The Acadiana Advocate 05-24-2025

“They have been a blessing. I didn’t even know they were coming until they came.”

HELPING HANDS

Catholic Charities team responds to storm, assisting Acadia Parish residents with recovery after flooding

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

The Catholic Charities of Acadiana disaster response team is helping some Acadia Parish residents recover after flooding from a torrential rainstorm in March.

The rain led to extensive flooding in Rayne, damaging about 150 homes, said Catholic Charities’ spokesperson Ben Broussard. The disaster response team has so far helped to repair around five homes in the small community.

But with more than 70 requests for assistance, the road to recovery is likely to be a long haul.

Katherine Arceneaux, 79, was cooking bacon while the team started replacing insulation in her home, which received more than 4 inches of water on March 29.

The city saw about 7 to 8 inches of rainfall in just a few hours that Saturday afternoon.

Arceneaux, who didn’t have flood insurance, said the water destroyed the bottom half of her walls, her home’s carpet, flooring and furniture — things she couldn’t afford to fix or replace.

“It was a nightmare,” Arceneaux said.

KATHy ARCENEAUX, on the Catholic Charities team helping repair her home ä See HELPING, page 7A

La. officials confirm refinery for Acadia

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

Catholic Charities showed up in town the next day and began assessing the damage to homes in need

State and regional officials confirmed earlier reports and offered new details regarding a net-zero emissions refinery that will be built in Acadia Parish, but indicated the project will employ fewer than what was initially reported.

Officials with the Louisiana Economic Development office announced the deal Friday morning with Oklahoma-based Green Fuels Operating PC that will occupy the former Evangeline Processing Facility along the Mermentau River in the southwest part of the parish.

The company will invest $110 million to transform the facility into a net-zero emissions facility and employ 60 with an average salary of $80,000. An announcement from Clean Refineries Inc., which claims GFO as an operating subsidiary, last week indicated the plant would employ 160 and have an average salary of more than $105,000. GFO handles the company’s daily operations at specific sites and will be over the Acadia site, a company spokesperson said. The $110 million price tag is only part of what is planned for south Louisiana, the spokesperson said. It has a $1 billion commitment to building

Net-zero emissions facility will employ fewer than reported ä See REFINERY, page 7A

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25% tariff on smartphones unless those products are made in America. The threats, delivered over social media, reflect Trump’s ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs have yet to produce the trade deals he is seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he has promised voters. The Republican president said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU, a long-standing U.S. ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as

Thousands of La. students could have to repeat third grade

New law affects pupils far behind in reading

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Nearly a quarter of Louisiana third graders are ending the school year far behind in reading, the state Education Department said Thursday Under a new state law, some of those students will have to repeat third grade. About 23% of third graders

scored “well below” target reading levels on a recent end-of-year assessment, the state said, indicating they face a high risk of reading difficulties. Nearly 12,000 third graders could fall in that category, based on enrollment numbers. Those students can retake the literacy test two times under the 2023 law, which took effect this school year and only applies to traditional public schools. If their scores don’t adequately improve and they don’t qualify for an exemption, such as being diagnosed with dyslexia, then they cannot move to fourth grade.

State officials said Thursday that they expect the share of third graders who are held back to be much smaller than the 23% who scored at the lowest level on the reading test, called DIBELS. The law also exempts students with certain disabilities and those learning to speak English, as well as students who scored at the “mastery” level or above on this year’s state English test. Third graders at risk of being held back can retake the DIBELS test once before this school year ends and

ä See STUDENTS, page 6A

on an end-of-year assessment.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

About 23% of Louisiana third graders scored ‘well below’ expected reading levels

across the city The team eventually made it to Arceneaux and started fix-

Ben Broussard, right, of Catholic Charities, comforts homeowner Kathy Arceneaux while they help to fix up her home on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Workers Jake Turner, left, and Ariel Lindsey of Catholic Charities place Sheetrock on the wall on Thursday as homeowner Kathy Arceneaux, right, works in the kitchen of her home in Rayne that was damaged by the recent flooding

Woman arrested in knife attack in Hamburg

BERLIN A stabbing attack at the busy central train station in the German city of Hamburg left multiple people injured, some of them in life-threatening condition, authorities said. A woman was arrested as the suspect.

The attacker targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station at around 6 p.m., according to police.

Late Friday evening, Hamburg’s fire service said that 17 people were hurt in total four of them with life-threatening injuries, another six with serious injuries and seven with light injuries, German news agency dpa reported.

Police said a 39-year-old woman, a German national, was arrested at the scene without putting up resistance and that they believe after watching video footage that she acted alone. They secured the knife.

Investigators were looking into whether the suspect may have been mentally ill, police spokesperson Florian Abbenseth said.

FEMA disaster relief approved for 8 states

JACKSON, Miss. — President Donald Trump green-lit disaster relief for eight states on Friday, assistance that some of the communities rocked by natural disasters have been waiting on for months.

The major disaster declaration approvals allow Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas access to financial support through the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Several states requested the aid in response to damage from a massive storm system in midMarch.

“This support will go a long way in helping Mississippi to rebuild and recover. Our entire state is grateful for his approval,” said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, whose state experienced 18 tornadoes between March 14 and 15.

Mississippi residents in hardhit Walthall County expressed frustration earlier this month over how long they had been waiting for federal help The county’s emergency manager said debris removal operations stalled in early May when the county ran out of money while awaiting federal assistance.

Kardashian’s robbers found guilty in Paris

PARIS — A Paris court on Friday found the ringleader and seven other people guilty in the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, but did not impose any additional time behind bars for their roles in what the U.S celebrity described as “the most terrifying experience of my life.”

The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants’ ages — six are in their 60s and 70s — and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose sentences that he said “aren’t very severe.”

He said that the nine years between the robbery and the trial — long even by the standards of France’s famously deliberate legal system — were also taken into account in not imposing harsher sentences. The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants.

Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, the ringleader, got the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment but five of those were suspended. Three others got seven years, five of them suspended. Three more got prison sentences ranging from five to three years, mostly or completely suspended, and an eighth person was found guilty on a weapons charge and fined.

With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty will go to prison and all walked out free. The trial was heard by a three-judge panel and six jurors.

Kardashian’s testimony earlier this month was the trial’s emotional high point. In a packed courtroom, she recounted how she was thrown onto a bed and had a gun pressed to her “I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she said. She said she pleaded: “I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.” BRIEFS

Action against Harvard blocked

Trump administration trying to revoke its ability to enroll international students

BY COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off Harvard’s enrollment of foreign students, an action the Ivy League school decried as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.

In its lawsuit filed earlier Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard said in its suit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs puts the

sanction against Harvard on hold, pending the lawsuit.

The Trump administration move has thrown campus into disarray days before graduation. Harvard said in the suit. International students who run labs, teach courses, assist professors and participate in Harvard sports are now left deciding whether to transfer or risk losing legal status to stay in the country, according to the filing.

The impact would be heaviest at graduate schools such as the Harvard Kennedy School, where about half the student body comes from abroad, and Harvard Business School, which is about onethird international. The move also would block thousands of students who were planning to come for summer and fall classes.

Harvard said it immediately puts the school at a disadvantage as it competes for the world’s top students. Even if it regains the ability to host students, “future applicants may shy away from applying out

of fear of further reprisals from the government,” the suit said.

If the government’s action stands, Harvard said, the university would be unable to offer admission to new international students for at least the next two academic years.

Schools that have that certification withdrawn by the federal government are ineligible to reapply until one year afterward, Harvard said.

Harvard enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate students and they come from more than 100 countries.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

Russia, Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners

BY SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange Friday, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war Russia’s Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine “It’s very important to bring everyone home,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible.

Dozens of relatives of prisoners cheered and chanted “Thank you!” as buses carrying the freed captives arrived at a medical facility in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region.

The men, some with expressionless faces and others unable to contain their emotions, got off the buses wrapped in Ukrainian flags for joyful reunions.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul last week to the exchange of 1,000 pris-

oners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia’s 2022 invasion. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in U.S.-led efforts to stop the fighting.

The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly

The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn’t herald any halt in fighting.

Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure targets in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing two workers and injuring eight others, according to regional Gov Oleh Kiper Moscow’s forces attacked settlements in the Kherson region with artillery, mortars and drones throughout the day, killing three civilians and injuring 10, according to the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office. They also shelled Kostyantynivka with artillery, killing one civilian, said Serhii Horbunov, head of the city’s military administration.

Pentagon lost contact with Army helicopter on flight near D.C. airport

BY TARA COPP Associated Press

WASHINGTON Military air

traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings May 1 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Army told The Associated Press on Friday Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, told the AP in an exclusive interview that the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk be-

cause a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact with the helicopter as it flew low and rounded the Pentagon to land. He said the antenna was set up during construction of a new control tower and has now been moved to the roof of the Pentagon. Braman said federal air traffic controllers inside the Washington airport also didn’t have a good fix on the location of the helicopter The Black Hawk was transmitting data that should have given controllers its precise location,

but Braman said FAA officials told him in meetings last week that the data the controllers were getting from multiple feeds and sensors was inconclusive, with some of it deviating by as much as three-quarters of a mile. “It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were,” Braman said. The FAA declined to comment on whether its controllers could not get a good fix on the Black Hawk’s location due to their own equipment issues, citing the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Harvard President Alan Garber earlier this month said the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat antisemitism, He said Harvard would not budge on its “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation. Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordination with the Chinese Communist Party The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.

Harvard says it provided “thousands of data points” in response. Noem’s letter Thursday said Harvard failed to satisfy her request, but the school said she failed to provide any further explanation.

Ex-Ga. man charged with wife’s killing in cold case

BY RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. Investigators first believed Doris Worrell was killed in a botched robbery after her husband found her fatally shot at the South Georgia business they ran in 2006. When suspicion later turned toward Worrell’s husband, he fled the U.S. to live in Costa Rica with the couple’s live-in nanny Nearly 19 years later, Jon Worrell was jailed on murder charges Thursday in rural Coffee County, where the sheriff said authorities never gave up on the cold case. They got a big break in April, when investigators traveled to Costa Rica and found the nanny willing to talk after her relationship with Worrell had ended.

Doris Worrell had worked as a teacher and an interior designer before deciding stay at home to raise three children. She and her husband operated a recreation business, Jon’s Sports Park, in the small community of Douglas.

Worrell called police from the business on Sept.

20, 2006, saying he had returned from running errands to find his wife’s body

“Many believed he was a grieving husband and his wife was the victim of a robbery gone wrong,” Jason Seacrist, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told reporters. Theories about Doris Worrell’s killing evolved as investigators gathered more evidence. Seacrist said investigators learned that Worrell had been having an affair with the nanny at the time of his wife’s death.

“Jon was concerned that if he divorced Doris, he would lose his children,” Seacrist said. “And it’s those thoughts that led him to begin recruiting someone to murder his wife.” He said Worrell fled to Costa Rica, where he and the nanny spent years living together while raising the Worrells’ children. Then investigators learned that the relationship had ended and Worrell had returned to the U.S. Worrell was arrested Tuesday in Mayfield, Missouri, north of Kansas City

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREM LUKATSKy Family members of Ukrainian prisoners hold photos of servicemen in captivity during a POW exchange Friday between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine.

Shooting suspectrailedagainst war in Gaza

BY MICHAEL BIESECKER and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON— In the years before he was accused of killing two Israeli Embassy employees, the suspect in the fatalshootings was an active participant in Chicago’s left-wing protest scene, speaking out against police violence and a proposed Amazon headquarters. Then the war in Gaza ignited his fury into violence.

Elias Rodriguez, 31,was charged Thursday with the murder offoreign officials and othercrimes in connection with the deaths of Israeli citizen Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, an American, as they left an event at aJewish museum. The couple had plans to become engaged.

He told policeafter his arrest, “I did it for Palestine, Idid it for Gaza,” according to court filings.

Rodriguez lived in amodest 850-square-foot apartmentonChicago’snorth side and worked as an administrative assistant at amedical trade group. He had no apparent criminal record.

In his activism, he protested police violence against minorities and the power of corporations. His online postshad recently become fixated on the war in Gaza, calling for retaliation against Israel.

In the window of his apartment hung aphoto of Wadee Alfayoumi,

BY WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip At

least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza in a24-hour period, Gaza’shealth ministry said Friday,asIsrael pressed ahead with its militaryoffensive and let in minimal aid to the strip.

The dead included 10 people in thesouthern city of Khan Younis, four in the central town of Deir al-Balah and nine in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.

Israel faces mountinginternational criticismfor its offensive and pressure to let aid into Gaza amid ahumanitarian crisis. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, with experts warningthatmanyof its 2million residents are at high risk of famine.

Even the United States, a staunchally,has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.

The strikes that lasted into Friday morning came aday after Israeli tanks and drones attacked ahospital in northern Gaza, igniting fires and causing extensive damage, Palestinian hospitalofficials said on Thursday.Videos taken by ahealth official at Al-Awda Hospital show walls blown away and thick black smoke billowing from wreckage.

Israel said it will continue to strike until Hamasreleases all of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages and disarms. Fewer than half of the hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive, after most of the restwere returned

a6-year-old Muslim boykilled in astabbing in Chicago shortly after thestart of the war,which was sparked by the Oct.7,2023, attack by the Palestinian militantgroup Hamas that resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians,and the abductions of 251 others.

Aneighbor told reporters that Rodriguez and awoman who lived with him appeared to be “very sensitivepeople, especially about the issue of Palestine.”

Suspectprotested in Chicago

An October2017 article in Liberation, the online newspaper for the Party for Socialismand Liberation, quoted Rodriguez as amemberofthe group participating in a protestoutside theChicago home of then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel over the police shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald and the city’sbid to be the site for a new Amazon headquarters.

Theorganization denied ThursdaythatRodriguezwas an active member,thoughitacknowledged a“brief association”inthe past.

Thegroup also scrubbed the 2017 article identifying Rodriguez as a member from its website.

“Wereject any attempt to associate thePSL with the DC shooting,” the group said in astatement. “We know of no contact with (Rodriguez) in over 7years. We have nothing to do with this shooting

An account on Xthat used a variation of ascreen name Rodriguez had used on other sites, along with his givenname and photo, frequently featured pro-Palestinian posts, including avideofroman October 2023 protest in downtown Chicago against U.S. aid to Israel.

