‘American Idol’ finalist John Foster returns to his hometown of Addis for a parade and concert ahead of Sunday’s season finale
ABOVE: ‘American Idol’ finalist John Foster waves to the crowd at a parade in his honor Wednesday in his hometown of Addis
RIGHT: A rider shows support for Foster during Wednesday’s parade.
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple had a rough day at the State Capitol on Wednesday as senators took out their frustration with him and the insurance industry over high car insurance rates in Louisiana
Over Temple’s objections, one Senate committee approved legislation to turn his elected job into an appointed position, and another passed two bills that he contends distract from the real solutions to high rates.
“We’ve had better days,” Temple
Facility would shift from Comeaux to Lafayette High
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
The Lafayette Parish School Board will consider moving the visual and performing arts academy from Comeaux High to Lafayette High.
The request was placed on the agenda for the board’s Thursday meeting by Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr and Jennifer Gardner the assistant superintendent of administration and operations. If approved, the move would go into effect for the upcoming school year
The school system did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The idea of moving the academy from Comeaux was brought up last fall. It was just one piece of a proposal from a hired strategic planner That proposal included closing Comeaux altogether, which failed in a 5-4 vote during a contentious board meeting in November
During that meeting, the board rejected many other suggestions for closures and consolidations that were designed to save the district money, something it needed as it faces budget shortfalls caused by declining district enrollment and increased insurance costs. The board ultimately only ended up saving about $100,000 annually Comeaux’s enrollment has steadily declined since the 2018-19 school year, decreasing by 500 students in that time, and about 66% of families zoned for the school choose to send their students
said in an interview afterward. “It may not be personal or political, but I can’t help but feel that it’s both.” Temple had better days when the House two weeks ago passed more than a dozen pro-industry measures that he supports because they will address what he sees as the answer tilting legal scales away from trial lawyers and their injured clients to reduce how much the companies pay for insurance claims.
“When loss costs go down, premiums go down,” Temple said. “It’s working in other states. It can
Debate over auto insurance bills continues ä See INSURANCE, page 4A
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisiana lawmakers pared down a bill Wednesday that would have required college students to take an anti-hazing course, a proposal inspired by the recent death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson. Citing cost concerns, they replaced the semesterlong course with an annual two-hour training.
In its original form, House Bill 279 required any student who joins a fraternity, sorority,
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy said his committee’s hearing Wednesday was a chance for health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to comfort people worried about the sweeping changes President Donald Trump’s administration is making to federal health agencies.
“People instinctively fear change, even when it’s from worse to better,” Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said to open the hearing “But without a clearly defined plan or objective people will assume the worst Americans need direct reassurance from the administration, and from you, Mr Secretary, that its reforms will make their lives easier, not harder And that’s why I’ve invited you.”
The hearing before the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, which Cassidy chairs, followed another hearing earlier in the day before a House Appropriations subcommittee, which Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Start, vice chairs. It was Kennedy’s first visit to Capitol Hill since he was confirmed in February
Kennedy agreed to quarterly hearings as part of a concession to win Cassidy’s support to become secretary of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services.
During the two hearings, lawmakers from both parties questioned, in often tense exchanges, how much of Kennedy’s approach was aspirational budget cutting and how much was a realistic focus on improving health care.
Kennedy has overseen a dramatic effort to reshape access to physicians, hospitals and medical care. He has removed 20,000 of the agency’s 82,000 jobs, fired leading scientists, slashed federal funds for biomedical research and decreased the number of divisions from 28 to 15.
“Bureaucratic bloat and regulatory hurdles at the Department of Health and Human Services have made it harder to deliver critical services,” Cassidy said. “We need to make HHS work better for the American people. That means finding ways to speed up approvals for lifesaving drugs, improving delivery of health care services so
Americans who need these ben-
efits can receive them, addressing high levels of chronic disease and holding bad actors accountable to lower health care costs for American workers.”
Kennedy said there’s a lot of duplications in the sprawling department that spent $1.7 trillion in 2024, including more than 100 communications offices, 40 procurement operations and nine that focused on women’s health.
“What we’re trying to do is consolidate, streamline,” Kennedy said, adding that the U.S. is “the sickest developed nation in the world,” which costs consumers $4.5 trillion annually
“Clearly something is structurally and systemically wrong with this system,” he said.
Kennedy lays out priorities
Kennedy said the department would increase access to primary care physicians in rural areas, preserve veterans health initiatives and ensure the viability of Medicaid, Medicare and Head Start, a federally funded preschool program for low-income families that has been targeted for elimination by Republicans for years.
The federal government also would put a “special focus on the chronic disease epidemic,” he said.
Kennedy gave much the same presentation to the House Appropriations subcommittee earlier in
the day “I’m so eager to hear from you how we can best support your mission moving forward,” said Letlow
Letlow said 30,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed in Louisiana each year, 4,230 of which are breast cancer and 210 are cervical cancer She asked for assurances that the federal government will focus on women’s health concerns.
“We strongly support that,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy criticized the “party press” — a term Republicans use to describe mainstream media they say favor Democratic policies — saying it inaccurately reported that he terminated a women’s health program.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., apologized to Letlow, then pointed out that Kennedy had sought to eliminate breast and cervical cancer projects in a proposed budget for the next fiscal year, 2026.
She then turned to Kennedy to say: “You are going to illegally impound billions of dollars for research appropriated by Congress. You do not have the authority to do what you are doing.”
In the Senate hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., touched on spending reductions that forced the National Institutes of Health to dump biomedical research projects. The Trump administration terminated about $13.5 billion in health care funding that included more than
BY OLIVIA DIAZ and KENDRIA LAFLEUR Associated Press
ALVARADO, Texas A Georgetown University scholar from India who was arrested in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students was released from immigration detention Wednesday after a federal judge’s ruling.
Khan Suri will go home to his family in Virginia while he awaits the outcome of his petition against the Trump administration for wrongful arrest and detention in violation of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. He’s also facing deportation proceedings in an immigration court in Texas
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Badar Khan Suri
told reporters after his release from a detention facility in Alvarado, near Dallas. “It took two months, but I’m extremely thankful that finally I’m free.”
Immigration authorities have detained college students from across the country many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war since the first days of the Trump administration. Khan Suri is the latest to win release from custody, along with Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student from Turkey, and Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, said she was releasing Khan Suri because she felt he had substantial con-
stitutional claims against the Trump administration She also considered the needs of his family and said she didn’t believe he was a danger to the community.
“Speech regarding the conflict there and opposing Israel’s military campaign is likely protected political speech,” Giles said. “And thus he was likely engaging in protected speech.”
The judge added: “The First Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and noncitizens.”
Khan Suri was arrested by masked, plain-clothed officers on the evening of March 17 outside his apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia. He was then put on a plane to Louisiana and later to a detention center in Texas.
Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, left, greets Secretary of Health and Human Services
Robert F Kennedy Jr., before he testifies before a Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing at the U.S Capitol on Wednesday in Washington.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN McDONNELL
1,600 grants for research by universities, medical schools and government agencies.
“We want the federal government to play a major role in continuing its efforts to combat such terrible diseases as cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease and other terrible illnesses that claim the lives of millions of Americans,” Sanders said.
Vaccines come up
During confirmation hearings earlier this year, Cassidy raised concerns about Kennedy’s history of representing in court clients who opposed vaccinations and making repeated public comments that linked vaccines to various maladies without presenting evidence. Cassidy, a physician who has participated in vaccination studies, said people should not die from illnesses that could easily have been treated with a simple injection.
Several Republican senators withheld their support of Trump’s nominee until Cassidy made his intentions known. One of the concessions Kennedy made to nail down Cassidy’s backing was a promise not to undermine the federal government’s efforts to vaccinate children.
Cassidy had retweeted statements Kennedy made about vaccinating children against measles. But Cassidy hasn’t said much about
Kennedy’s other statements that some claim casts doubt about vaccines.
Sen. Chris Murphy D-Conn., alleged that Kennedy undermined the role vaccines play in preventing diseases during the largest measles outbreak in 25 years. He challenged Kennedy on stripping $12 billion from the budget that went as grants to the states to administer vaccination efforts. He noted that Kennedy had promised not to change vaccine standards but directed the Food and Drug Administration to change current practices used to approve the medicines. And Kennedy said on the “Dr Phil” talk show that the measles vaccines have not been fully tested, which sows doubts in some parents, Murphy argued. Kennedy interrupted, “All true. You want me to lie to the public?” Kennedy went on to say that only the COVID vaccines, out of 70-some-odd mixtures, have been safety tested using placebos. Placebos mimic real vaccines but have no therapeutic effect and are used to assess the safety of a vaccine. Cassidy later said, “The secretary made the statement that no vaccine except for COVID had been evaluated against placebo. For the record, that’s not true.”
Cassidy’s political backdrop
Trump has called Cassidy, who is running for reelection next year, derogatory names for voting to convict the president on impeachment charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. But Trump curtailed his diatribes against Louisiana’s senior senator when it became clear that Cassidy had enough votes to sidetrack Kennedy’s nomination.
Cassidy already has attracted an opponent for his reelection in 2026 in state Treasurer John Fleming, a Minden doctor who worked in the White House during Trump’s first term. Other Republican candidates have also talked about potentially entering the race. Trump hasn’t endorsed either candidate in the 2026 contest, but at a recent White House function praised Cassidy Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.
BY STEVE PEOPLES and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press
NEW YORK Six months after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Democrats remain deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, although neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party is viewed favorably by a majority of U.S. adults. A new poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about onethird of Democrats are “very optimistic” or even “somewhat optimistic” about their party’s future. That’s down sharply from July 2024, when about 6 in 10 Democrats said they had a positive outlook.
“I’m not real high on Democrats right now,” said poll respondent Damien Williams, a 48-year-old Democrat from Cahokia Heights, Illinois. “To me, they’re not doing enough to push back against Trump.” The poll comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party, which is desperately seeking momentum after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress in last fall’s general election. In the survey, Democrats offer mixed reviews for some of their party’s best-known elected officials including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of New York — while reporting significant concerns about how leaders are chosen in the U.S. political system. Williams, a member of the Teamsters union, said he
likely won’t feel good about his party again “until somebody steps up in terms of being a leader that can bring positive change an Obamalike figure.” Republicans, meanwhile, are slightly more optimistic about the future of the GOP than they were last year
The poll finds that about half of Republicans, 55%, are very or somewhat optimistic about their party’s future, up from 47% last summer Still, only about 3 in 10 Republicans are optimistic about the state of U.S. politics, up from about 1 in 10 last summer. The AP-NORC poll of 1,175 adults was conducted May 1-5, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probabilitybased AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. Dems deeply pessimistic about future of their party, poll finds
BY ZEKE MILLER, JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
DOHA, Qatar President Donald Trump said Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Mideast as part of any potential agreement.
Trump, who is in the midst of a three-country visit to the region, also discussed Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in one-on-one talks with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
The American president expressed measured confidence that the U.S. effort with Tehran would “work out one way or another.”
But in comments earlier in the day, at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump made clear he expected Tehran to end its role as the chief financial backer of the militant groups.
Iran
“must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Trump told the GCC leaders. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Al Thani did not directly address the Iran issue after his session with Trump in Doha. But the emir said U.S.-Qatar cooperation on a broad range of issues was lifting their partnership to “another level of relations.”
The two leaders, and others from their respective delegations, signed a series of agreements, including one between U.S. aircraft company Boeing and Qatar Airways. The White House said the deal was worth $96 billion. The U.S. and Iran have en-
gaged in four rounds of talks since early last month, and Trump has said he believes brokering a nuclear deal is possible but that the window is closing
The Republican president’s latest push on Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen come as that proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump’s remarks “deceitful” but did not directly address Trump’s demand
Trump said that he also believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms.
Lifting sanctions on Syria
Trump met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned
by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq. Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54year rule of the Assad family
Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.
Trump told reporters that the meeting with al-Sharaa went “great” and described him as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.”
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said.
Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for the meeting, which lasted 33 minutes. Erdogan took part via video conference.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion.
BY ZEKE MILLER, JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia U.S.
President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could serve as a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.
The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump’s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family and for its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty for his arrest
Trump praised al-Sharaa to reporters after the meeting, saying he was a “young, attractive guy Tough guy Strong past. Very strong past Fighter.”
Under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa had ties to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. He was even imprisoned by U.S. troops there for several years.
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said. “He’s a real leader He led a charge, and he’s pretty amazing.”
Trump had announced the day before as he kicked off his three-nation Middle East tour in Riyadh that he would also move to lift U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria under the deposed autocrat Bashar Assad.
People across Syria cheered in the streets and set off fireworks on Tuesday
night to celebrate, hopeful their nation — locked out of credit cards and global finance — might rejoin the world’s economy when they need investments the most.
The meeting came even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier asked Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria, again underscoring a growing discontent between the White House and the Israeli government as its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip rages on.
Trump told the Gulf Cooperation Council after his meeting with al-Sharaa that he was ending sanctions on Syria in order to give the country “a fresh start.”
“It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful,” Trump said.
Trump said al-Sharaa had agreed to join the Abraham Accords and eventually recognize Israel, but Syria hasn’t confirmed that.
Trump told reporters, “I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.”
Historic meeting
Trump said on Tuesday that he would meet alSharaa, who flew in to the Saudi capital for the faceto-face.
Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terror since 1979.
Al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. The Trumpal-Sharaa meeting took
place behind closed doors, and the White House later said it ran for just over 30 minutes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the meeting with Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and al-Sharaa via phone. Turkey was a main backer to al-Sharaa and his rebel faction.
“I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance,” Trump said of Syria. “It’s not going to be easy anyway, so gives them a good strong chance. And it was my honor to do so.” What happened?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump urged al-Sharaa to diplomatically recognize Israel, “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria” and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Trump, a Republican, also asked for the Syrian government to “assume responsibility” for over a dozen detention centers holding some 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group, Leavitt added. The prisons are run by the U.S.-backed and Kurdishled forces that spearheaded the military campaign against the extremists and controlled the last sliver of land they once held in March 2019. As part of a deal reached in March between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led forces, all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the Northeast would be brought under the central government’s control by the end of the year Trump’s desire for Syria to take over the prisons also signals the potential of a full American military withdrawal from Syria.
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
The judge assigned to hear three cases related to an August double murder at aLafayette barbershop recused himself Wednesdayafter he inadvertently heard something about the murders.
Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Royale Colbert at ahearing for one
of thesuspectssaid he doesn’tbelieve he would be biased, but under thejudicial canons and to avoid theimpression of prejudice, he was stepping down fromthe three cases.
Johnny Trailer Jr., 48, abarber, andQuincy Duhon, 19, were shot around 9a.m. Aug. 31 in aLouisiana Avenuebarbershop.
Three men were arrested: Shy-
lon Mouton, Jeffery Broussard and AbramLandry. Landry,24, was in Colbert’scourtroom Wednesdaytohavebailset He is still in jail. Colbert said he has been aclient of thebarbershopfor manyyears. One daywhile at the shop, he said he overheard two people whom he doesn’t knowdiscussing themurders andnow he is privy to information he should nothave as the judge over the cases He was expecting to file arecusal
motion Wednesday afternoon, stepping down from all three cases. A new judge will be appointed.
Landry andMouton,18, were indicted on two counts of first-degree murder andone count of conspiracy to commit first-degreemurder.
Broussard, 18, was chargedwith conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Colbert faces discipline from theLouisiana Judiciary Commissionafter an investigation into two previous incidences andahearing
in April before the commission. One of the commissionmembers remindedColbert at thehearing that he is bound 24/7 by the judicial canons.
JohnKeeling, assistant special counsel with the state office that prosecutes judicial misconduct, recommendedColbert be censured
The commissionhas not released its findings.
Email ClaireTayloratctaylor@ theadvocate.com.
Master Gardener Kathy Troyanowski looks over heads of Swiss chard while tending to avegetable garden
Nelson Horticulture Centeron Monday in Lafayette.
Have acake andshare it tooatthis newfest
InauguralCakeFête is picnic-stylefun
BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer
Cake is the only entryfee at this picnic-styleevent celebratingthe dessert in all its forms —from homemade to store-bought, andeverything in-between.
That’sright. Bring your favorite cake, any kind, to the Petroleum Club in Lafayetteon Sunday forano-holds-barred, free (except for the costofingredients) cake extravaganza. Sheetcake, layercake, Bundt cake, fruitcake and even JellOmolds arewelcomeatthis weekend’sCake Fête, hosted by the Foodies of Lafayette social media community
Foodies of Lafayette is a 100,000-memberFacebook group for the Lafayette area, focused on celebrating the region’sexpansive food and
Circulated clip showsstudent hit
BY ASHLEYWHITE Staff writer
TwoLafayette Parish school system employees have resignedafter ayear-old videowentviraloverthe weekend thatappears to show an employee hittingachild in the back of thehead. Thevideowas allegedly filmed
lastyear at EdgarMartin Middle but began circulatingonsocial mediaover the weekend.
The school system launched an investigation after seeing the video for the first time over the weekend, district spokesperson Tracy Wirtz said. Twoemployeesinvolved in the incident, both paraprofessionals, resigned Monday Thevideoshows what appearsto be an adultsittingona student who is seated in adesk.The adult has her forearmacross thestudent’schest.
Asecondadult walks by andslaps the student in the back of the head
Wirtzcould not confirm what grade or what type of classthe students were in, but the postsaysit wasfilmed in aspecial education classroom
Self-reported school data shows hundreds of Louisiana students with disabilitiesare physically restrained or confined to “seclusion” rooms in public schools.
TheAcadiaParishSheriff’sOffice arrested aman after abrief standoff with deputies on Monday Robert W. DeaneII, 48, of Lafayette,facesfour counts of aggravated assault upon apeace officer,one count of criminal trespassing and aggravated illegal use of aweapon, accordingtoaSheriff’s Office announcement
On Monday, deputies responded around 5:20 p.m. to Country Village Road in Egan after areport that Deanewas trespassing and making threats. Deputies were approaching a wooded area where Deane had set
up atentcamp whenhe fired four shots from his weapon, police said.
Deputies setupaperimeter,using adrone to make contact with Deane before he surrenderedtoauthorities Deaneisbeing held at the Acadia Parish Jail withbail set at $60,000.
Three arrested on drug, illegal gun counts St.Landry Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested three men in adrug
The practices are meanttostop students from harming themselves or others, but advocates andthe federal government warn the practices themselves can physically endangerstudents andpotentially violate their rights.
raidatanOpelousas home. Deputies seized drugs, an automatic weapon and illegal gun modifications from two homes, according to aSt. Landry Parish Sheriff’sOffice announcement.
Yet, despite the risks, the state Education Department does not monitor howpublic schoolsuse the controversialpractices,according to an audit released by the state last year
Email Ashley Whiteatashley white@theadvocate.com.
On Tuesday,deputies were told that Treshawn L. Thomas, 23, was selling marijuana outofhis home in the 400 block of Magnolia Street. Deputies said Thomas had several guns. Upon arrival at the home, deputies saw Thomas outside the home
before he attempted to flee while carrying aduffle bag, police said Deputies arrested Thomas shortly after He facescharges of possession withintent to distributeSchedule I, II and Vdrugs, possessionof drug paraphernalia and obstruction of justice. Twoother people,JosephE Richard, 59, andWillie J. Sam, 48, were also arrested. Richard faces six counts of possession of amachine gun. Sam faces seven counts of possessionofa machine gun
ä See BLOTTER, page 4B
Thehomestead exemption may be politically sacrosanct in Louisiana,but that is no good reason to makeiteven bigger
The state House Ways andMeans Committee has advanced legislation to allow parishes to raise the exemption to cover the first $125,000 of a home’svalue, up from the current $75,000. HouseBill 271 by Rep. MatthewWillard, D-New Orleans, is well-intentioned but woefully wrongheaded. The bill is misguided because it would throw even further out of balance Louisiana’stax system, which (state and local combined) already relies far too much on sales taxes and far too little, comparatively,onpropertytaxes. An unbalanced system leadstorevenue instability for all levelsofgovernment, to competitive disadvantages vis-à-vis other states and, in Louisiana’s case, to a“regressive” system that taxesa higher percentage of the income of poorer people than of richer ones. Research also showsthat sales taxes aremarginally more deterrent to economic growth than propertytaxes and,unlike property taxes, they can’t very easily be deducted from federal income taxes.
on regressivesales taxes to carrythe load.
Moreover,even thecurrent homestead exemption level gives Louisiana homeownersa break bigger than 46 otherstates provide. Numerous states offer nohomestead exemptions at all, andthe ones that do so usually restrict them to benefit only selected groups such as veterans, theelderly or people with markedly low household incomes.Only Arizona and Indiana feature bigger universal homestead exemptions than Louisiana, while Illinois offers asliding scale. Mississippi offers an exemption on the same$75,000 of value, but itcaps thebenefit at $300 total tax savings.
duce thehomestead exemption (meaning very marginally higher property taxes) yet still enjoy avast, competitivepropertytax advantage against other states. These aren’tmerely academic discussions. The state’stax system costs Louisianajobs, hurtsLouisiana’sworking poor,produces unstable and unreliable revenue streams, deters economic growthand fails to takeadvantage of federal tax law
YetLouisiana consumers alreadypay the highest base sales tax in the nation (albeit with some exemptions).With thestate just having cut itsincome tax rate last year while hiking thesales tax, adiminution of propertytax revenue would put even more pressure
Louisiana’s exemption, furthermore, comes from property tax rates that alreadyare comparatively low,with 38 of 50 states having higher levies. When your propertytax rates are low and then you exempt morevalue than all butfour states (not counting those few that have no property taxes at all), this meanspropertyowners in Louisiana alreadyare getting an almost astonishingly large bargain and amassive competitive advantageonproperty. But it comes at the cost of amassive disadvantage on sales taxes which exceptinanunusual tourist mecca such as New Orleans —substantially deters retail activity and particularly hurtssmall, “mom-and-pop” storefronts. Indeed,Louisiana could actually re-
Raising thehomestead exemption for everybody,including high-income homeowners, would exacerbate, not improve, that situation. It would provide theillusion of abenefit for lowerend homeowners, but only to their actual detriment —indeed, to almost everybody’sdetriment —overall. Ahigher homestead exemption also provides aperverse incentive to avoid homeimprovements that might raise propertyvalues above the exemption line. The unintended consequence is that the exemption could act as a deterrent to people improving their net worthand to entire lower-middleincome neighborhoods from being revitalized.
In sum, HB 271 would entice local governmentsinto public policy that is unwise on multiple levels. It may sound good politically,but bothlogic and data argue decisively against it. Politics deserves no exemption from logic and data.
Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin.hillyer@theadvocate.com.
When the 47th president does something right, he repents by doing something that contradictsit. Consider his excellent executive order aboutthe importance of aesthetic good tastein governance, and his subsequent redecoration of the Oval Office. Issued duringthe blizzard of orders in his first full day in office, “Promoting BeautifulFederal Civic Architecture,” was thoughtful and sensible. Making amends for this, the president has redecorated the OvalOffice. The style, whichisnot for the squeamish, is best described (actually,it is best not described, but here goes) as:“The Atlantic-City-Aspiring-to-be-Las-Vegas School of Interior Design.” Or (intellectual whiplash warning) Founding FathersBling. In short: Maximalism. The president evidently likesworking inside aFabergé egg. Forreaders of The Post, Carolina A. Miranda, atalentedcultural journalist, has described the new Oval Office, stuffed with stuff: The mantel is adorned by seven gold examples of authenticbric-a-brac. Gold floral moldings are stuck here and there. Gold angels. Goldeagles on side tables. Gold coasters.Gold medallions on the fireplace. Gilded mirrors on the doors and gilded frames forabout20 paintings, more than triple thenumber Biden had, so there. Gold cherubs imported from Mar-a-Lago, which is probably still is not destituteofthem. Gold coasters. Alarge gold block paperweight inscribed withTRUMP, in case he momentarily forgets to think about himself.
Miranda finds this sinister.And she bills the decor as “un-American.” If only We have anational knack for wretched excess, of which Super Bowl halftime shows are, amazingly,not the most vivid eruptions. Remember Detroit’s1950s land yachts:The 1956 Chrysler Imperial andthe 1958 Lincoln Premiere were 19 feet long.What is more vulgar than 21st-century Stateof the Union addresses?
Benjamin Franklin pointedly wore clothes of homespun cloth to theCourt of St. James’s, and Thomas Jefferson sometimes wore slippers when receiving presidential visitors.Nowadays, however,Americans enjoy leavening republican simplicity with touchingly absurd attempts at grandeur: There are, surely,communities where Kiwanis Club lunches are held in Holiday Inns’ Versailles Rooms, cheek-by-jowl with hardware stores and grain silos. What has become of theaesthete who
issued the Day 1presidential order on “beautiful federal civic architecture”?
The presidentsaid: “Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift andbeautify public spaces and ennoble theUnited States andour system of self-government.” Quite right
Recently PaulZepeda, an architecturestudent at Catholic University, writing for Civitas Outlook of the University of Texas at Austin’sCivitasInstitute, noted that the current president was reversing his predecessor’sreversal of a2020 executive order.Cue the “here-comes-Hitler” warnings. (Hedid have an unhealthy interest inoverbearing architecture thatdiminishedthe individual relative to the state.) And critics of the president’s January order issued somber warnings about attacks on “design freedom.”
“Design freedom,” which has often meant indifference to design, has blighted Washington with durable examples of brutalist architecture, such as theFBI Building on Pennsylvania Avenue. Might such architecture foment in citizens asense of alienation from their government?
In October 1943, after German bombs destroyedthe House of Commons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill insisted on rebuilding it with its traditional rectangular,and adversarial, arrangement rather than the semicircular design favored by many legislatures (including the U.S.Congress). Churchill thought it supported
thetemperateness of atwo-party system. He said: “Weshape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
Zepedaargues that,traditionally, here and elsewhere, “buildings with thegreatest significance tothe community” should be designed withcognizance of the moral dimension of the physical. Each building’shuman scale, decoration, ornamentsand measured proportions should reinforce in those who see and enter them asense of the nobilityand dignityofwhat transpires in them.
Afederal building should be, Zepeda says, “a celebration of self-government, afluorescence of the republican system ”The classical temple-like building in which the SupremeCourt sitsisprobably related to thecourt’s remarkably durable prestige, which is apotent fact in contemporary governance.
In theunlikely event that the current president wearies of the golden monochromeofhis Oval Office surroundings, he can swivel his chair 180 degrees and contemplate the National Mall, one of theworld’sgreat urban spaces. Its clean, spare, Euclidean geometry is an analogue of our society’s premise and promise: open vistas and open minds. The Mall’ssymmetry, balance and proportion encourage asimilar mentality,infusing political institutions and civil society with restraint. At least they used to.
Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
Until recently,I advised people whowere looking foranoffbeat experience to buy a share of Berkshire Hathaway’sClass Bstock (current price: around $500) and attend the annual shareholder’s meeting. The stock itself you could sell after the meeting, possibly at asmallprofit. And you would witness an experience unavailable anywhere else but the city of Omaha during one late spring weekend: the annual convening of the Buffett cult. As cults go, the Buffett-heads are —like the master himself —unusually nice, sensible and well-behaved. Their mantra is simple: find investments that are underpriced relative to the fundamental value of the firm.You will hear that mantra if you follow them around, as Idid in 2009: traipsing through exhibits, buying boxes of Berkshire Hathaway-owned See’sCandies and dining at Warren Buffett’sfavorite steakhouse. Cognoscenti order the T-bone steak with aside of hash browns, reportedly his favorite meal,because everyone wanted to be morelike Warren.
Alas, at the recent retreat, the 94-year-old Buffett announced he wasstepping aside as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.The vibe at the annual meetings will, Isuspect, never be quite the same. But as one of the mostremarkable careers in financial history drawstoaclose, it’s worth reflecting on whether it’sreally possible to Be Like Warren. Could even Warren Buffett replicate his own success?
Stock market prices aren’trandom chance, to be sure, but if the market is efficient, there’s something that looks like randomness, because it’shard foranindividual to consistently beat the collective guesses of millions of investors about astock’sfuture value. Sure, maybe your guess is correct, and maybe you’ll get it right several times in arow —but, eventually, chance will catch up with you. So did Buffett really outguess us, or is he just the luckiest orangutan?
In his speech, he argued that his success was morethan just luck. He credited his wins to being part of asmallcollection of value investors whowere beating the market because they followed the samebasic approach —inhis words, “search fordiscrepancies between the value of abusiness and the price of small pieces of that business in the market.”
Idebated the coin flip hypothesis over my weekend with Buffett’sacolytes and came away doubting that his success was mostly luck —but also doubting that it could ever be repeated. Buffett, Idecided, wasabig winner of adifferent kind of random process, what he has dubbed “the ovarian lottery.” Buffett’sgood fortune wasmore than being born into the mostprosperous country in the history of humanity.Hewas also lucky that he wasn’tactually born today,but in 1930, atime when his peculiar aptitudes and obsessions were especially valuable. The kind of persnickety obsessive whowould let his kids run around an amusement park while he sat on abench reading financial reports would probably make good money in manyeras —but not necessarily as good as Buffett madeinthe timehehappened to inhabit.
For one thing, when he was born, stock markets had just endured an epic crash that would leave alot of firmsunderpriced. That was obviously no good to the infant Warren, but it traumatized investors so much that when he came of age two decades later,the market still offered the kind of bargains that value investors traditionally looked for. Those bargains fared especially well as the postwar boom lifted everyone’seconomic boats.
Eventually,however,the Great Depressionera suspicion of stocks wore off, and moreand moreinvestors piled in. Meanwhile, computers madeitmuch easier to spot pricing anomalies, even in smaller stocks where Buffett typically concentrated his early investments. Today, capital markets are much moreliquid, efficient and ferociously competitive than the ones of Buffett’syouth, and while I’ve no doubt he’d still succeed if he werestarting out today,I doubt he’d becomeone of the richest people in the world.
In this, he is not alone; one could argue he is typical of superstars. Until the invention of basketball, being a7-foot-tall man was mostly ahandicap. It is expensive to feed all that flesh and hard to fit it in aworld madefor shorter people. In today’sAmerica, however,itgives you aroughly 1in6shot at the NBA. And like those basketball players, Warren Buffett became agiant among investors because fortune delivered him into agame he wasborn to play MeganMcArdle in on X, @asymmetricinfo.
Summer-like days,nights aremoving in
BY KASEY BUBNASH and MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writers
Say goodbye to cool mornings and sleevesof any kind.
An incoming heat wave is expected to put an end to those mild spring temperatures you were probably really enjoying this week, instead bringing summer-like heat to south Louisiana.
National Weather Service forecasters said temperatures started ramping up across the region on Wednesday,with afternoonhighs in the 90sexpected to follow laterthis week.
“We’re not expecting any real cooling off over
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by aconvicted felon, two counts of possession with intenttodistribute Schedule Idrugs, and one count of possession of afirearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of afirearminthe presence of drugs. All three are being held at theSt. Landry Parish Jail.
Lafayette police make large drug bust
The Lafayette Police Department arrested several people during alarge drug bust on Friday
The department seized $177,000 worth of marijuana (19.75 pounds), $128,000 in cash, two 9mmhandguns, a5.56 AR pistol and 4grams of THC wax for a total worth of $305 000, according to aPolice Department announcement.
On Friday,officers arrested aperson near Ridge Road and Rue Du Belier resulting in the discovery of several pounds of marijuana and ahandgun in the suspect’svehicle.
Asubsequent investigation led officers to ahome on Lakepointe Drive. Police arrested two people there, finding several more pounds of marijuana,ahandgun andalarge amount of cash. Asearch warrant on the homeled to the seizure of more drugs, an AR pistol and drug paraphernalia.
thenextweek,”saidBob Wagner,aNational Weather Service meteorologist.
High humiditywill make it feel evenhotter, with heat index values, or “feels-like” temps, nearing 100 degrees “for the first time this year,” according to the weather service.
There’snot much rain in the forecast, which will offerlittlerelieffrom what forecasters think will be unhamperedsunshine and intense heat across much of the region in the comingdays.
The weather service is not likely to issue aheat advisory, an alertabout possiblydangerous heat conditions, but Wagner said the heat was about 3-5degreeshigher than normal for mid-May
“The fact that it is the first prolonged period of hot weatherfor the year meanspeoplemight not
be used to it,”Wagner said.
Residents should remember to stay hydrated, take breaks if theyare working outside andbe aware of theheat, Wagnersaid.
Here’s the forecast for Lafayette:
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny,withahigh near 90. Alow near 74. Winds of around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph through the day and night.
Friday: Partlysunny,with ahigh near 89 anda low around 74. Winds of 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny with ahigh near 89 anda lowof74. Winds of 5to15 mph, with gusts as highas 20 mphthrough the day andnight.
Sunday: Mostlysunny, with ahigh near 89 anda lowaround 73.
Glynn Rozaswas aloving man of faith.Hepassed away on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at theage of 94. He was anativeof Chataignier, LA born August 24, 1930 to Dassas "Kai" and LulaRozas and was alongtime resident of Lafayette, LA
He is survivedbyhis wife, Julia Verheugen Rozas, of 52 years; two stepdaughters,Karen Call Listiand her husband, Dr. Deanand Eileen Call Thompsonand her husband, Morey; 5grandchildren,MariaListi Montet (Marc), DeanListi,Jr. (Catherine), Julie Ann Listi Montgomery (William), Nathanial Thompson, and ElizabethThompson; 5 greatgrandchildren; and many nieces &nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, "Kai" and LulaRozas; and his brother, Dr. Earl Rozas.
awon-
a giving person to anyone whoneededhis help Glynn will be missed by many whoselives he touched. The familywould like to thankHearts of Hospice andall of hiscaregivers.
AMass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, May16, 2025 in OurLady of Fatima Catholic Church.The family requests that visiting hoursbeobservedatOur Lady of Fatima Catholic Church on Friday, May 16, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.A Rosary will be prayed at 10:40 AM on Friday morning in the church
Msgr. JeffersonDeBlanc, Pastor of OurLady of Fatima Catholic Church, will be Celebrantofthe Mass and will officiatethe funeral service
Burial immediatelyfollowing theMass in Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery
In lieu of flowers, the familyrequestsdonations be made to OurLady of Fatima Catholic Church in Glynn's memory
Personal condolences may be sent to thefamily of Glynn Rozasat: www.de lhommefuneralhome.com
Glynn Rozasand his familywerecared for and entrusted final arrangements to Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 BertrandDrive, Lafayette, LA.
outside in hisyard. They arrested him after he attempted to run, police said.
Bralon Collin, 28, of Lafayette, faces onecount of possession with intent to distribute ScheduleI drugs.
Jaylin Brown, 27, of BreauxBridge, faces one count of possession with intent to distribute ScheduleIdrugs, possession of agun in the presence of drugs and monies derived from drug proceeds.
Allthree are being held at theLafayetteParish Correctional Center Man accused of creating drugs
St. LandryParishsheriff’s deputies arrested aSunset man accused of creating psychedelic drugsout of his home
Phillip K. Boutte, 45, was arrested Monday and facesone count each of operation of aclandestine drug lab, possession with intent to distribute ScheduleI,IIand IV drugs, possessionofa firearm in the presence of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of possession of Schedule II drugs, according to aSt. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office announcement. On Monday,deputies were told that Boutte was creating DMT, apsychedelic drug,out ofhis Sunsethomeinthe 1400block of Chretien PointRoad Upon arrival, deputies said they foundBoutte
Justin Thibodeaux,29, of Lafayette, faces one count of possession with intent to distribute Schedule I drugs, possessionof agun by afelon, possession of agun in the presence of drugs and monies derived from drug proceeds.
Continued from page1B
restaurant scene. According to the group’sfounder, Heidi Jacobs McDonald, she started it as away to share great meals, hole-in-the-wall recommendations andlocal recipeswithher family and friends. Now,group members and moderators regularly meet beyond Facebook for volunteer opportunities, foodie field trips and events like the annual Foodies of Lafayette Culinary Excellence Awards.
“Wedoasmany things as possibletohelp as many people as possible, because food is the thingthat brings everyone together,”said McDonald. “It’sthis thing that we allneed, andthere’s nothing negative about it. So that makes it areally good vehicle to use to bring people together.”
Cake Fête attendees are invited to take samples from all cakes present, and participants can bring apicnic blanket to enjoy their cake with friends on the Petroleum Club lawn. Picnic setups with ablanket, abottle of Champagne and areserved spot on the lawn are availablefor
purchase fromthe Petroleum Club for$100, andattendees areaskedtocallthe club directly to reserve this special. The Cake Fête is happeningfrom 2p.m. to 4p.m. Sundayatthe Petroleum Club of Lafayette. All attendeesmust bring acake to participate, and registration is free onthe “Cake Fête —a FoodiesofLafayette Event” Eventbrite page
Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.
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Deputies seized 14 ounces of DMT valued at $79,400, 5grams of methamphetamine andsmall amountsofvarious other drugs, as well as ahandgun.
Boutte is being held at the St. Landry Parish Jail. Animal controlofficer arrested in theft
ASt. Landry Parish Animal Control officer was arrested after police saidhe stole ahorse saddle from aproperty where animals were being rescued.
Khayri Thomas,27, of Lawtell, wasbooked with misdemeanor theftand malfeasance in office, whichisafelony, according to the St. Landry ParishSheriff’sOffice.
On Friday,the Sheriff’s Officewas notified of atheft at 865 Mulberry Road in Opelousas The responding officer was told thatThomas had stolen asaddle from the property while Animal Controlofficers were there to seize animals.
Glynn grew up in Chataignierand graduated fromChataignier High School in 1947, where he played thetrumpet in the highschoolband. He graduated fromSLI (ULL)in 1951 witha degree in Agricultural Vocational Education. He attended NotreDame Seminary in NewOrleans, LA and St. Mary College in Kentucky. He worked hardinthe many different avenues of hislife. Glynn workedat theSLI Dairy Farm during college.Hetaughtagricultural education, and worked with Southwest Vocational Rehabilitation Center in Lafayette, and had many other jobs. Glynnthenwent on to LoyolaLaw School in New Orleans and graduated in 1971. In 1972, he married Julia Verheugen Call. Glynn and Julia moved with their daughters to Lafayette Glynn was apartner in the lawfirm of McBride,Foret, Rozas and Leonard. He practiced lawfor 46 years.
Glynn was involvedin many civic organizations. He was amember of the LafayetteBar Association, theCivitans, theSerra Club, theSouthwest RehabilitationCenter, and was aparishioner of Our LadyofFatima Catholic Church.
Glynnhad agreen thumb and enjoyed "puffing"ona good cigar. He also did beautiful carpentry work. Youcouldoften find
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BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
Kellen Moore will attempt to rebuild the New Orleans Saints this season, and he’ll have to do so largely away from the national spotlight.
The NFL released its schedule Wednesday and the Saints were shut out of prime time for the first time since 2000 Coming off of a 5-12 campaign, New Orleans partially hit the reset button this year by hiring Moore as its new coach
and drafting quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round ahead of Derek Carr’s retirement. The Saints had three prime-time games a year ago, and have had at least two every year since 2005. Perhaps the lack of interest from network executives will be to the Saints’ benefit In 2000, Jim Haslett’s first season as coach, New Orleans surprised with a 10-6 record that resulted in a playoff berth.
The Saints will start their underthe-radar campaign at the Caesars Superdome when they host the
Arizona Cardinals at noon on Sunday, Sept. 7 The matchup marks the seventh time in eight seasons that New Orleans opens its season at home, albeit with one year in Jacksonville, Florida, because of Hurricane Ida. They then host another NFC West team — the San Francisco 49ers a week later setting up the possibility of Shough competing against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy The two faced each other four times in high school. But for that to happen, Shough will have to
win the starting job.
After two straight home games, the Saints will hit the road in backto-back weeks — on the opposite ends of the country In Week 3, New Orleans will travel to the Pacific Northwest, where they’ll take on the Seattle Seahawks, the team that hired former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak this offseason to be their play-caller The Saints then will take on quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills when they travel to upstate New York. After the cross-country trip, the Saints get rewarded with back-toback home games. The two-game
stand starts with the New York Giants (Oct. 5) and concludes with the New England Patriots (Oct.
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
ä Arkansas State at UL.
6 P.M.THURSDAy ESPN+
Once the goal of repeating as Sun Belt regular-season baseball champion began to look out of reach, the emphasis for the UL Ragin Cajuns was to at least finish in the top six to avoid the play-in round of the Sun Belt Tournament.
Coa ch Ma tt Deggs team still has work to do to secure that status heading into the final series of the regular season against Arkansas State, starting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Russo Park.
“My mindset is you have to win all of them,” Deggs said of the series. “One, I’d feel pretty good about; two would be tremendous; and three would really get us rolling heading into that tournament.”
UL stands 25-27 overall and 1512 in league play which is tied with Old Dominion (21-26, 15-12) for fourth place. In a three-way tie for sixth place are Georgia Southern (27-25, 13-14), Texas State (25-26, 13-14) and Marshall (38-24, 13-14)
The Cajuns won the season series against Georgia Southern, lost it to Texas State and didn’t play Marshall.
UL can avoid all the complicated tiebreakers by just winning, but Deggs knows that won’t be easy
“They don’t go away and that’s (coach) Mike Silva for you,” Deggs said of Arkansas State “He’s a tough, hard-nosed coach. They’re going to play loose, and what they have over there are guys who have been around for a long time and haven’t had the success that they’ve wanted and worked for Now they see it and have an opportunity for it.
“I guarantee you 100% that we’ll get their best shot all weekend.” Arkansas State (24-26, 12-15) still
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
Paul Mainieri has gone through this before. He just thought that he wouldn’t have to do it again.
Mainieri believed the South Carolina team he inherited had some talent, enough so that the Gamecocks could compete immediately in the toughest conference in college baseball. He didn’t think his first year at his new school would be as difficult as it was in 2007, his first season at LSU.
“In the fall, I thought there were a few pieces,” Mainieri told The Advocate. But after getting swept at Clemson during nonconference play, Mainieri recognized shortcomings with his new team. They proved to be holes he couldn’t fill during Southeastern Conference play
“The conference is just so tough. You know, it’s unforgiving,” Mainieri said. “And our schedule in particular was really difficult this year, and it exposed our limitations, where we have them.”
South Carolina holds a 5-22 record in the SEC. Mainieri’s team is 27-26 overall and has won only one series in conference play taking down Ole Miss twice last month.
congratulate
“I forgot how hard it is to win college baseball games, I guess,” Mainieri said.
Mainieri’s difficulties this season in some ways mirror what happened in 2007, when he left Notre Dame for Baton Rouge to replace Smoke Laval.
The Tigers were 29-26-1 that season and went just 12-17-1 in
The Gamecocks are nowhere near the postseason picture heading into this weekend’s series against LSU beginning at 6 p.m Thursday (SEC Network) in Columbia, South Carolina.
SEC play Mainieri knew he’d have to take his lumps, but his confidence never wavered when it came to whether he could turn the program around.
The Tigers went to Omaha the next season before winning their sixth national championship in 2009. But before they could find that level of success, they had to build the foundation in 2007.
That meant turning to freshmen such as Jared Mitchell, Sean Ochinko, Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean. Dean led the Tigers in batting average and started every game.
“If we’re not going to win at a high level, at least I’m going to get these good freshmen a lot of experience and playing time, so it’ll pay off down the road,” Mainieri said. “And it certainly did with that group of guys at LSU.”
Mainieri has deployed a similar strategy at South Carolina, hoping that freshmen such as KJ Scobey and Beau Hollins can help turn around a program that won back-to-back national championships in 2010-11.
“They’ve had up-and-down moments, just like the kids did way back in the 2007 season,” Mainieri said. “But they’ve also shown what they’re capable of doing at times.”
But a lot has changed since Mainieri retired at LSU after the 2021 season, and even more about the game has evolved since 2007.
There’s NIL. There’s the transfer portal There’s more
“I told the team that, ‘This will be the last year that LSU was ever taken lightly again,’ “ Mainieri said. “And it’s a pretty bold comment, based upon what had happened in the first year. But I don’t think LSU has been taken lightly again since then.”
BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Rory McIlroy
has everything he dreamed of doing when he first fell in love with golf.
He reached No. 1 in the world and when he finally captured the Masters last month, he had his place in history with the career Grand Slam. Setting his next target might be the toughest challenge.
“I’m still going to set myself goals. I’m still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that very well could be the highlight of my career,” McIlroy said “That’s a very cool thing. I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I’m not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.”
Only one other — Sergio Garcia — played the Masters more times before winning.
No other player went 11 years before getting the final leg of the Grand Slam. The emotion pouring out of McIlroy that Sunday at Augusta National captured the essence of dreams coming true.
He doesn’t spend a lot of time watching that moment because he wants to remember the feeling instead of getting caught up in the visuals of it.
So what’s next?
Johnny Miller was once among the brightest comets in golf when he shot 63 in the final round to win the U.S. Open at Oakmont, when he shot 66 on the final day at Royal Birkdale to overtake a 19-year-old Spaniard named Seve Ballesteros and when he won just about every tournament in the desert
The next Jack Nicklaus? It never worked out that way as priorities at home changed.
“When I got to the mountaintop, I kind of looked at the scenery and wondered, ‘Now what?’ ” Miller once said. “When Jack got there,
BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer
he said, ‘Where’s the next mountain.’”
Perhaps one Mount Everest might be the calendar Grand Slam, a feat never accomplished (Tiger Woods held all four major trophies over two years).
The PGA Championship starts Thursday at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy won last year on the PGA Tour for the fourth time.
“I would argue he’s the best driver of the ball I’ve ever seen, and that is extremely important here,” said Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in 2017.
The U.S. Open is at Oakmont, and the British Open returns to Royal Portrush, home soil for McIlroy where he has a score to settle from missing the cut there in 2019.
That’s still a long way off, and while McIlroy is still flying high over that high-wire act to win the Masters, he is going step by step.
It’s only May
There are three more majors still on the schedule, along with more titles to seek on the PGA Tour and European Tour
There is a strong belief that McIlroy will feel more freedom than ever with his swing and his outlook after finally accomplished what he always wanted.
“That was really good for golf good for Rory’s psyche,” Xander Schauffele said the week after the Masters. “Maybe worse for us now that he feels free.”
The notion of playing with house money has come up on occasion.
“I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game,” McIlroy said. “I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.”
The vague goal is to be his best every time he plays, wherever he plays.
McIlroy now has five majors, one behind Nick Faldo, two behind Harry Vardon. He turned 36 earlier this month and there is still plenty to chase. But he didn’t sound to be in the mood to chase. McIlroy did that for 11 years ever since he got the third leg of the career slam. It took a toll on him.
“I know what my abilities are; I know the golf that I can play And if I keep turning up and just trying to do that each and every week, especially in these four big ones a year, I know that I’ll have my chances,” McIlroy said.
“I’ve talked about trying to become the best European ever or the best international player ever or whatever that is,” he said. “I want to enjoy what I’ve achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don’t want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can.”
identity might be no identity at all
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The PGA Championship for years has been the major that lacked an identity compared with the other three
The Masters is at Augusta National, the only major held at the same course every year The British Open has links golf. The U.S. Open loves its reputation as the toughest test in golf. And the PGA Championship?
“The other one,” Geoff Ogilvy once said in a blend of humor and honesty Another former U.S. Open champion, Graeme McDowell, was posed the same question years ago and he settled on “the fourth major.” But as the 107th edition of this major starts Thursday at Quail Hollow boasting 98 of the top 100 players in the world ranking, twotime major champion Jon Rahm raised the idea that the identity of the PGA Championship might be that it has no identity at all. With so much variety — 74 courses since it began at Siwanoy in New York in 1916 players aren’t always sure what to expect.
“When you go to Augusta, you know what you’re getting — same course every year,” Rahm said. “The U.S. Open, nine times out of 10 you know what you’re getting depending on weather Same thing with The Open, right?
“It’s this championship that we change venues and drastically change the way we set it up.”
Bethpage Black in 2019 was a beast. A wet week at Valhalla produced the lowest score in PGA Championship history last year No more than a dozen players finished under par at Southern Hills (2022) and Oak Hill (2023).
“You get different things every time you come,” Rahm said “It’s very difficult to say that two of them are the same.”
The U.S. Open goes to Oakmont next month, regarded as a classic
course for the second-oldest championship and one of the toughest in America.
Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in August 2017 and at Southern Hills in May 2022 was asked what he would consider a classic PGA Championship venue.
“I don’t think there is,” Thomas said. “And I think that’s what is kind of cool and unique about this event.”
Gene Sarazen would have preferred otherwise.
Sarazen won his PGAs, when it was match play, at Oakmont (1922), Pelham in New York (1923) and Blue Mound in Wisconsin (1933).
And he was concerned that it was getting left behind in terms of prestige
The great “Squire” — the first player to take ownership of the career Grand Slam in 1935 was at Firestone Country Club in Ohio for the 1966 PGA Championship. It had been played at Laurel Valley in Pennsylvania the year before and was headed to Columbine in Colorado the next year
“I think that if the PGA Championship is ever going to attain the stature of the U.S Open or Masters, it must be given a permanent home,” Sarazen said. “And I think Akron and Firestone would be an ideal spot
“You can’t take a tournament like the PGA and jump it around from here to Colorado to some place out in the hills of Pennsylvania and hope to see it capture the public’s imagination,” he said. “I think the tournament here could be the Masters of the North which isn’t too bad a name, is it?”
Even the PGA of America has been trying to find the right message, the right slogan, for a championship that dates to 1916 and was deemed as a big one the year it started.
“Glory’s Last Shot” was ideal when it was played in August, making it the final major of the year And then it moved to May and it became, “This is major.” It wasn’t long before someone in marketing realized if you have to remind people that it’s major it probably isn’t. There is some familiarity to
NBA fines Green $50K for questioning officials
Golden State Warriors star
Draymond Green has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for making an “inappropriate comment” to the officials during Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against Minnesota.
The league announced the penalty on Wednesday, saying Green’s comments during Saturday’s game, which the Warriors lost 102-97, questioned “the integrity of game officials.”
Green has received a leaguehigh five technical fouls this postseason and would have to serve a one-game suspension if the total reaches seven. He also has been called for two flagrant fouls. Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals for accumulating too many flagrant fouls that postseason.
All-Star infielder Carpenter retires after 14 seasons
On Wednesday, Matt Carpenter said on the “Get In The Game” podcast he is stepping away following a 14-year career
The 39-year-old Carpenter was a three-time All-Star while moving between second, third and first base Carpenter hit .259 with 179 home runs and 659 RBIs in 1,511 games, the vast majority of them in St. Louis, which selected him in the 13th round of the 2009 draft following a standout college career at TCU. Carpenter reached the majors in 2011 and was a fixture in the Cardinals’ lineup for the next decade. The left-handed hitter led the majors in hits (199), runs (126) and doubles (55) in 2013 while making his first All-Star appearance and helping St. Louis reach the World Series.
Ravens reach two-year extension with RB Henry
The Baltimore Ravens agreed Wednesday to a two-year contract extension with star running back Derrick Henry
The deal is worth $30 million — $25 million guaranteed — according to a person with knowledge of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms haven’t been announced. Henry was an outstanding addition for the Ravens last season, rushing for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns and forming a devastating pairing with quarterback Lamar Jackson himself a significant running threat. The Ravens didn’t have too many potential losses to worry about in free agency this offseason, and now they can plan to have the 31-yearold Henry for two more seasons.
ä First round. 6 A.M.THURSDAy, ESPN+
Quail Hollow as a regular PGA Tour stop dating to 2003. That joins the likes of Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and Riviera that annually host a PGA Tour event and occasionally get a major Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach hold tour events and majors in the same year
Rory McIlroy is a four-time winner at Quail Hollow, including last year at the Wells Fargo Championship. He set foot on the course Tuesday for the PGA Championship.
“I thought it was going to feel different just because it was a major championship, and I got out on the golf course, and it felt no different than last year at the Wells Fargo,” he said. “The rough is maybe a little juicier But fairways are still the same cut lines and same visuals. It doesn’t feel that much different.”
Even so, the anticipation is greater than usual this year with McIlroy coming off the career Grand Slam at the Masters, Scottie Scheffler coming off an eight-shot win and Jordan Spieth seeing if he can join the Grand Slam club.
The tournament rarely lacks for drama regardless of the scores. It has been decided over the last three holes dating to McIlroy setting the record with an eight-shot win in 2012 at Kiawah Island.
Most players attribute that to Kerry Haigh, the chief championships officer in charge of setting up the course. He wants it strong but fair
He wants them to play, not protect. No one seems to mind if Jason Day finishes at 20-under par at Whistling Straits, or if Xander Schauffele sets a major championship record at 21-under 263 as he did last year at Valhalla.
“It’s just all about getting a deserving, fitting winner,” Thomas said. “I feel like this tournament seems to do that for the most part.”
F1 swearing fines reduced after backlash from drivers
Formula 1’s governing body has reduced penalties on drivers for swearing after the new misconduct rules had sparked a backlash.
The updated code announced Wednesday slashes the swearing fine on F1 drivers from $45,000 to $5,600 with the first offense now suspended.
The rule will apply to “controlled” events like news conferences — not during races. Ben Sulayem signaled before the Miami Grand Prix that changes would be made around the misconduct penalties, which were instituted for 2025 to allow for larger fines and suspensions for drivers who swear repeatedly F1 drivers and others across the various events the FIA governs reacted negatively, prompting a review
Qinwen ousts Sabalenka; Alcaraz defeats Draper Zheng Qinwen earned her first victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to set up an Italian Open semifinal match against Coco Gauff. The 22-yearold Zheng, the Olympic champion from China, had lost all six previous matches against Sabalenka.
The eighth-ranked Zheng saved all five break points she faced and broke Sabalenka’s serve three times to reach the last four Carlos Alcaraz beat Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals. He saved six of the eight break points he faced. Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, had a left leg injury prior to his loss against Draper in their most recent
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
Since the moment Ben Harrington arrived at Vermilion Catholic in 2016, he has been working to assemble a team capable of bringing a baseball state championship to Abbeville. Despite success over the years, the Eagles consistently have fallen short.
That’s no longer the case.
On Wednesday, Vermilion Catholic broke through for or the first time in school history, defeating Ouachita Christian 4-1 to win the Division IV select championship at McMurry Park in Sulphur
“Words can’t even describe how great this feels,” Harrington said. “It is incredible. I’m so happy for these boys, and I am happy that we were able to do this for the community.”
Eagles starting pitcher Cole Albert was stellar
“He is different,” Harrington said. “He’s unbelievable I’m happy that he plays for us.” Albert, a freshman, turned in a complete game while being named the game’s most outstanding player “On the mound, everyone is looking at the pitcher, but this isn’t a one-guy sport,” Albert said “You have to look at all of the plays those guys in the infield and outfield make for me.”
In seven innings, Albert allowed one earned run on nine hits and one walk while striking out three.
“It could have been better,” Albert said of his performance. “But it did the job. As long as it did the job, I’m happy.”
The only real trouble Albert faced came in the top of the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth, Ouachita Christian’s William Raymond delivered a two-out RBI single to cut the Eagles’ lead to 3-1. In the top of the fifth, Albert allowed back-to-back, two-out singles. A wild pitch allowed the runners to advance to second and third, but Albert forced Cole Volion to ground out to shortstop to end the threat with Vermilion Catholic leading 4-1 going into the bottom of the fifth.
“That was huge,” Harrington said. “That was one of the key moments in the game. Cole pounded the zone, pitched to contact and trusted his defense.”
With Albert dominating, the run support his teammates provided was more than enough. Jackson Trahan got things going with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the first inning to put Vermilion Catholic ahead 2-0.
“That gives me so much more confidence on the mound,” Albert said of getting a lead early “From the first inning on, I just felt the energy.”
An inning later, Jonathan Dartez
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route to a fourth-place finish.
This season, the Saints won’t face their first divisional rival until Oct. 26 when they host the Buccaneers. That’s the latest New Orleans will wait to face an NFC South opponent since 2009, when it squared off against the Atlanta Falcons also in Week 8 In that championship-winning season, however, the Saints played only six games to that point because of an early Week 5 bye.
The Bucs’ matchup kicks off a pivotal stretch of division games. After another trip out west to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, the Saints get to face the Carolina Panthers on the road in Week 10 (Nov 9) and the Falcons in Week 12 (Nov 23), sandwiched between a Week 11 bye.
After hosting the Falcons, the Saints have an away game against the Miami Dolphins (Nov 30) before facing the Buccaneers (Dec. 7) and the Panthers (Dec. 14) again. Tampa Bay, which hosts the rematch, is seeking its fifth-straight NFC South crown. The next two games come against non-divisional opponents. Former Saints assistant and player Aaron Glenn comes to town when he and the New York Jets face the Saints in Week 16 (Dec. 21). Glenn turned down an opportunity to interview with the Saints in person before taking the Jets job this offseason.
After the Jets, the Saints have
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pitchers than ever throwing 95plus miles per hour, and more hitters than ever strong enough to consistently hit balls out of the park.
Mainieri knew these were hurdles he’d have to tackle when he decided to return to the dugout last summer, but the sheer impact of it all caught him a bit off-guard.
“The strength of the players, the velocities of the pitchers that has been a big change since I retired four years ago,” Mainieri said. “I was telling someone the other day, we’re beating Ole Miss 5-1 in the sixth inning or something, and they bring a guy in out of the pen throwing 100 miles an hour
“I remember when Jaden Hill touched 96 mph in a fall game, and how everybody oohed and ahhed. I remember Alex Lange’s first pitch of his career (was 95 mph) and you could hear the buzz throughout the crowd.”
This brutal reality has, in part, led to South Carolina being thirdto-last in the SEC in home runs (27) and second-to-last in ERA (9.27).
“We’ve just struggled on the mound mightily,” Mainieri said.
“You just look at our statistics, and it’s easy to see that.”
to travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 17 That sets up a showdown between rookie quarterbacks Cam Ward — the first overall pick in this year’s draft — and Shough, if he wins the job.
The Titans will be one of two straight road games to close the year The Saints conclude their season at Atlanta in Week 18. That game does not have a date yet as the NFL typically waits to finalize the week because of the stakes involved. Playing for the division, for example, usually results in a prime-time “Sunday Night Football” matchup. In the meantime, the Saints will have their hands full with a slate that could be much more competitive than its strength of schedule (.419, the second-easiest in the NFL) indicates. It’ll just have to be away from the limelight.
recruiting trail for next year and beyond.
But recruiting high school players is just a slice of the pie in the modern era of college baseball. Adding immediate impact transfers with the help of sufficient NIL funds is a component of roster building that has become equally crucial in 2025.
“When I first got here last summer, we lost a lot of recruiting battles because other schools were giving a more, shall I say, appealing package to kids,” Mainieri said. “That’s the reality of the world we live in now The schools that have a lot of money and are willing to give it to the players are getting the best players.
“We were playing Tennessee, for example, and the first baseman (Andrew Fischer) and the No. 1 starting pitcher (Liam Doyle) both played for Ole Miss last year and both had a lot of success for Ole Miss last year Why would they change schools from Ole Miss to Tennessee? Because they like the color orange? I mean, let’s be honest.” Mainieri is still confident he can get South Carolina back to where it was 15 years ago. It’s a feat he already accomplished at LSU.
But he knows it’s not going to be easy
extended the Eagles’ lead to 3-0 with a two-out RBI single to center that scored Ross Dartez from second.
After Ouachita Christian finally got on the board, Vermilion Catholic got the run back when Dominic Gautreaux scored on an RBI single by Jonathan Dartez to give the Eagles a 4-1 advantage through four innings.
“Getting the lead early and keeping the lead was big for us,” Harrington said. “Once you settle into a game, it is nice to have a little cushion. It sets the tone, allows you to relax and gives the team confidence.”
Trahan was 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs; Jonathan Dartez went 3 for 3 with two RBIs; and Gautreaux was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
“I’m so happy,” Albert said. “This is another level of excitement It is awesome.”
Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.
Acquiring the horses necessary to compete in the SEC is the next step for Mainieri. He said he’s already hard at work on the
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could qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament with a big weekend, something the Red Wolves haven’t done since 2021.
Arkansas State has a 2-0 win at Coastal Carolina, swept Georgia State, got swept at Southern Miss, and dropped two out of three close games to third-place Troy last weekend.
“They’ve got a chance to do some things that they haven’t done in awhile,” Deggs said.
“Number one, congrats to them, and number two, we better be ready to go.”
The Red Wolves are hitting .259 with 37 homers and 41 stolen bases. They are led by Ashton Quiller (.301, 2 HRs, 24 RBIs), Wil French (.299, 3 HRs 27 RBIs) and Patrick Engskov (.290, 8 HRs, 34 RBIs).
Gavin Galy (2-1, 2.84 ERA) is slated to start Thursday, and it’s TBA after that. The Red Wolves have a solid closer in Chase Richter (3-3, 2.79 ERA, 7 saves).
UL is expected to counter with Chase Morgan (4-2. 3.96), Andrew Herrmann (3-4, 4.70) and JR Tollett (5-4, 3.46).
Deggs said two of those three pitches are dealing with nagging injuries, and he spent much of the last two weeks trying to get them ready for the Sun Belt Tournament next week in Montgomery, Alabama. The other issue on the injury
“We just have to upgrade and get better, like we did after the first year at LSU,” Mainieri said. “And hopefully we will. We’re all working like crazy on recruiting for next year.”
Email Koki Riley at Koki. Riley@theadvocate.com.
front is first baseman Luke Yuhasz suffering a shoulder injury last weekend. If Yuhasz can’t go in this series, freshman reserve infielder Blaine Lucas could get another chance after a three-hit game at Southern Miss.
“I didn’t have Blaine Lucas having three hits in a row against Southern Miss this weekend I don’t know if anybody did — but good for the kid, good for him for being ready,” Deggs said. “I’m proud of Blaine. He stepped up and did real well. If he stays aggressive and swings the bat like I know he’s capable, he’s going to be an option for us.”
The Cajuns will lean heavily on mainstays Conor Higgs (.345, 16 HRs, 43 RBIs) and Caleb Stelly (.308, 8 HRs, 30 RBIs).
“We made a setup and approach adjustment with him before the Georgia State series,” Deggs said of Stelly “He’s really taken it and run with it. He’s really working to get the ball in the air He had so many rollover ground balls, and we finally got a setup where he can be in a good position to drive the baseball and you’re seeing that.” Other veterans Deggs will count on are Lee Amedee (.280, 2 HRs, 28 RBIs) and catcher Jose Torres (.278, 2 HRs 33 RBIs).
“It’s been a year of injuries and setbacks, but look, most everybody is dealing with something right now,” Deggs said. “We’ve got to press on and figure out a way to finish strong this weekend and get off to a good start in that tournament and see how long we can play.”
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
It’s all about buying in
That’s the best way Teurlings Catholic head baseball coach
Brooks Badeaux can explain the success his Rebels have enjoyed the past two seasons
Whether it is pitching, defense or being called upon to put down a bunt, sacrificing individual wants and aspirations for the greater good of the team has been instrumental in the Rebels’ return to the state finals for a second consecutive season.
“We have a lot of internal competition,” Badeaux said. “We have a deep roster, and we have a lot of good players that aren’t playing as much as they would like to be playing. Every player knows they have to produce and to produce you have to stay within yourself. If you don’t, then your job might get taken. But success has helped with that buy-in.”
The Rebels pride themselves on playing “small ball,” which takes an extra level of buy-in.
“If you ask our players, I’m sure a lot of them would wish they could have 15 to 20 home runs,” Badeaux said. “But that’s not the case. We just want our guys to compete, have quality at-bats and put pressure on the defense. We want to create opportunities when we can.”
The Rebels who will face E.D. White at 2 p.m. Thursday at McMurry Park in Sulphur in a bestof-three series for the Division II select state championship, arguably have been the best team all season.
Teurlings (32-4) has won 19 of its past 20 games and is outscoring opponents 58-11 in the playoffs.
“Baseball is not like other sports where you can map out
plays,” Badeaux said. “Opportunities present themselves differently throughout the game.
The goal is to step on home plate more times than the other team.
That’s the whole objective of the game.
“Play a good, clean game and score more runs than the other team. I don’t categorize it as a style. Offense is offense, and you’re just trying to find ways to attack.”
As the reigning state champions, Badeaux said he doesn’t believe this season has been any tougher than last year on his squad.
“I wouldn’t say it has been harder It’s not easy It wasn’t easy last year,” Badeaux said. “But the guys have handled it in stride.
We have four losses, so we have played well a lot this year But there were games that we haven’t played well. There is room for improvement, but the guys have done a great job of just staying within themselves.”
Badeaux said the Rebels will have their hands full against E.D White.
“E.D. White is not coming into this game with any secrets,” he said. “This isn’t their first trip. They have a very successful program, and they have been really good all the way back to when I was in high school.
“They are going to throw strikes, compete and execute. We have to match it. We’re going to have a fight on our hands.”
BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer
Catholic High of New Iberia
coach David Jordan is stepping away after nearly three decades in the dugout, and the decision was made long before the season got underway
“I told the players during our first team meeting that this would be my final season as the head coach,” Jordan said. “But they kind of knew it We kind of talked about it last season.”
Jordan, who has served as a head baseball coach at Erath for six years and Catholic High for 28 years, said he knew his body would tell him when it was time.
“I’ve had a few setbacks with my hip replacement and back procedure,” Jordan said.
“Being a head baseball coach is very demanding, so my decision to step away from the program is more physical than mental.”
Jordan, who is also the athletic director hopes to remain involved with the baseball program once the new coach takes over
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Jordan said. “It’s time to inject some youth into the program I’d still like to help once the new coach is named I still want to be out there helping coach the kids.”
Jordan couldn’t have picked a better time to go out. His Panthers are set to play in the Division III select state finals for the first time since 2006 against University Lab. The threegame series will start at 11 a.m
parentheses): Men’s Singles Round of 16 Casper Ruud (6), Norway, def. Jaume Munar, Spain, 6-3, 6-4. Men’s Singles Quarterfinals Carlos Alcaraz (3), Spain, def. Jack Draper (5), Britain, 6-4, 6-4. Lorenzo Musetti (8), Italy, def. Alexander Zverev (2), Germany, 7-6 (1), 6-4. Men’s Doubles Round of 16 Evan King and Christian Harrison (7), United States, def. Andre Goransson, Sweden, and Sem Verbeek, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-2. Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, and Theo Arribage, France, def. Alexei Popyrin, Australia and Matteo Arnaldi, Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. Mate Pavic, Croatia, and Marcelo ArevaloGonzalez (1), El Salvador, def. Sander Gille Belgium, and Jan Zielinski, Poland, 7-5, 4-6, 10-2. Fabien Reboul and Sadio Doumbia, France def. Carlo Alberto Caniato and Federico Bondioli, Italy, 6-3, 6-2. WTA Parma Ladies Open Results Wednesday At Tennis Club President Parma, Italy Purse: $115,000 Surface: Red clay PARMA, ITALY Results Wednesday from Parma Ladies Open at Tennis Club President (seedings in parentheses): Women’s Singles Round of 16 Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (5), Egypt, def. Priscilla Hon, Australia, 6-3, 6-3. Marina Stakusic, Canada, def. Antonia Ruzic, Croatia, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Anna Bondar, Hungary, def. Camilla Rosatello, Italy, 6-1, 6-3. Simona Waltert, Switzerland, def. Renata Zarazua (6), Mexico, 6-4, 6-3. Yulia Putintseva (1), Kazakhstan, def. AnnaLena Friedsam, Germany, 6-4, 6-4. Irina-Camelia Begu (8), Romania, def. Julia Grabher, Austria, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. Wang Xinyu (2), China, def. Varvara Lepchenko, United States, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Victoria Mboko, Canada, def. Jil Teichmann, Switzerland, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2. Women’s Doubles Round of 16 Angelica Moratelli, Italy, and Anna Danilina (1), Kazakhstan, def. Yanina Wickmayer and Kimberley Zimmermann, Belgium, 6-3, 6-2. Maia Lumsden, Britain, and Isabelle Haverlag, Netherlands, def. Katarzyna Piter, Poland, and Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (3), Egypt, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 12-10. Jesika Maleckova and Miriam Skoch, Czechia, def. Renata Zarazua, Mexico, and Emiliana Arango, Colombia, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals Sabrina Santamaria, United States, and Qianhui Tang (4), China, def. Elixane Lechemia, France, and Alicia Barnett, Britain, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-1.
Hockey
NHL playoffs SECOND ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) EASTERN CONFERENCE Carolina 3, Washington 1
Tuesday’s
Thursday at McMurry Park in Sulphur
“I’ve really enjoyed this senior class,” Jordan said. “We’ve been through a lot, but it has been a blast. We’ve had a tough schedule, but we persevered and overcame some tough losses.”
That has made the run the Panthers (24-11) are on this season even more special.
“I don’t measure success by how many games you win or how far you go in the playoffs,” Jordan said. “For me, it’s about how much I’ve enjoyed the players and my staff This has probably been the most enjoyable season I’ve had.”
The Panthers last won a baseball state championship in 2001. He admits that prior to the start of this season, he was confident a second one with him at the helm was a possibility
“I felt we were good enough,” Jordan said. “Last year we were beat in the second round, but we knew we had everyone coming back.”
Now, after 34 years in the dugout, Jordan has the chance to go out in one of the two best ways possible.
“Winning a state championship would be the best way for me to step away,” Jordan said. “But, if it doesn’t happen, being able to play for a state championship is the secondbest way
“Everything this week is going to be the last. Last practice schedule, last series and at some point, this week it will be my last game. It’s tough. But it’s time.”
Dear Miss Manners: Ineeded to have the washer and dryer replaced in my apartment, and two maintenance workers showed up to do the work around breakfast time.
Iusually make breakfast for my husbandbefore he heads to school, butIfelt uncomfortable cooking for the two of us without offering anything to the maintenance men who were there
Gentle reader: Not deprived her husband ofbreakfastonthe grounds that others did nothave the sense to have their own meals before they left for work.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
So Ideclined to make breakfast because Idid notwant to cook for two extra people.My husband thinks Iwas being silly and should have justmade breakfast for us without worrying about them. What would Miss Manners have done in this situation?
Dear Miss Manners: When cuttingmeat at the dinner table, my wife of nearly 50 years holds her fork as thoughshe’sstabbing someone. It apparently doesn’tembarrass her,but it makes me cringe inside.
Isuppose Ishouldhave mentioned this along,long time ago, but how wouldIeven have gone aboutdoingthat? Or should Ijust let it ride?
Gentle reader: After 50 years, you might let things be.Miss Man-
ners can understand your having waited to be certain your new bride was not going to act on that violent impulse, but by now,she has had ample opportunity
Dear Miss Manners: I’m retired, and Ivolunteer four days aweek at a senior center.Iassist low-income seniors withsimple tasks, playing games and general socialization, and Ialso help serve the daily communal meal. The employees of the organization are likely considered my supervisors, but we’re also quite friendly and Ithought we’d established friendships. Isuffered astroke recently and was hospitalized for acouple of weeks. Afew of the seniors who have my phone number called and kindly expressed their heal-
Youcan give asingle sweet potato the crouton treatment, or make abunch to keeponhand for the week’s meals. Scale the recipe up as desired.
1largesweet potato, scrubbed and diced (my precise mother would say 3⁄8 inches —you do you)
1tablespoon olive oil
½teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning (I use aless salt/more spice variety)
Freshlyground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 425F Line alarge rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper Place the sweet potato dice onto the prepared baking sheet,drizzle with oil and toss to coat.Sprinklewith the seasoning and agood amount of pepperand tossagain. Spread into asingle layer
2. Roast on the middlerack in the oven until golden and tender,about 20 minutes, turning once at 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and let coolonthe baking sheet Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and refrigeratefor up to five days.
Continued from page5C
Imade the dressing. She simply calledthis formula “salad dressing,” not vinaigrette. If we requested one of the tempting bottles of dressing from the store with their little bits of garlic and things suspended in the mixture, the answer was always, “check thelabel.”Mom did not adore the long ingredient lists, which usually concluded with some type of preservative. The salads in my kitchen today bear little resemblance to the beloved bowl of iceberg.
Once mom figured outthe minimal nutrient content of
Continued from page5C
The seafood cook-off opens aseason of flavor on the northshore,launching the eighth annual Tammany Taste of Summer running Aug. 1-31. During that month, restaurants across St. Tammany Parish will be serving up exclusive dining deals showcasing the region’srich culinary scene, from freshGulf seafood to local dishes. As an addedtreat,the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off will feature tastings from 15 par-
So simple and afestive addition to almost anything.
1large or 2small red onions, halved, peeled, and thinlysliced
½cup cider vinegar
¼cup water
½teaspoon coarse salt
½teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1. Place the sliced onion intoa wide-mouthpint Mason jar. They will be packed in withsome just above the rim
2. Combine the vinegar,water,salt and pepper in a small saucepan and bring just to aboil over mediumhigh heat. Swirl the pantodissolve thesalt, then pour thehot liquid carefully over the onions in the jar. Use a fork to gently press the onion slices to compress them in the jar.Whenalmost cool, cover with the lid and rotate the jartosubmerge the onions.Removethe lid and let cool completely before covering again and refrigeratinguptoaweek.
2cups pumpkinseeds(also calledpepitas, out of the shell)
1tablespoon olive oil
½teaspoon each CajunorCreole seasoning (I use aless salt/ morespice variety), smoked paprika and garlic powder
1. Heat theoven to 350 F. Line arimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.Place the pumpkin seeds on the prepared panand drizzle witholive oil, tossing to coat Sprinkle evenly with theseasonings and tossagain. Spreadout intoa singlelayer androast in the oven until golden brown, tossingat5 minutes, for about 10 minutes. Their aroma will signal they are done.
2. Let cool in asingle layer on the baking sheet before transferringtoanairtight container
that crunchyfavorite,we moved on to emerald green romaineand beyond, raising the bar to maximize the nutrition punch. Ilove abed of vividgreens with added hues of purple and redleaf lettuce that accentabig bowl. The dressing remains aconstant. Meal prep now includes sweetpotato “croutons” which Ishoweronmysalads like confetti. Toasted spiced pumpkinseeds are roasted and ready to top all things or eatout of hand.Pickled red onions add to therainbow andprovidetangy zip. Poached chicken and shrimp pump up theprotein and make any salad abalanced meal.
WhenI recently thumbed through one of mom’strea-
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Achef prepares aplate to be servedtothe judges during a past GreatAmericanSeafood Cook-Off. Chefs are being sought for the preliminaryto thiscontest —the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off —on June 27.
ing thoughts and wishes, but no one I“work for” (the nonprofit and its employees) has expressed athought, called or showneven a hint of caring.
Ifeel like Idon’twant to return to my duties after healing, solely because none of them seem to missmeenough to say so. Admittedly,myfeelings are hurt.
Any idea howIcan pointedly, yet politely,inform them of my decision and how theirbehavior,orlack thereof, led me to this decision?
Gentle reader: The problem with the all-too-commonrhetoric about the company (any company) being a“family” and your co-workers being friends is that it is, as you have sadly discovered, insincere. Miss Manners does not mean
By The Associated Press
Today is Thursday, May 15, the135th day of 2025. There are 230 days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On May 15, 1970, less than two weeks after the shooting at Kent StateUniversity, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi were killed and 12 were injured when police opened fire during student demonstrations
On this date:
In 1800, President John Adams ordered governmentoffices to relocate from Philadelphia to the newly-constructed cityof Washington, in the federal District of Columbia.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the DepartmentofAgriculture.
In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in front of apublic audience in atest screening of the short “Plane Crazy.” (Mickey made his formal screen debut with the release of “Steamboat Willie” six months later.)
suredcookbooks,Iteared up seeing that adored “recipe” from so long ago, penned in her unmistakable handwriting: “Salad Dressing: 3Tvinegar; 1TDijon; 1clove garlic, pressed; ½ cup oil, S&P.” Imakeitonrepeat, sometimes àlaminute, in alarge jar or in the old school Good Seasonssalad dressing carafe. Ihave upped thevinegar to increase thepucker factor Back in theday,there was no saladspinner.Today,it getsa workout, so Iamalways ready to cure my salad fix. The salad is also theperfect entry point for getting kids to join the kitchen fun. Tear the lettuce, peel the carrots, shake the dressing, and grind the pepper.Happy cooking!
ticipating Tammany Taste of Summerrestaurants, offering attendees apreview of themonthlong culinary celebration. Learn more at TammanyTaste.com Sponsors for the2025 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off include the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Visit theNorthshore, andthe Louisiana Restaurant Association. Follow @LaSeafoodBoard on Instagram and Twitter and keep up withall Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off events via the official hashtag, #LASCO25, and the Louisiana Seafood Facebook page.
to say that no one makes lasting friendships at work. But your expectation that friendship came with the job wasunrealistic. Youare of course free not to return, but aletter explaining your reasons will be shrugged off as naive —and perhaps as evidence that you are right not to come back. The genuine infraction is that all the people whoknow it is alie continue to repeat it.
Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.
In 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’sfast-food restaurant, in San Bernardino, California.
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.
In 1972, Alabama Gov George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer,who would serve 35 years in prison for the attempted murder.
In 2015, ajury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death forthe 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and leftmore than 260 wounded.
In 2020, President Donald Trumpformally unveiled acoronavirus vaccine program called “Operation Warp Speed,” to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country
Today’sbirthdays: Artist Jasper Johns is 95. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is
tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Look at every angle and see theendless possibilities. Letyour intelligence and experience guide you instead of lettingsomeone bait you into ano-win situation.
GEMInI (May 21-June20) Athorough investigation of anything you wantto pursueisnecessary. If you educate yourself,you'lldiscover waystocut costs. Knowledge gives you the power to negotiate.
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Disciplineand hard work will payoff. Refrain from letting your body language divulge your true feelings. Keep your emotions out of conversations if you want to make progress.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Mixing business withpleasure can backfire if you are indulgent or vocal about your beliefs. Admirable actions will impact the people youencounter more than words will.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Keep an open mind, but refuse to let anyone talk you intosomething you cannot afford or don't want.Change begins with you. If someone's pestering you, stand firm, but be kind.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) An opportunity is apparent.Listen to what others offer and weigh in on how you can contribute. Afinancial gainispossibleifyou are willing to do thework yourself.
ScORPIO (Oct. 24-nov. 22) Hold your head high and refuse to let the little things get to you. Focus on engaging in
in-person events or activities that offer beneficial results.
SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Something won't add up. Personal issues will get blownout of proportion if your emotions mess with your common sense. Stick to the facts to avoid being blamed for misinformation.
cAPRIcORn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take the edge off and chill while you consider the best way to handledomestic situationsthatare weighing on yourmind. Before launching your response, figure out what's essential to you.
AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You can observe and learn from what's happening around you, but holdtight lest you hitch aride on arunaway train.Put thought and consideration into how you earn and handle your money.
PIScES (Feb. 20-March 20) Avoid being led astray or coerced into something costly or unsafe. Show respect, be polite, learn to say no graciously and walk away. Apositive attitude, honesty and integrity are the road to abetter future.
ARIES (March 21-April19) Explore, enjoy the scenery and take amoment to find your happy place. Listen more than you talk, and digest what you discover. A window of opportunity will open.
Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases fromMonday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
ColinHay,a Scottish-bornmusician who came to prominence as lead vocalist of the Australian band MenatWork, said, “I don’t walk off and come back for encores. Ifigure Ican add four weeks to my life that way.”
In abridgecolumn,though, encores canhelptoreinforce thepoint being made by thewriter.
Whenthe dealeropens one of asuit and twopassesfollow, if fourth hand overcalls two no-trump, it shows ahand worth atwo-no-trump opening bid —as in this deal
North might use Stayman, but chooses to raisetothree no-trump. After West leads the heart queen, how should South planthe play?
The difficult part of this deal is thinking of the rightplay. Declarer starts with six top tricks: two hearts,two diamonds and two clubs.There are twomore tricks available in clubs, assuming a3-2 break, but one spade winner is alsoneeded.
If Southimmediately concedesa club trick, West clears hearts and defeats the contract when in with the spade ace. If South leads his spade queen, West wins and establishes his hearts; the contract still fails
Instead, because West is marked with thespadeacefromhisopeningbid,South must start with thelow spade from his hand.IfWestgoesinwiththeace,declarer hasnine winners viathree spades, two hearts, twodiamonds and twoclubs. Whereas if West ducks, declarer wins in the dummy andswitchestoclubs.His ninetricksareonespade,twohearts,two diamonds and four clubs ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InStRuctIOnS: 1. Words must be of fourormoreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” suchas“bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
tODAy’S WORD nutRItIOn: nu-TRISH-un: Nourishment.
Average mark 21 words Time limit 30 minutes
Can you find 29 or more words in NUTRITION?
yEStERDAy’S WORD —uLuLAtES
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Stocks end mixed on Wall Street
Achoppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for stock indexes Wednesday,asgains by several big technology stocks helped temper losses.
The S&P 500 edged up slightly afterwavering between small gainsand losses much of the day.Most of thestocks in the indexlost ground, but solid gains for severalheavyweight technologycompanies like Nvidia helpedcounter adeclinein healthcare and other sectors.
The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage slipped, while the Nasdaq composite rose. Super Micro Computer surged15.7% aftersigning a partnership agreementwith Saudi Arabian data centercompany DataVolt.Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.7% after announcing a$6billion stock buyback program.
Nvidia rose 4.2% and Google parent Alphabet added 3.7% Other big gainers included eToro Group, aretail trading platform for stocks and cryptocurrency. It rose28.8% in its first day of trading.
ThebenchmarkS&P 500index, which sits at the center of many401(k)accounts, has erasedall its losses since President Donald Trump escalated his global trade warinearly April. It has now alsoerased its losses for the year and is back to within 4.1% of its all-time high set in February
“The stock market’srally has legs, as the trade negotiation with China was seemingly the toughest one on the docket,” said Rick Gardner,chief investment officer at RGA Investments American Eagle fell6.4% after the retailer withdrew its financial outlook for theyear citing “macro uncertainty.”
GeneralMotors, UPS, Kraft Heinzand JetBlueare among the many companies representing awide range of industries that have warned about theimpact of tariffs and aweakening economy Boeing secures major ordersfrom Middle East Boeing has secured apairof major orders in the Middle East during avisit to the region by President Donald Trump.
The American aerospace manufacturer confirmed a$96 billion order from Qatar,one day after announcing an order fromacompany in Saudi Arabia for 20 737-8 jets andoptions for10additional aircraft
The Qatar deal, which includes Boeing’s 787 and 777X jets, is the biggest order for787s and wide-body jetsinBoeing’s history, the companyconfirmed
It has been aparticularly good week for Boeing. According to several media reports, China lifted aban on itsairlinestaking deliveries of Boeing planes earlier this week as part of Monday’strade truce with the U.S. Shares of Boeing, which has beenmired in legaland regulatory problems since 2019, bounced to their highest level in more than ayear Wednesday It was the fifth straight day of gains for the Arlington, Virginia, company
Streaming service Max renamed HBO Max
HBO is returning —atleast in aname. Warner Bros. Discoverysaid Wednesday that it was rebranding its streaming service as HBO Max this summer,instead of thecurrent Max.
TheMax namedated to Warner’smerger with Discovery and was considereda curious choice when made in 2023. HBO is widely considered a gold standard for quality, while Maxwas areference tothe less well-regarded Cinemax network.
Twoyears later,the company is reviving the HBO Max name, which was used by Warner before the merger.While the company didn’tacknowledge amistake, the move was loudly applaudedWednesdaywhen announcedatapresentationto advertisers.
densome new regulatory requirements,”the Commerce Departmentstated in its guidance.
The Associated Press
By
NEWYORK— Respondingtocomplaintsfrom the tech industry and other countries, the U.S. DepartmentofCommercehas rescinded aBiden-era rule due to take effect Thursdaythat placed limits on the number of artificial intelligence chipsthatcouldbeexportedto certain international markets withoutfederal approval.
“These newrequirements would have stifled American innovation and saddled companies with bur-
President Joe Biden established theexport framework shortly before he left office in an attempt to balancenational security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producersand other countries. While theUnited States had already restricted exports to adversaries such as China and Russia, someofthose controls had loopholesand the rule would have setlimits on amuchbroader group of countries, including Middle Eastern countriesthatPresident Donald Trump is visiting this week.
The Bidenrule’ssorting more than100 countriesintodifferent tiersofexport restrictions drew
strong opposition from those countries, as well as U.S. chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.Theyarguedthe restrictions could actually push some countries to turn to China instead of the U.S. fortheir AI technology
What Biden’srule did “was send amessage to 120 nations that they couldn’t necessarilycount on us to provide the AI they want and need,”saidBrad Smith, Microsoft’spresident, at aU.S. Senate hearing last week.
Commerce Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler said Tuesday the Trump administration will work to replace thenow-rescindedrule to pursue AI with“trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out
of thehands of ouradversaries.”
The administration said areplacement rule is coming in thefuture but hasn’tsaidwhatthe newrule will say
TheEuropeanCommission welcomed the change, said spokesperson Thomas Regnier,arguing that the Biden rule, if it took effect, would “undermine U.S. diplomatic relations with dozens of countries by downgrading them to secondtier status.”
European Unioncountries should be able to buy advanced AI chips fromthe U.S. without limitations, Regnier said. “Wecooperate closely,inparticular in the fieldofsecurity,and represent an economic opportunityfor the U.S.,not asecurity risk,” he said in astatement.
BY HUIZHONG WU Associated Press
BANGKOK While U.S.President Donald Trumphas talkedofvictory after reaching aweekenddeal with China to reduce the sky-high tariffs levied on each others’ goods, businesses in China are reacting to the temporary dealwith caution.
TheU.S. and China have cut the tariffsleviedoneach other in April, withthe U.S. cutting the145% tax Trump imposedlast month to 30%. Chinaagreed to lower its tariff rate on U.S.goodsto10% from 125%. The lower tariff rates cameintoeffect on Wednesday
Whilethe markets have responded to the agreementwith gusto, rebounding to thelevelsbefore Trump’stariffs, business owners remain wary Businesses like onekitchenutensil factory in southern Guangdong provincewereeager to getbacktowork. Thebusiness said they put at least fourorders from theirAmerican clients back into production on Tuesday afterthe tariff pause was announced.
“Wethought thenegotiation would bring the tariffs down abit, but didn’texpect it would be so much,” saidMargaret Zhuang, asalespersonfor theutensil factoryinGuangdong province, one of China’s manufacturing hubs. Kahlee Yu,sales manager of Yangjiang HongnanIndustry andTrade Company whichalso manufactures kitchenutensils, said he was reaching out to Americancustomers again. “We’re alittle bit optimistic about thetradedeal between thetwo sides. But it is still possiblethe tariff policies will change again, resulting in no orders from our American clients,” he said.
However happy they were in the moment, thedamage from tariffs announced in April hasalreadybeen done,Zhuang added, as theyare seeing fewer orders. She has orders for products up until June. Earlier this year, before Trump’strade warbegan,theyhad orders for production extending to August.
The uncertainty also means companiesare lesswilling to makenew investments. Kelvin Liao, sales director at Action Composites, a manufacturerofcarbonfiberauto partsin
Dongguan, amajor city in Guangdong, said he wasoriginally planning to buy apiece of land to build anew factory,but opted instead to rent because of the tariff situation.
“It is good to reach atrade deal between the twocountries. Butpeople have already lost confidence in Trump, and we will take a wait-and-seeattitude,” he said. “Webelieve the signing atrade deal is just apause and the ultimate goal of the U.S. is to curb China’sdevelopment.”
Tariffs also remain in place for some industries, whichare not part of the general deal. Hong Kong businessman Danny Lau, whoowns an aluminum-coatingfactory,said his companystill faces about a75% tariff fromtariffs leviedatdifferent points since 2018 by the U.S. Still he welcomed the news from the weekend, saying he would reach out to existing American customers to gauge their views.
“Although the policy change doesn’tcover our industry,wehopetalks will continue and therewillbebetternewsduringthe 90-day pause,” he said.
BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer
More than 1,000 Starbucks baris-
tas at 75 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest a new company dress code, aunion representing the coffee giant’s workers said Wednesday Employees at unionized stores in New Orleans and Sulphur participated in the strike, union officials said.
Starbucks put new limitsstarting Monday on what its baristas can wearundertheirgreen aprons.
Thedress code requires employees at company-operated andlicensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear asolid black shirt andkhaki,
black or blue denim bottoms.
Underthe previous dress code, baristas could wear abroader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and createasense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish awarmer,more welcoming feeling in its stores.
ButStarbucks Workers United, the union thatrepresentsworkersat570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S.stores, said thedress code should be subject to collective bargaining.
“Starbucks haslostits way.Instead of listeningtobaristaswho make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focusedonall the
wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” said Paige Summers, aStarbucks shift supervisor from Hanover,Maryland. “Customers don’tcare what color our clothes are whenthey’re waiting30minutesfor alatte.” Summers and others also criticized thecompany for selling stylesofStarbucks-branded clothing thatemployees no longer areallowed to weartowork on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code.
StarbuckssaidWednesday that thestrikewas having alimited impact on its10,000 company-operated U.S. stores.
“Thousands of Starbucks partners came to workthis week ready to serve their customers and communities,” thecompany said in a statement. “It would be more productive if theunionwould put the same effort into coming back to the table to finalize areasonable contract.”
Starbucks Workers United has been unionizing U.S. stores since 2021. Starbucks and theunion have yet to reach acontract agreement, despite agreeingtoreturntothe bargaining table in February 2024. The union said this week that it filed acomplaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging Starbucks’ failure to bargain over the new dress code.