They’remembers of pilotclass in dual-enrollment program
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Eighteen seniors at GlenOaks High School flipped the usual chronology last week, earning collegelevel associate degrees and then four days later collecting their high school diplomas.
It’sanimpressive achievement in which they had to complete aseriesofcourses over the four years they spent at Glen Oaks. They are part of asmall but growing trend of studentsinLouisianaearning two degrees at once when they finish their senior year of high school.
“I still can’tbelieve it’sreally happening,” said Milan Beauchamp.“I’m graduating from college before high school.”
“Weare actually making history,” said fellow dual graduate Alayah Abbott.
Glen Oaks joined asmall group of “early colleges” in fall 2021 when about 80 ninth graders were enrolled in college-level, dual-enrollment courses through Baton Rouge Community College. They are the pilot class of Pathways to Bright Futures, the brainchild of then-Superintendent Sito Narcisse, aprogram that went districtwide in fall 2022.
These 18 seniors are the most successful of that original cohort from the traditional high school at 6650 Cedar Grove Drive. Many of their classmates have earned college credits as well, though not enough for an associate degree, credits that may give them aleg up on their peers if they decide to continue their education after high school.
The 18 dual graduates first donned caps and gowns onMay 19 at the BRCC commencement ceremony at the RaisingCane’s River Center.Fourdays later, they walkedthe stage at theF.G. Clark Activity Center at Southern University along with their fellow graduating Glen Oaks High seniors At theRiver Center,WillieSmith, BRCC’schancellor,congratulated the assembled graduates for the many obstacles they’d overcome to get there.
ä See DIPLOMAS, page 6A
Anailah Henderson and Lauren Hayeswavetothe crowd with classmates from Glen Oaks High School during BatonRouge Community College’s2025 spring commencement ceremonyonMay 19 at the Raising Cane’sRiver Center in Baton Rouge.
JAMBALAYA JACKPOT
ABOVE: Jayden White, 14, right, smells his pot of jambalaya during Saturday’sJunior Jambalaya Champcontest.Cookinghelper Jason Beck holdsthe pot lid. Whitewon thecontest. BELOW: Champion Jared White and his wife, BrittanyWhite,prepare their winning pot of jambalayafor the 58th annual GonzalesJambalaya Festival,held at theLamar-Dixon Expo Center on Saturday. This year’sfestival, the first since moving fromits longtime spot along Irma Boulevard to the Expo Centerjust outside the city limits, also featured lots of other firsts —admission was charged, ajunior cooking competition was added and twoair-conditionedstages were in play.
BY ALYSE PFEIL and SOPHIEKASAKOVE Staff writers
Lessthana year after Louisiana agreed to let people carry concealed weapons in public without apermit, bills are now moving through the state Legislature to allowmore people to have concealed guns close to schools and along parade routes.
On the Fourth of July,constitutional carry —a term favoredby gun rights advocates referring to theSecondAmendment righttobear arms —became law in Louisiana. Last year,lawmakers also strengthenedthestate’spreemptionofanylocal gun lawsthat weremore restrictive, prohibiting theenforcementofthose ordinances anddeclaring them null and void.
Now,people 18 or older can carry agun in many public places either openly or concealed, so long as they aren’totherwise prohibited by federal or state law from having afirearm, for example, due to felony or domestic violence convictions.
Under the state’sgun-free school zone law,however,aLouisiana concealed carry permit is still needed to have afirearm within 1,000 feet of aschool.
That could change with abill sponsored by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-NewIberia,who foryears has championed gun-rights legislation,including last year’spermitless carry law.
Anyone legally allowed to carry a gun, including those without permits, would be able to do so up to aschool’s property line under Senate Bill 101. Miguez said thatwhenhebrought the constitutional carry bill last year, he committed to ensuring consistency across Louisiana’sgun laws for those whocarry under the new constitutional carry provision, those with a Louisiana permit, and those with recognized permits from another state.
“I want oneset of rulesthattreats law-abiding citizens fairly,not creating apatchwork of laws,” he said in an interview.“We never want a law-abiding citizen criminalized because of somecomplication in the lawthattheyweren’t aware of.”
Another measure would clarify that laws restricting concealed carry at parades only apply to those actually in the parade, not those watching.
The proposals come after state and NewOrleans officials last year clashed over thecity’sefforts to establish afirearm-freeschool zone in the city’sFrench Quarter to skirt the state’srelaxation of gun regulations. Leatrice Dupre, aspokesperson forMayor LaToya Cantrell,said thatthe city “recognizes the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; however,the city does notagree with the ideathatmoreguns on the street will necessarily make people safer.”
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAELJOHNSON
PHOTO By MOLLyBAHLINGER
PHOTO By WENDyLOUP
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Suspected arson causes 2nd outage in France
NICE, France Asecond major power outage hit southeastern France early Sunday,thistime in thecityofNice, after an electrical facility was damaged by suspected arson.
Police currentlyhavenot established alink between the blackout that affectedparts of Nice as well as nearbycities of Cagnes-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-du-Var,and apoweroutage on Saturdaythatdisrupted the city of Cannes during the closing day of its renowned filmfestival.
The Nice blackout started about 2a.m. and left some 45,000 households without electricity
The city’strams stopped and power was briefly cut to theNice Côte d’Azurairport during its overnight closure hours.
Power was fully restored by 5:30 a.m., according to the energy provider companyEnedis.
The Nice public prosecutor said acriminal investigationhas beenopenedfor “organized arson.”
On Saturday,two otherinstallations in the Alpes Maritime department were damaged in what officialsalso suspected to be arson, temporarily cutting powerto160,000 homes,including events at the Cannes Film Festival.
An unknown anarchist group claimed responsibility for the Cannes outage in alengthy posting on the website indymedia. org.
“Weare two bands of anarchists,” said the statement published Sunday by an unknown user.“We claim responsibility for the attack on electrical installations on the Côte d’Azur.”
Authorities have not verified the statement, and police have not commented on the claim.
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 Ukraine were members of the “Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and
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.
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 hoped her brother might be released in thefirst part of the exchange on Friday “Wewere worried about all the guys. He wasn’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 talks.
Thescale of theonslaught was stunning Russiahit Ukraine with 367 drones andmissiles, the largest single aerial attack of the war,according to Yuriy Ihnat,a spokesperson for Ukraine’sAir Force.
In all, Russiaused69 missiles of varioustypes
and 298 drones, including Iranian-designedShahed drones,hetoldThe 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,commemorating itsfounding in the 5th century Zelenskyy said Russian missilesand drones hit more than 30 cities andvillages, and urged Western partners to ramp up sanctions on Russia —along-standing demand of the Ukrainian leader but one that despite
warnings to Moscow by the United States andEurope 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.
“America’s silence,the silence of others in the world, only encourages” Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said. “Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help.”
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trumpsaid Sundaythat the U.S. will delay implementationofa 50%tariffongoods from the EuropeanUnion from June 1until July 9tobuy time for negotiations with the bloc. That agreementcame after acall Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the presidentofthe European Commission, whohad told Trump that she “wants to getdown to serious negotiations,” according to the U.S.president’sretelling.
“I told anybody that
would listen, theyhave to do that,” Trump told reporters on Sunday in Morristown, New Jersey,as he preparedtoreturn to Washington. Vonder Leyen,Trump said, vowed to “rapidly get together and seeifwecan worksomethingout.”
In asocialmedia post Friday,Trump had threatened to impose the 50%tariffonEUgoods, complaining thatthe 27-member bloc had been “very difficult to deal with” on trade and that negotiations were “going nowhere.” Those tariffs would have kicked in starting June 1.
Butthe call withvon der Leyen appeared to smooth over tensions, at least for now
“I agreed to the extension —July9,2025— It was my privilege to do so,” TrumpsaidonTruth Social shortly after he spoke with reporters on Sunday evening.
Forher part, von der Leyen said theEUand the U.S. “share theworld’s most consequential and close trade relationship.” “Europeisready to advancetalks swiftly and decisively,” she said. “To reacha good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByABBIE PARR
Aperson visits the spot of GeorgeFloyd’smurder at GeorgeFloyd Square in Minneapolis on Sunday,the fifth anniversaryofFloyd’sdeath.
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Pope completes formalities to become bishop of Rome
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 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.
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
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.
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
Members of Jewish youth movements unfurl a giant Israeli flag on Sunday on the eve of Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the
of the Old
during the
to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
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 south-
ern 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.
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 complete the symbolic and liturgical ‘taking possession’ of the four major basilicas that signify full papal authority within the city.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG
capture
City
1967 Mideast war next
Trumpcalls DigitalEquityAct racist andlooks to endit
Programisaimed at filling gaps in thedigital divide
BY BARBARA ORTUTAY and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press
PORTLAND,Ore. One program distributes laptops in rural Iowa. Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helene washed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teacholder people, 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,a federal grant program meant to help 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,” though the programwas actually funded with $2.75 billion. 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 theUnited States.The broadband program itself was akey component of the $1 trillion infrastructure law pushed through by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Digital Equity Act was intended to fill gaps and cover unmet needs that surfaced during the massive broadband rollout. It gave statesand tribes flexibility to deliver high-speed internet access to families that could not afford it, computers to kids who did not have them, telehealth access to older adultsinrural areas, and training and job skills to veterans.
Whether Trump has the legal authority to end the program remains unknown. But for now the Republican administration can simply
stopspending the money.
“I just felt my heart break for what we were finally,finally in this country,going to address, thedigitaldivide,” said Angela Siefer,executive director of the National DigitalInclusionAlliance,a nonprofit that was awarded —but hasnot received—a $25.7 million grant to work with groupsacross thecountrytohelpprovide access to technology.“The digital divide is notjust physical access to theinternet,itisbeing able to use that to do what youneed to do.”
Theword‘equity’
While thename of theprogram likely gotittargeted —the Trumpadministration has been aggressively scrubbing the government of programs that promote diversity,equity or inclusion —the Digital Equity Act was supposed to be broader in scope.
Though Trumpcalled it racist, thewords“race” or “racial” appear just twice in the law’stext:once, alongside“color, religion,national origin,sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability,”ina passagestating that no groupsshould be excluded from funding, andlater, in alistofcovered populations,along with older adults, veterans, peoplewith disabilities, English learners, people with low literacy levels and ruralAmericans.
“Digital Equity passed with overwhelmingbipartisan support,” said Democratic Sen. PattyMurray of Washington, theact’schief proponent,inastatement. “And that’sbecause my Republican colleagues have heard the same stories as Ihave —like kids in ruralcom-
munities forced to drive to McDonaldsparking lots for Wi-Fi to do theirhomework.