Last October, the account also reposted two videos of speeches by Hassan Nasrallah, aLebanese cleric anda former leader of Islamic militant group Hezbollah. Nasrallahhad been killedtwo weeks earlier in an Israeli airstrike.

and do not support it.”

As recently as this week,the group’sXfeed posted pro-Palestinian statements calling for an endto the war in Gazaand characterizing Israel’sattacks on Palestinians as genocide.

Family members of Rodriguez andhis defense attorney,Elizabeth Mullin, did notreturn messages seeking comment

The FBI did not respond to questionsabout whether he was on the bureau’sradar beforethe shooting.

Online postsshowfocus on Gaza

Social media accounts tied to Rodriguez suggest he had become increasingly focusedover the last two yearsonthe Israeli bombing campaign andgroundinvasion in Gaza, which has resultedinthe deaths of morethan53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’sHealth Ministry,which does not differentiate between civilians and combatantsinits count.

Less than an hour after the shooting in Washington on Thursday night, the Xaccount posted, “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home,” along with screen grabs of anearly 1,000-word essay signed with Rodriguez’sname. It was not immediately clearwhether Rodriguez, who was in police custody at the time, had used afeature on Xto schedule the release of the post in advance or if another person might have had access to the account.

In the piece, Rodriguez railed against the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying Israel “had obliterated thecapacity to even continue counting the dead, which has served its genocide well.” He sought to justify what he called “the morality of armed demonstration.”

“The atrocities committedby Israelis against Palestinedefy description and defyquantification,” he wrote.

soon.A newgroupknown as the GazaHumanitarian Foundation says it will take over aid distribution in Gaza,and armedprivate contractors will guard the distribution. Israel says the system is needed because Hamas siphons off significant amounts of aid.

The U.N. denies that claim andhas rejected thefoundation’sproposalfor delivering aid,sayingitfails to respect international law and humanitarian principles.Guterres said Friday that theUNalready has a structure in place capable of delivering enough aidto

fill 9,000 trucks. Afoundation spokesman said that it adherestohumanitarianprinciplesand that itsoperationsare free from Israeli control. It said the foundation wasnot a military operation and its decision to integrate armed security contractorsallows it the ability to access and operate in Gaza.

No movement on ceasefire

Earlier this week,Netanyahu said he was recalling hishigh-levelnegotiating team from the Qatari capital, Doha, after aweekof ceasefire talks failedto

bring results. Aworking team will remain.

Qatari PrimeMinister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin AbdulrahmanAl Thani said a“fundamental gap” remained between the twoparties andthatnone of the proposals was able to bridge their differences. Hamassaid no real ceasefire talks have taken place since last week in Doha. The group accused Netanyahu of “falsely portraying participation” and attempting to “mislead globalpublic opinion” by keeping Israel’sdelegationthere without engaging in serious negotiations.

in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Aidstartstricklingin

Israeliofficials said Fridaytheylet in more than 100 trucks of aid, including flour,food, medical equipment and drugs. The trucks came inthrough theKerem Shalom crossing.

ButU.N. agencies say the amount is woefully insufficient, compared with around 600 trucks aday that entered during arecent ceasefire and that are necessary to meet basic needs. U.N. agencies say Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza makeit difficult to retrieve and distribute the aid. As aresult, little ofithas so far reached those in need.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Fridaythat Israel had so farauthorized what “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when aflood of assistance is required,” with no supplies at all reachingnorthern Gaza. On Friday dozensofpeople

crowded acharity kitchenin

Khan Younis, holding empty pots and plastic containers in the air in hopes of receiving ashare of lentil soup.

Halima AbuAmra, adisplaced woman from Rafah, said she hadbeen struggling to feed adaughterinjured in the fighting. She said she had been collecting discarded breadfromthe streets, washing and soakingitso her daughter can eat,while her younger children get by on soup. “Wewant this war to end in any way,” she said. “My family is dying slowly.”

TheWorld Food Program said that 15 of itstrucks were looted Thursdaynight in southern Gaza while going to WFP-supported bakeries. It said thathunger and desperationabout whether food was cominginiscontributing to rising insecurity, and calledonIsrael to allow greater volumes of food to enter,faster and more efficiently

Israel says the aidnow is to bridge thegap until a U.S. backed initiative starts

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

People gather to light candles in amakeshift memorial outside of the White House in Washington on Thursdaytohonor yaron Lischinskyand Sarah Milgrim, whowere killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.

thepresident has publicly insisted on preserving abaseline 10% tax on mostimports.

“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Therefore,Iamrecommendingastraight 50% Tariff on theEuropean Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is noTariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.”

Speaking later in the OvalOffice,Trump stressed that he was notseeking adeal with the EU and mightdelay the tariffs if more companies invested in theUnited States.

“I’m not lookingfor adeal,” Trump told the reporters. “We’ve setthe deal. It’sat50%.”

The EU’stop trade official, Maros Sefcovic,posted on the social media site Xthat he spoke Friday withU.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

“The EU’s fullyengaged,committedtosecuringa dealthat worksfor both,” Sefcovic posted. “EU-US trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats. We stand ready to defendour interests.”

Trump’stariffs against Europe hadbeen preceded by athreat of import taxes against Apple for its plans to continue makingits iPhone in Asia. Apple nowjoins Amazon, Walmart and other major U.S. companies in the White House’scrosshairs as they try to respondtothe uncertaintyand inflationary pressuresunleashed by his tariffs.

“I have long agoinformed Tim Cook of Apple that Iexpect their iPhone’sthat willbesold in the UnitedStates of America will be manufactured and built in the UnitedStates, notIndia, or anyplace else,” Trumpwrote. “If that is notthe case, aTariff of atleast 25%must be paid by Apple to the U.S ” Trumplater clarifiedhis post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and thetar-

STUDENTS

Continued from page1A

again after optional summer school.

“You will naturally see someofthe students, with that additional time on task getting to where they need to be,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley Students in kindergarten through third grade take the DIBELS test at the start, middle and end of the school year.Itmeasures kindergartners’ ability to recognize lettersand sounds,and elementary school students’ ability to sound out words and read sentences.

Across all grades, 64% of students ended theyear at or above the target reading level —animprovement of 17 percentage points from the fall.

“Weobviously are pleased with the progress,” Brumley said, “but will not be satisfied until 100% of students can read on grade level in the state of Louisiana.” Louisianajoins more than adozen states that require third graders who are significantly behind in reading

iffs could be coming as soon as the endofJune.

“It wouldbealso Samsung and anybody thatmakes that product,” Trump said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’tbefair.”

The statementsbyTrump are critical in that he suggests the company itselfwould bear the price of tariffs, contradicting his earlier claims as herolled out aseries of aggressivetariffs over the past several months thatforeign countrieswould shoulder the cost of the import taxes.Ingeneral, importerspay thetariffs andthe costsare sometimes passed along to consumersinthe form of higher prices.

In responsetoTrump’stariffs on China,Apple CEO TimCook said earlier this month that most iPhonessold in the U.S.during thecurrent fiscal quarterwould comefrom India, with iPads and other devicesbeing imported from Vietnam. After Trump rolled out tariffs in April, bank analysts estimated that a$1,200 iPhone would if made in Americajump in price anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500.

Stocks sold offafter Trump’s postings, with the S&P 500 index down roughly 0.67%. The markets have developed ahair-trigger sensitivitytothe U.S. president’s statements,often slumping when he announces high tariffs and ral-

“Atthe end of theday, we supportthe concept that students are going to benefitifthey’re prepared for fourthgrade content.”

CADE BRUMLEy,state

Superintendent of Education

to repeat the grade, according to a2023 analysis by the EducationCommission of theStates.

Research on the policies hasfoundmixedresults, though theyappeartobe more effective when struggling readers are given extra support. Louisiana’s law requires thirdgraders who are held back due to low reading scores to be screened for dyslexia. Schools also must create individual reading plans for those students and givethem intensivesupport, suchastutoringorlonger schooldays.

Brumley said he supports thelaw,arguing that itends “social promotion,” or allowing students to move to the next grade even if theyare behind academically

“At the end of the day,we support the concept that

lying when he retreats from those threats.

U.S.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentprovidedsomeclarity on Trump’spostings in aFriday interviewonthe FoxNews show “America’sNewsroom.”

Bessent saidthe EU hasa“collective action problem” because its 27 member states are being represented by “this one group in Brussels,”suchthatthe “underlying countriesdon’t even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf.”

The Treasury secretary saidhe wasnot in aWhiteHouse meeting this week thatCook attended, but he also spoke with theApple CEO this week.Bessentsaid thegoal wastohaveApple bring more of itscomputer chip supply chain into theU.S.

The coreofTrump’s argument against the EU is that America runs a“totally unacceptable” trade deficit with the 27 member states. Countries run trade deficits when they import more goods than they export.

Fromthe vantage point of the EU’sexecutive commission, trade with the U.S. is roughly in balance if both goodsand services are included. As aglobal center for financeand technology,the U.S runs atrade surplus in services with Europe. That offsets some of

studentsare going to benefitifthey’re preparedfor fourthgradecontent,” he said.

The law alsohas created newurgencyfor schools to catch up struggling readers before theycompletethird grade, said Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jenna Chiasson. Throughout theschool year, educators used the testresults to identify the reading skills studentsneeded more help with.

“This screener tells teachers what the skills are that students may be lacking, and thenthey are able to teach to those skills,” she said. “It’savery individualized approach.”

The law is part of asuite of reading reforms enacted by the Louisiana Legislature and state education policymakersover thepastseveral years.

Otherchangesinclude training teachers to use research-backed methods to teach reading, requiring schools to use the DIBELS reading assessmentand expanding tutoring for struggling students.

This year,Louisiana’s fourth graders led thecountry in reading progress on

thetrade gap in goods and puts the imbalance at $54 billion.

German Foreign MinisterJohann Wadephul said the EU’sexecutive commission hashis country’s full support in working to “preserve our access to theAmerican market.”

“I thinksuch tariffs help no one, but would just lead to economic development in both markets suffering,”Wadephul said in Berlin. “So we are still counting on negotiations, andsupport the European Commission in defending Europe and the European market while at thesame time working on persuasion in America.”

Trumpaides have said the goal of his tariffs was to isolate China and strike new agreements with allies, but thepresident’stariff threats undermine the logic of those claims. Notonly could the EU face higher tariffs than China,but the bloc of member states might have been better off by establishing a broad front with China and other countriesagainst Trump’strade policy, saidGerman economist Marcel Fratscher

“The strategy of the EU Commission andGermany in the trade conflict withTrumpisatotal failure,” Fratscher,the head of the German Institute for Economic Research, said on X. “This wasa failureyou could see coming —Trump sees Europe’swavering, hesitation and concessions as the weaknesses that they are.”

Mary Lovely,a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute forInternational Economics, said the50% tariffs on Europe are mostlikely a “negotiating ploy” by Trump, as he has previouslyretreated on tariffs after taking ahard line. She said Trumpseems to believe thatnegotiations operate by going to a“threat point” that could risk self-harm to the U.S. just to demonstrate how seriousheis, in hopes that doing so would produce an agreement. But Lovely said thatinthe longrunTrump’s approach “suggests that the U.S.isanunreliable tradingpartner, that it operates on whim, not on rule of law.”

Trumphas run hotand cold on his relationship with Apple, asign

aclosely watched national test.

John Wyble, astate lawmaker who is CEO of The Center for Literacy &Learn-

that currying favor with him might notnecessarily shield acompany from his anger.Hehas essentially told companies such as Walmart to “eat” thecosts of histariffs instead of raising prices,even though doing so could squeeze profits and cause layoffs. He nowappearsto deploying asimilar degree of pressure to forceApple to acceptthe higher costs of relocatingits supply chains.

Trump hadpreviouslycreated an exemptiononelectronics importedfromChina to help companiessuchasApple,something he could now remove. He also threatened separate 25% import taxes on computer chips and could have the tariffs schedule rewritten in ways that couldexposeApple products to the taxes.

Until recently,the U.S. president repeatedly bragged about the $500 billion that Apple in February pledged to invest domestically as part of itsdevelopment of artificial intelligence technologies. But he publicly turned against the company last week while speaking in Qatar

“I had alittle problem with TimCook yesterday,” Trumptold the audience. “I said to him: ‘My friend, Itreated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but nowIhear you’re building all over India. Idon’twant you building in India.’”

Analysts have been skeptical that Apple could quickly shift device manufacturing to theU.S., mainly because it hasspent decades embedding complex supply chains in Chinatofeed the factories. Butit also has the challengeofgrappling with“the unpredictable nature of the current U.S. administration,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at U.K.-based research firmCCS Insight.

“Atany moment,things can change overnight,making it extremely difficult for companies such as Apple to plantheir business,” Wood said. “It seems that despite the best efforts of the Apple leadership team to lobby the U.S. administration to treat the iPhone more favorably,acurveball can come out of nowhere and derail any plans they have in place.”

ing, which trains teachers in reading instruction, touted thereading scores that the state shared Thursday “Wecelebrate ourteach-

ers, families, andstudents whoare workinghardevery day to build abrighter future through literacy,” he said in astatement.

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President Donald Trumphas threatened a25% tariff against Apple for its planstocontinue making its iPhone in Asia.

HELPING

“They have been ablessing,” she said. “I didn’teven know they were coming until they came.”

Theworkhas beenfulfilling, said employee Jake Turner.His coworker,Ariel Lindsey,and he have been on the disaster response team forabout eightmonths.

The two did assessment workin the Morgan City area after Hurricane Francine but Rayne has been their first time doing teardown and construction work.

The charity created the disasterresponse team in response to the 2016 flood that devastated Lafayette Parish, Broussard said.The 500-year flooddamaged about 600 homes in Youngsville andhundredsofothers across the parishafter 20 inches of rain fell.

An informal team existed before 2016,according to Broussard, but he said the organization realized to need for disaster recovery in the hurricane and extreme weatherprone area within the Diocese of Lafayette.

While the team was created with hurricanes in mind, most of their efforts have followedheavy spring showersthat bringabout flash flooding.

“(These storms) don’tmeet the benchmark for access to federal assistance,” Broussard said. “It’s then either on the homeowner or the community to step in.”

The road to recoverywillbe long, Broussard said. The organization is aiming to assist about70 other homes in Rayne, Lafayette and New Iberia. With limited resources, progresscan often come slower thanexpected. It took until 2020for theorganization to finish recovery efforts stemming from 2016 flood.

