The Times-Picayune 05-26-2025 by The Advocate

AN AMERICAN JOURNEY

3women arrested in connection with N.O. jailbreak

2accused of driving escapeeacrossstate line

BY KASEYBUBNASH and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers

At least three more women who are accused of helping one of 10 inmateswho escaped theNew Orleansjailearlierthis month were arrested over the weekend and at least twonow face million-dollar bonds. Patricia Vanburen, 18, andTyshaneaRandolph, 27, were arrested on Saturday and booked into the Plaquemines Parish jail on countsofaccessoriesafter thefact. Theyappeared the following afternoon before Magistrate Commissioner Jonathan Friedman during an OrleansParishCriminalDistrict Court court session via Zoom, where their bails wereset at $1 million. Vanburen andRandolph are accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen Jr.from Louisiana to afamily member’shouse in Mississippi, according to court documents. Lenton Vanburen’s28-year-old sister, Lenika Vanburen, wasalso booked Friday in Jefferson Parish on afugitive count and several trafﬁc violations. Investigators said in court documents that Lenton Vanburen called Lenika Vanburen andanother sister from

ä See JAILBREAK, page 6A

BY KEITH SPERA |Staff writer

Stephen Watson ran to America.

Thirty-one years ago, he was amemberofthe University of Aberdeen’strack team in his native Scotland. Achance encounter led to an unsolicited athletic scholarship from Nicholls State UniversityinThibodaux.

So at age 19, Watson boarded aplane forthe ﬁrst timeto ﬂy from Glasgow to Washington,D.C., then NewOrleans. He arrived in ThibodauxonAug. 14,1994.

With that, his life was set on anentirely different and unexpected course. It eventually made himnot only anaturalized American citizen, but acaretaker of one of the greatest chapters inAmerican history

Since 2017,Watson hasserved as president and CEO of The National WWII Museum, one of New Orleans’ most prominent and popularattractions.

Over the next twoweeks,the museum celebrates its25th anniversary

Following Monday’sMemorial Day commemoration, the American Spirit Awards on Thursday and Friday honor businessman “Boysie” Bollinger,WorldWar II veteran C.

ä See WATSON, page 6A

Number of thoseaging out of system highestin2024

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD |Staff writer

at anaturalization ceremonyatthe museuminNew Orleans on July 3, 2015.

Split-jury verdicts continue to divide Legislature

Bill to revert cases, create parole committees fails

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN |Staff writer

Lawmakers in Louisiana have, forseveral years, been grappling with how to deal with an unusual portion of the state’sprison population: inmates whowere convicted by nonunanimous jury verdicts.

Such verdicts were banned in Louisiana in 2018, and the U.S. Supreme Court later ruled them unconstitutional. But the court didn’tapply the decisionretroactively, leaving it up to Louisiana to determine how to handle old cases.

The200 18-year-olds whoagedout of foster care in 2024 markedthe

ä See FOSTER, page 7A

Every year,more than 100 18-year-olds age out of Louisiana’s foster care system, meaning they have no permanenthome or source of care, and they often face devastating challenges. Samantha Morris-LaCour,26, bounced around foster homes before livinginaNatchitoches grouphome until she turned 18. She leftwith no support system,and a relationship that brought on abuse and sextrafﬁcking defined early adulthoodfor her,she said. Mikey Doucet, 36, was no strangertocouch surﬁng, beginning when he was achild in west Louisiana. One word he usestodescribe his fosterexperience: “traumatic.” Keionna Johnson, 25, believes she would have taken her own life if she hadn’tfound help in Hammond. Now,the former foster child works for two state groups thatwork with childreninthe system“to give them hope.”

Aproposalinthis legislative session —Senate Bill 218, by Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans —aimed to address that problem. It wouldhaveallowedprisoners convictedby split juriestoapply to have their cases set back to pretrial status. From there, district attorneys could decide whethertoholdanew trial, cut aplea deal or dismiss acase. But the bill diedinthe Senate on Wednesdayona vote of 26-9. The vote fell along

ä See DIVIDE, page 7A

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

The National WWII Museum President and CEO StephenWatson stands in front of awall filledwiththe faces of Medal of Honor recipients on Thursday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRISGRANGER

Stephen Watson, right, chief operating officer for The National WorldWar II Museum, gets ahug from his son, Matthew, then 6, after his father,who is originally from Scotland,was made aU.S.citizen

Doucet

Duplessis

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.”

BY SEUNG MIN KIM The Associated Press

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

New pontiff declares ‘I am Roman!’

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

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

The first American pope formally took possession of the St. John Lateran Basilica, which is Rome’s cathedral and seat of the diocese, with an evening Mass attended by Roman priests and faithful.

He then took the popemobile for a visit to St. Mary Major, where he prayed before Pope Francis’ tomb and an icon of the Virgin Mary beloved to many Roman faithful.

In his homily, Leo said he

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

One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome Given his responsibilities running the 1.4-billion strong universal Catholic Church, popes delegate the day-to-day governance of running of the diocese of Roman to a vicar Sunday’s ceremonies at the St. John Lateran and a stop at St Mary Major basilicas follow Leo’s visit last week to the St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica Together with St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the four papal basilicas are the most important basilicas in the West. Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed Leo ﬁrst at the steps to City Hall, noting that his May 8 election fell during a Holy Year, an event occurring every 25 years to invite pilgrims to Rome. The city underwent

Many frustrated, disillusioned voters skip Venezuelan vote

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela Ven-

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

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

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

“I’m not going to vote,” said truck driver Carlos León, 41, standing near a desolate polling station in downtown Caracas. “I don’t believe in the (electoral authority). I don’t think they’ll respect the vote. Nobody forgets what happened in the presidential elections. It’s sad, but it’s true.” Voter participation, in the eyes of the opposition, legitimizes Maduro’s claim to power and his government’s

repressive apparatus, which after the July presidential election detained more than 2,000 people including protesters, poll workers, political activists and minors, to quash dissent Meanwhile, the ruling party was already touting overwhelming victory across the country, just as it has done in previous regional elections regardless of opposition participation.

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

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

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

of Jewish youth movements unfurl

giant Israeli flag on Sunday on the eve of Jerusalem Day, an Israeli holiday celebrating the capture of the Old City during the 1967 Mideast war next

Trumpcalls DigitalEquityAct racist andlooks to endit

Programisaimed at filling gaps in the digitaldivide

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY and CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press

PORTLAND,Ore. One program dis-

tributes laptops in rural Iowa.Another helped people get back online after Hurricane Helenewashed away computers and phones in western North Carolina. Programs in Oregon and rural Alabama teach older people,including somewho have never touched acomputer how to navigate in an increasingly digital world. It all came crashing down this month when President Donald Trump —onhis own digital platform, Truth Social —announced his intention to end the Digital Equity Act, afederal grant program meant to help bridge the digital divide.He branded it as “RACIST and ILLEGAL” and said it amountsto“woke handouts based on race.” Hesaid it was an “ILLEGAL$2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway,” though the program wasactually funded with $2.75 billion. The name seemed innocuous enough when the program was approved by Congress in 2021aspart of a$65 billion investmentmeant to bring internet access to every home and business in the United States. The broadband program itself was akey component of the$1 trillion infrastructure lawpushed through by the administration of Democratic President JoeBiden.

The Digital Equity Act was intended to fill gaps and cover unmet needs that surfaced during the massive broadband rollout. It gave states and tribes ﬂexibilityto deliver high-speed internet access to families that could notafford it, computers to kids whodid not have them, telehealth access to older adults in rural areas, and training and job skills to veterans

Whether Trumphas the legal authority to end the program remains unknown. But for now theRepublican administration can simply stop spendingthe money.

“I just felt my heart breakfor what we were finally,finally in this country,goingtoaddress, the digital divide,” said Angela Siefer, executivedirectorofthe National DigitalInclusion Alliance,a nonprofit that was awarded —but has not received —a $25.7million grant to work withgroupsacross the country to help provide access to technology.“The digital divide is not just physicalaccess to theinternet, it is being abletouse that to do what you needtodo.”

Theword‘equity’

While the name of the program likely got it targeted —the Trump administration has been aggressivelyscrubbingthe government of programs that promote diversity,equity orinclusion —the Digital Equity Act was supposedtobe broader in scope

Though Trumpcalleditracist, the words“race”or“racial” appearjust twiceinthe law’s text: once, alongside “color,religion, national origin, sex, gender identity,sexualorientation,age, or disability,” in apassage statingthat no groups should be ex-

Tens of thousandsjoin rivalrallies in Warsaw

BY VANESSA GERA Associated Press

WARSAW,Poland Tens of thousands of Poles tookpart in dueling patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday,led by the two men vying for the presidency in aJune 1 runoff election which is expectedtobeboth close and consequential for the nation’sfuture.

Many of those who joined Sunday’smarches had traveled from across Poland, a country of nearly 38 million people, not just to supporta candidate but to rally behind sharply divergent visions for the nation’sfuture. At the head of onemarch was Rafał Trzaskowski, 53, the pro-European Union mayor of Warsaw who supports abortion rights and LGBTQ+inclusion.Heisa close political allyofPrime Minister Donald Tusk, who has led acentristcoalition government since late 2023. During aspeech to ahuge crowd Trzaskowski laidout his vision for aPoland that is inclusive and vowed to work to help develop Polish indus-

try as the nation continues an economic transformation into aregional economic and military power In another part of Warsaw,Karol Nawrocki,42, addressed his supporters. A conservative historian and former boxer,Nawrocki is backedbythe nationalconservativeLaw and Justice party,which governedPoland from 2015 to 2023. He heads the state-run Institute of NationalRemembrance which under Law and Justice becameknownfor promoting nationalistversions of Polish history

His supporters describe him as the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values —a manwho,likeU.S President Donald Trump, promises to restore what they call “normality.” Many voicedoppositiontoabortion and LGBTQ+ rights saying Nawrocki reﬂects the values they grew up with.

“I am aPole whounderstands the hardships of everyday life,” Nawrocki told the crowd. “I stand before you and Iamfully convinced that Iamyour voice.”

cluded from funding, and later,in alist of covered populations, along with older adults, veterans,people withdisabilities, English learners, people withlow literacy levels and ruralAmericans.

“DigitalEquitypassedwithoverwhelming bipartisan support,” said DemocraticSen.Patty Murrayof Washington, the act’schief proponent, in astatement. “Andthat’s because my Republican colleagues have heardthe same stories as I have —like kids in rural communities forced to drive to McDonalds parking lotsfor Wi-Fi to do their homework.

“It is insane —absolutely nuts— that Trump is blocking resources to help make sure kids in ruralschool districts can get hot spotsorlaptops, all because he doesn’tlike the wordequity!”

The National Telecommunications andInformation Administration, which administers the program, declined to comment. It’snot entirelyclearhow much of the$2.75 billion has been awarded, though last March the NTIA announced theallocation of $811 million to states,territories and tribes ‘Moreconfident’

On arecent morning in Portland, Oregon, BrandonDornwas among

those taking akeyboard basics class offered by Free Geek, anonproﬁt that provides free courses to helppeoplelearn to usecomputers. The class was offered at alowincome housing building to make it accessible for residents.

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

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

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

Juan Muro, Free Geek’sexecutive director,saidparticipantsget thetools and skills theyneedto access things like online banking, job applications, online education programs andtelehealth.Hesaid Trump’smovetoend funding has put nonproﬁts such as Free Geekin aprecarious position, forcing them to makeupthe difference through their own fundraising and “beg for money to just provide individuals withessential stuff.”

Sara Nichols works forthe Land of Sky Regional Council, amulticounty planning and development organization in western North Carolina. On the FridaybeforeTrump’s inauguration in January,the organization received notice that it was approved for agrant. But like other groups The Associated Press contacted, it hasnot seen any money Land of Sky had spent alot of resourceshelping peoplerecover from last year’sstorms. The award notice, Nicholssaid, came as “incredible news.”

“But between this andthe state losing, getting their letters termi-

nated, we feel just like stuck. What are we going to do? How are we going to move forward? How are we going to let our communities continue to fall behind?”

Fillingunmet needs

More than one-ﬁfth of Americans do not have broadband internet access at home, according to the Pew Research Center.Inrural communities, the number jumps to 27%. Beyond giving people access to technology and fast internet, many programsfunded by the Digital Equity Act sought to provide “digital navigators” —human helpers to guidepeoplenew to theonline world.

“In the United States we do not have aconsistent source of fundingtohelpindividuals getonline, understand howtobesafeonline and how to use that technology to accomplish allthe things thatare required nowaspart of life that are online,” said Sieferofthe National Digital Inclusion Alliance.

This includes everything from providing families with internet hot spotssothey canget onlineat hometohelping seniors avoid online scams.

“Health, workforce, education, jobs, everything, right?” Siefer said. “This lawwas going to be the start forthe U.S. to ﬁgure out this issue.It’sa newissue in the big scheme of things, because now technology is no longer anice-tohave. Youhave to have the internet and you have to know how to use the technology just to survive, let alone to thrive today.”

Siefersaidthe word “equity” in thename probably prompted Trumptotarget the program for elimination.

“But it meansthathedidn’tactually look at whatthis program does,” she said. “Because who doesn’twant grandmatobesafe online? Who doesn’twant aveteran to be able to talk to theirdoctor rather than get in acar and drive two hours? Who doesn’twantstudents to be able to do their homework?”

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK Acryptocurrencyinvestor hasbeen arrested andchargedwith kidnapping aman and keeping him locked up for weeksinanupscale Manhattan apartment, where authorities sayhewas beaten, shocked and led to believethathis family was in danger if he didn’t give up his Bitcoinpassword.

John Woeltz, 37, wasarrested Friday nightafter thevictim escaped from the eight-bedroom town house and flagged down atraffic officer on the street for help, according to prosecutors. Woeltzwas arraigned Saturday on chargesof kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of afirearm, court records show.Hewas orderedheld without bail, aspokespersonfor the Manhattan DistrictAttorney’sOfﬁce conﬁrmed Saturday Hislawyer,Wayne Gosnell, said Saturday in an email that he had no comment. The28-year-oldvictim

arrived in New York City from Italy in early May,a law enforcement

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JENNy KANE

Rugaya Ismail, center,isreflected in acomputer screen on May15 duringakeyboard basics class offered by Free Geek in Portland, Ore.

U.S.-German citizen charged in attempted attack on U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK A dual U.S.-German citizen has been arrested on charges that he traveled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv officials said Sunday Federal prosecutors in New York said the man, Joseph Neumeyer,

JAILBREAK

Continued from page 1A

the jail the day before his escape, telling them to meet him outside the jail by 11:30 p.m. He also told them to have his girlfriend get him a “clean phone,” according to court documents.

WATSON

Continued from page 1A

Paul Hilliard, and the museum’s founding president and CEO emeritus, Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller

At 6:30 a.m. June 6, a ceremony marks the moment the D-Day landings began 81 years ago. A presentation on the museum’s milestone 25th anniversary follows at 11 a.m.

That night at the Orpheum Theater, the museum, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and historian John Monsky present “The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to V-E Day,” a multimedia concert experience focused on the final months of the war Even as The National WWII Museum looks back, its leadership — including its Scottish-born president and CEO — is focused on the future.

“When I got to the museum almost 23 years ago, we had 150 World War II veteran volunteers,” Watson recalled recently “Now we have two.

“Here we are at the (museum’s) 25th anniversary, and we are quickly approaching the day when there will no longer be ﬁrst-person survivors from the war That means that our mission, our purpose, our responsibility, is even greater We’re the storyteller now ” A life-changing opportunity

Watson, who turned 50 on the same day this month his daughter graduated from high school, still sports traces of a Scottish accent. His heritage sometimes comes into play unexpectedly, as when Better Than Ezra singer/guitarist Kevin Grifﬁn called him onstage at a recent leadership conference to sing Scottish duo the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”

“That,” Watson said of his public singing debut, “was a one-time experience.”

His Scottish roots connect to World War II. His grandfather served in the Royal Air Force, training pilots in what is now Zimbabwe.

“It was a transformative and complicated time for him,” Watson said. “Here was a kid from rural Scotland who’d probably never been more than 50 miles away from home. Eighteen months later, he’s a certiﬁed instructor ﬂying aircraft in Africa.”

As a teenager, Watson visited Normandy’s D-Day beaches, but his primary focus was running. In his senior year of high school, he was the Scottish national 5K cham-

walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with a backpack containing Molotov cocktails but got into a confrontationwithaguardandeventually ran away, dropping his backpack as the guard tried to grab him Law enforcement then tracked Neumeyer down to a hotel a few blocks away from the embassy and arrested him, according to a crimi-

nal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York

The attack took place against the backdrop of Israel’s war in Gaza, now in its 19th month Neumeyer, 28, who is originally from Colorado and has dual U.S. and German citizenship, had traveled from the U.S. to Canada in early February and then arrived

in Israel in late April, according to court records. He had made a series of threatening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said. Israeli ofﬁcials deported Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday, the same day his criminal complaint was unsealed.

Neumeyer’s court-appointed attorney Jeff Dahlberg declined to comment. During his first term, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinian objections and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city

The other sister, however, told investigators that the pair went to the house where Lenton Vanburen stayed immediately after he broke out of the jail.

It’s unclear whether Patricia Vanburen and Tyshanea Randolph are related to the others arrested. The latests arrests come after

The day of the jailbreak, Lenika Vanburen and her sister picked up their mother, Natasha Rudolph, from the jail just after midnight, according to court documents. She was coincidentally released from the jail that night on unrelated charges. Investigators said Lenika Vanburen drove her mother to her home in Marrero then drove to New Orleans East, but gave conﬂicting statements about why she was in the East.

in New Orleans on July 3, 2015.

pion.

He continued running at the University of Aberdeen. On the last day of his ﬁrst semester, he bumped into Drew Sharkey, a fellow runner who had just accepted a trans-Atlantic track scholarship to Nicholls State Watson wished him well.

Two months later, a Priority Mail envelope arrived at his dorm. Inside was a Nicholls State scholarship offer and a note — which Watson still has — instructing him to be near the dorm lobby phone at 7 a.m. On the line were the Nicholls track coach and Sharkey, who had threatened to leave Thibodaux unless a few fellow Scotsmen joined him there. Hence the surprise scholarship for Watson.

“It was just one of the moments where you’re like, ‘If I don’t take this opportunity, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.’ And boy, what a life-changer.”

His Thibodaux welcome was warm in more ways than one. The people were kind, but the south Louisiana summertime wasn’t.

Stephen Watson, left, president and CEO of The National World War II Museum, chats with World War II veterans on the 79th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2023.

The Scots are not swamp people.

“I had never experienced heat and humidity in my life,” Watson said. “I would say it was a ‘transitional period’ for the first few months.

“But pretty early on, I committed to stay and ﬁnish my degree. After a few years, I decided, ‘I don’t want to go back. This is home, and this is where I want to be.’ Nicholls is a special place. I had a great experience there as a runner, a great experience academically.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, then an MBA. He spent four years working in membership and development at New Orleans public radio station WWNO 89.9

FM In 2002, he became membership coordinator at what was then the National D-Day Museum, which had opened two years earlier “It felt like a calling,” he said. “There was something drawing me to its mission. I’m not a scholar, I’m not a historian. But I’ve always had a keen interest in World War II, always had the family connection.”

Museum memberships are often purchased to save money on ad-

at least nine others have been booked on suspicion of aiding the men who broke out of the jail in the early morning hours of May 16. As of Sunday afternoon, ﬁve escapees were still at large, following the most recent arrest of Corey Boyd on Tuesday. Along with Boyd, inmates Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, Dkenan Dennis and Gary Price have been captured and are being held without bail at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola Lenton Vanburen, Antoine Massey, Jermaine Donald, Leo Tate and Derrick Groves were still on the lam as of Sunday afternoon.

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey bubnash@theadvocate.com.

missions. But Watson quickly realized “we had a cause and a mission that was relevant in every corner of this country We had to think of membership not in the transactional sense, but in the mission and cause sense.”

The retooled approach was wildly successful. In 18 months, D-Day Museum membership rocketed from 3,000 to 60,000. Most of those new members were outside Louisiana.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, membership dues helped keep the museum afloat. “Had it not been for that membership base,” Watson said, “I don’t know that we would have made it.”

Filling big shoes?

The museum was the brainchild of University of New Orleans historian and author Stephen Ambrose and his friend and colleague Nick Mueller Mueller became the driving force following Ambrose’s death in 2002.

After Mueller retired in 2017, Watson, who had advanced to executive vice president and chief operating ofﬁcer, was promoted to CEO and president.

“There is no WWII Museum without Nick Mueller full stop,” Watson said “It was a privilege to work for him for 15 years to have a great leader and mentor that saw something in me and gave me opportunities.

“You don’t ﬁll the shoes of Nick Mueller You’ve just got to get your own pair and get real comfortable in ’em.”

Watson oversees budgets and buildings and hosts dignitaries and donors, but also must be comfortable soliciting millions of dollars.

“I believe we’re doing something important. When you value what you’re doing, and you believe in it, and you also believe that you can execute what you’re telling people, it provides you a quiet conﬁdence that what you’re asking for is going to have a positive impact.”

Resources “give us the ability to make important things happen.”

The museum’s collections now include 300,000 artifacts and more than 12,000 personal accounts of the war In August, the 10 millionth visitor passed through.

A multiyear, $400 million capital campaign expanded the campus from one exhibit hall to seven pavilions across 7 acres, topped by the skyline-altering Bollinger Canopy of Peace. The affiliated Higgins Hotel & Conference Center opened in 2019.

The Liberation Pavilion, opened in 2023, fulﬁlled the original mas-

ter plan from Mueller’s tenure as CEO. Still, Watson said, “there’s more to do. Now we’re going back to the beginning and redoing a lot.”

The museum’s original, 25-yearold D-Day exhibits will soon get a refresh, as will “Beyond All Boundaries,” the 4-D movie narrated by Tom Hanks. With technology and multimedia, “you can’t wait 25 or 30 or 40 years to update them It’s a much shorter cycle. We’ll always be working on something.” Programs, including popular World War II educational tours and cruises in Europe, are constantly expanding. An “education corridor” is being developed on Magazine Street. The new Peggy & Timber Floyd Education Pavilion will serve as a “support center” for the museum’s collections and house a leadership training center Buildings recently donated by the Meraux Foundation will likely be used for staffing and storage needs. “We’re still working through exactly what that will be,” Watson said, “because it literally just happened.”

Taking the oath

He knows as well as anyone that achieving something profound takes time and effort. Becoming a naturalized American citizen was a complicated, yearslong process that culminated in Watson acing the citizenship exam.

“I completely overstudied for it, which my team would probably say is my general approach to many things. But there were nerves. It was a high-pressure moment,” he said.

He and 50 other new citizens took the Oath of Allegiance at The National WWII Museum on July 3, 2015. He realized his personal American dream against a backdrop of American history on “one of the greatest days of my life, something I will always cherish.

“Going through that process as an adult, thinking about what it means to be a citizen and what this country stands for, was really meaningful.”

Before the museum opens in the morning, he sometimes walks through the exhibits alone, letting the stillness and silence amplify the sacriﬁce those exhibits represent.

“It reminds you why we’re here, and what we’re doing,” he said.

“We’ve been blessed over the last 25 years to have great supporters. But the work will never be done.”

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Stephen Watson, center, chief operating officer for The National World

War II Museum, who is originally from Scotland, waves an American flag after he and about 50 others were made U. S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the museum

state’s highest total in six years, according to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. Rapides, East Baton Rouge and Jefferson parishes have the highest numbers in the state for 18-yearolds leaving foster care without a permanent home. Comparatively, the three parishes also have some of the highest rates of children in foster care.

In recent years, the state has launched new initiatives to expand foster care and create programs to help clients who turn 18. In addition, nonproﬁts and other organizations have been working to expand the safety net for those young adults.

Many former foster youth have seen progress, but others still struggle.

In interviews, several former foster clients who aged out and even some with permanent living situations described traumatic experiences from their time in the system, including attempted suicide, homelessness, abuse, mental health crises, substance abuse and an overall lack of support All of them said the majority of these situations followed them into adulthood.

All said that while they have left state-mandated observation, their struggles unfortunately stick around, and ﬁnding help as an adult comes with more barriers.

For those who found their footing after leaving the system with no permanent home, it has taken years Morris-LaCour said that having no stability during her adolescence left her vulnerable as an adult, allowing some people to take advantage of her “I feel like the system failed me,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my husband’s family, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I’d probably be dead.”

A new approach

Louisiana ofﬁcially began efforts to extend foster care in 2018. At the time, proponents of the move and former foster youth shared gripping emotional testimonies and statistics with state legislators including that for those who age out of foster care, 3 out of 5 will be homeless within a year And 3 out of 4 of these youths will be incarcerated at some point in their lives, according to data from a legislative task force.

DIVIDE

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party lines, with Democrats in favor of the bill and Republicans opposed.

The primary opposition to the bill came from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association which said it would be impractical to try old cases when witnesses may have died and evidence been destroyed. They also argued the cases would clog the courts

The Promise of Justice Initiative, an organization that represents prisoners convicted by split juries and that asked Duplessis to carry the bill, disputed that notion, presenting data that suggested the association was overstating the number of cases at issue.

Duplessis said he is continuing to work with stakeholders to ﬁnd a solution. But it’s unclear whether the two sides will be able to reach a compromise.

An alternate plan

On Wednesday — the day Duplessis presented his bill to the Senate Chamber the district attorneys association offered a new proposal that, instead of granting new trials to prisoners convicted by split juries, would have given those prisoners a chance for parole.

The group asked state Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, to car-

ry the proposal in the form of an amendment to SB218.

The amendment would have established a special parole committee consisting of three judges, one district attorney or assistant district attorney, and one public defender or assistant public defender, all appointed by the governor

Those convicted by nonunanimous juries could have applied for parole from the panel, which would have been responsible for reviewing applications and determining whether convictions had resulted in a “miscarriage of justice.” The panel would have had three years to carry out its duties.

Zach Daniels, executive director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, said the amendment showed they were willing to work with advocates to ﬁnd a reasonable solution

But Hardell Ward, the initiative’s director of community impact, said the proposal — which was pulled from a three-year-old bill — was not a viable one.

He noted the panel’s decision would not have been appealable, and that the amendment did not deﬁne “miscarriage of justice.”

“How can someone who’s been in jail for 30 years properly prove that there’s a miscarriage of justice not even knowing what they mean when they say that?” Ward asked

And for clients who want to prove their innocence, accepting

Former Gov John Bel Edwards signed legislation in 2019 to extend foster care to the age of 21, which came with a cost of around $3 million amid an already-struggling DCFS budget.

DCFS has since implemented a voluntary Extended Foster Care program for young adults ages 18 to 21. There are requirements for being able to remain in the program, such as school enrollment or

parole is “not justice for them,” he said.

Mary-Patricia Wray a lobbyist for the Promise of Justice Initiative, did not see McMath’s amendment as a true compromise, but instead as an old proposal that has been discussed for years and rejected, she said.

Duplessis rejected the proposal at the behest of the Promise of Justice Initiative, and McMath withdrew his amendment on the Senate ﬂoor

“Those who asked me to carry this legislation, specifically (the Promise of Justice Initiative) and the clients they represent, did not want the amendment, and I fully understand and accept their rationale,” said Duplessis.

Blame goes around

McMath called the advocates’ rejection of the amendment “shortsighted.”

“Instead of keeping (Duplessis’) bill alive and moving and continuing to work with the other side, (the bill) ended up failing in dramatic fashion,” McMath said. “And what does that accomplish? Nothing.”

Personally McMath said he voted against the bill out of concerns that it would force victims to relive traumatic moments at new trials.

Meanwhile, the Promise of Justice Initiative has blamed the failure of the bill on what they describe as the association’s outsized

employment. Those who qualify are assigned a LifeSet specialist, a case worker who provides one-on-one services.

Shannon Catanzaro, a manager of DCFS’ Extended Foster Care program, said getting the program off the ground and running took time, but it has been growing in recent years.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been doing a lot,” she said. Catanzaro said it has pushed more young adults to graduate high school or GED programs.

The program had 215 participants as of March. The program doesn’t include every former foster youth.

Some want to get support outside of DCFS or are unable to meet the eligibility requirements, while others are not aware of the program.

Doucet, a Hammond resident who aged out of care, was not so lucky in ﬁnding resources to help him a decade ago but was “blown away” by new extended foster care initiatives and resources.

Doucet echoes sentiments shown by data collected on those who age out, and he emphasizes the need for resources, especially mental health resources, for anyone like him.

“What happens when someone like myself ages out of foster care, it’s not good,” he said. “Someone like myself should be in prison.”

‘Gaps to fill’

A few groups and people have found ways to augment efforts to extend help for former foster youth.

LSU is currently taking inspiration from other SEC universities and is implementing a donor-funded program this upcoming fall to provide support services to the former foster youth attending the university

Michael Rozales, a case manager at LSU who is helping form the program, wants it to provide academic, emotional and potentially ﬁnancial support to help former foster youth navigate college.

The pipeline for foster youth to college graduate is predictably low, as only half of the children in foster care will ﬁnish high school by age 19 — and those who ﬁnish col-

inﬂuence on the Legislature.

“As demonstrated again (Wednesday) and evident in legislative sessions for years, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association (LDAA), a lobbying group, holds signiﬁcant, disproportionate power over our legislators,” the group said in a statement after the vote. “When the LDAA told lawmakers to oppose this bill, legislators listened.”

The statement points out that the bill gleaned a wide variety of support, including from hard-core conservative U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, and the Pelican Institute, a right-leaning public policy think tank.

Wray contended the association has a “chokehold” over the Legislature.

“They are under the thumb of their district attorneys,” she said. “When will the Legislature stand up to these local elected ofﬁcials?”

McMath disputed that notion.

“I think that if the LDAA had a stranglehold on the Legislature, the bill doesn’t get out of committee, and I would applaud the LDAA for coming back to the table and offering a compromise,” he said.

Daniels said district attorneys offer insight to legislators, and in doing so they “trade on one currency, and that’s the currency of our reputation.” They build that reputation through their work creating safer communities, he said.

“To say that we have a dispro-

lege belong to a strikingly smaller group, according to the National Foster Youth Institute. National studies have said 3% to 4% of former foster youth get a four-year college degree, and between 2% and 6% receive a two-year degree.

“I hope (the program) has any kind of positive impact, even if it’s the smallest thing,” he said.

Some other statewide groups that aid foster children have carved out projects to speciﬁcally help young adults who were in foster care.

Brave Heart Louisiana Children in Need, a nonprofit that collects donations to create care packages for foster children, formed a program in 2021 for foster youth who are aging out.

The nonproﬁt, through donations and grants, collects electronics, tools, apartment and dorm supplies, Executive Director Wendi LeMoine said.

LeMoine is proud of the program and its impact, but due to a lack of available funds, it was able to serve only about a quarter of those who aged out last year, she said.

“We’ve grown it a little bit year by year, but it’s in no way fully funded. We have some gaps to ﬁll,” LeMoine said.

Kerri Vinyard runs H2O Ministry in Hammond, which is a home for women who have aged out of foster care. It came to fruition in 2020 as a private entity and later became licensed under DCFS. It currently can house three women at a time.

Vinyard, who isn’t paid for her work with the home, said, “God led me to here.”

Johnson got involved with Vinyard’s group when she was 20.

“At ﬁrst I was hesitant, because every time I stayed with people I had to leave,” she said.

Johnson, with eventual help from Vinyard and other connections, was able to graduate from high school and get two jobs. But for a time, she didn’t think any of that was possible.

“I think I would have committed suicide,” she said.

Johnson now works with the Louisiana Elite Advocacy Force to advocate for foster youth and prompt good policy changes for them.

portionate impact, or an unfair advantage in some way ignores the role that we play in the communities advocating for victims, and it renders it down to something a bit uglier and frankly frustrating to hear,” Daniels said.

Next steps

Though Duplessis’ bill failed in its current form, that doesn’t mean nothing will be done with regard to split juries this session.

Duplessis ﬁled a motion for reconsideration, meaning his bill could come up again. The senator is exploring whether it is possible to pass legislation that would help the state to determine the scope of cases impacted by nonunanimous jury verdicts.

“At the very least, we should be able to come up with a process that allows us to agree on the size of the problem including the actual number of cases that exist,” Duplessis said.

Disagreement over how many prisoners were behind bars due to split-jury verdicts was a sticking point as SB218 moved through the legislative process. The Promise of Justice Initiative estimated that roughly 800 people would have been entitled to relief if the bill passed; the Louisiana District Attorneys Association put that number at 1,600.

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

PHOTO By MOLLy BAHLINGER

Keionna Johnson, 25, a resident of the H20 Ministry, a home for women who have aged out of foster care, now works for two state groups that work with children in the system ‘to give them hope.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Wendi LeMoine, executive director of Brave Heart Louisiana Children in Need, unpacks a box at the organization’s storage facility The nonprofit collects electronics, tools, and apartment and dorm supplies for youths aging out of the Louisiana foster system.

Your hearing is an integral part of your overall health and wellbeing. Studiesshow that untreated hearingloss has been linked to many health issues, including cognitivedeclineand dementia.1

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NOPD turns about-face on cameras

Chief bans use of real-time alerts in criminal probes

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

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

suspects.

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

The New Orleans Police Department, meanwhile, makes use of a network of city cameras operated by the Department of Homeland Security under different rules: a 2022 ordinance that sets limits on facial recognition. Police must exhaust all other methods of identiﬁcation,

THROUGH LINE

then seek a supervisor’s permission. An image of a match must be veriﬁed later by state analysts. But a report published last week by The Washington Post questions whether the city was violating those guardrails until recently, by enabling NOPD officers and investigators to receive the real-time Project NOLA alerts regularly The NOPD had been receiving them since the facial recognition cameras hit on their ﬁrst match in 2022. Then last month, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick abruptly suspended their use, said Bryan

Lafitte Greenway has attracted $330M in development, study says, connecting and transforming Mid-City along the way

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

Before it was a vibrant bike and pedestrian trail averaging more than half a million visitors a year the Lafitte Greenway was a dormant swath of flood-prone land with a shoddy brake tag station, old warehouses and remnants of an abandoned rail line that carved its path

Now in its 10th year of operation, the $9.1 million linear park has transformed into an economic and cultural boon in the heart of Mid-City, serving as an anchor for affordable housing, playgrounds, public

events and a range of businesses. Over the years, it’s attracted an estimated $330 million in new development, according to a study by LSU researchers.

“It went from being a dump to being one of the best places in the city,” visitor Adam Cohen said while biking the strip on a recent afternoon. Each day, users can be seen jogging, biking or strolling with their children along the 2.6-mile trail that connects the outskirts of the French Quarter to Carrollton Avenue and the quiet residential area

Brees opens big Metairie entertainment venue

Veterans Boulevard hot spot has seen explosion of growth

BY LAUREN WALCK

Clash escalates over coroner’s

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

In the latest legal spat over tax revenue in St Tammany Parish, the parish government is demanding that the Coroner’s Ofﬁce hand over $14 million to the parish, invoking a 2024 law that gave the parish broad control over the coroner’s ﬁnances.

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

A bike rider travels along the 10-year-old Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans. The once

economic and cultural boon in the heart of Mid-City.

A shade pavilion was built by the Tulane School of Architecture along the Lafitte Greenway.

Kirkpatrick

Over 1,500Louisiana bridgesrated ‘poor’

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 the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. That is more than 12%ofthe state’sbridges

U.S. Department of Transportation inspectors rate bridges on ascale of 0to9 Bridges that rank belowa4 receive a“poor” classification. The inspectors lookata variety of elements when rating bridges including age and wear,trafﬁc load, climate inﬂuence,design and construction, maintenance and more.

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

n Red River Parish with 20

CAMERAS

Continued from page1B

of 63 bridges —almost 32% of bridges.

n Pointe Coupee Parish with 16 of 51 bridges —more than31% of bridges.

n ClaiborneParishwith40 of 138bridges—that’s29% of bridges.

n Bienville Parish with 52 of 188 bridges —more than 27% of bridges.

n East FelicianaParish with 37of135 bridges— more than 27% of bridges.

n West Feliciana Parish with 29of109 bridges— more than 26% of bridges.

n AvoyellesParish with 39 of 151 bridges —almost 26% of bridges.

n Webster Parish with 49 of 191bridges —more than 25% of bridges.

n East Carroll Parish with 13 of 56 bridges —more than 23% of bridges.

Lagarde, aProject NOLA founder and former police ofﬁcer

“Anne Kirkpatrick has been very familiar with Project NOLA’s facial recognition. She always liked it,” Lagarde said.

An email exchange provided by Lagarde shows that Kirkpatrick has been aware of the facial recognition cameras and the automated alert system since early November 2023.

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

“This decision was madetoensure full compliance with NOPD policy, city ordinance,and constitutional standards,” it read.

The department, which is in the ﬁnal phase of along-running police reform agreement overseen by a federaljudge,saiditwillcontinue using footage from the 5,000 cameras Project NOLA monitorsinthe city,deeming them “a valuable investigation tool.”

Thealert system

Particularlydense in theFrench Quarter,the technology and its use by the NOPD has raised alarm.

Project NOLA says it uses its own funds to purchase cameras and technology that didn’tgain traction with multiple law enforcement agencies until 2023, after a local woman bequeathed the group $87,000, helping boostits AI capabilities. Now, law enforcement in Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, along with Louisiana State Police, can receive the alerts, Lagarde said.

Last week, the technology helped State Policenab Kendall Myles,the ﬁrst of 10 jail escapees to be recaptured, in the French Quarter.Lagarde saidhis cameras recognized Myles and another escapee, who was not arrested.

The alerts that went out excluded the NOPD, Lagarde said, after the department on April 7barred staff from receiving them from cameras in the 8th District, which includes the French Quarter and Central Business District. Afew weeks later,the ban expanded across the city According to Lagarde, thecity is considering operating its own facial recognition software

Continued from page 1B

his budget isn’tfrom property tax revenue. He saysthe money is from his ofﬁce’sself-generated revenue, which is not owed to the parish. Besides, Tape argues, he cannot be forcedtogive the parish the money while his constitutional challenge against the 2024 law is still pending in court. The 2024 law had the broad backing of the northshorelegislative delegation, and came at atimewhen Tape’sofﬁce was embroiled in controversy,following mediareports that Tape had been indicted in New Mexico on sexualassaultcharges in 2002. The charges weretossed out after prosecutors didn’t move quickly enough to bring the caseto trial. Tape has maintained hisinno-

n Plaquemines Parish with seven of 31 bridges —more than22% of bridges.

EastBaton Rouge Parish hadthe highest total numberofbridgesclassified as poor condition with 114 of 547bridges,nearly 21%of bridges in the parish.

Theparishes with thelowest 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 —more than1%ofbridges.

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

n TensasParish with two of 50 bridges— that’s4%of bridges.

n Catahoula Parish with four of 71 bridges —more than5%ofbridges.

The WashingtonPostreported that Kirkpatrickand District Attorney Jason Williams had conﬁrmed discussionswith the City Council aboutrevisingthe facialrecognition ordinance.Neitherthe NOPD nora councilspokesperson responded last week torequests for details.

‘A largeheadstart’

ThePost foundNew Orleans’ use oflivefacialrecognition to be among the ﬁrst of itskind. London is the only otherplace Lagarde is aware of asimilar system, he said in an interview

Police departments in major U.S. cities such as New York Cityand Detroit are adopting similar biometrics systems, drawing concerns of asurveillance state among civil liberties groups.

Lagarde said Project NOLA aims to address privacy issues in part by deleting the footage within 30 days. He addedthatthe cameras are placed at the request of home and business owners.

“Wedon’tsellorshare the data,” Lagarde said. “It’sonly used in criminal investigations, as well as missing persons.”

City ordinanceguidelines

The 2022 ordinance, which lifted aban on facial recognition by the NOPD, stillbars its use as a“surveillancetool.”

City officers can only use it for missing persons cases or designated crimes of violence. The department’spolicy also requires supervisorstosubmit images to the Louisiana StateAnalyticaland Fusion Exchange

Areport by federal monitors overseeing police reforms inNew Orleansfound NOPD ofﬁcers made 19 such requests in 2023, resulting in only one fruitful match. The report saidinvestigatorswere “reluctant” to makefuture requests, citing “lagtime and low potential for matches.”

Lagarde said Project NOLA, on the other hand, has helped in “an extraordinarilysignificantnumber of homicidecases”since 2023. Beyond homicide,the nonprofit has posted on Facebook about alerts to the NOPD when the system hit on a robbery suspect. Project NOLA’s app provides officers areference photo —a mugshot or photo fromthe crimescene alongside asnapshot of the detected individual, data on the strength of thematch andinformationonthe crime. Lagarde saidofficers go beyond thetechnology to seek outdata on the suspect and their crimes.

‘Big Brotherregime’ Controversyoverthe proliferation of high-tech police cameras on New Orleans streets ﬁrsterupted under

cence, but afternewsbroke of the charges, he faced calls for his resignation and an unsuccessful recall petition.

Adopted during the 2024 legislative session and signed intolaw by Gov. Jeff Landry last June,the law requires criminal background checks for coroners in St. Tammany and givesthe parish government thepower to remove the coroner for somecriminal offenses.

It also obligated the coroner to give the parish all funds on-hand generated by its dedicated property tax,except for what wasneededto operateinthe 2024calendar year

The coroner’sproperty tax was ﬁrst approved byvoters in 2004 andexpired in 2024.

The St. Tammany coroner’scontrol over its property tax revenue had only recently been restored in 2021, after the Legislature in 2013 gave financial controltothe parishgovernment amid controversy

former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who announced amassive cameraplan andothermeasuresin2017after a mass shooting on BourbonStreet It would have required every businesswithanalcohol licensetoinstall astreet-facingcamera, coveringthe city in at least 1,500 of them. Civil rights groups howled and business ownersbalked, raising thespecter of a”Big Brother” regime,and the ordinance was withdrawn.

Asmallerversion,the Real-Time CrimeCenter,now operates without facial recognition. The systemand the secrecy around it have been the targetofmultiple legal challenges.

In 2019, astate judge orderedthe city to releasea mapofwhatwere then about 400 city crime cameras, rejecting aclaim it wasexempt from public-records law.In2021, the ACLUofLouisiana sued Louisiana StatePolice for records thatrevealed that the NOPD had worked with State Police to runfacial recognition searches since at least 2018 without the public’sknowledge.

Critics of thetechnologyargued bias, pointing to afederal study that hadfound most commercial software wasfar more likely to misidentify aBlack personthana White person. Before the ACLU obtained the records, the NOPD hadrepeatedly denied using facial recognition software.

Last week, the ACLU sent aletter to the City Council, urging aprobe into its useand ahiatusonfacial recognitionbythe NOPD until more safeguards are in place.

Capturingrecentcrime

In the meantime, Lagarde pointed to mounting success stories from a collaboration with State Police in the 8thDistrict, where they’ve set up banks of screens inside the historic Cabildo on Jackson Square.

Project NOLA cameras recognized suspects involvedinthe fatal robbery of the owner of the Viet My Supermarket celebrating on BourbonStreet on New Year’sDay shortly after the killing.

After the Jan.1terror attack on Bourbon Street that left 14 dead, Project NOLA was “instantly working” with theNOPD and State Police,Lagarde said. Itscameras tracked those who moved the explosive devices thatShamsud-Din Jabbar left along Bourbon beforeramming his truckinto crowds of revelers. The footagehelpedauthorities determine Jabbar acted alone in the street attack.

AState Police spokesperson declined to conﬁrm itsuse of the technology in astatement, citing aneed to protect “investigative methods.” Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe@ theadvocate.com.

over then-Coroner Peter Galvan’s handlingofhis office’sfinances

The2013 law was itself subject to a constitutional challenge by Galvan. Tape challengedthe constitutionality of the2024 lawinstate court in Baton Rouge, suing the state and parish, including theParish Council and Parish President Mike Cooper Through aspokesperson, Cooper declined to comment,citing ongoinglitigation.

State Judge Richard“Chip Moore of the 19th Judicial District ruledfor theparish in itsmotion seekingtotransfer Tape’ssuit to St. Tammany Parish and also agreed with thestate’slawyers in their motion arguing that the state should nothavebeen aparty to thesuit. Tape has appealed those rulings to the state’s1st Circuit Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, the parish’sﬁnance departmentfound in September 2024 that the coroner had over $14

BROWNOUT

Continued from page1B

prevent alarge-scale blackout.

According to Entergy,more than 52,000 customersinOrleans Parish were without power at the height of the outage, including theentire Lakeview andlake area to the IndustrialCanal,Gentilly and parts of Mid-City Across town, pockets of Treme, the Marigny andmuchofUptown andthe Garden District also were in the dark formore than two hours. Theoutagerepresentedmore than halfEntergy’stotal customers at its peak, according to PowerOutage.us. In JeffersonParish, about 35,800 customers were without power,onboththe east andwest banks Additionally,atthe peak of the outage, more than 6,000 customers in St. Bernard Parish were affected as were another 6,500 in Plaquemines Parish. Cleco customers on the northshore alsowere affected.Several Cleco customers contacted The Times-Picayunetocomplain about outages in Mandeville and, curiously,aninability to report the problem to Cleco’swebsite or access theutility’soutage map online. In astatementonits website, Entergy attributed the brownout to adirective fromMISO, saying, “EntergyLouisiana and Entergy New Orleanshavestarted periodic power outages for its customers. Thecompany is taking this action as directed by its reliability coordinator,MISO, as alast resort andinorderto prevent amore extensive,prolongedpower outage that could severely affect the reliability of thepower grid. Additionally Entergy continues to follow adirective by MISO to reduce load.”

The statementwent on to say that depending on conditions, individual customers “may experience multiple outages,” and that MISO “is directing actions to be taken to restore the system to normal operations as quickly as possible.” Powerwas fully restored by 8 p.m.

Many questions

MISOisaregional electricity grid operator that manages the bulk powertransmission system and wholesale electricity markets in parts of 15 U.S. states from the Canadianborder to the Gulf Coast.

million more thanwhatitneeded to operate, according to court records. Insteadofhanding the money over,the parishalleges, Tape opened acertiﬁcate of deposit account —atype of savings account that holds aspecifiedamount of money for aﬁxedamount of time, while accruing interest —atHancock Whitney bank and kept the $14 million there.

In astatement on Friday, Tape said hisadministration inherited the certiﬁcate of depositfrom the previous coroner and that Tape reneweditwhenitmatured.

In May, 22nd Judicial District Judge Reginald Badeaux III ruled in favor of amotion Sims’ office had ﬁled in St. Tammany Parish and ordered Tape to transferall funds from thetax to theparish government. Sims did notimmediately respond to arequest forcomment. Tape arguedthat ajudge needed to decide if the law was constitu-

Load shedding is aprotective measure to prevent agridwide failure during an emergency New Orleans City Council members Joe Giarrusso and HelenaMoreno both saidEntergy told the council that MISO gave the utility just athree-minute warning before shutting off the power.

“How does this happen?” Giarrusso said. “There are lots of questions thatneed answering.”

Louisiana Public Service CommissionerDavante Lewis, whose districtincludesthe New Orleansarea, saidthe load-shed order that caused the outage was theresult of severalfactors, according to information provided to him by MISO. Lewis said oneEntergy generator wasofﬂineSundayfor previously scheduled routine maintenance, when asecond generator that powers the area failed. Lewis wasunsureifthe second generator belongs to Entergy or Cleco.

At the sametime, demand for power was greater thanhad been forecast, he said, even though daytime highs Sunday were in the low90s,far below their summer peak,whichfrequently approaches triple digits.

“When Entergy asked to take the generator down for maintenance, MISO would have approved it and forecast how much powerpeople would be using to make sure there would be enoughpowertofundit,”Lewis said. “Well, during this, ageneratortripped andthere wasmore demand thanwas forecasted.” Moreno said she was outraged that MISO would force Entergy New Orleans ofﬂine without adequate warning.

“Why did New Orleansget whacked by MISO? Why were we selected?” Moreno said. “Thatneedstobeexplained.” Lewis also wasupset, noting that Sunday’sbrownout was the third in the state since April. Two others that affected north Louisiana were the result of an issue between SWEPCO, the utility in that part of the state, and the regional transmission organization, SPP,thatservesit.

“There seems to notbeenough capacity in Louisiana forthe changing climate we are facing,” Lewis said. “Forthree load sheds in less than 36 days of each other is asigniﬁcantproblem Ibelieve the PSC needs to start talking about.”

EmailStephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

tionalbeforethe parish attempted to enforceit, according to court records. In anews release Wednesday, Tape also said that over the last 20 yearsthatthe taxwas collected,the Coroner’sOfficespent down its tax revenue first. Revenue fromother sourceslike grants or service fees is whatremains —fundshesays the parish can’t touch. In fact,Tape claims, the parish actually owes his officemorethan$2.5 million. In its contempt motion, the parish arguesthatatleast$8millionof the coroner’s cashonhandmust be fromtax revenue Tape has appealed Badeaux’sorder requiring him to hand over the funds to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal.Through his spokesperson, James Hartman, Tape declined to comment.

Email Willie Swettatwillie. swett@theadvocate.com

Lagarde

Beaulieu, Rosalie

Hurst, Devon

Lainhart,Belinda Riso,Joseph NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Beaulieu, Rosalie

Gertrude Geddes

Hurst, Devon

St Bernard

Lainhart,Belinda

St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Riso,Joseph

Obituaries

Beaulieu, RosalieDillon

Rosalie Dillon Beaulieu, transitionedbeautifully on her birthday,Friday, May 16, 2025. Life trulycamefull circle. Rosaliewas born May 16, 1942, in NewOr‐leans,LA. Rosalieblessed the familyasthe fourth child (third)daughter of SamuelDillon, Sr.and Ethel Mae Williams Dillon.She graduated from Booker T. WashingtonH.S.Her em‐ploymentincludedover15 years with theOrleans ParishSchool System and another 15 yearswithThe Baptist TheologicalSemi‐nary, from which shere‐tired.Rosalie wasa mem‐ber of St.Raymond C. C. beforethe joiningtogether ofthe Churches that is now St. Raymond/St.Leo.Ros‐alieand herhusband,Dale PaulBeaulieu, Sr brought forththree children to‐

gether,DalePaulBeaulieu, J.r,ShennaBeaulieu-Lasker (Roland,Sr.), Amanda Beaulieu-Smart(John, Sr.) seven grandchildren: Shan‐quelle Ghoram,Eli Taylor HannahLasker-Jimenez, RolandLasker, Jr Leland Lasker(Larena), Johnna Smart,JohnSmart Jr,and 10great grandchildren Bern, as shewas affection‐ately called by hersiblings was preceded in deathby her parents, Samuel and Ethel Dillon, herhusband, DalePaulBeaulieuSr, and three siblings,Johnnie Dil‐lon (Louella), KatieDillon, and Samuel DillonJr (Leah). In addition to her children, Rosalieleavesto cherish hermemories, her sisters EthelMae Bunch (NewOrleans,Louisiana) and Audrey Dillon-Brown (SanDiego California), a hostofniecesand nephews to whomshe madefeel very specialand loved.She will be greatly missed. Family andfriends are invitedtoattend the Homegoing Celebrationon Wednesday,May 28,2025, for 10:00a.m.atSt. Ray‐mond/St.Leo C. C.,2916 Paris Ave.,New Orleans, LA. Visitation will beginat 9:00a.m.Fr. StanleyK Thuoma,SSJ.Ofﬁciating. Intermentwillfollowat Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery, NOLA. Guest‐book Online:www.anewtra ditionbegins.com(504) 2820600. DonavinD.Boydand LinearBrooksBoydOwn‐ers/FuneralDirectors

DevonEthan Hurst, age 38, departed this life at UniversityMedical Center onThursday, May15, 2025 Hewas born on October1, 1986, to theunion of Cha‐reen Hurstand DwainBan‐nister, Sr.StevenRobinson, Fatherlikenoother.Devon loved theLord, andhewas his personal Savior.Devon was educated in Kenner, LAand he attended Mar‐tinezKindergartenSchool,

Kenner Head Start, G.T. Woods, RalphL.Bunche MiddleSchool,and Zachary High School in Zachary,LA. Devonworked atGambino's,Wheel 1, Hurst Construction,Nelly Hardy Service, Republic LiquorCompany,Big Free‐dia Enterprises, Fuse TV, and WorldofWonder. He was also aco-star with his partner BigFreddia on their TV shows: BigFreddia Queen of Bounce, BigFred‐dia Bounces Back,and Big FreddiaMeans Business Devon wasa true artist and he lovedtodraw. He was also very passionate about hismusic.Devon leavestocherish hispre‐cious memories,his mother, Chareen Hurst Robinson; eightsiblings, including 4brothers, Stevenand StephenHurst, Malcolm Robinson and LandonHardesty; 4sisters Meshondaand JaylaHurst, StephanyRobinson, and LeanteCraft;one daughter, Zyrielle Hurst; oneson Davonne Wells;his lifelongpartner,Freddie Ross Jr. aka"BigFreddia"; nine aunts, Sylvia Hurst, Tammy Iddisah, DeaconessDinna Bannister,Darlean Bannis‐ter,Emily Baker(Oliver), Adrienne Tillery(Randy), ChristieRobertson (Wilbert),DeiondraDa‐costa (Christopher), and B'Nai Brown(Glendall); and 3 uncles,LeonHurst,Jr. ZerellWalkerand Alex Ban‐nister(Lear). He wasalso survivedbya host of nieces, nephews, cousins, familyand friends. Rela‐tives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend the CelebrationofLifeSer‐viceonTuesday,May 27 2025 at OaklandBaptist Church,825 Rev. Richard Wilson Drive, Kenner,LA 70062 at 11:00 a.m. Visita‐tionfrom10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. PrivateBurial. A Traditional Jazz Funeral. You maysignthe guest book on http://www.ger trudegeddeswillis.com Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neral Home Inc.,incharge, (504) 522-2525.

BelindaRobin Lainhart was called to peaceon Tuesday,May 20, 2025, at the ageof68. Shewas the daughterofEmily Landry Robin andthe late Earl JohnRobin andthe wife of the late Harold "Buddy Lainhart.She is survived byher daughter Krissy Laborde Fradella (Shane), her mother EmilyLandry Robin,her brotherLonnie Robin (Debbie),her sister Wendy RobinMiller (George), anda host of lov‐ing nieces andnephews Belinda wasa native of St Bernard Parish andgradu‐atedfromAndrewJackson HighSchool in 1975. She becamemothertoher beautiful daughter Krissy and marriedher beloved husband Buddy in 2000 Theyspent more than twentyyears together supportingeachother and cheeringonLSU.Evenafter movingtoHarahan follow‐ing HurricaneKatrina,Be‐linda remained closetoher familyinSt. Bernard, while makingnew friendsthat becamefamilytoo. Belinda workedatWalmart for morethan30years and was knownbymanyfor her generosity andamaz‐ing abilitytobring joyto others. Sheloved trying new restaurantsand ate dessert ﬁrstwhenever possible. Sheand hersis‐ter lovedtalking on the phone everynight.She en‐joyed cruisesand spending timewithher familyand friends.Her familythanks GuardianAngelsand Pas‐sionate Care fortheir kind‐nessand compassion.Rel‐ativesand friendsare in‐vited to attend avisitation onWednesday,May 28 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. andThursday,May 29,

2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St.Bernard MemorialFuneral Home, 701 W. Virtue St., Chal‐mette,LA. AFuneralSer‐vicewillbeheldonThurs‐day,May 29, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.Belinda will be laid to eternal rest at St.Bernard MemorialGardens

Riso,JosephVincent 'Joe

Joseph Vincent“Joe” Riso, age84, of Covington, Louisiana,passedawayon Friday, May23, 2025. He was born on October21, 1940, in NewOrleans, Louisiana.Heissurvived byhis loving wife of 58 years,Frances Waters Tot” Riso;children, Jeffery Riso(Monique) andJoann RisoHabisreitinger(Rob); grandchildren,Hailey Habisreitinger, MilesRiso, and ElsieRiso. He is also survivedbyhis sister CarmellaRisoMelerine (Johnny);and many nieces nephews,and great-nieces and nephews. He waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, VincentElmoRiso and Antoinette Grafﬁa Riso; andsiblings, Virginia RisoBenfatti,and Do‐minica (“Grace”)RisoBen‐

fatti.Joe served hiscoun‐try as aCorporalinthe UnitedStatesMarineCorps from1961 –1965, where he servedasanaircraft en‐gineman.His love of avia‐tioncontinued with hisre‐turntocivilianlife, where heobtained hisprivate pilot’s license, spending countless hoursdoing touch andgo’sinhis CessnaatNew Orleans Lakefront Airport. Joe madefriends whereverhe went, includingnumerous friends while workingat Tenneco (later Exxon Mobil) in Chalmette,where heworkedasa refinery stillman. Hisgrandchildren werethe lightofhis life.In his retirement,his greatest joy came from spending timewiththemand caring for hisproperty. In lieu of flowers, contributionsin memoryofMr. Riso maybe madetothe VietnamVet‐erans Associationat honor.org/donate. Rela‐tives andfriends arein‐vited to attend thefuneral servicesonTuesday,May 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at E. J.FieldingFuneralHome, 2260 West 21st Avenue Covington,Louisiana,with visitationbeginning at 9:00 a.m.Interment will follow inthe adjacent Pinecrest MemorialGardens.E.J FieldingFuneralHomeof Covington,Louisiana,is honored to be entrusted withMr. Riso’s funeral arrangements. Hisfamily invites youtoshare thoughts, memories,and condolences by signingan onlineguestbook at www ejfieldingfh.com

Please

est and nt, the app

Louisiana needs in-depth, solutions-driven, public servicejournalism more than ever.

Democracythriveswhena fair-minded press keeps citizens informedand shines alight on issues of widespreadimportance.

With the helpoflarge and smalldonors across Louisiana, we arestriving to publish journalism thatmakes a differenceinpeople’slives and that improves the state we alllove.

Butthis missionrequires continued support. We need to fortify, expand, and sustain our work foryearsand decades to come.

Lainhart,Belinda Robin

Hurst, DevonEthan

Scalise helped get winfor La. coastin budget bill

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

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

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

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

MATTHEW JEWELL St. Charles ParishPresident

YOUR VIEWS

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

Don’tlet fear of being labeledsilence your voice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liberalrebuttals take up more space becausetheyuse

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

factsand reason

Professors’ defense of tenure rang hollow

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

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

Afew counterpoints to their meandering arguments:

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

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

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

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

Argument forbanning fluorideinwater makeslittlesense

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

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

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

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

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

DAVID ELIZARDI,M.D Metairie

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

FRANK H. PEREZ Baton Rouge

Louisiana lawmakers are getting ready to ban fluoride from drinking water.One of the major arguments being put forth is that of “informed consent,” that residents should not be forced to consume chemicals without their consent. That argument does not hold water (pun intended) because raw Mississippi water needs to be processed and treated using manychemicals to makeitfitfor human consumption. These chemicals include alum to help with filtering, phosphate to prevent water line corrosion, carbon to eliminate anasty flavor, chlorine to remove bacteria and ammonia and chloramine to maintain chlorine levels.

Should we to ban these chemicals because we don’thave residents’ consent? Seemstomelawmakers need to follow the best available science when making decisions that affect public health and not resort to specious arguments. If they truly wantpublic input, put the matter on the ballot.

KARTIKTHAKER

Kenner

KEVIN KELLY Baton Rouge

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

to protest President Donald Trumpand Elon Musk in ahandsoff protest.

COMMENTARY

BEACH BOTTLE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Theelection for mayorofNew Orleans is off to aquiet start. The Oct.11primary is alittle more than four months away. Butthe city’spolitical history hasn’t always been so quiet. Manymayors have lived through exceedingly eventful times. Most have been long forgotten,except for streets named after them —adubioushonor giventhe potholes. The first mayorofNew Orleans wasÉtienne de Boré. Appointed in 1803 by territorialGov.William C. C. Claiborne, he resigned after five months. De Boré, along with Antoine Morin, afree man of color, aced economic developmentwhen they produced the first granulated sugar in Louisiana. His family estate was on thesite of present-day Audubon Park, Tulane University and theAudubon Zoo. In 1812, theyear Louisianabecame a state,New Orleans had three mayors for brief stints: Charles Trudeau, François Joseph LeBreton Dorgenois andNicholas Girod. Girod, in officewhen Louisiana became astate and during the Battle of NewOrleans, had significant real estateholdings In 1821, he renovated andfurnished a building on Chartres Street as part of a failed attempt to rescue Napoleon from exile and smuggle him to New Orleans. TheNapoleon House barand restaurant, operating there now,isnot only afitting remembrance,but agood place to geta warm muffuletta and acool Pimm’sCup. Thecity had adozen acting military mayors during the Civil Warand its aftermath. One, Jonas French,served foronly twoweeks. Though most New Orleansmayors have been Democrats, twowere Republicans.

him ourbank account number.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TIMPALMER, LAFAYETTE: “Who is Amelia Earhart?”

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

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

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

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

LARRYDEBLIEUX, METAIRIE: “The British are coming!”

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

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

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

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

Medicaid cuts would devastate Louisiana

The last was former newspaper editor, member of Congress and Union Army ofﬁcer Benjamin Flanders, who was not only mayor duringReconstruction but an appointed governor of Louisiana.

Thelongest serving New Orleansmayor held ofﬁce for 17 years: Martin Behrman, whowas born in New York City andwas often described as “ethnically Jewish.” Elected in 1904 with thesupport of the city’spowerful Old Regular machine, he was defeated by areform challenger in 1920. He came back and won aﬁfth term, but died ayear later at 61. No sitting mayor has since passed away Huey Long’sall-powerful reign as Louisiana’sgovernor and U.S. senator was a period of rambunctious —and dangerous —politics. In 1930, T. Semmes Walmsley waselected mayor,supported by acuriouscoalition of business and social elites along with Old Regulars.

Though“Turkey Head” Walmsley (that’s what Huey called him) was Long’ssworn enemy,the two eventually madeadeal that secured state funds to build theMississippi River Bridge, Lakefront Airport andother infrastructureprojects. When their feud resumed, martial law came to the city,pitting New Orleans police against theLouisiana National Guard. Machine guns wereeven placed in the windows of the Registrar of Voters’ ofﬁce afterLong supporters were caught removing thenames of Walmsley supportersfrom the voter rolls.

New Orleans had ﬁve mayorsin1936. Walmsley served the ﬁrst half of the year until the City Council forced him to resign. Then came Albert Pratt for two

weeks, Fred Earhart for one day,Jesse Cave for one month andRobert Maestri for theyear’sremainder and beyond. Awealthy businessman and close Long ally,Maestri was elected mayor without opposition; the Old Regulars made sure of that. Aconsequential mayor who managed city ﬁnances through theGreat Depression and World WarII, he is probably best known for asking President Franklin Roosevelt in yat-speak, “How ya like dem ersters?”atanAntoine’slunch.

The next election was scheduled for 1938, but Maestri’sfriends in the Legislature gave him anice gift —a four-year extension of his term. Then, in 1942, Maestri won his only contested election. In 1946, he lost to deLesseps S. “Chep” Morrison. Morrison was elected four times and madethree unsuccessful bids forgovernor.Hewas named one of the best mayors in U.S. history by one study.Heresigned during his last termtobecome U.S. Ambassador to theOrganization of American States (OAS). At 52, he died in aplane crash.

The City Charter has limited mayors to two consecutive terms since 1954. Since then, New Orleanshas had an unbroken run of eight mayors who were elected and reelected, from Victor Schiro to LaToya Cantrell. Twofamilies, the Landrieus and Morials, held office for atotal of eight terms.Dutch Morial was the city’sfirst African American mayor andCantrell its first woman mayor

The question now is: Who —and what comes next?

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writerbased in 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. 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.

Ron Faucheux

U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields GUEST COLUMNIST

NewOrleans Forecast

GREENWAY

Continued from page1B

behind Mid-City Market.

The paved two-lane walkway is lined with trees in some partsand ﬂowering meadows. It winds past homes, cafes, breweries andother businesses. It crossesmajor avenues at Claiborne, Carrollton and Broad Street, where the city is installing anew ﬂashing pedestrian crossing

When it ﬁrst opened to the public in November 2015 —largely funded throughfederaldisaster grants and private donations theGreenway culminated apostHurricane Katrina vision of accessible recreation, stormwater management and neighborhood connection.

Advocacy efforts

The city broke ground on the Greenway in 2014 after adecade of advocacy by asmallgroup of residents and stakeholders who “hiked” the corridor frequently from Armstrong Park to Lakeview in the years afterHurricane Katrina. Sometimes theybrought city ofﬁcials on tours of what the Greenway could become.

For resident Bart Everson, who started the hike tradition in spring of 2005, the Greenwayiscelebrating its 20th anniversary this year

Three people hiked the first year he said, and 18 joined the next.By 2009, there were hundreds. Their efforts led to the creation of Friends of the Lafitte Greenway, now calledthe Lafitte Greenway Partnership, anonprofit that jointly manages operations andmaintenance throughanagreement with the city and NORD.

An avid bike rider,Everson knew biking was agreat way to get aroundthe city,despitethe contempt he felt from thenon-biking community toward riders and pedestrians.

“People just thought they were

VENUE

Continued from page1B

Agroupplays soccer in a field off the Lafite Greenwaynear ‘Ketleflower,’ a giant permanent sunflower sculpture by Josh Pitts.

poor people who couldn’tafford a car,” hesaid

He remembers walking near the bayou and seeingworkers remove the rails and ties from theNorfolk Southern rail line. Together,heand afriend,XavierUniversityprofessor Michael Holman, explored the idea of atrail going in its place.

Untapped potential

The largelyvacant, city-owned land had long beentouted as untapped potential in multiple citywideplanningstudies dating back to the 1970s, DanielsSamuels, an urban planner and co-founding Friends member, told The TimesPicayunein2006.

Former Friends board memberLeonetta Terrell said in an interviewFriday that Hurricane Katrina changed the way people viewed thecity,making the Greenway amore realistic vision than ever before.

“Right after Katrina, New Orleans waslikeablank pieceof paper.You couldimagine it to be somethingelse…something better,” she said.

But their vision didn’tcome withoutpushback. Terrell recalled acommunitymeeting in Lakeview

to drum up support for theproject wherecriticsclaimed it would be a“pathway for crime.”

Fred Sipp, 81, has lived in ashack on the Greenway since beforeit was developed. He spends much of his time collecting aluminum cans or tending to his vegetable garden that surrounds his home.

“I just built it.Everythingyou seehere,” he said, getting off his bicycle last week.

An expanded footprint

Today, the Greenway’sfootprint hasexpanded to include an open airpavilion andthe largest farmers market in the city.The $1.6 million plaza and building, called The Station, opened in 2020 and features public artworks from local artists anda small stage for performances. Colorful art murals areplastered alongthe grounds. Participants in the Greenway’sGetFitprogram can take up hip-hop kickboxing or yoga on the grass during weekly ﬁtness classes.

Nene Marie Johnson, anearby residentand Greenway fitness instructor,said seniors makeupa majority of their weekly Market March,which is astroll from the

Its sister company opened Pickle NPins in October,just across the parking lot from Surge, with pickleballand lesser-known games like padel,duckpinbowling and axe throwing. TacosDel Cartel opened earlier this month with amaximalist, Miami-style renovation within walk-

founder,said in astatement announcing the business. “Weare committed to providing apremier entertainment experience that caters to all ages, and we can’twait for everyone to see what we have in store.” Brees is apartnerinthe company,whichhas locations across Louisiana as wellasFlorida, Alabama,Virginia, NorthCarolinaand OklahomaCity

Future projects

Crescent City Farmers Market to Broad Street and back.

“It’sabout 35 to 50 people that show up andthentheyget $5 to spend at the market,” Johnson said.

In 2024, the number of GetFit participants reached ahigh of 10,000 residents, according to the partnership.

The Greenway was also built to absorbimpacts of NewOrleans’ chronicﬂooding problems, as noted in the trail’s2013 master plan.

Through apartnership with environmental advocacy group SOULNola, more than500 shade trees have been planted in the past three years. Among them are bald cypress, which can soak up to 880 gallons of water when mature and mitigateﬂooding.

Bioswales, which areditches with drainsconnected to the city’s drain system, have also been installed.

“The benefit is thattheyslow the volume of water going into the pump, whichinturn, helps reduce ﬂooding everywhere that the pumpserves,” Neville said.

NORD CEO Larry Barabino Jr.said the partnership between NORDand the Greenway allows thedepartment to expand its programming.

“Overthe past 10 years, this facility hasallowedNORDtobuild outahostofrecreational, educational and culturalamenities to servefamilies throughout the 2.6 miles,” he said.

ing distanceofSurge.And just down Veterans, Rumbaopened in March withlarge indoor and outdoor seating areasand abeach vibe. Other companieswithnew facilities nearby include an Ochsner65 clinic and aPorsche dealership. Jefferson Parish is building a new$3millionfood pavilionin nearby LafreniereParkand looking for local food vendors to run it.It’ll include fourkitchens, restrooms, covered seating and astage outside. Bohanan saidthe parish also is abouttostart work on the Soniat GreenwayProject, a12-foot-wide multiuse path with lighting that runs fromWest Napoleon Avenue to Veterans Boulevard alongthe canal, running behind the businesses on David Drive.

Email Lauren Walckatlauren walck@theadvocate.com.

Dog walkers maketheir wayalong the Lafitte Greenwayin Mid-City.

Although it remains unﬁnished originaldesign plans callfor an end at the Regional Transit Authority CemeteriesTransit Center —the Partnership hassecured $4.8 million in city bonds to bring the trail to 3.1 miles, Neville said. Completing the Greenway is one of severalprojectsprioritized in its three-year strategic plan released last fall.

Neville said they want to plant another 500 trees andcreate new pathways for people to access the surrounding community, such as one along North GalvezStreet to get to University Medical Center and the New OrleansVAMedical Center

The vacant Department of Public Works’Signand Signal Shop, oneof severalcity-ownedsites along the Greenway,isslated for redevelopment intoaNORD recreation center and boxing gym. That $6 million project is on hold pending funding, according to NORD. In addition to the Greenway itself, thecityowns theNOPD barricadestorage yard anda vacant 80,000-square-foot site between NorthDupre andBroad streets according to areport analyzing the segment between Broad Street and Bayou St. John. Most projects are expected to be complete by the end of next year EmailJoni Hessatjoni.hess@ theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

SATURDAY,MAY 24, 2025

PICK

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIA GERMER

SPORTS

Skenes: ‘Anybody canplay GM’

Amid growingtrade rumors, former LSUstarhas learned to tune outthe noise

BY WILL GRAVES

AP sportswriter

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

When someone relayed Cherington’scomments to him, the 22-year-old acelaughed “Itdoesn’taffect anything,”Skenes told The Associated Press late Friday night after the Pirates ralliedfor a6-5, 10-inning win over Milwaukee. “Anybodycan play GM.” True, but it says something about where the Pirates are currently at —wellout of playoff positionbeforeMemorial Day— that Cherington’suncharacteristically blunt answer made headlines anyway

YetifSkenes, the formerLSU standout whocelebratedhis ﬁrst anniversary in the majors two weeks ago, has learned anything during his rise to stardom over the last three years, it’sthat noise is not the sameasnews. “There’snosubstance tojust all that talk that you hear on social media and newsoutlets and stuff like that,” Skenes said It’sone of the many reasonshemakes it a point to tryand block all thenoise out. Yes, Skenes understandsthat baseball is abusiness —hesaid as much after manager Derek Shelton was ﬁred on May 8—but he also knows his business at thispoint in his career is focused entirely on throwing abaseball, notworrying about who he’sthrowing it for. There could very well bea time when Skenes moves on, either by Pittsburgh’s

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes

‘TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW’

Palouholds

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

Tulane fallstoEastCarolina in AACchampionship game

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Freshman Jason Wachsthought he had just hita twoout, three-runhome runtoclose thedeficitto8-4 in the seventh inningonSundayand give Tulanehope against East Carolina. Nope. His shot to right field disappeared between the front walland araised extension right behind it that did not exist five feet to the left, turning it to aground-rule double upon review andforcing teammate Tanner Chun to return to thirdbase.

It was that kind of dayfor theGreen Wave,which matched the Pirates’ seven hits but could not makeor catch abreak at BayCareBallpark, losing8-2 in astreakbusting American Athletic ConferenceTournament championship game. Fifth-seeded Tulane’sschool-record-setting string of nine victoriesoverthree yearsinClearwater, Florida, ended along withits pursuit of aprogram-ﬁrst three consecutive tournament titles. Instead. sixth-seeded East Carolina (33-25), which failed to winthe regular-season

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

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

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

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

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

ä See INDY500, page 6C

title forthe ﬁrst time since2018, will make itsseventh regional appearance in arow

Very little went right for the Wave (33-25), whichequaled the Pirates’ record butwill notplayinthe postseason “Weweren’table to get it done,” coach Jay Uhlman said.“Hats off to them.They played tremendous.”

Tulane’sissues cropped up immediately.Five days afterthrowing 105 pitches in aseven-inning tour de force against Florida Atlantic, Michael Lombardi (4-4) surrendered an opposite-ﬁeld, two-run homer to leftfrom Jack Herring, the second batter he faced. Although Lombardi bounced back to strike out ﬁve in arow and retire nine consecutively,the Wave playedfrombehind the rest of theway

“Ironically, the only time the wind was kind of blowing outthat way was the homer to give them the two-run lead,” Uhlman said. “Lombardi settled in nicely.”

The bottom half began with ascreamer from Wachs that East Carolina first baseman Austin Irby gloved cleanly.That was the ﬁrst of several hard-hit balls right at East Carolina ﬁelders.

AP PHOTO By CHRIS SZAGOLA

Alex Palou, of Spain, celebrates on the finish line after winning the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at

PROVIDED PHOTO By TULANE ATHLETICS

Tulane right-hand pitcher Michael Lombardi throws apitch in the AACchampionshipgame against East Carolina Sunday at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater,Fla. Tulane lost 8-4.

ä See TULANE, page 4C

ä See SKENES, page 4C

Griffin hangs on at Colonial

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

FORT WORTH, Texas Ben Grif-

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

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

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

Griffin and Schmid, the 27-yearold German seeking his first tour win in his 79th start, had matching scores each of the first three days Schmid was the one who surged in front early in the third round, taking a three-shot lead. Griffin had a 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 Colo-

nial. 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.

Defending champion Richard Bland tied for 14th at 2 under Cabrera was part of a four-way tie for first at the beginning of the day, but Harrington — who was two strokes back was in great shape after birdieing seven of the first 14 holes in the final round.

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,

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

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

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

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

Tommy Paul keeps on truckin’ at French Open

PARIS — Tommy Paul was pleased to come back to win his ﬁrst-round match at the French Open on Sunday, of course, but perhaps not as thrilled as he was to discuss regaining the truck that was repossessed back home in Florida. The 12th-seeded Paul kept on truckin’ at Roland-Garros by eliminating Elmer Moller of Denmark 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.

Afterward, Paul explained that his vehicular adventures resulted from changing banks and forgetting to properly adjust the automatic payments for his Ford F-150.

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

Gray stays hot as Dream cruise past winless Sun

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

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.

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 JULIO CORTEZ

Jordan Spieth hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament on Sunday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Ben Griffin celebrates after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament on Sunday at Colonial Country Club

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.

scores 28 as Sparks beat Sky 91-78

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

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 51-48. 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

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.s.

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

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRISSZAGOLA

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes looks to throwa pitch during agame against the Philadelphia Phillies on May18inPhiladelphia.

SKENES

Continued from page1C

choice or his own.That time, at least to Skenes, is not coming anytime soon. Pittsburgh is second to last in the major leaguesinruns with 164, and no high-proﬁle position player prospect is ready to walk into the home clubhouse at PNC Park as a big leaguer anytime soon.

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

Skenes added if the Pirates decided to make some sortofhighly 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 take it personally “I don’texpect it to happen,” Skenes stressed. “(ButCherington) is going to look out for what’s best for the Pirates. If he feels (trading me) is the rightway to go, then he feels that’sthe right way to go. But you know,Ihaveto pitch well, that’sthe bottom line.”

Skenes has been everybit the generational talent Pittsburgh hoped it wasgetting when it selected him with the top pick in the 2023 draft. The 6-foot-6 right-handerwas asensation from themomenthe made his big-league debut last May and even as the team around him has scufﬂed —the Pirates tied amajor-league record by going 26 straight games withoutscoring

more than four runs, astreak that ended in alosstothe Brewers on Thursday—hehas not

Five days afterthrowingthe first complete game of his career in a1-0 loss to Philadelphia, Skenes kept the Brewers in check over six innings, giving up just one run on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

When he induced SalFrelick into agrounder tosecond to ﬁnishthe sixth, many in the crowd of 24,646 rose to their feet to salute himashesauntered his way back to the dugout.Heexited with a2-1 lead,thenwatched fromafar the strugglingbullpen let it slip away

ThePirates, in an all-too-rareoccurrence, foughtback, rallying to tie it in the ninth on Oneil Cruz’s secondhomerun, then winning it in the10thwhenAdamFrazier raced home on awild pitch.

Afterward, music blared and Skenes— who hasn’twon in a monthdespite having a2.32 ERA across his five May starts ﬂashed asmile thatwas amixture of happiness and relief.

“It’snice to see us pull it out, which is somethingthatwe haven’tdoneasmuch to this point in the year,”hesaid. “Hopefully it’sagood sign.”

The Pirates sure could use some.

Skenes hasbeenfully invested in the franchise sincebaseball commissioner Rob Manfred called hisnameinthe amateur drafttwo yearsago.Hehas embracedhis role as one of baseball’s ﬁrst Gen Zstars andhas become comfortable beingthe 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 theteam itself. Askedifthe outside speculation that the 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, theformer Air Force cadet shrugged.

“I don’tfeel anything good or bad towardit,” he said. Maybe because he realizes it’s simply notworth theenergy.It hasn’tbeen the startto2025 that anybody associated with the Pirates has wanted.Skenesbelieves there’sbeen a“littlebit more ﬁght” sinceDon Kelly took over as manager.Hebelieves that he’s gaining more mastery over his ever-expanding arsenal.Hebelieves he’sdeveloping chemistry with catcher Henry Davis.

That’sa lot for aveteran to handle, let alone someonewho doesn’t turn 23 until this week.

It’s whyfocusing on hislongtermfuture —orwhat others aresaying about it —iswasted energy Skeneswas asked aboutwhat it’sbeen like to work with Davis, the top overall pick in the2021 draft.His answer could have doubled for whereSkenes ﬁnds himself in general as he triesto navigatethe push-pull of stardom and all the trappings —both good and bad —that comewith it. “Just really gottokeep doing what we’re doing,”hesaid, “continue learning and let everything takecare of itself, Iguess.”

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.

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

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.

Johnston,Humphrey hithomerstopower

VandypastOle Miss

By The Associated Press

HOOVER, Ala. Brodie Johnston hit atwo-run homerun in the ﬁrst, Jacob Humphrey added asoloshot in the fifthand Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss 3-2 on Sundaytowin the Southeastern Conference Tournament and clinch aberth in the NCAA Tournament.. Luke Guth (4-0) pitched 12/3 innings with threewalks andthree strikeouts. Sawyer Hawks worked two innings and gave up asolo homer in theninth to earn his seventh save of the season. Vanderbilt (42-16), which has advanced to the past 19 NCAA tournaments, has woneight games in a row.The Commodores, who are a

TULANE

Continuedfrom page1C

Piratesfreshman Sean Jenkins (4-4), whoenteredwitha 5.52 ERA, cruised through ﬁveinnings, consistently painted the corners.

“Wereally just were hoping to get him through one time in the lineup,” East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin said.“That’s probably the besthe’spitchedthis year.Itold him (before thegame) that his good was good enough. He was special.”

Tulane, which had not trailed by more than one run before the championship game, fell behind 3-0 in the fourth on aleadoff walk, astolen base,asacrificeand a ground ballthat Lombardi deflected,leaving himonlyaplaya first base as the run scored. He left after grazing Irby’sleg on his 55th pitch to start thefifth, andthe bullpen imploded quickly Will Clements fieldedabunt and fired past second baseman Connor Rasmussen as he covered first for atwo-base error Clements waspulled afterplunking the next batter to load the bases, and Braden Burress, voted the tournament’smost outstanding player,greeted Blaise Wilcenski withatwo-run double down the left field line. Herring then singled past charging infielders expecting abunt before RyleyJohnson’stwoout double downthe right field line madeit8-0.

“The big inning was kind of all shewrote,” Uhlman said.“We tried

possible No.1 overall seed, await the selection show on Monday Despitethe loss, OleMiss (4019) might have played its wayinto hosting aregional next weekend. After Rustan Rigdon flied out and RJ Austin grounded out, Riley Nelson was hitbya pitch before Johnston’shomer opened the scoring in the ﬁrst inning. Hayden Federico scored on a single by Mitchell Sandford in the ﬁfth, but Humphrey’shomer made it 3-1 going into the sixth. Isaac Humphrey hit asolo shot to make it aone-run game in the ninth andAustin Fawley andFederico each drew atwo-out walk before Hawks gotBrayden Randle to popout andend the threat.

to mounta comeback,but they didn’t give us awhole lotand continued to makepitches.”

Gavin Schulz broke up the shutout with asolo homer to left off Jenkins in the sixth —his third hit of the day and eighth of the tournament —but it wasnot nearly enough. Ethan Norby replaced Jenkins after he walked Rasmussen and kept the Wave off balance with anasty slider,striking out Schulz on apitch in thedirttoend the seventh withrunners on secondand third after Wachs’ ground-rule double. Still down8-2 after getting three scoreless innings fromJacob Moore, Tulane hada glimmerof hope when East Carolina closer JakeHunterthrew eight straight balls nowhere close to the strike zone to begin the bottom of the ninth and was lifted. Chun then ripped aball inches foul down the third-base line off BradPruett before fouling outto the catcher.The game ended on a double-play grounder by Kaikea Harrison.

“It wasn’tour day unfortunately,” Uhlmansaid. “That’satough pill to swallow.” East Carolina, which trailed Tulane 20-0athome in thefifthinning exactly amonth earlier,made play after play while salvaging what hadbeen adisappointing year.In the first inning, left fielder Alex Peltierchaseddown afoulfrom Rasmussen and held on to the ball after crashing over the fence.

“Weknew our season wasonthe line,” center ﬁelder Ryley Johnson said. “And we played like it.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOByRICK 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.

Sunday.

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday at the Monaco racetrack in Monaco.

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.

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.

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.”

Dejected Larson arrives at Charlotte Motor Speedway after crash at Indy 500

BY STEVE REED and DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson has arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway and is looking to refocus ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 after his bid to complete “the Double” ended when he crashed at the Indianapolis 500.

“Frustrated and sad, and all of the emotions,” Larson said in brief interview with Amazon Prime after boarding an airplane headed to Concord, North Carolina. “Just try to mentally get reset and try to forget about it.”

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 the early exit gave Larson plenty of time to arrive and even relax a little before the green ﬂag.

Larson will start on the front row alongside pole sitter Chase Briscoe, looking for his fourth win of the season on the Cup Series circuit.

Larson crashed out of the Indianapolis 500 near the midway point Sunday, ending the NASCAR superstar’s second shot at ﬁnishing both “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte in the same day 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. It was a rough day for Larson even before the crash. He also stalled the car on pit lane, costing him valuable track positions. Larson took his ﬁrst shot on one of the toughest challenges in motorsports last season, when even more rain wreaked havoc with his ﬁnely laid plans. That Indy 500 was delayed by 4 hours because of heavy rains that saturated Indianapolis Motor Speedway and caused him to be late to Charlotte, where the Cup Series race was underway by the time he landed.

Then, more rain there caused the NASCAR race to be called complete before Larson ever took a lap in his car

John Andretti was the first driver to try the Indy 500-Coca-Cola 600 double in 1994, and Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot. Stewart is the only one to complete all 1,100 laps, finishing sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before the helicopter-jet-helicopter jaunt to Charlotte, where he finished third in the Cup Series race.

“Just bummed out,” Larson said. “Try to get over this quickly and get on to Charlotte. Try to forget about it and win tonight.”

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.

“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

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAMIE GALLAGHER

Kyle Larson, second from left, is checked after he hit the wall in the second turn during the Indianapolis 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

MANU FERNANDEZ

LIVING

| Monday, May26, 2025 1dn

HONORING THEFALLEN

What is Memorial Dayand howhas it evolvedfromits CivilWar origins?

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va.— Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that’ssupposed to be about mourningthe nation’sfallen servicemembers, butit’scome to anchorthe unofﬁcialstartofsummer and along weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Iraq Warveteran Edmundo EugenioMartinez Jr.saidthe day has lost so much meaning that many Americans “conﬂateand mixupVeterans Day,Memorial Day,Armed Forces Day, July Fourth.”Socialmedia postspay tributeto“everyone” who has served, when Memorial Dayisabout those who died. For him, it’sabout honoring 17 U.S. service members he knew who lost their lives.

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

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

WHEN IS MEMORIAL DAY?

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

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

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

WHATARE THE ORIGINS OF MEMORIAL DAY?

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

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

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

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

ä See MEMORIAL, page 2D

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.

BY SAMANTHA MASUNAGA

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

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

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

See STITCH, page 2D

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

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

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

DISNEy/TNSPHOTO

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOSByJACQUELyN MARTIN

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

Alopecia areata triggeredbyimmuneresponse

Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

Dear Doctors: Iama healthy 23-year-oldwoman. Istarted noticing extra hairs in my brush, and then my mom found two bald spots on the back of my head. Idid atelehealthappointment and they said it’salopecia areata. What is that? Does the hair ever grow back? Will it happen again? Dear reader: Alopecia areata is achronic autoimmune disorder thatresults in hair loss,typically in rounded patches about thesize of aquarter.The name is amashup derived from Greek (alopecia, which refers to baldness) andthe Latin word “area,” which means a patch or avacant space. According to medical historians, the condition was ﬁrst described in the early 19thcenturybyaBritish dermatologist. However,itwasn’tuntil thelate 1950s that thedisease was linked to immune dysfunction.Most recently,researchers have begun to identify speciﬁcgenes that may be involved in triggering the cascadeofevents that lead to this form of hair loss.

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

Todayinhistory:

On May 26, 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World WarII.

On this date:

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the ImmigrationAct of 1924, which barredimmigration from Asia and restricted the total number of immigrants from other parts of the world to 165,000 annually

In 1927, the Ford Model Tofﬁcially ended production as Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model Toff the Ford assembly line in Highland Park, Michigan. In 1954, an explosion oc-

STITCH

Continued from page1D

Stitch is throwninasthe “humor element in what’s really adark story, but also amore realistic story that Ithink can resonate more with people,” she said. “This is more than just acharacter that’spure chaos.” Milburn, and the legions of Stitch aficionados like her,are why Walt Disney Co. may be about to have its next $1 billion blockbuster movie.

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

It’sall the more surprising because the 2002“Lilo &Stitch” was only amodest box-ofﬁce performer,grossing atotal of $273 million worldwide.

That movie came during afallow periodafterthe socalled Disney renaissance that created acclaimed animatedfilms such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Tarzan.” There arenopermanent rides in Disney’stheme parks focused on Stitch to keep him constantly in the public eye.

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

“Wedobelieve with this movie,wehave the opportunity to get everybody,” he said. “Todothe kind of box ofﬁce that Ithink we’re going to do, you need to get everybody,and Idobelieve we will.”

Stitch has becomean unlikely star among Disney’s characters. The blue alien is so popular that he ranks

The hair loss in alopecia areata can occuranywhere on the body In most cases, though, as happened with you, it affects the scalp.The condition arises when a

TODAYINHISTORY

curred aboard theaircraft carrier USSBennington off Rhode Island,killing103 sailors.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms LimitationTreaty in Moscow following theSALTI negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. (The U.S.withdrewfrom thetreaty under President GeorgeW.Bush in2002.)

In 1981, 14 people were killed when aMarinejet crashed onto theﬂight deck of theaircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida. In 2009, California’sSupreme Court upheld the state’sProposition 8samesex 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 nationwideinJune 2015.)

in the top 10 bestselling Disney franchises,alongside stalwarts such as Mickey andMinnie Mouse, theprincesses, Star Wars andMarvel, thecompany said.

The “Lilo &Stitch” franchise, which includes some animated series, TV films and direct-to-video movies, hasdriven546 millionhours of global viewership on Disney+, withthe original 2002 movie accounting for more than half of that. Viewership of the“Lilo&Stitch” catalog also has gone up signiﬁcantly every year,based on the hours streamed,Disney said.

On the retail side, sales of Stitch-themed merchandise totaled about $2.6billion last year.Somecurrent highlights are collectible Spam cans, amore than 4-foot-tall remote controlled inflatable,Stitchdog costumes and “Lilo&Stitch”-inspired makeup sets Bergman said Stitch’senduring popularity “deﬁnitely” played arole in greenlighting thelive-actionﬁlm. Andthere could be more to come.

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

So what isitabout this koala-esque alien who picks hisnose with his own tongue that hasresonated with consumers for more than two decades?

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

As amediapsychologist who focuses on morality and has researched more than 730 Disney movies, Hahn found that the Disney hero prototype is often willing to break the rulesif that’swhat’s necessary to help others. (Think of Mulan, who ﬂoutsauthorityand enlistsin thearmy to save herfather.)

Stitch’sdedication to family andcarefor others— in addition to his commotionmaking ways —puts him

glitch in immune responsecauses adisruption in the anagen phase of hair growth, which is when cells are rapidly dividing and creating new hair.This causes a premature shift intothe telogen, or resting phase.

The result is hair loss that does not arise from damage to the follicles themselves. That meansthe hair loss in this condition is rarely permanent. Many people begin to see regrowth within ayear.However,because this is achronic conditionthat can occur in cycles, future episodes of hair loss are possible.

The causes of alopecia areataare not yet fully understood. Initial episodes may be linked to viral infections such as Epstein-Barr,hepatitis Band Cand swine ﬂu. There is evidence thatinfection with the coronavirus thatcauses COVID-19

2009, President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to theU.S. Supreme Court.

In 2011, RatkoMladic, thebrutal Bosnian Serb general suspected of leading the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men andboys in Srebrenica, was arrested after a16-year manhunt. (Extradited to face trial in The Hague, Netherlands, Mladic was convicted in 2017 on genocide and war crimes charges and is serving alife sentence.)

Today’sbirthdays: Sportscaster Brent Musburgeris86. Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks is 77. Actor Pam Grier is 76. Country singer Hank Williams Jr.is76. Celebrity chef MasaharuMorimoto is 70. ActorGenie Francis is 63. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 63. Musician Lenny Kravitzis61. Actor Helena BonhamCarter is 59.

squarely in thatmold, she said.

“Inmanyways, he checks all of those boxes quite perfectly,” Hahn said. “He just tends to do it in away that seems maybe alittlemore outside the typical Disney hero because he’sseemingly unpredictable and cute.”

Stitch’semphasisonﬁndinghis placeinthe world also may be afactor in his oddly relatable appeal, said Tamar Rimmon, vice president of research andanalytics strategyatFandom, which hosts information pages on entertainment topics.

“There’sthisemotional connection. Thewhole theme of ﬁnding your own family,Ithink, is something that really resonatesinour current culture, especially with millennials and Gen Z,” she said.

Out of nearly2,000Disneyfranchise communities, “Lilo& Stitch”has ranked in the top 20 for the last ﬁve years, according to data from Fandom. Stitch, in particular,was the 11th most popularDisney character on Fandominthe lastyear, and the 21stmostpopular character over thelastﬁve years, the company said. (Rankings are basedonpage views on Fandom’s site.)

In 2024, Stitch was largely surpassedonly by characters who were featured in recentmovies, including theemotionsfrom DisneyPixar’s“Inside Out2,” Scar andMufasafrom “The Lion King” and Moana. The only three older characters that beat Stitchwere Mickey Mouse,Stitch’sfemalecounterpart Angel, and Elsa from theanimated hit “Frozen.”

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

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

Hello Kitty

“It’s that familiar face,” she said. “Justbyhis name and his cuteness alone, he has been able tocapture generations and generations.”

can also be atrigger. Additional risk factors include autoimmune thyroid disease, autoimmuneskin conditions such as eczema andpsoriasis, and iron deﬁciency. Having afamily history of alopeciaareata also increases therisk. Treatment focuses on modulating immune response and on regrowing hair.Incrafting acourse of treatment, anumber of factors come into play.These include the person’sage, the duration and degree of hairloss and its location. For isolated bald spots, corticosteroids can mute immune responseand encourage hair regrowth. In somecases, topical hair growth medications are used. In severe cases, in which the borders of multiple areas of hair loss cause extensive baldness, targeted immunotherapy medica-

BEHAVIORS

Continuedfrom page1D

harmful behaviors as ways to expresstheir distress or attemptstoalleviatetheir discomfort

Unmet needs or desires are perhaps the mostcommontriggers for negative behavior expressions.

Teepa Snow,dementia care specialist and founder of Positive Approach to Care, lists unmet physical and emotional needs thatcan be tiedtochallenges in behavior: hunger/thirst, tired/overstimulated, bowel/ urinary distress, discom-

tions may be recommended. While yourtelehealth appointment was adequate forgetting adiagnosisofyourcondition, it would be agood ideafor youtobetreated by adermatologist. If possible,ﬁnd onewho hasexperience working withthe condition. Breakthroughs in immunotherapy, including drugs that manage immuneresponse andencouragehairregrowth, are arriving at arapidpace. Youare likely to receive themost beneﬁt from adoctor who understands and staysabreast of them.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

fort/pain, feelingsofanger, sadness, loneliness, fear, boredom, andpsycho-social needssuchascomfort, compassion, occupational attachment,identity and inclusion. These unmet needsand desires trigger behavioral expressionssuch as wandering, repetition inappropriate language, incoherentspeech andsleep disturbances. It is important to remember that the behavioral changes are aresult of the disease and not a reﬂection of the person’s character.Caregivers should acknowledge the person’sfeelings, redirect and distract, simplifyand

reduce stimuli, communicate effectively,provide structure and routine, identifytriggers, 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’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

MEMORIAL

Continuedfrom page1D

David Blight, aYale history professor,points to May 1, 1865, when as many as 10,000 people,manyof them Black, held aparade, heardspeeches and dedicatedthe graves of Union dead in Charleston, South Carolina.

Atotal of 267 Union troops had died at aConfederate prison and were buried in amass grave. After thewar,members of Black churches buried them in individual graves.

“Whathappened in Charleston does have the right to claimtobeﬁrst, if that matters,”Blight told The Associated Press in 2011.

WHEN DID MEMORIAL DAYBECOMEA SOURCE OF CONTENTION?

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

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

“Wemustnever forget that theloyal soldiers who rest beneath this sodﬂung themselves between the nationand the nation’sdestroyers,” Douglass said. His concerns were wellfounded, said Ben Railton,

aprofessor of English and American studiesatFitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Although roughly180,000Black men served in the UnionArmy, 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 May30, 1911, areport from theAPmadenomention of the holiday —orany controversy

HOWHAS MEMORIAL DAY CHANGED?

Dennis saidMemorial Day’spotency diminished somewhat with the addition of Armistice Day,which marked WorldWar I’send on Nov. 11, 1918.Armistice Day became anational holiday by 1938 and was renamed VeteransDay in 1954.

In 1971, Congress changedMemorial Day fromevery May30tothe last MondayinMay.Dennis said the creation of the three-day weekend recognized that Memorial Day hadlongbeentransformed intoamoregeneric remembrance of the dead,aswell as aday of leisure. Just ayear later,Time Magazine wrote that the

holidayhad become “a three-daynationwidehootenanny that seemstohave lost muchofits original purpose.”

WHY IS MEMORIAL DAYTIED 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 andthe automobile, the five-day work week andsummer vacation, according to the 2002 book “A Historyof Memorial Day: Unity,Discord and the Pursuit of Happiness.” In the mid-20th century,a small numberofbusinesses begantoopendeﬁantlyon the holiday Oncethe holidaymoved to Monday,“the traditional barriers against doing business began to crumble,” authors Richard Harmond and Thomas Curran wrote. These days, Memorial Daysales and traveling are deeply woven into the nation’smuscle memory. ButMartinez, the Iraq Warveteran in Texas, is posting photos and stories on social mediaabout the service members he knows whodied.

“I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer andtellyou not to have your hot dogs andyourburgers. But give them at least acouple minutes,” he said. “Give them some silence. Saya little prayer. Give them anod There’sabunch of families outthere that don’thave loved ones.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

Families visit Section 60 of ArlingtonNational Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., on May27, 2024, in honor of Memorial Day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

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

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

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

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

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

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

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

wuzzles

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

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

by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper

or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD ActuAtED: AK-choo-way-ted: Put into mechanical action or motion. Average mark11words

Timelimit

Can you find 17 or morewords in ACTUATED?

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

p y y org/ or send email to dcarpenter@ dryadesymca.comfor In‐vitation to Bid& Specifi‐cations. Sealed bids must be submittedby 9:00 a.m. on 5-29-25 to DYMCAOffice at 2220 Oretha Castle Haley, New Orleans. DYMCAoffice numberis504-766-6072. Bids areacceptedvia mail or hand delivered. Public bidopening will be at 9:00 a.m. 5-29-25 at DYMCAOffice This institutionisan equalopportunity provider 140763-MAY14-28 $1,193 nority and/or womanownedbusinessenter‐prises (DBE’s,including MBE’s, WBE’sand SBE’s) to stimulateparticipa‐tion in procurementand assistance programs.

CEMETERY PLOTS ForSale: Titletothe NOLA ArchdioceseCemeteryfor Resurrection Mausoleum. St Louis Cemetery #3.504-641-2569

y June 5, 2025 when they will be opened andpub‐liclyread.

Allprospective bidders areinvited to attend a non-mandatorypre-bid conference that will be held at 10:00 am on June 4, 2025atCityofWest‐wego Conference Room However, failure to at‐tend thepre-bid confer‐ence shallnot relievethe bidder of responsibility forinformation dis‐cussedatthe confer‐ence.Furthermore,fail‐uretoattend thepre-bid conference andinspec‐tion does notrelieve the successful bidder from thenecessity of furnish‐ingmaterials or perform‐ingany work that maybe required to complete the work inaccordancewith thespecification with no additional cost to the owner. Note:Contractor’s final questionsregarding plansorspecifications aretobesubmitted to APTIMbyclose of busi‐ness Monday,June 9, 2025. 141801-may20-26-jun2-3t $206.05 NEWORLEANS EAST 4518 LafonDr.,4BR/2BA,W/D HU,Off St.Pkg Sec8 Only,504-577-5833

PUBLIC NOTICE

Speciﬁcationsand bid documentsmay be ob‐tained upon requestfrom theSHFBinwriting,by emaillerey@no-hunger org, by calling(504) 7292827 or by visiting the followingwebsite www centralbidding.com PRE-BIDCONFERENCE: TUESDAY, MAY27, 2024, AT 10:00 A.M.,VIA TEAMS. ACCESS THETEAMS MEETINGAT https://teams.microsoft. com/l/meetup-join/ 19%3ameeting_ZDBjNzg 2ODQtZTIxMS00MjQwLTg 2MzktNDBjMjRjYjI4OWE z%40thread.v2/0?con text=%7b%22T id%22%3a%22467b5150a2d5-4eb3-90d9-0abf822 48b72%22%2c%22O id%22%3a%2278985fa8c909-4ea9-ab2d-9ecac92 ce067%22%7d Second HarvestFood Bank of GreaterNew Or‐leansand Acadiana By:Mr. Leslie J. Rey, Pro‐curement Manager Insertiondates: (1)May 16, 2024 (2)May 21, 2024 (3)May 26, 2024 141275-may16-21-26-3t $623.47

g p resenting lessthan the full amount to which the claimant ultimately may be entitled.Itshouldbe notedthatpayment of such aclaim shallnot preclude recovery for damagesnot reﬂectedin thepaidorsettled partial claims.Claimsshouldbe mailedtothe following address: Global Risk Solutions Attn:Spectrum Well 59 Claim 1000 Brickell Avenue Suite610 Miami, Florida33131 Ofﬁce hoursare from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST, Monday throughFriday, except holidays Claimantsmay call 866601-5880. Anyclaimswhich arede‐nied,orwhich arenot re‐solved within 90 days after thedateofsubmis‐sion maybesubmitted viaemail to: HQS-SMBNPFC-ClaimsInfo@uscg mil Alternatively, claims may be sent viamailtothis address: Director National PollutionFunds Center (Ca),USCOAST GUARDSTOP7605 2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVESE WASHINGTON,DC 20593-7605 141396-may17-jun15-30t $8,153.80

PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Notice is hereby giventhatthe Goal and Conditions of the LouisianaDepartmentof Transportation andDe‐velopment's Disadvan‐d i

Grant5

andthe

Subsidy 5YearPlans andPHA

andAnnualPlans for Fiscal Years2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and2025, andsubmit themtothe Department of Housing andUrban Development (HUD), andthatthe public be given the opportunity to provide comments.

Beginning June 2, 2025, the proposed andrevised plans citedabove will be available for review by the public andcan be found at: HousingAuthorityofJefferson Parish 1718 Betty Street Marrero, LA 70072

In accordance with the OilPollution Actof1990 (33USC 2714(c)), Spec‐trum OpCo LLC(Spec‐trum)has been named as thesourceofa dis‐charge of an undeter‐minedamount of crude oilintoa tributaryofthe Gulf of America, that oc‐curred at theGardenIs‐land BayProductionFa‐cility,WellNo. 59 in PlaqueminesParish, near Venice,Louisiana on or about26April 2025. This spill impactedthe previ‐ouslymentioned tribu‐tary,known as Garden Is‐land Bay, andasthe owneroroperatorofthe unsecuredwellhead, Spectrum OpCo,LLC is acceptingclaimsfor cer‐tain uncompensatedre‐movalcosts anddam‐ages Removalcosts anddam‐ages which maybecom‐pensated includere‐movalcosts performed in accordance with the National Contingency Plan;damagetonatural resources; damage to or loss of real or personal property;lossofsubsis‐tenceuse of naturalre‐sources; loss of govern‐ment revenues; loss of proﬁts andearningsca‐pacity;and increased cost of public services Claims should be in writ‐ing, signed by the claimant,for aspeciﬁed amount;and should in‐cludeall evidence to supportthe damages. Claims presentedmay in‐cludeclaims forinterim short-term damages rep‐i l h h

The Plans maybeviewedbetween the hoursof8:30amand 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. To request an alternateformatofthe plans, or obtain generalinformation, you maycallthe Housing Authority’s Administrative Office at (504)-321-0435.

Notice of the 45-Day Public Comment Period June 2, 2025 August 1, 2025

A45-daycomment period regarding the Housing Authority’sproposed

Public Comments will be accepted anytime during the comment period. Concernedcitizensshould submit their comments to the Housing Authority of Jefferson Parish,1718 Betty Street,Marrero,LA. 70072. Emailresponsesmay be sent to bbell@hajp.org. Writtencomments will be accepted on

of CivilProcedure withthe Clerkofthe UnitedStatesDistrict Court forthe EasternDis‐trict of Louisiana, 500 Poydras St NewOrleans Louisiana,and must serve acopythereof on counsel forComplainant onorbeforethe 22ndday ofJuly, 2025 or