Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Joel Caldwell throws a cast net in a canal in Port
on June 4. It’s believed that tilapia fish escaped from a corporate retreat near Port
nearly 20 years ago and despite a massive eradication effort in 2009 they’ve been found recently in Louisiana
BY ALEX LUBBEN | Staff writer
PORT SULPHUR Along the levees in this former company town near the end of the Mississippi River, a destructive fish is making an unexpected comeback.
Tilapia, a commonly farmed fish that’s ubiquitous at grocery store seafood counters, can pose a dire ecological threat when released into the wild. That’s exactly what happened in this Plaquemines Parish community about 20 years ago, when the fish escaped from a bass pond on a property owned by one of the largest mining companies in the world.
Chris Schieble, a deputy assistant secretary with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said he believes the fish broke free when Hurricane Katrina flooded much of the parish. The LDWF then led an effort to kill the tilapia in 2009. At the time, it appeared that the eradication had succeeded.
Bad news: The fish are back.
While there is no way to definitively prove that the new tilapia are related to those that escaped from the pond two decades ago, Schieble believes that is likely the case. A new study also suggests some of the fish from then survived. Either way another eradication or
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Joel Caldwell holds juvenile tilapia collected from a canal in Port Sulphur on June 4.
monitoring effort may be necessary
“If this thing kept going in 2009, the tilapia would eventually have gotten through to the estuary They’d be getting into other habitats and they would be displacing our native fishes,” said Martin O’Connell, a conservation biologist and director of the Nekton Research Laboratory at the University of New Orleans who
recently found the fish near Port Sulphur “All the shrimp and all the baby crabs, they’d be sucking them down like popcorn.”
O’Connell was involved in monitoring the success of the effort to kill the fish. He recently conducted the study that suggests some survived.
ä See TILAPIA, page 6A
Alverez is a second cousin
Legislature provides set amount for LA GATOR program
BY PATRICK WALL | Staff writer
At Gardere Community Christian School in Baton Rouge, hopes were high for LA GATOR.
Many thought Louisiana’s new program, which gives families state-funded grants for private school tuition or homeschool expenses could be life changing. Teachers and administrators showed up at the school on the Saturday in March when applications opened to help parents apply And in May, students and parents pleaded for funding for the program during a state Senate hearing.
“Allow my sister and brother and everyone else in my neighborhood to have such an amazing learning journey,” said Radiance Bailey, a fifth grader with five siblings at the school and two more hoping to enroll.
On Thursday, many people at Gardere and private schools across the state were bitterly disappointed when the Louisiana Legislature passed a state budget that included far less funding for LA GATOR than its backers sought. The families of nearly 40,000 students had signed up for
ä See FUNDING, page 3A
Realignment plan displaced hundreds of employees
BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Hundreds of public school employees in Baton Rouge have spent the past few weeks looking for jobs thanks to a realignment plan approved in late April that closes and reconfigures multiple schools in the capital city They have entered the job market at a time when the East Baton Rouge Parish school system on the whole is modestly reducing the size of its school-level staff. It is part of a slow reversal from an uptick in district hiring, which was fueled by federal COVID-relief funding that has since run out. On May 8, the school system held a special employee job fair, 10 days after the realignment plan was approved. Since then, the Human Resources Department has been holding twice-aweek online office hours where affected employees can get help finding their next job.
ä See HIRING, page 3A
BY DESIREE STENNETT | Staff writer
Two generations before his birth
Pope Leo XIV’s New Orleans family splintered along racial lines. On one side, those who were fairskinned passed for White. The other side continued on as Black. Most of the family left Louisiana more than a century ago, but according to genealogist Jari
Honora, who has been studying the pope’s local ancestry two branches of the extended family one Black and one White — stayed in New Orleans. They never met. Ellen Dionne Alverez, 77, grew up in the 7th Ward and has lived her entire life in the city When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen as pope last month, word quickly spread through her Black New Orleans
family that he might be a cousin
The pope’s grandparents were from New Orleans and had the last name Martinez, which is Alverez’s maiden name. First, a friend speculated. Then, a niece checked her own family records and said she thought it was possible, too.
Honora confirmed the relation, and that’s what convinced Alverez. Pope Leo is her second cousin once removed. Her great-grandfather and the pope’s grandfather were brothers.
At least 8 killed near aid sites in Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS Gaza Strip At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded Sunday in a shooting near Israeliand U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials Witnesses blamed the Israeli military which did not immediately comment.
Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah.
Experts and aid workers say Israel’s monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza’s capacity to produce food.
The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on Friday
The shooting on Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles.
There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month
Police: Protester killed at Utah ‘No Kings’ rally
A demonstrator was shot and killed at Salt Lake City’s “No Kings” protest when a man believed to be part of the event’s peacekeeping team fired at another man allegedly aiming a rifle at protesters, authorities said Sunday Police took the alleged rifleman, Arturo Gamboa, 24, into custody Saturday evening on a murder charge, Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said at a Sunday news conference. The bystander, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, died at the hospital.
Detectives don’t yet know why Gamboa pulled out a rifle or ran from the peacekeepers, but they accused him of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death The Associated Press did not immediately find an attorney listed for Gamboa or contact information for his family in public records.
Redd said a man dressed in a brightly colored vest fired three shots from a handgun at Gamboa, inflicting a relatively minor injury but fatally shooting Ah Loo
The gunshots sent hundreds of protesters running, some hiding behind barriers and fleeing into parking garages and nearby businesses, police said in a statement.
“That’s a gun. Come on, come on, get out,” someone can be heard saying in a video posted to social media that appears to show the events.
“No Kings” protests swept across the country Saturday, and organizers said millions rallied against what they described as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian excesses. Confrontations were largely isolated.
Relatives get remains of Air India crash victims
AHMEDABAD, India Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, officials said Sunday.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable.
Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives.
More than 200 reported dead
BY JON GAMBRELL, NATALIE MELZER and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Israel and Iran traded more missile attacks Sunday despite calls for a halt to the fighting, with neither country backing down as their conflict raged for a third day.
Iran said Israel struck its oil refineries, killed the intelligence chief of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and hit population centers in intensive aerial attacks that raised the death toll in the country since Israel launched its major campaign Friday to 224 people. Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians.
Israel, which has aimed its missiles at Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and military leadership, said Iran has fired over 270 missiles since Friday, 22 of which slipped through the country’s sophisticated multitiered air defenses and caused havoc in residential suburbs, killing 14 people and wounding 390 others
In an indication of how far Israel was seemingly prepared to go, a U.S. official told The Associated Press that President Donald Trump nixed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who serves as a religious authority and commander-in-chief of the armed forces Israel the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed
state in the Middle East, has said this attack its most powerful ever against Iran — was to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
The latest round of talks between the U.S. and Iran on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program had been scheduled Sunday in Oman but were canceled after Israel’s attack
Claiming to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran, Israel said its attacks Sunday hit Iran’s Defense Ministry, missile launch sites and factories producing air defense components.
Iran also acknowledged Israel had killed three more of its top generals, including Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the Revolutionary Guard intelligence chief.
But Israeli strikes have increasingly extended beyond Iranian military installations to hit government buildings including the Foreign Ministry and several energy facilities, Iranian authorities said most recently sparking huge fires at the Shahran oil depot north of Tehran and a fuel tank south of the city
Those new targets Sunday, coming after Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field, raised the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that remains vital to the global economy and markets.
Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh and other Iranian diplomats shared photos of the Foreign Ministry’s offices and library laid to waste by flying shrapnel.
Iran’s state TV broadcast footage of a dust-covered man carrying a baby away
from the ruins of a residential building and a woman covered in blood making panicked phone call from the site of an Israeli missile strike in downtown Tehran. The spokesperson for Iran’s Health Ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, said 90% of the 224 people killed were civilians.
The Washington-based rights advocacy group, called Human Rights Activists, reported a far higher death toll in Iran from Israeli strikes, saying the attacks have killed at least 406 people and wounded another 654. Iran routinely has undercounted casualties in recent crises, such as the 2022 mass demonstrations over mandatory hijab laws after the death of Mahsa Amini.
State TV reported that metrostationsandmosques would be made converted into bomb shelters beginning Sunday night Tehran residents told of long lines at gas stations and cars backed up for hours as families fled the city Air raid sirens sounded across Jerusalem and major Israeli cities, sending Israelis scrambling to bomb shelters in the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv and the northern port city of Haifa.
The Israeli military reported that almost two dozen Iranian missiles had slipped through the vaunted Iron Dome aerial defense system and struck residential areas.
Early Sunday, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service reported that at least six people, including a 10-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were killed when a missile smashed into a high-rise apartment in Bat Yam, a coastal city south of Tel Aviv
Official: Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader
BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump rejected a plan presented by Israel to the U.S. to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that they had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.
After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move, according to the official who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
from exploding into an even more expansive conflict and saw the plan to kill Khamenei as a move that would enflame the conflict and potentially destabilize the region.
Asked about the plan during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not directly address whether the White House rejected the plan.
“But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we’ll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei “fake.”
BY OBED LAMY, STEVE KARNOWSKI, MIKE BALSAMO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
BELLE PLAINE, Minn. — The man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, killing one of them, has been taken into custody, two law enforcement officials said.
Vance Boelter was arrested Sunday evening. The arrest was confirmed to The Associated Press by law enforcement officials who were who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity
Former Democrat -
ic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 9 miles away Boelter was captured in Minnesota, though officials didn’t immediately say where.
Earlier Sunday Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference a nationwide warrant was out for the suspect’s arrest.
Evans said authorities found a car very early Sunday they believed Boelter was using a few miles from his home in Green Isle, in the farm country about an hour west of Minneapolis. He also said they found evidence in the car that was relevant to the investigation, but did not provide details.
On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.
“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both
Obituaries:
The Trump administration is desperate to keep Israel’s military operation aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program
Netanyahu in the Fox interview also said regime change “could certainly be the result” of the conflict
“because the Iranian regime is very weak.”
Trump’s rejection of the proposal was first reported by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would “soon” make a deal to end their escalating conflict.
Trump in an early morning social media posting said the United States “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S. which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry responsible for its backing of Israel.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said.
incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a place for this kind of political hate.” Authorities named Boelter, 57, as a suspect, saying he wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car Evens confirmed that investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and believe it belonged to Boelter The superintendent also said authorities interviewed Boelter’s wife and other family members in connection with Saturday’s shootings. He said they were cooperative and were not in custody The FBI had issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings.
More than 100 law enforcement officers including SWAT teams were searching the area, including nearby homes, Evans said. He also said they had received more than 400 tips from the public. The earlier search happened in rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, where Boelter had a home with his wife and five children. Residents in the area received an emergency alert about the located vehicle that warned them to lock their doors and cars. A crowd of officers were seen congregated on a dirt road near the abandoned dark sedan. Some officers broke off and walked into a wooded area off the road. The car was later towed away
The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned.
Authorities have not yet given details on a motive.
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It’s been massive,” said Beanka Brumfield-Williams, a human resources director for the school system.
Brumfield-Williams is second in command in HR, behind Lisa Smothers, who came on board in February as the district’s chief human resources officer
Brumfield-Williams estimates about 700 district employees are having to change jobs, or, in a few cases, reapply for their old jobs. And, of those, about 300 have yet to land a position, she said.
Her office has set a July 31 deadline to place all affected employees in a position, four days before employees report to work for the new school year Brumfield-Williams said she hopes to finish much sooner
Brumfield-Williams, a veteran of the HR department, expressed cautious optimism that her office, despite the added workload, is making more progress in summer hiring than in years past. Currently, about 3 out of 4 district schools — 77% — are fully staffed, she said.
“Even though we have a lot of moving parts, the parts so
far are working better,” she said.
The months-in-the-making realignment plan closes nine schools, relocates four gives seven new grade configurations and redraws attendance zones for 12. The changes are a long time coming for a school district with almost 40,000 students, but space for about 60,000.
The school system has set up a special Realignment Project Status Dashboard where the public can track progress in completing more than 1,100 tasks that schools must accomplish in order to be ready on Aug. 7 when students return from summer break So far, almost half of those tasks have been completed.
New initiatives
The seven district-run schools closing the other two are charter schools — have about 250 staff that need to find new jobs. Hundreds of other displaced employees work at the seven schools undergoing changes in grade configurations.
“In most cases, we are asking teachers, should they choose, to follow their students,” Superintendent LaMont Cole said. That is not possible for everyone.
Funding fight
LA GATOR, but now only 1
in 7 applicants are expected to receive grants
Gov. Jeff Landry, who has championed the program, and conservative advocacy groups had waged an intense pressure campaign featuring television attack ads, automated text messages and a large rally to convince lawmakers to put nearly $94 million into LA GATOR. But those tactics failed to move the Senate, which allocated less than half the amount Landry requested. The state House of Representatives ultimately agreed to the $43.5 million for LA GATOR proposed by the Senate, along with about $2 million to run the program. The money will cover about 5,900 students, according to the state Education Department. Most of the tax dollars will go to roughly 5,200 students who currently receive school vouchers, a state program to help low-income families afford private tuition that LA GATOR is replacing.
Now, private school leaders say they are racing to secure private money to help families who were counting on LA GATOR to cover their children’s tuition. If the fundraising efforts fall short some already-admitted new students might not be able to attend, the school leaders said.
“We had thousands of families all across the state thinking they were going to have a choice this year,” said Cheryl Lott, Gardere’s director of development and marketing. “And now they’re not.”
Landry a Republican who shepherded the LA GATOR bill through the Legislature last year, had fought alongside a formidable coalition of advocates to secure funding
National groups that promote school vouchers ran TV ads this year saying that lawmakers who opposed giving LA GATOR $93.5 million wanted to “gut” children’s futures. They also sent mass text messages saying that giving LA GATOR any less would be a “betrayal” of President Donald Trump, who has said he wants to help families pay for private school.
Hundreds of private schoolchildren implored lawmakers for funding last month at a rally organized by Louisiana Kids Matter, an education advocacy group with ties to Louisiana businessman and Republican megadonor Eddie Rispone, and Americans for Prosperity a national group affiliated with the conservative billionaire Koch family
But the campaign failed to persuade state Senate President Cameron Henry R-Metairie, who said Louisiana cannot afford to vastly expand funding for private education. He insisted that lawmakers who voted for the LA GATOR bill last year only agreed to fund it at the same level as school vouchers, about $44 million annually
“We made it crystal clear last year how much money they were going to get and we stuck to that,” Henry told reporters last week, adding that if “outside groups” promised families additional funding, “there’s nothing I can do about that.”
The head of the Pelican
schools, Cole is experimenting with another school reform, new start times. In addition to approving the district budget, the parish School Board approved new start times for six north Baton Rouge schools. All but Glen Oaks High were reconfigured as part of the realignment plan.
They are piloting a potentially districtwide initiative to better match when children learn with research on their sleeping patterns.
Elementary has a “D.”
Nonstop hiring
The district’s $804 million budget for the 2025-26 school year, approved unanimously Thursday, shows overall school-level staff decreasing by about 64 spots. The affected schools still operating will have about 60 fewer people on their payrolls overall.
Even as they shrink overall, a few of those schools are adding staff in key areas.
“We took some of the savings from the realignment and put those resources into the schools,” Cole said. The best examples are Melrose and Merrydale elementary schools. They are
Institute for Public Policy, a conservative advocacy group that strongly promotes LA GATOR, said Thursday that he was “heartbroken” for the thousands of Louisiana students whose families applied for grants.
“Because the Legislature refused to fund LA GATOR, these children will continue to wait,” CEO Daniel Erspamer said in a statement. “We will not give up on them, even if the legislature failed them today.”
Landry, for his part, has been noticeably quiet. He spoke at the LA GATOR rally in May but after the Senate this month declined to allocate the full amount Landry wanted, he has said little publicly His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Thursday
Finding tuition money
Current voucher students are first in line for LA GATOR, which leaves funding for about 700 additional students. That means thousands of families who signed up won’t get grants.
Nearly 35,000 applicants met the program requirements, including that they had received school vouchers, attended a public school, were entering kindergarten or were at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.
While the online application made clear that eligible families were not guaranteed grants, it was hard for families not to get excited, said Lisa Harvey, president of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge.
“When they got an email that says you’re eligible, I think it sparked a lot of hope,” she said.
More than 150 families with current or would-be students at Catholic High
becoming what Cole calls “foundational learning centers.” They are shedding their upper grades and focusing strictly on prekindergarten to second grade. As part of the change, the schools will have two teachers per classroom, similar to popular Baton Rouge schools such as LSU Lab and Mayfair Lab. Their new staffing allotment doubles the number of classroom teachers at those schools. Both schools have higher vacancies than other schools largely due to the added teaching positions. At many of these same
signed up for LA GATOR, Harvey said. She said some students who went through the school’s admissions process and were accepted are unlikely to enroll if they don’t receive a grant.
“That’s just the reality for a lot of families,” she said.
“They can’t afford private education.”
At the Good Shepherd School in New Orleans, which serves economically disadvantaged students, most families received school vouchers and will now get LA GATOR grants. But it’s unclear what will happen to incoming kindergarten students who weren’t in the voucher program and aren’t guaranteed grants,
Middle and high schools will start at 8:50 a.m., 100 minutes later than they do now, and end at 4:05 p.m. Meanwhile elementary schools will start at 8 a.m., 25 minutes earlier than at present, and end at 3:15 p.m.
Three more schools — Capitol Elementary, Claiborne Elementary and Park Forest Middle are being reconstituted, meaning the 180 staff members there have to reapply to keep their jobs and compete with new applicants The schools are adopting a popular school reform known as the Teacher Advancement Program, where certain teachers can earn more money if they agree to mentor other teachers. Claiborne and Park Forest have “F” letter grades from the state, while Capitol
said Thomas Moran Jr., the school’s president and CEO.
Many families also applied for scholarships through a state program that provides tax credits to donors. But the average scholarship is about $4,200, which is less than the vouchers or LA GATOR grants, which will give about $7,600 to low-income families and more to students with disabilities.
The school will have to quickly raise private funds to cover the remaining cost to educate students who don’t get grants, Moran said “How do I in the middle of summer find those sources?” he asked. “That’s not easy.”
