The Advocate 06-21-2025

Courtrejects commandments law

AG vows to appeal5th Circuitrulingagainst placementinschools

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Louisiana’scontroversial law requiring public schools and colleges to post the TenCommandments violatesthe U.S. Constitution and cannot be enforced, afederal appeals court ruled unanimously Friday,upholding alower court’s decision and raising the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to weighin. Athree-judge panel on the 5th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appealsruled that the law,which took effect Jan 1, is “plainly unconstitutional. The ruling affirmsalower court’s order barring the state from enforcing the law,which says that TenCommandments posters must be displayed in everyclassroom.

Passed last year by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature, the law turbocharged the national debate over religion’sproper place in public life. Criticssay the law shatters thehistoric divide in the U.S. between church and state and restricts religious freedom, while supporters —including President Donald Trump and Louisiana Gov.Jeff Landry —say it reflects America’sChristian rootsand represents amuch-needed return to traditional values in public educa-

tion Just days after Landry signed thelaw last year,amultifaith group of public-school parents suedinfederal court, saying the mandate violates students’ First Amendment right to practice their faith free of governmentinterference. Attorneys forthe state countered that the legal challenge was prematurebecause schools had not yet put up the posters, and ar-

gued that the TenCommandments have historical significance and educational value.

In a50-page decision, the5th Circuit panel wrote that “unwanted exposure to government-sponsored religious displays” would violate students’ First Amendment rights.

If the lawgoes into effect, “studentswill be subjected to unwelcome displays of theTen Commandments for the entirety of

TIGERTAKEOVER

OMAHA, Neb.— If anyone knows what to expect from LSU baseball fans pouring into townthis weekend forthe College World Series championship series, it’s LSU superfan Chris Guillot. His succinct appraisal at Thursday’spep rally at the Tigers’ team hotel?

“The zoo starts tonight.”

ä Superfan Chris Guillot nevermisses aCollege WorldSeries. Page 1B

ä Coastal Carolina has historywith LSUand Jay Johnson. Page 1C

Youcould say Guillot is the keeper of that zoo, the man who roamsthe stands whether at Alex Box Stadium or here in Omaha rallying the faithfulwith chants of “Go!” answered by “Tigers!” Or,“Geaux” and “Tigers,” if you prefer Omaha is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year as the permanent homeof the College World Series. In that time, afew things have changed: The ballpark where the games are played used to be called Rosenblatt Stadium, south of downtownnext door to the actual Omaha zoo. Now they play at Charles Schwab Field, amodern 24,500-seat venue surrounded by bars, hotels and restaurants on the north side of downtown, just acouple of Jared Jones homeruns from the

Lawsuitclaimstexts from CVSmanipulated patients

Customersreceived messages urging them to oppose bill

BY ASHLEY WHITE

Staff writer

Law firm Broussard,David and Moroux filed the lawsuit last week in St.Martin Parish and is seeking class-action status.

“Patient information is meant for health care, not political manipulation,” attorney Jerome H. Moroux saidina statement. “No onegoes to thepharmacy expectingtheir personal data will be turned into

CVS improperly used Louisiana customers’ personal information when it sent text messages urging them to ask their legislators to oppose abill thatwould have affected the company,anew lawsuit claims.

acampaign tool. That crosses a bright ethical and legal line.”

CVS’scommunication withcustomersand patientswas consistent withthe law,spokesperson Amy Thibault said in astatement.

“Ourfocus is and remains serving the people of Louisiana:lowering drug costs, providing access to care, and helping improve health, shesaid. “Welook forwardtoworking productively with policymakers to continue to make prescrip-

tiondrugs more affordable and accessible and to promote the value of community pharmacy.”

House Bill 358, whichultimately failedtopass, would have barred companiesfrom owning both pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, andpharmacies. PBMsact as gobetweens for pharmacies,health care plans anddrugmanufacturers to negotiate lower drug costs. Supporters of thebillargued it would stop big companies, who

they say have too muchpower over the drug market, from pushing out independent pharmacies.

CVS, which oversees aPBM and anationwide chain of drugstores, saidthe bill would have forced it to close its119 Louisianastores, affecting about1millionpatients across the state.

The company sent mass texts to customers urging them to contact

Scott Rabalais

ABOVE: LSU fans enjoy the patio at Rocco’sas Tigers faithful begin to fill up Omaha, Neb., for the CollegeWorld Series on Friday.

RIGHT: LSU pitcher Kade Anderson, center, practices withthe rest of the Tigers at Charles SchwabField in Omaha, Neb., on Friday.

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

Internet,phoneoutageinmuchofGazadisruptsaid

BY FATMA KHALED Associated Press

CAIRO— Abreakdown in communications networks in central and southern Gaza has cut many Palestinians off from the outside world for the past week, further straining aid efforts and emergency services amid continuing Israeli bombardment.

Israeli strikes damaged amain connection, cutting off communications in large areas of thestrip since Tuesday,according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority,based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The telecom company Paltel said Friday that internet andlandline services were restored in some areasin southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, with repairs ongoing in other southern and central areas

Paltel warned in astatement to AP that ongoing attacks on the main network could make future maintenance impossible, especially due to ashortage of essential materials and resources.

The Gaza Strip has experienced at least 10 communications partial and full outages sincethe warbeganin October2023, according to Palestinian telecomcompany Paltel. This week’soutage has impacted aid efforts,

emergency services, suspendedacademic classes, and cut off displaced Palestinians from the rest of the territory

Palestinians in Gaza rely heavily on cell service,as unsafe roads andfuelshortages limit movement across theenclave. Humanitarians say those in affected areas will struggle to accessinformation on aid and medical services or call for ambulances

“Telecoms havebeen used as aweapon of war against civilians,” said Juliette Touma,communications director at UNRWA,the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugee that is the main service providerinGaza.

TheIDF didn’timmediately respondtorequest for comment.

The vast majority of UNRWA workers don’thave connectivity in theareas affected by the outages.Asa result, they and other aid workers have struggled to deliver aidand coordinate with oneanother,Touma told the AP

“Sometimes we get asignalwhena teammember hasthe courage togoonthe rooftopofa building,which is extremely dangerous under strikes,and theysend us amessage thatthey’re alive. Ican’t tell you how muchofarelief it is, but

Displaced Palestinians,

they’re more sporadicand lessregular,” saidTouma. Some people rely on eSims, but theyare not compatible withall devices and can only work in certain areas. Over 70%oftelecommunications networks in Gaza has been partially or completely destroyed as of August 2024 sincethe war began, accordingtostatisticsreleased by the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Economy,cited by thePalestine Economic Policy ResearchInstitute However,Paltel said technical teams offered some tech-

nical solutions that would restore services. Whentheyhear nearby strikes, Palestinians without connection don’tknow whether evacuation orders are issued and where should they relocate to, said Shaina Low,the Norwegian RefugeeCouncil’s communicationsadviser

“This also means that people areisolated.Theycan’t communicate with their family andfriends inside of Gazaand understandwhat thecurrent situation is or get external support from networks outside,”she said.

Limited or unreliable mobile servicehas made it difficult forambulances and civil defense teams to reach people in need of lifesaving assistance, Low added.

Fikr Shalltoot, Gazadirector for the group Medical Aid forPalestinians, said its doctors working in hospitals andclinicsineffected areas can’tdocument or share their work with managers.

“Itis, unfortunately,like a never-ending vicious cycle of suffering because when this issue is resolved in the north, the problemappears in the south,” said MohammedShbair,vice president foradministrative and financial affairs, at al-Azhar University in Gaza.

“Students cannotreach universities because they are destroyed, and they can’t even reach areas where the internet is available in cafes or displacement tents, as they are now being targeted daily and systematically by Israelistrikes,”saidShbair, an associate professor of public law Online banking, akey alternative amidcash shortages, has also becomeunavailable.Palestinians who rely on online transfers to pay suppliers can no longer do so under the current conditions, according to Low

Theoutagecomplicates humanitarian operations andaddstothe “toxic stress” families face daily, saidUNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram “In acontext of incessant bombardments, mass casualty events linkedtofood distributions, rising malnutrition and dwindling access to clean water,connectivity is areal lifeline for families in Gaza,” she said.

Meanwhile, with Gaza’s university campuses heavily damaged, the internet has become the only way to continue education. But outages have forced educators to cancel classes and exams.

U.K. lawmakersbackbilltoallow terminally illadultsend theirlives

BY PANPYLAS Associated Press

LONDON U.K. lawmakers on Friday approvedabill to allow terminallyill adultsin England and Wales to choose to end theirlives, takingit one step nearer to becoming law

The vote backing what is generally termed “assisted dying” —sometimes referredtoas“assisted suicide” —ispotentially the biggest change to social policy in the U.K. since abor-

tion was partially legalized in 1967.

MembersofParliament voted 314-291 to back the Terminally Ill Adults(End of Life) Bill followingan impassioned debate. The majority of 23 was less than the55whentheylast voted on theissuein November, meaning that somelawmakers changed theirminds in theintervening months.

Since November,the bill has been scrutinized, leading to some changes in the proposed legislation,

whichhas been shepherded throughParliament by Kim Leadbeater,the Labourlawmaker whoproposedthe bill.

“I appreciate it’sa huge moment for the country,” shetold SkyNews after the vote. “It was ahuge sense of relief becausethis is the right thingtodo.”

The bill now goes to the unelectedHouse of Lords, whichcan amendordelay policy,though it can’t overrule thelower chamber

Thebill would allow termi-

nally ill adultsover age 18 in England and Wales, who are deemed tohave less than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death. The bill doesn’t apply to Northern Ireland or Scotland, which is holding itsown vote on theissue.

Oneofthe mostimportant changes to the bill from last November was the dropping of the requirement thata judge sign off on any decision. Many in thelegal profession had objected.

Now any request would be subject to approvalbytwo doctors and apanel featuring asocial worker,senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Changeswerealsomade to ensure the establishment of independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities,autismormental health conditions and the creation of adisability advisory board.

Afterreceiving ago-ahead from doctors and the panel, the terminally ill person

would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves. Another big change made was that “no person,”including doctors, social care workers and pharmacists, will be obliged to take part. The bill has divided lawmakers formonths. The vote wasafree one, meaning lawmakers vote according to their conscience rather than on party lines. Alliances have formed across the political divide.

By The Associated Press

ST.PETERSBURG,Russia Pres-

identVladimir Putinsaid

Friday he has secured Israel’spledge to safeguard Russianpersonnel at Iran’sRussia-built nuclear power plant andthathehas reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war

Answering questions on a variety of issues at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin also warned Ukraine thatit could lose more territoryif it keeps rejecting Russia’s conditions for peace. Putin said Russia hasproposed “some ideas” for a possible settlement between Iran and Israel that are currently being discussed. He said Moscow asked

IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure thesecurity of Russian personnel who are working to construct two more reactors at the nuclear power plant in Iran’sportofBushehr andthathealsoraised the issue with President Donald Trump.

“PrimeMinister Netanyahu has agreed with that,and President Trump has promised to support our legitimate demands,” Putinsaid.

Buthestrongly rejected allegationsthat Moscow has failed to back its ally,Tehran, saying the Kremlin has maintained good ties with both Iran and Israel. He notedthatIsrael is home to nearly2million people from Russia and other former Soviet nations,“afactor that

we always have taken into account.”

At the same time, Putin said, Russiahas always met its obligations to Iran,adding that Moscow has firmly backed Tehran’s rightfor the peaceful use of nuclear energy He voiced concernabout the spiraling conflict, saying we “are strongly worried about what’sgoing on around the Iranian nuclear facilities andpossibleconsequences.”

Asked about Moscow’s goals in Ukraine, Putin said the Russian military is moving to extend abuffer zone in Ukraine’sSumy region following aUkrainian incursionlastyearintoRussia’sneighboringKursk region.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By ABDELKAREEM HANA

carrying their belongings, move between southernand northern Gaza on March 21 along abeach road in the outskirts of Gaza City

Missouri River

One thing hasn’tchanged here in along time: LSU fans swamp Omaha when the Tigers play Heck, alot of them come to Omahawhen the Tigers aren’t here,too.

During bracket play of this year’sCWS, LSU fans haven’t always dominated at the gate as much as they’ve dominatedthe Jell-O shot challenge at abar across the street from Charles Schwab Field. Arkansas had about a2-to-1 edge on Tigerfans last Saturday for their opener,a game the Tigers won 4-1 LSU had more fans thanUCLA did in their rain-interrupted game that started Monday nightbut finished Tuesday in a9-5 Tigers win, but hey,that’sUCLA. College baseball has to compete withthe Dodgers andsurfing for fans out in SoCal.

For Wednesday’sscarcely definable6-5 LSUwin over Arkansas—agame marked by three Tigers’ comebacks and multiple Razorbacks’ miscues —things evened out. But for this weekend’schampionship series between LSU and Coastal Carolina (the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,school has an enrollmentof about 10,300 students to LSU’s 39,600) expect LSU to havemore fans in the stands andaround town.

One thing’sfor sure: In my reporting from Omaha, Ihaven’t come across agiant fiberglass Chanticleer (Coastal Carolina’s fiercerooster mascot) on aflatbed trailer to rival the Mardi Gras Mike the Tiger made for this trip

The best-of-three championship series starts at 6p.m. Saturday on ESPN,followed by a1:30 p.m game Sunday on ABC. If necessary,athird game is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday,also on ESPN.

Fourth-year LSU coach Jay Johnson couldn’tgraspwhatto expect in terms of fan support when he arrived in the summer of 2021. Anative of Oroville, California, in the northern part of thestate, he’d spent hisentire career in the west. He played and coached at tiny PointLoma Nazerene in San Diego, then was an assistant at the UniversityofSan Diego before head coaching stints at Nevada and Arizona.

Johnson’s encounterswith LSU fans here in 2023 when he led the Tigers to theprogram’sseventh national championship were eyeopening, hesaid,compared to what he’d known before. Little haschangedthistime.

“When we were here in ’23, being with the LSU fan base was a completely different experience,”

Johnson said.“Even (Thursday) morning, I’m hearingfromsome of thegood friendsI’ve made in Baton Rouge. That’s pretty cool.”

While some folksare making the trek to Omaha just for the championship series, there are plentywho have been here and areplanning to be herefor the duration of the CWS MeganFoco, of Baton Rouge, and her two daughters, Ellie and Anna, have been here the whole time andhaven’t madeplans on going home without an eighth CWS trophy. Championships runinher family:Megan Foco’s brotherisformer LSU pitcher PatrickCoogan,who won the 1996 CWS final against Miami (Florida) andstarted theTigers’ winning effort in the1997 final against Alabama.

“I’m confident,” Foco said. “After ’23, we said we’re coming next time they make it. They’ve given us areason all week to let it ride.” There’sslim history between LSUand Coastal Carolina in baseball, but nonetheless significant

In 2016, the Chanticleers stormed to an improbable College World Series title, theirfirst, at theexpense of both the Tigers and Johnson. Coastal upset LSU in asuper regional at Alex Box Stadium,11-8 and 4-3. The Chan-

ticleers then beat Johnson’sfirst Arizona team in the CWS final in three games, losing 3-0 before coming back to win5-4 and 4-3. This year,both teamscome in supremely confident. Coastal Carolina, which won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament titles, has stitched together 26 straight wins overall. It’sthe longest winning streak any team has ever brought into aCWS final. LSU, meanwhile, just twice beat one of the best teams in the nation in Arkansas, erasing atworun deficit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Wearing aNo. 4Steven Milam jersey for the LSU starting shortstop and aTiger tail hanging from his belt, Sidney Evans, of Natchitoches, said he predicted an LSU-Coastal championship series before the season started. He’s “cautiously optimistic” that the Tigers will return to Louisiana with college baseball’sbiggest prize. “There’snobetter team to root forthan the Tigers,” he said. Evans is about to be joined by a zoo full of LSU fans whofeel the sameway

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

LSUcoach JayJohnson watches practice on the field FridayatCharles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

LSU fans enjoythe air conditioning insideatRocco’s as supporters continued to pour into Omaha, Neb on Friday for the CollegeWorld Series.

their public school education,” the judges wrote. “There is no opt-out option.”

The decision was signed by Judge Irma CarrilloRamirez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden; Judge James Dennis, appointed by President Bill Clinton; andJudge Catharina Haynes,appointed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush.

In astatement, LouisianaAttorney General Liz Murrill said she andher team“strongly disagree” with the ruling and plan to appeal.

“Wewill immediatelyseek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary,the U.S. Supreme Court,” she said.

Murrill argued thatthe ruling, which upheld aU.S. District Court’spreliminaryinjunction in November blocking enforcement of the law,only applies to the five school districts where the plaintiffs’ children attend school: East Baton Rouge, Livingston,Orleans, St. Tammany and Vernon. But attorneys for the plaintiffshaveargued that any school district that complies with alaw that the courts have declared unconstitutional would be subject to legalaction.

TheRev.Darcy Roake,anordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church and theparent of aNew Orleans public school student, praised Friday’sruling.

Theplaintiffs in the case identify asJewish,Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious. Theyare represented by the American CivilLiberties Union, theACLU of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church andState and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The law firm Simpson Thacher &Bartlett LLP is serving as pro bonocounsel.

Louisiana was the firststate to require public schools to post the TenCommandments in more than

“Weare grateful for this decision, whichhonors thereligious diversity and religious-freedomrights of public school families across Louisiana,”saidRoake,who isa plaintiff in the case alongwith her husband, Adrian VanYoung. “Asan interfaith family,webelieve that our children should receive their religious education at home and within our faith communities, not from government officials.”

40 years, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down asimilar Kentuckystatute in 1980. The Texas Legislature passed its own such bill this year In court, Louisiana’sattorneys arguedthatthe 1980 ruling, Stone v. Graham, no longer appliesbecause it was basedona standard that theSupreme Courtscrapped in a2022 case calledKennedy v. Bremerton School District, which upheld ahigh school football coach’s right to pray on the field. The 5th Circuit panel rejected that argument in their rul-

ing,writing that Stoneremains in effect until the Supreme Court overturns it.

“Under Stone,” thejudgeswrote, Louisiana’slaw is “plainly unconstitutional.”

CVS

Continued from page1A

elected officials because “last-minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close yourCVS pharmacy.”

The text warned that medication costscould increase andpharmacists could lose their jobs

Thelawsuit filed in St.Martin Parish claimsCVS “targeted thousands of Louisiana citizens” with texts andemailsthat used “alarming, incendiary language to falsely suggest” their healthcarewas in jeopardy.The messages sought to

The text drew outrage from Gov Jeff Landry,who supported the bill, and many lawmakers. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she was investigating the incident to determineifCVS improperly usedcustomer’spersonal information.

“manipulate and mislead,” the lawsuit claims.

It also alleges the texts targeted elderly and disabled people.

“Our clients felt scared,confusedand betrayed,”Moroux said in astatement. “Many thought their medications were in jeopardy.Othersfelt responsible for their pharmacist’sjob security. Thatkindof emotional manipulation —using confidential health records —isnot just wrong, it’sunlawful.”

The decision to send the mass messages was part of astrategy formed by representativesatCVS headquarters in Rhode Island and lobbyistsinBaton Rouge, thelawsuit says.

The texts and emails violated the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Actfor several reasons, including intentionally misleading recipients, using deceptive tradepractices to improperly direct unsolicitedpolitical messaging and using private

“Judeo-Christian”values, andthe bill’sauthor,Rep. Dodie Horton, RHaughton, whosaid children must learn “what God’slaw is.”

Sincethen, schoolshavereceived conflicting guidanceabout how to proceed. Murrill said the lawis“plainly constitutional” and provided sample TenCommandments posters, but civil liberties groups called the law an egregious violation of students’ rights and threatened to sue school districts that complied with it.

The lawdictates thesize of the posters —and least 11 by 14 inches —and the text they must feature, a Protestantversion of theTen Commandments that begins with, “I AM the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It also requires an accompanying “context statement” explaining thatsome earlyAmericantextbooks featured the TenCommandments, and says schools “may” displayother historical documents alongside the posters.

Schools must accept donated posters or use donated funds to print them,the law says. In recent weeks, someconservative groups have started mailing schools Ten Commandmentsposters designed by the state Attorney General’sOffice, one of which features astatue of Moses anda photo of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson alongside the biblical text. In afootnote in theirruling, the 5thCircuit judges said it is not clear that the state’sown posters would comply with the law

“Wealsonotethat theTen Commandments are not the ‘central focus’ of each display,” they wrote, “and somedisplaysinclude documents other than those permitted by” the law

In November,U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles ruled that the lawviolates the Constitution, saying it forced students “to participate in areligious exercise: reading andconsidering aspecific version of the TenCommandments.” He also rejected the state’s argument thatthe lawhad asecular purpose, pointing to comments by Landry,who vowedtodefend

Email Patrick Wall at patrick. wall@theadvocate.com.

health information for impermissible purposes, according to the lawsuit.

The move also violated theLouisiana Pharmacy PracticeAct,the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit currently hastwo namedplaintiffs, DeanAngelle and Elizabeth Angelle,but the firmisseeking more, whichmay be in the “manytens of thousands,” the attorneys wrote in their filing.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Gov. Jeff Landryand AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill displayvarious forms of theTen Commandments that could be displayed in schools during anewsconferenceinAugust.

Senate parliamentariandeals blow to GOPtax bill

Official:Effort to gutconsumer protection bureau violates rule

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON

Republicans

suffered asizable setback

Friday on one key aspect of President Donald Trump’s big bill after their plans to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other provisions from the Senate Banking Committee ran into procedural violations with the Senate parliamentarian.

Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing-out funding for the CFPB, the landmark agency set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financialcrisis, to save $6.4 billion. The bureau had been designed as away to better protect Americans from financial fraud, but has been opposed by many GOP lawmakerssince its inception.

The Trump administration has targeted the CFPB as an example of government over-regulation and overreach.

The findings by the Sen-

ateparliamentarian’s office, which is workingovertime scrubbing Trump’soverall bill to ensure it aligns with the chamber’sstrict “Byrd Rule” processes, signal a toughroad ahead.The most daunting questions are still to come, as GOPleadership rushes to muscle Trump’s signature package to floor for votes by his Fourth of July deadline

Sen. TimScott, R-S.C., the chairman of theBanking Committee that drafted the provisions in question, said in astatement, “My colleagues and Iremaincommittedto cutting wastefulspending at theCFPB and willcontinue workingwith the Senate parliamentarianonthe Committee’sprovisions.”

ForDemocrats, who have been fightingTrump’s1,000page package at every step, the parliamentarian’sadvisory amounted to asignificantwin.

“Democrats fought back, andwewill keep fighting backagainst this uglybill, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on theBanking Committee, who engineered the creation of the CFPB before shewas elected toCongress Warren said that GOP pro-

nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’sreview of the House-passed package, which is now undergoing revisions in the Senate.

Theparliamentarian’sofficeisresponsible fordetermining if the package adheres to the Byrd Rule, named afterthe late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was considered one of the masters of Senate procedure. The rule essentially bars policy matters from being addressed in the budget reconciliation process.

mentarian will be over the Senate GOP’sproposalto use“currentpolicy”asopposed to “current law” to determine the baseline budget and whether the overall package adds significantly to deficits. Already the Senate parliamentarian’soffice has wadedthrough several titles of Trump’sbig bill, including thosefromthe Senate Armed Services Committee andSenate Energy &Public Works Committee.

posals “are areckless, dangerous attack on consumers and would lead to more Americans being tricked and trapped by giant financial institutions and put the stabilityofour entire financial system at risk —all to hand out taxbreaks to billionaires.”

The parliamentarian’s rulings, while advisory, are rarely,ifever ignored.

With themajorityinCongress, Republicans have been drafting asweeping package that extends some $4.5 trilliontax cuts Trump

approved during his first term,in2017, that otherwise expireatthe end of the year

It adds $350 billion to national security, including billions for Trump’smassdeportation agenda. And it slashes some $1 trillion from Medicaid,food stamps andother government programs.

All told,the package is estimated to addatleast $2.4 trillion to the nation’s deficits over the decade, andleave10.9 million more people without health care coverage, according to the

Mexico assesses damage from Erick

Hurricane kills at leastone

BY FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and LUIS ALBERTOCRUZ

Associated Press

ACAPULCO,Mexico Authorities in southern Mexico were stillassessing damage and watching rising rivers Friday as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region. Torrential rains over steep coastal mountainsand the

landslides and floodingthey could generatebecame the ongoing concern forofficials afterErick dissipated following alandfall early Thursday on asparsely populated stretchofcoast. The storm’sdeath toll remained at one Friday,a 1-year-old boy who drowned in aswollen river,President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She also said she planned tovisit the affectedregion Friday Power had been restored to about half the 277,000 customers who lost it and

soldiers, marines and National Guard were helping to remove debris and reopen roads in Guerrero and Oaxaca state whereErickpassed. Erick came ashore down southern Mexico’sPacific coast in themorning as a Category 3major hurricane, but it landed between the resort cities of Acapulcoand PuertoEscondido. It dissipated Thursday night over the mountains in Michoacan state Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways,

downed powerlinesand some flooding as coastal residents, above all in Acapulco, took the storm seriously with memories of thedevastating Hurricane Otis in 2023 still fresh in theirminds. Erick had strengthenedto aCategory 4storm as it approached the coast but weakened beforemaking landfall to aCategory3 Having doubled in strength in less than aday,Erick churned through an ideal environment for quick intensification. Last year,there

Senate GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process, which is increasingly how big bills move through the Congress, because it allowspassage on a simple majority vote, rather than face afilibuster with the higher 60-vote threshold.

But if any of the bill’sprovisions violate the Byrd Rule, that means they can be challengedatthe tougher 60-vote threshold, which is atall order in the 53-47 Senate. Leaders are often forced to strip those proposals from the package, even though doing so risks losing support from lawmakers who championed those provisions.

One of the biggest questions ahead forthe parlia-

The Banking panel offered amodest bill, just eight pages, andmuchofitwas deemed out of compliance.

The parliamentarian found that in addition to gutting the CFPB, other provisions aimed at rolling back entities put in place after the 2008 financialcrisis would violate the Byrd Rule.Those include aGOP provision to limit the FinancialResearch Fund, which was set up to conduct analysis,savingnearly $300 million; and anothertoshift the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which conducts oversight of accounting firms, to the Securities and Exchange Commission and terminate positions, saving $773 million.

were 34 incidents of rapid intensification —when a storm gains at least 35 mph in 24 hours —which is about

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Republicans suffered asizable setback Fridayonone key aspect of PresidentDonald Trump’sbig bill after their plans to gutthe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other provisions ran into procedural violations withthe Senate parliamentarian.

JudgeasksiftroopsinL.A.violating law

Hearing comes as appeals court lets Trumpkeep controlof National Guard

BY OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO California’schallenge of the Trump administration’smilitary deployment in Los Angeles returned to afederal courtroom in San Francisco on Friday for abrief hearingafter an appeals court handed President Donald Trump a key procedural win.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer put off issuing any additional rulings and instead asked for briefings from both sides by noon Monday on whether the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits troops from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil, is being violated in Los Angeles.

The hearing happened the day after the 9th Circuit ap-

ingorder.Breyer asked the lawyers on Friday to address whether he or theappellate court retains primary jurisdiction to grant an injunction underthe Posse Comitatus Act.

theirfaces covered,traveling in SUVsand cargo vans. The Los Angeles Dodgers organization asked them to leave, and they did.

On Tuesday,Los Angeles

hadoverstepped his legal authority,which he said allows presidents to controlstate National Guard troops only during times of “rebellion or danger of arebellion.”

pellate panel allowed the president to keep control of National Guard troopshe deployed in responsetoprotests over immigration raids. California Gov.GavinNewsom said in his complaint that “violation of thePosse Comitatus Act is imminent, if notalready underway” but Breyer last week postponed considering that allegation.

National Guard troops have been accompanying federal agents on some im-

migration raids, andMarines briefly detained aman on the first day they deployed to protect afederal building. The marked thefirst time federal troops detained acivilian since deploying to the nation’ssecond-largestcity.

Breyerfound Trump acted illegally when,overopposition from California’sgovernor, the president activated the soldiers. However,the appellatedecision halted the judge’s temporary restrain-

California has sought apreliminary injunction giving Newsom back control of the troops in Los Angeles, where protests have calmed down in recent days.

Trump, aRepublican, arguedthatthe troopshave been necessary to restore order.Newsom, aDemocrat,saidtheir presence on thestreets of aU.S. city inflamed tensions, usurped local authority and wasted resources

Thedemonstrationsappear to be winding down, although dozens of protestersshowed up Thursday at DodgerStadium, where agroupoffederal agents gathered at aparking lotwith

Mayor Karen Bass lifted a downtown curfewthat was first imposed in response to vandalism andclashes with police after crowds gathered in opposition to agents taking migrants into detention.

Trumpfederalizedmembers of theCaliforniaNational Guard under an authority known as Title 10.

Title10allowsthe president to callthe National Guard into federal service when the country “is invaded,” when “there is arebellionordanger of arebellion againstthe authority of the Government,” or when the presidentisotherwise unable “to execute the laws of the United States.”

Breyer found that Trump

“The protests in Los Angelesfallfar short of ‘rebellion,’” wroteBreyer, aWatergate prosecutor who was appointed by President Bill Clinton and is the brother of retiredSupreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

The Trumpadministrationarguedthatcourts can’t second-guess the president’s decisions. The appellate panel ruledotherwise, saying presidents don’thaveunfettered power to seize control of astate’sguard,but said that by citing violent acts by protesters in this case, the Trump administration had presented enough evidence to showithad adefensible rationale for federalizing the troops.

BY EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press

KAKUMA, Kenya— Martin Ko-

mol sighs as he inspects his cracked, mud-walled house that is onerainawayfrom fully collapsing. Nothing seems to last for him and 300,000 other refugees in this remote Kakuma camp in Kenya —now,not even food rations

Fundingfor theU.N World Food Program has dropped after the Trump administration paused support in March, part of the widespread dismantlingof foreign aid by the United States, once the world’sbiggest donor That means Komol, awidowed father of five from Uganda, has beenlivingon handouts from neighbors since his latest monthly ration ran out two weeks ago. He said he survives on one meal aday,sometimesa meal every two days.

“When we can’tfind anyone to help us, we become sick, but when we go to the hospital, they say it’sjust hunger and tell us to go back home,” the59-year-old said. His wife is buried here. He is reluctant to return to Uganda, one of the more than 20 home countries of Kakuma’srefugees. Food rations have been halved. Previous ration cuts led to protestsinMarch.

Monthly cash transfers that refugees used to buy proteins and vegetables to supplement the rice, lentils and cooking oil distributed by WFP have ended this month. Each refugee now receives 6pounds of riceper month, far below the 9kilograms

recommended by the U.N. foroptimal nutrition. WFP hopes to receive the next donation of rice by August. That’salong with 1kilogram of lentils and500 milliliters of cookingoil perperson.

“Come August, we are likely to see amoredifficult scenario. If WFP doesn’treceive any fundingbetween nowand then,itmeans onlyafraction of therefugees will be able to get assistance. It means only the most extremelyvulnerable will be targeted,” said Colin Buleti, WFP’shead in Kakuma. WFP is seekinghelp from other donors.

As dust swirlsalong paths betweenthe camp’smakeshifthouses,the youngest children run and play,largely unaware of their parents’ fears.

But they can’tescape hunger. Komol’s10-year-old daughterimmerses herself in schoolbooks when there’s nothing to eat

“Whenshe wasyounger she used to cry,but now she triestoask forfoodfrom theneighbors, and when she can’tget anyshe just sleeps hungry,” Komol said. In recentweeks, they have drunk watertotry tofeel full.

The shrinking rations have led to risingcases of malnutrition amongchildrenunder 5and pregnant and breastfeedingmothers.

At Kakuma’s largest hospital, runbythe International Rescue Committee, children withmalnutritionare given fortified formula milk Nutrition officer Sammy Nyang’asaid some children are broughtintoo late and die within the first few hours of admission. The 30-bed stabilization ward admitted

58 children in March, 146 in April and106 in May. Fifteen children diedinApril,up from the monthly average of five. He worries they will see morethis month

“Nowwiththe cash transfers gone, we expect more women andchildren to be unable to afford abalanced diet,” Nyang’a said.

The hospital had been providing nutrient-dense porridge forchildren and mothers, but the flour has runout after stocks, mostly fromthe U.S., were depleted in March. Afortified peanut paste given to children who have been discharged is also runningout, withcurrentsuppliesavailable until August

In theward of whimperingchildren, Susan Martine fromSouth Sudan cares for her 2-year-old daughter, who has sores after swelling caused by severe malnutrition

Themotherofthree said her family often sleeps hungry,but her older children still receive hot lunches from aWFP school feeding program.For some children in thecamp, it’stheir only meal.The programalso faces pressure from the aid cuts.

“I don’tknowhow we will survivewiththe little food we have received this month,”Martine said.

Thefunding cutsare felt beyondKakuma’srefugee community. Businessman Chol Jook recorded monthly salesof$5,400 from the WFP cash transfer program and now faces losses.

Those who are hungry couldslipintodebtasthey buy on credit,hesaid.

Water main break leaves BR airport without toilets

Incident also knocked AC out; flights were unaffected

BY QUINN COFFMAN and CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writers

Travelers at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport were without air conditioning or functioning toilets following a water main break Friday

morning, and officials were unsure when the problems would be fixed. By the afternoon, airport employees and travelers could be seen passing portable toilets and a water tank on their way out of the baggage claim area. The airport was still working to

‘You better be loud with me’

LSU superfan never misses a World Series,

and

teams know it

BY MARGARET DELANEY

Staff writer

As LSU begins its final games in the College World Series Championship, many fans made the trek to Omaha, Nebraska, to cheer on the Tigers. But one Tiger fan, a championing cheerleader for all LSU sports, makes the trip every year — with or without LSU. LSU’s first trip to Omaha was in 1986. Chris Guillot has gone every year but once since 1989, when a family scheduling conflict in 2014 kept him home. Guillot, an LSU chemical engineer graduate and chemical salesman, has been going to LSU home and away games, baseball, football, basketball, for over 40 years that’s just about 1,000 games, he estimates.

He is an iconic presence in the stands at LSU sports, encouraging callback chants and cheers and encouraging scores of fans to get on their feet and make noise. Kramer Robertson, who played baseball for LSU from 2014-2017 and now works for LSU athletics, says that fans like Guillot are what makes college

ä See SUPERFAN, page 2B

John Foster to sing at Rougarou game on Sunday

Staff report

determine what caused the line break. Crews cut through the 8-inch thick concrete floor of the terminal using jackhammers in an attempt to access the pipes, airport officials said.

ä See AIRPORT, page 2B

Workers had to cut through 8 inches of concrete in the Baton Rouge Airport air handler room to work on the water line on Friday.

ABOVE: The streets of Perkins Rowe fill with people and food trucks for the Food Truck Roundup at the Rowe in Baton Rouge on Friday.

TOP: Catasha Edwards takes her order from the Nina Snowballs Party Bus at the Food Truck Roundup on Friday. LEFT: Rick Lemon finishes an acoustic version of the song ‘Hey ya!’ during the Food Truck Roundup at the Rowe on Friday.

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

“American Idol” runner-up and Addis native John Foster will trade the stage for a stadium on Sunday Foster will perform the national anthem and throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Baton Rouge Rougarou’s 7 p.m. matchup with the Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators at Pete Goldsby Field in Baton Rouge, 1502 Foss St. It will also be “Bark at the Park Night” on Sunday Presented by Raising Cane’s, this means free admission for anyone bringing their dog to the game. Regular tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids 14 and younger at brrougarou.com.

Since “American Idol” wrapped its season on May 18, LSU student Foster, 18, has made several appearances, including making his Grand Ole Opry debut and performing at CMA Fest, both in Nashville, and Cajun Country Jam Memorial Day Festival in Denham Springs.

CF Industries settles deployment lawsuit

Army reservist claimed she didn’t get job back

‘American Idol’ runner-up to perform national anthem Foster BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

CF Industries has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by a former employee who said she didn’t get her job back when she returned from deployment with the U.S. Army The lawsuit, brought by Army reservist Crystal Haynes, al-

leged CF Industries and TRS Staffing Solutions, a global recruitment agency, violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA). She sought compensation for lost wages, benefits and attorney fees. The June 4 joint notice of settlement doesn’t contain details about

the complaint said TRS hired Haynes in 2014 to work at the Donaldsonville CF Industries facility She was jointly employed by both companies as a warehouse material coordina-

tor there before being deployed on active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve in September 2022, it said. The lawsuit alleged that before her deployment ended, Haynes told TRS of her intent to return to work, but CF Industries stated it no longer had any warehouse positions. Vorhoff wrote in the document that the action violated a federal law that states anyone “whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated

ä See LAWSUIT, page 2B

Guillot

PHOTO PROVIDED By BATON ROUGE AIRPORT DIRECTOR OF AVIATION MIKE EDWARDS

NEWORLEANS

Facing federalcuts, AmistadCenterlaysoff staff

Historical archivehas millions of documents

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

One of the nation’s oldest and most significantarchivesofBlackhistory,the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans has collectedand cared for millions of historical documents and artifacts overthe pastsix decades.

Now that workisatrisk after federalfunding cuts wiped out 40% of the organization’s$1.5 million budget,according to executivedirector Kathe Hambrick. Last week, the center was forced to lay off about half of its 14 staff members.

The cuts stem from the Trump administration’sgutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, afederal agency that awards grants to librariesand museums across the country.The agency did not say why Amistad’sgrantswere terminated, butthe cuts are inline with President Donald Trump’sefforts to end programs that promote diversity or prioritize the experiences of minority groups

The loss will make the Amistad’s work less accessible to the public as the remaining skeleton crew juggles conservation work, assisting researchers and ongoingprojects to sort and digitize its collections.

“There’sprojects we were in the midst of that we won’tbeable to fin-

SUPERFAN

Continued from page1B

athletics so special.

“Guillot is one of the most beloved andlegendary fans we have at LSU,” Robertson said. “His loyalty and constant energy are not only unmatched, but they truly have an effect on the games he attends —which is all of them.”

LSU fan Lori Brocato LeBlanc says the difference Guillot makes in LSU baseball is hard to measure. She says he —and the sign he holds up, which she estimates to be at least 15 years old —can affect agame’s momentumbyhis dedication to getting the crowdin the game.

“If you are at ahome or away game and Chris isn’t there, you start to worry! Where is Chris?” she said. “Even the away teams know who Chris is!”

ApresenceinOmaha

Guillot has only missed two baseball games this year,one to cheer on the LSU women’s basketball team and the other to cheer on the Tigers in the PMAC.

He’salready preparing

AIRPORT

“Flights have not been affected at all, but we do have passengers that are getting warm in the terminal, so we have alot of volunteers that are handing out cold water and getting portableAC units set up,” said Bill Profita,chairman of the airport commission.

The airport’sability to respond to fireemergencies was unaffected by the main break, because fire engines stationed at the facility carry their own supply,Profita said. He could not provide an ETAonwhen water willbe back on at the airport, sayingitcould be hours or days

LAWSUIT

Continued from page1B

by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to the reemploymentrights and benefits and other employment benefits.”

“CF knowinglyand willfully violatedUSERRA by, among other ways, failingto reemploy Ms. Hayneswith the pay,benefits, seniority, and other job perquisites, that shewould have attained if notfor her period of service,” Vorhoff wrote.He

ish,”said Brenda Flora, curator of moving images and recorded sound for the archive.“There’sprojects we have been promisedmoney for that was withdrawn that we won’t be able to start.”

One lostgrant would have paidfor theconversion of decades-old video and audiotapes of interviews with community members in Mound Bayou,aMississippi town founded by formerly enslaved people in the 1880s. For now,the 130 hours of interviewsdonated by documentary filmmakerBrad Lichtensteinwill sit in boxes untouched.

Federal courts have ordered the government to restore some of the grant funding, but the future of federal funding for museumsremains uncertain.

In the meantime, Hambrick and her remaining staff have taken matters into their own hands, launching a$1millioncampaign in March to raise money for the center and “Save Black History.”

“This isn’tjust about survival,”

Hambrick said. “It’sabout reimagining how we share andsafeguard Black history with the next generation.”

Federalspendingcuts

The AmistadResearch Center is an independent, communitybased archive focused on Black history, the African Diaspora and theCivil RightsMovement, as well as other minoritygroups. It houses awide range of records and art in

its space on Tulane University’s campus.

The collection includesart by Jacob Lawrence, personalpapersof Frank Smith Horne —influential Harlem Renaissance figure and theuncle of singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne —and New Orleans poet TomDent, as well as old yearbooks from New Orleans high schools. They also have historicaldocuments related to the slaveship Amistad, the archive’s namesake. Agroup of Africans who had been kidnapped from Sierra Leone to be sold into slavery overthrew the Amistad’scaptain andcrew.The ship was ultimately recaptured, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled thatthe Africans were taken illegally and were free to return home.

Hambrick has been bracing for blowstoher organization since January.Amid “confusion and anguish” this spring, she launched the“Save BlackHistory”campaign inspired by the partnership between educator Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who joined forces in the1910s to start anetwork of 5,000schools that taught Blackstudentsinthe segregated South.

“Weare at risk,” Hambrick wrote in aMarch 1letter that was posted to Amistad’swebsite.“We nowturn to you, ourfriends andallies, to help us secure thefuture of Black history.” Not long after,the cutsbegan. In

himself and other fans that next year he will be missingthe SECbaseballtournament. Instead, he plans to be watchinghis songraduate fromWest Point. He’squick to add that his son is currently watching the 2025 College World Series on his phone in Japan.

This year, Guillot hasbeen in Omahafor aweekand a day,cramming in asmuch baseball as possible. “I’m just afan of the sport as awhole,” Guillotsaid The peopleofOmaha know Guillot— and he knows them. His annualtwo-week stay includes visitingplaces

depending on the specifics of the break.

Maintenance crews first noticed leakingwater around 5:30 a.m. Friday, but that it was hours before all plumbing failed, Profita said.Airport staff believe thesewer line failed after the water line as well,he said.

In addition to water and portableair conditioners, staff members were setting up ADA-compliant portable toilets outside the airport.

Director of AviationMike Edwards was working outside baggage claim.

“It’sa challenging situation.We’re hoping to have everything restored in 24 hours,” he said. “People have been veryunderstanding, (but) obviously there’s been some discomfort.”

claimed that TRS committed the same violations. In an October2024 answer to the complaint, CF Industries admitted that Haynes worked at the Donaldsonville facility as aTRS contractor andperformedmaterial coordinator-related services.Itdeniedall other allegations. TRSdenied it is Haynes’ employer under theUSERRA in its answer to thecomplaint “TRS avers that it paid Plaintiff’swages but denies it participated in thedecisionsPlaintiffchallenges

like Louie M’sBurger Lust on VintonStreetneardowntown or Clancy’s Pubout on Pacific Street in theElmwood Park district of townfor its baskets of fried gizzards.

Then there’sThe Drover, an old-school midtown steakhouse that’sapilgrimage stop for manya CWS regular.

“I go to TheDrover andsee all the coaches there,” Guillotsaid. “Augie(Garrido, the now ex-Texascoach)is alwaysthere.”

When it comes to game time, Guillotisseriousabout getting the ballpark loud, just like he does at Alex Box Stadium, Tiger Stadium and

Other members of the airport’sadministration assisted staff by transporting water from tanks outside to other parts of theairport using buckets.

D’ShayDavis, whoworks as acustodian at theairport, was outside around theportabletoiletsnearthe airport’sentrance at the start of her afternoon shift.She said shehad notbeentold when things mightbefixed.

“Justhearing people say different things,” shesaid.

Despite heat andanpalpable odor outsidenearthe line of impromptu portable toilets, most travelers exiting theairportwere in good spirits.

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

in this lawsuit, or exercised control over Plaintiff’semployment opportunities with CF Industries,” attorneys Glenos andCarolineDonze wrote.

LOTTERY THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2025

PICK 3: 5-2-9

PICK 4: 5-2-8-0 PICK 5: 5-9-3-0-8

April, Amistad received aletter from Keith Sonderling, acting executive director of the IMLS, saying that several grants were being terminated immediately After that order,all 70 employees of the IMLS wereput on leave. The IMLS did not immediately respond to inquiries.

“There’sanAmistadinevery parish,”saidMiranda Restovic president and executive director of the LouisianaEndowment for theHumanities. Federal cuts have created aripple effect through the “whole cultural infrastructure,” shesaid, forcing thestate agency to cancel somegrant cycles for 2025 and reduce staff, both hopefully short-term solutions.

“These are very importantculturalinstitutions that are housing ourstate’shistory ,” shesaid.

“If we don’tcare about our history what do we care about?”

‘Our rootsare strong’

Standing in thearchive offices earlier this week, Hambrick gestured at her remaining team.

“This is who’spretty much left,” Hambrick said. “This is boots-onthe-ground to preserve this history.”

Thestaff lost two research archivists whoansweredcalls and located documents for visitors to the archive,aswellasa metadata specialist who wasworking on sorting and digitizing the collectionfrom theAmerican Mission-

the PMAC in Baton Rouge.

“It’snot about ‘I’s,’it’s about ‘we’s’,” Guillot said. “Whatmakes it so unique is everybody yells behind me. That’swhat Ilove. It’safull LSU fan effort, notjust me.” According to Guillot,Uber drivers and restaurant owners are looking for people in purple andgold because they knowtheywill find payingcustomers whoknow howtohaveagood time.

“It’sbasically like Mardi Gras on Old Market Street in Omaha,” Guillotsaid.“It’s unreal.”

He says that LSUfans are

ary Association. Asmaller staffwill slow the intake of new materials and throw awrenchinefforts to digitize and publish materials. The archivists —whom Hambrick refers to as her scientists —work daily to prevent historical documents and works of art from falling prey to mold, bugs and humidity.They store them in acid-free folders and boxes and monitor their condition daily

“The realityiswewill eventually have to slow down the processing on thepreservation, andwemay not fulfill grant obligations we currently have because they have such asmall staff,”said Felicia Render,curator of manuscripts.

“Anything that comes in is just going to have to sit until we can get to it,” Flora added.

The staffwill also have less time to cull exhibits forvisiting student groups.

“Weput outthese primary sourcedocuments, original documents, so the students can see andunderstandthe importance of seeing history on paper,history through art,” Hambrick said, “as opposed to just going on TikTok.” Still, Hambrick is undeterredin her mission to preserve and publicize history.The organization raised $20,000 in just 45 days.

“Our roots are strong, our community is engaged, and, with collective support, Amistad will not only endure,” she said, “we will thrive.”

known in Omahafor their willingness to spend money In 2023, Gordon McKernan and Todd Graves’ outrageous spending on Rocco’s Jell-O shots competition is Exhibit Aintermsofspending.

Guillot said Louisianans in Omaha spend beyond Jell-O shots, going outtodinner at local spots, buying drinks and having ageneral good time.

More than 300,000 ticketsina dozengames have been sold in the 2025 College WorldSeries in Omaha. The event is on track to surpass

300,000 totalattendees for the19th consecutive year, according to Sports Business Journal.

Whether there are 4,000 Tiger fans or 40,000, Guillot feels aresponsibilitytoget the atmosphere as LSU-centered and as loud as possible. “I need people to comeand be loud withme,” Guillot said. “Ifyou find your way into thestadium,you better be loud with me.” LSU will playCoastal Carolina in theCollege World Series best-of-three championship seriesbeginning at 6p.m.Saturday

employer-provided benefits.When those benefits endwith retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock, leading people to put offoreven go without care

Simply put—without dental insurance, theremay be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

Medicare doesn’tpay for dentalcare.1

That’sright. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything That means if you wantprotection,you need to purchase individual insurance.

Earlydetection canprevent small problems from becomingexpensive ones.

The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. The American Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

Even if you’ve hadquality dental work in the past, you shouldn’t takeyourdental health forgranted. In fact,yourodds of having adental problem onlygoupas

STAFF FILEPHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU superfan Chris Guillotcheers for the Tigers in the fifthinning of LSU’s game vs Mississippi State in Alex Box Stadium on March30.

Purdue Pharma settlement set for vote

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s $7 billion-plus plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids will be sent to local governments, people who became addicted to the drug and other impacted groups after a judge’s ruling Friday

The nationwide settlement advanced by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane was hammered out in negotiations between the company, groups that have sued and representatives of members of the Sackler family who own the company Lane did not accept the plan itself on Friday — just that the information to be provided to the voters is adequate enough for them to decide, along with the voting procedures. Government entities, emergency room doctors, insurers, families of children born into withdrawal from the powerful prescription painkiller, individual victims and their families and others will have until Sept. 30 to vote on whether to accept the deal.

The settlement is a way to avoid trials with claims from states alone that total more than $2 trillion in damages.

This month, 49 states announced they had signed on to the proposal. Only Oklahoma, which has a separate settlement with the company, is not involved.

If approved, the settlement would be among the largest in a wave of lawsuits over the past decade as governments and others sought to hold drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies accountable for the opioid epidemic that started rising in the years after OxyContin hit the market in 1996. The other settlements together are worth about $50 billion, and most of the money is to be used to combat the crisis.

Google hits setback in antitrust penalty

LONDON — Google faced a big setback Thursday in its attempt to overturn a multibillion-dollar European Union antitrust penalty involving Android after a top court’s legal adviser sided with regulators.

The European Court of Justice’s advocate general, Juliane Kokott, recommended in a nonbinding opinion that Google’s appeal against the fine worth more than $4.7 billion should be dismissed

The case dates back to 2018, when the EU’s executive Commission slapped Google with a $5 billion fine after finding that the U.S. tech company used the dominance of its mobile Android operating system to throttle competition and reduce consumer choice.

After Google filed an initial appeal, a lower court trimmed the penalty to $3.99 billion in 2022, which the company also appealed to the Court of Justice. Kokott advised that the Court of Justice confirm the fine and uphold the lower court’s judgment, according to a news release summarizing her opinion.

Google said it was disappointed with the opinion, adding that if the court follows it, it “would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers.” Streaming service adds AI content warnings

LONDON Music streaming service Deezer said Friday that it will start flagging albums with AIgenerated songs, part of its fight against streaming fraudsters.

Deezer, based in Paris, is grappling with a surge in music on its platform created using artificial intelligence tools it says are being wielded to earn royalties fraudulently

The app will display an on-screen label warning about “AI-generated content” and notify listeners that some tracks on an album were created with song generators.

Deezer is a small player in music streaming, which is dominated by Spotify, Amazon and Apple, but the company said AI-generated music is an “industrywide issue.”

It’s committed to “safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models,” CEO Alexis Lanternier said.

BUSINESS

U.S. stocks drift to mixed finish

Treasury yields hold steady

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish on Friday in a quiet return to trading following the Juneteenth holiday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to close out a second straight week of modest losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 35 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.

Treasury yields also held relatively steady in the bond market after President Donald Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in Israel’s fighting with Iran. The window offers the possibility of a negotiated settlement over Iran’s nuclear program that could avoid increased fighting. The conflict has sent oil prices

yo-yoing over the last week, which has in turn caused seesaw moves for the U.S. stock market, because of rising and ebbing fears that the war could disrupt the global flow of crude. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s crude passes.

“We’re all waiting on pins and needles to see what happens with the Israel-Iran situation,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “These types of situations can stress markets, but often the best way to manage that stress is to just ride through it and not try to trade it.”

On Wall Street Kroger rose 9.8% after the grocer reported a better profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street had forecast. It also raised its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue for the full year But while Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley said it’s seeing positive momentum, the company is also still seeing an uncer-

tain overall economic environment.

CarMax climbed 6.6% after the auto dealer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company said it sold nearly 6% more used autos during the quarter than it did a year earlier On the losing end of Wall Street was Smith & Wesson Brands, the maker of guns. It tumbled 19.8% after reporting profit and revenue for the latest quarter that fell just shy of analysts’ expectations.

Chief Financial Officer Deana McPherson said “persistent inflation, high interest rates, and uncertainty caused by tariff concerns” have been hurting sales for firearms, and the company expects demand in its upcoming fiscal year to be similar to this past year’s, depending on how inflation and tariffs play out.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 13.03 points to 5,967.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.16 to 42,206.82, and the Nasdaq compos-

ite fell 98.86 to 19,447.41. A spate of companies has been adjusting or even withdrawing their financial forecasts for 2025 because of all the uncertainty that tariffs are creating for customers and for suppliers. Everyone is waiting to see whether Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that could lower his tariffs on imports, many of which are on pause. It’s not just corporate America that’s waiting. The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate on hold this year, with its latest such decision coming earlier this week, because it wants to see more data about tariffs. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively stable The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.37% from 4.38% late Wednesday The twoyear yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, fell to 3.90% from 3.94%.

ICE raids scare off workers

Immigration moves baffle businesses

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Farmers, cattle ranchers and hotel and restaurant managers breathed a sigh of relief last week when President Donald Trump ordered a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job.

“There was finally a sense of calm,” said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition.

That respite didn’t last long.

On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin declared, “There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine (immigration enforcement) efforts. Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.”

The flip-flop baffled businesses trying to figure out the government’s actual policy, and Shi says now “there’s fear and worry once more.”

That’s not a way to run business when your employees are at this level of stress and trauma,” she said.

Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States illegally — an issue that has long fired up his GOP base. The crackdown intensified a few weeks ago when Stephen Miller White House deputy chief of staff, gave the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a quota of 3,000 arrests a day, up from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term. Suddenly ICE seemed to be everywhere.

“We saw ICE agents on farms, pointing assault rifles at cows, and removing half the workforce,” said Shi, whose coalition represents 1,700 employers and supports increased legal immigration.

One ICE raid left a New Mexico dairy with just 20 workers, down from 55. “You can’t turn off cows,” said Beverly Idsinga, the executive director of the Dairy Producers of New Mexico. “They need to be milked twice a day, fed twice a day.”

Claudio Gonzalez, a chef at Izakaya Gazen in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district, said many of his Hispanic workers — whether they’re in the country legally or not — have been call-

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP business writer

Aflac says that it has identified suspicious activity on its network in the U.S. that may impact Social Security numbers and other personal information, calling the incident part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry

The company said Friday that the intrusion was stopped within hours.

ing out of work recently due to fears that they will be targeted by ICE. His restaurant is a few blocks away from a collection of federal buildings, including an ICE detention center

“They sometimes are too scared to work their shift,” Gonzalez said. “They kind of feel like it’s based on skin color.” In some places, the problem isn’t ICE but rumors of ICE. At cherry-harvesting time in Washington state, many foreign-born workers are staying away from the orchards after hearing reports of impending immigration raids. One operation that usually employs 150 pickers is down to 20. Never mind that there hasn’t actually been any sign of ICE in the orchards.

“We’ve not heard of any real raids,” said Jon Folden, orchard manager for the farm cooperative Blue Bird in Washington’s Wenatchee River Valley “We’ve heard a lot of rumors.”

Jennie Murray, CEO of the advocacy group National Immigration Forum, said some immigrant parents worry that their workplaces will be raided and they’ll be hauled off by ICE while their kids are in school. They ask themselves, she said: “Do I show up and then my second-grader gets off the school bus and doesn’t have a parent to raise them? Maybe I shouldn’t show up for work.”

The horror stories were conveyed to Trump members of his administration and lawmakers in Congress by business advocacy and immigration reform groups like Shi’s coalition. Last Thursday, the president posted on his Truth Social platform that “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”

It was another case of Trump’s political agenda slamming smack into economic reality With U.S. unemployment low at 4.2%, many businesses are desperate for workers, and immigration provides them. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, foreign-born workers made up less than 19% of employed workers in the United States in 2023. But they accounted for nearly 24% of jobs preparing and serving food and 38% of jobs in farming, fishing and forestry

“It really is clear to me that the people pushing for these raids that target farms and feed yards and dairies have no idea how farms operate,” Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, said Tuesday during a virtual news conference.

customer info compromised

“We continue to serve our customers as we respond to this incident and can underwrite policies review claims, and otherwise service our customers as usual,” Aflac said in a statement. The company said it’s in the early stages of a review of the incident and so far is unable to determine

the total number of affected individuals. Aflac Inc. said potentially impacted files contain claims information, health information, Social Security numbers and other personal information related to customers, beneficiaries, employees, agents and other individuals in its U.S. business. The Columbus, Georgia, company said that it will offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection and Medical Shield for 24 months to anyone who calls its call center Cyberattacks against companies have been rampant for years, but a string of attacks on retail companies have raised awareness of the issue because the breaches can im-

pact customers. United Natural Foods, a wholesale distributor that supplies Whole Foods and other grocers, said earlier this month that a breach of its systems was disrupting its ability to fulfill orders leaving many stores without certain items. In the U.K., consumers could not order from the website of Marks & Spencer for more than six weeks and found fewer in-store options after hackers targeted the British clothing, home goods and food retailer A cyberattack on Co-op, a U.K. grocery chain, also led to empty shelves in some stores. A security breach detected by Victoria’s Secret last month led the popular lingerie seller to shut down its U.S. shopping site for

nearly four days, as well as to halt some in-store services. Victoria’s Secret later disclosed that its corporate systems also were affected, causing the company to delay the release of its first quarter earnings.

The North Face said that it discovered a “small-scale credential stuffing attack” on its website in April. The company reported that no credit card data was compromised and said the incident, which impacted 1,500 consumers, was “quickly contained.” Adidas disclosed last month that an “unauthorized external party” obtained some data, which was mostly contact information, through a third-party customer service provider Aflac hit by cyberattack,

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

A soccer ball sits in a strawberry field in Oxnard, Calif., on Wednesday.

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

Of kings, presidents and primeministers

While Americans argueoverwhether we have, or need,aking, let’slookat twoworking democracies that know something aboutmonarchs— Englandand France —and see what’sgoing on in theirdomestic politics

The British monarchy,one wayoranother,has been aroundsince the 9thcentury.King Charles IIIishead ofstate and Prime Minister Keir Starmer is head of government. Britain’stop political parties, and their commonly ascribed ideologies, are Labour (center-left/left), Conservative (center-right/right), Reform UK (farright) and Liberal Democrat (center/ center-left).

Conservatives, led by then-Prime MinisterRishi Sunak, were decimated in the2024 election.Theylost two-thirds of their seats in the House of Commons. Sunak drew 24% of the vote. Starmer’sLabourParty won 34% and captured 411 seatsout of 650, fora mammoth gain of 209. Smaller parties collected atotal of 43% of thevote, including 14% for Reform UK and 13% for Liberal Democrats.

The next British general election will be held no later than August 2029. The recentpoll average hasReform UK in first place with 29% and Labour second at 24%. Trailing are the Conservatives (17%)and Liberal Democrats (13%). Voters havebeen losing patiencewith the economy and immigration,and that’snot good for incumbents.

Reform UK —apopulist right-wingparty ledby Nigel Farage, on and off, since 2019 —startedasthe Brexit Party.Its platform focuses on nationalidentity, limiting immigration, opposingnet-zero emissions and cutting taxes. Farage has been called “Trump with a pint.”

In the contest to be the next prime minister, apoll by More in Common shows Farageand incumbent Starmercurrently neck-and-neck,with 24% and23%, respectively.Kemi Badenoch,the Conservativeleader has10%.

Across the English Channel, thelast KingofFrance was Louis XVI. He was beheaded in 1793 at age38. There went the monarchy France now has apresident— EmmanuelMacron,the youngest French head of statesince Napoleon.Its head of government, appointed bythe president,isPrime Minister FrançoisBayrou French parties are numerousand often constructed as movements or coalitions. Macronwas thefirst thirdpartycandidate to win the presidency in 2017. In fact, neither of the two major parties, Republican and Socialist, made it to the second round ofvoting that year

The nation’stop partiesare, at least fornow,and in order of National Assembly seatstheyhold: National Rally (far-right), Renaissance (centrist), La France Insoumise (left), Socialist (left), Republicans (centerright),DemocraticMovement (center), Horizons (center-right)and Ecologists (left).

Complicated party alliances are as much partof French politics as coqauvin is part of its cuisine In 2022, Macronwas thefirst incumbent to be reelected in 20 years. He won asecond five-year termunder the Renaissance banner with59% of thevote. Populist Marie Le Pen, the anti-immigration leader of National Rally,pulled 41%. While Macron’smargin waswide,Le Pen’sshowing was the best afar-rightpresidentialcandidate has ever received.

Shortly after reelection,Macron losta legislative majority andhad to form aminority coalition government. Currently,his coalitionhas 212seats (whichincludes Renaissance as wellasRepublican,DemocraticMovementand Horizon members).The opposition has 365 seats. Of those, 123 are held byNationalRally,72byLa France Insoumise, 63 by Socialists and 38 by Ecologists. The next French presidential electionis2027. Macron is term-limited, so he won’tberunning. Le Pen can’trun again duetoher conviction earlier this year formisusing European Parliament funds for partypurposes. Polls show the top contender is JordanBardella,the National Rally leader.He’spollinginthe low30s.Next is EdouardPhilippe, mayor ofLeHavre anda former prime minister appointedbyMacron;he’spolling 21%. Third is Jean-Luc Mélenchon,the founderofLaFrance Insoumise; he received 22% of thevote lasttime andis now polling 13%. Bardella is only 29. He makes Macron, elected when he was 39, seem like afogey. Youwondered, and now you know: There’sa lotof interestingpolitics going on across thepond, king or no king.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

Legitimizing chemtrail nonsense is

embarrassing

It seems the Louisiana Legislature was determined to bury its head in thesand where science is concerned, promoting the conspiracy theory that our government can direct the weather to be moredestructive to red states and brainwashing our citizens to promoteliberal ideology by dispersing nefarious chemicals into theair via jet engine exhaust from airliners.

Of course, these “chemtrails” as theyhave been dubbed, are actually thewhitecondensate “contrails” we have seen behind high-flying aircraft since thedawn of the jet age some 75 years ago, the result of hot air meeting cold air at altitude.

Since our ultra-conservative representatives insist on making us a laughingstock by outlawing this simple scientific fact,Ithought Iwould provide alittle humorous historical context. Prior to theWright brothers’ first flight in 1903, the vast majority of

chemcloud operations wereconducted by steam locomotives (remember theold black-and-white photographs of those beasts belching out massive clouds of smoke as they crisscrossed thecountry?) Once aircraft had taken over geoengineering chemtrail operations moreeffectively, however,steam locomotives were eventually retired from service. Andthank goodness Robert F. Kennedy Jr.has finally liberated us from more scientific claptrap by exposing the dangers of the vaccines we thought were protecting us from dreaded diseases like smallpox for hundreds of years. No doubt he’ll soon haveusback safely in the protective arms of those original scientists, the medieval doctors who understood thetrue healing mechanism of using leeches to get rid of bad blood. Here’stoour health!

WILLIAM PHILLIPS retired airline captain Mandeville

Eisenhower’s wordsagainst book-burning resonate today

“Don’tjoin the book burners.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower at Dartmouth College, June 14, 1953.

Combustion is feeble compared to thetools of today’sinformation arsonists. Now that the Republican war on science has gone nuclear, our vocabulary needs adigital-age updatetoinclude “file deleters,” “datapurgers,” “grant cancelers” and “DOGE vandals.” The familiar anti-science arguments on issues like acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion and climatedisruption has moved into new territory with attacks on public health, now even dental hygiene.

Meanwhile, teachers,libraries, academic journals, corporate boards and universities continue to face a Republican war on “wokeness.”

June 14, the day of Trump’sbirthday parade, marked the72nd anniversary of aspeech that deserves morerecognition.

“Don’tjoin the book burners,” went the speech. “Don’tthink you are going to conceal faults by con-

cealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’tbeafraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency.”

If that caution against offending decency sounds like an invitation to prudishness or hatred against LGBTQ+ persons, think again. Eisenhower did not becomepresident by beingnaive, but only avery indecent, anti-Eisenhower would marshal themostvicious and primitive emotions in the land against its least protected citizens. The words carried an abstract meaning, but Eisenhower was speaking in concrete terms. The German Student Union bonfires of May 10, 1933, had happened only 20 years before. He had tworeal, matchbookcarrying book burners in mind. One was an army private named David Schine (look him up). The other was alawyer named Roy Cohn, aMcCarthyaide who becamementor to the 47th-greatest president of the U.S. MICHAEL BECK Baton Rouge

On May 25, more than 100,000 Louisiana homes lost power suddenly and without warning. As families celebrated Memorial Day, abrownout swept through neighborhoods. The culprit? Our overloaded power grid. Entergy confirmed the outage wastriggered by MISO, the regional transmission operator, after demand surged beyond safe limits. This wasn’tastorm. This was atypical hot day,and our grid couldn’tkeep up. As temperatures rise, so does demand for electricity.Without solutions to reduce that load, these blackouts will happen more often and with higher stakes. One answer is already working in other states: rooftop solar Even in Republican-led states like Texas and Florida, expanded rooftop and community solar are helping to relieve strain on the grid. In Texas, solar paired with batteries helped prevent outages during last summer’s record heat wave.InFlorida, major utilities are increasing grid capacity with solar to meet demand more reliably Rooftop solar can do the same here. When homes generate their own power,iteases pressure on the system, helping keep everyone’slights on. But for many Louisiana families, solar only becomes an option because of federal energy credits. Right now,though, those energy bill credits are under threat in Congress. If they’re eliminated, thousands of working families across our state could lose access to the cost savings and grid relief solar provides.

Youdon’tneed panels on your roof to benefit. Every solar home strengthens the grid and helps keep your bills stable. Urge your senators to defend residential energy credits and help keep the power on for all of us.

JHANE WILCOX

Ron Faucheux

Formembers of LSUand coachJay Johnson’sArizona team,2016lossestoCoastal Carolina left amark

CAROLINA BLUES

OMAHA, Neb.— Kramer Robertson doesn’tsee this weekendasachance at revenge.

At leastthat’snot how he thinksLSU or coach Jay Johnson should view this series. What happened in 2016 shouldn’tcolor theoutcome of the2025CollegeWorld Series finalbetween LSUand Coastal Carolina.

“I don’tthink that internally with theteam that they’re going to look at it as revenge, because those are separate years,” Robertson said, “and those losses have nothingtodowith what’sgoing to happenthisweekend.”

But that history still counts for something.

Robertson played shortstop for the LSUteam that felltoCoastal Carolina in the Baton Rouge super regional in 2016. Johnson —then thecoachatArizona —lost to the Chanticleersinthe CWS final in excruciatingfashion afew weeks later.The Wildcatsdropped two onerungamesand hadthe game-tying run at third baseinthe ninth inning of Game 3.

Good

All eyes on Pacers, Thunder Game 7

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY Game 6 of the NBA Finals had been over for only about 10 or 15 minutes, and the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder were turning the page. What happened over the previous couple of hours in Indianapolis had already been deemed irrelevant. The only thing on their minds: Game 7.

“A privilege,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

“A great privilege,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said

A back-and-forth title matchup

— Indiana led 1-0 and 2-1, Oklahoma City led 3-2 — will end on Sunday night with an ultimate game, the first winner-take-all contest in the NBA Finals since 2016 It’ll be Pacers at Thunder, one team getting the Larry O’Brien Trophy when it is over, the other left to head into the offseason wondering how they let the chance slip away.

“We have one game for everything, for everything we’ve worked for and so do they,” Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The better team Sunday will win.”

History favors the home team in these moments: 15 of the previous 19 Game 7s in the NBA Finals were won by the club playing on its own court.

The Thunder played a Game 7 at home earlier in these playoffs and won by 32, blowing out Denver to reach the Western Conference finals.

Indiana’s most recent Game 7 was at Madison Square Garden in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals; the Pacers blew out New York by 21 in that game.

All-time, home teams are 11238 in Game 7s (excluding the 2-2 record “home” teams had in the bubble in the 2020 playoffs, when everything was played in Lake Buena Vista, Florida). But in recent years, home sweet home has been replaced by road sweet road; visiting teams have won nine of the last 14 Game 7s played since 2021 “It’s exciting, man. It’s so, so, exciting,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “As a basketball fan, there’s nothing like a Game 7

teams that failed to win a title.

Petrovic, Alker, Gonzalez share lead at Firestone

Tim Petrovic shot a 4-under 66 on Friday for a share of the secondround lead with Steven Alker and Ricardo Gonzalez in the Kaulig Companies Championship, the third major of the year on the PGA Tour Champions. Petrovic closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to match Alker and Gonzalez at 5-under 135 at Firestone South. Alker from New Zealand, had a 66.

Gonzalez, the Argentine player who shared the first-round lead with Soren Kjeldsen, shot 68. Miguel Angel Jimenez was a stroke back after a 66. Angel Cabrera, who already has won two majors this year, was 1 under after a 68. The winner of the tournaments gets a spot in The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass next year

Raleigh breaks HR mark held by Bench since 1970 Cal Raleigh broke Hall of Famer Johnny Bench’s 1970 record for home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, hitting his major league-leading 28th and 29th in the Seattle Mariners’ 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday

Raleigh put Seattle ahead and moved past Bench in the seventh inning with No. 29, a drive to the back of the left-field bleachers off Caleb Thielbar Raleigh needed only 73 games to break the record that Bench set in 87 games. The Seattle star shattered the mark with 22 games to spare before the All-Star game. Barry Bonds holds the overall record with 39 for San Francisco in 2001.

There’s nothing like a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. Dreamed of being in this situation my whole life. So, to be here is really exciting. Really exciting for our group. What happened in the past doesn’t matter What happened today doesn’t matter. It’s all about one game and approaching that the right way.”

The fact that Haliburton is playing at all right now is a story in itself. He looked good as new in Game 6 even with a strained right calf, something that he’s needed around-the-clock treatment on this week The Pacers haven’t had to coax him into it; Haliburton’s own family is offering up constant reminders that he needs to be working on his leg.

“My family has been on me,”

Haliburton said. “If they call me,

they are like, ‘Are you doing treatment right now?’ My family has been holding me accountable.” There’s a lot of accountability going on among the Thunder right now as well. A different kind, of course. They were massive favorites going into Game 6 — -3000 odds to win the series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. That means a $100 bet on the Thunder would have returned a whopping $103 or so if they had won the game and clinched the title. A 36-9 run by Indiana turned a one-point lead early in the second quarter into a full-fledged blowout early in the third. And with that, a Thunder team that finished with the best record in the NBA this season now has zero room for error Win on Sunday and all ends well for Oklahoma City Lose on Sunday, and they’ll go down in history as one of the best regular-season

“If they had won by one, they would have probably walked out of this game with confidence,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said of the Pacers before leaving Indy’s arena for the final time this season.

“That’s what makes them a good team. That’s what makes us a good team. They’re going to go into Game 7 confident, and so are we.

The Thunder flew home after the game on Thursday night. The Pacers were flying to Oklahoma City on Friday afternoon. They’ll spend some time looking at film, then go through the final practices which won’t be much more than glorified walk-throughs — of the season on Saturday And then, Game 7. For everything.

“I think we played to exhaustion,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said after Game 6. “But we have to do it again on Sunday.”

Haliburton puts calf pain aside to spark Pacers

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

INDIANAPOLIS Tyrese Haliburton

jumped into the passing lane for a steal and tiptoed his way along the sideline before spinning and throwing a no-look pass to Pascal Siakam for a dunk over a pair of Oklahoma City defenders. And then he stopped to slap a few hands of well-wishers in the crowd. Not bad for a guy playing on one good leg.

Haliburton’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals ended early and that was a very good thing for the Indiana Pacers.

Playing with a strained right calf, Haliburton had 14 points in just 23 minutes and the Pacers rolled past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night to send the NBA Finals to Game 7.

“If I can walk, then I want to be out there,” Haliburton said Haliburton has been dealing with lower leg issues throughout the series and the calf strain

flared up in Game 5 on Monday night. He played through it for the final three quarters of that loss to the Thunder, though he basically stopped looking to shoot in the second half.

He missed his first four shots on Thursday, too. And then, he somehow got back to normal Jumping, cutting, shooting from 30 feet and twisting in the air at times, he

looked nothing like the guy who left Game 5 limping so badly that it seemed like he was dragging his right leg behind him.

The fact that he played at all was a boost to the Pacers. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton went through a walkthrough Thursday afternoon along with strength testing, passing all necessary checks.

So, with the Pacers facing elimination in Game 6 and down 3-2 in the title series, Haliburton — who was on the court and did some shooting not long before Carlisle announced the decision — gave it a shot.

“He didn’t want a lot of attention. He was doing everything possible to be able to play,” Carlisle said. “Fortunately, we were able to keep his minutes reasonable because we had a great first half and a good start to the third quarter.”

That Haliburton played was no surprise to the Thunder

“He’s a great player,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said before the game. “If there’s one thing we know, you don’t underestimate great players. In this situation, we’re expecting his best punch. Indiana is a great team.

We’re expecting their best punch. I have no doubt he’s dealing with stuff, but we’re expecting him to come out and play like a great player would play.”

Daigneault, to his dismay, couldn’t have been more right.

Haliburton acknowledged Wednesday that, if this was the regular season, he likely wouldn’t be attempting to play through such an injury He said he wanted to understand the risks, but indicated if there was any way to play he would do so. “I knew he would,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said.

Haliburton missed the last two games of last season’s playoff run because of a hamstring injury unable to play in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the eventual champion Boston Celtics. The Pacers lost by three points in each of those two games without Haliburton, who went on to be part of the team that won a gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics later that year Among the many forms of treatment Haliburton has been partaking in since Monday night: hyperbaric treatments, needles, massage, electronic stimulation, even special tape. He’s been doing something virtually around the clock with hopes of being able to play

“I have a lot of trust in our medical staff. I have a lot of trust in our organization to make the right decision,” Haliburton said Wednesday “I think there’s been many situations through the course of my career where they’ve trusted me on my body I want to be out there. That’s the plan.” Good plan.

Haliburton has come up big for the Pacers in big moments several times in these playoffs.

His jumper with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1 of the finals immediately went into title-series lore and gave the Pacers a 111-110 win over the heavily favored Thunder Against Milwaukee on April 29, it was a layup with 1.4 seconds left that capped a rally from seven points down in the final 34.6 seconds of overtime for a 119-118 win. In Cleveland on May 6, it was a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left for a 120-119 win capping a rally from seven points down in the final 48 seconds.

At Madison Square Garden against the Knicks on May 21, a game the Pacers trailed 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left, he hit a jumper with no time left to force OT and Indiana won again. He didn’t need any late dramatics Thursday And now, Game 7 awaits.

“We’ve got one game and it’s all about that one game,” Haliburton said.

Yankees activate RH pitcher Weaver after two weeks out The New York Yankees activated right-handed reliever Luke Weaver from the injured list Friday after he missed two weeks with a strained left hamstring. Weaver was injured warming up before a June 1 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. After being placed on the injured list, the Yankees thought Weaver might be out until early July or through the All-Star break. Instead, Weaver began feeling better quickly and said the pain disappeared shortly after the injury He took his final steps in his rehab by throwing a simulated game on Tuesday after throwing three side sessions. Weaver has a 1.05 ERA with eight saves in nine opportunities in 24 appearances.

Health concerns force Angels manager to sit out Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington will be out indefinitely because of health issues, and bench coach Ray Montgomery will manage Friday night’s series opener against the Houston Astros. Washington, 73, experienced shortness of breath and appeared fatigued toward the end of a fourgame series against the Yankees. He was cleared by Yankees doctors to fly home with the team Thursday night and underwent a series of medical tests on Friday

The Angels did not specify what symptoms Washington is experiencing, but said the manager was able to address the team in the clubhouse along with Minasian on Friday, and he was planning to watch the game from the GM’s Angel Stadium suite.

Scheffler part of three-way tie for lead at Travelers Scottie Scheffler provided hope with a late double bogey. Tommy Fleetwood charged through with two eagles in three holes, and so did Justin Thomas with five straight birdies. They wound up tied for the lead on a blustery Friday at the Travelers Championship.

Scheffler was comfortably in front when the left-to-right wind sent his ball into the fairway bunker on the par-4 17th. He wound up with a 1-under 69. Fleetwood felt the wind going right-to-left. He had 240 yards to at least cover the water, 264 yards to the hole, and Fleetwood chipped in for eagle on

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MADDIE MEyER

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins attempts a shot against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard during Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis.

Haliburton

Women’s tackle football picking up momentum

BY LARRY LAGE AP sportswriter

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Football players were running, throwing, catching, blocking and tackling with a steady stream of trash talk between whistles — as the sun set on a recent night in the Motor City

Other banged-up athletes stood or sat on benches behind each sideline, ailing from a torn calf and a torn knee ligament, unable to play in a game watched by about 100 fans cheering for the home team and 11 people backing the visiting squad from Canada.

While the action and the setting was not unusual, the gender of the players did stand out

“We do it all just like the boys,” Detroit Prowl punter Kelly Bernadyn said. “But we’re women.”

Women have been playing tackle football for decades, mostly under the radar, but two league commissioners believe it will be part of the next wave as interest in women’s sports grows.

When Detroit beat the MIFA All-Stars of Ontario in an American Women’s Football League game at Allen Park High School, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers experienced the joy of big plays and camaraderie along with the pain of inevitable injuries.

After a postgame handshake line along the 50-yard line, the black-clad Prowl and the visitors in pink gathered on the visitors’ sideline to celebrate their sisterhood and shared goal of growing the sport.

“You just begin to love these girls around you,” said MIFA All-Stars quarterback Rachel Vesz, who is from Toronto and played rugby at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

“And, you all support each other.”

Saints

Walking wounded

Despite the inherent risk of injuries in football, women are choosing to join payfor-play leagues for the love of the game and to inspire young girls to play a game traditionally limited to men.

“I use my own health insurance when I am injured, same with all of my other teammates,” said Bernadyn, who works as an EMT and fitness instructor “But at the end of the day, it’s worth every dollar I’ve paid

“It’s worth every ice pack I’ve needed to use, every day of rest, every cast, every boot, because I know that I’ll be able to line up on that football field again.”

Playing for championships

The Prowl lost their bid for a second straight AWFL title with a first-round loss in the 14-team playoffs that wrap up with the league’s second championship game July 12 at West Charlotte High School in North Carolina, streaming on BAWLLR TV

The AWFL has 18 teams from eight states and Canada.

Two leagues, meanwhile, have raised their profile enough to have women competing for championships on ESPN2 in high-end venues.

The Women’s National Football Conference will have its title game on the network for the first time on Saturday The Washington Prodigy will face the Texas Elite Spartans in Frisco, Texas, at the Dallas Cowboys’ Ford Center, which has about 12,000 seats.

“When someone sees the WNFC for the first time, it opens up the possibilities,” said Odessa Jenkins, founder of the WNFC. “It’s like, ‘Wait a minute. Women play tackle football?’

“There’s no greater joy than to open up new possibilities for yourself and others.”

The WNFC does not pay salaries, but does plan to

give a total of $20,000 to the players on the championship team and did budget to pay weekly and season award winners thanks in part to financial support from Adidas, Dove and Riddell. The Women’s Football Alliance does not pay players either, but some of their costs are covered by sponsors such as Wilson, ticket sales and licensing rights.

The WFA will be back on the network for its championship game on July 26 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, where MVP jerseys from previous title games are on display

“This new contract with ESPN is a testament to the high level of football played on the field contributing to the growing popularity of our league on a national and international level,” WFA Commissioner Lisa King said.

Two better than one?

Former WFA players include Katie Sowers, who became the first woman to coach in the Super Bowl as an offensive assistant in San Francisco, and Jennifer King, who was the first Black female full-time coach in the NFL in 2021 when she was Washington’s assistant running backs coach.

Jennifer King, who is on the WNFC advisory board, hopes the sport’s top two leagues find a way forward together

“When you have two champions, you want to know who’s the best,” she said. “It would be great to have one Super League, but it would be really hard to do because both of the leagues are far down the road.”

Sowers agrees.

“A big issue is, everyone has an idea of who can do it best,” she said “We need to come together and create one powerhouse league that has more resources.”

add three players from United Football League, cut 2

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Xazavian Valladay isn’t

the only player that the New Orleans Saints cut on Friday

The Saints made a series of roster tweaks Friday, signing three players from the United Football League and also releasing cornerback Travion Fluellen. With Valladay and Fluellen gone, the Saints signed tight end Seth Green, offensive lineman Barry Wesley and cornerback Jayden Price. The trio most recently played in the United Football League, the upstart spring league that formed

following a merger between the XFL and the USFL. Green, a 27-year-old tight end who stands at 6-foot3 and 242 pounds, had 13 catches for 150 yards in 10 games for the Arlington Renegades. Green, who has spent the past two seasons with Arlington, also has brief NFL experience. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022, spending time with the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys. Wesley, 25, was a starting lineman for the Birmingham Stallions, playing tackle and guard. At 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds, the Colorado State

product also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 and 2024.

Price, who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, also had a training camp stint last year with Atlanta. The 25-year-old spent this most recent UFL season with the Renegades, recording 27 tackles in 10 starts. He also contributed on punt and kickoff returns. The UFL’s season concluded last week when the D.C. Defenders earned a 58-34 victory over the Michigan Panthers.

Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate. com

WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Thitikul extends lead

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter

FRISCO Texas Semi-retired

Lexi Thompson is going into the weekend contending for her first major title in more than a decade, and in a dwindling group of players under par at the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship while Jeeno Thitikul extended her lead.

Thompson

Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, finished a sixhour round Friday not long before sunset with consecutive birdies for a 2-under 70 to get to 6-under 138. She had a three-stroke lead over Rio Takeda (71) and Minjee Lee (72), and was four ahead of Thompson (70) after another steamy day on the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco.

“To be honest, didn’t (think) it’s going to be that good result out there,” said Thitikul, the 22-yearold seeking her first major win. “Especially today just said to my coach, ‘Like if anybody can shoot under par today, that player will be really, really great.’ I’m shooting 2-under par and I was like, ‘Wow!’

With the feel-like temperatures going over 100 degrees and the ever-present Texas wind, only seven of the 156 players who started the season’s third major were under par through two rounds. There have been no bogey-free rounds this week.

There were 15 players under par after the first round, when Thitikul’s 68 put her a stroke ahead of fellow north Texas resident Lee.

Thitikul, a five-time winner from Thailand, was in the same group the first two rounds with top-ranked Nelly Korda, whose only two birdies Friday came over the final three holes. Korda had a 74 and is 2 over for the week. Even though Thompson is no longer playing a full schedule, she still practices and works on her game pretty much all the time when at home.

“Any time I tee it up I want to come out here and compete and win. I just want to make sure that I’m fully ready every time I tee it up,” Thompson said.

“Yeah, I mean, it put my mind more at ease coming out here knowing that I’m not playing a full schedule, grinding week in, week out, and looking forward to the weeks off.”

After an even-par round Thursday Thompson was bogey-free in the second round until hitting her approach at the 18th into the bunker and was unable to come up with yet another par-saver

The 30-year-old Thompson, who has said last year

was her final one playing a full schedule, is in her seventh tournament this season, including all three majors so far, and indicated that she will play again next week at the Dow Championship in Michigan before “a long time off.”

Her only major victory was at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2014, though her 13 top-five finishes in majors since 2013 are the most by any player and among her 20 top-10 finishes in those events. Thompson, whose last win in any tournament was in 2019, said she is not yet allowing herself to think about what it would mean to win another major. She missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open three weeks ago, but last week was in contention in the final round before tying for fourth at the Meijer LPGA Classic.

“It’s just something that I’m going to take one shot at a time. When you get to thinking too far ahead of time it just gets to you, so I’m just really going to embrace the moment,” she said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Detroit Prowl players, from left, Toya Shinaul, Kelly Bernadyn, Sydney Hebel, Jasmine Hamilton and Allie Gorcyca walk out for the coin toss at the start of an AWFL women’s football game against the Lansing Legacy on May 10.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO Jeeno Thitikul hits her tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Women’s PGA Championship on Friday in Frisco, Texas.

.331 |.424|.651 13 HR •49RBI

STEVEN MILAM SOPHOMORE• SS .292 |.396| .506 11 HR •56RBI JAREDJONES

JUNIOR •1B .330 |.423| .630 22 HR •76RBI

DANIEL DICKINSON

JUNIOR •2B .310 |.458|.526 12 HR •49RBI CHRISSTANFIELD

JUNIOR •CF .303 |.422| .413 1HR•29RBI

JAKE BROWN SOPHOMORE• RF .327 |.410|.544 8HR•48RBI

MICHAEL BRASWELL

SENIOR •3B .189 |.308|.273 2HR•18RBI

KADE ANDERSON

SOPHOMORE• LHP

11-1 |3.44ERA |110.0 IP 30 BB |170 K

ANTHONY EYANSON

JUNIOR •RHP 11-2 |2.92ERA |101.2 IP 35 BB |143 K

CASANEVANS

FRESHMAN •RHP

5-1 |2.05ERA |52.2IP 19 BB |71K

CHASESHORES REDSHIRT

SOPHOMORE• RHP 5-3|5.31ERA |61.0IP 31 BB |66K Reed Darcey

2025 COLL WORLDSERIES LEGE W

1

THREESTRIKES SCOTTRABALAIS’ THOUGHTSONTHE CWSFINAL

STARTING OFF LSU coach JayJohnson named Kade Anderson(11-1, 3.44 ERA) as the starting pitcherSaturday.Coastal Carolinacoach Kevin Schnall opted to go with hisNo. 2, right-hander CameronFlukey(7-1, 3.29ERA), saving acerighty Jacob Morrison (12-0, 2.08) for Sunday.The Tigers are sure to go Sundaywith Anthony Eyanson (11-2, 2.92 ERA, 2saves), but will he still be able to get some crucial outs in relief if thebest-of-three series goes to Monday?

LSU

Continued from page1C

The past, in some ways,can inform us of the future. It also can create ascar for others, including Robertson.

“(This year’sLSU team) also knowshow difficult that loss was for so many fans and for theguys thatwereon that (LSU) team, the coaches on that team,” Robertson said. “They want to do it morefor us. Ithink that’snot going to be their primary goalortheir primary focus.

“But Ithink if youask them, it definitely would mean something if they could avengesome of those teams that they grew up watching.”

LSU will get the chance to avengeJohnson’s Wildcatsand Robertson’sTigers on Saturday when it faces Coastal Carolina for Game 1ofthe College World Series final at Charles Schwab Field (6 p.m., ESPN).

TwowinsoverCoastal Carolina to deliver LSU’s eighth national championship wouldn’theal the wound of 2016 for Robertson, but it would placeaband-aid over it.

“(Achampionship) would mean a lotto a lotofus,”Robertson said “Every alumnus is proud of this team, win or losethis series. The way they represented us, and the way they’ve played is the standard, because LSU is the standard.”

Return to Omaha

Robertson still liesawakeat night thinking about the heartbreak of 2016.

He remembers the chopper that bounced over the outstretched glove of third baseman Chris Reid, and the dogpile that ensued as Robertson crumbledtothe ground in disappointment.

Thatwas Robertson’sjunior season. Aphotoofhim in that moment —cradled in aball of grief on the grass as the Chanticleers celebrated on top of oneanother in thebackground —was his phone background foranentireyear

It didn’tchange until theTigers made it to Omaha in 2017.

“I looked at that on my phone for 365days, every day,tomakeme train harder,tomakemelift harder,tomake me hitmore,”Robertsonsaid.“Like thatwas my singular motivation going into the2017 season, was to get over that humpand get to Omaha in my last chance.”

Time has healed the wound of that moment for Robertson,at least somewhat.Seeing thephoto today is “more funny now” than anythingelse.

But heartbreak followed RobertsontoOmaha the next season when the Tigers lost to Florida in the College World Series. Thosedefeats keephim up atnight even more, lossesthathaunted himtothe point where hecouldn’tmuster thewill to return to Charles Schwab Field when LSU faced the Gators again in the CWS final in 2023.

Instead, Robertson sat by himself and watched on TV as theTigershoisted their seventh national championship

“That win did alot for me, and it did alot for that 2017 team mentally,” Robertson said. “It really put aband-aid on ascar.”

This year,Robertson plans on attending the CWS final. It’llbe the first time he’sbeen at Charles Schwab Fieldsince 2017, and the first games he’ll watch from start to finish sinceheretiredfrom baseballafter the 2023 season.

Robertson doesn’tknowhow he’llfeel this weekend, but he knows that now is the right time forhim to return to theplace and watch his team face an opponent —that inflicted so much pain.

“I hada conversationwith(former LSU presidentWilliam F. Tate IV) yesterday,and that’swhen I ultimately made the decision to make thetripuptoOmaha,” Robertson said.“So I’m glad Iam.”

Laying it on theline

J.C. Cloney didn’tcare if he blew outhis arm. Cloney had tossed a122-pitch

2

OUTFRONT EARLY

The Chanticleersare 37-2 this season when scoring first and 22-3 when scoring in the firstinning Coastal Carolina buriedLouisville with a6-0 first inning last time in an 11-3 victory. On the flip side, LSU is 25-3when scoring in the first inning and 12-3 when the opponent does. The Tigers are 32-7when theyscore first and 19-8when scoring second. Also, the Tigers have erased three-run deficitstowin eight timesthis season.

3

OMA-HOT

Weathercould be afactor with 100plus degreehighs forecast Saturday and Sunday. Saturdaycould tieor break the record (102 degrees)for thehottest dayinCWS history.Then there’swind, potentially 20-30 mph out of the southand southwestwith gusts to 40 that could make hitting homeruns to right nearly impossible. Johnson, whose dealt with 19 weather-delayedgames,wasn’t fazed.“I didn’t hear anything about lightning,right?” he asked. “ThenI’m good witheverything else.”

completegame shutout for Arizona on MondayinGame 1ofthe CollegeWorld Series final, buthe was ready to come into Game 3on two days of rest

He had been warming up in the tunnel during the seventh and eighth innings as Arizona trailed Coastal Carolina by arun entering theninth. This was the deciding game of the championship series, and Cloney figured this would be thelast game of his career He hadn’tbeendrafted andhad graduated just before the trip to Omaha. If this was going to be it, why not trytopitch?

“Inthe top of the ninth, Icame down and Itold Jay,Iwas like, ‘If this goes into (extra innings), I’m ready.I’m an arm.You can have me. I’ve already warmed up as if I’m coming in,’ “Cloneysaid. “And Idon’tthink (Jay) said anything. It was just kind of astunned look on his face.”

Cloney never got his chance. Arizona catcher RyanHaug struck out on afull-count pitch toend the gameinthe bottom of the ninth inning as Coastal Carolina became champions.

“I did whatever Icould to be readytogo, stretching, getting work done to ensure my armis readytogo,” Cloney said. “Soit wasn’t that we lost because we hada lack of teamguys. We lost becausewejust got beaten by a better team that day.”

The strikeout ended Arizona’s hopes of anational title,but it wasn’tthe end of Cloney’scareer

Johnson helpedthe left-hander enroll in agraduate programsohe could return to the Wildcats in 2017. After posting a3.11 ERA that year, Cloney was drafted in theninth round by the KansasCity Royals andreachedDouble-A in 2019 before his career came to aclose.

Cloney is now adistrictattorneyinOrange County,California. Unlike Robertson, he believes the wound Coastal Carolina left with him andhis Arizona teammates hashealed.

“They may have won the battle, but (they) didn’twin the war,” Cloney said. “Like, now it’sbecoming awar.” Cloney isn’tanLSU fan, but he’s aJay Johnson fan. He invited the coach to his wedding in January and still catches up with the LSU skipper from timetotime.

But anational championship for LSU this weekend won’tcompletely make up forwhathappened to theWildcats in 2016. Johnson may be facing the Chanticleers in the CWSfinal again, but doing it with a different school changes the equation.

“I think the best waytoput it,” Cloney said, “is partially yes, partially no.”

Passingthe torch

Beforeevery LSU game, Robertson will text with Steven Milam Robertson hasbeen in Milam’s shoes. Milam, asophomore, is the latest Tiger shortstop to lead his team to the College World Series final.

WHO: LSU(51-15) vs. Coastal Carolina (56-11)

WHEN: 6p.m Saturday WHERE: Charles Schwab Field TV: ESPN

RADIO: WDGL-FM,98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (NewOrleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 6overallseed; Coastal Carolina is No. 13

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU —LHP Kade Anderson (11-1, 3.44 ERA); Coastal Carolina —RHP Cameron Flukey (8-1 3.29 ERA)

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate.com/lsu ON X: @KokiRiley

WHATTOWATCH FOR: Anderson, the Louisiana native,will have sevendays of rest since hislaststartagainst Arkansas,the Tigers’ first game of the CollegeWorld Series. Againstthe Razorbacks, he allowedone earned runinseveninnings.Coastal Carolina will turntoFlukey. In hislastouting,the sophomore allowedtwo earned runs in four innings againstArizona. Koki Riley ON DECK

The night before LSU left for Omaha this time around, Robertson had the chance to speak with Milam face-to-face. He didn’twant Milam to makethe samemistakes he made the last time he wasin Omaha, locking himself in his hotel room and becoming consumed by the stress of the moment.

“I just triedtogive him everything that Iwould have wanted to know going into it,” Robertson said. “Mentally,physically,tothe field conditions, to how the field plays, everything.

“Wehave agood relationship, and we like to say that LSU is shortstopU,and we’re just passing the torch to him now.”

Passing the torch to Milam isn’t just asymbolic gesture forRobertson;it’sa responsibility he takes seriously.LSU means the worldtoRobertson.Ifhecould,he happily would trade his short time in Major League Baseballfor anational championship at LSU. But the quest foranother title is no longer his to bear.All he can do now is let the past stay in the past.

“This is absolutely not about me,” Robertson said. “This is about supporting them.”

Email Koki Rileyat Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson reacts as Coastal Carolina celebrates after LSUlost in the bottom of the ninth inning of asuper regional game on June 12, 2016, at Alex Box Stadium. Coastal Carolina advanced to the CollegeWorld Series.

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU coach JayJohnson watches the field as second baseman Daniel Dickinson bats in aCollegeWorld Series game against Arkansas on WednesdayatCharles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

Derek Curiel STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

2025 COLL WORLDSERIES

Is it fate?LSU,Coastal believeso

OMAHA, Neb.— Three hundred and seven.

That’sthe number of NCAA Division Ibaseball teams that began the season back in February,all with adream of ending up here.Inthe College World Series.

Only two remain.

Just one will be on top when it’sall over Ashow of hands, please, LSU Tigers and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, if you believe you are the chosen ones.

Oh. Both of you, huh?

Not surprised.

Not the way both of these teams got to the CWS championship series

Scott Rabalais

The Tigers and Chanticleers go into Game 1on Saturday night convincedthey are destined to win. Convinced thatExcalibur hastouchedthem on the shoulder to signify they are thechosen ones.

The way they got here, why would they not?

LSU has been the comeback Tigers in 2025, the self-styled Cardiac Cats. Eight times this season they’vebattled back to win from athree-run deficit or more. Wednesday night here against Arkansas, LSU was down two with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but rallied for three runs to win 6-5. Only once in 269 previous instances this season had ateam done that in the same circumstances.

Remember Little Rock? The underwhelming Trojans who got hot in their conference tournament and nearly torched LSU’s dreams of Omaha with a10-4 shockerinthe Baton Rouge regional? Since then, the Tigers are6-0,including one of those huge comeback wins, rallying from5-1 down in the regional final to beat Little Rock 10-6. Do the Tigers believe? Youbet TedLasso’smustache they do.

“They’re built alittle bitdifferent,” ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Peterson saidafter Wednesday’s game. “When it continues to happen overand over and over again, obviously you start to think you are alittle bit different.” Peterson could have been speaking in the same breath about Coastal Carolina. If LSU fansthink of the Chanticleers as

aslightly more souped-up version of Little Rock, they do so at their own peril Coastal Carolina has won 26 straight games, the longest winning streak by any team ever entering the CWS final. Sunday will mark two months (two months!) since the Chanticleers’ last defeat, 4-2atCollege of Charleston. That night, College of Charleston’scoach, Chad Holbrook,ambled over to the Coastal dugout after that game and told the dejected Chanticleers theywouldn’tlose again.

Nostradamus couldn’thave seen Coastal coming, but Holbrook did. Now the Chanticleers look inthe mirror andsee an unstoppable force, and everyone else is the movable object.

“I mean, we’re not really worried about the Tigers,” Coastal second baseman Blake Barthol said. “We’re more of just aselforiented team. We’re just focused on our team and our team only.”

If you’re wondering whether theChanticleers come into this series with proverbial chips on their shoulders, you can stop at theend of this sentence. They do. When asked what he likes about LSU as ateam, this was pitcher Jacob Morrison’sreply:

“Not awhole lot.”

On the otherside,LSU third baseman Michael Braswell was

more than willing to give Coastal Carolina its due as agreat team.

Just the second-greatest team still playing.

“Werespect Coastal Carolina,” Braswellsaid. “They have anational championship. They beat coach (Jay) Johnson.

“What they’vedone this year is impressive. We’re excited to play them.

“We’re LSU. We’re the Los Angeles Dodgersorthe Yankees, whatever you want to call it. We have atarget on our back. If they wanttobethe champs, they’vegot to beat thechamps.”

The Chanticleersbeat the champs back in 2016. They won asuper regional at LSU, in two games,then battled out of the loser’s bracket in the CWS to beat Johnson’sfirst team during his six-year stint at Arizona in athree-game championship series.

To think that there is revenge on the mind of the Tigersor theircoach at this point is absurd. Most players on both teams weren’t even teenagers when that happened. Johnson was at adifferentschool. Coastal coach Kevin Schnall was an assistant for the Chanticleers then,but that’sabout where those ties end.

Coastal can pitch exceptionally well, can get thetimely hit,fields at exactly the same

loftyclip as LSU (.981) and has taken more hit by pitches (176) than anyteam in DivisionIhistory.But LSU —after coming through theSoutheastern Conference, the SEC Tournament and the two games here against atop-tier SEC team in Arkansas —has quite literally hadthe best thrown at it.Many, many times.

“I think if you’re at this point in theNCAA Tournament,” Johnson said, “you’ve been battletested.Ithink that’sjust the way that it is.Idon’t believe there’s anything we have notseen

“What Imean by thatishighlevel pitching, high-level bullpen, high-level defense,offenses with speed, power,hitting skills, know how to playthe game, move the offense. Ithink we’re veryprepared. And we’ll just leave it at that.”

Being at LSU, this is the expectation, to be here at the end of the year competing for anational championship. Butnot just competing. Winning. Bringing home championship No. 8.

“The job’s notfinished,” first baseman Jared Jones said. That’sone thing both the Tigersand Chanticleers can agree on.

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Chanticleers trytoriseinpecking order

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

On Sunday,Coastal Carolina baseball coach Kevin Schnall decidedthat he hadgrowntiredof hearing folks mispronounce his team’smascot.

So he sat down at aCollege World Series news conference, leaned into his microphone and carefully,yet forcefully,issued the correct pronunciation of “Chanticleers,” the moniker of the team now just two wins over LSU away from winning its secondnational championship in 10 years.

“Everybody say it with me,” Schnall said. “SHON-tuh-cleers. SHON-tuh-cleers.

“Not SHAN-tuh-cleers. SHONtuh-cleers.”

Schnall may not have to correct people for much longer.Coastal Carolina is back in the CWS final, which begins at 6p.m. Saturday on ESPN, for the first timesince it made asurprise title run as part of its first trip to Omaha in 2016. That year,the Chanticleers swept LSU out of its own super regional, then won achampionship series against coach Jay Johnson’sArizona team.

Coastal Carolina is notatraditional power.But it’snoCinderella. Not anymore

This season, the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament champions have won five moregames (56) than any other Division I team. They’ll begin their series against the Tigers on the heelsof a26-game winningstreak. They haven’tsuffered aloss since April 22, atwo-month stretch in which they’ve not only strung together important victoriesover conference foes but also collected some impressive wins overnationally ranked teams. CoastalCarolinasweptasuper

regional at No.4 seed Auburn

Then it flewtoOmaha andbeatArizona, No. 8seed Oregon Stateand Louisville. The combined score of those three gameswas 24-9.

“Obviously,give credit to their coaches because they’ve got those guys on point,” Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. “They’re a well-oiled machine. They’re efficient. Andthey’veobviously put themselves in agreat position. So, congratulationstothem.”

How has CoastalCarolinagotten this far?

To start, it has one of the best pitching staffs in thecountry

The topthreeChanticleer arms —right-handers Jacob Morrison, Cameron Flukey and Riley Eikhoff —haveacombined 26-3 record. They’ve tallied 282 strikeoutsand only 55 walks. Just one Division Iteam has alower team ERA (3.20) than Coastal Carolina, which also has thenation’s third-

best WHIP (1.18), the seventhbest strikeout-to-walk ratio(3.07) andthe eighth-besthits-allowedper-nine-innings mark(7.59). The Chanticleer hitterswon’t swing for the fences. They’ve hit only 66 home runs this year But they will get on base, then use asmall-ball approach to carefully moverunners around the diamond.Their on-basepercentage is .410, and they’ve laid down 56 sacrifice bunts —the eighth-most in the country. They also lead Division Iteams in sacrifice flies (40) and they’ve been hit by pitches 176 times —20moretimes than any other team in thecountry thisyear

“They’ve done it in thelasthalf of theseason,” McDonnell said, “in theconference tournament, in theregionals, in supers, in Omaha,against —aswesay —the best teams. It’simpressive what they’ve done.” LSUand Coastal Carolina have

WHAT IS A CHANTICLEER?

Coastal Carolina’sathletic teams have one of sports’rarest nicknames:the Chanticleers. The name comesfrom Geoffrey Chaucer’s“The CanterburyTales” and is areference,according to the school, to “a proud and fierce rooster.” The name is pronounced SHON-tuh-cleers.

Coastal Carolina’steams were oncecalled the Trojans, but in the early 1960s agroup of students and faculty pushedfor anew mascot.At the time, the school was atwo-yearbranch of the University of South Carolina, so the decision to pick amascot more closely relatedtothe Gamecock ledtoa changeto Chanticleers.

Scott Rabalais

sfaced off only twice before —in the 2016 super regional at Alex Box Stadium. The Chanticleers took bothofthose games, stunning theTigers. CoastalCarolinahad notmadeit back to Omaha until this year Nowit’shopingtocement its status as one of the nation’stop programs. “The Chanticleers are one of twoteamsinthe entire country still playing,” Schnallsaid. “It’s incredible,but it’snot unbelievable.And it’snot unbelievable because we’ve got really good players.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CORy EADS

Coastal Carolina outfielder SebastianAlexander celebrates after knocking in arun during aCollegeWorld Series game against Arizona on June 13 in Omaha, Neb

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

The LSU dugout comes to life after first basemanJared Jones ties the game at 3-3withasolo homer in the eighth inning before the Tigers defeated the Razorbacks 6-5onWednesdayina CollegeWorld Series game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb

Hot spot

BR restaurateurs bring Calif.-based hot chicken chain to former Uno Dos Tacos location

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Dave’s Hot Chicken, original-

ly a late-night stand in East Hollywood, California, is branching out to Louisiana. The first location opens June 20 at 640 Arlington Creek Centre, Baton Rouge, in the building that was formerly Uno Dos Tacos.

The chain is expanding rapidly in the United States, with about 150 new locations opened or planned to open this year Regional manager Jorge Frausto said the brand is hoping to eventually have several locations in Louisiana — possibly in New Orleans and Lafayette. But the expansion is starting here in the capital city

Dave’s Hot Chicken is known for its Nashville-style hot chicken served as tenders or sliders on a potato bun. The menu features four combo meal options at seven different spice levels, along with shakes and slushers. The business was founded in 2017, with three friends bringing folding tables and portable fryers to a parking lot. By 2019, the former CEO and co-founder of Wetzel’s Pretzels reached a deal to franchise the business. Rapper Drake is an investor in Dave’s. Frausto, from El Paso, Texas was sent to Louisiana to scout possible locations and markets. He said he was impressed by the culture and welcoming nature of Louisiana, especially in Baton Rouge. Given the company’s history as a small startup renting out a single parking spot in California, he feels a sense of connection to the city because of the way he saw people here fighting for their dreams and overcoming challenges.

“We will be part of the community,” Frausto said. “We’re not just a company that comes from outside.” The business will partner with local churches and community organizations to host events and fundraisers.

In Baton Rouge, the restaurant has local restaurateurs at the helm. Tommy Wiggins, the franchisee, opened Baton Rouge’s Cheba Hut (a cannabisthemed sandwich shop on Ben Hur Road). The general manager is Brandon Thomsen, who helped open what is now Chow Yum and used to own Oak and Smoke in Prairieville.

“We’re just excited for the opportunity to showcase Dave’s in Louisiana,” Thomsen said. “It’s an amazing brand, and it’s a company that puts their people first.” As part of his training, Thomsen flew out to San Diego for almost the whole month of May “I was out there for 27 days, and I had it (Dave’s) 16 times,” he said. Frausto said Dave’s chicken is halal and breaded tender by tender The menu also features nonchicken, cauliflower-based

BUZZ OFF!

Summer bug season is here, Louisiana. These pesky critters are invading your homes, yards.

BY HANNAH LEVITAN Staff writer

Summer is bug season in Loui-

siana, and June’s warm temperatures and recent heavy rains have brought out pesky critters that can wreak havoc in your home, bite your skin and create general annoyances.

Mosquitoes, ants and flies are already buzzing about, and insects like termites and roaches are beginning to swarm or emerge, especially as Louisiana sees more precipitation, according to Aaron Ashbrook, an assistant entomology professor at LSU.

In past years, more of these pests would already be out and about by mid-June, but because of Louisiana’s abnormal winter, some insects are behind schedule.

Here’s everything you need to know about 2025 summer bug season.

Mosquitoes, ants, flies. Oh my!

Mosquitoes, ants and flies are common household sights in Louisiana. But these pests are currently ramping up across the state, thanks to one factor that’s driving up populations.

“It’s going to be a big year for mosquitoes, most likely, because

of all the rain,” Ashbrook said.

Last week, New Orleans city officials announced that mosquitoes on the east bank of New Orleans tested positive for West Nile virus, prompting widespread mosquito control treatment.

Like mosquitoes, fire ants also flourish after heavy rain, resulting in larger-than-average, red mounds.

Considering that tick season is particularly bad this year, increased fire ant activity may be a silver lining in helping to keep

“When there’s a lot of rain, their mounds are going to be forming at the top of the soil and so we’re more likely to encounter them,” Ashbrook said. Though they’re known for their painful stings and bites, fire ants also control flea and tick levels, according to the LSU Ag Center

FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Haley Marquette with the St.Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District applies larvicide oil to a ditch in Slidell.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Termites swarm around a light at night in Louisiana.

Impracticalinvitations make friend distressed

Dear Miss Manners: I’m an adult with physical and emotional disabilities, and Ilive with my caregiver.Ihave an older friend who is avery sweet person with good intentions, but Ifeel like she doesn’treally understand my needs.

Among other things, Ihave acatheter anduse awheelchair.She often says she wants to “take me out on the town” to “get crazy.” So far,she’sneverfollowed through with any of these invitations, but every time she brings it up, Ifeel very uncomfortable.

three of us, my wheelchair andmyservice dog, Chief. Then let’scall theclub and makesurethey have wheelchair access, bothinfront and from the parking lot.

roomsorsmall apartments

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, June 21, the 172nd day of 2025. There are 193 days left in the year

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

“Oh, first,let’s make sure they have aparkinglot, since Iwon’t be ableto wheel very far from the van. Of course, we’llhavetogoon anight when it’s not too crowded so that the dancefloor has clearance formeand Chief to wheel around— and awideberth for all my accessories.

Someleave their doors open to the hallway,and I wonder if it’sappropriate to greet them when passing by their rooms as Ivisit my father They might appreciate acheery “hello” or awave from thehallway,but would that be intruding on their privacy? If Iwalk by with my eyes averted,amIsending amessage that their presence is not important? What would Miss Manners recommend?

Iabsolutely do not want to go anywhere with her! Tonight, when we were out to dinner with my family, she asked me to go somewhere another time. Ididn’tknow what to do, so Ijust smiled and said it sounded like fun Is there apolite way to decline her invitations so she’ll stop asking me?

Gentle reader: “Of course,I would love togoout on the town with you. Let’sget crazy!

“So here’swhat needs to happen: We have to call Maria, my caregiver,and make sure that she is available. Hopefully she can get avan big enough for the

“We’ll also want to check that it’sOKfor me to bring in my own food and drink…”

Miss Manners feels certain thatyou will not have to getmuch further than the second sentence before your friend realizes what she is asking, starts to panic and retreats. If she does not, you can always say “I was joking, Meredith. Obviously it’salittlehard for me to be spontaneous, but Ienjoy spending time with you. Perhaps we can do that without ‘getting crazy.”’

Dear Miss Manners: My father hasmoved into an assisted living facility,where residentseach havetheir own

Gentlereader: Is there an option between gawking at these tenants as you pass by and fervently looking away as though they were inmates who committed a crime?

Miss Manners suggests you tryspontaneityand not overthink the situation. If you happen to makeeye contact, ashy,endearing smile is fine. Butifthey do not return your gaze, keep it moving.

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

drink and aclassic acai bowl. He rated the smoothie

he foundthe store through the recommendationof local food contentcreator Maameefua Koomson, andashe left,he tipped $3,000 plus paid it forward $1,000 for customers who would come after him that day

“Since then, we’vehired an amazing team, put real systems in place, and poured our hearts into learning,

andcreating jobs for ourcommunity —all while still serving thebest smoothies and açaí bowls around,”the post from Dr Feel Good stated. Dr.Feel Good staff did not respond to immediate requests for comment via phone.

Email Serena Puang at serena.puang@ theadvocate.com.

Todayinhistory: On June 21, 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became therequired ninth state to ratify it

Also on this date:

In 1834, Cyrus Hall McCormick received apatent for his mechanical reaper In 1893, thefirst Ferris wheel opened to the public as part of the Chicago World’sFair

In 1942, an Imperial Japanese submarine fired shells at Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast, but caused little damage.

In 1954, scientists of the American Cancer Society presented astudy to a meetingofthe American Medical Association in San Francisco which found that men whoregularly smoked cigarettes died, particularly from lung cancer,at aconsiderably higher rate than nonsmokers.

In 1964, civil rights activists James Chaney,Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered in Neshoba County,Mississippi; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weekslater.(Fortyone years later,onthis date in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, wasfound guilty of manslaughter in their deaths; he wassentenced to 60 years in prison, where he diedinJanuary 2018.)

In 1982, ajury in Washington,D.C., foundJohnHinckleyJr. not guiltybyreason of insanityinthe shootings of President RonaldReagan, Press Secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty andSecret Serviceagent TimMcCarthy

In 1989, asharply divided SupremeCourt ruled, in Texas v. Johnson, that burning the American flag as aform of political protest wasprotected by the First Amendment.

In 1997, the WNBA made its debut as the New York Liberty defeated the host

Los Angeles Sparks 67-57. In 2004, the aircraft SpaceShipOne madethe first privately funded human spaceflight. In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to charges of plotting afailed car bombing in NewYork’s Times Square. (Shahzad was later sentenced to life in prison.)

Today’sbirthdays: Composer Lalo Schifrin is 93. Musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 81. Actor Meredith Baxter is 78. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi is 78. Actor Michael Gross is 78. Author Ian McEwan is 77. Musician Nils Lofgren

Realitiesofmove catching up

Dear Harriette: Acouple of months ago, Imoved from Spain to the United States with my husband and our daughter.Wesettled in Los Angeles after we had done what we thought was careful planning. We savedupwhat felt like asubstantial amount of money and assumed it would give us agood cushion while we adjusted and got settled. Reality has hit us much harder than we expected. The cost of living here is far more expensive than we imagined. Rent, groceries, child care, even just basic daily expenses it’sall adding up so quickly Our savings are running low much faster than we anticipated, and our salaries aren’tnearly enough to keep up with the lifestyle we’re trying to maintain, even though it’samodest one. We’re doing our best

DAVE’S

Continued from page1D

to stay positiveand make it work,but I’m already finding myself questioning whether this move was the right decision.I missthe stability andaffordability of life back in Spain, and I’m startingtowonderifmovingback is the more responsible choice. How do youknow when to keep pushing forward and when to admit that somethingjust isn’tworking? —Over Our Heads Dear Over OurHeads: Assess thesituation as calmly as you can. What madeyou cometothe United States in thefirst place?Family?Sentiment? Whatever it was, is that draw more important than your reality today? Can yourestore your life in Spain if you go back? Can youresumeyour jobs or getcomparableones? Can you reestablish your lives there? Do youwant to do

vegetarian options. Nashville-style hot chicken is not just about being spicy or the spiciest, Frausto said, it’s about making something enjoyable.

“Wewanna make sure that we have alevel for every single person,” he said.

Dave’sHot Chicken, 640 Arlington Creek Centre, Baton Rouge, will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m to midnight Friday and Saturday The grand opening is set forFriday, June 20, with regular hours.

BUGS

Continued from page1D

other insect populations in check.

Ashbrook said he’salso encountered asubstantial amount of deer and horse flies this year.These bloodsucking insects mostly target humans, horses and cattle. Fruit flies, asmaller, winged pest,have been particularly active this month, too. Fruit flies feed and reproduce on trash and rotting food, so it’sextra important to empty your garbageand take additional preventative measures to avoid infestations.

Termites androaches

But more of Louisiana’s most harrowing pests are still on their way “I imagine that we might see swarms alittle bit later than we typically would this year for termites,” Ashbrooksaid.

Even though there have al-

that, all things considered? Weigh your choices and decide what makes sense for now.Ifyou decide to moveback to Spain, you may have enough extra money to visit theUnited States again later if you want to do that. Youcan also save morerobustly to plan for amove sometime in the future.

Dear Harriette: Iwent to a partywith an old friend Ihaven’tseen in awhile. We were really close at one point, but our interests changed, and we started spending less time together When we arrived, she was being sort of strange. I asked if she wanted to go greet afew other mutual friends Ihad spotted, and she said no. Iasked if somethingwas wrong, and she said she was fine. Itried making conversation, but she was not very engaging. Later on,she suggested we go hang withthe friends I had spotted earlier.That

was my saving grace. For therest of theparty, she obsessed about an ex of hers who made an appearance. Iwas confused and quiet by theend of that night and shared with her that I thought we were going out to have agood time and to catch up. She got upset and left. Idon’tthink Isaid anythingwrong, so Ihave not reached out since. Perhaps our friendship has expired. Am Imissing something? PartyPooper

Dear PartyPooper: Your friend seems to have alot going on. She was uncomfortable at theparty,which is not your fault. If you are concerned, you could call to makesure she is OK. You don’tneed to try to rekindle your friendship, though. Send questions to askharriette@harriettecole. com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City MO 64106.

with fries and aFrozenHi-COrangeLavaburst

ready beenseveral swarms, Ashbrook saidthe season was pushed back aweekdue to the harshwinter

Residents should also look outfor cockroaches, since their activity has been relatively high recently,accordingtoAshbrook. Since roaches typically livein manholes and sewers, theyare often flushed out afterfloods and begin searchingfor adrier spot to hang

Tips forcontrollingbugs

Termites: Moist conditions areideal fortermites, so fix anyleaks, keep ventsopen and avoid leaving wood piles nearyourhome.

If youfindmud tubes, warping or water stains in your home,callpest control immediately Roaches and fruit flies: Empty your trash

This also goesfor all pests,because food sources like rotting potatoes, sticky countersoreven toaster crumbscan attract an army of bugs.

“What might seem like a smallamount to ahuman,

would be afeast for days for these flies,” Ashbrook said.

Mosquitoes: Use EPA-approved insect repellent check for standing water inside andoutside andinstallwindow screensifyou haven’talready

Deer and horse flies: Test out insect repellentand consider wearing loose-fitting, long sleeves,ifyou’reable to.

Fire ants: Consider spraying

your yard with EPA-registeredinsecticide or set ant bait near mounds.

Fleas and ticks: Avoid feral animalsand regularly treat your petswithflea and tick prevention medicine.

Check yourself for ticks after being outdoors.

Consider tightening door frameseals and fill structural cracks and crevices to prevent infestations.

DearHeloise: Iamwriting on the topic of donating yearbooksasa former boardmember of alocal historical society. Please advise your readersto contact the historical society(or library) first to see if theyare seeking yearbooks. Many historical societiesorlibrariesmay already have acopyingood condition. Some may need aparticular year,while others may be flooded with books andwon’t acceptthem. Yearbooksshould be in good condition, notfalling apart. At ourorganization, when we acceptthem, it’sonly whenthere is no writing on the inside because there could be informationabout the originalowner or the person who signedthe book. Why am Isharing this?

So,Ibought eight Bluetoothtrackersand put themwith these items. With my cellphone, Ihave located threeitems during the past two months with the help of these trackers. If Icannotfind my cellphone,though, I’m in trouble! Steve T.,via email Cereal bagreuses

Because there is nothing as heartbreaking as when someone showsupunannounced with yearbooks only to be told that they are unneeded. —Stu Haley,in Shaker Heights, Ohio Bluetoothtrackers

DearHeloise: Iamconstantly unable to find things —mycar in alarge parking lot, keyfobs, my wallet, my checkbook,etc

Dear Heloise: I have discovered asplendid use forthe plastic bags that contain dry cereal in paperboard boxes. In recent years, these bags have evolved to be heavier,leakproof and puncture-resistant. They have countless uses wellafter their intended purpose. Theymakeexcellent freezer bags forice cream cartons, forinstance, or for storing anything in the freezerwith the expectation that the contents will remain dry andfrost-free

Don’tthrow them out once the cereal is gone; repurpose them as they are much better performing than traditional, thin, low-density polyethylene bags. —Steven M. Dembow,in Merrimack,New Hampshire Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFFREPORTS

St. Joseph’sholds

Eucharistic Procession

St. Joseph Cathedral, 401

Main St., Baton Rouge, will celebrate the Solemnityof theMost HolyBody and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) with Masses at 4p.m. June 21, and 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. June 22. The 10:30 a.m. Mass will feature asolemn Eucharistic Processionled by Rev. J. Cary Bani,Cathedral Rector.The procession, which circles Cathedral

Square,will conclude with Benediction and the Divine Praisesinside the Cathedral.

Allare invited to participate in this special celebration of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The 10:30 a.m. Mass will also be broadcast live on Catholiclife TV,Cox Channel15, Facebook, Roku, FireTV and YouTube. For more information, contact CathedralPastoral Services at (225) 387-5928 or office@cathedralbr.org.

PHOTO By APRILBUFFINGTON Dave’s 2tenders

at Dave’s HotChicken

Hints from Heloise

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Taking charge andletting go of unnecessary items and pastimes to make room for what makes you feel alive will setthe stage for abright future. Your life, your decisions.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Rethink your day and take careofresponsibilitiesfirst Make last-minute adjustments and learn as you go. Take pride in what you do, and don't apologize for being different.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Gather information and useyourexperience to push your way into the spotlight. Attend eventsthat allow you to shine andattract interest. High energy and enthusiasm will attract attention.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct.23) Unusual concepts and people will draw you. Trust your instincts, verify informationand follow themost comfortable path. Pay attention to your surroundings.

ScoRPIo (oct.24-nov. 22) Don't skip a beat. Your mind, body and soul are eager to reach whatever goal you set Love is on the rise, and self-improvementwill attract attention.

SAGIttARIuS(nov. 23-Dec. 21) Pay attention to your surroundings and be ready to counterany negativity that comes your way. Take care of domestic problemsand spaces requiringadjustments to make lifeeasier.

cAPRIcoRn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Opportunities are apparent if you socialize or sign up forsomething interesting. Budget for the extras you want to implement

into your routine beforeyou start. Ask questions and get what you want in writing.

AQuARIuS (Jan.20-Feb. 19) Focus on what you have and the maintenance necessary to stabilizeyour life.Refusetolet others dominate you. Achange at home will turnout betterthan anticipated. PIScES (Feb. 20-March20) Consider how to make your environment userfriendly. Check what's happening in your community or attend an event that promises to inspire you and push you in an exciting direction. It'stime to get moving.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Gimmicks and offers that aretoo good to be true will temptyou. Do your homework before venturing down apath for the wrong reason. Put your energy where it brings the most satisfaction and rewards.

tAuRuS (April 20-May20) Distance yourselffrompeople who disturbwhat you are trying to accomplish. Visiting a place that enriches your mindand offers insight into using your time wisely will lead to success.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Let creativity lead the way and inspireyou to follow your heartand soothe your soul. Set abudget and figure out how to reach your goal with no regrets.

Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is notbasedonscientific fact ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

CeLebrItY

beetLe bAILeY

GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe samenumber onlyonce. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

We have been looking at Stayman, but exactly howitoperates is influenced by yourother no-trump responses. In today’s deal, look at the South hand. Your partner opens one no-trump, showing15-17 points. After East passes, what wouldyou respond?

The first question is: Does your partnership use transfers into theminors? If you do,you should go viathatroute, perhaps responding twospades. (And then twoclubs followed by three clubs would show afour-card major, long clubs and at least enough points for game.)

If, however, you do not transfer into theminors, traditionally responder bids twoclubs, initially treated as Stayman, then rebidsthree clubs, which is adropdead sequence. The responderhas along club suit in aweak hand, andopener is expected to pass. More logical is to play an immediate jumptothree of aminor as asign-off. Then twoclubs followed by three clubs shows alongminor (with or without afour-card major), at least enoughpointsforgameandeitherworry thatthreeno-trumpmightfailandfiveof aminor make, or interest in aslam

In this deal, let’s assume youjump to three clubs as asign-off. Westleadsthe spade10. Whatwould you do?

Note that one no-trumpbyNorth should be defeated by aheartlead

wuzzles

Here, youwanttorestrict your losers to one spade, one heart and twoclubs. You should plan to take two diamond finesses and to start the club suit from the dummy (lead up to honors). If your first trump play is from hand,you will have to lead the king to squash East’s jack —but why guess?

©2025 by NEA,Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InStRuctIonS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’S WoRD cHAMPAGnE: sham-PANE:Sparklingwinemade in Champagne,France, or similar winemade elsewhere.

Averagemark 30 words

Timelimit 60 minutes Can youfind46ormore words in CHAMPAGNE?

yEStERDAy’S WoRD —ocARInAS

ocarina orca

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of JorgeLuisEscoto,

ESTATE SALES Magnolia HouseEstateSale1869 AVONDALE DR.Thurs3-7PM,Fri,Sat Sun8-5,Vintage jewelry/Designer clothes/purses;Stained glass panels;MCM lamps& furniture; Copper& brasscollection; Magnalite& packed kitchen, Baccarat, Belleek &Van Briggle, Lead crystalstems/decanters,Ruby redcollection, VTGpinedresser, Antiquewalnut dresser, Washer/Fridge/Freezer,Lanecedar chest, MCMchrome/glassshelf Original art, Asiandecor,Wrought iron patiofurniture,Wickerbed & bench, Packed toolroom &Packed house, seeall pics at estatesales.net

Anyone Knowingthe Whereabouts of MichaelR.Brassett,The Heirs of LeoLieux Brassett, Jr andThe Heirs of Ruth Simmons Brassett, Please ContactTemicaR.Dukes PO Box380, NewRoads,La. 70760; 225-713-8455. 146102-June 19-21, 3t $109

of theexistingwetlands. Theproposedproject is a drainage improvement and flood risk mitigation project, andassuch, must be locatedwithin jurisdictional wetlands to achievethe desiredef‐fectsofreducing flood risksfor lowelevation areasinthe VOH. Multi‐plealternativestothe proposed projectwere considered in an attempt to reduce impactstoju‐risdictional wetlands The firstconsideredal‐ternativeactionentailed theconstructionof a larger waterretention area,via excavation within thesouthernpor‐tion of Site Location #2 This alternative would provideadditionalstor‐agecapacityfor stormwater runoff during high-volumerainevents. This alternative, how‐ever,would result in more significant impacts on wetlands from the project. Additionally,the action wouldpotentially attractunwantedwildlife (mosquitoes, snakes,al‐ligators,etc.) to this es‐tablishedresidential area andwould nothave allowedfor thecreation of theproposedpublic park.Thisalternative to theproposedactionwas notdeemed thepre‐ferred option

Theno-action alternative wasthe second alterna‐tive to be considered whereno flood risk miti‐gation measures would be implemented. While theno-action alternative wouldleadtonoimpacts to jurisdictional wet‐lands, it wouldalsofail to meet the flood mitiga‐tion needsofthe VOH. If theNoActionalternative waschosen, flood events wouldnot only be ex‐pected to continue but also increase during timesofsignificant pre‐cipitation andrunoff due to thenormallossesof hydraulicfunction of ex‐isting drainage systems over time.For theserea‐sons,the no-actionalter‐native is notpreferred Mitigation measures that will be takentominimize adverseimpacts andre‐storeand preserve the naturaland beneficial functionsand intrinsic values of theexisting wetlands include: noise abatementand control by obeyingthe Jackson Parish noiseordinance preserving historic land‐marksand artifactsby notifyingconstruction crewsoftheir potential presence andinstructing them to halt anywork if Native American arti‐factsorhuman remains arefound,and reducing risksofhazardous mate‐rial contaminationbyim‐plementing theproper assessment,remedia‐tion,management, and disposal of such materi‐alsiftheyare encoun‐teredonthe site.Mitigat‐ingrisks to threatened andendangeredspecies that maybepresent within theproject area will be accomplishedby complyingwithany guid‐ance received from the USFWSorthe LDWF,as outlined within theIPaC documentsand request forcomment lettersre‐ceived from thoseagen‐cies.Wetland protection will be accomplishedby complyingwithany stip‐ulations listed in aUSACE Section404 permit,ifre‐quired,suchasthe pur‐chaseofany wetlandor streammitigationcred‐its.

thetimes andlocation delineated in thelast paragraphofthisnotice forreceipt of comments Thereare threeprimary purposes forthisnotice. First, people whomay be affected by activities in jurisdictional wetlands andthose whohavean interest in theprotection of thenatural environ‐ment should be givenan opportunitytoexpress theirconcernsand pro‐vide informationabout theseareas.Second, an adequate public notice program canbeanim‐portantpubliceduca‐tional tool.The dissemi‐nation of information andrequest forpublic comment about jurisdic‐tional wetlands canfacilitateand en‐hanceFederal effortsto reduce therisks andim‐pactsassociatedwith theoccupancyand modi‐fication of thesespecial areas. Third, as amatter of fairness, when the Federalgovernmentde‐termines it will partici‐pate in actionstaking placein jurisdictional wetlands,itmustinform thosewho maybeput at greaterorcontinued risk Writtencommentsmust be received by the VOH at thefollowing address on or before June 30, 2025: Village of Hodge, 4693Quitman Highway, Hodge, LA 71247 and (318) 259-4704, Attention: Gerald Palmer,Mayor A full descriptionofthe projectmay also be re‐viewed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at theaddress listed above.Comments mayalsobesubmitted viaemail at Matt@wet landsunlimited.org Date:June 21, 2025 146259 June 21, 1t $872.72

PUBLIC NOTICE

origin anddestina‐tion points as follows: originatingatBayou ChoctawinIberville Parish,Louisiana,and terminatingatPlacid MeterStation ValveR-022 in West BatonRouge Parish,Louisiana,from 40.01 centsper barrel to 40.81 centsper barrel; andoriginating at Bayou ChoctawinIberville Parish,Louisiana,and terminatingatPlacid MeterStation ValveR-016 in West BatonRouge Parish,Louisiana,from 40.01 centsper barrel to 40.81 centsper barrel Forquestions,pleasecall theLPSCtollfreeat(800) 256-2397. Additionally theCompany’s filingmay be viewed in theTrans‐

NOTICE theLa. Dept.of Energy andNatural Re‐sources, Office of CoastalManagement (OCM)has received the followingapplication(s) fora CoastalUse Permit (CUP)inaccordancewith theState andLocal CoastalResources Man‐agementAct of 1978, as amended, (La. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and the rulesand regulationsof theCoastalResources Program.Applications forthe proposed work maybeinspected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, BatonRouge,LAor on theOCM webpageat: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ index.cfm?md=pagebui lder&tmp=home& pid=591. Copies maybe obtained upon payment of cost of copying. Writ‐tencomments, including suggestionsfor modifi‐cationsorobjectionsto theproposedworkand statingthe reasons thereof, arebeing so‐licitedfromthe public Commentsmustbere‐ceived within 25 days of thedateofpublication of this notice.Comments should be uploaded to ourelectronicrecord, but maybemailedor emailedtothe desig‐natedOCM Reviewer.All commentsmustcontain theappropriate applica‐tion numberand the commenter'sfullname andcontact information. Anypersonmay request, in writing, within the commentperiodspeci‐fied in this notice,that a StateorFederal public hearingbeheldtocon‐siderthisapplication.Re‐quests forpublichear‐ings shallstate,withpar‐ticularity,the reasonsfor holdinga public hearing andmustcontain the name andcontact infor‐mation of therequester. Beloware thereferenced application(s): *OCM;P.O.Box 44487, BatonRouge,LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-5069; Email: heather. evans@la.gov;OCM Re‐viewer:Heather Evans; CUPNUMBER: P20250436 Name:LoboOperating, Inc. c/oBlueOxEnter‐prises,Llc 2851 JOHN‐STON ST #1803 LAFAYETTE,LA70503 Attn:Gregg Hamilton Lo‐cation:Plaquemines Parish,LA; POB- Lat2933-46, Long -89-19-00 and POE- Lat29-35-52, Long -89-15-12; Breton Sound Area,Blocks18, 31 &32. Description: Proposed in‐stallation of a3"gas flowline (~24,134' in length)fromthe SL 1227 No.29Welltothe Breton Sound Block18(BS 18) Facility.Approx.11,871 cy/2.22acres of water‐bottoms will be jetted to install theline. Approx 85 cy of sand bag fill is required forlinecross‐ings 146362-jun21-1t $28.63 PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE WEST BATONROUGE PARISH COUNCIL Notice Is Hereby GivenTo AllCitizensOfThe Parish Of West BatonRouge StateOfLouisiana,And To AllOther Interested Persons, Of TheIntroduc‐tion At TheRegular Meet‐ingOfThe West Baton RougeParishCouncil Of TheProposedOrdi‐nance(s) Introduced By TitleJune 12, 2025 As Set ForthHereinafter An OrdinanceAdopting An OperatingBudgetOf RevenuesAnd Expendi‐turesFor The Fiscal Year BeginningJuly1,2025 AndEndingJune 30, 2026. As PublishedByThe West BatonRouge Parish CouncilOnAging An OrdinanceToAmend AndReenactThe West BatonRouge Parish Code Of Ordinances,PartIII (“Unified Development Code”),Appendix A. “Purchase/Donation Of Real Property”, Section1 “Descriptions”,and Fur‐ther AuthorizingThe Parish PresidenttoSign theNecessaryDocumen‐tation to Accept Dona‐tion of LotWBR-S of The Settlement at Silverstone Subdivision, WBRParish Assessor Parcel #3054090002000, Port Allen, Louisiana. APUBLICHEARING will be held by theWest BatonRouge Parish Councilrelativetothe aforementioned re‐quest(s): Date:Thursday June