Condo sales in Baldwin County, which includes Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, were down 17% last year compared with the year before, and are half what they were in 2021, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate, which is part of the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama.
Funds also allocated for private education grants
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO, PATRICK WALL and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writers
Louisiana would spend nearly $200 million on one-time pay stipends for public school teachers and other school employees next school year under a proposed budget advanced by the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, essentially keeping educator pay flat as lawmakers explore ways to fund long-term raises. The spending plan, which the full House is expected to vote on Thursday, also includes $93.5 million that Gov Jeff Landry requested for a new education program, called LA GATOR, that gives families tax dollars to pay for private school tuition and homeschooling expenses. It cuts $30 million that had been allocated for student tutoring.
For the third year in a row, certified
ä See STIPENDS, page 4A
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
Louisianans will flock to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach over the next few months, drawn to the 32-mile stretch of sugar-white sand and blue water less than a three-hour drive from New Orleans.
But while the Alabama Gulf Coast remains popular with beachgoers and many parts of Baldwin County are booming, the massive condominium complexes that line the shore are having a harder time attracting buyers.
Condo sales in Baldwin County, which includes Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, were down 17% last year compared with the year before, and are half what they were in 2021, according to the Alabama Center for
Real Estate, which is part of the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama. So far this year the trend
has continued. From January through March, there were 24% fewer condo sales than during the first quarter of 2024, though prices are up
slightly
The insurance crisis that has had a chilling effect on real estate activity in south Louisiana is also dampening sales of beachfront property two states over, according to brokers. And further complicating matters, they say is a growing “blacklist” of condominium complexes that Fannie Mae, the federally backed mortgage finance giant, will no longer underwrite because it says the properties have not been adequately maintained or don’t carry enough insurance to meet new, stricter guidelines. Nearly 70 complexes in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are on the list, according to Boston attorney and condominium law expert
ä See CONDOS, page 4A
BY JAMEY KEATEN, DAVID McHUGH, ELAINE KURTENBACH and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press
U.S., China agree to slash sky-high tariffs for now ä Wall Street rallies after pause announced. PAGE 10C
GENEVA The United States and China agreed Monday to slash their massive recent tariffs, restarting stalled trade between the world’s two biggest economies and setting off a rally in global financial markets. But the de-escalation in President Donald Trump’s trade wars did nothing to resolve underlying differences between Beijing and Washington. The deal lasts 90 days, creating time for U.S. and Chinese negotiators to reach a more substantive agreement. But the pause also leaves tariffs higher than before Trump started ramping
ä See TARIFFS, page 3A
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
state after his retirement from the school system in 2013.
“The kids responded to him and he did a good job,” Davidson said. “He was demanding and he had a good feel for the game.”
But track and field is where his heart was and Simmons excelled in that area.
“He was always a professional, always encouraging and he just always had that integrity about him and doing things the right way,” Lafayette Renaissance’s Trev Faulk said of Simmons. “I viewed him as somebody who did things the right way a man of integrity He’ll definitely be missed.” Former Acadiana High coaching colleague Ted Davidson remembered him as a good secondary coach for the Wreckin’ Rams.
His passion was first noticed at Acadiana High as the track coach.
“He took care of his kids,”
ä See SIMMONS, page 4A
“For track and field he brought so much to this area in the high school settings,” longtime Comeaux High wrestling coach Keith Bergeron said. “He was really the pioneer of all the track and field programs in the parish.”
Pope urges release of imprisoned journalists
VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press” in an audience with some of the 6,000 journalists who descended on Rome to cover his election as the first American pontiff.
Leo received a standing ovation as he entered the Vatican auditorium for his first meeting with representatives of the general public.
The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary, elected in a 24hour conclave last week called for journalists to use words for peace, to reject war and to give voice to the voiceless He expressed solidarity with journalists around the world who have been jailed for trying to seek and report the truth. Drawing applause from the crowd, he asked for their release.
“The church recognizes in these witnesses — I am thinking of those who report on war even at the cost of their lives the courage of those who defend dignity, justice and the right of people to be informed, because only informed individuals can make free choices,” he said.
“The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press.”
Kurdish militant group will disarm and disband
ANKARA, Turkey The Kurdish militant group PKK announced Monday that it is disbanding and renouncing armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, ending four decades of hostilities
The decision by the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, promises to end one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, days after the PKK convened a party congress in northern Iraq.
In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband and disarm.
The call by Ocalan, 76, who continues to wields significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite his 25-year imprisonment, marked a pivotal step toward ending the decadeslong conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.
Stolen Buddhist statue returned to Japan
TOKYO A 14th century Korean Buddhist statue stolen from a Japanese temple nearly 13 years ago was returned on Monday, following a yearslong legal battle between Japan and South Korea over its ownership that had further strained sensitive ties between the two Asian neighbors.
Dozens of temple members and local residents standing by the roadside applauded to welcome the statue as a truck carrying a wooden container with it arrived at Kannonji, a temple on Japan’s western island of Tsushima.
The statue is expected to be kept at a local museum following a ceremony at the temple later in the day
The gilt bronze statue Bodhisatva — worshipped for mercy and compassion — is depicted in a sitting position and measures about 20 inches in height. It has been designated a cultural asset of the region and was one of two statues stolen in 2012 from Kannonji by thieves who were looking to sell them in South Korea.
BY WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Hamas on Monday released an Israeli-American soldier who had been held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months, offering a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel.
Edan Alexander, 21, was the first hostage released since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.
He was handed over to the Red Cross and then to Israeli forces before being flown by helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv Israeli authorities released video and photos showing a pale but smiling Alexander in an emotional reunion with his mother and other family members.
Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing the territory and displacing much of Gaza’s population again. Days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade isn’t lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel’s terms.
Wearing shirts emblazoned with his name, Alexander’s extended family gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the release. They chanted his name when the military said he was free, while in the city’s Hostage
Square, hundreds of people broke out into cheers. Alexander’s grandmother Varda Ben Baruch, beamed. She said her grandson looked mostly all right in the first photo of him after nearly 600 days in captivity.
“He seemed like a man He has really matured,” she said. Reports that Alexander cracked a joke on the phone while speaking to his mother for the first time did not surprise her “He’s got such a sense of humor,” she said. Alexander was 19 when he was taken from his military base in southern Israel during Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct 7, 2023,
which set off the war in Gaza.
In his hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey hundreds of supporters packed the streets, holding signs with his image and listening to speakers blasting Israeli music. As they watched the news of his release on a large screen, the crowd hugged and waved Israeli flags. Since he was taken hostage, supporters there gathered every Friday to march for the hostages’ release.
Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with about 23 of them said to be alive. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 2023 attack were freed
BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and DMYTRO ZHYHINAS Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine Russia launched more than 100 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, after the Kremlin effectively rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in the more than threeyear war, but reiterated it would take part in possible peace talks later this week without preconditions.
There was no direct response from the Kremlin, meanwhile, to Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy’s challenge for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet him for face-to-face peace talks in Turkey on Thursday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday refused to say who might travel to Istanbul from the Russian side.
“Overall, we’re determined to seriously look
for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement. That is all,” Peskov said.
The United States and European governments are making a concerted push to stop the fighting, which has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, as well as more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians. Russia’s invading forces have taken around one-fifth of Ukraine in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
Pres ident Donald Trump said Monday that he’s optimistic about the Istanbul talks. There is “the potential for a good meeting” between Putin and Zelenskyy, Trump said in Washington, adding that he was “thinking about flying over” to the talks from his visit to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates that day
Zelenskyy supported the prospect of Trump attending the negotiations
“I supported President Trump with the idea of direct talks with Putin. I have openly expressed my readiness to meet,” he said. “And of course,
all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Turkey.”
In a flurry of diplomatic developments over the weekend, Russia shunned the ceasefire proposal tabled by the U.S. and European leaders, but offered direct talks with Ukraine on Thursday Ukraine, along with European allies, had demanded that Russia accept a ceasefire starting Monday before holding peace talks Moscow effectively rejected that proposal and instead called for direct negotiations in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he had discussed Russian-Ukrainian peace efforts in separate calls with Zelenskyy Putin and Trump. Erdogan said “a new window of opportunity has emerged for peace.” Trump insisted that Ukraine accept the Russian offer of talks. Zelenskyy went a step further Sunday and put pressure on Putin by offering a personal meeting.
Deadline set for drugmakers to lower costs
BY AMANDA SEITZ and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Monday signed a sweeping executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drugmakers to electively lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. or face new limits down the road over what the government will pay
tasked with developing a new rule that ties the price the U.S. pays for medications to lower prices paid by other countries.
“We’re going to equalize,” Trump said during a Monday morning news conference. “We’re all going to pay the same. We’re going to pay what Europe pays.”
The order calls on the health department, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to broker new price tags for drugs over the next month. If deals are not reached, Kennedy will be
It’s unclear what — if any — impact the Republican president’s executive order will have on millions of Americans who have private health insurance. The federal government has the most power to shape the price it pays for drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Trump’s promised new — but uncertain — savings on drug prices, just hours after the Republican-led
House released its new plan to trim $880 billion from Medicaid. Taxpayers spend hundreds of billions of dollars on prescription drugs, injectables, transfusions and other medications every year through Medicare, which covers nearly 70 million older Americans. Medicaid, which provides nearly-free health care for almost 80 million poor and disabled people in the U.S. also spends tens of billions of dollars each year for drugs.
The nation’s pharmaceutical lobby, which represents the top U.S. drugmakers, immediately pushed back against Trump’s order calling it a “bad deal” for American patients. Drugmakers have long argued that any threats to their profits could impact the research they do to develop new drugs.
in ceasefire deals.
Hamas announced its intention to release Alexander shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to arrive Tuesday in the Middle East on the first official foreign trip of his second term.
Trump on Sunday called the planned release “a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators Qatar and Egypt to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones.”
“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!” Trump said on social media.
Trump, who is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is not scheduled to stop in Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday with the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and discussed efforts to release the remaining hostages, his office said.
“To this end, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed that a negotiations team leave for Doha tomorrow,” the prime minister’s office said, adding that Netanyahu had “made it clear that the negotiations would only take place under fire.”
Netanyahu said Alexander’s release “was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.”
By The Associated Press
A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S.
In a win for the Trump administration, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich denied a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups. They argued that undocumented immigrants who pay taxes are entitled to the same privacy protections as U.S. citizens and immigrants who are legally in the country Friedrich, who was ap-
pointed by President Donald Trump, had previously refused to grant a temporary order in the case. The decision comes less than a month after former acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause resigned over the deal allowing ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
The IRS has been in upheaval over Trump administration decisions to share taxpayer data. A previous acting commissioner announced his retirement earlier amid a furor over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to IRS taxpayer data.
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Stephen Marcus, who has reviewed the list, which isn’t available publicly Real estate brokers and mortgage lenders said that with about one-fourth of all condo buildings in Baldwin County on the list, it is making it harder for people to buy and sell individual units.
“We’ve had some deals crater because of all this,” said Chuck Norwood, a real estate broker with The Norwood Team RE/MAX of Gulf Shores, which has sold Gulf Coast property for more than 30 years. “It used to be you had to worry about whether a buyer was a qualified borrower to get a mortgage. Now, you have to worry about whether the property is qualified.”
About the blacklist
Fannie Mae and its sister organization Freddie Mac don’t write mortgages, but they buy home loans from lenders and resell them to investors, guaranteeing payment. That makes them a key part of the mortgage market, because loans that meet the agencies’ underwriting standards typically get more favorable interest rates and require lower down payments.
Fannie Mae has long kept a list of properties that didn’t meet its standards, rendering them “ineligible” or “unwarrantable” — terms the agency prefers to “blacklist.” But after the Surfside building collapse in Florida in 2021, which killed 98 people, the list has grown from fewer than 1,000 properties to roughly 5,200 across the country, according to Marcus, whose firm Alcock & Marcus specializes in condominium law
“If a condo is on the list,
Continued from page 1A
teachers would get $2,000 and other school personnel would receive $1,000 under the proposed budget, which will move to the state Senate if it clears the House.
The Legislature added the one-time stipends to the budget, at a total cost of about $199.5 million, after voters in March rejected a constitutional amendment that would have dissolved several education trust funds to pay for permanent teacher raises
On Monday, the House passed two bills that repackage the teacher-pay portion of the amendment. If the full Legislature passes the bills and voters approve the constitutional change, teachers would get lasting raises starting with the 2026-27 school year In that case, the one-time stipends would be a stopgap measure until the raises kick in.
Rep. Barbara Freiberg, RBaton Rouge, said teachers earned the stipends especially after Louisiana students made record gains last year on a closely watched national test.
“I think that achievement is due to thousands of hardworking teachers who are in the classroom every day making a difference in the lives of students,” said Freiberg, who is a member of the budget committee.
it can make it harder to sell or refinance because Fannie Mae won’t back the loan,” Marcus said A buyer of course, can still get a conventional bank loan to finance a condo purchase, assuming they need to take out a mortgage at all. Many buyers of beachfront property don’t need a loan and can pay cash for what is essentially a second home or investment property. But if they do need a conventional loan from a bank, the terms may not be as favorable because a lot of lenders follow Fannie Mae’s guidelines, Marcus said “You won’t be able to get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and you’ll have to put down a lot more up front,” he added.
Florida has more than 1,400 blacklisted developments, the most of any state, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the list. It was followed by California, Colorado, Hawaii and Texas, all prone to natural disasters and restrictive insurance policies.
The insurance bugaboo
Alabama real estate experts say the stricter Fannie Mae guidelines and properties it won’t underwrite are not the biggest problem facing their market. Rather, the issue is part of a broader insurance crisis that is impacting coastal communities and other areas at high risk for climate-related disasters around the country Like Louisiana which is still feeling the effects of Hurricanes Ida and Laura in 2021 and 2022, the Alabama Gulf Coast was hammered by Hurricane Sally in 2020. In the years since, several carriers have left the state altogether Insurance premiums have tripled for coastal properties, according to local agents.
“Insurance is the bugaboo,” said broker David Swiger, of Swiger & Co. Re-
includes $17.5 million for “differentiated pay,” which allows school districts to give extra money to highperforming teachers, those who teach hard-to-staff subjects and others.
Rep. Jason Hughes, DNew Orleans a committee member who has called for higher teacher pay, said the new budget proposal includes “significant investments” in Louisiana’s children along with some spending cuts.
“I think the final product is something we can all be proud of,” he said.
Paying for the stipends
The proposed budget is mostly a win for education with one big caveat.
It includes funding that state education officials and advocates sought for teacher pay, early childhood education and the LA GATOR program
But it sacrifices money for “high-dosage” tutoring in math and reading, where trained tutors work with small groups of struggling students a few times a week, which state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley has made a top priority and credits with driving some of the state’s recent academic gains.
altors in Gulf Shores. “What we are running into at every single condo, even those off the beach, are insurance assessments and insurance increases because we do not have enough carriers.”
Insurers that are still doing business in the area are frequently refusing to cover the full, insured replacement value of a building, which lenders require for a mortgage, according to Rose Rausch, a lender with Magnolia Mortgage Co., based in Mobile.
“A lot of insurance companies don’t want to cover 100% of wind and hail damage,” said Rausch, whose firms has helped finance several condo deals that Fannie Mae rejected “Instead, they’ll cover about half, so people are having to stack multiple policies.”
As insurance companies crack down on what they are willing to cover, lenders are requiring that condo associations increase the amount of cash they keep in reserves in order to make up for expected shortfalls when a storm occurs. The HOAs, in turn, are increasing what they assess unit owners.
“If you’re buying a condo as a second home, years ago you could rent the stew out of it,” Swiger said. “Today, it’s tough to make a living on it because you will have an assessment that is five, six or seven thousand dollars a year.”
Veteran real estate agents say they’re starting to feel the effects of it all after a decade of boom years.
“The interest rates were not enough to slow us down, but the combination with the insurance is starting to take its toll,” said Mike Cranston, a broker with RE/MAX of Orange Beach.
No deferred maintenance
Despite the challenges, the Baldwin County beaches
geting from previous years.
Teacher pay wasn’t the only winner in the budget Monday
The amendments gave an additional $1.2 million to Louisiana’s Child Advocacy Centers, which serve children who are victims of abuse or human trafficking or who have witnessed violent crimes. Federal cuts prompted those centers to seek state aid. And lawmakers restored $7 million that has helped expand domestic violence victim services in Louisiana.
It’s also possible that programs like tutoring that were cut to pay for the stipends could be restored in the final budget, said Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan Louisiana research group. He said legislative leaders have indicated that updated state revenue forecasts will show the state has more money to work with than initially projected.
“That gives me a lot of confidence,” he said, adding that he thinks some of the cuts are only temporary A plan for long-term raises
It was unclear until Monday’s budget meeting whether lawmakers would find the money for stipends
and surrounding community continue to grow, according to Norwood Roughly 20 new people move to the county every day drawn to the area’s thriving economy and good public schools.
Investors looking for vacation homes continue to shop. Real estate agents say they’re plenty busy showing properties — they’re just closing fewer deals.
“People are still buying, but units have to be in good condition,” Swiger said. “Buyers want a turnkey deal. No repairs, no deferred maintenance.”
Taller, newer condos built to the latest safety standards, even if more expensive are selling better than older, low-rise and “stickbuilt” properties, according to Norwood, who said buyers have more leverage than they did a few years ago, especially if they’re able to pay cash.
Cranston said the market is still fairly competitive and that buyers who want to finance a condo can get a mortgage, though perhaps with less favorable terms.
“We encourage buyers to use a local lender,” he said. “You need to steer your client to the right lender from the outset.”
Norwood, who has been selling Alabama beachfront property since the 1980s and has counted lots of Louisianans among his clients, has worked through down cycles in the past and is not panicked about what, by all accounts, is a slowdown.
“We have a robust rental market, so it is just one of those things we are going to have to work through,” he said. “A lot of people still want a piece of the beach for sure, even though these other things are not as good as they were 10 years ago.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.
the stipends are a temporary solution, arguing that the state must find a way to fund lasting raises.
Continued from page 1A
Davidson said. “He would get kids out and if he had to bring them home, he didn’t mind doing that. I guess you’d call him a players coach — he did a lot for those kids.”
Upon taking the job as athletic director in 1990, that love and willingness to help kids spread to many other sports.
“Some athletic directors tend to focus on the major sports, but he cared about every sport,” Bergeron said “If I ever had a question about wrestling, I could go to him and know I’d get an honest opinion from him.
“He was always willing to take care of every sport — boys, girls, no matter how small the sport was.”
When Comeaux hosted the Ken Cole wrestling tournament each year, Simmons would be there to announce the finalists to kick off the championship round.
“He didn’t have to do that, but he wanted to as a way of helping out the schools in our area and the athletes in our area,” Bergeron said.
“He took a lot of pride in that.
“There was never a ‘no’ answer from him for anything that would help the school or the athletes.” Simmons was known as a man of character and was intent on following the rules. Faulk learned that firsthand after finishing at Lafayette Middle and thinking he might want to play for Carencro High instead of the Mighty Lions before schools of choice was an option.
“Coach Simmons got wind of it and redirected me to make sure I went to the school I was zoned for,” Faulk said. “He was always a professional, always
“If we really want to keep competent teachers in the state,” said Rep. Barbara Carpenter, D-Baton Rouge,
encouraging and he just always had that integrity about him and doing things the right way.” Davidson said, “James was a man of great ethics, always trying to be fair” as a coach, but especially as an athletic director
“I don’t know if I’ve heard anyone say a negative word about coach Simmons, or him doing somebody wrong or being unequal or unfair,” Faulk said. “It was never anything like that with him, and he was in this area for a very long time.” Simmons was also innovative. It was under his leadership that qualified trainers began helping athletic departments in the parish. He also spearheaded cooperation between the Lafayette recreation department and the high school and middle schools in the parish. In 2015, Simmons was inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame in Orlando, Florida.
“If somebody had questions, he was the go-to person,” Bergeron added “If he didn’t know the answer, he would find out the answer for you.”
Retiring from the school system in 2013 didn’t slow Simmons down either He was still officiating track meets around the area, state and even nationally Simmons also volunteered as an LHSAA auditor, visiting schools around the state to ensure eligibility rules were being followed.
“He spent countless hours volunteering at track meets,” Davidson said. “He’d travel all over the country helping at track meets. He was always giving back to the sport.”
Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.
“we’re going to ultimately have to find a way to pay salaries that are comparable to other professions.”
McFarland
The money allocated for the LA GATOR program will pay for grants for an estimated 12,000 students, or roughly a third of the eligible students whose families applied. Some lawmakers have balked at spending nearly $94 million to subsidize students’ private education when many public schools are underfunded. But Landry and advocacy groups that promote school vouchers pressured reluctant lawmakers to fund the program, including with TV ads that said, “Don’t shortchange our kids.” Comm ittee Chair Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, said Monday that the new budget also
“While I’m disappointed by the cut to tutoring, today is one step in the budget process,” he said in a statement Monday “We look forward to the opportunity to share more about the vital role this support has played in our academic success.”
Lawmakers paid for the teacher stipends by removing roughly $200 million from the budget, which is spelled out in House Bill 1. The cuts came in a series of amendments to the bill that were added Monday
The biggest cut came from blocking $91 million in new vehicle and heavy equipment purchases by state agencies, according to a release from the House of Representatives. A hiring freeze imposed by Landry is expected to generate another $20 million in savings, and the state saved another $25.5 million by paying down retirement debt early, according to the release.
Lawmakers also reduced Medicaid funding by $26.3 million. McFarland said that number reflects over-bud-
After Louisianans voted down the amendment that Landry pushed for to raise teacher salaries and make other sweeping changes to the state constitution, critics blamed the amendment’s length and complexity for its defeat. Lawmakers then introduced a pair of bills
— House Bill 466 by Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, and House Bill 579 by Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro that revived the plan to finance teacher raises. Both bills passed the House on Monday and now head to the state Senate.
But the raises would not take effect until 2026. That left open the possibility that Louisiana teachers, who on average earn about $5,000 less than their regional peers, would see smaller paychecks this fall after their current stipends expired. The amendments that the budget committee approved Monday avoid pay decreases by funding another year of stipends
However, lawmakers say
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BY MARK BALLARD Staffwriter
WASHINGTON MarkCooper, who worked on Louisiana disasters for both Democratic and Republicangovernors, will join the presidential team that is studying the future of the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency Cooper was named to the panel over the weekend by President Donald Trump in apost on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I know that the new members will work hard to fix a terribly broken system,and return powertostate emergency managers, who will help make America safe again,” Trump wrote. Cooper wasformerchief of staff for Democratic Gov John Bel Edwards and director of the Governor’sOffice for Homeland Security under RepublicanGov.Bobby Jindal. Cooper has been on the ground in recovery efforts from disasters that have struck Louisiana in recent years, from Hurricane Katrina through the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
By The AssociatedPress
Before coming to Louisiana, Cooper was deputy fire chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He is now apartner with Five Score Partners,a Baton Rouge-based business and government relations consultingfirm
On the campaign trail and since hiselection, Trump has said that FEMAdoesn’twork properlyand needs significantchanges— up to and including being eliminated.Hewants some ofthe agency’s disaster relief functionsreturned to the states. FEMA hassuspendedorstopped taking applications forseveral programs aimed at mitigating disaster damage through infrastructure improvements, such as strengthening levees and raisingstructures. Last week, FEMA’s acting chair, CamHamilton, was fired. The Trump administration did not give areasonfor his termination, but it happened theday after he testified to Congress that FEMA shouldnot be eliminated Trump established the counciltoassessFEMAby executive order on Jan. 24. The goal for the councilisto advise the president “on the existing ability of FEMAto capably and impartially ad-
dress disasters occurring within theUnited States” andtorecommendchanges to FEMA’s missions,procedures and operations
The council will be chaired by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth andSecretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The committee also includes TexasGov.Greg Abbott, Virginia Gov.Glenn Youngkin andformerMississippi Gov.Phil Bryant
Other members of the council include: n JaneCastor,mayor of Tampa, Florida
n RosieCordero-Stutz, sheriff of Miami-Dade County,Florida
n Robert Fenton Jr., Region 9administrator and former actingadministrator of FEMA
n Evan Greenberg, CEO of insurance companyChubb Limited
n Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management
n W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management
n Michael Whatley,chair of theRepublican National Committee.