But their work in Rayne will continue as long as there’swork to be done.

“This is long-term recovery.This is putting the pieces back together,” Broussard said.

net-zero emissions refining facilities throughout the state.

“This project is amajor first step in amuchbigger effort,” Green Fuels Operating spokesperson Madison Beam said.

The company plans to develop a20,000 barrel-perday refining unit dedicated to producing marine-grade dieseland bunker fuel, state officials said.The existing facility has 15 storage tanks that have acapacity to exceed 350,000 barrels and will remain operational while the new GFO refining unit is developed.

It plans to upgradethe facility to support the production of sustainable marine fuels and house afull-scale waste and brine water treatment system, companyofficials said. It will also source local crude to support regional producers alongside feedstock delivered via pipeline and barge.

Construction is expected to begin in November andbe complete in May 2026.

“Weare thrilledtowelcome Green Fuels to Acadia

Parish,and we’re excited thattheir arrival will bring good-paying jobs for our residents,”Acadia Police Jury President Beau Petitjeansaid. “Thisfacility hasa long history in Acadia Parish,and seeing new investment in alegacy industrial refinery is atestament to the strength of ourcommunity and the potential for newdevelopment.”

Thecompany received a competitiveincentiveproject from LED, includingthe comprehensive workforce developmentsolutionsof LED FastStart.The company is also expected to participate in the state’sIndustrial TaxExemption and Quality Jobsprograms.

“Under Louisiana’s‘all of the above’ energy strategy,

it is critical thatwekeep pace with thechanging needs of the industry,including reopening and reenergizing legacy operations like Canal Companies with technology-driven strategies,”LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said.

In December Green FuelsOperating announced asimilar refinery project in northernOklahoma that will make jet fuel and farmgrade diesel thatwill be able to bought on site, reports indicate. That facilityisexpected toemploy 30-35.

Thecompany saysits netzero emission technology system is revolutionizing oil refining withits odor-free clean refining technology to become aworld leader in low-cost,environmentally

responsible hydrocarbon processing solutions.

GFO facilities produce locally needed supplies of sustainable fuels, including diesel, jetfuel, sustainable

aviationfuel, marine-grade bunker fuels, road and roof asphalt binders.

“America’senergy independencerequiresmore thanjust drilling,”GFO CEO

Derek Wiliamsonsaid. “It demands that we refine our own oilhereathome rather thanshipping it overseas only to buy back finished fuels at premium prices.”

STAFFPHOTOSByBRAD KEMP

ABOVE: Ariel LindseywithCatholic Charities carries insulation into the home of KathyArceneaux on Thursdaywhile helping to fixup the home after it was damaged by the recent flooding in Rayne. LEFT: JakeTurner,left, and Ariel Lindsey, with Catholic Charities,cut Sheetrock for Arceneaux’shouse on Thursday.

Trumpsigns executiveorderstoboost nuclearpower

BY MATTHEWDALY andJENNIFER McDERMOTT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday intendedtoquadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach.

To speed up the development of nuclear power,the orders grantthe U.S. energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, takingauthority away from the independent safety agency that has regulatedthe U.S nuclear industry for fivedecades

The order comes as demand for electricity surges amid aboom in energy-hungry data centers and artificial intelligence. Tech companies, venture capitalists, states and others are competing for electricity and straining thenation’s electric grid.

callednuclear a“hot industry,” adding, “It’stimefor nuclear,and we’re going to do it very big.” Burgum andother speakers said theindustry has stagnated and has been choked by overregulation.

“Mark this day on your calendar

This is going to turn the clock back on over 50 years of overregulation of an industry,” said Burgum,who chairs Trump’snewly formed Energy Dominance Council.

tricity without emitting greenhousegases.Trump said reactors are safe and clean, but did not mention climate benefits. Safety advocates warnthat nuclear technology still comes with significant risks that other low-carbon energy sourcesdon’t, including the danger of accidents or targeted attacks, and the unresolved question of how to store tens of thousands of tons of hazardous nuclear waste. Criticshavetrepidations

Criticssay the White House moves could compromise safety and violate legal frameworks such as the Atomic Energy Act. Gregory Jaczko, who led the NRC underPresident Barack Obama, said Trump’sexecutive orders look like someone asked an AI chatbot, “Howdowemake the nuclear industry worse in this country?”

“We’ve got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50” years in the industry Still, it’sunlikely theU.S. could quadrupleits nuclear production in the time frame the WhiteHouse specified. The United States lacks anynext-generationreactorsoperating commercially and only two newlarge reactors have been built fromscratchinnearly 50 years

The nation’s94nuclear reactors supply about19% of U.S. electricity,compared to about60% forfossil fuels and 21% for renewables, according to theU.S. Energy Information Administration.

Trumpisenthusiastic

Those reactors, ata nuclear plant in Georgia, were completed yearslate and at least $17 billion over budget.

At the OvalOffice signing,Trump, surrounded by industryexecutives,

Trumpadministrationtakes

BY ABBY SEWELL and ELLENKNICKMEYER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’sadministration on Friday granted Syria atemporary waiver from one crippling set of sanctions and eased restrictions on businesses as afirststepinhis pledge to end ahalf-century of penalties.

The moves follow Trump’sannouncementlastweek that theU.S. would ease heavyfinancialpenalties targeting Syria’sformer autocratic rulers —inabid to give the new interim government abetter chance of survival after a13-year civil war Friday’smeasures by theState and Treasury departments waive a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019 and expand U.S. rules for what foreign businesses can do in Syria. The administration did not say how long it would waive thecongressionalsanctions, but the law limits any presidential

waiver to six months

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the relief from sanctionsismeant “to encourage new investment into Syria. Syria must also continue to work towardsbecoming astable country that is at peace, and today’sactionswill hopefully put the country on apath to abright, prosperous, and stable future.”

Formore permanent relief,administration officials are debating theextenttowhichSyria’s transitional government should be required to meet tough conditions.

Syriaisnow led by Ahmad alSharaa, aformer militant leader in charge of the overthrow of longtime leader Bashar Assad latelast year.The U.S.and otherallieshope al-Sharaacan stabilize Syria after aconflictthat has left millions dead or displaced, the economy in ruinsand thousands of foreign fighters still in the country “Thisisjust one part of abroader U.S. government effort to remove

the full architecture of sanctions imposedonSyria due to the abuses of the Bashar al-Assad regime,” theTrumpadministration said in a statement Friday U.S. presidentshave piled up penalties against Syria’sformer leaders over the decades because of their supportfor Iranian-backed militias,achemical weapons program and abuses of civilians. While those can be quickly lifted or waived through executive action like that takenFriday, Congress imposed someofthe strictest measures andwould have to permanently removethose.

Some Trump administration officials are pushing for relief as fast as possible without demanding tough conditions first. Others have proposed aphased approach, giving short-term waivers right away on some sanctions then tying extensions or awider executive order to Syria meetingconditions. Doing so could substantially slow —oreven permanently prevent

The orders would reorganize the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure quicker reviews of nuclear projects, including an 18-month deadline for the NRCtoact on industry applications. The measures also create apilot program intended to place three newexperimental reactors online by July 4, 2026 —13months from now—and invoke theDefense ProductionAct to allow emergency measures to ensure the U.S. has enoughuranium and other reactor fuel for amodernized nuclear energy sector

Theorders also call for the Energy and Defense departments to assess thefeasibility of restarting closed nuclear power plants and explore siting reactors on federal lands and military bases.

Nuclear reactors generate elec-

He calledthe orders a“guillotine to the nation’snuclear safety system” that will make the country less safe, the industry less reliable and the climate crisis moresevere. The NRCiscurrently reviewing applications fromcompanies and autility that wanttobuild small nuclear reactors to begin providing power in the early 2030s.

longer-term relief

That would impede theinterim government’sabilitytoattract investment and rebuild Syria after thewar,critics say Syriawelcomesannouncement

People danced in the streets of Damascusafter Trumpannounced in Saudi Arabia last week that he would be ordering a“cessation” of sanctions against Syria.

“We’re taking them all off,” Trumpsaid aday before meeting the country’snew leader.“Good luck, Syria. Showussomething special.”

In testimony before U.S. lawmakers this week, Secretaryof State Marco Rubio pushed for sanctions relief to start quickly, saying Syria’stransition government could be weeks from“collapseand afull-scale civil warof epic proportions.” But asked what sanctions reliefshouldlook like overall, Rubio gave aone-word explanation:“Incremental.”

The sanctions include penalties for outside companiesorinvestors doing business there. Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investment to restoreits batteredinfrastructure andhelpthe estimated 90% of the population living in poverty Syria’sinterim leaders “didn’t pass theirbackgroundcheck with theFBI,” Rubio acknowledgedto lawmakers this week. The group that al-Sharaa led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,was originally affiliated with al-Qaida, although it later renounced ties and took amore moderate tone. It is still listed by theU.S.asa terrorist organization But al-Sharaa’sgovernment could be thebestchancefor rebuilding the country and avoiding apower vacuum that could allow aresurgence of the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

“Ifweengage them,itmay work out, it may not work out. If we do not engage them,itwas guaranteed to not work out,” Rubio said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

President DonaldTrump and Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth listen as Interior SecretaryDoug Burgum, center,speaks Fridayinthe Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

Legacy of La.’s oldest WWII veteran honored

Gonzales resident died in May at 105 years old

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

On Friday afternoon in Baton Rouge, an Honor Guard performed a three-volley salute by firing three rounds of blanks and a military bugle call was played to signal the death of the oldest living World War II veteran in Louisiana.

Gail Woodrow Richardson died May 19 at 105 years old. The

Denmark hires former Louisiana senator

Metairie Republican David Vitter formerly sat in Scalise’s House seat

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — Denmark has turned to former Louisiana U.S. Sen David Vitter to build “warmer relations” with President Donald Trump, who has set his sights on acquiring Greenland, according to EUobserver, a nonprofit news publication covering the European Union and based in Belgium

Citing a filing with the U.S. State Department, the news outlet reported that Denmark’s Washington ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, has agreed to a contract with Washington-based Mercury Public Affairs worth $263,000.

Vitter who joined Mercury after choosing not to run for a third term in 2016, was named as handling the contract to provide “strategic

Lee Avenue closure set

Lafayette Consolidated Government announced the closure of Lee Avenue between E. Cypress Street and the LCG bus terminal entrance at 100 Lee Ave. The scheduled closure is to allow Lafayette Utilities System crews to perform sewer main repairs within the roadway Local access including the bus terminal will be maintained, and access to the Rosa Parks lot will not be affected. The closure is scheduled daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 27 through May 30 and June 2 through June 6. “Motorists are encouraged to use caution and follow posted signage when traveling near the

Gonzales resident was born in St. Amant. He served with the Army in the medical corps, working in a hospital unit overseas before moving to the infantry

Nearly 100 people, including family members, local law enforcement and Louisiana veter-

ans, gathered at Greenoaks Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Baton Rouge to celebrate the man known for serving the country and his family Gail Richardson was not only known for his military service, but for his large family He and his deceased wife, Marjorie “Patsy” Richardson, are currently on a global list of marriages longer

an American flag by a

funeral of his father, Gail Woodrow

Park and Funeral Home on Friday.

7,

is

as

is

after being interviewed, photographed and videoed

compete in the Braille Challenge Finals.

A FEEL FOR READING

Lafayette first grader heading to L.A. to compete in Braille competition

BY ASHLEY WHITE |Staff writer

A Lafayette first grader is heading to Los Angeles this summer to show off his fundamental Braille skills, and hopefully bring home a trophy Emerson Thom will compete against nine other first and second graders in the 25th Braille Challenge where he’ll be tested on his skills such as reading comprehension, spelling and proofreading.

“I’m gonna try and do better than everyone else in the challenge,” he said.

The competition, held at the end of June, is the only academic contest of its kind for visually impaired students. Emerson, who attends Woodvale Elementary, placed second at the state competition earlier this spring in Ruston. He said he felt very good after that round and wasn’t nervous about the Los Angeles competition. Emerson, who loves reading about space and one day

Rain, possible storms forecast for Memorial Day

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Steven Richardson, with his wife Robin and brother Jimmy beside him, is presented

uniformed service member during the

Richardson, at Greenoaks Memorial

Richardson was the oldest World War II veteran in Louisiana before his death at the age of 105.

G. Richardson

PHOTO By EMERSON THOM

Emerson Thom,

who

blind, smiles

he presses the shutter button on a digital camera to take a selfie Thursday at Woodvale Elementary in Lafayette. Thom

captivated by technology and jumped

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK Emerson Thom reads Braille at Woodvale Elementary in Lafayette on Thursday.

Vitter

ä See LEGACY, page 2B

ATFteamjoins Nottoway mansioninvestigation

The160-year-old plantation burned down on May15

BYQUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Investigatorswith the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were recently deployed to help find the cause of afire last week that destroyed much of the historic Nottoway mansion in Iberville Parish. In Facebook post on Fri-

day,ATF announced the deployment of its “National Response Team” to assist theLouisiana Fire Marshal in finding theorigin of the blaze. The team “has adistinguished history oftackling the nation’smost complex and tragic fire and explosives incidents,”according to the post.

Founded in 1978 to investigate large fires, explosions andbombings,the teamis made up of certified fire investigators, bomb technicians, forensic chemists, en-

gineers, medics and canine handlers.

It hasinvestigated other notable incidents, including the Maui Wildfire Disaster, one of the U.S.’s deadliest fires in over acentury; the 2020 Nashville Christmas Day Bombing; the Oklahoma City bombingin1995, and the WorldTradeCenter attacks.

This is the National Response Team’s11th activation this year

“With morethan 900 responses …the team brings unparalleled skill to this

investigation,” therelease stated.

Chris Daigle, Iberville Parish president, said the fire investigationisinits early stages andnoindication of acause, includingarson, has been identified. Chemical samples have already been gathered from the site, he said.

The mansion has been deemed a“total loss” by Daigle, who assisted in coordinating the initial response Fire crews fromacross south Louisiana battled the blaze forhoursonMay 15

as the 160-year-old wooden structure crumbled in the flames.

Thedestruction of the plantation house, which was considered the largest antebellum mansion remaining in the U.S., attracted national attention. Over the years, the plantation has sparked divided reactionsfromlocal residents and the descendantsof enslavedBlack Americans.

