The Tigers celebrate after defeating Coastal Carolina 5-3ingame twoofthe CollegeWorld Series finals in Omaha, Nebraska,onSunday. The roar is restored.When JayJohnson took over as theLSU baseball coach in 2022,the six-timenational championTigers were in the midstofa 13-year title drought.The Tigers returned to the top of college baseball during the 2023 season. LSU survived adiceyregional that went to awinner-take-all final at AlexBox Stadium againstupstart Little Rock. Then LSUdominated, sweeping the super regionaland College WorldSeries in sevengames. After Sundayand Johnson’s second national title, he has LSU threatening to reboot adynastythat blossomedunder legendary coachSkip Bertman.No. 8isonits waytoBaton Rouge.
STAFF
PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
AN UNFOLDING SITUATION
BY JON GAMBRELL, FARNOUSH AMIRI and CARA ANNA Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The world grappled Sunday with the enormous implications after the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran with an attack that raised urgent questions about what remained of Tehran’s nuclear program and how its weakened military might respond.
Some observers warned that the future of worldwide efforts to contain the spread
of nuclear weapons by peaceful means would be at stake in the days ahead, while fears of a wider regional conflict loomed large. The price of oil rose as markets reacted Iran lashed out at the U.S. for crossing “a very big red line” with its risky gambit to strike three Iranian nuclear sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council that the U.S. “decided to destroy diplomacy,” and
that the Iranian military will decide the “timing, nature and scale” of a “proportionate response.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was flying to Moscow to coordinate with close ally Russia.
Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East. Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said any country used by the U.S. to strike Iran ”will be a legitimate target for our armed forces,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Trump says he is open to regime change in Iran
BY JOSH BOAK and MIKE PESOLI Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Sunday called into question the future of Iran’s ruling theocracy after a surprise attack on three of the country’s nuclear sites, seemingly contradicting his administration’s earlier calls to resume negotiations and avoid an escalation in fighting.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on social media. “MIGA!!!”
Trump
The posting on Truth Social marked something of a reversal from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Sunday morning news conference that detailed the aerial bombing.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said. What the administration has made clear is that it wants Iran to stop any development of nuclear weapons, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that any retaliation against the U.S. or a rush toward building a nuclear weapon would “put the regime at risk.”
But beyond that, the world is awash in uncertainty at a fragile moment that could decide whether parts of the globe tip into war or find a way to salvage a
ä See IRAN, page 4A ä See TRUMP, page 4A
Federal cuts curtailing medical research in Louisiana
BY EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
About three decades ago, a 54-year-old mother of 10 in Prairieville opened her local newspaper and saw a notice about a diabetes study starting at Pennington Biomedical Center in Baton Rouge, about 16 miles down the road A finger-prick test revealed her blood sugar was just under the cutoff. But two weeks later, she got a call: The study was expanding eligibility Although only prediabetic, she was in.
‘We are on life support,’ leader of one long-running study says ä See CUTS, page 5A
“I was so excited,” Donna Braud recalled. A former teacher, she signed up to “do something for society, promote a scientific thing.” For the next 30 years, she gave blood, took memory tests, kept food logs and underwent dozens of scans in what became known as the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study She eventually developed diabetes, but the program taught her how to live with it, said Braud, now 82. When Pennington staff called this year to say the study had lost its federal funding and was ending, Braud was devastated. “I felt denied,” she said. “I did everything they asked. I went to every
Donna Braud holds a brain scan from the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study from August 2024 in her Prairieville home on Friday. Braud, a 30-year participant in the program, says it is the last document she received from the study after it was canceled by the Trump administration.
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls on reporters for questions during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington on Sunday after the U.S military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort to destroy the country’s nuclear program
IRAN
At first, the Trump administration indicated it wanted to restart diplomatic talks with Iran. “Let’smeet directly,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. “does notseek war.” But President Donald Trump, who has warned of additionalstrikesifTehran retaliatesagainstU.S. forces, later mused about the possibility of regime change in Iran.
The U.S. strikes, confirmed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, hit the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, as well as the Isfahannuclearsite. Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around them.
Trump claimed the U.S. “completely and fully obliterated” the sites, butthe Pentagon reported “sustained, extremely severe damage and destruction.”
Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin said “the damage is deep,” but an assessment with the U.S. continued. “Weare very close to achievingour goals” in removingIran’s nuclear and missilethreats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday The headofthe International Atomic Energy Agency,Rafael MarianoGrossi, told the Security Council that no one was in aposition to assess the underground damage at Fordo,which is dug deep into amountain, but visible craters tracked with theU.S. announcements. He said IAEA inspectors shouldbe allowed tolookat thesites. The U.N. nuclear watchdog’sgoverning board plannedanemergencymeeting Monday Grossi stressed that apath for diplomacy remained, but if that fails, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels,” andglobal effortsatnuclear nonproliferation “could crumble.”
With the attack that was carried out without detection, the United States inserted itself into awar it
It could attempt to close a key bottleneckfor global oil supplies, the Strait of Hormuz, between it and the United Arab Emirates. Or it couldhurry to develop anuclear weapon with what remains of its program.
The Atomic Energy OrganizationofIransaidits program will not be stopped.
Iran haslongmaintained that its nuclear program was peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuingabomb.
However,Trump and Israeli leaders have argued that Iran could quickly assemble anuclear weapon.
What has happened to Iran’s stockpile of uraniumand centrifuges?
Satelliteimages takenby Planet Labs PBC after the U.S. strikes, analyzed by The Associated Press, show damage to the facility.They suggest Iran packed the entrance tunnels to Fordo with dirt and had trucks at the facility ahead of the strikes.
relative peace. Trump’swarning to Iran’sleadership comes as the U.S. has demandedthat Iran not respond to the bombardment of the heart ofa nuclear programthat it spent decadesdeveloping.
The Trump administration has made aseries of intimidating statements even as it has simultaneouslycalled to restart negotiations, making it hard to get acomplete read on whether the U.S. president is simply taunting an adversary or using inflammatory words that could further widen the war between Israel and Iran that beganearlier this month.
Up until the U.S. president’s post on Sunday afternoon, thecoordinatedmessaging by Trump’svice president, Pentagon chief, top military adviser and secretary of state suggested aconfidence that any fallout would be manageable and that Iran’slack of military capabilities would ultimately force it back to the bargaining table.
Hegseth had said that America “does not seek war” with Iran, while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran the possibility of returning to negotiate with Washington.
will open up afar more brutal phase of fighting or revive negotiations out ofan abundance of caution.Inside the U.S ,the attackquickly spilled over into domestic politics with Trump choosing to spendpart of hisSunday going after his critics in Congress.
Trump alsouseda social media post to lambaste Rep. Thomas Massie,R-Ky.,who had objected to the president takingmilitary action without specific congressional approval.
“Wehad aspectacular military success yesterday, taking the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands (and theywould use itiftheycould!)”Trump wrote.
National security team
At their joint Pentagon briefing, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saidthat“Operation Midnight Hammer” involved decoys anddeception, and met with no Iranian resistance.
Caineindicated that the goalofthe operation —destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan —had been achieved.
“Final battle damage will takesome time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate thatall threesites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Cainesaid.
spent decades trying to avoid. Successcould mean ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions and eliminating the last significant state threat to the security of Israel, its close ally.Failure —oroverreach —could plunge the U.S. into another long and unpredictable conflict.
For Iran’ssupreme leader,itcould markthe end of acampaign to transform the Islamic Republic into agreater regional power that holds enriched nuclear material astepawayfrom
and that Trump madehis decision after assessing the Iranians werenot acting “in good faith.”
“I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and getusina place whereIran can decide not to be athreat to itsneighbors, not to be athreat to the UnitedStates, andifthey’re willing to do that, theUnited States is all ears,” Vance said.
RubiosaidonCBS’s “Face theNation” that “there are no planned military operationsright nowagainstIran, unless, unless they mess around and they attack” U.S. interests.
Trump has previously threatened other countries, butoften backed down or failed to follow through, givenhis promises to his coalition of voters not to entangle the United States in an extended war. It was not immediately clear whether Iran sawthe avoidance of a wider conflict as in its best interests.
Reacting to thestrikes
weapons-grade. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last spoke publicly on Wednesday warning the U.S. that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them.”
Iran, batteredbyIsrael’s largest-ever assault on it thatbegan on June 13, has limited options for retaliation, as keyallieshavemostly stayed out of the conflict. It could attack U.S. forces stationedinthe Middle East withthe missilesand rockets thatIsrael hasn’tdestroyed.
knowhow muchroomisleft for diplomacy.”
China and Russia, where Araghchi was heading for talks with President VladimirPutin, condemned the U.S. military action. The attacks were “a gross violation of international law,” said Russia’s Foreign Ministry, whichalsoadvocated “returningthe situationto apolitical anddiplomatic course.”
ATurkish Foreign Ministry statement warned aboutthe risk of theconflict spreading to “a globallevel.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmersaid theUnited Kingdom wasmoving military equipmentinto the area to protect its interests, people andallies.His office said he talked on Sunday with Trumpabout the need for Tehran to resumenegotiations, but Trumpwould have posted his remarks about regimechange after their conversation.
Israel has significantly degraded Iran’sair defenses and offensive missile capabilities and damaged its nuclear enrichment facilities. But only the U.S. military has the bunker-buster bombsthatofficials believe offered the best chance of destroying sites deep underground.A totalof14ofthe bombs were used on Natanz andFordo,accordingtothe Pentagon.
Expertsscrambledtoanswer the urgent question:
about its nuclear ambitions.
“Iranfound out” that when Trump“says 60 days that he seeks peace andnegotiation, he means60days of peace and negotiation,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, that nuclear program,that new nuclear capability will not exist. He meantit.”
Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites. Before the Israeli military campaignbegan, Iran said it had declared athird, unknown siteasa newenrichment facility
“Questions remain as to where Iran maybestoring its already enriched stocks …asthese will have almost certainly been moved to hardened and undisclosed locations, outofthe way of potential Israeli or U.S. strikes,” said Darya Dolzikova,a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute focused on nonproliferation issues.
That statement was complicated as the White House hadsuggestedThursday that Trumpcould take as much as two weeks to determinewhether to strikeIran or continue to pursue negotiations. But the U.S. benefited from Iran’sweakened air defenses and was able to conduct the attacks without resistance from Iran.
Butthe unfoldingsituation is not entirely under Washington’scontrol, as Tehran has a series of levers to respond to the aerial bombings that could intensify the conflict in the Middle East with possible global repercussions.
Iran can blockoil being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz,attack U.S. basesin the region, engage in cyber attacks or double down on a nuclear program that might seem like more of anecessity after the U.S. strike.
All of that raises the question of whetherthe strikes
Vancesaidhefelt “very confident that we’ve substantially delayedtheir development of anuclear weapon.”
Pressed further,hetold NBC’s“Meet thePress” that “I thinkthatwehave really pushed their program back by avery long time. Ithink that it’sgoing to be many many yearsbefore theIranians are abletodevelop a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president said the U.S. had “negotiated aggressively”withIran to try to find apeaceful settlement
Much of theworld is absorbing the consequences of the strikes andthe risk that theycould lead to morefighting across the Middle East after theU.S. inserted itself into thewar between Israel and Iran. Israeli airstrikes that beganonJune13local time targetedIran’snuclear facilities and generals,prompting retaliation from Iran and creating aseries of events that contributedtothe U.S.attack.
WhileU.S.officials urged caution andstressed that only nuclear sites were targeted by Washington, Iran criticized the actions as aviolation of its sovereignty and international law Iran’sforeign minister,AbbasAraghchi, said Washington was “fully responsible” for whatever actions Tehran maytake in response.
“They crossed avery big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,” he said at anews conferenceinTurkey. “I don’t
The leaders of Italy,Canada, Germany and France agreed on theneed for“a rapid resumptionofnegotiations.” France’sEmmanuel Macron held talkswiththe Saudi crown prince and sultanofOman.
Iran trying to stop oil exportsthrough theStrait of Hormuzcould create the same kind of inflationary shocks thatthe world felt after Russia invadedUkraine in 2022.Oil prices have increased as thewar between Israeland Iran intensified, climbing by 21% over the past month.
The price of oil rose and U.S. stockfutures fell on Sunday,amid uncertainty over Iran —which could undermine Trump’spromises to tame inflation and bring consumer prices down.
An explanation
The Pentagon briefing did not provide anynew details about Iran’snuclear capabilities. Hegseth said the timeline for the strikeswas the result of ascheduleset by Trump for talks with Iran
If it seems like the Lafayette area has received more rain than usual lately, it has. Rainfall in Lafayette Parish so far this year has exceeded the average by more than 16 inches.
On average, 27.1 inches should have fallen, Brian Smith, drainage director for Lafayette Consolidated Government, said recently Instead, as of about June 13, more than 43 inches have fallen Some of those showers fell heavy and hard in a short period of time, leading to flash flooding.
BATON ROUGE
1 killed, 5 others wounded outside nightclub
Shootout between two groups ends with woman dead
BY AIDAN McCAHILL
Staff writer
One woman was killed and five others were wounded early Sunday morning when gunfire erupted near a nightclub on South Choctaw Drive in Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge police detained at least three people but have not filed charges Investigators also recovered 160 shell casings, eight vehicles and at least six firearms
Baton Rouge Police Chief
Thomas Morse said the violence began as a fistfight among a group of women who had just left an after-hours venue known as The Big Blue House
About 1:30 a.m., as the altercation escalated in a parking lot near the club, Morse said, a group of men became involved and began exchanging gunfire. A Baton Rouge police officer who was in the area heard the shots. After arriving at the gunfight, he fired at an assailant armed with a rifle, but only struck the vehicle the shooter was using for cover, Morse said.
The officer then called for backup, and the gunfire stopped after additional authorities arrived.
“He very heroically intervened,” Morse said of the officer “He was able to prevent more victims.”
East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services transported one victim to a hospital, while other victims were driven in private vehicles.
Morse noted The Big Blue House, at the intersection of South Choctaw and Acadian Thruway, has drawn police attention in recent weeks due to late-night crowds in the surrounding streets The establishment does not have a permit to sell alcohol, the police chief said, and the owner has reportedly been uncooperative with authorities in the past. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Violent Crimes Unit at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
Perhaps the worst event was April 24, the start of Festival International de Louisiane in downtown Lafayette, when 7 inches of rain fell in only three hours, flooding several businesses and apartments.
That amount of rain in three hours is classified as a 200-year storm and is “beyond what you can design for” as a flash flood event, Public Works Director Warren Abadie said. LCG was inundated with 120 phone calls about the flooding, he said, most of which concentrated in downtown, Lafitte’s Landing, Our Lady Queen of Peace, Bonin Road
and streets around Pinhook Road.
The calls included 18 reporting water flooding homes, Smith said, as well as 43 reporting blockages, 23 reporting yard flooding and 22 reporting street flooding.
Five residents reported to LCG the week of May 5-9 that their homes flooded because of rainfall and one reported home flooding from the June 13 rainfall, Smith said.
Flooding affects all areas of the city and parish, City Council Chair Kenneth Boudreaux said at a meeting Tuesday, asking staff for an update on work on drainage projects.
There’s still a good bit of work
to do on channels, Smith said. It’s a slow process that requires working on private property so certain protocols and procedures are necessary There are channels, he said, that haven’t been cleaned in years “There is no one project that’s going to fix our issues,” Chief Administrative Officer Rachel Godeaux said.
Six projects are under construction for a cost of about $82.3 million. They include the Bayou Vermilion flood control project, an umbrella for individual projects like Homewood Detention Ponds and Coulee Ile Des Cannes, as well as Vermilion River spot dredging, downtown drainage inlet installation, River Oaks subdivision detention, Millcreek drainage and local-
ized flooding mitigation.
LCG, Godeaux said, is applying for hazard mitigation funding and other funding to elevate and buy out homes that have repetitively flooded.
The upcoming budget proposal for 2025-26 will include drainage funding for “creative” approaches, she said.
TOP: Maranda Johnson, right, and her daughter Malania, 3, pick blackberries Sunday at Robin Farms, a 42-acre produce farm halfway
Church Point and Lawtell in St. Landry Parish.
ABOVE: Sunflowers wait to be cut at Robin Farm. RIGHT: Blackberries wait to ripen to be
Celebration returns to downtown Lafayette
BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
Lafayette Parish
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP
Congress gettingrid of safeguards to preventfraud
We voters have aright to expect the federal government —indeed, all government agencies —to eliminate waste, fraud andcorruption.
But it seems to me thatWashington is moving in the opposite direction. Congress is currently considering abill to eliminate the Public Company Accounting OversightBoard.This board was created by Congress after the accounting fraud that ledto the collapse of Enron and WorldCom. All publicly traded companies are required to be auditedannually However,accounting firms are also consulting firms,and thepurpose of the board was to ensure that accounting firms prioritized honestaudits overlucrative business strategy consulting for their clients. Asingle instance can stand for apattern. Laying off IRS staff and firing agency whistleblowers, along with this current proposal, suggests apattern of actually enabling waste, fraud andcorruption.
MARCIA B. COOKE NewOrleans
ICEprotesters nottreated like thoseonJan.6
“They spit, we hit. Nobodyis going to spit on our police officers and military …Weare not going to let our country be torn apart.” These were the words of President Donald Trump regardingthe protesters in Los Angeles. Such ahypocrite. He didn’tfeel thesame way on Jan.6,2021, when protesters were beating the Capitol police on his behalf, spraying them with bear spray, pounding them with fire extinguishers, etc. He even elevated the status of the rioters for those actions by granting themfull pardons. Does he truly believe in law and order? His actions say otherwise. It seems as if he is OK with beating up police officers as long as he stands to gain from such actions. He has done more to tear our country apart than anyone else.
NELL AUCOIN NAQUIN Baton Rouge
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR
AREWELCOME.HEREARE
YOUR VIEWS
Don’tignoreeffects of sugarcaneburning
Each year,large swaths of Louisiana are engulfed in toxic smoke from post-harvest sugar cane burning. Communities suffer in silence while stateleadership looks the other way.Gov.Jeff Landry’scontinued refusal to even form aSugarcane Burning Task Force —despite widespread public support,medical concern and formal calls to action —isa dereliction of duty.
Acoalition of residents, health experts, environmental advocates and civil society organizations issued apublic news release months ago calling on Landry to createthe task force. To date, the governor has refused to even acknowledge it, offering no statement,nodialogue and no explanation. Meanwhile, the smokecontinues to wreak havoc. Each burn season, families suffer from increased asthma attacks, chronic coughing,hospitalizations and exposure to carcinogens like benzene and formaldehyde. Children are kept inside. Seniors struggle to breathe.The evidence is overwhelming: Sugarcane burning is apublic health emergency But this is also apropertyrights issue. Ru-
ral homeowners areforced to shutter their windows, abandon outdoor spaces and endure ash falling on cars, lawnsand rooftops. Thedanger doesn’tstop at the doorstep. Smoke-induced low visibilitycreates lethal driving conditions. In 2008, my father,John Achee Sr., was killed in acrash caused by cane smoke. In 2022, Addis police officer Erin Lapointdied in asimilar tragedy.These are not flukes —they are preventabledeaths, and they demand aresponse Formingatask force costs nothing. It doesn’tban burning or impose rules. It simply brings stakeholders together to examine facts and explore alternatives. The governor’srefusal to take this modest, good-faith step suggestsdeep indifference to the people he was elected toserve.
We deserve agovernment that protects its people —not one that ignores their cries for help. Landry must stop stonewalling and immediately form the SugarcaneBurning Task Force. Every day of silence puts morelives, lungs and livelihoods at risk.
JOHN ACHEEJR. CitizensAgainst Agricultural Field Burning
Medicaid expansionhas worked forLouisiana,solet’s notturnback
We are approaching the 10-year anniversary of Louisiana’sMedicaid expansion.
Sincethe early 2010s,our uninsured rate has droppedfromover 22 percent to around 10 percent.More than 600,000 people now have coverage for the first time.
In 2016, Gov.John Bel Edwards signed the expansion,helping working families who earned too much for traditional Medicaid but could not afford private insurance. Today, 1.6million Louisianans rely on Medicaid. It brings over $14 billion in federal funding andkeepsrural hospitals open. That progressisnow at risk.
to parentsofteenagers even though mostrecipients already work or care forloved ones.
This is not apolitical fight. It is about protectingwhat works. Medicaid expansion has reduced emergency room visits, stabilized healthproviders and supported working families.
Opinions bringTrump administration’s actions into focus
Twoletters from your opinion page May 24 stand out. One was ahilarious satirical look at President Donald Trump’sfirst 100 days by Josh Mayer,ofNew Orleans, while the other,written by Dudley Garidel, of Baton Rouge, equates Christianity to enforcing immigration laws.
Mayer details the incompetence of the secretary of defense, the “on again, off again tariff strategy” of the president and how he has liquidated muchfrom the financial markets, and chaos at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Garidel cites the Bible to justify enforcing immigration laws in the manner the president is doing such. He writesthat those deported are not being imprisoned at the request of the U.S. He writesthat it is the choice of the leader of El Salvador, but it is our government that is paying him to house these deportees. Our immigration laws must be enforced, but it must be done the right way with respect for due process. Mistakes have been made, and it’s possible some U.S. citizens maybe among those incarcerated. Ifeel for the family of Laken Riley,but would Jesus approve of the waythis is being carried out? Garidel states we are aChristian nation, but we do not have anational religion. We’re a secular nation.
The folly of this administration was on display recently when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noemcouldn’texplain what “habeas corpus” is at acongressional hearing. The IRS nominee was cited for selling fraudulent tax credits. Under oath, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he knew nothing of the dinner for the 200 largest Trump meme coin investors, even though it’sbeen all over the news. What we have is a culture of corruption.
V. DUNCAN Lafayette
La.taxpayermoney
should notgo to rich Saudis fora golf tournament
OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE
Amongother things, theSenate version of the “OneBig Beautiful Bill” would cut $715 billion fromMedicaid and also reduce fundingfor provider taxes and supplementalhospital payments.That threatens rural health care. It also expands strict work requirements
At theLouisiana Center for Health Equity, we launched LA40by2030 to raise our health ranking from 50thto40th by 2030. That goal depends on maintaining the coverage we fought for Iurge all Louisianans tocontact Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy and Reps. Steve Scalise, Clay Higgins,Mike Johnson and Julia Letlow today Askthem to votenoonMedicaid cuts and so much more. We can’tafford to lose the progress we’ve made.
FREDERICK BELL boardmember,Louisiana Centerfor Health Equity
As acombat veteran of Vietnam, Iwas eagerly looking forward to an amazing spectacle of American might in theArmyanniversary parade The Russian,Chinese and NorthKoreans each paradetheir forces to impress the world in near-perfect synchronization. Iwas disappointedtothe point of embarrassment
to see manyofour Army units march out of step like aragtag group going to the store. Were they not cognizant that they werebeing watched by the world? Some of those gruntscouldn’tscare aGirl Scout troop.
Iamvehemently opposed to allocating $7 million of hardworking Louisiana taxpayers’ money to the Saudi Arabian LIVgolf tournament. Saudi Arabia? Really? The country ruled by authoritarian Mohammed bin Salman, whoina2021 report by the CIAwas found to have ordered the brutal assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Is that the kind of country Louisiana taxpayers should give money to? Louisiana lawmakers are so quick to spend our tax dollars on anything that benefits the few at the expense of the many. Iwonder what quid pro quo the governor and state lawmakers think the president will be delighted to offer them forbringing his Saudi friends’ golf tournament to the state. Money given to and brought in from that country has blood on it. It would be better to allocate the $7 million to what would truly help our state; forinstance, the University of New Orleans (the vast majority of graduates stay in Louisiana and add billions, not millions, to our economy), infrastructure projects or water quality projects in rural communities.
KATHY HIGGINS Metairie
CHARLES
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Sugar cane fields
COMMENTARY
INTELLIGENTLIFE
Nice! We received 692 entries in this week’s Cartoon Caption Contest. Frompizza to politicstopotholes, this was aparticularly funnygroup of punchlines to read through. Our winner brought it down to Earth with alocal problem that even AI would struggle with.Funnystuff! As always, when we have duplicate entries,and we always do, we pick theearliest sent in. —Walt
Charlotte Humphries,Hammond: “I guess theygaveuponthe real thing.”
Michele Starnes, Kenner: “Does this mean they’ll finally figure out howtofolda fitted sheet?”
John Weger, Baton Rouge: “Their politicians aren’t using thisyet!
Howard W. Streiffer,Metairie: “Maybe now they will finally figure out howto fixtheir potholes!”
RichardRobbins, New Orleans: “So, building the airportaccess ramp after the newairportopened was the result of normal intelligence?”
StuartClark, Lafayette: “I’ll believe it when the stop buying $8 lattes while complaining about high gasprices.”
Jim Williamson, Mandeville: “Weshould have neverallowedElon to go there!!”
RogerLehman, Lafayette: “They mightas well, their natural intelligence isn’t doing so well for them!”
Charles Riddle III, Marksville: “After watching this Louisiana Legislature, they sure could use some AI!”
John Fos, St.George: “This allstarted when youdivorced Siri and she movedtoEarth.
John Hanley,Baton Rouge: “Sounds great. But have youseen their tax forms?”
Peacemaking effortsinvite more chaos
While the nation braced to see what would happen next in Los Angeles, recently asurprising message appeared on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account.
GinaVillavaso,New Orleans: “I wonderif their AI can helpthem figure out whythey keep putting pineapple on their pizza.”
ErinO’Sullivan Fleming,RiverRidge: “Look, they finally learned our language.We can plan our next vacation there.”
Faye Coorpender,Baton Rouge: “Well, that ought to be an improvement!”
Tracey Rathcke, Baton Rouge: “Ohthat explains aLOT!” Michael J. Fontenot, Hammond: “Don’t worry—they’re planning to ban artificial ingredients.”
GrantLandry, New Orleans: “Thepyramids, Stonehenge,now this… when we will get credit!”
SamJohnson, Zachary: “I think we are safe… theyare asking about Jell-O Shots!!”
ZoeZimmermann (eighth grade), Richmond,Texas: “But canit find my keys and phone?”
Duke Rivet,Baton Rouge: “Reminds me of the song –‘Ain’tnothing likethe real thing.’”
Bob Baggs,Mandeville: “CouldbeanAI generated story…”
LouieLudwig,New Orleans: “Obviously.”
Rosalie Abadie,Terrytown: “Doesthat mean, they’ll be ableto find the LSU games on their TVs?”
DavidDelgado, New Orleans: “What can youexpect of creatures with only twoarms and twoeyes?!
MikeDauterive, Covington: “Smile so we canpost thistoSpacebook!”
TerryJ.Meyer Jr., Kenner: “All of us definitelyneed to keep aCOUPLE of eyes on them.
Sherry M. Reed, Metairie: “Nosurprise, all their intelligence is artificial.
Frank Vicidomina, Metairie: “Astheyused to sayonMercury,‘this is goingtobeahot mess!
Betty Bordelon, Kenner: “Well, theyalready have artificialsweeteners,hip replacement and Astroturf,sowhy not…?”
‘Junkscience’convictsaninnocentman
On April 25, Judge Alvin Sharp of the 4th Judicial District in Ouachita Parish set aside the murder conviction of Jimmie “Chris” Duncan, who has spent 27 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Duncan was convicted of the 1993 drowning death of 2-year-old Haley Oliveaux, the daughter of his then-girlfriend.
The court confirmed what we have knownall along. Duncanis innocent —the victim of seriously bad lawyering, prosecutorial misconduct and, most apparently, invalidated “junk” science.
of Medical Examiners’ refusal to certify any pathologist performing more than 350 annual autopsies.
John Grisham GUEST COLUMNIST
That Duncan is still on death rowas I write (because the state’sappeals aren’t yet exhausted) is afurther travesty of justice and even more so given that the state of Louisiana seems intent on keeping him there —despite theweightof evidence supporting his innocence. Duncan was convicted almost solely on the wholly fabricated theories of two notorious forensic experts —pathologist Steven Hayne and odontologist Michael West, who peddled atheory known as bite mark analysis.The discredited theory held that it was possible to identify the perpetrator of acrime by matchingtheir teeth and bite to body wounds. It became popularafter thetrial of TedBundy when jurors heard that amark found on oneof his victims matched his crooked teeth
During the era in which Duncanwas convicted, West crisscrossed thecountry offering expert and well-compensated testimony for prosecutors keen to solve what were often violent crimes. But even as the celebrity of West was on the rise, the cracks in the theory were beginning to appear as the trail of wrongful convictions attributable to him and Steven Hayne became manifest.
Since 2000, at least seven people have been exonerated after courts found serious flaws associated withWest’s bite mark evidence. The same is true for the reputation of his business partner Hayne, who was performing over 1,200 autopsies ayear despite the National Association
Hayne’sconveyor belt approach to forensic analysis resulted in shocking miscarriages of justice, including at least three wrongful capital convictions that he and West worked on together
Duncan’scase is perhaps the most glaring example of how these “expert” opinions can condemninnocentmen.West is on video forcibly pushing amold of Duncan’steeth into Haley’sbody —actually creating the “bite marks” later “matched” to Duncan’steeth and wielded bythe state against him. What’s more, the state hid theastonishing video from thejury and its testifying expert who, without ever seeing how themarks were actually made, unsurprisingly found“bite marks that matched Duncan’s dentition.”
Added to that, Hayne, who could not pass the credentialing testfor forensic pathologists, told thejury without equivocation that the evidence proved thatDuncan hadanally raped and forcibly drowned the child in the bathtub. Yet, no blood or semen was found at the scene or in the “rape kit” and Hayne failed to preserve anyofthe evidence that would allow independent analysis of his autopsy report. This shoddy and fraudulent work turned atragic accident into asensational rape and murder —and not,asI’ve said, for the first time. Ihave been aware of Hayne and West formanyyears, and have watched as Innocence Project attorneys fought tirelessly to free the innocent people they condemned to prison and deathrow.Most recent is the case of Eddie Lee Howard, whowas on death rowinMississippi’s infamous Parchman Prison. Howard had beenconvicted of the murder of 84-yearold Georgia Kemp, who had been stabbed to death andher house set on fire. Howard, who had no connection to Kemp,was convicted based solely on supposed bite mark evidence produced
by West.But it was only after autopsy and burial of Kemp’sremains that Hayne claimed there might have been bite marks on the body.Kemp’sbody was exhumed and West was called in to examine theremains with anew ultraviolet light technique he was touting. Despite no documentation of the injuries, West claimed that he “discovered” three bitemarks and matched them all to Howard’steeth. Howard —just like Duncan —always maintained his innocence and, just as in Duncan’scase, the conviction rested entirely on the say-so of Hayne andWest. Finally,in2021, after many appeals and legal motions, Howard was fully exonerated thanks in part to thetesting of DNA evidence from the crime scene
The harm and thedamage caused by this chicanery posing as scienceisimmeasurable —years lost by innocent people behind bars, lives, families and communities torn apart and crimes essentially unsolved.
Indeed, there have now been 39 wrongful convictions and indictments attributable to the use of “bite mark” evidence, and four separate scientific reports condemning theuse of such evidence, most recently by theNational Institute of Standards and Technology
Clearly,wehave to do better
Butthe truthisthat every single case touched by Hayne and West and every single conviction connected to them lacks integrity.The notion that Duncan could be put to deathonthe basisofjunk science peddled by these “experts” fora crime that never occurred is anathema to any sense of fundamental fairness. It really is time to clean up our criminal legal system and tohold every part of it to the highest possible standards of justice and fairness. As astart, Iurge the stateofLouisiana to do theright thing and free an innocent man from death row.Send Jimmie “Chris” Duncan home today
John Grisham is abest-sellingauthor and amember of the board of the Innocence Project
Aday after videos emerged of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents chasing after terrified farmworkers trying to hide in California fields, the president suggested in the Truth Social post that he might not fully pursue his corepolicy proposal of mass deportation after all. Or so it seemed.
Acloser reading revealed his sympathy was directed not so muchtoward the workers as toward the agricultural industry and his fellow members of the managerialand ownership class —the bosses who needed the labor that undocumented workers disproportionately provide.
“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,” he posted.
To underscore how muchofachange of tone this represents, recall the language he used in 2015 at Trump TowerinNew York to announce his first campaign to spin up fear, loathing and resentment as if he was ready to invade Mexico.
“When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity,” he said. “And now they are beating us economically.They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.”
If you’re inclined to shrug this off with something like, “Oh, that’sjust Trump being Trump,” perhaps repeated exposure to his rhetorical excesses has caused you, like many of the rest of us, to normalize his xenophobia and racism.
So now the president is concerned that ICE immigration raids are hurting American farming.
Right, as Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s“Late Night” quipped. “I hope he finds who is responsible for that policy.” Indeed. It’snot like Trump is unaware that farmers form akey MAGA voting bloc.It’s not like he’snever heard of the hospitality industry.Heisintimately aware of its enormous immigrant labor force that goesback decades.
Instead of acknowledging any negative outcomes to his own decisions, Trump did whatpoliticians often do in apinch: He made promises that, if necessary,can easily be forgotten or denied.
In anews conference later that day,Trump had this to say: “Our farmers are being hurt badly by,you know,they have very good workers, they have worked forthem for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be, you know,great. And we’re going to have to do something about that. We can’ttake farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don’thave maybe what they’re supposed to have,maybe not.”
I’m sure Trump thought this would sound to some like agenuine peacemaking gesture But by now we all ought to recognize the transactional subtext of such statements. I might have my agents fan out through the country,breaking up families and destroying lives and businesses, or maybe not! It depends on how muchtheir employers mean to me
But before his faint praise for hard-working migrants had achance to soften the appalling face of his deportation policy,Trump was upstagedatanother event.
Federal agents manhandled Sen. AlexPadilla, aCalifornia Democrat, out of the room in Los Angeles where Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was speaking to reporters and as military troops were patrolling downtown L.A. streets in response to unrest fomented by Noem’sdepartment’spolicies. Padilla interrupted the event to ask her a policy question regarding the sweeps of allegedly undocumented workers, but before he could ask it, he was shoved down onto his knees and handcuffed.
As an old political expression goes, it was not agood look —and Noem did notsound very congenial.
“Weare not going away,” she said, referring to the National Guard and DHS presence in Los Angeles amid protests against Trump’ssweeping and drastic deportation missioninthe city
“Weare staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and whatthey have tried to insert into the city.”
Wasthis aHomeland Security speechora political speech? And what“burdensome leadership” did she have in mind?
Los Angeles and the rest of us don’tneed more burdens. We need to give peacea chance. But peace is not what Trump and Noemhave in mind forthe blue states and blue cities of America. Ithink Padilla could confirm that.
Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@ gmail.com.
WINNER: Ken Adatto, NewOrleans
Clarence Page
Identity questionsloomasUNO mulls‘rebrand’
Ashift to LSU system could bring back LSUNOname
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
On awintry day in 1969, thousands of Louisiana State University in New Orleans students crammed intothe library where the letters “LSUNO” had been strung across ahallway.
As student bodypresident Malcom Earhardt gavean impassioned speech, someone snipped off the Land S, whichcame “clattering down to wildapplause,” according to Times-Picayune reports at the time.
“As part of the (LSU) board’ssystem, we find ourselves continually used as apolitical football,” Earnhardt told the crowd. “As students, we simply do not belong there.”
The school known today as the University of New Orleans began life as part of the LSU system. After yearsofrallies and student advocacy,itwas renamed UNO in 1974. In 2011, amid tensions betweenLSU and UNOleadership,the university left LSU’soversight entirely.
Nearly 60 years later, UNO is on the precipiceof reverting to that system and, possibly,tothe LSUNO name.
Abill that would shift UNO from the University of Louisiana systembackto LSU is headed to Gov.Jeff Landry to be signed into law,though it still needs approval from UNO’saccreditation agency. Supportersofthe move sayit could bolster enrollment and help the beleaguered university weather its current financial storm
But it’sunclearwhat the shiftwill mean for UNO’s identity.Will it retainits name andcontinuetobethe silver and blue Privateers, whichstudentsfought for in the 1970s to differentiate themselves from the Baton Rouge campus? Or willit adopt LSU’spurple and gold and assimilate more fully into that system?
To some, including state SenatePresident Cameron Henry,a“rebrand” could help align UNO with the state flagship, where enrollment is on the upswing, and attract more students.
“It’sstruggling,” Henry said last week after the bill to enact theshift cleared afinal legislative hurdle “It’sgot good bones; it just needsaface-lift.”
But others fear thatmerging UNO’sidentity with thatofLSU would alienate some of the school’s80,000 alumni.
“There arebiggerfish to fry,”said Pierre Champagne, whograduated from UNOin1976, “but how do we include those who have come before and their emotional connection to the university?”
Gov. John J. McKeithen addresses students at Louisiana State University in NewOrleans in 1960. After years of rallies and student advocacy,the school wasrenamed the University of NewOrleans in 1974. In 2011, the university left LSU’soversight entirely.Now,itisonthe
What’s in aname?
UNO President Kathy Johnsonsaiddetaileddecisions about the transition, including apossible rebranding, have notyet beenmade.
“Any future considerations —whether academic, operational, or symbolic —will be guidedby acollaborative approach to what’sbestfor ouruniversity communityand our city,” she said in an email.
“Mostofall, we remain deeplycommitted to our mission: providinghighquality,affordable,and accessible education while supporting the economic andcultural vitalityofthe Greater New Orleans region.
In an interviewlast week, interim LSU President Matt Leedeclined to say whether aprospective UNOstudent should buy silver and blue or purple and gold, but notedthat “the LSU brand is strong, andthere’sa lot of advantages to being affiliated with theLSU brand.”
The universityhas faced similar questionsinthe past.
It wasfounded as LouisianaState University in New Orleans in 1956.
Abouta decade later,students voted for UNO’sdistinctcolorsand mascot, a swashbuckling figure who at timeswears an eye patch andwieldsacutlass.
In 1973, student body presidentBob Caluda made acasefor whyUNO needed its own name and identity.Hetold theTimesPicayune thatNew Orleanianscouldn’t relatetoan institution whose name was tacked on to LSU, andthey often mixed it up withits Baton Rougecounterpart.
“Every aspect of thetwo campuses is different,but thenames get it confused,” Caluda said at thetime.
In1974, after then-Gov
Edwin Edwards made a personal plea to LSU’s board, the name was changedtoUNO.Thatled to afire sale at the bookstore, which advertised “LSUNO sweatshirts, jackets, decals, pennantsand ashtrays 30%off.”
Despite the namechange, UNO remained part of the LSU system fornearly four more decades, before it was movedtothe University of Louisiana system in 2011.
Apossiblerebrand
Sincethen, UNO’s enrollment has declined from apeak of around 17,000 students in theyears before HurricaneKatrinato about6,000 today.University leaders have blamed the drop-off for the school’s deficit, whichstate officials saidearlier this year could be as high as $30 million.
Sen. Henry noted that LSU’sBaton Rouge campus is bursting at the seams with students, including many from other states. Those students often pay highertuitionthan in-state students
“If we could give these students the option to go to LSUNew Orleans, we might be able to help in-
SATURDAY,JUNE 21, 2025 PICK 3:
crease the student count at UNO,” Henry said,“which is what they definitely need.”
Todd Woodward, LSU’s vice presidentofmarketing and communications, said that the university is “breaking enrollment records” at all of itscampuses. Some students who don’tmeet academic requirements for theBaton Rouge campus are offered admission to Alexandria and Eunice campuses, he said,notingthatabout 300 out-of-state students accepted thoseoffers last year Woodward said the transition committee has not
yet formed, and it would be tooearly to speculate about how UNO’scampus could take on some of those students Josh Trochez, who was recently reelected as UNO’sstudent body president, saidhedidn’tfeel strongly about aname change and suspected that people would continue to call UNO by that name even if the Land Swere reattached.
Trochez, who is pursuing amasters of public administration,acknowledged that some may have concerns about the school losing its identity as “theNew Orleans university.”
“UNO is aweird and wacky place in aweird
and wackycity,” he said. “At the endofthe day, UNO is so unique that they wouldn’t be able to touch it, and Idon’tthink they want to.”
Frederick Quinn, who graduated from UNOin December,said he supported the move to the LSU systemifitmeant financial security,adding thatsome classesheneeded to graduateweren’toffered every semesterand campus food spots were often closed Buthewas hesitant about changing its nametoincorporate LSU. “Ifitdoes rebrand, it may lose itsidentityasaninstitution,” he said, “and UNO is an institution to be proud of.”
UNDISPUTED
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
OMAHA, Neb — To call anything a dynasty requires a certain level of consistent, championship excellence.
The Boston Celtics in the 60s, New York Yankees in the 90s and UConn women’s basketball in the 2010s certainly fit the description LSU winning five national championships in 10 years under Skip Bertman definitely qualifies.
Coach Jay Johnson’s Tigers aren’t quite there yet, but what LSU accomplished Sunday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field was remarkable nevertheless and potentially the beginning of another baseball dynasty in Baton Rouge.
For the eighth time in program history, and for the second time in three seasons, LSU won the national championship The Tigers took down Coastal Caro-
lina 5-3 in Game 2 of the College World Series final to secure the 2025 title.
“Unbelievable. I’m so proud right now,” Johnson said. “It’s not to be taken for granted being here two years ago. That was special. Greatest night of my life. “This is equal and maybe even tops it in some ways.”
The win secured Johnson’s second title in four years at LSU, making him the first coach in college baseball history to accomplish that feat at the same school.
The Tigers did it despite bringing back just 12 players who appeared in a game from last year’s team, adding 12 players from the transfer portal, three junior-college recruits and 10 freshmen in the offseason.
“We (added) really talented freshmen ...,” Johnson said. “In a month’s time, we were able to add Chris (Stanfield) We were able to add Anthony (Eyanson),
Zac Cowan, Luis Hernandez, Danny Dickinson to those 12 guys who were the right 12 guys.”
With the score tied 1-1, the fourth inning proved to be the difference between a coronation and a Game 3 on Monday The Tigers scored four runs on a walk, a hit by pitch and four singles to take a 5-1 lead. Sophomore Jake Brown led off with a walk before a single from junior Jared Jones and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for the junior Stanfield.
Stanfield, who entered Sunday’s game with just two hits in 13 at-bats in the College World Series, shot a single into left field that drove in two runs and gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
“I went up there with a clear mind, and like Chase (Shores) said, I was just trying to do it for the guys,” Stanfield said. “It was 1-1 at the time. I knew if I came through, it would put us on top.”
ä See LSU, page 3C
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
LSU center fielder Chris Stanfield, right, celebrates with catcher Luis Hernandez as they both score on a two-run single by left fielder Derek Curiel in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the College World Series finals against Coastal Carolina on Sunday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb LSU scored four runs in the decisive inning and won 5-3 to earn its second title under coach Jay Johnson in four years.
2025 COLL WORLDSERIES LEGE W
STANDARD PROTECTION
This team measures up to LSU’s towering expectations in everyway
OMAHA, Neb.— Raise another flag in Championship Plaza. Add another monument,too. Update The Intimidatorbillboard while you’re at it.
The Tigers are heading home with their eighth College World Series title, clinched Sunday with a5-3 victory over Coastal Carolina.
abject failure. On some message boards,it’sreason enough to fire the coach
When you get here and accomplish this much, naturally there is ahierarchy of greatness. This LSU baseball team will forever drawcomparisons to the 2023
Check mymath because I’m a writer,but five plus three equals eight, right? How fitting. It also equals one other thing: GRE8TNESS.
These are the kings of college baseball, once again and forall time. Sure, LSU is still chasing Southern California and its12 titles, but this is the best program ever.Eight championships since 1991, won in amuch more competitive era than when theTrojans won most of theirs. More success brings more pressure, too.When you go to LSU to play baseball, everyone knows the standard.
Making it here to the College World Series is the minimum. Winning it all is the expectation Murray State could go home from Omaha 0-2 still havingsecured its greatest season ever For LSU, an 0-2 triphere is an
Continued from page1C
After asacrifice bunt and a pop-up, freshman Derek Curielwalked to the plate with tworunners in scoring position and hit another two-run single that stretched LSU’s advantage to four
His hit forced Coastal Carolina ace right-hander Jacob Morrison out of the game. Morrison had not allowedfive runs in an outing this season before LSU did the trick in 32/3 innings.
“I was just looking for a pitch up in the zone that I can smash up the middle, juststay true to myself,” Curiel said. “And whenI’m at my best, I’m hitting balls up the middle, and I’m on time with the pitch and getting my pitch. And he ended up leaving thatslider alittle too long,and (I) just put it right back through.”
As the Tigers werechasing Coastal’sace, LSU junior right-handed starterEyanson kept the Chanticleers at bay Aweather delay that lasted through Monday night and into Tuesday morning had limited Eyanson to just three innings in Omaha before Sunday.His lack of exposure to the Charles Schwab Field mound did not affecthis outing.
Eyanson allowedthree earned runs in 61/3 innings, strikingout nine and surrendering seven hits. He cruised through the first six innings before allowing atwo-run homerun to center fielder Wells Sykes that snuck over the left-center field wall in the seventh.
The blast cut LSU’slead to 5-3and hadthe Tigers (53-15) turning to their bullpenafter Eyanson recorded aflyout to center field. He was replaced by redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores, who forced a groundout and strikeout to end the seventh.
“There’sone guy asummer in this crazy new world that we’re living in that you know is going to tip the scales for you to have an opportunity to be here and do what we just accomplished,” Johnson said, “and that was Anthony Eyanson.” Shores was far from finished after the seventh. He struck out two more before getting agroundouttosec-
CWSchampions,astar-studded team led bythe toptwo picks in that year’s MLB draft —Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews —plus gold chain-bedecked slugger Tommy White. That team got pounded in the secondgame of the CWS final 24-4 by Florida but came backtodosome pounding of its own in Game 3, 18-4. It probably would have taken the 2025 LSU team an entire seven-game World Series to score 18 runs off of this Coastal Carolina staff. This LSU team did it differently: great pitching, superb defense and just enough timely hitting (six runs in these twochampionship games)toget the jobdone. If greatness is the standard, this team more than measures up.
One of Johnson’s favorite coachingaxioms is to control what you cancontrol.That was put to the sternest test when craziness broke outinthe bottom of the first inning.
Coastal Carolinacoach Kevin Schnall and first-base coach Matt Schilling both were ejected for extendedarguing. Schnall charged outofthe dugout waving threefingers at home plateumpireAngel Campos,indicating that he already
ond base to get the Tigers withinthree outsofanational championship.
To start the ninth inning, Shores allowed asingle to designated hitterDean Mihos. He would bear down after thehit,forcinga strikeout and getting a4-6-3 double play to send his teammates into afrenzy
“There’snobody Iwould have rather had finish the game tonightfor thesecond national championship than Chase Shores,” Johnson said.
Thelonerun Eyansonallowed before the seventh came in the second inning on asolo home run by Mihos. The bomb to left field gave Coastal Carolina (5613)a1-0 lead,but it didn’t last long.
With two outs in thethird inning,junior Ethan Frey ripped adouble intoleftcenter to score junior Daniel Dickinson and tie thegame. Dickinson finished the game with two hits despite playing with abrokenhamate bone in his lefthand, Johnson revealed afterward.Itwas an injury he had been playing with since thefirstgameofthe NCAA Tournament
Dickinsonsaidafter the game that he plans to have surgery Tuesday
“Danny is probablythe star,the guy that we brought in.And theperson just far exceedsthe player.He’sso competitive,”Johnson said. “He’sbeen playing with a broken hand since the first game of the NCAATournament. ListentowhatI just said.”
No runscame across in the first inning, but there were plentyoffireworks.
With two outs andarunner at second base in the bottom of thefirst, Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall took a few steps beyond the dugout. Hewas arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Angel Campos. Campos didn’thaveany patience for Schnallonthis day.Tothe shock of many,he quickly ejected the Chanticleers coach before Schnall
LSU catcher Luis Hernandez, left, runs to right-handed pitcher Chase Shores in celebration as the Tigers defeatCoastal Carolina to win their eighth national title on Sunday in Game 2ofthe CollegeWorld Series finals in Omaha, Neb
had missedthree pitches. The controversy never will subside over whether Campos should have run Schnall or given him morecushion in such an important game. Every baseball coach knows you can’targue balls and strikes. Maybe Schnall should have been given another chance —though Campos appeared to warn him at least three times but acoach definitely should not put his team in such adifficult spot in such an important game. What’s true always in sports definitely was true Sunday for Schnall and Coastal: If you put
yourself in position to get shafted by theofficials, that’sexactly what might happen.
The ejections also were adisruption for the Tigers, whofell behind the Chanticleers 1-0 in the second as ahome run by Dean Mihos rode the wind and just cleared the fence in the left-field corner.But LSU quickly tied it in the third on an RBI double by Ethan Frey,then poured on four moreruns capped by atwo-run single by Chris Stanfield that put theTigers up 5-1. Coastal, to its credit, wouldn’t go away.LSU chased formerly
jogged to home plateto argue with Campos some more.
“I’m 48 years old. I shouldn’t get shooed by another grown man. WhenI walk out to find out what thewarning is, agrown man shooed me,” Schnall said.
“At that point,Ican now hear him say,‘It was awarning issued for arguing balls and strikes.’ At thatpoint, Isaid,‘because you missed three.’Atthatpoint, ejected
“If that warrants an ejection,I’m the first one to stand here like aman and apologize. Twowords that define our program are ‘own it.’ Andwhat does that mean? It means youhave to own everything that you do withoutblame,without defending yourself, without excuses.”
The extensive quarrel resulted in Schnall earning a two-game ban. Had there been aGame 3, Schnall would nothavecoached the winner-take-all affair
“If youguys watch the video, therewas aguy that came in extremely aggressively,trippedover Campos’ foot, embarrassed in front of 25,000, immediatelygoes two-game suspension, and said, ‘Bumping the umpire immediately does that,’ “ Schnall said. “There was no bump.
“He was embarrassed.I shouldn’tbeheld accountable for agrown man’sathleticism. They’llretract it, though,becausenow it’s excessive, and the reason it was excessive was because Iwas trying to say,I didn’t
bumphim.”
First-base coach Matt Schilling also would have been suspendedfor Game 3 after he was ejected shortly after Schnall was dismissed from thegame. With Schnall no longercalling the shots, assistantheadcoach Chad Oxendine became the acting head coach.
“It is what it is. Butifthat warranted an ejection, man, there would be alot of ejections,” Schnall said. “As an umpire,Ifeel like it’syour jobtomanage thegame, the national championship game,with some poise, some calmness and alittle bit of tolerance.”
After its big fourthinning, theLSU batsfell silent.The Tigers had no hits from innings five through seven and failed to put arunner in scoring position.
LSU finishedthe afternoon 3for 8withrunnersinscoring positionand 5for 15 with two outs. Frey andDickinson werethe only Tigers with multiple hits.
But the only numberthat matters now is eight. The LSUTigersare national champions once again.
“I’ve never seen ateam more mentally tough and consistent,”Johnson said “Wewentthrough probably the hardest schedule in college baseball,and we had one hiccup —one. Alittle speedbumpatAuburn. But other than that,theydominated theseason and they dominated the schedule.”
Email Koki RileyatKoki Riley@theadvocate.com
unbeaten Chanticleers ace Jacob Morrison in the fourth inning, after he allowed his mostruns this season, but the bullpen held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.
That leftituptoEyanson and LSU’s one reliever,Chase Shores. He came on in the seventh throwing full-throttle 100 mphgas to get the last eight outs. The game was capped by adouble play hit to second baseman Daniel Dickinson, whoJohnson revealed after the gamehad been playing with abroken hamate bone since the first gameofthe Baton Rouge regional.
Holy Warren Morris, Batman.
This was ateam that Johnson had to piece together after LSU returned only 12 players from the 2024 team that came within arun of hosting asuper regional last year with atough loss at North Carolina. He wasonthe phone incessantly,with ahard to beat pitch fortransfer portal guys such as Stanfield.
“InJune, he was on the phone with me and said, ‘Doyou want to come play forthe best program in college baseball?’ ”said Stanfield, whotransferred from Auburn. It wasanofferthe center fielder couldn’trefuse.
LSU loses abunch of big-time players fornext year,guys such as Eyanson, slugger Jared Jones and pitcher KadeAnderson, named the Most Outstanding Player of the CWS after giving up one run in twostarts here. The standard doesn’tdrop, though.
“I’m sure next year it’ll be number nine,” Anderson said. Right now,it’shard to argue.
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Scott Rabalais
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
2025 NCAA MEN’S COLLEGEWORLDSERIES CHAMPIONS
TIGERS! RIGE Congrats
CHAMPIONS IN BASEBALL. CHAMPIONS IN HEALTHCARE.
Nowopen
BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer
DowntownBaton Rougejustgot
anew oyster barinthe formerJolie Pearl at 315 NorthBlvd.
BAYES
OYSTER BAR
315 North Blvd., Baton Rouge l
3p.m. to 10 p.m Mondaythrough Thursday, 3p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridayand Saturday
Owner Rick Volland owned Jolie Pearl when it first opened over adecadeago, but he sold the business after afew years. Now,he’sstepping back inwith hisfamily to add BayesOysterBar to their collection of downtown restaurants. Volland also owns Downtown Seafood and Grill, Capital City Grilland Stroubes Seafood and Steaks. Volland and his son/co-owner, Ricky Volland, plantorun Bayes Oyster Bar as an oyster place with asportsbar vibe.Theyopenedon June 16.
UnlikeJolie Pearl, the newrestaurant will have anarrower menu.
“We’re strictly focused on oys-
ters,”Rick Volland said. Oysters are afamily passionfor the Vollands. When they travel, he, his son and his daughter,Ryleigh, love trying oysters in differentrestaurants and bars. BayesinBaton Rouge will have farm-raised Gulf Coast oysters from Topwater OysterCompany in GrandIsle, along with oysters from the East and West coasts. One might think it strange to open up an oyster place in thesummer but Rick Volland is undeterred.People have noted that oysters don’tget as plump in thesummer months, but with farmed-raised oysters, weather and other natural factors aren’tasbig of aconcern.
“They’re alwaysraised in trays off thebottom, so you don’tget any
sediments,”hesaid. “Wepay twice thepriceofa regularoyster,but for me, Ilove oysters year-round.” Ricky Volland recommends that customerstry thebaconand Brie oysters. Therestaurant also hasa screen next to thebar with alivestream of their grill so that patrons can watch their oysters on thegrill.
For nonoyster lovers, there’s the option to substituteany of the bakedorgrilled oysters forshrimp with allthe same toppings and sauces. According to Rick Volland, this menu option wasinspiredby hiswife,Sharon, who, unlike the rest of thefamily,does not care foroysters.
ä See BAYES, page 6C
Howto protectand monitorloved ones during summer
What are some tips in managing someone with Alzheimer’sduring the upcoming summermonths?
The season of summer can bring many challenges for the individual with Alzheimer’sdisease, especially if the individual has ancillary medical conditions. Protective measures and strategies should be in place to manage the summer’shot and humid conditions.
BYMARK KENNEDY
Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and in general, older adults over the age of 65, are moreprone to heat stress because they do not adjust easily to sudden changes in temperature, and because of their chronic medical conditions, their bodies experience different responses to heat. If the individual’senvironmentisnot adequately cooled, he/she could sufferfrom heat stress, knownashyperthermia. Hyperthermia occurs when the body’sheat-regulating system is insufficient in keeping the individual cool. Forms of hyperthermia include fainting, heat cramps, heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Diuretics, sedatives, tranquilizers, and someheart and blood pressure medications can all contribute or put individuals at risk for heat-related stress conditions. With the summer months here, it is agood idea to ensure the air conditioning in the house is functioning properly by having the system checked. If air conditioning is not available, make sure there is adequate air flow by using fans throughout the household. Affected individuals can benefit from participating in asenior center or arespite day program that can provide acool, safe environment, along with amuch needed social setting. Many individuals enjoy sitting outside, but the weather should be monitored to ensure safety for the individual. Even in the shade, the heat can be overcoming. Dehydration is amain concern so fluid intake should be monitored. Take steps in providing liquid throughout the day —six to eight glasses of water or other fluids aday Hydration should be offered at least every two hours, and keep in mind that beverages with sugar and/or caffeine may help to hydrate some, but they are not as effective as low-sugar or low/non-caffeine beverages. Oftentimes, the individual with Alzheimer’s or dementia refuses to drink water.Think of other waysof increasing your loved one’s fluid intake —breakfast cereals with milk, soup, ice pops, watermelon and supplements. Other measures in keeping affected individuals safethis summer include providing cool showers, baths or sponge baths, making doctor’sappointments in the cooler morning hours, and dressing the individual in comfortable, lightweight clothing.
Someform of exercise in the summer months should be scheduled, but try to find
STAFF PHOTOSBySERENAPUANG Bacon and brie oysters are on the menu at Bayes
Thebacon turkey brie sandwichatBayes Oyster Bar comes with Zapp’s chips and MoonPies.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Stick to the facts and refuse to letyouremotional attachmentsleadyou to believe everything you hear. Go the distance and trust yourself; everything will fall into place.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Be observant; listen, learnand look for the best possible choice before you leap into action.Protect your reputation, position, possessions and your cash.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Steadyyour emotions before you raise issues that can influence your position or advancement.You mayseekchange, buthow you go about it will determine the outcome.
LIBRA (Sept.23-Oct. 23) Pay attention to what affects youpersonally. Don't venture intoother people's business if you want to make the mostofyour day. Concentrate on what will makeyour home, family and decisions work.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Address money management, investments and spending habits.Prioritize communication,personal growth andromance,and you'll gaininsight andapprovalfrom those who matter most.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec.21) Influentialpeople will pull youindifferent directions. Tame your emotions, offset anger and proceed witha positive attitude and aplan you candoalone if necessary.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Make fitness, comfort and convenience apriority at home andinpublic. How others per-
ceive youwill influenceyour success. Volunteer your time, notyourmoney, andyou'll maintain control.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Tally up whatthings cost before discussing the changesyou want to make. Buckle up whenfacing oppositionand prepare to respond withfactsand figures thatothers cannot deny.
PISCES (Feb.20-March 20) Keep the changes you want to implement to yourself untilyou have things well underway. Take precautions when dealing with the costs andcontracts you negotiate.
ARIES (March21-April 19) Choose disciplineovertemptation.Look outfor emotional traps that point youinthe wrong direction. Say no to excess andindulgence, andyes to positively impacting your life andothers.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your energy into expanding your mind andpersonal growth andenhancing your life andthe livesofthose youencounter. You can makeadifference if youare positive andproductive.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Don't waste time andenergy networking in the wrong room.Pitchinand help where it will make adifference, and you'll find your comfort zone andpersonal happiness.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms arecreated from quotations by famous people, past and present.Eachletter in the cipher stands for another
TODAy'S CLUE:U EQUALSF
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Saturday’sPuzzleAnswer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
BY PHILLIP ALDER
Last week we looked at the basic elements of Stayman, which looksfor a4-4 major-suit fit. Butsuppose responder hasafive-card major.How does he hunt for a5-3 fit? The best answer is to usetransfers into themajor suits. (Transfers into the minors are so rare that they should be used only by regular or experienced partnerships.)
Whenopenerimmediatelyshowsabalanced hand, if responder bidsdiamonds at theminimumlevel (two diamonds over one no-trumporthree diamonds over two no-trump), it shows five or more heartsand at least zero points. If responder bids hearts at theminimum level, it indicates at least five spades and any point-count.
This allows the strongerhand to becomethe declarer in the major and permitsthe auction to stop quickly when responder is weak.
In this deal, if North-South were not using transfers, aresponse of three hearts would be natural and game-forcing. But when North firstbidsthree diamonds, transfer, he can then pass three hearts when South completes thetransfer(as he must do even with alow doubleton).
How should theplay go in three hearts after West leads the clubqueen?
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: 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,orvulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed.
toDAY’sWoRD sLuMLoRD: SLUM-lord: Alandlordwho receives profits from poorlymaintained properties.
Average mark 15 words
Time limit 20 minutes Can you find19ormore wordsinSLUMLORD?
