The Acadiana Advocate 05-16-2025 by The Advocate

SupremeCourt weighs birthright citizenship

Tanjam Jacobson, of Silver Spring,Md.,holds asign supporting birthright citizenship Thursdayoutsidethe Supreme Courtin Washington. Jacobson is anaturalized U.S. citizen of Indian descent whowas borninEngland and herson wasbornhere. ‘Thisis something that really matters,’said Jacobson. ‘It’ssowrong against the Constitution (to takeawaybirthrightcitizenship).’

Decision couldalsoimpactnationwidecourt orders

BY MARK SHERMAN and LINDSAYWHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON TheSupreme Court

seemed intent Thursday on maintaining ablock on President Donald Trump’srestrictionsonbirthrightcitizenshipwhile looking for away to scaleback nationwide court orders.

It was unclear what such adecision might look like, buta majorityofthe courtexpressedconcernsabout would happen if the Trump administration were allowed, eventemporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally

The justices heard arguments in the

Useoflocal agencies has soared sinceTrump began immigrationcrackdown

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Trump administration’semergency appeals over lowercourt orders that have keptthe citizenship restrictions on hold across the country

Nationwide injunctions have emerged as an important check on Trump’sefforts to remakethe governmentand asource of mounting frustration to theRepublican presidentand his allies.

Judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trumpbegan his second term in January,SolicitorGeneral D. John Sauertoldthe court at thestart of more than two hours of arguments.

Birthright citizenship is among several issues, manyrelated to immigration, that the administration has asked thecourt to address on an emergency basis.

Thejustices also are considering the Trumpadministration’spleastoend humanitarian parolefor morethan500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela andtostripother temporary legal protectionsfromanother 350,000 Venezuelans. The administration remains locked in legal battles over itsefforts to swiftly deport people accused of being gang memberstoaprison in El Salvador underan18th-century wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act.

Trump signed an executive order on the ﬁrst day of his second term thatwould deny citizenship to children whoare born to people who are in thecountry illegally

ä See COURT, page 4A

of Wildlife and Fisheries, spokesperson Taylor Brazan said, and the state Department of Public Safetyand Corrections, according to Landry’sexecutive order Manale andBarzan said “operational details”ofthose agreementshave not yet been ﬁnalized. In his executive order,Landry,aTrump ally,directed remaining state law enforcementagencies to “explore, andwhere appropriate,enterinto”287(g) agreements.The order “strongly encourage(d)” local agencies to makethose agreements. “Ifyou’re hereillegally and you engage Landry urgesLa. police to

Louisiana state troopers are poised to start enforcing federal immigration laws under acontroversial partnershipthat President Donald Trumphas dramaticallyexpanded in abid to speed up immigration arrests and deportations

Gov.Jeff Landry issued an executive

Lafayette sheriff resurrects 2019 suit

Parish accusedofnot paying mandated costsfor jail operations

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber has resurrected a2019 jail funding lawsuit against the parish that has been dormant since 2022. Garber’slawsuit, ﬁled when Joel Robideaux was mayor-president, accuses theparish of notmeeting itslegal responsibilitiestopay certain mandated costs forjail operations.

State law,the lawsuit alleges, requires the parish to provide ajail and pay forits operating costs.

Garber sent aletter in August 2019 to the parish explainingthe cost of services it incurred in the previous fiscal year and asking that the parish pay the salaries of some mandated positions associated with the jail, including food service, maintenance, dietitian, laundry,education and mental health professionals.

The cost of the 35 positions in 2019 was$1.7million,the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges the parish owes $525,447 for transportation and$10.7 million in other costs, including fornurses and dentists. Robideaux in October 2019 asked thecouncil nottofund the$1.7 million Garber was seeking. In aMay 2022 “reconventional demand,” a response to Garber’slawsuit, the parish allegedthe Sheriff’s Ofﬁce wasovercharging Lafayette Consolidated Government forsending local prisoners to jails outside Lafayette Parish to free up space in the local jail forstate andfederal inmates because those agencies pay more.

Garber’slawsuit remained inactive forabout twoyears under the

order Thursdayurging local law enforcement agencies, too, to join the Department of Homeland Security’s 287(g) program,which lets Immigration andCustoms Enforcementofficials delegate certain immigration enforcement duties to local cops working under ICE supervision. Federal agents alonetypically have that authority Louisiana StatePolice recently entered an agreement underthe 287(g) program,Maj Nick Manale, an agency spokesperson, said Thursday.Sohavethe Louisiana Department

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

STAFF FILE PHOTOByLESLIE WESTBROOK Alawsuitbythe Lafayette Parish sheriff alleges the parish is not paying mandated costs forthe Lafayette Parish Correctional Center

Garber ä See SHERIFF, page 4A

Homeland Security looks to buy $50M jet

The Department of Homeland Security wants to spend about $50 million to buy a new longrange Gulfstream jet to replace an aging one used by Secretary Kristi Noem and top Coast Guard and DHS ofﬁcials.

The request for funding, to come from the Coast Guard’s 2025 fiscal year budget, came up during a House appropriations subcommittee meeting on Wednesday Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., said she was “horriﬁed” to receive a “last-minute addition” to the service’s budget proposal for the jet, noting Noem has another Gulfstream to use.

Adm. Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant, said the Coast Guard, like the other military services, operates two military “long-range command and control aircraft” and the one being replaced is more than 20 years old.

“Like a lot of the rest of our operational aviation ﬂeet and our cutters and our boats and our shore facilities, it’s old and it’s approaching obsolescence and the end of its service life,” he said during the hearing. Lunday, who became acting commandant on Jan. 21 after Trump, a Republican, ﬁred Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, said the jet is needed to provide the DHS secretary, deputy secretary himself, the acting vice commandant and two area commanders with “secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward.”

The current plane is also “outside the Gulfstream’s service life, and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement, calling its replacement “a matter of safety.”

$27 Magna Carta copy revealed to be original

A manuscript purchased by Harvard University as a cheap, water-stained copy of the Magna Carta is, in fact, “one of the world’s most valuable documents,” a British researcher said Thursday

The Magna Carta (Latin for “Great Charter”) is a landmark legal document ﬁrst issued by King John of England in 1215 that established limits on the power of the monarchy Today, it’s considered one of the most important legal writings in the history of democracy

A document believed to be a 1327 copy of the manuscript was purchased by Harvard Law School from a London book dealer in 1946 for $27.50, or about $500 today

But as it turns out, the manuscript held in the university’s library for nearly 80 years is no cheap copy — it’s one of only seven known Magna Cartas from the year 1300.

The stunning discovery happened after David Carpenter, a professor of medieval history at King’s College London, stumbled upon a document unassumingly titled “HLS MS 172” on the school’s website.

He reached out to fellow Magna Carta scholar Nicholas Vincent, a professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia, and sent him images of the manuscript for a second opinion.

A company specializing in digital research used ultraviolet light and spectral imaging to reveal details on faded pages invisible to the naked eye, and the document’s authenticity was veriﬁed.

Harvard’s stained copy of the Magna Carta is worth millions of dollars, Carpenter estimates. In 2007, an original 1297 version of the document was sold at auction in New York City for $21.3 million.

Charles Strouse,

BY MARK KENNEDY Associated Press

Republicans block transparency

Democrats want

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic resolution to require more transparency from the Trump administration about deportations to El Salvador

The vote Thursday was the latest attempt by minority Democrats to force Senate votes disapproving of Trump administration policy The Senate rejected, 45-50, the motion to discharge the resolution from committee and consider it immediately on the ﬂoor

“This information is critical at a time when the Trump Administration has admitted to wrongfully deporting people to El Salvador, and after Trump has said he’s also looking for ways to deport American

citizens to the same terrible prisons,” said Virginia Sen Tim Kaine, the lead sponsor of the resolution.

The resolution blocked by Republicans would force administration ofﬁcials to report to Congress about what steps it is taking to comply with courts that have ruled on the deportations. Democrats have highlighted the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to the Central American country and who a Maryland judge has said should be returned to the U.S. Democrats want to put Republicans on record on that case and others while also pressuring the government of El Salvador, which is working with the Trump administration. The resolution would also require the Trump adminis-

tration to reveal more information about money paid to El Salvador and assess the country’s human rights record. It’s just the latest example of Democrats using the legislative tools available to them in the minority to try to challenge Trump’s agenda.

The Senate in early April passed a resolution that would have have thwarted Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, and Republicans narrowly blocked a similar resolution later that month that would have stalled Trump’s global tariffs.

Four Republicans voted with Democrats on the ﬁrst tariff measure, and three Republicans voted with them on the second resolution No Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday’s measure on El Salvador

Israeli woman killed on way to give birth

BY TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel Tzeela Gez was on her way to the hospital to bring new life into this world when hers was suddenly cut short.

As her husband drove their car through the winding roads of the occupied West Bank late Wednesday, a Palestinian attacker shot at them. Within hours, Gez, nine months pregnant, was dead. Doctors barely saved the life of the baby, who is in serious but stable condition.

Israel says it is trying to prevent such attacks by waging a monthslong crackdown on West Bank militants that intensiﬁed earlier this year But the escalating offensive, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians over 19 months, displaced tens of thousands and caused widespread destruction, has ultimately not snuffed out attacks.

Israel has pledged to ﬁnd the attacker, who ﬂed the scene, and the military chief of staff, who visited the area Thursday, told troops that the broader operation would continue alongside the manhunt

“We will use all the tools at our disposal and reach the murderers in order to hold them accountable,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, according to a statement from the military, which said it had sealed Palestinian villages in the area of the attack and set up checkpoints

The shooting, especially because the victim was a pregnant mother with three other children, has the potential to ignite vigilante violence against Palestinians by radical Jewish settlers They regularly storm Palestinian towns and villages, burning and damaging property in response to such attacks.

‘A mother in her essence’ Gez, 37, and her husband Hananel, were residents of Bruchin, a settlement of some 2,900 in the northern West Bank. She worked as a therapist and on her

Facebook page, shared developments in her professional life as well as her thoughts on the war in Gaza, the fallen Israeli soldiers and the hostages still held by Hamas. Meital Ben Yosef, head of the settlement’s local council, told Israeli Army radio that Gez was “all mother A mother in her essence.”

“A couple of parents were driving to the happiest moment that a parent can experience and the wife is killed on the way It’s a horriﬁc incident,” she said.

Photos of the car released by the military showed a bullet hole on the passenger side of the windshield and a streak of blood on a back door

Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, praised the attack as “heroic” in a video statement Wednesday but stopped short of saying the militant group was behind it.

Concern about reprisal attacks

The attack sparked outrage and calls for revenge.

“Just as we are flattening Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, we must flatten the nests of terror in Judea and Samaria,” wrote the Israeli finance minister and a settler firebrand, Bezalel Smotrich, in a post on X, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.

The violence in the West Bank escalated when the war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Israel has staged frequent raids in the territory, especially but not limited to its north, using ground and air power in violence that has killed many militants but also other Palestinians, some of them throwing rocks to protest the incursions as well as others not involved in confrontations.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said its forces killed ﬁve militants in a raid that appeared unrelated to Gez’s killing. Hamas mourned the men as “resistance heroes” but stopped short of claiming them as its ﬁghters

composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ dies

Birdie” and “Applause,” died Thursday He was 96. Strouse died at his home in New York City, his family said through the publicity agency The Press Room. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Strouse wrote more than a dozen Broadway musicals, as well as ﬁlm scores and the song “Those Were the Days,” the theme song for the sitcom “All in the Family.” Strouse turned out such popular — and catchy show tunes as “Tomorrow,” the optimistic anthem from ”Annie,” and the equally cheerful “Put on a Happy Face” from “Bye Bye Birdie,” his ﬁrst Broadway success. “I work every day Activity it’s a life force,” the New York-born composer told The Associated Press during an interview on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2008. “When you enjoy doing what you’re doing, which I do very much, I have something to get up for.”

The Democrats are forcing the votes under different statutes that allow so-called “privileged” resolutions — legislation that must be brought up for a vote whether majority leadership wants to or not The resolution rejected Thursday was under the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows any senator to force a vote to request information on a country’s human rights practices.

Also Thursday, Kaine and several other Democrats ﬁled a joint resolution of disapproval to try to block a $1.9 billion arms sale to Qa-

BY STEPHANY MATAT and KATE PAYNE Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Republican Gov

Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to implement a statewide ban on the mineral.

DeSantis signed the bill at a public event in Dade City over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates.

“Yes, use ﬂuoride for your teeth, that’s ﬁne, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis said Thursday “They don’t have a choice, you’re taking that away from them.”

State lawmakers approved the bill last month, requiring the mineral and some other additives be removed from water sources across the state. Utah was the ﬁrst state to ban ﬂuoride in late March, and its prohi-

bition went into effect last week, while Florida’s provision is effective July 1. Some local governments in Florida have already voted to remove fluoride from their water, ahead of the statewide ban.

Some Republican-led states have sought to impose bans following a push by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to stop fluoridating water Earlier this month, DeSantis pledged to sign the bill and was flanked by the state’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, who has attracted national scrutiny over his opposition to policies embraced by public health experts, including COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Fluoride is a mineral that has been added to drinking water for generations to strengthen teeth and reduce cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century Studies have traced a link between excess fluoride and brain development.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAyA ALLERUZZO

Israeli settlers look toward their neighboring village the morning after a Palestinian gunman killed Tzeela Gez, who was on her way to the hospital to give birth, Thursday outside of the West Bank settlement of Bruchin.

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or temporarily

The order conflicts with aSupreme Court decision from 1898 that held that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment made citizensofall children born on U.S. soil, with narrowexceptionsthatare notatissue in this case. States, immigrants andrights group sued almost immediately, and lower courts quickly barred enforcement of the order while the lawsuits proceed.

The current fight is over the rules that apply while thelawsuits go forward.

The court’sliberal justices seemed firmly in support of the lower court rulings that foundthe changes to citizenship that Trump wants to make would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years

Birthright citizenshipisanodd case to use to scale back nationwide injunctions, Justice Elena Kagan said. “Every court has ruled

against you,” shetoldSauer If the governmentwinson Thursday’s arguments, it could still enforce the order against peoplewho haven’t sued,Kagan said “All of those individuals are going to win. Andthe ones whocan’t afford to go to court, they’re the ones whoare going to lose,” she said. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson describedthe administration’sapproach as “catch me if you can,” forcingeveryonetoﬁle suit to get “the government to stopviolating people’srights.”

Severalconservative justices who might be open to limiting nationwide injunctions also wanted to know the practical effectsof such adecision as well as how quickly thecourt could reach a ﬁnal decisiononthe Trumpexecutiveorder

JusticeBrettKavanaugh pressed Sauerwith aseries of questions abouthow thefederal government might enforceTrump’s order “What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do statesdowith anewborn?” hesaid.

Sauersaid they wouldn’tnecessarilydoanything different,but the government might ﬁgure out waystoreject documentation with

it,has complainedthat judges are overreaching by issuing orders that applytoeveryoneinstead of just the parties before the court. Picking up on that theme, Justice Samuel Alito said he meantno disrespect to the nation’sdistrict judgeswhen he opined that they sometimes sufferfroman“occupationaldiseasewhichisthe disease of thinking that‘Iamright and Ican do whatever Iwant.’”

But Justice SoniaSotomayor wasamong severaljustices who raised theconfusing patchwork of rules that would result if the court orders were narrowed andnew restrictions on citizenship could temporarilytake effect in more than half the country

they wouldn’tbe. Pennsylvania is not part of the lawsuit.

One possible solution for the courtmight be to ﬁnda waytoreplace nationwide injunctions with certification of aclass action, a lawsuit in which individuals serve as representatives of amuch larger group of similarly situated people.

Such acase could be filed and acted upon quickly and might even apply nationwide.

But under questioning from Justice Amy ConeyBarrett and others, Sauer said the Trump administrationcould well oppose such a lawsuit or potentially try to slow downclass actions.

“the wrong designation of citizenship.”

Kavanaugh continued to push for clearer answers, pointingout that theexecutive order gave the government only about30daystodevelop apolicy.“Youthink they can getittogether in time?” he said.

TheTrump administration, like the Biden administration before

Somechildrenmight be “stateless,” Sotomayor said, because they’d be denied citizenship in the U.S. as well as the countries their parentsﬂed to avoid persecution. New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum, representing 22 states thatsued, said citizenship could “turn on and off” for children crossing the Delaware River between Camden,New Jersey, where affected childrenwould be citizens, and Philadelphia, where

SupremeCourtargumentsover emergency appeals are rare. The justices almost alwaysdealwith the underlying substance of adispute.

But the administration didn’task the court to take on the larger issue now and, if the court sides with theadministration over nationwideinjunctions, it’s unclear how long inconsistent rules on citizenship would apply to childrenborn in the United States.

Adecision is expected by the end of June.

in criminal activity,you are going to be deported or sent to jail,” Landry said of the state’seffort, which he is calling Operation GEAUX.

Trump’sadministration haspushed an aggressive expansion of the 29-year-old 287(g) program —which has long faced criticism over concerns about racial proﬁling and inadequate training for local officers —ashis administration seeks more personnel for its crackdown on illegal immigration.

Landry’sexecutive order underscores how Trumpallied stateleaders could bolsterthe president’simmigration ambitions as he seeks to marshal resources to fulﬁll his promise of deporting millions of people. Leaders in other conservative states, including Florida and Texas, where participation in the program has surged, have taken action similar to Landry’sexecutive order to encourage participation in the 287(g) program.

‘Radically expanded’ That programtraces to 1996, when Congress approved it under the Immigration and Nationality Act

In 2009, before Democrat-

SHERIFF

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administration of previous Mayor-President Josh Guillory,who served from January2020 through December 2023.

Independent of the pendinglawsuit,Garber hasbeen pushing for anew jail that parish government would be responsible for building.

Under Guillory,the parish purchased property on Willow Street for anew jail and

ic former PresidentBarack Obama’s administration placed new guardrails over the programdue to concerns aboutracialproﬁling,there were only 29 existing partnerships. In 2014,Congress slashed funding for theprogram from $68 million to $24 million.

Butthe programreturned in force during Trump’s ﬁrst term. Theadministration oversaw aspike in the agreements between the start of 2019 and the end of 2020, reaching over 150 active agreements heavily concentrated in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, saidAustin Kocher,a Syracuse University professor who studies immigration enforcement.

Landry’sexecutive order Thursdayfollows earlier effortsbystate leaderstoget tougher onimmigration.

The governor sent Louisiana Army National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border last spring amid a showdown between Republican governors and Democratic former President Joe Biden over what the Republicans calledBiden’s lax border enforcement. A Louisiana bill approved last year,modeled after legislation in Texas that materialized as part of that debate sought to empower local police to take on immigration enforcementduties. But a

Guillory negotiatedapublicprivate partnership to build the facility Current Mayor-President MoniqueBoulet canceled that deal The costtobuild the jail through thepublic-private partnership“would have used all of the funding that pays for jail/prisoner operations/capital outlayaswell as courthouse maintenance andimprovements,” Jamie Boudreaux, LCG spokesperson, said in an emailThursday “It would have been fis-

court battle over the fate of the Texas law ultimately doomed theLouisiana bill, too.

With Trumpback in ofﬁce, thefederalgovernmentitself haselected to hand local law enforcement agencies that power

The numberofactive 287(g) agreements nationwide has soared since he returned to theWhite House in January,driven by sharp increases in Florida and Texas, according to news reports in those states. As of mid-April, there were 456 active 287(g) agreements nationwide, according to CBS News —more than triple the number in December

“In the spanofabout two months, theTrumpadministration radically expanded the 287(g) program beyond anything Ihaveseen in the past 15 yearsofclose study of this precise policy,” Kocher said.

Only twoLouisianalaw enforcementagencies, though, previouslyhad active partnerships under the 287(g)program,according to data on ICE’swebsite: The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁceand the Kenner Police Department. Apartnership with theBeauregard Parish Sheriff’sOfﬁce is pending. The State Police, corrections department andWildlife and Fisheries partnerships were not yet listed on ICE’sweb-

cally irresponsible,” Boudreauxsaid, “to pursue this pathtoconstruct anew jail.”

That would have left nothing to payfor state-mandated prisoner costs like food and clothing, she said, or to payfor courthouse maintenance. In April, withnew attorneys in place, Garber resurrected the lawsuit, ﬁling alegal response to theparish’s reconventional demand.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

site.

LouisianaAttorney General Liz Murrill’soffice is weighing a287(g)partnership, too, she saidonThursday. Murrill is reviewing agreements recentlyentered by the state attorneys general in Texas and Mississippi, she said.

“I would not be opposed to it,”saidMurrill, aRepublican.

Broadstrategy

The expansionof287(g) partnerships under Trump’s second administrationis part of amultipronged strategy he has implemented in his bid to accelerate immigration detentions and deportations.

FBI agents have been reassigned to immigration enforcement, and federal prosecutors are initiating an unprecedented number of criminal charges against people accused of re-entering the country illegally The administration rolled

back along-standing rule against detaining migrants in courthouses, schools, churches and other “sensitive”areas.Acting under thatpolicy, ICE agents arrested several people inside acourthouse in Jefferson Parish last week

ATrump spokesperson and an ICE spokesperson did not respond to requests for commentonthe administration’sexpanded use of 287(g).

ICEhas typicallyentered two kinds of deals with local lawenforcement under theprogram:“jailenforcement” agreements, whichallow deputized local officers to interrogate people about their immigration status once they’re held in jail, and “warrant service officer” agreements, acreation of the first Trump administration under which local cops are trainedand certified to execute immigration warrants.

Trump issued an execu-

tive order earlierthisyear reinstating athird, particularly controversialversion of those agreements: the socalled “task force model,” whichempowers local officerstoconduct immigration enforcement during the course of their normal policing duties. The agreements with Louisiana State Police and theDepartment of Wildlife and Fisheries are both “task force model” partnerships. Researchers withthe National Immigration Forum, an umbrella organization of immigrationadvocacy groups,found that local agencies have faced lighter training requirements through the program under thesecondTrump administration. Deputized 287(g) officers were historically requiredtoattend four weeks of training. Now, some local agencies report that training will be replaced by a five-day course, the group found.

Trump says U.S., Iran have ‘sort of’ agreed on a deal

BY ZEKE MILLER and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States and Iran have “sort of” agreed to terms on a nuclear deal, offering a measure of conﬁdence that an accord is coming into sharper focus.

Trump, in an exchange with reporters at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar described talks between American envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as “very serious negotiations” for long-term peace and said they were continuing to progress.

Still, throughout his fourday visit to the Gulf this week, the president has underscored that military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities remains a possibility if the talks derail

“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust,” Trump said at the business event. Without offering detail, he signaled growing alignment with the terms that he has been seeking.

A top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told NBC News on Wednesday that Tehran stands ready get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that can be weaponized, agree to enrich uranium

only to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process

Ali Shamkhani added that in return, Iran wants an immediate lifting of all economic sanctions.

On Thursday, hours after Trump said the two sides were getting closer to a deal, Araghchi said Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium remained a core right of the Iranian people and a red line in nuclear talks.

“We have said repeatedly that defending Iran’s nuclear rights — including enrichment — is a fundamental principle,” the official said “This is not something we concede, either in public discourse or in negotiations. It is a right that belongs to the Iranian people, and no one can take it away.”

Trump said his demands have been straightforward.

“They can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,” Trump said. “It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages worth of details. It is only one sentence They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

But Trump on Wednesday suggested he was looking for Tehran to make other concessions as part of a potential agreement.

Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and veriﬁably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,”

Trump said in remarks at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, the

ﬁrst stop on the Mideast trip. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Before moving on to the United Arab Emirates from Qatar on Thursday, Trump stopped at a U.S. military installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East and spoke to U.S. troops. The Republican president has used his visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionalism” of America’s past in the region.

Al-Udeid Air Base was a major staging ground during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base houses some 8,000 U.S. troops, down from about 10,000 at the height of those wars.

Trump told the troops that his “priority is to end conﬂicts, not start them.”

“But I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” he said.

Trump later flew to Abu Dhabi in the UAE for the ﬁnal leg of his trip He visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the country’s largest mosque. The UAE’s founder, Sheikh Zayed, is buried in the mosque’s main courtyard.

Trump took his shoes off, which is customary, as he stepped into the house of worship and spent time marveling at the architecture.

“It’s beautiful,” Trump said. He was later attended a state visit hosted by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Qasr

Judge pleads not guilty to helping man evade immigration agents

BY TODD RICHMOND Associated Press

MILWAUKEE A Wisconsin judge pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of helping a man who is illegally in the country evade U.S. immigration authorities seeking to arrest him in her courthouse.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan entered the plea during a brief arraignment in federal court. Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries scheduled a trial to begin July 21. Dugan’s lead attorney, Steven Biskupic, told the judge that he expects the trial to last a week Dugan, her lawyers and prosecutors left without speaking to reporters.

She is charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. Prosecutors say she escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking to arrest him for being in the country illegally She could face up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts. Her attorneys say she’s innocent. They ﬁled a motion

Wednesday to dismiss the case, saying she was acting in her ofﬁcial capacity as a judge and therefore is immune to prosecution. They also maintain that the federal government violated Wisconsin’s sovereignty by disrupting a state courtroom and prosecuting a state judge Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse ahead of Thursday’s hearing Esther Cabrera, an organizer with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said the charges against Dugan amount to “state-funded repression.”

“If we are going to go after judges, if we’re going to go after mayors, we have to understand that they can come after anybody,” she said.

“And that’s kind of why we wanted to make a presence out here today is to say that you can’t come after everyone and it stops here.”

According to court documents Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. Online court records show he was charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse in Milwaukee County in March, and he was in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18

for a hearing in that case. According to an FBI afﬁdavit, Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that the agents appeared to be in the hallway Dugan was visibly angry and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers, the afﬁdavit contends. She and another judge later approached members of the arrest team in the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”

After a back-and-forth with the agents over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them from the courtroom, according to the afﬁdavit.

After she returned to the courtroom, witnesses heard her say something to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a door typically used only by deputies jurors court staff and in-custody defendants, the afﬁdavit alleges. FloresRuiz was free on a signature bond in the abuse case, according to online state court records. Federal agents ultimately detained him outside the courthouse after a chase.

Al Watan presidential palace. Trump and his delegation were greeted by young children wearing traditional robes and waving small U.S.

and UAE flags, and they were guided through a space exhibit inside the palace. Al Nahyan also presented Trump with the Order of

Zayed, the UAE’s highest civil decoration and credited Trump with building the two nations’ economic partnership to new heights.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump shakes hands with with yousif Al Obaidli, director of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, during a tour of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

S&P 500 notches

a4th straight gain

Most U.S. stocks drifted higher in quiet trading Thursday following ajumble of mixedreportsthatofferedlittleclarity on how the U.S. economy is managing throughPresident Donald Trump’strade war

The S&P 500 rose enough to extend its winning streak to a fourth day and to pull within 3.7% of its all-time highset earlier this year.The Dow JonesIndustrial Average was up,but the Nasdaq composite slipped Stocks got alift from easing Treasury yieldsinthe bond market.They fell afterthe economic reports suggested the Federal Reserve may have more room to cut interest rates later this year to bolster the U.S. economy if it weakens under the weight of high tariffs.

But the reports did littleto spell out whether the economy is falling toward arecession,as many investors had been fearing, or shaking off the uncertainty after Trump called off many of histariffs temporarily. The headliner reports said shoppersspent less at U.S. retailers lastmonth than expected, while inﬂationwas better atthe wholesale level than economists forecast. Other updatessaid U.S. manufacturing looks like it’sstill contracting but fewer U.S. workers are applying for unemployment beneﬁts thanexpected.

Dick’stobuy Foot

Locker for $2.4B

Dick’sSporting Goods is buying the struggling footwear chain Foot Locker forabout $2.4 billion, the second buyout of a major footwear companyinas many weeks as business leaders struggle with uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Dick’ssaid Thursdaythat it expects to runFoot Locker as astand-alone unitand keep the Foot Locker brands,whichincludeKids FootLocker,Champs Sports,WSS andJapanesesneaker brand atmos. Earlier this month Skechers announced that it wasbeing taken private by the investment ﬁrm 3G Capital in atransaction worth more than $9 billion Foot Locker,based in New York City,offers Dick’sa lot of potential, namely its huge real estate footprint, and would give the Pittsburgh company its ﬁrst foothold overseas. Foot Locker has about 2,400 retail stores across 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.The company had global sales of $8 billion last year

Dick’ssaid that it anticipates closing on the Foot Locker deal in the second half of the year The transaction still needsapprovalfromFootLockershareholders.

U.S. lost business travelersinApril

Business travel to the U.S. fell 9% in April as companies and workers grappled with economic uncertainty and anger over the Trumpadministration’stariffs and border policies.

TheNational Travel and Tourism Ofﬁce released preliminary figures Thursday showing the numberofairlineand ship passengers who entered the country last month using business visas.

TheMiddle East wasthe only region that saw higher business travel to the U.S., with arrivals up 9.4% compared to April 2024. But that didn’tmake up for big losses from otherregions; the number of business travelers from Western Europe fell17.7%, for example. The new government data didn’tinclude people coming from Canada for business or who traveled by land from Mexico. Mexican arrivals by air for those holding business visas were down 11.8%, the government said. And overall travel from Canada also fell in April. According to Statistics Canada, Canadianresidents’ returntrips by air from the U.S. fell 20% in April, while return trips by car weredown 35%.

Walmartwarns of higher prices

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK Walmart, which became thenation’s largest retailer by making low prices apriority hasfounditselfina placeit’srarely been: Warningcustomers that prices will rise for goods ranging from bananas to carseats.

Executives at the $750 billion company told industry analysts Thursday that they’re doing everything in their power to absorb the higher costsfromtariffs ordered by PresidentDonald Trump.

Given the magnitude of the duties,however,the highest since the1930s, higher prices are unavoidable,and they will hurt Walmart customersalreadybuffeted by inflation over the past three years.

Trump’sthreatened 145% importtaxes on Chinese goods were reduced to 30% in adeal announcedMonday, with some of the higher tariffs on pause for 90 days

Thosehigherprices began to appear on Walmartshelves in late Apriland accelerated this month, Walmartexecutives saidThursday.However,a larger sting will start to be felt in June andJuly when the back-to-school shopping season goes intohigh gear

“We’re wired to keep prices low, butthere’s alimit to what we can bear,orany retailer for that matter,” Chief Financial Ofﬁcer John David Rainey saidThursday after thecompany reported strong ﬁrst-quarter sales.

Rainey emphasized that prices arerising not just for discretionaryitems such as patio furniture

andtrendy fashions, but forbasic necessities as well. The priceofbananas, imported from Costa Rica, rose from 50 centsper pound, to 54 cents. He thinks car seats madein China that sell for$350 at Walmart will likely cost customers another $100. Baby strollers are also sourced from China, Rainey said. Higher prices arrive as many Americans pull back on spending as theygrow increasingly uneasy about the economy.Aslew of companiesincluding toy manufacturer Mattel,toolmaker StanleyBlack &Decker and consumer products giant Procter &Gamble have announced higher prices or plans to raise prices. ButWalmart’smoves are even moresigniﬁcant given its outsized power in the retailing landscape. Walmart says that 90% of American households rely on the retailer

fora range of products, andmore than 150 million customers shop on itswebsite or in itsstores every week. Analysts will dissect the earnings reports from other retailers including Target and Home Depot, set to be released next week. Tariffs on China and other countries are threatening the low-price model at the core of Walmart’ssuccess. The full impact of tariff costs hadbeen delayedascompanies tried to beat the clock by bringing in foreign goodsbeforeTrump’s tariffs took effect. Retailers and importers had also largely halted shipmentsofshoes, clothes, toys and other itemsdue to new tariffs but many are resumingimports from China in the narrow window that opened during the temporary “truce”thisweek, hoping to avoid sparse shelves this fall.

RebrandedAldistore opens

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor

The ﬁrst rebranded Aldi store in metroBaton Rougeopenedin PrairievilleonThursday as the fast-growing supermarket chain continued toincrease its presence in thearea. Customersstarted lining up outside the former Winn-Dixie at 3:30 a.m. for free gift cards and bags, said Heather Moore, regional vice president.Bythe time the store opened at 9a.m., Moore said 250 people were in line

“Wehave areallygoodfollowingand we want to continue to build on it in this area,”Moore said.

Aldibought all of the WinnDixie and Harveys Supermarket

stores from Southeastern Grocers in adeal that closed in early 2024. Plans are to convertabout 220 of the locations to Aldistores by the end of 2027. About170 of thestores will be soldback to a group of privateinvestors that includes thepresident and CEO of Southeastern Grocers.

The Prairieville store looks much like any of the18south LouisianaAldilocations that have been built from theground up over the past fewyears. The productscarried in thestoreare the same andthe layout is similar “Whenwefirst started the conversation about this, people thought, ‘Oh, is it going to be asuperAldi?’,”Moore said.“Butwe were like ‘No, we wantthe experience to be pretty similar.’”

The Prairieville Aldi is about 13,000 squarefeet,roughly the same size as the typical area store.That’sabout half the space the Winn-Dixie store took up. Plans aretolease out the remaining space, Moore said.

Along with being smaller, the Aldi stores don’thaveamenities found at Winn-Dixie such as fresh meat andseafood departments. But the stores have lower costs because of the limited inventory and features like self-bagging and asking customers to put down a 25-centdeposit on shopping carts. About 15 employees from the Prairieville Winn-Dixie have gone to work at Aldi, either at thenew store or at the company’s other area locations, Moore said. Converted Winn-Dixie stores have already opened in Amite and Metairie. Aformer Winn-Dixie store in Zachary will reopen as an Aldi later this summer, Moore said.

Next week, Aldi will start on another conversion. The chain bought aformer BigLots store in DenhamSprings that will be converted over the summer.The planistoopeninthe fall, Moore said. Around the same time,a newstore in Gonzales at the intersectionofAirline Highway and Burnside Lane will open. Mooresaidshe doesn’tknow yet howmanylocal Winn-Dixies will eventually be rebranded as Aldi stores. According to the Winn-Dixie website, there are 15 locations in south Louisiana.

Email TimothyBoone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

Report:UnitedHealthprobedfor Medicare fraud

BY JOHNTOZZI and

LINDSAYBLAKELY

Bloomberg News (TNS)

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is under criminal investigation for possible Medicare fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported,citing unidentiﬁed peoplefamiliar with thematter

The Justice Department has had aprobe into the company’sMedicare Advantage business sinceat least last summer, according to the people

Thenature of the potential criminal allegations against theinsurer isn’tclear,the newspapersaid, citing thepeople. UnitedHealth’s shares fell more than 8% in post-

market trading in New York.

UnitedHealthdidn’trespond to questionsfrom theWSJ, while a spokesman for the Department of Justice declinedtocomment to the newspaper.UnitedHealth representatives also didn’timmediately respond to requestsfor comment from Bloomberg on Wednesday The reportcomes just after the insurer unexpectedly replaced its chief executive officer and suspended earningsguidance, asecondsurprise for investors after it cut itsannual forecast.The move piled further doubt on thecompany’sstrategytofocus on Medicare,which pushed proﬁtgrowth for years but hasrecentlyfaltered In additiontothose headwinds,

UnitedHealth also faces growing scrutinyinWashington,as antitrust regulatorschallenge its planned purchase of Baton Rougebasedhome health operator Amedisys. Earlierthis month, Amedisys announced it would divest 120 home health andhospice care centers to several companies in order to smooththe waytoapproval of the UnitedHealth deal. But this week, theU.S. Department of Justice rejected thesale, accordingtoHospice News. According to the report,the agency wasn’tconvinced thedealwould maintain competition in thehome health and hospice market Insurers’ MedicareAdvantage

practices have drawnquestions in recent years. Companiesget paid morefor taking care of sicker patients in the program, with rates determined by the diagnosis codes they submit. Watchdogs and whistleblowers have accused insurers of exaggerating how sick their patients are to boost proﬁts, and some ﬁrms have paid large sums to resolve cases.

UnitedHealth faced allegations in along-running civil Medicare fraud case that it improperly overchargedthe U.S. government by more than $2 billion. The company in March received afavorable ﬁnding in that case, bringing it astep closer to winning potential dismissal.

STAFFPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

store in Prairieville.

Commanders

BY LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, ofﬁcials said Thursday

A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military

The new order to commanders relies on routine annual health checks that service members are required to undergo Another defense official said the Defense Department has scrapped — for now — plans to go through troops’ health records to identify those with gender dysphoria. Instead, transgender troops who do not voluntarily come forward could be outed by commanders or others aware of their medical status. Gender dysphoria occurs when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity

The defense officials spoke on condition of ano-

nymity to provide details of the new policy The process raises comparisons to the early “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which at times had commanders or other troops outing gay members of the military who — at the time — were not allowed to serve openly Active-duty troops will have until June 6 to voluntarily identify themselves to the Defense Department, and troops in the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7.

The department is offering a financial incentive to those who volunteer to leave. They will receive roughly double the amount of separation pay than those who don’t come forward

Initially, ofﬁcials said the Defense Department would begin going through medical records to identify anyone who did not come forward voluntarily That detail was not included in the new guidance released Thursday. While the department believes it has the authority to review medical records, it would rather go through a more routine health assessment process, the defense ofﬁcial said. Traditionally, all service members go through a health assessment once a year to determine if they are still medically able to serve. A new question about gender dysphoria is being added to that assessment Activeduty troops who do not voluntarily come forward

would have to acknowledge their gender dysphoria during that medical check, which could be scheduled months from now A unit commander could expedite the health assessment.

Under the new policy, “commanders who are aware of service members in their units with gender dysphoria, a history of gender dysphoria, or symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria will direct individualized medical record reviews of such service members to confirm compliance with medical standards.”

The defense official said it is the duty of the service member and the commander to comply with the new process. The department is confident and comfortable with commanders implementing the policy and it does not believe they would use the process to take retribution against a service member, the senior defense ofﬁcial said. It comes after the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration could enforce the ban on transgender people in the military while other legal challenges proceed. The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.

Ofﬁcials have said that as of Dec. 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the active duty, National Guard and Reserve. But they acknowl-

Missing camper ‘miraculously’ found alive in Calif. wilderness

BY CLARA HARTER

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES When Christopher Gutierrez went to check in on his remote camping resort after a long snowy winter in the High Sierra, he was met with a shocking discovery — a starving hiker holed up inside one of his cabins.

The woman, 27-year-old Tiffany Slaton from Jeffersonville, Ga , had been missing in the Fresno County wilderness for almost three weeks.

Gutierrez, who owns Vermilion Valley Resort, found Slaton around 2 p.m. Wednesday, just two days after Fresno County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce ofﬁcials announced they had scaled back search efforts for the missing camper

“She pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug,” Gutierrez said during a Wednesday evening news conference. “It was a pretty surreal moment and that’s when I realized who this was.” News that Slaton had been found quickly reached her parents Bobby and Fredrina Slaton where, some 2,500 miles away in a Georgia clothing store, her mother had the exact same reaction as her daughter.

“I just grabbed somebody, I said, ‘Can I hug you?’ And I did,” Fredrina Slaton said. “I was crying and hugging.”

Bobby Slaton said it was one of the best days of their lives. “We are extremely excited and happy to hear the news that my daughter is now safe,” he said.

Slaton’s parents reported her missing on April 29 after they had not heard from her for more than a week. The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce started searching for the missing camper and, thanks to tips from the public, learned that she had been seen at Huntington Lake on April 20 and near the old Cressman’s General Store on April 24. Her location beyond that point was a mystery

The Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team

scoured nearly 600 square miles of the High Sierra looking for Slaton from May 6-10. Vehicles were unable to make it through Kaiser Pass because of heavy snow blocking the road, but helicopters were used to scout above Mono Hot Springs and around Lake Edison, where Slaton was ultimately found.

Snowplows cleared Kaiser Pass on Wednesday, which made it possible for Gutierrez to access Vermilion Valley Resort on Lake Edison for the ﬁrst time this year, according to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

“We were sliding off the road. It was pretty dicey icy but we managed to get in there and spent about an hour and a half breaking up the ice,” Gutierrez said.

He planned the trip to check on the condition of his resort before the summer tourist season and said he felt compelled to get there sooner rather than later after hearing reports of a missing hiker in the region.

Gutierrez had purposefully left one of his cabins unlocked over the winter so that someone who is lost could increase their chances of surviving in the cold, stormy weather Sheriff ofﬁcials suspect Slaton survived by foraging from the land and using the cabin for shelter

After finding Slaton, Gutierrez gave her as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as she could stomach and contacted the Sheriff’s Office, which quickly arrived on scene with an ambulance. She was dehydrated, but was otherwise in good condition. She was taken to a hospital for further treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s Ofﬁce spokesperson Tony Botti commended Slaton’s resilience and survival skills, saying this is the longest stretch of time he’s seen someone go missing and come out alive.

“Two days, nine days, that’s amazing, but three weeks, it’s unheard of,” he said. “It speaks to the tenacity that Tiffany has, that she’s a ﬁghter She’s not going to give up.”

out

edge the number may be

higher There are about 2.1 million total troops serving.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said earlier this month that about 1,000 troops already have identiﬁed themselves and “will begin the voluntary separation process” from the military That can often take weeks.

Trump tried to ban transgender troops during his ﬁrst term, while allowing those currently serving to stay on. Then-President Joe Biden overturned the ban. The new policy does not grandfather in those currently serving and only allows for limited waivers or exceptions.

“No More Trans @ DoD,”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a post on X. In a recent speech to a special operations conference, he said: “No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s***.”

Pope meets head of Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine

By The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV met Thursday at the Vatican with the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, in one of his first audiences as pontiff that reafﬁrmed his appeal for a peaceful, negotiated end to Russia’s war His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk said he invited Leo to visit Ukraine and presented the pope with a list of prisoners held by Russia. The Vatican under Pope Francis had worked for prisoner exchanges, as well as for the return of Ukrainian children taken to live in Russian-occupied territories.

In his ﬁrst Sunday noon blessing as pope, and again this week Leo has appealed for an end to the war and expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian

people.

“I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people. Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all the prisoners be freed, and may the children return to their families,” he said Sunday The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said it was “premature” to think of a possible papal visit to Kyiv, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also suggested during a ﬁrst phone call with Leo on Monday Leo has vowed “every effort” to try to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. Leo is to be formally installed at a Mass on Sunday; Zelenskyy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance are expected

Man indicted in death of officer

Victim struck in barrage of gunfire during standoff with suspect

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

An Iberia Parish grand jury

handed up an indictment against Nyjal Hurst, charging him in the death of Lafayette SWAT ofﬁcer

Senior Cpl. Segus Jolivette. Hurst, 32, of Jeanerette, who has been in the Iberia Parish Jail since

the July 25 shooting, was indicted Thursday on a charge of seconddegree murder according to a statement from the Iberia Parish district attorney Additionally, the grand jury formally charged Hurst with 10 counts of attempted ﬁrst-degree murder, two counts of seconddegree kidnapping, one count of

felon in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a stolen ﬁrearm.

In February, Louisiana State Police added second-degree murder to the charges Hurst was facing. He is being held in lieu of $19.5 million bail.

The incident began July 25 in Jeanerette. The City Marshal’s

Jolivette

Office was attempting to serve a warrant on Hurst when police say he took two people hostage around 10 a.m. in a mobile home in the 2500 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. Later that day, various law enforcement officers, including the Lafayette Police Department’s SWAT team, arrived to help in what was described as a “hostage situation.” Around 4:30 p.m., the standoff escalated into a shooting that resulted in the death of Jolivette and wounded three other officers. The officer’s death was the first

‘OLYMPIC’ GOLD-TIMERS

ABOVE: Sister Therese Corde of Consolata Home cheers with her teammates during the Senior Olympics of Teche. The games and arts competition was held at the Cade Community Center in Cade on Tuesday. Seven retirement centers from Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes took part in the events. They were Landmark of Acadiana, Maison Teche, Consolata Home, Legacy, Belle Teche and both New Iberia Manor North and South. BELOW RIGHT: Dayna Proust, from left, ‘Rambo’ Boudreaux and Alicia Jeanlewis from Maison Teche take part in the dance competition. BELOW LEFT: Joey Landry of New Iberia Manor South shoots a

in the basketball competition. PHOTOS By LEE BALL

Ascension Episcopal gets new interim head

Lafayette school

will be lead by Sarah

Davenport

the School Board said in a statement. “Sarah’s commitment to educational excellence in a Christian environment, along with her ability to lead with both

clarity and compassion, make her the ideal leader for our school.”

Davenport has a master’s in education and previously served as the director of admissions and dean of students at independent schools in Texas. She has a “strong background in academic leadership, a heart for student development and a clear, strategic vision for the

future of Ascension,” according to an announcement from the school. She will serve as both the interim head of school and the head of the upper school. “I am honored to serve Ascension in this new capacity,” Davenport said in a statement. “It is a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated faculty and community as we continue to pursue educational excellence rooted in faith.”

New vape tax may

Legislator pulls proposal from his bill

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

A new vape tax could be off the table after a legislator pulled the proposal from his bill in the Louisiana House on Wednesday

But state Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, said the Senate will consider whether to add such a tax back into House Bill 517 as the proposal proceeds through that chamber

“It’s a juggling act,” Brass said, adding that he was in negotiations with health advocates, tobacco industry representatives, House and Senate leadership and Gov Jeff Landry’s ofﬁce.

After it was amended, Brass’s bill easily passed the House with a 79-12 vote.

For now, Brass’s bill has a new purpose: He amended it so that it would create a fund to pay for efforts to help youth stop using tobacco or prevent them from starting.

Brass said keeping the fund in place is now his priority He believes it will support his bigger goal of educating youth about the harmful effects of tobacco products, he said.

Under the proposal, the newly-created Youth Cessation and Prevention Fund would get its money from the state’s smokeless tobacco tax, with 20% of that tax’s proceeds going into the fund.

Forty percent of the money in the fund would go to the Louisiana

Louisiana whooping cough cases soar

State on track to break 2013 record

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

Louisiana is facing a recordbreaking surge of whooping cough cases and is on track to surpass the highest number of reported cases in decades, state health ofﬁcials said Wednesday

The state has data on whooping cough, also known as pertussis, going back to the 1990s, said Teresa Sokol, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health. Previously, the highest case count was 214 cases in 2013.

“Our current trajectory with whooping cough cases this year means that we are unfortunately on track to surpass that number of cases, probably before the end of this year,” Sokol said. During a news conference that

OPINION

Plansto weaken ethics enforcementa badidea

In alegislative session that should focus on the state’s most pressing problems, Louisiana lawmakers are pursuing awideranging rewrite of the state’sethics code that would whittle awayat the minimal protections enacted to safeguard against conﬂictsof interest, backroom dealingand corruption.

That’sthe wrong message to send in astate riddled withLouisiana’slong and sordid political history,particularlywhen polls show public trust in government is at historic lows.

Supporters of the bill say the Louisiana Board of Ethics often pursuespublic ofﬁcials accused of the most minor infractions with an intensity that is inappropriate, costing small-town ofﬁcials and others unnecessary sums to hire lawyers for inadvertent mistakes.

They say ethics ofﬁcials sometimes treat the processwithout the sensitivity and understanding of howthe hint of an ethics charge could damage reputations and political futures, sometimes for small violationsthat people simply didn’t realize they had committed

ThePublic Affairs Research CouncilofLouisiana agrees that tweakstothe ethics codeare likely neededtoadapt to changing circumstances and to address those legitimate legislative concerns.

But theresponse concocted by lawmakers andanattorney representing Gov.Jeff Landry in an ethics dispute is outsized for the problem. Thebill would skew the law in favor of public ofﬁcials accused of misconduct instead of ﬁnding anequilibrium between them and theethics board that in-

vestigates possible violations. House Bill 674 won unanimous support from theHouseonMay 5. Lawmakersdidn’task asingle question on the House ﬂoor about the bill before supporting it. The entirediscussion and vote about suchsigniﬁcant revisions took about threeminutes. The bill now awaitsdebateinthe Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The proposal would add new hurdles for manyparts of the ethics investigation process; give someoneaccused of aviolation multiple ways to try to stymie a case to run out the clock on when charges can be ﬁled; and require theboard to consider new,unclear standards for whether to even pursue an investigation.

For example, to determine that an investigation of an allegation is warranted, two-thirds of the ethics board is supposed to determinethat they are more likely than not to ﬁnd aviolation —even though they haven’tconducted theinvestigation yet In addition, thebill would carve

Hydrogen couldbea key to fuelingstate’s future

The Gulf Coast region has abundant resources to expand beyondconventional energy fuels and chemical feedstocks.From its proximity to athrivingnatural gas industry to its existing processing and transportation infrastructure, there is ample opportunity for expanding production of hydrogento support our energy mix.

Speciﬁcally,the state ofLouisiana is more than prepared to champion the growth of hydrogen as it plays akey role in the development of emerging markets.

map.

Encouraging pilot projects from Ohio to NewYork showco-ﬁring hydrogen in turbinescan cut emissions, but challenges remain withpolicy,funding and infrastructure. Hydrogen’shigh delivered cost,driven by expensive production, transport and storage remains akey barrier

out new exceptions to ethics rules and allow public servants to newly take gifts up to $400 ayear without disclosure.

Andthe bill would expect the small ethics board stafftodothe added steps without any promise of new lawyers or other employees to help with the workload.

The measure clearly aims to makeitharder forthe ethics board and its administrative staff to bring charges against ofﬁcials. Arelawmakers trying to makeit nearly impossible, though?

The extensive ethics code rewrite is advancing at the same time lawmakers are considering a similar vast redesign of the laws governing the spending and disclosure of the money candidates, political parties andothers raise for politicking.

House Bill 596 would add similar hurdles forthe Board of Ethics to investigate possible campaign ﬁnance violations, just as in the other ethics code bill. It also would change disclosure rules with new limits on someof

the things that must be publicly reported.

These proposals come after lawmakers enacted changes last year that now allow the governor and legislators to appoint members to the Board of Ethics directly,removing aprocess that required board appointees to be vetted and recommended through Louisiana’sprivate colleges. PARhopes that as lawmakers consider these bills, they remember they are accountable to the public they serve.

Disclosure lawsand ethics restrictions may often feel cumbersomeand irritating, but they help build conﬁdence in government. Undermining those guardrails would only serve to further erode trust and makevoters question what their public ofﬁcials are trying to hide.

Steven Procopio is the president and Melinda Deslatte is the research director of thePublic AffairsResearch Council of Louisiana.

Floodplanoffershopeto AmiteRiver basinresidents

Eric Smith GUEST COLUMNIST

Louisiana, long acornerstone of America’senergy and chemical industries, now ﬁndsitself at apivotalmoment in the clean energy transition. As the nation’s second-largest hydrogen producer —and the largest consumer— Louisiana already has the scale, industrialbaseand naturalgas resourcestoshift from gray hydrogen, or that produced from fossil fuels where the carbon dioxide is released, to blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gasand the carboniscaptured. What sets the state apart is not just its productive capacity but its strategic infrastructure, including a600-mile hydrogen pipeline linking key industrialhubs across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Meanwhile, carbon capture and sequestration is no longer hypothetical, it’s operational. Louisiana is one of four states in the nation granted regulatory primacy. Add in an existing carbon dioxide pipeline originally designed for enhanced oil recovery —now repurposed to support carbon sequestration —and Louisiana emerges not just as aparticipant but as afrontrunner in North America’s decarbonized hydrogen future. With support from stategovernment, Louisiana is laying the groundwork for a hydrogen economy that spans legacy uses like reﬁning and ammonia production to emerging sectors such as hydrogen-fueled transportation and power generation. But while hydrogen is hailedasthe fuel of the future, its path forward is subject to economic and politicaluncertainties. Green hydrogen, which ismade from renewable energy sources like wind or solar, remains prohibitivelyexpensive and faces steep infrastructure barriers. Blue hydrogen has emerged as the pragmatic alternative: leveraging existingnatural gas infrastructure andcarbon capturetechnology to deliver lower-carbon energytoday Federal incentives, like the hydrogen production tax credit, are designedtosupport this transition, buttemporal fragility in the face of shifting politicalwinds threatens the entire clean hydrogen road

Louisiana, with its existing pipeline network and upcoming projects like Kindle Energy’sMagnolia plant and Air Products’$4.5 billion blue hydrogen facility, is better positioned thanmost— but even here, upgrades are needed. Financing long-term projectsiscrucial, and Louisianamust balance global policy shifts with domestic concerns to succeed at delivery. Meanwhile, corporategiantslike Exxon and Chevron are hedging theirbets.Ata recent industry conference, Exxon CEO DarrenWoods made it clear:Only 10% of their capital is going into emerging lowcarbon markets like hydrogen, and that’s contingentonthe continuation of the hydrogentax credit mentioned above.

Chevronismoving forwardwithgreen hydrogenstorageinUtah and eyeing carboncapture projects alongthe Gulf Coast.

The interest is real, but without consistent federalbacking and fasterinfrastructure development, hydrogen risks becoming another solution thatfails to scale.

As globalenergy marketstighten and environmental scrutiny intensiﬁes, the U.S.—including energy powerhouses like Louisiana —are increasingly beholden to international climateregulations,regardless of domestic policy.The marketreality is clear: Compliance withforeign emissionsrules is aprice of participation in globaltrade.

Blue hydrogen offers Louisiana apractical, cost-effective path to decarbonization that leverages its existing industrial base, delivery infrastructure and abundant naturalgas resources. Louisiana’sutility, reﬁning, petrochemical, ammonia and maritime sectors arealready major gray hydrogen consumers, making them prime candidates for conversion to blue hydrogen.

With $20 billion invested and global demand rising in key export marketslike the European Union, Japan and China, Louisianaisprimedtolead in blue hydrogen —ifitdelivers on emissions transparency, aligns withglobal carbon standards and sustainsa stable regulatorypath.

Eric Smith is the associatedirector of The Tulane EnergyInstitute and a professor at the AB Freeman School of Business.

Almosteveryone in the Capital Region remembers theﬂoods of August 2016. They inundated tens of thousands of homes and cost 13 precious lives. The trauma still lingers in the hardest-hit communities.

Even if you escaped the ﬂoodwaters, you felt their impact. Businesses closed. Schools doubled up or shut down. Public services were interrupted. Maybe you helped aneighbor carry alifetime of cherished keepsakes to the street —for the garbage dump.

Not asingle parish in the Amite River Basin —Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, St. Helena or St. James —was spared. The basin is no stranger to riverine, coastal, backwater or ﬂash ﬂooding. In 2016, we saw all of it. The system overloaded. The Comite River, Bayou Manchac, Ward Creek BlindRiver and many others surged beyond capacity.

$1.2 billion in construction on the Comite River Diversion Canal and the “Five Bayous” Project in East Baton Rouge Parish —both expected to ﬁnish after 2028.

No one can truly prepare fora1,000year ﬂood, but 2016 showed us again the force and persistence of water in our basin.

It is part of alist of devastating events —the ﬂoods of 1977 and 1983, Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, theMarch (and August)2016 ﬂood and the “rain bomb” of 2021 that we’ll never forget.

More importantly,itunderscored the growing frustration of citizensdemanding action. In 2022, the Legislature restructured theAmite River Basin Commission, giving it asharper,more urgent mission to reduce ﬂood risk.

Andweare acting. Together with our seven member parishes and professional experts, we are advancing morethan $100 million in transformative projects: Clearing sediment from the Lower Amite, improving drainage in Bayou Manchac, installing pump stations to moveﬂoodwatersintothe Mississippi River in Ascension Parishand bolstering protections for vulnerable communities in St. James Parish

At thesame time, the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers is nearing completion of

The Legislature also tasked us with developing the first Amite River Basin Master Plan forcomprehensive drainage, flood risk reduction and water management across the basin. In short: to fix the problem

The newly completed plan, available on the Amite River Basin Commission’swebsite, identifies how we can revise FEMA’s flood mapstoremove thousands of homes from designated flood zones, lowering insurance costs forfamilies. It also provides tools to help communities design smarter drainage systems, aid emergency managers during storms and help residents understand and manage their risk. The plan showsthat by stopping excess water from entering the Amite River system —and improving how the system drains —wecan significantly reduce future flood losses. When we do nothing, those losses now average $210 million annually.Left unchecked, they’ll climb to $550 million ayear by 2050. Afully implemented Amite River Basin Master Plan can cut that risk in half

This plan represents anew chapter of regional cooperation among the seven parishes in this basin, working together as one to protect what matters. It’s not perfect. It will evolve. But one thing is certain: There is no alternative. We must act.

John Clark is the president of theAmite River Basin Commission.

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK Aswollen and swift moving AmiteRiver flowsbeneath U.S. 190 at theLivingston Parish line.

ROOM FOR DEBATE POPE LEO XIV

The election of Pope Leo XIV was asurprise to many last week when the CollegeofCardinals choseCardinal RobertPrevost, aChicagonative, to leadthe world’s1.4 billion Catholics.The Roman Catholic Church has neverbeen led by an American —until now.Thenew pope also has worked as amissionary in Peru andholds citizenship of that nation. In addition, NewOrleans historian Jari Honora discovered the pope’sfamily hasdeep Louisianaroots.As we learnmore about Pope Leo XIV, questions remain about howhewill approach his role on theglobalstageand what hispapacy willmeanfor the church. Hereare twoperspectives.

With newpapal leader,there’s no goingbackfromFrancis

The selection of Pope LeoXIV,formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost,means there will be no turning back from thedirectioncharted by Pope Francis, whomade Prevost acardinalin2023.

ThefirstAmerican popewas shaped by his experience of global Catholicismand deeply influenced by two decades serving the poor and leading adiocese in Peru. The new pope’scommitment to social justice is reflected in the name he chose: the last Pope Leo authored the pro-worker 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” which laid the groundwork for acentury of Catholic social teaching.

commitment to Francis’ legacy,calling for peace, dialogueand justice,”said John Carr, founder of Georgetown University’sInitiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. “He chose Leo XIV to make clear commitmenttoCatholic social teaching.”

Pope Leosends message that evil will notprevail

E.J Dionne

In his ﬁrst public address as pontiff, Leo signaled hissupport forFrancis’sbeliefin a“listening” or “synodal” church, built on grassrootsconsultation withthe faithful.

“Wewant to be asynodal church,” Leo said, “walking and alwaysseeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to thosewho are suffering.”

He will be the ﬁrst leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics with arobust socialmedia history.That history suggestsLeo will not be afraid to take issue withthe policiesof President Donald Trump, even though, as The Post reported, he voted in Illinois Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Within minutes of the pope’sselection, the internet buzzed with his February tweet, which linked to astoryinthe liberal National Catholic Reporter that criticized Vice President JD Vance’scomments on immigration.

“JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t askus to rank our love for others,” read theheadlinecapturedinthe new pope’stweet. Vance hadarguedthatlovefor family,neighborhood,community andnation took priority over love directed to “therest of theworld.” Leo’s own connections to “the restofthe world” are underscored byhis dual citizenship —born in the United States, he also took Peruviancitizenship.

His core beliefs wereimmediate cause for celebration among pro-Francis Catholics and other progressives in theU.S. “At the very beginning, he demonstrated

But PopeLeo is no carbon copy of Pope Francis.The remarkable speed of hisselection pointed to asense among middle-of-the-road cardinals that he could be aconciliator in adivided church.

It is hard to read where thenew pope will lead on LGBTQ+ rights and the role of women in the church, important issues everywhere but particularly in theAmerican church. Hispast statements andcloseness to bishops from theGlobal South— who tendtobemore conservative on these questions —suggest little innovation.But his support for thesynodal process and for modest advances in women’sroles in the church under Francis might leave open some doors to change.

There is alsosome irony that the ﬁrst American pope chose thename Leo. Despite LeoXIII’sprogressive stances on labor issues, he issued statementsstrongly critical of aspects of American Catholic thinking that were inﬂuenced by modernity. The object of Leo’sconcern came to be seen as a quasi-heresy called “Americanism.”

American Catholic bishops pushed aside thecontroversy,insisting that none of the ideas condemned by Leo XIII wereactually being taught by theU.S. church. Later,in the1960s, American ideas about democracyand religious freedom would have an important inﬂuence on the Second Vatican Council

Pope Leo XIV’selection might be seen as thedecisive settlement of the “Americanism”controversy

Thenew pope might have important and critical things to say back to the leadership of thenation that nurtured him. He promises to beanimportant voice for social justice, international solidarity —and bridge building.

E.J. Dionne is on X, @EJDionne. Email him at ejdionne@washpost com

My favoriteearly fact about Pope Bob from Chicago comes from his talkative brother,John. Local reporters found John right away as the world met PopeLeo XIV.Fake newsI may have repeated initially had the new pontiff as aCubs fan.His bro set the record straight:Forever White Sox, much to thedisappointmentofWrigley Field, whohad already identiﬁed him as their man Besides clearing up diamond misconceptions, John shared childhood memories of his brother.“He took ourmom’s ironing board and put atablecloth over it, and we had to go to Mass,” John said. “He knew everything.Heknew his prayers in Latin. He knew his prayers in English, and he did that all the time, and he took it totally serious.” John explained that it was “not agame” to Rob, as he has referred to his brother.“He wasdead serious about it.” For cradle Catholics, it’snot an unfamiliar anecdote. Somekids used potato chips forthe play ceremony,others used crackers. Someofushave made the mistake of giving apreprepared play Mass kit to achild. All is pious and lovely until the “priest”decides he’shad enough and throws all the pretend consecrated hostsall over the basement, leading even the most conservative young women to wonder why Jesus put men in charge of his priesthood. Mercifully, God himself is actually the one calling theshots. When we had thechance to hear from theﬁrst pope from the United States —even if he’sspent enough time out of the country to makehim a morepalatable choice forthose who do not hail from our neck of the woods —heassured us we are loved and that evil will not prevail. We need to know these things. God is love and all its implications —this idea can makelife

bearable, and yet be so hard to believe. We are living in atimewhen not only are we having contentious immigration debates, but we’ve also lost any sense of how manyundocumented children are unaccounted for. Only God knowswho among them are now in the hands of trafﬁckers. Evil will not prevail —itrequires an act of faith to believe this. And we’re going to trust an institution? One that’sbeen knowntohave looked the other way in the face of child abuse? Yes, because it is the Church of Jesus Christ, whocalls us to conversion.

Pope Francis used to visit the sameimageofMary and Jesus every timeheleft and returned to Rome. He did it from morethan merepiety He wasbearing witness to the fact that everything requires acts of trust in God. Confidence that his mother is ours, too, carries us in wayswecan never fully know Mary as the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United States and one of the most, if not the most, misunderstood aspects of Catholicism The Immaculate Conception has nothing to do with Mary and Joseph never having had sex. It is about the sinless nature of Mary, from the momentofher conception. It signals that miracles happen and purity is possible, with God’s grace. It’s not merechild’splay.The sacraments do actually sustain us. In his first homily as pope, Leo XIV warned us of practical atheism. Even a daily Mass-goer can fall into it. Mass is not forplay anymore. It’s everything forthose whobelieve we believe it; we will live it and invite others with the love we show like never before. The attention the world has fixed on the Catholic Church right now necessitates it.

Email Kathryn Jean Lopez at klopez@ nationalreview.com.

Kathryn Jean Lopez

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass withthe CollegeofCardinals inside the Sistine Chapel at theVatican on May9

Fire erupts at Nottoway mansioninIberville Parish

BY ELLYN COUVILLION and QUINN COFFMAN Staff writers

Afire broke out at the Nottoway Resort plantation house Thursday,starting in the building’s south wing and spreading to the main house.

Dozens of fire response vehicles, ambulances and civilian cars were lined along La. 1, as smoke blown by the wind ﬂew into the sky in

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Cancer Research Center, 40%would go to the Louisiana Department of Health, 10% would go to the Cancer Center of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveportand

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line-of-duty death thedepartment has suffered since the fatal shooting in October 2017 of Cpl. Michael Middlebrook.

Though not substantiated by ofﬁcial sources,a media report and sources involved in the shooting suggested

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incoming LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said was about transparency and protecting the public’shealth, officials shared updates on both the measles and whooping cough outbreaks. While the state has successfully contained measles, whooping cough cases continue to rise, posing asignificant risk to infants too young to be fully vaccinated.

As of Wednesday,the state reported 170 whoopingcough casesin2025, surpassing the total of 153 cases recorded in all of last year.Since September2024, the outbreak has led to 42 hospitalizations, withnearly 70% involving infants under 1year old.Two infants have died, marking the ﬁrst fatalities in Louisiana since 2018. Newborns are especially vulnerable to whooping cough because they have immature immune systems, said Dr.Margot Anderson, a pediatric infectious disease expertatTulane University. In older kids, the virusis usually an “annoyance,” but its lengthy contagious period makes it easy to spread.

“Weused to call it the 100day cough,” said Anderson. “They’re contagious forat leastthree weeks of coughing.”

Infants get their ﬁrstpertussis vaccineat2months.

To protect them, Anderson recommended what’sknown as “cocooning”—keepinginfants away from others until

graybillowsfrom cracks in the plantation house’s roof.

Efforts to extinguishthe blazecontinued into the evening,withﬂames visible through the heavy smoke.

Thefirewas called in shortly after2 p.m., according to Chris Daigle,Iberville Parish president,who was on sceneand directing the responsealongside Iberville Parish Fire Department DirectorShaun Bordelon. Matthew Morgan, execu-

10% would go to theMary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Gonzales.

At those organizations, the money would payfor smoking prevention mass-media programs,tobacco control programs,screening programs and prevention and cessation initiatives, among other measures. In its original form, HB517

thatJolivette died from a fellow SWAT ofﬁcer’s bullet.

Jolivette’swife, Alexis Jolivette, acknowledged that Hurst did notdirectly kill SegusJolivette in arecent appearance in frontofthe Louisiana House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.

McKenzie Liebaert, who wastrappedinside the trailer while police attempted to serve the warrant, said

they gettheir ﬁrst shot.She also recommended abooster shot during pregnancy to give the baby antibodies. Five ofthe 42 hospitalized pertussispatients were vaccinated. Sixhad an unknown vaccinationrate, and the remaining31were undervaccinatedorunvaccinated.

One in three babies under the age of 1who get whooping cough will be hospitalized, said Sokol. “The younger the baby is, themore likely they’re going to have asevereillness,” she said Anyone who is going to be around the infant in early days,suchasgrandparents or siblings, should be up to dateonthe pertussis vaccine, which is given as part of the DTaP vaccine forchildren and the Tdap vaccine for adolescentsand adults. Those vaccines also protect againstdiphtheriaand tetanus.

It’slikely that whooping cough is goingundetected in thestate due to less frequent testing, said Sokol. Though Louisiana’soverall case ratefor pertussisis lower than thenationalaverage, the rateofseverecases requiring hospitalization is signiﬁcantly higher,at15% compared with anational average of 5%.

Surgeon GeneralDr. Ralph AbrahamsaidLouisiana residents should consulthealth care providers if there are any concernsabout achild’s health. He advised parents to seek medical attention if achildhas symptoms like high fever, noteating, not drinking, or decreased uri-

tive chef for Nottoway,was one of thefirst to see the smoke coming outofthe south wing of the building. He was standing acrossthe lawn in the giftshopatthe time.

“I never ran so fast in my life,” he said.

He andother employees grabbedﬁre extinguishers and tubs of water

But, by the time he got to the ground floor of the southwing, “I heardcrack-

—which was backed by Gov Jeff Landry —sought to tax vapor productsat33% of their wholesale price. Currently,those productsare taxed based on howmuch vaping liquid is in them, at 15 centsa milliliter

During aHouse Ways and Means Committee meeting last month,health advocates said the billwas an important

in September shefeltlucky to be alive after the barrage of bullets that were ﬁred by police.

In ajailhouseinterview

Hurst said he believed as many as 50 rounds were firedtowardhim andthe two people police described as hostages. Oneofthe bulletsfired in that barrage struck and killed Segus Jolivette, who Liebaert said wasbehind the

nary output

“I would recommend talking to your healthcare providerifyou have questions about your immunity to these diseases, because there are tests we can do to check your immunity,” Abrahamsaid. For thosewho do not have aregular health provider, Abraham recommended visiting aparishhealth unit.

Measlescases closed

On May9,Louisiana closed the investigation thatstemmed from atravelrelatedmeasles case in the New Orleans area in midApril. Oneadditional case was found through contact tracing, but that casewas already past the incubation period when it wasidentiﬁed. According to Dr.Pete Croughan, 75 people were exposed, about halfofwhom werehealth careworkers Twohigh-riskcontacts received post-exposure drugs that aretypically givento people who are unvaccinated, “whichalmost certainly prevented additional cases,” Croughan said.

Thesecases coincide with anational uptick, with more than 1,000 confirmed measles cases across31states by early May, thehighest annual total since2019.

Approximately 96% of thesecases have occurredin unvaccinated or undervaccinated individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some parents have asked aboutgiving their children an early measles vaccine before the typical timeline

ling beneath my feet,and it freaked me out. Ijust droppedthe tub and ran back outside.”

He saidfirst responders were on thescene within minutes

“These boys showed up at damn near all the same time, and just went right to work,”hesaid. No guests were on the grounds, and no injuries have been reported.

Nottoway,which has

step toward reducing vaping rates among youth. They said nearly 1in3Louisiana high school students vapes, citing astatistic from the2023 Louisiana Youth Tobacco Survey Thoseinthe businesscommunity,however,warned thelaw could raise taxes on vape productsbyasmuch as 600%.Theyalso argued that, after Louisiana in 2023

trailer at thetime.

Abulletgrazed Liebaert’s hand, and Hurst said he was shotinthe leg. Liebaert said police then grabbedher andthrewher into the bathtub. She believes ofﬁcers were unaware of whoanyone was at that moment.They thengrabbed Hurst and pinned him to the ground. Allthreeweretaken outofthe home, and Hurst was arrested.

of one year.Anderson advisedthatsincethere is no evidence of active spread of measles within the state, earlyvaccination is generally not necessary,except in cases whereachild may travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks.

Recent state policy changes have reduced proactive vaccine promotion,ending mass vaccination events like ﬂu shot fairs and instructing public health employees to direct residents to their health care providers rather thanactively recommending vaccines. Abraham said he would not consider holding vac-

LOTTERY WEDNESDAY, MAY14, 2025

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changed its ofﬁcial nameto Nottaway Resort, is used as an event venue, hotel and museum

The plantation was built at the request of JohnHampden Randolph, aprestigious sugar cane planter,and was completed in 1859. The 64room, 53,000-square-foot mansion was designed by renowned architectHenry Howard of NewOrleans in GreekRevival andItalianate style.

passed alaw that took many popularflavoredvapes off store shelves, many youthno longer uselegally-purchased products; atax, therefore, would do little to deterteens fromvaping, theyargued.

Bills creating new taxes need atwo-thirds majority vote to pass the Legislature —that’s70votes in the House and26inthe Senate

Liebaertsaidshe believes bullets from other police officers fatally struck Jolivette.

“It sure didn’tfeel like they were trying to protect me,” Liebaert said. “I wasn’tscared untilthey started blowing windows outofthe houseand shooting at me.Ifit’sahostage situation, then why are they shooting in the direction of the hostages?”

cine events forpertussis, but said the department was promoting the vaccine on its website, urging residents to speak with their physicians. Access is aproblem Anderson often sees in hospitalized patients with vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Wewere so interested in this problemofvaccine refusers or skeptics, but oftentimesit’sthattheylive in Tickfaw,orsomewhere really rural, anddon’thave transportation,” she said.

SPORTS

LSU’sstrong start to the 2025 season was followed by afade at the ﬁnish,but all is forgottenwhenthe playoffs start.

Tigers third baseman/leadoff hitter and unquestioned leader Danieca Coffey said the team has latched onto the reset vibe inthe BatonRouge regional at Tiger Park. “I tookthis week to focus on myself and whatIneed to grow in to put myself in the best spot tomorrow,” said Coffey,who missed nearly all of last year’srun to the super regionals. “You’re trying to getback to that spot youfelt at the beginning of the season. It’slike arestart to the season.”

Refreshed and ready with more than aweek off since their last game,the Tigers (41-14) takeonNo. 4seed

Southeastern (48-14) at 4:30 p.m. following the opener between No. 3seed Connecticut (35-17) and No. 2seed Nebraska (39-13) LSU went 4-8 in the lasthalf of the SEC slate to ﬁnish

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Thestrongest field of the majors gaveway to afew surprises Thursday in

a 25-footer on the rugged ninth It was Vegas’ bestscore in 45 rounds playingthe majors.The Venezuelanhas never ﬁnished in the top 20 in amajorand hadn’tqualiﬁed for this one in threeyears. He had atwo-shot leadoverRyan Gerard, the PGA Tour rookie who grew up in North Carolina and wasthe onlyother player to reach 7under until bogeys

12-12 for the second consecutive season. Despite some program record-setting offensive numbers and aNo. 4 RPI,theyslid outofthe top eight seeds, which would have put them in position to host asuper regional. But coach Beth Torina was clear on the difﬁculty the Tigers face to get beyond thisweekend with astrong and varied ﬁeld. SLUgavethe Tigersall they could handle in aFebruarymeeting and no other 4-seed won as many as 40 games much less the 48 theLions captured. The Lions facilitated their short game with 194 stolen bases this year “He (SLU coach RickFremin)does suchagood job of creating therun game with his group,” Torina said. “They are so consistent year in and year out. Finding ways to defendthatisalwaysgoingtobethe challenge when you face them.”

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. When Cooper Williams trottedout to themound at CollegeStation, Texas, countless family members were cheering him on from the stands. Williams is from Alvin,Texas.Ifthat town sounds familiar,it’sprobably because it’s thesame placewhere Nolan Ryangrew up. Alvin is only atwo-hour drive from College Station, and Williams grew up going to Texas A&M games and at onepoint was even committed to pitch for theAggies. This was abig moment forthe LSU freshman left-hander

“I had alot of family there,cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents,”Williams said. “The way they came and supported me, it felt (great).” Williams held his own that weekend. He forced asacrifice fly in hisfirst appearance —Game 1ofSaturday’sdoubleheader —before striking out future first-round pick Jace LaVioletteonSunday Twomore strong outings for afreshman whohas yet to allow an earned run in

Want an example of how brutal the Southeastern Conference has become?

We enter into evidence Exhibit A, the LSU softball program The Tigers have the No. 5RPI in the country and astrong 41-14 record. Yet the Tigers wereonly the ninth seed in last week’sSEC tournament and are the No.10 national seed as they prepare to host their NCAA Baton Rouge regional against Southeastern, Nebraska and Connecticut.

If LSU,which opens at 4:30 p.m.Friday against SLU,wins its regional and No. 7national seed Tennessee wins the regional it is hosting, the Tigers will have to go on the road forasuper regional forthe second straight season. LSU lost in three games at Stanford in 2024. The Tigers have been atop eight national seed three times since Beth Torina took over in 2012 but only once since 2015. That wasin2021, when LSU wasthe No.7and lost asuper regional at hometoFlorida State. The Tigers madethe last of their four trips under Torina to the Women’sCollege World Series in 2017. They last won the SEC regular season in 2004 and the SEC tournament in 2007, all facts that were pointed out on the SEC Network telecast of LSU’s SEC tournament loss to Oklahoma, the No.2national seed. The arrival of Oklahomaand Texas to the SEC has madesoftball in the league, already unbelievably tough, harder than adiamond. Seven of the top eight national seeds, including the top four,are from the SEC. LSU and Alabama, the No. 15, are also

this editionwenttopress.For complete coverage,visit theadvocate.com

Southeastern Conference play

“At the end of the day I’m here,” Williams said. “I love being here, and there’s no other guys I’drather go to battle with every day.”

Despite being afreshman,Williams’ decision to joinLSU followinglastsummer’sdraft was asigniﬁcant pickup for this year’steam. The Tigers lacked left-handedoptions on themound afterhaving10lefties in 2024 Theyhad sophomore Kade Anderson and redshirt sophomore DJ Primeaux, and hadadded two-wayseniorDalton Beck and junior college transfer Conner Ware. But those were the only leftiesonthe team before Williamsmade his pledge.

LSUcenter fielder Jalia Lassiter,center,celebratesher homerun withher

Scott Rabalais

STAFF FILE PHOTOByMICHAEL JOHNSON LSUright fielder McKenzie Redouteytalks with coachBeth Torina in the fifth inning of agame against Charlotte on Feb.7 at Tiger Park. Torina has led the Tigers to regionalsin all14seasons as coach.

AP PHOTO By GEORGEWALKER IV Jhonattan Vegas, of Venezuela, wavesafter making aputt on the seventh hole during the firstround of the PGA Championship on Thursdayatthe Quail HollowClub in Charlotte, N.C.

page 4C

WNBA set to tip off season

A host of teams looking to challenge for the championship

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

There are no shortages of challengers to the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty or star power across the league.

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are some of the veterans who will share the spotlight with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers as the league, in its 29th season, hopes to continue its rise in popularity

The WNBA season tips off Friday with expansion team Golden State playing its first game that night. A day later the Liberty will host the Aces where New York will receive its rings and raise the ﬁrst championship banner in the franchise’s history

Later that day, Clark and Reese will meet for the ﬁrst of ﬁve matchups this season between Indiana and Chicago.

Both are looking to build off their stellar rookie seasons where they set records and helped the league to record ratings and attendance. No team made more moves this offseason then the Fever who brought in a lot of talented veterans around Clark and Aliyah Boston the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year award winners. Indiana added DeWanna Bonner Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham as well as resigning Kelsey Mitchell.

Clark is a slight favorite over Wilson and Collier according to BetMGM to win the MVP The Fever are one of the betting favorites to win the title.

Indiana is not the only team to make major moves with several franchises adding marquee names to rosters during the offseason via free agency and trades.

Atlanta picked up former Mercury All-Star Brittney Griner, who had spent her entire WNBA career playing in Arizona since being drafted No. 1 in 2013 by Phoenix. The Dream also added former Connecticut standout Brionna Jones.

Phoenix was active in bolstering its roster trading for Alyssa Thomas and signing Satou Sabally The Sun lost their entire starting

ﬁve from last season and brought back former UConn All-American Tina Charles.

Looking for a repeat title

It’s rare for teams to win backto-back championships in the WNBA.

Las Vegas became the ﬁrst to do it in 21 years with its consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023.

New York is trying to do it now The Liberty made a few key offseason moves bringing in veteran guard Natasha Cloud as well as forward Isabelle Harrison.

New York also will have exciting

guard Marine Johannes back this season after she missed last year to prepare for the Olympics with her French team.

The Liberty did lose guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to a knee injury that she suffered in the offseason.

She’ll be out for the year Lynx for a championship

Minnesota was overlooked at the start of the season and led by Collier, they made it back to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017 before losing in a decisive Game 5 to New York.

While they didn’t make many offseason moves, the Lynx return all ﬁve starters.

Collier, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, anchors a solid defense that held opponents to a league-best 41% shooting from the ﬁeld.

High expectations for Bueckers

Bueckers was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft and will try and help revitalize the Dallas franchise. She was the most efﬁcient player in college on the offensive end and capped off her career helping UConn win its 12th national championship. Before she went through a series of injuries at UConn, Bueckers became the first freshman ever to win AP Player of the Year

New leadership on sidelines

Eight of the 13 teams will have new head coaches this season.

Atlanta and Los Angeles turned to college coaches Karl Smesko and Lynne Roberts, respectively Indiana brought back former coach and player Stephanie White to lead the Fever. White had been in charge of the Connecticut Sun, who replaced her with former Belgium national team coach Rachid Meziane.

Curry watches as Warriors fade out

BY DAVE CAMPBELL

AP sportswriter

MINNEAPOLIS The Golden State Warriors revealed a glimmer of hope before their elimination game in Minnesota with the announcement that Stephen Curry had been cleared for shooting drills and light on-court workouts, raising the possibility his strained left hamstring could heal in time for him to play in the series. The Timberwolves quickly put an end to that, closing out the Western Conference semifinal series with a 121-110 victory Wednesday night. All Curry could do was watch, the four-time NBA champion and league’s career leading 3-point shooter relegated to wincing

from the bench while the Wolves shredded an exhausted Warriors defense with 63% shooting. The Warriors said earlier in the day that Curry was “making good progress” in his recovery from the injury suffered in the opener of the second-round series.

With a three-day break before the scheduled Game 6, Curry would’ve have had extra time to heal, but his fourth consecutive absence was simply too much to overcome for this Warriors team that was already thin on consistent scoring “Injuries are part of the playoffs. I learned a long time ago the playoffs are really about health and then just guys stepping up and making some big shots, big plays in key games,” said coach

Steve Kerr, who embraced veterans Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green on the court after the game.

That’s what decides every series.

We’ve been on both ends of that It’s just part of it, so there’s no sense in dwelling on it.”

The Warriors lost four straight games in the same postseason for the ﬁrst time since 1972.

“We definitely missed Steph. That obviously goes without saying. But I’m not going to come up here and harp on Steph not being here, make it like their win is less than what it is,” Green said.

“They’re moving on. Congratulations to those guys They beat us regardless.”

Curry’s ﬁrst career hamstring strain, one of several injuries that have waylaid star players during

these NBA playoffs, made it predictably harder for the Warriors to space their offense and generate scoring. They averaged 17 turnovers per game in the series and shot only 34% from 3-point range.

“A tremendous loss for Golden State, no doubt, a tremendous loss for the series. I’m sure it would’ve been quite different if Steph would’ve been able to play,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. ‘But our guys took care of business, and that’s not something that we’ve always done. I thought we had a bunch of business-like approaches in this series and took advantage of something that happened and made the best of it. We don’t need to apologize for it We just went out and did it.”

World’s top 3 golfers make mess of 16th hole

BY STEVE REED AP sportswriter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele were supposed to be the marquis group to watch on Thursday at the PGA Championship. It didn’t look like it in Round 1 — at least on the 16th hole at Quail Hollow

The world’s top three players all made double bogey on the 535yard, par-4 hole with Scheffler and Schauffele ﬁnding the water on their approach shots from the middle of the fairway while dealing with some mud on their golf

balls, and McIlroy making a mess of the hole — literally — when he slipped in the wet conditions trying to hit from the deep rough from a sidehill lie. All three walked off the green separately, dejected and eager to hit the reset button McIlroy seemed destined for trouble from the start after the Masters champion hooked his tee shot to the left and watched in disbelief as his ball rolled down a steep embankment, stopping in the deep rough a few yards from the water that runs along the left side of the fairway That left McIlroy with an awkward stance on a muddy sidehill that had endured

two days of heavy rains this week.

As McIlroy attempted to strike the ball, his back foot slipped and he was lucky just to make contact with the ball, which fluttered some 65 yards ahead and landed in some shorter rough. McIlroy couldn’t salvage par as his approach shot from 181 yards sailed right of the green. He chipped over a bunker and two-putted for a 6. The wet grounds affected Scheffler and Schauffele, too. Both smoked beautiful drives down the middle of the fairway and seemed poised to make birdie on the start on Quail Hollow’s difficult three closing holes on the

back nine known as the Green Mile. But playing with muddied balls, both sent their approach shots from about 200 yards into water on the left side of the green in nearly identical fashion, and were forced to take drops. Facing severe uphill lies, both players sent their loft wedges well past the hole, and needed two putts to ﬁnish out — with Schefﬂer making a 7-foot putt just to save double bogey

It’s the ﬁrst time since 2022 the PGA Championship has grouped together Nos. 1-2-3 in the world ranking for the start of the tournament.

China’s Yang joins draft combine for NBA spot

Yang Hansen — a 7-foot-1, 253-pound center from China — is one of a slew of international players at the draft combine in Chicago this week, meeting with teams, getting measured and being put through drills. He also is taking part in the 5-on-5 scrimmaging, under the watchful eye of executives from every NBA team. He turns 20 on June 26, the day that the Round 2 picks in this year’s NBA draft will get selected. That might turn out to be a fairly memorable birthday for the Chinese big man.

He really feels happiness here,” Chris Liu, Yang’s interpreter, said after relaying Yang questions. “And then, he’s really willing to compete with everyone and against everyone He really enjoyed that.”

NFL considers allowing players in Olympics

NFL owners will discuss a proposal to allow players under contract to participate in ﬂag football when the sport makes its Olympic debut in 2028 in Los Angeles.

The league released a proposed resolution on Thursday on the issue that will be considered next week by owners at the spring meetings in Minnesota.

If the resolution is approved by at least 24 of the 32 team owners, the league would be allowed to negotiate with the NFL Players Association, Olympic ofﬁcials and national governing bodies on the speciﬁcs of letting NFL players participate. The proposal would allow only one player per NFL team to be selected by a country for the Olympics in addition to each team’s designated international player

Pacquiao returning to the ring after senatorial loss Boxing great Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement to fight Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight crown in July Pacquiao’s team made the announcement on Thursday, just hours after he conceded defeat in a bid for another seat in the Philippines Senate. It was not clear if the fight at a Las Vegas venue to be decided is a one-off or if 46-year-old Pacquiao is coming out of a fouryear retirement to box full-time. Asked to clarify, his communications officer Joey Hernal said the media should wait for Pacquiao’s own press conference.

Pacquiao previously served as a senator from 2016-22. In the midterm elections on Monday, Pacquiao vied for a second stint in the Senate but ﬁnished 18th out of 12 allowed.

Sinner cranks up his game in rout of Ruud

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner cranked up his level to near-perfection in a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Ruud in the Italian Open quarterﬁnals on Thursday — a day after Sinner was granted a private audience with the new tennis-playing pope just down the road at the Vatican.

In his fourth match back after a three-month doping ban, Sinner blasted winners on the lines, finished off points with aggressive overhead smashes and never really let Ruud — one of the best clay-court players on tour — have a chance. The seventh-ranked Ruud was coming off a title at the Madrid Open but in the ﬁrst set he managed to win just seven points. The Norwegian dropped to 0-4 in his career against Sinner

FIFA gets formal complaint of human rights oversight

A group of international lawyers ﬁled a formal complaint to FIFA on Thursday claiming the soccer body is failing to uphold its human rights policy with 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia. The ﬁling using FIFA’s own online portal for grievance reporting was made by FIFA’s former anti-corruption adviser Mark Pieth, Swiss lawyer Stefan Wehrenberg and British barrister Rodney Dixon. Their offers to advise FIFA on human rights compliance were ignored.

“Saudi Arabia has been chosen as the next host country despite its appalling human rights record, including violations relating to freedom of expression, arbitrary arrest, detention and mistreatment, migrants’ rights and women’s rights,” the lawyers’ complaint said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLIE NEIBERGALL

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark walks off the court after an exhibition game against Brazil on May 4 in Iowa City, Iowa.

Florida 5, Toronto 4 Sunday’s game: Florida 2, Toronto 0 Wednesday’s game: Florida 6 Toronto 1 x-Friday, May 16: Toronto at Florida, TBA x-Sunday, May 18: Florida at Toronto, TBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Dallas 2, Winnipeg 1

game: Dallas 3, Winnipeg 2 Friday’s game: Winnipeg 4, Dallas 0 Sunday’s game: Dallas 5, Winnipeg 2 Tuesday’s game: Dallas 3, Winnipeg 1 x-Thursday, May 15: Dallas at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m. x-Saturday, May 17: Winnipeg at Dallas, TBA x-Monday, May 19: Dallas at Winnipeg, TBA Edmonton 4, Vegas 1 Tuesday’s game: Edmonton 4 Vegas 2 Thursday’s game: Edmonton 5 Vegas 4, OT

Another Kentucky Derby winner not in the Preakness debate about Triple Crown

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

BALTIMORE Sovereignty is not running out of that starting gate in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, two weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby Yet he is still the talk of Pimlico Race Course this week.

That is because owners and trainer Bill Mott opted to skip the Preakness and with it a chance at the Triple Crown because of the short turnaround. It is the second time in four years the Derby winner is not taking part for that reason and the ﬁfth time in seven years overall the Preakness goes on with no Triple Crown on the line.

The trend has reignited the debate about what, if anything needs to change with the Triple Crown, with ideas ranging from putting more space between the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes to adding incentives to run in all three to changing the order of the races altogether Like starters in baseball throwing fewer pitchers, elite horses now typically get much longer time between races, and the situation has put tradition and modernization of the sport head to head.

The two-week turnaround now feels to many around the sport like an antiquated schedule when longer gaps are now the norm with an eye toward horse wear and tear and better performance. Thoroughbreds used to be trained and run at a much quicker interval.

“It’s a question that has more than one side to it,” said Steve Asmussen, who has won more races than any other trainer in North America. “I love how hard it is to do, which makes it so special And then would it be making it easier? Does it dilute it? That’s a great question. And I think that it’ll continue to be debated.”

The debate

Rome Purse: €6,009,593

Surface: Red clay ROME Results Thursday from Internazionali BNL d’Italia at Foro Italico (seedings in parentheses): Women’s Singles

Semiﬁnals Jasmine Paolini (6), Italy, def. Peyton Stearns, United States, 7-5, 6-1. Coco Gauff (4), United States, def. Zheng Qinwen (8), China, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4). Women’s Doubles

Quarterﬁnals Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez, Australia, def. Ulrikke Eikeri, Norway and Eri Hozumi, Japan, 4-6, 6-2, 10-5

Veronika Kudermetova, Russia, and Elise Mertens, Belgium, def. Asia Muhammad, United States, and Demi Schuurs (8), Netherlands, 3-6, 6-2, 10-4.

Parma Ladies Open Results

Thursday At Tennis Club President Parma, Italy

Purse: $115,000

Surface: Red clay PARMA, ITALY Results Thursday from Parma Ladies Open at Tennis Club President (seedings in parentheses): Women’s Singles Quarterﬁnals Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (5), Egypt, def. Yulia Putintseva (1) Kazakhstan, walkover. Simona Waltert, Switzerland, def. Marina Stakusic, Canada, 3-6, 6-2 7-5. Irina-Camelia Begu (8), Romania, def. Anna Bondar, Hungary, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Victoria Mboko, Canada, def. Wang Xinyu (2), China, 6-4, 6-0. Women’s Doubles

Quarterﬁnals Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers, Spain, and Lara Salden, Belgium, def. Eden Silva, Britain, and Anastasia Detiuc, Czechia, 0-6, 6-0, 10-7 Nicole Fossa Huergo, Italy, and Zhibek Kulambayeva, Kazakhstan, def. Angelica Moratelli, Italy, and Anna Danilina (1), Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-4. Jesika Maleckova and Miriam Skoch, Czechia, def. Maia Lumsden, Britain, and Isabelle Haverlag, Netherlands 6-3, 6-3.

Transactions

Major League Baseball American League

BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Optioned RHP Chayce McDermott to Norfolk (IL).

CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Claimed INF Vinny Capra off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. MINNESOTA TWINS — Optioned RHP Simeon Woods Richardson to St. Paul (IL). TAMPA BAY RAYS — Reinstated RF Josh Lowe from the 10-day IL. Placed RF Travis Jankowski on the 10-day IL.

National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Agreed to terms with RHP Jonatan Bernal on a minor league contract.

ATLANTA BRAVES — Sent RF Ronald Acuña Jr. on a rehab assignment to Gwinnett (IL) LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Optioned RHP J.P. Feyereisen to Oklahoma City (PCL). Recalled LHP Justin Wrobleski from Oklahoma City

It was debated constantly during the 37year drought between Triple Crown champions from Affirmed in 1978 until Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah swept the three races in 2015. Baffert’s Justify did it in 2018, too, and the chorus of voices calling for change was quieted.

But then, for various reasons, there has been a Triple Crown chance in the Preakness only twice in the past seven years.

The biggest draw of the middle leg – the anticipation for the possibility – went from being automatic to anything but.

“It is troubling, and it has been troubling for several years,” said Jerry Bailey, a Hall of Fame jockey who won each of the three races twice and is now an NBC Sports analyst. “It’s completely ﬂip-ﬂopped from my generation when it was the rule that they would run back and the exception that they wouldn’t.”

Many top trainers, including Baffert, D. Wayne Lukas, Mark Casse and Michael McCarthy have run a Derby horse in the Preakness or will this year Others, like Mott, Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox, are more reluctant to take the risk.

“We need them in the game,” said Casse, who won the Preakness in 2019 with War of Will and has Sandman this year “This is important. We want the best horses for our sport.”

When Asmussen won a Triple Crown race for the ﬁrst time with Curlin in the 2007 Preakness, it came after his horse finished third behind Street Sense and Hard Spun in the Kentucky Derby Curlin, Street Sense and Hard Spun went 1-2-3 in the Preakness.

“We are deﬁnitely running on a very different environment than we were then,” Asmussen said. “Every horse is an individual, every year is different, and it’s just very unique circumstances.”

The fallout

The circumstances have deteriorated for the Preakness, on track and on television.

Since pandemic crowd limits were lifted in 2022, attendance has plummeted by 62% from an average of nearly 120,000 from 2009-19 to just over 45,000 annually the past three renditions. NBC ratings have dropped 27.5% over that time from 6.9 million viewers to 5 million. Lukas, an 89-year-old Hall of Famer who has won the Preakness seven times, acknowledged not having the Derby winner in the ﬁeld probably hurts for the “lay person that’s not familiar with racing just saying, ‘What’s going on there?’” He said for the trainers, it still matters and that those paying attention year-round understand. But for a sport with an aging fan base that thrived in yesteryear when it was the only legalized form of sports gambling in many places, competition in that space has picked up and there are many options for younger sports fans beyond racing. A series of safety initiatives have been implemented to make the sport more acceptable to a wider audience. There has been signiﬁcant progress on that front. Fatalities have decreased at tracks overseen by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, including to a historic low of 0.90 per 1,000 starts last year

“We’ve got some momentum going right now,” Casse said. “Our game has come a long way in the last year or so. We were headed in the wrong direction. I feel like now we’re headed in the right direction. Let’s take advantage of this and make some changes.”

The ideas

One thing that is not going to change is the Kentucky Derby on the ﬁrst Saturday in May Beyond that, plenty is up for consideration.

Lukas has for decades pitched moving the Preakness back to Memorial Day weekend and the Belmont to the weekend closest to the Fourth of July Prominent owner Mike Repole last week suggested making the Belmont the second leg and shifting the Preakness back to third to provide more time in between.

Casse on Tuesday broached the option of a month between the races. Even four weeks apart would be more in line with modern thinking.

“Pretty much all of us are going to say you want to give them four, ﬁve, six weeks between races,” trainer Brendan Walsh said “A larger spacing between races would be more favorable to trainers. I think you would get better lineups in the individual races.”

Casse also wondered if bringing back a bonus for winning the Triple Crown would help or creating a points system and an incentive for running in all three races, especially if they’re further apart.

Since there is no centralized governing body dictating the calendar, changes would have to be agreed upon by the Maryland Jockey Club, which is taking over the Preakness from 1/ST Racing when Pimlico is scheduled to reopen in 2027, and the New York Racing Association that runs the Belmont.

The opposition

Baffert on Thursday said he hopes nothing changes, citing the excitement of American Pharoah completing the Triple Crown a decade ago.

“The Triple Crown is still important, even though it’s tough,” Baffert said. “We need to keep this thing because this is what racing looks forward to.” McCarthy, who has the Preakness favorite in Journalism after ﬁnishing second to Sovereignty in the Derby, is in Baffert’s camp, saying: “Maybe I’m a bit of a traditionalist in that way, but I think the three races in ﬁve weeks is good. I think it should stay as it is.”

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

hosting regionals. All but one of 15 SEC teams, Missouri, is in the NCAA ﬁeld of 64 (Vanderbilt does not compete)

“No other (SEC) sport put all but one of their teams in the postseason,” Torinasaid Well, SEC gymnastics putall ofits teams in, but that’sgoing 9-for-9 instead of 14of15. In their ﬁnal four weeksofthe SEC regular season plus the single-elimination conference tournament, LSU faced the top ﬁveseeded teams from theSEC: The Tigers were swept at No. 1Texas A&M, lost two of three at No. 6Texas, wontwo of three at home against No.3Florida,lost twoofthree at No. 4Arkansas andlostin thetourney to No.2 Oklahoma and former UL aceSam Landry

LSU’sregionalisn’taking cake walk by any means. No. 2-seeded Nebraska, which plays UConn at 2p.m. Friday,boasts one of the nation’stop three pitchers in Jordy Bahl,who is 23-6and has an astonishing 254 strikeouts in 174-2/3 innings pitched. SLU, the Southland Conference champion, hasasparkling 48-14 record andcame within an inch of beating LSU in February at Tiger Park before falling 3-2. But abreak from the rigors of theSEC, evenfor one round, is awelcomed respite

“It’snice to prepare for someone else,” Torina said.

Ithink there’sagrowingsentiment, misplaced as it may be, among LSUfandomthat the softball program has grown stagnant, or even regressed.While LSU

softball has not ranked among the league’s uber-elite in terms of SEC titles,national seeds or WCWS appearances in recent years, it is far from bad. Torina has run a successful program that has been free of anymajor scandal or controversy

Onealways aspires to be better,and enoughLSU programshave demonstrated that they can and should reach the top.

Among what one would consider the big seven sports at LSU —football, baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, gymnastics,softball and track and ﬁeld —onlymen’sbasketball and softball have neverwon NCAA championships. The otherﬁve have all done so since 2019.

The question is, since when has being a top 10-15 program been considered an underachievement?

LSUsoftball was whisker close to being a top-eight national seed in 2025. The difference may well have been its home series with SouthCarolina. The Tigers led game two of that series against theGamecocks 2-1 before falling behind 3-2 in the seventh. LSUtied it 3-3, but South Carolina prevailed 5-3 in eight innings.

TheGamecocks (40-15, 13-11 SEC) got aNo. 8national seed. LSU ﬁnished 12-2 in SECplay and is the No. 10. Draw your own conclusions.

TheNCAA field is set. Now it’ suptothe Tigers to do it on thefield. They certainly canfight their way out of this regional andwin asuper regional on the road, or of course hope for Tennessee to get upset in Knoxville so asuper can comehere.

If not, it’sget ready for next season, and the SECmeat grinder that is sure tostart up again.

LSU

Continued from page1C

Nebraska was perhapsthe most dreaded 2-seed with one of the three best pitchersin the nation in Jordy Bahl, who helpedpitch Oklahoma to apair of national titles before transferring to her home state school.

“Somebodyhad to getthem,”Torina said UConnblasted its way to asecond-place ﬁnish in the Big East with 76 homers, 385 runs and a.325 team average, all tops in their league.

“There are alot of looks to cover in this tournament,” Torina said. “Differentpitching, power offenses,short game, alot of different things to do. We’vehad some quality workand hadtocheck all the boxeswecan check.

“They’re all tough. Every team playing this time of year deserves to be playing. Whoever comes out of here will be very battle tested.”

Despitethe late slide,the Tigers have been asuccess story after losing six starters and their No. 2and 3starting pitchers. What developed wasateamthatset aprogram record for mercy-rulewins,batting average (tied), on base percentage, tiedfor second in walks and sacriﬁce ﬂies andthird

BULLPEN

Continued from page1C

LSU had commitments from left-handers CamCaminitiand Boston Batemen, butboth prospects were selected in the ﬁrst two rounds of the MLB draft. LSU needed Williams to supplement aneed for the short and long term “I think he is going to be aoutstanding pitcher in abigger role thanwe’ve seen to thispoint,”LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “And at aplace like LSU, on apitching staff like this, to be able to comeinand getmeaningful outs and contributeinSEC games as afreshman is really hardtodo.”

So far,Williamshas ﬁlledhis short term promise. The No. 12 left-handedhighschool pitching prospect in the nation, according to Perfect Game, has a1.46 ERA in 17 appearances. He’sonly thrown 121/3 innings,but his command has improved as the season has gone along, and he’saccomplished what he’s been asked to do in SECplay:Get lefthanded hitters out.

“I think the next level of it is continuing to develop physically,whichhealready has,” Johnson said. “And then continuetobuild in away where he can commandthe ball and mix(pitches).” LSU willneed all the help it canget from itsbullpen at the SEC Tournament andasit heads intoJune. Odds are that extra innings

PGA

Continuedfrom page1C

sent him straight to therange. ScottieScheffler anddefending PGA champion Xander Schauffele had plenty to sayabout mud balls on tee shots, particularly on the 16th hole that sent both to double bogey.Schefﬂer at least holed two shots fromoff thegreen —one for birdie, one for eagle —and he ﬁnished with a 6-iron from215 yardsto3feetonNo. 9that sent him to a69.

“I did agood job battling and keeping a level head out there during aday which there was deﬁnitely some challenging aspectstothe course,”Schefﬂer said. “Did a good job posting anumber on aday where Ididn’thave my best stuff.”

For theﬁrst time in at least 30 years, the top10scoresafter theopening roundofa major did not include anyonefrom the top 10 in the world ranking.

In their places were Vegas, whoonly got his game back in order last year when he won in Minnesota, and ahost of other surprises.

Alex Smalley,the firstalternate who found out about 15 hours before he teed off thathehad aspot in theﬁeld, rolled in a70foot eagleputtonhis way to a67. Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who qualiﬁed by winning theMyrtle Beach Classic, also was at 67. They were joined by alarge groupthat included Luke Donald, the 47-year-old RyderCup captainfor Europe who was the only player without abogey on his card. The U.S. captain, Keegan Bradley,was another shot behind.

“It’salways fun, bogey-free in amajor championship on acourse that you wouldn’thave thought would be idealfor me,” said Donald,who is only in the ﬁeld

because of aPGA of America tradition to invite active Ryder Cup captains.

Considering the champions the majors have produced in recent years, this leaderboard more closely resembled the Myrtle Beach Classic.Noneofthe topeight players have won amajor,nor have they ever seriously contended.

Gerard looked comfortable playing before ahome crowd. He madeatough par on the rugged ninth hole, then ran off four straight birdies on the back nine, and was 7 underfor the round after holing a60-footer foreagle on the par-5 15th. Davis hadseven birdiesand narrowly missed a10-foot par putt on his last hole for the lead. Not bad for someone who recently ended astretch of ﬁvestraight missed cuts and hasn’thad atop 10 since early February

“It’sjust constantly trying to go back to things that have worked, trying to keep the head in aplace where you’re not feeling like you’re banging your head against the wallall the time,” Davis said. “It’sletting it organically come—good processes, good routines, all those little one percenters add up to good golf eventually.”

The others at 67 were Stephan Jaeger and Aaron Rai, whoboth becameﬁrst-time PGATour winners last year

Schefﬂerat69had the best score of anyone from the top 10 in the world.

McIlroy,afour-time winner at QuailHollow,came into this PGAChampionship believing that thrill-a-hole Masters titlelast month that gave him the career Grand Slam would be thehighlight of his career no matter what he does from here.

Asloppy round, particularly off the tee, wasn’tgoing to change that. It wasnoless surprising to seehim struggleatQuail Hollow,posting his highest round since a76in the second round of theWells Fargo Championship in 2018.

mostruns scored.

Thoseachievementsunder Bryce Neal, who replaced long-time offensive coach Howard Dobson, brought adifferent vibe.

“It’s offensive number after offensive number,” Torina said.“It’s been really incredible what he’sdone here.

Thesuccess is highlighted by the performance of redshirt freshman ﬁrst baseman Tori Edwards, who was named SEC Freshmanofthe Year after belting an LSU freshman record 18 homers with71runs batted in. She also leads the team with a.403 batting average. Coffey bounced back from her season ending injury in 2024 to bat .386 with a.512 OBP and 52 runs scored.

What Torina needs this weekend is for the pitchingtoevenout after aceSydneyBerzon struggled in the ﬁnal four weeks. Freshman left-hander Jayden Heavener showed somesigns of maturitywiththree strong outingsinthe last four

“Her last few outings have been really good, really strong,” Torina said. “Wehave to hope that’swhat we’regoing to get here She’sworked througha lotofthingsand grown the most of anybody we’ve had.

“It’sbeen alongseason;nobodyout here is goingtofeel 100 percent. But(Sydney) has battled through some stuffall year.She’ll give us everything she’sgot.”

will beneeded from its relief arms Like Anderson ayear ago, count Williams as one of those key pieces.

“Doingall thethings thatyou need to do to be successful, he does that,” Johnson said, “the mindset, mental game, competitiveness (and) ability.Now it’sjust about buildingtime, strength and experience.”

Email Koki RileyatKoki.Riley@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU pitcher Cooper Williams delivers apitch against Tennessee in the eighth inning of their game on April 26 at Alex Box Stadium.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU third baseman DaniecaCoffeyreacts after leadingoff with adouble in the ﬁrst inning of agame against Alabama on April 4atTiger Park

ASSOCAITEDPRESS PHOTOByDAVID J. PHILLIP

Rory McIlroyreacts after missing aputt on the 16th hole during the ﬁrst round of the PGA Championship on Thursday at the Quail HollowClub in Charlotte, N.C.

Final Five

The last Live After Five for the spring, featuring Baton Rouge’s longestrunning brass band, the Michael Foster Project, with the Golden Sioux Indians will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Rhorer Plaza, 200 St. Louis St. The concert is free. downtownbr.org/live-after-five.

Staff report

Lots of music and loads of food meet at the eighth annual Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. SaturdaySunday at the Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. The free, family-friendly event will feature blues, soul, R&B, jazz, gospel and Christian music. Also look for a vendor’s village. The Pioneer Award for contributions to the soul food industry will be presented to Cynthia Green of Owens Grocery Deli and Market Founded in 1938 by her parents, David and Emma Owens, Green and her family took over the establishment in 1979. Over the years, the store evolved into a deli known for its home-style breakfasts and lunches. Located in the Valley Park area, its community service work includes providing elderly and needy families with hot meals. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ owenssoulfood/. There will also be a soul food cooking competition on both days. First-, second- and thirdplace prizes will be awarded in each category Festival VIP packages also are available. For more information, call (225) 802-9681 or visit www.brsoulfoodfest.com.

MUSIC SCHEDULE

SATURDAY

*All times approximate and subject to change*

n 11 A.M. TO 11:10 A.M.: Hosts Gisele Haralson and Free Spirit

n 11:15 A.M. TO 11:35 A.M.: Pastor Leon Hitchens (gospel/R&B)

n 11:40 A.M. TO NOON: Phoenix Rouge Dance Troupe (belly dancing)

n 12:10 P.M. TO 12:35 P.M.: Ervin “Maestro” Foster & My Better Half (jazz/pop/blues)

n 12:40 P.M. TO 1 P.M.: Outlaw David Jame$ (motivational rap)

n 1 P.M.: Soul Food Cooking Contest Judging (meats and ﬁsh, vegetables and sides; judges, Rita Rushing Jones, Nokia WilsonNelson)

n 1:15 P.M. TO 1:45 P.M.: Stephen King (Christian rap)

n 2 P.M. TO 2:20 P.M.: Ny’Aira (R&B/soul)

n 2:30 P.M. TO 3 P.M.: LA Groove (old school R&B)

n 3:15 P.M. TO 3:35 P.M.: Jelly B & D’Wolfe (Southern soul/blues)

n 3:45 P.M. TO 4:15 P.M.: Eilene Rockette (gospel/jazz featuring TBJ Band and guest)

n 4:20 P.M. TO 4:40 P.M.: Soul Food Winners (meats and ﬁsh vegetables and side dishes)

n 4:45 P.M. TO 5:15 P.M.: TMQ Band Tino Martinez (instrumental jazz)

n 5:20 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.: Pioneer Award, Owen’s Grocery and Deli, Cynthia Green n 5:35 P.M. TO 6:20 P.M.: Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor (soul/blues/ funk/reggae)

n 6:30 P.M. TO 6:45 P.M.: Eddie “Cool” Deemer (comedian)

n 7 P.M. TO CLOSE: SmokeHouse Porter and the Gut Bucket Blues

THE ADVOCATE.COM

May 16, 2025 5CN

‘STAYING CENTERED’

Louisiana’s John Foster speaks out on ‘American Idol’ fame, record deal rumors, more

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

Between the post-audition interview with “American Idol” ﬁnalist

John Foster just a few weeks ago and last week’s check-in, it’s clear the Louisiana teen is getting used to the spotlight. His responses to questions are quicker His voice more conﬁdent and relaxed. But make no mistake, the second-semester LSU student, 18, has a plan for staying grounded despite his near-overnight fame.

“I’ve just kind of had to make sure that I’m staying centered on myself and my faith and know-

ing that I have a purpose here and that’s why I’m here,” country singer Foster, of Addis, said from Hollywood after wrapping up a rehearsal. “And that’s what’s keeping me straight and that’s all I can do.”

On Monday’s “Idol,” Foster made it into the Top 3, the last elimination before a new “American Idol” is named in this weekend’s Season 23 finale. That three-hour show airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Tell us about this sudden fame and skyrocketing fan base?

Somebody said one time that

“American Idol” is rocket fuel, and I think that’s a perfect analogy for what it can do for an artist. You know, it’s been literal rocket fuel. I went from 5,000 to 200,000 followers on Facebook, which, within two months, is absolutely incredible. Another example of kind of how far this has brought me is never in a million years did I think I’d ever be recognized in Disneyland. Like, sure, I can see somebody recognizing me in like Louisiana or you know Texas or something, but Disneyland in California was not somewhere that I ever thought I’d

ä See FOSTER, page 6C

PROVIDED PHOTO By ERIC MCCANDLESS/DISNEy

Louisiana’s John Foster, right, takes in an ‘American Idol’ mentoring session with award-winning songwriter LinManuel Miranda at Disneyland Resort last week.

FRIDAY QUARTER SHOT: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 11 a.m.

WARPED WITCH

FILM FESTIVAL: Cité des Arts, Lafayette, 4:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pie Bar, New Iberia, 5 p.m.

AMY & KYLE: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY NIGHT JAMS: City of Scott, 6 p.m.

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m

MARLON G: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

THE CAST: Agave Downtown, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

RORY SUIRE: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

JAMBALAYA TRIO: Randol’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

GRACE NOVASAD: The Alley Downtown, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

BEAUSOLEIL AVEC

MICHAEL DOUCET: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

DAN COOLIK & TREY: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

JACOB’S LADDER & RANK STRANGERS: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

GAYE VS STRAIT — A TRIBUTE SHOW: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

RUSTY METOYER: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY

LIL POOKIE & ZYDECO SENSATION: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette,

HUNTER DEBLANC: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

RIVER SMOOTH: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

THE CAST: Agave Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

STRAIGHT WHISKEY: Agave Downtown, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

ABI CLAIR: The Alley Downtown, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

AMIS DU TECHE: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

9 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING

JAM SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry Visitors Center, Opelousas, 10 a.m.

SHADOW ROAD: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 11 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

JAMMIN’ ON THE BAYOU: St. Landry Visitors Center, Opelousas, 1 p.m.

ECLIPSE FEST: Feed & Seed, Lafayette, 3 p.m

WARPED WITCH FILM FESTIVAL: Cité des Arts, Lafayette, 4:30 p.m.

DERRICK SAVOIE: Adopted Dog Brewing Lafayette, 6 p.m.

SHARONA: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

FOREST HUVAL: Randol’s, Breaux Bridge, 6 p.m.

BRUNCH W/ SEAN TRCALEK: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley G’s Lafayette, 6 p.m.

(motivational)

Continued from page 5C

SUNDAY

n 11 A.M. TO NOON: Hosts Gisele Haralson and Free Spirit

n NOON TO 12:20 P.M.: Outlaw David Jame$ (motivational rap)

n 12:30 P.M. TO 12:45 P.M.: Princess Teha (Christian/ world)

n 1 P.M. TO 1:20 P.M.: ‘Nspire

FOSTER

Continued from page 5C

be recognized in. And sure enough, many people recognized me, which was crazy It sounds like you do have a little bit of time in your day to look at your social media. What is a typical day like for you these days? I wake up usually around 8 a.m. and get to the studio (Red Studios in Los Angeles). The day consists of rehearsing, vocal coaching, trying on wardrobe — because each performance has to be a different outﬁt. So we’re talking four full outﬁts for next week. We have to rehearse every single song and coach every single song. So there’s a rehearsing coach for that. During the daytime, we usually have little to no social media, but we usually get done about 5 (p.m.) or 6 (p.m.) after we rehearse and do wardrobe and all that fun stuff. The evening time is usually my time that I can kind of see what’s going on on socials and reply to some people and make some posts, whatever I need to do. You mentioned wardrobe. At any time before the end of the season, will we see you maybe without the cowboy hat or minus the guitar?

You’ll deﬁnitely see me a couple, maybe one or two times without my guitar (it happened Sunday night). But my hat stays on always. I don’t usually wear it very much outside of the stage, but when I’m onstage, I’ve had that hat on for gonna be three years in July — every single performance and for virtually every single performance, I’ve had that hat on since my very first gig. So there’s no way I can

HIGH PERFORMANCE: La Poussiere, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

TRAVIS MATTE & THE KINGPINS: Lakeview Park, Eunice, 8 p.m.

WAYNE BLUE BURNS: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

ANDREW’S 37TH

BIRTHDAY: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

SPANK THE MONKEY: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m. ORY VEILLON: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m.

PARK & REC AFTERPARTY W/AUDIO

REMEDY: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 10 p.m.

SUNDAY

CAJUN JAM: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2 p.m.

GENO DELAFOSE

BRINGIN’ IT BACK TO THE LEVEE!: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3 p.m.

FORET TRADITION: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 4:30 p.m.

JAKE SPINELLA: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m. STOP THE CLOCK COUNTRY JAZZ: Feed n’ Seed, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LEON CHAVIS: El Sido’s, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

n 1:30 P.M. TO 2 P.M.: Katrina (Southern soul)

n 2 P.M.: Soul Food Cooking Contest Judging (appetizers and soups, breads and desserts, beverages; judges, Rita Jones Rushing, Nakia Wilson-Nelson

n 2:10 P.M. TO 2:40 P.M.: King Solomon (R&B/soul) n 2:45 P.M. TO 3 P.M.: Susie Shepherd (country/pop)

n 3:15 P.M. TO 3:45 P.M.: House of God Praise Team (gospel choir)

go on that stage without it. Tell us about the Cancer Foundation fundraiser you just did on Facebook?

I’ve got a lot of people asking for autographs, like just a signed picture like over a hundred in my inbox or comments or whatever I didn’t want to sell anything, but also I didn’t want to totally give some people autographs for free and then not others — that felt unfair to me.

So I started a fundraiser on Facebook for the American Cancer Society, which obviously holds a place dear to heart because not only do I have multiple family members that are currently battling cancer, but I aspire to be an oncologist. I ﬁgured it kind of kills two birds with one stone to be metaphorical, because we’re raising money for cancer research and treatment.

Also, some people who really wanted an autograph picture of mine get one, you know? As of today, we are at $5,300, so that’s really really humbling and it warms my heart to know that people support me and in return we can support those that really need it, those that are battling and looking for a cure to cancer

As far as social media reports, we’ve seen things such as your getting record deal offers from four different record companies, that you’ve even signed with one. Can you clarify that?

I am not signed to or affiliated with any record label whatsoever I signed the tentative contract with 19 Entertainment which is “American Idol’s” record label (common procedure for ﬁnalists). But for clarity reasons though, no, I have not signed with any label. It’s also being circulated that your

MONDAY

PATRICIO LATINO

SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

SAM SPHAR: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY

TERRY HUVAL & FRIENDS: Prejean’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JAZZ TRIO: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry Visitors Center, Opelousas, 10 a.m.

COURTYARD SESSIONS — DAVID

GREELY TRIO: Hideaway Hall, Lafayette, 5 p.m.

CAMERON FONTENOT: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JULIE WILLIAMS: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

SAM AND AMANDA

SPHAR: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

COMMUNITY DRUM

CIRCLE: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LAYLA LAVERGNE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

TROUBADOUR: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

STEVE JUDICE: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper

n 4 P.M. TO 4:30 P.M.: Lisa Harris (Tina Turner tribute artist)

n 4:40 P.M. TO 5 P.M.: Soul Food Winners (appetizers and soups, breads and desserts, ices and drinks

n 5:15 P.M. TO 5:45 P.M.: TMQ Band (instrumental jazz)

n 5:50 P.M. TO 6 P.M.: Eddie “Cool” Deemer (comedy)

n 6:15 P.M. TO 7 P.M.: Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor (blues/ soul/funk/reggae)

n 7:15 A.M. TO CLOSE: Inﬁnity (classic R&B/funk)

song “Tell That Angel I Love Her” has hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and it’s some kind of record.

No, that’s also false information As much as I wish that was true, I did not hit No. 1. I did like do some waves on the iTunes country charts, but that was the extent of that, unfortunately Have any of the artists whose songs you’ve performed been in contact with you?

Yes, actually, Randy Travis followed me on Instagram and sent me a very nice message congratulating me and just kind of giving me some words of support as I go along. My heart went to my toes when I saw that notiﬁcation. And, of course, it’s always like, I always do have to check, you know, because so many people, you know are fake accounts. There are already hundreds of fake accounts of me, but I needed to make sure the one from Randy Travis was real. Sure enough, it was really him. That was really awesome.

You’ve had the chance to work alongside so many people in the last few weeks Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll, Josh Groban, James Taylor What stands out in your mind as far as advice that they gave you?

To meet people who are in the shoes that I hope to be in one day — I mean, I hope to have careers like they do, and just to simply meet them and feel their authenticity and to feel like their happiness too. They all were wonderful human beings.

To know that you can go far in this industry and be under this much pressure and still be the normal good human being is really comforting to me.

For instance, Josh Groban gave me some really good tips about anxiety and because I’ve kind of struggled

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, May 16, the 136th day of 2025. There are 229 days left in the year

Today in history:

On May 16, 1966, the Chinese Communist Party issued the May 16 Notiﬁcation, a document that criticized “counterrevolutionary revisionists” within the party and marked the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

On this date:

In 1943, the nearly monthlong Warsaw Ghetto Uprising came to an end as German forces crushed the Jewish resistance and blew up the city’s Great Synagogue.

In 1975, Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the

GWAR

Continued from page 5C

recordings, blistering concert performances and a 32page comic book starring Gor Gor, GWAR’s long-lost pet Tyrannosaurus rex.

According to GWAR mythology, the band’s members are millions-year-old warrior aliens exiled to Earth. After emerging in the late 1980s from the bowels of an abandoned dairy building in Richmond, Virginia, GWAR conquered the 1990s media landscape, laying waste to “The Joan Rivers Show” and “The Jerry Springer Show” and making guest appearances on “Beavis and ButtHead,” Fox News and more.

The band’s team of musicians, artists and writers resurrected Gor Gor for GWAR’s 40th anniversary “Dumbo,” the classic Disney animated feature ﬁlm about a baby elephant torn from his mother’s care, inspired Gor Gor’s orphaned T. rex storyline.

“We thought nothing is more traumatic for a child than watching ‘Dumbo,’ ” said Mike Bishop, aka the Berserker Blóthar Gor Gor, despite being a T.rex, is nonscary beast beloved by the band’s fans. A sympathetic monster in the manner of such classic Universal Pictures monsters as the Wolf Man and Frankenstein monster, Gor Gor “doesn’t want to be a raving crack-addicted T.rex,” Bishop said.

GWAR’s artists and fabricators fashioned new armor

with that in the past before going on stage just really kind of getting in my head about different things. To know that they struggle with that too, and that they deal with that constantly is really comforting for me as someone who’s trying to emerge onto the mainstream of the industry

Just kind of being around them and hearing their experiences, it’s been truly great.

Viewers in the last couple episodes have been introduced to your girlfriend, Brooklyn (Bourque). How is she dealing with all this?

She’s doing great. She and

ﬁrst woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the notorious 40-year Tuskegee Experiment, in which government scientists deliberately allowed Black men to weaken and die of treatable syphilis.

In 2018, ofﬁcials at Michigan State University said they had agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims from more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar In 2022, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 reached 1 million.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Danny Trejo is 81. Actor Pierce Brosnan is

and weapons for the anniversary tour In an era when “the world has completely gone off the rails, expect lots of social commentary,” Bishop said of the new GWAR show “We’re doing what we always do — have fun, kill stuff and provide catharsis for people Heads will be rolling.”

Gor Gor’s return comes 11 years after the death of Dave Brockie, aka Oderous Urungus, GWAR’s frontman for nearly 30 years. Brockie died at 50 years old from a heroin overdose. His surviving bandmates invited Bishop to make a one-time-only appearance at the annual GWAR-B-Q in Richmond. It didn’t go off without a hitch.

“My costume fell off in front of everybody as I was singing,” Bishop said. “Down to nature. Luckily, because I’m an immortal god, nobody seemed to notice.”

Despite Blóthar’s wardrobe malfunction, the GWAR-B-Q audience warmly received the band’s ﬁrst post-Brockie appearance.

The emboldened Bishop left his decade-long, universitylevel career in music education to become GWAR’s new lead howler

“It was an easy decision,” he said.

Because the collective nature of GWAR makes it more akin to a theatrical troupe than a rock band, Brockie’s death didn’t spell the end of GWAR.

“People think that GWAR centered on Dave’s personality,” Bishop said. “I’m sure that is true in a band like Nine Inch Nails. It’s not true for GWAR, because so many

people work on it.”

Bishop’s formal music training was another factor in GWAR’s survival.

“I’m good at voice performance,” he said. “It’s easy for me to pick out the mannerisms that Dave had that made the songs work. A lot of his technique is original and specific to him, and I may be the only person in the world who knows what all those things are.” After Brockie’s death, reviving GWAR’s cartoonishly violent sense of humor was one of the band’s bigger challenges.

“We were still funny, but people were merciless with their criticism,” Bishop remembered. “It took a long time for us to process that and get back to a place where we felt like making GWAR about humor again. ‘The Return of Gor Gor’ marks that change.” In recent years, Bishop left his native Virginia for Sarasota, Florida. Despite the Sunshine State address, he’s far from retired.

“Because I’m a musician, I’m probably not ever going to retire,” he said. But Bishop’s life has changed. He and his wife of seven years, Danielle, have a 4-year-old daughter The creative child of a musician and an artist, Shiloh is already composing songs. “I love it,” Bishop said of belated fatherhood. “I never thought that I would have a kid, but we ﬁgured we have a good life, and it might be fun to share it.”

Email John Wirt at j_wirt@ msn.com.

her family have been watching “American Idol” since she was born. Like her dad can remember watching Carrie (Underwood, now an “Idol” judge) win. So for her to be on this show that her family has watched so much was really cool for her. She was super excited and it was just a really great moment. People are referring to you as things like “the next George Strait.” Has that sunk in? Man, George Strait is the absolute king of country music and I have based a lot of my vocal and performance style around him because he’s just so incredibly good at what he does. I mean, there’s a reason he’s the king of country music. He didn’t just spring into that role. So for people to even slightly compare me to him is such an honor You know, I hope one day to meet him. I’ve been listening to him since I came out the womb. He’s so incredibly amazing at performing and making country music — that even the slightest mention of him near my name is an honor in itself.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

72.

Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Olga Korbut is 70. Baseball Hall of Famer Jack Morris is 70. Actor Debra Winger is 70. Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson is 68. Actor Mare Winningham is 66. Rock musician Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) is 60. Singer Janet Jackson is 59. Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas is 59. Singer Ralph Tresvant (New Edition) is 57. Actor David Boreanaz is 56. Political commentator Tucker Carlson is 56. Tennis Hall of Famer Gabriela Sabatini is 55. Actor Tori Spelling is 52. Actor Melanie Lynskey is 48. Actor Megan Fox is 39. Actor Thomas BrodieSangster is 35.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Communicate, get together with old friends or learn somethingnew andexciting. Distance yourself frompeople trying to manipulate or guilt you into something you don't need or want.

GEMINI(May 21-June 20) Keep an open mind, gather information anddiscuss matters that can clear up misunderstandings.Achange at home or visiting aplace or person whoinspires you will encouragenew beginnings.

cANcER (June 21-July 22) Takecareofyour health, wealth and emotional well-being. Gettogetherwithpeoplewithinsightinto something youwanttopursue. Shared expensesorjointventures will lead to disagreements

LEo (July23-Aug.22) Take amoment to revampyour plans.Set aside whatyou need to reach your goal without depending on othersfor help.The less intervention, the better. Be aleader, not a follower.

VIRGo(Aug.23-sept. 22) It's up to you to implement change if you aren't happy with your current situation.Taking short trips, attending reunions andsteering clear of arguments andno-win situations are featured.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) You'll be pulled in different directions when dealingwith affairs of the heart. Opportunity knocks —don't hesitate to answer. Dive in and take advantage of whatever comes your way.

scoRPIo(oct. 24-Nov.22) Dig in,participate, finish what you start and dodge

anyone trying to take advantage of you or start an argument.Look at thefacts and put your emotions aside.

sAGIttARIus(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Comfort and convenience will ease stress and encourage you to put yourselffirst. An opportunity to act on behalf of someone or something you believe in will lead to partnerships.

cAPRIcoRN (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Behonestwith yourself and verify the information you receivefrom others. Be bold and participateineventsand activitiesthat make you happy. Don't waste energy on anger; improve your livingspace.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be kind to yourself andthe people youdeal with today. Lend ahelping hand and accept helpwhenyouneedit.Declutteryourlife and rebuild with quality, not quantity, in mind.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March20) Handle work and money carefully. Refuse to let anyone put you in avulnerableposition. Do your best and finish what you start. Choose security over ego and stubbornness.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take time out to pamper yourself. An emotionally distressing situation will result from false information.Don't let anger set in when honest communication and understandingwill encourage apeaceful outcome.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, pastand present. Each letterinthe cipher stands foranother.

toDAy's cLuE: DEQuALs K

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Virginia Woolf said, “Onthe outskirts of every agony sits someobservant fellowwho points.”

It is asad fact of bridge that it does not matterhow greatyour bidding might be. If you do not make the contract, the opponents getpoints In this deal,how should South plan the play in four hearts? West leads the spade king. East overtakes with his ace and returns his second spade. West takes this trick, cashes the club ace, and plays another club.

WhenWest’s one-spade opening bid was passedaround to South, his balancing three-heart jump overcall was intermediate, showing arespectable six-card suit and 14 to 16 high-card points. North would no doubt have bid four heartsanyway, but West’s three-spade rebid definitely pushed him into it. East let the prevailing vulnerability dissuade him from bidding four spades. Declarer must play the heart suit without loss. If theopponents had passed throughout, South would have taken the finesse.(Apriori,Eastwillhavetheheart king 50 percent of the time,but West will have asingleton king only 13 percent of thetime.)

Here,though, South mustremember the bidding. East passed over his partner’s opening bid andhas alreadypro-

wuzzles

duced thespade ace. If he also had the heart king, he would have had seven pointsandwouldhaveresponded.Therefore, West has the kingofhearts. South shouldplay aheart to hisace and claim when the king luckily drops Especially when an opponent opened, always check the high-cardpoints ©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 AMBIENt: AM-bee-ent: Present on allsides;encompassing.

Average mark 29 words

Can you find 37 or more words in AMBIENT?