The Advocate 06-19-2025 by The Advocate

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ON TO THE FINALS

NINTH INNING RALLy LIFTS LSU PAST ARKANSAS

Tigers to face Coastal Carolina beginning Saturday

LSU first baseman Jared Jones celebrates as he heads to first base after hitting the game-winning RBI single to lift the Tigers over Arkansas on Wednesday in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb Jones also had a solo home run in the eighth inning of the game.

The victory moves LSU into the finals of the CWS where they will face Coastal Carolina in a best-of-three series beginning Saturday.

ä Complete game coverage in Sports, 1C.

Supreme Court rules against transgender rights

Ban on gender-affirming care for minors upheld

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-afﬁrming care for transgender minors, a jolting setback to transgender rights. The justices’ 6-3 decision in a case from Tennessee effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people. Another 26 states have laws similar to Tennessee’s. Louisiana passed a law in 2023 banning doctors from prescribing hormone therapy

ä See COURT, page 4A

Law enforcement of

following a shooting that injured an Alcohol,

and Explosives agent on Tuesday.

Louisiana officials fear proposed Medicaid cuts

Senate leader says special session may be called

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON State Senate President Cameron

Henry said he’s worried Louisiana won’t be able to cover the losses should Congress ratchet back Medicaid spending the way the U.S. Senate Finance Committee has proposed for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“If this bill takes effect immediately, we’ll absolutely come back into special session, no doubt about it,” Henry said during a video conference hosted Tuesday by the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.

“What we do there would not be pleasant, but we’d have to do it,” the Metairie Republican continued, adding that Louisiana couldn’t afford the estimated $4 billion the bill, if passed as written, would remove from the state’s treasury

“If this bill takes effect immediately, we’ll absolutely come back into special session, no doubt about it. What we do there would not be pleasant, but we’d have to do it.”

SENATE PRESIDENT CAMERON HENRy, R-Metairie

Henry said he phoned U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Monday night after the panel released its recommendations for Medicaid and other provisions in the massive bill that includes much of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. They discussed the problems Louisiana could have covering the costs and discussed strategies about “how to move forward with the changes they want to make without devastating local hospitals, rural hospitals and so forth,” Henry said.

The Senate’s language has “a bunch things in it that would have signiﬁcant effects on Louisiana, not in a positive way,” Henry said.

About 1.8 million people in Louisiana are covered by various Medicaid programs, which is roughly 40% of the state’s population according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Henry also contacted the U.S. House’s top two leaders, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson.

“They’re aware of it but they are also aware that the rest of the country wants changes,” Henry

ä See MEDICAID, page 5A

Three BR men in federal custody

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

A federal agent involved in an undercover sting was wounded after being robbed at gunpoint outside a Baton Rouge convenience store Tuesday, authorities said in announcing the arrests of three men in the shooting. Torion Bobbs, 20, and Cordell Sims, 19, each face charges of assault on a federal officer and robbery, while Caylup Anderson, 18, faces charges of robbery and aiding and abetting. The violence stemmed from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ex-

ATF agent in undercover sting wounded ä See CUSTODY, page 5A

plosives operation, where two ATF agents had arranged separate purchases of guns equipped with machine-gun conversion devices outside Triple S Food Mart on Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Additional federal court records show that after agents purchased a weapon for $900, the parties agreed to arrange another sale, after which Anderson and Sims drove off in a Honda Accord. The two returned to the store with Bobbs, authorities said. As Anderson spoke with one of the undercover agents, security camera footage shows Bobbs and Sims surrounding the agents’ vehicle with

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

ficers gather outside the Triple S Food Mart

Tobacco, Firearms

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

U.S. resumes visas for foreign students

WASHINGTON The U.S State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review

The department said consular ofﬁcers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles.

In a notice made public Wednesday the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity

“Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,” the department said in a statement.

Police: Couple kept boy in room for a decade

A Texas couple is accused of keeping their adopted son locked up and without access to a bathroom for a decade, police say

A 51-year-old man and his 52-year-old wife were arrested after ofﬁcers searched their El Paso home on June 11, following allegations that their 15-year-old son was being “neglected and conﬁned,” police said in a Monday news release.

The husband was, until recently, an employee of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the El Paso Times reported In the wake of the allegations against him, he was “immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation,” the sheriff’s office told the outlet. However, he resigned on Monday, the sheriff’s office told KFOX.

According to investigators, the boy said “he had been routinely locked in his bedroom for extended periods.” He was let out for dinner but “immediately” forced to return after eating, police said.

The boy was not allowed to use the restroom, so he went to the bathroom in his room, police said. He told investigators he had been treated like this for 10 years, police said.

The parents were arrested Friday on charges of unlawful restraint, and their bonds were set at $100,000 each, records show Both made bail and have been released.

Michigan bear has lid removed from its neck

Michigan wildlife experts ﬁnally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his neck — for two years.

“It’s pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself,” state bear specialist Cody Norton said Wednesday “The neck was scarred and missing hair, but the bear was in much better condition than we expected it to be.”

The bear ﬁrst turned up on a trail camera as a cub in 2023 in the northern Lower Peninsula. After that, the Department of Natural Resources was on the lookout for the elusive animal with a hard plastic lid around the neck, Norton said. The bear appeared again on a camera in late May, still wearing the barrel lid, and the DNR responded by setting a cylindrical trap and safely luring him inside. The bear was immobilized with an injection and the lid was cut off in minutes on June 3. The bear eventually woke up and rambled away Norton said it’s not precisely known how the lid got stuck on the bear’s neck. Bear baiting is legal in Michigan, but the hole on a barrel lid typically must be large enough to avoid what happened to this bear

The bear weighed 110 pounds, which is fairly typical for a 2-year-old.

“We were pleasantly surprised. It was still able to make a living like a pretty typical bear,” Norton said.

Kyiv rescuers find more bodies

Death toll from strike on apartment building climbs to 23

BY JUSTIN SPIKE and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV Ukraine Emergency workers pulled more bodies Wednesday from the rubble of a nine-story Kyiv apartment building demolished by a Russian missile, raising the death toll from the latest attack on the Ukrainian capital to 28.

The building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district took a direct hit and collapsed during the deadliest Russian attack on Kyiv this year

Authorities said that 23 of those killed were inside the building.

The remaining ﬁve died elsewhere in the city

Workers used cranes, excavators and their hands to clear more debris from the site, while sniffer dogs searched for buried victims.

The blast blew out windows and doors in neighboring buildings in a wide radius of damage.

The attack overnight on Monday

into Tuesday was part of a sweeping barrage as Russia once again sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Russia fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles in what Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was one of the biggest bombardments of the war Russia has launched a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 620-mile front line and has intensiﬁed long-range attacks that have struck urban residential areas.

At the same time, U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to grain traction. Also, Middle East tensions and U.S. trade tariffs have drawn world attention away from Ukraine’s pleas for more diplomatic and economic pressure to be placed on Russia.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said the attack clashed with the attempts by the administration of President Donald Trump to reach a settlement that will stop the fighting. “This senseless attack runs counter to

President Trump’s call to stop the killing and end the war,” the embassy posted on social platform X. Kyiv authorities declared Wednesday an official day of mourning. Mourners laid ﬂowers on swings and slides at a playground across the street from the collapsed building. On Tuesday, a man had waited hours there for his 31-year-old son’s body to be pulled from the rubble.

Psychologists from Ukraine’s emergency services provided counseling to survivors of the attack and to family members of those who died.

“Some people are simply in a stupor, they simply can’t move,” Karyna Dovhal, one of the psychologists, told the AP “People are waiting for their sons, brothers, uncles. Everyone is waiting.”

Valentin Hrynkov, a 64-year-old handyman in a local school who lived on the seventh ﬂoor of a connected building that did not col-

Read found not guilty of second-degree murder

Woman was accused of killing boyfriend with car

BY MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

— A jury found Karen

DEDHAM, Mass.

Read not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges Wednesday in the 2022 death of her Boston police ofﬁcer boyfriend, a case that attracted legions of true crime followers who erupted in cheers when word of the acquittal spread outside court.

The same jury also found her guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving after deliberating for at least 22 hours since Friday Cheers from the crowd outside could be heard in the courtroom as the verdict was read. With gleeful supporters, Read departed the courthouse with her attorneys and family

It was a huge victory for Read’s lawyers, who have long asserted that she was framed by police after dropping John O’Keefe off at a party at the home of a fellow ofﬁcer Prosecutors argued that the 45-year-old Read hit O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV before driving away, but the defense maintained that he was killed inside the home and later dragged outside.

“No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have,” Read said. Members of O’Keefe’s family left the courtroom with bowed heads.

The verdict came nearly a year after a separate jury deadlocked over Read’s involvement in the January 2022 death of O’Keefe and resulted in a mistrial.

Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene outside Boston. A second-degree murder conviction would have carried a life sentence She will face a year of probation for the drunken driving conviction

Read’s father, Bill Read, told reporters he felt relief and gave “tremendous thanks” to God when the verdict was read. “We need to get our life back together, and we will,” he said.

Several witnesses in the case said in a statement Wednesday that their “hearts are with John and the entire O’Keefe family.” Those who signed the statement included Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read and O’Keefe the night of his death, and Brian Albert, who owned the home where the party took place.

“While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John’s family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and con-

spiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice,” the statement said. Outside the court, Read supporters celebrated in an atmosphere similar to sports fans reveling in a team’s championship, complete with pink confetti.

T.D. Floras, of Nashua, New Hampshire, stood next to the barrier facing the courthouse holding Lucy her chorkie, a cross between a chihuahua and a yorkie. The dog wore a sign around its neck that read “Free Karen.” Floras said she was “beyond thrilled and excited” about the outcome.

“I would do that OUI probation for her myself,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming, so let’s put this behind her now so she can have some peace in her life.”

A blogger who has championed Read’s innocence and has been charged with witness intimidation in connection with her case told the AP he was “overcome with emotion” after the verdict.

“Two and a half years of this. It’s finally over Karen Read’s free,” Aidan Kearney said. “Everything I did was worth it, and we finally have justice. We finally put this nightmare behind us.”

Read’s defense said O’Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog and left outside a home in the Boston suburb of Canton, in a conspiracy orchestrated by police that included planting evidence. Prosecutors have described Read as a scorned lover who chose to leave O’Keefe dying in the snow after striking him with her SUV Shira Diner, a lecturer at Boston University Law School, said the verdict “gives us an opportunity to reﬂect how this case would have been different if Karen Read was not a White woman of privilege and means.”

lapse, said he and his wife woke up to the sound of explosions followed by a pause, and then another blast that rattled their own building. He said his wife had shrapnel injuries in her back and his legs and feet were cut by broken glass. The damage trapped them in their apartment for around 30 minutes before rescue workers could free them, he said. He felt an overwhelming sense of “helplessness and primal fear” during the attack, he told The Associated Press. “I was especially scared to sleep last night,” Hrynkov said. “A car drives by and I cover my head. It’s scary.” Drones were striking every few minutes within hundreds of meters of the building hit by the missile. The continuing attack forced firefighters and rescue teams to delay the rescue operation. Relatives and friends of the destroyed building’s residents later gathered outside in shock, many crying and calling out names, hoping survivors might still be found beneath the rubble.

RFK Jr.’s new panel will take on vaccine ingredient

Bloomberg News (TNS)

WASHINGTON Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan for America’s vaccines is coming into focus, with his revamped immunization advisory panel set to discuss the use of measles shots in kids next week and vote on an ingredient that’s been wrongly linked to autism. The draft agenda for next week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting revisits old topics concerning vaccine safety raising questions that many public health experts consider long settled. Any decisions could have sweeping implications for American public health, potentially upending how vaccines are manufactured, paid for and distributed around the country Just last week, Kennedy, the Health and Human Services secretary, overhauled the ACIP panel, ﬁring all of the existing members and putting several new people on the board who’ve been vocal vaccine critics. The group recommends which vaccines go on the childhood and adult schedules after review-

ing safety data. These decisions help determine which shots are covered by insurance.

The new ACIP members will hear a presentation about thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative that is used in some adult ﬂu vaccines. The group will later vote on “thimerosalcontaining vaccine recommendations,” according to details of the agenda posted Wednesday The panel will review a presentation and proposed recommendations for the measles, mumps and chicken pox vaccines for kids under 5 years of age.

“What they are doing is launching a complete dismantling of vaccine recommendations,” said Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America. If the committee votes to remove thimerosal from vaccines, manufactures will have to create and ship single doses, which some manufacturers may not be able to do, she said. Ultimately, the move would “chip away access to vaccines.”

Thimerosal is currently used in three ﬂu vaccines for adults.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By JOSH REyNOLDS Supporters of Karen Read react after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday in Dedham, Mass.

Karen Read gestures to supporters after she was found not guilty of seconddegree murder on Wednesday in Dedham, Mass.

Iran’s leader rejectscalltosurrender

He warnsthatmilitary involvementbyU.S wouldcause ‘irreparable damage’

BY JOSEPH KRAUSS,JON GAMBRELL and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday rejected U.S. calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.” European diplomats prepared to hold talks with Iran on Friday

The second public appearance by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since the Israeli strikes began six days ago came as Israel lifted somerestrictions on daily life, suggesting that the missile threat from Iran was easing.

Khameneispoke aday after U.S. President Donald Trumpdemanded in asocialmediapostthatIran surrender withoutconditions and warned Khamenei thatthe U.S. knows where he is but has noplans to kill him, “at least not for now.”

Trump initially distanced himself from Israel’ssurprise attack aimed at Iran’snuclear program, butin recent days he has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something “muchbigger” than aceaseﬁre. The U.S. has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

Senior European diplomats were set to hold nuclear talks withIran on Friday in Geneva, accordingtoa European ofﬁcial familiar with the matter The ofﬁcial, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity todiscuss matters freely,said the meeting would include high-rankingdiplomats from Germany,France and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’stop diplomat.

Separately, theU.N.Security Council scheduled asecond emergency meeting on theIsrael-Iran conﬂict for Friday at the request of Russia, China and Pakistan.Russian President Vladimir Putinoffered to help mediate aresolution, suggesting Moscowcouldhelp negotiate asettlement allowing Teh-

rantopursue apeacefulatomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

“In my view, asolution could be found,” Putinsaid Wednesday at a session with journalists.

‘Threatening,’ ‘absurdstatements’

Khamenei dismissed the “threateningand absurdstatements” by Trump.

“Wise individuals who know Iran, its peopleand its historynever speaktothis nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” he said in alow-resolution video.

“Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.”

Iran released Khamenei’sstatement before the video was aired, perhaps asasecurity measure.

An Iranian diplomat had warned earlier WednesdaythatU.S. intervention would risk “all-out war.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’sweapons. TheU.S

has threatened amassive response to any attack.

Another Iranian ofﬁcial saidthe country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently rulingout Trump’s demands that Iran give up its disputed nuclear program.

Strikesinand around Tehran

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Efﬁe Defrin told anews conference WednesdaythatIsrael launchedthree waves of aerial attacks in the last 24 hours, deploying dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran, including missile launchers, weapon-production sites and afacility that he said produced antitank missiles for Lebanon’sHezbollah militantgroup.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military also struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal securityforces, without specifying the agency or location.The strike marks ashift toward targeting Iran’sdomestic security apparatus, which has longcracked down on dissent and suppressedprotests. Iran’s police forceacknowledged

Erickstrengthens into Cat3 approachingMexico’scoast

BY FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and LUIS ALBERTOCRUZ Associated Press

ACAPULCO,Mexico

Hur-

ricane Erick powered up into adangerous Category 3major hurricane Wednesday evening as it bore down on southern Mexico’scoast, threatening to unleash destructive winds and lifethreatening flash floods on the region after aday of rapid intensification, forecasters said.

Swiftly strengthening from aCategory1hurricane hours earlier,Erick had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph by nightfallas it churned closer to shore about 55 miles south-southwest of Puerto Angel, the Miami-basedU.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Erick was also about 160 miles southeast of Punta Maldonado and moving northwest at 9mph toward thecoast and expected to move inland Thursday morning, according to the center’slatest advisory.A major hurricane is deﬁned as Category 3orhigher and wind speeds of at least 111 mph. Forecasters said additional strengthening is expectedand devastating wind damage is possible close to where the eye crashes ashore. Having doubled in strength in less than aday, Erick was chuggingthrough an ideal environmentfor quick intensification. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification— when astorm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours —which is about twice as many as average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the hurricane center The projectedpath would take its center near the resort of Acapulco, which was devastated in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, aCategory 5hurricane that rapidly intensiﬁed and caught many

unprepared. At least 52 people diedinOtis and 32were missing, after the storm severely damaged almost all of theresort’shotels.

In AcapulcoonWednesday, there was astrong presence of National Guardand police in thestreets,but most visible were trucksfrom the nationalpower company Crews workedtoclear drainage canalsand brush. Some beaches were already closed, but tourists continued to sunbathe onothershours earlier as thestormgained strength well offshore Theportadministration

orderedthatnoone ride out thestorm aboard their boats. During Otismany lost their lives by staying on boats in the harbor,which had traditionally been how they ensured their safety during previous storms. Forecasterssaid Erick was expected to lash Mexico’sPaciﬁc coast with heavy rain, strong winds and afierce storm surge.Rains of up to 16 inches could fall across theMexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero,withlesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima andJalisco states,the center’s advisorysaid.

BethanyChristianSchool admits studentsofany race, color, national andethnicorigintoall therights, privileges, programs, andactivities generally accorded or made available to studentsofthe organization. It doesnot discriminateonthe basisof race, color, nationaland ethnicorigin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, andother organization-administeredprograms.

Trumpadds flagpolesat

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON— The American ﬂag has long ﬂownfrom apoleonthe WhiteHouse roof,but that’salways been too small forPresident Donald Trump, who wants everything to be bigger and morebeautiful.

On Wednesday, massive new flagpoles wereerected on theNorth andSouth Lawns of the White House.

“It’ssuch abeautiful pole,” Trumpsaid as workers used acrane to installthe latest addition to the South Lawn. He returned to thesame spot later in the day,saluting as the Stars and Stripes were hoistedfor the first time.

the strike hours later,saying that Israel hit its central command buildings in Tehran andwoundedsome ofﬁcers, without saying howmany

In addition, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said, Israel hit two centrifuge-production facilities in and near Tehran.

Israel’sair campaign has struck several nuclear andmilitary sites, killingtop generals andnuclearscientists. AWashington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, havebeen killed in Iran andmore than 1,300 wounded.

In retaliation, Iran has fired some400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.

Israeli military officials said their defenses intercepted 10 missiles overnight andseveral more Wednesday evening as Iran’sretaliatory barrages diminished.

Some U.S. diplomatsand their families at the U.S. embassy in Israel wereevacuated Wednesday, according to two U.S. ofﬁcials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describesensitive diplomatic movements.

The second pole, on the North Lawn, is close to Pennsylvania Avenue.The two poles are the most notable exterior modiﬁcation to the White House since Trump returned to the presidency with grand ideas forremaking the building.

He’salready updated the Oval Ofﬁce, adding gold accents, moreportraits and acopy of the Declaration of Independence. Workers have begun paving over the grass in the Rose Garden, and there are plans to construct anew ballroom somewhere on the White House grounds. The changes bring theiconic building moreinline with Mar-a-Lago, Trump’sprivate club in Florida.

The president made time to watch one of the ﬂagpole installations despite the escalating conflictbetween Iran and Israel, plus questions of whetherthe U.S. would becomedirectlyinvolved.

“I love construction,” said Trump, who made hismark as aNew York real estate developer.“Iknow it better than anybody.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByLEO CORREA

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to interceptmissiles Wednesday during an Iranian attackoverTel Aviv,Israel.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LUIS ALBERTO CRUZ

A fisherman moveshis boat Wednesdaybefore the arrival of HurricaneErick in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca state, Mexico.

Trumpadministrationremoving988 hotline

BY DEVI SHASTRI Associated Press

The 988 National Suicide &Crisis Lifeline will stop providingtailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July17, according to astatement on afederal agency’swebsite

The decision preempts the Trump administration’s2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’sLGBTQ+youthand young adult services, and is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates. Federal data showsthe LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022. The services were accessible underthe “Press

3” option on thephone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.

The decision was was madeto “no longer silo”the services and “tofocus on serving all help seekers, including thosepreviously served through the Press 3option,” the U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration said in astatement dated Tuesday on its website. News of theLGBTQ+service shutting down comesasthe U.S Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s banongender-afﬁrming care for transgender minors on Wednesday.

The Trevor Project saiditreceived ofﬁcial notice Tuesday that the program was ending. The non-

proﬁt is one of sevencentersthat provides 988 crisis support services for LGBTQ+ people —and serves nearly half of thepeople who contact the lifeline.

“Suicide preventionisabout people, notpolitics,” Trevor Project CEOJaymes Black saidina statement Wednesday. “The administration’sdecision to remove abipartisan, evidence-basedservicethathas effectively supported ahigh-risk groupofyoung people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”

In its statement on the 988 decision,SAMHSAreferredtothe “LGB+ youth services.”

Black called the omission of the “T”representing transgender

people “callous. Transgender people can never,and will never, be erased,” he said.

The Trevor Project will continue to run its 24/7 mental health support services, as will other organizations, and leaders of 988 say the hotline will serve anyone who calls with compassion.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were 49,300 suicidesin2023 aboutthe highest level in the nation’shistory,based on preliminary data.

Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ youthare at higher risk of suicide, including a2024 analysis by theCDC that found26% transgender and gender-questioning studentsattempted suicide in the pastyear.That’scompared with 5% of cisgender male and11% of

cisgender female students. Young transgender people ﬂooded crisis hotlineswith calls after President Donald Trumpwas reelected.Trump made anti-transgender themes central to his campaign and has since rolled back manycivil rights protections and access to gender-afﬁrming care.

Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 into law in October 2020.

The specific 988 subprogram forLGBTQ+ youth cost$33 million in ﬁscalyear 2024,according to SAMHSA, and as of June 2025, morethan $33 million has been spent on theservices. TheTrump administration’s 2026 budgetproposalcalledfor keeping 988’stotal budget at $520 millioneven while eliminating the LGBTQ+ services.

and puberty blockers to minors, and from administering gender-transition surgical procedures. Five Louisiana transgender youths asked ajudge to blockthe state’sban after it went into effect in 2024.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for aconservative majority that the law banning puberty blockers andhormone treatments for trans minors doesn’tviolate the Constitution’sequal protection clause, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same.

“This case carries with it theweight of fiercescientific and policy debates about the safety,efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. Thevoices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound,” Roberts wrote. “The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve thesedisagreements.Nor does it afford us license to decide them as we seebest.”

In adissent for the court’s three liberal justices that she summarized aloud in the courtroom, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote,“By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the court abandonstransgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, Idissent.”

The law also limits parents’ decision-making ability for their children’shealth care, she wrote.

The decision comes amid other federaland stateefforts to regulatethe lives of transgender people,including whichsports competitionsthey canjoinand which bathrooms they can use. In April, Trump’sadministration sued Maine for not complying with the government’spush to ban transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

The Republican president also has soughtto block federal spending on gender-affirming medical care for those under age 19 —instead promoting talk therapy only to treat young transgenderpeople. And the Supreme Court has allowed him to kick transgender service members out of themilitary, evenascourt fights continue. The president signedanother order to deﬁne the sexes as only male and female.

The debate even spilled into Congress when Delaware elected Democrat Sarah McBride as the ﬁrst transgender member of the House. Herelectionprompted immediate opposition among Republicans,including HouseSpeaker Mike Johnson of Benton and Rep Nancy Mace of South Caro-

lina, over which bathroom McBride could use.

Several states wheregender-afﬁrming care remains in placehave adoptedlaws or state executive orders seeking to protectit. But sinceTrump’sexecutiveorder,some providers have ceased some treatments. For instance, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia announced last monthitwouldn’t provide surgeries for patients under19.

Thepresident of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr.SusanKressly, said the organization is “unwavering”inits support of gender-affirmingcare and “stands withpediatricians and familiesmaking health care decisions together and freefrompolitical interference.”

Five years ago, the Supreme Courtruled LGBTQ+ peopleare protected by alandmarkfederal civil rights lawthat prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. That decisionis unaffected by Wednesday’s ruling. But the justices declined to apply the same sortof analysis the court used in 2020 when it found “sex plays anunmistakable role” in employers’ decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. Roberts joined that opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was part of Wednesday’smajority Justice Amy ConeyBarrett also fully joined the ma-

joritybut wrote separately to emphasizethat laws classifying people based on transgenderstatus should not receive any special review by courts. Barrett, also writing for Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote that “courts must give legislatures ﬂexibility to makepolicy in this area.”

Chase Strangio, theAmerican Civil Liberties Union lawyer who argued the case for transgender minors and their families,called the ruling “a devastating loss for transgender people, our families, and everyone who cares aboutthe Constitution.”

Mo Jenkins,a 26-year-old transwoman who began taking hormone therapy at 16,saidshe was disheartened but not surprised by the ruling. “Trans people arenot goingtodisappear,” saidJenkins, aTexas native and legislative staffer at the state capitolinAustin. Texas outlawed puberty blockers and hormonetreatment for minorsin2023. Tennessee’sleading Republican elected officials all praised theoutcome. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on social media calledthe rulinga “LandmarkVICTORYfor TennesseeatSCOTUS in defense of America’schildren!”

There are about 300,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17 and 1.3 million adults who identify as transgender in the U.S., according to theWilliams Institute, athink tankatthe

UCLA School of Lawthat researches sexualorientation andgender identity demographics.

When thecase was argued in December,then-President Joe Biden’sDemocratic ad-

ministration and families of transgenderadolescents calledonthe high court to strike down the Tennessee banasunlawful sexdiscrimination and to protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans.

They argued the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment in part because the same treatments thatthe lawprohibitsfor transgenderminors canbeused for other purposes.

Soon after Trump took ofﬁce, the Justice Department toldthe court itsposition had changed.

Amajor issue in thecase was the appropriate level of scrutinycourtsshouldapply to such laws.

The lowest level is known as rational basis review,and almostevery lawlooked at that wayisupheld. Indeed, the federalappeals court in Cincinnati that allowed the Tennessee law to be enforced held that lawmakers acted rationally to regulate medical procedures.

The appeals court reverseda trialcourt that employed ahigher level of review,heightened scrutiny,

which appliesincases of sex discrimination. Under this more searching examination, the state must identify an important objective and show the law helps accomplish it.

Roberts’24-page majority opinionwas devoted almost entirely to explaining why the Tennesseelaw,called SB1, should be evaluated under the lower standard of review.The law’s restrictions on treating minors for genderdysphoriaturn on ageand medical use, not sex, Roberts wrote.

Doctors mayprescribe puberty blockers and hormone therapy to minors of anysex to treat some disorders, but not those relating to transgender status, he wrote. But in her courtroom statement, Sotomayor asserted that similar arguments were made to defend the Virginia law prohibiting interracial marriage that the SupremeCourt struck down in 1967.

“A ban on interracial marriage could be described in the sameway as the majority described SB1,” she said. Roberts rejected the comparison.

Notice is hereby givenpursuant to Article7,Section 23(C) of theLouisiana Constitution andR.S. 47:1705(B) thata public hearingofthe Town of Sorrento in AscensionParishwill be held at its regularmeeting placeinthe Sorrento Community Center,located at 7471 Main Street,Sorrento, LA on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. to consider levyingadditional or increasedmillage rateswithout further voterapprovalor adopting the adjusted millage ratesafter reassessmentandrollingforwardtorates nottoexceed the prioryear’smaximum. Theestimatedamountoftax revenues to be collectedinthe next year from the increasedmillage is $84,993, andthe amountofdecreaseintaxes attributable to the millage increase is $3,443.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA Transgender rightssupporters rally outside of the Supreme CourtonDec. 4.

ﬁrearms and robbing them of $2,300, authorities said. The agents followed the suspects’ vehicle after it left, and occupants of both cars exchanged gunﬁre, according to records.

During the chase, an ATF agent and Sims wereboth shot andsuffered wounds that were not life-threatening. All threesuspects then ﬂed on foot, though Simswas soon arrested and taken to a hospital,according to the news release.

Agents with the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Police, Baton Rouge police and East Baton RougeParish Sheriff’s Office swarmed the area around the store,located at the intersection of North Foster Drive and Fairfields Avenue. Police drones were deployed, and personnel searched thesurrounding wooded area. Customers remained inside the convenience store and afurniture store across the street for several hours whileauthorities held the perimeter Nearby residents gathered to film the scene. One bystander exclaimed, “This is ‘CSI Baton Rouge!’” At one point, additional law

MEDICAID

Continued from page1A

said.

State Rep. Vanessa LaFleur,D-Baton Rouge and part of the PARwebinar, agreedwith Henry “Wetalked about this,” said LaFleur,amember of theLouisiana HouseAppropriations Committee. “If it happens the way we anticipate, we will go back in special. We will be making cuts because we have to.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would partially pay for increased border security,more military armaments and tax cuts by reducingall manner of federal spending —but mostly Medicaid, theprogram that covers health care costs for 72 million low-income Americans, roughly 19% of the country House Republicans argue that they want to remove “waste, fraud and abuse” to keep Medicaid for the people who truly need it. The tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks wouldenergize the U.S. economy,the GOP argues. Despite ahistoric amount of spendingreductions

$1.6 trillion —the legislation as it cleared the House would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade,calculatesthe Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan arm that estimates the finances of legislation.

Some Republican senators say more spending cuts are necessary.Other GOP senators already opposed to the House’sMedicaid reductions are even more adamant about the committee’stake

enforcement descendedon ahouse down thestreet on MonroeAvenue. Anderson andanother man walked out and were taken into custody Court records don’tspecify howBobbs was detained

“Ouroffice has zero tolerance forassaults on law enforcementofficers,”said acting U.S. Attorney Ellison C. Travis, who announced the federal charges. “Yesterday’sswift federal charges reflect the seamless teamwork of the FBI,ATF,Baton Rouge PoliceDepartment, East BatonRouge Parish Sheriff’s Office andLouisiana State Police.”

Machine-gun conversion devices, alsoknown as “Glock switches,” were attachedtothe suspects’ weapons, authorities said. Their use has exploded in recent years across the country andinBaton Rouge, due to their ease of access attainablefor afew dollars on thedark web.Possession of thedevices, which allow shooters to fire multiple rounds with asingle trigger pull, is afelony.

“ATF’sprimary focusisto support public safetyand address violent crime withour federal, state,and local partners.” said Joshua Jackson, a spokesperson for ATFNew Orleans. These swiftcharges represent anotherexample ofATF workingwith our

Each sidehas numbers enoughtoscuttle the bill. Republicans hold a53-47 majority,so they can only afford to lose three Republicans, provided Vice President JD Vanceisonhandto cast the decidingvote.

TheSenate FinanceCommittee’s recommendations include afar more aggressive rollbackinfederal funding than theHouseapprovedinMay.Muchofthe wording in the 549-page measure, which likely will change before the bill hits the Senate ﬂoor sometime next week, changes the formulas that determine how much thefederal government pays andhow much state governments payfor medical services rendered to Medicaid beneﬁciaries.

TheSenate’sversion would lower the amount a state can tax hospitals, clinics and other health care providers from 6% to 3.5%. Louisiana and most other states usethe “provider tax” proceeds to help pay the state’smatching portion.

With the loss of provider tax revenues, state taxpayers wouldhave pay more to reach the same level of federal matchingfunds

Lawenforcement agents from multiple

injured an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

law enforcement partners to hold thoseaccountable who choosetouse ﬁrearms to engage in violent crime within our communities.”

Email Aidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com.

Some states, including Louisiana, use part of the provider taxes to fund what is called “state directed payments.” In Louisiana that money goes to supplement hospitals in rural communities,wheremore patients are on Medicaid, which pays less than the medical servicesoften cost. TheSenate wants to use adifferent marker that would lower the amount available. In Louisiana’scase, the state budgeted $245 million forrural hospitalsin thenextﬁscal year.Ifthe bill passesasthe Senate committee recommends, that amount would immediately dropto$211 million and would be reduced every year until it reaches about $128 millionannually

The state would have to pick up those additional costs or roll back services. The Senate also would require abled-bodiedadults with children over the age of 14 to work or volunteer 80 hours permonth. The House-passed version requiredworkonlyfor childless adults.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

Go-broke years for Medicare, Social Security pushed up

Legislation affecting benefits depleting funding faster

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security’s trust funds have moved up as rising health care costs and new legislation affecting Social Security beneﬁts have contributed to earlier projected depletion dates, according to an annual report released Wednesday

The go-broke date or the date at which the programs will no longer have enough funds to pay full beneﬁts — was pushed up to 2033 for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, according to the new report from the programs’ trustees. Last year’s report put the gobroke date at 2036.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s trust funds which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full beneﬁts beginning in 2034, instead of last year’s estimate of 2035. After that point, Social Security would only be able to pay 81% of beneﬁts.

The trustees say the latest ﬁndings show the urgency of needed

BY SCOTT BAUER Associated Press

MADISON,Wis. — Anxious lawmakers convened Wednesday under heightened security in Wisconsin’s State Capitol, one of the most publicly accessible statehouses in the country, days after a legislator and her husband in neighboring Minnesota were shot and killed at their home and others were targeted

The tension playing out in Wisconsin and other states after the Minnesota killings pits those who want to keep state capitols as open and accessible as possible against those concerned about increasing threats and acts of violence against ofﬁceholders. Numerous states took action this week to protect personal information of lawmakers after the targeted shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers. The second legislator and his wife sustained serious injuries in the shootings early Saturday A suspect, Vance Boelter, surrendered to police on Sunday Prosecutors say Boelter had dozens of additional potential targets. They included state and federal ofﬁceholders in Wisconsin.

Legislatures in most states are done meeting for the year, but those like Wisconsin that are still in session are taking emergency action to bolster security

The police chief at the North Carolina General Assembly said Monday in an email to legislators that “we are working on enhanced security plans and are doing our best to keep everyone safe.” But further details haven’t been released and there’s been no significant change seen in security on the surface.

In Arizona, more state

changes to the programs which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

President Donald Trump and other Republicans have vowed not to make any cuts to Medicare or Social Security, even as they seek to shrink federal expenditures.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano, sworn into his role in May, said in a statement that “the ﬁnancial status of the trust funds remains a top priority for the Trump Administration.” A common misconception is that Social Security would be completely unable to pay beneﬁts once it reaches its go-broke date.

“Current-law projections indicate that Medicare still faces a substantial ﬁnancial shortfall that needs to be addressed with further legislation. Such legislation should be enacted sooner rather than later to minimize the impact on beneﬁciaries, providers, and taxpayers,” the trustees state in the report.

The trustees are made up of six people — the Treasury Secretary serves as managing trustee, alongside the secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services and

the commissioner of Social Security Two other presidentiallyappointed and Senate-confirmed trustees serve as public representatives, however those roles have been vacant since July 2015.

About 68 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Wednesday’s report shows a worsening situation for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund compared to last year But the forecasted go-broke date of 2033 is still later than the dates of 2031, 2028 and 2026 predicted just a few years ago.

Once the fund’s reserves become depleted, Medicare would be able to cover only 89% of costs for patients’ hospital visits, hospice care and nursing home stays or home health care that follow hospital visits.

The report said expenses last year for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund came in higher than expected.

Income exceeded expenditures by nearly $29 billion last year for the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the report stated. Trustees expect that surplus to continue through 2027. Deﬁcits then will follow until the fund becomes depleted in 2033.

troopers were assigned to the state Senate building, said Senate GOP Spokesperson Kim Quintero.

Security bolstered in Wis Security changes for Wednesday’s meeting of the Wisconsin Legislature were mostly out of sight.

Visitors to the Capitol could still enter the building without going through a metal detector, but anyone wanting to watch in the Senate’s public gallery had to go through an additional security check. Those wishing to watch the Assembly session from the gallery could do so, but they were encouraged to instead view it from another room.

In a more visible sign of force, there were state patrol ofﬁcers in the building and around both legislative chambers in addition to the usual Capitol Police.

There were new security screenings for reporters attending a news conference in the Senate parlor, and the Democratic Assembly leader’s door that is typi-

cally open was locked with a sign saying anyone with an appointment could knock to gain entry

“I feel safe in our Capitol building,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein said before session began Wednesday

Not everyone felt the same way

“We need to have a higher level of security,” Republican Sen Chris Kapenga told WISN-TV He supports adding metal detectors and banning guns for anyone in the building except for lawmakers. He said he always carries a gun in the Capitol.

“We should not be worried about our lives walking into that building,” Kapenga said.

Prior security concerns

Wisconsin is a presidential battleground state used to high-stakes political ﬁghts and frequent large protests both inside and outside of the Capitol.

Two years ago a man armed with a loaded hand-

A payroll tax on covered earnings provides the main funding for the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Future expenses paid by the fund are expected to increase at a faster pace than earnings. Legislation is needed to change those tax rates.

The report states that the Social Security Social Security Fairness Act, enacted in January, which repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions of the Social Security Act and increased Social Security beneﬁt levels for some workers, had an impact on the depletion date of SSA’s trust funds.

Romina Boccia, a director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the libertarian CATO Institute, called the repeal of the provisions “a political giveaway masquerading as reform. Instead of tackling Social Security’s structural imbalances, Congress chose to increase beneﬁts for a vocal minority — accelerating trust fund insolvency.”

“It’s a clear sign that populist pressure now outweighs ﬁscal responsibility and economic sanity on both sides of the aisle,” she said.

“Pair that with a Republican reconciliation bill that increases tax giveaways while refusing to rein in even the most dubious Medicaid expansions, and the message is unmistakable: Washington is still in

giveaway mode.”

AARP CEO Myechia MinterJordan said “Congress must act to protect and strengthen the Social Security that Americans have earned and paid into throughout their working lives.” “More than 69 million Americans rely on Social Security today and as America’s population ages, the stability of this vital program only becomes more important.”

Social Security beneﬁts were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age has never changed for Medicare, with people eligible for the medical coverage when they turn 65.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the benefit program, said in a statement that “there are two options for action: Bringing more money into Social Security, or reducing benefits. Any politician who doesn’t support increasing Social Security’s revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts.”

Congressional Budget Ofﬁce reporting has stated that the biggest drivers of debt rising in relation to GDP are increasing interest costs and spending for Medicare and Social Security An aging population drives those numbers.

gun came into the Wisconsin Capitol looking for Gov Tony Evers, who was not there at the time.

Wisconsin is one of seven states where concealed weapons are allowed in the Capitol, according to a 2021 report by the Council of State Governments. Thirtysix states ban concealed weapons in their capitol buildings.

There have been some visible security increases at the Wisconsin Capitol in recent months. Anyone attending oral arguments of the state Supreme Court, which meets in a room just around the corner from the legislative chambers, must go through a metal detector

That was added after a retired judge was shot and killed in a targeted attack at his home in 2022 and amid increasing threats to members of the judiciary Evers and other lawmakers were also on a list that gunman had.

No metal detectors

The Wisconsin Capitol has its own police force housed in the basement, but the building is not protected by metal detectors, screening checkpoints or X-rays. Anyone can walk in off the street between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the week and go straight to the ofﬁces of state lawmakers and others.

The Wisconsin Capitol is

one of 11 state capitols that does not have metal detectors, a state audit found last year It is one of 19 states without X-ray machines to scan items people bring into the building, the audit found. Metal detectors were installed at the Capitol in late February 2011 at the height of protests over then-Gov Scott Walker’s proposal, later signed into law, that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. They were removed four months later under an agreement reached between Walker’s administration and the state employees union, which sued to get the Capitol reopened without metal detectors.

Obama says Trump actions ‘consistent with autocracies’

Former president criticizes spread of disinformation

BY CHRISTOPHER KEATING Hartford Courant (TNS)

HARTFORD, Conn Former

President Barack Obama never once mentioned Donald Trump by name, but the current president was never far from the conversation Tuesday night in Hartford

Touching on a wide range of topics, Obama delivered a history lesson about democracy and freedom with references to the Civil War, World War II, civil rights, solidarity in Poland, and the Berlin Wall.

“Our biggest challenge right now is we need democracy more than ever, and it’s probably as weak as it’s been since I’ve been alive,” Obama told a sell-out crowd of 2,800 at The Bushnell theatre in Hartford.

Obama appeared at The Connecticut Forum, a longrunning speaker series that brings national figures to Hartford. In addition to the sold-out crowd, a spillover theatre was opened for a simulcast for those who could not ﬁt into the main theatre.

Saying that democracy needs judges and prosecutors to carry out the rule of law, Obama said that some recent actions by the federal government have pushed the limits of democracy

“It is consistent with autocracies,” Obama said “It is consistent with Hungary under (nationalist leader Viktor) Orban. We’re not there yet completely, but we are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that. Let’s not go over that cliff because it’s hard to recover.”

As a one-time constitutional law professor and former U.S. senator, Obama did not deliver red meat to the liber-

al crowd with any soundbite criticisms of Trump. The only person he mentioned by name was Steve Bannon, a Trump strategist who now runs a podcast and is not a member of the administration.

Instead, Obama talked about restoring the nation to its greatness and lessening the education and wealth gaps that have created tensions among some Americans.

“What really makes America exceptional is that it’s the only a big country on Earth that is made up of people from every corner of the globe,” Obama said. “The glue that holds us together is this crazy experiment of democracy When this experiment works, it gives the world a bit of hope.”

The nation, he said, has lost its shared sense of purpose with a scattered and sharply divided media landscape that stretches from journalism to entertainment.

Rather than making a long speech at a podium like the State of the Union Address, Obama appeared on stage in a question-and-answer format with liberal historian Heather Cox Richardson, who directed the conversation. Currently a history professor at Boston College who lives in Maine, Richardson holds three degrees from Harvard and has more than 2.5 million subscribers to her newsletter on Substack.

One of the problems facing America, Obama said, is the spread of misinformation and disinformation

“You just have to ﬂood the zone with so much untruth, constantly, that at some point, people don’t believe anything,” Obama said. “So it doesn’t matter if a candidate running for ofﬁce just is constantly — just hypothetically saying untrue things. Or if an elected president claims that he won when he lost, and that

the system was rigged. But then when he wins, that it isn’t rigged because he won. It doesn’t matter if everybody believes it. It just matters if everybody starts kind of throwing up their hands and saying, ‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.’ And that’s what’s happening.”

Like other presidents, Obama has been relatively low-key lately and has generally avoided direct criticism of a sitting president.

Traditionally, presidents such as George H.W Bush and his son, George W. Bush, have followed the longstanding practice of avoiding criticism in a public way

But Trump has set a different tone, ripping into Biden when he was a candidate and now blaming Biden at times when things go wrong during the Trump presidency

Obama spoke out recently on X formerly known as Twitter, where he has 130 million followers.

“Thirteen years ago, my administration acted to protect young people who were American in every single way but one: on paper,” Obama tweeted “DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. And it’s an example worth remembering today when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities are being demonized and treated as enemies.”

He added, “We can ﬁx our broken immigration system while still recognizing our common humanity and treating each other with dignity and respect. In fact, it’s the only way we ever will.”

Despite any problems facing the country, Obama remains optimistic.

“I don’t think progress goes in a straight line,” he said. “That’s been true in the United States, and it’s been true around the world. I think the good will win out.”

When aLouisianaresidentpassesaway, thetitle to alloftheir assets is frozen.Thisincludesallbankaccounts,investmentaccounts,andrealestate intheir name.Noneofitcan be sold until ajudge orders the transfer ofthe assetstothesurvivingheirs.

HowWillMyAssetsGetTransferredtoMyHeirs:

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WhatisUsufruct?

Ausufructisarightthatapersonhasforacertainperiodoftimeontheproperty of anotherperson. Thefeatures of theright of ausufructvarywiththe natureofthethingssubjecttoit.Usufructsareoftenestablishedwhensomeonedies.Forexample,amarriedpersonmay,inhisWill,leavehissurviving spouseusufruct of everything he owns when he dies,but thereare certain restrictions andlimitationswhenestablishinga usufruct.The usufructuary may have numerous obligations,suchasanobligationtoprovide security, theresponsibilitytoprovide repairs, thepayment of necessary expenses, taxes,debtsandothercharges

•WhyaSuccessionmaybenecessarywhenyoudie?

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Communityproperty–whogetsthiswhenyoudiewithoutaWill?

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Deadly listeria outbreak linked to chicken fettucine alfredo

BY JONEL ALECCIA AP health writer

A listeria food poisoning outbreak that has killed three people and led to one pregnancy loss is linked to newly recalled heat-and-eat chicken fettucine alfredo products sold at Kroger and Walmart stores, federal health ofﬁcials said late Tuesday

The outbreak, which includes at least 17 people in 13 states, began last July, ofﬁcials said. At least 16 people have been hospitalized. FreshRealm is recalling products made before June 17. The recall includes these products, which were sold in the refrigerated sections of retail stores:

n 32.8-ounce trays of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettucine Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken and Shaved Par-

mesan Cheese with best-by dates of June 27 or earlier

n 12.3-ounce trays of Marketside Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Fettucine Tender Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce, White Meat Chicken, Broccoli and Shaved Parmesan Cheese with best-by dates of June 26 or earlier

n 12.5-ounce trays of Home Chef Heat & Eat Chicken Fettucine Alfredo with Pasta, Grilled White Meat Chicken and Parmesan Cheese, with best-by dates of June 19 or earlier

The strain of listeria bacteria that made people sick was found in a sample of chicken fettucine alfredo during a routine inspection in March, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said. That product was destroyed and never sent to stores.

Officials said they have not identified the specific source of the contamination. Cases have been iden-

tiﬁed through retail shopper records and interviews with sick people. The listeria strain tied to the outbreak has been detected in people who fell ill between July 24 and May 10, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The deaths were in Illinois, Michigan and Texas Cases have been reported in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Ofﬁcials are continuing to receive reports of illnesses linked to the product and “are concerned that contamination is still occurring,” the CDC said. Consumers shouldn’t eat the products, which may be in their refrigerators or freezers. They should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

By The Associated Press

BOSTON Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, appeared in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, where government and defense attorneys argued over whether she brought “biological materials” into the U.S., ABC News reported. She was returning from a vacation from France in February when she was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport. Petrova, 30, had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superﬁne sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research Federal ofﬁcials on the social media website X accused her of lying about “carrying substances” into the country and alleged that she planned to smuggle the embryos through customs without declaring them.

She told The Associated Press in an interview in April that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country

Petrova was told her visa was being canceled and detained by immigration officials in Vermont after her initial arrest. She filed a petition seeking her release and was briefly sent to an ICE facility in Louisiana, after which a judge ruled the immigration officers’ actions were unlawful. In May, she was charged with one count of smuggling.

The Homeland Security Investigations agent who wrote the afﬁdavit in support of the criminal complaint, Brian Goldsworthy, testiﬁed Wednesday that Petrova would not have been able to leave the airport had she declared the frog embryos in her luggage, ABC News reported. He said that Customs and Border Protection agriculture experts and a federal laboratory that reviewed the samples deemed them to be biological material, ABC News reported.

Petrova’s attorney argued it was unclear what deﬁnition the government was operating under and the requirement to declare items entering the country doesn’t hinge on whether something is a biological material, ABC News reported.

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Sanity review ordered for BR man

Black accused of hitting motorcycle officer with pickup truck

tioned Wednesday by both a court commissioner and his own family Gad Black, 41, was arrested Monday after allegedly following Sgt. Caleb Eisworth for a short distance on Joor Road before striking him with his truck. Black faces

charges of attempted ﬁrst-degree murder, resisting an officer and

THROW IT TO YOURSELF

ABOVE: Nathan Kepner balances himself on Morgan Tsu-Raun as he juggles plastic clubs during a performance of the Crescent Circus at the Denham Springs-Walker branch library on Wednesday. RIGHT: Children applaud during a performance of the Crescent Circus on Wednesday. PHOTOS By DAVID NORMAND

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Panel: Public defenders should keep jobs

State official had attempted not to renew contracts

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

An advisory panel has recommended that ﬁve top public defenders should keep their jobs, defying a state ofﬁcial who attempted not to renew their contracts.

The full Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board is expected to rule on that decision Monday

Meanwhile, the board is in turmoil after two more members resigned this week Ernestine Gray and Gerard Caswell, the board chair Their resignations come within days of three others: Ted Hernandez, Peter Thomson and Freddie Pitcher all stepped down within the last week. At least two members of the ninemember board have been replaced. The resignations come amid two major conﬂicts: the board’s recent clash with State Public Defender Rémy Starns over a compensation plan for district defenders, and the monthslong battle between Starns and the ﬁve district chiefs he is trying to oust.

That ﬁght goes back to February, when district chiefs Michelle AndrePont, Trisha Ward, Brett Brunson, Deirdre Fuller and John Hogue all received letters from Starns saying their contracts, which were up July 1,

See PANEL, page 2B Staff report

Nonprofit will award La college students with best projects

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

Louisiana college students showed off groundbreaking technology projects — from a mobile app that can measure respiratory health to an artiﬁcial intelligence emcee that can host events — in hopes of winning an inaugural tech competition Wednesday

More than 60 students, researchers and tech entrepreneurs gathered at the Estuary at The Water Campus in Baton Rouge for the three-day Nexus Technology Cup hosted by Nexus Louisiana, a nonproﬁt business development organization. The competition highlights innovative developments, with students and tech enthusiasts presenting software that provides solutions to everyday

N.O. leaders discuss Bourbon Street security

None of consultants’ suggestions closer to action

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

Six months after a driver plowed down and killed 14 people on Bourbon Street, New Orleans leaders are no closer to acting on consultants’ recommendations to close the street to cars, amid continuing neighborhood criticism of that proposal.

As they discussed the suggestions at a City Council committee meeting on Wednesday, city ofﬁcials and council members would not say whether they intended to follow guidance from the consulting group Teneo, which said Bourbon Street from Canal to Dumaine streets should be closed to vehicular trafﬁc full time.

Consultants also recommended exemptions for delivery trucks and staggered barriers to allow resident access to driveways. But council members said Wednesday that the city should commission a study of trafﬁc in the area before any decisions are made, echoing calls some French Quarter residents have made in recent months

“I’m not going to deal in absolutes,” said council member and mayoral candidate Oliver Thomas

OUTAGE

Continued from page 1B

“We have 30 minutes to execute the load shed event,” he told the commissioners.

Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May later told the panel that, “based on when the load shed was directed, received by Entergy, we had less than 10 minutes to comply with MISO’s geographic directive.”

Hillman told the commission that MISO is responsible for the forced outage and for better communication in the future.

The interruption of power without prior notice is an “unacceptable outcome” for customers, May said.

“Entergy is committed to working with this commission and MISO to take all necessary steps to ensure it does not happen again,” he added.

MISO gave Entergy “general guidance” to cut 500 megawatts of power in the New Orleans area, and then Entergy operations teams had to ﬁgure out where, exactly, to cut power within that time frame, Charles Long, senior vice president of power delivery for Entergy, told the commissioners.

Long said Entergy knew from prior operating experience that the area it targeted would achieve the desired amount of load shed.

But responding to a comment from Commissioner Mike Francis, Long also acknowledged that Entergy risked inadvertently cutting power to a hospital, law enforcement agency or other critical services.

The unexpected power outage across parts of New Orleans on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, when temperatures reached 90 degrees, prompted anger and confusion over the cause of

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challenges. A total of $100,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams, with the top college team getting $15,000. The competition ends Thursday Groups from LSU, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans and Grambling State University presented their ideas Wednesday UL-Lafayette students Hritika Pandey and Colin Dupuis shared their app, RespirAPPtion. The health monitoring app uses data from a phone camera, a smartwatch and a shirt with QR codes on the front to monitor the user’s respiratory functions. The application allows people with existing respiratory conditions to keep up with their health at home, Pandey and Dupuis explained to the panel. That is helpful for people with preexisting conditions, because they may be scared to go to the doctor because of COVID, Dupuis said. Mehrasa Amiri Besheli, an LSU student, presented AI and People News Evaluation, which scans news articles and presents them to readers in the most objective way possible.

“We want people to form their own opinion APNE is the first step,” Amiri Besheli said.

the wheel that we have.”

about the idea of closing Bourbon Street to vehicles. He said the concerns of residents and business owners in the French Quarter would need to be taken into account.

“Today’s conversation exposed that we need a lot more planning and conversation and research before we come up with a decision,” said Thomas.

Rick Hathaway, director of the city’s Department of Public Works, said during the meeting that a study could not be completed until the fall, when trafﬁc picks back up from the summer slump.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell, whose term comes to an end later this year, also has not commented publicly on the recommendations. Helena Moreno, also running for mayor, did not speak speciﬁcally on the proposal on Wednesday

French Quarter neighborhood leaders also showed up to rail against the Teneo recommendations, as they have before. They said the closures would create congestion and parking problems in the historic neighborhood.

“The pedestrian malls in their current capacity just need to be enforced and supported,” said Erin Holmes, the executive director of the Vieux Carré Property Owners and Residents Association “It’s obvious that we need to change some things, but I think that rather than reinventing the wheel we need to ﬁx

the brownout.

Several days passed before ofﬁcials provided greater detail on the cause at a June 3 New Orleans City Council meeting.

There, MISO and Entergy ofﬁcials said a conﬂuence of factors caused the “extremely rare” event. They said south Louisiana’s lack of long-range transmission lines, combined with warmer-than-normal temperatures and a series of outages at Entergy plants led to the wider forced outage.

The lack of transmission lines in south Louisiana is known, longstanding problem.

At the commission meeting Wednesday, MISO ofﬁcials talked about planned and unplanned outages on May 25.

That day, four generating units were on planned outages for regular maintenance, there were eight unplanned generating unit outages — and a transmission line was out due to tornado damage in March.

Commissioner Davante Lewis asked which generators were down that day

Hillman declined to share those details and said MISO needs permission from power companies before it can share that information.

Francis said the question about which units were offline was a “legitimate” one, and he asked Entergy officials if the information was confidential.

“It can be market-sensitive information in real-time,” said Larry Hand, vice president of regulatory and public affairs for Entergy Louisiana. He added that “after the event there’s more opportunity to share that information” and Entergy intends to do so.

Francis replied with a joke that the commission could sell tickets to its August meeting when Entergy plans to discuss the information in greater detail.

Mahmood Jasim, an LSU professor who also worked on APNE, said it took about eight months to develop the software. They came up with the idea after seeing a fake photo circulating online that commenters believed was real, despite it having a community note explaining it was fake, he said.

Jasim said there are plans to upgrade and expand APNE in the future, so it can analyze videos and podcasts.

“It’s just fantastic, the enthusiasm I am seeing,” he said.

The judges’ panel was made up of women with connections to Louisiana. The judges evaluated the projects by asking how difﬁcult the projects were, the novelty of the solutions they created and other criteria.

The idea for the competition came partly from Nexus Louisiana President and CEO Tony Zanders’ memories of going to Louisiana science fairs. Zanders recently took his daughter to a high school hackathon and was impressed with the students’ work.

Zanders told the students Wednesday that Nexus Louisiana promotes new technology across all types of industries to improve the overall human population, which is what the judges were looking for at the competition.

“These teams have worked not only so hard to build what they have built, but to prepare for today. There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said.

Street closed each night

Bourbon Street is closed to trafﬁc nightly beginning at 8 p.m. and ending at 4 a.m. The street is fully closed, including cross streets, to trafﬁc during special events.

In addition to calling for a fulltime street closure, consultants in their report criticized lack of coordination and planning among New Orleans’ public safety agencies, which they said led to “disjointed security coverage.”

Council members on Wednesday raised alarms about continued lack of communication between administration departments, which has left the task of securing the street each night to the New Orleans Police Department.

The department assigns two ofﬁcers to the task of erecting and removing the barriers each night — a process that takes a few hours altogether, said 8th District Capt Sam Palumbo.

“Too much is being put on the NOPD, on commissioned officers that really should be out there responding to crime and preventing crime from happening instead of putting out different equipment throughout the French Quarter,” said Moreno.

Moreno and other council members suggested that the task should instead be taken on by the Depart-

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would not be renewed.

State law allows terminated district chiefs to appeal to the board. All ﬁve did so, arguing Starns had ﬁred them without just cause and in retaliation for speaking out against him.

In public hearings, the defenders had pushed back against Starn’s proposed compensation plan and against legislation he backed that gave him and Gov Jeff Landry more power over the public defense system.

Starns argued the defenders had no right to appeal for their jobs because he had not, in fact, ﬁred them. He had only chosen not to extend their contracts. An opinion from Attorney General Liz Murrill supported that decision.

The Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board appointed a committee to look into the matter After meeting in April, that panel sided with Starns.

But after a ﬁery board meeting on Monday the committee decided to reconsider

SANITY

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and encouraged him to maintain his composure while his family and lawyers handle his case.

“What’s important is I need for you to try your best to stay as calm as possible,” Glover said. “Just know that we’re working on it for you. We’re on your case. But I need you to relax.”

“Copy that,” Black responded, and he remained unruffled throughout the proceeding.

Black was diagnosed with mental illness and committed to a mental institution in the past, prosecutors noted Wednesday in asking for the mental health evaluation.

Glover also noted Black had not recently been taking medication for his mental illness.

Robinson appointed Baton Rouge clinical psychologist Brandon Romano and New Orleans psychiatrist Sara Deland to evaluate Black.

The commissioner ordered him to return to court Sept. 3 to appear before District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose for a bail review

Robinson said Black’s past criminal record along with the facts of the current case and his mental health concerns, factored into her decision to deny him bail Wednesday The erratic behavior he exhibited at Tuesday’s hearing also played a role.

Initial court outbursts

Black’s cooperation was a stark turnaround from Tuesday’s video hearing. That ended with guards from the parish prison dragging a visibly frustrated Black out of the jail’s makeshift court area after he refused to answer the commissioner’s questions.

When Robinson asked Black to state his name and date of birth for the record, he said, “I’m a tribal nation. And I stand deep in this corporation. Understand that.”

He reiterated that mantra when she asked his name a second time, then could be seen on the live feed

ment of Public Works, the Ofﬁce of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, or a private contractor ‘A wait and see’

While no decisions were made on the recommendations on Wednesday, council President JP Morrell zeroed in on one aspect of the plan as particularly worrisome.

“Closing the cross streets is tremendously problematic,” said Morrell, who likened such a closure to “the Great Wall of China” that would divide the French Quarter into two parts.

“But I do think that things cannot be the same as they were. That has to be more pedestrianized for people to be able to utilize it, and for the public to realize — acknowledging what happened on Jan. 1 that we have to do things differently,”

Morrell said Nathan Chapman, board president of the Vieux Carre neighborhood group, also criticized Teneo’s proposal to include the more residential block of Bourbon Street between St. Ann and Dumaine streets in its closure plan.

“This is one of those things where we would need to like handcuff ourselves to a lamppost or something please don’t take another block of residential and make it unlivable,” said Chapman Danovan Calhoun-Bettis, director

They met again Wednesday

There, the district chiefs and other defense advocates argued state statute guaranteed continuity in their jobs and did not allow Starns to nonrenew contracts. He could only terminate them for good cause, the defenders argued.

“Rémy Starns does not have the discretion to ignore the law,” said Hogue “He must, as the law states, continue to contract unless there is a vacancy due to demotion, resignation, termination, retirement or death.”

The contracts must be continued unless a defender is terminated for just cause, he said. “No just cause has ever been alleged by Mr Starns and none exist,” Hogue added The defenders also cited quotes from legislators who indicated that the statute governing the state public defender was written to protect local chiefs from arbitrarily losing their jobs.

Paul deMahy, who chaired the advisory committee, said the evidence presented changed his mind. He believed Starns needed cause to nonrenew the contracts, he said. At the committee’s last hearing Starns did not “give any cause,

from the jail shouting and ranting.

Robinson appointed the public defender’s ofﬁce to represent Black, then ended the hearing abruptly Tuesday due to him being uncooperative.

‘Mental health crisis’

Black’s family also cited his mental health as the reason for his alleged attack on Eisworth His mother was in attendance at both court proceedings. In a statement released Wednesday, the family said the incident does not show Black’s true character

“We humbly ask for privacy as our family works to secure the medical and legal support that Gad needs. What happened on Monday morning does not reﬂect the person we know and love,” the family said.

“Gad is in a serious mental health crisis, and we are committed to ensuring he receives the treatment and care that he urgently needs from the best mental health professionals.”

The statement also asks Eisworth for possible forgiveness “with time and healing,” and extends the family’s apologies for the harm caused.

“On behalf of our entire family, we extend our deepest and most heartfelt apologies to you and your loved ones for the injuries you sustained on June 16, 2025,” Black’s family said in the statement.

“Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difﬁcult time, and we are praying for your complete and swift recovery.”

Finally, the family asked for patience, compassion and privacy as the case unfolds.

“This is a deeply painful time for everyone involved,” the statement read. “We respectfully ask for your compassion, patience, and understanding. Please keep Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, Asia Raby and Gad Black in your thoughts and prayers as we all seek healing and clarity.”

Raby, Black’s girlfriend, was also arrested following the alleged attack and was booked on counts of obstruction of justice and ac-

of engagement and partnerships with the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans, a nonproﬁt that works with local musicians and artists, said French Quarter performers need to be consulted before any changes are made.

“The culture bearers, the musicians, the dancers, the artists, tradition keepers aren’t side attractions — they’re the main event,” said Calhoun-Bettis. “Any successful redesign of these spaces has to honor that.”

The idea of tighter restrictions on vehicles drew at least some support on Wednesday, however, as tommEE pickles, a magician who performs on Bourbon Street, said the strip should be closed to trafﬁc for more hours of the day “I always see them (cars) weaving around people and stuff like that I’m worried about pedestrian safety,” he said Meanwhile, Holmes, a critic of Teneo’s proposal, said she was unsurprised by city leaders’ inaction, and expects that no ﬁrm decisions will come until next year

“Because we’re going into this election season, we’re not going to be able to see or realize any of these major changes until we have a new administration and potentially a new council. So this is more of a wait and see,” she said

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie. kasakove@theadvocate.com.

and of course he’s not here today, so that leads me to believe that he’s unable to produce cause for failing to renew contracts of all of the individuals involved,” deMahy said. The committee, which also included members Phyllis Keaty and Adrejia Boutté, unanimously reversed its earlier decision that had sided with Starns. Starns did not appear at the hearing, nor did anyone from his office testify But he has previously argued state law gives him power over contracts with district defenders.

“I nonrenewed contracts. There’s been a lot of loose language thrown out here today about terminations. No such terminations ever took place. They have a term, term is expired,” Starns said during Monday’s board meeting. Starns did not immediately return a request for comment. Also this week, the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board clashed with Starns over pay for district defenders. Though state law gives the board the authority to set a compensation plan for district chiefs, Starns has included his own separate plan in contracts for chief public defenders.

cessory after the fact to attempted ﬁrst-degree murder Fundraiser announced

A jambalaya sale and blood drive for Eisworth will be held at police headquarters on Airline Highway beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday In a statement released Wednesday, Police Chief Thomas Morse Jr thanked the community for its support following Eisworth’s injuries, and warned against further violence toward police ofﬁcers.

“We will use all of our resources to ﬁnd and arrest anyone that hurts one of my ofﬁcers or even makes online treats to harm them,” Morse said. “Caleb was intentionally attacked because he put on his work uniform and showed up to serve the Baton Rouge community.”

Eisworth suffered multiple severe injuries and remains in critical condition, but is showing some small signs of improvement, Morse said in an online post.

Morse also thanked the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Ofﬁce and other first responders and Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, where Eisworth is being treated.

Eisworth has worked in the motorcycle division for more than 18 years. He previously received multiple awards for heroism in the line of duty, including the Medal of Valor — the highest honor bestowed by the Baton Rouge Police Department.

“But more than that, he’s the husband, father and friend that is deeply loved and respected,” Moore said.

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street ends mixed after interest rate news

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated it may cut interest rates twice this year, though it’s far from certain about that. The S&P 500 finished nearly unchanged and edged down by less than 0.1% after flipping between modest gains and losses several times. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 44 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% Treasury yields also wavered but ultimately held relatively steady after the Fed released a set of projections showing the median official expects to cut the federal funds rate twice by the end of 2025. That’s the same number they were projecting three months ago, and it helped calm worries a bit that inflation caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs could tie the Fed’s hands. Cuts in rates would make mortgages, credit-card payments and other loans cheaper for U.S. households and businesses, which in turn could strengthen the overall economy But they could likewise fan inflation higher So far, inflation has remained relatively tame, and it’s near the Fed’s target of 2%. But economists have been warning it may take months to feel the effects of tariffs.

Honda recalls more than 259,000 cars

NEW YORK Honda is recalling more than 259,000 of its cars across the U.S. due to a problem that can cause the brake pedal to shift out of position, potentially interfering with a driver’s ability to stop or slow down

According to documents published by the National Highway Trafﬁc Safety Administration, the recall covers certain Honda Pilots between model years 2023 and 2025 as well cars under the auto maker’s luxury Acura brand: 2021-25 Acura TLX and 2023-25 Acura MDX vehicles.

The NHTSA’s recall report notes that the brake pedal pivot pin in some of these vehicles was not secured properly during production. That can lead the pedal to shift out of place and “may lead to unintended application,” the report notes, increasing crash risks “The issue could also cause an abnormal brake pedal feeling during operation, illuminate the brake malfunction light in the instrument cluster, or cause the vehicle’s brake lights to remain lit even when the brake pedal is not applied,” America Honda said in a statement Wednesday FDA clears twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV

WASHINGTON The U.S. has approved the world’s only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV, maker Gilead Sciences announced Wednesday. It’s the ﬁrst step in an anticipated global rollout that could protect millions although it’s unclear how many in the U.S and abroad will get access to the powerful new option.

While a vaccine to prevent HIV still is needed, some experts say the shot — a drug called lenacapvir — could be the next best thing. It nearly eliminated new infections in two groundbreaking studies of people at high risk, better than daily preventive pills they can forget to take.

“This really has the possibility of ending HIV transmission,” said Greg Millett, public policy director at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research Condoms help guard against HIV infection if used properly but what’s called PrEP — regularly using preventive medicines such as the daily pills or a different shot given every two months is increasingly important. Lenacapavir’s sixmonth protection makes it the longest-lasting type, an option that could attract people wary of more frequent doctor visits or stigma from daily pills.

Fed leaves interest rate unchanged

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Federal Reserve ofﬁcials expect inﬂation to worsen in the coming months but they still foresee two interest rate cuts by the end of this year, the same as they projected in March.

The Fed kept its key rate unchanged for the fourth straight meeting Wednesday, and said the economy is expanding at “a solid pace.” Changes to the Fed’s rate typically — though not always inﬂuence borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and business loans.

The central bank also released its latest quarterly projections for the economy and interest rates. It expects noticeably weaker growth, higher inﬂation, and slightly higher unemployment by the end of this year than it had forecast in March, before President Donald Trump announced sweeping tar-

iffs April 2. Most of those duties were then postponed on April 9. So far inflation has continued to decline this year while some cracks have appeared in the economy particularly in housing, where elevated borrowing costs are slowing sales and homebuilding. And Trump, earlier Wednesday, renewed his condemnation of Chair Jerome Powell for not sharply reducing borrowing costs.

Yet Powell underscored that the Fed does expect Trump’s sweeping tariffs to push up prices by the end of this year and the central bank wants to hold off on any moves until the impact of the duties becomes clearer

“We have to be forward looking,” Powell said. “We expect a meaningful amount of inﬂation to arrive in coming months and we have to take that into account. Because the economy is still solid, we can take the time to actually see what’s going to happen.”

Fed officials see inflation, according to their preferred measure, rising to 3% by the end of this year, from 2.1% in April. It also projects the unemployment rate will rise to 4.5%, from 4.2% currently Growth is expected to slow to just 1.4% this year, down from 2.5% last year

Some Fed policymakers have expressed particular concern that the duties could boost prices, creating another surge of inflation just a couple of years after the worst inflation spike in four decades. Many economists say that without the higher import taxes, the Fed would likely be cutting its rate further Yet so far, inflation has cooled this year to just 2.1% in April, essentially back at the central bank’s target of 2%. Core inﬂation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, remains elevated at 2.5%.

At a news conference after the

Fed released its latest policy statement, Powell said, “Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.” He added, however, that the extent of the impact depends on the size and duration of the tariffs. The “pause” Trump put in place on many of the tariffs is set to end on July 9, pending any deals the administration strikes with its trading partners.

“We don’t yet know with any conﬁdence where (the tariffs) will settle out,” he said.

Trump has pointed to the mild inﬂation ﬁgures to argue that the Fed should lower borrowing costs and has repeatedly criticized Powell for not doing so. On Wednesday he called Powell “stupid” and accused him of being “political” for not cutting rates. Powell continued to stress that the current strength in the economy allows the Fed to be patient as he spoke with reporters.

Amazon hopes to deliver 10K robotaxis annually

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP technology writer

HAYWARD, Calif. — Amazon is gearing up to make as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually at a sprawling plant near Silicon Valley as it prepares to challenge self-driving cab leader Waymo. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also vying to join the autonomous race.

The 220,000-square-foot robotaxi factory announced Wednesday heralds a new phase in Amazon’s push into a technological frontier that began taking shape in 2009, when Waymo was launched as a secret project within Google.

Amazon began eyeing the market ﬁve years ago when it shelled out $1.2 billion for selfdriving startup Zoox, which will be the brand behind a robotaxi service that plans to begin transporting customers in Las Vegas late this year before expanding into San Francisco next year.

Zoox, conceived in 2014, will be trying to catch up to Waymo, which began operating robotaxis in Phoenix nearly five years ago then charging for rides in San Francisco in 2023 before expanding into Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Waymo says it has already more than 10 million paid rides while other would-be rivals such as Amazon and Tesla are still fine-tuning their self-driving technology while tackling other challenges, such how to ramp up their fleet

Amazon feels like it has addressed that issue with Zoox’s manufacturing plant that spans across the equivalent of three and a half football ﬁelds located in Hayward, California — about 17 miles north of a factory where Tesla makes some of the electric vehicles that Musk believes will eventually be

able to operate without a driver behind the wheel. Since moving into the former bus manufacturing factory in 2023, Zoox has transformed it into a high-tech facility where its boxy, gondola-like vehicles are put together and tested along a 21-station assembly line. For now, Zoox is only making one robotaxi per day, but by next year hopes to be churning them out at the rate of three vehicles per hour By 2027, Zoox hopes to making 10,000 robotaxis annually in Hayward for a ﬂeet that it hopes to take into other major markets, including Miami, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Although Zoox will be assembling its robotaxis in the U.S., about half of the parts are

imported from outside the country, according to company ofﬁcials. Waymo is also planning to expand into Atlanta and Miami and on Wednesday took the ﬁrst step toward bringing its robotaxis in the most populous U.S. city with the disclosure of an application to begin testing its vehicles in New York. Although Zoox will be lagging well behind, it believes it can lure passengers with vehicles that look more like carriages that cars with seating for up to four passengers. Waymo, in contrast, builds its self-driving technology on to cars made by other major automakers, making its robotaxi look similar to vehicles steered by humans. Zoox isn’t even bothering to put a steering wheel in its robotaxis.

Will employers be targeted for hiring undocumented workers?

BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Federal authorities have arrested hundreds of potentially undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles this month, targeting day laborers at a Home Depot, factory workers at a downtown apparel company and cleaners at car washes across the city But the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents aren’t going after the business owners who may have illegally hired these workers.

President Trump’s crackdown on immigration has spared small and large U.S. employers that rely on thousands of undocumented employees, even though hiring undocumented workers can be a criminal offense.

“There are some instances of criminal prosecutions of people for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers, but it is extremely rare,”

said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law “There’s not an appetite for that kind of enforcement.”

Instead, the recent raids have affected rank-and-ﬁle workers, most of whom were detained suddenly and face deportation.

Here’s what experts say about whom ICE targets and why: Who relies on undocumented labor?

Laborers without legal authori-

zation to live and work in the U.S. make up a signiﬁcant portion of the workforce, especially in industries such as agriculture and hospitality, said Jean Reisz co-director of the USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic.

“The U.S. has always relied on immigrant labor, and has always relied on undocumented immigrant labor,” Reisz said. “That’s just a reality, and when you have these big enforcement actions, there’s always going to be some tension.”

Last week, Trump acknowledged on his social media platform Truth Social that his immigration policies were harming farmers, hotels and restaurants. Shortly after, he temporarily paused raids on those businesses in a likely effort to keep company leaders in his corner

Targeting the employers themselves, some of whom Trump relies on for support, would be counterproductive to his agenda, Reisz said.

“If the administration were to say they’re going to come down on every business owner who has hired someone in violation of U.S. law, I think that would politically be a bad decision,” she said. What consequences could employers face?

Although it’s not regularly enforced, a 1986 federal law made it a crime to knowingly hire someone without authorization to work in the country Before that, a stipulation known as the Texas Proviso cre-

ated a loophole that gave a pass to employers to hire noncitizens.

Violating the Immigration Reform and Control Act could mean fines and even incarceration, depending on the number of violations, Arulanantham said. But violators are rarely prosecuted.

“There’s a very long history of immigration enforcement agents not pursuing employers for hiring undocumented people, but very aggressively pursuing the undocumented people themselves,” Arulanantham said. “Most employers get zero consequence, not even a minor criminal conviction.”

While it’s unlawful to work in the U.S. without documentation, doing so isn’t a criminal offense.

“Civil consequences can be far more severe than criminal consequences,” Arulanantham said. “Especially if you’re being deported after you’ve lived here for a long time and you’re going to be separated from your family.” How can employers tell who’s authorized to work in the U.S.?

A federal program called E-Verify makes it easy for employers to validate the status of potential hires and ensure they aren’t unknowingly employing someone without proper authorization. But the program is widely underused, especially in California, where only about 16% of employers are enrolled. Participation in the program is voluntary for everyone except

federal contractors and other businesses that receive money from the government, Reisz said The program is largely ignored because many companies are dependent on undocumented laborers and don’t want to be forced to reject their services.

Employers told The Los Angeles Times last year that requiring the use of E-Verify would devastate their businesses, unless other overhauls to immigration policy allowed them access to more workers. Why aren’t employers facing consequences?

Historically, it’s been in the country’s best economic interest to allow undocumented labor, experts say There are not enough workers to ﬁll all the jobs a healthy growing U.S. economy generates, especially in low-wage industries. Workers who fear deportation are less likely to organize to demand better conditions or wages, said Arulanantham.

It wouldn’t make sense for Trump to arrest the business owners he wants as allies, Reisz said, and wouldn’t align with his stance on immigration. “It doesn’t fit the narrative to penalize employers,” Reisz said. “The narrative surrounding immigration enforcement under the Trump administration is that there are dangerous criminals coming across the border and taking our jobs.”

PROVIDED PHOTO By ZOOX

factory located in Hayward, Calif.

Daigle Jr., Roy WilbertFuneralHomeinPortAllen at 11 a.m.

Delage,Mary

OurLadyofMercy Catholic Church at 10am.

Hardy, Kevin Zoar BaptistChurch in Centralat 11:30am.

Obituaries

Adkins, Wilbert Earl

Wilbert Earl "Bill"Adkins, passed away on Wednesday, June 11th,2025,at the age of 89.Born in St.Landry Parish to his loving parents; the late George Adkins,Sr. and Mary Walton Adkins.Devoted husband,of 64 years, Mryna Janelle Hanks Adkins.Wilbert was the loving father of Nancee Adkins Green(Charles Green,Jr.), Karen Adkins Brown, Steven Adkins(Diane Adkins)and the late Michael Adkins.Brotherof Barbara Adkins, Bonita Louis,Rose Mary Smith and the late Carol Williams and George Adkins, Jr.Grandfather of Lauren Stevens, the late Matthew Green, Justin Green, Joseph Brown, Daniel Brown, Sydney Brown, Amanda Bostic, Courtney Neuville and Christopher Adkins.Greatgrandfather of Aubrey, Allie and Avery Stevens.After serving in the United States Navy, Wilbert attended and graduated from LSU with adegree in ChemicalEngineeringalong with being a faithful parishioner and serving as DeaconatFellowshipBaptist Church.Friends and family are invited to attend afuneral service to be held at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70815 on Saturday, June 21st, 2025, at 10:00 AM.Visitation will be from 9:00 AM until 10:00 AM.Burial will follow in Greenoaks Memorial Park.

Lena "Bitsy"Balfantz age 75, peacefully passed awayather Maurepas resi‐dence surrounded by her lovingfamilyonMonday, June 16, 2025. Shewas a strongwoman who battled through hersicknesswith faith andgrace until the veryend.Bitsy wasa re‐tired busdriverfor the MaurepasSchools for39 1/2 yearsaswellasa Jus‐ticeofthe Peacefor 22 years who wasdedicated toserving hercommunity She wasknown as avery humbleladywho always put theneedsofothers above herown, whether it was family, friendsorany‐one in need.Bitsy was fearlessinher faithknow‐ing Godwas on hersideno matterwhat, with immov‐ablelovefor herheavenly father. Shelived herlife the wayGod hadplanned for herthrough love and compassiontowards oth‐ers.Through thegood and bad,she nevercomplained, but insteadkeptpushing forward.Bitsy's love for her familywas unmatched and took theutmostcare oftheir needs, especially her husband,Mr. Stanley. In heryounger yearsMaw Maw Bitsycould be found tending to her flower gar‐den andgreenhousegrow‐ing beautiful flowers. None ofthiswould be possible without theselflessact of kindnessshown to heras her brother, David, who do‐nated oneofhis kidneys, 43years agososhe could livea full andprosperous life. Shewas awonderful wife, mother,grand‐mother, sister,and friend toall whoknewher and willbedeeply missed. She issurvivedbyher adoring husband of 56 years, Stan‐ley Balfantz;beautiful daughter, Kelli Brown (Mike); precious grandchil‐dren, KaylaMcCormick, ZacharyMcCormick

(Emily), Keegan,Saylorand Brogyn Marchand;stepgrandchild,Emily Brown; siblings, Emelda Fontenot and Nolan Delatte;son-inlaw,Kel Marchand;aswell asnumerousextended familyand friends. Preced‐ing herindeath were her daughter, Rebecca"Becky" Marchand; infant daugh‐ter,Christina Balfantz;par‐ents, Arthur andEstherDe‐latte;and herbrothers, Delton, David, andGilbert Delatte.Familyand friends are invitedtoattend her visitationatSt. Stephen Catholic Church in White‐hall, LouisianaonSaturday, June 21,2025 from 9:30 a.m. until herFuneralMassat 12:00 p.m. Intermentwill followinMaurepasCeme‐tery. Pallbearerswillbe MikeBrown, KelMarchand, Zachary McCormick, Greg Fontenot, LeeVampran, and BrettBell, with An‐thony "Ankie"Delatte as anhonorarypallbearer. Arrangementshavebeen entrusted to Harry McK‐neely& SonFuneral Homes.

Ellis, Arthur Lee

Gravesideservicesfor Arthur LeeEllis will be held Friday, June 20,2025 at Louisiana National Ceme‐tery, 303W.Mt. Pleasant Rd. Gravesideservices begin at 1:00 p.m. Profes‐sionalservicesentrusted toCharles Mackey Funeral Home.

Evans,Shirley

Shirley CletaWebb Evans, adevoted mother, grandmother,and friend, passed awaypeacefully on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the age of 85. Born on October 30, 1939,inBaton Rouge, LA,she spent herlifecreating cherishedmemories and leaving alastingimpact on everyone she met With aheart fullofkindness, patience and love shefound joyinthe simple but meaningful things: sewing intricate pieces with care, nurturingher garden fullofbeautiful flowersand cooking meals that brought comfortto her family. She shared countless laughter-filled nights playingcards with friends, and her greatest happiness was the time spent surrounded by loved ones.Shirley is survivedby her daughters,Kathleen Meskauskis(Brian), and Jeannine Val Divia(David); grandchildren,Nicolasand Brooklyn;brother,Louis Webb, III (Teresa);niece, Julie Beaumont; nephew, Brent Webb; great-nieces, Audry and Natalie;and great-nephews, Brandon and Cody, who will forever treasureher warmth and unwaveringlove. She is precededindeath by her husband, RonnieEvans; and parents,Estherand LouisWebbJr. Visitation willbeatGreenoaksFuneral Home, 9595FloridaBlvd., Baton Rouge,LA, on Saturday, June 21, 2025, from 1pm until the time of funeral services at 2pm. Burial willimmediately follow at GreenoaksMemorial Park

Holiday, Laverne

LaverneHoliday entered intoeternal rest at Clarity Hospice on June 15,2025 Viewing at Miller &Daugh‐ter Mortuary on Saturday June 21,2025 at 8:00 am until CelebrationofLife Service at 10:00amcon‐ductedbyRev.Booker Baskin; intermentat SouthernMemorialGar‐dens. Survivorsinclude her children, Charlene HolidayNetters(Jarmaine) and Charvelle Holiday; siblings, SandraHoliday,Bridget and DemetraTeasett; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren; other relativesand friends.

Clarence C.J. Jackson Sr.,age 87 of Geismar, Louisiana, passed peacefully on June 13, 2025 surrounded by his family.A celebration of life willbe held on June 20, 2025 viewing 9:00 a.m. services 10:00 a.m. at FirstPilgrim Calvary Baptist Church in Geismar, Louisiana.

Kearns,MartinJoseph

Martin Joseph Kearns age 87, passedawayon June 13, 2025. “Waiting For Marty”was abook Ial‐wayssaidI wouldwrite, but neverhave. Thepeople thatworkedwithhim said Therewas regulartime and then therewas Marty time.”Hewas very seldom early.Marty wasa bitofa latebloomer.Hetook sev‐eralyears to complete his education ﬁnally earninga master’sdegreefrom Wayne StateUniversityin Detroit,Michigan. He workedall dayand went to school nights,while being a husband andthe father ofthree. Martyand Imet at Western Michigan Univer‐sity, andmarried in 1962 Hebegan hiscareer in 1963 withFordMotor Company. In 1977, he washired to run a business here in Baton Rouge.Several yearslater, hepurchased thewelding supplyand gasesdistribu‐tionpartofthe business fromthe owner. He grew the business, with theex‐pertise of employees,to becomeone of thelargest family-owneddistributor‐ships in thesouth.Marty was born at home on De‐cember28thin1937 in River Rouge, Michigan to MartinW.Kearnsand Mary O’HaraKearns. He was 100% Irish, andalways proud of it.Marty is sur‐vived by hislovingwife, Karen KinsmanKearns, daughterLoriKearnsCates (Kevin),FortWorth,TX., son JeffreyS Kearns (Cara) Baton Rouge, LA.Grandson Frank LKearnsBostonMA., son MichaelJ Kearns (Laura) Prairieville,LA. Marty wasprecededin death by parents, Marty and Mary Kearns and brother Robert Kearns.His in-laws,Leonard and MurielKinsman.Marty was a good man. He wassmart kind, humble, generous and loving.Hewillbe greatly missed. He suf‐fered througha 14-year battlewithdementiawith grace andhumor (mostof the time). Hisfamilywould liketothank allthose won‐derfulpeoplethatshared thisjourney with us.His doctors at B.R. Clinic Alzheimer’s Assocof Greater B.R.,Charlie’s Place,The Pearlat Jamestown, St Joseph Hos‐piceand CarpenterHouse our very specialsitters Jodyand Rose andall our familyand friends. Acele‐bration of life will take place at alater date.We would love formemorial donations be made to: Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area,3722 North Blvd, BatonRouge,LA 70806 Or:StJosephHos‐pice, 10615 JeffersonHwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.

John Kelley, precious husband to Yvonne,father to John and Jason and Shannon and their spouses Michele and Nicoleand Brandon, left this earthly worldonJune 13thatthe age of 85 to be with his Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ.Heloved hisfamily with all his heart.The grandsons and granddaughters and thegreat grands. He was their "Poppy" and each one held special memories and love in his heart.Heand Yvonne wish to thank themany "prayerwarriors" including many friendsand family.A special thanksto Janette and Richard (Pat) Kelley and their 3precious daughters Karen, Lisa, Susan and Lisa'schildren Alexandra and Isabella,for their faithfulness In their dailyprayers for their UncleJohn. Our family has been blessed withdaily callsof support expressing love and offerings to helpin any way possiblefromso many people who knew and lovedJohn. John was a gentle,humble man who lovedall animas big and small. He and Yvonne lovedand rescued many animals. The pethouseholdatthe present includes Cash,Rose and Lilly who definitely willmiss him. John served 4years in theUSNavyand upon completion of his term of service he returned home and beganhis career in InstrumentationEngineering.Heworkedatseveral Industrial Engineering companies during his career and retired fromSigma Engineering at age 73.

John and Yvonne and their childrenlived in Ohio and Montana and Washingtonbut maintained their home in Central.They laterbuilt their home on theSullivan estateproperty on OldRiver Road.John was an avid metal detectorist and spent many happy hours with his sons and friends at this hobby.

John will be remembered as amost gentle and humble man who deeply lovedhis wife, children grandchildren, and any animalheeverencountered. He was not ahunter rather arespecter of allanimals and an observer of all God's creatures in their own space. He willbeso lovinglymissed.

Aprivate memorial is being plannedfor later this monthatthe family home for family and friends.

It is withprofound sorrowand solemnreverence that we announce the passing of Mr. Jakobe SacarioKnox, who departed this earthly life on the 6thofJune,inthe year of our Lord 2025, at thedistinguishedage of 22. Apublic viewing shall be held in his honoronFriday, the20th of June,from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at WinnfieldFuneral Home.A second viewing willtakeplace on Saturday, the21st of June,commencing at 10:00 AM at WinnfieldFuneralHome. The celebration of life services shallfollow at 12:00 Noon. Hisearthlyremains shallbelaid to rest at at WinnfieldMemorial Park The distinguished & solemnarrangements havebeenentrusted to the care of WinnfieldFuneral

Lusk, Judith Berthelot

It is with deep sorrow andmuch love that we mourn thepassing of Judy Lusk, aged 69, of Baton Rouge,LA, whopassed away peacefullyon Wednesday, June 11, 2025 surroundedbyloved ones. Sheissurvived by herhusband, Steve Lusk; daughters andson-in-law's, Jessicaand David Schaale and Diane andMichael Pastrana; grandchildren, HaydenSchaale, Logan Schaale, and MaevePastrana; siblings, Cliff Berthelot, Pam Berthelot,and Jeff Berthelot; as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews. Amemorial service will be held from3:00 PM to 6:00 PM on 2025-0621 at Living Hope Fellowship, 1180 SFlannery Rd

TheresaAngelee HawkinsMims-Julien, 85, a devoted mother, educator, andfaithfulservant, passedawaypeacefullyon Saturday, June 7, 2025, at Carpenter House Hospice in Baton Rouge,LA. She wasbornonSeptember 6, 1939, in Maringouin,LA, to thelateAnnie B. and Louis BurnettHawkins, Sr Alifelongmember of Immaculate HeartofMary Catholic Church,she served as aCCE Instructor andEucharisticMinister, known for herunwavering faithand daily devotion to therosary.

Theresagraduated from Thomas A. Levy High School in 1958 and earned both bachelor'sand master'sdegreesineducation from SouthernUniversity. Shetouchedcountless lives throughdecades of teachingatvarious schools in Pointe Coupee Iberville,and East Baton Rouge Parishes.

Sheserved65years with theKnights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, St Aubry Court119, in multipleleadership roles, and wasa member of theConstance Butler Chapter No. 9, Ladies of Grace. Shewas honored withthe Silver MedalofHonor for heroutstanding contributions.

Theresa is survived by hersons, RonnieJerome Hawkinsand Reuben Sanford Mims (Josephine); siblingsLeroy Frazier, Louis "B.J." Hawkins (Tobin), Virginia Hawkins, and Daisy Hawkins-Thomas (Robert); grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, godchildren,and ahost of loved ones. She was preceded in death by herparents, husbands Samual "Jack" Mims and Raymond Julien,and sistersMary AnnHawkins Oliver andEdnaMae Hawkins.

The familyextendssincere thanks to Iberville Parish Medical Transport, CouncilonAging, Fresenius Kidney Care, and Car-

Turner, Anna Freeman

Anna Freeman Turner enteredintoeternal rest on June 3, 2025. Born In NewOrleans,Louisiana, shewas theeighthbornof theeight children of Rev. Ephraim Freeman,Sr. and Evelyn HarrisonFreeman Left to cherish hermemory is herhusbandWillie Jean Turner anddaughterUrsula Turner.The serviceswill be held on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at

It is with profound sorrowand solemn reverence that we announcethe passing of Mrs. Nellie BurksWells, whodeparted this earthly life on the15th of June,inthe year of our Lord 2025, at thedistinguishedage of 70. Apublic viewingshall be held in her honor on Friday, the 20th of June,commencingat 10:00 AM at Winnfield FuneralHome, wherefamily andfriends may gatherto pay theirfinal respects. The celebration of herlife shall follow at 12:00 Noon. Herearthly remains shall be laidtorest at theWinnfield Memorial Park. The distinguished& solemn arrangements have been entrustedtothe care of Winnfield Funeral Home of Baton Rouge &C.D Slaughter,FDIC.

Jackson Sr., Clarence 'CJ'

Kelley, John V.

Mims-Julien, Theresa Hawkins

CletaWebb

Wells, Nellie Burks

Balfantz,Lena'Bitsy'

Knox, Jakobe Sacario

OPINION

Juneteenth remindsus struggle fora more perfect unioncontinues

Aversion of this editorialhas been published in previous years.

As the Civil Warcontinued, President Abraham Lincoln issued the EmancipationProclamation —effective Jan. 1, 1863 —makingitclear to Confederate states ﬁghting to keepslavery that enslaved people “shall befree.”

Though famous since that day,the proclamation was really awartimemeasure that only applied to slavesinrebel states under arms,not atotal end to slavery. It was rather speciﬁc, designating whichcountiesand parishesthe proclamation would cover.“Idoorder anddeclare that all persons held as slaveswithin said designated States, and parts of States, are, andhenceforward shall be free,” Lincoln wrote. Elsewhere in the proclamation, the presidentmadeitclear that non-Union Confederatestates werethe areas being targeted. That includedLouisiana, but 13 parishes wereexempt from theproclamation: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson,Lafourche, Plaquemines,St. Bernard,St. Charles, St.John, St. Mary,St. Martin, Terrebonne,and “Orleans, including the CityofNew Orleans.”

Slavery was not fully abolished until the 13th Amendment waspassed by Congress on Jan.31, 1865, then ratiﬁed on Dec. 6, 1865. Still, Lincoln’s proclamation sent an importantsignal, albeit one that was slowtospread

There was no nightly news, no internet and certainly no social media to quickly andwidely share the breaking news that theEmancipation Proclamationhad been signed andslavery had ended. It took more than two years —until June 19, 1865—for enslaved people in GalvestonBay to learn that they wereamong the250,000 in Texas and 4million nationally who were freed by order of the president.

Enslaved people who were freed celebrated, starting aTexas tradition that eventually spread to other states acrossthe nation.“June” and “19th” werecombined to create“Juneteenth.”

In 2021, Juneteenth became afederalholiday, and Louisiana also made it astate holidaythat year.Today,Juneteenthisrecognizedasa holiday, observanceorremembrance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Though June 19 fallsona Thursday this year, and that is the federal holiday,traditionally, Juneteenth has also been observed on thethird Saturday of June by many Black Americans. Opal Lee, recognized as the grandmotherof Juneteenth because she started anational effort to have the day recognized as afederal holiday when she was 86 years old, grew uplessthanan hour away from Shreveport inMarshall, Texas, before moving to the Fort Wortharea. Lee has said she envisioned the holidayasa celebration of freedom for everyone, not just those whose ancestors endured slavery On Juneteenth, we remember all thoseAmericans throughout history whohavemoved this country toward the “more perfect union”articulated by our founders. We urge everybody to celebrate the day dedicated to cherishing the freedoms that were, for many Americans, much too belatedly won.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone 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 A LETTER, SCANHERE

Having signed theletter on tenure submitted by Boydprofessors Suzanne L. Marchand and R. Eugene Turner,I would only add that, despite his dismissive tone, letter writer Kevin Kelly is probably correct in asserting that good universities tendtobeabit moreliberal than conservative. That is because bright faculty encourage students to think for themselves, to read widely and toquestion everything. Learning to think critically and to write persuasively are themarks of aliberal education. Good universities tendtoattract professors who, whatever their research expertise, have wide interests and ap-

preciatecultural diversity.Productive development of human knowledge requires thefreedom to test assumptions and theories and to askquestions that generatenew insights. Academic tenure protectsresearch from external political pressure. As an undergraduate, Iattended a very conservative collegethat set limits on what could be taught and talked about. Faculty tenure did not exist. Luckily,Ihad aprovocative English teacher who taught me to resist my own complacency.Just before his retirement, 30 years later,that professor was ﬁred for being too outspoken. Today,government is intruding into

higher education as never before, cutting research funding, intimidating foreign students and stigmatizing as “woke” any intellectual work that encourages aquestioning of national illusions. The outrageous attack on Harvard epitomizes this administration’s pervasive hostility to critical thinking, to intellect, to the aims of higher education. May our colleges and universities survive this assault on freedom of thought and speech, and may the good people of Louisiana understand how tenure protects this crucial freedom.

J. GERALD KENNEDY Boyd professor of English emeritus, LSU

As asmall, independent contractor,I’ve watched liability premiums climb year after year,squeezing margins and stalling hiring. That’s why I’m writing to applaud Reps. Emily Chenevert, Jason DeWitt and Michael Melerine for shepherding House Bills 431, 434 and 450 to the governor’sdesk. Confronting Louisiana’sout-of-control, highly litigious culture will help curb frivolous lawsuitsand put hard-earned dollars back intoemployee paychecks and community investment.

This common-sense change will

Louisiana’ssmall businesses are thebackbone of our economy,but we are being squeezed by credit card swipe fees that have grown unchecked. That’swhy Congress must pass theMarshall-Durbin Amendmentaspart of the GENIUS Act to ﬁnally introduce real competition to thecredit card market and ease thepressureonMain Street.

Today,Visa and MasterCard control roughly 80% of the credit card market and use that dominance to impose ever-rising swipe fees. These fees —charged every time acustomer pays withacredit card —are among the highest in the world. For small businesses across Louisiana, they’re an unavoidable cost that eats into our margins and forces many of us to raise prices just to stay aﬂoat

Butwe’re running out of room. Higher prices drive customers away,and thecycle continues. What

discourage frivolous suits, stabilize insurance markets andgive employers the predictability they need to invest here at home.

Gov.Jeff Landry’ssignature on these bills represents real, measurable progress toward afairer civil justice system —one that supports entrepreneurship instead of punishingit.

Thank you. Oursmall businesses, workers and responsible drivers owe you all aheartfelt thank you. VIC RICHARD Baton Rouge

we need is afairer system —one where card networks compete on cost and service, not on monopoly power.That’s exactly what the Marshall-Durbin Amendment offers. By requiring that at least two unafﬁliated networks be available to process credit card transactions, the amendmentwill break the stranglehold and give merchants areal choice.

This is not apartisan issue —it’sa practical fix to astructural problem For too long, Louisianabusinesses and consumers have paid the price while profits flowed to Wall Street. The Marshall-Durbin Amendment is our opportunity to change that.

Iurge Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy to support this reform.

Let’slevel the playing ﬁeld forLouisiana businesses and give our customersa break from rising costs.

NATALIEISAACKS president/CEO,Louisiana Oil Marketers &Convenience Store Association

Events of the past several weeks have revealed the mostmercenary foreign and domestic policies of any president in current memory. Talk of aGolden Age, aGold Card for wealthy immigrants, and golden toilets in Qatar jets all suggest apresidential “Midas touch” blind to the curse that nearly ruined that mythical king. But beyond such displays of excessive greed antithetical to the actual Christian Golden Rule, violation of that universal moral principle truly comes with indifference to the suffering of others. Sending deportees to aSalvadoran hellhole without due process serves only as an act of cruel despotism

All branches of government should worktogether to rectifythis situation and uphold our constitutional rule of law Until that happens, the ongoing suffering of the 237 still imprisoned deportees will weigh heavily on the consciences of Americans whorevere their Constitution. One can point to someaspects of the Golden Rule tacitly embedded in aConstitution that favors equal protection under the law and human rights. The samemight be said forthe interaction of buyers and sellers whocompete in the service of self-interest under free-market conditions, rather than monopoly capitalism.And despite the checkered past of a Cold Warforeign policy that imprudently supported strongman rule in Third World countries, American softpower as expressed through USAIDhas won international acclaim forits humanitarian goals. While there’salways room forimprovementand increased transparency in such agencies, American isolationism or noncooperation has never proven beneﬁcial. WILLIAMBERTOLETTE Baton Rouge

COMMENTARY

Creating amorecivil society

Where, pray tell,iscommon ground?

Almost everybody agrees that American politics, which always havebeen rambunctious, have devolved intosuch toxicity that civil conversations appear impossible. Every reasonable person wants this to change. Indeed, a bipartisan poll released May 27 in the Washington Post shows that “an astounding 94 percent of voters agreed with thestatement that ‘It is important that both Democratsand Republicans come together to solve the problems that are facing America.’”

Meanwhile, the similarly named groupCommonGround, an afﬁliate of the internationally acclaimed Search for Common Ground, is right now recruitingvolunteers (tentative deadline: June27) for its second local project

Several conversations —plus the impressive record of the international Search for Common Ground parent group —have pretty much convinced me that there’snopre-set agenda and that the desire for respectful, constructiveendeavor is heartfelt.

Theﬁrst project,cleverly namedReconstructing Reconstruction, partnered in 2024 with areconciliation-focused group called the Plessy and Ferguson Initiative to commemorate the corridor of Black businesses and residences that was displaced when Interstate 10 was built.

“Their [only]agenda was to pull together agroup of local people who had in interest in New Orleans, to see who we wanted to honor with historical markers,” said Jodie Manale, areal estate associate broker who participated in Reconstructing Reconstruction. “The process was done in avery open and equitable way.”

Melissa Hortman, the former Minnesota House speaker felled by an assassin’sbullet at her homeonSaturday,really did understand what democracy looks like.

In response, all across thecountry, groups are springing up with thegoal of re-teaching people how to communicate with each otherfor mutual beneﬁt even amidst differing philosophies, ideologies and cultures.

It’stough to tell whether these groups will do any good, but anyone of goodwill should hope they do— and, where possible, help them.

It so happensthatatleast twogroups in New Orleans and one in Baton Rouge are active in such endeavors. Last week, this newspaper reported on the Baton Rouge outlet of anational group called Braver Angels, which aims at getting the political Left and Right “to change how they think about one another.”

In New Orleans, agroup aboutthree years old called the Neutral Ground (not to be confused withKaare Johnson’sexcellent local radio show of the same name) hosts biannual “robust” forums with subject-matter experts on speciﬁc public-policy issues, such as school choiceand incarceration. It now is planning its fallevent,this one on the prosand cons of state taxincentives forbusiness relocations.

“Wehave arelentlessfocus on elevating the conversation around civil discourse,” said founderJohnLandrum.

INTELLIGENT LIFE

The second initiative, for now called “the Collective Memory Project,” is designed to “examine Greater NewOrleans’ histories through the lens ofseveral regions: New Orleans East, New Orleans’ 6th and 7th Wards, and theRiver Parishes.” The project seeks volunteers of multiple cultural andpolitical persuasions to gather monthlyfor two- to three-hour sessions (complete with meals) to do historical research and design aproject or projectsto“usethe stories of the past to shape the future to where we can all belong andthrive.”

All of which sounds abit jargon-y

And,tobehonest, jargon-y in apolitical left-leaning sort of way.Bynow,almost everyoneofatleast acertain educational status has experienced some dogooder “training” that self-advertises as away to promote “dialogue,” only to findthatthe dialogue actually runs in only one direction, pushing an agenda or viewpoint that isn’t exactly copacetic with anyone even remotely right of center After some due diligence, I’m fairly confidentthis is not what Common Groundisabout. Its New Orleansdirector,Krystal James, reached out to me specifically to help get theword out that they wantmore conservatives to participate. Her sincerity is palpable.

Experts predict artificial intelligence will soon be abig partofeverydaylife on Earth If there’sintelligent life on other planets, what would theysay about all this? you tell me. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —justtry to keep it clean.There’sno limitonthe number of entries.

The winning punchline will belettered into the word balloon and runMondayinour printeditionsand online. In addition, the winner will receiveasignedprint of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt!Some honorable mentions will alsobe listed.Toenter,email entriestocartooncontest@theadvocate.com

All entries must include your name, homeaddress and phone number.Cell numbers arebest.The deadlinefor all entriesismidnight on Thursday.—Walt

“It really isn’tasuccessful project without all the viewpoints being heard and respected,” said James, thelocal director James said Common Ground is in the midst of hosting several Zoom meetings for people to learn moreabout the new project and decide if they want to volunteer for the year-long adventure. (Contact her at kjames@sfcg.org.)

There’snoway to know if these and similar approaches across thecountrywill bear fruit, but only the most hard-hearted cynic would belittle the attempts. Here in Louisiana, there were several decades in which our congressional delegation “modeled” such behavior,with legendarily gracious Democratic Rep.Lindy Boggs setting atone of “across theaisle” collaboration that was taken up by thelikes of Democratic Sens. BennettJohnston and John Breaux and Republican Reps. Dave Treen and Bob Livingston, among others.

Amore respectfulcivic life isn’tjust somepie-in-the-sky fantasy.Well-intentioned politicians, and well-intentioned citizens, really can make it apractical, productive approach.

Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin. hillyer@theadvocate.com.

Peak absurdityoncampaignfinance reform

Developments in recentdecades reﬂectdiminished respectfor the First Amendment. These include campus speech codes, political pressure for censorship on social media platforms, and asociety-wide “cancel culture” that inspires self-censorship lest “harmful” speech “trigger” offendedhearers. The most serious speech-regulation began half acentury ago, under theantiseptic rubric of “campaignﬁnancereform.” This month, the Supreme Court can begin removinganother shackle reformers have clamped on politicalspeech.The court will consider taking acase about whether the First Amendment is violated by limits on what political partiescan spend in coordination with their candidates’campaigns Howdid such an anodynepractice become problematic? This is how: In the 1970s, reformers, using the Watergate scandals as apretext, restricted campaign giving and spending. This was supposedly to prevent “corruption” —quid pro quo transactions —or the appearance thereof.

to politicians’ issue positions, not the other way around. Teachersunionsgenerally support Democrats for the same reason opponents of gun restrictions generally supportRepublicans: the parties’ preexisting beliefs

Reformers regulated “hard” money given to particular candidates; then “soft” money,given to parties for organizing and advocacy.Next, they targeted independent groups’ “express advocacy” of the election or defeat of identiﬁable candidates. Reformers also restricted such groups’ advocacy for or against issues clearly identiﬁed with particularcandidates. Earlier thismonth, peak absurdity reached the Supreme Court.It mustdecide whether acompelling government interest is served by limiting“coordination” betweenparties andtheir candidates. Lest the parties corrupt their own nominees?

Actual quid pro quo corruption involving donors is rare. Abundant research conﬁrms what common sense suggests: Political contributionsmove

published. Letters are not to exceed

All laws regulating political competition involve government stipulatingthe permissible quantity of speech about the government’scomposition.All campaign ﬁnancelaws are written by members of the political class —by incumbent legislators. Such laws require askeptical squint: look for evidence of class interest. It is easy to see: Incumbency confers enormous communication advantages; challengers mustspend alot to match this. So,limits on political giving and spending protect incumbents.

Formodern mugwumps bent on removing the politicsfrom politics, the maddening “problem” is that people affected by governmentkeep trying to affect the government’scomposition

The reformers —including an exhorting and aself-interested media —fret about the “problem” of “too much money” in politics. The complaint necessarily is that there is too much political speech, because allcampaign spending is to fund, directly or indirectly, the dissemination of political advocacy to large constituencies. How much, andbywhatmetric, is there “too much” money in politics? In the 2023-2024 election cycle, candidates for federal ofﬁces (president, House, Senate)spent atotal of $5.5 billion. To support them, political parties spent $2.6 billion, and political action committees spent $15.5 billion.(Reformers produced the dominance of PACs with regulationsthatdivertedpolitical contributions away from parties.) This $23.6 billion is less than the $29.2 billion of advertising spending in the same 24 months by just two U.S. companies,

Proctor &Gamble ($17.6 billion)and PepsiCo ($11.6 billion). For reformers, another “problem” is too much political participation:Political contributions are howmillionsof citizens participate. And by supporting the rationing of political speech, the mediaenhancethe dominance of their unregulated speech. Campaign “reforms” threaten the core speech protected by the First Amendment: political discourse. Today, many progressive intellectuals have decidedthe First Amendment is a “loophole” that endangers theiragenda of regulating everything, speech emphatically included. Public support for free speech might be weaker nowthan at anytime sincethe First Amendment was addedtothe Constitution in 1791. In 2014, 54 senators, all from the Democraticcaucus, voted to weaken the Bill of Rights’ protectionsby amending the First Amendment to permitpeople like them to ration speech aboutpeople like them. Theythereby acknowledgedthatthe amendment’s clear text(“Congress shallmake no law …abridging the freedom of speech”) forbids the campaignreformers’ desires.

Today’spolitical hygienists still have ametastasizing agenda for government regulation of thequantity of campaign speech. (And the contentofit: avoid “express advocacy.” And the timing of it: nottoo closetoanelection.) The result is arococo regime of speech restrictions, andhairsplitting exemptions therefrom.

The court can reafﬁrm the First Amendment’scrystallinesimplicity, the wisdom of whichisasself-evidentas this: No compelling government interest is servedbylimitingthe ability of partiestocoordinate with theircandidates’ political speech. Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

It is emphatically not about the vile arrogance of extremists so certain of their superiority that they bestow on themselves the right to snuffout the lives of their political foes.

Hortman lived her highly constructive lifeinpolitics in the knowledge that achieving change democratically requires painstaking work: planning, coalition-building, persuasion, conciliation, vote-counting. She achieved farmore using these humble, but ultimately exhilarating, tools of self-government than any violent fanatic ever will.

Even before Iknew the identities of the victimsofMinnesota’sseemingly politically motivated shootings, Ishared with manyasense of mourning and horror over yet another episode of brutality in amoment already marked by too much of it. Then, Ilearned that Hortman and her husband, Mark, had been shot dead while another Democrat, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife,Yvette, wereseverely wounded. With Hortman’sdeath, the story suddenly became morepersonal. Almost exactly two years ago, Ihad an enlightening interview with her foracolumn Iwas writing about what progressives around the country were calling the “Minnesota Miracle.” It was an outpouring of legislation madepossible by the Democrats’ narrow control of both houses of the state legislature and the governorship under TimWalz. Ican’tdofull justice here to all that Hortman and her colleagues achieved, but alengthy partial list can give you asense of just how much they got done. The miracle included legislation forpaid family and medical leave, sick leave, transgender rights protections, driver’slicenses forundocumented residents, abortion rights and voting rights.

Also on the list were background checks for private gun transfers, red ﬂag laws, legalized recreational marijuana, expanded education funding, and free breakfast and lunch forall Minnesota K-12 students.

As someone whose politics lean in aprogressive direction, Icheered these achievements. But what should be stressed about Hortman herself is how deeply she realized that nothing like any of this could have been accomplished without careful attention to the broad range of viewsamongher colleagues.

She thus worked to bring together Democratic legislators from the metro Twin Cities, many on the left, and those closer to the center from rural and small-town areas. Preparing forefforts to enact progressive tax reform, Hortman told me, she appointed astaunch progressive from Minneapolis to chair one of the House’s tax committees and amoderate from the increasingly conservative Iron Range to chair the other.“If we couldn’tget both of them on board, then it wouldn’tbesomething our caucus could do.” That’sapractical politician speaking. Hortman also knew that to be sustainable, the program needed to be ﬁscally responsible. She noted to me that abudget surplus of $17.5 billion had set expectations “very high” forwhat Democrats could achieve. But fully $10 billion of that was “one-timemoney,” meaning that programshad to be funded and revenue raised forthe long term

And in an era when we have becomenumb to the claims of politicians —one in particular comes to mind —that they alone can repair what ails the country,Hortman was insistent on the centrality of working with others.

These killings should makeusthink hard about the contrast between what an effective, serious and —I stress, again —democraticwith-a-small-d politics entails, and the profound dangers of movements and individuals so certain of their own righteousness and so convinced of the evil of their political adversaries that they are prepared to overturn all the rules, normsand obligations that undergird political decency.Itspeaks to their state’srobust civic health that the entire Minnesota congressional delegation quickly issued ajoint, bipartisan statement decrying the shootings.

Many years ago, Lawrence O’Brien, whowas aclose aide to President John F. Kennedy and later became commissioner of the NBA, wrote amemoir with awonderful title: “NoFinal Victories.” He paid tribute to the fact that in ademocracy,there are no ﬁnal victories, which also meansthat there are no ﬁnal defeats. Hortman used the opening she had to accomplish alot because she knew the opportunity to do so might not come around again fora while —and she fully accepted the right of her opponents to winthe next time. Whatever her killer’spolitical or personal motivations turn out to be, his actions show that he understood none of these things. We can never allow this approach to politics to prevail.

E.J. Dionne is on X, @EJDionne.

George Will

E.J Dionne

Quin Hillyer

Baton RougeWeather

INCHING BY

LSUeliminates Arkansas with wild rally, reachesCWS finalseries

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

OMAHA, Neb.— Baseball is agame of inches And no play better represented those inches than the ball Luis Hernandez hit in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesdaynight in LSU’s 6-5victory over Arkansas.

With LSU trailing 5-3, the senior catcher walked up to theplate with runners on ﬁrst and secondand two outs. Hernandez, whohad been seeing off-speed pitches all night, wasprepared forfreshman left-hander Cole Gibler’schangeup after taking an off-speed pitch in the dirt for ball one. “I was looking for off-speed because all daytheythrewmeoff-speed,” Hernan-

dez said, “changeups and (a) slider in.” The changeup is what he got on the next pitch, and Hernandez took advantage of it, roping a104-mph line drive to left ﬁelderCharlesDavalan. The play initially seemed like aroutine play for Davalan, but the sophomore hesitated and took an awkward dive towardthe

ä See LSU, page 4C

OMAHA, Neb.— It couldn’thave. Maybe it shouldn’thave.

But it did. Somehow,itdid.

LSU is going back to the College World Series championship series on the back of one of its mostimprobable victories here ever E-V-E-R.

The ﬁnal score: LSU 6, Arkansas 5.

But this one won’t truly go final for avery long time. It will live on, taking its place alongside LSU’swin in the 1996 CWS final on Warren Morris’ homerun. Alongside the Tigers’ wintobeat Wake Forest and vault into the CWS final twoyears ago on Tommy White’s11thinning homerun. In fairness to LSU’s 2-0 winover Wake in 2023 —one of the mostdramatic pitching duels you could ever hope to see determined by one mighty swing of the bat —this gamehad much more craziness. Great plays, botched plays, inexplicable plays, manyofthem by the sameplayers.

“Greatest momentinmylife,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said of White’s mammothblast in 2023. “It’snow tied forﬁrst.”

There is so much to siftthrough, it could ﬁll abook.

But there is one salient, important point that rises above all: LSU will play forits eighth CWS championship starting Saturday against Coastal Carolina.

Perhaps by then the buzz over this one will have died down, but Idoubt it. Ihope in their delirious celebrations that someLSU fans took timetogo across the street from Charles Schwab Field to Rocco’sand poured out at least one Jell-O shot forstar-crossed Arkansas. The poor little rich Razorbacks. They werequite arguably the best team in the nation this year,and deﬁnitely the best program not named Florida State to never winaCollege World Series.

But they lost four of ﬁve to the Tigers overall this season, including Saturday’s4-1 LSU victory in their

Saints legendsPorter, Maxie, Gleasonreceive honors

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Twoofthe best defensive backs in club history,Brett Maxie and Tracy Porter,are the newest inductees to the Saints Hall of Fame, ofﬁcials announcedWednesday

Ofﬁcials also announced that former Saints special-teamsstandout

Steve Gleason will receivethe inaugural Courage Award,and former WGNO sports directorEd Daniels is the 2025 recipientofthe Joe Gemelli “Fleur de Lis” award

The new inductees were introduced at anews conference at the Saints’ facility on Wednesday.The induction ceremony will be held during the Dec. 13-14 weekend, when the Saints play host to the Carolina Panthers at the Caesars Superdome.

Porter is the 13th member of the Saints 2009 Super Bowl championshipteam to earn induction. He

joins JabariGreer (2023) and RomanHarper (2021) as membersof the 2009 secondary to earn black jackets.

Porter’s fourth-quarter interceptions againstBrett Favre and PeytonManning in the2009 NFC championshipgameand Super Bowl, respectively,are widely regarded as two of the mostmemorable plays in Saints history.His 74-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed the Saints’ 3117 victoryagainstthe Indianapolis Colts in SuperBowl XLIV.Heintercepted Favre to thwart alastsecond scoring threat by the Minnesota Vikings and force overtime in the NFC championshipgame, which theSaintseventually won 31-28.

In four seasons with theSaints, Porter started 39 gamesand recorded seven interceptions, four forced fumbles, twofumblerecoveries and 37 pass breakups while

making 227 tackles(178 solo).

Maxie is the eighth member and theseconddefensive backfrom the famed Dome Patrol defense to be inducted (Dave Waymerwas the ﬁrst). He started 72 games in nine seasons from1985-93 andrecorded 438 tackles,15interceptions andfivefumble recoveries.He returned three of hisinterceptions for touchdowns. His fourth-down, goal-line tackle sealed a20-16 victory againstthe Steelersin1987 and helped secure theﬁrst winning season in franchise history Porter and Maxie arethe seventhand eighth defensive backs to receive the honor. They join Greer,Harper,Sammy Knight (2011), Dave Whitsell (1996), Dave Waymer (1996) andTommy Myers (1989).

Gleasonwas aspecial-teams standoutwiththe Saintsfrom

This Tracy Porter interception of aBrett Favre pass in the fourthquarter of the 2009 NFCchampionshipgame is one of the mostfamous defensive plays in Saints history.

Rabalais

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU first baseman Jared Jones, right, is swarmed by outfielder Dalton Beck, center,and infielder Tanner Reavesincelebration after Jones delivered the game-winning hit as the Tigers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 6-5onWednesdayinthe CollegeWorld Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.LSU will face Coastal Carolina in the championship series starting Saturday ä See RABALAIS, page 4C

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Panthers get another Stanley Cup

Team-first mentality helps Florida secure repeat championship

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockey writer

SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Bar-

kov hoisted the Stanley Cup, skated with it for a few moments and then handed it to a grinning Nate Schmidt, in his first year with the Florida Panthers and raising hockey’s hallowed trophy for the ﬁrst time. Before any repeat winner touched it, every Panther who never had before got the chance.

There’s a lot of guys, they play a ton of minutes that are huge contributors to this group, and they bypassed them and said: ‘We had it last year We’ll never not cherish this moment,’” Schmidt said. “It was amazing.” It also personiﬁed the Panthers, who did not have the best player in the ﬁnal, not facing Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again. They may not have even had the second-best with Leon Draisaitl there, too, but Florida repeating as champions showed exactly why hockey is the ultimate team sport.

“We just have so much heart, so much talent: Heart meets talent,” said winger Matthew Tkachuk, who played through a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle

“Our team was a team When things were getting hard for them, they looked to one guy But our team, we do it collectively.”

The Panthers had 19 non-goalies on the ice over six games against the Oilers; 15 registered a point and 11 scored at least once.

Coach Paul Maurice said the team is “just really deep — unusually so,” making the point that he essentially had three ﬁrst lines to roll out at any given time.

“A very talented group of guys, so when you bring somebody in, we’re going to play you with a really good player,” Maurice said.

General manager Bill Zito, who inherited Barkov, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, built the rest of the roster to win in the play-

on Tuesday.

offs. With Maurice and his staff in charge, players who were adrift or simply mediocre elsewhere thrived in Florida.

“For the most part, every guy who’s come here has had the best season of their careers,” Zito said.

“From that perspective, it’s gratifying to think that we can create an environment where the guys can do that, but it’s the team. It’s that room. It truly is.”

Fourth-liner A.J. Greer is one of those players after nearly giving up on his NHL dream a few years ago. He, Zito, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett and so many others use the word “culture” to explain the Panthers’ greatness, and it translates into results on the ice.

The forecheck is never-ending, the harassment in the neutral zone relentless and the offense burgeoning with talent.

“Everyone levels their game up here every one of us,” Greer said. “There’s a sentiment of greatness but of just like wanting to be as good as you were yesterday.”

Tkachuk, acquired by Zito in a

trade from Calgary in the same summer of 2022 when Maurice was hired as coach, shook his head when asked about scoring the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6. He wanted to make a point that it doesn’t matter who scores.

“I don’t care about personal stats,” Tkachuk said. “I don’t care. Our team doesn’t (care) about that. That’s what makes us a team, and that’s why we’re lifting the Stanley Cup right now because we’re a team and not a bunch of individuals.”

McDavid, who had seven points in six games in the final, had nothing but praise after a second straight loss to the Panthers on the NHL’s biggest stage.

“They’re a really good team,” McDavid said. “Very deserving. They were really good.”

Florida was in the final for a third consecutive year, and the only loss during this stretch came to Vegas in 2023 when injuries ravaged Tkachuk, Ekblad and others. That was the start of the winning blueprint that has made the Panthers so successful for so

long.

“There’s a way that we do things here, and it’s not easy,” said Bennett, who led all players in the playoffs with 15 goals. “We don’t play an easy style of hockey It demands a lot of you. Every single guy’s bought into it. When some new guys came in, they instantly bought into what we do here and the commitment to being great, to winning. Every single guy just really bought into that.”

Schmidt found that out quickly He played for Maurice in Winnipeg, got bought out last summer and just wanted to get his game back. That happened quickly, and the Stanley Cup was the reward after going through another long grind as a team.

“It’s the system. It’s the group. It’s just completely selfless,” Schmidt said. “Guys just play one way, and they say, ‘Hey, this is how we do things’ and you’ve got to jump on board. Guys, once they mold themselves into the game, you just become another cog in the wheel here. That’s just the way it runs. It’s just a well-oiled machine.”

Mabrey’s foul on Clark upgraded to Flagrant-2

The WNBA has upgraded the technical foul on Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey for shoving Caitlin Clark to the ﬂoor during Tuesday’s night game against Indiana to a Flagrant-2, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday on condition of anonymity

Any ﬂagrant foul comes with an automatic ﬁne.

The person also said the league has ﬁned the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham for her role in the oncourt melee that occurred after she fouled Jacy Sheldon with 46.1 seconds left.

Cunningham received a Flagrant-2 Tuesday night.

There will be no further penalties for on-court actions during the game, the person said. The WNBA doesn’t disclose the amount of money players are ﬁned.

Nabers ready for camp after sitting out in spring New York Giants wide receiver

Malik Nabers should be available to practice for the start of training camp next month after sitting out during the spring with a toe issue, an issue he’s had since his college days.

Coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday that the former LSU receiver was “doing good” and he had no concerns that the injury would affect his availability Nabers didn’t practice in the sessions open to reporters during OTAs and minicamp, but participated in some of the team’s walkthrough periods. Nabers, the sixth overall pick in the draft last year caught an NFL rookie-record 109 passes last season while setting the franchise mark for most receptions in a season.

Ravens sign cornerback Alexander to 1-year deal

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson stood at the podium after a practice Tuesday and exhorted general manager Eric DeCosta to “go get” free agent and two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander

On Wednesday, Alexander, who spent his ﬁrst seven seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, signed with Baltimore, the team announced.

It’s a one-year, $4 million deal worth up to $6 million, according to a source with direct knowledge of the contract. Alexander’s addition bolsters a Ravens pass defense that ranked 31st in yards allowed per game (244.1) and was 17th in interceptions with 12. He also adds depth to the secondary

BY SCOOTER HOBBS

Contributing writer

This is an entry in a proﬁle series of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The induction ceremony is set for June 28 in Natchitoches.

College athletes do a lot of bouncing around from school to school these days It turns out the transfer portal is not just for athletes. Take Glenn Guilbeau, for instance. The Metairie native was living the portal life long before it became fashionable. It is now ofﬁcially a Hall of Fame journey, as Guilbeau will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony June 28 in Natchitoches.

Few on the journalism side took a longer and more winding road there, although most of it has been

based in Baton Rouge, covering the LSU sports scene. He first tested the portal in college, attending LSU as a freshman in 1979-80, UNO for a year, then transferring to Missouri, then back to LSU and finally finishing at Missouri in the summer of 1983 Diploma in hand, the bouncing around began. It started back in Baton Rouge working for Tiger Rag before moving on to the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, Slidell Sentry News, Alexandria Town Talk, Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register, back to Baton Rouge at The Advocate, then Gannett Louisiana (based in

Baton Rouge) covering LSU for the chain’s numerous state newspapers. Then he became a national columnist at OutKick/FOX News, and, ﬁnally, back where it all started at Tiger Rag. “It has always been a lot of fun and adventure to leave a job, preferably on your own, and start a new one,” Guilbeau said “First you get a going-away party then you’re the new guy Everything’s fresh.”

Most of the jobs were based in Baton Rouge, and there is one constant throughout his varied career It doesn’t matter where he works or which team or sport he covers, readers are going to get Guilbeau unﬁltered.

It doesn’t always endear him to fans, but he knows no other way What he sees is what he’s going to write.

“I always wanted to be a columnist more than a reporter,” he said. “Writing opinions doesn’t lend itself to long relationships with people at the school or on the team.”

Translation: If the home team messes up, he’s going to point it out.

If the coach made a bad gameday decision, that coach will read about it the next day Guilbeau ﬁgures the teams have tryouts for cheerleaders, none of which he signed up for

“I believe that for every 10 fans who get pissed, there is one who loves it,” Guilbeau said. “LSU fans — more than any other fan base, I believe — have more of an edge to them. They’re always on the brink of turning on the Tigers because LSU historically has had so many ups and downs and football coaching turnover.”

Buss family to sell controlling stake of Lakers to Walter

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball

The Buss family has agreed to sell the controlling stake of the Los Angeles Lakers to TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, doing so with a franchise valuation of $10 billion the most ever for a professional sports franchise, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday As part of the deal, Jeanie Buss — whose family has had control of the Lakers since her father bought the team in 1979 intends to remain as team governor, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side immediately announced details It is not clear how much more of the Lakers that Walter is acquiring. He was part of a group that bought 27% of the Lakers in 2021. Walter and TWG Global already had the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and — through TWG Motorsports — owns several auto racing teams including Cadillac Formula 1

The agreement for the sale of the Lakers comes about three months after Bill Chisholm agreed to buy the Boston Celtics with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion — that topping the previous mark of $6.05 billion sale for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. And now, $10 billion not just a record, but a total smashing of the previous mark. The Lakers have been in the control of the Buss family for 46 years, the longest of any current NBA franchise. Herb Simon bought the Indiana Pacers currently in the NBA Finals — in 1983, the second-

longest current ownership of an NBA club. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $67.5 million and left the club to his family when he died. The franchise has won 17 championships, second-most in NBA history, and has seen some of the game’s most storied players wear its uniform — Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and NBA all-time points leader LeBron James just some of the icons who have played for the Lakers.

Ruggs apologizes to family of woman he killed in crash Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs, on special release Tuesday night, spoke at a Hope for Prisoners event in Las Vegas and apologized to the family of a woman he killed in a car crash nearly four years ago.

Ruggs drove his sports car at speeds up to 156 mph in the city on Nov 2, 2021, slamming into a vehicle that killed driver Tina Tintor and her dog, Max. Tintor was 23. Ruggs was asked at the event what he would say to Tintor’s family

Ruggs, a former first-round draft pick, pleaded guilty in May 2023 to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter He was sentenced in August 2023 to a 3- to 10-year prison sentence.

Tampa Bay Rays in talks about a potential sale

The Tampa Bay Rays say they are in “exclusive discussions” with a Florida investment group for a potential sale of the team. The Rays are valued at $1.25 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Stuart Sternberg bought the Major League Baseball club for $200 million in 2004.

The potential sale comes at a precarious time for the Rays and their home ballpark. They are playing this season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa after the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton last October In March, Sternberg said the club was withdrawing from the $1.3 billion agreement for a stadium development next to Tropicana ﬁeld.

Guilbeau

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NATHAN DENETTE

The Florida Panthers raise the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla.,

Parkview Baptist’s Higgins commits to LSU

Senior rated one of top kickers in country

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

For most LSU football fans, Gavin Higgins is a new name to digest.

The Parkview Baptist kicker committed to the Tigers earlier this month after a whirlwind week in which he earned offers from LSU and Mississippi State.

Don’t be fooled. Higgins is anything but an overnight success story Now he embraces the challenges of being an LSU commitment going into his senior season

“I played soccer my whole life, starting when I was about 5,” Higgins said. “I stopped playing soccer in seventh grade and started kicking (the football) then. I found out I was pretty good at it

“I went to (kicking) camps in ninth grade just to see how good I was. It turned out I was up there with the best kids. Since then, I worked to improve.”

Higgins is ranked in the top ﬁve on a nationwide list released by Kohls, the retail company that conducts showcases and competitions designed to highlight kickers.

But when it comes to kickers and

football scholarships, particularly on an elite level, there are often no guarantees.

“Three of the top guys nationally last year did not get offers until late — like at the end of the (high school) season,” Higgins said. “So, for this to happen now is wild.”

The backstory unfolded this way Higgins was ﬂawless in the camp competition at Mississippi State with a long ﬁeld goal of 60 yards.

His long at LSU was 55.

Mississippi State’s offer came first and he then attended LSU’s specialists camp. After the camp,

Higgins kicked for LSU coach Brian Kelly

When the Tigers offered, Higgins said he committed on the spot

“I live 20 minutes from LSU and grew up watching the Tigers,” he said. “That’s part of the reason I started kicking.”

Higgins list of favorite kickers is true to his LSU passion. Former LSU kicker Cade York and current Tiger Damian Ramos are role models for the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Higgins, who also was an offensive lineman in middle school.

As a junior, Higgins was a ﬁrstteam all-district choice as a kick-

Johnston awarded Gatorade Louisiana Soccer Player of Year

Sophomore led Parkview Baptist to state title

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

The awards season continues for

Parkview Baptist’s Ella Kate Johnston, who was selected as the Gatorade Louisiana Girls Soccer Player of the Year

Gatorade announced the award Wednesday

“It’s really a huge honor,” Johnston said. “Winning it was a goal I set. But now this is a moment of awe. It’s feels amazing.

“And it makes me see that if you put in the work every day, goals like this one are possible to achieve. This is not just for me; this is a team award. Everybody on the team has a part of this too.”

Winning the Gatorade Louisiana award makes Johnston eligible to the win the national Gatorade honor that will be announced in the days ahead. She is the second player in her family to win the award.

Her older sister, Faith, who will play for Kansas in the fall, won the award as a sophomore two years ago.

Johnston finished her sopho-

more season with 39 goals and 24 assists despite being marked by opposing defenses all season.

She was previously selected as the All-Metro MVP for Divisions III and below after leading the Eagles to their third straight LHSAA girls championship in February

Johnston also was The Advocate’s Star of Stars honoree for girls soccer after leading the Eagles to a 23-2 record and a national ranking at the end of the year

“Ella Kate is just different,”

coach Raphael Nunes said. “She’s relentless straight up. A warrior in every sense. She is tough, passionate and absolutely obsessed with getting better

“While most kids are sleeping, she’s training. She stays after practices, asks for extra reps and watches ﬁlm because that’s who she is.”

Charlie Mader of Teurlings Catholic was announced as the Gatorade Louisiana Boys Soccer Player of the Year last week.

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

er and punter He made seven of 11 ﬁeld goals with a long of 43 yards.

Higgins booted four ﬁeld goals in a three-point win over St. Martinville last fall. Just as important was Higgins sending 47 of 51 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

“I would say my accuracy is what makes the difference for me now,” Higgins said. “That’s an area I improved on. Getting more height on my kicks is one thing I am working to improve.”

First-year Parkview coach Devin Ducote said he sees Higgins as a weapon for the Eagles on offense and defense.

Still skeptical? Former St Amant and Southern Miss kicker Briggs Bourgeois saidthere is no reason to be. Bourgeois has tutored and a number of kickers from south Louisiana in recent years.

Though he moved to Buffalo to work full time for Hammer Kicking Academy about eight months ago, Bourgeois still makes trips to Baton Rouge and evaluates video for Higgins and others.

“Over the last year and a half, Gavin has worked hard to get his technique right,” Bourgeois said. “I told my boss, this kid is going to be special. He will kick ﬁeld goals and kick off on the college level.

“If you break it down, he is technically sound. When he kicks the

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

“My

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots around Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday in Indianapolis.

Thunder not getting ahead of itself in quest for title

The ultimate is to get to a Game 7.

BY TIM REYNOLDS

INDIANAPOLIS Difﬁcult as it may seem, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is desperately trying to not think about what may await the Oklahoma City Thunder

The MVP, scoring champion and Thunder star doesn’t want to think about the end of the NBA Finals. Or how the Larry O’Brien Trophy will feel in his hands if he gets to hoist it as a champion. Or what the celebration will look like, sound like, be like.

The Thunder is one win from a title, and it could come when it visits the potentially shorthanded Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

It is not just another game, but Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to make it seem that way

“The cusp of winning is not winning,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The way I see it, winning is all that matters. It hasn’t been fulfilled. We haven’t done anything.”

The Thunder leads the NBA Finals 3-2, has posted 83 wins so far this season and just found a way to hand Indiana its ﬁrst set of back-to-back losses in three months. The Thunder, just as it did against Denver in Round 2, has bounced back from series deﬁcits of 1-0 and 2-1.

“We want to win the game tomorrow, but the most important thing we need to do to win the game tomorrow is prepare today and prepare tomorrow and play the ﬁrst possession really well, then the next possession, then the next possession,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said

Wednesday “That’s how we try to approach a game, how we try to approach the playoff series, how we try to approach every single day and let that win the day.”

The Pacers expect a crazed atmosphere for what will be their ﬁnal home game of the season; if they force a Game 7, it’ll be in Oklahoma City on Sunday What the Pacers don’t know is whether Tyrese Haliburton will play because of a strained right calf.

“I think that’s all we can do, right? Think about the next game,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “It’s a great opportunity in front of our fans. I’m sure it’s going to be a huge moment for our fans. They’re going to be super excited. We have a chance at home, NBA Finals. It’s a good opportunity. That’s all it is.”

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been stressing two key points: fewer turnovers (Indiana had 23 for 32 Oklahoma City points in Game 5) and limiting OKC’s offensive rebounding. Those areas must be cleaned up whether Haliburton plays or not.

The Pacers trailed New York 3-2 in the second round last season, came home and won Game 6, then went to Madison Square Garden and won Game 7. Winning from this position is possible, and Carlisle knows it.

“What we need to do is buckle down. Stand strong. I anticipate one of the best crowds in the history of Gainbridge Fieldhouse,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to ﬁnd a way

That is the ultimate privilege It’s the ultimate experience in sports. But we’ve got to take care of home court tomorrow to do that.”

After scoring 40

Thunder guard Jalen Williams, who had 40 points in Game 5, didn’t get a ton of calls and texts after the highest-scoring playoff game of his career

Then again, his friends know he’s not on the phone much right now

“Honestly I try not to answer my phone as much, even though that probably sounded like I’m a jerk,” Williams said. “There’s just a lot of highs and lows throughout the series. You don’t get as many texts if you don’t play well. I try to keep that in perspective, too.” On the brink

Since 2000, teams are 25-13 in games where they can win the NBA title.

The Thunder is aiming to go 1-0 in such games this year, something 20 teams have done in the last 25 seasons. The NBA’s most recent champion, Boston, needed two tries at it last season before ousting Dallas.

Seeking 84

If the Thunder wins Game 6 — or Game 7 it would push Oklahoma City’s win total for the season to 84, including the playoffs. That is rare air Only three teams have won 84 or more games in a season: the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors won 88 (and lost in the NBA Finals), the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 87 games and the 199697 Bulls won 84 ä Thunder at Pacers, 7:30 P.M.THURSDAy,ABC

PHOTO PROVIDED

Parkview Baptist kicker Gavin Higgins kicks off during a game.

PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON Parkview Baptist’s Ella Kate Johnston maintains control of the ball during a match against University High on Jan. 27 at Parkview Baptist. She was named the Gatorade Louisiana Soccer Player of the year on Wednesday.

MATTHEW STOCKMAN

CoastalCarolinastartsfast, earnsway to CWSﬁnals

CWSGLANCE

BY ERIC OLSON AP sports writer

OMAHA, Neb.— Coastal Carolina advanced to the College World Series finals with an 11-3 victory over Louisville on Wednesday,scoring five of its six first-inningruns before making an out and extending its win streak to 26 games. The Chanticleers (56-11) will play LSU or Arkansas in the bestof-three finals starting Saturday. They are going for their second national championship in two alltime appearances in Omaha. They won their first in 2016 “Todowhat we did today versus that team, as well coachedasthat team is, is really amazing,” coach Kevin Schnall said. “The Chanticleers are one of two teams in the entire country stillplaying. It’sincredible, butit’snot unbelievable. And it’snot unbelievablebecause we’ve got really good players, really goodplayers.”

Louisville (42-24) started left-

LSU

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ball as the sinkingdrive ricocheted off his right shoulder andinto the left-ﬁeld corner at Charles Schwab Field. The drop, which was ruledadouble, allowed two runs to score and tied the game at 5-5.

“Whenever he didn’tgrab it, I started running,” Hernandez said Four pitches and apitching change later,junior Jared Jones —who had homered earlier in the night —shot asingle up themiddle against redshirt sophomore righthander Aiden Jimenez thatwent off the glove of second baseman Cam Kozeal andinto center ﬁeld to allow Hernandez to scorefor the walk-off victory

“They brought in Jimenez. He’sa great pitcher,” Jones said.“Got to respect his slider and was able to stay on it and do just enoughtoget it over the second baseman’s head. That’sabout it.”

LSU had snatched thevictory from the jaws of defeat. With the win, the Tigers will face Coastal Carolina in the College World Series ﬁnal beginningat6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

“I said this literally probably two years ago to theday,the walk-off homer,Tommy against Wake Forest,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said “I felt something in my body I’ve never felt before. Greatestmoment in my life. It now has atie for ﬁrst.”

Chaos reigned throughout the ﬁnal innings Wednesday With the score tied 3-3 in the topofthe ninth, and with redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores on the mound for LSU, Arkansas put two men in scoring position with one out after adouble from third baseman Brent Iredale.

The runners promptedLSU to turn to junior right-hander Jacob Mayers, who allowed atwo-run single on the ﬁrst pitch he threw to center fielder Justin Thomas that turned a3-3 game into a5-3 Arkansas lead.

AfterThomas’ single,Arkansas seemed poised to force ado-ordie rematchwith the Tigers on Thursday.Gibler struck out freshmanpinch-hitterJohnPearson to start the bottom of the ninth and, two batters later,forced aground ball to shortstop Wehiwa Aloy that appeared to be apotential double play with runners on ﬁrst and second.

But instead of throwingthe ball to second base to start the turn, Aloytossed the ball to third base for the force out. His decision allowed Hernandez to walk uptothe plate with two outs. “The way it all turnedout, Iguess Iwould have,” Arkansas coach

RABALAIS

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CWS opener.Arkansas is now 0-5 in Omaha against LSU as well, where it packs another gut-punch of adefeat into its suitcase for the ﬂight home to Fayetteville on Thursday.They will have to try to bury this one in the ground next to the missed pop foul that cost the Hogs the 2018 CWS title against Oregon State. It’sawondrous game, college baseball, especially here on its biggest stage. It can be brutal as well. Absolutely brutal “It was alot of heartbreak,” Arkansas coach Dave VanHorn said. Twice, no three times, it looked like Arkansas had LSU marked

handerColton Hartman, primarily areliever whohadn’t appeared in a game since May 17. He didn’t last long.

CadenBodine singled leading off, and Sebastian Alexander and Blake Barthol were hit by pitches to loadthe bases. Walker Mitchell punched aball into right ﬁeld to bring in two runs, and then Hartman issued afourpitchwalk.

OutwentHartman (2-1)and in came Jake Schweitzer.Colby Thorndyke greeted him with his second bases-clearing double in twogames tomake it 5-0. Thorndyke came home on Ty Dooley’s one-out single and ﬁnished3 for 4 with ﬁve RBIs.

“Wealways preach when the bases are loaded,the pressure is on the pitcher,” Thorndyke said.

“It’s not on the hitter.He’sgot to throw threestrikes.Ifhethrows four balls, then it’sarun. So we always preach the pressure is on the pitcher.”

TheChanticleers paddedtheir lead withPete Mihos’ two-run triple in the ﬁfth and twomore runs in thesixth. Coastal Carolina is 43-0

DaveVan Horn said when asked whether hewould have liked to see Aloy attempt the double play “I haven’ttalkedtohim aboutit. I think he felt he moved toofar to hisright for Cam to turn it.Idon’t know.”

Jones’ heroics on Wednesday beganinthe bottom of the eighth inning. With LSU trailing 3-2, he blasted asolohome run to rightcenter ﬁeld to tie the game. The homer washis 22nd of the year and was hit in almost thesamespot as hisblastMonday against UCLA.

Jones’ homers are LSU’s only long balls in Omaha through three contests.

“I hadn’tbeen seeing (righthander GabeGaeckle) very well this week it was all on sliders,”

Jones said. “My approach is alwaystobeontime for afastball. I was lucky enough to get one in the zone and put agood swing on it to tie thegame there.”

Jones’ homer was preceded by tworunsfromArkansasinthe top of the eighth inning. Facing Shores, Arkansasquickly loaded the baseswithone outafter two singles and ahit by pitch.

The Tigers nearly escaped the jamwithaninning-ending double play,but Jones dropped juniorsec-

for defeat and would force awinner-take-all game Thursday for a berthinthe CWS final. Thefirst was on Ryder Helfrick’ssolo home run in thefourth off LSUstarter Zac Cowan. Nearly forgotten Zac Cowan, who summonedupagutsystarter’sperformancewith 51/3 innings of one-run ball. LSU finally brokethrough on pinch-hitterJake Brown’stwo-run single in the sixth. After Arkansas reclaimed the lead in the eighth, JaredJones tied it with a“the Oscar goes to” dramatic, two-out, 398-foot, firstpitchhomer.But just as quickly as it left the yard it looked likeit would go for naught as Arkansas’ nine-hole hitterJustin Thomas zipped atwo-run singletoleft through adrawn-in infield for a 5-3Razorbacks lead in the top of theninth. Foolish mortalswe, thinking

when leading after six innings.

The Chanticleers made an impressive runthrough their bracket, beating Arizona 7-4 and Oregon State 6-2 before eliminating the Cardinals.Theyled or were tiedall the way through except for ahalfinning against Arizona.

“These guys, ooh, they’ve done it in the last half of the season, in theconferencetournament, in the regionals, in supers, in Omaha, against, as we say,the best teams,” Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. “It’simpressive what they’ve done.”

RileyEikhoff (7-2), making his second startinthe CWS, held the Cardinals scorelessuntil Tague Davis drove an RBI double into the right-centergap in the sixth. Matthew Potok, Hayden Johnson and DominickCarbone combined for 32/3 shutout innings of relief.

“Offense goes out there gives youa big lead, it’sbig pressure off yourself,” Eikhoff said. “You go outthere,justdoyourthing,try

and make pitches. Imade quite a few pitches today,and the defense made great plays behind me.Without them,the score wouldn’tbethe same today.”

Cardinals ace Patrick Forbes, who pitched 51/3 innings in a4-3 loss to Oregon State on Friday,had asked to be the starter against the Chanticleers on four days’ rest, according to ESPN. Coach DanMcDonnellplanned to hold him back for apossible secondbracket ﬁnalagainst the Chanticleers on Thursday or use him for one inning if needed Wednesday.Hartman’sdisastrous start all but ended Louisville’s hopes of forcing awinner-takeall game.

“I’mjust grateful to be along forthisjourneyand just be one of the people or one of the teams that can go down in thehistory books for Louisville,” Louisville slugger Eddie King said. “This is a special team, andI’m just sadthat it cametoanend today.”

ond baseman Daniel Dickinson’s throw from second base, which allowed two runs to score. Instead of escaping the inning with a2-1 lead, the Tigerstrailed 3-2.

“What aweek for Chase. Imean, he did what he needed to do,” Johnson said. “Wejust didn’tcomplete thedouble play right there.”

LSU junior right-hander Zac Cowanearned thestart andhad arguably his best outing of the seasonwhenthe Tigers needed him the most. He tossed aseason-high 51/3 innings and threw aseasonhigh 84 pitches, allowing just one earned run on four hits. He pounded thestrikezone, perusual, and struck out six batters.

The only mistakeCowan made came in the fourth inning when he allowed asolo home run to catcher Ryder Helfrick.

“It meansthe world when Ihave the trust from thecoachingstaff, like Ido, and the defense behind me,” Cowan said. “And thesecond half of the season didn’tobviously go as planned,but it’s (about) going out there and competing every time I’m out there.”

Cowan exited for redshirt sophomore right-handerJaden Noot after surrendering aone-out single

that allthe fuses had been lit on allthe fireworks thisgame had stored up. Frankly, no onehad seen anything yet. Arkansas had achancetoend it on aground ball to short by LSU shortstop Steven Milam. But Arkansas’ WehiwaAloy,the Southeastern Conference player of the year,inexplicably went to third to force out Derek Curiel instead of turning what appeared to be afairly routine double play. A second out,yes, but LSU still had life. Maybe nine lives. It seemed thatway as catcher Luis Hernandez hit adying line drive to left that bounced off the shoulderofleft fielder Charles Davalan,who appeared to slip while trying to make aplay.That tied it 5-5, driving in EthanFrey from second andMilam from first.

to right ﬁelder Logan Maxwell in thesixth. Astolen base and awild pitch allowed Maxwell to reach third base with two outs, but Noot struck out Kozeal with ahigh fastball to end the inning.

Noot’swork allowed LSU to grab theleadinthe bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on second andthird and oneout,Arkansas elected to walk senioroutﬁelder Josh Pearson to load the bases. JohnsonthencounteredbypinchhittingJake Brownfor Chris Stanﬁeld, and thesophomore delivered with atwo-run single fora2-1 LSU edge.

The experience LSU had accumulatedagainst GaeckleonSaturdayand in the regular season amonth earliercontributed to Brown and Jones’ success against the topArkansas arm on Wednesday,Brown said.

“Weknew that he was goingto be the guy that they went to in a tough situation like that,” Brown said. “And Iwas justhappy that my name wasabletoget called and Iwas able to help us win.”

Noot forced agroundout to start theseventh inning, but his night came to aclose after that. He was replaced by Shores, who struck out thenext two batters to maintain LSU’slead.

“That’savery unfair line score

Then, the coup de grace. With Hernandez at second, Jones smashed asingle that ticked off the top of second baseman Cam Kozeal’s glove and fell into the no man’sland of shallow center ﬁeld. Thatwould be Omaha native CamKozeal, adding insult to injury.Hernandez motored home standing up and the Tigers went berserk.

Jones went somewhere else.

“I thought he had caught it honestly because it fell in behind him,” Jones said. “Once Isaw the ball hit the grass, Iblacked out.

“Super grateful.” Why did Aloy go for the force on Curiel? Why did Arkansas pitch to Jones,who has had plenty of strikeouts in the CWS but also two massive home runs?

Second-guessers of the world unite.But the truth is while Arkansasmade mistakes and contro-

there,” Johnson said, referring to thethree earned runs the6-foot-8 Shores allowedintwo innings of work.

LSU created afew opportunities earlyonthat it couldn’tcapitalize on. Freshman Derek Curiel led off the ﬁrst inningwith adouble but was stranded at third base. Jones singled to start the second, but LSU couldn’tdrive him in or juniorDanielDickinson, who wasintentionally walked with two outs.

Through five innings against junior left-handerLandonBeidelschies, the Tigers were held scoreless. They had just twohits, and the only walkbelonged to Dickinson. Jones was the only Tiger with multiple hitsonWednesday. LSU was just 3for 18 with runners on base, but its attack came up clutch with two outs, going 5for 12 in those situations.

“Just excited to prepare for a couple moredaysand enjoy being together and go compete for achampionship, because Iget to coach guys like this,” Johnson said, referring to Cowan, Jones and Hernandez at the news conferencestage. “They’re all across the team.”

Email Koki RileyatKoki.Riley@ theadvocate.com.

versial decisions, LSU committed an uncharacteristically high three errors, including one by Jones who dropped what could have been adouble play that helped Arkansas score to go up 3-2 in the top of the eighth.

But somehow the Tigers rallied from behind three times. In the end, the Razorbacks ran out of answers.

An ESPN reporter stuck amicrophone in Jones’ face right after it ended, hoping he could ﬁnd some way to describe the indescribable.

“It’sLSU baseball,” he said. “The most magical three years of my life. It’sunbelievable.” That, all of it, happens to be true.

For more LSUsports updates, signupfor ournewsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

LSU starting pitcher Zac Cowanthrows apitch Wednesday in the College WorldSeries between the Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

LSU ﬁrst baseman Jared Jones belts asingle on Wednesdayduring the CollegeWorld Series game between the Tigers and the Razorbacks at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

Kelce: Decision to return a no-brainer

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce

said the decision to return for his 13th season with the Kansas City Chiefs wasn’t much of a decision at all. In fact, the four-time All-Pro tight end indicated Wednesday that No. 14 isn’t out of the question.

“I got one year on this contract, I know that. And we’ll try to ﬁgure out something for next year,” Kelce said after the second day of the Chiefs’ mandatory three-day minicamp, which was moved partially indoors because of lightning in the area

“The Chiefs organization knows how much I love them I can’t see myself playing anywhere else,” Kelce continued. “We’ll deal with (2026) down the road, when the time is right. But right now, I’m focused on winning a championship this year.”

The question of whether the 35-year-old would hang up his cleats was among the biggest to follow the Chiefs’ lopsided loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl. While he still played at a high level last season, Kelce’s production dipped noticeably — 97 catches for 823 yards and just three touchdowns for a team that won 15 regular-season games Throw in Kelce’s myriad business interests, including a successful media career thanks in part to his popular podcast, and a long-term relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift, and it made sense to wonder how much longer he would play Yet it only took a matter of weeks for Kelce to decide to chase another championship.

Nelly Korda hits from the fourth tee during the U.S Women’s Open at Erin Hills on May 31 in Erin, Wis.

By MATT yORK

Part of it was the way last season’s run had ended. Kelce had a throwback game in the divisional round against Houston with seven catches for 117 yards, but he only had four for 39 in the 40-22 loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

“Really didn’t feel like it was my last game. Just felt like I had a lot more to prove,” he said. “Yeah, you want to let the emotions die down; you don’t want to make a decision off initial emotions. Once they died down, I felt like I still had that ﬁre in my chest to come in and keep building and chase another Super Bowl, man.”

The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl despite playing most of the season without their top two wide receivers, Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown, both of whom are fully healthy now after their injuries. They also made it despite massive issues at left tackle, which the Chiefs hope to have solved by drafting Ohio State standout Josh Simmons in the ﬁrst round.

Now, they have a motivated — and noticeably slimmer — Kelce back at tight end. There were reports that he had dropped about 25 pounds since the end of last season, though Kelce insisted that may have been an exaggeration.

“Don’t believe all you read on the internet, guys. I’m down some weight from the end of last season last year but each year is different, man. You have to rebuild it,” he said.

“This year, I had some time to really focus on some form running and some things early in the offseason that I didn’t have time for last year Certainly feeling good and I think it’ll pay off.”

Patrick Mahomes certainly hopes so. After leading one of the

NFL’s most productive offenses early in his career, Mahomes has struggled to get the Chiefs on track the past couple of seasons, largely because of injuries and offensive line trouble.

Still, the Chiefs’ star quarterback said he never put any pressure on Kelce to return for another season.

“I think you have in the back of your mind, for anybody that’s played a lot of seasons, there’s always the chance if they’re going to come back and put in the work,”

Another quick major chance available for Korda

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter

FRISCO Texas — Nelly Korda was still in contention on the closing holes and feeling the adrenaline rush of trying to win another major championship before coming up short less than a month ago.

The world’s top-ranked player, still without a win this season, doesn’t have to wait long before another major opportunity

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship tees off Thursday on the 6,604-yard Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco, three weeks after Korda was a runnerup to Maja Stark in the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.

“There’s nothing like it, being in contention, so I think that’s kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position,” Korda said.

“You can look at it in a positive way, you can look at it in a negative way but at the end of the day, three weeks after, I can spin it in a positive way.”

While that much-desired U.S. Women’s Open title has so far eluded the 26-year-old Korda, who ﬁrst played that event at age 14, she has two majors among her 15 career wins: the 2021 Women’s PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club and the Chevron Championship last year. Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko the top three players in the world — will play together in the ﬁrst two rounds on one of the two courses at the PGA headquarters that opened just two years ago in North Texas.

“Every major, I just want to make the cut, to be honest,” said Thitikul, the 22-year-old from Thailand already with ﬁve career wins “What I have now under my belt, I’m pretty happy with all I’ve

achieved. If I can get it, it would be great.”

After missing two tournaments late last year during the LPGA’s Asia swing because of a minor neck injury, Korda said her neck “went into a full spasm” after she hit a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday She skipped the champions dinner that night, and had therapeutic tape on her neck after playing Tuesday, but said she would be ready Thursday

This will be the 10th start for Korda in a season when there have been 15 winners in 15 tournaments, including first-time major champions Stark and Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship in April.

Korda missed the cut at the Women’s PGA last year at Sahalee after a second-round 81, only weeks after her opening 80 that led to a missed cut at the U.S. Women’s Open. That was after the Chevron Championship had capped an incredible stretch of winning ﬁve consecutive tournaments.

“I know that this golf course is a little newer so I’m guessing the greens they’re going to be pretty ﬁrm. If it does get windy out here, you’ll see a lot of girls have trouble holding the greens,” she said. “But at the end of the day, this is what I love about playing in majors, this is what I love about the game, is that it tests you in every single way.”

Defending champion

Since her first major win at the Women’s PGA last year, Amy Yang has only one top-10 finish in 20 tournaments. She has missed the cut in two of her last three starts, with her best finish since February a tie for 36th at the U.S. Women’s Open.

The 35-year-old Yang won by three strokes last year and her peers doused her in Champagne during the celebration on the 18th green.

Last major winner Stark said she hasn’t really had time to digest her U.S. Women’s Open victory before getting ready for another major

“Just really hasn’t landed yet,” the 25-year-old Swede said. “(Life) hasn’t changed that much. I feel like maybe a bit less stress about keeping the tour card and that stuff.”

After winning at Erin Hills, Stark missed the cut the following week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic before taking off last week.

“I don’t really feel that much pressure going into majors in normal cases, but I think my perspective is kind of changed in that (the) U.S. Open was something that I always wanted to win,” she said. “I am feeling it more and more coming into this week that I’m getting more and more excited about this major.”

Major stretch and a new course

The Women’s PGA is the second of four majors in a span of eight events over two months. There will be only one other tournament before the Evian Championship in France, then one more before the Women’s British Open.

The par-72 Fields Ranch East also hosted the Senior PGA Championship two years ago. The PGA Championship is set to be played there in 2027 and 2034, with the Senior PGA returning in 2029 and the Women’s PGA in 2031.

“I think (architect) Gil Hanse and the team, they designed this course to host championships,” Ko said. “It’s designed with a purpose.”

Mahomes said. “For him, I think it was just recalibrating, seeing where he was at, and from what I’ve seen, he’s ready to go He’s put in the work this offseason and he’s excited to make another run at it.”

The Chiefs wrap up their threeday minicamp on Thursday, then break for about a month, before reuniting at Missouri Western State University for training camp.

And while the thought of spending a few weeks living in college dorm rooms probably doesn’t

sound very enticing to Kelce, the prospect of starting another championship run there clearly drives him.

“I love this game. It’s still my childhood dream,” Kelce said.

“When I really thought about it this offseason, I got back to wanting to focus on this game and getting the most out of this game as I can, while I’m still putting on the cleats and pads. This will always be No. 1 in terms of my business world and career path.”

Saints’ training camp report date is July 22

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints will report for training camp July 22, the NFL revealed Wednesday

The league announced the reporting dates for all 32 teams, and the Saints will have their rookies and veterans show up on the same day Some teams, such as the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, make a distinction between the groups as rookies are allowed to report a full week prior

The NFL also announced the full list of joint practices, with 24 sessions taking place across the league.

But the Saints won’t be one of the teams participating. New Orleans eyed joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers, but the plans did not materialize.

After reporting, the Saints likely will begin camp the next day, but the team has yet to announce its full schedule. New Orleans will begin camp at its practice facility in Metairie before heading to Irvine, California, for nine days (Aug. 6-15).

After their trip out west, the

SAINTS

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2000-07. He is believed to be the club’s all-time leader in blocked punts with four and was a team captain for most of his career He remains one of the club’s career leaders in special-teams tackles with 98. His iconic blocked punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2006 reopening of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina remains one of the most iconic plays in franchise history Since his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in 2011, Gleason has led global efforts to raise awareness of the disease and support people living with ALS through Team Gleason, the nonprofit organization he founded in 2011, and Answer ALS, another locally based nonprofit focused on finding a cure. Team Gleason has provided more than $55 million in technology, equipment, adventure and care services to people living with ALS, while Answer ALS has raised more than $45 million toward the scientific quest for a cure. Collectively, he and the staff at Team Gleason and Answer ALS have helped raise more than $100 million to benefit those living with ALS. Gleason’s efforts have been recognized worldwide. He was the first professional football player

Saints will return to Louisiana to ﬁnish camp at home.

This year will be the team’s ﬁrst training camp with coach Kellen Moore, who was hired in February

Also on Wednesday, the New Orleans Saints signed tight end Seth Green, whose most recent playing experience came with the Arlington Renegades of the UFL. Green appeared in 10 games with the Renegades this season, tallying 11 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He never has appeared in an NFL game, though he spent about half the 2022 season on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.

The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Green began his college career at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the University of Houston for his senior season.

New Orleans is dealing with multiple injuries from the 2024 season at tight end, as neither Taysom Hill nor Foster Moreau participated in the team’s offseason program while they recover from knee injuries suffered late last season.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

to receive the Congressional Gold Medal and also was honored with ESPN’s Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and the George Halas Award (Pro Football Writers of America) for his perseverance and dedication.

Daniels served as the sports director at WGNO-TV from 19922024 and was the longest-tenured sports broadcaster in New Orleans for much of his time in the city A New Orleans native who graduated from Rummel High School and Loyola University New Orleans, Daniels created and hosted WGNO’s popular “Friday Night Football” program, which was dedicated to high school sports. He also served as a radio color analyst for the Saints preseason radio broadcasts from 1995-99, and was an original member of the Saints Hall of Fame selection committee beginning in 1988. Daniels was recognized for his work by receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Press Club of New Orleans in 2014 and was three times named the Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He died in 2024 after suffering a heart attack while in Los Angeles to cover Saints training camp at the University of CalIrvine. He was 67.

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLIE RIEDEL

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce participates in a drill during practice on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

PHOTO

BY LINDAGASSENHEMIER

News Service (TNS)

Tribune

Tender swordﬁsh, seared on astovetop grill with avibrant salad of tomatoes,olives, cucumbers and red onion, makes for alight and ﬂavorful dinner that comes together in notime.

Cooking fish so it staysjuicy and sweet —rather than dry and overdone —can be tricky, but this method keeps it simple Istart by searing the swordfish to develop agolden crust, then cover the grill pan briefly to let it finish cooking gently with steam. The resultismoist fish with asatisfying sear.It’s served over orzo, arice shaped pasta, spiced with turmeric.

HELPFUL HINTS:

n Any thick ﬁsh such as tuna canbe used instead of swordﬁsh.

n Orzo is asmall rice shaped pasta. Any short cut pastacan be used instead of orzo.

n Green olives can be used instead of black olives.

n Askillet can be used instead of agrill pan.

Italian-style Swordfish with Tomato, Olive and Cucumber Salad

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1. Heat agrill pan overmedium-high heat and spray witholive oil spray.Sprinkle both sides of theswordﬁsh with alittle salt and pepper

2. Place swordﬁsh in thegrill pan and cook 3minutes. Pick up swordﬁsh steaks with atong or spatula and rotate them diagonally to make crisscrossgrillmarks

3. Cover the pan with alid or saucepan and cook 3more minutes. Flip the swordfish over and cook, coveredfor 2more minutes.

4. Meanwhile,add the onion, tomatoes,cucumbers andolives to alargebowl. Addthe olive oil and toss all together making sure all the vegetables are coated withthe oil. Add salt and peppertotaste

5. Test the swordﬁsh —a thermometer should 130F.Place one swordfish each on top of the cooked orzo. Spoon thevegetables on the top and sides of the ﬁsh. Sprinkle parsley leaves on top.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 351 calories(43 percent from fat), 16.9 gfat (3.3 gsaturated, 8.0 g monounsaturated),66mgcholesterol, 36.3 gprotein, 14.1 g carbohydrates, 3.9 gﬁber, 363 mg sodium.

Turmeric-Spiced Orzo

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

4ounces orzo

2tablespoons reduced fat salad dressing 1teaspoon turmeric Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place alarge saucepan

3/4 filled with water on to boil. When boiling, addthe orzo. Boil10minutes or according to packageinstructions. Drainand place in abowl.

2. Add the dressing, turmeric and salt and pepper to taste. Divide in half and place on the middle of two dinner plates. Serve the swordfish andvegetables on top.

Letthe flour fly andlearn howto make homemade shells,withadvice from an expert

Tortellini Salad with Spring Veggies, RECIPE 2D

BYGRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

5. Press your thumb onto the top of each littleball, andwithﬁrm pressure, smash and press the dough away from you. Thesides should curl up around the sides of yourthumb.Thismay take alittle practice and any mistakes can be balled up andre-formed.Asthey are shaped, transfer to alarge rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment, trying to keep them from touching each other.Repeat until all the dough is small shells.

6. Bring alarge pot of salted water to aboil and add the shells, stirring with aslotted spoon to keep them from sticking together.Cooking timedepends on the thickness of your shells. When they ﬂoat to the top of the pot, give oneataste.Theywill be al dente and delicious.

7. Scoop amugful of the salty starchy cooking water out of the pottoincorporate into your sauce. Drain in acolander and toss with sauceasdesired.Our classenjoyed aclassic aglio eolio (garlic andolive oil) RECIPE ON PAGE 2D

y) ,wide center ter or from the lto ough. drizzle create the your sticky, and ea ualat a covtowel. ugh preferroll about inch of a ach you small balls that resembleskinned hazelnuts,you are ready to shape them into shells.

STAFF PHOTO BY HILARYSCHEINUK

So freshand so clean

Dear Heloise: Justwanted to mention that Ialways leave the top open after washing clothes for at least aday to make sure the machine dries out This way,Iavoid any bad washing machine odors It’snever agood idea to close up anything that is wet or moist inside. —Liz Nass, via email

Findingyourcar

Colorado Springs, Colorado Garage sale hint

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Iwanted to addon to the discussion about ﬁnding your car in aparking lot.Ialways pick aparking spot near an easily recognized landmark,like alight pole with anumber on it If this is unavailable, Itake alook at my surroundings and pick another type of landmark (a sign of the business, aclump of trees, etc.) that can help me narrow down my search. Ialso take aquick picture of thearea around my car —Jim Schlagheck, in

Dear Heloise: Making agarage sale more enjoyable was atopic in arecent column.During the third dayofher yard sale, my daughterput up signs saying “donations only today,” and all money/donationswent to alocal cat rescue organization. She made aconsiderable amount for her cause! —GailPowell, via email Is this fried?

Dear Heloise: Your readers should be aware: If an item on a menu is described as “crispy,” “crunchy,” “browned,” “breaded”or“golden,”you can bet your bottom dollar it’sfried. Delores, in Dallas

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday,June19, the 170th day of 2025.There are 195 days left in the year.This is Juneteenth.

Todayinhistory:

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil Warwas over andthat all remaining enslaved people in Texas werefree —an event now celebrated nationwide as Juneteenth.

Also on this date:

In 1910, the ﬁrst Father’sDay in the United States was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. (President Richard Nixon would make Father’sDay afederally recognized annual observation through aproclamation in 1972.)

In 1953, Julius Rosenberg,35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union,were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York; theywere the ﬁrst Americancivilianstobe executed for espionage.

In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova completed her historic ﬂight as the ﬁrst woman in space, landing safely by parachute to conclude the Vostok 6mission.

In 1964, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved

by theU.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving alengthyﬁlibuster

In 1975,former Chicago organizedcrimebossSam Giancana was shot to deathinthe basement of hishome in Oak Park, Illinois; the killing has neverbeen solved.

In 1986, UniversityofMaryland basketball star Len Bias, the ﬁrst draft pick of theBoston Celtics two days earlier,suffered afatal cocaine-induced seizure.

In 1987, theU.S.Supreme Court, in thecase Edwards v. Aguillard, struck down aLouisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.

Today’sBirthdays: Hall of Fame auto racer Shirley Muldowney is 85. Nobel peace prize laureate AungSan SuuKyi is 80. Author Tobias Wolff is 80. Author Salman Rushdieis78. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 77. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 75. Actor Kathleen Turner is 71. Singer-choreographer-TV personality Paula Abdul is 63. TV host LaraSpencer is 56. Actor Jean Dujardin is 53. Actor Robin Tunney is 53. Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki is 47. Actor Zoe Saldañais47. Rapper Macklemoreis42. Actor Paul Danois41.

Tortellini Salad with Spring Veggies

Serves 2, with leftovers. Recipeisfrom GretchenMcKay,Post-Gazette.

½pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

8ounces packaged dried cheese or spinach tortellini

½cup vegetable or olive oil

Juice of 1lemon, plus more forserving 1shallot, minced 1clove garlic, minced

Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Handful of fresh arugula or spinach, optional

Handful of chopped fresh basilor parsley,orcombination

½cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼cup toasted pine nuts, optional

Red pepper flakes, for garnish, optional

1. Bringa largepot of saltedwater to aboil. Fill abowl with ice water

2. Add asparagus to boilingwaterand cook until it’scrisp-tender, about 60-90 seconds, dependingonthickness. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer to the ice bath. Let cool, then dry with apaper towel and

SALAD

Continued from page1D

inexpensive if you buy bagged, driedtortellini instead of the fresh pasta you ﬁnd in the refrigerated section.

For this salad recipe, we do justthat —toss bagged tortellini with bite-sized pieces of asparagus andjuicy cherry tomatoes in an entree salad with alemony, Parmesan-heavy dressing that literally takes seconds to whisk together

Be sure to plunge the asparagus into an ice bath after it’s been blanched so it doesn’t overcook and stays bright green Beforeweget intothe recipe, we need alittle bit of backstory on tortellini, which is one of the most beloved pasta types in NorthernItaly

Some say Castelfranco Emilia in the Emilia-Romagnaregion of Italy gave birth to this tender pasta stuffed with everything from ground beef to prosciutto to

Child’sparty must includethe neighbor

Dear Miss Manners: My daughter is turning 9soon, and we will be having asmall partywith four of her closest friends. We are hosting the party at the clubhouse facility in our condo complex. There is aﬁfth girl we know “Kiara,” who alsolives in thecomplex, with whom my daughter sometimes plays. Iconsider her mom somewhat of afriend, though we do not spend time together without the kids. Ourolder sons are friends, as well.

right to choose her guests, but I don’twant to exclude Kiara from aparty of people she knows, happening right outside her door.To my way of thinking, that makes US rude! Please let me know how you would handle this.

ﬁcult proposition.

set aside.

3. Return water to aboil and adddried tortellini. Cook according to package instructions (about 10 minutes),stirringoften. Drain tortellini and rinsewith cold water. (This will prevent it from clumpingtogether.) Drainagain, leaving it just thetiniest bit damp.

4. Make vinaigrette: Whisk oil, lemon juice, shallot and garlic together.Season to taste with salt and pepper

5. Prepare salad: Place cooked tortellini in alarge serving bowl. Addvinaigrette and toss well to combine.

6. Add tomatoes, arugula or spinach, basil, grated Parmesan, pine nuts and cooled asparagus. Toss to combine,then season again with salt and pepper and extra lemon juice if you want some additional zing. Youalso can add afew pinches of dried redpepper,ifdesired.

7. Servewarm, chilledorat room temperature.

amix of cheeses (the city holds an annual festival on the second SundayinSeptember). But Modena to the west and Bologna to the eastalso claimitastheir own. Whatever its geographical origins, tortellini (which means “little cake” or “littlering” in Italian)have been feeding the masses forcenturies. In 1570, arich pastadish called tortelletti —made with capon breast, cow udder,beef marrow,fresh ricotta andwarm spices like cinnamon —appeared in Italian Renaissance chef Bartolomeo Scappi’s cookbook, “Opera.” Thecurvedshape of thepasta also is open to acouple different interpretations. One of the most popularisthat itwas inspired by the contours of abeautiful woman —perhapsVenus, the Roman goddess ofloveand beauty— who apeepingtom-innkeeper saw when he peered through a keyhole as sheundressed. The recipethatfollows is much easier than Scappi’stortelletti to rustle up afterwork, and awhole lot cheaper

However,mydaughter does not wish to inviteKiara to her birthday party because she does not feel as close to her as tothe four friends we’ve invited. Iasked my daughter if she would at least consider invitingKiara, as she lives directly across from the clubhouse, and shewill mostlikely see the guests and recognize them from school. Shewill also hear about the party through her brother

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

My daughter still refuses, saying Kiara has been “rude” at past events.

Iwant to respect my daughter’s

Gentle reader: Is it too late to move?

Miss Manners sees two problems, not one. The ﬁrst is that Kiara should be included, forthe reasons you mention. It would be best if you had explained this to your daughter from thestart —that you understandand sympathize with her reluctance to include Kiara, but that it will still be a wonderful party and everyone will have agreat time. Kiara lives right across the hall and we do not want her to feel leftout.

Nine-year-olds are old enough to understand, but young enough to moveonifthey realize the point is settled

Which brings us to the second problem:your having leftthe decision up to your daughter.Now you will have to makeclear what theright decision is —amore dif-

Dear Miss Manners: Ihad been giving thoughtful and sometimes expensive birthday and holiday gifts to aclose relative. We are both adults in the sameage group. Istopped giving gifts ayear or twoago because Idid not receive agiftoreven acard formany years. Icontinued to send cards. My relative is now complaining that she doesn’thear from me. This is not true. Ibelieve she is reacting to not receiving gifts. I wish to be kind. Should Iresume the gifts?

Gentle reader: Youmay be right that your relative’scomment is a subtle complaint at the suspension of gifts, but if so, it is too subtle for Miss Manners. Certainly it is no reason to resume giving gifts to someone who neitherreciprocates nor acknowledges them.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

SummerTomato-Basil Salad (with or without mozzarella)

Garden-fresh tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil Fresh basil, leaves rinsedand dried and rolled together into atight cylinder,then sliced crosswise verythinlyfor achiffonade Coarse salt Fresh mozzarella

1. Cut your tomatoes into bite-sized wedges and place in aserving bowl.

2. Drizzle with alittle olive oiland toss in apalmful of basil chiffonade. Sprinkle in alittle coarse salt. Addmozzarella as desired. Serve without hesitation.

PASTA

Continuedfrom page1D

Now,Iget to be thebright-eyed cooking student as Iwork on my certiﬁcation as aculinary medicine specialist. This “teach health care professionals to cook and spread the information to their patients” program began at Tulane Medical School in 2012 and has expanded across thecountry Iamfresh from along-weekend culinarymedicine conference, immersedwithexpertsacrossmedical platforms and culinaryprowess. Eachday was rich withfascinating speakers helping guide us all toward“healthmeets food.”

Hundreds of participants gathered from AlaskatoMiami,New EnglandtoNew Orleans, in pursuit of acommon goaltohelpour patients with the complex how-to of nutrition. Choosing from the list of kitchen sessions was as difﬁcult as orderingfrom themost tempting restaurantmenu.For my breakoutsessions, it was an eeny-meenyminey-moe-pick-two amongthe knife skills,oliveoil tasting, bounty of whole grains, stocking your kitchen, ﬂavorful steaming and handmade pasta classes. Iwent with knife skills even though Istarted wieldinganassortmentofkitchen knives long before Icould write my name. Professional guidance is golden

AglioeOlio Sauce for Pasta

Toss your hot pasta with this ﬂavorful oil in alarge pasta serving bowl. Add spoonfuls of the reserved hot pasta cooking water as desired. The classic formula relies on agood garnish of fresh Italian parsley.Shower the whole bowlwith freshly grated Parmesan, passing more at the table.

1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4plump cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise ¼to½ teaspoon red chili flakes

3tablespoonsfresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped Freshly gratedParmesan forserving

1. Heat the olive oil in asmall

saucepan over medium-low until it thins out abit.

2. Add the garlic and chili flakes and swirl together off theheat to gently cookthe garlic.Add theparsley and toss the olive oil sauce with your pasta.

3. Serve with Parmesan on top and moreonthe side.

when it comes to sharp things and efficiency in the kitchen. Since Ihave yet to makeittoItaly,I chose the handmade pasta formy second course, and Iamdelighted to share thelove of blending good flour withwater and shaping bits of the dough into fingertip-sized pastashells. The satisfaction of transforming simple ingredients into edible art is contagious. Chef Luca Donofrio served as our instructor forthis pasta in minutes session,describing himself as plastered with as many logos as astock car,including an imported brand of milled flour Rather than tout his sponsors, he urged allofustosource unbleached, unbromated flour Here Iused flour from Hayden

Mills —ablend of wheats, including durum wheat. Notethat different types of flour have different absorption and water ratios. This is the quantity that worked formytype of flour.Heprovided us each with aball of dough and pinballed around the room checking each student’spasta shapes, giving approval even if they were less than perfect. In our one-hour session, each student’sball of dough becamefour or moreservings of little shells. Release your inner child, tie on your apron and let the flour fly Cooking can be messy.I call it happy kitchen chaos, which Iembrace with healthy gusto. Gather manyhands at the counter and join the fun.

April Hamilton shapes freshdough into noodles

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

Summer Tomato-Basil Salad (withmozzarella)

GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Alittle charm willgoa long way when dealing with authority figures and bureaucracy. Stating facts and offering backup will put others at ease and turn you into the go-to person in your circle.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Focus on somethingworthwhile. Positive change will result from investing in yourself. Develop what you enjoy doingmost and turn it into aprofitable endeavor.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Payattention and refusetolet anyone sidetrackortake advantage of you. Partnerships require equalitytorun effectively. Communication andhonesty areyourticket to a better future.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Go the extra mile andmakealasting impression. Physicalactivity will give you an outlet for pent-up energy and help youeliminate whateverstopsyou from reachingyour goal.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Rethink your relationships and consider who reciprocates and who doesn't. Don't wait foropportunities to come to you; make things happen and take credit where credit is due.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Be observant, not chatty. Give what'shappening around you achance to settle down before you figure out your best route forward. Connect the dots, study the outcomes and redesign how you want to move forward.

sAGIttARIus(nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take a closer look at your surroundings. Map

out aplan to redistribute what you no longerneed.Stopcarryingemotional andphysical baggage.It's time for a reinvention.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Stick close to home, address matters of concern anddeal with relationships that need an adjustment. Achange will be uplifting even if it initially requires some discomfort.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Moneymanagementisessential. Go over your investments and reduce your overhead. Pursue outlets thatenhance your health and emotional well-being.

PIscEs(Feb. 20-March20) Astringent approach to saving money will help your state of mind andencourage you to avoid pitfalls. Be open with those trying to tempt you into doing things that aren't within your budget.

ARIEs(March21-April 19) Setboundaries and budgets, and adopt aminimalist attitude. Keeping your life and needs in perspective will save you time and money. Choose peace of mind instead of adding more stress to your daily routine

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Get the facts; if you jump to conclusions, you'll makea mistake.Work toward your goal behind closed doors to avoidoutside interference. Someone will take advantage of you if you let them.

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

toDAy's cLuE: PEQuALs J

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

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 same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIPALDER Bridge

This week we are lookingatvarious aspectsoftheStaymanconvention.What is thefewest number of points you need to useStayman?

Normally, responderwill have at least enough points to invite game.So, opposite aone-no-trump opening that shows 15-17 points, responder will have nine high-card points (or eight with afivecard suit in aminor)

However,assuming thatyou employ transfers into the majors, it is possible to useStayman with zeropoints —what is called garbageStayman. You may have 4-4-5-0distribution,whenyouplantopass whatever opener rebids. Or youhave(in principle) at least5-5 in the majors. If opener rebids twoofamajor, you pass, knowing it is anine-card fit. Or, if opener rebidstwo diamonds, you continue with twohearts. Then, opener passes with three hearts (as in this deal), or corrects to two spades with threespades and two hearts. Against two hearts, West leads the trumpqueen.How should Southcontinue?Note that oneno-trump should be defeated

South should plan to ruff aspade on the board.Heshould win the first trick and call forthe spade king. East should win with the ace and return hissecond heart. ButSouth wins on theboard, plays

aspade to his queen, and leads athird spade. If West ruffs, it is with his trump trick,andSouthcanruffthefourthround of spades in thedummy to make an overtrick.IfWestdiscards,Southruffsonthe board and finishes with eight tricks: two spades, one spade ruff, four hearts and one club.

By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

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

Previousanswers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by

toDAy’s

Average

dealt bountifully with me.”

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield B.C. PiCKles

Purchasing Divi‐sion,CityHallBuilding, Room 826, 222 SaintLouis Street,8th Floor,Baton Rouge, La.until 11:00 A.M. July 3, 2025,for the following: A25-91082 WINDOW WASHINGLIBRARY SITES MandatoryPrebid Conference June 23, 2025, 9:00 A.M. 7711 Goodwood Boule‐vard -Baton Rouge, LA 70806 Contact: AlvinRattle, (225) 955-1049 MandatoryJob Site Visits Allparties interested in this bidmustparticipate in themandatory prebid conference andall mandatoryjob site visits to be eligible foraward of this contract.The mandatoryjob site visits will be discussedand scheduledinthe prebid conference Ofﬁcial biddocuments areavailable at Central Bidding (https://www centralauctionhouse. com/rfpc10656-city-ofbaton-rouge.html) or by requestfromthe City of BatonRouge at shab‐nins@brla.gov.

Bids shallbesubmitted electronically viawww centralbidding.com or on thesolicitationbid forms furnishedbythe City of BatonRouge andParish of East BatonRouge prior to thebidding deadline Electronic bids forthe solicitation will be down‐loaded by theCityof BatonRouge andParish of East BatonRouge,Pur‐chasing Division.Begin‐ning as soon as feasible after thebid closingtime allelectronicbidswillbe downloaded andpublicly read aloudalong with all paperbidsreceived,if any, in Room 806 immedi‐atelyafter the11:00 a.m. bidclosing.Bidders or theirauthorizedrepre‐sentatives areinvited to be present.

Note:The City-Parishhas electedtouse LaPAC, the state'sonlineelectronic bidposting andnotiﬁca‐tion system,inaddition to itsstandardmeans of advertisingthisrequire‐ment.ThisInvitationto Bidisavailable in elec‐tronic form at theLaPAC website https:// wwwcfprd.doa.louisiana. gov/osp/lapac/dspBid cfm?search=departm ent&term=102.

Bids,amendmentsto bids or requestfor with‐drawal of bids received after time speciﬁed for bidopeningsshall notbe considered forany cause whatsoever. Inquirieswillbereceived up until 5pmonJune25, 2025.

Full informationmay be obtained upon request from theabove address or by telephoningShab‐ninShahrin at (225) 3893259,Ext.3262, or via emailshabnins@brla gov.

Anyvendorwho would like to listen to theopen‐i f hi bid

PROCEED TO SELL BY PUBLIC AUCTION, IN FRONTOFTHE COURT‐HOUSEDOOR,ONTHE 25THDAY OF JUNE,2025 AT TENO’CLOCK (10:00) A.M.,THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBEDPROPERTY: One(1) certainlot or par‐celofground,together with allthe buildingsand improvements thereon, situated in theParishof West BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, in that sub‐division knownasAca‐dian Crossing,Second Filing,Phase 2and being designated on theoffi‐cial plan of subdivision, on file andofrecordin theoffice of theclerk andrecorderofsaid parish andstate,aslot numberseventy-three (73),saidsubdivision, said lothavingsuchsize, shapeand dimensions andbeing subjectto such servitudes as are shownonsaidmap MUNICIPALADDRESSIS: 7112 RUEDAPHINE STREET,ADDIS, LA 70710 SEIZED IN THEABOVE SUIT TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO THEHIGHEST BIDDER WITH BENEFITOFAP‐PRAISEMENT,AND AC‐CORDINGTOLAW JEFF BERGERON,SHERIFF PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE BY:ANGIE DELAUNE DEPUTY SHERIFF

OF WEST

ROUGE, IN THEABOVE ENTITLED CAUSE, IWILL PROCEED TO SELL BY

AUCTION, IN FRONTOFTHE

HOUSEDOOR,ONTHE 2NDDAY OF JULY,2025 AT TENO’CLOCK (10:00) A.M.,THE FOLLOWINGDE‐SCRIBEDPROPERTY: 2022 JEEP GLADIATORVIN 1C6JJTBG0NL176430 PROPERTY BEINGSTORED AT:NOLIMIT TOWING 1472 SAFE ENERGY DRIVE PORT ALLEN, LA 70767 (225) 238-1116 SEIZED IN THEABOVE SUIT TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO THEHIGHEST BIDDER WITH BENEFITOFAP‐PRAISEMENT,AND AC‐CORDINGTOLAW

22,

pm forthe purposeindi‐cated: Rezoning —19919 Old Scenic Highway Estate Residential(RE)to GeneralCommercial(CG) PUBLISH: June 17,18, 19, 2025 145556 June 17-19, 3t $48.40

pm forthe purpose indicated: Resubdivision LotC-1-A-3 into Lots C-1A-3-A& C-1-A-3-B 5501 HickmanLane PUBLISH: June 17,18, 19, 2025 145541 June 17-19, 3t $45.37 SHERIFF'SSALE SUIT NO.49619 WELLSFARGO BANK,N.A VS THEUNOPENEDSUC‐CESSION OF ANDUN‐KNOWNHEIRS OF SHARON J. MARTIN A/K/ASHARONJ.MAR‐

SHERIFF’SSALE SUIT NO.49803 PELICANSTATE CREDIT UNIONvsJONATHAN GORDILLO 18THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTPARISHOFWEST BATONROUGE STATEOF LOUISIANA SUIT NO.49803 BY VIRTUE OF AWRITOF SEIZUREAND SALE TO ME,DIRECTEDBYTHE HONORABLETHE EIGH‐TEENTH JUDICIAL DIS‐TRICTCOURT,FOR THE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, IN THEABOVE ENTITLED CAUSE, IWILL PROCEED TO SELL BY PUBLIC AUCTION, IN FRONTOFTHE COURT‐HOUSEDOOR, ON THE 23RD DAYOFJULY, 2025 AT TENO’CLOCK (10:00) A.M.,THE FOLLOWINGDE‐SCRIBEDPROPERTY: ONE(1) CERTAINLOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND,to‐gether with allthe build‐ings andimprovements thereon, situated in the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, in that subdi‐vision knownasSUGAR MILL PLANTATION,SEV‐ENTH FILING,and being designated on theoffi‐cial plan of said subdivi‐sion on file andof record in theoffice of theClerk andRecorderofsaid Parish andState as LOT NUMBER FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE(461),said subdivision, said lothav‐ingsuchsize, shapeand dimensions andbeing subjecttosuchservi‐tudesasare shownon said map.

MUNICIPALADDRESSIS: 3675 UNIONDRIVE ADDIS, LA 70710 SEIZED IN THEABOVE SUIT TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO THEHIGHEST BIDDER WITH BENEFITOFAP‐PRAISEMENT,AND AC‐CORDING TO LAW. JEFF BERGERON,SHERIFF PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE

PUBLIC NOTICE

The2025fiscalyearBudget(asamended)andtheproposed2026fiscalyearBudgetforthe

TheOfficeofthePublicDefender,EighteenthJudicialDistrict willbeavailablefor publicinspectionduringregularbusinesshoursbeginningJune19,2025.

Interestedpartiesmayreview thebudgetsattheOfficeofthePublicDefender,Eighteenth JudicialDistrictlocatedat750LouisianaAvenue,PortAllenLA 70767. OnJune30,2025at10:00A.M.,apublichearingonthe2025Budget(asamended)andthe proposed2026BudgetwillbeheldintheOfficeofthePublicDefender,EighteenthJudicial District.A summaryofthesaidbudgetsfollows:

REVENUE