The Acadiana Advocate 05-26-2025

Lafayettetraumacenter inspired former patient

Kallen LeBlanc, acar crash survivor whowas treated in the Ochsner Lafayette General Trauma Center,stands withDr. Willard Mosier,the trauma ICU director at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center whotreated herat thehospital in LafayetteonTuesday.

Kallen LeBlanc pursuing acareer in nursing

BY ASHLEY WHITE |Staff writer

Kallen LeBlanc was on her wayto geta sno-ball in Meaux,a town betweenMaurice and Abbeville, just minutesfrom her house on July 8, 2023, when she was T-boned and severely injured in acrash

She was airlifted to OchsnerLafayette General Medical Center with fractured ribs, abruised lung, dangerously low oxygen levels and multiple broken bones, includinga broken hip. The meticulous care shereceived from the health care professionals —particularlyher nurses —inthe

BY ASHLEY WHITE |Staff writer

An interim director has been appointed to lead the publicdefender’soffice that oversees Lafayette,Acadia and Vermilion parishes Maggie Simon LeBlanc will temporarily lead the 15th Judicial District Office of the Public Defender,according toa

Registered nurses Morgan Aucoin, left, and Megan Wilkes speakto journalistsinthe Ochsner Lafayette General TraumaCenter in Lafayette on Tuesday.

center’s trauma intensive care unit, or TICU, inspired LeBlanc to enroll in nursing school. “I didn’tknowhow nursesand doctors and therapists all work together.Their focusispatientcentered,” shesaid.“(Thenurses) listen to what you have to say.Theycom-

municatetotheir patients and build rapport.”

LeBlanc, now 19, and the trauma team at Lafayette General celebrated her recovery last week in conjunctionwithNational Trauma Survivors Day,which is dedicated to those who have survivedlifethreatening injuries

LafayetteGeneral is the only Level II Trauma Center in southwest Louisiana, serving patients from BatonRouge to Beaumont, Texas.

Trauma centersreceive level designations and verifications from the American College of Surgeonsdepending on the resources available. At Lafayette General,someone is available or on-call for whatever specialtyatrauma patient needs, whether that’sneurosurgery,orthopedic surgery or anything else, saidTrauma Medical Director and

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR, SOPHIEKASAKOVE and JOSIE ABUGOV |Staff writers

letter sentWednesday and shared with TheAcadianaAdvocate.

The public defender’soffice provides legal services and representation for peoplewho cannot afford an attorney

The office was led by Amanda Martin, who was the first woman and Black attorney to be the15thJudicialDistrict defender.Itisunclear why Martin left

theposition.A call was notreturned in time for publication.

LeBlanc has served as thedistrict defender for theneighboring 16th Judicial District for seven yearsand worked as apublicdefenderfor 15 years.The 16th JDC covers Iberia, St.Martinand

See INTERIM, page 5A

Trump

Local officials and emergency management experts sayLouisiana could face adisasterontop of adisaster in theevent of amajor storm this summer as theTrump administration moves to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency On the campaign trail and since his election, President Donald Trump has called for major changes to the agency,and even floated eliminating it entirely.Specific planshavenot been announced, but leadership changes and denials of disaster assistance in recent months suggest that state and local officials could face an uphill battle forfederal aid this hurricane season. The proposals pose aunique risk to Louisiana, which has relied moreheavily on FEMA in recent years than any other state in the country.The state has received nearly $47 billion for28disasters since2003, assisting 3.5 millionhouseholds and 43,000 grants to state and local governments. Nearly half amillionLouisiana households have applied forFEMA funds since 2021 alone. In the past, FEMA has shared the cost of disaster assistance, taking on about 75% of the cost

See FEMA, page 4A

Legislationwould setstricter deadlines forcourts

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN |Staff writer

The state House passed abill that would shorten how much time prisoners have to try to get their sentences changedina process known as postconviction relief, but changed some of the new rules to assuage some concerns frompublic defense advocates.

House Bill 675 by state Rep. BrianGlorioso, R-Slidell, also sets stricterdeadlinesfor courts handling those prisoners’ applications. Though the new deadlines would applytoall prisoners, thebill marks an attemptbyAttorney General Liz Murrill to speed up executions.

That attempt comes after the state resumed executions forthe first time in 15 years: Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman Jr.inMarch by nitrogen gas.

STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIEWESTBROOK

Militaryspent $6B to recruit, retain troops

WASHINGTON The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retainservice members, in what has been agrowingcampaign to counterenlistment shortfalls.

The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army,Navy,Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year,with the Navy vastly outspendingthe others, according to funding totalsprovided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonusesalsorose steadily,fueledbysignificant jumps in spendingbythe Army and Marine Corps.

Themilitaryserviceshaveroutinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over theyears. But thetotals spiked as Pentagonleaders triedtoreversefallingenlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictionslockeddown public events, fairs and school visits thatrecruiters reliedontomeet with youngpeople.

Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but theNavy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump’selection as areason for the recruitingrebound. Butthe enlistment increases began long before last November,and officials have tiedthem more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives.

Class graduates from school at ex-Iraq palace

BAGHDAD The American UniversityofBaghdad celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of studentsSaturday at acampus that was once apalace built by Saddam Hussein.

Officials said they hope the graduation will mark thebeginning of anew era in higher education in Iraq rooted in modernity,openness and international academic standards.

The university was inauguratedin2021 on the site of the alFawPalace, built on an islandin themiddle of an artificial lake by Saddam in the 1990s to mark the retaking of the peninsula of the same name during the war

After the U.S.-led invasion that unseated Saddam in 2003,itwas used as aU.S. coalition military headquarters called Camp Victory.Itwas later developed intoan American-styleuniversity with a core liberal arts program through funding by influential Iraqi business owner Saadi Saihood. Atotal of 38 students —20 male and 18 female —graduated Saturday with degrees in business administration,sciences and humanities.

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ to be sent into space

CAPECANAVERAL, Fla. Johann Strauss’ “Blue Danube” is heading into space this month to mark the 200th anniversary of the waltz king’sbirth. The classical piece will be beamed into the cosmosas it’sperformedbythe Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The celestialsend-off on Saturday— livestreamed with free public screenings in Vienna, Madrid and New York —also will celebrate the European SpaceAgency’sfounding 50 years ago. Although themusic couldbe converted into radiosignalsin real time,accordingtoofficials ESA will relay aprerecorded version from the orchestra’srehearsal the day before to avoid any technical issues. The live performance will provide the accompaniment. The radio signals willhurtle away at thespeed of light,ora mind-blowing 670 million mph. That will put the musicpastthe moon in 1½ seconds, past Mars in 4½ minutes, past Jupiter in 37 minutes and past Neptune in four hours.Within 23 hours, the signals will be as far from Earth as NASA’s Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft at more than 15 billion miles in interstellar space.

ThousandsrememberGeorgeFloyd

People mark 5thyear sincehis killing

BY MARK VANCLEAVE and KENDRIA LAFLEUR Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Police reform and civil-rightsactivistsjoined thousands of ordinary people Sunday to markthe fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder anddecry the Trump administration for setting their effortsback decades.

The Rev.AlSharpton saidata graveside service with thedead man’sfamilyinHouston that Floyd, 46, represented all of those “who are defenseless against peoplewho thoughttheycould put their kneeonour neck.”

He comparedFloyd’skilling to thatof EmmettTill, a14-year-old Black child who was abducted, mutilated and slain in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offendingaWhite woman

“What Emmett Till was in his time, GeorgeFloydhas been for this time in history,”Sharpton said.

Site of hisdeath

Events in Minneapolis centered around George Floyd Square, the intersection wherepolice Officer Derek Chauvin used his kneeto pin Floyd’sneck to the pavement for 91/2 minutes, even as Floyd cried “I can’tbreathe.”

By midday Sunday,asteady stream of people were paying their respects at amemorial in front of Cup Foods, where he was killed. Across the street, activists had set up afeedingarea at an old gas

station that hasoften servedasa staging area sinceFloyd’s death In the middle of the street,a fake pig’shead was mounted on astick The head wore apolice cap.

Events started Friday with concerts, astreet festival anda “selfcarefair,” and wereculminating with aworship service, gospel concert anda candlelit vigil on Sunday

Evenwith Minneapolis officials’ promises to remakethe policedepartment,someactivists contend theprogress has come at aglacial pace.

“Weunderstand that change takestime,”MichelleGross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality,said in a statementlast week. “However, theprogress being claimed by the

cityisnot being felt in the streets.”

Slow pace of change

Activists had hoped that the worldwide protests thatfollowed Floyd’smurder on May 25, 2020, would leadtonational police reform and focus on racial justice.

UnderPresident Joe Biden, the U.S. JusticeDepartment hadaggressively pushed for oversight of local police it had accused of widespread abuses. But the Trump administration moved Wednesday to cancel settlements with Minneapolis andLouisville thatcalledfor an overhaul of their police departments following Floyd’smurder and the killing of Breonna Taylor Trump alsohas declared an end to diversity,equityand inclusion initiativeswithin thefederal gov-

ernment, and his administration is using federal funds as leverage to force local governments, universities and public school districts to do the same. And Republican-led stateshaveaccelerated their efforts to stampout DEIinitiatives.

In Houston, Sharpton castigated the administration’ssettlement cancellations, saying they were “tantamount to the Department of Justice and the president spitting on the grave of George Floyd.”

“Towait to the anniversary and announce this, knowing this family wasgoing to be brought back to the brokenheartedness of what happened shows the disregard andinsensitivityofthis administration,” he said.“Butthe reason that we will notbedeterredis that Trumpwas president when GeorgeFloyd happened andhe didn’tdoanything then. We made things happen. And we’re going to makethem happen again.”

Thefuture?

Detrius Smith, of Dallas, who was visiting the Floydmemorial sitewith her three daughters and five grandchildren,toldone granddaughter about how people globally united to decry racial injustice after Floyd’smurder

“Itjust really feels good, just really to see everybody out here celebrating the life, and the memories of George Floyd and just really remembering what happened,” Smithsaid. “Wewant to do everything we can to worktogether so everybody can have the same equalrightsand everybodycan moveforward and not have something like that to continue to happen in this nation.”

Russia andUkraine complete prisoner swap

BY SAMYAKULLAB and OLEKSII YEROSHENKO Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners on Sunday,the thirdand last part of amajor exchange that reflected arare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reachaceasefire in the more than three years of war.

Hoursearlier,the Ukrainiancapital, Kyiv,and other regionscame under amassive Russian droneand-missile attack that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens. Ukrainian officials describeditasthe largestaerialassault since Russia’sfull-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022

Russia’sDefense Ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers, following the release of 307 combatantsand civilians each on Saturday,and 390 on Friday —the biggest total swap of the war.

Ukraine’sPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Sunday’sexchange, sayingonX that “303 Ukrainian defenders are home.”Henoted that the troopsreturning to

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREMLUKATSKy

Ukrainian soldier Vitaly kisses his wife, Olena, on Sunday after returning from captivity during aprisoner of war exchangebetween Russia and Ukraineinthe Chernyhiv region of Ukraine.

Ukraine weremembers of the “ArmedForces, the National Guard,the State Border Guard Service, and theState Special Transport Service.”

Nataliya Borovyk, the sisterofreleasedUkrainian soldierIhor Ulesov,was overwhelmed when she learned of her brother’s return.

“My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so Icould gethere,” shetold The Associated Press. “A moment like that stays withyou forever.”

Borovyk said the family had been waiting anxiously for news, and that shehad

Suspectedarson

hoped her brother might be released in thefirst part of the exchange on Friday “Wewere worried about all the guys.Hewasn’t there on Friday,but Iwas here —Iatleast greeted them, Istood there until the very endand waited, (hoping) maybe he would appear after all.”

In talks held in Istanbul earlierthis month —the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks—Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisonersofwar andcivilian detainees each. The exchange hasbeen theonly tangible outcome fromthe

causes 2nd majorpower outage in France

By The Associated Press

NICE, France Asecond majorpoweroutagehit southeastern France early Sunday,thistime in the cityofNice, after an electrical facility was damaged by suspected arson.

Policecurrently have not established alinkbetween the blackoutthataffected parts of Niceaswell as nearby cities of Cagnessur-Merand Saint-Laurentdu-Var,and apower outage on Saturdaythat disrupted thecityofCannes during the closing day of its renownedfilm festival.

TheNiceblackout started about 2a.m. and left some 45,000 households without electricity.The city’strams stopped and

power was briefly cut to theNiceCôted’Azurairport during itsovernight closurehours.

Power was fully restored by 5:30 a.m.,according to the energyprovider company Enedis.

The Nice public prosecutor saidacriminal investigation has been opened for “organizedarson.

On Saturday,two other installationsinthe Alpes Maritime department were damaged in what officials also suspected tobe arson, temporarily cutting power to 160,000 homes, including events at the Cannes Film Festival.

An unknown anarchist group claimed responsibility for the Cannes outage in alengthy posting on the

websiteindymedia.org.

“Weare two bands of anarchists,” said thestatement published Sunday by an unknownuser. “We claim responsibility for the attack on electrical installations on the Côte d’Azur.”

Authoritieshave not verifiedthe statement, and police have notcommented on theclaim.

Nice MayorChristian Estrosicondemned Sunday’sattack andsaid the city had filed acomplaint.

“I stronglydenounce thesemaliciousactstargeting our country,” he said on X. He ordered all sensitive electrical infrastructure in the city to be placed under police protection

talks. The scale of the onslaught wasstunning— Russiahit Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles, thelargest single aerial attack of the war,accordingtoYuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson forUkraine’s Air Force.

In all, Russia used 69 missiles of various types and 298 drones, including IraniandesignedShaheddrones, he told The Associated Press.

There was no immediate commentfrom Moscow on the strikes.

For Kyiv,the day was particularly somber as the city observed Kyiv Day, anational holiday thatfalls on the last Sunday in May,com-

memorating itsfounding in the 5th century Zelenskyy said Russian missiles and drones hit more than 30 cities and villages, and urged Western partners to ramp up sanctions on Russia —a long-standing demand of the Ukrainian leader but one that despite warnings to Moscow by theUnited States and Europe has not materialized in ways to deter Russia.

“Theseweredeliberate strikes on ordinary cities,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that Sunday’stargets included Kyiv,Zhytomyr,Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernihiv Sumy,Odesa, Poltava, Dnipro,Mykolaiv,Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByABBIE PARR

Aperson visits the spot of GeorgeFloyd’smurder at GeorgeFloyd Square in Minneapolis on Sunday,the fifth anniversaryofFloyd’sdeath.

Pope completes formalities to become bishop of Rome

New pontiff declares ‘I

am Roman!’

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV declared himself a Roman on Sunday as he completed the final ceremonial steps cementing his role as the bishop of Rome.

The first American pope formally took possession of the St. John Lateran Basilica, which is Rome’s cathedral and seat of the diocese, with an evening Mass attended by Roman priests and faithful. He then took the popemobile for a visit to St. Mary Major, where he prayed before Pope Francis’ tomb and an icon of the Virgin Mary beloved to many Roman faithful.

In his homily, Leo said he

wanted to listen to them “in order to learn, understand and decide things together.”

One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome Given his responsibilities running the 1.4-billion strong universal Catholic Church, popes delegate the day-to-day governance of running of the diocese of Roman to a vicar Sunday’s ceremonies at the St. John Lateran and a stop at St Mary Major basilicas follow Leo’s visit last week to the St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica Together with St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the four papal basilicas are the most important basilicas in the West.

Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed Leo first at the steps to City Hall, noting that his May 8 election fell during a Holy Year, an event occurring every 25 years to invite pilgrims to Rome. The city underwent

Many frustrated, disillusioned voters skip Venezuelan vote

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela

Ven-

ezuelans still reeling from the outcome of last year’s presidential election were not responding Sunday to government calls to get out and vote for lawmakers, governors and other officials. That left voting centers practically empty at times and put officials on the defensive.

The election, which the political opposition urged people to boycott, is the first to allow broad voter participation since last year’s presidential contest, which President Nicolás Maduro claimed to have won despite credible evidence to the contrary It’s taking place two days after the government detained dozens of people, including a prominent opposition leader, and linked them to an alleged plot to hinder the vote.

Members of the military throughout the day outnumbered voters at many polling centers in the capital, Caracas, where no lines formed outside in stark contrast with the enthusiasm of the July 28 presidential election, when some people waited in line overnight and the lines stretched for blocks.

“I’m not going to vote,” said truck driver Carlos León, 41, standing near a desolate polling station in downtown Caracas. “I don’t believe in the (electoral authority). I don’t think they’ll respect the vote. Nobody forgets what happened in the presidential elections. It’s sad, but it’s true.” Voter participation, in the eyes of the opposition, legitimizes Maduro’s claim to power and his government’s repressive apparatus, which after the July presidential election detained more than 2,000 people including protesters, poll workers, political activists and minors, to quash dissent Meanwhile, the ruling party was already touting overwhelming victory across the country, just as it has done in previous regional elections regardless of opposition participation.

A nationwide poll conducted between April 29 and May 4 by the Venezuela-based research firm Delphos showed that only

two years of traffic-clogging public works projects to prepare and expects to welcome upward of 30 million people in 2025.

Leo said he felt the “serious but passionate responsibility” to serve all Romans during the Holy Year and beyond.

Wearing his formal red papal cape and brocaded stole, Leo recalled the words he had uttered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of his election. The Augustinian pope quoted St. Augustine in saying: “With you I am Christian and for you, bishop.”

“By special title, today I can say that for you and with you I am Roman!” Leo said.

The former Robert Prevost succeeded Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope. Francis died April 21 and is buried at St. Mary Major, near the icon of the Madonna known as the Salus Populi Romani.

Israel’s latest strikes in Gaza kill 38

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed at least 38 people in Gaza, including children, local health officials said Sunday, with no data available for a second straight day from now-inaccessible hospitals in the north.

15.9% of voters expressed a high probability of voting Sunday Of those, 74.2% said they would vote for the candidates of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its allies, while 13.8% said they would vote for contenders associated with two opposition leaders who are not boycotting the elections “I think it’s absolutely despicable,” opposition operative Humberto Villalobos said Saturday, referring to the election participation of some opposition members.

“We’re facing the most brutal repression in recent years in the country (The vote) is a comedy, a parody.” Villalobos was elections division chief for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado when he and five other government opponents sought refuge in March 2024 at a diplomatic compound in Caracas to avoid arrest. He spent more than a year there and on Saturday, along with four of the others, spoke publicly for the first time since they left the compound surreptitiously and arrived in the United States earlier this month.

Machado’s close ally Juan Pablo Guanipa, was among 70 people detained Friday for alleged anti-government activities. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked Guanipa to an alleged “terrorist group” plotting to disturb Sunday’s vote. Guanipa’s brother, Tomás, rejected the accusation and said the arrest was punishment for “thinking differently” from the government.

The ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council oversaw Sunday’s election for state legislators, 285 members of the unicameral National Assembly and all 24 governors, including the newly created governorship purportedly established to administer Essequibo, a region long under dispute between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana After voting Sunday, Maduro said the electronic polling process is “very fast and very easy,” seemingly justifying the lack of lines at polling centers Earlier, his ruling-party ally, Gov Freddy Bernal, explained the apparent low turnout similarly

Further details emerged of the Palestinian doctor who lost nine of her 10 children in an Israeli strike on Friday Gaza’s Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed since Israel ended a ceasefire in March, vowing to destroy Hamas and return the 58 hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war Hamas has said it will only release the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel also blocked all food, medicine and fuel from entering Gaza for 2½ months before letting a trickle of aid enter last week, after experts’ warnings of famine and pressure from some of Israel’s top allies.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel is pursuing a new U.S.-backed plan to control all aid to Gaza, which the United Nations has rejected.

U.N. World Food Program executive director Cindy McCain told CBS she has not

seen evidence to support Israel’s claims that Hamas is responsible for the looting of aid trucks. “These people are desperate, and they see a World Food Program truck coming in and they run for it,” she said.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, said 107 trucks of aid entered Sunday The U.N. has called the rate far from enough. About 600 trucks a day entered during the ceasefire.

Israel also says it plans to seize full control of Gaza and facilitate what it describes as the voluntary migration of its over 2 million population, a plan rejected by Palestinians and much of the international community. In Friday’s strike, only one of pediatrician Alaa al-Najjar’s 10 children survived at their home near the southern city of Khan Younis. The

11-year-old and al-Najjar’s husband, also a doctor, were badly hurt.

The children’s charred remains were put in a single body bag, said a fellow pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, Alaa al-Zayan. The home was struck minutes after Hamdi al-Najjar had driven his wife to the hospital. His brother, Ismail al-Najjar was first to arrive at the scene.

“They were innocent children,” the brother said, the youngest 7 months old. “And my brother has no business with (Palestinian) factions.”

Israel has said “the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review.” It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated areas.

There was no immediate comment from the military on the latest strikes. One

killed a mother and two children in the central city of Deir al-Balah, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Another in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya area killed at least five, including two women and a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry Also on Friday in Khan Younis, two International Committee of the Red Cross staffers were killed when shelling struck their home, the ICRC said.

“This is not an endless war,” Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said during a visit to Khan Younis. Recent ceasefire talks in Qatar gained no ground.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251. Around a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be alive. Israel’s 19-month offensive has killed over 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead. It does not provide figures for the number of civilians or combatants killed.

Speaking on the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated the Lebanese militant group’s stance that it will not discuss giving up its remaining weapons until Israel withdraws from the five border points it occupies in southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes.

BY VANESSA GERA Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland Tens of thousands of Poles took part in dueling patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday, led by the two men vying for the presidency in a June 1 runoff election which is expected to be both close and consequential for the nation’s future.

Many of those who joined Sunday’s marches had traveled from across Poland, a country of nearly 38 million people, not just to support a candidate but to rally behind sharply divergent visions for the nation’s future.

At the head of one march was Rafał Trzaskowski, 53, the pro-European Union mayor of Warsaw who supports abortion rights and LGBTQ+ inclusion. He is a close political ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has led a centrist coalition government since late 2023.

During a speech to a huge crowd Trzaskowski laid out his vision for a Poland that is inclusive and vowed to work to help develop Polish industry as the nation continues an economic transformation into a regional economic and military power In another part of Warsaw, Karol Nawrocki, 42, addressed his supporters. A conservative historian and former boxer, Nawrocki is backed by the national con-

servative Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. He heads the state-run Institute of National Remembrance, which under Law and Justice became known for promoting nationalist versions of Polish history

His supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values — a man who, like U.S President Donald Trump, promises to restore what they call “normality.” Many voiced opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights,

saying Nawrocki reflects the values they grew up with.

“I am a Pole who understands the hardships of everyday life,” Nawrocki told the crowd. “I stand before you and I am fully convinced that I am your voice.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICCARDO DE LUCA

Pope Leo XIV appears Sunday from the balcony at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome to take possession of the last of the four major papal basilicas that completes the symbolic and liturgical ‘taking possession’ of the four basilicas that signify full papal authority within the city

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG

Members of Jewish youth movements unfurl a giant Israeli flag on Sunday on the eve of Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City during the 1967 Mideast war next to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIANA CUBILLOS

Voters look at the rolls at a polling station on Sunday during legislative and local elections in Caracas, Venezuela.

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press

PORTLAND,Ore. One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after HurricaneHelene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach olderpeople, including some who have never touched acomputer,how to navigate in an increasingly digital world

It all came crashing down this month when President Donald Trump —onhis own digital platform, Truth Social —announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, afederal grant program meanttohelp bridge the digital divide. He branded it as “RACIST and ILLEGAL” and said it amounts to “woke handouts based on race.”

He said it was an “ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway,” thoughthe program wasactually funded with $2.75billion

The name seemed innocuous enough when the program was approved by Congress in 2021 as part of a$65 billion investment meant to bring internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband program itself was akey componentofthe $1 trillion infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Digital EquityAct was intended to fillgaps andcover unmet needs that surfaced during themassive broadband rollout. It gave states and tribesflexibility to deliver high-speed internet access to families that could not af-

FEMA

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with state and local governments paying 25%, Christina Dayries,Lafayette Consolidated Government chief of staff and former deputy director with the Governor’sOfficeofHomeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said at alocal hurricane tabletop exercise May 20.

The Trump administration, she said, is trying to change that to a50-50 split.

“Be ready to bearmost of the cost,” Dayries told government representatives gathered for the exercise.

ford it, computers to kids who did nothave them, telehealthaccess to older adults in rural areas, and training and job skills to veterans. Whether Trump has the legal authority to end the programremains unknown. But for now the Republican administration can simply stop spending the money “I justfeltmyheartbreak for whatwe were finally,finally in this country,going to address, the digital divide,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, anonprofit that was awarded —but hasnot received —a$25.7 million grant to work with groups across thecountry to help provide access to technology.“Thedigital divide is notjust physical accesstothe internet, it is beingable to use that to do what you need to do.”

Theword‘equity’

Whilethe name of theprogram likely got it targeted —the Trump administration has been aggressively scrubbing the government of programs that promote diversity,equityorinclusion —the Digi-

weeksago said things started shifting earlier this year to alocal responsibility.More money,she said, will be in the budget for local emergencies.

Parish governments have long depended on FEMAfor reimbursement for costs rangingfrom debris removal to sewer line repairs. Residents rely on FEMA assistance for temporary housing, emergency financial assistance, blue tarps for damaged roofs following storms and more Even with broader changes to theagency still to be determined, potential obstacles for state and local officials in wranglingfederal assistance during this year’shurricaneseason are already mounting. LCG’sfinancial director,during current budget preparations, is trying to maintain alargerreserve as things change over the next 31/2 years, Dayries said. Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet several

The Januarysnowfall, Dayries said,cost LCG $1.8 million. FEMA paid nothing toward that cost, she said, because even though Lafayette reached its required threshold,the state did not. Going into hurricane season, LCG officials are most worried about smaller emergencies “If we get acatastrophic hurricane, we’re going to reach the federal threshold” and receive 50%to 75% reimbursement, Dayries said. “I’m concerned aboutthe smaller things.”

In recent months, Trumphas denied requests from Republican and Democratic state governors for “majordisasterdeclarations,” which allow for additional federal relief dollars. Arequest from Trump’sown former press secretary, Gov.Sarah Huckabee Sanders, of Arkansas, for assistance forvictims of major storms and tornadoes there was rejected before Trump finally approved it on Tuesday after Sanders appealed thedecision.

In response to aquestion about how FEMAplanned to support Louisiana state and local officials in theevent of ahurricane, a spokesperson said,“Disastersare best managed when they’re managed at thestate and local level. We’reensuringour role supports

tal Equity Actwas supposed to be broader in scope.

Though Trumpcalled it racist, the words“race” or “racial” appear just twice in thelaw’s text: once, alongside “color,religion, nationalorigin, sex, genderidentity,sexual orientation, age, or disability,”inapassage stating that no groups should be excluded from funding,and later, in alistofcovered populations, along with older adults, veterans, people with disabilities, English learners, people with lowliteracylevels and rural Americans.

“Digital Equity passedwith overwhelming bipartisan support,” said Democratic Sen. Patty MurrayofWashington,the act’schief proponent, in astatement. “And that’sbecause my Republican colleagues have heardthe same stories as Ihave— like kids in rural communities forced to drive to McDonald’sparking lots for Wi-Fi to do their homework.

“It is insane —absolutely nuts— that Trump is blocking resources to help makesure kids in rural school districts can gethot spots

decisionsthatneed to happen at thestate and local levels.”

The statementcontinued:“All operational and readinessrequirements will continue to be managed without interruption in close coordination with localand state officials aheadofthe 2025 Hurricane Season.”

The proposedchangestothe agency have drawn outrage from someLouisianaofficials.

In aletter to Trump in March, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter,DNew Orleans, and U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields,D-Baton Rouge, expressed their “profound concerns” about Trump’sproposed plans for theagency “FEMA hasbeen alifeline for our communities, providing notjust immediate relief, but the critical support needed to rebuild and become more resilient,” wrote therepresentatives. “The proposed changeswould strip away this essential safety net.”

or laptops, all because he doesn’t like the wordequity!”

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration,which administers the program, declinedtocomment. It’snot entirely clear how much of the $2.75 billionhas been awarded,though last Marchthe NTIA announced the allocation of $811 million to states, territories and tribes.

‘Moreconfident’

On arecent morning in Portland, Oregon, Brandon Dorn was among those taking akeyboard basics classoffered by Free Geek, anonprofit that provides free courses to helppeoplelearn to usecomputers. The class was offered at alowincome housing building to make it accessible for residents.

Dorn and the others were given laptopsand shown the different functions of keys: control, shift and capslock, howtocopyand paste. They played atyping game that taught fingerand keyplacement on acolor-codedkeyboard.

Dorn,63, said theclasses helped because “in this day and age, everything has to go through thecomputer.”Hesaid it helped him feel moreconfident and less dependent on his childrenorgrandchildren to do things such as making appointmentsonline.

“Folks my age, we didn’tget this luxury becauseweweretoo busy working, raising thefamily,”he said. “So this is agreat way to help us help ourselves.”

Juan Muro, Free Geek’sexecutive director,saidparticipantsget thetools and skills theyneedto access things like online banking, job applications, online education programs andtelehealth.Hesaid Trump’smovetoend funding has put nonprofits such as Free Geekin aprecarious position, forcing them to makeupthe difference through

“Eveninabest-case scenario, they do not have time to complete the necessary approval and budgeting process,” Ellard said.

Still, she encouraged hundreds of emergencymanagers attending the National Hurricane Conference last month “to work on your own independent ability to handle moredisasters.”

Uncertaintyabout future

Some changesatFEMAhave already beenrolledout. FEMA has sharply reduced training forstate and local emergency managers and laid off roughly 2,000 staff, according to the Reuters wireservice.

In light of theuncertainty at the agency,Wendy Huff Ellard,who leads the disaster recovery and government services team at the firm Baker Donelson, has been speakingtolocal andstate emergency managersinthe lead-up to this year’shurricane season.She said that many local governments are notprepared for the shift away from FEMA support,given the speed thatthe federal government is making changes

Cameron Hamilton, the acting head of FEMA appointed by Trump, was abruptly ousted from the agency earlier this month, the day after he told members of Congress that FEMA should not be eliminated. An internal FEMA report obtained by CNN this month said the agency “is not ready” forthe start of hurricane season in June.