He predicted that families across the state who had
The East Baton Rouge Parish school system has long had trouble hiring and retaining teachers, especially at its most struggling schools. According to a recent district-commissioned report, the district loses about 23% of its teachers annually Just this May, the district reported that almost 100 teachers had retired or resigned. On top of that, many budgeted positions, including dozens of teaching posts, were never filled last year
The steady attrition means hiring never stops, but it also gives school leaders more confidence that employees displaced by realignment will have newly vacant jobs soon that they can move into. Brumfield-Williams said she wishes employees who plan to leave for other jobs would let the district know earlier rather than breaking the bad news in late July or early August. She said some employees worry wrongly they will lose benefits if they announce early that they are leaving.
“They don’t think their insurance is going to stay in place, but that’s not true,” she said.
hoped to use LA GATOR grants to send their children to private schools now will be “scrambling for seats in public and charter schools.” At the Gardere school, where nearly every family is low-income and receives tuition assistance, Cheryl Lott said about 20 incoming kindergarten students who in the past would have received state vouchers now might not get LA GATOR grants. The school is “searching every avenue” for more private funding, she added, but it’s unclear whether that will fill the gap. “We’re just very sad,” Lott said. “Inevitably we’re probably going to lose some families.”
BY ROBGILLIES and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press
KANANASKIS,Alberta Leaders of some of theworld’sbiggest economic are arriving in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday for aGroup of Seven summit, overshadowed by an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran and President Donald Trump’sunresolved trade war
Israel’sstrikes on Iranand Tehran’sretaliation, which appeared to catch many world leaders unawares, is the latest sign of amore volatile world.
Trump in recent daysvetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran’sSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, aU.S. official told The Associated Press, in an indication of how far Israel was prepared to go
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had discussed efforts to de-escalate the crisis with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as other world leaders and said he expected “intense discussions” would
continue at the summit.
As summit host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to abandon the annual practice of issuing ajointstatement, or communique,atthe end of the meeting.
With otherleaders wantingtotalk to Trump in aneffort to talk him outofimposing tariffs, the summit risks being aseriesofbilateral conversations rather than ashow of unity.
Trump is the summit wild card
Looming over the meeting are his inflammatory threats to make Canada the 51ststate and takeover
Greenland. French President Emmanuel Macron visitedGreenland on Sundayfor ahighlysymbolic stoponhis way to Canada. Macron warned that Greenlandis“nottobe sold” nor “tobetaken.”
“Everybody in France,the European Union thinks that Greenland is nottobesold, nottobetaken,” he said during anews conference, applauded by thelocal crowd.
“The situation in Greenlandis clearly awake-up call for all Europeans. Letmetell you very directly thatyou’renot alone,” Macron added.
BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press
BARCELONA,Spain Protesters used water pistols against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Sunday as demonstrators marched to demand arethink of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasingthe character of their hometowns.
The marches were part of the first coordinated effort by activists concerned with the ills of overtourism acrosssouthern Europe’stop destinations. While several thousands rallied in Mallorca in the biggest gathering of the day,hundreds more gathered in other Spanish cities, as wellas in Venice, Italy,and Portugal’s
capital,Lisbon.
“The squirt guns are to bother the tourists abit,” AndreuMartínezsaidinBarcelona with a chuckle after spritzing acouple seated at an outdoor cafe. “Barcelona has been handed to thetourists. This is afight to give Barcelona back to its residents.”
Martínez, a42-year-old administrative assistant,isone of agrowing numberofresidents whoare convincedthattourism has gone too far in the city of 1.7million people. Barcelona hosted 15.5 million visitors last year eager to see Antoni Gaudí’sLaSagrada Familia basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade.
Martínezsays hisrent has risen over 30% as moreapartments in his neighborhood are rented to
tourists for short-term stays. He said thereisaknock-oneffect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering totourists, like souvenir shops, burger joints and “bubble tea” spots.
“Our lives, as lifelongresidentsofBarcelona,are coming to an end,”hesaid. “Weare being pushed out systematically ”
Around 5,000 people gathered in Palma, thecapital of Mallorca, with some toting water guns as well andchanting“Everywhere youlook,all yousee are tourists.”
The touristswho were targeted by water blasts laughed it off. The Balearic island is afavoritefor Britishand German sun-seekers. It has seen housing costs skyrocket as homes are diverted to the short-term rental market
Trumpwas scheduled to arrive lateSundayinKananaskis, Alberta.Hewillhave abilateral meeting withCarney on Mondaymorning beforethe summit programbegins.
Leaders who arenot part of the G7 buthavebeen invitedtothe summit by Carney include the heads of state of India,Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, SouthKorea, Australia, Mexico and the UAE. Avoiding tariffs will continue to be topofmind.
“Leaders, and there are some new ones coming, will want to meet Donald Trump,” said Peter Boehm, Canada’scounselor at the 2018 G7 summitinQuebec and aveteran of six G7 summits. “Trump doesn’t like the big round table as muchhe likes the one-on-one.”
Bilateral meetings with the American president can be fraught as Trumphas used themtotry to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine andSouthAfrica.
Former CanadianPrime Minister Jean Chrétien tolda panelthis week that if Trump does act out, leaders should ignore him and remain calm like Carney did in his recent Oval Officemeeting.
“He tends to be abully,” Chrétien said. “IfTrumphas decided to make ashowtobeinthe news,he will do something crazy.Let him do
it and keep talking normally.”
Lastmonth Britainand the U.S. announced they had struck atrade deal that will slash American tariffs on U.K. autos, steel and aluminum. It has yettotakeeffect, however, though British officials saytheyare not concerned the Trumpadministration might go back on its word.
Starmer’sattempts to woo Trump have left himinanawkward position with Canada, the U.K.’sformer colony,close ally and fellow Commonwealth member. Starmer has also drawncriticism —especially from Canadians— forfailing to address Trump’sstated desire to make Canada the 51st state.
Askedifhehas told Trump to stop the 51st state threats, Starmer told The Associated Press: “I’m not going to get into the precise conversations I’ve had, but letmebe absolutely clear: Canada is an independent,sovereign countryand a much-valued member of theCommonwealth.”
The war in Ukraine will be on theagenda.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to attend the summitand is expected to meet with Trump, areunion coming just months after their bruising Oval Officeencounter whichlaid bare therisks of having ameeting with the U.S. president.
By The Associated Press
Flash flooding caused by torrential rains killed five people in northern West Virginiaand rescue crews weresearching for three other people who were missing Sundayasauthorities assessed damage to roads, bridges, natural gas lines and other infrastructure.
Officials said 2.5 to 4inches of rain fell in partsofWheeling and OhioCounty within about ahalfhour on Saturday night.
“Wealmost immediately started getting 911 calls forrescueof people being trapped,” Lou Vargo, Ohio County’semergency management director,said at anewscon-
ference Sunday.“During this time, we hadmajor infrastructure damage to roads, bridges, andhighways wherewecouldn’trespond to alot of incidents. So we were delayed in getting there because there wasjust so much damage.” Authorities said vehicles were sweptintoswollen creeks, some people sought safety in trees and amobile home caught fire. Similarly,swift flash flooding arrived in Marion County,south of Wheeling and Ohio County,early Sundayafternoon, causing extensive damage to bridges, roads and some homes, the county’sDepartment of Homeland Security & Emergency Management said.
“You know, he looks like my grandmother,” Alverez said about the new pope as she sat in her New Orleans East home on a recent Sunday with Honora and her son Malcolm Moore, 70, grew up just a few miles away from Alverez, in Broadmoor.
A lifelong New Orleanian who had always considered himself White, Moore knew he had a priest in his extended family — and had met some of his relatives on that side — but didn’t know the Rev Bob Prevost well. Moore is also the pope’s second cousin once removed. His great-grandmother and the pope’s grandmother were sisters.
Moore learned a little about his Black ancestry years ago after getting results from a DNA test. The connection to the pope, and to a whole line of extended family members, has him eager to learn more.
“We’re interested in meeting the branch (of the family) that we didn’t even know,” he said.
Crossing the color line
One extended family, separated for decades by just a few miles and the complicated history of race in New Orleans. More than 5,000 miles away in Rome, the election of Pope Leo XIV as the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics has brought their connection to light.
Honora, who first discovered the pope’s family history in New Orleans, said the splintering of families in this way is plenty familiar in Louisiana. Stories of “crossing the color line” were especially common in the early 1900s when the pope’s ancestors made the decision to pass for White, but those choices still reverberate today
“All of us from New Orleans, we know that we’ve experienced friends, family that, either temporarily or long term, they crossed the color lines,” said Honora, a historian and genealogist at The Historic New Orleans Collection. “Back when the buses and the streetcars were segregated, everyone had friends who would sort of sit in the front and you’d think, ‘He shouldn’t be sitting up there; we know who she is.’ But they did it.” Under the state-sanctioned segregation of Jim Crow, people who decided to pass for White often known by the French phrase “passé blanc” — were making a difficult choice.
It could mean being forced to leave home and cut ties with family and friends. But for those who could pass successfully it also meant better treatment, more freedom, safety and greater access to housing and job opportunities.
People often kept the secret from their children, raising them as White, too.
Family ties in New Orleans
In that way, the pope’s family history isn’t that unusual.
In 1900, Leo’s maternal grandparents Louise Baquié and Joseph Martinez lived in the predominantly Black 7th Ward of New Orleans, according to U.S. Census records, the same part of the city where Alverez was raised. Martinez was born in Haiti and worked as a cigar maker Baquié’s roots ran even deeper: her mother was baptized in St. Louis Cathedral.
The couple and their daughters were listed in the 1900 census as Black. But by the 1920 census, the family had moved to Chicago and were living in the north as White.
When the couple moved north, two of Martinez’s three siblings did the same, joining him in Chicago and identifying as White But one brother, Michel Martinez, stayed behind. His great-granddaughter is Alverez.
When Baquié left with her husband, her sister Victoria Baquié stayed in New Orleans. But she also began to pass for White. Her greatgrandson is Moore, who now lives in Destrehan.
Alverez only just learned of the branch of the family connected to the pope. Moore said his mother and grandmother had kept in touch with the pope’s mother and her sisters, who visited New Orleans several times. He spent time with them in Chicago once as a child.
Moore knew of “Father Bob,” his cousin who was a priest and spent years in South America before working at the Vatican. Years ago, his family contributed to the creation of the gold chalice the pope used during his ordination as a priest Still, never expecting an American pope, even when the announcement came and the name sounded familiar, he almost missed the connection.
“It really didn’t hit me until later, when we were looking at my family genealogy that he was my cousin,” Moore said. Now that the family histories have been revealed, Alverez hopes Pope Leo, who likely also never knew of her branch of the family will eventually come to New Orleans so they can meet.
“What does the pope think about us being related?
That’s my question,” she said. “What does he think of us because we’re Afro American?”
She plans to write a letter inviting Leo to her home if he ever visits the city Black and White in N.O
Moore and Alverez grew up about 5 miles apart
Though one was raised Black and the other White in the 1950s and 1960s they both said they had happy, devoutly Catholic childhoods surrounded by loved ones.
Both were educated at local Catholic schools and spent years serving in the church. Moore served as an altar boy in his youth, and so did Alverez’s son.
Alverez grew up in the St Bernard housing project,
where she never lacked family
“My grandmother, she lived on one of the top floors of the building and she would always be looking down and checking on us from there,” she said.
Several family members also lived in the housing project, and the kids, who would all get roller skates for Christmas, had the freedom to play together outside, skating around their neighborhood. Most everyone she loved was in arm’s reach.
“I lived my whole life here,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Moore described the Broadmoor he and his four brothers grew up in as “a melting pot.”
Not far away, he would play with some of the Landrieu children, the ones who grew up to be former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. The family in the house next door to Moore had come from Honduras and a few doors down was a Jewish family that had come to America after surviving the Holocaust.
Moore’s father was an
electrician but died in an accidental electrocution when Moore was just 3 years old. He said that as a child, he had asked his
mother and grandmother about their family heritage. They were always vague.
Decades ago, the family’s racial history was almost revealed when it was time for Moore’s brother to get married. He had fallen in love with their Jewish neighbor It was the 1960s and interracial marriage was still illegal in Louisiana.
Though Moore’s brother looked White and was raised as White, his birth certificate, which he had never seen, listed his race as Black As the wedding approached, his mother had to tell him.
“There was a little controversy there that I was totally oblivious to,” Moore said.
Moore’s brother and his bride eloped in another state where interracial marriage was legal. Then, they returned to New Orleans and had a Jewish wedding ceremony. Moore’s brother and sister-in-law kept the whole thing secret.
Around 2019, Moore and his wife decided to take DNA tests with their adopted children. Moore’s results came back showing he was 14% African with connections in Cameroon and with the Bantu Tribe. That was when his brother’s wife (his brother died in the 1990s) told them about how they were married.
Later, when Moor e checked his own birth certificate, he saw that his race had been blotted out and was no longer legible.
“My mother and my grandmother kept it a family secret and never told any of the children,” he said.
“In fact, I have African on both sides of my family I didn’t know anything about it until I did my DNA and I said, ‘I’ve got a different story now.’ ”
Many denominations
Though both Alverez and Moore grew up Catholic, Alverez is now Baptist and Moore is now Methodist. Both said they still hold their Catholic upbringing dear and have reverence
for the church. Moore said he was attracted to the Methodist faith for its focus on an individual’s direct relationship with God. Alverez said after her mother’s death, soul searching for greater meaning in her life brought her to Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, where she has been a member for many years.
Alverez still remembers attending a massive Mass on the Lakefront almost 40 years ago when Pope John Paul II visited New Orleans.
“It stormed and stormed and then when the pope arrived, the skies cleared and the sun came out,” said Alverez. “I will never forget that.”
Now, with a pope with real ties to the city, she said she’s sure the turnout would be even greater if Leo visited.
The Rev Blaise Polk, Alverez’s cousin, who is also a cousin to the pope (through his mother, who was a Martinez), said that he feels the connection to the pope too, even though he’s a Baptist. Working in ministry at a church in Texas since Hurricane Katrina, and with several other relatives who have taken similar paths across Christian denominations, he called ministry “a family business.”
“I am proud of him,” Polk said of Pope Leo. “The family pride is overflowing, and if there was anything I would like to say to him, it’s just congratulations and that God has put you in a powerful position. Use it for good.”
Honora, the genealogist, called the revelation of the pope’s Black ancestry “important to the world,” adding that he hopes it will make Catholicism feel more inclusive for Black followers.
“Our pope is a brother,” Honora said during his conversation with Alverez, “and he’s got kinfolk right here that look like you and me.”
Email Desiree Stennett at desiree.stennett@ theadvocate.com.
“Wecame really close to the holy grail of invasive species management, which is eradication,” said Michael Massimi, the invasive species coordinator forthe BaratariaTerrebonne National Estuary Program. “I feel like we really almost did it.” Tilapia are hardy and indiscriminate eaters, which makes them ideal foraquaculture and anightmare in thewild.
Released into anew environment, the fish can run amok. It made its way into waterways in Tanzania, where it is outcompeting native fish. Tilapia were introduced intentionally in lakes used to cool both fossil-fuel-fired andnuclear generating plants in Texas in the 1960s; they got loose into riversand streams. Native to subtropical Africa and the Middle East, the fish are now found in at least 10 U.S. states, where it has been “implicated in the declinesof native fish and mollusks,”according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
They’re currently confined to the freshwatercanals along Port Sulphur’slevees, but should they break into the estuary of the Barataria Basin, Massimi believes that they could do seriousdamage. They’ll eat anything, they can tolerate low-salinity waters, and they spawn prolifically,which, Massimi said, is “a perfect storm for an invasive species.”
Tilapia were brought to Port Sulphur to feed largemouth bass in apondowned by the very company that founded the town in the 1930s, Freeport Sulphur. The company,later renamed Freeport-McMoRan Inc., mined sulfur nearbyin Grand Ecaille.
As the corporation grew through the end of the 20th century,itbecame synonymous, particularly in New Orleans, with the late Jim Bob Moffett, the swaggering geologist wholed the company in its heyday during the 1980s and 1990s.
The company confirmed the fishfromtwo decades ago came from its property, which has not beenpreviously reported, though The Times-Picayune wrote about the eradication program.
Plaquemines Parish residents recall theeffortimpacting some fishing areas, and some have long known where the fish came from.
Freeport said athird-party pond managementcompany wasresponsible for stocking tilapia in the fishing pond.
Having tilapia in Louisiana requires apermit, and it is illegal to release them into the wild. The department has no record that Freeport or its contractor obtained such a permit.
‘Morethana fishingcamp’ Freeport’sproperty in Port Sulphur,known in Plaquemines Parish as the Freeportlodge, was acorporate retreat, aplacetohost bigwigs in business and politics.
“They used the lodge for entertaining, for dignitar-
that they couldadapt to survive in brackishestuaries, as they have in Brazil, he found them only in the low-salinity levee canals. He did not find them in thesaltier marsh O’Connell believes another eradication effort is necessary,and soon. Butitremains unclear who will payfor it. Freeport said it had not previously been madeaware that thefish hadreturned. In anycase, Schieble, the deputyassistant secretary of fisheries at LDWF,opposes using rotenone again. He thinks thefish O’Connell found survived the first rotenone treatment, and doing a second would involve “carpet bombing” thecanalsagain andkilling allfish. Instead, he believes LDWF should up its monitoring for tilapia in the marsh outside thelevees.
“If we’re picking up tilapia out in the marsh, that’sa problem,”hesaid. “I would rather see money invested in monitoring thesituation than trying to rotenone the canals unsuccessfully.”
ies. Congressmen and state representatives and all our local sheriffs, tax assessors —anybody that wanted to use it,” said Jimmy Capiello, whocooked at thelodge for 16 years, until Katrina. “Freeport footed the bill.”
A1986 article described it as “something more than a fishing camp,” with “super hotelrooms withprivate baths, everything tastefully decoratedinthe sportsman theme.” The main structure of thelodge was lost in Katrina.But asmaller version of what it once was remains, and Freeport still owns it.