“It is insane —absolutely nuts —thatTrump is blocking resources to help make sure kids in rural school districts can get hot spots or laptops, all because he doesn’t like the wordequity!”
TheNational Telecommunications and InformationAdministration, which administersthe program, declined tocomment.It’s notentirely clear howmuch of the $2.75 billion has been awarded,thoughlast March theNTIA announced theallocation of $811 million to states, territories and tribes ‘Moreconfident’
On arecent morning in Portland, Oregon, Brandon Dorn was among those taking akeyboard basics class offered by Free Geek,a nonprofit that provides free courses to help people learn to use computers. The class was offered at alow-income housing building to make it accessible for residents.
Dorn andthe others were given laptopsand shown the differentfunctions of keys: control, shift and caps lock, how to copyand paste. They played atyping gamethat taught finger and key placement on acolor-coded keyboard.
Dorn, 63, said the classes helpedbecause “in this day and age, everything has to go through thecomputer.” He said it helped him feel more confident and lessdependent on his children or grandchildren to do things such as making appointments online “Folks my age, we didn’t get this luxurybecause we weretoo busyworking, rais-
U.S.-Germancitizen chargedwith trying to attack U.S. EmbassyinTel Aviv
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK Adual U.S.German citizen has been arrested on charges that he traveled to Israel and attempted to firebombthe branch office of theU.S. EmbassyinTel Aviv,officials said Sunday Federal prosecutors in New York said the man, Joseph Neumeyer,walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with abackpack containing Molotov cocktails butgot into aconfrontation with aguard and eventually ranaway, droppinghis backpack as the guard tried to grab him.
Law enforcement then tracked Neumeyerdownto ahotel afew blocksaway from theembassy andarrestedhim,accordingtoa criminal complaint filed in theEastern District of New York. Theattack took place against the backdrop of Israel’swar in Gaza, now in its 19th month Neumeyer,28, whoisoriginallyfrom Colorado and has dual U.S. and German citizenship, had traveled from the U.S. to Canada in early February andthen arrived in Israel in late April, accordingtocourt records. He hadmadeaseries of threat-
ening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said.
Israeliofficials deported Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initialcourtappearance before afederal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday,the sameday his criminal complaint was unsealed.
Neumeyer’scourt-appointed attorneyJeff Dahlberg declined to comment.
During his first term, President DonaldTrump recognizedJerusalem as Israel’s capital despitePalestinian objectionsand movedthe U.S. Embassy from TelAviv to thecontested city
Rugaya Ismail, center, is reflected in acomputer screen on May15 during a keyboard basics class offered by Free Geek in Portland, Ore.
ing thefamily,” he said. “So this is agreat way to help us help ourselves.”
Juan Muro, Free Geek’s executive director,said participantsget thetoolsand skills theyneed to access things like online banking, job applications, online education programs and telehealth.He said Trump’smove to end funding hasput nonprofits such as Free Geek in aprecarious position, forcing them to make up thedifference through their own fundraising and “begfor money to just provide individuals withessentialstuff.”
Sara Nichols works for the LandofSky Regional Council, amulticounty planning anddevelopment organization in western North Carolina. On theFridaybefore Trump’sinauguration in January, theorganization received notice thatitwas approved for agrant. But like other groups The Associated Presscontacted, it has not seen any money Land of Sky had spent alot of resources helping people recover from last year’s storms.The award notice, Nicholssaid, came as “incredible news.”
“Butbetween this and the state losing, getting theirlettersterminated, we feel just likestuck. Whatare 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 internetaccess at home, according to the PewResearchCenter. In ruralcommunities, thenumber jumps to 27%.
Beyond giving people access to technology andfast internet, many programs funded by the DigitalEquity Act sought to provide “digital navigators” —human helpers to guide people new to the online world.
“In the UnitedStates we do nothaveaconsistent source of funding to help individuals get online, understand how to be safe online and how to use that technology to accomplish all the things that are required now as part of life thatare online,” said Siefer of the National DigitalInclusion Alliance.
This includeseverything from providing families withinternethot spots so theycan getonlineathome to helping seniors avoidon-
line scams.
“Health,workforce, education, jobs, everything, right?” Siefer said. “This law was going to be the start forthe U.S. to figure out this issue. It’s anew issueinthe big schemeofthings, because nowtechnology is no longer anice-to-have. You have to have the internet andyou havetoknowhow to use the technology just to survive, let alone to thrive today.”
Siefer said the word“equity” in thename probably prompted Trump to target theprogramfor elimination “But it meansthat he didn’tactually look at what this program does,” she said. “Because who doesn’twant grandma to be safe online? Who doesn’twant aveteran to be able to talktotheir doctor rather than get in acar anddrive twohours? Who doesn’twant students to be able to do their homework?”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JENNy KANE
“Go forward with courage, lead with kindness and always find a way to leave your mark,” Smith exhorted them.
When her turn to speak came, Sarah Barlow, BRCC’s provost and vice chancellor, singled out the youngest graduates in the large audience.
“All the high school students earning their college credential today, please stand,” Barlow said, sparking a roar from the River Center crowd.
“Among them are the trailblazing students from Glen Oaks High School,” she continued, sparking another roar Glen Oaks was not the only school Barlow singled out. She also noted that another Baton Rouge school, GEO Next Generation High, also has several graduating seniors earning associate degrees, the third consecutive year for that school.
These new dual graduates are joining a small but growing club
In spring 2024, some 243 high school graduates in Louisiana also managed to simultaneously earn an associate degree. That’s up from 148 five years earlier There were about 40,000 high school graduates in Louisiana overall that year.
Slower growth than anticipated
While the number of students taking dual-enrollment courses in
RIGHTS
Continued from page 1A
School gun-free zones
During a public vetting of Senate Bill 101 at a committee meeting this month, Miguez said that reducing restrictions on carrying concealed firearms within 1,000 feet of a school is about bringing consistency to Louisiana’s gun laws.
“This allows individuals who are carrying, by constitutional carry the same rights as those who carry with a permit within a thousand foot of a school zone,” he said. “It does not allow an individual any additional rights to carry on school property.”
Dan Zelenka, president of the Louisiana Shooting Association, noted that those who have concealed carry permits from other states recognized as valid through reciprocity agreements aren’t allowed to carry a gun within the 1,000-foot gun-free school zone.
“The reason this is a big deal is that a thousand feet from a school property line is three blocks, and if you were to accidentally carry within those three blocks, you can be charged with a felony,” he said.
Kelby Seanor, the National Rifle Association’s state director, echoed that concern
“We simply just don’t want law-abiding gun owners to get ensnared with a felony,” he told lawmakers.
Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission in New Orleans said that the proposals to roll back restrictions in school zones pose a major safety threat.
“For every one example of a firearm preventing a crime from occurring there are going to be multiple examples of a bad out-
Baton Rouge has grown over time, the growth of the Pathways program has been much slower than envisioned by former Superintendent Narcisse.
Narcisse structured Pathways originally as a program that would lead to all high school students, regardless of their background, earning enough college credits to put them in range to earn an associate degree.
“For programs that help kids have advantages, why are they always for some and not for all?”
Narcisse asked at the time.
The program is still a long way from matching that vision.
The latest figures show that 1,737 students across the district — 571 of them ninth graders — were registered this spring in dual-enrollment classes. That’s 600 more students overall than in spring 2023, but 200 fewer ninth graders.
Initial financial projections anticipated that by now at least 2,500 students a year — some scenarios anticipated far more — would be enrolled in Pathways courses.
Liberty High accounts for the bulk of the Pathways growth. At that selective admissions high school, 2 out of 3 students took dual-enrollment courses this spring. That’s 500 more than two
come with a firearm in those areas that’s why those laws were passed,” Goyeneche said. “It’s really commonsensical and it’s really a fundamental public safety issue.”
The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education declined to comment on the legislation, and the Louisiana School Boards Association did not respond to a request for comment.
The bill would also remove privately owned vocationaltechnical schools from the list of schools where guns are prohibited.
“They just get to decide on their own whether they want to restrict guns or they don’t want to restrict guns,” Miguez said, calling it a matter of property rights.
Guns at parades
Louisiana law includes a list of several places into which “no concealed handgun may be carried.”
Among those are parades and demonstrations being held with a government permit.
The language has led to conflict over whether it is against the law for parade spectators to carry
firearms or whether the law is a prohibition aimed at people directly participating in parades.
Rep. Dennis Bamburg Jr., RBossier City, said legislation he is sponsoring is meant to address that confusion.
“This is a badly needed cleanup bill,” he said of House Bill 393 during a public hearing on the measure. “It just basically clarifies in law that you cannot carry if you’re an active participant in a parade or a demonstration, but this shall not apply to a bystander or spectator who attends a parade.”
But Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans, questioned the logic of the law
“It seems backwards to me,” Knox said. “In all transparency, I would want to carry a gun if I’m riding in a float rather than being defenseless to a bystander at a parade who can carry a gun. That’s where I’m confused.”
Over the years, a number of attempts have been made to ban firearms at parades, including 2009 legislation to ban guns within 1,000 feet of a parade, which was vetoed by then Gov Bobby Jindal
years ago. At Glen Oaks, participation has declined, with 21 fewer dualenrollment students overall than two years ago and 30 fewer ninth graders. Superintendent LaMont Cole, who replaced Narcisse in August, credits his predecessor for launching Pathways. “We can’t be afraid of a good idea,” Cole said. Cole said he plans to continue the program, including offering more dual-enrollment courses from local colleges in addition to BRCC.
Working as a team
For the new dual graduates from
at the request of the NRA.
Last year, a bill sponsored by Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, would have specifically outlawed carrying a gun along parade routes without a concealed carry permit, but the proposal failed to clear even one chamber of the Legislature Bobby Hjortsberg, captain of the Krewe of Freret, said he believes it would be a major risk to allow guns on parade routes.
“Considering those people are under the influence, it’s just not an environment for someone to have a gun,” Hjortsberg said. He also questioned the logic of distinguishing between paradegoers and participants.
“I can’t understand why they would try to distinguish those kinds of things that’s basically saying the people who are in charge aren’t allowed to be armed and the people who are attending can?” he said.
Carrying a concealed firearm while intoxicated is illegal under state law What happened last year?