Trump’sFEMAalsoended amultibillion-dollar program last month that Louisiana had heavily relied on to elevate homes andbuild levees, among other projects, calling the grant “wastefuland ineffective.”

Butbroader plans for the agency’soverhaul are still in the works. Apanel convenedbyTrump,

their own fundraising and “beg for money to just provide individuals with essential stuff.”

Sara Nichols works forthe Land of Sky Regional Council, amulticounty planning and development organization in western North Carolina.Onthe FridaybeforeTrump’s inauguration in January,the organization received notice that it was approved for agrant. But like other groups The Associated Press contacted, it has not seen any money Land of Sky had spent alot of resources helping peoplerecover from last year’sstorms. The award notice, Nichols said, came as “incredible news.”

“Butbetween this andthe state losing, getting their letters terminated, we feel just like stuck. What are we going to do? How are we going to move forward? How are we going to let our communities continue to fall behind?”

Fillingunmet needs

More than one-fifth of Americans do not have broadband internet accessathome, according to the Pew Research Center.Inrural communities, thenumber jumps to 27%

Beyond giving people access to technology and fast internet, many programsfunded by the Digital Equity Act sought to provide “digital navigators” —human helpers to guide people new to the online world.

“In the United States we do not have aconsistent source of funding to help individuals getonline,understandhow to be safeonlineand how to use that technology to accomplish all the things that are required now as part of life that are online,” said Siefer of the National DigitalInclusion Alliance. This includes everything from providing families with internet hotspots so theycan getonline at home to helpingseniorsavoid online scams.

whichincludes Mark Cooper,who workedonLouisiana disasters under Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican Gov Bobby Jindal, is set to recommend significant policy and operational changes to FEMA in the coming months. The task force was told by Homeland SecuritySecretary Kristi Noem last weekthat FEMA needs to be eliminated and reopened under anew name. Cooper said he plans to advocate forLouisiana residentsinthe upcoming meetings.

“I’m making sure Louisiana is top of the list,” Cooper said. He said he believes the proposal to eliminate FEMA is “semantic” and that there needs to be anational organization to handle catastrophic disaster and recovery,even as the agency is reimagined.

“States have to take care of themselves to acertain extent,” he said. Craig Fugate,who servedas FEMA administrator under formerPresident Barack Obama, said rural areas along Louisiana’scoast couldbeparticularlyimpactedby aproposal to significantly increase the threshold for states to qualify for public assistance.

“If that happened, Ithink that a lotofthe smallerparishesshould expect that they’re not going to see as muchfederal assistance, especially in these smaller,morefrequent disasters,” Fugate said. Staff writer LaraNicholson contributed to this report. Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

Dayries

Carter Fields

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JENNy KANE Rugaya

INSPIRED

Continued from page 1A

trauma surgeon Dr Willard Mosier And each person who works with trauma patients — from the custodians to the executive suite — at the hospital understands the specific care those patients need, he said.

The center cared for 3,384 trauma patients in 2024 and has treated more than 1,300 patients in 2025. Injuries can range from car accidents, gunshot wounds, farming accidents, oil rig accidents or general trips and falls

“From kids all the way up to geriatric patients,” Mosier said, “we take care of a big population here.”

When patients like LeBlanc arrive at Ochsner Lafayette General as a trauma patient, they’re taken into one of the two trauma bays in the emergency department where a team of medical staff rapidly assess a patient’s needs.

In extreme cases, patients are sent to the trauma intensive care unit, which has different accreditation metrics than a medical ICU. The staff is specifically educated on trauma critical care and patient to nurse ratios are generally smaller Patients are typically younger and have multiple traumatic injuries, like LeBlanc. The care team has to treat those issues and any existing medical conditions a patient has.

The ultimate goal of the trauma center is provide holistic and integrated care for patients until they can return home, Mosier said

INTERIM

Continued from page 1A

St. Mary parishes.

“I am passionate about public defense work, and as a leader I pride myself on supporting those who do that work,” LeBlanc said in an email to 15th Judicial District pub-

“We will take care of you,” he said. “We’re going to try to make sure you get back to your family, and hopefully back to the way you were functioning before the accident.”

Path-altering connections

When LeBlanc initially arrived at the TICU, she was able to communicate with medical staff. But the bruising and contusions on her lung worsened to acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, a life-threatening injury that causes fluid to get into the lungs and prevents oxygen from getting into the body

Mosier and his team tried several therapies to correct the issue and Mosier said he spent “countless nights by her bedside making sure she stayed alive.”

They ultimately found lying her on her stomach helped but that

lic defender’s office staff.

“I am grateful to each and every one of you for your service to this profession and I am familiar with the challenges you face every single day.”

An email to State Public Defender Rémy Starns seeking comment was not returned.

Martin was one of 12 applicants who sought the 15th JDC district

wasn’t a viable long-term solution. Mosier reached out to friends at Baylor Scott and White Health in Dallas who determined LeBlanc was a candidate for an ECMO, a machine that helps oxygenate a patient’s blood before returning it to their body, allowing the lungs to rest. That team came from Dallas, placed LeBlanc on the ECMO and flew her to Dallas. About a week later, she was able to return to Lafayette General to continue her care in the trauma ICU.

“If she wasn’t at a trauma center, they wouldn’t be so well-versed in ARDS in particular,” Mosier said.

“That benefited her Also, having the connections that a trauma center has, we can get her to the other facilities that can help her even further.”

What happened from the time of the crash to her returning to

defender position in 2022. She was selected by Starns and confirmed to that position on Oct. 10, 2022.

Martin took over the office from longtime defender G. Paul Marx, who served as the district defender for nearly 30 years across two stints from 1984 and 2022. Within the past year there have been significant changes to the state’s public defense system. One

Lafayette General after being on the ECMO is a blur for LeBlanc.

But when she woke up on July 24 back at the TICU, she said she was blown away by the nursing staff who took care of her

It was the small talk that mattered most to LeBlanc. Chatting about what type of car she wanted and “different girlie things.” The staff was professional but built a relationship that felt more like being taken care of by an older sibling, LeBlanc said.

Building those relationships is a key part of the care on the TICU, said nurse Megan Wilkes.

“It’s not all about the numbers and the machines,” she said. “You joke around with (patients) and just have a normal conversation because it’s a very abnormal situation.”

LeBlanc, who was 17 at the time of the crash and approaching her senior year of high school, knew she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and initially considered physician associate school.

But after being in the TICU, it felt like God’s path for her that she become a nurse, LeBlanc said. She just finished her first year of nursing school at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Morgan Aucoin, a nurse in the TICU who worked with LeBlanc, said it was rewarding to see LeBlanc pursue a nursing career

“We don’t always see the positive effects of our job,” she said. “But to see that you can have personal connections and really make a difference in people’s lives is rewarding.”

Email Ashley White at ashley white@theadvocate.com.

of the biggest changes is that the governor now appoints the state public defender, who has the power to hire and fire public defenders in various parishes and decide how to administer much of the office’s approximately $50 million budget.

Email Ashley White at ashley white@theadvocate.com.

For death row inmates, the time between conviction and execution can take decades. Murrill, who in a recent news conference described that delay as “torturous” for victims, has blamed Louisiana’s post-conviction relief system for holding up executions.

“The capital system is built to delay Our system has to be built to move,” she said. “We need to have deadlines. We need to have discipline in the system, and we need to get (cases) adjudicated.”

Critics of HB675, formerly HB572, have previously said it sets overly harsh deadlines for prisoners who may struggle for years simply to get the records they need to file a post-conviction relief application. They’ve also said it could make the process so cumbersome that it could keep innocent people behind bars.

But Jee Park, director of the Innocence Project New Orleans — one of the primary voices raising concerns about the bill said Glorioso’s amendments to the proposal have begun to address those concerns. She expects to continue working with him moving forward, she said

“It has been really refreshing to us that Rep. Glorioso has been so open and willing to work with us and hear our concerns,” said Park. She emphasized that the vast majority of people the bill will affect will be non-death row inmates.

HB675 now heads to the Senate. It passed the House in a 71-26 vote with mostly Democrats opposed.

The bill also aims to restrict “shell petitions,” applications for post-conviction relief that act as placeholders but don’t contain fully fleshed out legal arguments. All existing shell petitions would need to be fully “briefed” by the end of the year

Bill comes with a price tag

Since HB675 would expedite death penalty cases, it would cost the state money, according to an analysis by the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal staff. That’s because the state funds appeals representation for death row inmates; it does so by contracting with outside firms.

The fiscal note states it would likely cost the Office of the State Public Defender about $4.2 million to fund a contract that would encompass the increased workload during the coming fiscal year In addition, state statute requires 75% of the office’s budget be distributed to local public defense districts. Since paying capital defense firms more money may upset that ratio, the public defender’s office may need to request another $12.5 million to remain compliant with that rule, according to the fiscal note.

An earlier version of HB675 gave the attorney general the power to take over post-conviction relief cases from local district attorneys. It also limited how much time prisoners had to get illegal sentences corrected to one year Both those provisions were removed through amendments.

Another amendment prevents death row inmates from filing post-conviction relief applications within 45 days of a scheduled execution.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

Kallen LeBlanc, a car crash survivor who was treated in the Ochsner

left, and Megan Wilkes with hugs Tuesday at the hospital in Lafayette. Aucoin was one of the nurses who treated LeBlanc following her accident. LeBlanc job-shadowed

Over 1,500La. bridgesrated ‘poor’

RedRiver Parish holdsbiggest percentage

BY MARGARET DeLANEY

Staff writer

Out of 12,468 bridges in the state, 1,522 were classified as in “poor condition,” according to 2022 data from theU.S.Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. That is more than 12% of the state’s bridges.

U.S. Department of Transportationinspectors rate bridgesona scale of 0to9.Bridges that rank below a4receive a“poor” classification.The inspectors look at avariety of elements when rating bridges including age andwear, trafficload, climate influence, design and construction,maintenance and more.

Theparishes with thehighest rate of poor condition bridgesinclude:

n Red River Parish with 20 of 63 bridges —almost32% of bridges.

SoLAcc partners with Honda

Twotoprovide aspecialized training program

Staff report

South Louisiana Community College announced Thursday apartnership with theHonda Professional Automotive Career Training program. Beginning in the fall, the school will offer atwo-year,five-semester automotive trainingprogram to students. It willprovide specialized training on Honda and Acura vehicles and preparestudents for high-demand careers in the automotive industry,according to anewsrelease from SoLAcc.

This marks asignificant milestone for both the schooland the state’sautomotive education landscape, SoLAcc officials said. As aHonda PACT College, SoLAcc will equip students withadvanced skills that will make them workforceready and sought after by Honda and Acura dealerships nationwide.

Students will receive instruction and hands-on trainingusing manufacturer-specific vehicles, tools and equipment, along with on-the-job experience through internships at local dealerships, according to the release. Graduates willearn Honda and Acura certifications that should position them for wellpaying, long-term careers in the industry

“SoLAcc is committedtoproviding cutting-edge opportunities for our students, andbecomingaHonda PACT College is a testament to that commitment,” said Sam Harb, dean of business and technical studies. “This program will notonly strengthen our automotive technology program butalsogiveour students asignificant advantage in thejob market by providing specialized training that directly aligns with industry needs.”

The program also includes financial assistance for consumables, regular curriculum updates, and ongoing training forinstructors at Honda’strainingcenters, according to the release. Enrollment is now open, and prospective studentsare encouraged to apply earlyasspaceis limited. For more information, contact automotive instructor Bryan Morris at (337) 521-6602 or bryan.morris@solacc.edu

n Pointe Coupee Parish with16 of 51 bridges—morethan31% of bridges.

n Claiborne Parish with 40 of 138 bridges —that’s29% of bridges.

n Bienville Parish with52of 188 bridges— more than27% of bridges.

n East Feliciana Parishwith 37 of 135 bridges— more than 27% of bridges.

n West Feliciana Parish with29 of 109 bridges— more than 26% of bridges.

n Avoyelles Parish with 39 of 151bridges —almost 26% of bridges.

n Webster Parish with 49 of 191 bridges— more than25% of bridges.

n East Carroll Parish with 13 of 56 bridges —morethan23% of bridges.

n Plaquemines Parish withseven of 31 bridges —more than 22%

of bridges.

EastBaton Rouge Parish had thehighesttotal number of bridges classifiedaspoor condition with 114 of 547 bridges, nearly 21% of bridges in theparish.

The parishes with the lowest rate of poor condition bridges include:

n St.John the Baptist with zero of 40 bridges

n St.Charles Parish with one of 82 bridges —morethan 1% of bridges.

n Franklin Parish withfour of 138 bridges —almost 3% of bridges.

n Tensas Parish with two of 50 bridges —that’s 4% of bridges.

n Catahoula Parish withfour of 71 bridges —morethan 5% of bridges.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

LEFT: A pretty scary Big Bad Wolf welcomes children into the Wildlife Adventure petting zoo.

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

Before it was avibrant bike and pedestriantrailaveraging more than halfa million visitors ayear, the Lafitte Greenway was adormant swathofflood-prone land with ashoddy brake tagstation, oldwarehouses andremnants of an abandoned rail line that carved its path. Now in its 10th year of operation, the $9.1million linearpark hastransformed intoaneconomicand cultural boon in the heart of Mid-City, serving as an anchor foraffordable housing, playgrounds,publiceventsand

LEFT: Wyatt Chappell, fromleft, and hisbrother, Maverick,‘ride’ motorcycles as their dad, Mitchell, watches Sundayat theCajun HeartlandState Fair at the Cajundome. BELOW: Acouple sits suspended on aswing ride

while biking the strip on arecent afternoon Each day,users can be seen jogging, biking or strolling with their children alongthe 2.6-mile trail that connects theoutskirts of the French Quarter to Carrollton Avenue and thequiet residential area behind Mid-City Market. The paved two-lane walkway is linedwith trees in some parts andfloweringmeadows. It winds past homes, cafes, breweries and other businesses. It crosses major avenues at Claiborne, Carrollton andBroad Street, wherethe city is installing anew flashing pedestrian crossing.

Whenitfirst opened to the public in November 2015 —largely funded through federal disaster grantsand private donations— the Greenway culminated apostHurricane Katrina vision of accessible recreation, stormwater management and neighborhood connection. Thecity broke ground on the Greenway in 2014 after adecade of advocacy by asmall group of residents and stakeholders who “hiked” the corridor frequently from Armstrong Park to

Vibranttrail has attracted$330M in development ä See GREENWAY, page 4B

PHOTOSByROBIN MAy

Scalise helped get winfor La. coastin budget bill

ThankstoU.S. Rep. SteveScalise, Louisiana may soon score a major win for coastal restoration and hurricane protection in abill being considered in Congress. While there has been much talk about the “reconciliation”bill in Congress with regardto extendingthe Trump tax cuts andtackling border security,this “one big, beautiful bill” drafted by multiple Congressional committees also hasaprovision that, if enacted would result in hundredsofmillions of dollars for Louisiana’s coastal restoration and hurricane protection efforts. This means better flood protection for families and businesses in South Louisiana,including St. Charles Parish, and the ability to lower flood insurance ratesbecause of new protection and mitigation efforts.

Since 2020, Louisiana hasreceived over $690 million from the federal revenue sharing program for energy-producing Gulf states, known as GOMESA, and these funds have been used in Louisiana’s efforts to restore our coast and protect our communities from future storms.St. Charles Parish has received $4.8 million in that time.

Now,Congress has achance to raise the amount of funds our state is eligible to receive through revenue sharing. Scalise secured language to raise the cap on what energy-producing Gulf states can collect through offshoreenergy exploration and production.It’s alsoworthmentioningthatCongressman Scalise was the House sponsor of legislation after the BP oil spill,the RESTORE Act, that brought billions of dollars to Louisiana for our hurricane protection and coastal restoration efforts. Hiscontinued dedication to flood mitigation and protection —something that helps to lower our insurance rates —istobeapplauded.

This is no small lift, and I’m grateful that Leader Scalise secured this language. Iurgeour entire congressional delegation to move this reconciliation package forward because our coast isat stake.

MATTHEW JEWELL St. Charles ParishPresident

YOUR VIEWS

ResidentsgatherApril 19 at the corner of Jefferson Street and Lee Avenue in Lafayette

Don’tlet fear of being labeledsilence your voice

If you’ve recently thought, “I just wanted cheaper groceries. Inever said anything about making Canada astate,” then according to PresidentDonaldTrump, youmust not care about ournationalsecurity.

If youthink children withdisabilities should receivethe services thatthey need at school, thenyou’rejust enabling parasites and pushing awokeDEI agenda.

If you wantfree and fair elections thatare not bought by corporations, well, that’sjust leftist lunacy

If you think it’sreasonable to askfor evidence that someone is, in fact, aviolent gang member beforekidnapping them andshipping them off to aforeignprison without their legalright to due process, then you’re just an open-bordersupporting gang sympathizer.Also, it’sJoe Biden’sfault.

Worst of all, if you’re areasonable human being andhavethe audacity to question thecurrent administration, then you are, without adoubt, a woke, radical, left-wing, liberal nut case.

Yousee, Trump’spolarizing rhetoric is purposeful; contrived toshut down any real or nuanced conversation amongfamily,friends and neighbors; to replace good faith and empathy withlonelinessand distrust

If we’re too busy hating and blaming each other,wewon’tnotice him and his billionaire cronies abusing their powers to rob us blind. It’s all partofhis concept of aplan.

Don’tlet Trump turn humanity into apartisan issue. We all want the same things: safe communities, agood economy, affordable,high-quality health care and reasonably priced eggs, to name afew.Ialso believe that,whether or not we admitit, we want our fellow human beings to have the same.

It’s time to speak out against the cruelty,and to demand accountabilityfromour government.Stay informed. Call your congressmen and women. Go to town hall meetings. Attend peaceful protests. Do something. KELLYDOMIANO Independence

Liberalrebuttals take up more space becausetheyuse

The writer of aletter published March 19 was concerned about conservative viewpoints notbeing adequately represented in the “Your Views” part of the newspaper.His metric, which Ifind specious, is square inches of space dedicatedtoaneither anti-conservative or proconservativeviewpoint. Ifind thenewspaper strives toward equanimity,and my approach is neither liberal-minded nor anti-conservative, but rather searches for facts and truth, which Imust uphold as apracticing physician.

factsand reason

Professors’ defense of tenure rang hollow

Occasionally,academics reveal themselves, and it isn’tpretty.In their defense of academic freedom and tenure, Boyd professors Suzanne Marchand and R. Eugene Turner state, “Wewrite this column as Boyd professors, the highest academic status conveyed upon scholars in the LSU System, with the support of twelve fellow Boyds from all across the system. We realize that we and our colleagues are imperfect, like all human beings.”

Iguess they doubt their actual thesis will be convincing unless we know how important and wise they are, albeit still human.

Afew counterpoints to their meandering arguments:

They open stating that the foundation of American university greatness is “academic freedom and tenure.” If they worked in aplace with non-monolithic opinions, more colleagues would question this first principle. Iquestioned its value when Iwas at LSU (and yes, Iwas tenured). Tenure provides protection for low productivity.Itneeds to be eliminated. And “academic freedom” is simply the right to do something rather useless.

Ironically,academic thought is stifled most by those within academia, not by outside forces. For example, conservatives are almost surely quite rare and likely unwanted in Marchand’shistory department. The statistics don’tlie. I’m not aware of another sector within society (other than perhaps the press) less tolerant to open discussion of sensitive and important subjects.

They are concerned with the recent attacks on “diversity” and “women.” The recent attack on diversity (more generically,DEI) is warranted since hiring for any other reason than talent/merit is wrong. I’m notaware of attacks on “women.”

Lastly,ifyou’re aBoyd Professor,itmeans you have succeeded quite well negotiating the world of academia and probably do have extensive knowledge in some narrow field. That’sabout all it means.

Argument forbanning fluorideinwater makeslittlesense

Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

History documentsthat authoritarians, such as fascists, have used simple answers to address complex problems, leading to confusion andultimately apathy,exactly where they want the populace for easy manipulation. For example, “vaccines are dangerous” is simple (three words), but creates incredible disinformation, which then takes huge amountsof rebuttal with facts and explanations to even getthe conservativetoconsider vaccinations differently,much less makeaclear decision in favor of ahealthy population. So, yes, the anti-conservative opinions are wordier and have more squareinches.The

As Iread the letters regarding efforts to lower our federal deficit (onefrom David Basshamcrediting Newt Gingrich and one from Barry Ranshi crediting Bill Clinton), it appears that the common denominator is “spending.”

importance of recognition thatvaccinations bothprevent common diseases and mitigateagainstserious complications, which through history have caused great suffering and death, cannot be overemphasized: Think polio, measles,influenza, chickenpox and Covid (pleasesee the Kaiser Family Foundation dataofJune 2021 to April 2022 showing 234,000 COVID deaths were preventable through vaccination).Decades of data totally refute theconspiracy theories of vaccination dangers, which, in fact, are bothverysafe and effective.

As you can see, myrebuttal contains about 300 words and uses multiple square inches of typescript to dispel disinformation.I rest my case about pro-conservative word usage and thenecessary response. The frightening news about measles cases and deathsreminds me how fortunatewewere to be able to prevent this with vaccinations of our children and grandchildren. Now go get vaccinated.

DAVID ELIZARDI,M.D

Metairie

Succinctly stated, Republicansborrow and spend while Democratstax and spend. In my humble opinion, thekey is to reduce spending regardless of partyaffiliation.

FRANK H. PEREZ Baton Rouge

Louisiana lawmakers are getting ready to ban fluoride from drinking water.One of the major arguments being put forth is that of “informed consent,” that residents should not be forced to consume chemicals without their consent. That argument does not hold water (pun intended) because raw Mississippi water needs to be processed and treated using manychemicals to makeitfitfor human consumption. These chemicals include alum to help with filtering, phosphate to prevent water line corrosion, carbon to eliminate anasty flavor, chlorine to remove bacteria and ammonia and chloramine to maintain chlorine levels. Should we to ban these chemicals because we don’thave residents’ consent? Seemstomelawmakers need to follow the best available science when making decisions that affect public health and not resort to specious arguments. If they truly wantpublic input, put the matter on the ballot.

KARTIKTHAKER

Kenner

KEVIN KELLY Baton Rouge

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

to protest President Donald Trumpand Elon Musk in ahandsoff protest.

COMMENTARY

BEACH BOTTLE

Nice! We received 602 entriesinthisweek’sCartoon Caption Contest.We had lots of funnypunchlines about moms sending messages, several cleverreferences to Gilligan’sIsland and afew jokes about thename of the Gulf.Our winner,a Metairie native nowlivinginColorado, usedafamiliarspam letter we’veall received and tied it hilariously tothe beach scene. Greatjob everyone!Asalways, when we have duplicate entries,and we always do,wepick theearliestsentin. Here are thisweek’swinnerand finalists.Well played, folks! —Walt

SUSAN LEE, NEW ORLEANS: “This is a DoorDash order from Atlantis.”

BILL CURRY, NEW ORLEANS: “It says, ‘Help! We’vebeen stuckona little island foryears after what was supposed to bea three-hour tour!’”

PAUL RIDER, BATONROUGE: “It’sa shopping list from aguy named Chris on a boat called the Santa Maria.

JOHN FOS,ST. GEORGE: “I am old and have no heirs, so Iput my winning lottery ticket in this bottle forsomelucky person to find it. It expires March 31, 2025.”

CHRISTOPHER MILLS,METAIRIE: “It says, therewas agenie in here but he was cut by DOGE.”

LYNN WISMAR, KENNER: “Momsayswe have to be home by 3!”

PHILLIP T. GRIFFIN, NEW ORLEANS: “It says,‘Put your moneyonSecretariat for theTriple Crown.’Whatisthat supposed to mean???”

GISELE PRADOS,METAIRIE: “It’sfrommy teacher.I have to go to summerschool!”

JIMMIE PAPIA, METAIRIE: “It’sfrom a billionaire prince imprisonedinaforeign countrythat will share his fortune if we give

him ourbank account number.”

MARIANO HINOJOSA, BATONROUGE: “It says thatdirections to ahidden treasure areenclosed in aseparate bottle.”

PETER KOVACS, BATONROUGE: “It’sa proclamation fromBienville declaring this theGulf of France.

DAVID DELGADO,NEW ORLEANS: “It’smy reportcard!

MICHELE STARNES,KENNER: “Look,we’ve just found some sea-mail!”

KEVINSTEEN, CORPUS CHRISTI,TX: “What is y2K? This says it is goingtoend the world.”

MARYH.THOMPSON, GREENSBORO, GA.: “Hear ye!Hearye! Henceforth, allglass bottles shallbesubject to the following tariffs…”

CHARLES SMITH, ST.ROSE: “It’sjust another mattress sale.”

MAURYBERTHON, MANDEVILLE: “It is from an oldconquistador wanting to know whochanged the name of the Gulf.

CHARLES RIDDLE,III, MARKSVILLE: “you have not paid the toll payment due. Please access our website to paythe tollthat is due.

BENBECNEL, HAMMOND: “Send help, I’m outofsunscreen.”

TIMPALMER, LAFAYETTE: “Who is Amelia Earhart?”

MARILYN HUGHES,ST.AMANT: “OH NO! It’sanotherinsuranceincrease.”

EDWARD LASCELLE, PINEVILLE: “Wewon ‘Publishers Clearing House’ but we only had untilFebruary17, 1991 to reply!”

GREG STEEN, METAIRIE: “Sendrescue but keep it on the down low. Ican’tadmit to my wife we’relost.”

ROBERT KOHN, RIVER RIDGE: “Momsays sheiscoming to pick me up in 15 minutes.”

LARRYDEBLIEUX, METAIRIE: “The British are coming!”

DAVIDM.PRADOS,METAIRIE: “It’s the original lyrics to ‘MessageinaBottle’ by the Police.”

D. SABRIO,METAIRIE: “Who is Jean Lafitte and where is Barataria? He says treasureis buried there!”

DON RANDON, GRETNA: “2 largepizzas, 6 wings and a2 litre Pepsi.”

MARTHA STARNES,KENNER: “yay!It’s directions to the newBuc-ee’s!!”

Democrats: Leadership discredited, partyoff kilter

How does apolitical party with overwhelming advantages, including increasing support from the growing bloc of highly educated andaffluent voters, almost monopoly supportfromthe press and broadcast media, and with burgeoningfinancial and high-techsectors of the economy, manage to losejust about everything across the board?

The Biden administrationhas been repudiated by voters overthe inflation that resulted from its heedless spending and open border policyonimmigration, andithas been discredited by recent disclosures of former President Joe Biden’s incapacity and by Democrats in and outside the White House who concealed and lied about his condition

that point. However,hefailed to account for theNewtonian law that says for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. His coalition spurred acoalition of the nonascendant.Whitenon-college-educated people living outside million-dollar-plus metropolitan areas spurned Democrats and elected Trump over Hillary Clinton. Asimilar coalition in Britain produced theunexpected victory for Brexit five months before.

to name aBlack woman for vice president, although thepartynominateda Black presidential candidate twice in the previous threecontests.

Medicaid cuts would devastate Louisiana

Over the past several weeks, my office has been flooded with calls, letters and emails from people across Louisiana. They are deeply concerned about the loss of Medicaid coverage and benefits since the passage of abudget proposal by the Republican majority in Congress.

Most of what used to be called the mainstream media has also beendiscredited, long since distrusted by perhaps half of Americans, and now shown to have been incompetentorpartisanshiply complicit. The Democratic Party’s hopesthat President Donald Trump’sjob approvalrating would zoom down toward zero have been temporarily frustrated, asithas risen slightly in Mayand is higherthan at any point in his first term.

To illustrate the pickleDemocrats are in, it’shelpful to providealittle historical perspective, at least as farback as a dozen years, on the verydifferent political climate following the 2012 election. That saw the third consecutivereelection of an incumbent president, something notseen since 1820.

The respected Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg argued that Democrats’ increased support from college graduates, plus huge margins from Blacks, Hispanics and young people, wouldforma“coalition of the ascendant” dominant for years to come. Greenberg was rightabout trends up to

By 2024, after one term each from Trump and Biden, that movement continued, including among noncollege-educated Hispanics, Asians and Blacks. Figures compiled by the Democratic firm Catalist and spotlightedbyRepublican pollster PatrickRuffini showed Republicans gaining 36 points among Latinos aged 18 to 29, 33 points among Blackmen, and 30 points among non-college-educated Asians between2012 and 2024.

In the process, the Democratic Partyhas become increasingly dominated by White college-educated people, who reliably turn out to vote, contribute lots of money and havepoor judgment about what matters will appeal to majorities of the entire electorate. High-education voters, repelledby Trump’scrudeness, providedthe enthusiasmbehind theRussia collusion hoax and the various lawfare prosecutions and attempts to remove Trump from office somehow. Theyprovided the impetus behind the flawed“science” to extend school closings and other undue COVID-19 restrictions.

AfterGeorge Floyd’sdeathinMay 2020, they gave support or silent acquiescence to radical calls for defunding thepolice, to reparations for descendantsofslaves, and to continuedracial quotas and preferences —all positions opposed by large majoritiesofvoters. Biden, having secured the nomination after winning themajorityBlack South Carolina primary,felt obliged

In aprocessdescribed by Greg Schultz, manager of Biden’s2020 primary campaign, the voters and officeholders of what he called “the (mostly) safe middle” of the partyhave embraced or acceptedpolicies advocated by the (much smaller) far left,” but that actively repel “the majoritymakes”whose votes Democratic candidates need to win.