After the tilapia were discoveredinlocal waterways, Freeport covered the costs of killing them and paidfor the monitoringthattook placein theyears that followed.
Thateffort“involved the use ofapprovederadication treatments in 2009 of the ponds and nearby water bodies, and as we understand, monitoring through 2012,” said Linda Hayes, vice president for communicationsat Freeport
They used rotenone,apotent fish-killingchemical, dispersed throughout the waterways around PortSulphur.It killed the tilapia —and allof the native fish.
It’sunclear exactly how much Freeport paid, but they did so by making alarge donationtothe Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ nonprofit foundation,which supportsthe government agency’swork. Kell
McInnis, who was the executive director of thefoundation at the time, estimated that Freeport likely donated between $500,000 and $1 million,but said recordsfrom more thanadecade ago were not readily accessible.
Schieble estimated the cost at over $1 million.Freeport could notlocaterecords to confirm how muchitpaid.
‘The wholemegillah’
O’Connell described the previous eradication effort as having taken a“bazooka” to the waterways.
“When we went down there in 2009, we had the whole megillah,” O’Connellsaid. “We hadanelectroshocking boat. We hadthe castnets. We had beach seines thatwepulled through thecanals. We set minnowtraps. We were going down with afull crew.”
After the rotenone treatment, scientists monitoring thecanals found that the fish had largely been wiped out. Researchers withNicholls State University helped to restock those canals with native fish, O’Connell said.
ButO’Connell wondered in theyears afterward whether the fish had indeed been eliminated for good. So last year, he got asmall grant from the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program to examine the area again. He wouldn’thave the resources he hadwhenFreeportwas funding the effort,but he had ahunch the tilapia might still be there
“Insteadofhaving awhole platoon with armor and howitzers, it was going to be more like Vietnam. Guerrillawarfare. Someold, hardened fish biologists,” he said. “Instead of having abazooka, we have carbines and M16s.”
With those limitations in mind, O’Connell went down to thecanals and droppedin anet. He knew he wouldn’t be able to definitively count the number of tilapia in the canals. The turbid water is murky,full of silt and impossible to see through.
“The first time I’m down there, I’m pullingupacast net and Isee five juvenile tilapia,”hesaid. It was obvious
thefish were stillthere.“I’m just like, ‘Oh, we weren’teven freaking trying.’”
After it was clear tilapia were there,heshiftedhis focus to try to figure out how far they had spread. And spread theyhad.O’Connell found them as farasSt. Jude Road, about6 miles north of the Freeport lodge.
And, oddly, histeamfound no adult tilapia, only juveniles. It’snot clear why.It suggests that thefish have reproduced —not agood sign. But it mayalso mean that they’re not surviving to full adulthood. Tilapia are freshwater fish, and while O’Connell warns
Earlier this month,LDWF biologist Joel Caldwell prepared to throw a4-foot cast net into the canal that runs along the levee north of the Freeport lodge. Caldwell regularly monitors fish populations in the BaratariaBasin, just over the levee, andhas neverfound tilapia. He hadn’t surveyed this canal, but was skeptical of finding the fish.Itwould be “like winning the lottery” to catch one, he said. He threw in his net, which expanded like aspider web before dropping into the murky water.Hepulleditin. Suspended in thenet, among crawfish and grass shrimp, was an inch-and-ahalf-long fish that Caldwell didn’trecognize.Adarkeye Blueish-gray along its spine with awhiterbelly.Vertical stripesalong itsbody Caldwell had never seen thefish before. He brought it back to thelab. “Afterconferring with three other biologists,” Caldwell’scolleague Claire Walker wrote in an email, “we areall in agreement that it is atilapia.”
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Last year, nearly 1 in 4 students chronically absent
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
As the number of Louisiana students who frequently miss school grows, the state Department of Education has unveiled a new strategy for bringing them back
The new guidelines released last week, called “The Power of Presence,” focus on district and community-level prevention and intervention efforts, rather than punitive measures, to improve attendance. They come as Louisiana’s absenteeism rate has risen the past two school years.
The 31-page guidebook also offers standard definitions of chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss 10% or more of a school year, and truancy to create consistency across school districts. It also emphasizes consistent data collection and reporting so that districts can better track at-risk students.
Some suggested interventions to promote student well-being and boost attendance include providing weekend food bags for students dealing with food insecurity creating a closet with spare clothes for children whose families struggle to afford school uniforms, and encouraging students to join after-school activities.
While schools aren’t required to adopt the strategies, the framework is intended to give districts evidence-based solutions to combat poor attendance, which research has linked to numerous negative outcomes, including lower test scores, poor grades and a higher likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, education leaders said “We are facing a real and urgent challenge,” Sharon Clark, a member of the state education board, said during an annual teacher conference in New Orleans organized by the state Education Department. “Students are missing too much school, and we are feeling the impact.”
Even as Louisiana climbs in national education rankings, it was one of just five states out of 36 that have released data in which absenteeism rates grew during the 2023-24 school year, according to information compiled by FutureEd, a Georgetown University think tank. Last year nearly 1 in 4 Louisiana students was classified as chronically absent, up three percentage points from the previous year, state data shows.
“Louisiana is the only state in the country where the average student has made” a full academic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said. “But that growth has been minimized by attendance and truancy issues.”
Louisiana’s goal is to reduce absenteeism by 2% annually officials said. If it achieves that goal, nearly 45,000 fewer children will be considered chronically absent by the 2027-28 school year
While the framework gives districts flexibility to tailor strategies to their needs it includes a handful of “universal elements” each school system’s attendance plan should include. Those key strategies include creating partnerships with community organizations, such as churches and local government agencies; keeping families engaged in their children’s education; and forming attendance teams at the school and district level that help track data and coordinate efforts.
The guidelines draw on findings from a program piloted by Baker High School two years ago that aimed to drive down absenteeism using simple strategies, such as sending letters home when students rack up absences and checking in with at-risk students to find out why they’re missing school and discuss solutions. After one year, the district saw its share of chronically absent students fall 13 percentage points, to 37%.
While many districts already employ some of the methods the state is encouraging, the new guidelines are the most comprehensive set to date and should lead to more uniformity across the state, said Misty Davis, executive director of attendance strategy at the state Education Department.
By asking every district to use the same language when talking about attendance, it makes it easier for the state to collect and analyze submitted data, Davis explained. For example the guidelines make clear when schools should label student absences as excused or unexcused in data systems, she said.
State Education Department staffers will work with districts that continue to struggle with attendance and help them adopt some of the suggested strategies, officials said
“This is getting everybody on the same page,” Davis said, “about how we do it and what it looks and sounds like.”
ABOVE: Tim Crochet, left, fills a tray of crawfish held by Michael Thomas during a crawfish boil on Sunday at Barrett’s Barleycorn in Omaha, Neb., where the LSU baseball team is playing in the College World Series. The nearly 500 pounds of fresh crawfish were driven up to Omaha from Morgan City
RIGHT: Seamus Koch, left, shows his son, Cian Koch, 4, a live crawfish
Company converting Evangeline Processing facility
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
Green Fuels
Operating, by its title alone, is emerging as an anomaly in the energy industry
In an industry long recognized as a significant source of air pollution, the company that is planning a net-zero plant in Acadia Parish to produce marine-grade diesel and bunker fuel is touting its netzero emissions technology, which is getting attention. And the company is ambitious. Operating as a subsidiary of parent company Clean Refineries Inc the Oklahoma-based company touts 12 facilities in production in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming and Alaska.
Yet it’s the refinery planned for Acadia Parish that is expected to be its first when it’s expected to begin operation in May.
“We’re a full-line answer to the problem of building refineries in 2025,” CEO Derek Williamson said. “That’s kind of why we’re going at the rate we’re going at right now There are so many people that want us to be there. We had a proposal to do a facility in Westchester County, New York Can you imagine building a refinery just north of New York City?”
The company’s announcement last month to convert a former Evangeline Processing facility along the Mermentau River south of Interstate 10 sent a jolt throughout the parish and the region
It is expected to invest $110 million into the site, employ 60 and offer an average salary of $80,000, which is almost twice the parish’s median household income, according to census data.
The project also will reunite oil and gas with a parish that has a significant history with that industry And leaders of this agriculture-based parish celebrated the news after working behind
the scenes for years to lure in big industry
“We’ve said it for a few years
— it’s not if it’s going to happen but when,” said Michael Doughty, board chair for the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce in 2024. “We’ve got some infrastructure, both physical and intangible, that will allow people to set up here When the message gets out that we can have big industry in Acadia again, it’s something that won’t be the last.”
The site
Rice farmer Jules Clement one day noticed bubbles coming up from the ground in his flooded rice field in Evangeline back in 1901.
He had an idea. The story goes that he put an old stove pipe over the bubbles, lit a match and dropped it in. It ignited, paving the way for the first oil well in Louisiana and a boom across the state.
Acadia Parish has become known for its rice and crawfish farms, but it’s held on to its history of oil and gas along the way
The sign outside Evangeline Elementary School reads “Home of the Oilers” and has an oil derrick next to it. The city of Crowley, according to reports at the time, was the last city in Louisiana to lift a ban on self-serve gasoline pumps.
Canal Refineries operated the Evangeline Processing facility along with its refinery in Church Point until 1997 when it ceased operations and left 52 people out of a job, reports indicate. Having begun operations in 1948, the refinery was one of the last small refining and marketing operations in the United States.
Tristar, a global energy company, bought the Evangeline site out of bankruptcy in 2018 for $2.55 million, land records show. Having sat idle for possibly two years, it has 500,000 barrels of storage with 15 tanks ranging from 5,000 barrels to 80,000 barrels, along with barge-to-rail access.
“I’m kind of proud of the economic developers at the chamber for working through this issue and getting this company,” said state Rep Chance Henry, a former
president of the Acadia Parish Police Jury “That’s where the boots on the ground are. And our local government officials for working through that deal and the governor for welcoming them. It looks like it’s paying off for the state as a whole.”
Now, CRI is under contract with Tristar and another entity with plans to acquire the site with hopes of starting construction in November in the hopes of bringing refining back to a rural area, Williamson said. It plans to source local crude to support regional producers alongside feedstock delivered via pipeline and barge.
“You’ve been to places in Louisiana in the middle of the week, and you see a diesel pump that has a bag on it,” Williamson said.
“What’s happened is as time has scaled and these refineries have closed, it’s gotten to where the only places they refine fuel is in the metro areas. All the rural areas are deficient now We want to change that.”
The refining process
Green Fuels Operating will employ what it describes as its patented net-zero emissions technology to create a next-generation hydrocarbon processing site.
It plans to develop a 20,000 barrel-per-day refining unit and use a system that it says will be an odorfree, clean refining technology It will house a full-scale waste and brine water treatment system.
The process, according to its website, employs a low-pressure, low-temperature, closed-loop system that reduces safety risks but also minimizes environmental impact with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide that will surpass government regulations. It’s part of an effort across all industries to reduce a carbon footprint, said Mark Zappi, executive director of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Energy Institute of Louisiana. There’s more demand for it, particularly from European countries.
“That is a global trend, but not everybody is jumping into it in-
stantly,” he said “Because many of these technologies, depending on what product you’re talking about, the economics just aren’t going to work out. Others, it’s cost competitive, and those are the ones that are gravitating toward these low emissions or zero emissions.”
There is significant interest, Zappi noted, from chemical and energy companies in Louisiana along with Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has renamed the Gulf of America.
Clean Refineries Inc. is also working on a project in Lafourche Parish in conjunction with Bollinger Shipyards and the U.S. Navy that involves putting its net-zero process on a ship, Williamson said. That, along with the Acadia Parish project, represents the $1 billion the company initially announced it would invest in south Louisiana, he said.
In Acadia Parish, the project has been welcomed by local residents, said Acadia Parish Police Juror Troy Lantz, whose district includes the site. He met with one resident who owns land near the site who was happy with the project
“We had a Zoom meeting at the Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “They told us they’re going to hire everybody that they can local — contractors and everybody He also told us the only noise people in that vicinity would hear would be electric motors. It’s a very clean operation.”
BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press
The assassination of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker andhis wife at their homes are justthe latestadditiontoa longand unsettling roll call of political violence in the United States.
Thelist,inthe past two months alone:the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, the firebombing of aColorado marchcalling for the release of Israeli hostages, and the firebombing of the official residence of Pennsylvania’sgovernor —onaJewish holiday while he and his family were inside. And here’sjust asampling of some otherattacksbefore that —the killing of ahealth care executive on the streets of New York late last year the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in smalltownPennsylvania during his presidential campaign last year,the 2022 attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by abelieverinright-wing conspiracy theories, and the 2017shooting by aliberal gunman at aGOP practice for the congressional softball game.
“We’ve entered into this especially scary time in the country where it feels the sort of norms and rhetoric and rulesthat would tamp down on violence have been lifted,” said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at George Washington University who studies extremism. “A lotof people are receiving signals from the culture.”
Politics have also driven large-scale massacres. Gunmen who killed 11 worshippers at asynagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, 23 shoppers at aheavily Latino Walmart in El Paso in 2019 and 10 Black people at aBuffalo grocery store in 2022 each cited the conspiracy theory that asecret cabal of Jews were tryingtoreplace White peoplewith people of color That has become astaple on parts of the right who support Trump’spush to limit
immigration.
The Anti-Defamation Leaguefound that from 2022 through2024,all of the 61 political killings in the United States were committed by right-wingextremists. That changed on the first day of 2025, when aTexas man flying the flag of theIslamicStategroup killed 14 peoplebydriving his truckthrough acrowded New Orleans street before being fatally shot by police.
“You’re seeing acts of violence from all different ideologies,” saidJacob Ware, afellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who researchesterrorism.“It feels more random andchaotic and morefrequent.”
The United States hasa long and grim history of political violence, from presidential assassinations dating back to thekilling of President Abraham Lincoln, lynching and violence aimed at Black peopleinthe South, the 1954 shooting inside Congressbyfour Puerto Rican nationalists. Expertssay the past few years,however, have mostlikely reached a level not seen since thetumultuous days of the1960s and 1970s, when icons like Martin LutherKing Jr,John F. Kennedy,Malcolm Xand Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated Ware noted thatthe most recentsurge comes after the new Trump administration has shuttered units that focusoninvestigating White supremacistextremismand pushedfederal lawenforcement to spendless time on anti-terrorism andmore on detaining peoplewho are in the country illegally
“We’re at thepoint, after these six weeks,where we have to ask about howeffectively the Trump administrationiscombatingterrorism,” Ware said.
Of course, one of Trump’s first actsinofficewas to pardonthose involvedinthe largestact of domestic political violence this century —the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on theU.S. Capitol, intended to prevent Congress from certifying Trump’s2020 election loss.
Thosepardons broadcast
asignal to would-be extremists on either side of the political debate, Dallek said: “They sent averystrong message that violence, as long as you’reaTrump supporter, will be permittedand may be rewarded.”
Often, those whoengage in political violence don’t have clearlydefinedideologies thateasily map onto the country’spartisan divides. A man who died after he detonated acar bomb outside a Palm Springs fertilityclinic last monthleft writings urgingpeople nottoprocreate and expressedwhat theFBI called “nihilistic ideations.”
But, like clockwork, each political attack seems to inspire partisans to find evidence theattacker is on theother side. Little was known about the man police identified as asuspect in the Minnesota attacks, 57-yearoldVance Boelter. Authorities say they found alistof otherapparent targets that includedother Democratic officials, abortion clinics and abortion rightsadvocates, as well as flyers for theday’s anti-Trumpparades
Conservatives online seized on the flyers —and the fact that Boetler had apparently once been appointed to astate workforce development board by Democratic Gov.Tim Walz —to claim the suspect must be a liberal. “The far left is murderouslyviolent,” billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media site, X. It was reminiscent of the fallout from the attack on Paul Pelosi,the former House speaker’sthen-82year-old husband, whowas seriously injured by aman wielding ahammer.Rightwing figurestheorized the
assailant was asecret lover rather than what authorities said he was: abeliever in pro-Trumpconspiracy theories who broke intothe Pelosi home echoing Jan.6 rioterswho brokeintothe Capitol by saying: “Where is Nancy?!”
On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi posted astatementonXdecrying the Minnesota attack. “Allofusmust remember that it’s notonlythe actof violence, butalso the reactiontoit, that can normalize it,” she wrote.
Trump had mocked the Pelosisafter the 2022 attack, but on Saturday he joined in theofficial bipartisancondemnation of the Minnesota shootings, callingthem“horrific violence.” The president has, however, consistently broken new ground withhis bellicose rhetoric towards his political opponents, whom he routinely calls “sick” and “evil,” and hastalked repeatedly about how violence is needed to quell protests.
TheMinnesota attack occurredafter Trump took the extraordinary stepofmobilizing the military to try to control protests against his administration’simmigrationoperations in Los Angeles during the past week, when he pledged to “HIT” disrespectful protesters and warned of a“migrantinvasion” of the city
Dallek said Trump has been “both avictim and an accelerant” of the charged, dehumanizing political rhetoric that is flooding the country
“It feels as if the extremists are in thesaddle,” he said, “and the extremists are theones driving ourrhetoric and politics.”
Man killed for resisting abribe BY NICOLE WINFIELD, JUSTIN KAMBUMBA and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press
ROME TheVatican on Sunday beatified aCongolese customs worker who was killed for resisting a bribe, giving young people in aplace with endemic corruption anew model of holiness:Someone who refused to allow spoiled rice to be distributed to poor people. The head of the Vatican’s saint-makingoffice, CardinalMarcelloSemeraro, presided over the beatification ceremonyofFloribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kosition Sunday at one of the pontifical basilicas in Rome,St. Paul Outside the Walls. The event attracted a cheering crowd of Congolese pilgrims and much of Rome’sCongolese Catholic community,who will be treated to aspecial audience Monday with PopeLeo XIV Faithful wore T-shirts and vests with Kositi’sportrait and erupted in chants and applause as soon as the beatification ceremony was concluded, wavingCongolese flags Kositi was kidnapped and killed in 2007 after he refused to allow rancid rice from Rwanda to be transported across theborder
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICCARDODELUCA
The faithful wave flags SundayinSt. Paul Outside the Walls’ Basilica in Rome during aceremonyfor the beatification of Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi, aCongolese mankilled in 2007 for fighting corruption
to theeastern Congo city of Goma.
As an official with the Congolese government’s custom’s qualitycontrol office, the26-year-old knew therisks of resisting bribes offered to public officials. But he alsoknewthe risks of allowing spoiledfoodto be distributedtothe most desperate.
“Onthatday,those ma-
fiosifound themselves in frontofa young man who, in thenameofthe Gospel, said ‘No.’ He opposed,” his friend Aline Minani said. “And Floribèrt, Ithink that for me personally,Iwould say for all young people, is arole model.”
Pope Francis recognized Kositi as amartyrofthe faithlatelastyear, setting himonthe path to beatification and to possibly become Congo’sfirst saint The movefitintothe pope’s broader understanding of martyr as asocial justice concept, allowing those deemed to have been killed for doing God’swork and following theGospel to be considered for sainthood.
“Ourcountry almostholds the gold medal for corruption among the countries of the world,” Goma Bishop Willy Ngumbi told reporterslastweek. “Here, corruptionistruly endemic. So, if we could at least learn from this boy’slife that we must all fight corruption Ithink thatwould be very important.”
ByThe Associated Press
NUUK, Greenland French
President Emmanuel Macron warned that Greenland is “not to be sold” nor “to be taken” in akey visitSunday to the strategic Arctic territory covetedbyU.S. President Donald Trump, saying he’sconveying amessageof French and European solidarity Macron expressed strong
criticism of Trump’sintention to take control of the territory
“In afew words: everybody in France, theEuropean Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,” he said duringa news conference,applauded by the local crowd.
“Thesituation in Greenland is clearlyawake-up call for allEuropeans. Let me tell you very directly that you’re
not alone,” Macron added. Sunday’ssymbolic stop to Greenland comes as the French leader is on hisway to asummit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Canada that will be also attended by Trump. Macron was greeted in Nuuk, the territory’scapital, by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic PrimeMinister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Asked whether France would be ready to militarily support Greenland if Trump was to decide to invade, Macron declined to discussthe hypothesis.
“I won’t start elaborating on ‘what if’scenarios publicly,” he said. “Because Idon’t believe thatinthe end,the U.S., whichisanallyand a friend, would ever do something aggressive againstanother ally.”
Barnes,Arsheal Winnfield FuneralHomeat10a.m
Cropper, Lance St.John theBaptistCatholic Church in Brusly at noon. David, Janet St.JosephCatholic Church in Grosse Tete at 11 a.m. Turner Jr., Romuel Cornerstone UnitedMethodist Church in Newnan,GA30265 at 3pm
Obituaries
Lang,LillieHeatly
Lillie MaeHeatly Lang wasbornDec.6,1931 to the unionofIrvinHeatly Sr., andMaybellPitts Heatly. Shewas educated in thepublicschool system of East Baton Rouge Parish,and wasa member of theClass of 1949 from McKinley High School. She leaves to cherish hermemory3 children,1 son-inlaw,1 sister,1 brother-inlaw,4 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, 1 great,great grandchild, andnumerous otherrelatives. Funeral service will begin Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at DonaldsonChapel, 2501 Gracie St 70802, with visitation from 8:00-10:45 a.m., thefuneral will follow at 11:00 a.m. Charles Mackey Funeral Services, 1576 RobinSt.,Baton Rouge 70807 (225-774-0390)entrustedwithher care Rodriguez, Robert R.
Robert R. Rodriguez passedaway on June 11, 2025, at the age of 61. Visitation will be on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at RabenhorstFuneral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd,from 6pm until9pm, with a Recitation of theHoly Rosary at 7pm. Visitation will resume at St.George Catholic Church on Wednesday at 8am until Mass of Christian Burial at 10am. Intermentwillfollow in theChurchCemetery.To view thefullobituary and online guestbook, please visit www.rabenhorst.com
Trousdale'Dale'
James"Dale"Trousdale Saint,Jr.,peacefully passedawayonThursday, June 12, 2025, in Spring‐field, Louisiana, at theage of92. He wasbornonFri‐day,November25, 1932, in Hammond,Louisiana,to the late JamesT.Sr. and Frances LeeJones Saint. He was aresidentofPoncha‐toula,Louisiana.Dalewas a simple,hardworking man who dedicatedmuchofhis lifetotakingcareofhis familyand working. He workedfaithfullyfor many years as awelderfor Baton Rouge MachineWorks.His strongworkethic and quiet dedication earned him therespect of his peers, many of whombe‐camelikefamilytohim Dalecontinued working wellintohis 80s, atruetes‐tamenttohis persever‐anceand prideinhis craft Hewas aproud Marine veteran anda lifelong memberofthe National RifleAssociation. Above all,Dalewas adevoted husband andfather. He lovinglycared forhis daughter, Danielle,and was adevoted companion tohis wife andloveofhis life, Claudine.His quiet strength, loyalty, anddeep lovefor hisfamilydefined the manhewas andthe legacyheleavesbehind. Daleissurvivedbyhis brother,Oscar Saint (June); sister,Frances Alene Kennedy; daughter Deborah AnnSaint;step‐daughter, Rhonda Landry; stepson,David Landry (Debbie);aswellasmany lovinggrandchildren, nieces, nephews, close friends,and coworkers. He was preceded in deathby his wife,ClaudineForten‐berry Saint; daughter, Danielle Saint; parents, James T.,Sr. andFrances Lee JonesSaint;sister, JeanGraves; andbrothersin-law, JimGraves(Jean) and Arnold R. Kennedy (Alene).Relatives and friends areinvited to at‐tendthe visitation at Harry McKneelyand SonFuneral Home- Ponchatoula, 100 W.MagnoliaSt.,Poncha‐toula,Louisiana 70454, on Tuesday,June 17, 2025 from11:00 a.m. until thefu‐neral serviceat1:00p.m withpastorBradMiller of‐ficiating. Intermentwillfol‐low in Greenlawn Ceme‐tery, Hammond, Louisiana. Arrangementshavebeen entrusted to HarryMcK‐neely& SonFuneralHome and CrematoryofHam‐mond andPonchatoula
Recently,ateam from theLSU LCMC Health Cancer Center joined colleagues from across the country for HillDay in Washington, D.C., to discuss the future of cancer research with members of Congress. We are deeply grateful to those who took the time to hear us because the stakes for Louisiana have never been higher The LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center is working to become the first NationalCancer Institutedesignated cancer center in Louisiana. This prestigiousdesignation recognizes cancer centers that meet the highest standards for cutting-edge cancer research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Currently,the closest NCIdesignated cancer centers are in Texas and Alabama, leaving a large gap in access for Louisiana families.
Why does this matter? Securing an NCI designation would be agame-changer for Louisiana, transforming cancer carebyexpanding access to clinical trials, attracting world-class medical talent and unlocking transformative research funding. Beyond lifesaving healthimpacts, the economic return is undeniable. Every NCI dollar invested generates anearly threefold return fueling job creation, spurring local spending and drawingmajor biotech investment. Adesignated cancer center would not just elevate health care, it would positionLouisiana as apowerhouse of medical innovation andignite athriving biotech economy for years to come. However,weneed state funding andsustained, stablefederal funding for the National Institutes of Health and the NCI to reach this aspirational goal.
Achieving NCI designation isn’tsomething we can dobehind closed doors. It takes all of us —state lawmakers,health care leaders, philanthropic partners, researchers, patients, partner institutions and communitymembers working together to make cancer researchanational and state priority
When we are successful, ourefforts will benefit all of Louisiana and theregion, north and south, east and west, urban and rural. DR. STEVENELSON chancellor,LSU Health NewOrleans DR. LUCIO MIELE director,LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR
AREWELCOME.HEREARE
Emergency managementinthe United Statesisrarely at theforefront of policymakers’ minds. It is often sidelined in favor of other,albeit pressing, issues. However, waiting until after adisaster has struck to consider how the nation responds to the unimaginable leaves the nation in aperpetual state of careening from one mistake to the next Natural disasters are acrisis across the country,and policymakers need to start thinking abouthow thegovernment can better respondtothem FEMAisnot aperfect agency.Ithas failed to meet themoment on several occasions. However,reforms to FEMA must be focused on streamlining and eliminating redundancies, not on eliminating critical mission capabilities. There are some things that the federal government will always be better able to dothan stateand local governments. Thefederal government can marshal the resources of the wealthiest nation on earth and that means that highly specialized and
extremely expensive resources can be made available to the whole country.Italso means that subject matter experts canbeavailable for anyone to take advantage of when needed. AFEMA that embraces its role as a supporting element that provides state and local jurisdictions with the tools and support to carry out their missions is aFEMA that serves thecountry best. Eliminating FEMA outright will only harm all of us. FEMA can andshould be criticized forits failures.But to declare theorganization an unfixable failure ignores that successive presidential administrations and Congresses have been able tooversee transformative changes to the organization. Instead of reducing itsfunding and installing leadership who are not familiar with emergency management, we should promote those whohave madeemergency management their career to lead this organization and give it the support it needs.
ANDREWGARY NewOrleans
In response to Kevin J. Fitzpatrick’sletter on April 29, Ibelieve Fitzpatrick has aright to his opinion about eating meat at the expense of the Earth, but his words, “precious hogs foravague cause,” angered me to the core.
In 2024, pediatric brain cancer wasthe leading cause of cancer death in children. Approximately 5,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.Acancer diagnosis at any age is devastating, but when it is a child or ayoung adult, especially your own, it is even moredifficult. Iknow because our daughter was diagnosed with aGrade 3brain tumor at the age of 19, in the summer following her first year at LSU. What would have been her second year at LSU began with an awake craniotomy,followed by radiation therapy,and last, but not least, six rounds of oral chemotherapy.Road trips to MD Anderson, MRIsand the waitfor results weredraining to put it mildly After the last round of chemotherapy,she was given the clearance to return to LSU.She did finish and received her degree. Her story farexceeds the word limits here, but she will be 18 years out this August, and remains stable. The word “cured” has never been said. She will have an MRI every six months as wellasanin-person or virtual visit with her doctors in Houston forthe rest of her life. Ihope Fitzpatrick never has to endure what I and countless numbers of parents and families go through when a child is diagnosed with cancer of any sort. It is not forthe faint of heart.
MARGARET
SIMON Destrehan
Therecentload-shedding event ordered withoutadvanced notice by MISO is aclear signal that Louisiana’senergy system is vulnerable. As astate, we are anet importer of electricity,relying heavily on power generated in other states just to meet our needs.
It doesn’thave to be this way.Louisiana has thenatural resources, skilledworkforce and infrastructure to generatemore of our own power and reduce our dependence on out-ofstate energy.What we need is leadership and commitment to an “all of the above” strategy that includes not just traditional generation, butalso solar,wind, advanced nuclear,geothermal, battery storage and other emerging technologies. Energyindependence isn’tatalking point,
it’saneconomic and security imperative. By investing in amore resilient and diverse energy mix,wecan create jobs, strengthen our grid and ensure that Louisiana homes and businesses aren’tleft in thedark when it mattersmost.
At America First Energy Project Louisiana, we believe energy should be developed theright way,with afocus on reliability, community benefit and long-term sustainability
Let’stake this moment not just as awarning, but as acall to action to secure our energy future right here at home.
ARNOLD
JEFF
executivedirector,America
First EnergyProject Louisiana
OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE
Iread yourarticle, “Poll shows support for LA GATOR program,” with great interest because Iwas contacted by pollsters during that polling period asking questions that matchwhat you relay to your readers here as what thevoters want. Better journalism would include the questions and answer choices so thereaders can decide for themselves if the poll was an objective search for the truth
Ithink it was not.
Iamaconservative, private school-educated voter who should be pleased withwhat
you have reported, but Iamnot because I heard thequestions and found several of them leading me with little choice but to agree or sound like Idon’tcare about my children (I refused to answer on some). And because thepollster could not tell me who was paying for thecall. Please consider a follow-up piece with alisting of the questions highlighted in your article andthe corresponding answer choices. We should all want thetruth.
ANDRE COMEAUX Lafayette
Experts predict artificial intelligence will soon be abig partofeverydaylifeonEarth. If there’sintelligent life on other planets, what would theysay about all this? youtell me. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —justtry to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.
Thewinning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runMonday, June 23 in ourprint editions and online. In addition, the winnerwill receiveasigned print of thecartoon along witha cool winner’sT-shirt!Somehonorable mentions will also be listed
To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com
DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.
Thedeadline for all entries is midnightonThursday, June 19. Can’t wait to see your outta-this-worldpunchlines!! —Walt
‘Abundance’ makes abundantly confused argument
The hot-selling book “Abundance” is writtenbyliberals who bash liberals, or more precisely,try to make them feel guilty Sure,authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson shed some blame on conservatives for why Americadoesn’tbuild as easily as it used to. But it’s those liberals in expensive cities, the authors insist, who arecallously driving lessthan-richfamiliestomove elsewhere.
Klein andThompsonargue thatDemocrat-run “superstar” citieshavefailedto provide enough affordable housing because of alltheir building rulesand regulations andpesky zoning ordinancesthatmakeit hardertobuild. The chief culprits are San Francisco, LosAngeles, Boston and, as always, New York City.The comparisons made against themare ludicrous.
Asample complaint: “The Austin metro area ledthe nationinhousing permits in 2022, permitting 18 newhomes for every thousand residents. LosAngeles’sand San Francisco’smetro areas permitted only 2.5 units perthousand residents.”
notmotivatedbyhope for profit or fame. Stanley eventually gained awide reputation for excellence,but not because he sought it. Because he earned it. And God knowsthe world is abetterplace because helived and worked in it.”
Firstcase: FrankMorris
America lostagentle giant in journalism when StanleyNelson,who investigated some of the nation’smost notorious racially motivated slayingsin Mississippi andLouisiana, died unexpectedly earlier this month. He was 69. CBCreporter DavidRidgen, an award-winningdocumentary filmmaker and podcast host, worked with the reporter for years. “Stanley Nelson is the best of us,” he said. “A doer.Not areminiscer.Ateller.Not someone to leave anyone behind. Abrotherly guy who you’d trust anything to.”
during theday.”
Nelson remained rock solid in his reporting, Klibanoff said. “I admired him immensely,and his curiositynever waned.”
In 2008, Ridgen and I joined forces with Nelson andfellow journalists John Fleming,Ben Greenberg,Pete Nicks, RobertRosenthal, Hank Klibanoff, Ronnie Agnew,Melvin Claxton, Peter Kleinand others to form the Civil Rights Cold Cases Project.Our dream was to create adocumentary that would capture our continuing work on these cases. The big picture documentary never happened, but many other projects emerged for radio, print and film. Nelson never missed abeat, writing hundreds of stories for the 5,000-circulation Concordia Sentinel, where he served as editor In 2012, he became aPulitzerPrize finalist for his stories on the1964 killing of Frank Morris in Ferriday byKlansmen who belongedto theviolentwing, the“Silver Dollar Group.”
On the last day of February in 2007, Nelson heard the name of Frank Morris for the first time. He learned that the Justice Department would be takinga second look at the1964 killing of Morris. That surprised Nelson because he thought he knew almosteverything aboutthis small town and had never heard the name. He reached out to the Southern Poverty Law Center,which shared about 150 pages of redacted FBI reports on theMorris case, and he wrote his first article.
He didn’tsee how he could advance the story anymore until he received a call from Morris’ granddaughter,Rosa Williams, and began to learn more aboutthe man and the killing.
On acold December morning in 1964, the 51-year-old Morris was asleep in theback of his shoe repair store when he heard glassbreaking. He bolted to the front of the store and saw one man pouringgasolineand another holding a shotgun,who yelled, “Get back in there, n*****!
By thetime Morris escaped, his feet were bleeding, and nearly all his clothing had been burned from his body.Hesurvived long enough to tell FBI agentsthat he didn’tknow his attackers, but friends wondered if he had been afraid to say.
‘His curiositynever waned’
Best-selling authorGregIles depicted thejournalist as the character Henry Sexton in his novel, “Natchez Burning.” Nelson chuckled to me aboutthe portrayal, saying his alter egolived amuch more adventurous life: “He is amusician, has agirlfriend and is tech savvy —that’ssomething Idon’tknowa damn thing about.”
Iles said the most important writing he’s ever done “wouldnot existwere it not for the inspiration and selflesscollaboration of Stanley Nelson. Inever knew another man whoalways did the right thing regardless of fear orfavor,
In 2011, Nelson reported that family members ofArthur LeonardSpencer said he hadconfessed to them years earlier,but Spencer denied that claim to Nelson. Afederal grand jury met on the matter,but no onewas ever arrested. Klibanoff, who works with Emory University students on civil rights cold cases andhosts the Peabody-winning podcast “Buried Truths,”helped Nelson edit those stories. “Wewere going over them till 9, 10 or 11 at night, because we bothhad full-time jobs,” he recalled.
“Stanley was busy covering police juries, the city council and other things
In 2009, theLouisiana State UniversityCold Case Project began helping Nelson with his research, and adecade later,Nelson began sharing tipsand techniques withstudentsonhow he worked on these civil rights cases. Christopher Drew leads LSU’sManship School’sexperiential journalism curriculum, which includes the project. Under Nelson’stutelage, “our students proved that Robert Fuller,abusinessman wholater became atop Klan leader,killed four of his Black workers in 1960, not in self-defense, as the local authorities had allowed him to claim, but in an ambush following adispute over back pay,” Drew said.
In 2022, aseries by LSUstudents on the 1972 killings of two students at Southern UniversityinBaton Rouge won anational award from InvestigativeReporters and Editors as the best investigative series by students at a large university.
“Stanley was always low-key,humble and determined to hear people out themodel of what areporter should be,”Drewsaid. “But thestudentswere always leaning forward in their seats when he talked about how he got old Klan leaders to talk. ‘Most of them (Klansmen) lived on dirt roads at dead ends,’ he’dsay,‘with barbed wire fences and signs on the gate saying, ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘Trespassers Will Be Shot.’ Sometimes he’dsend them letters saying he’d be coming at acertain date and time to mitigatethose odds.
“But his heroism did not just come at those moments. It was his courage, the studentscould see, to dig up thedark facts in these communities for the sake of justice —and to takepersonal risks to hear what the suspectsand perpetratorshad to say —that makehim such an exceptional journalist.”
Jerry Mitchellisa longtime Mississippi-based reporter whose stories helped put four Klansmen and aserial killer behind bars. He is the founder of the Mississippi Center for InvestigativeReporting. This piece first appeared at MississippiToday.org.
Where do we start? Let’sstart with the not-insignificantmatter of buildable land. The population density of San Francisco is five timesthatofAustin. Evensprawling LosAngeleshas nearly three times as many people persquare mile as Austin does. Anothersampling: Houston “is not facing the crisesofhomelessness and housing affordability seen in the superstar cities of many blue states.” Why? In 2023, the Boston metro area issued10,500 newhousing permits, while Houston issued almost 70,000. Bostonhas nearly four times the number of people persquare mile as Houston. And BostonHarborborders abig, blue-gray body of water.The land to its eastisPortugal. Of course,buying andbuilding in Bostonishardertodo—and more expensive. Really,all the so-called superstar cities getting roastedin“Abundance” —San Francisco, New York, Boston, Los Angeles —are boundedbywater whereas Austin and Houstoncan easily expand into open country.The authors speak alot about“bottlenecks” impeding progress. I’d saythatthe Pacific Ocean is asignificant bottleneck to LosAngelesbuilding out. Wouldn’tyou? Houstonhas no zoning laws, so youcan put almost anything anywhere.That’sthe Houstonway.(This dynamic metropolis might rightly bristle being left outofthe list of superstarcities.) UrbanTexas has some fine oldneighborhoods that locals treasure,but there’sa lotmorehistory to protect in the older cities. LetHoustonbeHouston, Boston be Bostonand L.A. be unlike either This is abig country.The four ultra-costly superstarcitiescombined take up aminuscule 0.025% of the totalU.S. landmass. Let’s notinsult the thousands of smaller cities andtowns by portraying the glitzy coastal metros as the only places where opportunity beckons. Fortunes can be made anywhere. Silicon Valley was almost all fruit orchards into the 1950s.
Aneeded update:Austin’sheralded building boom is over for now.Austin’sgrowth, fueled by the pandemic, now limps along with sky-high officeand apartment vacancy rates.
Klein andThompsonspeak in that confident, wonky voice, armsoutstretched with futurama visions of shared prosperity.If only Americans, Democrats especially, would get outofthe way
“Democrats cannotsimultaneously claim to be the party of middle-class families while presiding over the parts of the country theyare leaving.” Theypredictably single outliberalCalifornia, noting “California’smost populous cities are run by Democrats.”
As it happens, Democrats also preside over Austin, Houston, Dallasand San Antonio
“Abundance”operates on the assumption thatliberals can be shamed for wanting to preserve landmarks, intimate Main Streets andtenements with oldshops at the bottom. Pass the guilt by.Liberals, joined by their conservative neighbors, have every right to slowdownthe bulldozers.
Email Froma Harrop at fharrop@gmail.com.
LSUbaseballisthrivingwiththe
basesloaded.
Here’s how importantithas been to theteam’splayoff success.
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
OMAHA,Neb.— On thebiggest stage in college baseball, Chris Stanfield needed ahit LSUhad thebases loaded withone out in the second inning on Saturday against Arkansas at the College WorldSeries. Abasehit from the junior centerfielder would go alongway toward the Tigers winning their first game in the CWS and placing them in the driver’sseatofwinning their side of the bracket.
Stanfieldhad seen Arkansasleft-handed starterZach
Root back in the regular season. LSU scored two runs in six innings against Root on May 9atAlex BoxStadium
in amatchupthe Tigers eventuallywon 5-4in10innings
Stanfield took that experience against Root —hewent 1for 2witha double facinghim back in May—and applied it to his at-bat on Saturday night. He looked for an outside fastball and that’swhat he got.
“I faced him prior,back at LSU, andthatwas the same pitch,” Stanfield said, “so I’d already gottenthat look,and Iwas just putting agood swing on it.
Stanfield blooped asingle to left field to drive in arun, handing the Tigers a1-0 lead to kickoff athree-run inning. LSU went on to winthe game 4-1, riding alights-out performance from sophomoreleft-handed starter Kade Anderson to victory
ä See LSU, page 5B
TheseTigers have what it takestowin in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb In the NCAA regional against Little Rock, LSU’s pitching looked like it might be aliability in that shocking 10-4 loss to the Trojans.
In the NCAA super regional against West Virginia, LSU’s pitching looked like aquestion markafter the Tigers’ dynamic duo of starting pitchers —Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson combined to allow 10 earned runs in twostarts while LSU’s offense scored 28. Saturday night in LSU’s College World Series opener against Arkansas, one of the very best offensive teamsin the country,the Tigers put on display the full power of their pitching potential. The rest of the CWS field had to take notice. After the winover Arkansas, LSU’s team earned run average stood at 3.77. Of all eight teams in this year’sCWS, including Arizona which is already heading homeafter losing Sunday to Louisville, only Coastal Carolina (3.24) wasonabetter number going into its gameSunday night against Oregon State (I don’twant to bring up the fact that Coastal plays in the Sun Belt and LSU plays in the SEC, but, just did). The Tigers, however,are the only team with twodouble-digit gamewinners: Anderson (11-1) and Eyanson (11-2). It wasAnderson whomystified one of the very best offenses in college baseball Saturday night in the winover Arkansas, allowing one run on three hits while walking twoand striking out seven. But it wasn’tjust Anderson whose pitching put the gris gris on the Hogs’ bats. Chase Shores came out of the bullpen and threw one 100 mphpitch after another at
BYTIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer
OKLAHOMA CITY The ratings are down for these NBA Finals, as was expected.Oklahoma City vs. Indiana is asmall-marketseries andthe numbers reflect that, with viewership down about 20% from last season and on pace for the poorest TV turnout since the pandemic “bubble” finals in 2020.
Don’tblametheThunderandPacersforthat
It’sbeen aback-and-forth over thefirst four games —and now,a best-of-three will
decide the NBA title. Game 5isinOklahoma City on Mondaynight, with theThundertryingtotake their first lead of theseries and thePacerstryingtoheadbackhomeone win away from achampionship.
“I do not care, to be honestwithyou,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said when asked what he’dsay to thosewho, for whatever reason, haven’ttuned into the series.“This is high-level basketball andI’m excited to be apart of it.”
Game1 hada franticIndianacomeback and aHaliburton buzzer-beater.Game 2 saw Oklahoma City do what it hasdone in
themajority of games allseason: take full controlearlyand roll to awin. Game 3in Indianahad the Pacers’ benchfueling awin AndGame 4saw the MVP do MVP things, with ShaiGilgeous-Alexander scoring 15 points in the final five minutes to carry the Thunder to acomeback win. Add it up, andit’sThunder2,Pacers 2. The Thunder are outscoring thePacersby3.3
points per game; the Pacers are outshooting the Thunder by 1.4%. It’s only the third timeinthe last 15 years that the finals have had all that through four games —2-2 tie, 3.3-point differentialorless, shooting within 1.4% of each other.GoldenState-Boston had it in 2022, and Dallas-Miamihad it in 2011. It all seemspretty even, and the looks aren’tdeceiving.
“It’sgoodfor y’all,” Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. “Good for me, we’d be getting
ä See NBA, page 3B
Ohtani’s return to mound could be in next 2 weeks
BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer
OAKMONT, Pa J.J. Spaun turned a sloppy mess of a U.S. Open at wet and nasty Oakmont into a thing of beauty at the end Sunday with two stunning shots that carried him to his first major championship.
First came his driver on the 314yard 17th hole onto the green for a birdie that gave him the lead. Needing two putts from 65 feet on the 18th to win, he finished his storybook Open by holing the longest putt all week at Oakmont for birdie and a 2-over 72.
That made him the only player to finish under par at 1-under 279. It gave him a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.
And it made Spaun, the 36-yearold Californian who resembles the late Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a major champion in only his second U.S. Open.
“I never thought I would be here holding this trophy,” said Spaun, who finished last year at No. 119 in the world with only one PGA Tour title in his career “I always had aspirations and dreams. I never knew what my ceiling was I’m just trying to be the best golfer I can be.” It was calamity for so many others.
Former LSU standout Sam Burns had a two-shot lead going to the 11th tee, made a double bogey from a divot in the first cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief. He shot 78 and finishedin a tied for seventh.
Adam Scott, trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles, was tied for the lead with five holes to play One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway He played them in 5 over and shot 79
during the
on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.
“I missed the fairway I hadn’t done that all week really Then I did, and I paid the price and lost a lot of shots out there,” Scott said.
Carlos Ortiz and Tyrrell Hatton also slashed away in slushy lies, all making mistakes that cost them a chance to survive this beast of day
The rain that put Oakmont on the edge of being unplayable might have saved Spaun.
One shot behind at the start of the day he opened with five bogeys in six holes with some horrific breaks, none worse than hitting the pin on the second hole and seeing it spin back to the fairway And then came a rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes.
“The weather delay changed the whole vibe of the day,” Spaun said.
Remarkably, he made only one bogey the rest of the way
But oh, that finish.
MacIntyre, the 28-year-old from Oban toughened by the
By The Associated Press
fans. Before the Stockholm meet, Duplantis said setting a world record at home was one of his dreams. Duplantis competes for his mother’s native Sweden. “It’s a magical feeling,” Duplantis said. “I wanted it so bad,” he said. “I kept saying it was the only thing I was missing. Now, I’m done. I can just chill.” After clearing 19-7, Duplantis didn’t target his own meet record of 20-2 but went straight for the world record
He celebrating by ripping off his shirt and pumping his fist to the delight of roaring fans in the sellout crowd
Scottish game of Shinty became the new target. He also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par, a 68 and the clubhouse lead.
Three groups later, Spaun delivered what looked like the winner, a powerful fade that rolled onto the green like a putt and settled 18 feet behind the cup.
And then the final putt — no one made a longer one all week. He was helped by Viktor Hovland being on the same line and going first. Spaun rapped it through the soaked turf, walked to the left to watch it break right toward the hole and watched it dropped as thousands of rain-soaked spectators erupted. He raised both arms and tossed his putter, jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens.
The celebration carried into those who lost the battle.
MacIntyre, so close to becom-
ing Scotland’s first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, sat in scoring in front of a TV and applauded. Hatton was talking with reporters, bemoaning a bad break on the 17th that ended his chances of winning He watched the Spaun’s putt and it brightened his mood.
“Unbelievable. What a putt to win. That’s incredible,” he said.
“I’m sad about how I finished, but I’m very happy for J.J. To win a major in that fashion is amazing.”
Hovland, who shot 73 to finish third, saw it all — the putt at the end, the bogeys at the start.
“After his start, it just looked like he was out of it immediately,” Hovland said. “Everyone came back to the pack. I wasn’t expecting that really I thought I had to shoot maybe 3-under par today to have a good chance, but obviously the conditions got really really tough, and this golf course is just a beast.”
BY NOAH TRISTER AP sportswriter
OAKMONT, Pa Robert Ma-
cIntyre nearly matched the biggest final-round comeback in U.S. Open history
Instead, he had to settle for sole possession of second place, but on a day when so many contenders — including the winner — had their problems, MacIntyre handled both Oakmont and the weather with aplomb.
MacIntyre shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 1 over — two strokes behind J.J. Spaun. MacIntyre was seven strokes back of leader Sam Burns at the beginning of the day He actually made up 10 shots on Burns but couldn’t outlast Spaun.
“I think when I was walking up 14 or 12, and I seen a leaderboard that the leader was at even par I kind of knew where I was at, I was at 3-over, I think, at the time,” MacIntyre said “The whole week, I’ve said level par in my head. I’m just looking for four even pars. Almost got there, but not quite.”
As MacIntyre spoke, Spaun was still out on the course. A playoff or even an outright victory for MacIntyre — was still possible. When Spaun rolled in his majestic birdie putt on 18 to finish at 1 under, camera footage showed MacIntyre clapping. Arnold Palmer is still the only U.S. Open winner to come from seven strokes behind in the fi-
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani could return to a major league mound in the next two weeks but Los Angeles Dodgers rookie righthander Roki Sasaki has paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani will throw to hitters for a fourth time this week and “potentially” it could be the twoway star’s final batting practice session before his first big league pitching appearance since Aug. 23, 2023, for the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani a three-time MVP entered Sunday’s game with a .290 average, an NL-leading 1.023 OPS and 25 homers. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.
Ciganda ends title drought with win at Meijer Classic
BELMONT, Mich. — Carlota Ciganda birdied the final two holes to win the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory in more than 81/2 years, while Lexi Thompson had two late bogeys to dash her bid to end a long drought of her own.
Ciganda hit to a foot of the hole to set up her birdie on the par-4 17th, then made a 4-foot comebacker on the par-5 18th to avoid a playoff with playing partner Hye-Jin Choi. Ciganda shot a 5-under 67 to finish at 16-under 272. She won for the first time since the 2016 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Thompson had a 70 to tie for fourth.
Former LSU golfer Madalene Sagstrom , who went into the final round tied for the lead, finished 14th. She shot a final-round 73 and finished in a tie for 14th.
Memphis trades Bain to Magic in megadeal
The Orlando Magic have acquired Desmond Bane from Memphis in a deal that sends Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and draft capital to the Grizzlies.
Memphis gets four first-round picks one this year, another in 2026, then others in 2028 and 2030. The deal also included the option for a pick swap in 2029.
Bane averaged 19.2 points this season for the Grizzlies. He would figure to be an upgrade for a Magic team that has made the playoffs the past two seasons but has sought more shooting to pair with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner
Bane scored 30 points in 29 regular-season games, topping the 40-point mark twice.
Padres put OF Merrill on seven-day injured list
PHOENIX — The San Diego Padres have placed All-Star outfielder Jackson Merrill on the seven-day injured list on Sunday, a day after he suffered a concussion during Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S Open on Sunday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.
nal round. He did it in 1960 at Cherry Hills. Palmer birdied six of his first seven holes that day MacIntyre’s rally was more about staying afloat and waiting for the leaders to fall back. The lefthander from Scotland actually bogeyed two of his first three holes to drop to 5 over, but a 58foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth started him in the right direction.
“That kind of settled me down,” he said. “That got me into somewhat of a groove and back in the golf tournament. Then the back nine was just all about fighting.”
Merrill was injured in the seventh inning when he attempted a stolen base, but was tagged out by Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte. The tag came on Merrill’s helmet as he slid head first and he was down for several minutes before walking off the field. He was replaced in the field by Brandon Lockridge.
Merrill, 22, is batting .304 with five homers. He finished second in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year
‘Queen of Queen’s’ is 37-year-old qualifier
LONDON — German qualifier Tatjana Maria proclaimed herself “Queen of Queen’s” after winning the Wimbledon warm-up tournament at the Queen’s Club for the biggest title of her career
The 37-year-old mother of two claimed her first WTA 500 title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over eighthseeded Amanda Anisimova in the grass-court final in London. The 86th-ranked Maria won in front of her young daughters Charlotte and Cecilia, and her husband and coach Charles-Edouard Maria. On the way to her fourth WTA title, she eliminated four top 20 players — Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys. She became the oldest singles champion on the WTA Tour since 2020, when Serena Williams won the Auckland Classic at age 38
BY CLIFF BRUNT AP sportswriter
OKLAHOMA CITY Jalen Williams keeps bouncing back. The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has sufferedthrough poor shooting stretches in the past three playoff series. And each time, he’srecovered to helpthe Thunder win critical games. After two rough shootingnights to start the Finals series against the Indiana Pacers, the 24-yearold forward found his stride. In Game 4, Williams handled the ball more and was aggressive. He scored 27 points andmade8 of 18 fieldgoalsand 11 of 11 free throws. His success helped league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explodefor 35 points as the Thunder won 111-104 to even the series at 2-2 and regain homecourt advantage. He had similar moments in the WesternConferencesemifinals against Denver and the conference Finals against Minnesota. Williams said he doesn’tworry about whether shots goinbecause his confidencecomes from
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ready for aparade right now.”
Parades in Indianapolis or Oklahoma City are going to have to wait at least until this coming weekend. This series seems like it could have debunked some of the tired complaints about the game in recent years: the nobody-plays-defense, too-muchisolation, too-many-3sarguments that have been out there
“I think from an outside perspective it’sgreat forthe league,” Caruso said. “It’sgreatfor basketball. Ithink these twoteams play stylistically the best versions of basketball right now as faras pressure and being influencing and aggressiveondefense —causing turnovers, making stuff hard and then offensively free-flowing, shot making, passing the ball. Agreat brand of basketball.”
And that means it could end up as agreat finals, whether morepeople start watching or not.
“Weappreciate the opportunity to play this deep into the season,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “If you’re playing this deep into the season, your opponent is going to be really good. They have won 12 games to get to this point just like we have. Youjust know it’sgoing to be an unbelievable level. There are definitely times in it where (you’re saying), ‘Man, this is ahigh, high level.’”
This marks the 32nd time that afinals has been2-2 going into Game 5. The winner of Game 5 has gone on to ultimately prevail in 23 of the 31 previous occasions.
“Weare both twogames away,” Haliburton said. “Anything can happen here.”
hiscomplete game. He’s awilling passer and asecond-team All-Defense selection
“I work really hardonmy game,” he said. “Sothere won’tbe agame where Idon’t shoot well and it affectsmyconfidencetonot shoot those shots my teammates needmetoshoot. That’s theconfidenceI have going intoit, and wherever the shots fall, theyfall.”
Indiana has been good at adjustingthroughout the season and the series under coach Rick Carlisle.
The Pacers, as usual, will be confident in their preparation heading into Game 5onMonday
“Being now at this stage, Ijust think that we’vehad thosegames under our belts where the guys have come through when we haven’tdone thingswell, andwe’ll be able to correctit,”Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “I think that experienceisthere.”
Williamshas no issue with correcting things, either Against Denver,hewent into a three-game slump during which he made 10of43field goalsand averaged 11.3 points. He followed by scoring 24pointson10-for-17
shooting in ablowout victory in Game 7.
In the conference finals,hehad 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting in a 143-101loss to Minnesota. He responded with 34 pointson13-for24 shooting in the next game, a 128-126 win.
The pattern hascontinuedin theFinals. In the first two games, he shot acombined 11 for 33. The next two, he shot 17 for 26 and averaged 26.5 points per game. Williams changedthe trajectory of Game 4, andperhapsthe series, withhis performance. The next step in his development is to maintain that high shooting level. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said anything is possible with Williams. “I thought in Game3,his first stint was one of his worst stintsof the series,”Daigneault said. “He catches his breath and reflects on that. He hada much better stint later in that game and then came out and was really big time for us in Game 4, not only his creation but just some of thesimple plays he madetoput his teammates in advantages.”
PRESS PHOTO By ABBIEPARR OklahomaCityThunder guard Alex Carusogoes for the ball from Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin during the first half of their game on FridayinIndianapolis.
Shai’s climb
Gilgeous-Alexander is up to 3,091 points this season —including the regular season and playoffs. That’s the 18th most in NBA history and the reigning MVP could climbseveral more spots on that list before this series ends.
He’s72pointsshy of matching
Michael Jordan’s3,163 in 1991-92 for the 10th most in aseason. “I think above all,it’sbeen very fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of his first finals.“It’s been everything Idreamtittobegrowing up. There’snoother placeinthe world I’d rather be, and I’m grateful to be here.Thankful for the experience, for sure.”
Pacers afterlosses
Indiana’s resilience is about to be tested again.
ThePacers haven’tlost back-toback gamessince mid-March, going10-0inthatspaninthe game
BY TIMREYNOLDS AP basketball writer
OKLAHOMA CITY— Indianacoach
Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defense of referee Scott Foster on Sunday,evidently awareofthe mountainsofonlinecriticism that came after Game 4ofthe NBA Finals Foster was one of the three oncourtreferees assigned to Game 4, which had more fouls calledand more free throws awardedthan anyofthe threeprevious games in the series. Foster —who has long been alightning rodfor critics —did not work any of those first three games.
ä Indiana at Oklahoma City, 7:30 P.M. MONDAy,ABC
the league announces the crews for agiven night, which happens around 8a.m.ongame days.
The league does notreveal its ranking system for referees, but Fosterhaving worked 18 finals makesclear that he’straditionally oneofthe highest-rated in the league And it should be noted that Carlisle wasthe losing coach in Game 4—yet still felt compelled to defend Foster’swork.
immediately following adefeat.
“Weplay better withour backs againstthe wall,” forward Myles Turnersaid. “Adversity is something that’sgoing to bring out the best in you. Ithink that’sreally what it is, is just aresponse.
When your back is againstthe wall, that’stypically where we get our best basketball.”
Walkerupdate
Withoutdefinitively ruling him out,Pacers coach RickCarlisle indicated that reserveforward Jarace Walker’sseason is over Walker sprained his ankle late in the series-clinching Game6victory over New York in the Eastern Conference finals. He’soff crutches but still walking with alimp.
“It’sveryunlikelythathe’ll be able to play in this series. But he is doing better,” Carlisle said. “It would be great if he was available because Idothink he would help us.
“I think it’s awful, someofthe things I’ve seen aboutthe officiating andScott Fosterinparticular,” Carlisle said. “I’ve known Scott Foster for30 years. He’sagreat official. He’sdone agreat job in these playoffs. We’ve hadhim a lot of times. Foster called23personal fouls in the game —12onOklahoma City,11onIndiana,with one flagrant on each as well. He also issued double technical fouls, one going to Indiana’s Obi Toppin, the other to Oklahoma City’sIsaiah Hartenstein.
“The ridiculous scrutiny that’s being thrown outthere is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle gottothe Foster-related comments after being asked aquestion Sundayabout how the Pacers let a10-point second-half lead slip away,got outscored 3117 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 andwhatrolehethought officiating playedinthatoutcome.
“Wehave to do abetter job not fouling,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged after Game 4. Friday wasFoster’s26thfinals gameworked, morethanany otheractivereferee.Hehas also worked 262 playoffgames, again themostamong active refs. But whenever Fosterdoesa game, online critics tend to weigh in —almost from the momentthat
“Tough lossesare apartofa playoff series,”Carlisle said. “It’s just if this was easy,they would be pulling people off the street to playinthe NBA Finals andcoach and do what you guys are doing. Youguys are the best in the world. Everybody else here is perceived to be the best in the world at this moment. So,it’sdifficult. Youlook at it, youtakeitfor what it is, and it becomes pretty clear the things thatyou need to do to be better.” Foster is one of the 12 referees assignedtothe finals. Each works one of the first four games, and thenthe NBA selects again to see who will workGames 5, 6and if necessary,Game 7aswell. If Fosterdoesn’tworkGame 6, it would seem likely that he would be a pick to work Game 7ifthe series goes thatfar
By The Associated Press
UNCASVILLE, Conn. Former LSU
standout Angel Reese had her first triple double,Hailey VanLith led adominant performance by the Chicago bench witha career-high 16 points andthe Sky pulled away from theConnecticut Sun fora7866 win on Sunday Reese, 23, is the second-youngest WNBAplayer with atriple double. Only CaitlinClark had atriple double at ayoungerage andshe had two while she was22. Fueled by Reese’s11assists morethan double her previous career high —Chicago put five players in double figures. The Sky benchoutscored theSun reserves 36-2 in the Commissioner’sCup game. Reese also had11points and 13 reboundsfor Chicago (3-7).
KiaNurse had 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with three 3-pointers, and Kamilla Cardoso andArielAtkins both had10points. Reserve Rachel Banham made her 300thcareer 3-pointer Marina Mabrey scored 22 points with five 3s forthe Sun (2-8). Tina Charles added 19 points and Jacy Sheldon had 12. Both teams shot40% and made six 3-pointers in the first half but the Sky were perfect on eight free throwstotakea38-36 lead Mabrey was theonly playerin double figures with 16. Mabrey’s 3and twofreethrows by Charles gave Connecticut a4744 lead early in the second half but Michaela Onyenwere and Reese converted three-point plays to makeit51-48. The Sky led 59-54 entering the fourth quarter
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANKFRANKLIN II
Boston designated hitter Rafael Devers hits atwo-run home runduring the seventh inning of agame againstthe New york yankees on June 6 in Newyork.Devers was traded to the SanFranciscoGiantsonSunday.
BY JIMMY GOLEN Associated Press
BOSTON The Boston Red Sox
traded slugger Rafael Deversto the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in adeal that could shake up pennant races on both coasts.
The Giants sent right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospectJames Tibbs III and minor league righty Jose Bello to the Red Sox for the 28-year-olddesignated hitter, who had bristledathis demotion from third base this year
TheGiantswere onegamebehind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Sunday night’smatchup between the NL West rivals. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames saidonthe ESPNbroadcast that the team found out about 15 minutes before the game.
“Everybody’ssoexcited,” he said in an on-field interview while playing the field in the secondinning. “Me, personally,I’m like thrilled to have him on the team. He’sone of the best hitters in the game, and to have himonthe team, Ithink is going to help us do alot of damage in the division Obviously we need abat like him in this lineup.”
Athree-time All-Star who signed a10-year,$313.5 million contract with the RedSox in 2023, Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games, including asolo shot in Boston’s 2-0 victory over the New York
Yankees onSunday that completed athree-gamesweep.
Buthis relationship withthe team began to deteriorate when theteam signed Gold Glove third baseman AlexBregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas suffered aseason-endingkneeinjury,the Red Soxapproached Devers aboutplaying the fieldand he declined, saying the front office “should do their jobs” andlook foranotherplayer Aday after Devers’ comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner JohnHenry, team presidentSam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.
Thesituation became moredifficultwhen Bregman suffered what theteam called asignificant right quadricepsinjury on May23.
TheRed Sox have won five out of sixagainst therivalYankees over thelast two weekends to improve to 37-36, but they are still fourth in the AL East, 61/2 games behind division-leading New York.
Devers was 20 whenhemade hismajor league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. Hehelped the RedSox win the 2018 WorldSeries and ledthe team in RBIsfor five consecutive seasons from2020-24. He hasfinished in thetop 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.
The Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas Texas Rangers rookie Kumar Rocker kept ascoreless start intact by working through an eventfulfifth inning that includeddowning three small bottles of pickle juice, the last of which resulted in amound visit charged to aball boy The 25-year-old right-hander apparently cramped up after striking out White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor for the first out of the fifth Sunday,prompting a visit from the trainer alongwith manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Mike Maddux. During the roughly five minutes the staff and the infielders were atthe mound, firstbaseman Jake Burger went to thedugout, grabbed two small bottles of pickle juice and jogged back to the mound. Rocker quickly downed both bottles, then stretchedhis legs and threw severalwarmuppitches, with another break in between for another chat with the trainer Rocker stayed in the game and gave up asingle to Josh Rojas. With Mike Tauchman at the plate, aball boy jogged to themound with athird bottle of pickle juice, which Rocker promptly drank and gave back to him.
Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, the crew chief, huddled with theother three umpires, and they ruled the Rangers should be charged with amoundvisit for the ball boy’strip.
Rocker retired Tauchman on agrounder to Burger,and after another trip to the mound from the trainer,Rocker got outofthe inning with agroundout from Chase Meidroth.
Rocker started in place of righthander Tyler Mahle on the same
AP PHOTO By NICK WASS
Bruce, the bat dog,carries a bat beforeagamebetween the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins on Saturdayin Washington.
theday that Mahle was placed on theinjured list with right shoulderfatigue.
Rocker allowedfoursingles andawalk in five innings. He struck out six.
Washington Nationals
WASHINGTON’S BAT-RETRIEVING DOG BRUCE MAKES MLBDEBUT: The dog days ofsummerarrived SaturdayatNationals Park.
Bruce, a21-month-old golden retriever,fetched abat during a ceremony Saturday before the Washington Nationals’ 4-3lossto theMiami Marlins as part of a Pups in the Parkpromotion. He retrieved bats the last two seasons withthe Rochester RedWings, Washington’sTriple-A affiliate. Bruce, wearinga bandana with an “MLBdebut” patchhe received when he arrived at the stadium, was presented acommemorative bat. He then took a circuitousroute from the dugout toward first base afterNationals reliever Zach Brzykcy dropped the bat in foul territory before the batdog collected his quarry to thedelight of acrowd wowed by hiswork and enthusiasm.
TheAssociated Press
OMAHA, Neb.— Zion
Rose’stwo-run single gave Louisville its first lead during asix-run eighth inning and theCardinals knocked Arizona out of theCollege WorldSeries with an 8-3 win Sunday Louisville’s19th come-frombehind winofthe seasonmoved theCardinals (41-23) to another elimination game Tuesday against Oregon State.
Arizona (44-21) has lost six straight CWSgamesoverthree appearances since 2016.
The Cardinals trailed 3-1 early and cameupempty after having runners in scoringpositioninthe third,fourth and fifth innings.
By then,coachDan McDonnell hadseenenough, andhegave his players astern talking to in the dugout withthe hope of sparking abreakthrough.
“When I’m not happy,”hesaid, “they’re going to know.”
McDonnell added, “I had alot of frustration in me just from when Iwas watching. Iwas waiting for theadjustmenttohappen. It wasn’t happening.” Whenthe runs came, they came in bunches.
Lucas Moore’ssacrifice fly in the seventh made it aone-run game against GarrettHicks (5-2), and then Arizonahad an improbable
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LSU’swin means it will face UCLA back at Charles-Schwab Field on Monday in the winner’s bracket (6 p.m., ESPN).
“They’re agreat team,” LSU coach Jay Johnson saidonSunday,“(they’ve) been one of the most consistent teams in the country thisyear.”
The difference between victory anddefeatonSaturday was ultimately that first inning, and LSU’sabilitytotakeadvantage of abases loaded situation.Following Stanfield’shit,senior Michael Braswell got hit by apitch to score asecondrun beforesenior Josh Pearson groundedinto afielder’s choice that stretched thelead to three.
“Wework on it alot in practice...,” Johnson said. “And Ithink the guys have done agood job.”
LSU’sworkinthat inning was the continuation of the recent success its found in bases loaded situations.
During the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers had a.417batting average withthe basesloaded headingintoSaturday, according to ESPN.They’re theonly team with two grand slams and are 5 for 6with two walksand ahit by pitch in basesloadedopportunities sincethe startofthe super regional against West Virginia.
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Arkansas, keeping theRazorbacks off the board in theeight. Then Casan Evans, thefreshman pitching like ajunior,threw a scoreless ninthtolock down the oh-so-crucial 4-1 victory It is Eyanson, aSouthern California kid who grew up 45 minutes from the UCLA campus in suburban Lakewood,California, who takes up theLSU banner against the Bruins on Monday night (6 p.m., ESPN). The stakes are not much less massive for this one than they were Saturday.The winner takes command of bracket two in the CWS and will have to be beaten twice tobekept out of thechampionship series. Anything can happen and the Bruins areafine team.They’re led by abig stick who everyone says is the topposition player in college ball: the colorfully named Roch Cholowsky (.362, 23 home runs, 74 RBIs), asophomoreshortstop.
“It should be an awesome night,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Like (Saturday) night. Will LSU’spitching give the Tigers the edge once again? Paul Skenesisreportedly going to be in attendance at CharlesSchwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, but we kind of doubt that he’s still eligible. Still, if he’s looking for ateam to give him some run support that the Pittsburgh Pirates obviouslycan’t provide,
meltdown withNational Stopper of theYear Tony Pluta on the mound after theCardinals’ first two battersreached in the eighth.
Tague Davis’sblooper loaded the bases, andthenRosepunched atwo-runsingle down the rightfield line to put Louisville up 4-3. No. 9batter Kamau Neighbors singled in another run to cap his 4-for-4 day.
Garrett Pike got caught in a rundown between thirdand home andscored when Pluta dropped the ball trying to tag him at the plate. Neighbors came home on Alex Alicea’ssqueeze bunt, and Matt Klein singled to left for the finalrun.
Tucker Biven (4-0) pitched the last four innings for the Cardinals, workingaround two singlestohold Arizona scoreless in the ninth. Louisville is 26-0 when leading after eight innings and 203-5-1 since the start of 2019.
Adonys Guzman, who singled in theWildcats’ first run in the first inning, hit his second homer of the NCAATournament and ninth of the season to give his team atworun lead in thethird.
Freshman SmithBaileygave Arizona another strong start.
He went six innings for the fifth time in six starts, including three straight in the NCAA Tournament.
He allowed five earned runs over
WHO: LSU (49-15) vs. UCLA (48-16)
WHEN: 6p.m., Monday
WHERE: Charles-Schwab Field
ONLINE/TV: ESPN
RADIO: WDGL-FM,98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (NewOrleans); KLWB-FM 103.7 (Lafayette)
RANKINGS: LSU is No. 6overallseed; UCLA is No. 15
PROBABLESTARTERS: LSU —RHP AnthonyEyanson (11-2, 2.74 ERA); UCLA —RHP Landon Stump (6-1,4.54 ERA)
PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate.com/lsu ON X(FORMERLYTWITTER): @KokiRiley
WHATTOWATCH FOR: LSU will start Eyanson on Mondayagainst the Bruins.As anative of SouthernCalifornia, Eyanson allowedfour earned runs in fiveinnings last week against West Virginia in the Baton Rougesuperregional. UCLA will turnto StumponMonday. Stump tossedfour shutout innings aweek agoagainst UTSA. Koki Riley
TheMountaineers’ porous defense and lacklusterpitching played abig part in those numbers.
But as LSU fans saw in the Baton Rouge regional, the fortunes of a seasoncan swing dramatically on ateam’sability to drive in runs with runner’sinscoring position. From its second gameagainst LittleRock in the regional until thethird inning of its third matchup with the Trojans, LSU had the
SCHEINUK
STAFFPHOTO By HILARy
LSU right-handed pitcher Anthony Eyanson chats with teammates during practice ahead of the CollegeWorld Series on Fridayin Omaha, Neb
maybe he should look into it. No, the Tigers should be in fine form with Eyanson. Everyone else but Anderson should be available, including Shores (he threw 10 pitches against Arkansas) and Evans (hethrew 13). Shores went so far as to say “I’m 100% ready” for Monday if the big right-hander is calledupon. Then there’sahost of other Tigers who can throw: Cooper Williams, (0-1, 1.83 ERA), DJ Primeaux (0-0, 3.86), William Schmidt (7-0, 4.73), Mavrick Rizy (0-0, 4.74), Jaden Noot (2-1, 4.26), LSU’sother 100 mph arm Jacob Mayers (1-0, 5.02) and ZacCowan (3-3, 3.09). Ah yes, Cowan. He was so good thefirst two-thirds of the season for LSU but has been such a
18 postseason innings (2.50 ERA).
This was the teams’ second meeting of the season. In February,Louisville won13-1 in Arlington, Texas, in agame shortened to eight innings by the run rule.
COASTAL CAROLINA 6, OREGON STATE2: Coastal Carolina’sunbeaten Jacob Morrison was dominant into the eighth inning and the Chanticleers capitalized on Oregon State’searly mistakes to extend their win streak to 25 games with a6-2 victory in the College World Series on Sunday night.
Morrison went 72/3 innings for his longest outing in over two months. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound righthander retired 16 straightover the middleinnings and left with two outs in the eighth afterallowing five hits, walking none and striking out seven.
Coastal Carolina had to win five elimination games on itsway to the 2016 national championship in its CWS debut. The Sun Belt Conference’steam of teal hadn’tbeen back to Omaha until this year,and its 2-0 start puts them in control of their bracket.
The Chanticleers(55-11) would advance to the best-of-three finals with another win Wednesday.Their opponent will be eitherLouisville or Oregon State (48-15-1), which meet in an elimination game Tuesday
bases loaded withtwo outs on three occasions and couldn’tscore arun. But the Tigers finally broke through on their fourth try
JuniorEthan Frey’sbases-clearing double with two outs in the fourth inning cut LSU’sdeficit to one in agame that sent LSU to the super regionals.
“There’ssomethings that we’ll look forand try to makesure that we hone in on andare good with,”Johnson saidwhenasked abouthow LSU practices basesloaded situations.
“The pitcherobviously haslessmargin for error at that circumstance, they’re trying to induce something that we want to stay away from.”
The second inning on Saturday wasn’tterribly explosive but it got the job done in alow-scoring environment. With the wind blowing in from center field, the amount of talent on the mound forboth sides and the grand dimensions of the park, tallying runs would be difficult to come by Taking advantageofthose opportunities will be even more crucialfor theTigers moving forwardasthey inch closer to potentially winning an eighth national championship.
“I thought we did agood job of that tonight,” Johnson said Saturday.“Again, whenyou’re facing thosecaliber arms,you’re notgoing to get aton, maybe like you wouldplaying in SECballparks where thehome runsarealthing with every pitch of the game.”
question marksince the calendar turned to May.Heleft April with a1.12 ERA but has becomeless and less relied upon as LSU’scloser.Infact, he hasn’tpitched since going 11/3 innings against Little Rock in the regional final. Someone, somewhere along the way will have to start a crucial third game to try to get LSU to the championship series. Evans would seem to be the first candidate, but what if the Tigers’ need some crucial outs in aone-run game against the Bruins? Johnson naturally wouldn’ttip his hand as he spoke to reporters after practice Sunday,but the options with Evans are multiple Will he be theNate Ackenhausen of LSU’s2023 championship run?
Someone will probably have to be
“That’sthe lore of this tournament,” Johnson said, “not just with LSU but every championship team.Twenty-four months ago Nate Ackenhausen, whoI just viewed as super-important to that team,wehad him go six innings at one time. Griffin Herring going 41/3,he’d pitched alot but hadn’t gone 41/3
“A lotofguys areverycapable of doing that. I’m sure the rest of the coaches here feel the same way,but Idefinitely feel good aboutour pitching staff and somebody being able to do thatif needed.Itwouldn’tsurprise us if it’sneeded at some point.”
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if LSUgets whatitneedsfrom its pitching staffatjustthe right time.
BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockey writer
When the Edmonton Oilers face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers, either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will lead them on to the ice as their starting goaltender
The reigning champion Panthers have no such debate. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky has started 63 consecutive playoff games going back to early in the playoffs in 2023, and he is a big reason they are on the cusp of winning a second consecutive title.
“He puts so much time into his focus and his ability and then the experience that he has, so there’s a calmness that comes with Sergei that’s spread throughout the team,” coach Paul Maurice said Sunday “He’s the incredible, elite player that gets totally underappreciated: taken for granted, I guess, by us because he’s so consistent with his game.”
Bobrovsky has stopped 165 of the 181 shots on net during the final, allowing 16 goals with a save percentage of .912. Skinner and Pickard have combined to stop 141
of 163, allowing 22 with respective save percentages of .860 and .878.
Many of those goals scored by Florida and allowed by Edmonton had more to do with the skaters in front of whoever is in the crease, hence a rotating door at hockey’s most important position in the final. Skinner started the first four, Pickard entered Game 4 and won in relief, then lost Game 5.
Skinner will probably get the nod in Game 6, but coach Kris Knoblauch is not saying which way he’s leaning.
“It’s not an easy decision,” Knoblauch said. “We’ve got two goalies that have shown that they can play extremely well, win hockey games and we feel that no matter who we choose, they can win the game.”
That confidence is even stronger around the Panthers, given how steady Bobrovsky has been.
Even though Game 5 turned into a rout, Maurice credited the goalie known as “Bob” for a handful of important early saves to make it possible.
It is something Bobrovsky has done all series, all playoffs and all season for a long time.
“He keeps us in the game so many times at key moments and is making huge saves,” top defen-
seman Gustav Forsling said. “He always gives us a chance to win every night. He’s been amazing for us.”
Bobrovsky at 36 is adored by teammates. Aaron Ekblad, who has played with him for six seasons, called him simply the best.
“We love him,” Ekblad said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
That admiration has been earned. Bobrovsky has developed a reputation for his tireless work on dry land and the practice habits
By The Associated Press
MONTREAL George Russell won his first race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off last season’s race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday It was the fourth victory of Russell’s career, and the race ended under yellow when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall.
“It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said. “I felt last year was a victory lost, so to get the victory and see (teammate) Kimi (Antonelli) on the podium, too, is an amazing day for the team. I think it shows the strength of our cars in the cooler conditions, so let’s see in the coming races.” Russell started on pole for the second consecutive year in Montreal and held the advantage for most of the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The British driver became the fourth race winner this year, joining points leader leader Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion. Verstappen, who has one more race to go before points drop off
his license and eliminate the possibility of a one-race suspension, was satisfied with his second-place finish.
“Was quite a good race, even though in the first two stints we were struggling with the tires,” the Dutchman said. “We hung in there in the final stint. That was the maximum we could have achieved today.”
Mercedes rookie Antonelli finished third behind Verstappen for his first F1 podium.
“A really good day It was absolutely victory on merit,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. “We controlled the race all the way George drove brilliantly and Kimi didn’t crack under pressure even with the McLaren right behind him.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had two cars on the podium with a win and that’s why everyone is delighted.”
The two McLarens came together when Norris, then in fifth, attempted to pass Piastri multiple times on the 67th lap out of 70. Norris ultimately ran into Piastri and bounced into the wall, drawing a safety car for the final laps.
“I was defending the inside, then I felt a small touch,” Piastri
said. “That’s all I’ve got to go on at the moment. It’s a shame for the team.”
Norris took responsibility.
“I just went for it I thought Oscar would move a bit more to the right, not leave a gap,” Norris said. “I wasn’t expecting anything easy from him. But in the end, it was all my mistake. I take full blame and I want to apologize to my whole team and to Oscar for attempting something like that.”
Piastri finished fourth, ending an eight-race podium streak dating back to the second race of the season. McLaren as a team failed to reach the top three for the first time this year
“We never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident and definitely not contact between our two cars,” team principal Andrea Stella said. “This is a situation we know is not acceptable. At the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it
“He raised his hand, as you should, and apologized to the team. For us, that sort of resets the situation. I’m sure there’s an important learning point for him from this race. He’s paid a price the championship and we value the way he handled it.”
on the ice that have translated into results: a lot of winning.
It’s no coincidence the Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Bobrovsky took over for Alex Lyon three games into the first round in 2023.
“He just sticks kind of to the same routine, and his preparation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen while being in this league,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “It almost becomes routine some of the incredible saves he makes.”
There is nothing routine about how the Oilers’ goaltending has developed over the course of the final. Skinner and Pickard have each been hung out to dry by turnovers, mistakes and missed coverages.
They have also made some unexpected stops along the way to keep this series going.
“They’ve both been amazing,”
veteran winger Corey Perry said. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the net or who’s back there. We have trust in both of them.”
Maurice, who has coached more games in the NHL than anyone but nine-time Stanley Cup champion Scotty Bowman, has made it clear he knows nothing about goaltending and has no interest in learning about it. But he has defended all the goaltenders in this final between “two really powerful offensive teams” with plenty of star power
Still, Bobrovsky has the ability to swing it in Florida’s direction with another of the performances his team has come to expect from him.
“His ability to focus is trained — maybe it’s a talent,” Maurice said. “If one gets by him that he doesn’t like, it has nothing to do with what’s going to happen next.”
BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer
MEXICO CITY Shane Van Gisber-
gen once again mastered a new track — this one the iconic Mexico City road course to win NASCAR’s first Cup Series points-paying race outside the United States of the modern era.
The New Zealander led 60 of 100 laps Sunday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to earn his first Cup victory since he won in his NASCAR debut at the inaugural 2023 street course race in Chicago. That victory changed his career trajectory and Van Gisbergen left Australia V8 Supercars, where he was a multiple champion, for a fulltime move to NASCAR.
“Man, that was epic,” he said. Although he had success in the Xfinity Series — he won three races last year as Trackhouse Racing developed him for a Cup Series ride — Van Gisbergen has struggled this year at NASCAR’s top level.
He started the race ranked 33rd in the Cup standings with only one top-10 finish through the first 15 races of the season But his victory in Mexico City earned him an automatic berth into NASCAR’s playoffs with a shot to race for the Cup Series championship.
Van Gisbergen benefitted from an early pop-up rain shower on the first lap of the race because he’s an exceptionally skilled driver on a wet surface. His win at Chicago was in monsoon-like conditions.
He won the pole in Mexico City and started the race as the BetMGM betting favorite, particularly since rain was in the forecast.
He had to contend with several challengers, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing among them, but took the lead for good with 31 laps remaining. And, he won feeling under the weather He was ill before the start of the race in what was a bizarre weekend for him He was one of the drivers stranded in North Carolina on Thursday when his chartered plane suffered a mechanical issue on takeoff and the team was stranded until Friday morning.
Van Gisbergen arrived in Mexico City early Friday morning but was still awaiting many crew members.
Then he got sick late Saturday and was sleeping on the floor of his hauler before Sunday’s race.
“I felt pretty rubbish today, leaking out both holes, that wasn’t fun,” Van Gisbergen said “Our car was amazing. That last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror Unreal.”
He admitted after the race he’d texted with four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen about the intricacies of the Mexico City circuit.
“A little bit in the wet — just what lines to take and how to approach it,” he said. “What a guy.”
Van Gisbergen then did his traditional rugby-style celebration by drop-kicking a signed football into the grandstands.
Trackhouse now has two of its drivers — Ross Chastain and Van Gisbergen locked into the playoffs. But it was a bit of a disappointment for Daniel Suarez, the Monterrey native who thrilled the hometown crowd with a win in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday as he failed to challenge his teammate for the win and finished 19th.
“I wish I was in the mix fighting for it a little more, but it just wasn’t in the cards,” Suarez said. Suarez, who appeared to be blinking back tears as he sang along with the Mexican national anthem in pre-race ceremonies, desperately wanted the home win in this contract year with Trackhouse. He was the face of this event as NASCAR ventured outside the U.S. with its top series for the first time since 1958.
Bell finished second in a Toyota for JGR — 16.567 seconds behind the winner He was followed by Chase Elliott in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Alex Bowman, who hurt his back in a crash last week at Michigan, withstood the pain for a fourth-place finish in his Hendrick Chevrolet.
Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports was fifth and followed by John Hunter Nemechek in a Toyota for Legacy Motor Club. Chase Briscoe of JGR was seventh and followed by Cole Custer for Haas Factory as the highest-finishing Ford driver William Byron of Hendrick was ninth and Chris Buescher of RFK Racing rounded out the top 10.
U.S. routs Trinidad 5-0 in Gold Cup opener as Tillman scores twice
By The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Malik Tillman scored twice as the United States built a three-goal, first-half lead and ended a four-game losing streak by routing Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Sunday in a CONCACAF God Cup opener Tillman scored in the 16th and 41st minutes for his first two international goals, both following giveaways by Alvin Jones, and Patrick Agyemang scored his fourth international goal in the 44th.
Brenden Aaronson added his ninth goal in the 82nd and Haji Wright his fifth just 1 minute, 13 seconds later as the 16th-ranked Americans overwhelmed the No. 100 Soca Warriors and ended their longest losing streak since 2007. Victory in the Group D opener came after days of controversy over Christian Pulisic’s desire to rest during the Gold Cup and coach Mauricio Pochettino not including the star in a pair of pretournament friendlies the attacker offered to play in.
The U.S. had 70.5% possession and a 21-3 advantage in shots against the Soca Warriors, whose 2-1 home win against the Americans in 2017 ended a streak of seven straight World Cup appearances by the U.S. The Americans have won their group in 16 of 17 Gold Cups, along with a second-place finish behind Panama in 2011, and improved their group stage record to 41 wins, one loss and five draws. They play invited guest Saudi Arabia on Thursday at Austin, Texas, then close group
play on June 22 against Haiti at Arlington, Texas. Matt Freese was in goal in place Matt Turner, who had started 14 consecutive competitive matches for the U.S. and 23 of 24 dating to the 2022 World Cup. The lone exception was a Gold Cup group stage game against St. Kitts and Nevis in 2023. Missing Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, the U.S. starting lineup averaged 14.8 interna-
tional appearances. That was the second-fewest for the Americans in a Gold Cup opener behind 9.8 against Bermuda in 2009, according to Opta. Adams (turf toe), Johnny Cardoso and Damion Downs (both illness) didn’t dress. Defender Tim Ream started, extending his Gold Cup span for the U.S. to 14 years and surpassing DaMarcus Beasley (2002-15) for the American high. Trinidad, coached by former star Dwight Yorke, has lost four of its last five games.
What questions should be askedto the physician after an Alzheimer’sdiagnosis?
Adiagnosis of Alzheimer’s diseasemay be suspected or may come as acomplete surprise. Either way,the news is difficult to absorb, and the individual may be at aloss at first to process the information.
Once the diagnosis sinksin, it is helpful for the individual to prepare alist of questionsor concerns and make an appointment with his or her doctor
Getting the right medicalinformation can help the individual make future financial decisions and pursue aplan of care.
The University of California at Los Angeles Alzheimer’sand Dementia Care Program has compiled asamplingofquestions the individual should ask after adiagnosis:
n What type of dementia do Ihave?
n What’sthe difference between Alzheimer’sdisease and dementia?
n What caused my dementia?
n What is the likely course of decline? How long do Ihave?
n What symptoms, other than memory loss, can Iexpect, and what will the pace of decline be?
n What can Idotoslow the decline?(What medicines are effective and what resultscan Iexpect from them? What lifestyle changes will be helpful?)
n What about advertised supplements and programs that claim to cure Alzheimer’s disease?
n Where can Igotolearn more about dementia?
n What help is available to guide me through my illness?
n If Ihave aproblem that might be related to my dementia, whom should Icall?
n What plans should Imake now to prepare for atime when Ican be less engaged in making decisions?
n How should Iselect afamily or friend caregiver?
n What are reasonable goals for me now and in the future? 20 answers
See ALZHEIMER’S, page 2C
Greenwood plantation opensfor weddings again
a200acre estate at 6838 HighlandRoad in St. Francisville,isprivately owned. The property closed to weddings and corporate events in 2022. However,under anew partnership,LHG will oversee the plantation’slodgings, bed-andbreakfast, weddings and corporate
Guestsroam therowsoffresh blackberry bushes as theypick to
BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer
On awarm June afternoon ideal for berry picking, cars andtrucks turnedintoagrassy lotoff Abby James Road in Prairieville.Young volunteers directed carswhere to park. It was 5:45 p.m., and avariety of people appro a c he dt he gates to Waughsome Farm. Chairity and Mik eWaugh, both librarians by trade, started planting during the COVID-19 pandem ic in 2020. They live on Chairity’s family land that hasbeen inher family for four generations, andthey turned it into afruit orchard. After five years ofplantingand farming, the Waughs nowhave10acres of planted fruits. At 6p.m., Mike Waugh, who
is the BoardofRegents library services platform manager by day,commanded the attention of the eager crowd and gave directions to the blackberry and blueberry rows as wellashow the pricinggoes. Then, he opened thegates to theeager pickers with their white plastic bucketsintow Chairity Waugh, thespecial collections cataloger at LSU’sHillMemorial Library ran thecheckout operations as her husband walked through the orchard, ready to answer questions and help any pickers. Wa ughso me Farm opened to the public in 2023, andthe Waughs are learning as they go when it comes to the orchard business. They triedopening for aday at a time thefirst summer andthen begansetting up reservations for 50 people at atime last sum-
mer.This year,theyare opening for two hours four times a week:Tuesdayand Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and evenings.
“This year,we’re just lucky that it grew enough to pretty much —knock on wood —supply the demand that we’ve seen thus far,” Chairity Waugh said.
“It’sgrown sort of exponentially.”
In addition to 10 300-foot rowsofblackberries and 10 400-foot rowsofblueberries, theWaughs also planted figs, peaches andplums. When those areinseason,theywill hold pick-your-own fruitdays as well. Currently,the stars of the orchard are the blackberries.
ä See BERRY, page 2C
Greenwood Plantation in St. Francisville wasbuilt in 1830 and meticulously rebuilt after adevastating 1960
get married under.” Thehospitality is ready to begin booking events at the plantation. Potential guests are invited to call (225) 635-6502 for more information. Nestled in the pocket of Feliciana hill country, Greenwood was originally a3,000-acrecotton plantation built in 1830 by William Ruffin Barrow.In1960, the original houseburneddown, leaving behind thecolumns and front steps. The plantation hasbeen featured in movies including “Louisiana,” “North&South,” “GI Joe II,” and “Jeepers Creepers III.”Itisopen fortours on Saturdaysand Sundays by appointment.Ticketsfor non-guestsare $20.
BY HUNTERBOYCE Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)
Palms sweaty,knees weak these symptomsare morethan just Eminem’spopular“8Mile” lyrics. It’sanxiety,and people who are shy tend to feel plenty of it in the dating game.
Luckily,psychologists who specialize in anxiety,shyness and dating have come to the rescuewith somequick tips on breaking the ice. It’s OK to be shy
Indiana University Southeast’sBernardoCarducci, Ph.D., leads the college’sShyness Research Institute and has penned abook on how to overcome shyness. Speaking to the American Psychological
Association, the psychologist explained acrucial factor in living with the emotion.
“It’s notanegative personality trait,” he said. “It’snot a character flaw.It’snot adisease. It’ssimply adescription of the individual. How they respond —how they behave.” For many,the sense of self could be oldnewsbythe time they’re outthe door for work. Coffeecup in one hand and car keys in the other,they’re off to take on the day’schallenges. Those of us who are shy,however,facemore-or-less constant self-observation.
“Wesay,think about being in front of amirror,”Carducci said. “When you look in front of amirror— Idon’tcare who youare —most peopledon’t say,‘Oh my God,how beautiful Iam.’The first thing theydo when they look into amirror is they primp. They focus on the hair.They adjust their tie and
By The Associated Press
Today is Monday,June 16, the 167th day of 2025. There are 198 days left in the year
Todayinhistory: On June 16, 1963, the world’sfirst female space traveler,Valentina Tereshkova, 26, was launchedinto orbit by the Soviet Union aboard Vostok 6. Tereshkova spent 71 hours in flight, circling the Earth 48 times before returning safely
Also on this date:
In 1858, accepting theIllinois Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the issue of slavery in the United States had to be resolved, declaring,“ahouse divided against itself cannot stand.”
In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan.
In 1976, thousands of Black students in Johannesburg’s Soweto township demonstrated against the imposition of the Dutch-based Afrikaans language in schools; police opened fire on the students, killing at least 176 and as many as 700.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties during aceremony in Panama City In 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his successful campaign for thepresidency of the United States with aspeech at Trump Tower in Manhattan In 2016, Walt Disney Co. opened Shanghai Disneyland, its first theme parkin mainland China. In 2022, witnesses testified to the Jan. 6committeethat Donald Trump’sclosest advisers viewedhis last-ditch efforts to pressureVice PresidentMikePence to reject the tally of state electors andoverturnthe 2020 election as “nuts,” “crazy” and even likely to incite riots
Today’sBirthdays: Author Joyce Carol Oates is 87. Country singer Billy “Crash” Craddock is 86. R&B singer Eddie Levert is 83. Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Durán is 74. Pop singer Gino Vannelli is 73. ActorLaurieMetcalf is 70 Rapper MC Ren is 56. Golfer Phil Mickelson is 55.Actor John Cho is 53. Actor Daniel Brühl is 47. Actor Missy Peregrym is 43.Singer Diana DeGarmo (TV:“AmericanIdol”) is 38. NFLwide receiver Justin Jefferson is 26.
Continued from page1C
n How can Ipreserve what matters to me?
n As the disease progresses, will Isuffer?
n I’m afraid of becoming dependent and aburden. Will that happen?
n When will Ineed to get help in the home or go to a facility?
n Should Itell people about my diagnosis?
n Should Icontinue to interact withpeople even though they might notice that something about me is different?
n What are the chances thatmychildren will get dementia? Is there anything they can do to prevent getting dementia? In addition to obtaining clear answers from the doctor,getting educated about Alzheimer’sdisease is imperative in navigating the journey.Educational and supportresources are available through various Alzheimer’sorganizations, to name afew: Alzheimer’s Association, (800) 2723900, alz.org; Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, (866) 232-8484, alzfdn.org; or Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, (225) 3347494; alzbr.org.
Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.
Universal Uclick
Dear Doctors: Iwas in apretty bad car accident. Ithought Iwas lucky Igot away with just aconcussion, but now Ihave headaches and see an aura when Ilook at lightsat night. I’m told it may be post-concussion syndrome.Can youplease talk about what that is andwhether it can be cured?
Dear Reader: We should begin by talking about concussion, aform of traumatic brain injury.Itoccurs when ablow to the head or body results in ajoltsostrong, it causes thebrain to shift or twist rapidly within the skull. Theforce of this movement can bruisethe delicate tissues of thebrain, rupture blood vesselsthatdeliver oxygen and nutrients, and can cause damage to the neurons, sometimes at acellular level. Becausethese types of brain injuries are usually notlifethreatening, concussions have been characterized as mild.However,in recent years, theserious consequenceshave becomeclearer
Continued from page 1C
Once blackberries start to ripen, they must be picked often —every coupleofdays. On the big days, there can be 400 people at Waughsome Farm, and they sell morethan 100 gallonsoffruit.
“Wehave just as much plant in blueberries, butthey’re really small trees,” Mike Waugh said. “But theblackberriesare just off the hook rightnow.And that’swhat happened whenwe first opened three years ago.”
After planting theirblueberry bushes, they picked enoughduring thefirst harvestfor themselves and familymembers. The blackberries fruited the second year,and their harvest was so big that theyhad to open up the orchardsothe fruit wouldn’tspoil.
Chairity painted asign, and Mike made the Facebookpage and website. That’show the Waughsome Farm began.
Before thepicking begins
Here are afew tipstoknowbefore picking berries at Waughsome Farm:
n Wear comfortableclothes that can get dirtyand/or stained. Wear closed-toeshoes or bootsand socks. Thegroundmay be muddy.Red ant piles can be anywhere.
n Wear sunscreen and/or widebrimmedhats and long sleeves.
There is no shade in theorchard.
n It’s an 800-foot walk from the
Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
Aconcussion causes an immediate and temporarydisruption in the normalfunctioningofthe brain
The symptoms can be physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Symptomsmay develop immediately or can take several days or even several weekstoappear Common physical symptoms include headache, neck pain, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, slurred or garbled speech and sensitivitytolight or sound. Some people experienceconfusion, have problems withlong- and short-term memory,become easily irritated, have extremeswings in emotion
or become anxious or depressed. It is notunusual for someone with a concussion to experience changes to their normal sleep patterns. People typically recover from aconcussion within twotofour weeks. When someone reaches the three-month mark and symptoms have not begun to resolve, it is known as post-concussionsyndrome, or PCS. We don’tfully understand thereasons forthisdelay in recovery yet. One theory suggests PCS arises from changes in brain chemistry driven by the initial injuries. Another suggests neuron damage as atrigger. The data showthatpeople whohavesuffered oneormoreprevious brain injuries areatincreased risk of developing PCS.
Thereisnospecific test for postconcussion syndrome. Diagnosis is basedonthe person’smedical history,the details of their initial injury andthe subsequent symptoms, and atimeline of thepersistentsymptoms.Getting adiagnosis caninvolve aneurological exam and, in
some cases, scans to visualize the brain. These tools help rule out possiblecomplications,suchasa neck or skull fracture, or an intracranial hemorrhage. As with concussion, PCScannot be cured. Treatment focuses on managing each person’sspecific symptoms. This can include medications to address pain, nausea, anxiety or depression; devices to manage light andsound sensitivity; andcognitive,behavioralor psychological therapy.Although in the past, exercise was discouraged, newer research showsgentle physical activity to be beneficial. Although recovery timefor PCS varies, manypeoplesee significant improvement in three or four months.
Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 WilshireBlvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles,CA, 90024.
parking area to theorchard. The back of the orchardisevenfurther
n Thefarmhosts awidevariety of wildlife, including stinging insects such as wasps andbees. If you are allergic, please be advised.
n Bringyour own water
n Refrigerateberries within an hour of picking. Bring acooler with icetomaintain peak freshness. Thepicking rate at Waughsome Farmis$10 apint. After picking to their hearts’ desires, customers can bring their buckets of berries to the check-out table,where theberries
will be divided into pint containers. Customers can paywithcash or Venmo. For more information, visit waughsomefarm.com Email Joy Holdenatjoy.holden@ theadvocate.com.
Dear Heloise: Nottoo long ago, you suggested using asmall paintbrush to dust lampshades. The best thing to use to dust asmooth lampshadeisnot a lint roller but rather ahandvacuum. Apaintbrush will make the dust fly into the air,and it will eventually land on thefloor.Alint rollerdoes an OK job, but hand vacuums suckupthe dirtand can be taken to atrash bin and emptied
Continued from page1C
collar. They focus on their faults because amirror makes you self-conscious, andifyou’re self-conscious, you focusonyour negative characteristics. So we say, thinkabout shy peopleas having amirrorheld in front of them all day long, particularly in social situations.”
Embracingyour shyness is the first step to abetter date life. The next stop? Empowerment. Keepingyourpower
Psychology Today’sAttraction Doctor,Jeremy Nicholson,Ph.D., is adoctor of social and personalitypsychology and has some quick tips for shypeoplewhen it comes to breaking theice. According to the expert, initiating conversation— particularly for thepurpose of asking someoneona date—can build up alot of anxiety because youare opening yourself up to be evaluated by the other person. It’savulnerablemoment. To avoid that sensation,Nicholson suggests approaching conver-
out. Ioccasionally like to take the attachment on my rug shampooer to (very lightly) give my smooth lampshades aonce-over,and it’s madesuch adifference in keeping my shades clean! —Tammy,inAlabama
College-bound
Dear Heloise: Your columnisthe first thingIread with anticipation in my newspaper
Ineed your expertise and advice. My grandson will graduate high school in May and move toa universitytwo hours away.Which
sations in away that allows youto keep your power
“Rather than‘putting yourself outthere,’ getthe other personto invest alittle first,” he wrote in Psychology Today.“Askthem to do somethingfor you. Make arequest This could even be something small like, ‘Could you grab me astraw?’ Or,‘Couldyou watchmystuff for aminute while Iget acoffee?’ Any small request will do thetrick.” Nicholson calleditthe BenFranklin effect —a phenomenon where aperson likessomeonemore after they’ve helped them in some small way So the ice hasbeenbroken. With anyluck, numbershavebeenexchanged and eventually adateset But what can someone whoisshy do once the datestarts? Calm thosenerves. There’shope yet
Once you’re on thedate
Don’t open with awow-worthy one-liner.Instead, open with a question
“Most approaches go wrong because the personistrying to impress,”hesaid. “They are trying to ‘earn’ the other individual’sinter-
practical items does he need the most? —Seda, in Glendale,California
Seda, here is alist that might help you:
n Shower caddy
n Over-the-door organizer
n Shower shoes
n Laundry bag
n Clip-on dorm room lamp
n Desk lamp
n Lint roller with afew extrarolls
n Alarmclock
n Backpack
n Drawer organizer
n Small first aid kit.
Do any of my readers have any
est, attraction or affection. Essentially,they are opening themselves up to ‘being judged’…rather than evaluating, qualifying or screening theother person.
“So, rather than letting them evaluateyou, begin by evaluating them instead! Askthema question. Be curious. Suspend your attraction to them and makethem jumpthrough ahoop or two to provethemselves to you. Ask themsomething that will qualifythemasa partnerand see whether they pass.”
If you do wanttoopen with a statement, don’tmake it cheesy
Simply make an observation.
In acoffee shop? Comment on the quality of the coffee. Outside? It’s wonderful weather we’rehaving. Cheesy openers mightget alaugh, but simple observations are better invitations for further conversation.
“If the other personisatall interested,heorshe will continue theconversation,” Nicholson explained.“If they arenot interested andsay nothing, thenyou have not riskedanything. Youhave simply madeastatement.” Manhattan Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’sAmohaBajajMahajan, Ph.D., isn’tjust apsychol-
moreitemstoadd that their kids needed forcollege? Let us know at Heloise@Heloise.com! —Heloise
Avoiding smashed fingers
Dear Heloise: Whenever Iwould hammer in anail to hang up a picture, Iwould invariably hammer my finger once or twice. I finally found that if Ihold the nail with apair of pliers instead of my fingers, there wasalot less pain! RogerR.,Tempe,Arizona
Send ahinttoheloise@heloise com.
ogist; she’sananxiety expert. According to thepro, there aresome quick hacks shy people can use to their advantage once the date has begun.
“Shift your focus to the other person,” she wrote on the clinic’s website. “Often, shyness anddiscomfort increase when our focus is on ourselves—our own thoughts, insecurities, appearance. Shifting your focus to your date andthe conversationcan help youfeelmore present and engaged.”
Secondly,she advised ditching any mind reading. Bajaj-Mahajan explained that trying to anticipate whataperson is thinking on adate canbedistracting andisalsousually inaccurate. There’snoneed to guess what they’re thinking.
“Practice an easy manner with somesense of humor,” she wrote, breaking down herfinaltip. “Dating while feeling shy can feel intimidatingand demanding! Tryto break the tension (with yourself) by smiling, walking leisurely,sitting laid-back and comfortably and cracking ajoke or two.”
Copyright2025 TribuneContent Agency
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Build an environment around you that enables you to flourish andmeet people who share your dreams, and you'll discover the path that makes your goals easier to achieve
CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Do things for yourself, and you won't be disappointed. An offer will leaveyou with mixed emotions. Do your homework, ask questions and consider the longtermeffects.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Follow your passion. Gather information and consider how to put your fingerprint on something that interests you. Play defense andprepare to make acountermove.
VIRGo(Aug. 23-sept. 22) Force may be necessary to get things done. If you connect with someone who shares your concerns, an unexpected alternative will come your way.
LIBRA(sept.23-oct. 23) Be careful what youshare with whom. Whenuncertainty sets in, step back and take awaitand-see attitude. It'sbettertobesafe than sorry. In the meantime, focuson gathering information.
sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Gather information, add to your skills and qualifications, anddowhatever it takes to raise your profile.Explore and expand your options to include cheaper ways to live
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stabilize and secure your position, reputation andlifestyle. Spend time rearranging your space to accommodate your
needs. Thebetter the flow, the more you'll achieve.
CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Set boundariesand distanceyourselffrom people most likely to getinyourway.Join groups that connect you to thelatest trends andcan help youmasteryour skills.
AQuARIus(Jan.20-Feb. 19) Dedicate more time to howyou earn andinvest your money. You can't buy love or pay for someone else's mistake.Success comes from doing what's best for you.
PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Temptation will be challenging to resist. Distance yourself from anyone who is abad influenceorlikely to take advantage of you. The best way to maintain stability is to isolate yourself while the pressure's on.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Get the lowdown, figure out what you need and deal only with reputable individuals. Takecare of domestic, travel or educationalissues beforetheycan spin out of control. Trust your instincts.
tAuRus (April 20-May20) Keep your thoughts to yourself. Refuse to letthe changes or decisions others make lead you astray. Agracious attitude will draw favors; eagerness will make people uncomfortable.
The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientificfact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the samenumber onlyonce. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
When beginners learn bridge, they are usually taught twobidding conventions: Blackwood andStayman. They might alsolearntransfers intothe majors, a complement of Stayman.
This week, let’slook at Stayman in its simplest form and in its extensions.
Interestingly, Stayman was not inventedbySam Stayman, butbyhis thenbridge partner, George Rapee. But Staymanwrotethefirstarticlepublished on theconvention, andhis name stuck. (It was independently devisedbyJack Marx from England.)
Thebasic use of Stayman is to find a 4-4 fit in amajor suit. Remember, in notrump, a4-4 fit will produce at most four tricks. But if thatsuitistrumps, you will often generateanextra winner by ruffing aloser.(And on acloudless day, you will gain eight tricks fromthe suit.)
Openerbids one no-trump, and responder replies two clubs. If the opener has one four-card major, he bids twoofthat suit. If he hastwo four-card majors,herebidstwo hearts.And if he has no four-card major, he answers two diamonds. Then theresponder judges what to do next.
In today’s example, North usesStayman despitehis poor suit to try to finda 4-4 spade fit. Whensuccessful,heraises to game. West leads the heart king.
This deal is easy if thetrumps are 3-2. Win the first trick, cash the twotop trumps, and drive out the club ace. Here, South loses only three tricks: one spade, one heartand one club. Finally, observe that three no-trump should be defeated after theheart-king lead. ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist.
By Andrews McMeel Syndication
Each Wuzzle is awordriddle whichcreates adisguised word, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuCtIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”
today’s thought “Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and Iwill give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
thebuildings and improvementsthereon and allthe rights,ways, privileges, servitudes appurtenances andad‐vantagesthereuntobe‐longing or in anywiseap‐pertaining, situated in the Parish of East Baton Rouge,State of Louisiana,inthatsubdi‐visionknown as LITTLE FARMS,and beingdesig‐nated accordingtothe official plan thereofon file andofrecordinthe office of theClerk and RecorderofthisParish as LOTFORTY NINE (49)
said subdivision; said lot havingsuchmeasure‐ments anddimensions asshown on said map. (the "Property") TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHOUT Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE May16, 2025 June 16, 2025 $206.60 g g p p y longing to:THE UN‐OPENEDSUCCESSIONOF STEPHEN A. MYSHRALL (A/K/ASTEVE A. MYSHRALL) One(1) certainlot or par‐cel of ground,together withall of thebuildings and improvements thereon,situatedinthe ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana,inthatsubdi‐visionthereof knownas FAIRWOOD ESTATESSUB‐DIVISION, THIRDFILING, PARTTWO,and being moreparticularlyde‐scribed accordingtothe official mapofsaidsub‐division, on file andof recordinthe office of the Clerk andRecorderfor the said Parish andState asLOT THREEHUNDRED TWENTY-SIX(326),said subdivision,saidlot hav‐ing such measurements and dimensions and being subjecttosuch servitudesasshown on the said map. Whichhas theaddressof 13432 SouthFairviewAv‐enue,Baton Rouge, LA 70816
TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHOUT Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE May16, 2025 June 16, 2025 $237.23
SHERIFF'SSALE SuitNo: (17) 760106 DEUTSCHE BANK NA‐TIONALTRUST COMPANY, ASTRUSTEE FORFFMLT TRUST 2006-FF6, MORT‐GAGEPASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-FF6 VS JOYSPUR‐LOCKDAVIS (A/K/A JOY O.DAVIS) BatonRouge,LA 19th Judicial District Parish of East Baton Rouge StateofLouisiana
g Louisiana, inthat subdi‐visionknown as THE WOODLANDS,FIRST FIL‐ING, anddesignatedon the official plan thereof, on file andofrecordin the office of theClerk and Recorder of the ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana,asLOT NUM‐BER THIRTY NINE (39) saidsubdivision,saidlot havingsuchmeasure‐ments anddimensions and beingsubject to suchservitudesand re‐strictionsasare more particularlyshown on saidmap Whichhas theaddressof 1425 ShadyBrooke, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHAppraisementand accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE May16, 2025 June 16,2025 $252.56 thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above entitledand numbered cause,dated,April 10 2025 andtomedirected, I didseize andwill, be‐ginning at 10:00 o'clock a.m.onJune 18,2025, via anonlineauction site at www.bid4assets.com/ EBRSOsheriffsales,
O.DAVIS) One(1) certainlot or par‐cel of ground,together withall thebuildings and improvementsthereon and allofthe rights ways, privileges, servi‐tudes,appurtenances and advantages there‐untobelonging or in any‐wiseappertaining,situ‐atedinthe Parish of East BatonRouge, Stateof i i i h bdi