In New Orleans, local officials, including City Council member Helena Moreno, Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick and District Attorney Jason Williams had pleaded with legislators to carve out the crowded and bar-filled French Quarter from permitless carry law, arguing that it would put police in danger and block their efforts to seize illegal guns.
Those requests were rejected. Miguez at the time downplayed critics’ concerns by noting that other restrictions were still intact.
As the law came into effect in July, local officials set about using the school-zone exception: They announced a plan to designate the New Orleans Police Department’s Eighth District station as a vocational technical school
Glen Oaks High, the past four years have been a rewarding but challenging time. They say they often leaned on each other
“We started it all together so I knew we were going to finish out,” said Taylor Jordan.
Several of the Glen Oaks students recall their college algebra class being a particular challenge.
“It was just a lot,” said Abbott. “You really had to break down the material.”
“I did have some struggles in that college algebra class,” Jordan agreed, “but I pulled it out and look at you now girl!”
The audience at the River Center included a large contingent from the school system, including current and former Glen Oaks High leaders.
“I feel like we really built a culture around children really having expectations for themselves,” said Suguna Mayweather, the academic coordinator for the program at Glen Oaks when it started.
Mayweather said she’s not surprised to see which students made it all the way to an associate degree, saying they worked together throughout.
“They had that camaraderie and they just kept encouraging each other,” she said.
Former Glen Oaks Principal Robert Signator and current Principal Eric Randall were also in attendance. Signator said it’s nice to see a traditional school like Glen Oaks experiencing success.
“For this to happen at Glen Oaks, that’s what makes it special,” Signator said.
in order to create a gun-free zone in the 1,000-foot radius around it — including blocks bounded by Canal and Toulouse Street and a large stretch of Bourbon Street.
That plan quickly hit roadblocks when Attorney General Liz Murrill derided the city’s designation as “clearly not legal or effective” and warned that the city could face civil rights lawsuits if it arrested people based on it.
Miguez also promised to reverse officials’ efforts to create a gun-free zone in the French Quarter if they were successful.
“The message is very clear to the locals in New Orleans that don’t necessarily respect individuals’ Second Amendment rights: that it’s going to be a losing battle,” Miguez said in September “We’ll strengthen that law to close any gaps. That’s not something, if I were them, I would be wasting my time on.”
In Lafayette, a similar attempt to seek the designation around the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s downtown science museum, on property owned by the parish government, failed amid pushback from Murrill and Miguez in August The university instead designated the museum as a weapons-free facility
Karen Boudrie, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department, declined to comment on this year’s proposed legislation.
Kirkpatrick called repeatedly last year for the French Quarter to be excluded from the permitless concealed carry law, and said she planned to continue pushing for that change with legislators. It is unclear whether any local New Orleans officials made efforts to push for gun restrictions during the current legislative session.
Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
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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.
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%
Zydeco musician releases newalbum
Lake Charles’ RustyMetoyer’s ‘Kingof I-10’showcasesgrowth
BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer
Lake Charles native and musician Rusty Metoyer released his sixth album on Tuesday.
“King of I-10,” which Metoyer recorded and released with his bandRusty Metoyer andthe Zydeco Krush, has 12 tracks and showcases hismusical growth, hesaid.
Metoyersaid he’s been around Creole and zydeco music his entire life. His grandfathers, Cornelius Pappion and Louis Metoyer,would have holiday jam sessions.
When he turned 10,Metoyer received his first accordion from hisuncle Dempsey Pappion and learned his first song.Metoyer said after that he didn’tplay theinstrument again until he was almost 15 and both of his grandfathers had died.
“I was just wanting to learn it to be able to keep that tradition going in my family and was not reallyplanning on having a band or anything when Iwas learning to play the accordion,” Metoyer said. “But, as time went on Istarted wantingtoput a band together,and did that in high school, and reallystarted playing professionally, probably my freshman year of college,in 2011.” Metoyer said his firstalbum came out around 2013, and everythinglaunched off from there.
While his supportingmusicians have changed over the years, Metoyer said he’sbeen with the same groupsince 2019, and they recorded his last few albums together
Now,Metoyer has nearly 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and is known for songs such as “Old Time Zydeco,” “Calcasieu by 2” and “Thinking and Drinking.”
Metoyer said he and hisband have performed around the UnitedStates,France and the Netherlands.
For Metoyer,that’swhere the titleand meaning behind his new album comes from.
He said it focuses on hisgoals on owning the zydeco scene alongInterstate10from Houston to New Orleans
“(King of I-10 is) kind of arole that I would think any young Creole zydeco musicians in southwest Louisiana, southeast Texas …would want, you know,” Metoyer said. “I’ve gone andI’ve done the playing around the world …but nothingislike really having that home crowd, and what I callhome crowd is between Houston and New Orleans (in) that I-10 circuit.”
He said that when he made thedecision that he wantedtobethe “King of I-10” is when he began to work on the album, which he said is his favorite.
“Every single song is different,” Metoyer said. “It’smyfavorite project so far, just because Ican feel the growthinmy music as far as the musicality,the lyrics and the messages that I’m talkingabout in the songs.”
Metoyer wants the new album to be relatable for anybody
“I’ve got something on this album that really can talk to anybody or touch anybody and really make them connect to the music,” Metoyer said
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.
Fans love ‘Sinners’ sets made by N.O. artists
BYJENNA ROSS Staff writer
Earlyinthe film “Sinners,” a buoyant, bloodybox-office hit filmed in Louisiana and set in the MississippiDelta of the 1930s, the audience encounters asmall house, shadedbyoak trees, its front boards stained blue.
Thatblue, an earthy turquoise, shows up again and again through the movie, aprotective force in a worldpopulated by vampires.
Thethoroughly Southern “Sinners,” released in April, has dominated theaters across the country earning praise for its director Ryan Coogler and its star Michael B. Jordan. But its intricate sets, and the Louisiana artists who created them, are becoming stars in theirown right, with fans analyzingtheirevery detail, down to the hues of the painted boards.
“Every streak of rust was purposeful,” said Timotheus Davis, artdirector and lifelong New Orleanian
Some of the film’sartists, including New Orleans-based Oscar winner Hannah Beachler,the film’sproduction designer,have been sharing sketches and behindthe-scenes photographs since the film’srelease, joining the online conversation decoding the scenes and their symbolism. Set decoratorMonique Champagne,who lives in Houma, offered her own before-and-afters.
“Tosee the response from the public? Mind-blowing,” Davis said. “Tosee people analyze, to notice ideas that Ihad, to break that stuffdown. …It’sbeen so cool to watch people dissect everything they can.”
The film warrants the close
read,Davis and Champagne said during interviews,largely thanks to Beachler,a meticulous researcher,who has worked with Coogler for adozen yearsand five films,including “Black Panther.” ANew Orleans residentsince 2004, she imbued the film with deep knowledge of the region, tucking references to Ya-ka-mein and tamales into the sets.
“Everything has ameaning,” Beachler said by phone from SouthAfrica, whereshe’s filming the fantasy “Children of Blood and Bone.” “Absolutely everything.” “Sinners,” which has earned critical praiseand more than $300 million worldwide since itsopening, follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack as they return home to open ajuke joint in Mississippi. They enlistthe preacher’sson, Sammie, to perform for the opening,conjuring powerfulspirits someofthem bloodthirsty
To create that world, Beachler and Davis traveled the Mississippi Blues Trail. They touredhistoric sites, including DockeryFarms, aplantation known as the birthplace of the Delta blues, and Po’ Monkeys,arural jukejoint that shaped theearlyscene.But they also noted the slant of ashack, the color of the dirt.
“Wewere trying to findthe language,” said Davis,43, acarpenter-turned-art-director Beachler arrived on set with that Mississippi dirt, Champagne said.“She’sjustona different level.
“I knewfrom the very first production meeting we had that we weregoing to put our entire hearts into this project.”
They built each set from scratch on location in Louisiana.
PROVIDED
Artdirector TimDavis helped create the churchin‘Sinners,’and fans have analyzed itsdesign. Miles Caton plays preacher boySammie in the film.
Twoempty storefronts in Donaldsonville, an hour’s drive west of New Orleans,became bustling twin grocery stores for Black and White customers. The label for each box of salt andsack of flour hadtoberesearched, designed and fabricated, Champagne said.
“Wehad three full-time graphics people on for that part.”
They wanted those markets to nod to the history of Chinese American families whoset up shop in the Delta, so they hired consultantDolly Li,who had made ashortdocumentary on the subject. Theywanted Sammie’s house, filled with children, to be filled with love,too,soChampagne had her mom sew theirsleeping cushions from vintage fabrics. They wanted the country church to feel authentic, so they turned to Davis, who grewupgoing to church. Thechurchinthefilmwassmall, meager,soitcouldn’t havealot of bellsand whistles. ButBeachler asked Daviswhat theessentials would be. Acommuniontable, Davissaid,with an inscription on the front: “Inremembrance of me.”
PHOTOByTIM DAVIS
STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
State Capitol
at the field of American flags on Saturday.
Obituaries
Godso, Roger 'Tad'
Roger (Tad)Godso Sr. passed away in the comfort of homeonMonday May 20, 2025. Roger is survived his brother, George E. Godso Jr. and wife, Cindy; and sister,Carolyn Godso;granddaughter, RavynHardeman and her fiancé, Chandler Roux. Several nieces and nephews along with great nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Godso; son, Roger Godso Jr.; parents, George E. Godso Sr. and Anna Lucille Godso; sisters, Margaret Kuylen and Julia (Kay) Garcie; and brother Paul Godso. Agraveside service willbeheld at Serenity Oaks Memorial Park on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11 AM.
Moore, Charlotte Doughty “Preciousinthe sightof the Lord is thedeath of his saints.”Psalm 116:15. Charlotte DoughtyMoore
waswelcomedhomeon May 22,2025. Shewas a beloved wife,mother, Mimi and sister.She was79and a resident of Greenwell Springs,LA. Visitation will beonWednesday,May 28 2025 at CharletFuneral Home, Inc.,Zachary,from 10:00 am until service time at12:00 noon conductedby Rev.GlenMiers.Burialwill followatRedwood Ceme‐tery, Slaughter. Charlotte is survived by herloving, de‐voted husband of 55 years, Robert“Bob” E. Moore, daughter, MistyMoore Adamo (Greg),grandchil‐dren, Sophia Adamoand CarterAdamo,and sister, Ellen DoughtyButler. Sheis precededindeath by her parents,Frank andAn‐niemaeDoughty.More than anything,Charlotte
enjoyedspending time withher family, especially her grandchildren. Shewill beprofoundly missedby all who knew andloved her.Memorialdonations can be made to theTunnel toTowersFoundationat www.t2t.org
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.