That didn’thappen when “the(mostly) safe middle” was typifiedbyRichardScammonand Ben Wattenberg’snon-college-educated housewife from Dayton marriedto amachinist.However,ithas happened now thatthe voter looks like the college-educated professional woman married to alawyer in the affluent suburbs of Philadelphia Most voters are motivated by concrete concerns —direct economic interests and ethnic or racial concerns.College-educated voters tend to have moretheoretical concerns.Sometimes they may alert others to injustice and persuade them to address it, such as supporters of equal rights for Blacks.The danger is that their high regard for their own views leads them to take impolitic stands, such as formerVice President Kamala Harris’ support of government-paid transgender surgeries for prisoners and illegal immigrants. Every political party must strike some balance between the demands of its core constituencies and the beliefs of voters. That’shard for aparty dominated by college-educated activists with theoretical ratherthan practical concerns. The Democratic Party today,withits discredited leadership and itscollege-educated core, seems badly off kilter

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Despite assurances from GOP leadership to spare critical programs like Medicaid, House Republicans recently followed orders from President Donald Trump to slash $880 billion in government spending. The majority’splan would strip coverage away from at least 8.6 million Americans over the next decade, according to a review of the committee’s proposal by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This number is profoundly troubling and will have acatastrophic impact on the state of Louisiana, where one out of every three people is currently enrolled in Medicaid. That’sover 1.6 million people. This group includes over half of all the state’schildren, two-thirds of mothers giving birth and their newborn babies, and three-quarters of people living in nursing homes.

Alongside these drastic cuts, newly proposed requirements of mandating additional hours to be workedper month and twice-a-year eligibility verification will only increase the administrative burden on the state. This cumbersome red tape will inevitably lead to Louisiana’smost vulnerable residents being denied access to essential and lifesaving services. In addition to providing crucial support to those in dire need, Medicaid also represents asignificant source of federal funding to Louisiana, equaling nearly $15 billion in 2024 alone. This money constitutes over 35% of the state’stotal annual budget.

Any loss of these resources will directly lead to both areduction in quality of services and the closure of health care providers’ doors from Buras to Bossier City While Isupport eliminating the waste fraud and abuse of government resources, Istrongly oppose any efforts to dismantle this vital program that is alifeline to so many Louisianians. Taking achain saw approach to asituation that requires ascalpel is not only shortsighted, but also leaves behind devastating effects for real, hardworking, everyday people. If these cuts cometopass, specialneeds adults who require care their families cannot personally provide are at risk of no longer having access to facilities like the Pinecrest Supports and Services Center in Pineville. HIV patients are at risk of no longer being able to receive testing services and life-preserving medication through organizations like the Baton Rouge Ryan White Program.Diabetics are at risk of no longer obtaining insulin or benefiting from the education programs provided by institutions like the MLK Health Center and Pharmacyin Shreveport. Louisiana is aplace Iamsoproud to call my home. While our state is blessed with great natural resources and aoneof-a-kind culture, its greatest resourceis its people.

The harsh reality of life in Louisiana is that many of our friends and neighbors rely on Medicaid to survive. They do not rely on Medicaid because they are lazy or do not want to work. They rely on Medicaid because they work hard and yet are still unable to earn enough to afford health insurance.

Let me be clear,Medicaid is not ahandout. It’sabridge to stability and health —abasic right in anation as wealthy and prosperous as ours. As the congressman for the 6th district, Ihave aresponsibility to represent the interests of my constituents, and Iwould be remiss in my duties if Idid not utilize my platform to advocate on their behalf. Iwill continue to push for pragmatic, compassionate and fiscally responsible policies that strengthen —not gut —our health care system.

Louisiana cannot thrive without healthy citizens. Medicaid is essential to that goal and Iwill stand firm to protect it. Cleo Fields represents Louisiana’s6th Congressional District.

WINNER: RorySteen, Denver, Colo.

U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields GUEST COLUMNIST

Michael Barone

Lakeview in the years after Hurricane Katrina. Sometimes they broughtcity officials on tours of what the Greenway could become.

For resident Bart Everson, who started the hike tradition in spring of 2005, the Greenway is celebratingits 20th anniversary this year

Three people hiked the first year,hesaid, and 18 joined the next. By 2009, there were hundreds.

Their efforts led to the creation of Friends of the Lafitte Greenway,now called the Lafitte Greenway Partnership, anonprofit that jointly managesoperations and maintenance through an agreement with the city and NORD.

An avid bike rider, Everson knew biking was agreat way to get around the city despite thecontempt he felt from the non-biking community toward riders and pedestrians.

“People just thought they were poorpeople who couldn’tafford acar,” he said. He remembers walking near thebayouand seeing workers remove the rails and ties fromthe Norfolk Southern rail line. Together, he and afriend, Xavier University professor Michael Holman, explored the idea of atrail going in its place.

Untapped potential

The largely vacant, cityowned land had long been toutedasuntapped potential in multiple citywide planning studiesdatingback to the 1970s,Daniels Samuels, an urban planner and cofounding Friends member told TheTimes-Picayunein

2006

FormerFriends board member Leonetta Terrell said in an interview FridaythatHurricaneKatrina changedthe waypeople viewed the city,making the Greenway amore realistic vision thaneverbefore

“Right after Katrina,New Orleanswas like ablank piece of paper.You could imagine it to be something else …somethingbetter,” shesaid

But their visiondidn’tcome without pushback. Terrell recalled acommunitymeeting in Lakeview to drum up support forthe project where critics claimed it would be a “pathway for crime.”

Fred Sipp, 81, has lived in a shack on the Greenway since before it was developed. He spends much of histime collecting aluminum cans or tending to hisvegetablegardenthat surrounds his home.

“I just built it.Everything yousee here,” he said, getting off his bicycle last week.

An expanded footprint

Today, the Greenway’s footprint has expanded to include an open air pavilion and the

largest farmers market in thecity. The$1.6million plaza and building, called The Station, opened in 2020 and features public artworks from local artists and asmall stage for performances. Colorfulart murals are plastered along the grounds. Participantsinthe Greenway’sGetFitprogram can take up hip-hop kickboxing or yoga on the grass during weeklyfitness classes.

Nene Marie Johnson, a nearby resident and Greenway fitness instructor,said seniorsmake up amajority of

theirweeklyMarket March, which is astrollfrom the Crescent CityFarmers Market to Broad Street and back. “It’sabout 35 to 50 people that show up andthenthey get $5 to spend at themarket,” Johnson said.

In 2024, the number of GetFit participants reached a high of 10,000 residents, according to the Partnership.

TheGreenwaywas also built to absorb impactsof New Orleans’ chronicflooding problems, as noted in the trail’s2013 master plan. Through apartnership

with environmental advocacy group SOUL Nola, more than 500 shade trees have been plantedinthe past three years. Amongthemare bald cypress, which can soak up to 880 gallonsofwater when mature and mitigateflooding.

Bioswales, which are ditches with drains connected to the city’s drain system, have also been installed.

“The benefitisthatthey slow the volume of water goingintothe pump,which in turn, helps reduce flooding everywherethat the pump serves,” Neville said.

NORD CEO Larry Barabino Jr.saidthe partnership between NORD and the Greenway allows the department to expand itsprogramming. “Over thepast 10 years, this facility hasallowed NORD to build outa host of recreational, educational andcultural amenitiestoserve families throughout the 2.6 miles,” he said.

Future projects

Although it remains unfinished —originaldesign plans callfor an endatthe Regional Transit Authority CemeteriesTransit Center —the partnership hassecured $4.8 millionincity bonds to bring thetrail to 3.1 miles, Neville said. Completing the Greenway is one of several projects prioritizedinits three-year strategic planreleased last fall. Neville said they wantto plant another 500 trees and create new pathways for people to access the surrounding community,such as one along North Galvez Street to get to University Medical Center and the New Orleans VA Medical Center The vacantDepartment of Public Works’ Sign and Signal Shop, one of several city-owned sites along the Greenway,isslated forredevelopment intoa NORD recreation center and boxinggym.That $6 million project is on hold pending funding, according to NORD

N.O. police stop usingfacialrecognition cameras

Chiefsuspended useofreal-time alerts in criminalprobes

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Across New Orleans, roughly 200 high-resolution cameras are equipped with artificial intelligence to scan the faces of pedestrians and run them through adatabase of criminal suspects.

The privately deployed devices, operated by the local nonprofit Project NOLA, work in real time. When the system flagsamatch to a suspect’sface, clothing or even vehicle, arapid alert goes out to law enforcement through an app.

The New Orleans Police Department, meanwhile, makes use of anetworkof city cameras operated by the DepartmentofHomeland Security under different rules: a2022 ordinance that sets limits on facial recognition. Policemust exhaust all other methods of identification, then seek asupervisor’spermission

An imageofamatchmust be verified laterby state analysts.

But areport published last week by The Washington Post questions whether the city was violating those guardrails until recently, by enabling NOPD officers and investigators to receive the real-time ProjectNOLA alerts regularly

The NOPD had been receiving them since the facial recognition cameras hit on their first match in 2022

Then last month, NOPD SuperintendentAnneKirkpatrickabruptlysuspended their use, said Bryan Lagarde, aProject NOLA founder and former police officer

“Anne Kirkpatrick has been very familiar with ProjectNOLA’s facial recognition. She always liked it,” Lagarde said. An email exchange provided by Lagarde shows that Kirkpatrick has been aware of the facial recognition cameras and the automated alert system since early November 2023.

An emailedstatement from the NOPD, however suggests that Kirkpatrick learned only lately of the department’suse of real-time facial recognitionalerts. She suspended them “once made aware of their use,” the statement said.

“This decision was made to ensure full compliance with NOPD policy,city ordinance, and constitutional

standards,”itread.

The department, which is in the final phaseofa long-running police reform agreement overseen by a federal judge, saiditwill continueusingfootage from the5,000 cameras Project NOLA monitors in the city, deeming them “a valuable investigation tool.”

Thealert system Particularly dense in the French Quarter, thetechnology andits use bythe NOPD hasraisedalarm.

Project NOLAsaysituses itsown funds to purchase camerasand technology that didn’t gain tractionwith multiple law enforcement agencies until 2023, after a localwoman bequeathed the group $87,000, helping boost its AI capabilities. Now,law enforcement inJefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, along with LouisianaState Police, can receivethe alerts, Lagarde said.

Last week, the technology helped State Policenab Kendall Myles,the first of 10 jail escapees to be recaptured,in the French Quarter.Lagarde said his cameras recognized Myles andanotherescapee, whowas not arrested

Thealerts thatwentout excluded theNOPD, Lagarde said,after thedepartment onApril7barred staff from receiving them from cameras in the 8th District, which includes the French Quarter and Central Business District. Afew weeks later,the ban expanded across thecity

According to Lagarde, the city is now considering operating its own facial recognition software. The Washington Post reported that Kirkpatrick and District Attorney Jason Williamshad confirmed discussions withthe City Council about revising the facial recognition ordinance. Neither the NOPD nor acouncil spokesperson responded last week to requests for details.

‘A largeheadstart’ ThePostfound NewOrleans’ use of live facial recognition to be among the first ofits kind. London is theonly other place Lagarde is aware of asimilar system,hesaid in an interview Police departments in majorU.S.citiessuchas New York City and Detroit areadopting similarbiometricssystems,drawing concernsofasurveillance state among civil liberties groups.

Lagarde said Project NOLA aims to address privacy issues in part by de-

leting the footagewithin 30 days. He addedthatthe cameras are placed at the request of home and businessowners.

“Wedon’tsell or share the data,” Lagarde said. “It’s only used in criminal investigations,aswell as missing persons.”

City ordinanceguidelines

The 2022 ordinance, which lifted aban on facial recognition by theNOPD, still bars its use as a“surveillance tool.”

City officerscan only use it for missing personscases or designated crimes of violence. Thedepartment’s policy also requires supervisors tosubmit images to the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange Areport by federal monitors overseeing police reforms in New Orleans found NOPD officers made 19 such requests in 2023, resulting in only onefruitfulmatch.The report said investigators were“reluctant” to make future requests, citing “lag-timeand low potential for matches.”

Lagarde said Project NOLA, on theother hand, hashelpedin“an extraordinarily significant number of homicide cases”since 2023. Beyond homicide, the nonprofit hasposted on Facebook aboutalerts to theNOPD when the system hitona robbery suspect.

Project NOLA’s app providesofficersareference photo —a mug shot or photo from thecrimescene alongside asnapshotofthe detected individual, data on the strength of the match and information on the crime. Lagardesaid officers go beyond thetechnology to seek out dataonthe suspect and theircrimes.

Past concerns

Controversy over the proliferation of high-tech police cameras on New Orleans streets first erupted underformer MayorMitch Landrieu, who announced amassive camera plan and other measures in 2017 after amass shooting on Bourbon Street. It would haverequired every businesswithanalcohollicense to installa street-facing camera, covering the city in at least 1,500 of them. Civil rights groups howledand business owners balked,raising the specter of a”Big Brother” regime, and the ordinance was withdrawn. Asmaller version,the Real-Time Crime Center,now operates without facial recognition. The systemand the secrecy around it have been thetarget of multiple

legal challenges In 2019, astate judge orderedthe city to release amap of whatwere then about400 city crime cameras, rejecting aclaim it was exempt from publicrecordslaw.In2021, the ACLU of Louisiana sued Louisiana State Police for recordsthatrevealed that theNOPD had worked with State Police torun facial recognition searches since at least 2018 withoutthe public’sknowledge.

Critics of the technology argued bias, pointing to a federal study that had found most commercial software was far more likely to misidentify aBlack personthan aWhite person.Before the ACLUobtained the records, the NOPD had repeatedly denied using facial recognition software. Last week, the ACLU sent alettertothe City Council,

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urging aprobe into itsuse anda hiatus on facial recognition by theNOPDuntilmoresafeguardsare in place.

Capturingrecentcrime

In the meantime, Lagarde pointedtomounting success stories from acollaboration with Louisiana State Policeinthe 8th District, wherethey’ve set up banks of screensinsidethe historic Cabildo on Jackson Square

Project NOLA cameras recognized suspects involvedinthe fatalrobbery of the ownerofthe Viet My Supermarketcelebrating on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day shortly after the killing.

Afterthe Jan. 1terror attack on Bourbon Street that left 14 dead, Project NOLA was “instantly working” with the NOPD and State Police, Lagarde said. Its cameras tracked those who moved the explosive devices that Shamsud-Din Jabbar left along Bourbon before ramming his truck intocrowds of revelers. The footagehelpedauthorities determine Jabbar acted aloneinthe street attack. AState Police spokespersondeclinedtoconfirm its use of thetechnology in a statement, citing aneed to protect “investigative methods.”

Email Poet Wolfe at poet. wolfe@theadvocate.com.

Skenes: ‘Anybody canplay GM’

Amid growingtrade rumors, former LSUstarhas learned to tune outthe noise

BY WILL GRAVES AP sportswriter

PITTSBURGH Paul Skenes didn’thear Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington say that trading the reigning National League Rookie of the Year to give the last-place club an influx ofmuch-needed position player talent is “not at allpart of the conversation.”

When someone relayed Cherington’scomments to him, the 22-year-old acelaughed “Itdoesn’taffect anything,”Skenes told The Associated Press late Friday night after the Pirates ralliedfor a6-5, 10-inning win over Milwaukee. “Anybodycan play GM.” True, but it says something about where the Pirates are currently at —wellout of playoff positionbeforeMemorial Day— that Cherington’suncharacteristically blunt answer made headlines anyway YetifSkenes, the formerLSU standout whocelebratedhis first anniversary in the majors two weeks ago, has learned anything during his rise to stardom over the last three years, it’sthat noise is not the sameasnews. “There’snosubstance tojust all that talk that you hear on social media and newsoutlets and stuff like that,” Skenes said It’sone of the many reasonshemakes it a point to tryand block all thenoise out. Yes, Skenes understandsthat baseball is abusiness —hesaid as much after manager Derek Shelton was fired onMay 8 but healso

to ed ay e a so knows hisbusiness at thispoint in his career is focused entirely on throwing a baseball, not worrying about who he’s throwing it for There could very well be a time when Skenes moves on, either by Pittsburgh’s choice or his own That time, at least to

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes AP PHOTO By CHRIS

ä See SKENES, page 3C

HIGHSAND LOWS EXPECTED

Analyzin EX

In many way came to a mer in Montgomer Sure, in a se a challenge to refreshing to s for 13 runs an But not a lot gin’ Cajuns ou 28-12 in a road

“It was obvi dards and our Deggs said aft back to Lafaye isn’t where it’s good We will It’ll certainl history of this back from this takes longer t The first thin

s, UL’s baseball season ciful end Friday night y,Alabama. ason whereitwas often score runs, it was abit eethe offense unload d 17 hits. went well since theRatscored Georgia State sweep early in May ously ayear that wasn’tuptoour stanexpectation levels,” UL coach Matt erFriday’sseason-ending loss. “We’ll be tte …and go back to workon’26. This at. What we put out there thisyear is not get it right.” y be an interesting quest to follow.The program says the Cajuns will bounce disappointing season, but it typically han one year.Time will tell. gfor fans to understand is this 27-31

campaign isn’tasunprecedented as manysuggest. Since 2008, it’sthe program’s fourth losing season, but there werealso twoequally mediocre 30 and 31-win seasons in that stretch. The point is, highs and lowsare normal formid-major programs. It doesn’tnecessarily mean the coaching staffforgot how to winorcan’tdo the job. It’s just the cycle of things.

The Cajuns had alosing season the year after going to theCollege World Series. Coastal Carolina didn’t make aregional the year after it won the national championship. Take Coastal Carolina forexample, the Chanticleers won the Sun Belt this season, but they finished seventh last season.

After UL’s nice stretch of consecutive regionals from 1988-92, the Cajuns had three losing seasons from

Three-time IndyCarchamp becomes firstSpaniardtowin ‘greatestspectacle in racing’

BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer

INDIANAPOLIS Alex Palou took theceremonial swig of milk in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500. He allowed his wifetohavea sip, she in turn gave asip to their baby,and team owner Chip Ganassi ended up with the bottle and took adrink, as well.

Then, the first Spaniard to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” took avictory lap with them around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of apickup truck. At onepoint, Palou climbedontoits roof and raised his arms in triumph,the winning wreath draped around hisneck.Hebriefly lost his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver. No need. Palou rarely makes awrong move.

“All my family around, it’samazing, honestly,” he said, smiling. “Allthe team around, they make me look really good on thetrack.”

Palou cametothe speedway as thetwotime defending IndyCar champion —hehas three titles in four years —and had opened this year with victoriesinfourofthe first five races. It’s thekindofstart notseen since 1964, when A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of theseason,including the Indy 500.

But it was win No. 6that Palou had circled on his calendar.Without an Indy 500 win, he said, his career would be incomplete.

“Likehesaidlastweek, if he was to go throughhis wholecareerand notwin here at Indianapolis, it wouldn’tbea complete career,” Ganassi said. “I don’twant to say his career is complete now —he’sgot alot in himyet. Look at thelast five,six raceswe’ve had. It’sjust incredible. He’s on aroll.”

Palouwas in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps, following former Chip Ganassi

ä See INDY 500, page 3C

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL coach Matt Deggs vowedtoget the Ragin’ Cajuns back on track after this year’slosing season.

SZAGOLA

Griffin hangs on at Colonial

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

FORT WORTH, Texas Ben Grif-

fin has his first individual PGA Tour victory a month after winning a team event, hanging on to beat Matti Schmid at Colonial after breaking a tie with his coleader for good on the first hole

Sunday

Griffin shot a 1-over 71 to finish at 12-under 268 in the Charles Schwab Challenge, one shot ahead of Schmid as both struggled through the final round on a warm day with wind gusts around 30 mph at Hogan’s Alley

Schmid forced Griffin to make a 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole after his chip from the deep rough behind the green went in for birdie. Griffin saved par from the rough, standing in the bunker while choking way down on the club on his chip. Schmid shot 72.

Griffin and Schmid, the 27-yearold German seeking his first tour win in his 79th start, had matching scores each of the first three days.

Schmid was the one who surged in front early in the third round, taking a three-shot lead. Griffin had a five-shot edge after just five holes in the final round, and finally let Schmid get within a stroke with a two-shot swing at 16 before getting the lead back to two with a hole to play

ASSOCIATD PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Ben Griffin reacts after a putt on the third hole during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and hometown favorite who won the PGA Championship last week, couldn’t match his Saturday surge from 10 shots back.

The three-time major winner began the day six shots back, but had two birdies and a bogey in a

69 to finish 8 under Scheffler fell short of becoming the first to win three consecutive starts since Dustin Johnson eight years ago, and just missed a fourth consecutive year of finishing in the top three at Colonial. He tied for fourth,

one shot behind Bud Cauley, who shot 67. Rickie Fowler never threatened the co-leaders, either, starting slowly and ending his fading hopes with a 7 on the par-5 11th. Fowler, who entered ranked 127th after being in the top 25 as recently as early 2024, shot 74.

The 29-year-old Griffin teamed with Andrew Novak, who finished 6 under at Colonial, for the victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans last month. They left openings for others, just as Griffin did Sunday

Griffin and Schmid took a four-shot lead into the final round, and stayed 1-2 despite both finishing over par for the day Schmid had six bogeys and a double bogey to go with six birdies, while Griffin had four bogeys after opening with an eagle and a birdie.

Tommy Fleetwood shot 31 on the front nine to get into contention, lost the momentum with a bogey at 11 and then had one of the tournament highlights with his final stroke.

Fleetwood’s birdie putt on 18 stopped on the lip of the cup, and he waited almost 30 seconds hoping the gusting wind would push the ball into the hole. Nature obliged.

Fleetwood shot 68 to tie Scheffler in his 41st top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, the most by a player without a victory since 1983.

Thunder face rare test of fortitude after loss

BY DAVE CAMPBELL

AP sportswriter

MINNEAPOLIS The score was already out of hand midway through the second quarter, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recognized the opening in Minnesota’s drop pickand-roll coverage and rose up at the elbow for the type of mid-range jumper Oklahoma City feasted on over the first two games of the Western Conference finals.

Instead of following through on that shot on Saturday night though, the newly minted NBA MVP had a second thought.

With Rudy Gobert’s long arm outstretched in front of him, Gilgeous-Alexander suddenly turned to his right in mid-air But with nobody there to pass to, he landed back on the court while still holding the ball for the rare but obvious traveling call

After the Thunder found all kinds of soft spots in their defense and consistently hit those open shots over two decisive wins to start the series, the Timberwolves tightened up their pressure with a back-to-basics approach on their home court that fueled a 143-101

ä Thunder and Timberwolves.

7:40 P.M. MONDAy, ESPN

victory in Game 3

“Sometimes you’ve just got to throw your fastball,” coach Chris Finch said. “We were trying to do too much other junk out there at times.”

Inspired by the success Denver had with the look in its sevengame second-round series against Oklahoma City, Minnesota mixed in some zone defenses over the first two games but failed to gain any traction with it. GilgeousAlexander totaled 69 points, and the Thunder made exactly half of their shots from the floor

With a palpable boost from the crowd at Target Center from the opening tip, the Wolves aggressively hounded the ball, employed effective switches and the possession that ended with GilgeousAlexander’s traveling violation notwithstanding — played far less drop coverage than in the first two games to keep the Thunder from finding a mid-range rhythm. Most importantly, they were disciplined enough to keep their fouls to a minimum.

Gilgeous-Alexander went more than 13 minutes of game time in

Musetti, Sabalenka ease

BY JEROME PUGMIRE AP sportswriter

PARIS Lorenzo Musetti and Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second round of the French Open without dropping a set on Sunday’s opening day The eighth-seeded Musetti won 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 against qualifier Yannick Hanfmann of Germany, after the top-ranked Sabalenka earlier beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0. Jasmine Paolini, last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, had a tougher first-round match. The fourth-seeded Italian dropped serve five times in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win against Yuan Yue on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Musetti has been in strong form on clay reaching at least the semifinals in the past three Masters tournaments at Rome, Madrid and Monte Carlo, where he lost in the final to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz But he was hampered by a right-leg injury in that match.

Musetti did not look troubled on Sunday, however, and cupped his ear to the crowd after making an improbable forehand winner

U.S. wins hockey world championship gold in OT

STOCKHOLM The United States prevailed over Switzerland 1-0 in overtime of the final of the ice hockey world championship on Sunday Tage Thompson wristed a shot past goaltender Leonardo Genoni from the top of the right circle for the winner 2:02 into overtime with the 40th shot on goal.

Logan Cooley and Brady Skjei provided the assists and goaltender Jeremy Swayman shut out the Swiss with 25 saves.

USA Hockey says it is the second trophy won at the tournament by the Americans after winning in 1933.

Mikael Backlund and Marcus Johansson scored two goals each as Sweden beat Denmark 6-2 to take the bronze medal earlier Sunday It was the second straight thirdplace finish for Sweden.

Tommy Paul keeps on truckin’ at French Open

PARIS — Tommy Paul was pleased to come back to win his first-round match at the French Open on Sunday, of course, but perhaps not as thrilled as he was to discuss regaining the truck that was repossessed back home in Florida. The 12th-seeded Paul kept on truckin’ at Roland-Garros by eliminating Elmer Moller of Denmark 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. Afterward, Paul explained that his vehicular adventures resulted from changing banks and forgetting to properly adjust the automatic payments for his Ford F-150.

“I missed, I think it was, like three payments. They came and took it. I didn’t know how quick they would come and grab it — like in the middle of the night,” Paul said.

Gray stays hot as Dream cruise past winless Sun

the first half between baskets and finished with 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting with four turnovers and only four free throw attempts. In the first quarter with the Wolves up 24-9, Gobert blitzed GilgeousAlexander for a double-team in the backcourt and swatted the ball out of his hand for a steal that started a fast break.

“What works for us is us playing hard man-to-man defense, playing in gaps, being in passing lanes and being physical,” point guard Mike Conley said. “We’ve got to continue to get better at some of the adjustments they’re going to do, but tonight I was happy with the way that we just kind of hit the reset button and locked in on our way of playing.”

The big question for Game 4 on Monday night is how quickly the Thunder can bounce back from such a drubbing.

“It’s been who we are generally,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “We know the ebbs and flows of a playoff series. We’ve been on the other end of games like this, and they haven’t been predictive of the next game either. We do have to look at it and address the things that went awry for us, but at the

same time it’ll be a new game. It’ll be 0-0 when Game 4 starts.”

This was the largest margin of defeat in NBA history for a team with 65-plus regular-season wins and only the second time in these playoffs the Thunder lost by more than 10 points. Their margin of defeat only reached double digits five times out of 14 losses during the regular season.

“We have a group of guys who really care. At this point of the season and after a game like that, nobody’s thinking, ‘Just throw it away,’” said Chet Holmgren, who made only three shots to match his low for this postseason. “There’s lessons in there where we can all be better.”

This presents a new test for a young Thunder team so dominant throughout this season it hasn’t had many “It happens. You’re never going to be perfect in life, in a long season. You get punched, it’s about getting back up and responding,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s what the next challenge is. We got punched in the mouth, and next game we’re either going to get back up or not. We have a decision to make for sure.”

into 2nd round at French Open

down the line from Hanfmann’s drop shot during the third set

The 23-year-old Musetti reached the semifinals on grass at Wimbledon last year, but has not reached the quarterfinals at any other major

Still, he believes he can win the French Open.

“I feel ready to try to go for the trophy That’s the goal, for sure,” Musetti said. “I think clay probably is the surface which I feel the most comfortable.”

After winning his match, Musetti got a huge ovation from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Was it because Musetti won Italy’s first Olympic tennis medal in 100 years with the men’s singles bronze at the Paris Games last year? Or perhaps because, as a 19-year-old, Musetti was once up by two sets against Novak Djokovic in the fourth round before losing a five-set thriller in 2021.

Unlikely

For in all honesty much of the Chatrier crowd — dressed in clay-colored jerseys and packing the stands that were half-empty an hour earlier were in such an enthusiastic mood because they

were waiting for someone else to turn up. Rafael Nadal.

The recently retired Nadal, who won 14 of his 22 major titles on the same court, was given a special trophy during an emotional ceremony where his old rivals — Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray — all turned up to bid the suit-wearing Nadal farewell.

Earlier, Sabalenka hit five aces and saved the two break points she faced against the unseeded Rakhimova.

Sabalenka is a three-time major champion and reached the semifinals at Roland-Garros two years ago. Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China joined her in the second round by beating 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3. Who else won on Sunday?

American players Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe both advanced to the second round, while another American — Ben Shelton — was in action later Sunday against Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the night session on Chatrier

The 12th-seeded Paul won 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 against Elmer Moller, an unseeded Danish player ranked 112th, while the 15thseeded Tiafoe — a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

Paul has been in decent form on clay Earlier this month, he reached the semifinals of the Rome Masters without dropping a set and then took the first set off No. 1 Jannik Sinner before losing that contest.

Swiatek and Sinner in action

Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek begins her bid for a fifth title at Roland-Garros when she faces Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia on Monday

That match starts play at noon on Chatrier, followed by four-time major champion Naomi Osaka’s match against 10th-seeded Spaniard Paula Badosa. Osaka has never been past the third round at Roland-Garros. Sinner, a three-time major winner and semifinalist here last year, is in action later Monday against Arthur Rinderknech.

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Nia Coffey had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Allisha Gray also scored 18 and and the Atlanta Dream beat the Connecticut Sun 79-55 on Sunday Atlanta led 48-43 four minutes into the second half then took control with a 15-5 run to finish the third quarter Gray had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists through three quarters. Connecticut managed only seven points in the fourth and finished at 31% shooting.

Maya Caldwell added 12 rebounds and six assists and Rhyne Howard had 11 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta (3-2). Gray had seven rebounds and three assists. Marina Mabrey led the Sun (0-4) with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Atlanta shot 41% and had a 52-34 rebounding advantage.

Reitan wins first European tour title at Soudal Open

ANTWERP, Belgium — Norwegian golfer Kristoffer Reitan captured his first European tour title by making birdie at the second playoff hole to win the Soudal Open at the expense of Ewen Ferguson and Darius van Driel on Sunday

Going out early in the final round, the No. 278-ranked Reitan shot a 9-under 62 to post the clubhouse target at 13 under Van Driel, ranked No. 331, shot 67 to join Reitan in the lead but the No 186-ranked Ferguson looked like taking his fourth European tour title as he went down the last with a one-stroke lead. However, his par putt lipped out to push him into a three-way playoff, which took place on No. 18.

Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

Christophe Clement, who trained longshot Tonalist to victory in the 2014 Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders’ Cup race in 2021, has died. He was 59. Clement announced his own death in a prepared statement that was shared on his stable’s X account on Sunday

“Unfortunately, if you are reading this, it means I was unable to beat my cancer,” it said. “As many of you know, I have been fighting an incurable disease, metastatic uveal melanoma.”

It’s a type of cancer that affects the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It accounts for just 5% of all melanoma cases in the U.S., however, it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to 50% of cases.

Vanderbilt beatsOle Miss to winSEC Tournament

Johnston,Humphreyhit

HOOVER,

asoloshot in the fifth and Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss 3-2 on Sunday to win the

home runs to lead Commodores past Rebels

SoutheasternConference Tournament and clinch aberthinthe NCAA Tournament.

Luke Guth (4-0) pitched12/3 inningswith three walksand three strikeouts. Sawyer Hawks worked twoinnings and gave up asolo

homer in the ninthtoearn his seventh save of the season. Vanderbilt (42-16), which has advanced to the past 19 NCAA tournaments, haswon eight games in arow.The Commodores, whoare apossible No. 1

INDY500

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Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying putwith 16 laps remaining and chargedahead —a move Ericsson said “will keep me up at night. What Idid andwhatIdidn’tdo.” Palou was never challengedfrom there, taking the checkered flag as acrash brought out acaution

He stopped the car justbeyond the Yard of Bricks,climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. Palou jumped downand took off in arun down the front stretch, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, and ultimately was engulfed by his father,Ramon, and his team in ajubilant celebration. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti both hugged him, apairofformer Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming him into theirexclusive club.

“I cannot believe it. What an amazing day.What an amazing race,” Palou said. “I cannot believe it. It was tough. Tough conditions out there, especially if youwere like, third or fourth in the pack. Even leading,the fuel consumption was super high, so they didn’t want me to lead. Iwanted to lead, honestly,soyeah, made it happen.” Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from hiscar in pitlaneand pressed his hands to his face, the disappointment of coming oh-so-close to asecond Indianapolis500 victory etched acrosshis face. David Maluks was third for A.J. Foyt Racing.

“It’sprettypainful,” Ericsson said of his second career Indy500 runner-up finish. “I need tolook at it again. Youreplay it in your head amillion times after the finish, wondering what Icould havedone differently.Second means nothing in this race.”

Josef Newgarden’sbid to win three consecutiveIndy 500s ended with afuel pump issue. He was trying to become the first driver to come from the back row to winbe-

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1993-96. The four great years from 1997-2000 then broughtonly one season of more than34wins over the next four seasons. The 2005-07 winning surge again was followed by two poor seasons Adecade afterithappened, we’re still talking about the201314 clubs almost daily, but UL won just 31 and 23 games thetwo seasons before those two historic campaigns. The point is following three straight regional appearances, including an outright Sun Belt championship, with atransition season should have been on many more bingo cards of fans with any understanding of the program’shistory

The Cajuns were picked to

“I cannot believe it.What an amazing day.What

an amazing race. Icannot believe it.Itwas tough.”

ALEXPALOU,race car driver,after winning the Indy500

cause heand Team Penske teammate Will Power weredropped to theback of the field for failing inspectionbefore the final rounds of qualifying Power wound up 19th,the highest-finishingPenske driver on a miserableday for theorganization owned by RogerPenske. He earlier this week fired his top three IndyCarexecutives for asecond technical infractioninjust over ayear,and has had to defend the opticsofhis teamsfailing inspectionswhenhealsoownsIndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and theIndy 500 Penskehas wonthe Indy 500a record 20 times.

finish third in theSun Belt race —mostly outofrespect as the reigning conference champions. They finished tied forfourth and trending down atthe endofthe season, butdid well to finish that high in the 14-team race.

To think UL was going to instantly overcomethe loss of a first-round pickshortstop in Kyle Debargeand thetremendous leadership team he formed with second baseman John Taylor was an unrealistic expectation.

That outlook seemed even more iffy when ahuge part of the solution was ahighly touted freshmanclass. It’sgreat having good young players, but countingon that many freshman to produce right away in Division Ibaseball was largely asinking-sand proposition from the start.

Andwhenyou addFriday night starter Chase Morgan never able to reach his dominant form be-

overall seed, awaitthe selection show on Monday Despite theloss, OleMiss(4019) might have played its way into hosting aregional next weekend. After Rustan Rigdonflied out and RJ Austin grounded out, Riley Nelson was hitbyapitch before Johnston’shomer opened the scoring in the first inning.

SKENES

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Skenes, is not coming anytime soon. Pittsburgh is last in the major leagues in runs with 157, and no high-profile position player prospect is ready to walk into the home clubhouse at PNC Park as abig leaguer anytime soon.

“Ben’sjob is to create awinning team and awinning organization,” Skenes said. “So, what it looks like to him (is up to him).”

Skenesadded if the Pirates decidedtomakesome sort of highly unusual move by trading oneof thesport’sbrightest young stars, even though he remainsunder team control forthe rest of the decade andisn’teven eligible for arbitration until 2027, he wouldn’t takeitpersonally

“I don’texpect it to happen,” Skenes stressed. “(But Cherington) is going to look outfor what’s bestfor the Pirates. If he feels (trading me)isthe right wayto go, then he feels that’sthe right way to go. But you know,Ihave to pitch well, that’sthe bottom line.”

Skenes has been every bit the generational talent Pittsburgh hopeditwas getting whenitselected him with the toppickinthe 2023 draft.

The6-foot-6 right-handerwas asensation from the momenthe made hisbig-league debut last May and even as the team around himhas scuffled—the Pirates tied amajor-league record by going 26 straightgames without scoring morethan four runs, astreak that ended in alosstothe Brewers on Thursday —hehas not.

Hayden Federico scored on a single by Mitchell Sandford in the fifth, but Humphrey’shomer made it 3-1 going into the sixth. Isaac Humphreyhit asoloshot to make it aone-run game in the ninthand AustinFawley andFederico each drew atwo-out walkbeforeHawks got BraydenRandle to pop out and end the threat.

Afterward, music blared and Skenes —who hasn’twon in a month despite having a2.32 ERA across hisfiveMay starts flashedasmile that wasamixture of happiness and relief

“It’snice to see us pull it out, which is something that we haven’tdoneasmuchtothis point in the year,” he said. “Hopefully it’sagood sign.”

The Pirates surecould use some.

Skeneshas been fully invested in the franchise since baseball commissioner Rob Manfred calledhis name in the amateur draft twoyears ago. He has embraced hisroleasone of baseball’sfirst Gen Zstars and has becomecomfortable being the face of the franchise, even if that franchisehasn’twon much of anything in 30-plus years.

The challenge of trying to help makethe Pirates truly matter is something Skeneshas eagerly accepted. He’sasinvested in the city as he is in the team itself

Asked if theoutside speculation that theclubshould move on from him so quickly is disrespectfultothe effort he’s made to be everything the Pirates have askedhim to be,the former Air Force cadet shrugged.

“I don’tfeelanything good or bad toward it,” he said.

It was thesixth Indy 500 win for Ganassi, who has been on adominating wave sincehiring Palou before the2021 season. Palou won the championship in his first year with the team, added two more titles, and now seems on pace for afourth one.

“I’ll tellyou what,that kid’sa good driver. Ithink he’s off to a good start,” Ganassi said. “We’re gonnahave agood season. It might be OK. Yeah, might be okay.Might be looking at achampionship.” Ganassi also vowed that winning theIndy 500 win “is going to make Alex Palou’scareer. It is goingto make his life.” Palou started the race tied with Pato O’Ward as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM Sportsbook. O’Ward finished fourth —the fifth time in six career starts the Mexican hasfinishedsixth or higher.Kyle Larson won’tcomplete “the double”after crashing out of theIndianapolis 500 beforehe headed to North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.

cause of injuries, BlakeMcGehee never securing aweekend starter spot and the bullpen never gettingthe expected boost from the transfer class, it really was overachieving to finish with awinning league record. “It’s awonder that we’re at where we’re at honestly,still scratchingand clawing,” Deggs said. “So I’mproud of thefight, but this ain’tit.” So while there may be some comforting historical aspects while trying to absorb this season, thebad news is it’s2025. Unlike all the previous stretches listed, there’sthat huge elephant in the room called total free agency and theabilitytopay athletes to play Programslike Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss are really good, no doubt.They’re also paying players alot more than UL has so far in this transactional

Fivedays after throwing the firstcompletegameofhis career in a1-0 loss to Philadelphia, Skeneskeptthe Brewersin check over six innings, giving up just one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. When he induced SalFrelick into agrounder to second to finish the sixth, many in the crowd of 24,646 rose to their feet to salute him as he sauntered his way back to thedugout. He exited with a2-1 lead, then watched from afar the struggling bullpen let it slip away The Pirates, in an all-too-rare occurrence, fought back, rallying to tie it in the ninth on Oneil Cruz’s second homerun, then winning it in the 10th when Adam Frazier raced homeonawild pitch.

Maybe becauseherealizes it’s simply not worth the energy It hasn’tbeen the start to 2025 that anybody associated with the Pirates has wanted. Skenes believes there’sbeen a“little bit morefight” since Don Kelly took over as manager. He believesthat he’s gaining more mastery over his ever-expanding arsenal. He believeshe’sdevelopingchemistry with catcher Henry Davis. That’salot foraveteran to handle, let alone someone who doesn’tturn 23 until this week. It’swhy focusing on his longterm future —orwhat others are saying about it —iswasted energy Skenes was asked about what it’sbeenlike to work with Davis, the top overall pick in the 2021 draft. His answer could have doubled for where Skenes finds himself in general as he tries to navigate the push-pull of stardom and all the trappings —both good and bad —that come with it.

“Just reallygot to keep doing whatwe’re doing,” he said,“continue learning and let everything take care of itself, Iguess.”

new world UL’s focus has been on keeping the players from leaving and developingthem.Ifall of the current freshman class stays, there’s achance most of them will develop to be very good players.

Butthat approach takes times and the other Sun Belt powers will likely be purchasing established veterans to compete against them

UL’s coaching staffhas largely leaned on powerful relationshipbuilding over new-school suitcase recruiting tactics to maintain a viable program.

On one hand, it’shard to imagine how the program can stay strong withoutahead coach like Deggs who is so good at building that kind of culture.

On the otherhand,money will be more convincing to mosttalented young players in this climate. There’scertainly atalented

sophomore class as afoundation to build upon. With morecoaching, they should stop throwing to wrong bases and giving away as manyat-bats.

“We’ve got somegood stuff to look at moving forward, but we’ve got someareas that —we’ve got to address someefficiencies,” Deggs added.

The messy finish to the season mostlikely meansmore roster movement this offseason with a lot of it being mutual.

As forthe pitching staff, this year’soffseason portal acquisitions will need to be farmore productive than last year’scrop. If so, perhaps it’ll be just aoneyear transition phase forthe Cajuns, although history says it’ll be at least two.

That, however,isassuming the new pay-to-play curveball isn’t harder to foul off than any of us realized.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByGENE J. PUSKAR Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of agame against the Milwaukee Brewers on FridayinPittsburgh.

Alex Palou heads into the first turnofthe Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Palou becamethe first Spaniard to winthe Indy500.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOSByAJMAST

Alex Palou, of Spain, is joined by his wife Esther Valle, left,and daughter Lucia on the yard of Bricks on the finish line after winning the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayinIndianapolis.

By The Associated Press

Ala. Brodie Johnston hit atwo-run home run in the first,Jacob Humphrey added

LIVING

HONORING THEFALLEN

What is Memorial Dayand howhas it evolvedfromits CivilWar origins?

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va.— Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that’ssupposed to be about mourningthe nation’sfallen servicemembers, butit’scome to anchorthe unofficialstartofsummer and along weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.

Iraq Warveteran Edmundo EugenioMartinez Jr.saidthe day has lost so much meaning that many Americans “conflateand mixupVeterans Day,Memorial Day,Armed Forces Day, July Fourth.”Socialmedia postspay tributeto“everyone” who has served, when Memorial Dayisabout those who died. For him, it’sabout honoring 17 U.S. service members he knew who lost their lives.

“I was either there when they died or they were soldiers of mine, buddies of mine,” said Martinez, 48, an Army veteran wholives in Katy,Texas, west of Houston. “Some of them lost the battle after the war.” Here is alookatthe holidayand how it has evolved:

BY SAMANTHA MASUNAGA Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOSANGELES Breea Milburn has been aStitch fan since the beginning. As achild, she got hooked after seeing the mischievous blue alien crash the fourth walland disrupt scenesfrom classic Disney films suchas“The Lion King” and “Aladdin” in the trailers for the original 2002 animated movie, “Lilo &Stitch.” Now at 32 years old, the South

next to ritual offeringsinthe Vietnamese tradition at thegravesite of her son, Marine Cpl. BinhN Le, whodied serving in Iraq in 2004.

WHEN IS MEMORIAL DAY?

It falls on the last Monday of May.This year,it’sonMay 26. WHYISMEMORIAL DAYCELEBRATED?

It’s aday of reflectionand remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S.military, according to the Congressional Research Service. The holiday is

Carolinaresident has amassed a collection of Stitchmerchandise —including pins, plush dolls and apurse that makes it look like he’s attached to herhip —largely given to herbyfamily and friends. Although Milburn loves Stitch’s troublemaking ways, she said she also appreciatesthe serious themes the movie tackles by following ayounggirl’sadventures and struggles in Hawaii with her sister after their parents’ death.

ä See STITCH, page 6C

observed in part by theNational Moment of Remembrance,which encourages allAmericans to pause at 3p.m. for amoment of silence.

WHATARE THE ORIGINS OF MEMORIAL DAY?

The holiday’sorigins can be traced to the American Civil War, whichkilled more than 600,000 service members —both Union andConfederate —between 1861 and 1865.

The first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day occurredonMay 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veteranscalled for decorating war graveswith flowers, which were in bloom.

The practice was already widespread. Waterloo, New York, began aformal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be theholiday’sbirthplace.

YetBoalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864, according tothe Library of Congress. And women in some Confederate states weredecorating graves before the war’send.

ä See MEMORIAL, page 6C

Howtodeal with difficult behaviors as disease progresses

What are some triggers that maybe the cause of challenging behaviors in people with Alzheimer’sdisease?

Aperson with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia mostlikely will experience significant behavioral changes, including agitation, aggression, anxiety,depression, hallucinations and paranoia. Such behaviors that challenge refer to actions or reactions that may be disruptive or harmfultothe affected person and the people around them. Among those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, these common and challenging behaviors occur because of changes in the brain during the disease progression that affect cognitive function, mood regulation and impulse control. These challenging behaviors, or behavioral expressions, are mostoften triggered by communication difficulties, sensory overload, changes in routine or environment, physical discomfort or pain, and unmet needs or desires. Communication difficulties are apparent in the early stages of Alzheimer’sdisease. The inability to clearly communicate the affected person’s needs and desires leads to anxiety,frustration and helplessness, thus resulting in negative behavioral expressions. Further,difficulties in comprehension can lead to misunderstandings, confusion or feelings of being overwhelmed.

Another trigger forbehavioral expressions is sensory overload, astate in which the affected person’ssenses are bombarded with moreinformation than the brain can effectively manage. Loud noises, crowded spaces, bright or flashing lights, strong smells, certain textures, and even emotionally intense situations can trigger behavioral challenges in affected people who experience difficulties processing sensory information. Affected people may engage in behavioral expressions such as aggression, self-harming or withdrawal.

People with Alzheimer’s disease appreciate structure and routine, so changes in the routine or environment can cause feelings of uncertainty, anxiety or frustration. Disruption in their familial schedule can lead to behavioral expressions as the person struggles to manage the change, and they may exhibit negative behavioral expressions in an attempt to regain asense of control or maintain asense of familiarity and security

Affected people struggle with communication and have limited verbal skills and challenges with their cognitive abilities. Therefore, physical discomfort or pain that they cannot express becomes asignificant trigger whichcan manifest in anumber of ways. The person maybecomemore combative with others, mayyell or scream more, withdrawfrom others, exhibit aggression, or display

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOSByJACQUELyN MARTIN

Amember of the ArmyvisitsSection 60 of Arlington National CemeteryonMay 27, 2024, on Memorial Day.

Kim Hoan Nguyen, of Falls Church, Va., whoisoriginally from Vietnam, touches her son’sgravestone

DISNEy/TNSPHOTO

An alien, Stitch, voiced by Chris Sanders, and Lilo, played by Maia Kealoha, develop abondinthe live-action remakeof‘Lilo &Stitch.’

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, May 26, the 146th day of 2025. There are 219 days left in the year

This is Memorial Day Today in history: On May 26, 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II. On this date: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure creating the Montana Territory In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924, which barred immigration from Asia and restricted the total number of immigrants from other parts of the world to 165,000 annually In 1927, the Ford Model T officially ended production as Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model T off the Ford assembly line in Highland Park, Michigan. In 1938, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee was established by

STITCH

Continued from page 5C

Stitch is thrown in as the “humor element in what’s really a dark story, but also a more realistic story that I think can resonate more with people,” she said. “This is more than just a character that’s pure chaos.” Milburn, and the legions of Stitch aficionados like her, are why Walt Disney Co. may be about to have its next $1 billion blockbuster movie

The new live-action remake, out this weekend, is expected to haul in $120 million to $150 million through Monday at the domestic box office, according to analysts’ estimates. That would be an extraordinary success, especially coming after Disney’s latest redo of an animated classic, “Snow White,” flopped badly

It’s all the more surprising because the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” was only a modest box-office performer, grossing a total of $273 million worldwide.

That movie came during a fallow period after the socalled Disney renaissance that created acclaimed animated films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Tarzan.” There are no permanent rides in Disney’s theme parks focused on Stitch to keep him constantly in the public eye.

The audience for the new movie, which cost an estimated $100 million to produce, is expected to be multigenerational, with children well-represented alongside millennials who were kids when the 2002 film came out, said Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. Although the character has its strongest appeal among girls, Disney is banking on boys showing up too.

“We do believe with this movie, we have the opportunity to get everybody,” he said. “To do the kind of box office that I think we’re going to do, you need to get everybody, and I do believe we will.” Stitch has become an unlikely star among Disney’s characters. The blue alien is so popular that he ranks in the top 10 bestselling Dis-

BEHAVIORS

Continued from page 5C

other harmful behaviors as ways to express their distress or attempts to alleviate their discomfort. Unmet needs or desires are perhaps the most common triggers for negative behavior expressions. Teepa Snow, dementia care specialist and founder of Positive Approach to Care, lists unmet physical and emotional needs that can be tied to challenges in behavior: hunger/thirst, tired/overstimulated, bowel/urinary distress,

Congress. In 1954, an explosion occurred aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington off Rhode Island, killing 103 sailors. In 1967, the Beatles album “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released In 1972, President Richard M Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in Moscow following the SALT I negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty under President George W. Bush in 2002.) In 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida. In 2009, California’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban but said the 18,000 same-sex weddings that had taken place before the prohibition passed were still valid. (Same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in

ney franchises, alongside stalwarts such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the princesses, Star Wars and Marvel, the company said.

The “Lilo & Stitch” franchise, which includes some animated series, TV films and direct-to-video movies, has driven 546 million hours of global viewership on Disney+, with the original 2002 movie accounting for more than half of that. Viewership of the “Lilo & Stitch” catalog also has gone up significantly every year, based on the hours streamed, Disney said. On the retail side, sales of Stitch-themed merchandise totaled about $2.6 billion last year Some current highlights are collectible Spam cans, a more than 4-foot-tall remote controlled inflatable, Stitch dog costumes and “Lilo & Stitch”-inspired makeup sets.

Bergman said Stitch’s enduring popularity “definitely” played a role in greenlighting the live-action film. And there could be more to come.

“This property lends itself to more, and we’re figuring out exactly what that is,” Bergman said. “Clearly, the characters have stood the test of time, and this (film) is going to reinvigorate the franchise yet again.”

So what is it about this koala-esque alien who picks his nose with his own tongue that has resonated with consumers for more than two decades?

Although Stitch is often described as a fun-loving agent of chaos, his deeper characteristics make him not so different from other Disney heroes, said Lindsay Hahn, an assistant professor of communication at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

As a media psychologist who focuses on morality and has researched more than 730 Disney movies, Hahn found that the Disney hero prototype is often willing to break the rules if that’s what’s necessary to help others. (Think of Mulan, who flouts authority and enlists in the army to save her father.)

Stitch’s dedication to family and care for others — in addition to his commotionmaking ways — puts him squarely in that mold, she said.

discomfort/pain, feelings of anger sadness, loneliness, fear, boredom, and psychosocial needs such as comfort, compassion, occupational, attachment, identity and inclusion. These unmet needs and desires trigger behavioral expressions such as wandering, repetition, inappropriate language, incoherent speech and sleep disturbances. It is important to remember that the behavioral changes are a result of the disease and not a reflection of the person’s character Caregivers should acknowledge the person’s feelings, redirect and distract simplify and reduce stimuli,

June 2015.)

2009, President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2011, Ratko Mladic, the brutal Bosnian Serb general suspected of leading the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, was arrested after a 16-year manhunt. (Extradited to face trial in The Hague, Netherlands, Mladic was convicted in 2017 on genocide and war crimes charges and is serving a life sentence.)

Today’s birthdays: Sportscaster Brent Musburger is 86. Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks is 77. Actor Pam Grier is 76. Country singer Hank Williams Jr is 76. Celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto is 70. Actor Genie Francis is 63. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 63. Musician Lenny Kravitz is 61. Actor Helena Bonham Carter is 59. Actor Joseph Fiennes is 55. Actorproducer-writer Matt Stone is 54. Singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill is 50. Singer Jaheim is 47.

“In many ways, he checks all of those boxes quite perfectly,” Hahn said. “He just tends to do it in a way that seems maybe a little more outside the typical Disney hero because he’s seemingly unpredictable and cute.”

Stitch’s emphasis on finding his place in the world also may be a factor in his oddly relatable appeal said Tamar Rimmon, vice president of research and analytics strategy at Fandom, which hosts information pages on entertainment topics.

“There’s this emotional connection The whole theme of finding your own family, I think, is something that really resonates in our current culture, especially with millennials and Gen Z,” she said.

Out of nearly 2,000 Disney franchise communities, “Lilo & Stitch” has ranked in the top 20 for the last five years, according to data from Fandom. Stitch, in particular was the 11th most popular Disney character on Fandom in the last year, and the 21st most popular character over the last five years, the company said (Rankings are based on page views on Fandom’s site.)

In 2024, Stitch was largely surpassed only by characters who were featured in recent movies, including the emotions from DisneyPixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Scar and Mufasa from “The Lion King” and Moana. The only three older characters that beat Stitch were Mickey Mouse, Stitch’s female counterpart Angel, and Elsa from the animated hit “Frozen.”

“There are constantly new (intellectual properties) that will come and unseat characters who come from older movies,” Rimmon said. “But that’s what I think speaks even more strongly to the staying power of Stitch.”

That sort of lasting popularity reminds Milburn, the Stitch fan, of another prominent and highly merchandiseable character who isn’t tied to current film or TV — Hello Kitty

“It’s that familiar face,” she said. “Just by his name and his cuteness alone, he has been able to capture generations and generations.”

communicate effectively, provide structure and routine, identify triggers, and above all, provide reassurance and comfort. Additionally, caregivers can seek support from other caregivers, support groups or professionals to manage behavioral expressions.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

David Blight, a Yale history professor, points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people, many of them Black, held a parade, heard speeches and dedicated the graves of Union dead in Charleston, South Carolina.

A total of 267 Union troops had died at a Confederate prison and were buried in a mass grave. After the war, members of Black churches buried them in individual graves.

“What happened in Charleston does have the right to claim to be first, if that matters,” Blight told The Associated Press in 2011.

WHEN DID MEMORIAL DAY BECOME A SOURCE OF CONTENTION?

As early as 1869, The New York Times wrote that the holiday could become “sacrilegious” and no longer “sacred” if it focused more on pomp, dinners and oratory

In an 1871 Decoration Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery abolitionist Frederick Douglass said he feared Americans were forgetting the Civil War’s impetus: enslavement.

“We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation’s destroyers,” Douglass said.

His concerns were wellfounded, said Ben Railton, a professor of English and American studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Although roughly 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army, the holiday in many communities would essentially become “white Memorial Day,” especially after the rise of the Jim Crow South, Railton told the AP in 2023.

In the 1880s, then-President Grover Cleveland was said to have spent the holiday going fishing — and “people were appalled,” Matthew Dennis, an emeri-

tus history professor at the University of Oregon, previously told the AP But when the Indianapolis 500 held its inaugural race on May 30, 1911, a report from the AP made no mention of the holiday — or any controversy HOW HAS MEMORIAL DAY CHANGED?

Dennis said Memorial Day’s potency diminished somewhat with the addition of Armistice Day, which marked World War I’s end on Nov 11, 1918 Armistice Day became a national holiday by 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

In 1971, Congress changed Memorial Day from every May 30 to the last Monday in May Dennis said the creation of the three-day weekend recognized that Memorial Day had long been transformed into a more generic remembrance of the dead, as well as a day of leisure.

Just a year later, Time Magazine wrote that the holiday had become “a three-day nationwide hootenanny that seems to have lost much of its original purpose.”

WHY IS MEMORIAL DAY TIED TO SALES AND TRAVEL?

Even in the 19th century, grave ceremonies were fol-

lowed by leisure activities such as picnicking and foot races, Dennis said. The holiday also evolved alongside baseball and the automobile, the five-day work week and summer vacation, according to the 2002 book “A History of Memorial Day: Unity, Discord and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In the mid-20th century, a small number of businesses began to open defiantly on the holiday Once the holiday moved to Monday, “the traditional barriers against doing business began to crumble,” authors Richard Harmond and Thomas Curran wrote. These days, Memorial Day sales and traveling are deeply woven into the nation’s muscle memory But Martinez, the Iraq War veteran in Texas, is posting photos and stories on social media about the service members he knows who died.

“I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer and tell you not to have your hot dogs and your burgers. But give them at least a couple minutes,” he said. “Give them some silence. Say a little prayer Give them a nod. There’s a bunch of families out there that don’t have loved ones.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN Families visit Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., on May 27, 2024, in honor of Memorial Day.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Changing your environment or lifestyle will lift your spirits and enrich your mind. Learning, conversing and interacting with people will help you gain momentum. Physical activities are in your best interest.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Redirect your energy to avoid encounters that can harm your reputation or jeopardize your position. Take time to rethink your strategy and fine-tune your plans to ensure you achieve your goals.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Maintain stability; now is not the time to move, decide or show your true feelings. Put your energy into self-improvement. Creative thinking,stamina,determinationandfinishing what you start will help you gain recognition.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take a breather and consider your options. Don't risk your money or health. Time is on your side, and research will pay off. Distance yourself from tense situations.

LIBRA (sept. 24-oct. 23) Your curiosity will be sparked if you participate in events, talks and activities. Taking short trips and getting together with people who share your concerns will prove valuable. A partnership is favored.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) It's positive change that will make a difference, not bullying or pressure tactics. Map out a solid and easy-to-understand plan, and you'll gain support. Networking events will be eye-opening.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Avoid going overboard. A steady pace and a clear

picture of your end goal will help you get what you want. Change only what's necessary. Be frugal, and you'll get your desired results.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Finish what you start and honor your promises. Do your best to avoid controversy by being as upfront as possible. Leave nothing to the imagination, and do not let anyone take advantage of you.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Look over your financial situation; if necessary, talk to an adviser, and make adjustments to suit your lifestyle. Making home improvements or sharing expenses will lead to an interesting arrangement.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Relyonyourself. You'll regret giving someone else the power to act on your behalf. A straightforward approach and will pay off. Work hard and have fun.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Ifyouwantsomething, be creative and invest in whatever helps you achieve your heart's desire. Less talk and more action will pay off. Size up situations and do your part.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Refuse to let negativity consume you. If you don't like something, change it; if you want something, make it happen. Pursue opportunities that energize you and make you feel good about yourself and your choices.

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

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy's cLuE: X EQuALs u

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

nea CroSSwordS

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject 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. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Saturday’s PuzzleAnswer

La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

BenHecht, whowas known as the Shakespeare of Hollywood, said, “Trying to determinewhat is going on in the world by reading newspapersislike trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of aclock.”

When aplayer makes his secondbid, he should give more information about the distribution and strength of hishand thanhesupplied with hisinitial call.

Let’s look at theopener’s choices this week afterpartner hasresponded at the one-level.WhatshouldSouthrebidinthis deal?

This is the basic theory: If he makes aminimumrebid, he shows minimum count,sometimes 12-14points;atother timesitwill be 12-16 (or an unexciting 17).Ifopener makes ajump rebid, he guarantees extra strength, 15-17 or (17plus) 18-20. Also, if he bids anew suit at thetwo-level, he indicates at leastfive cards in his first suit. Bidding asuitfor thesecondtimepromisesatleastsix.And no-trumpspecifies abalanced hand.

Here,Southshouldrebidtwono-trump, showing(agood 17) or 18 or 19 (or abad 20).This rebid does not deny afour-card majorand is in principle game-forcing. Againstthreeno-trump,Westleadsthe heartjack.Southhaseighttoptricks:two spades, three hearts, one diamond and two clubs. His best chance is a3-2 diamond split.However, dummy is short of entries. The rightplay is to wintrick one andduck(lose)adiamond.Declarerwins the second heart and ducks another diamond. He takes the next (heart) play by East, leads hislast diamond to dummy’s ace, and cashes thetwo remaining winnersinthe suit, giving him 10 tricks in all. ©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional

explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD ActuAtED: AK-choo-way-ted: Put into mechanical action or motion.

Average mark11words

Timelimit 20 minutes

Can you find 17 or morewords in ACTUATED?

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield B.C.