstand, sir?’ And Isaid, ‘Yes, sir.’” Alocal legend

Even then,Berry knew he had come face to face with alocal legend. Searcy had taught biology to their grandparents, parentsand with anyluckwould also oneday teach thenext generation. Searcy was known for his civil

BYSERENA PUANG Staff writer

Where did gold, uranium and other heavyelements come

Shelton Berry,curator for the West Baton RougeMuseum’sexhibit,‘West Baton Rouge’sEducator:Edward Searcy,’ standsinfront of photos and artifacts, including the white lab coat that Searcy wore while teaching biology. Berry wasa student at Port

High when he first met Searcy, whowas wearing that same lab coat.

rights activisminthe community, lifelongmilitaryservice and the Boston marathons completed along theway Berryeventually wouldtake Searcy’sbiology class, but on this particular day,the teacher taught theband kid avaluable life lesson: Presentation isn’tabout making a fashion statement.It’sabout presenting your best self to theworld at all times.

Attentiontodetailisa part of that presentation, and Searcy knew it.

“He was alwayswearing alab coat and polished shoes,” Berry said.

Aplanned ‘schoolreunion’

Thatsame labcoat now stands in a corner in the West Baton Rouge Museum’sPerkins Gallery as part of the

ä See EXHIBIT, page 6C

National Research Councilidentified the question,“How were the heavy elements fromirontouranium

LSUscientistsare helpingsolve oneofphysics’ biggestquestions surrounding rare elements

made?”asone of 11 questionsto be answered in the new century In amajor contribution to oneof science’sdeepest mysteries, LSU researchers helped pinpoint how some of the heaviest elements in theuniverse are formed —and they did it by studying the remnants of exploded stars called magnetars, aneutron star withan extremely strong magnetic field. Sincethe universe began, it’s had hydrogen, helium and alittle

lithium —the first three elements on the periodic table. The rest of the elements are forged through various processes. Forthe elements up to iron, the forging can happen inside of stars. But forging heavier elements like gold requires so muchenergy that ordinary stars collapse before they can create them, leaving their origin amystery until recently

Young

STAFFPHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

Allen

PROVIDED PHOTOByWEST BATONROUGE MUSEUM

TheWest Baton RougeMuseum’s exhibit, ‘West Baton Rouge’sEducator:Edward Searcy,’ beginswith the same labcoat he wears in this photo, when he wasa biologyteacher at Port AllenHigh School. The museum will host a‘school reunion’ reception in celebrationofSearcy’slife on May16.

You’re notobligated to huganyone

Dear Miss Manners: Whatisa polite waytorefuse ahug with friends or strangers? What to do when my proffered handshake is batted away and ahug pursued instead?

Some men, especially, seemtowant to hug me because of my large chest, and it seems more like sexual assault than afriendly gesture. And there are certain women (whom Idonot consider friends) who have behaved badly to me in the past, andI do notwant them to touch me. Is the advice the same in either case? And what about when they chase me?

RELIGION

Church holdspastor

appreciation service Freeman Baptist Church, 4628 La. 955, Ethel, will conduct apastor’sappreciation service at 2p.m Sunday,May 25. Guests will be the Rev HenryBrown and the Star Bethlehem &First Emmanuel MissionaryBaptist churches.

The public is invited to join in honoring Robert L. Scott Jr pastor

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: Run. No friendly gesture should come at thecost of personal safety.Ifyour proffered hand is batted away,step backquicklyand do alittle bow (to get some distance between you), andthen mutterbyway of explanation, “Something is going aroundand Idon’twant youtocatch it.”

MissManners will leave it to your discretion to tell these people that that “something” is their salacious behavior.

Dear Miss Manners: As apreteen,I was told bysomeone that it was rude to eat onefood on my plate

BRIEFS FROM STAFFREPORTS

Christian Academy performs production Hosanna ChristianAcademy will present “Upinde,”a vibrant, all-ages production that celebrates identity andfaith, at 7p.m. Thursday at Independence Park Theatre, 7800 IndependenceBlvd., Baton Rouge.

Doorsopenat6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Visit eventbrite.com for more information

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, May 10, the 130th day of 2025. There are 235 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven in aceremony in Promontory,Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

On this date: In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union forces near Irwinville, Georgia.