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.
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 Patrick Ruffini showed Republicans gaining 36 points among Latinos aged 18 to 29, 33 points among Black men, 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 descendants of slaves, 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
Tens of thousandsjoin rivalrallies in Warsaw
BY VANESSA GERA Associated Press
WARSAW,Poland Tens of thousands of Poles took part in dueling patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday,led by thetwo men vying for thepresidency in aJune1runoff election whichisexpected to be bothclose and consequential for the nation’s future.
Many of those who joinedSunday’smarches had traveled from across Poland, acountryofnearly 38 million people,not just to support acandidate but to rally behind sharply divergent visions for the nation’sfuture
At the head of one march was Rafał Trzaskowski, 53, the pro-European Unionmayor of Warsaw who supports abortionrights and LGBTQ+ inclusion.Heisa closepolitical ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has leda centrist coalition government sincelate2023. During aspeech to ahuge crowd Trzaskowski laid out his vision for aPolandthat is inclusive and vowed to work to help develop Polish industry as thenationcontinues an economic transformation intoaregional economic and military power
In another part of Warsaw,Karol Nawrocki,
By TheAssociated Press
NEW YORK Acryptocurrency investor has been arrested and charged withkidnapping aman and keeping him locked upfor weeks in an upscale Manhattan apartment, where authorities say he was beaten, shocked and led to believe that his family was in danger if he didn’tgive up his Bitcoinpassword.
John Woeltz, 37, was arrested Friday night after the victim escaped from theeight-bedroom town house and flagged down atraffic officer on the street for help, according to prosecutors. Woeltz was arraigned Saturday on charges of kidnapping, assault,unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of afirearm, courtrecords show.Hewas ordered held without bail, aspokesperson for the Manhattan DistrictAttorney’sOffice confirmed Saturday His lawyer, Wayne Gosnell, said Saturday in an email that he had no comment. The 28-year-old victim arrived in New
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
The liberal presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, front center,waves Sunday as he and supporters takepartina march one week ahead of adecisivepresidential election in Warsaw, Poland.
42, addressed his supporters. Aconservative historian and former boxer,Nawrocki is backed by the national conservative Law and Justiceparty,which governed Poland from 2015to2023.Heheadsthe state-runInstitute of National Remembrance, which underLaw andJusticebecameknown forpromoting nationalist versions of Polishhistory
Hissupportersdescribe himasthe embodiment of traditional, patriotic values —aman who,like President Donald Trump, promises to restorewhatthey call“normality.”Many voicedoppositiontoabortionand LGBTQ+ rights, saying Nawrocki reflectsthe values they grew up with.
“I am aPolewho understands thehardships of everyday life,” Nawrocki told the crowd.“Istand before youand Iamfully convincedthat Iamyour voice.”
York City from Italy in early May, alaw enforcement official told TheAssociated Press. The official was notauthorizedto speak publicly about the ongoing investigation and did so on condition of anonymity
It’snot clear how or if the two knew each other,but the district attorney’soffice said in an email that prosecutor Michael Mattson told ajudge Saturday that thevictim, whose name hasnot been released, was abducted on May 6. Mattson said others were involved in the scheme to empty the victim’sBitcoinwallet. Thatincludesapersonreferred to in court records as an “unapprehended male.”
The victim said he was bound by the wrists and tortured forweeksinside the apartment. His captors, according to prosecutors, druggedhim,usedelectricwires to
Nitrogen oxide
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’s one of the many reasonshemakes it apoint to try and block all the noiseout. Yes, Skenes understands that baseballisa
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes
AP PHOTO By CHRIS SZAGOLA
Three-time IndyCarchamp becomes firstSpaniardtowin ‘greatestspectacle in racing’
BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer
INDIANAPOLIS Alex Palou took the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500. He allowed his wifetohavea sip, she in turn gave asip to their baby,and
to host regional at Alex BoxStadium
Tonobody’s surprise, LSUbaseball will host aregional at Alex Box Stadium next weekend, the NCAA announced on Sunday.
TheTigers were joined by Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Arkansas amongSoutheastern Conference teams selected to host regionals.
Coastal Carolina,NorthCarolina, Oregon, Oregon State, Florida State, Southern Miss, UCLA and Clemson rounded out the remaining regional hosts.
team ownerChip Ganassi ended up withthe bottle andtook adrink, as well. Then, the first Spaniard to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” took avictory lap with them around Indianapolis Motor Speedwayinthe back of apickup truck. At onepoint,Palou climbedontoits roof and raised his arms in triumph, the winning wreath draped aroundhis neck. He briefly lost his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver No need. Palourarely makes awrong move.
Next weekend will be the28th time in program historythat LSU hashosted aregional,and it’s theninth time theTigers have been selected as aregional host since2012.
This season is also thesecondtime LSU has hosted aregional undercoach Jay Johnson. The Tigerslasthosted aregional in 2023, theyear they wonthe national championship.
LSU will learnits seed andregional opponents duringMonday’sNCAA Tournament selection show.The show is settobegin at 11 a.m. and will be available to watch on ESPN2.
“All my family around, it’samazing, honestly,”hesaid, smiling. “All the team around, they make me look really good on the track.”
Palou cametothe speedway as thetwotimedefending IndyCar champion— he has three titles in four years —and had opened this year with victories in four of the first five races. It’s thekindofstart notseen since 1964, when A.J. Foyt wonthe first seven races of theseason,including theIndy 500. Butitwas win No. 6that Palou had circled on his calendar.Without an Indy 500 win, he said, his career would be incomplete. “Like he said last week,ifhewas 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 him yet. Look at thelastfive,six races we’ve had. It’s just incredible. He’sonaroll.” Palou was in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps, following former Chip Ganassi
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
See SKENES, page 4B
Afan wavesanLSU flag from the third base bleachers in the third inning of agame against Tennessee on April 26 at Alex Box Stadium.LSU is set to host aregional at Alex BoxStadium. STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
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.
Griffin hangs on at Colonial
BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter
FORT WORTH, Texas Ben Griffin 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 co-leader 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 fiveshot 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
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.
Senior PGA
CABRERA MAKES IT 2 SENIOR MAJORS IN
A WEEK: In Bethesda, Maryland, Angel Cabrera sensed his opportunity when Padraig Harrington playing a few groups ahead — faltered on the 15th hole with a double bogey
“I was like, ‘This is my turn,’” Cabrera said through a translator While Harrington was erratic down the stretch, Cabrera was steady, shooting a 3-under 69 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory in the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional. It was his second senior major in a week.
Cabrera, the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters champion, won the rain-delayed Regions Tradition on Monday in Alabama, which was the Argentine’s first senior major Six days later at Congressional, he trailed Harrington by two strokes after Harrington rolled in a long birdie putt on No. 14. But Harrington double bogeyed No. 15, and Cabrera birdied that same hole a short while later to
take the lead. After a bogey by Harrington on the par-4 18th, Cabrera needed only a bogey on that hole and got it.
“I feel very emotional,” Cabrera said. “Maybe you cannot see, but I’m very very emotional inside. Especially after all of the things that I went through.”
Cabrera spent 20 months in an Argentine prison after he was accused of making threats toward former partners. He was released on parole in August 2023 and won a PGA Tour Champions event last month before missing the cut at the Masters.
“I thought that I was going to fail, especially after being sitting without touching a club for a while,” Cabrera said. “I’ve been working very, very hard and I feel that all the hard work pays off and this is what I’m having right now.”
Cabrera finished at 8-under 280.
Harrington (68) and Thomas Bjorn (68) tied for second, with Retief Goosen (71), Jason Caron (71) and Stewart Cink (70) another stroke back.
Dutchtown bowler victim of athletic cuts
BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer
With a coveted spot in Stephen F.
Austin’s flight school and a bowling scholarship locked in, Dutchtown’s Sydney Lee figured her college career plans were set
That changed Thursday when SFA announced it is eliminating four sports — including bowling
“It happened around 1 o’clock,” Lee said. “The coach went into a meeting at around 9:30 a.m. and the administration just shocked her She did not expect that at all.
“I was driving when I got a text saying I had a mandatory Zoom call immediately (at 1 p.m.). I pulled over but was not able to get
on the call. So, I called one of my teammates later and that’s how I found out about it.”
Lee helped lead the Griffins to three straight LHSAA finals berths, including two titles. She signed with the Stephen F. Austin because its flight school program would give her the chance to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot while competing Now she is in limbo.
“All of us on the (SFA) team did a FaceTime call after we got the news,” Lee said. “There were a lot of tears. None of us expected it.”
In a news release announcing that bowling beach volleyball and men’s/women’s golf were being dropped at the end of the 2024-
25 school year, Stephen F. Austin said it will honor all scholarships at their existing levels to studentathletes who choose to stay at the university to finish their academic work and graduate. It also pledged assistance to those wishing to transfer The school acknowledged that the decision was based on “sustained departmental budget deficits.” It also puts SFA among a growing number of colleges across the nation that have opted to discontinue athletic teams, citing the financial pressures tied to the changing college athletics landscape, including the looming $2.8 billion House vs. NCAA settlement.
“The changes we announce to-
day, while difficult in the interim, will better position us moving forward in terms of fiscal responsibility,” athletic director Michael McBroom said in the release.
Lee said she is not sure what she will do next. She has been contacted by another college with a bowling program and a flight school. However, Lee said getting accepted into the flight school program weeks before beginning her freshman year is not guaranteed.
“I do want to bowl in college, but becoming a pilot is my other dream,” Lee said. “I’ve been accepted to flight school there and if my scholarship is guaranteed, I may have to give up bowling to pursue that dream.”
Iwai wins Mexico Riviera Maya Open by 6 shots
The Associated Press
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico Chisato Iwai took a tournament up for grabs and turned it into her own highlight show Sunday, making five birdies in her opening six holes for a 6-under 66 and a sixshot victory in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open for her first LPGA title. Iwai led from the opening hole at El Camaleon when she made birdie and Jenny Bae made bogey, and the 22-year-old from Japan was on her way
“My mental is so calm calm every day, every time,” Iwai said She ran off four straight birdies, poured in every putt that mattered and then cruised home to become the third LPGA rookie to win this season.
Iwai, whose twin sister Akie Iwai has been runner-up twice this year, finished at 12-under 276.
Bae had a one-shot lead going into the final round at Mayakoba, and the 10 players behind her also had never experienced winning on the LPGA Tour It didn’t take long for Iwai, who had eight wins on the Japan LPGA before getting her LPGA card, to turn this into a rout. She hit wedge to 4 feet on the third hole for birdie She rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the fourth. Her approach to the par-5 fifth was right of the green, close to the water, and she calmly chipped that to 2 feet for a third straight birdie Iwai finished the big birdie run with a 15-foot putt on No. 6.
Bae bogeyed the opening two holes and never caught up. She steadied herself on the back nine to salvage a 73 and a runner-up finish.
“It just tells me that I have a long ways to go but also I’m also getting there, too,” Bae said. “So I’m happy I definitely know what I need to work on for the week off for me. Hopefully I’ll be able to score better at the next tournament.”
The six-shot victory for Iwai matched the largest margin this year Rio Takeda of Japan also won by six at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. Iwai took off early and it seemed as though everyone simply cleared out of her way Gabriela Ruffels, who birdied five of her last six holes on Saturday to get within two shots of the lead,
made only one birdie in her round of 76.
Miranda Wang, who stayed in the game with clutch par putts down the stretch in the third round, closed with a 76 without making a birdie. Yahui Zhang made bogey on six of her last seven holes for a 78. Iwai won $375,000 for her first title. It’s the first time in 10 years the LPGA has had three rookies win before the end of May
The LPGA returned to Mexico for the first time since 2017 and didn’t attract a strong field with the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Erin Hills is Wisconsin. Charley Hull at No. 15 was the highestranked player in the field. She didn’t break 70 all week and tied for 32nd.
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
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.
Loyola wins 12-9 to stay alive in NAIA World Series
The Loyola baseball team banged out 17 hits against British Columbia for a 12-9 victory to stay alive in the NAIA World Series on Sunday in Lewiston, Idaho.
Leadoff hitter Brandon Mooney was one of six Loyola players, with multiple hits. Mooney went 4 for 4 with two doubles, a homer and three runs scored. Other hitting leaders for the Wolf Pack included Myles Liggans (3 for 5), Garrett Felix (2 for 4, three RBIs). Anthony Fernandez added a home run and went 2 for 3 with two RBIs Marcus Steen and Cole Romero added two and three hits respectively
Loyola (42-17) will play Cumberland (Ky.) at 1 p.m. Monday in an elimination game.
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.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO
Ben Griffin celebrates after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament on Sunday at Colonial Country Club
GOLF
Musetti, Sabalenka ease into second round at French Open
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 firstround 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 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 claycolored 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 sec-
ond 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 15th-seeded 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.
Nadal celebrated at the tournament where he won a record 14 times
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP tennis writer
PARIS Rafael Nadal stepped out into Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to the sort of unending adulation, thunderous applause and chants of his nickname, “Rafa,” that greeted him for years as he accumulated a record 14 French Open championships, only this time he was being honored at a farewell ceremony
Thousands of spectators gave Nadal, who retired last year, a standing ovation as he strode through the doorway that leads from the locker room to the playing surface he ruled like no one ever has in the history of tennis. Instead of that familiar headband or the tape on his fingers or the capri pants he made famous early in his career, Nadal was wearing a dark suit and dark dress shirt
He smiled broadly and waved at the crowd which seemed to occupy just about every seat in the 15,000-capacity venue.
Nadal sheds tears during tribute
This all came 20 years to the day since Nadal made his debut in Chatrier at age 18 with a second-round victory
As a highlight video began playing on the screens Sunday — showing those lefty bullwhip forehands, those pumped fists accompanying shouts of “Vamos!” and the relentless racing to every inch of the
court — Nadal bit his lower lip and appeared on the verge of tears, which did flow eventually His voice cracked and he sniffled while delivering a speech in French, then English, and then his native Spanish.
“This is tough,” he began, in French. “Good evening, everyone. I don’t know where to start after playing on this court for the past 20 years Winning, losing — but especially being moved every time I’ve had the chance to be here.”
Nadal’s career French Open record
Mostly winning of course: His career record at the French Open was 112-4 That’s why a larger-than-life steel statue of Nadal was installed on the Roland-Garros grounds while he was still an active player
He went 14-0 in the event’s finals, always held in Chatrier, which he called “without a doubt, the most important court of my tennis career ” Nadal finished with 22 Grand Slam titles in all, including at least two at each of the sport’s most prestigious events.
Nadal, who turns 39 on June 3 and played his final competitive match at the Davis Cup last November, thanked tournament organizers His main coach Toni, who also is his uncle. Other members of his entourage. His parents. His wife, who stood in the front row behind one of the baselines, holding their 2-year-old son. And his greatest rivals — Roger Federer, Novak
Thunder face rare test of fortitude after loss against Wolves
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 pick-and-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 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 seven-game 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. Gilgeous-Alexander 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 the first half between baskets and finished with 14 points on 4-for-13
ä Thunder at Timberwolves. 7:40 P.M.MONDAy ESPN
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.”
Djokovic and Andy Murray — who later all walked out together to join Nadal on the court and hug him.
Federer, Djokovic, Murray appear
“We showed the world that we can fight as hard as possible, but being good colleagues and respecting each other very well. And for me, it means a lot that you are all here,” Nadal told the players with whom he was grouped as the Big Four of men’s tennis. You gave me some hard times on court, honestly, but I really enjoyed pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you.”
Fans received T-shirts matching the rust color of the clay on the court below with “MERCI RAFA” in white, capital letters and Sunday’s date stamped on the front. Even Carlos Alcaraz, the 22-yearold Spaniard who won last year’s French Open and is considered Nadal’s heir apparent, wore a rustcolored shirt while in the stands for the ceremony
Depending on where they were sitting, some people instead received white shirts that, when seen together, spelled out particular messages including “14 RG” next to a representation of the La Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy awarded to the men’s champion at Roland-Garros. Another part of the upper deck showed “RAFA” between two hearts.
The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Kelsey Plum hit six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, Azura Stevens scored a season-high 24 and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Chicago Sky 91-78 on Sunday to snap a three-game skid. Los Angeles (2-3) won for the first time since beating the expansion Golden State Valkyries in its season opener Odyssey Sims scored 12 points for the Sparks. Dearica Hamby added 10 points, six rebounds, eight assists and a career-high six steals. Angel Reese led Chicago (0-3) with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kamilla
Cardoso scored 12 points on 6-of9 shooting. Courtney Vandersloot and Rebecca Allen added 11 points apiece. Stevens hit a 3-pointer a little more than three minutes into the second half that gave the Sparks the lead for good at 5148 She made another 3 about three minutes later to spark a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 15 with two minutes left in the third quarter Reese scored inside to cap a 10-0 run and trim the Sky’s deficit to 76-71 with 7:06 left in the game. Sarah Ashlee Barker answered with a jumper, Steven made back-to-back baskets and Plum hit a pull-up jumper to push the lead to 13 with 4:59 to go.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti serves against Germany’s yannick Hanfmann during their French Open first-round match on Sunday at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABBIE PARR
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander passes against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, and forward Jaden McDaniels during the first half of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday in Minneapolis.
OleMissupsetsNo. 4seedArkansas
Rebels earn their firstberth to WCWS
By The Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Lair Beautae and Lexie Brady each hit ahome run and Aliyah Binfordallowed one run over 52/3 innings to help Ole Miss beat No. 4seed Arkansas 7-4 to win the best-of-three Fayetteville Super Regional on Sunday Ole Miss (42-19) clinched aberth in the Women’sCollege World Series for the first time and will face No. 12 overall seed Texas Tech on Thursday.The Rebels won 9-7on Friday before the Razorbacks(4414) fought off eliminationwith a 4-0win Saturday in Game 2. Binford (11-3) came oninthe second inning gave up two hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Starter BriannaLopez gave up three runs on two hits withfour walksover 1 1/3 innings. Mackenzie Pickens led off the fourth with an infield single and scored on asacrifice fly by Jaden
Pone to give Ole Miss a5-4 lead. Ponewalked to lead offthe game and Beautae followed with ahome runtospark afour-run first for the Bulldogs.
Raigan Kramer,Bri Ellis and Courtney Day each drew aoneoutwalk before KaileyWyckoff struck out swinging and Ella McDowell walked to score Kramer and make it 4-1. Brianna Lopez got AtalyiaRijo to foul out to end the inning. Ellis drew atwo-out walk to load thebases in the second,Day followed with atwo-run single before Ellis scored on asinglebyWyckoff to tie it at 4-4.
Pickens hit atwo-out RBI single to make it 6-4 in the fifth before
Payton Burnham replaced starter Robyn Herron with runners at secondand third. Burnham struck out AshtonLandsell to limit the damage.
Brady’ssoloshot in theseventh capped thescoring.
FLORIDA5,GEORGIA 2: In Gainesville, Florida, Taylor Shumaker hadthree hits and three RBIs including atwo-run home runin thefifth inning —and Keagan Rothrock pitched acomplete game to help Florida beat Georgia 5-2 and win the best-of-three Gainesville SuperRegional andclinch aberth in the Women’sCollege World Series.
No. 3seed Florida (48-15) will make its secondconsecutive trip to the WCWSand its 13th since 2008.
Rothrock (16-6) gaveuptwo runs —one earned —onfour hits with a
Johnston,Humphrey hithomerstopower VandypastOle Miss
By The Associated Press
HOOVER, Ala. Brodie Johnston hit atwo-run home run in the first, Jacob Humphrey added asoloshot in the fifthand Vanderbilt beat OleMiss 3-2 on Sunday to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament and clinch aberth in the NCAA Tournament..
Luke Guth (4-0) pitched12/3 innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Sawyer Hawks worked twoinnings and gave up asolo homer in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.
Vanderbilt (42-16), which has advanced to the past 19 NCAA tournaments, has won eight games in a row. The Commodores,who are a possible No. 1overall seed, await the selection show on Monday
SECBASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Despite theloss, OleMiss(4019) mighthaveplayed its way into hosting aregional next weekend.
After Rustan Rigdon flied out andRJAustin grounded out, Riley Nelson was hitbya pitch before Johnston’s homer opened thescoring in the first inning. Hayden Federico scored on a singlebyMitchell Sandford in the fifth, but Humphrey’shomer made it 3-1 going into the sixth.
Isaac Humphrey hit asolo shot to makeitaone-run game in the ninth and Austin Fawley and Federico each drew atwo-out walk before Hawks got BraydenRandle to pop out and end the threat.
García’s two-rundouble helpsRangers stop slide
ByTheAssociated Press
CHICAGO Adolis García hit atworun doubleinathree-runninth inning, and the Texas Rangers stopped asix-game slide with a5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday Jake Burger hit atwo-run homer for the Rangers,who had dropped seven of eight overall.ShawnArmstrong (2-1) got four outsfor the win, and Robert Garcia worked a rocky ninth for his second save The Rangers’ ninth-inning rally started when JoshJungwas hitby a0-2 fastball from JordanLeasure (0-4). Burgerfollowed with adouble to put runners on second and third. After Alejandro Osuna struck out, Kyle Higashioka reached on an error on first baseman Lenyn Sosa. Jungscored, tying it at 3, and García followed with adrive into the gap in left-center The White Sox got one back on Michael A. Taylor’sRBI doublein the bottom of the ninth. But Garcia picked off Taylor and Vinny Capra flied out to the warningtrack in left for the final out.
White Sox right-hander Davis Martin pitchedsix innings oftworun ball. He allowed four hits and walked three.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO TexasRangerspitcher Robert Garcia celebrates after getting the final out against the ChicagoWhite Sox on SundayinChicago.
Burger hithis seventhhomer of the season in the second. Miguel Vargas hit his seventhhomer in the fourth, and Chicago addedtwo more in the sixth. AustinSlater connected for aleadoff driveagainst PatrickCorbin, and Luis Robert hit atiebreaking sacrifice fly The Rangers brought up Osuna fromTriple-A Round Rock to make his majorleague debut. JocPedersonwas placed on the10-day injured list with afractured right hand.
walk and five strikeouts.
Kendra Falby drewa lead-off walk in the first inning, stolesecondand then scored when Shumaker hit asingle up the middle.
AvaBrown walked on four consecutive pitches to lead off thefifth inning and scored when Rylee Holtorf hit atwo-outtworunhomer.Falby followed with abunt single before Shumaker hit the seventh pitch of the at-bat over the wall in right field to give theGators a5-0 lead.
TylerEllisonreached on an error to lead off theseventh and Jaydyn Goodwinfollowed with ahome run that made it 5-2. The game was delayed about an hour in the middle of the fourthbecause lightning in the area.
Georgia (35-23) beat theGators 2-1onSaturday to avoid elimination
TENNESSEE 1, NEBRASKA0: In Knoxville, Tennessee, Karlyn Pickens pitched atwo-hit shutout, Ella Dodge’sfirst-inning homerun provided the only run and No. 7seed Tennessee defeated unseeded Nebraska ytowin the Knoxville Super Regional. Two-time Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year Pickens struckout 10,walkedone andhit two batters. HerERA dippedunder 1.00 andsits at 0.96 heading into the Women’sCollege World Series. Tennessee (45-15) will be making its ninth trip to the WCWS. Dodge’stwo-out solo home run in thefirst inning put Tennessee ahead 1-0. On Saturday,she hit a two-runhome run in the first inning and Tennessee wentontowin thesecond gameofthe series 3-2. Pickens created ajam in the fifth inning whenHannahCamenzind
singled and took secondona wild pitch. Pickenshit the next batter and threw another wild pitch, leaving runners on second and third with one out. Abbie Squier struck outand AvaBredwell walked to load the bases, but Lauren Camenzind struck out to end the threat. It was theonly time Nebraska advanced arunner past first base. Nebraska(43-15) haseight previous appearances in theWCWS, although one was later vacated by the NCAA.
UCLA5,SOUTH CAROLINA 0: In Columbia, South Carolina,Jessica Clements scored three runs, Jordan Woolery and Rylee Slimpdrove in twoeach, and UCLA defeated South Carolinain the decisive third gameofthe Columbia Super Regional.
The Bruins advance to the Women’s College World Serieswhere they have the mostchampionships (12) and most appearances (36). The Bruins last won the championship in 2019.
Woolery continued her clutch super regional play,driving in Clements with UCLA’s first tworuns in the first and fifth innings. It was Woolerywho kept UCLA alive on Saturday whenshe hit atwo-run, game-winning homerun in the Bruins’ 5-4 victory to even the series at agame apiece.
Leading 2-0 through six innings of Sunday’sgame, UCLAadded threeruns in thetop of theseventh. Clements led off with asingle and she and Savannah Pola scored on asingle by Slimp. An RBI single by Alexis Ramirez madeit5-0. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Terry and Taylor Tinsley combined to scatter four hits. Terry (19-5) went 5 2/3 innings for the win and Tinsley finished the final 1 1/3 for her third save. Pola and Clements went 3for 4.
SKENES
Continuedfrom page1B
business —hesaid as much after manager Derek Shelton was fired on May 8—but he also knows his business at this pointinhis career is focusedentirely on throwing a baseball, not worrying about who he’sthrowing it for
There could very well be atime when Skenes moves on,either by Pittsburgh’s choice or hisown That time, at least to Skenes,is not coming anytimesoon.
Pittsburgh is secondtolast in the major leaguesinruns with 164, and no high-profile position player prospect is readytowalkinto the homeclubhouseatPNC Parkasa big leaguer anytime soon.
“Ben’sjob is to create awinning team anda winning organization,” Skenessaid. “So,whatitlookslike to him (is up to him).”
Skenes added if the Piratesdecided to make some sort of highly unusual move by trading one of the sport’sbrightest young stars, even though he remains under team control for the rest of the decade and isn’teven eligible for arbitration until 2027, he wouldn’t takeitpersonally
“I don’texpect it to happen,” Skenes stressed. “(ButCherington)isgoing to look out for what’s best forthe Pirates. If he feels (trading me) is theright wayto go, thenhefeels that’sthe right way to go. Butyou know,Ihave to pitch well, that’sthe bottom line.”
Skenes has been every bit the generational talent Pittsburgh hopeditwas gettingwhenitselected him with the top pick in the 2023 draft.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander was asensation from themomenthe madehis big-league debut last May and even as the team around him hasscuffled —the Pirates tied amajor-league record by going 26 straightgames withoutscoring morethanfour runs, astreak that ended in aloss to the Brewers on Thursday —hehas not.
Five days after throwingthe first complete game of his career in a1-0 loss to Philadelphia, Skenes kept the Brewers in check over sixinnings,givingupjust one runonfour hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Whenheinduced SalFrelick into agrounder to secondtofinishthe sixth, manyinthe crowd of 24,646 rose to their feet to salute him as he sauntered his wayback to the dugout. He exited with a2-1 lead,then watched from afar the struggling bullpen letitslip away ThePirates, in an all-too-rareoccurrence, fought back, rallying to tie it in the ninth on Oneil Cruz’s second home run, then winning it in the10thwhenAdamFrazier raced home on awild pitch.
Afterward, music blared and Skenes—who hasn’twon in a month despite having a2.32 ERA acrosshis five May starts flasheda smile that was amixture of happiness and relief
“It’snicetoseeuspullitout,which issomethingthatwehaven’tdoneas much to this point in the year,” he said. “Hopefully it’sagood sign.” The Pirates sure could use some. Skenes hasbeenfully invested in the franchise sincebaseball commissioner Rob Manfred called his name in theamateur drafttwo yearsago.Hehas embraced his role as one of baseball’s first Gen Zstars andhas become
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes looksto throwa pitch during agame against the Philadelphia Phillieson May18in Philadelphia. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By
comfortable being the face of the franchise, even if that franchise hasn’twon much of anything in 30-plus years. The challenge of trying to help make thePiratestruly matter is something Skenes has eagerly accepted. He’sasinvested in the city as he is in the team itself Asked if the outside speculation thatthe club should move on from him so quickly is disrespectful to the effort he’smade to be everything the Pirates have asked him to be, the former Air Force cadet shrugged.
“I don’tfeel anything good or bad toward it,” he said. Maybe because he realizesit’s simply not worth the energy.It hasn’tbeen the start to 2025 that anybody associatedwith the Pirates haswanted.Skenesbelieves there’sbeen a“littlebit more fight” since DonKelly took over as manager.Hebelieves that he’s gaining moremastery over his ever-expanding arsenal. He believes he’sdeveloping chemistry with catcher Henry Davis. That’sa lot fora veteran to handle, let alone someone who doesn’t turn 23 until this week.
It’swhy focusing on his longterm future —orwhatothers are saying about it —iswasted energy Skeneswas askedabout what it’sbeen like to work with Davis, thetop overallpickinthe 2021 draft. His answer could have doubledfor where Skenes finds himselfingeneral as he tries to navigatethe push-pull of stardom and all the trappings —both good and bad —that come with it. “Just really gottokeep doing what we’re doing,” he said, “continue learning andlet everything take care of itself, Iguess.”
CHRIS SZAGOLA
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By RICK SCUTERI
OleMissinfielder Mackenzie Pickens takes aswingagainst Grand Canyon during an NCAA regional softball game on May16inTucson, Ariz. Pickenshad atwo-run single in the fifth inning to help the Rebelsdefeat Arkansas7-4 in Game 3oftheir super regional on Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Norris takes a ‘dream’ F1 Monaco win
By The Associated Press
MONACO Lando Norris
realized
a childhood dream as he won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, and boosted his chances of achieving an even bigger goal, the Formula 1 title. Norris took his first Grand Prix win since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix — though he did win a sprint race in Miami this month — and reduced his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s lead from 13 points to three.
Starting on the pole position, Norris locked up a wheel into the first corner but still managed to hold off last year’s winner, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
“It feels amazing. It’s a long, grueling race, but good fun,” Norris said. “This is what I dream of. This is what I did dream of when I was a kid.”
Leclerc was second after closing in on Norris late in the race though he wasn’t able to attempt a pass — while Piastri was third and defending champion Max
Verstappen fourth, with seventime champion Lewis Hamilton a distant fifth.
Verstappen was the leader on track until the second-to-last lap but only because he had yet to make his mandatory second pit stop under a rule change introduced in an attempt to spice up the Monaco Grand Prix, where overtaking is almost impossible.
Verstappen was almost certain to end the race fourth, no matter when he stopped, so he eased off, slowing down Norris and allowing Leclerc and Piastri to catch up. Verstappen seemed to be trying to pressure Norris into a costly mistake, or maybe hoping for a red-flag stoppage which could have allowed him a free tire change while keeping the lead.
Norris said the end of the race was a “little bit nervous with Charles close behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco, so it doesn’t matter how you win, I guess.”
Despite predictions it could al-
F1 rule change backfires: produces slow driving, frustration at Monaco
BY JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP sportswriter
Going slow was one way to secure points at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday as Formula 1’s much-hyped attempt to shake up the prestigious race brought little drama.
Overtaking is near-impossible on Monaco’s narrow streets To make the race more of a strategy contest, F1’s governing body, the FIA, required two tire changes in the hope that smartly timed pit stops would create drama.
Last year’s winner Charles Leclerc had predicted “chaos” but instead it was a frustrating race for many drivers as some drove extra slowly to create a gap for a teammate in front to pit without losing positions. Mercedes driver George Russell argued the go-slow led to dangerous situations.
Winner Lando Norris was scathing about the rule change, something he saw as an attempt to create “manufactured racing.” Norris spent much of the race behind Max Verstappen, who delayed his second stop, hoping for a red-flag stoppage. That would have allowed a free tire change, and maybe given Verstappen the win “There’s not been any more overtaking here. I thought that was what was wanted,” Norris said “Now you just give people opportunity by luck, by waiting for a red flag, waiting for a safety car You
aren’t getting a more deserved winner in the end of things.”
Mercedes driver George Russell spent much of his race stuck behind slow cars. Tensions boiled over when he accused Williams’ Alex Albon of “driving dangerously slow” and “slamming on the brakes” in a terse radio message from Russell to his team.
Russell overtook Albon by cutting a chicane, adding he’d rather “take the penalty” than wait any longer The stewards had predicted drivers might try that and Russell landed a longer-than-usual penalty which dropped him back behind Albon. Russell finished 11th, his worst result this year Williams wasn’t the first team to drop the pace. Its drivers were reacting to an earlier go-slow from Racing Bulls Liam Lawson held up cars and secured space for his teammate Isack Hadjar to make two stops before many other drivers had made one. In the end, though, none of the more unusual strategies made much difference.
Verstappen made his longdelayed second stop and placed fourth, exactly where he’d started. Racing Bulls had little to show for its efforts as Hadjar started fifth but finished sixth Both Williams drivers stayed in the points after each moved up a spot to ninth and 10th, but that gain was only because Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin broke down.
INDY 500
Continued from page 1B
Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying put with 16 laps remaining and charged ahead — a move Ericsson said “will keep me up at night. What I did and what I didn’t do.” Palou was never challenged from there, taking the checkered flag as a crash brought out a caution
He stopped the car just beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. Palou jumped down and took off in a run 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 a jubilant celebration Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti both hugged him, a pair of former
It was McLaren’s recordextending 16th win in Monaco and its first since a victory for a young Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Hamilton went on to win his first championship that year McLaren leaves Monaco with six wins from the first eight races of 2025 as its two drivers battle for the title Even with just a third of the season gone, a second successive constructors’ title for McLaren looks all but assured, as the team’s 319 points are more than double the total of any other team.
Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming him into their exclusive 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 you were like, third or fourth in the pack. Even leading, the fuel consumption was super high, so they didn’t want me to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly so yeah, made it happen.” Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from his car in pit lane and pressed his hands to his face, the disappointment of coming oh-so-close to a second Indianapolis 500 victory etched across his face. David Maluks was third for A.J. Foyt Racing.
low some teams and drivers to spring a surprise, the rule had little overall impact on the results, except for a few cases of teams seemingly slowing down one car
to benefit a teammate.
“We lost the race yesterday,” was Leclerc’s verdict, referring to the importance of qualifying on pole in Monaco, his home race.
Piastri was on the podium for the second year running in Monaco, and being disappointed with third was a sign of the progress he’s made in those 12 months. Second place a year ago was only the third career podium finish for the Australian, who had yet to win a Grand Prix. Third place Sunday was Piastri’s seventh podium finish in a row
“If this is a bad weekend,” Piastri said, “then it’s not going too badly at all.”
Larson crashes again at Charlotte ending disappointing racing day
BY STEVE REED and DAVE SKRETTA
AP sportswriter
CONCORD, N.C. Kyle Larson’s day went from bad to worse Sunday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, leaving the talented young driver unsure if he will attempt to run “The Double” again.
Larson was caught up in a wreck on Lap 246 of the CocaCola 600, ending a disappointing day in which he also crashed out at the Indianapolis 500 on Lap 91. Larson was bidding to become the second driver to finish both races and run the combined 1,100 miles.
It didn’t go well.
“I hate the way the day went,” Larson said. “I wish I could hit the reset button. I feel terrible for everybody especially for (car owner) Rick Hendrick.”
Larson tried to run The Double last year, but weather issues intervened.
This year this issue was wrecks.
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, I guess,” Larson said.
After getting checked out at the medical center at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Larson said he hadn’t determined if he will try to run The Double again next year, saying it’s too fresh.
“The double is a tough undertaking,” Larson said. “The window of time is just too tight.”
Larson started well Sunday night after beginning on the front row He led early in the race but hit the wall on lap 38 and his car was never the same. He spun out a few laps later, sending him across the front stretch and forcing him into the pits multiple times for adjustments. He wound up near the back of the field, hoping for a top-10 finish.
Then came the wreck involving Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez as they ran three wide ahead of Larson off turn four They got tangled up. Suarez spun across the track and clipped the right rear of Larson. Larson drove the wrecked No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage, ending his day
He finished 37th.
Larson arrived at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in plenty of the time for the race — unlike a year ago when he didn’t reach the track until 249 laps had been completed due to rain in Indianapolis that delayed the start of the Indy 500. Larson never turned a lap at last year’s Coca-Cola 600 as the race was called.
Rain again delayed the start of the Indy 500 on Sunday, but Larson crashed out near the midway point Sunday ending the NASCAR superstar’s second shot at finishing both “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and the
“It’s pretty painful,” Ericsson said of his second career Indy 500 runner-up finish. “I need to look at it again. You replay it in your head a million times after the finish, wondering what I could have done differently Second means nothing in this race.” Josef Newgarden’s bid
Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte in the same day
In Indy, Larson had been mired deep in traffic throughout the first half of the race, which was delayed about 35 minutes because of a rain shower that passed over the speedway He was going through Turns 1 and 2 when his car wiggled on a downshift, sending him into a spin and into the outside wall, ending his race after 91 laps.
“Just a bit crazy there on the restart,” he said. “I got like, tight behind Takuma (Sato). I was really close in. I got loose and kind of got all over the place, and yeah, so it spun. Just hate that I got a little too eager on the restarter Hate it for everybody else.”
Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb also were caught up in the crash.
“When Kyle started losing it and checking up, I tried to go around the outside and there was just no grip out there,” Robb said. If he had made it to the finish in Indianapolis, he would have faced a tight window to make the 550-mile trip because of the rain delay, which soaked up most of the 45-minute buffer that his NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports and IndyCar team Arrow McLaren projected for him.
to win because he and Team Penske teammate Will Power were dropped to the back of the field for failing inspection
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By AJ MAST
Alex Palou, of Spain, is joined by
wife Esther Valle, left, and daughter
in Indianapolis.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAMIE GALLAGHER
Kyle Larson, second from left, is checked after he hit the wall in the second turn during the Indy 500 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANU FERNANDEZ Williams driver Alexander Albon of Thailand steers his car during the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix race at the Monaco racetrack in Monaco on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANU FERNANDEZ
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday at the Monaco racetrack in Monaco.
LIVING
pointofpride
BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer
When Corey Tullierwas achild growing up in Baton Rouge in the 70s and ’80s, he didn’tthink he knew any gay people. Butinhis 20s, when he cameout,the onlylesbian heknew broughthim to George’s Place, a gay bar in downtown Baton Rouge
“Itwas verystrange,”hesaid. “It was something that Ihad never experienced before. Iwas really not aperson that wouldgo outtothe bars before that —sobeing that Iwas at abar and then that Iwas at agay barand there weredrag queens, that was alot to take in.”
Alot has changed since then:both in Tullier and in the city.He’snow in his fourthyear as Captain of the MysticKrewe of Apollo —Baton Rouge(ahistorically gay Carnival krewe.) He’sevenperformed in drag attheir annual ball.The LGBTQ+community is ingrained into the culture of the city,sometimes so muchso that people don’teven know the origin storybehindthem.
For example,during Mardi Gras, there’sthe Spanish Town Ball and the parade. Though there are several accounts of how exactly the SpanishTown parade started,
many longtimeresidentsinBaton Rouge’soldest neighborhood attribute it to theLGBTQ+ community
Residents of thehistorically gay neighborhood whocouldn’tafford to go to New Orleans in the early 1980s startedtheir own parade.
The earliestSpanishTown parades weresmall affairsinvolving drag queens —the rest is history
“I joke about SpanishTown sayingthere’stwo days ayear that every straight person in Baton Rouge is gay —that’s for the Spanish
Town Ball and that’sfor the SpanishTown parade,”Tullier quipped Butwhat happens outside of these two days?
Here are snapshotsofBaton Rouge’sLGBTQ+history,community andhow things have changed over theyears.
TheMysticKrewe of Apollo
TheMystic Krewe of Apollo was founded in the 1980s to give
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
What is Memorial Dayand howhas it evolvedfromits CivilWar origins?
BY BEN FINLEY
weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Iraq Warveteran Edmundo Eugenio Martinez Jr.said theday has lost so much meaning that many Americans“conflate and mix up Veterans Day,Memorial Day,Armed Forces Day,July Fourth.” Social media posts pay tribute to “everyone” whohas served,when Memorial Day is aboutthose who died. Forhim, it’sabout honoring 17
U.S.servicemembers he knew who lost their lives. “I was either there when they died or theywere soldiers of mine,buddiesofmine,” said Martinez, 48,anArmyveteran who lives in Katy, Texas, west of Houston. “Someofthem lost the battle after thewar.” Here is alook at the holiday and how it has evolved:
WHEN IS MEMORIAL DAY? It falls on the last Monday of May. This year,it’sonMay 26. WHYISMEMORIAL DAYCELEBRATED? It’sa day of reflection andremembranceofthose whodied while serving in the U.S. military, according to theCongressional Research Service. The holiday is
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 which can manifest in anumber of ways. The person may becomemore combative with others, may yell or scream more, withdraw from others, exhibit aggression, or
PROVIDED PHOTO By STACIBRIMER
Performersatthe MardiGras Ball held by Mystic Krewe of Apollo
STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK
Adam Graves, left, pauses to look at the television while barowner ChansleyDykes works behindthe baratGeorge’sPlace in Baton Rouge.
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
Continued from page 1C
gay men a safe space to celebrate Mardi Gras, but around that same time, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was ripping through the country Many members of the gay community got sick and passed away Back then, HIV was a death sentence because treatment was not available.
“That’s when the krewe was like, we need to be bigger than a party group. We need to make a statement,” said KD Linkous-Smith, current president.
To this day, the krewe does not make political statements, but they did start an AIDS Crisis Fund to help people pay their bills, keep their lights on or make rent for the month. Though it started to help those struggling financially while living with HIV, it’s not a requirement now
“We needed to take care of our brothers,” he said.
Outside of planning the ball and parades, Apollo raises money for its philanthropic work, providing scholarships and grants Celebrations and Pride
Outside of Mardi Gras festivities, many other beloved Baton Rouge events have deep ties to the LGBTQ+ community Joe Wells, who now lives in Houston, says he threw the first after-dark party on Government Street at his antique store, which was where Pink Elephant is now
The party took place in 1995, 10 years before the first White Light Night.
“Everyone told me, ‘There’s no way you get people on Government Street after dark,’” he said. “I had to kick the last person out at 2 o’clock in the morning because I was ready to go home.”
These days, Baton Rouge is still partying after dark on Government Street for White Light Night and Hot Art Cool Nights, organized by Mid-City Merchants, but Wells is proud of the part he played in providing proof of concept for what has evolved into a huge event
The LGBTQ+ community has contributed much to the culture of the city of Baton Rouge, and the widespread
BEHAVIORS
Continued from page 1C
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
popularity of drag brunches or events like Pride Fest or Color of Pride may indicate increased acceptance, but the mainstream-ification of these events isn’t good news for everyone.
As Amy L Stone, professor of sociology and anthropology at Trinity University, wrote in an 2021 academic article about the history of the Spanish Town Parade, “The heterosexualization of previously gay-focused events and spaces is connected to a long history of heterosexuals consuming gay culture as a spectacle.”
The risk is displacing the people who built those spaces and events from the ground up. For example, though the Spanish Town Parade has its roots in the gay community, it’s organized largely by straight people now Some members of the LGBTQ+ community describe being uncomfortable attending the parade due to the homophobic nature of some floats.
“People offer you a seat at the table and don’t let you eat,” said Gjvar Payne, executive director of the Capital Area Reentry Program which aims to provide resources and harm reduction services among people who inject drugs and LGBTQ+ individuals. “You let me come up with the menu, cook the food, and then y’all ate all the food, and I couldn’t even get crumbs. And that’s all we get is crumbs in this community — even now.”
Payne expressed frustration at the co-opting of Queer spaces and events by others, a dynamic which is further complicated by race and racism — past and present, even within the LGBTQ+ community
“I really want our community to be seen and included,” said Payne. “We’re residents and citizens of Baton Rouge.”
Community struggles
The LGBTQ+ community faces the same problems that a lot of communities face. It’s not immune to the schisms within the city whether it be down racial or generational lines — or to the simple fact that community is hard work.
Tom Merrill, president of Baton Rouge Pride’s executive committee, said it’s always easier to find people
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.
willing to complain about what’s not getting done than it is to find volunteers to actually plan events, purchase and open spaces, or spend time and energy staffing them
For some members of the LGBTQ+ community, the way the community is siloed off can be a little disorienting — but there are historic reasons why
“Decades ago, that’s the way the community was,” said Elaine M. Maccio, a university professor and licensed social worker whose work and research focuses on the LGBT community “Men had their bars. Women had their bars, and there wasn’t any crossover — and then the HIV/AIDS pandemic changed that.”
As gay men were being infected with HIV and disowned by their families, she said, many lesbians stepped into a caretaking role which brought the two once-disparate communities together. In some cities, there were resources and infrastructure to continue to foster that community “In a place like Baton Rouge that doesn’t have any of those resources,” she said, “they came together during the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but then with no infrastructure to support them, as it waned, they went back to their corners.”
History in the making
Still, people are building those communities and reaching out. The Krewe of Apollo, which was previously open only to gay men, opened up membership in 2023 to anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, including allies.
George’s Place, previously an unmarked, members-only gay bar with no windows, a wooden fence wrapped around the exterior and a buzzer system to get in the door (all precautions for customer safety), can now stand as simply a neighborhood bar
For owner Chansley Dykes and manager Jeremy Longmire, these changes mean progress. They remember the days they had to seek out safe spaces when they wanted to go out. In 2018, when Dykes replaced the sign outside the bar, she chose not to put rainbow colors on it.
It’s not just a gay bar, she explained; it’s a bar for everyone.
MEMORIAL
Continued from page 1C
observed in part by the National Moment of Remembrance, which encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. for a moment of silence.
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF MEMORIAL DAY?
The holiday’s origins can be traced to the American Civil War, which killed more than 600,000 service members both Union and Confederate — between 1861 and 1865.
The first national observance of what was then called Decoration Day occurred on May 30, 1868, after an organization of Union veterans called for decorating war graves with flowers, which were in bloom.
The practice was already widespread. Waterloo, New York, began a formal observance on May 5, 1866, and was later proclaimed to be the holiday’s birthplace.
Yet Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, traced its first observance to October 1864, according to the Library of Congress. And women in some Confederate states were decorating graves before the war’s end.
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
on Nov 11, 1918 Armistice Day became a national holiday by 1938 and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
display 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,
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,
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.
“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 emeritus 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
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 followed 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.”
MARTIN
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.
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.
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.
St BatonRouge LA,70802, Ph:(225) 344-1704. 142709-May25-27, 3t $133
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Claude RileyKimbrell, Jr and Judy AnnKimbrell, is requestedto contactAttorneyRaushanah S. Hunter in referencetoa pending legalmatterat(225) 356-5252. 142532-May25-27,3t $109
Beychokat (225) 906-0050. 142419-May24-26, 3t $85
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of GraylinJackson andShirley Mae Williams Jacksonpleasecontact Atty.BenjaminBeychok at (225) 9060050. 142454-5/24-25-26-3t $97.00
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Isaac HenryMason Please contactAtty.BenjaminBeychok at (225) 906-0050. 142457-5/24-25-26-3t $85.00
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of JamesGibbs,Jr.,registeredagent forThe RedTable,LLC,isrequested
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of KeithC.Kelley, is requestedto contactAttorney RaushanahS Hunter in referencetoa pending legalmatterat(225) 356-5252. 142529-May25-27m 3t $97
at (225) 906-0050. 142449-5/24-25-26-3t $85.00
Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Rooseveltand WilhelmeniaGreen Thompson please contactAtty Benjamin Beychokat(225) 906-0050. 142424-May24-26, 3t $85
ROGERS WILSON,Sr. AND/OR HIS HEIRS: ROGERS WILSON,Jr. GLYN ‘GLENN’ WILSON MARGARET WOODRUFF Theinformation concerning these partiesshouldbemailedtoand/or calls made to: Attorney WendellC.Woods 7732 Goodwood Blvd.Ste.110 BatonRouge,Louisiana
annum.The Bondsare to be sold to CedarRapids Bank andTrust Company, Inc. or such otherpur‐chaser to be determined by theCorporation at a laterdateto financethe acquisition, construction andequipping of 4100 Bywater, locatedin New Orleans, OrleansParish, Louisiana(the “Project ) at ameetingofthe Board of Directorsofthe Corpo‐ration scheduledfor June 11, 2025,atten (10:00) o’clocka.m Louisiana time,atthe officesofthe LouisianaHousing Cor‐poration,2415 Quail Drive, BatonRouge Louisiana70808. TheCor‐poration reserves the righttopostponethe date,hourand placeset forthabove forthe sale of theBonds (without anyfurther publication of notice of thechangein thesaledate, time and/or location). In the eventthe sale is post‐poned as provided above, anyone desiring writtennoticeofthe sub‐sequentdateand time whichsaidsaleistobe accom¬plishedmustre‐questsuchnoticefrom theChairmanofthe BoardofDirectors of the Corporation. TheBonds will be sold pursuant to theterms of aresolution to be adoptedbythe Cor‐poration anda TrustIn‐denture(the “Inden‐ture”) to be executed by andbetween theCorpo‐ration anda trustee bank
TheBonds arebeing is‐sued pursuant to theAct andthe Indenturefor the purposeof financingthe acquisition, construction andequipping of amulti‐family housingproject andpayingthe costsof issuance associated with theBonds.The Bondsare limitedobligations of the Corporationand will be payablesolelyout of the income,revenues, and receipts derivedfromthe Projectand fundsand accountsheldunder and
pursuant to theInden‐ture andpledged there‐for. As provided in the Actand theIndenture theBonds do notconsti‐tute an obligation, either generalorspecial,ofthe StateofLouisiana,any municipality or anyother politicalsubdivision thereof.
Theprincipal of and in‐terest on theBonds will be payableatthe princi‐paloffice of thepaying agentoragentsselected by theCorporation in ac‐cordance with theprovi‐sionsofthe Indenture.
TheBonds will be dated as provided in theInden‐ture,willbearinterestat such rate or ratesestab‐lished at thetimeofsale of theBonds (not in ex‐cess of tenpercent (10.0%)per annum), payableonsuch datesas setforth in theInden‐ture,and will mature no laterthanforty (40) yearsfromdateofis‐suance
TheBonds will be is‐sued in fullyregistered form in thedenomina‐tionsasprovidedinthe Indenture. Bondswillbe transferable as provided in theIndenture
This Notice of Sale of Bondsisbeing published in accordance with the requirements of the LouisianaConstitution, applicable statutes and theAct.For aperiodof thirty (30) days from the date of publication hereof,any person or personsininterestshall have theright to contest thelegalityofthisnotice, theresolution, anyprovi‐sion of theBonds to be issued pursuant to it,the provisions securing the Bonds, andthe validity of allother provisions and proceedings relating to theauthorizationand is‐suance of theBonds.If no action or proceeding is instituted within the thirty (30) days,noper‐sonmay contestthe va‐lidity of theBonds,the provisions of theresolu‐tion pursuant to which theBonds were issued thesecurityofthe Bonds, or thevalidityof anyother provisions or proceedings relating to theirauthorization and issuance,and theBonds shall be presumed con‐clusivelytobelegal Thereafter no courtshall have authoritytoinquire into such matters. Forfurther information relative to theBonds and notcontained in this No‐tice,addressCoats Rose P.C.,BondCounsel,201 E. FifthStreet,Suite 1810,