The plantation was amajor attraction and tourism driver forthe parish. It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Statelawmakertakingaleave of absencetoseektreatment

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

State Rep. Kyle M. Green, Jr., aMarrero Democrat accused this week of driving drunk with his threechildren in his car,said Thursday he will take aleave of absence from the Louisiana House of Representativesas he seeks treatment Green said he was stepping away from his lawmak-

READING

Continued from page1B

wants to be aspace engineer,ismost excited for the technology display that will be available at the contest.

Braille uses raised dots that can be read with the fingers. It uses six dots within acell to represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks, words and abbreviations. Emerson, who has been blind since birth, had to learn 126 Braille characters.

The 7-year-oldlikes telling jokes, swimming and playing piano (although he doesn’tlike having to practice). He rides his bike with trainingwheels on but is hoping to take them off

LEGACY

Continued from page1B

than 80 years. He is survived by his two sons, 13 grandchildren, 34 greatgrandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren

His two sons, Jimmie Gail and Stephen Richardson, remember their father as someone who could be stern but also jovial. They also described him as someone who loved to make jokes They said he disliked talking about his time in the Army “One of the kindest men I’ve ever been around,” Stephen Richardson said. “He liked to joke until it was turned around on him.”

Gail added that if someone didn’tknow his father personally,they wouldthink he was dead serious when he was joking around. But both said he was ready to go at 105 years old. Gail said he is where he would want to be: “lying beside my mother.”

“The world just lost a beautiful and very exceptional man,” the brothers said.

The Patriot Guard Riders of Louisiana presented his family with an angel coin during apresentation at the funeral.

“He served us all to keep America free,” said Roland Sanchez, captain of the Patriot Guard Riders of Louisiana.

VITTER

Continued from page1B

consulting.” Greenland is an autonomousDanishterritory rich in mineral resources that Trumphas said repeatedly should be part of the United States. Trump says he wants to buy Greenland butrefused to rule out military intervention. Greenland’spopulation doesn’twant to join the U.S.

ing duties to “take important steps to focus on my mental health andrehabilitation.”

In astatement, he saidhe had alerted House Speaker Phillip DeVillier,R-Eunice, of his decision and asked for privacyfor his family In abrief interview Thursday, DeVillier said:“Iwill gladly do everything Ican to helphim and his family in their efforts.” Green, in his second term

representing his West Bank district,was accused this week of first-offense driving whileimpaired, three counts of childendangermentand other related countsafter an early-morning wreck on the West Bank.

Green was driving west on U.S.90B at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesdaywhenhis Honda Accord swerved offthe road and struck abarrier,police said. Responding state

troopersperformed field sobriety tests and arrested Green on thescene, police said.

Green’s children, whohad been in thevehicle, were released to another family member.Authorities saidno one was injured in the crash.

An attorney, Green had pressedRepublicansduring debates in the ongoing state legislative session over so-called ”tort reform”

soon. He’ll play T-ballthis summer. Allofthose same hobbies and adventures that nonvisually impaired children

like, Emerson likes, too “Blindpeoplecan do anything sighted people can do,but more,” he said. “Sighted kidsdon’tget to

Service members fold an American flag before presenting it to Gail Woodrow Richardson’ssurviving sons at Greenoaks Memorial Park andFuneral HomeonFriday.

Robin Richardson,Gail Richardson’sdaughter-inlaw, said the grandchildren hadaskedwhatwas Gail Richardson’s favorite color She told them she thought it was red,white and blue, the colors worn by most of the funeral attendees on Friday

“He hunghis flag every day at hishouse. Thatwas part ofhis routine,”she said. “Hewas always very disappointed when it was arainy day.”

She saidhis favoritequote was: “I don’tknow what tomorrow holds, but Iknow who holds tomorrow.”Comparatively,she said, his worst curse word was “dangnabit.”

Gail Richardson’sage and timeinthe military even caught theeye of those who didn’tknow him. Nancy Watson,ofBaton

and Danish PrimeMinister Mette Fredriksen saidthe territory is notfor sale. Vitter has lobbied on behalf of aChinese surveillance company, the Libyan government and aRussian bank. As aRepublican from Metairie, Vitter sat in the U.S. House seat now occupied by House MajorityLeader Steve Scalise,R-Jefferson, from 1999 to 2005. He replaced retiring Sen. John Breaux, D-Crowley,in2005 and served in the U.S.Sen-

Rouge, did notknowRichardson, but heard about his funeral in the newsand attended the service. Her father andbrother both served in the military

“I didn’tknowasoulhere,” Watson said.“Anicething to do since it’sMemorial Day weekend.”

Gail Richardson loved to travel and go camping. His favorite spottocamp was Clear Springs in Mississippi, according to his family

After the Army,Richardsonspent time working in his carpentry shop and was involved in the church.

He was adeacon at Brooktown Baptist Church in BatonRouge and thenattended First Baptist Church of Gonzales.

Pastor Jarrod Lamberth, of First Baptist Church of Gonzales, led aprayer at the

ate until 2017. Vitterran for governor in 2015, but lost to former Gov John Bel Edwards.

Emerson Thom, 7, whoisblind, explains howheuses aBraille writer at Woodvale Elementary in Lafayette on Thursday

legislation. Green hassponsored legislation on arange of issues, including abill in 2023 that sought to abolishLouisiana’s deathpenalty, which was unsuccessful in theRepublican-controlledLegislature.

Another bill he successfully sponsoredthatyear gave free school meals to public school students who had previously received those meals at adiscount.

make it easierfor him to be included. Emerson’s mom, Jessica Turner,said she’sproud of her sonand wants people to know that he’s no differentfrom any other 7-year-old.

“He can wrestle withhis brother just fine. Once he learns aplayground, he goes without hiscane. He goes down the slides, he finds hisway,” shesaid.

“He’sascapable as any other kid. He just needs things done alittle bit out of the box.”

Email AshleyWhite at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com

go to (Braille camp) becausetheydon’t learnto read Braille.” And the technology that Emerson loves has helped

funeral service and spoke abouthow Gail Richardson was one of the senior men in the church who made ahuge impact on him over the past few decades.

From the beginning when Lamberth joined thechurch as ayoung student, Gail Richardson made himfeel welcome and at home in the church, he said.

“I was 16, he was 16 at heart,” Lamberth said.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Red River Bank to repurchase $5.1M stock

Red River Bank said it has reached adeal to buyback $5.1 million in company stock.

The Alexandria-basedbank announced after the marketclosed Thursday it had agreed to buy back 100,000 shares from astockholder.That price represents a discount;sharesofRed River closed at $55.38 Thursday

Thepurchasecomes on top of RedRiverBank’s previously announcedplans to buyback$5 millioninshares by the end of the year.AsofThursday,Red River said it has about$4.7 millionremaining in the buyback program. Boeing to avoid prosecutionovercrashes

The JusticeDepartment has reached adeal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S.regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed andkilled 346people, according to court papers filed Friday.

Under the “agreement in principle,” which still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 millionfor the crash victims’ families, according to the Justice Department In return, thedepartment hasagreed to dismiss thefraud chargeagainst Boeing, allowing themanufacturer to avoid apossible criminal conviction that could have jeopardized the company’sstatus as afederal contractor,according to experts.

“Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law,and Department policy,weare confident that this resolution is the most just outcome withpracticalbenefits,”a Justice Department spokesperson said in astatement.

“Nothing will diminish thevictims’ losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.”

Many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off thecoast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less thanfivemonthsapart in 2018 and 2019, have spent years pushing for apublic trial, the prosecutionofformercompany officials, and more severe financial punishment forBoeing.

Trump says U.S. Steel to keep HQ in Pa

President Donald Trump said Fridaythat U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of what he called a“planned partnership” between the iconic Americansteelmaker and JapanbasedNippon Steel, whichhas sought to buy it.

Nippon Steel’snearly $15 billionbid to buy U.S. Steel was blocked by former President Joe Biden and, afterTrump became president, subject to another national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

What Trump called a“planned partnership” will create at least 70,000jobsand add $14 billion to the U.S. economy, he said,althoughitwasn’tclear what the terms of the dealwould be or who wouldown U.S. Steel under the arrangement.

McDonald’sisclosing its CosMc’srestaurants

McDonald’ssaid Friday that it’s closing down CosMc’s,anew restaurant format it began piloting in the U.S. last year

McDonald’sannounced in late 2023 that it wanted to test asmallformat store with customizable drinks and treats that would appealtoafternoon snackers—and potentially grab sales from rivals like Starbucks and Dutch Bros. McDonald’swound up opening one CosMc’slocationnear its headquarters in Chicago and seven in Texas.

McDonald’ssaid CosMc’sallowed it to experiment with bold flavors and different technologies, like drive-thru lanes that manage traffic based on the complexity of orders.

BUSINESS

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Tariff threatsknock stockslower

trading partners.

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEWYORK— U.S. stocks fell Friday after President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on theEuropean Union that could beginina littlemore than aweek.

The S&P500 dropped to close out its worst week in the last seven. The Dow JonesIndustrial Averageand theNasdaqcomposite also sank.

Trump threatened the tariffs before the U.S. stock market opened,sayingonhis Truth Social platform that trade talks with theEuropeanUnion “weregoing nowhere” and that “straight 50%”tariffs could go into effect on June 1. The European Union is one of the United States’ largest

Stocksfell immediately afterward in Europe, with France’s CAC40index losing1.7%. The U.S. market also took aquick turn lower,and futures for U.S stock indexestumbled after earlier suggesting only modest moves at the open of trading.

The S&P 500 lost as much as 1.3% shortly after trading began, but it pared its loss as traders weighed whether Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics aimed in hopes of getting adeal or something more Apple dropped 3% and was theheaviestweightonthe S&P 500 afterTrump went after the company specifically.Hesaid he’s been pushing Apple CEO TimCook to move production of iPhonestothe United States, and he warned atariff“of at least 25%mustbepaidbyApple to the U.S.”ifitdoesn’t Trumplater clarifiedhis post

to saythat all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the endofJune.

“It wouldbealso Samsung and anybody thatmakes thatproduct,” Trump said. “Otherwise,it wouldn’tbefair.”

Trump has been criticizing companies individually when he’s frustrated with how they’re acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created. He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs,” along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to coverthe increasedcostof imports.

DeckersOutdoor,the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to sayall theuncertainty around theeconomy means it won’toffer financial forecasts forthe full upcoming year.Instead, it gave forecasts

only forthe upcoming quarter and they fell short of analysts’ expectations for revenue and profit.

That sent its stock down 19.9%, even though thecompany reported astronger profit and revenue for the latestquarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled itsfinancial forecasts for the full year,citing how more thanhalf thegoods it sells originate in China. “As such, we expect pressure on our profitability if tariffs remain at elevated levels,” CEO Jim Conroy said.

On thewinning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported astronger profit for the latestquarter than analysts expected. Perhaps moreimportantly,Intuitalsoraisedits forecasts for revenue and profit over its full fiscal year

BY ALEX VEIGA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES— U.S. homeownersare spendingmore on home renovation projects, bucking abroaderpullback by consumers amid diminished confidence in theeconomy Sales at building materials and garden supply retailers rose 0.8%lastmonth from March, the biggest gain since 2022, and were up 3.2% fromApril last year At the sametime, U.S. retail sales overall rose 0.1%, asharp slowdown from March

Thetrend comesevenaspricesfor home improvement products have beenrising.

Thecost of home repairsand remodeling climbed by nearly 4% in the first quarter fromayearearlier,according to Verisk’s Remodel Index.The strategic data analytics firm tracks costs for more than 10,000 home repairitems,from appliances to windows

Recent priceincreases appear to be drivenprimarily by labor costsand don’t appear to reflect the ongoing tradewar that the Trump administration is engaged in with major U.S.trading partners like Mexico, China and Canada.

“Wehaven’tseen panic buying from contractors or investors concerned about the impact tariffsmight have on future costs, or labor rates being driven up by stricterenforcement of immigration policies,” Greg Pyne, vice president of pricingfor Verisk Property Estimating Solutions, said in areport earlier this month.

Home Depot said Tuesdaythat it doesn’t expect to raiseprices because of tariffs, saying it has spent yearsdiversifying the sources forthe goods on its shelves. However,executive Billy Bastek said some productsnow on Home Depotshelves may disappear

He alsonoted that thechain is seeing fewer customers taking on large home improvement jobs like kitchen and bath remodels, because highinter-

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Tulane VenturessaidFridayit will lead a$1million investment round in NewOrleans education softwarestartup Hilight,which has developedanapp to help schools evaluate teachers with theaim of betterstaff retention. Theventurefund, whichispart of TulaneUniversity’sInnovation Institute, said it will directly invest $250,000 in thecompany, whichwas founded threeyears ago by Claire Smith, aformer St.Bernard Parish middle school math teacher Smith said she developed the

estrates maybedissuadinghomeowners from borrowing money to finance such projects.

Spendingonhome renovations hasremained resilientaselevated mortgage rates and skyrocketing home prices have frozen out many would-bebuyers. That’s kept U.S. home sales in aslump, limiting the market for homeowners who want to sell.

Many homeowners also boughtorrefinancedtheirmortgagewhenthe average rate on a30-year home loanwas below 3% or 4% in thefirst couple of yearsofthe pandemic. That’s made them reluctant to sell now, whenthe averagerateishover-

app after shesaw area schools losing teachersinthe wake of the pandemic.

“After COVID,the profession felt impossibly difficult due to safetyconcerns, stressed students and parents, and staff burnout,”she said in astatement. “I kept thinking there must be abetter way to celebrate the positive moments that happen daily in schools instead of dwelling on the problems, to support and retain talented educators.”

Smith contacted formercollege roommate and softwaredeveloper,Krissy Taft, to initially create atool for peer-to-peer reviewing and information sharing. They jointly foundedHilight and have developed andgrowntheir online tool, which they say cansave schools up to $25,000 to replace lost staff.

ing near 7%.

In response,manyhomeownershave opted to invest in sprucinguptheir home rather than sell andtakeona mortgage with asharply higher interest rate.

Ashortfall in new home construction more than adecade in the making has kept people living in older homes longer Nearly half of the owner-occupied homes in the U.S. were built before1980 and have amedian age of 41 years, according to an analysis of census databythe National Association of HomeBuilders. That aging stock of homes hashelpedfuelthe need for repairsand improvements

What began as asimple tool forrecognition at the St.Bernard Parish school whereSmith wasworking hasevolved into “a multipurpose,easy-to-useplatform offering strategic insights and operational intelligence to school district leadersand principals,” according to Tulane Ventures Hilight has been in “bootstrap mode”since it wasfounded, getting by with investment from their ownsources as well as friends and family.The app is now in 135 schools across adozen statesand the money raised will be used to hire sales staff to expand into all 50 states over the next two years, Tulane said.

Kimberly Gramm, managingdirector of Tulane Ventures, said the progress the startup had made in ashort time was

impressive. “The combination of strong early traction, aclear market need and measurable impact made it acompelling choice forustolead this (investment) round,”said Gramm, who is also Tulane’s Davidand Marion Mussafer chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer

Studenthelp

Students taking the venture investing course at Tulane’sA.B. FreemanSchoolofBusiness conducted the due diligence and presented the investment to the venture fund, according to the university

The Tulane Innovation Institute was founded three yearsago as part of its growing downtown campus, with the aim of raising up to $100 million from alumni and other sources to support investments in entrepreneurship.

Many thoughts rumbledfor space in my head as Iwatched the media’srelentless updatesabout the flames slowly engulfing thehistoric Nottoway Plantation in White Castle.

First, Ithought it was interestingthat it was a plantation burning. That was astrategy ofthe Union army in the Civil War, to burn downplantations that could provide food forConfederate soldiers. That thought was thenovertaken by my knowledge thatNottoway was knownasaplantation that kickedthe human horrorsofits origins under its grand sofas. In my mind, the destructive yellow and orange flames became emblematic ofthe federal and state governments’ current efforts to minimize or destroy informationabout the sufferingthat happened at places like Nottoway

In the news accounts, some spoke glowingly of Nottoway.After all, it is described as thelargest survivingantebellum plantationhome in theSouth Written descriptions saiditwas a53,000-squarefoot Greek Revival and Italianate-stylemansion. (I dunno what that means, but Iwas borninto athreeroom house, no hot water,notub and no toilet.I think it was Black Church Revival Shotgun-style.)

But, while adjectives overflowed about Nottoway among reporters, IswearIcould hear thefaint sounds of slaves,human beings forced to work home construction, tend sugar cane fields andsupply the plantation owner the broken-backworkneededto keep his family fed and rich.

Working sugar cane was the most brutal of plantation jobs. That, the heat and poor foodprobably shortened the life span ofmany slaves

Acommon phrase in the Blackcommunity whenI grew up was that those slaves, thenlater plantation workers, “worked from can’tsee (in themorning) to can’tsee (at night).”Theywere denied anyform of human dignity,asthe owners sippedmint juleps.

As Nottoway’sceiling fell, Icould imagine Black women wailing as theirchildren, eveninfants, were sold to other slaveownerslike horses andshoes. I could hear the frail,muffledsoundsofBlack women beingraped, while their families and friends could do nothing but accept the outcome.

As the fire continued itsslowmarch through Nottoway,itreminded me of the effort across thenation to burndown the history of my people. Like Nottoway, they want the cruelty done to Blacks and,in someinstances, eventhe heroismofBlack people lessened or swept away like ashes from afire. Young and old deserve to know the truehistoryof thiscountry,evenifthey must ask about an oldnewspaperphoto showing grandpa yelling atyoung Black people at alunch counter or walking to aclassroom Iwonder if Iwould have felt differently about Nottoway had its owners done what another plantation a few miles away has done.

In its online advertisement, the Whitney Plantation in Wallace has this interesting message: “Whitney preserves the history of those enslavedwith facts, testimonies, and memorials …Noone should let the currenttimes in theUnited States deter us from hearing and speaking the truth —here or abroad ” As Iusedtohear from an old historyteacher: “Write that down.”

But as the Whitney tellsitstraight, education and government officials here and across thenation, under the guise of protecting students, are fightingtoboard up the real history of the country. This includes bookbans,curriculum restrictions and state-level mandates intendedtodownplay or erase thestruggles,heroicresistance and contributions of Blackpeople. Well, justlike Nottoway Let me be clear.Ifthe ownersofthatplantation want to use it for anything, from adance hall to awedding facility to aplacefor country western bands, that’sall fine. But given the inhumanity that ruled the people who sufferedthere every day,they deserve to have some informationabout their unbelievablestruggle in that building and onthe website Now,doIhave any personalfeelingabout Nottoway burning? Isaw wheremanypeoplerejoiced, even posting “burn, babyburn” onsocialmedia. I think Iknow where they are coming from. Ibelieve sometimes things happen for areason,and I’ll leave it at that. Word has it that the ownermay rebuildthe site.If he does, it would be greatifheaddedinformation about the real history of Nottoway It would be the right thing to do, and Ihopetosee it Email Edward Pratt,a former newspaperman, at epratt1972@yahoo.com.

Iread the letter from Jane Hill of Slidell about immigration policy and Christianity.Apparently,Hill is not reading the sameBible Iread. In Matthew 22, Mark 12 and Luke 20, Jesus is tested about paying taxes. He asks which likeness is on thecoin, and thereply: “Caesar’s.” Jesus says, “Render untoCaesar,the thingswhich are Caesar’sand to God thethings which are God’s.” In Romans13, Paul instructs Christians to obey civilian authorities as adivine mandatebecause civilian authorities are placed in God’sservice to maintain order and justice. Hill’sletter suggests theTrumpadministration just madeupthese laws to start deporting people. Au contraire, the immigration laws have been in effect for over ahundred years passed by previous administrations,both Democrat and Republicans. The difference now is the Trumpadministration is actually enforcing the laws, which the Biden administration did not.

I’ll also point out the illegal immigrantswere deported to El Salvador,not aprison. The El Salvadoran authorities, however,put them in prison because they know what those tattoos mean, which, clearly,Hill does not.

Ichallenge Hill andanyone else who agrees with her to ask Laken Riley’s parentshow they feel about illegal immigrantsbeing allowed to stay in the USA? Ialso challenge Hill to illegally enter Mexico [also aChristian country] and ask for food, shelter,clothing, housing, medical and education benefits. Mexico will, indeed, provide those benefitswhile she finishes her 10-year prison sentence. Finally,many Christians, including myself, voted for President Donald Trumpbecause we wanted our lawsto be enforced. This does not constitute a “moral crisis,”but, rather,a“moral responsibility.”

DUDLEY GARIDEL Baton Rouge

After the first 100 days of thesecond Trump administration,it’stimetogive credit where credit is due.Ijust didn’t get it at first, but nowIsee howPresident Donald Trump andhis accomplishedcabinet is making us all greatand greater.To those whoclaim he is avindictive egomaniac with the attention span of agnat, I sayjust look at thewins so far Thanks to Trump’sfoxy choice to lead the Pentagon, we aresafer than ever. Aquick scan of my Signal App letsme know who we’re bombing and when. There’sno“real” danger in keeping friends and family and themedia in the loop —it’scalled transparency Thanks to Trump’sbrilliant “onagain, off again, oops again” tariff strategy, we’reall richer.We’ve cut trillions in liquidity from the world’sfinancial markets, thrown American leadership into question and made China look like a

My guess is our military rank and file would rather have athree-day pass than to be made to parade on President Donald Trump’sbirthday.Asa taxpayer,I am angry thatTrumpwould spend millions

stable,reliable partner. Guess Ineed to reread, “The Art of the Deal.”

Thanks to flag-waving, democracyloving Donny,we’ve done away with time-consuming due process, tried to intimidate free speech at universities and asked, “Why does everyone deserve ahearing at the Supreme Court?”

And lastly,thanks to Trump, we’re all healthier now thatwe’ve cut funding for science, questioned lifesaving vaccines and even figured howtoMake MeaslesA Threat Again.

And there youhave it. If after the first 100 days of life underTrump, you don’t feel richer, safer and more secure about America’sfuture, you obviously don’t seethe cunning in the chaos. We are winning. We should have aparade.

JOSH MAYER NewOrleans

of our dollarsonhis ego. As anation, we have always honored our veterans and always will, without Trump’shelp.

JOE BISHOP Abita Springs

Isupport Ukraine. Iamnot Ukrainian nor could Iname anyone whoisfrom that country.My sympathies lie squarely with this nation as avictim of Russia’sunprovoked invasion and its criminal targeting of civilians and their schools, churches and cities. Russia’sbloody action is based upon astarkly unbelievable assortment of lies: that Ukraine had attacked Russia first; that Ukraine is governed by Jewish Nazis; that Ukraine had been invited to join NATO; that Ukraine remained apart of Russia. The innate perjury of Vladimir Putin spins out such drivel that only his sycophants would digest.

Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly ten years before Putin’srise. In 2014, the country endured many civilian deaths while successfully protesting its pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. He abandoned office and fled to Moscow,thereby proving his stripe. Thus Ukraine has functioned as atruly independent country for barely ten years, the last three in warwith Russia.

This is the quagmire that President Donald Trumphas entered with the intent to gain peace. While Idid not believe his campaign boast that he could end the warwithin the first 24 hours of his election, Iback his efforts to end the war. But Idonot endorse Trump’sunprofessional and boorish treatment of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. His fantasy quips pulled out of thin air cause me to doubt his acuity.Mr. President, please remember that American voters overwhelmingly support Ukraine in this war by morethan a2-to-1 margin. Failure to address this problem with honesty and fairness will be obvious to us all. PETERM.MEISNER River Ridge

Edward Pratt

LATE NIGHT IN ALABAMA

LSU-TexasA&M endedafter this editionwenttopress. For complete coverage,visit theadvocate.com

SGA, Jokic headline

All-NBA teams

Lakers star James

makessecondteam

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

Oklahoma City’sShai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’sNikola Jokic andMilwaukee’sGiannis Antetokounmpo were the onlyplayers to appear on everyMVP ballot this season It only made sense that they wouldbe unanimous All-NBA picks as well. Gilgeous-Alexander —the league’sMVP —along with Jokic and Antetokounmpo were unveiled Friday night as first-teamAllNBA players, along with Boston’sJayson Tatum and Cleveland’sDonovan Mitchell. Tatum wasanotherunanimous first-team pick. Mitchell made the first teamfor the first time.

Antetokounmpo has seven first-team selections and nine appearances on theAllNBA team overall. Jokic is afive-time firstteamer and seven-time All-NBA pick, Tatum is first-team for the fourth time (fifthoverall), Gilgeous-Alexanderhas been first-team in all three of his All-NBA appearances,and Mitchell is All-NBA forthe second time in his career Gilgeous-Alexander,Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Tatum were all first-teamers last season as well.

Second team

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is an All-NBA player for the21st time in 22 seasons. He made the secondteam. Also on the second team: Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Cleveland’sEvanMobley, Golden State’sStephen Curryand New York’sJalenBrunson.

Curry made All-NBA for the 11th time,

ä See NBA, page 3C

SPORTS

Down to oneplayer, UL women’sbasketballteam building roster through portal, incoming freshmen

SC H FROM STARTING

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Yes, there was atimeduring this offseason where theULwomen’sbasketball program couldn’thave played agame if theywanted to.

After losing nine seniors and afew other players to the transfer portal, coach Garry Brodhead was down to one player on the roster

Andthat was 2024 transfer portal addition Charlotte Carvalho, who suffered an injury last summerand still hasn’tplayed agame at UL.

Such is life in college athletics in 2025.

As desperate as that sounds in the moment, however,Brodhead was never overly concerned.

For one, he knew the Cajuns wouldn’t be playingany gamesuntil November andtwo, thetransfer portalisa quick way to fill up aroster

“It is strange, but Iwasn’t really that worried aboutit,” Brodhead said. “We

OTAOBSERVATIONS

knewwehad signed those threehigh school kids and we got six out of the portal lastyear,sowefigured we could get somekids out of the portal.”

No, thatdoesn’tmean it’s the way Brodhead would prefer to do business, but it’s mostlyhow thegameisplayed these days.

“It’sadifferentball game now,” he said.

“It’sa lot tougher.”

It’snot really about who you are and the relationships you build any more, and it’s really not aboutacademicsany moreeither.It’sa bidding war.

“I just didn’texpect it to be so much moreabout money this time around with theportal. It wasn’tasmuch like that last year.We’re getting alittle bitbetter at it.”

The lack of panicfor Brodhead also centered around his confidence in the trio of high school signees —all three ranked among the state’stop 10 prospects.

That group includes5-foot-8 guard

ä See UL, page 3C

Saints WRsOlave,Shaheed look healthy

As much as was new aboutthe New Orleans Saints at Thursday’s organizedteam activity practice, what stood out wasthe old. Sure, the new coaching staff was in place. And aquarterback competitionwas underway.But forthe first time in months,sinceinjuries derailed their season, theSaints had amostly healthy roster —and what adifference that can make.

If Kellen Moore’s offense is going to succeed in 2025, speed figures to be acrucial part. And on this roster, there’sarguably no one faster than Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave. Thursday’soffseason workoutwas a sharp reminder of that.

outonthe field together since last October That was before Shaheed suffered aseason-ending meniscus injury and Olave was sidelined with aconcussion. Both appeared to be fully healthy on Thursday to the quarterbacks’ benefit.

starting reps. Here’swhat else stood out aboutThursday’sOTA session, thefirst practice open to reporters this year Newoffensive line

It’sadifferent ball game now.It’s alot tougher. Ijust didn’texpect it to be so much more about moneythis time around withthe portal. It wasn’tas much likethat last year.We’re getting a littlebit betteratit.”

GARRy BRODHEAD,UL basketball coach on the transfer portal

Matthew Paras

“Chris justtold me, ‘Yep, (you’ve) got all of us outthere now,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. As apair,Olave and Shaheed hadn’tbeen

Rattler went 8of8during the Saints’repsof7-on-7, while secondround quarterback Tyler Shough went 7of8.For the latter,Shough connected with Shaheed on adeep ball down thesideline —with Shaheed beating his matchup witha double movewhile Shough bought time with apumpfake. Rattler also looked crisp, hitting Olave decisively over the middle. In the session, Rattler worked with the first-time offense while Shough worked with the backups. Moore told reporters that the plan is to rotate them by the day and that each quarterback hasgotten

The biggest development was that the offensive line looked completely different, in part because of several position trainings.

Trevor Penning, last year’sright tackle, got work at left guard. Taliese Fuaga, last year’sleft tackle, took Penning’sold spot on the right side —moving the 2024 firstround back tohis college position.

Kelvin Banks, this year’sfirst-rounder, worked at left tackle after rotating several spotsduring rookie minicamp.

“Continuityisareally important aspect for those guys, but we’ll play with some different personnel packages, just moving

AP PHOTO By MATTHEW HINTON Saints wide receiverChrisOlave runs adrill during Organized Team Activities on Thursday at the team’sindoor practice facility

Griffin on verge of breakthrough

Fowler stalks,

Scheffler 10 shots

back at Colonial

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

FORT WORTH, Texas Ben Griffin could be on the verge of a breakthrough season on the PGA Tour

It’s more like a possible comeback for Rickie Fowler

Griffin shot a 7-under 63 in the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial on Friday and was tied with Matti Schmid for the second-round lead at 11 under, two strokes ahead of first-round leader John Pak and five ahead of Fowler, who made the turn in 29 before settling for a 64. Pak, the tour rookie who opened with a 63, birdied the par-4 18th for a 68 and was a shot ahead of Chris Gotterup, a one-time tour winner like Griffin. Gotterup was 8 under after a 65. Ryo Hisatsune, a 22-yearold from Japan, was another stroke back after a 67, tied with Akshay Bhatia (66).

Scottie Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship last weekend, shot 71 and was 10 shots off the lead as the world No. 1 tries to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive starts. Scheffler’s run started with a runaway three weeks ago, an eight-shot win at the first of his two hometown events, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson north of Dallas. It was close, but Scheffler made the cut with a shot to spare, which extended his streak to 55, second to Xander Schauffele’s 64. Both of Scheffler’s playing partners missed the cut, including Da-

Ben Griffin hits off the ninth tee during the first round at

Club in Fort Worth, Texas on

vis Riley The defending champion shot 69 while Daniel Berger, one of the eight top-25 players in the field, made an 83-foot putt from just off the green for birdie on the par-3 fourth hole in a round of 70. Both were at 2-over 142.

A month removed from teaming with Andrew Novak to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Griffin made eight birdies — seven from inside 10 feet and saved par with a 12-foot putt from the fringe after his only bogey

The 29-year-old has already matched his career best of five top10 finishes from last year including

a tie for fifth at the PGA.

“I feel like I’ve kind of made good steps the last couple of years just kind of building to get to that first win,” Griffin said. “Now that I’ve got that first win, I feel like it’s really freeing me up to come out and be not necessarily more aggressive, but just feel more aggressive, feel like I’m trying to win more. It’s definitely been a breakthrough year, but I think there’s more to come.”

Fowler has dropped to 127th in the world after being in the top 25 as recently as early 2024. The sixtime winner was solid in the $20 million signature Truist Champion-

ship two weeks ago but missed the cut at the PGA.

The 36-year-old followed an opening 70 with six birdies before finishing even over his final nine holes.

“It’s definitely coming around,” said Fowler, who has just one victory since 2019, the Rocket Mortgage Classic two years ago. “I know it’s been slow last year and slow start to the year Body is starting to feel better, and the game (has) been in a good spot and not very far off. It’s a fine line out here. Nice to see things starting to come together a bit.”

Schmid, a 27-year-old German seeking his first tour victory in his 79th start, has been bogey-free with 10 birdies over 24 holes since a double bogey on the par-4 12th in the opening round.

Gotterup, who won the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic and is in position to qualify for the $20 million signature event at the Memorial next week, had a bogey-free round. He lives within driving distance of Colonial, known as Hogan’s Alley, after finishing his college career at Oklahoma. Gotterup took a week off at home during the PGA after playing four consecutive weeks and finishing. After his first bogey of the week on the par-4 seventh, Pak got to 10 under with birdies on three of the next four holes. Consecutive bogeys dropped him into a tie with Gotterup before Pak made a 13-footer on 18.

Jordan Spieth, Scheffler’s fellow hometown headliner and former Texas Longhorn, birdied the 17th and made the cut on the number at even par Two holes earlier the three-time major winner let a club fly out of his hands in disgust on an approach shot that was short and right, then covered his face with his hands when his par putt lipped out.

Pagdanganan among 4 tied for Mexico lead

By The Associated Press

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico Bianca

Pagdanganan felt right at home in the stifling heat and humidity Thursday on the Yucatan Peninsula, using her power to set up a twoputt birdie on the par-5 18th for a 4-under 68 and a four-way share of the lead in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open.

Pagdanganan, the 27-year-old from the Philippines, managed to hit all but two greens despite not spending much time in the fairway Her two-putt birdie from 15 feet allowed her to join Chisato Iwai, Jenny Shin and Brianna Do. The wind was enough of a challenge on the El Camaleon course at Mayakoba. It was the heat index that became the biggest challenge

and limited the scoring chances.

Shin was the first to reach 68, making seven birdies but slowed with a double bogey on the 16th hole. Asked about her good start, Shin replied, “I actually don’t remember because it’s so hot I don’t remember the first birdie.”

But she remembered having a hot putter, mostly for birdie and a few parts. Still, it was hard getting past the stifling conditions.

“I didn’t anticipate heat like this,” Shin said.

“I was really shocked when I got here. Definitely does feel like I’m in Southeast Asia. Been hydrating a lot. Drinking a lot of salted water A lot of electrolytes. I haven’t really been practicing, so I’m going to head straight to the hotel room after this.”

Chisato birdied two of her last five holes, while Do got off to a superb start and was 4 under through her opening five holes. She cooled after that, with one bogey and a birdie on the 18th to claim a share of the lead.

Five more players, including Hye-Jin Choi and Jenny Bae, were at 69.

Charley Hull, at No. 15 in the world the highest-ranked player in the final event before the U.S. Women’s Open, missed short putts down the stretch and had to settle for a 72. One of those misses came on the par-5 13th, when she hit her second shot to inside 3 feet

Pagdanganan felt at relative ease during the round.

“It felt like a pretty easy round, which honestly I haven’t felt that

in a while,” she said “To be able to have that out here feels really good. I hit a lot of greens not a lot of fairways. But I felt like it didn’t matter that much to me today I felt like I was swinging it pretty good. I had a pretty clear headspace.

“So I guess mentally and physically everything just lined up really well for me today.”

It was a tough day for two of the more prominent Mexican players. Gaby Lopez, who played a role in getting the LPGA back to Mexico for the first time since 2017, had eight bogeys in her round of 79. Maria Fassi, a former NCAA champion at Arkansas, had two early birdies but struggled to a 75.

Mayakoba previously hosted a PGA Tour event, and then it had a LIV Golf event last year

Timberwolves struck by the relentless Thunder

BY DAVE CAMPBELL AP sportswriter

MINNEAPOLIS — The newest NBA MVP put his head down and dribbled toward the basket, an attempt by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to lunge past one of the league’s best perimeter defenders midway through the fourth quarter of another decisive victory by Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals.

After his right arm was subtly hooked by Gilgeous-Alexander at the beginning of the drive, Jaden McDaniels reached for the middle of his back and pushed Minnesota’s tormentor with enough force to send him stumbling to the floor on Thursday with the Thunder up by 16 points. McDaniels got a Flagrant 1 penalty and shrugged off the significance of the shove afterward He had fouls to give, he said, so he used one. But it was a clear sign of frustra-

ä Thunder at Timberwolves.

7:30 P.M. SATURDAy ABC

tion for the Timberwolves, who have so far seen their championship aspirations overwhelmed by a well-constructed team chasing the title with a mix of poise, precision and relentlessness unseen anywhere else in these NBA playoffs.

“We’ve got to meet their aggression,” said Julius Randle, who had by far his worst performance of this postseason in Game 2 with just six points on 2-for-11 shooting and four turnovers. The Thunder will take a 2-0 lead and a load of confidence and momentum into Game 3 on Saturday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.

One of the most discouraging developments for the Wolves from Game 2 was that they held the Thunder to 9-of-33 shooting from 3-point range and still lost by 15.

Deftly bucking the data-driven NBA trend away from midrange jumpers, the Thunder shot 63% on 2-pointers, many of them outside of the lane against a Wolves team that has established itself as big, fast and strong enough to consistently take away the rim and the perimeter

The rest of the guards in their usual eight-man rotation have been badly outscored during their time on the court

Anthony Edwards is a minus-45, Donte DiVincenzo is a minus-47, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a minus-20. Just as critical as tightening up the middle of their defense for the Wolves will be getting Randle going again.

AP PHOTO By NATE BILLINGS

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts after a play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday in Oklahoma City

After averaging 24 points on 52% shooting over his first 11 games of the playoffs, including Game 1 of this series, his struggle against the Thunder’s intense ball pressure was so pronounced on Thursday that coach Chris Finch kept him on the bench for the entire fourth quarter

LSU to retire No. 4 jersey of running back Alexander

Charles Alexander will become just the fourth LSU football player to have his jersey retired, the school announced Friday A twotime Heisman Trophy finalist, Alexander was first-team All-American running back in 1977 and 1978 and the first SEC running back to gain 4,000 career yards rushing.

The Galveston, Texas, native will join Billy Cannon (No. 20), Tommy Casanova (37) and Jerry Stovall (21) as the only LSU football players to have their jerseys retired.

The LSU Athletic Hall of Fame Committee unanimously approved the move. His No. 4 jersey will be retired at a football game this fall.

“Playing at LSU those four years, I never dreamed that one day my jersey would be retired and be on display in Tiger Stadium,” Alexander said.

Bregman leaves game with right quad tightness

Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman was removed in the fifth inning of Friday’s opening game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles with right quad tightness, the team said.

Former LSU standout Bregman singled sharply to left field and made a wide turn before retreating to the first-base bag.

The two-time All-Star motioned to the Red Sox dugout, and Bregman didn’t bother checking the severity of the injury before heading down the stairs to get it checked out. A two-time World Series winner who spent the first nine seasons of his big-league career with the Houston Astros, Bregman signed with Boston in February He entered Friday with a .297 batting average with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.

Cubs deny report that AllStar Game goes to Wrigley

The Chicago Cubs denied a report from their flagship radio station that the 2027 All-Star Game was coming to Wrigley Field, telling the Tribune “no decision has been made.”

WSCR-AM 670 reported Thursday that MLB has awarded the game to the Cubs, who have long sought the big event since a massive ballpark renovation in the 2010s. MLB tends to make its AllStar Game announcements at a mutually acceptable date to the club to get maximum publicity for its TV networks and corporate sponsors, so speculation that the decision has been made but was prematurely leaked seems plausible.

The Cubs have hosted only three All-Star Games at Wrigley and none since 1990.

FIFA fines and sanctions federations of six nations

FIFA fined six soccer federations $24,400 to $32,200 each for discrimination offenses at World Cup qualifying games in March.

Albania’s federation also was ordered to cut the capacity of its stadium by 20%, or fill the seats with “community and/or special interest groups.” Albania’s next home game is against Serbia on June 7. Ecuador, which hosts Brazil on June 5, must cut capacity by 25% or fill with community groups, FIFA said in published sanctions from its disciplinary panel. Paraguay, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Indonesia also were fined and ordered to reduce stadium capacity at their next home games in World Cup qualifying. The acts of discrimination were not specified by FIFA.

Berlin bids for Olympics, 100th anniversary looms

Berlin is making a bid to host the Olympics again, possibly 100 years after the city hosted the 1936 Games under the Nazis.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner is to present bid plans, with help from four other German states, on Tuesday at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

The invitation sent on Friday to the presentation does not mention which Games the city is bidding for but the next available edition will be in 2036 — the 100th anniversary of the Berlin Games.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation has said a German bid for the 2040 Games is also possible. Los Angeles is hosting the 2028 Olympics and Brisbane the 2032 Olympics. The states of Brandenburg, Saxony and more would also host competitions as part of Berlin’s bid.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Colonial Country

Thursday. Griffin shot a 7-under 63.

Hot diggity dog!

Wienermobiles put on riveting race in Wienie 500

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

INDIANAPOLIS Give the Borg-Wie-

probably as important to the hotdoggers on board as the 5 miles they drove on Friday

Sold-out Indy 500 packed with drama

BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer

INDIANAPOLIS There has been so much drama ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 that Kyle Larson’s attempt to complete the 1,100-mile NASCAR double doesn’t even crack the top attention-getters.

Roger Penske’s credibility was tested this week and he fired the top three executives of his IndyCar team because the cars of twotime defending race winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power failed inspection. The team had modified a spec safety part — something IndyCar insists provided no competitive advantage — and it forced Penske to act.

ner Trophy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Wienermobile affectionately known as Slaw Dog

In a down-to-the-wire race among the six iconic Wienermobiles that serve as goodwill ambassadors for Oscar Mayer, the hot dog-on-wheels representing the Southeast proved to be the big dog on Carb Day ahead of Sunday’s running of the Indianapolis 500.

It made a dramatic pass of the Wienermobile repping Chicago at the finish line to win the inaugural Wienie 500 on Friday

The margin was about a half a bun.

“You are standing in a moment in hot dog history right now,” Sarah Oney, who was co-piloting the Wienermobile representing New York with Connor Wolff, told The Associated Press. “This is the first-ever time we have honestly had all six Wienermobiles together and especially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

It was the definition of a wiener-take-all race, too: The driver and co-pilot of the No. 3 dog, who managed to roast the rest of the Wienermobiles on a cool, sunny afternoon, got to stick around for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Wienermobiles have been around since 1936 as a promotional vehicle for Oscar Mayer — not to be confused with Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indy 500. They travel around the country, logging about 20,000 miles annually, though none were

Oney and Wolff jumped into the lead when the green flag flew at the historic yard of bricks, and the six Wienermobiles slowly picked up speed until they reached about 65 mph. They were right in each other’s grills down the backstretch, and swapped the lead among themselves several times until the second of two laps when the No. 4 dog led the field out of Turn 2.

That’s when smoke began pouring from its rear, and that dog was cooked.

The Wienermobile wearing No. 1 assumed the lead as the field headed onto the front stretch, and a crowd of nearly 80,000 fans who had just watched the final practice for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 was standing and cheering

That’s when the Wienermobile from the Southeast, which had doggedly hung around the lead for most of the race, made its big move. It passed the the Wienermobile repping Chicago just in time to relish in the sweet taste of victory It might have been the fastest Wieners have gone since Joey Chestnut’s heyday on Coney Island

“The Indy 500 marks the unofficial kickoff of summer and the start of hot dog season,” said Kelsey Rice, brand communications director at Chicago-based Oscar Mayer “It’s only fitting that we bring a race of epic proportions to the Speedway and celebrate a timeless tradition: delicious meats and a little friendly competition to kick off a summer of wieners.”

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

those guys around,” Moore said “Ultimately, in season, there will be things that come up and you have to have guys that have played other things and have had different exposures.”

Defensive versatility

To get a glimpse of the versatility of defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s scheme, check out the way the Saints used rookie defensive lineman Vernon Broughton.

In their base look, the Saints used the third-rounder as a defensive end next to Cam Jordan

Then in nickel, when only four defensive linemen were on the field instead of five, Broughton kicked inside to defensive tackle. The Saints staff already had familiarity with Broughton upon drafting him, as defensive line coach Bo Davis was his position coach at Texas for three seasons

Cornerback Alontae Taylor also was asked to do several different things. After moving back outside last season following the Marshon Lattimore trade, Taylor took his first reps in 7-on-7 on the inside.

Taylor was also used as a blitzer, getting a clean lane at Rattler before pulling up since there’s no

Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed stretches with teammates during Organized Team Activities on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

contact allowed. That’s an effective use of the cornerback’s skill set as Taylor had the fourth-most sacks (four) with the Saints last season. And in base, Taylor was also used on the outside.

Tight end shallow

Though the Saints mainly were healthy across the roster, New Orleans looked a little short at tight end Moore said Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau are recovering from major knee injuries and won’t be available until at least training camp, while Dallin Holker is sidelined with a minor injury That creates an opening for the other tight ends beyond starter Juwan Johnson. The Saints drafted Moliki Matavao in the seventh round, while Jack Stoll, Michael Jacobson and Treyton Welch are also in the mix.

Voluntary absences

The workouts this time of the year are voluntary but that said, the Saints had some notable absences. Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, Alvin Kamara, J.T Gray, D’Marco Jackson, Demario Davis, Davon Godchaux and Chase Young were among the veterans absent Thursday Kamara, who typically misses these sessions and trains on his own until mandatory minicamp, tweeted that he was traveling to Jordan.

The second major infraction in just over a year at Team Penske put The Captain’s reputation at stake He owns his team but also IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500 — the most important race in the world to him, and one that the 88-yearold Penske has won a record 20 times.

“We had an organizational failure not once but two times. It hurts me in my gut,” Penske told new TV partner Fox Sports. “There’s a certain amount of credibility you have to have. We let people down. We’ll move on and our goal is to win the race.”

The grandstands are sold out for the first time since 2016 and the Indy 500 is slated to run hours before the Indiana Pacers host Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals a few miles away The speedway is expecting 350,000 people will attend.

“The downside is that most of the talk going into our biggest race of the year is about that,” 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon said of the Team Penske scandal “There’s so many cool stories going into it.”

What about the Penske cars?

The three Team Penske cars did not participate in the final day of qualifying. Scott McLaughlin crashed earlier that day, before Newgarden and Power were disqualified, and his car did not have the illegally altered piece on it.

NBA

Continued from page 1C

something only 21 players in NBA history have done. Edwards and Brunson are two-time All-NBA players, and Mobley made a team for the first time. Third team

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, the Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams were named to the third team.

Harden is an eight-time selection, Towns is a three-time pick, Haliburton made a team for the second time and Cunningham and Williams both are All-NBA for the first time.

All 100 ballots

Eight players appeared on every ballot. Antetokounmpo, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Tatum all got 100 first-team votes. Mitchell got 61 first-team votes, 35 second-team and four thirdteam. Edwards got 11 first-team, 87 second-team and two thirdteam. Curry got two first-team, 68 second-team and 30 third-team. And Brunson got two first-team,

Continued from page 1C

Amijah Price of Woodlawn, 5-9 guard Imanii Daniel of John Curtis and 5-11 forward Arionna Patterson from Walker

“I think they’re the best three freshmen in high school this past year,” Brodhead said. “The problem is their lack of experience. The good thing is they’re going to get to play a lot. All three of them play at a high level of AAU, so that makes a difference.

“They might surprise us. I defi nitely think they can fit in and help us.”

Price is a “point guard who can score, shoot it and pass it. She’s really athletic. She can get to the rim.”

McLaughlin will start 10th and is motivated to help Penske repair the team image. Newgarden, seeking to become the first driver to win Indy in three consecutive years, will start 32nd and Power in the final spot following the penalties.

No driver has ever won from the last row but Newgarden believes it can be done. The field won’t be surprised.

“The Penskes are freaking missiles,” O’Ward said. “It’s going to be fun watching Josef carve his way through traffic.”

O’Ward’s takeover

The Mexican driver has become IndyCar’s superstar, and he has twice had his heart broken at Indy with runner-up finishes. O’Ward’s third-place starting position is the best of his career and momentum for a victory has been building. His energy vibrates around the speedway, where his purchasing of a bomber jacket at the infield merchandise tent caused the item to sell out online and boost Indianapolis-brand Homefield to a national level. There were only five

62 second-team and 36 third-team.

James and Cunningham were on 99 of 100 ballots.

Giannis: People’s choice, again For the eighth consecutive year, Antetokounmpo was listed on every All-NBA ballot That’s the longest active run in the NBA. The last time an All-NBA ballot was sent to the league without Antetokounmpo’s name listed was 2017, when four of the 100 voters didn’t rank him among the league’s top players. Since then: 799 ballots cast, 799 listing Antetokounmpo.

Jokic appeared on every AllNBA ballot for the fifth consecutive year; it would be six in a row if he hadn’t fallen one vote short of unanimous status in 2020. Jayson Tatum was on every All-NBA ballot for the fourth consecutive season.

LeBron: The first at 40

James is the first 40-year-old to make an All-NBA team — he turned 40 in December

James has 13 first-team appearances, four second-team selections and four third-team nods. No other player has more than 15 All-NBA selections. Kobe Bryant (11 first-team picks), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10 first-team picks) and Tim Duncan (10 first-

Patterson has guard skills in the frontcourt.

“She could play as a guard too,” Brodhead said “We’ll probably play as a 4 in our league. She can score and she’s gotten so much better on defense and rebounding.”

In addition to AAU experience, all three played key roles in deep playoff runs in high school as well, including Daniel leading John Curtis to a state title as a junior

“She reminds me of Brooklyn (Arceneaux),” Brodhead said. “She’s about 5-10, 5-11, but she can rebound and she can score when she gets to the rim. She’s strong.”

Then there’s the transfer portal additions Brodhead was counting on his staff producing. The Division I transfers in-

jackets, all size XL, still available Friday morning.

O’Ward also got the Indiana Dairy Association to bring a cow to the speedway Friday so he could milk it a rookie tradition at the Indy 500 that he missed because his first appearance was during the pandemic.

“We need more guys like Pato in NASCAR,” said Larson, his Arrow McLaren teammate at Indy Hole in the resume

Alex Palou has won four of the first five IndyCar races this season but has flown under the radar this month The Spaniard will start sixth. His best finish is second and he’s been inside the top nine the last four years.

Palou is the two-time reigning IndyCar champion and has three titles in the last four years. He admitted if he never wins the Indy 500, his career would not be complete and the 14-race winner has yet to earn a victory on an oval.

“In that race, you don’t think about the championship at all,” Palou said. “A third place is not good enough A second place is not good enough. It’s only first that counts.”

team picks) are the other members of the 15-time club.

Awards season

The release of the All-NBA teams wrapped up awards season in the league. A global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters sent their votes to the NBA before the playoffs started.

Those awards voted on by the panel included Gilgeous-Alexander winning MVP, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson winning coach of the year, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels winning most improved player, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle winning rookie of the year, Mobley winning defensive player of the year, Brunson winning clutch player of the year and Boston’s Payton Pritchard winning sixth man of the year

Also chosen by that panel: the All-NBA team, along with the AllDefensive team and All-Rookie team.

There were other awards chosen through various other voting processes, including Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti winning executive of the year, Boston’s Jrue Holiday winning the social justice award and the sportsmanship award, Curry winning the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award, and Golden State’s Draymond Green winning the hustle award.

clude: Mikaylah Manley from Southern Miss, Jazmyne Jackson from Georgia Southern, Lily Ba from Tulane and Stephanie Mosley of Norfolk State. There’s also two junior college additions in Bianca Silva from Northwest College and Kathleen Norris from Hutchison Community College. Manley was a sophomore reserve from Barbe last season for the Golden Eagles. Jackson is a 5-7 guard who started 11 of 26 games at Georgia Southern last season, averaging 4.6 points. Ba is a 6-foot-3 junior who averaged 4.4 minutes in 14 games for Tulane and Mosley is a 6-footer who averaged 5.9 minutes in 12 games at Norfolk State last season. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles head into the first turn as they compete in the Wienie 500 following the practice session for the Indy 500 race on Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis

ä Indy 500 11:45 A.M. SUNDAy, FOX

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy Pato O’Ward waves to fans before the start of practice for the Indianapolis 500 race on Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. O’Ward’s third-place starting position is the best of his career and momentum for a victory has been building

TerryRobinson FAITH MATTERS

BR couple helpstobring worship serviceto StateCapitol

The governor’spress room at the state Capitol transforms into asacredspace of praise, prayer andpreaching on Mondays during legislative sessions. For the second consecutive year,pastors Michael and Tara Wicker,ofLighthouse Christian Fellowship Church in Baton Rouge, are leading an inspiring series of weekly worship services on the Capitol’s fourth floor,mere steps away from Gov.Jeff Landry’soffice. The nine scheduled gatherings from 3:30 p.m. to 5p.m. started with the opening of this year’s legislative session on April 14 and will culminate on June12.

“One of the things that is most important to me is seeing Democrats, Republicans, Blacks, Whites coming together in that room with just one agenda: We needprayer.Weneed covering,” said Tara Wicker, the formerlongtime member of the Baton Rouge Metro Council. “It’sopen to anyone who is a part of that agenda.”

The service includes adiverselineup of speakers from across the state, live music and acomplimentary meal.

“Wetry to keep it areally mixed crowd and just let them know that we’re not goingto be segregatedinheaven,”

Michael Wicker said. “It’snot going to be aRepublican side of the hall and aDemocratic side of the hall; it’sgoing to be all about God. It’snot aboutbeing across party lines so much, but to really look at the heart of people and bring people together the way God wants to bring people together.It’s beautiful to see.”

Added Tara Wicker,“There’s always really great worship. There’salways an on-time word about connection andengagement. So it’sjust aperfect opportunity for people who want to have asafe place that they can come and worship and come and serve God.”

Al Moore, the pastor of Westgate Church in Port Allen, was honored this year to serve as one of the speakers.His message was titled “Lord, Revive Our Zeal” and encouraged attendees to embrace the zeal that God providesto speak on his behalf.

“Wehave this zeal to cause God’splan and purposetotake place in theearth,” Moore said. “It’sGod on the inside of us. It’saneagerness, excitement, adetermination, apassion,an enthusiasm, awitness,adevotion, afervor.” The speakers bring their worship bands or music and are encouraged to invite their church members.

“Welike it to be aflavor of what’sgoing on in their church service,” Tara Wicker said “Wehave different types of worship, and we want to be able to bring that into the Capitol house and get atasteof Louisiana from pastors.”

Tara Wicker expects to have aprominent national figure to conclude the worship services on June 12.

“Weusually use that as a culminating event to kind of celebrate the sacrifice of the ministers and intercessors and the people who have been there —and also to use it as alaunching pad to encourage people to stay involved and be connected in the next season,” shesaid The Louisiana worship services were established through

WOOD YOU BELIEVEIT?

His firstpassion wassports.

Becauseofhis mom, this BatonRouge artist hashis ownstudio.

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

When Mitch Evans was young, his world revolved around football andbaseball. Though his mom supported his

first love, theart teacher in her knew he needed to be morewell-rounded.

“I wasa typical12- or 13-year-old kidthat just loved football and loved baseball —mylife revolved around thosetwo sports,” Evanssaid. “One dayshe said,‘Hey, youknowwhat?

If you want to eat this week, if you want me to cook meals for you, I’m taking you out of your little comfort zone of football and baseball, and I’m taking you to an art class.’”

Beganwithart class

Looking back now,Evans pinpointsthat summerasthe beginning of hisown journey as an artist, one that’sled to his solo show,“Son of aSlovenian: Out of Sloveniana,” in the Manship Theatre’sJones Walker Gallery

The exhibit runs through Aug. 7in the gallery’shome at the Shaw Centerfor theArts, 100Lafayette St., Baton Rouge, and features 16 pieces of Evans’wood and resin pieces

This is what Evansdoesfor a living now.It’sbeen lucrative, but he’sthe first to admit thatthis wasn’this original life plan.

Of course, his motherbelieved differently,which is why he honors her Slovenianheritage by referring to himself as “Son of aSlovenian and his studio as “Sloveniana.” No, this isn’tatypobut acombination of Slovenia andLouisiana. Evansconsidershis art aproduct of both, though his family was living in Washington, D.C., at the time his mom started sending him

“Quite often, you startoff with abeautiful block of wood, and to create the final shape that you’re lookingfor,you have to subtract so much wood. … I finally made adecision to trysomething different and startexperimenting with a wood-resin process.”

MITCH EVANS

to artclasses. His dad later landed ajob in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which eventually placed Evans in Baton Rouge, where he would marry,have two sons and become acontractor

Fascinationwithwoodgrain

Thencame his fascination with wood and its grains. The interest was sparkedinthe early 2000s, whilecutting down abeechtree with achainsaw to build atreehouse forhis sons.

ä See EVANS, page 6C

BelovedBRbookstore opensnew location

OwnersJames and Tere Hyfield stand inside the newlocation for Red StickReads on Government

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

STAFFPHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

Mitch Evans often findsthe wood for his artpieces in the Atchafalaya Swamp. He primarily works with pecky cypress.

PROVIDED PHOTOFROMMITCH EVANS

Mitch Evans stands in his Sloveniana Studio in his Baton Rougehome. Evans creates artworks from woodgrains and resin.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

The newbuilding housing Red Stick Reads is almost twice the sizeofthe old location on Eugene Street.

BOOKSTORE

Continued from page5C

games and more.

When it isn’trented out the owners hope it’ll be a spacefor people to sit, read or study As with any move, Red Stick Reads co-owners James and Tere Hyfield are still workinginphases to make the space feel like

home.Phase two, James Hyfield said, is to work on outdoorseating,buy trailing plantsand maybe commission amural forthe exterior of thebuilding. He also wants to bring back the used books section andblinddatewithbooks. They’re actively working on getting permitting and inspections squaredaway for acoffee/tea bar and hope to have everything forthataspect of the shop completed

by theend of the month.

“Westill havea lotof dreams,”said Tere Hyfield. On May 24, RedStick Reads will host itsfirst authorevent in the new location.Local middlegrade author, Sarah Guillory,will visit the store and sign copies of her new book, “Gus and Glory.”

Email Serena Puang at serena.puang@ theadvocate.com.

EVANS

PROVIDED PHOTO By MITCH

The imageofanoctopus is the main focus of thiswood-and-resin artwork by Baton Rouge artist Mitch Evans. The pieceisnot featured in his currentsolo showatthe Manship Theatre’sJonesWalker Gallery, but itshows the versatility of his work.

EVANS

Continued from page5C

And as captivating as the woodgrain was,Evans wouldn’tturn it into art until 2013.

“I was looking for something to supplement my income as acontractor,and Idid home remodeling for alongtime,” Evans said.

“Then Istarted turning wood with lathe.”

It washerethatEvans beganincorporating the skills he learned while attending summer camps at the Arrowmont School of Arts andCrafts in Gatlinburg Tennessee. These camps, of course, werehis mother’s doing. She sent him there for four consecutive summers to learn avariety of art mediums. Working with alathe was one of them, and Evans used the skill to make what he estimates were “thousands of bowls.”

“I finally got to apoint where it just was not checking all the boxes,” he said. “I was standing there watching wood flying off in ribbons and whatnot.Quite often, you start off with abeautiful block of wood, and to create thefinal shapethatyou’re looking for,you have to subtract so much wood.” Evans knew there hadto be something more than subtraction. He wanted to add the wood into something meaningful —something that showed the beautyhe sees in nature.

“I finally made adecision to trysomething different and start experimenting with awood-resinprocess,” he said. “Now,working with resin is notsomething Iinvented. People have been working with it for along time, but most are using an epoxy resin, which is very clear.”

Evans’ resin, however, isn’tclear.It’salso filled with bubbles,which is anono among resin artists. “But it just happenedto

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER Mitch Evans referstothis piecesimply as ‘swamp bird.’ He intentionally does not title his pieces, leaving thattothe eventual buyers. This piece is featured in his solo showinthe Manship Theatre’sJones Walker Gallery.

be thefirst resin that Itried in theexperimental process,”hesaid. “At first,I was freaking out, because I couldn’tget ridofthe bubbles.But after making four or five pieces, Iembraced the bubbles.”

Resin fillsbackground

The resinfills the background behind the nature andLouisiana-themed scenes depicted through woodgrain in Evans’pieces. Noneare titled,but each is recognizable its own way. Apiece Evanssimply refers to as “the swamp bird” couldeasilybeinterpretedasagreat blue heron or egret. The inspiration for this, no doubt, comes from hismany boat rides in the Atchafalaya Swamp in search of driftwood and piecesofcypress Pecky cypress, with its fungus-carved holes, is his favorite.

“It’ssofragile because of the fungus,which givesitno structural integrity,” Evans said. “But it’ssomeofthe most stunning wood I’ve ever worked with.I’ll find bits and pieces of it floating in the wa-

When canfriendsand family usedoorcode?

Dear Miss Manners: Our house uses an electronic door code instead of akey and lock. Ourrelatives know thecode, from times when they needed to access our home without us there —for instance, picking up supplies for us while we were in thehospital, or gettingtothe house before us for adinner when the weather was bad. Outside of times such as those, when is it acceptable for them to use thecode?

comes downand enters the room?

Is it gender-specific? Say, the man comes downstairs and the woman is already there, or vice versa? Or does that even matter?

ter, and it’s just fascinating.”

Alongprocess

Evans’ estimated process timeisbetween 10 and 14 days for asingle piece.

“It’sreally hard to put a time stamp on it,” Evans said. “First,you have to find the wood, and you have to lay it outand letitdry and cure for whatever length of time is necessary.And when it’sreadytogo, I’m cutting everything in uniform, quarter-inch pieces.”

Onceheshapes the wood into his envisioned image, he glues it on aplywood backer board thenbegins filling in thebackground with either white or black resin.

“I have some proprietary techniques, but Idon’t tell anyone what theyare,” he said.

That makes sense,asEvans’ entire process is selftaught witheach step developed through trial anderror Afterall of thatwork, why divulge the secrets of his trade?

And make no mistake, his artwork has becomehis trade. His work is in such demand that he gave up contracting to work fulltime in his Sloveniana studio.

Even more surprising,especially in the digital age, Evans’internet presence is minimal.

He has an Instagram page under thehandle @sonofaslovenianand a Facebook page under his name, Mitch Evans, but most prospectivebuyersget to know him and his work at art fairs throughout the country.It’shere where he makes one-on-one contacts, where people not only make purchasesbut commission special pieces.

All of which sends Evans back intothe swamptoseek out more wood, then into the studio to make something out of it.

Would this have happened if he hadn’tbeen the son of a Slovenian? Who knows?

But Evansdoes know, without adoubt, the Slovenian put him on the right path.

Gentle reader: It does not. There is no hierarchy to saying “good morning.” Rather it is the responsibility of the first one who notices the other and preferably makes eye contact.

Gentlereader: No time. Because they then transform from helpful relatives to scary intruders

Dear Miss Manners: If someone comes downstairs in themorning, who should be theone to say “hello” (or “good morning,” etc.)

first:the one already downstairs, or the one who

Surprise greetings from behind when one is making hot coffee or bacon is not, Miss Manners assures you, as cute as you may think.

Dear Miss Manners: Iwas at work and Ihad to go to the washroom in ahurry.I happen to have ashy bladder

Acolleague of mine not one I’mparticularly close to —stood outside

my stall and started telling me in detail about her latest medical issues and prescriptions. Icould not produce. This wasextremely irritating. I had to waituntil she finally left. Why do people do that?

Seemstomesilence is golden in apublic washroom,and privacy is the order of the day.How would you have handled the situation?

Gentle reader: By saying, “Sorry,I’m having trouble hearing you. Iwill be better equipped to listen when Iamfinished in here.”

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

Upgradeyourdigital defense

Dear Heloise: Pleasetell your readers to be very careful about clicking “unsubscribe” in emails. We’ve all heard not to click anywhere inside an unsolicited email, and this includes the“unsubscribe” link. Youshould only click on alink if you’re sure that the email is from alegitimate source. You’re better off managing unwanted emails through the use of

By The Associated Press

filters and rules in your email program.Ittakes a little longer to set up arule, but you’re not exposing your device to malware.

—MaryD., in Tucson, Arizona

Veganvariety

Dear Heloise: Ihave ahint about providing vegan foods at aparty: Using aslow cooker,make large quantities of vegan maindishes in advance and freeze them. Then it’s

TODAYINHISTORY

suspension bridge, opened to traffic.

Today is Saturday, May 24, the144th day of 2025. There are 221 days left in the year Todayinhistory: On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at RobbElementarySchool in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.The gunman, Salvador Ramos, aformer student at the school, was also killed. It was the deadliest shooting at aU.S. elementaryschool since the2012 attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut

On this date:

In 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message “What hathGod wrought” from Washington to Baltimoreasheformally opened America’sfirst telegraph line.

In 1883, New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, at the time theworld’slongest

MATTERS

Continuedfrom page5C

aconnection between the Wickersand James Buntrock, apastor and executive director of the Houston-based organization My God Votes. The nonprofit, faith-based organization aims to empower Christians to take an active role in “government processes.”

After hearing Michael Wicker pray at ameeting afew years ago, Buntrock recognized his potential to facilitate My God Votes services in Louisiana. The group started in Texas before expanding tostatehouses in Oklahoma and then Louisiana.

“The thingIlike about My God Votes is that God really does votebecause he uses people,”said Michael Wicker,who accepted the taskafter getting confirmation aboutaweek later through aprophet during a crusade.

Lastyear,the Louisiana services were held in a space provided by Attorney General Liz Murrill

In 1935, the first Major League Baseball gameto be played at night took place at Cincinnati’sCrosley Field as the Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1.

In 1937, in apair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Act of 1935.

In 1941, during World WarII, the German battleship Bismarck sank the British battle cruiser HMS Hood in the North Atlantic, killing all but three of the 1,418 men on board.

(The Bismarck would be sunk by British battleships three days later.)

In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter becamethe second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard the Aurora 7spacecraft.

simple to warmthem up and serve them along with your regular meals. Add asalad and fruit fordessert, and there you are! Tofu is good to have on hand, as wellasvarious beans, nuts, vegetable broth, mushrooms, and fresh, frozen or canned veggies. Youmight ask your vegan guests foralist of foods they like. —A., in Shepherdstown,West Virginia Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

In 1974, American jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington, 75, died in NewYork. In 1994, four Islamic extremists convicted of bombing New York’s World Trade Center in 1993 were each sentenced to 240 years in prison. Today’sbirthdays: Comedian Tommy Chong is 87. Musician Bob Dylan is 84. Actor Gary Burghoffis82. Singer Patti LaBelle is 81. Actor Priscilla Presley is 80. Actor Jim Broadbent is 76. Cinematographer Roger Deakins is 76. Actor Alfred Molina is 72. Musician Rosanne Cash is 70. Actor Kristin Scott Thomas is 65. Author Michael Chabon is 62. Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars is 62. Actor John C. Reilly is 60. Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady is 46. Dancer-choreographer Mark Ballas is 39. Country singer Billy Gilman is 37. Rapper G-Eazy is 36. Actor Brianne Howey is 36. Actor Daisy Edgar-Jones is 27.

before moving to the press room this year

“Werecognize that we still have limited space even in that location,” Tara Wicker said.

She said Buntrock has been amazed at the level of enthusiastic response from people across party lines.

“Wedidn’treally have an explanation. We just say it’sall God. That’show we got here,” she said. “We’ve been an anomaly.”

Tara Wicker noted that it’sbeen revealing that legislators’ prayer requests have focused on personal matters like family and peace rather than aspecific bill.

“It’sgreat to have godly policies and pray for that,” she said. “But those legislators —and being aformer elected official —Iknow whatthe pressure is of having to make decisions that at some point impact the lives of people. And that’sa lot of pressure without having prayer coverage.”

As bi-vocational pastors, Michael Wicker said the legislative worship services during the nine weeks of the session are asacrifice

that is wellworth it forhim and his wife.The Baton Rouge natives appreciate the opportunity to continue engaging in ministry as a family,including their six children. Family is first and foremost, the couple emphasized.

“For us to stay together and be an example and model of importance and stability of the family to us, that is huge,” she said. “Wedon’ttake that lightly We try to makesure that example resonates in everything we do.” The high school sweethearts have been married formore than 30 years.

“Itmeans alot as aBlack family to stand before our community,especially, and be an example of how Godreally wants to use the family,” said Michael Wicker,who started Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Church in 2014. “We’ve got to be involved and engaged on all levels, but even more so spiritually.”

Contact Terry Robinsonat terryrobinson622@gmail. com.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) It'suptoyou to make things happen. Step up, take responsibility andstopsecond-guessing your every move.Uncertainty will lead to mistakes. Observe, size up your situation andtalk to experts.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Spend more time on self-improvement and less time trying to change others. When something doesn't feel right, do what you can to fix it. Protect against health risks.

LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) Set your sights on what youwanttoachieve, and don't stop until youreach your destination. Check out available resources thatcan raise your profile or qualifications

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Embrace the future withenthusiasm and the willingness to try something new and exciting. Search for fun things to do thatdon't breakthebank.Engageinoutdooractivities

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Put everything in perspective before you proceed. You will encounter falseinformation, making verification necessary if you want to implement new plans. Protect andnurture meaningful relationships.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Achange will help you see your options clearly and encourage youtohit the reset button and start something new. Discuss your concernsand intentions with someone youtrust.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stickwith what andwho youknow. Put your energy into partnerships and joint ventures, whichwillhelpyouloweryouroverhead.

Learn from experience andreconsider how you want to use your skills

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look for alternativeoptions.Meetinginthemiddlewill help keep thepeace and allow you the freedom to engageinevents andactivitiesthat bring you joy. Take responsibility foryour happiness.

AQUARIUS(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Consider your spending habits andlock in to abudget and routine you can easily afford.Lowering debt will ease stress and help you save forsomething meaningful. Pool your resources and engage in joint ventures.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Push forward and don't look back. Asteady pace and a clear vision regarding what you want to achieve will helpyou bring about positive change and eliminate what is dragging you down.

ARIES (March21-April 19) Take control and useyour talents,voice andconnections tohelpbringaboutpositivechange.Don't let thesmall stuff get in your way. An adjustmenttohow you earn or handle your money looks promising.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Change your mind as often as necessary until you feel comfortable. It'syour life, so don't allow anyone the option to speak or decide for you. Collect your thoughts and give your all.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature,isnot basedonscientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

NeilArmstrong,inagraduationspeech at the University of SouthernCalifornia in 2005, said,“Ihope you become comfortable withthe use of logic without being deceived into concluding that logic will inevitably lead you to the correct conclusion.”

At the bridge table, the useoflogic should lead to thecorrect conclusion.

In today’s deal, South is in three notrump. West leads the heartseven: nine, ace, eight. What shouldEast do next?

First, let’shaveEastcheck thehighcard points —our themefor the week South showed15to17, dummy has 10, and East holds nine. That leaves four to six points for West.

Next, it is common in no-trump to return partner’s lead,and many players wouldlead back the heartjack without further thought. Here, South would gallophome with at least one overtrick. East should also read the lead;what can he learn about hispartner’s heart holding?

Usually,West would lead fourth-highest from his longest and strongest. So East should apply the Rule of Eleven. Seven from 11 is four. Thismeansthat thereshould be four hearts higher than the seveninthe North, East and South hands combined. But at the first trick, East sawfive higher hearts: dummy’s nine and 10, hisace andjack,and South’s eight. West cannot have led fourth-highest. Instead, logic saysthat the heart seven musthave been top of nothing. If South hasthe heartkingand queen, thereisnologicinreturning that suit Instead, East should shift to the spade queen.Here,thatworksbeautifully,gainingthe first five tricks forthe defense.

©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.ByAndrews

McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire

by the additionof“s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional

by

or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns,

or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD HILARIous: hih-LER-ee-us: Extremely funny.

Averagemark 29 words

Time limit

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —PALPItAnt

today’s thought

“But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

loCKhorNs

PutJesus

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles