The Acadiana Advocate 05-17-2025

CAN THE SAINTS BEAT THE ODDS IN 2025?

Rod Walker’s game-by-game predictions for the season 1C

Acadia eyed for $1B ‘net-zero’ refinery

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

An Oklahoma-based company is looking to build a $1 billion refin-

ery in Acadia Parish that it says would be the world’s first net-zero emissions facility and employ 160. Clean Refineries Inc. announced late Wednesday the project that it billed as one that will have no toxic emissions or detectable odors and

a “dramatically reduced” carbon footprint. It will produce marinegrade bunker fuel, high-performance asphalt and ultraclean diesel, officials said. CRI did not identify a specific location for the refinery but did indicate it would repurpose an existing petroleum terminal. Local officials in Acadia Parish and regional and state economic development officials could not verify the project

as official but indicated talks are ongoing.

The company is eyeing a site near the Evangeline community in the western part of the parish, a source close to the deal told the Acadiana Advocate.

One Acadiana President and CEO Troy Wayman said Thursday the region is equipped to support this project and his agency will work “with our local, regional and state partners to drive this opportunity forward.”

“Louisiana has the comprehen-

sive economic ecosystem to support energy companies as they expand and innovate to meet global demand and standards,” said Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana Economic Development secretary “We are pleased in Clean Refineries Inc.’s interest in our state and look forward to working closely with them and our partners to advance this project.”

Construction could begin this summer company officials said, with the first production units online by late 2026. Additional phases

‘We’re very devastated’

Historic Nottoway a total loss after massive fire

Thursday.

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Nottoway plantation owner Dan Dyess will consider rebuilding the Antebellumera mansion in White Castle, once home to a wealthy sugar planter and 155 enslaved people, after a structure fire Thursday razed the main house.

“We’re very devastated, we’re upset, we’re sad,” Dyess said Friday “We put a lot of time, effort and money to developing this property.”

The site will be evaluated in the next two weeks to determine the feasibility of rebuilding, he said. Staff reported the fire around 2 p.m. Thursday after spotting smoke coming from the south wing. The mansion’s remains smoldered well into Friday afternoon.

The property, renamed Nottoway Resort, served as an ornate reminder of Louisiana’s brutal history of chattel slavery and divided residents over its historic and aesthetic significance. It also boosted the economy in rural Iberville Parish, bring-

the historic

ing in tourists and hosting events on its manicured grounds

“It stood as both a cautionary monument and a testament to the importance of preserving history — even the painful parts so that future generations can learn and grow from it,” Iberville Parish

President Chris Daigle said in a statement Thursday

The State Fire Marshal’s Office began its investigation Friday morning The

ä See NOTTOWAY, page 4A

10 inmates escape from Orleans jail

One recaptured so far, sheriff confirms

BY JOHN SIMERMAN and MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writers

Ten inmates, including some accused of murder and other violent crimes, escaped from the Orleans Parish jail in the wee hours of Fri-

day morning, sparking a citywide manhunt and raising questions about security failures leading to the brazen breach Jail officials discovered that inmates were missing during a routine head count at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sheriff Susan Hutson said during a morning news conference. Hutson and other jail officials said investigators suspect someone inside the Sheriff’s Office may have aided in the 1 a.m. escape. They said it appeared the men pulled a cell door off its track and a toilet from a wall, escaping through a cutout in the Sheetrock. They took a flight of stairs down and left through a door on the jail “docks,” scaling an outer wall and running across Interstate 10, the officials said.

ä See ESCAPE, page 5A

are planned for 2027 through 2028.

The company has announced similar projects in Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming in recent months. CRI would use its net-zero emissions technology for the manufacturing process to produce 20,000 barrels a day. The technology, company officials indicated, includes significantly lower temperatures and pressures which leads to faster permitting, safer operations and cleaner outputs.

School Board votes to move arts academy

from Comeaux High to Lafayette High

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

The visual and performing arts academy will no longer be housed at Comeaux High School but will be housed at Lafayette High starting in the fall. The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously as part of its consent agenda to move the program during its May meeting. Both the performing arts and visual arts academies will move to Lafayette High. Eighth grade students in L.J. Alleman’s visual and performing arts program who declined going to Comeaux will have an opportunity to reenroll and attend the program at Lafayette High. Some rising seniors at Comeaux High will be able to work out a plan that allows them to attend Comeaux for core classes and take a shuttle to Lafayette High for their academy classes.

Once Lafayette High’s enrollment is determined, additional seats may be opened for the performing and visual arts academy before the start of school, district staff personnel said.

Principal Catherine Cassidy, who was tapped to lead the school last summer, said that she understood that the change would be hard,

See ACADEMY,

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Light smoke can be seen from a handful of active hot spots on Friday as crews remain on scene after a fire engulfed

Nottoway Resort on

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson speaks about inmates escaping from Orleans Justice Center at a news conference on Friday.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Tornadoes strike

St. Louis, southern Ill.

Tornadoes were spotted Friday afternoon in the St. Louis area and above southern Illinois, prompting weather officials to implore people in the region to take cover National Weather Service radar indicated that a tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. It received reports of damages, mostly downed trees, weather service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said.

No injuries were reported immediately, he said Photos show damaged trees but buildings are standing.

The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year, Pfahler said.

The St. Louis Zoo posted a message on X, the messaging platform formerly known as Twitter, that it would remain closed for the rest of the day because of the weather The post included no information on damages, a zoo spokesperson didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

“We can’t definitively say whether or not it was a tornado — it likely was,” Pfahler said. Radar confirmed a tornado above Venice, Illinois, about 2:50 p.m. It could be accompanied by golf ball-size hail, the National Weather Service in St. Louis said. Venice is northeast of St. Louis, just across the Mississippi River

The weather service described the tornado as “extremely dangerous” and moving east at 50 mph. The tornado is part of a severe weather system that spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin downed trees, left thousands without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.

Developer surrenders after Thai tower collapse

BANGKOK A construction magnate, builders, designers and engineers surrendered to police Friday on criminal negligence charges over the collapse during the March 28 earthquake of a Bangkok high-rise in which 92 people died.

Premchai Karnasuta, president of Italian-Thai Development Co, the main Thai contractor for the building project, as well as designers and engineers, was among 17 charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Poonsawat said.

Noppasin said those who met police on Friday formally denied the charges. Several have previously issued public denials in response to allegations in the media.

Ninety-two people were confirmed dead in the rubble of the building that had been under construction. A small number of other people remain unaccounted for

Man who stabbed Rushdie sentenced MAYVILLE, N.Y A man who attacked Salman Rushdie with a knife in front of a stunned audience in 2022, leaving the prizewinning author blind in one eye, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison.

Hadi Matar, 27, stood quietly as the judge pronounced the sentence. He did not deny attacking Rushdie, and when he was invited to address the court before being sentenced, Matar got in a few last insults at the writer He said he believed in freedom of speech but called Rushdie “a hypocrite.”

“Salman Rushdie wants to disrespect other people,” said Matar, clad in white-striped jail clothing and wearing handcuffs “He wants to be a bully, he wants to bully other people. I don’t agree with that.”

Rushdie, 77, did not return to western New York for the sentencing but submitted a victim impact statement in which he said he has nightmares about what happened, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said. The statement was not made public. Rushdie, through his agent, declined to comment after the sentencing

Justices reject bid to speed deportations

High court rules against Trump administration over use of 18th-century law

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s appeal to quickly resume deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law

Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The high court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations from a north Texas detention facility in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented

The case is among several making their way through the courts over President Donald Trump’s proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoking the 1798 law to deport people.

The high court case centers on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States,

without determining whether Trump’s invocation of the law was appropriate.

“We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion.

At least three federal judges have said Trump was improperly using the AEA to speed deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members.

On Tuesday a judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law

The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington, D.C., and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held.

The justices said in April that people must be given “reasonable time” to file a challenge.

The court has rejected the 12 hours the administration has said would be sufficient, but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days in her opinion in which she otherwise said deportations could legally take place under the AEA.

The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.

Displaced Palestinians

Israel expands attacks in Gaza and Yemen

Strikes come as Trump wraps up trip to region

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Friday that local health officials said killed 108 people, mostly women and children, and which Israeli officials described as a prelude to a stepped-up campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages Israel also struck two ports in Yemen that it said were used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. Local health officials said at least one person was killed and nine injured.

The strikes across the Gaza Strip followed days of attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and came as President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to the region that included stops in three Gulf states but not Israel.

There had been widespread hope that Trump’s trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months

The Trump administration is also trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, which backs several anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said 31 children and 27 women were killed and hundreds more wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.

In southern Gaza, Israel struck the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. It said it hit anti-tank mis-

sile posts and military structures.

Three children and their grandfather were killed as they fled bombardment in Khan Younis, said the head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital, Dr Ahmed al-Farra.

In northern Gaza, the attacks sent people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya. Israel said it eliminated several militants who were operating in an observation compound.

Dark smoke was seen rising over Jabaliya as people fled on donkey carts, by car and foot.

“We got out of the house with difficulty killing and death, we did not take anything,” said Feisal Al-Attar, who was displaced from Beit Lahiya.

After the strikes on Yemen, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “There will be more to come.” The Israeli military, which attacked Houthi targets earlier this month, said it had intercepted several missiles fired from Yemen toward Israeli airspace during Trump’s visit to the region.

An Israeli official said the latest strikes in Gaza were part of the lead-up to a larger operation that it warned would begin soon if Hamas doesn’t release the 58 hostages still in Gaza since the group’s October 2023 attack that launched the war

The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity

Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to escalate pressure on Hamas with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.

In comments released by his office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Friday that strikes in Gaza earlier in the week targeted the presumed leader of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, although there has been no word on his fate. He is the brother of the slain former leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Russia-Ukraine talks end after less than 2 hours

Deal made to swap POWs, but no ceasefire

BY HANNA ARHIROVA, ANDREW WILKS and LORNE COOK Associated Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey The first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion ended after less than two hours Friday, and while both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which remains elusive.

“We haven’t received a Russian ‘yes’ on this basic point,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhii said after the talks. “If you want to have serious negotiations, you have to have guns silenced.”

But Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky pronounced himself “satisfied with the outcome,” adding that Moscow was ready to continue contacts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed the talks with President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Po-

land. In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania, he urged “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.”

In Istanbul, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap. Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said both sides agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting, which Russia took under consideration.

“The pressure on the Russian Federation must continue,” said Serhii Kyslytsia, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister and part of Kyiv’s delegation. “We should not really relax at this point.”

During the talks, a senior Ukrainian official said Russia introduced new, “unacceptable demands” to withdraw Ukrainian forces from huge swaths of territory The official, who was not authorized to make official statements, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity The proposal had not been previously discussed, the official said.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RAMIL SITDIKOV Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend talks Friday at the Dolmabache palace in Istanbul.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive Friday in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

Conservatives block Trump’s big tax breaks bill

BY LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON In a setback, House Republicans failed Friday to push their big package of tax breaks and spending cuts through the Budget Committee, as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it.

The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid and the Biden-era green energy tax breaks, among other changes, before they will give their support to President Donald Trump’s “beautiful” bill. They warn the tax cuts alone would pile onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt. The failed vote, 16-21, stalls, for now, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s push to have the package approved next week. But the Budget

N.J.

train engineers go on strike

350K commuters left in the lurch

BY BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press

Committee plans to reconvene Sunday to try again. Lawmakers vowed to negotiate into the weekend as Trump is returning to Washington from the Middle East. “S om ething needs to change or you’re not going to get my support,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. Tallying a whopping 1,116 pages, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, named with a nod to Trump, is teetering at a critical moment. Johnson. R-Benton, is determined to resolve the problems with the package that he believes will inject a dose of stability into a wavering economy With few votes to spare from his slim majority, the Republicans are trying to pass it over the staunch objections of Democrats who slammed the package as a “big, bad bill,” or as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called it, “one big, beautiful betrayal.”

Trump had implored his party to fall in line.

“Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” the Republican president posted on social media. “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

The Budget panel is one of the final stops before the package is sent to the full House floor for a vote, which is still expected sometime next week. Typically, the job of the Budget Committee is more administrative as it compiles the work of 11 committees that drew up various parts of the big bill.

But Friday’s meeting proved momentous even before the votes were tallied.

The conservatives, many from the Freedom Caucus, had been warning they would block the bill, as they holdout for steeper cuts. At the same time, GOP lawmakers from high-tax states including New York are demanding a deeper tax deduction, known as SALT, for their constituents.

tives initially voted against the package — Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman, of South Carolina; Josh Brecheen, of Oklahoma; Rep. Andrew Clyde, of Georgia. Then one, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, of Pennsylvania, switched his vote to no in a procedural step so it could be reconsidered later, saying afterward he was confident they’d “get this done.” Norman insisted he was not defying the president “this isn’t a ‘grandstand,’” he said as he and the others push from Trump’s priorities.

In their quest for deeper reductions, the conservatives are particularly eyeing Medicaid, the health care program for some 70 million Americans. They want new work requirements for aid recipients to start immediately, rather than on Jan. 1, 2029, as the package proposes.

Democrats emphasized that millions of people would lose their health coverage and food stamps assistance if the bill passes while the wealthiest Americans would reap enormous tax cuts They also said it would increase future deficits.

“That is bad economics. It is unconscionable,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democratic lawmaker on the panel.

At the same time, talks are also underway with the New Yorkers have been unrelenting in their demand for a much larger SALT deduction than what is proposed in the bill, which could send the overall cost of the package skyrocketing.

As it stands, the bill proposes tripling what’s currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York lawmakers leading the SALT effort, said they have proposed a deduction of $62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers.

The conservatives and the New Yorkers are at odds, each jockeying as Johnson labors to pass the package from the House by Memorial Day and send it onto the Senate.

Ahead of Friday’s vote,

Four Republican conserva-

traffic jams or epic lines to get onto buses. Friday’s rail commute into New York from New Jersey is typically the lightest of the week. But there was some confusion and extra costs as passengers tried to figure out alternate routes in a system that besides helping New Jerseyans get to work or into Manhattan to see a Knicks game or a Broadway show, also helps New Yorkers get to Newark Airport or concerts at the Meadowlands. David Milosevich, a fashion and advertising casting director, was on his way to a photo shoot in Brooklyn. At 1 a.m. he checked his phone and saw the strike was on. “I left home very early because of it,” he said, grabbing the bus in Montclair, New Jersey, and arriving in

Manhattan at 7 a.m. “I think a lot of people don’t come in on Fridays since COVID. I don’t know what’s going to happen Monday.”

The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn’t produce an agreement It is the state’s first transit strike in more than 40 years and comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management

“We presented them the last proposal; they rejected it and walked away with two hours left on the clock,” said Tom Haas, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

By The Associated Press

Texas’ measles outbreak shows signs of slowing, with fewer than 10 newly reported cases in the last week, but experts say it’s not fully over “This outbreak does appear to

At its core, the sprawling package extends the existing income tax cuts that were approved during Trump’s

Judge calls state secrets claim in Abrego Garcia case inadequate

By The Associated Press

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge told the Trump administration Friday that its explanation for invoking the state secrets privilege in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is inadequate, describing the government’s reasoning for withholding information as “take my word for it.”

Trump administration attorneys have argued that releasing details in open court — or even to the judge in private about its efforts to return Abrego Garcia to the United States would jeopardize national security

But U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland said she was at a loss for how she can independently determine the nature of the government’s concerns with the information it provided.

“There’s simply no details,” she said. “This is basically ‘take my word for it.’”

Xinis said the administration needs to “do a little bit more to show its work” on why it believes the state secrets privilege applies.

“It doesn’t have to be super detailed, but it has to give me something,” she said.

Jonathan Guynn, a Justice

Department attorney, said he understood her concerns but disagreed that the government’s arguments were inadequate He also said there’s no need for the judge to review the information herself to make a determination on threats to national security

“We think we’ve provided significant information, Guynn said. Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador in April and has since directed the administration to provide documents and testimony showing what it has done, if anything, to comply

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEFAN JEREMIAH

Union members from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen form a picket line Friday outside the New Jersey Transit Headquarters in Newark, New Jersey.

cause remains undetermined.

Iberville Parish municipal fire departments from Bayou Goula, White Castle and Plaquemine fought the fire for the first two to three hours as it raged. Around 5:30 p.m., a fire engine sounded a horn three times, signaling that the roof was collapsing.

By that time, the main house was beyond saving As of 6:20 p.m., flames engulfed all three floors, and the front façade and balcony had collapsed.

Daigle announced in his statement that the mansion was a “total loss.”

Ken Pastorick, public affairs director for the state fire marshal, said the office has started interviewing and investigating at the scene. There is no set time for the results of the investigation at this point, he said.

“This is a large-scale fire that destroyed a huge piece of history, and it’s gonna take time for our investigators to look at this and figure out how it happened and why it happened,” Pastorick said.

Jessica Tilson, a Baton Rouge-based researcher with Georgetown University whose enslaved ancestors were sold by Georgetown leaders to plantations in Louisiana, said an event like the Nottoway fire

ACADEMY

Continued from page 1A

especially for students who now have to decide if they remain enrolled at Comeaux or follow the arts program to Lafayette High.

But she said she’s confident the district and board will still support Comeaux and continue to help it thrive.

“The culture right now is thriving,” she said. “We really are a hidden gem in the center of Lafayette. We just need some buffing and shining. Now that that’s happening, we’re able to show off what we can do and we’re starting to turn some heads.”

The school has thrived academically and received its first A school performance school from the state

ACADIA

Continued from page 1A

It would produce low-sulfur bunker fuels that would support Gulf Coast shipping operators, high-grade asphalt to overcome regional shortages and ultraclean, high-efficiency diesel that will have lower emissions and improved price stability

“This is a refinery built for today’s needs and tomorrow’s standards,” CRI president Derek Williamson said. “Southern Louisiana is a strategic gateway for ma-

brings conflicting emotions for descendants of enslaved people. In one sense, she said, the mansion’s destruction was also the destruction of enslaved people’s “blood, sweat and tears” — a tangible ancestral connection.

But the ancestors themselves likely wanted the place to go up in smoke, she said.

“I don’t know how many times my ancestors probably thought about burning down Georgetown,” Tilson said.

Many Iberville residents expressed sadness about the fire due to the loss of architectural and personal sentimental value.

Emily Taylor, 17, grew up crafting ornaments in elementary school for the mansion during the Christmas season She said she always looked for her ornaments on family outings to the annual tree-lighting event.

“We didn’t really go out and do much because my mom was a single mom,” Taylor said. “That was one thing we went out every single year and did.”

She was disturbed by the loss, she said, adding that the fire has brought out her superstitions.

“Maybe Sherman’s soul came back and torched it,” Taylor said.

Staff writers Quinn Coffman and Julia Guilbeau contributed to this report.

Email Haley Miller at haley.miller@theadvocate. com.

in the fall. Cassidy said the number of students earning college credit through CLEP exams dramatically increased And the school will still offer theater, choir, guitar, steel drum and a dance team so students can have access to arts classes and opportunities Board member Jeremy Hidalgo said that it wasn’t about closing Comeaux High but about giving students the best opportunities and being fiscally responsible with the district’s money And he said “people in our community don’t want to go (to Comeaux).” He pointed to numbers provided by district staff that showed when the performing arts program moved from Lafayette High to Comeaux High in 2017, program enrollment numbers dropped in half and

rine transport, freight logistics and road infrastructure. We’re delivering a next-generation supply chain that’s clean, reliable and built to last.”

Employees will earn an average salary of more than $105,000, company officials said.

The refinery will also create hundreds of indirect jobs among supply chains, logistics, and regional service providers, they said The facility will also include produced-water treatment systems to reclaim oilfield wastewater for agricultural and industrial reuse, officials said.

continued to decline.

Hidalgo said he supported the change and wanted to continue to give Comeaux the resources it needs to succeed in whatever its next purpose.

A new performing arts wing was built at Comeaux in 2022 after the program was moved from Lafayette High in 2016. Lafayette High is currently undergoing a rebuild on its current property on West Congress Street.

The idea of moving the visual and performing arts academy from Comeaux was brought up last fall. It was just one piece of a proposal from a hired strategic planner That proposal included closing Comeaux altogether, which failed in a 5-4 vote during a contentious board meeting in November During that meeting, the

CRI announced similar plans in the Permian Basin area of Texas in October that include two plants in that region that will produce 20,000 barrels of crude per day Williamson told the Midland Reporter-Telegram at the time that the company was in talks with Louisiana officials on a project He said the company is also in talks with officials in the south Texas city of Kenedy for a 30,000-barrel facility and in Wyoming for a 10,000-barrel per day facility refinery there.

Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

school board rejected many other suggestions for closures and consolidations that were designed to save the district money It unanimously rejected a proposal to close Duson Elementary, which would have saved the district about $1.2 million in the first year, a strategic planner projected. If the board had accepted all of the strategic planner’s suggestions, it would have saved about $8 million annually The board ultimately

only ended up saving about $100,000 annually Comeaux’s enrollment has steadily declined since the 2018-19 school year, decreasing by 500 students in that time, and about 66% of families zoned for the school choose to send their students there. Its enrollment took a hit during the 201617 school year when about 900 students were rezoned for the newly constructed Southside High. The Comeaux campus has

a high facility investment per student, attributed in part to the construction of a performing arts wing in 2022. During the strategic planning process last fall, Comeaux supporters said they felt the school had been neglected while the district invested in other campuses’ facilities and leadership. Email Ashley White at ashley.white@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

NewOrleans Police Department Superintendent

Anne Kirkpatrickdescribed an “urgent andserious situation” Friday as avariety of police agencies searched for the escapees, all men. Some schools were sending notes to parents urging vigilance. “Folks, take it seriously,” said Kirkpatrick, “and let us know.”

The escapees included seven meneither convicted or charged with murder or attempted murder,two charged with other felony crimes of violence and one facing drug and weapons counts, court records show As of Friday afternoon, only one of the men had been caught.Hutson’soffice initially said that 11 men had escaped,but later said jail staff foundone of the men in the facility,sayinghe’d never left.

Aholeinthe wall

It remained uncertain late Friday just how inmates were able to get out of the jail, officially known as the Orleans JusticeCenter,in the middle of the night and remain undetected for some eight hours.

Photos circulating midday Friday,and later released by the Sheriff’s Office, showa rectangular cutout in abare wall that provided an escape route. Around the hole it exposed, epithets and other commentary were scrawled in pen, with an arrow pointed down to the words “To Easy Lol.”

More detailed photos showed atoilet and sink fixture that appeared to have been ripped from the wall. It’sunclear just where within the sprawling jail complex the hole was discovered.

Hutson insisted that her office would lead afull investigation into what she and her top deputies described as apossible inside job. Hutson and her deputy correctionschief, Jeworski “Jay” Mallett,said investi-

12:23 a.m.: 10 inmates escape by tampering with alock and breaching awall at the Orleans Parish Jail.

1:01 a.m.: Inmates scale ajail wall and flee across Interstate 10.

8:30 a.m.: Inmates discovered missing during routine head count.

9:30 a.m.: Federal, state public safety agenciesnotified of escape.

10:30 a.m.: NewOrleans Police Department notified about escape, NOPD officials say.

10:50 a.m.: Sheriff’s Office notifies public of escape with anewsrelease.

11:12 a.m.: An inmate, 20-year-old Kendell Myles, is arrested by Louisiana State Police in the French Quarter.

Sources: OrleansParishSheriff’s Office; NewOrleans Police Department

Staffgraphic by DANSWENSON and JEFF ADELSON

gators suspectasmuch.

Hutson addedthatitwas “almost impossible to get outofthisfacilitywithout help from the outside,” noting, “There weresupervisors on duty. There were lower-levelfolks on duty, andthey allhad ajob to do, andwe’re going to find out what happened.”

Mallet said there were four supervisors and 36 staff membersatthe jail when the escape happened. He said the area where the inmatesescaped was “behind acell wall” and wouldn’thave been visible to jail staff. Still, he said the escape appeared torequire help and power tools.

“It was more than just a breachof security,” he said, adding that fixtures were removed thathedid notbelieve could be removed from inside thefacility In astatement, the Sheriff’s Office said it had “indications that these escapees received assistance from individuals inside theOrleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.”

As lawenforcement scoured thecity for the escapees,Hutsonfaced quick political blowbackinher reelection year

Theescape brought condemnation fromstate and lo-

cal officials who questioned her oversight of the Perdido Street jail complex,built to hold 1,250inmates. Hutson, aDemocrat, hasrun the Sheriff’s Office since her election in 2021 when she defeated incumbent Marlin Gusman, who opened the jail in 2016.

NewOrleans City Council

President JP Morrell said thecouncil has“tremendous questions” about how theescapes were allowed to unfoldand “why the public and NOPD weren’tnotified in atimelyway.” Thepanel will convene aspecial meetingnextTuesday to delve intothosequestions,Morrell said.

RepublicanLouisiana AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill said heroffice is calling for a“full investigation.”

“This is beyond unacceptable, andoncethese offendersare back in custody, theremustbereal accountability,” Murrill said. “Our focusright nowisrecovering the escapees, public safety and maintaining security and stability in the prison.”

Hutson said she notified members of theSheriff’s Office who sit on aregional task force within an hour of herlearningofthe escape,

about 9a.m. Her office issuedits first public alertat 10:50 a.m., over twohours afterthe breachwas discovered. Hutson said it took time to assess.

“They could have been anywhere. We have to pull all the video. That takes a little bit of time,” she said “Then we had tofirst prioritize victims, talking to victims andmaking them safe.”

Authorities said police recaptured oneofthe men, Kendell Myles, late Friday morning. The 20-year-old was located shortly after 11 a.m. on Royal Street through “intelligence-led techniques,” according to StatePolice.

Identified by facial recognition, Myles ran intothe parking garage of theHotel Monteleone, wherehewas found hiding beneath acar Police returned himtothe jail and rebooked him with simple escape.

It wasn’this first time.

Myles was one of six juveniles who escaped from theBridge CityCenter for YouthinJuly 2022. After thegroupescaped,police said Myles carjacked and shot a59-year-old Uptown man,Scott Toups, who spent 70 days in theICU butsurvived.

Twoplumbers, Teddy Yager and Devin DiPascal, were renovating an office building alittle after 11 a.m. Friday when aman in awhitetank top andlong pants came “running through with apurpose,”Yager said.

“I made acomment —I wonder what he’srunning from.”

Theanswer came in seconds, he said. Astate trooper sprinted down thealley, Taser drawn, andanother trooper barreled down Bienville Street in an ATV, DiPascal said.

Not far behind were three NOPD officers heading from thedirection of Bourbon Street

Myles ran into the hotel parking garage on Bienville Street

Some bystanders were flabbergastedwhenthey learned thescopeofwhat they’d witnessed.

“I saw akerfuffle, alot of people running. Iassumed it wasjust anotherFrench Quarter day,” said Avery Nickerson, whoworks in a nearby business.

ShortyWilliams, who was near the Iberville housing development when he learnedofthe escapes on Friday around noon, expressed concern.

“They need to do better than what they’re doing,” he said of thejail’soverseers “They’re puttingpeople’s lives in jeopardy.(The escapees)could go on awhole killing spree if they want.”

Asecond escapee was identifiedFridaybyfacial recognition software but escaped capture in the French Quarter,according to Bryan Lagarde, founder of Project NOLA, the private video surveillance network that is assisting Troop Nola.

He said policearrested Mylesat11:12 a.m. butthat the other suspected escapee “walked off our camera grid andwelosttrack of him be-

fore LSP could intercept.” Hutson’s office remains under afederal judge’s watch over conditions at the jail, in aconsent decree that has run for adozen years. President Donald Trump’s administration hascalled forareview of those agreements across the country An attorney who representsthe plaintiff inmates in thatcaseissueda statement Friday that wascritical of Hutson’sstewardship of the jail.

“The Orleans Sheriff has failed to ensure that people in custodyare appropriately supervised and to hold staff accountable when security posts are abandoned,” said Emily Washington,anattorney with the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

“These long-identified deficiencies have never been corrected, and likely contributed to this breakdown of jail security.” The manhunt continued into the night Friday

PHOTO PROVIDED By ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE

The OrleansParish Sheriff’sOffice says 10 inmates escaped by cutting

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GRAD TIDINGS

ABOVE: Graduation candidates line up to receive their degrees during the University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Engineering graduation ceremony at the Cajundome on Friday. LEFT: Kelvin Terkper receives his Master of Science in civil engineering on Friday.

RIGHT: Katie Kaliszeski expresses her excitement in anticipation of receiving her degree during the graduation ceremony.

PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy

First-year teachers in Lafayette to get raises

Board also approved other changes

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

First-year teachers in Lafayette Parish will receive a starting salary of $50,000 after the School Board approved the superintendent’s request to change the teach-

er pay scale and provide positionbased incentives.

The board voted unanimously as part of its consent agenda to approve the pay changes during its May meeting.

Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr first pitched the changes during the April meeting Starting teachers currently earn $47,607. With the approved changes, af-

ter five years of service, teachers would make $52,500; after 10 years, $55,000; after 15 years, $57,000; and after 20 years, $60,000.

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Touchet told the board that while the change wasn’t perfect and had his promise it would be adjusted in the future, it is “going to really set us apart from anywhere else.”

“This is huge,” he said. “I have a pulse on what’s happening in the state and nobody is taking these proactive measures.”

The board also approved position-based incentives of an $1,800 assignment-based incentive for certified LEAP teachers with good attendance and an additional $2,000 for LEAP teachers serving in traditionally difficult-to-staff schools.

Growth-based incentives include up to $3,000 for student academic growth based on LEAP percent mastery, value-added model and early literacy progress. There also would be growth incentives for administrators whose schools show academic growth.

Lawmakers mull new limits on ethics law investigations

Rules would also end confidentiality

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislature is considering new rules for how the state ethics board handles allegations of misconduct by public officials, including requiring the panel to disclose the identity of anyone who files a complaint and placing stricter limits on when the board can launch investigations.

The ethics board would be blocked from investigating potential ethics-law violations unless it receives a formal com-

plaint under the version of the bill. But the legislator sponsoring the proposal said she is working to soften this restriction.

House Bill 160 aims to reduce the number of “frivolous” complaints over ethics law violations and give the subject of a complaint the ability to know the identity of the person leveling the accusations, bill author Rep. Kellee Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, told lawmakers on the House and Governmental Affairs committee this month.

“An accuser must be identified so that one can face your accuser,” she said. Leading up to her 2023 election to the Louisiana House, Dicker-

son was the subject of an ethics board investigation that found she improperly hired a teacher at Live Oak High School for a contract job for the school while she was a Livingston Parish School Board member Taken together, ending the confidentiality of ethics complaints and limiting when the board can launch investigations would represent a significant shift in the vetting of misconduct allegations.

Dickerson

Touchet

Judgethwarts AG’s effort to take deathpenalty case

Courtdateset in ex-New Orleans officer’sappeal

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

An Orleans Parish judge on Thursday dealt ablow to Attorney General Liz Murrill in her attempt to push former New Orleans police officer Antoinette Frank to an execution date after nearly three decades on death row

Criminal District Judge Kimya Holmes set aDecember hearingfor Frank to fight her 1995 conviction and death sentence in an infamous triple murder, denying amotion to dismiss her post-convictionclaims. Holmes also refused to allow Murrill’s office or the private attorneys she hired to represent the state in the case. The rulings amounted to around rejection of Murrill’sargument that Frank let her claims languish too long, and arebuke of the Republican attorney general’sefforts to inject herself in the case to speed up the pace of executions. Louisiana resumed the practice in March after 15 years.

Ajudge in Rapides Parish

PROOF

Continued from page1B

The complaint was filed Wednesday in the U.S. MiddleDistrict Court of Louisiana. Plaintiffsin the suit includethe League of

RAISES

Continued from page1B

Teachers who lead afterschool activities, such as sports, co-curriculars or clubs, also will receive stipends.

JuliaReed, presidentof the Lafayette teachers’ union, said teachers were incredibly grateful for the

ETHICS

Continued from page1B

The proposed changes also come amid alarger push to overhaul the proceduresof the Louisiana Board of Ethics, the panel that enforces laws related to conflictsof interest, nepotism and campaign finance.

Some argue the changes would discourage those with legitimate concerns from raising them with the Board of Ethics.

“House Bill 160 proposes to remove the confidential nature of complaints, which will have adrastic chilling effect on the filing of formal complaints,” reads aMay 12 letter from members of the Board of Ethics to state lawmakers.

“The Board regularly receivescomplaintsrequestingthat thecomplainant’s identity remain confidential due to fears of retaliation,” the letter reads. “This is seen most often when acomplaint is received from an individual who has information regarding apotential violation by asupervisor or their local elected official.”

Ethics Administrator David Bordelon, alegal adviser to the board, told lawmakers that an investigation serves as an initial fact-finding process aimed at discerning whether evidence of apotential ethics-code violation exists. He also said it occurs before the board decides to bring formal chargesovera violation.

“The opportunity to face your accusercomes once the board files publiccharges,” Bordelon said. Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, echoed the concern.

For those who don’twield a great deal of political power, like politicians or lobbyists sometimes do, Procopio said,

this week denied asimilar argumentfromthe state in the case of deathrow prisoner Larry Roy,convicted in adoublemurder.The LouisianaSupreme Court, in apairofCaddo Parish cases, tore up two death warrants signed this year by adistrict judge,Donald Hathaway,for not beingripe. Murrill has argued that Frankand othercondemned prisoners ortheir attorneysare to blame for“prejudicial delay.”Bywaiting to pursue post-conviction claims, prosecutors have been lefthamstrung to answer those claims as memories fadeor die,she has said In Frank’scase, Murrill’s office asked Holmes to allow her office to represent the prosecution, andtodismiss Frank’s petition.Holmes, aformer capitaldefense attorney, didneither In awritten ruling, she foundThursday that “no provision in the law and Louisiana Constitutionallows for theAttorney General’sparticipation in this case, and thereisnocause forthe AttorneyGeneral

to assume theduties of the District Attorneyinthis case.”

Holmes set an evidentiary hearing on Frank’spost-conviction claims for the week of Dec. 16.

“Weobviously strongly disagree withthe rulings of the court todayinthe Antoinette Frank case, in particular thedecision refusing to permit my office to assistthe Orleans Parish District Attorney in this case,”Murrill said in astatement. “We intendtofile an expedited appeal and resolve these issues to get justice for thevictims.”

Frank wasconvicted of one of the most notorious crimes in modern New Orleans’ history: Theslayings of fellow police officer Ronald WilliamsII, along with 17-year-old Cuong Vu and 24-year-old Ha Vu at the Kim AhnNoodle House in New OrleansEast. Her co-defendant,Rogers LaCaze, was removed from deathrow in a2019 deal with former OrleansParish District AttorneyLeon Cannizzaro, who now heads Murrill’scriminaldivision.

Frank hasargued that alifetime of abuse at the hands of her father left her vulnerable to theinfluence of LaCaze, adrug dealer who she claims forced herto shoot the Vus.

Therehad been little activity from eithersidein hercase since 2009, when Frank’sattorneys fileda supplemental petition for post-conviction relief,alleging that egregious actions by prosecutors and an ineffectivelawyer denied her afair trial. The state never filed aresponse. Afresh filing from Frank’s attorneysarrived last year, after theLegislature legalized nitrogengas and electrocution as execution methods. Louisiana ended a 15-year hiatus in executions earlierthis year,putting Jessie Hoffman Jr.todeath on March 18 using nitrogen gas.

Holmes on Thursday deemedFrank’s2024 filing avalid supplementtoher 2009 petition.

“Ms. Frank’spost-conviction investigation —as well as the State’sown posttrial evidence —confirms what Ms. Frank hasbeen saying allalong:She was not awilling participant in thetragic events at the Kim Anh Restaurant,” said Frank’slead counsel, Naila

Campbell, deputy director of the Mwalimu Center for Justice.

“This evidence was never heard at her trial, and the Attorney General’s objections soughttocontinue preventing Ms. Frank from presenting that important evidence. Thecourt’sruling recognizes the significance of this evidence, andproperlyrejected thisattempt to deny her afull and fair hearing.”

Murrill’soffice took over Frank’scase at the invitation of District Attorney Jason Williams,who in a March14lettercited“the commonality of the issues in the variouscases and the benefits of aunitedappellate response”inceding the case to Murrill. But Holmes found that Murrill hadsought the case, that Williamshadn’trecused his office and that the Constitution doesn’tallow Murrill to run “point” on the case. As aconsequence, Holmes also turned away amotion by Murrill’soffice to enroll in the case four attorneys with the Baton Rouge-based Taylor Porter firm. Murrill’shusband, John Murrill, is one of about three dozen partners in the firm Williams’ office did not respond to arequest for comment.

Women Voters of Louisiana, Voice of the Experienced,the NAACP LouisianaState Conference and Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry is listed as adefendant along with agency heads of the

pay-schedule change, which makes thedistrict more attractive for current educators andfuture educators.

ButReed said there was a concern aboutincentives being tied to standardized testingbecause students don’t always perform their best on tests and there are educators who don’tteach classes with standardized tests.

Raising thestartingpay to $50,000 for first-year teach-

the lack of anonymity could be a“strong deterrent”from filing acomplaint.

Currently,ifa complaint filed with the ethics board is not submitted anonymously, the identity of the complainant is knowntomembers of the ethics board.But the complainant’s identity is redacted from documentation sent to thepersonaccused of an ethics law violation when notice of an investigation is sent.

House Bill 160 would end the practiceofredacting the complainant’snameduring that notification process, therebyrevealing the identity of the person who filed the complainttothe accused. The bill would also prohibit retaliation against a complainant and authorize thatperson tobring acivil lawsuit in the event of retaliation.

Newrules forinvestigations

Under the proposal, anyone filinga signed andnotarizedsworn complaintwith the ethics board could submit it through aportal on the ethics boardwebsite or by mail, fax or in-person. But anyone filingacomplaint withouta notarized, sworn statement would have to file the complaintinperson withthe ethics board in Baton Rouge andpresenta government-issued ID. Currently,all complaints, regardless of type,can be submittedtothe board through its website, mail or hand-delivery Also, under thecurrent version of the bill, the ethics board would only be allowed to investigate potentialethics law violations afterreceivingthe submission of a formal complaint It wouldn’tbeable to investigate violations brought to itsattention through other means,like audit reports or news articles.

Dickerson on Friday said she plans to amend the bill

state’sDepartment of Childrenand Family Services, DepartmentofHealth, Department of Education, Workforce Commission and Board of Regents.

“Senate Bill 436, which places unnecessary barriers to Louisianans’ ability to register to vote,isnot

ersmovesLafayetteParish from 29th in thestate to 18th, adistrict staff person said during the meeting.

The increasecomes as thedistrict navigatesless revenue because of declining enrollment, rising insurance costs andmore students choosing charter schools. In February,the school board gave Touchet the green light to layoff staff“if necessary.”

The raise is being funded

to allow the board to investigatepotential ethics violationsraised throughreports from theLouisiana Legislative Auditor and through other sources, though she is still working out thechanges.

During public testimony this week, Procopio said one of thebill’s “coreissues” was thefact that the“bill as awhole restrictswhat the board of ethics can investigate.”

Dickerson said she is working with the Public Affairs Research Counciltoaddress that concern andplans to finalize changesbyearly next week

Current lawrequiresthe ethicsboard to investigate anysworn complaints it receives.

With atwo-thirds vote, the boardcan also investigate complaints that aren’tsworn or even anonymous, as well as potential ethics-law violations brought to the board’s attention through other means.

From 2020 to 2023, the ethicsboard considered1,071 potential violations of ethics laws, according to dataprovided by the ethics board to state lawmakers.

During that same period, 354 of the potential violations led to an investigation. And 177 of the matters investigated led to official “findings” that resultedin fines, caution letters, consent opinions or formal charges. About half of thepotential violations came from complaints that didn’tinclude a

only confusing, but is also illegal,”League of Women VotersofLouisiana President M. Christian Green said in anews release announcing thelawsuit Wednesday.“Furthermore, the lawunlawfullyrestricts the League of Women VotersofLouisiana’s ability

in partbya2002 sales tax andcuts made fromthe general fund. The district said it was able to make those cuts by consolidating andeliminating $1.2 million in positions at the district level, saving$3.5 millionin closing S.J. Montgomery Elementary and relocating it to the current Lafayette Middle campus and another $2.7million in “strategic staffing” consolidations and

swornstatement, 13% were sworn complaints,and 12% were anonymous The rest came from sources like reports from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor,government agency reports, news articles and other sources.

Email AlysePfeilatalyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.

to do ourcorenonpartisan work of registering and educatingvoters. At theend of theday,educating voters is our mission —policing citizenship is not. This lawtakes Louisianainthe wrong direction,and we look forward to challenging it in court.

eliminations at theschool level.

Email AshleyWhite at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

Frank Murrill

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE

REPORTS

Stocks power within 3% of record

Wall Street cruised to thefinish of its strong week on Friday, as U.S. stocks glided closer to the all-time high they setjust afew months earlier, thoughit may feel like an economic era ago.

The S&P 500 rose forafifth straightgain and closed outits third winning week in the last four.It’srallied back within3% of its record set in February afterbrieflydropping roughly 20% below last month, thanks to building hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs against other countries after reachingtrade deals with them.

The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage and the Nasdaq composite also climbed.

It was “a week to remember,” according to economists at BankofAmerica led by Claudio Irigoyen and Antonio Gabriel. Butthey also said they’re not expecting asignificant drop in volatility,and they’re not changing big-picture forecasts.

“There is still huge uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs on economic activity and inflation,” they said in aBofA Global Research report.

U.S. government stripped of topcredit rating

Moody’sRatings stripped the U.S.government of its top credit rating Friday,citing successive governments’failure to stop a risingtide of debt.

Moody’slowered the rating from agold-standard Aaa to Aa1 but said theUnited States “retainsexceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S.dollar as global reserve currency.”

Moody’sisthe last of the three major rating agencies to lower the federal government’scredit. Standard &Poor’sdowngraded federal debt in 2011 and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023.

In astatement, Moody’ssaid:

“Weexpect federal deficitsto widen, reaching nearly 9% of (the U.S. economy) by 2035, up from 6.4% in 2024,driven mainly by increased interest payments on debt, rising entitlement spending, and relatively low revenue generation.”

Extending President Donald Trump’s2017 tax cuts, apriority of the Republican-controlled Congress, Moody’s said, would add $4 trillion overthe next decade to the federal primary deficit(whichdoes not include interest payments).

Agridlocked political systemhas been unable to tackle America’shuge deficits. Republicans reject tax increases, and Democrats are reluctanttocut spending.

CEO of weight loss drug maker to step down Danish pharmaceuticalcompany Novo NordiskA/S, maker of blockbuster weightloss drug Wegovy,said Friday itsCEO was stepping down by “mutual agreement”with the company’s board of directors, citing“recentmarket challenges”and a steep decline in thecompany’s share price.

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen’s departure comes aweek after the company downgraded its sales andprofits forecast, and follows amore than 50% decline in thecompany’s sharessince mid-2024. Shares had skyrocketed after the introduction of Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic, which are both based on the same basic ingredient, semaglutide.

At the peak, the company’s market capitalization —orthe combined price of all its shares —exceeded Denmark’s annual gross domestic product and made it Europe’smost valuable company,atitle it has since lost to softwaremaker SAP The company,headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, praised a“significant growthjourney and transformation” led by Jorgensen during his eight years as CEO. He has been with the company since 1991. Jorgensen willcontinue as CEO“for aperiod”tosupport a smooth transition.

BUSINESS

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

U.S. consumer sentimentdrops

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON— U.S. consumer sentiment fell slightly in May for the fifth straight month, surprising economists, asAmericans increasingly worry that President Donald Trump’stradewar will worseninflation.

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’sclosely watchedconsumersentimentindex, released Friday,declined 2.7% on amonthlybasis to 50.8, the second-lowest level in the nearly 75-year history of thesurvey.The only lower reading was in June

2022. Since January, sentiment has tumbled nearly 30%.

Americans have largely taken a sour view about wherethe economy is headed in thewake of the Trump administration’simposition of huge import duties, which threatento slowgrowth and pushupprices. In recent weeksthe WhiteHouse has pulled back on its most draconian policies, though average duties are still high by historical standards Consumers’ outlooks are also sharplydividedbytheir political views,which has caused some economists to question thesurvey’s results. TheUniversityofMichigan also last year switched from using both online and phone responses to just online, which some analysts worry may have introduceda more negative bias.

The sentiment index for Democratsfell to 33.9 this month, the lowestsince partisan data began in 1980 andfar below the levels reached in the depths of the COVID pandemic or during the 2008-09 Great Recession.

For Republicans, it’s84.2, though that slipped from90.2 in April and is thelowest since Trump’selection.

The survey found consumers are increasingly worriedabout rising inflation. Over the next 12 months, consumers expect inflation to jump to 7.3%, the highest since 1981 and up from an expectation of 6.5% lastmonth. Over the next five years, they foresee inflation reaching 4.6%, the highest since 1991, up from 4.4% last month.

Those expectations typically run

higherthan actual inflation,which last month ticked downto2.3%, thelowest levelinmorethanfour years. Still, economists and the Federal Reservecloselywatch inflationexpectations, because they can become self-fulfilling. If people are worriedinflation will accelerate, they may takesteps, such as demanding higherpay,thatcan push up prices.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said the Michigan inflation expectation numbers are an “outlier.”Market-based measures of future inflation, which some Fed officials put greater weight on, have remained mostly stable. Still, the steady rise in the Michigan survey’sinflation expectationscould make it less likely theFed will cut its key interest rate anytimesoon.

BY MICHELLECHAPMAN Associated Press

CharterCommunications has offeredto acquire Cox Communications, a$34.5 billion merger that would combine two of the top three cable companies in the U.S., both whichhave asignificant presence in south Louisiana.

Cox is the third largest cable television company in the country,with more than6.5 million digital cable, internet, telephone, andhomesecuritycustomers. It hasa strong foothold in states spanning from California to Virginia.Charter Communications, known more widely as Spectrum, has more than 32 million customers in 41 states.

Cox operates in Baton Rouge, NewOrleansand Lafayette. Charter hasnearly175,000 customers in thenorth shore, Acadiana, Hammond and Thibodaux. The company said it has more than 300 employees in Louisiana, withthe largestnumber of workersinHammond, Slidell and Thibodaux.

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. health officials on Friday endorsedthe first blood test thatcan help diagnose Alzheimer’sdisease and identify patients who may benefit from drugs that can modestly slowthe memory-destroying disease

The test can aid doctors in determining whether apatient’s memory problems aredue to Alzheimer’s or anumberofother

The cable industry has been underassaultfor yearsfromstreaming services like Disney,Netflix, Amazon and HBOMax, as well as internet plans offered by mobile phone companies. Comcast, which is of nearlyequalsize to Charter, spun offmany of its cable television networks in November as consumers increasingly swap out their cable TV subscriptions forstreaming platforms.

So-called “cord cutting” has cost the industry millions of customers andleftthem searching for ways to successfully compete.

Charter said Friday that it will acquire CoxCommunications’ commercialfiber andmanaged IT andcloud businesses Cox Enterprises will contributeCox Communications’ residential cable business to Charter Holdings, an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter.

Cox Enterprises will own about 23% of thecombinedcompany’soutstanding shares.

The transaction, which needs approval fromChartershareholders as well as regulators, includes$12.6billionindebt.

Theproposed dealisone of the largest in over ayear.Mars announced a$30 bil-

medicalconditions that cancause cognitivedifficulties. The Food and Drug Administration cleared it for patients 55 andolder who are showing early signs of the disease

More than 6million people in theUnited States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common formofdementia. The new test, from Fujirebio Diagnostics, identifies asticky brain plaque, known as betaamyloid, that is akey marker for Alzheimer’s. Previously,the only FDA-approved methods for detecting amyloid wereinvasive tests of spinal fluidorexpensive PET scans.

liondeal withKellanova last summer and Exxon Mobil’sapproximately $60 billion acquisitionofPioneer Natural happened in late 2023.

The combined company will change its name to CoxCommunications within ayear after closing. It will keep Charter’sheadquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and have asignificantpresenceonCox’s Atlanta, Georgia,campus following theclosing. After the deal is complete, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey will becomepresident and CEO of the combined company.Cox CEO andChairmanAlexTaylorwillserve as chairman Winfrey saidCharter andCox have separate anddistinctserviceareas.

Coxwill be able to keep two directors on the13-member board.Advance/Newhouse, which is part of Charter,will retainits two board members.

The transaction is expected to close at the same time as Charter’smerger with LibertyBroadband, whichwas approved by Charter and Liberty Broadband stockholders in February.

Shares of Charter rose morethan 4% before themarketopen. Coxisa private company.

The lower costs and convenience of ablood testcould also helpexpand use of two newdrugs, Leqembi and Kisunla, whichhavebeenshown to slightly slow the progression of Alzheimer’sbyclearing amyloid from the brain. Doctors are required to test patients forthe plaque before prescribing the drugs,which requireregular IV infusions.

“Today’sclearance is an important stepfor Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis,making it easier and potentially more accessible for U.S. patients earlier in the disease,” said Dr.Michelle Tarver, of FDA’scenter for devices Anumber of specialty hospitals

and laboratories have already developed their ownin-house tests for amyloid in recent years. But those tests aren’treviewed by the FDA and generally aren’tcovered by insurance. Doctors have alsohad little data to judge which tests are reliable and accurate, leading to an unregulated marketplace thatsome have called a “wild west.”

Several larger diagnostic and drug companies arealsodeveloping their own tests for FDA approval, including Roche, Eli Lilly and C2N Diagnostics. The tests can only be ordered by adoctor and aren’tintended for people who don’tyet have any symptoms.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByDAVID GRUNFELD

CoxCable employees repair lines on South Carrollton Avenue on Nov. 4, 2020, after Hurricane Zeta damaged the cable infrastructure throughout the region.

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

Thepolitical war overU.S.colleges, universities

For generations, higher education wasa bipartisanissue closely tied to the American dream. Recently,it’sbecome acenter of political controversy

Over the past 10 years, accordingtoGalluppolling, public confidenceincollegesand universitieshas dropped 21 points. In its latest poll on thissubject, conductedlastyear, 68% of U.S. adults said highereducation is going in the wrong direction. While erosion of confidence is evident among supporters of both political parties, the dropamongRepublicanswas steepest —from 56% to 20%, a36-point decline. Among Democrats, the drop was 12 points,and amongindependents, 13 points. These changes are fueling current attacksoncollegeand university funding.

Ron Faucheux

“Of Americans who lack confidencein higher education,”said Gallup’sanalysis, “41% mention colleges being ‘too liberal,’ trying to ‘indoctrinate’ or ‘brainwash’ students, or notallowing studentstothink for themselves as reasonsfor their opinions.”

Gallupalso explained that 37%ofthose surveyed were “critical of higher education fornot teaching relevant skills, for college degrees notmeaningmuch, or for graduatesnot beingable to find employment.” Other problems cited ranged from cost andquality concerns to admissions bias and poor management.

Anew Economist/YouGov survey findsthathighereducation has become dangerously politicized,like so many otherinstitutions in oursociety. An example of how this manifests itself: 64% of Democrats, 34% of independents and14% of Republicans are opposedtotaking away Harvard University’stax-exempt status.

It should be noted that 63%ofconservativesviewHarvard as liberal and only 7% of liberals viewitasconservative.

Even though slightly more U.S.voters would rather increase than decrease U.S.government funding foruniversities (31% vs. 28%), percentagesfor each arerather low. Butpartisan lines on thisquestionrun deep:51% of Democrats supportincreased spending,while only 18% of Republicans and 32% of independents do Divisions are apparent on ahost of relatedissues. Liberals are five times more likely than conservativestobelieve race should be afactor in college admissions. Six times as many Republicans as Democratsthink colleges and universities are doing too much to ensurestudentbodydiversity.Americans 65 andolder are twicemorelikely than 18 to 29-year-olds to seecampusantisemitismas aserious problem.

Here’sadatapoint that will pleaseour friends at LSU (disclosure: I’m an alum of the law school): Arobust 74% of voters across the country feel favorably towardtheir ownstate’s flagship university.Majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents agree. Amajor reason for this: Most voters don’tview these schools as ideologically extreme; only9%see them as very liberaland only2%see them as very conservative.

What can higher education leaders dotoearngreater public confidence?

First, show they’re using money wisely —including tax dollars, grants, endowmentsand tuitionincome. It wasreported that federal departments last yearawardednearly $400 billion in grants and contractstocollege and universities. Arethese operationsefficient? Are the bureaucracies too big and bloated? What arethe results?

Second, refuse grants and donations that may compromise academic independence. Whenuniversitiesare seen as agents forgovernments and special interests,theylose credibility.Universities thatcreate theappearanceofsiding with political causes and ideological movements shouldn’t be surprised when oppositionforces react negatively Third, strengthen STEM (science, technology,engineeringand mathematics) education. Overall, 64% of voters want universities to focus more on thesefields.That’s much higher than the 34% who wantmorefocus on humanities andsocial sciences.Pollingshows that66% of Republicans, as wellassolid majoritiesofDemocrats and independents, favor more attention to STEM. Fourth, spotlight students.The primarymissionofhigher education can’tbeallowed to getlostinthe hazeoffundraising andgrant-seeking. In terms of degree-granting post-secondary institutions, enrollment hasfallenevery year since 2010. Colleges and universitiesneedmorefocus on enriching the lives andsupportingthe careersof students —and being held accountable on thesepractical measures. The drawing of partisanlines around highereducation is weakening public confidence in thiscritical institution— adding one more jagged rip to an alreadydividednation. RonFaucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana. He’s taught at Georgetown,George Washington and American Universities, as wellas the University of New Orleans.

It could be argued that in years past,wepaid little attention when voting for an insurance commissioner.Today,werealize theimportance of this elected official and their duties and power Currently,weare fighting battles on two fronts: property and auto insurance. In regard to property insurance, we are unable to change our geography,thus we are forced to approach the issue of what we can do. We need to be inspired by Conrad Hilton. We as astate need to thinkbig, dream big and make our actions big. We need awind tunnel to be able tostudy thewind, its impacts and how it can be managed

The current fortified roof program is good for the rich, but the poor will see no benefit. The growing cannabis industry could provide the seed money.Weshould be allowed to insure for actual cash value instead of always demanding replacementcost. In thepast, we allowed too many companies to receive acertificate of authority even when they had little capital, small staffand were unable to meet their responsibilities.Weare currently at the mercy of London reinsurers. We should consider growing our own, with maybe an IPO, so our citizens can invest in their state.

Some importsare necessarytoU.S

The stated reason behind President Donald Trump’staxes on imports is that higher prices for imported goods will drive Americans to “buy American.”

It is just physically impossible for theU.S. to produce enough coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas, coconuts, avocados, orange juice, natural rubber,cashews, mangoes, maple syrup, Brazil nuts,

nickel, cobalt andmanyother metals,sisal, jute, mahogany,teak and even buildinglumber to meet our demand and needs.

Taxing these imports, which cannot be replaced by “Made in America,” is just away to raise funds for tax breaks forcorporationsand the very rich.

ALAN S. DRAKE NewOrleans

Columnistminimized harmsoftortreformbills

Quin Hillyer’s column on tort reform makes two basic mistakes. He claims that aperson who is 99% negligent in awreck can still collect hisdamages in court. Louisiana is acomparative negligence state. Onecan only collect the percentage of their damages that he is not at fault for.Such aplaintiff can only be awarded 1% of hismedical bills, 1% of lost wages and 1% of pain and suffering damages. He also claims that noneconomic damages like pain and suffering arenot “actual” damages. Tell that to aperson with permanent braindamage, paralysis or chronic pain for life that those are not “actual” damages. Tell that to aperson who suffers significant,often life-altering and heartbreaking losses, aparaplegic or severely andpermanently brain-damaged personexperi-

ences beyond directeconomic damages,like physical pain, mental anguish andthe impact on one’squalityoflife and enjoyment of life. Recognizing andfairly and fully compensating for these losses is crucialfor providing a complete remedy for the harm caused by theinjury Putting acap on those typesof damages putsacap on accountability.Itdoesn’tholdwrongdoers fully accountable for the full extent of their reckless behavior. It does not deter wrongful behavior Caps apply only to the most serious injuries. Ajury thatsits in atwo-week trial andhears all the evidence from both sides should decide what is fair andnot some insurance lobbyist-funded legislator BOBMANARD Metairie

Regarding auto, our claim severity is fargreater than our neighbors. Our judges, whoare elected, cause concern forthe insurance companies whohave to go into court knowing that possibly the trial lawyer may have been the judge’s campaign manager We can’tdothings differently until we see things differently.Many of us have insurance investments in our pension funds, so we must require them to makemoney We just need to have discussions on all topics without blameand look after the citizens of Louisiana.

Statehas more serioushealthissues Abraham is ignoring Is Louisiana’sSurgeon General Ralph Abraham seriously suggesting that the absolute major harm in our state is alack of ahealthy diet? Sure, Ithink mostpeople will readily agree with that statement. However,with food deserts all over this state, federal funding forschool mealsonthe decline, Abraham and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.not advocating forchildhood vaccinations and Medicaid facing billion-dollar cuts, how in the world can he, without laughing, suggest that ahealthy diet is the mosturgent health issue facing Louisiana today? Honestly the hubris is astonishing.

SUSAN FONTAN NewOrleans

More articles on pollution needed to educatepublic

I’mgrowing very concerned about pollution. Ifeel like Ineed to do something to return the Earth to its former glory,sothat’swhy Iam writing.

Iwould like to suggest an article about pollution in Louisiana, how it affects the Earth and what we can do to help stop it. The specific type of pollution is plastic pollution. It hurts animals and the environment. AZALEARUFO fifth grader,New Orleans

ARDIE CESARIO Shreveport

SPORTS

CanSaints beat the odds and pile up wins?

For the first time since 2006, theNew Orleans Saints will start theseason with both anew head coach and new quarterback. The last time that happened,things turned out quite well, as Sean Payton and Drew Brees helped the Saints end afiveyear playoff drought andset the table for thebest runin franchise history

TIGERS ON THEDIAMOND

New head coachKellen Moore inherits ateamthat has missed the playoffs the last four seasons.The oddsmakers in Vegasdon’tlike the chances of the Saints ending that streak. Their over/ under win total is 51/2,and the odds ofwinningthe Super Bowlonone betting siteis awhopping +40000. That makes the Saints thelongest of all longshots in the NFL. Will the Saints be as badasVegas thinks? Or will they be one of the NFL’s biggest surprises?

After the NFL released the2025 schedule Wednesday,here’smyannual(and waytoo-early) game-by-game predictionsfor this season.

SEPT.7 VS.ARIZONA CARDINALS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saints lost 42-34 in 2022

•Cardinals in 2024: 8-9,third in NFC West

PREDICTION: Whether it’s Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler,the Saints startingquarterback will get to start the season playing against his hometown team. Shough and Rattler both grew up in the Phoenix area and will getachance to break the tie in aseriesthatistied 16-16. The Saints ended last season on afour-game losing skid, but they havewon six straight season openers.Make it seven. Saints 20, Cardinals 17. | Record: 1-0.

SEPT.14VS. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saints lost 13-0 in 2022

•49ers in 2024: 6-11, fourthinNFC West

PREDICTION: The 49ers were adisappointment last season after making the Super Bowl the year prior.Two classmates from the 2017 draft class (Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey)will share the field again in this one. These teams have

ä See WALKER, page 3C

Falcons cornerback Clark Phillips tries to slowdownSaints running back Alvin Kamara in the firsthalf of their game on Nov. 10.

LSUstarting pitcher Jayden Heavener throws apitch against Southeastern in thefirst inning of their NCAA Baton Rouge regional tournament game on Friday at Tiger Park. The start of the Tigers’ game was delayed by the regional’sopening game between UConn andNebraska. The winnerofGame 2will advance to play Nebraska. For complete game coverage, visit theadvocate.com STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The UL baseball lineup had some unexpected names in it Thursday Connor Cuff played shortstop and batted second; Griffin Hebert played secondand hit eighth; and Mark Collins played in right field and hit ninth. Theresult wasa3-0 loss toArkansas State in the first game of the Sun Belt series at Russo Park.

Theexplanationfor thelineupchanges wasn’tinjuries.

“You don’ttake care of your business, you don’tplay for me, period,” UL coach Matt Deggs said after thegame. Asked whether the same lineup would be used in thesecond game,Deggs said, “Probably not.” The Cajuns dropped to 25-28 overall and 15-13 in Sun Belt play while Arkansas State improved to 25-26 and 13-15. Game two is scheduled for 6p.m.Friday “Wepitched it and playedpretty good defense, but creditthose guys and congrats to them getting into the (Sun Belt) tournament for the first time in awhile,”

Deggs said The outcome was the badnews for UL. The good news is in theCajuns’quest to at least finish in the top six to avoidthe play-in round of the Sun Belt Tournament, James Madisondefeated TexasState 9-4and Coastal Carolina beat Old Dominion 6-3.

Thatmeans the Cajuns are still tied for fourthwithOld Dominionwitha tiebreaker over the Monarchs, andare two gamesuponTexas Statewith two left and onegame ahead of Marshall withtwo left enteringFriday UL lost the seriestoTexas Stateand didn’tplay Marshall.

“Weshow up to win all of them,” Deggs

BYKOKIRILEY Staff writer

COLUMBIA,S.C. Jay Johnson doesn’tremember thelasttimeLSU made thefirst out of an inning at third base. The LSUcoach hasa set of general rules forhis base runners called “out rules,” and among them is to never make the first out of an inning at

Rod Walker

AP FILE PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

On TV AUTO RACING

5:25 a.m. Formula 1practiceESPN2

7:30a.m. IndyCar practice FS2

8:35 a.m. NASCAR Trucks practice FS2

8:55 a.m. Formula 1qualifying ESPN2

9:35a.m. NASCAR Trucks qualifying FS2

10 a.m. IndyCar qualifying FS1

12:30 p.m. Trucks: WindowWorld 250FS1

12:30 p.m. IndyCar qualifying FS2

3p.m. IndyCar qualifying Fox

4:10 p.m. NASCAR: All-Star raceHeat1 FS2

5:15 p.m. NASCAR: All-Star RaceHeat 2FS2 COLLEGE

11

Schauffele battles backto make cut

Reigning champnine behind leader Vegas

BY STEVE REED AP sportswriter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Xander

Schauffele kept his cut streak alive —barely The reigning champion shot an even-par71onFridayatthe PGA Championship to makethe cut on thenumber at 1-over143, extending his streak to 64 tournaments. He hasn’tmissed acut since the 2022 Masters. It’sthe longest sinceTiger Woods’ 142-event run that started in 1998 and ended in 2005. Masters champion Rory McIlroy also hadsome drama,makingthe cutonthe numberafter bogeying 17 and 18.

McIlroy,the third-ranked Schauffele and No. 4Collin Morikawa were all nine shots behind second-round leader Jhonattan Vegas. It was anail-biter for sure and Schauffele said he knew he was “in trouble” when he droppedto3 over for the tournament early in the round. But he holed achip to save par on the par-5 seventh hole after finding the water,and then made birdie on two of the final sevenholes to secureaspotinthe field this weekend at Quail Hollow “It was hard for me,” Schauffele said. “Someguys made it lookreally easy there and Ithought Iwas going tobe one of those guys. Hopefully those are my bad two rounds of golf and Ican shootsomething nice and low this weekend.”

McIlroy didn’tmake iteasy on himself aftermissing ashort putt on the par-3 17th and then clanking his drive off the roof of ametal concessionstandonthe left side of the fairway on No.18. He caught abreak when the ball came to rest just feetfromthe creek, avoiding apotential drop and penalty stroke.

Six of the top 10 players in the world missed the cut —two-time PGA winner Justin Thomas (No. 5), LudvigAberg (No. 6), Hideki Matsuyama (No. 7), Russell Henley (No. 8), Sepp Straka (No. 9) and Shane Lowry (No. 10) Jordan Spieth, looking to complete the career Grand Slam with awin this week, missed the cut by astroke after a68. Thomas came into the tournament as hot as any player in the field, having finishedinthe top two in three of his last fourtournaments, including aplayoff win over Andrew Novak at Harbour Town that snapped athree-year drought. But he bogeyedthree of his final four holes toshoot 72, leavinghim at 3-over 145.

Schauffelehits

BROADCASTHIGHLIGHTS

NCAASOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

11

5p.m.

7a.m. Bassmaster Elite FS1 GOLF

9a.m. PGAChampionship ESPN

10 a.m.PGA ChampionshipESPN2 Noon PGAChampionship CBS

1p.m. Champions: Regions Tradition Golf HORSERACING

11:30 a.m. America’sDay at the RacesFS2

1p.m. Preaknessprep races CNBC

3p.m. America’sDay at the Races FS2

3p.m. 150th Preakness Stakes 3p.m

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Noon N.y. Mets at N.y.yankees MLB

3p.m. Washington at Baltimore FS1

6p.m. Atlanta at Boston Fox

8p.m. L.A.Angels at L.A. Dodgers MLB

NHLPLAYOFFS

7p.m.Winnipeg at Dallas ABC

MEN’S SOCCER

6:25 a.m. St. Mirren at Celtic CBSSN

6p.m.Cincinnati at Columbus FS1

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WOMEN’S SOCCER

6:30 p.m.Utah at Washington ION

9p.m.Angel City at BayION TENNIS

5a.m.Italian Open-ATP doubles Tennis

10 a.m. ItalianOpen-WTA final Tennis TRACK AND FIELD

2p.m.Adidas Atlanta City Games NBC UFL

Noon Birmingham at St.Louis Fox WNBA

Noon Las VegasatNew york ABC

2p.m.ChicagoatIndiana ABC

PHOTO By

Preakness Stakes entrant Journalism works out at Pimlico race course on ThursdayinBaltimore. Journalism is an 8-5 favorite to win the Preakness after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby

No easy read

Journalism is horsetobeat, butrecenttrendsshowitwon’t be easy

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

BALTIMORE Leave it to two seasoned, Hall of Fame trainers with 15 combined Preakness Stakes victories to turn up the heat on a competitor afew days before the bigrace.

D. Wayne Lukas said to Michael McCarthy,“Ithink, Mike, it’s your race to lose.”Bob Baffertjokingly piled on, “Yeah, Mike, it’syour race to lose.”

McCarthy’sJournalism is the 8-5morning line favorite to win the 150threndition of the Preakness on Saturday afterfinishing astrong second to Sovereignty in theKentucky Derby.Sovereignty is notrunningafter histeamdecided to skip it forextra rest and aimfor the Belmont Stakes next month, anotableabsence that makes the Derby runner-up the top choice in afieldofnine.

“There’ssome othervery talented horses, but the horseto beat without adoubtisJournalism,” said Mark Casse,trainer of Preakness contender Sandman, who opened at 4-1and is settobe ridden by accomplished jockey JohnVelazquez. “Everybody’sgot to beat Journalism.It’show everybody can rebound andcome back in two weeks.”

Journalism, Sandman and Lukas’ American Promise arethe onlyPreakness horses who ran in the Derby two weeks ago. Sandmanwas seventh after struggling with mud getting kicked up into his face, and American Promise finished16th after running into troubleearly and lateinthe 19-horse race at Churchill Downs that is typically chaotic.

Bafferthas wonthe middle leg of the Triple Crown arecord eight times and would makeitnine if Goal Orientedgets the job done fromthe inside No. 1post.Lukas has seven victories in this race and can tie Baffert if American Promise helps him go back-toback in the Preakness after winning last year with long shot Seize the Grey

“He’sbetter this week than he was the week before the Derby,” the 89-year-old Lukas said of American Promise, ason of 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify,who was trained by Baffert.

PP Horse Trainer Jockey Odds

QB Purdy,49ersagree to 5-year,$265M extension

SANTACLARA,Calif. Brock Purdy agreed to afive-year contract extension worth $265 million with the San Francisco 49ers, going from the NFL’s biggest bargain to one of the league’shighest-paid players.

Apersonfamiliarwith the deal told The Associated Press that the sides reached agreement Friday on the contract that includes $181 million in total guarantees. Purdy has made less than $1 milliona year for his first three seasons and wasset to get araise in 2025 to about $5.2 millionunder the league’s proven performance escalator formaking the Pro Bowl last season before reaching this new deal that putsPurdy in the top 10 in quarterback contracts.

Phillies put struggling RHP Nola on 15-day IL

PHILADELPHIA— Phillies righthander Aaron Nola was placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday with asprained right ankle.

The 31-year-old veteran from LSU has struggled this season and is coming off an outing against St. Louis on Wednesday in which he allowed 12 hits, nine runs andthreehomers all career highs —ina14-7 loss.

Nola originally injured the ankle while doing agility work in the out-

fieldinTampa last Thursday.He made two starts since, and said the ankle bothered him to the point he was overcompensating elsewhere in his body

“I did feel like Ihad to overcompensate abit,” Nolasaid. “It did get alittle bit better last game, but it was putting alittle more stress on my back just because Iwasn’t able to rotate my foot like Iusually do.”

Larson crashesagain during Indy 500 practice

INDIANAPOLIS NASCAR star Kyle Larsoncrashedfor the secondtimeinthe lead-uptothe Indianapolis 500 on Friday when he lost control of his Arrow McLaren entryand hitthe wall in thefinal practice session before this weekend’squalifying runs.

1Goal Oriented Bob BaffertFlavien Prat 6-1

2JournalismMichael McCarthyUmbertoRispoli 8-5

3AmericanPromise D.WayneLukas NikJuarez15-1

4Heart of Honor Jamie Osborne SaffieOsborne 12-1

5Pay Billy Michael Gorham Raul Mena 20-1

6River Thames Todd Pletcher Irad Ortiz 9-2

7Sandman

8CleverAgain Steve AsmussenJoseOrtiz 5-1

9Gosger

“There’ssomeother very talented horses, but the horse to beat without adoubt is Journalism.Everybody’sgot to beat Journalism. It’show everybody canrebound and come backintwo weeks.”

MARK CASSE, trainer of Preakness contender Sandman, whoopened at 4-1

ä PreaknessStakes. POST TIME:5:50P.M. SATURDAy,NBC

“Whether thathelpsusornot,I don’tknow but we got no excuses in this barn. It might be when Journalism gets down with us. I don’tknow.We’ll see.”

In his next breath, Lukas said, “I think Journalism is beatable.” How so?

“Well, we don’tknow how he’s going to bounce back in two weeks,” Lukassaid.“That’sthe first thing, but it’sa different race. It’s nine (horses). It meanseverybody will probably have ashot at him. It’s adifferent surface. Obviously it’sshorter.Itmay not fit him too well.”

ThePreakness at 13⁄16 milesis slightlyshorter thanthe 11/4-mile Kentucky Derby,but there’soptimism aboutclose-to-normal conditions after nearly aweek’s worth of rain fell on Baltimore andmuckedupthe dirt track at Pimlico Race Course.After Journalism galloped through the mud earlier this week, McCarthy quipped of the surface, “I think everyone would hope it’sbetter by Saturday.” Journalism didjustfine in the slop in Louisville twoweeks ago,

and everything fromhis pedigree —he’sason of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin —tohis wins in majorstakes races in California makehim aworthy favorite.

“I have alot of confidence in my horse,” McCarthy said. “He’scoming back in two weeks.Sometimes with good horses, it’salot harder to tell when they’re not on top of their game because they can handle it and they handle thesethingssoeasily We’ll seeonSaturday,but my gut tells me we’re in forgood things.”

Casse’sWar of Will in 2019 is the most recent horse to win the Preakness after running in the Derby. The past five,including McCarthy-trained Rombauer in 2021, did not,though Seize the Grey had the same two-week turnaround last year from racing on the undercard on Kentucky Derby day

The new faces on the Triple Crown trail in the Preakness are Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames (92), SteveAsmussen’sClever Again (5-1),Jamie Osborn’sBritish import HeartofHonor (12-1),Brendan Walsh’sGosger (20-1) and local long shot Pay Billy (20-1).Pletcher has never won the Preakness.

Rombauer pulled offanupsetat 11-1 four years ago, and McCarthy called himand Journalism “two totally different types of horses.” This time, there’sthe weightofexpectationsfor Journalism, again ridden by regular jockey Umberto Rispoli, with the pressure on.

“I thinkit’sa great spot to be in,” McCarthysaid, noting he’dlove to have aKentucky Derby victory under his belt to go with this.But it’sa tough race to win. Any of these TripleCrown races, they’renot easy to win. We’ve brought ahorse here whoseems like he’sgoodenoughto getthe job doneonSaturday.”

The damage was relatively minor,though, and it only took Larson’steam aboutanhourtomake repairs to the front andrear of the car.That allowed him to get in someprecious laps with about 30 minutes leftinthe 6-hour session. Larson, who also crashed on April 24 during an open test at Indianapolis MotorSpeedway,is taking his second shot at trying to complete “the Double” by running the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the sameday

Sinner to renewrivalrywith Alcaraz in ItalianOpen final

ROME Jannik Sinner has gone all the way to the final in his first tournament back from athree-month doping ban. And Carlos Alcaraz is waiting forhim in the Italian Open title match.

The top-ranked Sinner rallied past No. 12 Tommy Paul 1-6, 6-0, 6-3inthe semifinals on Friday as he attempts to become the first Italianman to lift theRome trophy since Adriano Panatta in 1976. Earlier,Alcaraz advanced to his first Romefinalbybeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Sunday’sfinal will markthe first meeting between Sinnerand Alcaraz since October,when Alcaraz wonthe China Open final in athirdset tiebreaker.Alcaraz holds a6-4 edge in his career meetings with Sinner and has won three straight against his biggest rival.

KickerZuerleinlatest veteran to departJets

The New York Jets released kicker Greg Zuerlein on Friday,anexpected move as theteamcontinues to get younger on its revamped roster

The 37-year-old Zuerlein spent the past threeseasonswith the Jets, but his spot appeared tenuous. New general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn have madeaconcerted effort to add youth to the team Zuerlein’srelease camethree days after the Jets cut 39-year-old punter Thomas Morstead. New York has also moved on this season from afew other prominent veterans, including quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver Davante Adams and linebacker C.J. Mosley With Zuerleingone, quarterback Tyrod Taylor,who turns 36 in August, is the oldest player on the roster

ASSOCIATED PRESS

STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH

alternated wins the last seven times they’ve played. History says it’sthe Saints’ turn towin, but the 49ers get their 50th win in franchise history over their old division rival. 49ers 28, Saints 27. | Record: 1-1.

SEPT.21ATSEATTLE SEAHAWKS,

3:05 P.M.

•Last meeting: Saints won 39-32 in 2022

•Seahawks in 2024: 10-7, secondin NFC West

PREDICTION: The Saints have won their last four games against the Seahawks. The last losscamein the playoffs of the 2013 season. Lumen Field can be aloud, intimidating venue. Klint Kubiak, who spent last season as the Saints offensive coordinator,isnow calling plays in Seattle. He saw the Saints defense every day in practice last season, so he knows the personnel very well. The Saints’ defensive scheme will be different now,but the Seahawksget their first win againstthe Saints in more than adecade. Seahawks 24, Saints 13. | Record: 1-2.

SEPT.28ATBUFFALO BILLS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saints lost 31-6 in 2021

•Bills in 2024: 13-4, won AFCEast

PREDICTION: On paper,this looks to be the most difficult game on the schedule. Well, at least it shouldn’tbetoo coldinthe Bills’ finalseason playing in Highmark Stadium. The new stadium is set to open in 2026. The Bills are led by Josh Allen, whowon the MVP award last season This one could get ugly.Bills 31, Saints 10. | Record: 1-3.

OCT.5 VS.NEW YORK GIANTS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saints won 14-11 in 2024

•Giants in 2024: 3-14, fourthin

NFC East

PREDICTION: Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee blocked alast-second, game-tying field goal last season to preserve the victory.Now the Giants will come in with Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston or rookieJaxson Dart playing quarterback.They also have former LSU receiver Malik Nabers. In abattle of two teams who aren’texpected to do much this season, the Saints barely escape the Giants for a second straight year.Saints24, Giants 23. | Record: 2-3.

OCT.12VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, 3:25 P.M.

•Last meeting: Saints won 34-0 in 2023

•Patriots in 2024: 4-13, fourthin AFC East

PREDICTION: Like the Saints, the Patriots enter2025 with anew head coach. Mike Vrabel takes over on ateam that he once played linebackerfor.The Patriots lost six of their last seven games last season, with thelone win being in the season finale over the Bills, who had nothing to play for.Drake Maye is expected to be the startingquarterback. The Saints won thelast two games against New England by double digits. They may be able to do that again. Saints 20, Patriots10. | Record: 3-3.

OCT.19ATCHICAGO BEARS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saints won 24-17 in 2023

•Bears in 2024: 5-12, fourthin NFC North

PREDICTION: Former Saints head coach DennisAllen is now the defensive coordinator in Chicagounder first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who spent the past three seasons as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.With Johnson’soffensive mind and Allen’sdefensive expertise, the Saints willexperience some Windy City blues. Bears 24, Saints 6. | Record: 3-4. OCT.26VS.TAMPABAY BUCCANEERS, 3:05 P.M.

•Last meeting at home: Saints lost 51-27in2024

•Bucs in 2024: 10-7, won NFC South

PREDICTION: The Bucshave won their last three games in the Superdome. That includeslast season’sdebacle when the Saints gave up 51 points. It was the most points they’ve given up sinceallowing 52 points to the NewYork Giants in 2012. Things shouldn’t be that bad this time around. Bucs 24, Saints 20. | Record: 3-5.

NOV. 2ATLOS ANGELES RAMS, 3:05 P.M.

•Last meeting: Saints lost 21-14 in 2024

•Rams in 2024: 10-7, won NFC West

PREDICTION: The Saints have played the Rams three times in L.A. since the Rams moved back to California from St. Louis. Includingthe stint in St. Louis, the Saints have lost fiveconsecutive road games againstthe Rams. The Rams have added Davante Adams to areceiving corps that already had Puka Nacua, so it will be atough day for the Saints’ unproven cornerbacks. Rams 35,Saints 17. | Record: 3-6.

NOV. 9ATCAROLINA PANTHERS,NOON

•LastmeetinginCharlotte: Saints lost 23-22 in 2024

•Panthersin2024: 5-12, third in NFC South

PREDICTION: The Saints’ trip to Charlotte lastseason ended up being the nail in the coffinofDennis Allen’stime as head coach. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, in his third season, seems to finally be figuring things out As aresult, the Panthers send the Saints home with aloss for the second straight season. Panthers 27,Saints 20. | Record: 3-7.

NOV. 23 VS.ATLANTAFALCONS

3:25 P.M.

•Lastmeeting at home: Saintswon 20-17 in 2024

•Falcons in 2024: 8-9, second in NFC South

PREDICTION: TheSaints haven’t lost to the Falcons in theDome since the 2021 season. Twoofthe last three gamesinthe Dome vs. theDirty Birds weredecided bythree points. This one maynot beasclose, as Michael Penixplays in the Dome for thefirst time since leading the University of Washington to a SugarBowl victoryover Texas in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff two seasons ago. TheFalconsend their threegame skid in theBig Easy.Falcons28, Saints 13 | Record: 3-8. NOV. 30 AT MIAMIDOLPHINS,NOON

•Lastmeeting: Saints lost 20-3 in 2021

•Dolphins in 2024: 8-9, second in AFC East

PREDICTION: The Saints’ last trip to Miami was in 2009, when they beatthe Dolphins 46-34. As you know,the Saints later went on to win theSuper Bowl that season. The Saints were scheduled to return to Miami in 2017, but that gamewas played in London and the Saints blanked theDolphins 20-0. TheSaints were missing 16 players due to COVID when the teamsplayed in 2021. This one won’tbequite that bad. Dolphins 24, Saints 17. | Record: 3-9.

DEC. 7ATTAMPA BAYBUCCANEERS, NOON

•Last meeting in Tampa: Saints lost 27-19 in 2024

PREDICTION: The Bucs are lookingtobecomethe firstteam since the NFL’s realignment in 2002 to win theNFC Southfive timesinarow.The Saints will try to play spoiler with this lateseason game at Raymond James Stadium.The Bucs swept the Saintslast season andwill do it for asecondstraight season. Bucs 28, Saints 20. | Record: 3-10.

DEC. 14 VS.CAROLINA PANTHERS, 3:25 P.M.

•Last meeting at home: Saintswon 47-10 in 2024

PREDICTION: When the Panthers came to New Orleans in last year’sseason opener,the Saints hung 47points onthem andoptimism was sky-highabout Kubiak’snew offense. That early magic wore off after two weeks andKubiak left after one season. Chances are slim theSaints will putup47points this time, but they do enough to get their first win since Week 6and snap a seven-gamelosing streak. Saints 20, Panthers 17. | Record: 4-10.

DEC. 21 VS.NEW YORK JETS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saintswon 30-9 in 2021

•Jets in 2024: 5-12, third in AFC East

PREDICTION: First-year Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was amain target for theSaints in their headcoachingsearch. Glenn playedone season for theSaints and spentfive seasons in New Orleans as an assistant under SeanPayton before becoming the Lions defensivecoordinator He’llbeamped up for this one, but it won’tmatter.Saints 27, Jets 17. | Record: 5-10. DEC. 28 AT TENNESSEE TITANS,NOON

•Last meeting: Saintswon 16-15 in 2023

•Titans in 2024: 3-14, fourthin AFC South

PREDICTION: TheTitans won just threegames last season, tied for theworst record in the NFL. They selected quarterback Cam Ward with thefirstoverall pick, meaning this game could be a battle between two rookie quarterbacks.This is one of thefew road winsthe Saints may be able to get this season. But I’m giving aslight edge to Ward and Company athome. Titans 14, Saints 13.| Record: 5-11. WEEK 18 AT ATLANTAFALCONS,TBA

•Last meetinginAtlanta: Saints lost 26-24 in 2024

PREDICTION: The Saintshad their heartsbroken in Mercedes-Benz Stadium lastseason when YounghoeKoo drilled a58-yard field goal in the final seconds. It was theFalcons’ second straight home win over their rival they list on the scoreboard as “visitors” instead of “Saints.” The Saints now can try to crush the Falcons’ bid for an NFC Southcrown. They keep it close, but leave the ATL with aloss and the same record as last season. Falcons 17, Saints 14. | Record: 5-12.

E.D. Whiteforcesdecisive thirdgamevs. Teurlings

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

SULPHUR Teurlings Catholic has shown all season what it is capable of doing when it excels at the little things.

But when the Rebelsdon’t,especially againsta good team,they have comeout on the losing end. That’s what happened Fridayas theRebels fell 4-3 to E.D. White in thesecond game of theDivision II select state finals held at McMurry Park. The third and deciding game is slated for 2p.m. Saturday “Theyplayed well,”Rebels coach Brooks Badeaux saidofE.D. White. “They played welland executed and we didn’t. It’sassimple as that.”

It was amuchbetterperformancebyE.D.White(23-19), which was run-ruled 11-1 by the Rebels (33-5) on Thursday Badeaux wasn’tthe least bit surprised by how well E.D. White played withits championship aspi-

TIGERS

Continuedfrom page1C

looked up to (third-basecoach Josh Jordan). Ididn’t.I just thought it was anatural read that Icould makeit, and bad read by me.”

Braswell’smistakeand another base-running gaffe by freshman Derek Curielwere crucial mistakes in LSU’s6-5 losstoSouth Carolina.

“Itcost us thegametonight,” Johnson said.

With Thursday being aglaring exception, LSU has been asolid base-running team this season TheTigershave been aggressive while still limiting obvious mistakes, using Johnson’s“out rules” as ageneral ruleofthumb for what to do in certain situations.

“The whole base-running philosophyfor us is smart and aggressive,” Johnson said. “Smart comes before theaggressive. And the smart is knowing the game and

CAJUNS

Continuedfrom page1C

said. “Wecan put them in position andwork with them, andthey’ve got to go makeplays and have big at-bats.” UL runners reached second base just twiceinthe game,and both times came with two outs. The Cajuns mustered four hits andleft five on base.

rations on theline.

“I knew it wasgoing to happen,” Badeaux said about E.D. White’s improvedperformance. “This is not theirfirst rodeo. That’sawellcoached team.” Grant Barbera was the winning pitcherafterherelievedstarter Owen Blanchard with oneout in thesixthinning. In 12/3 scoreless innings, Barbera allowed one hit andhit twobatters whilestriking outone. Blanchard allowed three runs (two earned)onseven hits and four walks while striking out three in 51/3 innings. With runnersonfirst andsecondwithone outinthe bottom of the seventh inning, OwenPorche singled to right field to drive in the game-winning run forE.D.White.

Despite astrong performance in relief of starterIsaac Boudreaux (2 IP,3H,3R,0ER, 1BB, 3Ks), Dylan Helms—who wasrelieved with one outinthe seventh —was

the situation and what’sneeded at that time.”

The first of Johnson’srules is to never make the first out of the inning on the bases. Johnson wants the opposing pitcher to stay in the stretch and have to work in a stressful situation.

“Wecallit‘no chances,’ “Johnson said on his radio show Monday “. We don’twant to get tagged out and bail him out with an out on the bases.

Johnson’snext rule is for his runnerstotry andget to third base with oneout.Iftheycan reach third, it makes scoring arun that mucheasier since the next batter won’tneed to geta hit to drive in therunner Curiel tried to do that Thursday He was running on the pitch that junior Jared Jones shot into left field, but instead of sliding into third safely,Curiel didn’tslide and got thrown outinstead.

“I just don’tknowwhy he didn’t slide,” Johnson said.

Johnson’sthird out rule comes

the losing pitcher.Heallowed one earned run on three hits, one walk andthree hit batters while striking out four in 41/3 innings.

“Dylan did agreat job,” Badeaux said. “Hedid agood job of stopping them.”

With the game tied 3-3, the Rebels had achance in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second and one out, but the Rebels couldn’ttake advantage of it as the nexttwo batters struck outand grounded into afielder’schoice to end the inning.

“Wejust letsome situations slip away,” Badeaux said. “Wegot the leadoffbatteronthree times and didn’tcapitalize.”

The Rebels were led by Will Power,who hit asolohome run in thetop of thethirdand hadtwo RBIs. Kaden Chavis was 2for 3 and Brennen Stormswas 1for 3.

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

in two-out situations. In those scenarios, LSU will be aggressive in getting arunner in scoring position andwill always sendthe runner from second base homeona hit unless “it’sano-brainer play.”

“With the pitching we’reseeing, if you stop them (at third) sometimes, nowyou’rebanking on getting another hit,whichthose aren’t always easy to comeby,”Johnson said.“Sometimesit’sbetterto makethem makeaplay.”

Thursdaywas alow point for LSU on the bases. The Tigers scored only five runs in agame where they had 11 hits and went7 for 16 with runners on base. Better base running in the fifth inning would’ve resulted in moreruns. The only good news is the mistakes didn’tcost the Tigers aregional, superregional or Omaha win. But once June rolls around, they will have no margin forerror when it comes to making mental gaffesonthe bases.

“Wecan’t make thosebase-running mistakes,” Braswell said.

“You just have to keep coming,” Deggs said. “Hitting is something you have to work at tirelesslyevery single day,and you’ve gotto makesure you have agood pitch to hit. Then you have to have a good path andbeontime andall of thatgood stuff. There’salot that goes intoit. It’shard to square it up consistently,especially if you’re youngerand experienced and the guy is pitching you tough.” Arkansas State starter Gavin Galy improved to 3-1 after allowing no runs on two hits, no walks and three strikeouts in six innings and 56 pitches. The RedWolves’ scoring came in the fourth and fifth innings. PatrickEngskov homered forthe run in thefourth off starter Chase Morgan, and AshtonQuillerhit a two-runhomer off reliever Tate Hess in the fifth. “I thinkwewere

behind

said about

tipping pitches

the dish,” Deggs

the four hits Hess allowed in his first inning. “Wecleaned that up

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

UL’s Caleb Stelly was one of the fewCajuns withagood night at the plate withtwo hits in agame against Arkansas State on Thursday at Russo Park.

PHOTO By KIRK MECHE

Park in Sulphur

Catholic-NI’shitting comesalive

Panthers’win sets up Game 3withU-High forchampionship

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Pitching and defense are what the CatholicHigh of New Iberia baseball team has hung its hat on all season.

So, it comes as no surprise that it was pitching and defense that helped the Panthers stave offelimination as they defeated University High 8-1 in the second game of the best-of-three series in the Division III select state finals Friday at McMurry Park in Sulphur “Game 1isimportant, but Game 2is very critical,” said Panthers coach David Jordan, whose team will face Universityin the deciding third game at 11 a.m. Saturday. “That was abig win for us, because Ithink the momentum has shifted back to ourside. We’re excited and we feel good.” Offensively the Panthers,who scored eight runs on nine hits,were led by left

fielder Luke Landry,pitcher JD Hidalgo, and right fielder Gavin Roy Landry was 3for 4withadouble and two RBIs, Hidalgo was 2for 3with adouble and an RBI andRoy was1 for3 witha double and an RBI.

“You canhold agood hitting team down for agame withagood pitching performance,” Jordan said. “Butitishard to hold agood hitting team down for two games in arow.Weplay thepercentages and the percentages say that we will start finding gaps and holes.”

With the offense providing run support, Hidalgo did enough to bend but not break on the mound. Hidalgo, whowas thewinningpitcher,didn’tallow any runs while giving up four hits and five walks,while striking out seven in sixinnings

“JDgaveussix innings of great ball,” Jordan said. “Hestruggled early, allowing alot of baserunners. Buthebattled and got us out of alot of jams.”

Hidalgo, whothrew114 pitches, including35inthe first inning, allowed baserunners,but consistently thwartedthe Cubs’ scoring opportunities.University left 15 runners on baseinthe game.

The Cubs couldn’tcome up with the big hit in the first threeinnings againstHidal-

SCOREBOARD

go,despite loadingthe basesineach inning.

“JD is abulldog,”Jordan said. “He competes as hardasanyone I’ve ever coached. He worked through it and leftitall out there.”

With Hidalgo minimizing the damage on the mound, the Panthers offense made things happen. Roy delivered atwo-outRBI double just offthe center fielder’sglovetogive the Panthers a1-0 lead in thebottom of the second.

The Panthersadded two more runs on a wild pitch to takea 3-0 lead. After courtesy runner Braxton Richard scored on the wild pitch to makeit2-0, the Panthers’Owen Morrisscored when he realizednoone was covering home platetoput Catholic ahead 3-0 through three innings.

“That was agreat job by our third base coach and Owen to see that no one had called timeout and no one was covering home plate,” Jordan said. “Thatwas big to be able to getathird run against ateam like University.”

CohenEvans made it 4-0 withanRBI single to left that scored Maddox Nacol, followed by Hidalgo’s bases-loaded walk that extendedthe lead to 5-0. Morris’ sacrifice fly to center gave the Panthers a6-0 after

PHOTO By KIRK MECHE Catholic High of NewIberia’sJDHidalgo celebrates adoubleduring the Panthers’ 8-1 winoverUniversity High in the second game of theirDivisionIII select finals series Friday in Sulphur

four innings. Landry endedthe scoring with atwo-out, two-run double to right field in the bottom of the fifth that gave the Panthers an 8-0 lead. “I’m so proud of these kids,” Jordan said.

Erathflipsthe script to even finalsseries

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Afteraheartbreaking loss in Game 1whenErath sawa 4-0lead fade away in the seventh inning, somemight have wondered if the Bobcats could bounce back.

Earlyon, it didn’tappearso withSterlington jumping out to a4-0 lead.

ButErath put together acomeback of its own,rallying to claim a7-6 victoryonFriday at McMurry Park in Sulphur and force aGame 3onSaturday

“Our kids are resilient,” Bobcats coach Jeremy Picard said. “Wetalkedabout it (Thursday) that we gave one away,and Itold them it wasonme. But it isn’t aboutwho wins thefirst one, it is about who wins two and that’s why it is best-of-three series. They put it behind them and went out there and forced aGame 3.”

Erath’sBrennan Broussard hits atripleduring Friday’s 7-6 win over Sterlington in Game 2ofthe Division IIInonselectseries at McMurry

37 3113 TOTALS 30 04 0

St. 000 120 000 —3 11 0 UL 000 000 000 —0 40 DP —Arkansas St. 1, UL 1. LOB—Arkansas St. 9; UL 5. 2B —Henry Williams, Higgs. HR

Quiller, Engskov.HBP —Stelly,Bellard. Arkansas St.IPH RERBBSO

Galy (W,3-1) 62 00 03 Nelson 10 00 01

Richter (S, 8) 22 00 00 UL IP HR ER BB SO

Morgan (L, 4-3) 44 11 16 Hess 31 62 21 4

Theut 1 3 10 00 1 HBP —Stelly,Bellard.

Umpires—HP: Christopher Symons.1B: MatthewMartinez. 3B:Jeff Wright. T—2:25. A—3,274. South Carolina 6, LSU 5

LATE THURSDAY LSU South Carolina (40-13, 17-13 SEC) (28-26, 6-22) ab rh bi ab rh bi

Curiel lf-cf3 00 0Jackson lf 200 0

Jones1b5 12 1Hallcf5 11 0

Dickinson2b5 22 2Kaczmar ss 322 1 Frey dh 502 0Jonesdh3 01 2 Hernandez c3 00 0Gaskin pr-dh0 00 0 Brownph-rf2 11 0Carrion 2b 31 00

Pearson rf-lf2 00 0Hollins1b3 01 0 Milam ss 200 1Stone rf 300 0 Braswell 3b 303 1Scobey3b3 12 2

Stanfield cf 411 0Braland c2 00 0

Arrambide c0 00 0Woita ph 101 0 Mashorepr0 10 0 TOTALS 34 5115 TOTALS 28 68 5 LSU 200 010 020 —5 10

South Carolina 010 002 012 —6 81 E— Scobey (7). DP —LSU; South Carolina 2.

LOB—LSU 9; South Carolina 7. 2B —Braswell (5). 3B —Kaczmar 2(3). HR —Dickinson (9), Scobey (8). SB —Brown (9). CS —Gaskin (1). LSU IP HR ER BB SO Ware 10 11 40 Noot 42 22 05

Shores 22 00 01

Cowan(L, 3-3) 12/3 43 31 1 South Carolina IP HR ER BB SO Crowther41/3 53 33 4 Stone 41/3 62 21 4 Becker(W, 3-3) 1/3 00 00 0 WP —Cowan (5). HBP —byWare(Jackson), by Crowther(Js. Pearson), by B. Stone (Curiel), by Shores (Jackson), by Cowan(Jackson)

Umpires—HP: Brian Hale. 1B: DannyCricks 2B: Scott Cline. 3B —C.J. Burdette. T—3:21. A— 6,841. Southland Tournament Hammond bracket

Thursday’s games Game 1– No. 4Northwestern State 7, No. 5

McNeese 6 Game 2– No. 8UNO 10, No. 1Southestern6 Friday’s games Game 3– Southeastern 7, McNeeseState 4 Game 4– No. 4NWState vs.UNO,n Saturday’s games Game 5–Southeasternvs. Game 4Loser,

0

n TampaBay

Miami,n St. Louis at Kansas City, n Houston at Texas, n Minnesota at Milwaukee, n Seattle at San Diego, n L.A. AngelsatL.A. Dodgers,n AthleticsatSan Francisco, n Saturday’s Games N.Y. Mets (Canning 5-1)atN.Y.Yankees (Schmidt 1-1), 12:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox(Burke2-4) at Chicago Cubs (Boyd 3-2),1:20 p.m. Detroit (Olson 4-3)atToronto (TBD), 2:07 p.m. Washington (Irvin 2-1)atBaltimore(Gibson 0-2), 3:05 p.m. TampaBay (Rasmussen 1-4)atMiami (Alcantara2-5), 3:10 p.m. Cleveland (Ortiz 2-4) at Cincinnati (Petty 0-2), 5:40 p.m. Houston (Blanco3-3) at Texas(Mahle 4-1), 6:05 p.m. St. Louis (Mikolas 2-2)atKansas City (Lugo 3-4), 6:10 p.m. Atlanta (Holmes 2-3)atBoston (Giolito 1-1), 6:15 p.m. Minnesota (López 3-2)atMilwaukee (TBD), 6:15 p.m. Seattle (Hancock1-2) at San Diego (Pivetta 5-2), 7:40 p.m. Athletics(Severino 1-4) at San Francisco (Roupp 2-3),8:05p.m. L.A. Angels(Anderson 2-1)atL.A. Dodgers (Kershaw0-0), 8:10 p.m. National League East Division

Bobcats ace Seth Leger was the winning pitcherafter allowing six runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks, while striking out four in seven innings.

“I havesaid it all year that Seth Leger didwhat Seth Leger does,” Picard said. “Wewanted him with theball and even though he didn’t have hisbest stuff,hegave us an opportunity to win.”

Picard said Legerdid agreat jobofcommanding his fastball, andthatwas the key to hissuccess on the mound.

“Seth really spottedhis fastball,” Picardsaid. “Hehas been ourguy forfouryears, but he has never been in this situation before. Ithink the momentmay have been big for him, but once he settled down, he did whatwe needed him to do.”

The Bobcats’ top hitters were Brennan Broussard, Jackson Landry,and Carter Champagne. Broussardwas 2for 4witha triple and twoRBIs, Landry was

2for 4with twoRBIsand Champagnewas 2for 3with arun scored.

“Offensively,weknow that we aregoing to scoreruns,”Picard said. “It is only amatter of time. Once we settled in, we started to barrel up someballs.”

Erath and Sterlington will meet in the decisive Game 3todetermine the Division III select state champion at 11 a.m.Saturday on Field 40 at McMurry Park.

“Wehave played two baseball games here now,and our fan base did agreat job of making the atmosphere electric,” Picard said. “It’sgoing to be an electric atmosphere again on (Saturday). We just have to go out there and play our brand of baseball. Ithink we gotawayfromwhatgot us here alittle.Hopefully,(Saturday) we can play our brand of baseball for seven innings.”

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

Sox(Burke2-4) at Chicago Cubs (Boyd 3-2),1:20 p.m. Washington (Irvin 2-1)atBaltimore(Gibson 0-2), 3:05 p.m. TampaBay (Rasmussen 1-4)atMiami (Alcantara2-5), 3:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Mlodzinski 1-3)atPhiladelphia (Wheeler 4-1),5:05 p.m. Cleveland (Ortiz 2-4) at Cincinnati (Petty 0-2), 5:40 p.m. St. Louis (Mikolas 2-2)atKansas City (Lugo 3-4), 6:10 p.m. Atlanta (Holmes 2-3)atBoston (Giolito 1-1), 6:15 p.m. Minnesota (López 3-2)atMilwaukee (TBD), 6:15 p.m. Colorado (Márquez 1-6) at Arizona (Gallen 3-5), 7:10 p.m. Seattle (Hancock1-2) at San Diego (Pivetta 5-2), 7:40 p.m. Athletics(Severino 1-4) at San Francisco (Roupp 2-3),8:05p.m. L.A. Angels(Anderson 2-1)atL.A. Dodgers (Kershaw0-0), 8:10 p.m.

7K), L–B.Mayeaux (2.2 IP,5H,3ER, 2BB, 2 K). TopHitters –CATH: Luke Landry 3-4, 2B,2RBIs; J.D.Hidalgo2-3,2B, RBI;Gavin Roy1-3,2B, RBI;UL: JackMccann 3-4; Trey Sotice 2-4; Mackie Musgrove1-4,RBI E.D.White 4, Teurlings 3 Teurlings 001 200 0—383 E.D.White 111 000 1—471 W—Grant Barbara(1.2 IP,0R,1H,0BB, 1 K), L—DylanHelms (4.1 IP,1R,3H,1BB, 4 K. Tophitters: TEUR: Will Power1-2,HR, 2 RBIs; Brant Badeaux 2-3; EDW: Jax Triche 2-3; Jonathan Lee2-2,LukeZeringue 2-3; Owen Porche 1-4, RBI.

PHOTO By KIRK MECHE

Park in Sulphur

Grit

Symbol of resilience,Peggy Martin roses readytobloom

BY HANNAH LEVITAN Staff writer

When Hurricane KatrinadevastatedNew Orleans nearly 20 years ago, wrecking neighborhoods and leaving debris littered across the city,one plant stood tall amid the chaos: the Peggy Martin rose. The blooming, pink plant survived, as if thearea had been unaffected by dangerous flooding and saltwater intrusion The plant’ssurvival was initiallyspotted by Peggy Martin, a resident of Plaquemines Parish who evacuated during Katrina.

When she returned to assess the damage to her property, she found nothing left in her garden but mud and leafless trees. But onceshe looked closer,she saw signs of life.

On her shed, she foundpink andgreen verdure. And it was thriving.

Martin began searching for the plant’sidentity,but even rose expert Bill Welchcouldn’tfind the name of the mysterious plant.

He decided to nameitthe Peggy Martin rose,and in theyears since itsdiscovery,it’searned the nickname “the Katrina rose.”

The climbing rose nowblooms across theSouth,reaching its peak in spring and summer, though “mature specimens rebloom in late summer/fall,” according to the LSU AgCenter

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM THE NEW ORLEANS BOTANICAL GARDEN The PeggyMartin rose is asturdy and beautifullocal variety that volunteers propagate at CityPark

What makesthemsospecial?

After Katrina, the Peggy Martin rose became asymbol of resilience and hope, said Edward Bush, an LSU professor inthe SchoolofPlant, Environmental and Soil Sciences.

Gardeners across the country were astonished at its abilityto withstand extreme conditions— brackish water,poor soilconditions andlack of oxygen.

“For that planttoendure and adapt, shows theresilience of the Peggy Martinrose,” Bush said. According to Bush, the rose is alsolargely resistant to disease and tolerant of avariety of soils andconditions thanks to its genetic makeup.

“It’smore like arootstock plant,” Bush said. “Its genetics are more like the kind of roses that we use for rootstock ” By cutting the rose stems, also knownaspropagating, residents can grow their own Peggy Martinroses.Bushsaid it’svery easytoroot them.

Tips forgrowing your own

Because the roses grow fast, Bush recommends gardeners prune them oncethey bloom.

“You want to prune them horizontally,” Bush said. “You don’t want the branches to cross.”

Using fertilizer is also agood idea, he said. And so is maintaining adequate moisture.

When you root the rose, ensurethe root has3 to 4inches of mulch around its base. This will preventsoil from dryingout and can reduce weed pressure.

‘Theyremind me of little planets’

Artist’s wool mobilesspininorbitsoftheir own

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Mobiles were never in theplans.

At least, not at first

Buthere they hang, twirling and bouncing in thecurrents generated by Sheila Morissette’s air vents. Their felted Merino wool circles are delicate enough to lighten anyone’smood,which was onereason Morissette started making the mobiles “I made afew last summer, she said. “My husband and Ihave aplace up in Vancouver,sowe’re back and forth between Vancouver and Baton Rouge.”

Inspired by Calder

On onetrip, thecouplevisited an exhibit by American artist Alexander Calder,known for his mobiles,each composed of geometric shapes connected by thin, bendable stainless steel rods easily moved by air currents. The exhibit placedMorissette on aroad to yesteryear,when the magic of achild’swonder was more powerful thanany digital il-

Mobiles made with circularpieces of felted wool occupythe ceiling of Sheila Morissette’sstudio. The mobiles are the latest in Morissette’scollection of artmade of Merino wool.

lusion produced by AI.

That rekindled magic has been with Morissette since.

“I’ve been obsessed with mobiles

since Iwas achild,” she said. “I’m akid of the ’60s,and Ihad them in my room.I just like things that hang, and people run out of wall spaceand surfaces to put things on. There’salways alittle corner to hang something.”

So now they fill the ceiling of the studio in herSouth BluebonnetNicholson neighborhood home, where she and husband Marc Aubanel have lived since 2013. They also fill asection of the LSU Museum Store’sceiling in theShaw Center forthe Arts, where they’re sold as part of her FeltMode Fiber Art Studio collection.

A12-year journey

The mobiles are the latest in a12year artisticjourney that started out as atemporary assignment. Thecouple’sBaton Rougestint originally was slated for three years, allowingenoughtime for Aubaneltocreate adigitalmedia arts and engineering program at LSU. He nowworks as the founding director of the program

ä See ARTIST, page 6C

STAFF PHOTOSByROBIN MILLER

Sheila Morissette shows strands of wool before she felts them into apiece of silk.She not only uses the felted wool to make garments and scarvesbut also jewelryand the circles forher mobiles

ARTIST

Continued from page5C

But Morissette knew from the beginning that Louisiana’shot climate wouldn’t be conducive to her kiln.She worked in pottery before moving to theDeep South, butshe couldn’t justify transporting such bulky equipment to what she thought would be atemporary home.

“And once we moved down here, Idecided thatit was just too hot of aclimate for me,” she said. “The kiln would have to be set up in the garage, along with all the chemicals and the glazing, and Ijust can’tcopewiththe temperatures.”

So, Morissette turned to a new, lighter mediumcalled Nuno felting, atechnique using wet felting methods to bond the fine fibers of Merino wool to such sheer fabrics as silk or cotton gauze.

Feltingwool

She later demonstrated her method by first choosing acluster of wool fibers, called aroving. Her collection of rovings are organized by color and fill one of her studio walls

Morissette felts the wool strands on to acutting of habotai —aplain, soft silk which she has colored using acid dyes. She then uses the Nuno technique of gently coaxing woolfibers through the silk fabric by using bubble wrap to gently rub and roll the wool through the silk using hot, soapy water

After that, the felted textile is used to make garments, scarves, jewelry and, yes, mobiles under the watchfuleye of her constant companion, a Havanese dog named Arlo.

Arlo follows Morissette as she moves next to adisplay of her newlystocked jewelry.Heeagerly wags histail when she removes anecklace from ajewelry stand and holds it next to her shirt. Sold out

The LSU Museum Store has sold out its stock of Morissette’snecklaces. Her jewelry collectionalso includes earrings and bangle bracelets, allfashioned from felted wool in avariety of color combinations.

Of course, purple and gold has been the most popular combination at the museum store.

“I did afew purple and gold pieces,” she said. “It’snot my natural palette, but this is where we are, so Idohave them. We started going to the women’sbasketball games, so you have to wear something purple and gold, right?”

The bangles and earrings areabit fuzzy in texture, but they’ll easily mesh with any

TACO TRUCK

Continued from page5C

business they’re parked in front of is undergoingrenovations Co-owner Tabatha Simoneaux says she and her husband Luis Blanco are saving money to relocate into anew location, but they haven’t found anything yet. She added that one of their customers is amanager at Floor and Decor and offered them aspot in the parking lot. Now,nearCostco,patrons can get the quesabirria ta-

footballSaturdayoutfit in TigerStadium. Andthe necklaces? They comeavariety of twists and stacked discs.

Shemakes scarves, too

Hanging beside the jewelry in herstudio display are felted wool and silk scarves in differenttextures. Some appear bumpy, which, Morissette explains, is aresult from theshrinking process when the water dries after felting.

“Thehot watermakesit shrink,” she said. “And as it shrinks, it becomestighter Andinorder to getgoodfelt, you sort of stretchitout in the water.Then I’ll alternate hot andcoldwater bathstoget it be as felted as it can be.”

Morissette stopsthe process when she’ssatisfied with theresult.

“As the wool eventually shrinksduringthislaborious felting process, the silk puckers and createsa lovely ruchingtextureand anentirely newfabric,” Morissette writesinherartist’sstatement fortheLouisianaCraftsGuild, of which sheisa member. “It isalwaysthrillingandmagical to savor this transformation.”

Morissette doesn’tsell her garments, buther scarves are popular among buyers. Andthough shehas many, the scarves haveyielded the spotlight to the mobiles floatingoverhead, eachorbiting in its own solar system.

Method formobiles

For the mobiles, Morissette felts sheets of wool usingthe samemethod sheapplies to her other works.She then presses rounded ob-

When canI check my steak?

Dear Miss Manners: When serving asteak,the server will often say something along the lines of, “Please cut into the center to make sure it’s cooked the way you want it.” At abusiness dinner of around 20 people, Iwas rather rudely corrected for doing so by someone who thought Iwas about to commence eating before everyone’s entree had been served. Should Ihave waited until everyone was served to check my steak, even though Iwasn’teating yet?

But since the fewminutes’ difference between cutting your meat immediately and waiting until everyone is served is not likely to change the solution, whyrisk being rude to others?

cos that Birria&Barbacoa De Chivo Los Compadres is known for. On the week-

jects of differentsizes into thewool and uses an X-Acto knife to cut out the shapes.

“I want these to be as stiff as they can be for themobiles,” she said. “And so I am feltingit100% so they can hold their shape as best as possible.”

The artist recentlyhas startedreinforcing the circles by soakingtheminElmer’s Glue.

“I’m eventually going to venture into different shapes, but for now I’m enjoyingthe circles,” she said. “There’ssomething calming about them—they remind me of little planets. Idon’t know what other shapes I would make, maybe little pointy,pod-type things. Some of my ceramicsare pod shaped, so I’ll probably go in that direction.

Morissette quicklydiscovered thatthe morethe circles stiffened with the drying of the glue, the better they moved the mobiles.

She steps up to amobilein-progress hanging from a ceilingfan cord at theend of her working table. She startedbuilding it from the bottom up, fastening the wool circles to thin,stainless steel rods that are connected by the same type of stainless steel ball bearing swivels used in fishing lures.

“I’m working my way up, and Istarttobalance out the shapes,”she said. “I might makealittle blip upwards so that this piece goes up up alittle. We’ll see.”

In theend, though circles may be twirling in opposite directions, all strike aharmonious balance.

ends, the truckstills serves goat in theformofa goat consommé plate that can be putinquesadillas,burritos and tacos.

Simoneaux says the quesabirria taco specials remain abest seller,eveninthe food truck. The tacos are offered in small (four tacos)orlarge (six tacos).

“The meat is so juicyand soft,” Simoneaux said. “It has alot of flavor.”

The taco truck’smove won’tbring alot of business changes, but Simoneauxis hopefulit’sjust onemore step closer to getting intoa building again.

When alarge group is dining in arestaurant, what is the proper protocol for checking the doneness of meat?

On other occasions, when aserver has given that invitation, Ialways cut into thecenter of the steak immediately,without taking abite of it, before eating anything else on the plate. In asmaller partywhen everyone’sfood is served at once, it’sa nonissue.

Gentlereader: Ah,the old, “I wasn’tstartingmydinner, Iwas just trying it.” The optics do not really distinguish between the two. It does feel unfair,Miss Manners agrees, when the servers are coercing you into theact.

Miss Manners will approach the situation from both ends, so to speak: She will urge servers to stop the practice, instead serving a steak with, “After you have had amoment to try it, please let us know ” But if they insist on your doing so immediately, politely tell them,“Thank you. Iwill let you know once everyone is served and I’ve had achance to try it.” Since so manyreaders complain about overattentive servers, the wait should not be long.

Dear Miss Manners: Itend to cover my mouth when Italk, especially in public places. The mainreason is so that my voice is lower and won’t bother people around me. Ithought Iwas being considerate, but my husband says that it looks weird. Is he right?

Gentle reader: He sure is. It looks like you’re telling a secret to yourself.

Miss Manners has seen people whowant to talk

Dear Heloise: Now is the season tobring out the cast-iron cookware for camping. If your pans have developed abad smell from various forms of seasoning, scrub thepan with a small amount of water and baking soda. Rinse and coat with asmall amount of vanilla by using a paper towel. This also works to removea spoiled fish smell from the refrigerator —Vivian Derby, in Rapid City,South Dakota Leavethembe

are good and ready,and they approach you first. I write children’sbooks, and having an active imagination makes all my stories believable!

through amouthful of food cover their mouths like this, but not those trying to modulate their voices. Is lowering your volume just too obvious? Because it is certainly moreintelligible and less confusing. Dear Miss Manners: Iamcaring foraloved one with Stage 4cancer.She has a lifeexpectancy of afew months —maybe only weeks. Ihave somewell-meaning friends whofeel that it’shelpful to send me poppycock they find on social media on quick “cures” for cancer.These messages are like abody blow,and they leave me angry and in tears.

Iusually reply with a simple “thank you.” Is there another wayofresponding? Or should Ijust let it go?

Gentle reader: “Thank you, but Iassure you that the doctors are doing everything they can. Iwill let you know if we require any additional internet assistance.”

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

er.I give aquick spray as needed when Iunload the dryer —Kim,inNorth Carolina Cheeky reader

—Jerry S. Hutter, via email

Laundryhints

Dear Heloise: Your reply to J.T.inWisconsin wasspot-on!

Dear Heloise: It is not necessary to ruin kids’ beliefs by parentstelling them that “folk heroes” like Santa, theEaster Bunny and the Tooth Fairy don’treally exist! Let the kids believe as long as they can or want to. Eventually,they will figure it out. Why rush them? Plusit’shurtful to find this out! Let the kids be kids! If they finally come to you about it,and you can tell that they’re fairly convinced, then you can tell them —but only when they

Ilearned the tip of using less laundry soap and white vinegar from apopular social media app awhile back. Ionly use about 2tablespoons of liquid detergent (skip the pods) and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar (in the fabric softener container) when doing the wash. My towels are much moreabsorbent. Another tip: Instead of using fabric softener sheets in the dryer,use woolballs. (Three work well.) And to help minimize static from clothes, secure asafety pin to each dryer ball. Ialso keep an antistatic spray on my dryer forwhen Iwash several synthetic garments togeth-

TODAYINHISTORY

Dear Heloise: By applying atiny bit of petroleum jelly and abit of lipstick to my cheeks, it makes foragreat cheek color and always matches my lipstick. Ican makeitas dark or light as Ilike. Ican even dig it out of the tube and put the lipstick in an old powder cheek-color container,along with abit of petroleum jelly —Dotty via email

Mrs. Clean

Dear Heloise: During acold spell last month, Ibecame Mrs. Clean forafew days. Idisinfected doors, cabinet knobs, phones, keys, wall light switches, the refrigerator,microwave and stove handles, water spigots, and handles on toilets. Idid the car steering wheel, the gearshift, and all the buttons and door latches, too. —E.H., in Florida Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, May 17, the137th day of 2025. There are 228 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On May 17, 1954, aunanimousU.S. SupremeCourt handed down itsBrown v. BoardofEducation of Topeka decision, which held that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional.

On this date:

In 1792, theButtonwood Agreement,adocument codifying rules for securities trading, was signed by 24 New York stockbrokers, marking theformation of theNew York Stock Exchange.

In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held; the race was won by Aristides, ridden by jockey OliverLewis.

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation’srailroads, delaying —but not preventing —athreatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

In 1973, aspecial committee convened by the U.S. Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

In 1980, rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miamiafter an all-White jury in Tampaacquitted four former Miamipolice officers of fatally beating Black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie.

In 1987, 37 American sailors were killed when an Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf.(Iraq apologized forthe attack, calling it amistake, and paid morethan $27 million in compensation.)

In 2004, Massachusetts became thefirst U.S. state to allowsame-sex marriages.

In 2015, ashootout erupted between members of motorcycle clubs and police outside arestaurant in Waco, Texas, leaving nine of the bikers dead and 20 people injured.

Today’sbirthdays: Musician TajMahal is 83. Boxing Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard is 69. Sports an-

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

STAFF PHOTO By JENNIFER BROWN The quesabirriacombo from Birria &Barbacoa deChivo Los Compadres

STAFF PHOTOSByROBIN MILLER

Sheila Morissette shows apiece of felted wool. Shestartsout witha piece of silk and rubs strands of wool throughthe silk’s fibers usinghot, soapywater

The dyes and color-coded wool used in Sheila Morissette’s work occupy awall in her studio. Morissette’sMerino wool pieces include scarves, jewelryand mobiles.

nouncer Jim Nantz is 66. Singer-composer Enya is 64. TV host-comedian Craig Ferguson is 63. Musician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) is 60. Actor Sasha Alexander is 52. Basketball Hall of Famer Tony Parker is 43. Screenwriter-actor-producer Lena Waithe is 41. Dancer-choreographer Derek Hough is 40. Former NFLquarterback Matt Ryan is 40.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Finish what you start andenjoy theserenity of completion. Don't underestimate the power of unity, thoroughness and honesty. An open mindand conversation will help resolve disputes.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Clear apassage forward, anddon't look back. Be secretive about your intentions until you have everything in place. Update your look and plan something romantic.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Notewhat's happening in your community. Participate in events that matter.Ahealthy environment is thefoundation for agood life.Take bettercare of your physicalwell-being.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Your energy and temper are mounting. Refuse to let trivial matters or annoying people get to you. Challenge yourselftoget in shape and to compete.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Set high standards andboundaries to safeguard against unrealistic requests, and move forwardconfidently. If you trust and believe in yourself,sowill the people youencounter.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Open doors, plan your action andfollow through. Stop waiting; nowisthe time to act. Lead the way instead of letting othersdetermine your roadmap. Love is on the rise.

scoRPIo (oct.24-nov. 22) Take the high road,and you'll have no regrets. Sort through any differences witha positive attitude and akind spirit.You are ready for change as you fight for

certaintyand theconfidence to forge ahead.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for opportunities; however, whatever you choose, do it with good intentions. Refuse to get caught up in someone's hype. Do your research and consider going it alone if you see red flags pop up.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Take another look at your pursuits or offers before you get intertwined in situations with no track record. Know what you want and refuse to budge if you areskeptical or uncertain.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Focusonyour target and refuse to let anyone outmaneuver you. Pay attention to who says what and act accordingly. Balance and equality areeverything when trying to achieve peace.

PIscEs(Feb.20-March 20) Be the one to make adifference and inspire others to step up and do their part. Achange is apparent, but livingwithinyour means will determine how much you enjoy life.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Tagalongand enjoy the ride, but don'tget caught in someoneelse's fight. Dedicateyour time and invest your money in yourself and your vision. Strive for peace and positive change.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILYCIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms arecreated from quotations by famous people, pastand present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another toDAy's cLuE:R EQuALs B

CeLebrItY CIpher

SALLYForth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIPALDER

Gary Ryan Blair, amotivational speaker and author, said, “Opportunities are easily lost while waiting for perfect conditions.”

At thebridge table, you will not always have theperfect hand fora given call. You must play the percentages. If acall will probably win, go with it. But rememberthatnothing works allofthe time This applies whenyou are balancing with aweak hand. Youknow partner must have somepoints; otherwise, the opponents would havebid higher. In this situation, first wonder what theopponents might have missed.Inparticular, ifyouareshortinanunbidmajor,beparticularly cautious. Sometimes apass will be less expensive than abid. In this deal,look at theNorth hand. East’s one-spade opening is passed around to you. Whatwouldyou do?

It is quite likely thatSouthhas astrong hand with spade length that is not suitable for aone-no-trump overcall. (Perhaps it is not strong enough, or is too unbalanced.)So, you could double. But yourdefenseisnotgood—yourhandhas better offensive potential. Andsinceitis unlikelythattheopponentshavemisseda makablefour-heart contract,you should balancewith twodiamonds.

Here, partner will gnash his teethand jump to three no-trump.

West leads his spade. What should South do?

Hehaseighttoptricks:twospades(given the lead),two hearts, three diamonds and one club. He can get home if either red suit breaks3-3. After winning the first trick, he should playthree rounds of hearts. Here, thatworks nicely. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample:NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or moreletters.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought

those dayscameJohn the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent you: forthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.”Matthew 3:1-2

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles