The Advocate 06-09-2025 by The Advocate

ON TO OMAHA!

community Keyto the

As recently as the 1940s, the Plaquemine Lock, acritical structure and feat of engineering —whichlifted

navigate changes in elevation—would have beenbustling withwatercraft transporting timber and oil.

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

The Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site wasserene Thursday morning, as water meandered through the nowdefunctlockchamber and bright sun reflected off the white glazed bricks ofthe lock house.

As recently as the 1940s,this critical structure and feat of engineering— which lifted boats so they couldnavigate changes in elevation —would have been bustling withwatercraft transporting timberand oil. In 1942, thelock shepherded 3.5 million tons of cargo that traveled between theMississippi River and the

Heather Blanchard, vice president of Friends of the Lock, points out the levee Thursdayatthe Plaquemine LockState HistoricSite. ä See LOCK, page 5A

National Guardfaces off with L.A. protesters

BY ERIC THAYER,JASON DEAREN and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press

LOS ANGELES Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of theNational Guard, blockingoff amajor freeway and setting autonomous vehicles on ﬁreaslocal law enforcementusedteargas,rubber bullets, and ﬂash bangs to control the crowd

Somepolice patrolledthe streets on horseback while others withriot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities includinga detention center where someimmigrants were taken in recent days. Theclashes came on the third

dayofdemonstrations against Trump’simmigrationcrackdown in the region,asthe arrival of around 300 federaltroops spurredanger and fear among some residents.

ä See GUARD, page 4A

BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer

ALEXANDRIA The day care center’s door opened before Ananda Flanagan and herson, Noah, reached it “Good morning, Noah!” the center’sdirector sang to the 1-year-old, herarms stretched out to him.“How are you today?” Noah beamed. WhenFlanagan was pregnant, she hadplannedfor family to help with childcare. Butafter heraunt’s scheduleshifted, theColfaxresident found herself shufﬂing Noah to work with her, setting him in a pack-and-play. Desperatefor an alternative, she cameacross an online ad for an early childhood education grant.

“It was God,” she said. It wasalso MacKenzie Scott. In late 2023, ﬂush with asurprise, $14

GRUNFELD

STAFF PHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

boatssotheycould

Trump’s new travel ban set to take effect

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries is set to take effect Monday.

The new proclamation, which Trump signed on Wednesday, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa.

The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected

starting Monday Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect.

Chad suspends visas to U.S. citizens in response

N’DJAMENA, Chad Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby has announced that his country will suspend the issuing of visas to U.S. citizens in response to the Trump administration’s decision to ban Chadians from visiting the United States.

In a Facebook post, Chad’s president on Thursday said he is directing his government to suspend visas to U.S. citizens “in accordance with the principles of reciprocity.”

In the Republic of Congo, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said he believes the country was among those affected because of a “misunderstanding” over an armed attack in the U.S. with the perpetrators “mistaken” to be from the Republic of Congo.

“Obviously, Congo is not a terrorist country is not home to any terrorist, is not known to have a terrorist vocation. So we think that this is a misunderstanding and I believe that in the coming hours, the competent diplomatic services of the government will contact the American authorities here,” he said in the capital of Brazzaville.

In Sierra Leone, among countries with heightened travel restrictions, Information Minister Chernor Bah said the country is committed to addressing the concerns that prompted the ban.

“We will work with U.S. authorities to ensure progress,” he added.

IMAGE PROVIDED By RUTHERFORD COUNTy SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Ed the Zebra had evaded capture for several days after it ran away from its owner

Runaway pet zebra captured in Tennessee

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. A runaway pet zebra that was on the loose for more than a week in Tennessee and became an internet sensation in the process was captured Sunday, authorities said.

Ed the Zebra was captured safely after being located in a pasture near a subdivision in the Christiana community in central Tennessee, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. The sheriff’s office said aviation crews captured the zebra “Ed was airlifted and flown by helicopter back to a waiting animal trailer,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Ed arrived in Christiana on May 30, the sheriff’s ofﬁce said. His owner reported him missing the next day

World Pride ends with defiant politics

Final day of festival ends on downbeat note

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday’s parade, the ﬁnal day of World Pride 2025 in the nation’s capital kicked off on a more downbeat note.

Thousands gathered under grey skies

Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally and protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming ﬁght under President Donald Trump’s second administration

“This is not just a party,” Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance. “This is a rally for our lives.”

Smith acknowledged that international attendance numbers for the biannual World Pride were measurably down, with many potential attendees avoiding travel to the U.S. due to either fear of harassment or in protest of Trump’s policies. “That should disturb us and mobilize us,” Smith said.

Protesters cheered on LGBTQ+ activists taking the stage while waving both traditional Pride ﬂags and ﬂags representing transgender, bisexual, intersex and other communities. Many had rainbow glitter and rhinestones adorning their faces. They held signs declaring “Fight

back,” “Gay is good,” “Ban bombs not bathrooms” and “We will not be erased.”

Trump’s campaign against transgender protections and oft-stated antipathy for drag shows have set the community on edge, with some hoping to see a renewed wave of street politics in response.

“Trans people just want to be loved. Everybody wants to live their own lives and I don’t understand the problem with it all,” said Tyler Cargill, who came wearing an elaborate costume with a hat topped by a replica of the U.S. Capitol building.

Wes Kincaid drove roughly 6 hours from Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend this year Sitting on a park bench near the reﬂecting pond, Kincaid said he made a point of attending this year, “because it’s more important than ever to show up for our community.”

The speeches didn’t just target the Trump administration or the Republican party. Some turned their ire on Democratic politicians.

“We have to call out people who have abandoned our movement,” said Tyler Hack of the Christopher Street Project “Being a Democrat is more than carrying the party afﬁliation,” Hack added. “It’s about unapologetic support for the trans community.”

Colombian senator in serious condition after shooting

By The Associated Press

BOGOTA — Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative presidential hopeful, was in serious condition Sunday following surgery for a gunshot wound at a political rally a day earlier Bogota’s mayor said.

Mayor Carlos Galán visited the Fundación Santa Fe clinic to express solidarity with the family of the 39-year-old senator “He survived the procedure; these are critical moments and hours for his survival,” said Galán early Sunday after receiving information from the medical staff at the clinic.

The hospital said Sunday that Uribe Turbay was recovering in intensive care after undergoing neurosurgery and a procedure on his left thigh. His condition was described as “extremely serious,” and his prognosis was reserved.

The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood in Bogota when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former president Álvaro Uribe. The men are not related.

The Attorney General’s Ofﬁce said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a ﬁrearm. He was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, au-

thorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 ofﬁcers are investigating who was behind the attack Uribe Turbay is the political heir of his grandfather, former President Julio César Turbay who was in office from 1978-82. His mother, Diana Turbay, was a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during a failed rescue attempt. Her death came during one of the most violent periods in the history of the South American country, then plagued by drug cartel violence. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31.

Israel vows to prevent boat carrying Thunberg, activists from reaching Gaza

By The Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel Israel’s government on Sunday vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel wouldn’t allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.

“To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists — I will say this clearly: You should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza,” he said in a statement. Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen,

which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war

Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices.

Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

Russia awaits confirmation on body exchange

By The Associated Press

Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting ofﬁcial conﬁrmation from Ukraine that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Kyiv had postponed the swap.

On the front line in the war, Russia said that it had pushed into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the ﬁrst batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from Ukraine, but that there were “signals” that the process of transferring the bodies would be postponed until next week.

Citing Zorin on her Telegram channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked whether it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “personal decision not to take the bodies of the Ukrainians” or whether “someone from NATO prohibited it.”

Ukrainian authorities said plans agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday were proceeding accordingly, despite what Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, called Russian attempts to “unilaterally dictate the parameters of the exchange process.”

“We are carefully adhering to the agreements reached in Istanbul. Who, when and how to exchange should not be someone’s sole decision. Careful preparation is ongoing. Pressure and manipulation are unacceptable here,” he said in a statement on Telegram on Sunday

“The start of repatriation activities based on the results of the negotiations in Istanbul is scheduled for next week, as authorized

persons were informed about on Tuesday,” the statement said. “Everything is moving according to plan, despite the enemy’s dirty information game.” Russia and Ukraine each accused the other on Saturday of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, which was agreed upon during the talks in Istanbul, which otherwise made no progress toward ending the war Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation. Medinsky said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post on Saturday, he said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed exchange site at the border when the news came. According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement on Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that didn’t correspond to agreements reached on Monday It wasn’t immediately possible to reconcile the conﬂicting claims.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had reached the western edge of the Donetsk region, one of the four provinces Russia illegally annexed in 2022, and that troops were “developing the offensive” in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. This would be the first time Russian troops had pushed into the region in the more than three-year-old war Ukraine didn’t immediately respond to the claim, and The Associated Press couldn’t immediately verify it.

One person was killed and another seriously wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region.

Obituaries:

Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

People attend the World Pride Rally and March on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington.

AP PHOTO By SANTIAGO SALDARRIAGA People gather Sunday in Cali, Colombia, to pray for Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay after he was shot at a political rally

million grant from Scott’s charity, now known as Yield Giving, the Alexandriabased Rapides Foundation decided to help school districts in Rapides, Grant and Natchitoches parishes match dollars from the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund.

That $2.13 million helped 380 infants, toddlers and preschoolers attend an early childhood center — in Noah’s case, for free.

In the five years since Scott, a billionaire philanthropist, novelist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, began bestowing big, ﬂexible grants on unsuspecting nonprofits, the money has taken root in communities across Louisiana. It is giving organizations — some upstart, some well-established — the rare chance to hire, to launch, to expand To help more people.

Xavier University received $20 million the largest private donation in its history, and put much of it toward scholarships. The Baton Rouge Youth Coalition used its $2 million to serve more students and launch a new career institute. The First 72+, a New Orleansbased nonproﬁt that works to stop the cycle of incarceration, used its $1 million to expand job training, among other things

Since 2020, Scott has given 50 grants totaling $181.7 million to Louisiana charities. Over the first three years of giving, Scott focused on the south, and Louisiana received more funds per capita than average, according to a 2023 Harvard Business School study

The scale of Scott’s giving in recent years rivals the capacity of Louisiana’s local foundations. According to reporting from the nonprofit Candid, the state’s five largest foundations gave between $53.1 million and $13.4 million in 2023. A gift from Scott is often the largest a nonprofit has ever received, in many cases equaling the previous year’s total budget.

Many of the nonprofits, including the United Way of Southeast Louisiana, which received $10 million from Scott in 2020, have used the money to help people struggling to make ends meet. Those beneficiaries are often families that might land above the federal poverty level but that can’t afford basic expenses, such as health care and groceries. Half of Louisiana households fall below that threshold, according to a report from the United Way, the highest rate of any state. Several nonprofit leaders described the grants as “a lightning bolt” and view Scott, who eschews the spotlight, with a touch of mysticism. Essentially, the multimillion-dollar gifts just appear, no strings attached, and it’s not clear why Louisiana has gotten so much. Those signature gifts cannot be applied for or counted on, but they can shift an organization’s trajectory Scott doesn’t participate in media interviews “in order

to cede focus to the organizations we’re supporting,” according to Yield Giving’s website, which offers no contact information. A spokesperson for Lever for Change, which works with Yield Giving, declined to comment But Scott has discussed her philosophy in some limited writings and appearances. By nixing grant applications and follow-up reports, she is trying to free organizations from administrative tasks.

come the chief executive officer of the nonprofit that runs Café Reconcile, she presented the board with just two aims. First, as the current chief financial officer she’d offer continuity of leadership. And second, she told them, “I’m going to get the MacKenzie Scott grant.”

“(MacKenzie

“Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encouraged them to spend it however they choose,” Scott wrote in a 2021 essay “Many reported that this trust signiﬁcantly increased the impact of the gift.”

WILLIAMSON, president and CEO of United Way of Southeast

Her philosophy is remaking philanthropy more broadly

“She triggered a new way of thinking,” said Michael Williamson, president and CEO of United Way of Southeast Louisiana. That organization, which makes grants to smaller groups, is now examining its own requirements for those grants, “recognizing that certain smaller, grassroots, Black-led organizations are doing fantastic work, but they haven’t built up to be a 100-year-old organization like United Way.”

For its next granting cycle, United Way is considering lightening or even ditching some reporting requirements, he said, allowing groups to “go out and do the work.”

‘A black box’

Kheri Billy sets many goals — so many that a vision board she crafted from magazine clippings, perched on a bookcase in her thirdﬂoor ofﬁce at Reconcile New Orleans, is double-sided.

When Billy applied to be-

Billy got the job in 2023 and the following year got the call: Scott was awarding the Central City nonprofit $4 million. Billy cried. Like most rounds of funding, the grant to Reconcile was mysterious, awarded after discreet research, including an interview on behalf of an anonymous philanthropist.

But in 2023, Yield Giving did a rare open call, offering insight into the foundation’s process and priorities More than 6,000 organizations applied, and the foundation awarded $1 million and $2 million grants to just 361 groups, or less than 6%. Reconcile applied but didn’t win; the larger grant arrived anyway a year later Colin Felsman served as one of Yield Giving’s two New Orleans-based grant evaluators for that open call. He said the open call was important because otherwise, Scott’s award process is “kind of a black box.”

But the secrecy offers an advantage, said Felsman, director of housing development for People’s Housing in New Orleans, which has not won a Yield Giving award. Some foundations, with their arduous application processes, can distort nonprofits’ work, he said. But the way Scott gives allows them to focus on their missions.

Since 2000, Reconcile New Orleans has used its lunch cafe on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard to train, prepare and support young adults who have experienced trauma, poverty and other hardships. A decade

ago, the organization “had two wheels in the ditch,” said John Zollinger, board chair A “transformational” gift from another organization — Hancock Whitney Corp., for $1.7 million is the reason the nonproﬁt exists today, he said.

In 2023, Reconcile’s grants and contributions totaled $4.2 million, according to its tax filing, so the Scott gift nearly doubled its income. It will sock away half the Scott grant, building a reserve.

“Before this, we didn’t have a savings account,” said Billy, who grew up in New Orleans. “This has helped to stabilize us.”

The nonprofit is “aiming to serve the same 100-plus people a year, but serve them more deeply,” Zollinger said. For example, it will follow the participants in its 14-week program for 12 months beyond its end, connecting them with resources they might need, including transportation, housing or child care.

“We want to serve more people, don’t get me wrong,” Zollinger said. But the non-

proﬁt doesn’t want to stretch beyond its means. “I’m very aware that I don’t want us to end up like a lottery winner who, three years from now, has no money.”

‘Works all the way around’

Thousands of kids across central Louisiana have felt the effects of Yield Giving grants in ways large and small.

In addition to its funds for early childhood education, the Rapides Foundation had New England Patriots wide receiver and Super Bowl champ Malcolm Mitchell speak to more than 20,000 kids at elementary schools across the region about the joys of reading. It provided local funding to expand access to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. More than 5,300 children now get free books in the mail.

With the Scott millions, the Rapides Foundation could have “built a tower, built a something,” said Joe Rosier president and CEO. But the organization, the only staffed foundation for 100 miles in any direction,

serves nine parishes, most of them small and rural, he said. “If we built something in one place, it really isn’t going to expand our mission.” So instead, the healthfocused foundation boosted its investments in the areas it had already been funding, including early learning. Area parishes with small tax bases had been struggling to match state money for early childhood education, Rosier said, so Rapides stepped in. Even after spending the Scott money, the foundation is keeping up that focus.

In late 2024, its board approved $8 million for the program over the next three years. Enrolling a kid in a highquality day care is good for the kid, Rosier said It’s also good for the parent, allowing him or her to get or keep a job. “So it works all the way around.”

Flanagan makes $44,000 as the community engagement coordinator for the United Way of Central Louisiana. She loves the job, which she got after outgrowing a position at Lowe’s. But with two kids, she was straining to keep up with her mortgage. Child care would have added another $180 a week, at least. She applied for an early childhood assistance grant and heard back within days.

Still, she hesitated, struggling to fathom “strangers taking care of my baby.” She called the director of Heavenly Care Child Development Center, asking questions and voicing concerns. In those ﬁrst weeks, they showed her through photos taken at school and crafts brought home — that Noah, then 10 months old, was in good hands. The teachers may not be family, Flanagan said, but she considers them cousins. For teacher appreciation week, Flanagan made them gift boxes with tumblers, candles, bracelets and pencils.

“Not only did they reach my baby in his most vulnerable moment,” she said, “they held me in mine as well.”

MICHAEL

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Noah Hall waits in his car seat as his

Israeli hostages highlighted at Boulder Jewish Festival

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo.

— For the 611 days since Omri Miran was taken hostage by Hamas, his family has lived in fear, his brother-in-law told those gathered at the Boulder Jewish Festival on Sunday, one week after a man firebombed a group calling for the release of Israeli hostages at the mall where Moshe Lavi now spoke.

“We received only partial, limited and at times horrifying proof of life,” Lavi said to a hushed crowd. “We don’t know how much he’s suffering, deprived of food, water, sunlight, tortured, abused, as I speak to you now.”

The Jewish cultural festival was reimagined this year to highlight the stories of Israeli hostages after police said a man who yelled “Free Palestine” threw Molotov cocktails last Sunday at Boulder demonstrators calling for their release. Festival organizers said they wanted the annual event, which is in its 30th year, to focus on healing and center the group’s cause raising awareness of the 55 people believed to still be in captivity in Gaza. Authorities said 15 people and

into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. The Boulder chapter, one of 230 worldwide, walks at the mall every weekend for 18 minutes, the numerical value of the Hebrew word “chai,” which means “life.”

as hostages’ families thanked festivalgoers in recorded video messages. One of Miran’s children appeared on screen and said in Hebrew, “When daddy comes back from Gaza, he’ll take me to kindergarten.”

God giving the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai in Egypt.

By midday hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields. After some protesters closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until California Highway Patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.

The presence of the Guard was “inﬂaming tensions” in the city, according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon. He formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Mayor Karen Bass said in an afternoon news conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”

Trump has said the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents. Their deployment appeared to be the first time

a dog were victims of the attack at the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall. They include eight women and seven men, ranging in age from 25 to 88 One is a Holocaust survivor

Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were present and could potentially have been hurt. Run for Their Lives, the group targeted in the attack, started in October 2023 after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed

Several hundred people joined the Sunday walk that typically draws only a couple dozen. Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper was among the participants. Demonstrators held signs that read “End Jew Hatred” and handed out stickers stamped with “611,” representing the 611 days since the ﬁrst Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas militants.

On a stage near the site of the attack, hundreds gathered to listen to speakers and songs Vendors sold traditional Jewish and Israeli cuisine. In tents marked “Hostage Square,” rows of chairs sat empty save for photos of the hostages and the exhortation “Bring them home now!”

Lavi thanked local demonstrators for their bravery in advocating for his family He described Miran as a gentle and loving gardener husband and father to two young children.

Merav Tsubely, an Israeli-American who came to the festival from a city north of Boulder, watched

in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a signiﬁcant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Days of protest

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flashbang explosives and pepper balls.

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

The recent protests re-

main far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

‘Very strong law and order’

In a directive Saturday

Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”

Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles,

“Just seeing them speaking to us, here, with all they’re going through, their supporting us is kind of mind-blowing,” Tsubely said, her eyes welling. “It just reminds us how connected we all are.”

Mohamed Sabry Soliman 45, was charged for the attack Thursday in Colorado state court with 118 counts, including attempted murder, assault, illegal use of explosives and animal cruelty He was also charged with a hate crime in federal court.

Soliman, an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally, told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people,” a reference to the movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel.

The violence in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitism in the U.S. It also came at the start of the holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates

U.S. immigration ofﬁcials took Soliman’s wife and ﬁve children, who also are Egyptian, into custody Tuesday They have not been charged in the attack. A federal judge on Wednesday granted a request to block their deportation.

The Boulder Police Department and the FBI coordinated to provide increased security at the festival as well as local synagogues and the Boulder Jewish Community Center Ofﬁcers guarded the event’s entrances, and police Chief Stephen Redfearn said some plainclothes ofﬁcers would be present in the crowd. On a rooftop near the stage, three held rifles and used binoculars to monitor the crowd as drones buzzed overhead.

Matan Gold-Edelstein’s father was present last weekend and helped douse the ﬁre that burned an older woman. Gold-Edelstein, a 19-year-old college student, said the well-attended festival was a great show of humanity, regardless of religion or politics.

“We’re not here to be in support of a war,” he said. “We’re here in support of our religion, in support of our people and in support of the innocent people who are still being held hostage.”

consin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities.

“If ofﬁcials stay in the way of law and order yeah, they will face charges,”

Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was un-

der Biden.” He didn’t elaborate.

Trump also said that California ofﬁcials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges A Wis-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Former Colorado state Sen. Steve Fenberg marches with his daughter Isa in Boulder Colo., on Sunday in a protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages.

Dan Mooney, president of Friends of the Lock volunteer group, highlights some of the renovations, likereinforcing the walls after they began to crack due to shifting soil overtime.

LOCK

Continued from page1A

Atchafalaya Basin.

Volunteers and parish of-

ﬁcials hope that 18 months of renovations, totaling $1.1 million, will restore the lock to its former glory and help commemorate thehistory of Plaquemine. The site will reopen to the public Friday with aredesigned,interactive exhibit about the lock, accessibility upgrades and building improvements.

“It was key to the growth of our community at the time and to the commerce there,” Courtney Zito Elliott, consulting director of tourism for IbervilleParish, said. “Just from its architectural signiﬁcance and its uniqueness, it became sort of an icon sitting in the middle of the community along by Plaquemine.”

The lock stopped being functional in 1961,replaced by the Port of Greater Baton Rouge in Port Allen. It joined the National RegisterofHistoric Places in 1972 after local newspaper editor Gary Hebert fought for the site’s preservation.

The state Legislature, LouisianaState Parks, Iberville Parish and the city of Plaquemine all put funds toward the restoration project, which focused on lock house waterproofingand

from page4A

Marinesdeployment?

In astatement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California’s politicians and protesters of “defending heinousillegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety.”

“Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE ofﬁcers every single day who wakeupand make our communities safer,” McLaughlin added. The troops includedmembers of the California Army National Guard’s79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to asocial media

leak repairs, mechanical and electrical upgrades,compliance with the Americans with DisabilitiesAct and enhanced visitor experience.

“When you havethiskind of architecture, andwhere we are, there’sjust alot to be done —and nothing had been done,” HeatherBlanchard, vice president of the Friends of the PlaquemineLock State Historic Site, said.“It was almost closed down.”

Maintaining thestructure is achallenge, particularly given its location next to the Mississippi River. Friends of the LockPresident Dan Mooney pointed out along crack running throughthe insideofthe lock house, a consequence of the shifting soils beneaththe building’s foundation.

“You’re on Mississippi River alluvial soils,” Mooney said. “There’snobedrock. Dirt,even though it moves slowly, it does movedownhill.”

‘Signofthingstocome’

In addition tothe lock house, Friends of the Lock begancosmeticimprovementstothe property’s boathouse, wherevisitors cansee boatslike those that would havetraveled through Plaquemine Lock in the 20th century.Renovation of the boathouse will be apriority for the next phase of the project,for which the organization hopestoraise an-

post from the Department of Defense.

In asignalofthe administration’saggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alsothreatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region. About 500 MarinesstationedatTwentyninePalms, about125 mileseast of Los Angeles were in a“prepared to deploystatus” Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command.

Vermont Sen. BernieSanders said theorder by Trump reﬂected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the UnitedStatesCongress.”

Former Vice President KamalaHarris, who lives

other $200,000.

“We’re at the point that we’re imagining additional use of thespace, always respecting the history and the preservation,” Blanchard said. “But it’stoo rich and wonderful to have it locked andonlyanoccasional school tour.”

The volunteers also plan to makeuse of the outdoor area of the property,which overlooksthe levee. Blanchard envisions hosting events there and providing anature haven for the parish, with native landscaping.

The Plaquemine Lock grandreopening will begin at 9a.m. on Friday with guided tours and aceremony starting at 10 a.m.The historic site will be open to visitors from 9a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Zito Elliott saidshe’sexcited thatIberville can offer anew interactive tourism attraction,appealing to young and old visitors alike.

“Ourtraveler todayexpects more,” Zito Elliott said. “Tobeable to deliver thatinarural community setting like Iberville Parish and Plaquemine, it’sgreat, and it’s asign of things to come.”

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

in Los Angeles, said theimmigration arrests and Guard deployment weredesigned as part of a“cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.”

She said she supports those “standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms.”

HouseSpeakerMike Johnson, R-Benton, astaunch Trump ally,endorsed the president’smove, doubling down on Republicans’criticismsofCalifornia Democrats.

“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary,sothe president stepped in,” Johnson said.

Associated Presswriter Michelle Price contributed to this report.

Heather Blanchard, vice presidentofFriends of the Lock volunteer group, admires ascuba suit on displayduring atour of the PlaquemineLock State Historic Site on Thursday

aSpecial Eventduring the month of March! During this event, we will be offering these FREE services:

•FREE Hearing Consultations

•FREE Video Otoscope Exam: Hearinglossorjust earwax?

•FREE Clean &Check on currenthearing aids

•FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment

•FREE Familiar Voice Test

•FREE Demo of Audibel’s latest hearing technology!

AreYou or Anyone YouKnow Experiencing the Following?

1. Asking people to speak up or repeat themselves?

2. Turning theTVuploud tounderstandwhat is being said?

3. Ringing or noises in your ears?

Audibelis NOW Offering...

•Hearingaids at NO COST to those who qualify!•

• That’s Right. No Co-Pay!NoExamFee! No AdjustmentFee! If youhavethiscard, youmay qualifyfor free hearing aids! Call today to verifyyour benefits

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

ACatholicpriestwiththe

Diocese of Baton Rouge died Sunday morning after having taken ill during the 9a.m. Mass.

The Rev.Gregory Daigle, known for his operatic voice, was rushed to OschnerMedical Center,where he was attended to for over an hour, according to aFacebook post from St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

“It is with deep sadness we announce that the Lord has calledhim to his heavenly home,” the post reads.

“Please pray for his soul, the consolation of his family, and our church and school family.”

Daigle was 65, having served most recently as the pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Plaquemine.

Louisiana rural letter carriers, families and supporters rally Sunday on the steps of the State Capitol to protect the U.S. Postal Service and federal retirement security

POSTAL RALLy H

METRONEWS

BR-area priest dies afterSundayMass

pastor of St.John the Evangelist in Plaquemine, died Sunday at 65

He wasagraduateofCatholic High, music schoolsat both Loyola and LSU, and Notre Dame Roman Catholic Seminary in New Orleans. Daigle was well-knownfor hissinging talent as well, havingtouredwith multiple opera companies inthe U.S. as well as two summer tours with the Rome Festival Opera in Italy

Accordingto friendsBill andJan Grimes, Daigle had

been asinger beforebeing encouraged to join thepriesthood by Bishop Stanly Ott.

Jan Grimes was Daigle’s piano accompanist for his concertsfor nearly thepast two decades. Bill Grimes was Daigle’s musicdirector,writing the music forhis Christmas and Epiphany concerts

The couple said Daigle sang in ahost of concerts each year,including as asoloist in Christmas big band concerts at theManship Theatre. He also sang to raise money for the parochial schools in Lakeland and Plaquemine when he was a pastor at each.

They described Daigle as enormously funny,bringing alight side to his sermons.

“In this area, it’s theend of an era,” Bill Grimes said.

Daigle hadbeen scheduled to singatachurchbeneﬁt concertfor cancer survivors theafternoon of his death.

Funeral arrangements arepending, St. Johnannounced.

La.could make it illegalto trytomodifythe weather

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana could soon ban any attempt to modify the weather through techniqueslike solargeoengineeringorcloud seeding after abill passed the Louisiana Legislature.

Those techniques are still either experimental or not widelyused. But Sen. Mike Fesi,R-Houma, said his Senate Bill 46 aims to protect“thepeople of Louisiana and the integrity of our environment.”

“With so manyunknowns around geoengineering and atmospheric interventions, we’re taking astand for transparency,public health, andnatural balance,” he saidinastatement.“Senate Bill 46 ensures that decisionsabout ourair and climate are made responsibly.”

The bill saysthat no person shall “intentionally inject, release, apply,or disperse,byany means, a chemical,chemicalcompound, substance, or apparatusinto the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the express purpose of affectingthe temperature, weather,climate, or intensity of sunlight.”

It alsorequiresthe DepartmentofEnvironmental Quality to collect reports from anyone whobelieves they observe aweather modiﬁcation activity

When SB46 first passed the Senate, support for the bill fell along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. In the House, some Republicans joined Democratsin opposing the bill, though it still passed by amargin of 58 to 33. The bill still needs Gov.Jeff Landry’ssignature to becomelaw

There areseveral types of weather modiﬁcation, both theoretical and real.Few if anysuchactivitiesare taking place in Louisiana.

2025 LEGISLATURE

pleofattempts to do very small-scaleexperiments that have been canceled for anumberofreasons. It’s very controversial,” Horton said. “Right now all the research basedon stratospheric aerosols is desk-based —it’seither using computer models or small-scalelaboratory tests to see whichkinds of particleswould be most effective and mostbenign.”

There is another type of solargeoengineering known as marine cloud brightening that hasbeen experimented with in Australia over the Great Barrier Reef. It involves spraying seawater into low-lying clouds in hopesthatthey will whiten andreﬂect sunlight back intospace, Horton said.

That’s“not really what most folks who are pushing these (weather modiﬁcation) bans in different states have in mindwhen they’re concerned about geoengineering andclaiming it’shappening,” he said.

“They’re thinking about these aircraft releasing megatons of sulfur or somethingelseinthe stratosphere that envelopesthe planet, which of course is not happening but perhaps one day would, although we’re nowhere close to that.”

Cloud seeding

Onetype of weather modiﬁcationthat does occurinthe United States is cloud seeding. It typically involves using aircraftto release silver iodide into clouds in an attempt to increase rainfall or snowfall.

The science behind cloud seeding, an activity thatis seventy years old and mostly takes place out West, is uncertain, said Horton.

cation. One did mention the Gulf, but the vast majority were in states like California, Utah,Texas, Colorado Idaho and North Dakota. Veeringinto‘chemtrails’

Though SB46 does not mention the conspiracy theory knownas“chemtrails,” debate on theHouse ﬂoor veered into the topic when Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates, R-Ponchatoula, presented thebill and saidit was meant to protect Louisiana from them.

“Chemtrails” refers to a wide-ranging conspiracy theory based on the belief that the lines leftbehind by aircraftare in fact chemicalsormetalsspread by the government or other organizations forpurposes such as mind control or weather modiﬁcation.

Coates, who spoke about chemtrails in relation to weather modiﬁcation,said she was concernedabout those lines and that multiple “groups”were spreading heavy metals to deﬂect sunlight. The lines are actually contrails, line-shaped clouds thatare created when the hot air froma plane’sexhaust mixes with cooler air in the environment, causing condensation, according to the National Weather Service.

Contrails arecompletely harmless, said Horton, adding that chemtrails are not real.

BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

In 2024, some 42,608 students in Louisianatook the ACT test, apre-college standardized exam graded ona scale of 1to36. The national average ACT score in 2024 was 19.4. In Louisiana, the average score was 17.7, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Education. (The school districts of Monroe, 17.6; Bogalusa, 15;Zachary Community,19.2; Baker,15; and Central Community, 19.7, all had their own ACT score averages and are not

“There continues to be debates among scientists about whether or not it’s theleast biteffective, but Ithink what there is agreement on is that it’snot really harmful,” he said.

According to theU.S Government Accountability Ofﬁce, nine states currently use cloud seeding.

“Federal cloud seeding involvement and support is minimal,”the agency’s website says.

Theactivity that is primarily associated with solar geoengineering —using aircraft to disperse aerosols like sulfur dioxide intothe atmosphere in an effort to reﬂect sunlight and cool the planet —isnot taking place anywhereinthe world, according to JoshHorton, a senior program fellowin solar geoengineering at the Harvard Kennedy School. That concept is known as stratospheric aerosol injection,hesaid, anditis theleadingsolar geoengineering proposal. So far, therehave not been any real-world experiments of the theory,and it is not clear how safe it would be, he said.

“There have been acou-

The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not conduct weather modiﬁcation activities but requires companies that do to report such activity.Ofover 1,000 project reports dating back to 2000 in the NOAA’s database, none speciﬁed Louisiana as alo-

Now, “the idea of chemtrails predates geoengineering but has sort of naturallyswallowedup geoengineering and has sort of even morphed into conspiracy theories about geoengineering happening,” he said. In astatement Friday, Coates explainedshe supported SB46 because it was “a vital step toward protecting Louisiana from the unknown andpotentially dangerous consequences of geoengineering.” “As these experimental climate interventions become morecommon around the world, Louisiana must take astand to ensure that our skies, air,and environment are notsubject to untested technologies without public oversight,” she said. Coates sponsored abill that would morebroadly limit activitiesinthe atmosphere, House Bill 608. But, even afterthe bill’sscope was narrowed through amendments, it failed to pass the House by avote of 21-72.

Last year,Tennessee passedits ownbill banning weather modiﬁcation, NBC News reported. Florida passed one this year

included in the maporthe overallstate average ACT score. Including these districts changes the Louisiana average ACT scores in2024 to 18.4.) The ACT test consists of four multiple-choicesections (math, science, readingand English) andone optional writing section.While many students take theACT, it is not required for allcollege applications. St.Tammany Parish had the highest average ACT score in 2024 with20.5. It was followed in the state rankings by West Feliciana Parish, 20.2; Ascension

Parish, 20.1; VernonParish, 19.7; and Lincoln andLivingston parishes, 19.5. The parishes with thelowest average ACT scores in

are: n Tensas Parishwith 13.9, n St.HelenaParish with 14.3, n Richland Parish with 15.5, n Red River and Union parishes with15.7, n

Former LSUcornerback arrested Joseph faces counts in fatalTexas hit-and-run

BYQUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Aformer LSU football player was arrested early Saturday morning in Texas,accused of striking and killing amotorcyclist while driving under the inﬂuence.

Kelvin Joseph Jr., 25, was arrested in the DallasFortWorth metropolitan area by the Richardsonpolice Departmentonacount each of DWI and collision involvingpersonal injury or death, which is afelony Originally,Richardson Police officersresponded to afatal motorcycle crashinthe 2400 block of northbound North Central Expressway (U.S. 75) at 4:51 a.m., accordingtoa police news release. Themotorcyclist was

identiﬁedasCodyMorris, 27, of Plano, Texas. She waspronounced dead at the scene, but no other drivers were located at the crash scene whenpolice arrived.

At 5:39 a.m., the Plano Police Department received acall from aman claiming to have been involved in the crash.

He identified himself as Joseph. Officers later observed signs of intoxication while speaking withhim, authorities said.

Afterbeing contacted,police were able to determine that Joseph had been driving aBMW sedanwhen he was involved in acollision with Morris on her motorcycle. Joseph is from Baton Rouge, having played football at Scotlandville Magnet High before signing to play cornerback forLSU in 2018. Joseph was drafted to the DallasCowboys in 2021, before being traded multiple times in the last few years.

In addition to football, Joseph has released songs under the name“YKDV Bossman Fat.”

Following afatal drive-by shootinginDallas in 2022, Joseph wascontacted by police as a“person of interest,” as one person involved in the altercationwas wearing a “YKDV”chain. Twoother Baton Rouge menwere eventually arrestedinthe shooting, with Joseph’sattorney saying he was in the car but wasnot the shooter

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman @theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By MOLLy BAHLINGER

Hergraduationpresent, a trip to Europe,was congruentwith her sense of adventureand ignited herlife -long loveoftravel InLouisville, Betty got a jobasa secretary and met her first husband George H. Wilson. They were marriedin1951,and in 1954, the young couple movedto NewOrleanstoexpand the Wilsonfamily business, R.B. Tyler Company. Betty played asupportive role from home until George's untimely death in 1977.As awidowed motherof three, she went against advice to sell what had become Barriere Construction Co. LLC and officially got to work.

Betty was Chairwoman of Barrierefor 15 years. Shewas motivated by the challenge of beinga femaleexecutive in the construction industryduring the 1970s and 80s,and she infused the company with family values whileholding space forher sonstotake over, which they eventually did. Betty set the foundation forBarriere'sCultureof Care as thecompanybecamea leadingcontractor inthe Gulf South. Betty prioritized the safety and wellbeing of employeesher signatureachievement being acomprehensive safety program that, like herself, was ahead of its time Betty steppedaway from day-to-day management of Barriere in 1994, officially passing the torch to her sons who established the company'sBetty A. Wilson Education and Safety Scholarship in 1995. Sheremained Chairwoman Emeritus until Barrierewas acquired in 2021after four generations andseven decades of privateownershipand operation. As abusiness executive, Betty channeled herinfluence into industry leader-

ship. On behalf of Associated General Contractors, she liaised with theEqual Employment Opportunity Commissiontoinstitute theRoad Builders AssociationOn-the-Job Training Program. She was also integral to creating thealliance that stillexists betweenLouisiana AGC and theOccupational Safety and Health Administration. In 2004, Betty was elected as an Honorary Lifetime Member of LAGC and inducted into itsHallofHonor Throughout her life, Betty shared her love of people and knack for building consensus with numerous charitable organizations. She was particularly inspiredasa long-time Boardmember of the YMCAofGreater New Orleans and honored as YMCAHumanitarian of the Year in 1988. She wasa Boardmember of Austin Presbyterian Seminary where the BettyWilson Jeffrey Fellowship Fund and afaculty endowment fund were establishedin her honor.

For 40+ years, Betty was an activemember and ElderofLakeview Presbyterian Church where she met her second husband NeillP.Jeffrey Jr. They were marriedin1989 and splittheir time between NewOrleans and Black Mountain, North Carolina where they builta beautiful home and life togetheruntil Neill's death in 1998. Betty continued to split her time betweenNew Orleans and her mountain home forthe last decades of herlife.She was surrounded by friendsand family and remained active in Bounty and Soul, awellness and educational organizationthatconnects community through local food.

More recently,Betty became amember of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church where many of hersons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are active members. She livedout her final years at Christwood Retirement Community. Bettywas predeceased by her parents, Sidney and Mildred Anderson,brother, SidneyJr.,and twohusbands, GeorgeWilson (1977) and NeillJeffrey (1998). She is survivedby her threesons GeorgeH WilsonJr(Nell), Peter A. Wilson(Lisa) and Bertrand A. Wilson(Me'me'), nine

grandchildrenAmelie Sanders (Wess), Nancy McKnight (Bill), George WilsonIII,Tristan Wilson, Matthew Wilson(Annie), AndrewWilson(Hannah), Peter WilsonJr. (Rosalind), MariannSengelmann (Robert), andCaroline Wolfe(Michael), and 18 great-grandchildren Thefamilywould like to give special thanks to Dr. Mark Berenson and caregivers, especially Kinyada Carter,Betty Batiste,Lisa Manuel,Alina Ventura, and VivianaGarces, for providingher with acomfortable life over thelast years. Amemorial service has

been planned

SB2 Legislators listened to evidence on fluoride

Iwant to express my gratitude to all the well-informed and astute legislators who recognized the grave mistake of removing ﬂuoride from Louisiana public water systems.

This contentious issue has been apersistent debate since the 1950s when waterfluoridation was first introduced. As adental professional, Ialways adhere to evidence-based information to make informed decisionsand conclusions. This fight has been ongoing for decades and Iamproud to see that the legislators have finally understood the connection between oraland overall health.

Iwant to extend my gratitude forall the undeserved children who lack the means to visit adentalhygienist and dentist every six months or once ayear,ifatall. This also includesthe severely handicapped children who, due to their health challenges, cannot undergo general anesthesia if severe dental problems arise duetodental decay.Itistruly commendable that the legislators have ﬁnally grasped this crucial connection.

Iamthrilled to see that thelegislators have rejected Senate Bill 2, potentiallysaving many lives

SUZANNE K. FARRAR retired associate professor,LSU Health School of Dentistry

Cost of unconstitutional laws should notbe bornebytaxpayers

Since our legislators are unable to resist the temptation to introduce inappropriate and unconstitutional bills, Isuggest ajeopardy system in which any bill found to be unconstitutionalwould require areprimand and restitution from the party putting the bill forward. Legislators have no problem putting the health and well-being of Louisianans into hock with capricious laws. They should have no problem reimbursing the state for wasting the time of every representative and senator subjected to careless legislation on theﬂoor The time spent recalling unconstitutional legislation should also be reimbursed. Right now,the constituentspay right and left and absorbthe costs of poor governance.

AMELIA BALLEW MIMS Slidell

LEGISLATIVEROUNDUP

The clock is ticking on the 2025 legislativesession. Here aresomeofthe bills that our readers are talking about:

Let’snot raid La.’strust fund reserves fortax cuts

Rep. Julie Emerson’sHouseBill 678 and HouseBill 683 not only revisit the heartof recently defeated Amendment 2but attempt to reinstate the brutal failure of former Gov Bobby Jindal’sﬁscal debacle.

Raiding existing reserve funds to payfor taxcuts for the extremely wealthy has projected shortfalls of $500 million in 2029 and $350 million in 2030.

And that is before taking thecoming Medicaid cuts in the current federal budget proposed and supported by Rep. Steve Scalise and Speaker Mike Johnson into account.Add to that the ﬁnancial devastation anatural disastersuchasa hurricane, tornado or ﬂood, due to what anow-regular rainstormwould impose onLouisiana withFEMA out of thedi-

sasterrelief business,and Louisiana’sfuture becomes dire.

Draining our ﬁnancial reserves to payfor taxcuts for theextremely wealthy andinternational corporations, when we can’tﬁnance fortifying homes in thepaths of natural disasters is foolish, irresponsible and immoral. We will need thesereserves to rebuild from the next hurricane, that, due to cuts at NOAA, we will have lesstime and information to prepare for.Fool us once —likethey did with Jindal in 2008, shame on you. Fool us twice,as Emerson’sbills hope to do —shame on us.

Let your state senator know to say no to HB678 and HB683.

MARYANNE MUSHATT NewOrleans

HB575

Billonabortion-inducing drugsshows howlittleLouisiana values women

In response to the article, “Louisiana bill would let families sue providers of ‘abortioninducing’ drugs. Here’show” by Alyse Pfeil: Irespect those who believe thatlife begins at conception. But Idon’trespect those who believe their religious or personal beliefsshould supersede mine, or moreimportantly,any woman who believes differently and decides to make the difﬁcult choice to end apregnancy Thereissomuch wrong with this latest effort by some of our legislatorstoattempt to prevent Louisiana women from making their own personalchoice in consultation withtheir doctors. But one aspect of this proposedlaw points out the complete lack of morality of those behind it —though arapistcannot sue

his victim or her doctors, therapist’sparents can. Our legislators are actually saying that the preferences of the parents of arapist should outweigh those of the pregnant rape victim. More speciﬁcally,they are saying that arapist’sparentshave aright to that grandchild, while thatchild’smother,raped by theirson, has no say in this matter. This is despicable, and furtherproof that while theselegislators claim to value “unborn life,” they clearly do not value the women of our state, including those who are the victimsofthe mostheinous crimeofrape.

MARK D. ZIMMERMAN NewOrleans

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. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

Even

with fix, closed primariesabad idea

Iappreciate your May 8editorial addressingthe newclosed political partyprimary system for federal elections, which was adopted recently by theLouisiana Legislature to replace the traditional open primary system. Particularly,you wrote in support of allowing voters who are registered as Independentstovote in either the Republican or Democratic primary.Asone who is registered as an Independent, Iamglad thatthe Legislature will ﬁx thecurrent law prohibitingIndependentsfrom voting in other party primaries. However,Iwish that it wouldn’t matterinwhich partyavoter is registered. Theold open primary system madeitpossible that all citizens had achoice to vote for their preferred candidate in the primary,and

themost popular two (if no one received a majority vote) met in arunoff. That system was alot simpler and less expensive than theclosed primary system. In manycases, theelection was over after the primary,and there was no need for arunoff. Now, there may be arunoff in one or bothparties after theprimaries, followed by ageneral election between the political partynominees. Why theswitched to closed primaries? Because political parties do not like the people to have thechance to choose acandidate who is not devoted to their party. Acandidate who will vote for the best interest of the people, not necessarily thebest interest of apolitical party. Toobad.

CHARLES LAMAR Baton Rouge

SB8 Lawmakers need to keep politics outofcivil service

Senate Bill 8will be voted on the House ﬂoor very soon.

If successful, it would go to the voters. It has already passed the full Senate and aHouse committee.

This legislation would allow the entire classiﬁed civil service workforce in our state to be politicized. The author of this self-serving bill states that it “tackles the inefﬁciency of our government in Louisiana with civil service reform.”

Actually,the opposite is true. This bill would allow the Legislature to unclassify any and all positions in our merit-based workforce and replace them with total political appointments without regard to minimum qualiﬁcations, past performance or ability

Also, the current 39,000 employees with civil service protection could easily lose their jobs on the whim of politicians, even though they have been exemplary and valued workers. It would also allow this political workforce to take part in political activity.Any political activity an employee is allowed to perform, he or she can be coerced into doing.

State civil service is not perfect, but it is one of the mostsuccessful reforms in the history of our state. It has received numerous national awards forthe effectiveness of its human resource program.The author of this bill says he wants a meritocracy,when in fact his bill totally removes merit from the hiring and firing process and returns us to the outmoded spoils system that our current merit system replaced. Our present system must be retained to ensure the mostqualified applicants are hired and promoted, protected from political influence, and the incompetent or nonperforming are removed. Stop this political ploy before it returns us to the days of Huey Long and the deduct box.

DANIEL SULLIVAN retired CEO,Louisiana Civil Service League

HB554

Don’tdiscourage newcitizenswith voting laws

The House Bill 554 terms should be readily available to newly naturalized citizens and those on the path to citizenship.

Awebsite link to the new rules and how to adjust one’sIDordriver’slicense status can be created easily but needs to work consistently.Unfortunately,most Louisiana state departments are inefﬁcient. Lawsand their resultant regulations can becomeproblematic for tworeasons: The legal terminology is dense, and/or the law is published only in English. Nonetheless, a savvy new citizen will be able to ﬁnd assistance here in French, Vietnamese, MiddleEastern languages andSpanish If youare anaturalized citizen, like my father,nostate letterhead missive will deter you from voting. Youknow your rights.

VALERIEWALKER NewOrleans

HB420

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

The legislativesession must end by June 12

COMMENTARY

GATOR RIDE

Cool! We received 707 entries in this week’sCartoon Caption Contest.Thesewerereally funny! It was atreat to readthrough the entries from startto finish.This week’swinner was aJefferson Parish residentuntil he evacuated due to Katrina 20 years ago. He now lives in North Carolina with hisfamily and has been acontest finalistbefore.Terrificjob, everyone! As always, when we have duplicateentries,and we always do, we pickthe earliest sent in. Here are this week’swinner and finalists.Well played, folks! Best— Walt

JIM FLOCK,HARAHAN: “Wait!youmean ‘BonVoyage’,not‘BonAppetit’,right?”

RICHARD ROBBINS,NEW ORLEANS: “On second thought,IWILL takethe premium rental upgrade!”

JIM CRIGLER,BATONROUGE:“See you later,what?!?!”

PAMELA RIDER,BATONROUGE: “HeyTroy, areyou sure this idea will catch on for anew show?”

GRANT LANDRY,NEW ORLEANS: “This is not as relaxing as my wife said it would be!”

MARYANN RIDDLE,BATONROUGE: “I’ll paythe rental fee when Ireturn.

LOUELLENADEN BERGER,NEW ORLEANS: “I didn’t read the fine print!!”

RALPH STEPHENS,BATON ROUGE:“What do youmean?!?‘The paddleboards haven’t been delivered yet’!?!”

MICHELE STARNES,KENNER: “Suddenly, therental waiver feels very inadequate!!”

GISELE PRADOS,METAIRIE: “This is not what Iwas expecting when the travelguide

saidAlligator Tours.”

PETER KOVACS,BATON ROUGE: “your insurance bill must be brutal.”

ASHLEY LABAT,METAIRIE: “Whydoes this feel more likea smorgasbord?”

PHILLIPT.GRIFFIN,NEW ORLEANS: “He’s alreadyhad lunch,right?”

STUART CLARK,LAFAYETTE: “you’re sure there’snotANOTHER waytoteachyour students to keep theirbalance?”

JOHN ENGELSMAN,BATON ROUGE: “This is NOTwhat Imeant when Iasked about Gatorade!!”

SAM PERNICI,ST.GEORGE: “So,this is whymyticket price includeda lifeinsurance policy!”

CHARLOTTE HUMPHRIES,HAMMOND: “Are yousure about thissustainability project?”

RAYM.PICKETT,DESALLEMANDS: “What do youmean‘nice doing business with you?’”

LANA LOVICK,NEW ORLEANS: “What did

youmean by…‘I’ll knowwhen my time is up?’”

GREG STEEN,METAIRIE: “Isthis paddleboard certified by the Cajun Navy?”

JASONBONE,NEW ORLEANS: “This isn’t howyou‘wave’your liability.”

DAVID DELGADO,NEW ORLEANS: “I think I’ll stick to the City Park Swan Boats!”

MARKDISPENZA,BATONROUGE: “This is your‘nofall’guarantee?!”

EDWARD LASCELLE,PINEVILLE: “The deposit returnisthe least of my concerns now!”

DUKE RIVET,BATON ROUGE:“NowI knowwhy yousaidthiswas your snappiest paddleboard!!”

BOBUSSERY,NEW ORLEANS: “Wait! What did youmean by‘lunch is included’?”

RAYAUTREY,MORGAN CITY: “I’ll definitelybeback before his feeding time!”

Thefuture of warfare is here

JOHNWEGER,BATONROUGE: “This new self-propelled paddleboard seems great so far!” Rich Lowry

You’ve gottobetaughttohate

While contemplating thehorror of two young and soon to be engagedIsraeli Embassy employees who were gunned down by aman shouting “free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza,” outsidethe Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., recently,Irecalled theopening line to asong from theold offBroadway musical “The Fantasticks” —“Youwonder how these things begin.” That song speaks to the love between aboy anda girl. Applied to the Washington shootingsitmakes youwonder how hate begins. Theologically,itgoes back to theGarden of Eden, but in modern times, it begins at certain universities andbigoted social media sites

tents, printedsigns and any travel, accommodations and food for those who come from out of town? Howmany of the demonstrators are not students?

Ukraine may not have “the cards,” as President Donald Trumpput it, but it does have drones. They were used to great effect in an audacious attack within Russia that has focused the world’sattention on arevolution in warfare. Abadly outmanned and outgunned country just reached farinside its adversary’sterritory to destroy or damage hugely expensive, nuclear-capable strategic aircraft with low-cost drones basically indistinguishable from ones available on Amazon. It’s not quite David versus Goliath, because the Russian giant is not going to be felled by the blow,but the diplomatic and psychological impact of the raid could be profound, as Ukraine seeks to demonstrate to the West its staying power

For creativity and outsized effect with widely available devices, the Ukrainian attack is in the sameleague as Israel’s beeper attack on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon last year.Both operations also carry amessage about new vulnerabilities —toacompromised supply chain and to surprise drone attack —that should make us take notice.

We’ve just watched the equivalent of aviation legend Billy Mitchell’sdemonstration in 1921 when he had U.S. planes sink a former German battleship, in adisplay of the emerging potency of air power Ukraine’sOperation Spider Webcombined Mission Impossible-style intrigue —the drones were secreted within Russia and someofthem launched from containers attached to trucks, unbeknownst to the drivers —with clever innovation.

The attacks spanned several timezones and hit 41 Russian aircraft, according to the Ukrainians.

The operation wasthe latest iteration of acat-and-mouse drone warbetween Ukraine and Russia. The Ukraine conﬂict is essentially awar of attrition, yet it is anything but static, as the meansof waging it change almost by the week. Offensive innovation is met with defensive countermove, triggering another change on offense.

Drones are vulnerable to electronic jamming? Then, they’ll be controlled by massive spools of ﬁber optic cable. Drones threaten supply routes? Then, the roads will be covered with netting. And drones will be attacked by other drones.

What the siren of the Stuka dive-bomber wastothe Blitzkrieg —anunmistakable herald of anew wayofwaging war —the high-pitched whirr of the drone is to the Ukraine war.

Estimates are that drones now inﬂict about 70% of casualties on both sides, and there are literally millions of them. Russia deployed roughly 4million drones last year,and Ukraine about 1.5 million.

We have much to learn from all this. Every commander of aU.S. base should be thinking anew about potential vulnerability to drone attack, and it’snot hard to imagine the Chinese utilizing drones to execute awide-ranging strike in the Western Paciﬁc if Beijing goes after Taiwan.

The hatred of Jewsisnot new.It extends back several millennia. That so many universities tolerate andsome professors promote Jewish hatred is not free speech. It is incitement which, taken at the extremeasitwas recently, leads to murder.The people responsible for this cannot washtheir handsofthe blood of those innocents, anymore than Pontius Pilate could exoneratehimself from Christ’scruciﬁxion by Roman soldiers by symbolically washing his hands and claiming, “I am innocentof this man’sblood.”

Ihave raised this question before, but it is worth repeating. Whydothe media never ask who is underwriting these demonstrations, including paying for

Chants of “from theriver to the sea,” especially when the few who are interviewed can’tidentify theriver or the seaiscode for destroying Israel and justifying the killing of Jews. Consider the reluctance of somewho refused —orslowly waited to comment on the shootings, including some Democrats in Congress. Until President TrumpbegandeprivingHarvard and other elite schools of federal grants, these institutionswere getting away with effectively beingaccessories to murder.Would these university presidents, who have done little or nothing to curtail the hatefuldemonstrations,have tolerated KKK rallies on their campuses? Not likely Some alumni have stopped giving to their alma maters. More should. Parents should pull their kids out of thesepricey schools or not send them there. It is amazing that some parents are shocked tosee their children adopt ideas that contradict their fundamental values. What did they expect?

Some historians datethe start of persecution, violence, attempts at genocide anddeportations of Jews to the NeoBabylonian Empire (605 BC). There are ongoingdebates and discussions

why this small group of people have been singled out over the centuries as thecause of everything bad, especially when they have contributed so much to theworld that is objectively good.

The Jewish lyricist Oscar Hammerstein may have gotten to theheart of it when he wrote “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”for the musical “South Paciﬁc.” Here is part of the lyric, which readers should Google and read in its entirety:

“You’ve got to be taught to hateand fear,

You’ve got to be taught from year to year, It’sgot to be drummed in your dear little ear

You’ve got to be carefully taught!”

The alleged killer of those two embassy employees (if convicted, he should get thefederal deathpenalty), theterrorist murders of Jews in Israel by Hamas and Iran’sHouthi proxies, theviliﬁcation of Jews by professors at certain universities, are instructing a new generation to hate. The universities that tolerate hate should be punished morethan just depriving their schools of grants. The professors who poison young minds should be ﬁred, hate groups banished from campuses and thecountry,and the demonstrators held accountable.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@tribpub.com

Once aleader in drone technology when its Predators were taking out targets in the WaronTerror,the U.S. hasn’tkept up with the adaptations happening in the Ukraine war. Inevitably,our own bureaucratic processes are our worst enemy

As head of the U.S. National Drone Association, Nathan Ecelbarger,writes, the system foracquiring drones “remains deeply ﬂawed, overly bureaucratic and resistant to innovation.”

We’ll have to focus moreondefenses, too, from early detection to counter-drone capabilities. The problem with using missiles to defeat drones is the asymmetry in expense —anSM-2 missile costs millions, whereas aHouthi drone costs thousands. And drone swarms could overcome abattery of missiles.

This is the reason whythe work of nextgeneration defensefirmslikeEpirus, which has developed ascalable, high-power microwave technology platform that can knock aswarmofdrones from the sky is so important. What’shappening in the Ukraine war is the norm in human conflict. It’s adapt or watch your castle get reduced to rubble, your fleet get sent to the bottom of the ocean or aleg of your nuclear triad get assaulted by,essentially,aplaything of hobbyists.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

WINNER: Jeff Hartzheim, Fuguay-Varina, North Carolina

Cal Thomas

THE FRENCH OPEN

Alcaraz wins French Open in thriller

BY JEROME PUGMIRE AP sportswriter

PARIS Bad starts in Grand Slam

ﬁnals are nothing new for Carlos Alcaraz, and each time it’s happened he has won the tournament anyway

But not in such dramatic style as Sunday’s French Open final, however, when the Spaniard rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) for his ﬁfth major title in as many ﬁnals.

It was his second straight French Open title with a comeback, after trailing 2-1 in sets to Alexander Zverev in last year’s final, and a third major title from behind, following his five-set win against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final.

In producing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the clay-court tournament on Sunday, he emulated Djokovic’s feat from the 2021 final at Roland-Garros — when the now 24-time major winner fought back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“I’m just proud. I’m just really, really happy,” Alcaraz said before praising Sinner “I know how hard you are chasing this tournament. You’re going to be champion, not once, but many, many times. It’s a privilege to share the court with

you in every tournament, making this story with you.”

It was the first time that Sinner had lost a Grand Slam final, but the fifth time in succession he has now lost to Alcaraz, who clinched the 20th title of his career at the age of 22.

Unending drama

It was also the longest-ever French Open ﬁnal 5 hours, 29 minutes — in the Open Era It was so tight that Sinner won 193 points, Alcaraz 192.

It might not have been close to those numbers.

For after 3 hours, 43 minutes, Sinner had his ﬁrst match point.

But with just over ﬁve hours since the match began, Alcaraz served for the title at 5-4 up.

The drama was still not over Sinner made a remarkable retrieve from yet another superb Alcaraz drop shot. At the very limit he could stretch to, Sinner glided the ball over the net, with the ball landing with the softness of an autumn leaf and out of Alcaraz’s reach to make it 15-40.

When Sinner won the game to make it 5-5, it was his turn to milk the applause and he was two points away from victory in the 12th game, with Alcaraz on serve and at 15-30 and at deuce.

But Alcaraz made a staggering

cross-court backhand to make it 6-6 and force a tiebreaker with the crowd going wild when Alcaraz’s cross-court winner made it 4-0.

“Just amazing the support you have given me today,” Alcaraz said. “During the whole tournament.”

Little sleep for Sinner

Sinner could not ﬁnd a way back and Alcaraz won the tiebreaker and the match with a superb forehand pass down the line and then fell onto his back to celebrate. Then he rushed over to dance and hug the team members in his box. “I’m very happy for you, and you deserve it, so congrats,” the 23-year-old Sinner told Alcaraz. ”It’s an amazing trophy, so I won’t sleep tonight very well, but it’s okay.”

Nightmare ninth

Sinner may not sleep at all if he thinks about the ninth game of the fourth set, which turned into a nightmare.

Serving to stay in the match at 5-3 down, Alcaraz trailed 0-40 to give Sinner three match points.

Sinner may particularly regret the second match point when, with Alcaraz on second serve, he hit a hurried backhand which landed just out. He then hit a forehand into the net for another unforced

error, making it deuce. The crowd chanted “Carlos, Carlos,” in delight and roared when Alcaraz hit an ace, then gave him a standing ovation when his audacious forehand down the line went in to win that game and again when he broke Sinner’s serve to level at 5-5.

Sinner’s sportsmanship

Despite having just lost a chance to win another major, Sinner showed great sportsmanship to give Alcaraz the point for a 30-0 lead in the 11th game.

Alcaraz’s forehand landed at the back of the court and, as the chair umpire prepared to come down and inspect the mark, Sinner told her to go back because he saw the ball was in.

The crowd applauded him for that, but was rooting clearly for Alcaraz and the noise level erupted when Alcaraz won the fourthset tiebreaker to level the match.

By now, the fans had what they wanted — an Alcaraz comeback — and fans showed their unbridled delight when he won points with astounding drop shots from deep or leapt to bang cross-court forehands with astonishing power and accuracy.

Alcaraz hit 70 winners, compared to 53 for Sinner, who might have been feeling like it was a case of déjà vu.

LSU sprinter Watkins making his mark as freshman

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

While Jelani Watkins was in his starting blocks at the NCAA East regional for the 100-meter race in Jacksonville, Florida, the LSU sprinter had one thought dominating his mind.

“It’s either me or them,” the 20-year-old said. “So either you eat or you get ate, and I wasn’t trying to be the one that got ate.”

The starter pistol’s gunshot signaled Watkins it was time feast

The 5-foot-9, 163-pound sprinter ran a personal best of 10.01 for the third-fastest time in the regional quarterﬁnals on May 31, advancing him to the NCAA Championships. Watkins’ mentality remained unchanged an hour later in the 200, setting another personal best of 20.24 for the 10th-fastest mark in the quarterfinals, adding another event to his trip to Eugene Oregon. He will be among the 21 entries, nine men and 12 women, LSU sends to Hayward Field at the NCAA Championships from June 11-14.

Watkins embodied a pair of tattoos on his left arm: “golden child” and “one of one.” While the first piece could be mistaken as a nod to the blonde in

his dreadlocks the tandem of ink refers to his uniqueness.

“I just think there is nobody else like me,” he said. “I just think I’m like a rare breed.”

Watkins proved that by becoming the only freshman in the country to qualify in the men’s 100 and 200 meters for the NCAA Championships. He’ll also compete on LSU’s 4x100-meter relay team that finished fourth in the regional.

The standout expected success but he didn’t think he would be the only freshman to do what he did.

Bennie Brazell, a 14-year LSU assistant coach who trains the sprinters and is a former LSU track star, is the least surprised. He has considered Watkins a “generational talent” since he saw him as a sophomore at Klein High School in Texas.

One of Watkins’ deﬁning qualities is his speed in the final 50 meters. When Watkins was a senior at Atascocita High School, he anchored a 4x100 relay team that earned a time of 38.92, breaking a national high school record that had stood since 1998.

The ﬁrst-year standout’s athleticism isn’t exclusive to the track as he plays for the LSU football team after being touted as the No. 28 wide receiver in the nation in

2024, according to 247Sports.

As seamless as his track success was, it was the opposite on the gridiron. He appeared in two games and redshirted.

Watkins would be lying if he said his zero-stat football season wasn’t a letdown. However, not many know that feeling better than his coach, who also redshirted his ﬁrst football season before eventually being drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

“Sometimes football starts off slow for some guys,” Brazell said. “It took me a couple of years, but at the same time, I was able to click quick with track and ﬁeld. So it’s just a process. You got to be patient, but you got to have that mindset to continue working no matter what.”

That mindset has hardened an already dogged Watkins.

“Coming into this track season, I was kind of fueled up by how football went for me, because I wasn’t really productive,” he said. “So that just kind of fueled me, to make me go harder.”

Watkins moved away from Louisiana after the fifth grade, and part of his decision to come to LSU was to be a “hometown hero” like Odell Beckham — his favorite NFL player Beckham is one of the biggest

Sykes, Mystics dominate inside to roll past Sun

WASHINGTON Brittney Sykes scored 28 points, making 14 of 15 free throws, and the Washington Mystics cruised to a 104-67 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday Rookie starters Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Sug Sutton had 10 for the Mystics (4-6), who never trailed. Shakira Austin scored 14 and Aaliyah Edwards added 13 off the bench.

Washington shot 57% (36 of 63) with 24 assists and made 26 of 37 from the line for its ﬁrst 100-point game since 2023. Connecticut was 39% (26 of 66) from the ﬁeld and 8 of 9 on free throws. The Mystics dominated the boards with a 42-22 rebounding advantage and outscored the Sun 56-24 in the paint.

Astros’ throwing error costly in loss to Guardians

Nolan Jones scored the goahead run on a throwing error by pitcher Steven Okert in the seventh inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. Steven Kwan followed with a sacrifice fly, plating Bo Naylor, as Okert (1-2) allowed two runs in his lone inning. Houston had tied the game at 2-all in the top of the seventh on Cam Smith’s tworun double against Tanner Bibee. Cade Smith (2-2) retired all five batters he faced, striking out three. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 14th save.

Jake Meyers matched a career high with four hits for the Astros, who have won 10 of their last 14.

Hemi power: Ram plans return to NASCAR in ’26 Ram will return to NASCAR next year in the Truck Series, a comeback the Stellantis-owned brand believes is the first step toward launching a stock car program in the top Cup Series. Ram, which left NASCAR after the 2012 season, will race in the third-tier Truck Series alongside rivals Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota. Ram becomes the ﬁrst new manufacturer to enter NASCAR at the national level since 2007. Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis made the NASCAR announcement Sunday before the Cup race at Michigan International Speedway Kuniskis has bold goals and ideas — he’s vowed to make 25 product announcements over 18 months — and he said Ram will enter its trucks aggressively with the intention to be disruptive.

Caglianone posts first multihit game with Royals

CHICAGO Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone showed off his sweet swing on Sunday, posting his first multihit game since his promotion to the major leagues.

Caglianone lined a single to center in the ﬁrst inning at the Chicago White Sox. He doubled in the fourth, recording a 113.6 mph exit velocity on his drive into the gap in right-center He singled again in the sixth and in the eighth.

names on a long list of LSU star

receivers, which includes Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, currently in the NFL.

Before he potentially adds his name to that list, he wants to leave his mark on the track program despite his newness.

“I just don’t go into any race with fear, because you can’t,” Watkins said. “You can’t fear no man. They’re running just like how you’re running. It’s either you or them.”

Brazell said he has conﬁdence that Watkins’ tools and mindset will etch his name among the greats in LSU’s rich history of track and football standouts: Eddie Kennison, Kary Vincent, Donte Jackson, Eric Reid and many others.

When Watkins walks off the plane in Eugene, gratitude will ﬁll him. It’s not lost on him that freshman seasons like this are many athletes’ fantasies. However his goal goes beyond being happy to share the track with the best of the best in college.

The golden child wants to win.

“You come to LSU to win championships, period,” Brazell said. “He’ll be an NCAA champion one day in track and field. Believe that. And he’ll be an NCAA champion in football. Keep the tradition going.”

Caglianone 22, was selected by Kansas City with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 amateur draft out of the University of Florida. The outﬁelder/ﬁrst baseman batted .322 with 15 homers and 56 RBIs over two minor league stops before he was promoted by the Royals last week.

Niemann wins in Virginia for 4th LIV title this year

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Virginia on Sunday for his fourth victory in the Saudi-funded tour’s first eight events of the season closing with an 8-under 63 to beat Graeme McDowell and Anirban Lahiri by a stroke.

Niemann broke out of a jam at the top with birdies on Nos. 14-17 and parred the par-4 18th to ﬁnish at 15-under 198 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The 26-year-old Niemann also won this year in Australia, Singapore and Mexico. He has six career LIV victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour McDowell shot 66, and secondround leader Lahiri had a 68. Bryson DeChambeau had a 65 to tie for fourth with Phil Mickelson (65) and Bubba Watson (67) at

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after winning the singles final at the French Open against Jannik Sinner at Roland-Garros stadium on Sunday in Paris

ALL-METRO TENNIS

GIRLS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

in singles duringher senioryear,won the DivisionIsingles

ledthe Redstickers toa fifth straight state championship

ELLA MANCUSO ST.JOSEPH’SACADEMY • SR

Every undefeated season is special.

Ella Mancuso certainly helped makeit that waywhile compilinga17-0record, winning aDivision Isingles title and leading her team to its fifth straight LHSAA title

“Ella always had the skills and tools she needed to win,”coach Jonathan Howard said.

“There were times when she would lose close matches she could win.

“Wewere playing the best Mississippiteam early this spring and she was downmatch point.The girlshe playedwas her club doubles partner and theykneweach otherwell. She fought back and won.That was the confidence

GIRLS ALL-METRO TEAM

Ella Mancuso

SINGLES

St. Joseph’sAcademy

Harper Brown-Rachle

St. Joseph’sAcademy

Morgan Duncan

Walker

Merrill Eglin

Episcopal

Lauren Longmire

University

Meredith McNulty

Baton RougeHigh

boost.”

Mancuso’stoughest test came in the Division Isingles finalinMonroe where she beat Mandeville’sCiara Sergi 6-4, 7-5.She lost just five games in straight-setwinsbefore the final “The competition we playedthisyearwas much tougher than last year,” Howard added.

“Between the twoseasons, Ithink Ella worked very hardonwhat she needed to do to finish matches.

“Thatmadea hugedifference.Alot of it was mental. Learningtowin the close ones was a process sheworked through.

RobinFambrough

DOUBLES

Ryann Beamon/Lillian Tessier

Baton RougeHigh

AdoraDinh/Josephine Johnston

Dunham

Caroline Holliday/Cameron Raines

St.Joseph’s

Kate McCann/Lucy Jimenez

St.Joseph’s

Emily Shearer/Anna Saporito

University

Ryland Stafford/Adeline Hedges

St.Joseph’sAcademy

Catholic’sCharlie DuBos made the most of his only season as asingles playerbycompiling an 8-2 record that included aregional titleand berth in the Division Istate quarter

CHARLIEDUBOS CATHOLIC • SR

Charlie DuBos was notalways asingles player forCatholic High. But he was always aleader forthe Bears, which helped define hislone seasonasa Division I singles player in special ways.

“Charliehas always been astrong singles player and that was whyitwas greattosee himdisplay that partofhis game,”coach Bella Rawlssaid.“His leadershipand willingness to be avocal leader has always been just as important as hisplay.

“Asa freshman he was eligible to play, but he was always engaged and encouraging everyone.Sothat made it more meaningful

SINGLES

Charlie DuBos

Catholic

Stephan Champney

Catholic

Cameron Hart

St. Michael

Kerimov

Ali

Episcopal

Levi Lindsey

Woodlawn

Joshua Miller

Ascension Christian Note: Teamspickedbyareacoaches.

to seehim getthe chance to do his thing in singles.” At Rawls’ request, DuBos filledanimportant void forthe Bears by playing doubles during his sophomore and junior seasons.

As asenior,DuBos compileda singlesrecord of 8-2 that includedaregional titleand a berth in the Division Iquarterfinals where he lost to Jesuit’sAlton Swan, theeventual runner-up.

“His role as aplayerwas differentthis year,” Rawlssaid,“but Charlie wasstill that vocal leaderfor the team.”

RobinFambrough

DOUBLES

Hudson Caracciolli/Immanuel Nezianya

Catholic

Jack Brady/Landon Vu Tran

Catholic

Milo Johnston/George Harrod

Dunham

John Schilling Staley/Michael Zhang

Episcopal

Jackson Belcher/Sammy Bullentini

ParkviewBaptist

DaltonRousselle/Cameron Brown

University

Foxdefeats Burnsinplayoff to winCanadianOpen

By The Associated Press

CALEDON, Ontario RyanFox of New Zealand won for the second time in ﬁve weeks on the PGATour with another memorable shot in a playoff, this time a3-wood to 7feet on the fourth extra hole Sundayto beat Sam Burns in the RBC Canadian Open. Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping infor birdie to win athree-manplayoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at OspreyValley took alittle longer. Whatturned out to be thewinning shot might be more memorable. Fox smokeda3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled 7feet away.Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the front right pin. He ran his eagle putt 8feet by and missed that one. Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie.

“Tobehonest,Sam andI hadabit of apillow ﬁght for three holes,” Fox said. “But that shot Ihit on 18,

that 3-wood,was probably the best shotI’ve ever hit. It wouldhave been nice to make the putt. But hey,I’lltake it.” Fox holed abirdie putt from just inside 18 feetonthe par-5 18th in regulation fora 4-under 66 that allowed him to joinBurns at 18-under 262. Burns, aformer LSU standout,had finished sometwo hours earlier with abirdie on the ﬁnal hole for a62. They played the18thfour more times— the PGATour moved the pinposition from farleft to front right after two extra holes —and therewas nothing compelling aboutthe extra holes.

Burns, regarded as one of the best putters on the PGA Tour,had abirdie puttfrom just over 5feet on theﬁrst playoff for the win. He left thatout to the right.The next time down 18, Fox went for the green and pushed his 3-wood. The collar of roughstopped it from goinginthe water.Hepitched to 12 feet and had thatbirdie putt for the win, but left it afootshort

Pillow ﬁght,indeed. On thethirdtimeplayingthe 18th in overtime, Burns hadalob wedge that was short and to the right, spinning offthe green and

nearly into thewater.Fox hithis 40 feet out to theright.Theyboth madepar Fox delivered the goods on the final hole and now has two wins

in just over amonth.The victory moved the38-year-old Fox from No. 75 to No.32inthe world, getting him into the U.S. Open next weekfor being among the top 60 in the world ranking. KevinYubirdied the last hole fora 66 to ﬁnish aloneinthird, oneshotout of theplayoff. He narrowly missedout on thetop 60 to gettoOakmont next week. ButYujoinedCameron Young and Matt McCarty as earning the top three spots for the British Opennextmonth for players not already eligible Fox alreadywas in theBritish Openfromhis victory in the BMW PGAChampionship in 2023, the flagship event on the European tour.Fox now has eight wins worldwide —two on the PGA Tour, four on the European tour and two on the PGA Tour of Australasia Burns was hopeful of ending more than two years without avictory, his last title coming in the final yearofthe World Golf Championships-Match Play in 2023.

U.S. Open gets asoggy starttothe week at Oakmont

BY DOUGFERGUSON AP golf writer

OAKMONT,Pa. Players began arriving at OakmontonSunday with umbrellas and expectations for a U.S. Open to live up to its reputation as golf’s toughest test. Jordan Spieth was among the early arrivals,playing the front nine on Saturday and 11 holes on Sunday in alight, but steady rain. Turns out the USGA had apolicy that no one could startonNo. 10. Spieth went down the ﬁrst, back up the ninth and headed to No. 10. It was long. And it was wet. The area got pounded with rain on Friday,and heavy rain was expected again Sundayafternoon. As if Oak-

mont wasn’talready tough enough. “This course is built to be like this,” Spieth said.“So they’re not doing awhole lotdifferent to the golf course.You hita good shot, you get rewardedfor it here. And if you don’t, you’re in big trouble. It’spure golf,nofunny business about it.”

Spieth waskeeping scoreonthis day —hegave himself an 18-inch birdie puttafter a50-yard chip on theshort par-4 17th and was 2under for theday.Healso did plenty of chipping and putting. On one hole,hehad hiscaddiethrow him golfballs down into the bunker Thegrass was so thick it gobbled up theballs before they reached to thesand. The rough was as advertised,

mainly the sheer density of it, and it was made even more difﬁcult considering how wet it was.

Spieth wasn’t worriedsomuch aboutthe grass offthe fairway everyone hastodeal with that at some point during the U.S.Open. It was what followed “Itmagnifies once youmakea mistake if youdon’t play theright shot,” he said. “It’snot likemaking amistakeisthe end of theworld. It might cost you half ashot. Youjust have to take what it gives you.”

More than 60 players in the U.S. Openfield were at theMemorial two weeks ago, whichalso featured rough that was longerand thicker than normal. Growing grass has not been an issue in theOhio Valley this

year.The difference is the speed of Oakmont’sgreens— reputed to be the fastest in the land —and not many forced carries “Thistesthere, because theygive youmorerunways to trytorun it up to the green,itentices youtothink you can do more than youshould,” Spiethsaid. “That will be the biggest challenge this week —swallowing pride. Bogeys don’thurt you. Anything more will.”

The forecast was for morescatteredshowers on Monday,and then abreak fromthe rain until the weekend. Oakmont is hosting the U.S. Open fora record 10thtime, and itsreputation is strong enough that even the best can expect a

strong test. First impressions, of course, can be misleading.

Shane Lowry recalls seeing it for the first time on the Sunday before the 2016 U.S. Open. He started on No.10, played five holesand walked in, wondering how he could ever manage adecentscorearound Oakmont. Aweek later, he went into the finalround with afour-shotlead “It was firm and fast when I played it that Sunday,and it was windy.Wegot abit of rain that week,which helped us,” Lowry recalled.

Theflipsidewas Adam Scott. He ﬁrst playedOakmont theweek before2007U.S. Open with Geoff Ogilvy,who was the defending U.S. Open championthatyear

PROVIDED PHOTO

Ella Mancuso, whowent17-0

titleand

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByFRANK GUNN

Ryan Fox raises the championship trophyafter winning the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario on Sunday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Hamlin earns 3rd Cup Series victory of season

BY LARRY LAGE AP sportswriter

BROOKLYN,Mich.— Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that’s suing NASCAR.

“The tackle box is full,” Hamlin said Sunday “There’s all kinds of stuff going on.” Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher

“Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks,” he said.

Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his ﬁancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track. Hamlin said he would skip next week’s race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth.

To add something else to Hamlin’s plate, he is also co-owner of

DUMARS

Continued from page 1B

waking up being here. Driving in here every morning has been really good. Really, I’m playing catch-up a little bit One of the things you have to do when you step into these roles is you have to get an understanding of your building. Who’s in the building? What’s the environment in the building? You have to have a grasp of your building and who’s there and what do you have? The way I do that is I spend a lot of time talking to people. Just everybody in the building and getting their assessment of what is happening and seeing what matches up. What are some of the common themes? So this ﬁrst month has been just me trying to get my arms around the building

What did you learn in having those conversations? I learned that what we have here are some really good people in the building. I’m really impressed with that. When you have groups like this, what you have to do is deﬁne who you are and what your mission is and the things you’re trying to accomplish so people can understand where it’s going. So that’s been a lot of the conversation. The environment. The culture The goals for us. That’s part of the conversations I’m having with everybody So everybody can understand and so there’s no confusion about what the goal is.

I’m sure I know the answer to this, but what are those goals?

We want to win. We want to be a team that’s viewed around the NBA not only as a winning team, but we want to also be viewed as a ﬁrst-class organization Yes, you

23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR.

He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn’t won at Michigan in a decade.

“I think it’s the most underrated track that we go to,” said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval.

Hamlin became JGR’s winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch’s 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start.

“It feels good because I’m going to hate it when I’m not at the level

I’m at now,” he said. “I will certainly retire very quicky after that.”

Hamlin’s team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race.

“It really stings,” said Byron, the points leader, who was a seasonworst 28th. “We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that.”

Hamlin, meanwhile, wasn’t on empty until his celebratory burnout was cut short.

Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on Lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on Lap 36 and stayed up front to win his ﬁrst stage this season.

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red ﬂag on Lap 67.

Byron took the lead again after a restart on Lap 78 as part

want to win. But you want to be viewed as a ﬁrst-class organization as well. That’s about how you come in every day and do things and how you go about your work every day How you treat people. How we do things here in this building All of that is important. Of course we want to win. But I also want people to say the Pelicans do things the right way That’s work You come in and you start living that every day so people can see it and understand this is where we’re going. Culture is about how you feel when you walk in the building.

When you look at the current roster what do you like and what are some areas the roster needs to improve?

We have some good talent on the roster When this team has been healthy, it’s been a formidable team. Unfortunately, last year it was just decimated with injuries and I acknowledge that. But that doesn’t stop you from setting the bar higher and pushing harder to be better I don’t think we can be satisﬁed with what happened two years ago when the team had success. I don’t think you can look at that and say “Ok, we can see what we can be.” You have to push past that. You can’t just aspire to be that. You have to set the goal higher than that and that’s what we intend to do. We intend to push for this team to try to max out because there is some good talent on this roster

At your introductory news conference, you said you would try to assess all the injuries and ﬁgure out why there were so many. What have you found out?

Some of those were just ﬂukes and there is nothing you can do about those. That happens in sports. But just like the conversations I’ve had with Willie and Zion, I’ve also had conversations with the medical staff. We’ve

Nelson selected as this year’s winner of Lifetime Achievement Award

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY Don Nelson has been invited to the NBA Finals countless times in recent years, always declining those opportunities.

This time, his peers found a way to ensure he couldn’t say no.

Nelson — a Basketball Hall of Famer and three-time NBA coach of the year — was announced Sunday as this year’s recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association. It will be formally given out Sunday night, about an hour before Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder

“History has already reﬂected Don Nelson’s staggering contributions as a cutting-edge innovator and visionary of the NBA game,” said Pacers coach and NBCA President Rick Carlisle.

AP FILE

Former Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson smiles while being interviewed at the Warriors training facility on Aug. 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif.

be an understatement. This is special.”

of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage.

Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn’t have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a ﬂat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go.

Hocevar faded to a 29th-place

ﬁnish, a week after he was second to match a career best at Nashville, where he created a buzz with an aggressive move that knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr out of the race.

Rough times for Bowman Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback.

“That hurt a lot,” he said after passing a medical evaluation. “That was probably top of the board on hits I’ve taken.” Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has ﬁnished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn’t ﬁnish for a third time during the tough stretch.

Reddick rallies

Last year’s champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th.

“Back in the ’80s and ’90s, he made teams adjust to historic pace, liberal 3-point shooting, inverted offense, and disruptive defensive schemes. All this while establishing himself as one of the most compelling personalities in all of professional sports.”

Nelson, 85, retired in 2010 as the NBA’s career coaching wins leader with 1,335, just ahead of Lenny Wilkens’ 1,332. Nelson kept that top spot for nearly 12 years before now-retired San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich passed him in March 2022. Popovich is part of the committee that selects the Daly award winners.

“One of my best friends in my life,” Nelson said of Popovich. “So, I’m really really proud to be here and to share this award. I made the Hall of Fame in 2012 and this is certainly as important to me as that award was.” Nelson is one of only two coaches in NBA history to have at least 250 wins with three franchises. He got to that mark with Milwaukee, Dallas and Golden State, and also coached New York brieﬂy in his career Nelson and Daly were close friends. They went head-to-head 41 times as coaches: Nelson’s teams went 21-20 in those games.

“Chuck was an absolute genius in all facets of the game and life,” Nelson said. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to coach against him, learn from him, and beneﬁt from his knowledge. To say that I’m deeply touched to receive an award that bears his name would

went back over every one of the injuries that happened to every player here and tried to decipher and ﬁnd out which ones were ﬂukes and which one of these could have been internal that we could have done better? We’ve assessed every single injury to every single player What could we have done better? Is there something we could have done better? We are continuing to have those conversations because these guys are in rehab now So we’re meeting every week on the rehab that’s going on. Are we on top of this? When are we sending somebody to see this guy? It’s real comprehensive what we’re doing as far as medicals because what’s been shown is if this team is healthy, it’s a team that can compete. So that becomes critical to make sure we are doing everything we can to

put the healthiest team out there on the ﬂoor

Any updates on Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy? There’s nothing to report. Guys are in the middle of their rehab and all of them are on schedule. That’s the good news. Our medical staff is all over it to make sure we don’t miss anything.

What would be your message to fans who doubt that this year is going to be any different from last year?

I’m really here to bring a certain style of play We’re not really looking at it as trying to compare it to what has gone on here prior to us. We’re coming in expecting to win. We are here to raise the bar We’re not here to be happy with mediocrity I think people will see that in our style of play We want to be aggressive on both

Nelson took teams to the playoffs 18 times as a coach and won ﬁve championships as a player with the Boston Celtics. He started coaching in 1976 and what became known as “Nellie Ball” soon created a buzz with him being generally credited for introducing what is now known as the point forward.

His up-tempo offensive ways were probably best on display with Golden State in the “Run TMC” era featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin But his defensive schemes including crossmatching and even writing the rules on illegal defense at the league’s request, he said — should be remembered as well, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

“I do appreciate the fact that he seemed boundless in terms of what he was willing to do, and he wasn’t really relying on what was conventional,” Daigneault said. “So, I have unbelievable respect for him.”

The award is in Daly’s memory and celebrates his “integrity, competitive excellence, and tireless promotion of NBA basketball.”

Prior recipients are Rudy Tomjanovich (2024), Rick Adelman (2023), Mike Fratello (2022), Larry Brown (2021), Del Harris (2020), Frank Layden (2019), Doug Moe (2018), Al Attles and Hubie Brown (2017), K.C. Jones and Jerry Sloan (2016), Dick Motta (2015), Bernie Bickerstaff (2014), Bill Fitch (2013), Pat Riley (2012), Lenny Wilkens (2011), Jack Ramsay and Tex Winter (2010) and Tommy Heinsohn (2009).

ends of the court. If you go back and look at any of the teams that I have had or that (senior vicepresident of basketball operations) Troy (Weaver) has had, we’ve been the aggressors. And I also think this and I truly believe this. The absolute best teams reflect their city I think the Bulls reflected Chicago. The Showtime Lakers reflected L.A. The Bad Boys reflected Detroit. The Indiana Pacers reflect Indianapolis and OKC reflect Oklahoma City With your best teams, there is a connection between the city and the style of play The fans look at it and say “Yeah, that represents us.” That is what I hope people see when we play I want them to see that we represent New Orleans. I’m from Louisiana, so I have a feel for the resilience and I know people aren’t quitting here. That’s just not the personality of the city So I think it’s important that your team reflects that. Fans should be able to look at the team and say they absolutely are playing and representing what we stand for

Do you think fans will notice a difference right away?

It’s a mistake to ever come in and just say we’re going to change things overnight. It’s just not how sports works. The two teams (OKC and Indiana) that you see in the Finals now none of that was overnight. That was a process. It’s a process to get teams to where they want to be. But it shouldn’t be a process for the fans to see us play in a style that they like. The success part of it might be more of a process. But the style of play resilience, toughness, playing hard, never quit — that’s’ what we want people to see right away Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Pelicans coach Willie Green calls a play against the Denver Nuggets during

Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. on Sunday.

PHOTO By JEFF CHIU

What is adaptive functioning?

Adaptive functioning essentially describes how well someone can perform daily activities and manage social interactions relative to their age and cultural expectations. These skills are crucial for independence and meeting everyday demands. In the context of Alzheimer’s, adaptive functioning refers to how well aperson with Alzheimer’scan navigate the demands of their environment and manage their daily life, including communication, basic tasks and social skills.

Deﬁcits in adaptive functioning in individuals with Alzheimer’sdisease include declines in intellectual functioning such as reasoning, problem-solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, learning and practical understanding. These adaptive skills are typically measured by intelligence tests.

SCIENTISTSUNCOVER WHyCATSARE ORANGE (AND TORTOISESHELL ANDCALICO)

BY JIA H. JUNG | The MercuryNews(TNS)

Nine thousandyears ago, humans began domesticating cats. Nine hundred years ago, beforethe advent of intentional cat breeding, agenetic mutation gave rise to the ﬁrst orange cat. Days ago, StanfordMedicine researchers revealed exactly which gene created the fuzzy foddersfor Garﬁeld, Puss In Boots and Toulouse from“The Aristocats,” to name just afew

Unlikeany other “ginger”mammals, orange cats’ coloration owes to asex-linked gene, which is why80% of orange felines are male.

The unique sex-linked orange geneticmutation remained enigmatic for years while scientists tried toﬁgureout what induced cats’ pigment cells to produce yellow,orangeorred coloration instead of the usual brown and black.

‘Succession’ creatorcleverlyskewers tech titans

BY MARK MESZOROS

The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio) (TNS)

Jessie Armstrong isn’tdone

skewering therichand powerful

The creator of the acclaimed HBO series “Succession,” asatire inspired by the Murdoch family and its media empirethatran for four seasons, is back on the premium cable network (and its streaming offshoot, Max) this

weekend with theTVﬁlm “Mountainhead,”which he penned and directed.

For all thepraiselavished on it, we most often found “Succession” frustrating. Much of the point was toenjoy the schemings —and subsequent failings —of the various vapid andever-bickering members of the fictional Roy family

Ramy youseff, from left, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman in ‘Mountainhead.

As the disease progresses, affected individuals may experience difﬁculties with these skills, which lead to aneed forsupport and adaptations in their daily routines. However despite obstacles, affected individuals may cope with the cognitive decline in many ways.

Caregivers can establish structure and routine that would allow their loved one to maintain asense of security and predictability.They can also provide support systems to offer assistance with activities of daily living and other tasks.

Assistive living devices and/ or adaptive equipment can help affected individuals maintain acertain amount of independence and manage tasks. For instance, special utensils foreating could be offered at mealtimes to encourage eating and overcoming nutritional decline.

Somestudies suggest that cognitive training can improve speciﬁc cognitive functions, such as working memory. Keeping active with activities the individual enjoys stimulates the brain. Puzzles, music, brain games and exercising are all examples that would help in improving speciﬁc cognitive functions.

Making changes and modifying the homeenvironment, such as rearranging furniture forclear pathways and installing safety features, can help reduce safety risks. Masking doors so they don’tlook like exits, hanging drapes to avoid glares in the room,removing rugs, and putting locks higher on the door panel are some waystomake the environment safeand nonthreatening. Focus on what theindividual CANdoinstead of what the disease is doingtohim, such as special interests, hobbies or music.Givethe affected individualmindful andpurposeful activitiestoperform.

Researchers from Brown University,the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and Auburn Universityalso contributed to the study.Ateam at Kyushu University in Japan published similar ﬁndings by studying the DNA of cats inAsia, furthering the understanding that the reason for orange cats is consistent worldwide.

The only exception is the Norwegian forest cat, which manifests as orange because of the same genetic trait that causes red hair in humans.

Research at catshows Stanford Medicine’sChristopher Kaelin, asenior scientist in genetics,GregBarsh, an emeritus professor of geneticsand pediatrics, and genetics researcher Kelly McGowan shared catDNA samples with these groups to get astrong global sample.

The team also attended dozens of cat shows from California to Brazil, approaching hundreds of orange cat owners for help collecting cat DNA.

Kaelin found breeders and owners to be deeply supportiveofcat research even if thecollection process was challenging.Atone large, three-day show in Cleveland, Ohio, Kaelin and crew swabbed 100cats on-siteby sticking acotton swab into their mouths to collect a small bitofDNA from the inside of their cheeks.

Spay-and-neuter clinics also contributed tissue after surgically sterilizing feral cats. The scientistssequenced the genomes from 200 out of 3,000 collected samples of orange cat DNA with nonorangeDNA to extrapolate the differences. They found 51 possible variants on the Xchromosomes of male orange cats and eliminated 48 of them after ﬁnding the genomes in some non-orange cats as well

REVIEW

Continued from page1C

However,the hourlong format brought with it too much time for the viewer to wallow in all the Roys’ miseryand theinsults they ﬂung at each other

Contrast that with the 30-minute comedy series “Veep,” which also ran on HBO and gave the viewer afast-paced and smartly written slice of insult-based humor each week.(There’s plenty of connective tissue between the series, as Armstrong worked with the creator of “Veep,” Armando Iannucci, on the British series “The Thick of It” and its excellent 2009 big-screen offshoot, “In the Loop.”)

“Mountainhead” succeeds where “Succession” struggled.

Tech titans’poker game

Funny and thought-provoking, the clever ﬁlm sees four friends —aquartet of tech titans —getting together for apoker weekend in the new mountain retreat oneofthem had constructed in asnowy and entirely picturesque chunk of Utah.

Hugo (Jason Schwartzman) is hosting Randall (SteveCarell), Venis (Cory Michael Smith) and Jeff (Ramy Youssef), who call him“Souper” —short for “Soup Kitchen” —because while they are worth billions, he’sgood for only about $500 million and some change

Theweekendistoinvolve “no meals” —the men will really rough it with cold cuts and the like —and “no deals” —this is not atime for business to be done.

Here’sthe thing, though: Ven’ssocial platform, Traam, has just releaseda massive update with new content-creation and messaging upgrades, and the deepfakevideos and rapid spreading of misinformation that those upgrades make easy for users is leading to unrest and violence around the globe. It would really smooth thingsoverwithhis company’sboard if he could acquire the strong AI-driven

Of thethreeremaining variants, agene called Arhgap36 came into focus. Researchers in cancer and developmental biology were already studying thisgene because its over-expression in neuroendocrine tissues led to tumors in various mammals. No one previously hadmade any connection to pigment cells.

Notonagene, butclose

The mechanism they found, Kaelinsaid,“is not located on agene —it’slocated near agene.”

In cats only,a small deletion of information on the Xchromosome activates Arhgap36 in pigment cells where it is normallynot active, triggeringorange fur Males haveXYsex chromosomes and females have XX. Malecats with an orange Xchromosome will be orange, whereasfemales need toinheritthistrait on bothoftheir chromosomes to be completely orange

Femaleswith just oneorange Xchromosome can present as tortoiseshell or calico. These mottled and patchy coats are avisual manifestation of thegenetic phenomenon of “random X inactivation” in all female mammals. In each cell of a female organism, oneofthe Xchromosomes is “turned off.” In female cats, coat color shows whether the sex-linked orange is the chromosomethat’s“on” or “off” in the underlying pigment cells.

“Our abilitytodothishas beenenabledbythe development of genomic resources for the cat that havebecome available in just thelast ﬁve or 10 years,” Kaelin said Orange we lucky?

He has receiveda ﬂurry of congratulatory textsfrom orange cat owners, breeders andfanswhose catsparticipated in thestudy

“It’saninterestingmutation and unlikely to happen twice,” said Kaelin, explaining why cat lovers and researchers want to know more. McGowan said that

‘MOUNTAINHEAD’

HHH

RATING: TV-MA RUNNING TIME: 1hour,48 minutes HOWTOWATCH: Streaming on Max

content-moderation tech developed by Jeff’s company Ooooh, it’stoo bad Vensaid something rotten about Jeff on apodcast, isn’t it?

No heroes in startupworld

As with “Succession,” Armstrongisn’t interested in giving us any heroes. Here, Jeff comes the closest, seeming to have genuineconcern forthe digital plague brought on by Traam —even as Jeff’s company suddenly is doing very well, nowthatthe value ofrootingout thefake from the authenticisbeing greatly appreciated Venisn’t sure howtofeel about what’shappening —heck,heisn’teven sure other people are real —but he largely sticks to the idea that this development will be good for his company in the longrun,thataftera learning curve, the majority of Traam’s 4billion-plususers will realize that nothing means anything and everything’sfunny and cool.”

While Jeff brainstorms ideas about howbestto mitigate the crisis, Randall seeks avenues to capitalize on it.Hesees ways for the four ofthemtoleverageit forevenmore wealth and power,the littlefolkbe damned. More importantly, he believes Ven’scontinued success could facilitate the latter’sgoal of developing tech that would allow for the digital uploading ofa human consciousness. (Randall has hisreasons.)

Andthenthere’s Souper, who, at least initially,isjust happy to have the boysover to his fancy new digs, voicing excitement over the spaceturning into the“intellectual salon”he’d envisioned as the possibilityofa newworld order is chewed on bythe others.

Musingsfor thelackluster Armstrongexcels in writ-

about 10% of cats in Northern California today are orange. The research publication cites the appearance of orange cats in 12th-century Chinese paintings andRenaissance paintings. Kaelin said scientists whoexamine ancientcat DNAcontinue seeking the origin of theﬁrst orange cats.

The biobank of cat genes remaining from his team’s orange cat research could aid in this pursuit, as well as further research about adaptation and evolution on the molecular scale in other mammals, including humans.

Laura Birdsall, director of behavior and medical services at PetsinNeed in Redwood City,said the shelter is having an unusualwave of orange catsduring this spring’sdelayed “kitten season,”whenanew generation of feral cats blooms.

Orange cats theirown

Birdsall said that prospectivecat adopters go by color andsize preference when choosing kittens, and consider personality more when evaluating full-grown cats She said orange cats found homesquickly for reasons of both standout appearance and personality “I’mpartial to orange cats,”she shared. “I grew up withanorange cat —that was my baby.This is just my opinion, but they seem to be more outgoing and friendly.”

Kaelin, Barsh and McGowan haven’tfound any other physical or behavioral quirks linked to Arghap36 other thancoat color so far For now, Kaelin hypothesizes that orange cats’ reputation as “friendlyagentsof chaos” might have something to do withtheir being mostly male.

But whoknows —Kaelin pointed out that there haven’tbeen too many scientiﬁc studies about orange cats’personalities, but that citizenstudies oftensurveyed thepublic for commentaryontheir perceived quirks.

ingabsurd musings for lackluster humans, and they hit at an impressive clip in “Mountainhead.”

“Not real,” Vensays when another shows him footage of violenceona smartphone. “Heads don’texplode like that.”

Armstrong and the endeavor’scasting folks have assembledanappealing foursome, each actor bringing something to the increasingly high-stakes affair

The standoutsare theveteran Carell (“The Office,” “Foxcatcher”),who somehow makes Randall at least alittle likable even as the character is giving in to his most despicable instincts, andSmith, who impressed as Chevy Chase in lastyear’s “SaturdayNight.”Here, again, Smith commands attention as the spiraling Ven holds court That said, Schwartzman (“Asteroid City”)deliversas thesubtlyridiculousSouper, and Youssef (“Ramy”) hits themarkwithhis insults aimed at the former’sexpensive, personality-lacking expensivenew digs andreferring to Randall, whom he sees as amentor,as“Dark Money Gandalf.”

Asatirethathitshome

Given what transpires in thesecond half of “Mountainhead,” this greed-is-good tale easily could have gone offthe rails butArmstrong leads it to asatisfying destination.

“Mountainhead” is only so ambitious, but, ultimately, this satire hitshome; what is happeningtothe world around these men and their reactions to it feel only so far-fetched.

Armstrong seems to be sayingweshould be worried about powerful people like these four tech bros— but, perhaps, only so worried. Venseemstothink Traam may be able to make adifference in the conflict between Israel and Palestine withthe right funny video, andJeff pokesatRandall as the latter mishandles his phone while plotting the takeover of the world.

“Hey, Grandpa,” he says, “you’re light’s on.”

Dear Heloise: Ihave been reading letters in your columnabout theimportance of children learning how to swim.Iam82 now,but back in the 1950s, my parents signed up my sister and me for swimminglessons, even though we had to drive to thenext little town in central Nebraska. —Marvin T., York, Nebraska Marvin, this was avery kind thingyour parents did for you and your sister Younever know when one day you’ll need to know how to swim or how to

By The Associated Press

save another person from drowning. Swimming is also agood way to get someexercise on anice, sunny day —Heloise Giving thetoast

Dear Heloise: My future brother-in-law has asked to make atoast at our wedding, and Iwant to turn him downgently.He’snot aterrible person, but his idea of humor isn’tusually funny In fact, it’soften insulting, especially after he’shad a couple of drinks. My fiancé and Idon’t want to hurt his feelings, but we would rather do just that than have him tell some of his off-color stories or jokes. Gotany hints to help us avoid abad situation at an important event? —Ellen H., Glenview,Illinois Ellen, ask him to either write out his toast first and let your fiancé review it, or better yet, let him do a presentation in front of the both of you as adry run before the wedding. If he refuses, tell him he may not makeatoast and, as kindly as possible, tell him why. —Heloise Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

TODAYINHISTORY

George II to establish the colony of Georgia.

Today is Monday, June 9, the 160th day of 2025. There are 205 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won theBelmont Stakes by 31 lengths, winning horse racing’s Triple Crown and setting astill-standing record by running the1½-mile dirt course in 2minutes,24 seconds.

Also on this date:

In 1732, James Oglethorpe received acharter from Britain’s King

QUALITY

Continuedfrom page1C

theyknow) or resurrecting old hobbies of the individual are just afew examples of focusing on what the individual can do to bring joy and aquality of life. Social interaction is part of adaptive functioning and should be promoted and encouraged. This helps reduce anxietyand

In 1954, during the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings, Armyspecial counsel

Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, aRepublican from Wisconsin, asking: “Have you no sense of decency,sir? At long last, have you leftno sense of decency?”

In 2022, at its ﬁrst public hearing on the matter,the House panel investigating the Jan. 6insurrection at the U.S. Capitol placed blamesquarely on Donald Trump, saying the assault wasnot spontaneous but an

loneliness and builds the individual’sself-esteem and conﬁdence. Getting together often with family and friends is agood antidote forisolation and improves quality of life. While thedisease may impact various aspects of daily life,individualscan still adaptand compensate for cognitivedeclinethrough various strategies and supports. By understanding thechallenges andopportunitiesrelated to adaptive

the

functioning, caregivers and support systemscan help individuals maintaintheir independenceand qualityof life as much as possible

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.

“attempted coup” and adirect result of the defeated president’seffort to overturn

2020 election. Today’sbirthdays: Sportscaster Dick Vitale is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Parker is 74. Film composer James Newton Howard is 74. Author Patricia Cornwell is 69. Actor Michael J. Fox is 64. Writer-ﬁlmmaker

Sorkin is 64. Actor Johnny Depp is 62. Actor Gloria Reuben is 61. Actor Michaela Conlin is 47. Actor Natalie Portman is 44. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Laurie Hernandez is 25.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Situations are not as they appear. Anger isn't the answer. Thinking and acting for yourself will help your counter emotional fallout. Jump into action. Forward thinking and motivation are key. Trust yourself.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Consider what you say and how you react to others. What's important is that you do justice to yourself and those you encounter by being kind and honest. Help people and express gratitude for the help your receive LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Play to win. Keep an open mind, but don't be too credulous. Life is too short to follow someone else. Do your own thing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Making a move prematurely will leave you in limbo. Putting a plan and budget in place will eliminate doubt when the time comes to make a move.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Don't distort the truth, no matter how admirable your motives. Speak honestly and from the heart, and the right people will help you reach your goal.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Address unresolved issues and finish what you start before moving forward. Don't run from your mistakes; fix them and carry on. Let your actions speak for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Pay attention to what's happening in your backyard. Focus on home and family. Put your energy where it counts, and you will prosper.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Your aspirations will exceed your budget. Take a step back. Talking to experts will give you a sense of what's essential and what you can eliminate. You are ready for a change, but it must be built on solid ground.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Distance yourself from people trying to talk you into something you cannot afford. Put a budget in place when it comes to entertainment. Indulgent behavior may tempt you, so tread carefully.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Choose common sense over desire. Put your energy into self-improvement. Refuse to let temptation lead the way. Look out for your interests and know when to say no. Focus on what's best for you.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Simplify matters rather than stir things up. Stability is your ticket forward; staying on track will get you where you want to go. Refuse to let outside influences lead you astray. Your life, your decisions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Take matters into your own hands. Allowing anyone to intervene or trusting them to do what's best for you will backfire. Do what you want to do; don't try to please someone else.

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: R EQUALS B

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

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

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Oscar Wilde said, “It is only an auctioneer who can equally and impartially admire all schools of art.”

It is only a successful bridge player who listens carefully to the auction and uses the information to guide his defense.

Inthisexample,howshouldWesthope to defeat four spades after he leads the club ace?

North’s sequence, Stayman followed by the jump to three no-trump over two hearts,guaranteedfourspades.SoSouth corrected to four spades. Note that the defenderscouldhavetakenfiveimmediate club tricks against three no-trump.

Manyinexperienceddefenderscannot wait to cash winners. They would take theclubkingaboutonenanosecondafter winningthefirsttrickwiththeace.Then they would look around to decide what to do next — too late. Their best move would be to feign a sudden illness and to flee the premises! When dummy comes down with three hearts, West should realize that his partner has a singleton. So, there are two ways to win by shifting to a heart at trick two: Partner might have either the singleton heart ace or the spade ace. As you can see, this defense defeats the

contract. East wins the first (or second) round of trumps, puts West on lead with his carefully preserved club king, and receives the contract-killing heart ruff. As the bidding progresses, mentally log what information it imparts. And slow down your play: there are

By Andrews McMeel