Trump haschargedthe council, whose members will only receive reimbursement of some expenses, withrecommending significant policy and operational changes to FEMA beforesummer
LOUISIANA AT LARGE
On Friday,Imade my way driving through the rain and felt asense of relief when thelighthouse finally came into view Even though Iwas in my car and notinasmall boat on LakePontchartrain, Igot asmall glimpse to how ship captains must feel when they see the guidinglight.
Kristi Trail, executive director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy,met me at the door of the organization’soutreach and education center.Wewalked along wooden walkways toward the lighthouse, passing alargebell.
Trail explained it was the “fog bell,” used when boats couldn’t see the lighthouse light.
“Weget alot of field tripshere with students,” Trail said.“They love ringing it.”
She gave me permission to ring it —achance Icouldn’t pass up. Inside the lighthouse, ourhistory lesson began.
“Do you remember what year theEuropeans came to this area?” Trail asked.
Ever the student wantingto answer ateacher correctly,I froze. I’d known the answer,but wasn’tsurehow broadlyshe meant “this area.” I’m pretty sureI had alook of panic as I scrambled mentally She rescuedme: 1718.
“At the time, they delivered goods into the city from Lake Pontchartrain. The river was difficult to navigate upstream, especially with clipper ships,” Trailsaid.
She pointed to the lake behind us, still rocking with wind and rain. In the 1700s, traders came in from the east and tookBayou St. John into the city Standing damp near thewater’sedge, Icould imaginewhat navigating those rough waters centuries agomusthave felt like.
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, things along thelakefront got dicey
“Urban legend says theFrench living here weren’thappyabout it,” Trail said. “They didn’t want to be Americans, so they wouldn’tallow Americanships to enter Bayou St. John, only French ones.”
What did the Americans do? They dug their own canal, naming it the “New Canal.” It was primarily dug by Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine. Many died from accidents and disease, especially yellow fever.Some are said to be buried in the canal itself.
Once the New Canal (or New Basin Canal) was completed in 1838, they built the lighthouse to guide ships into it.
“This area was heavilyused for commerce, but nobody lived outhere on the lake,” Trail said, as we walked through themuseum It’sbeen in the same spot ever since itscompletion in 1939. Before World WarII, thefederal government would appoint afamily to run the lighthouse.
“The whole family —wife, children —moved in. If the husband died, the wife took over,” Trail said. “So we’re alittle unique in that we’ve had several women lighthouse keepers.”
Amuseum display highlights them:
n Mrs. Elizabeth S. Beattie, 1847
n Mrs. Jane O’Driscoll, 1850
n Mrs. Mary F. Campbell, 1869-93
n Mrs. Caroline Riddle, 18931924
n Mrs. Margaret (Madge) Norvell, 1924-32
“Back then, women didn’t have obituaries, so we don’t have much information,” Trail said. “But this most recentone, Madge, we do.”
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
Alarge Lafayette apartment complex thatbilled itself as student housing when it opened in 2019 but later ranintofinancial troubles has been sold and rebranded. The 191-unitCampion at Lafayette complex at 1501 W. Pinhook Roadwas soldtoaBaton Rougebasedgroup andrebranded as Pointe at Pinhook last month, ac-
cording to land records. Asale price was not disclosed.
The seller was an LLC registered to aglobal investment firm out of New York, which acquired it from the original owners, Campion Devco, in 2023 via dation en paiement, whichallowsadebtortotransfer property insteadofoffering payment to satisfy adebt.
Campion owed the firm,Fortress Investment Group, just over $36.5 million from a2020 mortgage, ac-
cording to landrecords.
The apartments were marketed as housing for students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and South Louisiana Community College. It toutedits units ranging from one bedroom to five bedrooms and charged tenants by the room Amenities included aresort-style pool and lazy river, gatedparking and shuttle access to school.
But the project hit asnag early when inclement weather caused it
to be incompletebythe time school beganinfall2019. Thecomplex’s managementcompanyatthe time had to put about70studentsatlocal hotels because two of the 18 buildings were unfinished, according to reports. Courtrecords showCampion ownersand itsconstructioncompany,Bayern Construction, were subject to numerous liens on the propertyand were also sued by owners of the neighboring office building. Sixteen liens thattotaled
STAFFPHOTOSByBRAD BOWIE
Amember of the Lafayette Police Honor Guard inspects the casket
Lt.Allen ‘Noochie’ Credeur at the RayneCivic Center
‘His legacy doesn’tend here’
Hundreds mournRayne officeratfuneral
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
Hundreds of residents, family members and fellow officers packed the Rayne Civic Center on Monday to mourn the death of Rayne police Lt. Allen “Noochie”Credeur
Credeur,47, died May 5after another police officer shot him while responding to astabbing call.
The fallen officer provided over 20 years of service to his city and played an active role in hiscommunity,Rayne Police Chief CarrollStelly said during Credeur’sfuneral Mass.
“(He was) aman whose uniform never just symbolized thejob, buta calling. Acalling he answered with courage, integrity and heart.” Stelly said. “He stood watchoverthis communitybe-
cause it mattered to him
“You mattered to him.”
Credeur began acareer in law enforcement in 2003 as areserve officer before becomingafull-timeofficerwith the Rayne Police Department in 2005. Since then, he had workedclosely with thecommunity’schildren as aDrug Abuse Resistance Education officer, baseballcoach and school liaison officer
Acandlelight memorialfor Credeur washeld in frontofthe city’sPolice
Auditcites no oversightof distribution
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds over the next decade,but thestate has no designated authority to enforce how those funds are used, according to anew audit thatrecommends giving strongeroversight to the state’sopioid task force The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice on Monday saidmillions of dollars from the state’sportion of theopioid
settlement fund remain unspent amidthe ongoing opioid crisis. It concluded that the Louisiana Opioid AbatementTask Force, which is responsible for advising on the use of the funds, does nothavethe authority to ensure that sheriff’soffices and local agencies receiving the funds are using them as intended.
“Wehavenot found anyevidence of noncompliance,”said Emily Dixon, whomanaged the audit.“But we justfelt that moving forward, having somebody in thatresponsibilityrole could prevent any funds being spent outside of theapprovedmethods.” Louisiana is set to receive
Departmentlast week, where residents stressed the important role he played in the community andthe fixture he became andwillremain
“Hislegacydoesn’t end here,” Stelly said. “It livesoninthe livesheprotected and the children he mentored and now the officer who wears the badge with a heavyheart but astrongpurpose.”
Credeur’sfamily buried him at the ArceneauxCemetery
Crowley police arrested aman accused of sexcrimesinvolving juveniles andrape.
KarlCormier,57, was arrested on Friday and faces two counts of first-degree rape, three counts of molestationof ajuvenile and one count of pornographyinvolving juvenile, according to aCrowley Police Department statement. Policeofficially begananinvestigation into CormierinSeptember.Officerswere collectinginterviews andevidence against Cormier prior to the investigation, thestatement said. Cormier is being held at the Acadia Parish jail. Hisbailis$1.85 million.
Jenningsman arrested in undercover sting Jenningspolicearrested aman after police say he spoke inappropriately to and attempted to meet up with someone whom he believed was a15-year-old girl.
David Bruce Reinhardt III, 51, faces one count of computer-aided solicitation of aminor, according to aJennings Police Department announcement. On Thursday,Jenningspolice conductedanundercover operation using social media. Detectives posed as a15-year-old girl, andsaidReinhardt made contact
It’s rarely comforting to appearona government “list,” even (or perhaps especially) when compiled in the name of public safety
It was alarming in the 1940s, whenthe U.S. government collected the names of Japanese Americans for internment. Likewise in the 1950s, whenthe House Un-American Activities Committee cataloged communists.And it’sjust as troubling now,asthe Trump administration assembles registries of Jewish academics and Americanswith developmental disabilities.
Yes, these are real things thathappened recently,the latest examples ofthe White House’sabuseofconfidential data
Not long ago,faculty and staff at BarnardCollege receivedunsolicited texts askingthemwhether they wereJewish Employees werestunned by the messages, which many initially dismissed as spam.
Turns out the messages came from the Trump administration. Barnard, which is affiliated with Columbia University,had agreed to sharefaculty members’ private contact infotoaid in President Donald Trump’spseudocrusade against antisemitism.
Ah, yes, afar-right president asking Jews to register as Jewish, in the name of protecting the Jews, after he has repeatedly accused Jews ofbeing “disloyal.” What could go wrong?
The same day,National Institutesof Health Director Jay Bhattacharya announced a“disease registry” ofpeople with autism, to be compiled from confidential private and government health records, apparently without its subjects’ awareness or consent. Thisis part of Health and Human Services SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.’svendetta against vaccines, which he hassaid causeautism despite abundant research concluding otherwise. This, too, is disturbing given authoritarian governments’ history of compiling lists of citizens branded mentallyorphysically deficient. If that historical analogue seems excessive, note that Bhattacharya’s announcement came justa week after Kennedy delivered inflammatory remarks lamenting that kids with autism will never lead productivelives. They “will never pay taxes, they’ll neverhold ajob,” he said, addingthey’ll neverplay baseball or go on adate, either This all happened during Autism Acceptance Month, establishedtocounter exactly these kinds of stigmatizing stereotypes. Kennedy’s comments and the subsequent “registry” set off awave
of fear in theautism advocacy community and earned condemnation from scientists.
Obviously,advocates want more research andsupport for thosewith autism.Theyhave been asking for more help at leastsince 1965 (when what is nowcalledthe Autism SocietyofAmericawas founded in my grandparents’ living room).But few in this community trust political appointees hostile to scientificresearch —orapresident who has publicly mocked people with disabilities— to use an autism “registry” responsibly
Theseare hardly the administration’s only abusesoffederal data. It has been deleting reams of statistical records, includingdemographic data on transgenderAmericans. It has also been exploiting other private administrative recordsfor political purposes.
Forexample, theInternal Revenue Service —inaneffort to persuade peopletopay their taxes —spent decades assuringpeople that theirrecords are confidential, regardless of immigration status. The agency is in factlegally prohibitedfrom sharing tax records,even with other government agencies, except underverylimited circumstances specified by Congress. Lawmakersset these limits in response to Richard M. Nixon’s abuse of privatetax data to target personalenemies
Trump torched theseprecedents and promises.After aseries of top IRSofficials resigned, theagency has now agreed to turn over confidential records to help Immigration and Customs Enforcementlocateand deport some 7mil-
lion undocumented immigrants. The move, which also has troubling historical echoes, is being challenged in court.But,inthe meantime, tax collections will likely fall. Undocumented immigrant workers had been paying an estimated $66 billion in federal taxes annually,but they now have even more reason to stay off the books
This and other DOGE infiltrations of confidential records arelikely to discourage public cooperation on other sensitive government data collection efforts.But that might be afeature, not abug, for this administration. Chilling federal survey participation and degrading data qualitywerearguably deliberate objectives in Trump’sfirst term,when he triedtocrama question about citizenship into the 2020 Census. The question was expected to depress response rates andhelp Republicans game the congressionalredistricting process. Courts ultimately blocked Trump’s plans. That’s what it will take to stop ongoing White House abuses,too: not scrapping critical government records, but championing the rule of law Ultimately,the government must be able to collect and integrate high-quality data —toadminister social programs efficiently,help the economy function and understand the reality we live in so voters can hold public officials accountable. None of this is possible if Americans fear ending up on some vindictive commissar’s“list.”
Email Catherine Rampell at crampell@ washpost.com.
Youcould perhaps be forgiven formissing the May 3election. For much of Louisiana, it was just another Saturday There were no controversial constitutional amendments, no felons seeking public office, no national offices up forgrabs. Fewer than half of Louisiana parishes had anything on the ballot. The biggest municipal candidate races were formayor in Lake Charles and foraWest Bank parish council seat in Jefferson Parish.
“Itisthe policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparateimpactliability in all contextstothe maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution, Federalcivil rights laws,and basic American ideals.”
Those words, the operative section of “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” one of several executive orders President DonaldTrump issued on April 23, mark agiant step forward for equal rightsunder law,the motivating principle behind ratification of the 14thAmendment in 1868 and passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Unhappily,those motivatingprinciples were frustrated in practice. The legal establishment proved reluctant to interfere with Southern states bent on subjecting Black citizenstosecondclass citizenship. Thus, the Supreme Court adopted astingy view of the “privileges and immunities” clause of the14thAmendment in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) and, with just one dissent, sanctioned “separatebut equal” racial segregationinPlessy v. Ferguson (1896). With this history in mind, the framers of civil rights legislation in the 1960s took care to explicitlyban racial discrimination. The bill’sSenatefloor manager,Hubert Humphrey,assured colleagues thatifthe bill means “that an employerwill have to hire on the basis of percentage or quotarelated to color,race, religion, or national origin, Iwill start eating the pages one after another.” Alas, this assurance, by apolitician whose sincere belief in equal treatment and nondiscrimination was transparently sincere, turned out to be as illfounded in practice as Reconstruction laws proved to be three generations before.
In September 1965, Lyndon Johnson issued Executive Order11246, requiring federal contractors to take“affirmative action” authorizing racial quotas and preferences in federal contracting. After some missteps, theNixon administration’s“Philadelphia Plan” implemented it in 1969. It was challenged in court by abuilding trades union whose practices were directed less at excluding Black people than at excludinganyone not abrother, son, nephew or cousin of acurrent member.A federal appeals court upheld theNixon regulation in 1971, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. In acomplex ruling in Regents of theUniversity of California v. Bakke (1978), justices ruled that “diversity” would justify racial discrimination in admissions. In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), thecourtreaffirmed that quotas didn’tviolate the14th Amendmentbut also ruled that in 25 years, they might In advance of that deadline, thecourt in Studentsfor Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) ruled against that school’s well-documented use of racial quotas andpreferences. The April 23 executive order overturns the60-year-old Executive Order 11246 and, because of theinterlacement of the federal government withother governments andthe private sector,bans the racial discriminationthat Humphrey and congressional majorities tried to ban in 1964.
Corporations and other private businesses, federal agencies and local governments are now on notice that the racial quotas and preferences they have routinely deployed are now subject to legal challenge by the Justice Department. The civil rights laws are ready to be enforced as Humphrey wanted.
Public opinion polls show large and bipartisan majorities of people oppose theracial discrimination that has been practiced, not always surreptitiously but often pridefully,byelites in positions of institutional power.It’s not clear whether Trump’sopponents will want to spotlight this issue. Who’s against equal treatment?
The strongest argument against racial quotas and preferences, in my view,isthat they cast apall of illegitimacy over thegenuine achievements of the intended beneficiaries. They have also fostered, as the Harvard case showed, aculture of systematic lying among those elites who head institutionssupposedly dedicated totruth. They also violate common sense. The disparateimpact doctrine implies that in afair society,every discernible slice of the population would be found in equal proportions in every educational and occupational niche. Ordinarypeople know this is nonsense. They know that afair society should give everyone equal opportunity but that it cannot guarantee any group equal outcomes. Let’shope the people won’tlet this civil rightsinitiative be set aside as institutional elites set aside those of 1868 and 1964.
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
But there weresome notable results to be found among what was, formany,asleepy affair.In the bigger races, NewOrleans SheriffSusan Hutson’smillage renewal passed by just twovotes out of morethan 25,000 cast, and in Baton Rouge, District Attorney Hillar Moore’smove fora new 4-mill property tax wassoundly defeated. In Jefferson, adedicated library tax won62% approval, continuing libraries’ strong run at the polls.
Perhaps the quirkiest election took place in the state’snorthwest, in Bossier City,where, forthe second timeinjust over amonth, voters approved athree-term limit forthe city’s mayor and council. More than 80% of voters there approved ameasure that sets aretroactivelimit, meaning it doesn’tmatter when the first term started. That measure will supersede another passed on March 29. That onewould have started the three-term clock with the next term,onJuly 1.
The irony,for folks whodon’tfollow Bossier City politics closely,isthat the long-serving council members targeted by the stricter termlimits measure either opted not to run on May 3orwere defeated. So, despite the ballot question’spassage, no one in city government will be term-limited until June 2033.
Turnout formost of these races wasdepressingly but not surprisingly low.Just under a third of Lake Charles voters cast ballots for mayor,and just over aquarter pulled alever in the Jefferson Parish council race. The numbers wereeven worse forthe propositions. The incredibly close tax measure in Orleans Parish drew fewerthan 10% of the city’s voters. Samefor the hot-button issue in Bossier City.Turnout was slightly higher in Baton Rouge, where, perhaps boosted by twocouncil runoffs in the new city of St. George, almost 18% voted on the district attorney millage. It wasasomewhat brighter picture in someof Louisiana’spolitical nooks and crannies, where almost no issue —orelectorate —istoo small. Take, forinstance, the Belle Maison subdivision near Gonzales in Ascension Parish. The 54-homesite subdivision is still under construction, according to its website, with about two dozen of its lots sold.
Seven voters in that subdivision approved a 15-mill property tax in perpetuity,accounting for100% support. That’sabout 54% of the eligible voters in that subdivision. That means, if my mathisright, there are 13 eligible voters in Belle Maison. So even if the other six had voted against the tax, it would have passed.
Up north, in the tiny Jackson Parish village of Eros, 14 voters approved a1%sales tax. That wasfewer than one-fifth of the eligible voters. In St. Mary Parish, Fire Protection District 1’s 2-mill renewal won23-1, the 24 votes making up about one-third of the district’seligible voters, according to the secretary of state.
These sorts of results weren’tlimited to the May 3ballot. On March 29, aparcel feecontinuation forthe Bayou Pierre Part N. Gravity Drainage District in Assumption Parish drew four votes, all in favor.That equates to about 16% turnout, according to the Secretary of State.
So, what’sthe takeaway here? Low turnout, even in major elections, is not exactly anew problem.Plenty have argued that Louisiana should reduce the number of election days. That’sprobably agood idea.
But maybe we should also look at the timing of when we ask voters to weigh in on, matters from fire protection and road lighting to recreation, drainage and everything in between. Perhaps there should be fewerofthese taxing entities overall. If doing that helps encourage moreLouisiana voters to get to the polls, then it would be worth it.
Faimon A. Roberts III canbereached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
Getting swept is always adangerwhen teams travel to Hattiesburg,Mississippi, to meet Southern Miss. The UL Ragin’Cajuns have work to do after fallingvictim to that scenario last weekend.
Arkansas
“In the grand scheme of things, we really needed to geta game over there,” said UL coach Matt Deggs, whose Cajuns finish out the regular season at home against Arkansas State starting at 6p.m Thursday
Deggsisreferring to thegoaloffinishing in the top six in the Sun Belt standings to avoid the play-in round of the Sun Belt Tournament next weekinMontgomery,Alabama.
After the three losses to theEagles, UL is 25-27 overall and 15-12 in league play.The Cajuns are tied with OldDominion (21-26, 15-12) for fourth placebut holdthe tiebreaker over the Monarchs.
There’sathree-way tie for sixth place among Marshall, Georgia Southern and Texas State at 13-14. UL won itsseries with GeorgiaSouthern, lost theseriesvs. Texas State and didn’tplay Marshall.
Arkansas State (24-26, 12-15) still has a chance to qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since 2021.
The good news is Old Dominion plays firstplace Coastal Carolina, andGeorgia Southern and Marshall play each other.The bad newsisTexas State hosts 13th-placeJames Madison (15-37, 8-19).
“Weput ourselves into this situation,” Deggs said. “You could watchthatfifth or sixth spot slip away if youcontinue to play like we did this pastweekend.
“My mindset is you have to win all of
ä See CAJUNS, page 3C
Itwas the night of May 4—perhaps very early on the morning of May 5—and Jay Johnson was sitting at home thinking about the game his Tigers had just lost at Texas A&M
There was disappointment in aloss so raw,soabrupt. LSUwas in control 4-2 in the eighth, only to surrender four runs and lose 6-4 to drop theseries 2-1. The lossdropped LSUto38-11 overall and 15-9 in Southeastern Conference play
To be crystal clear,the LSU baseball coach is aman whohates to lose, aman who has fantasized what it would take to have aperfect 56-0 regular season. But as he sat and thought about it, Johnson said something crystalized in his mind.
“It was alittle bit like, if you could have gone back to January and gone, ‘OK, this is your positioning. You’ve got to decide right now.Would you have taken it?’
“I had to sayyes, even though Iwas disappointed we’d lost.” As Johnson spoke one Sunday later,his Tigers had
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
After Derek Carr retired over theweekend, the New Orleans Saintsarguably became amore interesting team.
That’snot to be taken as ashot against Carr,whoseshoulder injury apparentlyis bad enough to force him into retirement. Rather,the Saints now have aclean slate and can find out whether they have their quarterback of the futureon theroster.This season, for better or worse, likely becomes about Tyler Shough’sprogress. But will the NFL agree? The league’s schedule will be released Wednesday,but Carr’sretirement likely came toolateinthe process to force any last-minute changes —and probably wasn’tsignificant enough to move the needle in eitherdirection for aleague that hands out international and
prime-time games like candy Still, with thatinmind, it’stime to unveil afull 2025 mock schedule —which,tobe clear,isa full-on guess aboutthe orderof theSaints’ upcoming opponents.
Last year,this exerciseyielded only one correct guess —aWeek 18 finale at Tampa Bay If Iget at least two games correct, I’m a certified genius. If Ifail to match even one, it mightbetime to retire the bit. Withoutfurther ado:
Week 1
SUNDAY,SEPT.7 (NOON): AT BUFFALO BILLS
The Saints have opened the season at homeinsix of the last seven seasons, with 2022 beingthe lone exception. So, it’stime to hitthe road. Maybe the NFL would want to put theBills in amore appealing Week 1 matchup, but this could be afun opener
Week 2
just dropped the series finale 7-4 to Arkansas to close out the home regular-season schedule. There was disappointment in the defeat, to be sure. But like the week before, Johnson saw the bigger picture. LSU beat Arkansas twoout of three, aRazorbacks squad that LSU great Ben McDonald —who called games from Alex BoxStadium over the weekend on the SEC Network said might be the mostcomplete team in the country
While the Tigers didn’tget aclean sweep of the Hogs, whatthey did was good enough to impress the pollsters.
On Monday morning, LSU madeaclean sweep of the national polls: No. 1inthe USAToday coaches poll, No. 1inD1Baseball.com, No. 1inBaseball America and No. 1inPerfect Game. Aperfect team? Definitely not. But one that at 40-12 overall and 17-10 in SEC play has come farenough and
See RABALAIS, page 3C
SUNDAY,SEPT.14(NOON): CAR The Saints’ home opener b afamiliar opponent. New O been matched against Carol in back-to-back seasons, so l thetrend continue. Also, Ke can have his first home gam Panthers team that helped g lenfired.
Week 3
SUNDAY,SEPT.21(NOON): AT T This showdown could feat of Shough against fellow roo back Cam Ward, who went N That’sintriguing enough to early on the slate.
PANTHERS egins with rleans has ina early et’s have llen Moore e against a et Dennis AlENNESSEE Titans ure a matchup kie quartero 1 overall put it relatively
Home-and-home
BY WILSON ALEXANDER and RASHAD MILLIGAN Staff writers
LSU football scheduled a homeand-home series with SMU on Labor Day weekend for the 2028 and 2029 seasons, according to a copy of the game contract obtained by The Advocate.
The teams will play Sept 2, 2028, in Baton Rouge, and Sept. 1, 2029, in Dallas. In both cases, the home team will pay the visitor $750,000 for the game. LSU now has one game on the schedule in 2028. In 2029, the Tigers also have nonconference games set against Arizona State, Rice and McNeese State. They are scheduled to host Arizona State on Sept. 8 in the first part of a home-and-home series, and Rice on Sept. 29 A date for the game against McNeese State has not been set. With the series against SMU LSU will continue to open the season against power-conference teams. The Tigers have lost five straight season openers, all against powerconference opponents, heading into a matchup at Clemson this fall. They host Clemson to start the 2026 season. Unless they schedule a Week
Zero game or alterations are made to the college football calendar, LSU will begin four of the next five seasons against Clemson and SMU. The Tigers have not scheduled a season opener in 2027.
Former LSU running back John Emery has found a new college football home for his seventh season.
The former five-star recruit has signed with Texas-San Antonio, a source confirmed with The Advocate.
Emery played in only one game last season, recording 61 yards rushing on 10 attempts in a loss to Southern California He also caught a pass for 10 yards. His best statistical season came as a sophomore in 2020 when he rushed for 378 yards and three touchdowns on 75 carries. Emery also reeled in 14 catches for 73 yards receiving.
Emery was a member of the 2019 LSU national championship football roster
He missed all of the 2021 season and the first two games of the 2022 season because of academic issues. He also tore his ACL twice, once in 2023 and then again in 2024. He appeared in only eight games in the past two seasons.
Emery is from St. Rose and went to Destrehan High School. Coming out of high school, Emery was the No. 2 running back in the Class of 2019 behind Trey Sanders, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Other notable prospects in that class included New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.
For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter
Changing contracts with athletes is one proposal being tossed around
BY MAURA CAREY AP sportswriter
As the amateur model of college athletics disintegrates, a handful of unusual ideas have been floated as ways to reign in some of the chaos surrounding the explosion in name, image and likeness compensation and a transfer portal that sees thousands of athletes changing schools every season.
Whether any of the ideas end up being implemented is unknown and every school is awaiting a decision from a federal judge on whether a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement against the NCAA and the five largest conferences will take effect as early as July 1. If it does, that opens the floodgates for schools to share millions in revenue directly with their athletes amid a host of other changes
Here is a look at some of the topics:
Athlete contracts
A formal agreement between an athlete and a school is not a new concept, but with the uptick of NIL deals the thought of pro-style contracts is becoming increasingly more common.
There are plenty of ways to get creative with contracts. Rich Stankewicz, operations director for Penn State’s NIL collective Happy Valley United, said he favors an incentive-based approach essentially adding money for athletes who not only perform but stick around.
“I personally really like the idea of incentivizing performance in school, those kinds of things that would only be occurring in the season while they’re playing,”
Stankewicz said “If more money is paid out in those time frames, then that gives the incentive for the player to stay and see those dollars from their contract, rather than potentially collect up front and then decide the grass is greener somewhere else three months later barely doing any school, you know, without playing at all.”
Transfers and buyouts
This topic is red hot at the moment. Entering the transfer portal comes with the risk of not landing
in a better spot — or any spot — but athletes have shown every single season over the past few years that they are comfortable going anyway Athletic departments are beginning to fight back. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek recently encouraged the school’s NIL collective to pursue legal action after quarterback Madden Iamaleava departed for UCLA after just five months in Fayetteville. Iamaleava allegedly collected significant money upfront and cited homesickness as his reason for following his brother to California.
This is a scenario Penn State hopes to avoid. And the importance of contract details is clear “Commonly, there’s nothing binding students in certain instances to the institution they’re with for the entirety of the contract,” Stankewicz said. “We’ve definitely looked into having measures in place to discourage transfers during the time of the contract. There are a bunch of different ways to do that, from buyouts to how you load the contract.”
Athletes as employees
Groundbreaking shifts in the landscape have sparked conversations about athletes becoming official employees of their universities.
It’s a controversial subject to
say the least Universities would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation and schools and conferences have insisted they will fight any such move in court (some already have)
Complexities go beyond the concept While private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state and it’s worth noting that virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions. There is also a new administration in power now, said Michael LeRoy, a labor and employment professor at Illinois who has studied the NCAA and athlete rights.
“With the election of Donald Trump, and what that would mean for a new National Labor Relations Board, what that would mean for repopulating the courts with judges who are likely not congenial to that view I no longer have much hope that we’ll get a ruling in the next 5-10 years that these are employees,” LeRoy said. Despite the lack of employment status, LeRoy said, athletes should advocate for themselves and use the entertainment industry as a model. He said athletes currently are offered “take-it-or-leave-it” NIL contracts when a broader approach might have benefits.
The Philadelphia Eagles will start defending their championship at home on Sept. 4 against the division rival Dallas Cowboys.
The matchup for the annual regular-season kickoff game was revealed by the NFL in the first in a series of announcements of notable games this week ahead of the full schedule release.
The Cowboys-Eagles matchup will be on Thursday night in the first game in NBC’s package of primarily Sunday night games.
NBC also announced that its streaming service, Peacock, will exclusively broadcast a Saturday night game in Week 17 on Dec. 27, a matchup that will be determined later from a pool of possible options based on how the playoff races have shaped up then.
Jordan to work for NBC as NBA special contributor
NEW YORK — Michael Jordan is joining NBC Sports as a special contributor to its NBA coverage when the 2025-26 season begins. NBC made the announcement on Monday morning during its upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall previewing the network’s offerings during the upcoming television season.
“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said during a video message. “The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October.” NBC returns to carrying the NBA after a 23-year absence. It had NBA rights from 1990-2002.
Jockey Alvarado might appeal fine, suspension
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jockey Junior Alvarado is considering appealing a fine and suspension for using his whip eight times on Sovereignty in winning the Kentucky Derby on May 3. Alvarado was fined $62,000 and suspended two days by the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority, whose rules allow a rider to use a whip six times in a race.
He has 10 days to inform HISA if he plans to appeal.
“I would like to just get it over with and put it behind me, I don’t want to carry this one extra day but at the same time I don’t want to give up that easily like they were right,” Alvarado told the Daily Racing Form last weekend. “I would like to move forward and fix something. As everybody can see, it’s unfair the penalties we’re facing.”
still deadlocked over contract
“I think athletes should start to look at Hollywood and Broadway contracting arrangements that deal with publicity rights,” he said “I think there’s a way to frame this collectively The framework of collective bargaining and employment, I would say, the entertainment industry generally offers a blueprint for success.”
Playing for another school
Things are so chaotic right now that the very lines of who an athlete is playing for could get blurred.
Saying he was inspired by the NBA’s G League, University of Albany basketball coach Dwayne Killings is proposing a two-way contract for college players. Albany would welcome transfers from top-tier programs who need more seasoning and help them develop — with plenty of game time vs sitting on the bench before sending them back to their original program, where they’d be ready to compete.
“The best development happens on the floor, not necessarily on the scout team, given the new 15-man scholarship limits,” Killings told CBS Sports. And then there is Division III, which recently approved an unusual pilot program: Athletes would play for one school but do their coursework at another school that does not sponsor varsity athletics.
CINCINNATI Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals remain deadlocked on progress toward a new deal or finding a new team. Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 171/2 sacks last season, released a statement to ESPN on Monday saying there has been no communication between his representatives or the organization since the NFL draft two weeks ago. Hendrickson was an All-Pro selection last season. He received permission from the Bengals to seek a trade in March, but no progress has been made. Hendrickson’s 57 sacks since joining the Bengals in 2021 are third most in the league over the past four seasons.
Browns LB to miss 2025 season with neck injury
Linebacker Jeremiah OwusuKoramoah has been placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list by the Cleveland Browns and will miss the 2025 season because of a neck injury
Owusu-Koramoah suffered the injury last season during the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 27. He took a blow to the head and neck area while assisting on a tackle of Ravens running back Derrick Henry Owusu-Koramoah was wearing a protective padded guardian cap over his helmet but appeared to be unconscious when he hit the ground.
Owusu-Koramoah was leading the Browns with 61 tackles and having his best season at the time when he was injured.
BY KOKI RILEY
Staff writer
LSU earned amassive series victory last weekend over Arkansas, taking two games out of three at Alex Box Stadium.
The Tigers won 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday and 13-3 on Saturday before dropping the seriesfinale7-4 on Sunday Here are five takeaways from thepivotal series.
Eyansonshining
Juniorright-hander Anthony Eyanson is on fire, allowing just one earned runand eight hitsin15innings over his past two starts. He also has struck out 25 while issuing only two walks.
Not only has he pounded the strike zone,Eyanson hasimproved his quality of strikes.
He’sgotten ahead in the count consistently before getting hitters to chase his curveball, slider or splitter below the zone.
The curveball has looked sharper; the slider and splitter continue to break late; and he’s done an excellent job of locating his fastball in the upper half of the zone.
“He’sexecuting allhis pitches all the time now,soit’sreally hard to do anything with and feel convicted in the box,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Those are the toughest (pitchers). We’veseen some guys like that this year.”
Shores’solid weekend
Redshirt sophomore righthander Chase Shores is showing improvement since moving to the bullpen after the Auburn series. Last weekend was his best yet In two appearances, he struck out four batters and walked only one in 42/3 innings. He allowed a run in 11/3 innings on Friday before
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done enough to be considered as good, or better,than anyoneelse in aseason without aclear juggernautanywhereacrossthe college baseball landscape.
Sitting three games back of Texas (40-10, 20-7) and onegame back of Arkansas (41-11, 18-9) in the SEC standings,the Tigers need asweep this week at South Carolina, Texas to get swept on the road at Oklahoma, and at least one loss by Arkansas at home against Tennessee to claim a piece of their first SEC regularseasonchampionship since 2017.
As Skip Bertman used to say, that’s“low percentage.”
But the most important thing is getting to Omaha and theCollege World Series.
That makes the most important thing securing atop-eightnational seed.
As everyone in the class knows, being atop-eight seed meansyou get to host an NCAA regional and then asuper regional, if you advance. It’ssuper important, becauseall nine times theTigers have advanced to Omaha in the super regional era (since1999) they’ve done so at home. Again, they’re not perfect, but it’s better than LSU’s0-4 super regional record on the road.
Atop-eight national seed is within the Tigers’ grasp. Aboutall they need to do is not fall on their collective faces. Were LSU to pair Sunday’sloss to Arkansaswith being swept at lowly South Carolina (26-26, 5-22) and go one-anddone in next week’snew 16-team, single-elimination SEC Tournament, that would probably knock the Tigers out of the elite eight. So there is work to be done in Columbia, South Carolina, this weekend. One win, or two, may do it. That’sthe position LSU has put itself in. The onlytourna-
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them. One, I’d feel pretty good about, two would be tremendous and three would really get us rolling heading into that tournament.”
Bouncingbackonashort week is not easy,but there aren’tmany options at this point.
“Wehave no choice,” Deggs said. “We’re in the failure business. That’swhat we signed up for.You have to be able to bounce back.” Deggs said the Cajuns hadone of their best practices Monday,but he still has concerns.
“Sometimes in this game, you can care too much,because it’s so psychological,”Deggs said. “Sometimes it’sbest to let stuff roll off of
giving up just oneearned run in 31/3 frames Sunday
Shores featured better command and asharper slider throughout theseries,and he’smadetwo noticeable mechanical adjustments since becoming areliever.He’s throwing from the stretch and closing off his stance to create moredeception with his delivery “It just helpsmestayclosed andjustfinish down the mound,” Shores said. “I thinkithelps my stuff kind of break later to kind of get thehitters off balance.”
The adjustments alsohave helpedhim command thebaseball better “(Pitching coach Nate Yeskie) is helping me with that and Ithink it’staking good steps,” Shores said. Concerns aboutEvans?
Sunday wasn’tagreat afternoon for freshman right-hander Casan Evans, whoallowedfourearned runs in the thirdinning and lasted just 32/3 innings while walking three batters andallowing seven hits.
He left too manypitches high andover the heartofthe plate, and the Razorbacks made him pay.He alsohad trouble putting away hitters with two strikes, allowing all four runsontwo-strike counts. Allthree of Evans’ starts this season have come againsttalented lineups in Tennessee,Texas A&M andArkansas. He excelled against Tennesseebut failedtoget past the fourth inning in his last two outings. Given the quality of competition, thelast two weeks shouldn’tbe of major concern. Whoever LSU faces in theregional won’thave as much talent as its last three opponents, andthere’s astrongchance that also will be thecase in atheoretical super regional.
If Evanscan locate theballlower more and cut down on thewalks, he should be fine moving forward. Is LSUanationalseed?
Probably.Barring adisastrous outcome at South Carolina next weekend, theTigerslikely have secureda top-eight seed in theNCAA Tournament LSUisNo. 7inthe country in RPI with13wins against Quad1teams Texas, Vanderbilt andAuburnare the only teams in the nation with moreQuad 1victories.
The Tigersalsoare No. 7inKPI
LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson
game against Alabama on April 17 at Alex
IN NATIONAL
LSU is the No. 1collegebaseball team in the country.
The Tigers were awarded the top spot in the D1Baseball poll Monday after they defeated Arkansas twice in theirthree-game series at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU is followedbyFlorida State at No.2,Texasat No.3,North Carolina at No. 4and Oregon at No. 5.
LSU dethroned Texas forthe top spot.The Longhorns droppedtwo of three games to Florida this past weekendand are1-5 in their last six contests against Southeastern Conference foes Koki Riley
ment projection that was out as of Mondayafternoon was On3.com, which had theTigers as aNo. 6 national seed
your back and just move on. Idon’t knowifwe’ve done agreat job of that this year,but we’ve always done agreat job from apunch-thecard and workstandpoint. We’re goingtowork.”
Secondly, there’sthe injury situation.First baseman Luke Yuhasz reinjuredhis shoulder in Hattiesburg. He got an MRI on Monday to determinethe severity of thedislocation of hissurgicallyrepaired shoulder
“I hateitfor him, and Ihateitfor theteam,” Deggssaid.
He also said two of the three weekend starters have been slowed with nagging injuries.
“Nothingmajor but enough to knock us off ourmark alittle bit,” said Deggs, who said he started Andrew Herrmann in Friday’s gamebecause hehad pitched well
Considering how brutal theSEC hasbeen —nine of its 16 teams are in the D1Baseball Top25— it’sabout all LSU and its legion of baseball eating/sleeping/breathing fans could have asked for.The Tigers have agreat 1-2 pitching combination with Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, have good hittingthroughout their lineup, play solid defense and have areasonably good bullpen.
About the only thing LSU needs to makeadeep run into and in Omahaistoget athird starter to elevate his game to pitch when Anderson and Eyanson simply have to be rested.
It’seasy to point out the Tigers’ issues considering the magnifying glass this program always resides under.But LSU’sissues are no moresignificant than anyone else around the country.They have as good of ashot as any halfdozen or so teams of winning the 2025 College World Series.
That’ssomething the Tigers would have taken in January,and they certainly should takeitnow
in three rain games earlier this season. Deggs expectstostart Chase Morgan in Thursday’sopener,as long as his health doesn’tworsen.
Deggs added that some of his decisions this past weekendwere based on the next two weekends.
“I had to look at bothends of it ” he said. “What kind of shape are we going to be in,A.against Arkansas State and B., mostimportantly, headed to Montgomery.I‘ve got to get someguys healthy.”
As for thepoor weather conditionsinHattiesburg,Deggs didn’t use it as an excuse.
“Yes,itwas ugly weather,but boy,they played great in it,”he said.
Email KevinFooteat kfoote@theadvocate.com.
beforeSunday.KPI —another results-based rating systemused by the selectioncommittee —has LSUbehind Texas, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Arkansasand Georgia, amongthe Southeastern Conference teams, but theonly non-SEC team it trails is North Carolina. LSUwent 1-5againstTexas and Auburn,but theTigershavea series victory over Arkansas and abetter conference record than Georgia and Vanderbilt. Even if thecommittee places LSUbehind mostofthose teams, the only team outside of the SEC that’sahead of
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Week4
SUNDAY,SEPT.28(NOON): NEW YORK JETS Aaron Glenn turned downan opportunity to interview in person with the Saints so he could coach theJets. Is that enough of astoryline to put this game in prime time? This scheduling committee of one says no. Noon it is.
Week 5
SUNDAY,OCT.5 (NOON): ATLANTA FALCONS
Another divisional showdown. This also presumably will be New Orleans’ first gameagainst Michael Penix, the Falcons quarterback whostarted the final three games last year after Atlanta benched Kirk Cousins.
Week 6
SUNDAY,OCT.12(NOON): AT MIAMI
DOLPHINS
This feels like ahuge season for theMike McDaniel era in Miami. The Dolphins have gone 28-23 with two playoffappearances in his three-year tenure, but Miami is coming off an under .500 campaign. Will Tua Tagovailoa still be healthy by this point?
Week 7
THURSDAY,OCT.16(7:15 P.M.): SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Thursday Night Football wasn’tkind to the NewOrleans Saintsayear ago. The team was blown outinprimetimebyformer Saints coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. But the 49ers are abig enough nameto put theSaints in this slot again.
Week 8
SUNDAY,OCT.26(NOON): AT TAMPA
BAYBUCCANEERS
The Buccaneers have wonthe NFC South four years in arow, and if they do it again, they’ll set arecord forthe division since its formation in 2002. The Saints, who won the NFCSouth from 2017-20, and TampaBay currently share the record.
Week 9: BYE
Week 10
SUNDAY,NOV.9 (NOON): TAMPABAY BUCCANEERS
I’m always afan of when the league schedules rivalry games sandwiched between abye like this.Let’s makeithappen again.
Week 11
SUNDAY,NOV.16(3:25 P.M.):ATLOS
ANGELES RAMS
The Ramsallowed Matthew Stafford to survey the market this offseason, but he opted to stay in Los Angeles after overtures from the NewYork Giants
the Tigers in the RPI is Oregon State at No.6,but the Beavers have only five Quad 1wins. TwoorthreelossesinColumbia, SouthCarolina,could complicate things andmakea win or two at the SECTournamentimportant.But as long as the Tigers take careofbusiness againstthe strugglingGamecocks(26-26, 5-22 SEC), theyshould expect to have home-field advantage throughoutapotentialruntoOmaha Signsoflife
LSU enteredthe weekend after scoring just seven runs the week before at Texas A&M. The performance screamed trouble heading into aseries against atalented Arkansas pitching staff.
The weekendwasn’tperfect for theTigers, butitwas amuchbetter result than the week before. They scored 22 runs and blasted seven homeruns, improving their record in games where they’ve scored at least five runs to 34-1. LSU received contributions from avariety of sources. Sophomore Jake Brown hit two homers and drove in acareer-high five runs Saturday.Junior Daniel Dickinsonhad threehits on Sunday. JuniorEthanFreyhomered andhit awalk-off sacrificeflyonFriday. Freshman Cade Arrambide also had his first SEC homer and threehit gameSaturday “We’re areally good team,” Brown said. “Wehaveareally good offense, and it wasnever that faraway.”
The Tigers had at least nine hits in every contest, including 10 on Sunday despite scoring only four runs. They werejust 3for 16 with runners on base in that game, but just being able to consistently generate opportunities as they did all weekend is agood sign.
and Las Vegas Raiders. Isn’tit nice when aquarterback and his team can be on the samepage?
Week 12
SUNDAY,NOV.23(3:25 P.M.):ATSEATTLE Seahawks
Scheduling back-to-back games on the West Coast would allow the Saints to stay on that side of the country between games. New Orleans has ahistory of doing so —the Saints practiced in Seattle in 2019 —but would need the NFLto cooperate.
Week 13
SUNDAY,NOV.30(NOON): ARIZONA CARDINALS What are the odds the Saints face three straight NFCWest teams? Probably not great. But it’d be neat.
Week 14
MONDAY,DEC. 8(7:15 P.M.): AT CHICAGO BEARS
This is asneaky great matchup, one worthy of being in prime time. Ben Johnson’sstaff in Chicago has several NewOrleans ties, including hiring Allen as his defensive coordinator.Also, if Spencer Rattler somehow wins the starting job or has to fillin at any point, he wasonce teammates with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at Oklahoma. Rattler was benchedfor Williams, which ledRattler to transfer to South Carolina. DecemberinChicago adds afun wrinkle,too.
Week 15
SUNDAY,DEC. 14 (NOON): NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Iused too manywords to sell the Bears matchup. So, let’skeep this one concise: Shough vs. Drake Maye. Next.
Week 16
SUNDAY,DEC. 21 (NOON): AT CAROLINA PANTHERS It’ll be fascinating to see what kind of step Bryce Young can take in the third year of his career,particularly after overcoming his benching last season. If things go south forboth Carolina and NewOrleans, this could be an important gamefor draft position.
Week 17
SUNDAY,DEC. 28 (NOON): NEW YORK
GIANTS
Schedulingthis gamelate in the season probablyopens up thepossibilitythatweget to see Jaxson DartagainstShough, rather than theGiantsstarting RussellWilson or oldfriendJameisWinston
Week 18
SUNDAY,JAN. 4(NOON): AT ATLANTA
FALCONS
The NFLloves to end the season with divisional games. It’s unlikely the division would be at stake forthis matchup, but you never know
many choices
Spring plant shopping canbe overwhelming.Here’s howtosimplifyit.
It’sspring, and everyone seems to have the gardening itch
If you head to your local garden center right now,you’re likely to find the place stuffed to thegills with warm-seasonplants andbustling with customers
Shopping for plants this time of year can be exciting. There’s so much to choose from, and everything is so colorful.But this wide variety can also proveoverwhelming.How is one to decide which plants to bring home?
Youcan start narrowing down your options by thinking about the lighting conditionsinyour garden.When shopping for plants, you’ll notice tags indicating dailysunlight requirements—usually listed as full sun, part sun, part shade and full shade. Here’s aquick vocabulary lesson:
n Full sun: Six or more hours of directsun
n Part sun: Four to six hours of direct sun, including intense afternoon rays.
n Part shade: Four to six hours of direct sun before midday n Full shade: Less than four hoursofdirect sun. Plants rated for shade may scorchifthey get too much sun. And full-sun plants that don’t get enough light won’tbloom as much —oratall —and could struggle in other ways. So it’simportant to payattention to these labels and selectplants thatare amatch for your garden. Another suggestion: Focus on toughplants that have been battle-tested in Louisiana’shot, humid climate. Those that have been designated by the LSU AgCenter as Louisiana Super Plants are agood place to start. They’ve passedyears of scientific evaluations with flying colors. Youcan learn more about this program andsee alist of Super Plants at www.LSUAgCenter.com/SuperPlants. And, if you still feel like there are just too many plants out there, AgCenter horticulturist JasonStagg has you covered. Some of Stagg’sfavorite plants for full-sun locations are:
Lantana is atried-and-truefavorite for Louisiana gardens in the warm season.
n Lantana: This plant, known for its vibrant flower clusters that attract pollinators,does well in both containers and in-ground gardens. During average winters, most lantana cultivars are reliably perennial, meaning they come back year after year.“Lantana comes in myriad colors, andnow,a lot of the lantana stays in asmaller,bushier form, so it’salittle better behaved in the garden,” Stagg said. n Zahara and Profusion series zinnia: These drought-tolerant, disease-resistant zinnias are great forLouisiana gardens and loved by pollinators. “They form nice littlemounds that are full of color all summer long,” Staggsaid. Both series include classic zinnia shades of orange, yellow and pink. n FlameThrower series coleus: “Don’tforget foliage colorfor fullsunareas,” Stagg advised. This
ä See CHOICES, page 6C
BY COLETTE DEAN Contributing writer
Look insidesome of the Baton Rouge Garden District’s privategardens on the Friends of LSU Hilltop Arboretum’sSpring Garden Tour on Sunday. Localdesigners will enhance afew of theporches, andmusicians will entertain throughout the day as participants enjoy the event subtitled“Celebratethe Garden District: ADesigner Porch and Garden Stroll.”
‘CELEBRATE THE GARDEN DISTRICT: ADESIGNER PORCH AND GARDEN STROLL’
Benefitting Friends of LSU Hilltop Arboretum 1p.m. to 4p.m.Sunday $20 formembers/students; $25, generalpublic www.lsu.edu/hilltopor (225)767-6916
One of the oldest neighborhoods in BatonRouge, the mature live oak trees andlarge blooming magnolias lining the boulevards of the Garden District guarantee apleasurable stroll from garden to garden.
The Garden District is in the Mid-Cityarea between Government Street and Park Boulevard and is made up of aconglomerateofthree historic districts defined by theLouisiana National Register of Historic Places:Roseland Terrace, DrehrPlace andKleinert Terrace. Homes vary between grand or quaint, connected by sidewalks and alleys. Preservationistshave continued to uphold andmaintainthe neighborhood’sbeautyand appeal, andseveral homes have commemorative historic plaques posted.
ä See TOUR, page 6C
BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer
TheRev.Donnie Wilkinsonapproached in ablack T-shirt and lounge pants,barefoot Not your typicalattire for apastor inside church, but this wasn’t Sundaynor wasita typical service. The word styledinscript on his shirt spelled it out —“breathe.” Participants in the monthly Saturday morningYogaMass at BroadmoorUnited Methodist Church, 10230 MollyleaDrive, wouldhear that word frequently in thenext90minutes.Yes,instructions from the yoga leader who, for some, is also their pastor “One of my favorite quotes is from HowardThurman,who was apastor and leader in the Civil
Rights Movement back in the ’50s and ’60s,” Wilkinson saidfrom oneofthe frontpews as yogis(including his wife April) trickled in, grabbed amat and headed up the aisle. “Andheoncewrote ‘Don’t askwhat the world needs.Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what theworld needs is people who have come alive.’”
The pastor has been “finding his center” for about 16 years now
“It’sone of the things thathelps me become fully alive, you know, to be grounded, embodied, with a healthy clarity of mind, calmness —learningtofeel comfortable in uncomfortable positions,” he explained.
ä See YOGAMASS, page 6C
The featured homes on tour include: Cindy and Steve Tiek, 2355 Olive St. (historic house)
This home was built for the W.P. Craddock family in 1928 and designed by architect Lewis Grosz, who lived on Reymond Boulevard. The backyard garage and carriage house were renovated in 2007 in conjunction with the backyard landscape. The space now functions as a pool house and dining area with a cooking fireplace. Two large live oaks flank a central flower bed; the walkways and driveway are all made of granite cobblestones. Boxwood hedges throughout the yard are set off by plantings of hydrangeas in the front beds. Wood ferns and autumn ferns are planted under the live oaks and fig trees line the driveway A “secret garden” is a central water feature that connects the property’s water features from the front to the sunroom The backyard is in a checkerboard design with limestone blocks and grass. Planters surrounding the yard contain magnolias and satsuma trees. A wisteria arbor connects the pool house to the main house. The antique decorative obelisks and a bust behind the pool are from France. Tiek ByDay is the front porch designer Cindy Tiek and her daughter, Bridget, coown Tiek ByDay with Hance Day Hughes. The firm will soon have a showroom on Government Street.
Vicki and Dennis Swain, 803 Camellia Ave. (historic house)
The Swain home was built in 1914 as an old schoolhouse and underwent a complete renovation in 1980. The Swains decided to take out two “out of control” azaleas in the front yard, do away with the grass and enhance with garden plants throughout
By The Associated Press
Today is Tuesday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2025. There are 232 days left in the year
Today in history:
On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress formally declared war against Mexico, following battles along the disputed U.S.-Mexico border in the preceding weeks; the MexicanAmerican War would continue for nearly two years until the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848.
On this date:
In 1940, in his first speech to the House of Commons as British prime minister, Winston Churchill said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
In 1973, in tennis’ first socalled “Battle of the Sexes,” Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Court 6-2, 6-1 in Ramona, California. (Billie Jean King soundly defeated Riggs at the Houston Astrodome later that year.)
In 1980, a tornado struck downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, killing five people and injuring 79.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca. (Agca was sentenced to life in prison in Italy in July 1981, but was pardoned in 2000 at the Pope’s request.)
In 1985, a confrontation between Philadelphia authorities and the radical group MOVE ended as a police helicopter dropped two bombs onto the group’s row house, igniting a fire that killed 11 people (including five children) and destroyed 61 homes.
In 2016, the Obama administration issued a directive requiring public schools to permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity
Today’s birthdays: Actor Harvey Keitel is 86. Musician Stevie Wonder is 75. Screenwriterproducer David Simon (“The Wire”) is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is 64. TV host/comedian Stephen Colbert is 61. Musician Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 59. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is 48. Actor Samantha Morton is 48. Actor-writer-director Lena Dunham is 39. Actor Robert Pattinson is 39. Actor Debby Ryan is 32. Country musician Morgan Wallen is 32.
with small rock garden paths. The porch was left intact, with the addition of railings added through the years. The backyard has been transformed from a small grassy area by adding a brick patio with decks. Along the way, they’ve added a small cocktail pool, a koi pond and an outdoor kitchen. Better Homes and Garden Magazine photographed the Swain yard for a potential article a few years ago. The Swains have enjoyed sharing their yard with guests and have hosted three weddings on the property, the last one for a niece. For the tour the “Fretless Yard Girls” quartet will be playing ukuleles on the front porch.
Diane Garrett, 2236 Tulip St.
After almost 30 years of pool ownership, Garrett filled in her backyard pool last year and has never looked back. She is enjoying the extra yard space she now has for more gardens, including installing two aboveground bins that host seasonal vegetables.
A native plant enthusiast, Garrett is always on the lookout to add more species to her evergrowing collection. Ornamental trees bring color and some muchneeded shade to the area. Many of the flowers are passalong plants or gifts from family and friends. She has also included a wilder “meadow” for testing new varieties of flowers. Allyson Hicks Design Consulting will be enhancing Garrett’s back patio area. Hicks’ showroom is located on Highland Road.
Ginger Ford, Corner Pollinator Gardens, Camellia Avenue
A lifelong resident of the Garden District, Ford remembers when most of the neighbors had lush gardens, including vegetable gardens in their yards. Two years ago, she began to plant corner pollinator plots along Camellia Avenue. In the spring, the gardens explode with vibrant colors: yellow coreopsis, purple coneflowers, red salvias, pink zinnias and orange blanket flowers. Bees, butterflies and
Continued from page 5C
So immersed did Wilkinson become in the practice of yoga that last year he became a certified yoga teacher
“Not to change careers, but just to do something new,” he added.
The pastor trained for his certification alongside Heather Kemp at Yoga Rouge in Baton Rouge.
“As part of the training, we went to Trinity Episcopal (Church) in New Orleans, and they had YogaMass,” he said. “As we’re doing it, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna bring this back to Baton Rouge, bring it to Broadmoor.’”
Last summer, Wilkinson trained with the founder of YogaMass, Gena Davis, an Episcopal priest who lives in the Houston area. With a grant from the United Methodist Foundation, YogaMass at Broadmoor Methodist commenced last fall.
The grant helped in purchasing the blocks, mats, bolsters, cushions and other equipment. Classes are free and open to all skill levels.
The event is small — 11 took part in the April event, but numbers have reached around 20 — and it’s growing.
Wilkinson says for those with whom the practice resonates, “it’s just a new way of connecting with God that allows it to create a space where you can encounter God.”
Theology breath and body work, along with the principles of yoga overlap between Christian spirituality, according to Wilkinson.
Frequent YogaMass-goer Alexa Harris would agree. Harris, 25, lives in Baton Rouge, graduated from LSU in 2022 and works as an environmental consultant.
Harris has been attending Broadmoor since she was young.
“I attended the ‘trial run’ of YogaMass before it was open to the public and try to go as often as I
Continued from page 5C
Louisiana Super Plant selection offers leaves with interesting patterns of vivid reds and greens on compact plants. “This plant comes in so many different color combinations, you’re sure to find to find something that’ll work with your color scheme,” Stagg said. For shady areas, there are fewer flowering choices than in sunny gardens. But Stagg said you can still achieve a beautiful, colorful garden with these plants: n Beacon series impatiens: Impatiens produce vibrant blooms against deep green foliage. A
hummingbirds are regulars to the street. During the pandemic, Ford began giving away small flower bouquets from her porch. Her neighbors have credited her for beautifying the neighborhood and bringing gardens back to the Garden District. She has begun expanding the corner pollinator gardens to other streets in the neighborhood and encourages everyone to include pollinator plants in their home gardens. Ford has been credited by many neighbors for teaching them how to transform their yards into an oasis for pollinators.
Whitney Hoffman and Elgine Sayal, 1959 Tulip St.
Whitney Hoffman Sayal has been a resident of the Garden District since 2006 and now shares the home with her husband, Elgine. Sayal originally chose the neighborhood for its proximity to City Park, the incredible canopy of trees and the lush, vibrant plant life. Its proximity to LSU was also a determining factor as her life in Baton Rouge began with obtaining her master’s degree from the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. Her passion for landscapes and urban spaces led to a career at the Downtown Development District, conveniently also just a short commute to her home. Over time, she has poured
a great deal of “sweat equity” into renovating the entire house, carefully restoring and reimagining every corner The porch is a peaceful and shady spot to showcase her love of plants and bright design. The tree and porch cover provide an ideal location for saying hello to her many neighbors and displaying many of her houseplants during the hot Louisiana summers. The porch designer for the Sayal home is Baton Rouge Succulent Company, which is located on Highland Road. Dave Randall, acoustic guitarist and vocalist, will provide musical accompaniment to the garden stroll.
Ray and Greta Corona, 2175 Myrtle Ave.
When the Coronas first bought their home, there was an enormous red oak tree on the front corner providing shade to the front and backyards and, Corona admits, there wasn’t much to garden. In 2008, Hurricane Gustav took out the tree. Within 15 seconds, the yard transitioned from complete shade to full sunlight. Greta Corona slowly started to fill garden beds with plants and added a fence based on a design she admired which featured wood with heavy gauge hog wire lattice. The fence provides a great visual barrier for neighborhood dogs without having to fence in the whole yard. Grass kept creeping into her garden beds, so the couple agreed to scrape up all the sod and dedicate the front yard to garden beds with pathways between. She is a tomato plant aficionado and makes sure to plant several varieties every season. Meyer lemon, satsuma and a recently replaced grapefruit thrive on site. Intuitively, she has been gradually using permaculture techniques in creating her multipurpose garden. Trees, shrubs and vegetables are in her front yard which provide food, shade and soil improvement offering the Coronas a mini “farmers market” just outside the front door Walkways throughout the yard enable the Coronas to check out pollinators, as well as the
readiness of fresh herbs and produce while keeping beds tidy Tribe Market, an antiques and plant shop located behind Circa 1987, will offer porch enhancements.
Megan & Aaron Sheehan-Dean, 615 Camellia Ave
The Sheehan-Deans lived in Virginia, Florida and West Virginia prior to moving to Baton Rouge in 2013. They planted small butterfly gardens in each yard, and Megan Sheehan-Dean enjoyed bringing monarch caterpillars into her classrooms for her students to observe the life cycle. While raising children, they kept up their wellmanicured yard on Camellia but admired neighbor Ginger Ford’s garden from afar In January 2019, Ford helped them transform their whole yard into a garden. Ford helped her get over concerns about getting it right — “if a plant didn’t thrive in a certain spot, I could move it,” Sheehan-Dean said. The yard now has plenty of purple coneflowers, gaura and giant black-eyed Susans. Now, the couple enjoys watching the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies that frequent the yard. Cutting grass and edging never brought much joy “I’ve had many lovely conversations with strangers and neighbors walking by which never would have happened with a lawn. I can bring gifts of cut flowers anytime I go to someone’s house. Who doesn’t like that?” she said. Louisiana Nursery Home and Garden Showplace will decorate their porch. Brian Babin, former LSU band member and saxophone player, will entertain at this site. The Garden Tour proceeds will support site development and educational programming at the LSU Hilltop Arboretum, located on 14 extraordinarily beautiful acres in Baton Rouge. It showcases an extensive collection of Louisiana native trees and shrubs. The property known as “Hilltop” is on Highland Road, south of LSU.
can,” she said. “It’s a time for me to connect my mind and body with my spirit. It’s a time to escape the noise of the world to relax and reconnect.”
According to Wilkinson, there are a variety of reasons church members and nonmembers are drawn to this exercise-worship combo.
“There’s a woman who said there was just something so beautiful about coming back into the Methodist Church and being in this beautiful space and finding a way to connect with God that just kind of reawakened something deep within her family,” recalled. “I said, ‘Well, welcome home.’”
The environment is welcoming, calming, whether one is participating or just watching from the pews. Lit candelabras stand near the altar with more candles burning on the altar The yoga leader lightly taps a sound bowl with a mallet to begin.
The use of the term “mass” may be confusing to Catholics, but the
Louisiana Super Plant selection, the Beacon series includes many flower colors; Stagg favors coral, which pops in the shade and has a summery feel. “These will mass and do really well in the shade,” he said. Beacon series impatiens also have a proven disease resistance record.
n Caladium: These variegated, heart-shaped foliage plants have been around for decades but sometimes get forgotten. You can find many colors — from whites to pinks to reds and patterns. Carolyn Whorton, which sports deep pink and green variegations, is a popular cultivar in Louisiana. “They’re going to throw tons of lush, tropical color in any shady space,” Stagg said.
minister explained that in this sense it’s just another word for celebration of the Eucharist — which is what the whole sequence leads up to.
“We move. We breathe. We create space in our hearts and minds to hear a word from God through the Scripture and through the little homily and reflection,” he said.
“But then the real moment is when we commonly receive the bread and the cup, and again, it’s kind of an embodied spirituality.”
Last month, participating yogis were predominantly female, save for one male attendee and their teacher. Ages ranged from 18 to 80. All claimed a spot in the sanctuary or near it, where they rolled out their mats and waited for Mass to begin.
The first 15 minutes consist of very gentle breath and body work, centering themselves, beginning to move, to flex. The yoga sequences are not anything too strenuous
Wilkinson said
“I kind of base kind of the flow of what we’re doing based on who’s here and what everybody can handle,” he said.
A brief Scripture reading follows, then a homily and more breath and body work
It’s a participatory liturgy Each attendee reciting a line from a handout sheet.
“Then we receive the bread and the cup, and then back to our mats for kind of a closing sequence, a little guided meditation,” Wilkinson said, “allowing yourself to deeply rest and relax and integrate everything that we’ve done here before,”
From there, participants go into the final resting pose — and then they get up and go out about their day
Likely with a renewed spirit.
Broadmoor Methodist’s next YogaMass will be at 10:30 a.m. May 17.
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe samenumber onlyonce. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer
By PHILLIP ALDER
Celine Dion said, “Golf is a search for perfection, for balance. It’s about meditationandconcentration.Youhavetouse hand and brain.”
In bridge you must use your brain to gain the most from each hand you hold. And in this week’s columns, we are looking at balancing, when one player, if he passes, will end the auction.
If the dealer opens one of a suit, the next two players pass, and the fourth player jump-overcalls two no-trump, it is no longer unusual, showing at least 5-5 in the two lowest unbid suits. Now it is natural. In principle, the intervenor has a hand with which he would have opened two no-trump, but he might be a point or two short of the normal requirements when he has a respectable six-card minor. In this deal, though, South has a classic two-no-trump opening and a balancing two-no-trump overcall. North transfers intohearts,thenrebidsthreeno-trumpto offer a choice of games. South, with only two hearts, passes. After West leads the spade queen, how should South plan the play?
Declarer starts with eight top tricks: two spades, three hearts and three clubs. He should work to get a fourth heart winner After winning the first trick in his hand with the spade ace (to keep dummy’s king as an entry), South should cash his heart ace, then overtake the heart queen with dummy’s king. He continues with the heart 10 to drive out the jack and ends with nine tricks. Note that if declarer gets greedy, cashing his two hearts, then crossing to the spade king, he goes down.
Wuzzle
InsTRuCTIons: 1. Words must
ToDAy’s WoRD — FRAnTIC: FRAN-tik: Marked by fast and nervous, disordered or anxiety-driven activity.
Average mark 14 words Time limit 25 minutes Can you find 22 or more words in FRANTIC?
yEsTERDAy’s WoRD — TEnAnTs
today’s thought
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15
BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor
Abusiness professor at the University of Tennessee has been selected to become the newdean of LSU’sbusiness school RussellCrook is settotake over as dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business,effective July 28, pendingapproval by the LSUBoard of Supervisors, the university announcedMonday Crook has been head of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the UniversityofTennessee’s Haslam College of Business since July 2022. He also serves as the First Horizon Foundation Distinguished Business Professor and Cheryl Massingale Business Faculty Scholar
Crook has been on theTennessee business school staff since 2007. During that time, he received multiple teaching and service awards fromthe school.
Crook said he is thrilled to join the LSU staff.
“Together,wewillnot only elevate the college to new heights in student success and thoughtleadership, but also enhance its role as acatalyst foreconomic growth and opportunityacrossthe stateof Louisiana,”hesaid in astatement.
He earned abachelor’s in economics fromFlorida State University, amaster’sinbusiness administration from AmericanUniversityand a doctorate in strategic management from Florida State. Beforeheearned his doctorate,Crook worked for several Fortune 500 companies, including American Airlines, US Airways and IBM in strategic planning and global procurement.
Crook is afellow and aformer presidentofthe Southern Management Association.
LSU President WilliamF Tate IV and Executive Vice President and Provost Roy Haggerty praised Crook’s backgroundand abilities.
“His leadership skills, scholarly expertise and industry experience makehim the ideal candidate to lead LSU’sdistinguishedE.J. Ourso Collegeof Business,” Haggerty said in a statement.
Crook will replace Jared Llorensasdean of the business school. LSU officials said Llorens, whohas served as dean since July 2020, will return to a facultyposition at the school’s Department of Public Administration.
Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.
BY MAE ANDERSON and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP business writers
NEW YORK American businesses thatrelyonChinese goods reacted with mutedrelief Monday afterthe U.S.and China agreedtopausetheir exorbitant tariffs on each other’s productsfor 90 days.
Importersstill face relatively high tariffs, however,aswell as uncertainty over what will happeninthe coming weeks andmonths. Many businesses delayedorcanceledorders after PresidentDonald Trump last monthput a145% tariff on items made in China.
Now,they’re concerned a mad scramble to get goods onto ships will lead to bottlenecks and increased shipping costs. The temporary truce wasannouncedasretailersand suppliers are looking to finalize plans and orders for the holidayshopping season.
“The timingcouldn’thave been any worse with regard to placing orders, so turning on a dime to pick back up withcustomers and our factories will putusseverely behind schedule,”said WS Game Company owner Jonathan Silva, whose Massachusettsbusiness creates deluxe versionsofMonopoly, Scrabble and other Hasbro board games. Silva said the30% tariff on Chinese imports still is astep in the right direction. He has nine containers of products waiting at factories in China and said he would work to get them exportedatthe lower rate U.S. Trade Representative
BY JONEL ALECCIA AP health writer
People taking EliLilly’sobesity drug, Zepbound, lostnearly50% more weight than those using rival Novo Nordisk’sWegovy in the first head-to-head study of the blockbustermedications.
Clinical trial participants who took tirzepatide, the drug soldas Zepbound, lost an averageof50 pounds over 72weeks, while those whotook semaglutide, or Wegovy, lost about 33 pounds. That’s according to the study fundedby Lilly,which was published Sunday
Jamieson Greer said theU.S. agreed to lower its 145% tariff rate on Chinesegoods by 115 percentage points,while China agreed to lowerits retaliatory 125% rate on U.S. goods by the same amount.The two sides plantocontinue negotiations on alonger-term trade deal.
Before Trump started the latest U.S. tariffbattlewith China,Miami-basedgame company All Things Equal was preparingtolaunch its firstelectronicboard game Founder EricPoses saidhe spent two years developing The Good News Is..., afill-inthe-blank gamecovering topicslike politics andsports. He plowed$120,000into research and development.
Whenthe president in February added a20% tariff on productsmade in China, Poses startedremovingunessential features such as embossed packaging. When the rate went
up to 145%, he faced two options: leave the goods in China or send them to bondedwarehouses,a storage method that allows importers to defer duty paymentsfor up to five years. Poses contactedhis factories in China on Monday to arrange the deferred shipments, but with his games still subject to a30% tariff, he said he would have to cutback on marketing to keep the electronic game priced at $29.99. With other businesses also in arush to get their products, he saidheis worried he won’tbeable to his intoshipping containers and that if he does, the cost will be much more expensive “It’svery hard to plan because if you want to go back to production in acouple of months, then you’re worried about what will the tariff rate be when it hits the U.S. ports after that90-dayperiod,” Poses said.
BY STAN CHOE AP business writer
NEWYORK— Stocks rallied Monday after Chinaand theUnitedStates announced a90-daytruceintheir trade war. Each of the world’stwo largest economies agreed to temporarily take down most of its tariffs against the other, which economists hadwarned couldstart arecession and create shortages on U.S. store shelves.
TheS&P 500shotuptopullback within 5% of its all-time high set in February.It’sbeen roaring higher since fallingnearly 20% below the mark last month on hopes that President Donald Trumpwill lower his tariffs afterreaching trade dealswith other countries. The index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is back above where it was on April 2, Trump’s“Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs that ignited worries abouta potentially self-inflictedrecession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also climbed. It wasn’tjuststocksrising following what one analyst called a“best-case scenario” for U.S.-China tariff talks, which reduced tariffs by more than what manyinvestors expected.
Crude oilprices climbed because aglobaleconomy less burdenedby tariffs will likely burn morefuel. The value of the U.S. dollar strengthened againsteverythingfrom the euro to the Japaneseyen to the Swiss franc. And Treasury yields jumped on expectations that the Federal Reserve won’t have to cutinterestratesas deeply this yearasearlier expected in order to protect the economy from the damage of tariffs.
Gold’sprice fell, meanwhile, as investors felt less need to buy something safe.
The moveannounced Monday could add 0.4 percentage points to the U.S. economy’sgrowth this year,according to Jonathan Pingle, U.S. chief economist at UBS. That’sasignificant chunk, and every bit counts when the U.S. economy shrank at a0.3% annual rate in the first threemonths of the year
The 90-day reprieve also comes at avital time forthe economy, allowing retailers and suppliers to “ensure that shelves are stocked forthe allimportant back-to-school andholiday shopping seasons,” said Carol Schleif, chiefmarket strategistatBMO Private Wealth.
Of course, conditionscould change quickly again, as Wall Street has seen all too often in Trump’son-againoff-againrollout of tariffs. Bigchallenges still remain in the negotiations between China and the United States, and there is “no reason to believe that this will be anything other than aslow process,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Both drugs are part of anew class of medications that work by mimickinghormones in thegut and brain that regulateappetiteand feelings of fullness. But tirzepatide targets twosuch hormones, known as GLP-1 and GIP,while semaglutide targets GLP-1 alone, said Dr Louis Aronne,director of theComprehensive Weight ControlCenter at Weill Cornell Medicine.
“Two drugs together can produce better weight loss,” said Aronne, who led the study and presented thefindings Sunday at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain.
While tirzepatide won out in what Aronne said manyview as “a drag race of efficacy,” both are important tools for treating obesity whichaffects about40% of Ameri-
can adults.
“The pointofthese medications is to improve health,” he said. “The majorityofpeople won’tneed the mosteffective medication.”
Thetrial included751 people from across the U.S. who were overweight or had obesity and at leastone other weight-related health problem,but notdiabetes. Participants received weekly injections of thehighest tolerated doses of Zepbound, either 10 milligrams or 15 milligrams, or Wegovy,1.7 milligrams or 2.4 milligrams.
By theend of the trial, those who took Zepbound lost about 20% of their body weight on average, compared with anearly 14% loss for those who took Wegovy.The tirzepatide group trimmed about 7inchesfromtheir waistcircumference,compared to about5
inches with semaglutide. In addition, nearly 32% of people taking Zepbound lost at least aquarter of their body weight, compared to about 16% of those taking Wegovy, the study found.
Weight loss was about 6% lower in menthaninwomen in both groups, the authors noted. As participants in both groups lost more weight, they saw improvements in health markers such as blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar levels.
TheGLP-1 drugs have become increasingly popular,with at least 1in8 U.S. adults reportingtheir use, according to a2024 survey by KFF,aindependent health policy research organization. Zepbound generated $4.9 billioninglobal sales last year.Wegovy brought in nearly $8.8 billion.