In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (later known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI) by President Calvin Coolidge; Hooverwould serve as FBI director until 1972.

In 1933, book burnings were held in 34 cities across Germany,targeting authors whose ideologies were in

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committed, courageous and continuing in Christ.”

“It’sbeing committed to one another as the members of the local church,” he said. “Courageous is for Christ and being courageous for one another, standing up for each other and being courageous for the community,especially for things that are in the community —whether it being spiritual, whether it be economically continuing in Christ is to do all of that. Don’tstop.”

Raised by aCatholic mother and aBaptist father,Young discovered his calling to preach at 11 years old. That’swhen he heard asermon by an Atlanta preacher titled “I Fell in Love With aProstitute.” The message focused on the Old Testament story of Hosea, the prophet told by God to marry Gomer, aprostitute.Despite Gomer’sunfaithfulness and affairs with other lovers, God instructed Hosea to pursue Gomer and bring her back.

“The Lord said, ‘Hosea, Iwant you to go tell Israel, my people, that even though they have sinned against me Istill loved them,’”Young said. Hosea’scall became Young’scall.

“I’m listening to this sermon and the Lord told me, ‘That’swhat Iwant you to

at atime —that Iwas supposed to movearound my plate, eating bites of each item in succession. Ilike enjoying all of one food before moving on. The only thing Ican liken it to is watching aTV show,and someone changes the channel in the middle of it. Iwant to finish theshow I’m watching before moving on to the next.

The day Iwas told this, Imade a silent vow to myself that Iwould always eat one food at atime, the way Iprefer.But I’m wondering if you have ever heard of the rule this person was trying to impose on me.

Iwould think it’srude to surveil other people’seating, but then, this person was still trying to do

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exhibit, “West Baton Rouge’s

Educator: Edward Searcy.”

The show runs through May 25, but the museum, 845 N. Jefferson Ave., PortAllen, is hosting a“school reunion” receptionfrom 6p.m. to 8p.m. on May16, where former students from Cohn andPort Allen high schools, fellow teachers andeveryone else who knewhim can reuniteto share memories about their favoriteteacher

conflict with Nazism. In 1940, duringWorld WarII, German forces began invading theNetherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. On the same day,British Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain resigned, andWinston Churchill formed anew government In 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated,becomingthe first Black president ofSouth Africa. In 1994, thestate of Illinois executed serial killer JohnWayne Gacy,52, for themurders of 33 young menand boys Today’sbirthdays: Basketball Hall of Fame coachJim Calhoun is 83. Musiciansongwriter Donovan is 79. Fashion designer Miuccia Prada is 76. Olympic skiing medalists Phil and Steve Mahre are 68. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.,is 66. Singer-activistBono (U2) is 65. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, is 65. Playwright Suzan-LoriParks is 62.

do.Iwantyou to tell this world that even though they messed up, that even though they’ve sinned, I want this world to know I still love them.”

What does an 11-year-old do with that revelation, Young wondered.

“I sat on it from 1988 to 2003. Iwas runningfrom theLord,” hesaid Now,with years of experience, Young passionately shares theGospel, witha sensitivity andfocus on those whohaveendured difficultseasonsintheir lives as he has.

“Just going through the storms, I’m able to preach notjust what I’ve heard but what Iknowwithconviction,” said Young, who retired after 23 years as aprivate investigator and runs ajanitorial service. Young saidhealso desires to be anexample of Christ to all people, inspired by Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”

“That just reminds me that every day that nomatter if Isin, no matterwhat happens,Iknow that I’m heavenbound,” he said. “The only reason Iam what Iamisbythe grace of God.IfGod is able to turn my life around, then he’s able to do it forthem. Thebest way that Ican helpthemisnot telling them Jesusbut showing them Jesus.”

ContactTerry Robinson at terryrobinson622@ gmail.com.

For thosewho didn’tknow Searcy,the show is achance to learnabout theman who influenced so many people in West Baton Rouge Parish Berry is the curator of this show, which occupies three cornersofthe museum’s Perkins Gallery. And though it seems small, itsphotos and artifacts pack apowerful punch.

Thelab coat

The show begins with the lab coat. It’sbeenstarched and ironed, which isn’tunusual to Searcy’sdaughters, AvaSearcy Royaland Angela Searcy Royal,two of Searcy’sfive children.

“Webothmarried brothers,” AvaSearcy Royal said. They grew up in Searcy’s Winterville home, where they remember their mother, Bernice, as the “mostbeautiful woman in theworld,” and their even-tempered father whoselife lessons included getting up early each morning to workinthe garden before school —which resulted in food for thesupper table.

The sisters were only kids at the time and remember thatthe work back then was a choretothem. But as adults, theysee the benefits, as their dad knew theywould.

“Wealways ate well,” Angela Searcy Royal said.

Alongwalk

Searcy was born Sept.19, 1928, in southBaton Rouge, but spent the majority of his life in Winterville, from where, after finishing elementary school, he often madethe long walk from his housetoSouthern LaboratoryHigh School, adistance

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Scientists have puzzled over theorigin of elements heavier thaniron since the 1950s. Recently, LSU astrophysicist EricBurns —an expert in gamma-ray bursts —madea breakthrough using datafrom decades-old space observations.

For context, gamma rays are energetic photons, most famous forturningBruce Bannerinto the Incredible Hulk. Burnshad the idea to use gamma rays to understand if magnetar giant flares forge theheaviest elements and unexpectedly found the answer in decades-old data. Magnetars, thedense remnantsofexploded stars, createanenvironment so extreme that asingle giant flare —apowerfulburst of radiation —can generate theenergy neededtoform elements heavier thaniron, including gold.

AaronTrigg, aNASA FINESST (Future Investigators in NASAEarth andSpace Science and Technology) fellow and LSU graduate student who works withBurns, found

this when Iwas in my 60s. Iam no longer in this person’slife, but thequestion has nagged at me for decades. Who was right?

Gentlereader: You.

Even Miss Manners does not have opinionsonthe order in which you eat your dinner —and certainly would never monitor it.

As long as you are not trying to consume the bread bowl before the soup or making similarly chaotic choices, she supports your decisions —both on how you choose to eat and fordistancing yourself from this nagging person.

Dear Miss Manners: We were out to dinner with another couple, and my wife became horrified when Itook the final sip of my cocktail,

along with an ice cube, and then proceeded to return the ice cube to the glass. The final sip is the best sip! Is this so horrible?

Gentle reader: Yes. By all means, take that final sip. But Miss Manners will have to insist that you find away to do so without the ice coming back up naked.

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.

threats were made. But Searcy was not deterred, even when segregationists constructedabarbedwire fence around Devall Middle School and shot at him to keepBlack students from entering.

“Mr. Searcy and the civil rights activists cut it down,” Berry said. He stands next to the exhibit case displaying newspaper clippings and letters documenting those days’ events.

“He was very organized in everything he did,” Berry said. “He didn’tback down. He and the other protesters returned to tear the fence down again. He made lists of everything.” Berry pointstoasmall sheet of paper in the exhibit case. It contains alist in Searcy’smeticulous handwriting, dated Nov. 23, 1966, when he andotherspicketed in front of the National Food Store that day From there comes Searcy’s list:

of at least eight miles.

Cohn High had yet to be built, so there was no high school forBlack students in West BatonRouge at the time.Searcy wanted to continue his education at the best possible institution available to him.

“So, he walked, and that meant walking across the bridge,” Angela Searcy Royal said. “And it was hot on alot of those days, but he liked it hot.”

Later in life, Searcy would get up before sunrise on the hottest of Louisiana mornings to train for theBoston Marathon. The heat also didn’tbother him in his militarytraining, which was continuous.

Military service

“He was in the U.S.Army at Fort Leonard for two years during theKorean conflict, Angela Searcy Royal said.

“He was in the U.S. Army ReserveinBaton Rougefor 11 years, and he served as a Green Beret in the Special Forces for four years in Mississippi. He served in the

more magnetargiantflares to study in archival data. The study,led by AnirudhPatel, a doctoralstudent at Columbia University in New York, was published in TheAstrophysical Journal Letters.

Whyshouldwecare?

According to Trigg, the magnetic field generated by theplanet’smolten coreprotects theplanet from gamma rays and cosmic rays that could end life on Earth, and the heavier radioactive elements arenecessary to keep that core molten.

“Welive on this rocky planet,and we are protected from all the crazystuff going on outside theplanet,” Trigg said. “(The radioactive elements) had to have come from somewhere.”

Besides knowing where we come from, studying the originsofheavierelements in theuniverse can help bring us one stepcloserto figuring out if life beyond Earth might exist

“It’s (this discovery) akey step in answering what’s maybethe mostfundamental question,” said Burns. “Are we alone in the universe? …Wedon’tknow what alien life could look

Air ForceReserve in Belle Chasse for 11 yearsand the U.S. NavalSea Cadets Corps for15years, where he subsequently became the commanding officer.And at the time of his death, Ihave arecorded tape where he requested his burial at the National Military Cemetery with the Naval SeaCadets.” He wasstill qualifying to do airplane jumps even later in hislifeand took hisdaughters to watch him jump.

The sisters share so many other memories, stories of family andvaluablelessons learned. They lost him to cancer in 2010. He was 81.

Civilrightsleader

Still, topping all of the lessons were Searcy’sactions in life,especially whenit came to social activism. The educatorstepped intothe roleofcivil rights leader andhelpedtoexpand voter registration among Blacks, boycott businesses that wouldn’thire Black employees and integrate West Baton Rouge Parish’sschools. Tempers ranhigh and

like,but if it’saliens like us, you need heavy elements.”

On its own, new information about where elements like gold come from doesn’t confirm if or why we’re alone in the universe or not, but it does confirm that the necessary components for life, as currently understood, have existed foralong time in other places in the universe.

Next steps

What’snext? Burns said that scientists identifiedthe questions as apriority to answer within the century,and they were able to answer this one in 25 years.

The reason scientists could even make this discovery,Burnssaid, was because theywereable to combine informationfromseveral fields, including nuclear science,atomicscience, astrophysics, etc.

“We’re taking knowledge gathered by theDepartment of Energy in nuclear and atomic science to interpret observations gatheredby NASA andESA (European Space Agency) facilitiesusing models that were supported by theNational Science Foundation,” he said. ”The reason we can do this

n Started 8:20 a.m. n Ended 6:30 p.m n Effectiveness: Excellent n Approximately 20 Negroes went in across the picket line, but the majority of people respected it.

n Difficulties: None. Change wasn’timmediate, but it did come to West Baton Rouge Parish partly due to Searcy’sefforts.

“He often talked about being out there in the cold, not having anywhere to usethe bathroom, not being able to go in and grab abite to eat,” Berry said. “And he often even talked aboutbeing harassed, bullied and shot at.” All of which opened Berry’seyes as one of Searcy’s students.

Searcy’sdirective about shining shoes really wasn’t about shoes at all. It wasan early lesson in professionalism andopportunity,somethingSearcy taught to allof his students no matter their color or ethnicity

“He wasalready this legendary figure when Igot into high school, and when you met him, youjustknewyou were meeting somebody extremely important,”Berry said. “But Ihad no idea that he accomplished all of this, because he wassohumble.”

is the long, sustained and broad investment by the federalgovernmentinfundamental research.” NASA’s forthcoming Compton Spectrometer andImager mission can followupon these results. The wide-field gamma ray telescope is expected to launch in 2027. Going forward, scientists hope to gain abetter understanding of how much of the heavy elements came from the magnetar giant flares and how much of the elements were available in the early universe. Burns said he also wants to transition to working out the origin of isotopes (atoms of the same element with the samenumberofprotonsbut adifferent number of neutrons).

“It’snot like you just one dayhavethe finalanswer, said Burns. “It’salong-continuedimprovement in your understanding of theanswer.” Theworkdoesn’tstop. Answers in science are not straightforward and definitive. The more we learn about howthe universe forges its heaviest elements,the closer we get to answering the biggest questionofall: Are we alone?

PROVIDED PHOTO By WEST BATONROUGE MUSEUM

Aphoto of Edward Searcy leading aprotest in front of the National Food Store in Port Allen after the store refused to hire Black employees. The photo is featured in the West Baton RougeMuseum’s exhibit, ‘West Baton Rouge’s Educator:Edward Searcy.’

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the samenumber only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS