The Acadiana Advocate 06-27-2025

GOP spending bill runs afoul of rules

Senate parliamentarian rules against Medicaid proposal

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON

— As U.S. Sen-

ate leaders struggle to find just enough Republicans to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Senate parliamentarian ruled Thursday that some GOP plans to raise billions by reducing Medicaid spending didn’t adhere to the rules the

majority party wants to use to approve the instrument without Democrats.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough shot down the Senate Finance Committee’s proposal to lower how much states could tax hospitals, clinics and other health care providers, which budget hawks championed, and centrist senators opposed.

That proposal had alarmed many Louisiana health care leaders, who feared it could slash budgets for rural hospitals.

The parliamentarian’s decision could delay passage of the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and President Donald Trump have both said they want it to pass by the weekend.

Some Republican hard-liners

demanded MacDonough’s termination. But Louisiana’s two senators, both Republicans, said firing MacDonough isn’t responsible.

“We all have respect for the parliamentarian. I think that she’s very fair and I don’t think that she should be fired nor do I think she will be fired,” Sen. John N. Kennedy of Madisonville, told reporters.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, of Baton Rouge,

“To hear Cajun music here and see them play was just breathtaking.” COLETTE BERNARD, on her visit to Japan

CULTURAL CROSSOVER

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Lafayette native finds links to Louisiana in Japan travels

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

During a trip to Japan this summer, Lafayette native Colette Bernard learned many things about the Japanese culture, including a world in the heart of Tokyo that seemed to parallel south Louisiana Bernard’s official tour guide was her dad’s friend, Kaz Kimuri, who took her to visit a few local spots in Tokyo In the first 24 hours, she found herself at a local bar where band members of the Zydeco Kicks played washboards and accordions while singing zydeco tunes in Japanese all night long. Bernard was mesmerized by the band’s upbeat rhythms and soulful melodies. Her next stop along the vibrant streets of Tokyo was a neighborhood cafe that featured all things Louisiana.

“It was like a crossover of two worlds,” Bernard said. “To hear Cajun music here and see them play was just breathtaking. Then, visiting this cafe after, I was kind of disoriented.”

Walking up to The Creole Coffee Stand in Tokyo, the first thing that caught Bernard’s eye was the Acadiana flag that hung alongside a welcome sign made out of pecan shells, a beloved ingredient in many Louisiana sweet treats. Inside the shop, Louisiana memorabilia hung on the walls and sounds of Clifton Chenier and Rod Bernard, her grandfather were rotating on a record player Bernard said she felt as if she was transported back to Lafayette. Yoshitake Nakabayashi, who is also in a zydeco band, opened the Creole Coffee Stand in December 2012, after losing his job due to a 2011 earthquake in Japan.

“I was at a loss as to what to do, so I thought to myself, ‘I’ll just make what I love into a job’ and opened a shop with

See CULTURAL, page 7A

said: “My position is that cuts, and especially drastic cuts to Medicaid, should be avoided. The Senate bill cuts Medicaid too much I agree with President Trump, the House version is better.”

Their comments align with Louisiana’s hospital community, which has been on Capitol Hill lobbying for changes in the Senate Finance version that conservatives say will generate billions of dollars to offset the costs of Trump’s tax breaks

No misuse of funds for construction bids found

Two employees were placed on leave as investigation carried out

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

An investigation into alleged forged construction bids has not shown a misappropriation or misuse of funds, according to the Lafayette Parish school system. The investigation was launched last month and handed over to the Lafayette Police Department, but at this point, it does not appear funds were misused, district spokesperson Tracy Wirtz told The Acadiana Advocate.

Two employees who work in the LPSS construction, facilities and maintenance department were placed on administrative leave last week as the investigation into the possible forgeries continues, Wirtz said.

LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr was made aware of the possible forgeries in a May 21 letter from Sean Beavers, deputy director of enforcement with the licensing board.

The licensing board was investigating a complaint against Bosco Oilfield Services in Maurice and its work with the district That investigation centered around an August 2024 drainage pipe replacement project worth $74,500 completed by Bosco, which allegedly submitted the lowest bid. It did not have the proper licensing for that project, the licensing board said. LPSS received two other bids for that project, but those companies denied submitting bids.

The owner of Clements Construction in Lafayette, Beavers wrote, which according to LPSS documents bid on the project, “adamantly stated that he did not submit a bid proposal for that project.”

The owner of the third company that allegedly bid on the project, Siema Construction of Scott, also told a state investigator his company applied earlier in the year for LPSS jobs but did not submit this particular bid. He noted that the bid submission format for the drainage project

Colette Bernard poses with Creole Coffee Stand owner yoshitake Nakabayashi during her trip to Japan earlier this month. Louisiana memorabilia hangs inside the Creole Coffee Stand in Japan, owned by yoshitake Nakabayashi.

Death toll from Kenya protests rises to 16

NAIROBI, Kenya The number of Kenyans who died during Wednesday’s nationwide protests over police brutality and bad governance has doubled to 16, according to the state-funded human rights commission.

Property was also destroyed in the protests that attracted thousands of frustrated young Kenyans. At least two police stations were razed down by angry protesters.

Kenyans demonstrated Wednesday in 23 of 47 counties across the country calling for an end to police brutality and better governance. Thousands chanted anti-government slogans, and the protests morphed to calls for President William Ruto to resign.

Many protesters were enraged by the recent death of a blogger in custody and the shooting of a civilian during protests over the blogger’s death.

The country’s interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday assessed damage to businesses in the capital, Nairobi, where goods were stolen from multiple stores. He said police would follow up with owners whose CCTV cameras captured the looters to ensure swift arrests.

Minister Murkomen on Thursday defended the conduct of police officers during the protests, saying the “government has your back.”

Protesters clash, call for ouster of Togo president LOME, Togo Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of Togo’s capital Lomé on Thursday, as President Faure Gnassingbé faced increasing pressure from critics over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely A heavy police presence could be seen throughout the capital, where many businesses remained closed. Hundreds of protesters set up concrete block barricades in several neighborhoods of Lomé, with some burning tires and throwing projectiles at security forces.

Military jeeps were deployed as reinforcements in some areas. Police dispersed dozens of protesters with tear gas and arrested around 10 people in the Bè neighborhood, a stronghold of the opposition.

Civil society groups and social media influencers had called for protests on June 26, 27 and 28, after the government’s clampdown on protests early this month.

A coalition of political groups known as “Hands Off My Constitution” said in a Facebook post on Wednesday it “strongly urges Faure Gnassingbé to immediately and unconditionally release all of the roughly one hundred political prisoners, and to take urgent measures to restore purchasing power to the population.”

Myanmar burns illegal drugs worth $300M

YANGON, Myanmar Officials in Myanmar’s major cities destroyed about $300 million worth of confiscated illegal drugs

Thursday

The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, ketamine and the stimulant known as ice, or crystal meth, Yangon Police

Brig. Gen. Sein Lwin said in a speech at a drug-burning ceremony The drug burnings came nearly a month after U.N. experts warned of unprecedented levels of methamphetamine production and trafficking from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle region, where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.

The production of opium and heroin historically flourished there, largely because of the lawlessness in border areas where Myanmar’s central government has been able to exercise only minimum control over various ethnic minority militias, some of them partners in the drug trade

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said in a May report that the political crisis across the country after the military takeover in 2021 — which led to a civil war — has turbocharged growth of the methamphetamine trade.

Pentagon leaders detail Iran bombing

Officials cite military tactics to show destruction from attacks

BY TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON Pentagon leaders laid out new details Thursday about military tactics and explosives to bolster their argument that U.S. attacks had destroyed key Iranian nuclear facilities, but little more emerged on how far back the bombing had set Tehran’s atomic program.

In a rare Pentagon news briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, worked to shift the debate from whether the nuclear targets were “obliterated,” as President Donald Trump has said, to what they portrayed as the heroism of the strikes as well as the extensive research and preparation that went into carrying them out.

“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated choose your word. This was an historically successful attack,” Hegseth said in an often combative session with reporters.

It was the latest example of how Trump has marshaled top administration officials to defend his claims about the effectiveness of the U.S. strikes. At stake is the legacy of the Republican president’s intervention in the brief war between Israel and Iran, as well as the future of American foreign policy toward Iran.

Hegseth appeared less confident that the strikes got all of Iran’s highly enriched nuclear material.

Asked repeatedly whether any of it was moved to other locations before the U.S. attack, Hegseth acknowledged that the Pentagon was “looking at all aspects of intelligence and making sure we have a sense of what was where.”

He added, “I’m not aware of any intelligence that says things were not where they were supposed to be” or that they were moved Satellite imagery showed trucks and

bulldozers at Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment site, the main target of the bombings, days before the strikes, which occurred between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m.

EDT Saturday Experts said enriched uranium stocks can be moved in small canisters and are hard to find.

“It would be extremely challenging to try and detect locations where Iran may be hiding highly enriched uranium,” said Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the nonpartisan Arms Control Association.

Trump expressed confidence that uranium was not pulled out before the attack

“Nothing was taken out of facility,” he said on social media. “Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”

U.S. stealth bombers dropped 12 deep penetrator bombs, called “bunker busters,” on Fordo, Caine said. Two others hit Iran’s main Natanz facility

Hegseth and Caine described 15 years of study and planning going into the bombing mission and they showed video of a test explosion of a bunker buster, designed to penetrate deep into mountains.

While Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, spent the bulk of his time slamming the media coverage and personally insulting reporters who questioned him, Caine stuck to the military details of the bombing.

Caine said the U.S. targeted the ventilation shafts at the Fordo facility as the entry point for the bombs. In the days before the U.S. attack, the Iranians placed large concrete slabs on top of both ventilation routes from the underground facilities to try to protect them, he said.

He said six bombs were available for each of the two shafts that were hit. The first bomb was used to eliminate the concrete slab, then four more were dropped at slightly different angles to take out various parts of the underground facility

The sixth was a fail-safe in case any of the others didn’t work, and it also was dropped, Caine said.

He noted it is not his job to do the assessment of the damage. Asked if he has been pressured to provide a more optimistic view of the results, Caine said no.

Iran’s Khamenei warns against future U.S. attacks

BY FARNOUSH AMIRI and DAVID RISING Associated Press

DUBAI,UnitedArab Emirates Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a U.S. air base in Qatar and warned against further attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Khamenei’s prerecorded speech that aired on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19, was filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic’s longtime adversaries.

on the U.S. air base in Qatar contrasted with U.S. accounts of it as a limited attack with no casualties.

The White House responded to Khamenei’s video, accusing him of trying to “save face.”

“Any commonsense, open-minded person knows the truth about the precision strikes on Saturday night,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday “They were wildly successful.”

The 86-year-old, a skilled orator known for his forceful addresses to the country’s more than 90 million people, appeared more tired than he had just a week ago, speaking in a hoarse voice and occasionally stumbling over his words.

The supreme leader downplayed U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites Sunday using bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles, saying that U.S. President Donald Trump who said the attack “completely and fully obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program had exaggerated its impact.

“They could not achieve anything significant,” Khamenei said. Missing from his more than 10-minute video message was any mention of Iran’s nuclear program and the status of their facilities and centrifuges after extensive U.S. and Israeli strikes.

His characterization of Monday’s strike

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, reiterated Thursday that the damage done by Israeli and U.S. strikes at Iranian nuclear facilities “is very, very, very considerable” and that he can only assume the centrifuges are not operational.

“I think annihilated is too much, but it suffered enormous damage,” Grossi told French broadcaster RFI The IAEA has not been allowed to visit any of the Iranian facilities to do an independent assessment of the damage.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, also conceded Wednesday that “our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.” Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war on June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists.

After Sunday’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump was able to help negotiate a ceasefire that came into effect Tuesday

Feds intend to try Abrego Garcia on smuggling counts

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

The Justice Department said Thursday that it intends to try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal smuggling charges in Tennessee before it moves to deport him to a country that is not his native El Salvador

“This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes, including trafficking children, and will not walk free in our country again,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press.

Gilmartin made the statement hours after a federal prosecutor told a federal judge in Maryland that the U.S. government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador But Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.

Guynn acknowledged the government’s plans during a hastily planned conference call with Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers had filed an emergency request for Xinis to order the government to take Abrego Garcia to Maryland when he is released in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before he stands trial.

“We have concerns that the government may try to remove Mr Abrego Garcia quickly over the weekend, something like that,” one of his attorneys, Jonathan Coo-

per, told Xinis on the call. Xinis, however, said she could not move as quickly as Abrego Garcia’s attorneys would like. She said she had to consider the Trump administration’s pending motions to dismiss the case before she could rule on the emergency request. The judge scheduled a July 7 court hearing in Maryland to discuss the emergency request and other matters. It was unclear whether the government would seek to deport Abrego Garcia before he stands trial in the U.S. on criminal charges unsealed earlier this month.

Guynn told the judge during Thursday’s call that “there’s no timeline.”

“We do plan to comply with the orders we’ve received from this court and other courts,” he said. “But there’s no timeline for these specific proceedings.”

Deporting Abrego Garcia before his trial would be a reversal for an administration that brought him back from El Salvador just weeks ago to face human smuggling charges, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying: “This is what American justice looks like.”

Abrego Garcia, a Maryland construction worker became a flashpoint over Trump’s immigration policies after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March. He’s been in jail in Tennessee since he was returned to the U.S. on June 7 to face the human smuggling charges.

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COURTROOM SKETCH By DIEGO FISHBURN Kilmar Abrego Garcia sits Wednesday in court during his detention hearing in Nashville, Tenn.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KEVIN WOLF

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine hold a news conference Thursday at the Pentagon in Washington.

Khamenei

Israelistrikekills 18 Palestinians in centralGaza

Turmoilmounts over food distribution

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and SAM METZ Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip An Israeli strike hit astreet in central Gaza on Thursday where witnesses saida crowd of people was getting bags of flour from aPalestinian police unit thathad confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed.

The strikewas the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza’s population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. Afterblocking all food for 21/2 months, Israel has allowed only atrickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May Efforts by theUnited Nations to distributethe food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperatepeople offloading supplies from convoys.

The strike in the central townofDeir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target

members of Sahm, asecurity unit taskedwith stopping looters and cracking down on merchantswho sell stolen aidathigh prices. The unitis part of Gaza’sHamas-ledInterior Ministry,but includes members ofother factions. Witnesses saidthe Sahm unit was distributing bags of flour and other goods confiscated fromlooters andcorrupt merchants, drawinga crowd when thestrike hit.

Videoof the aftermath showed bodies, several torn, of multiple young men inthe street with blood splattering on the pavementand walls of buildings. The dead included achild and at least seven Sahmt members,according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital wherecasualties were taken There was no immediate commentfrom theIsraeli military.Israelhas accused the militant Hamasgroup of stealing aid and using it to propupits rule in the enclave. Israeliforces have repeatedly struck Gaza’s police,considering them a branchofHamas

An associationofGaza’sin-

fluential clansand tribes said Wednesday they have started an independent effort to guard aidconvoys to prevent looting. The National Gatheringof PalestinianClans and

Palestinians carry bags Wednesdaycontaining

and humanitarian

delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, aU.S.-backed organization, in Rafah, southernGaza Strip.

Tribes said it helped escort arare shipment of flour that entered northern Gaza that evening.

It was unclear,however,if the association hadcoordinated withthe U.N. or Israeli authorities. The World Food Program did not immediately respond to requestsfor commentbyThe Associated Press.

“Wewill no longer allow thieves to steal from the convoys forthe merchants and

force us to buy them for high prices,” Abu Ahmad al-Gharbawi, afigure involved in the tribaleffort, toldthe AP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in ajoint statement Wednesday accused Hamas of stealingaid that is entering northern Gaza, and called on the Israeli military to plan to prevent it.

The National Gathering slammed the statement, say-

ing the accusation of theft was aimed at justifying the Israeli military’s“aggressive practices.” It said aid was “fully secured” by the tribes, which it said were committedtodeliveringthe supplies to the population.

The move by tribes to protect aid convoys brings yetanotherplayer in an aid situation that has become fragmented,confused and violent, evenasGaza’smore than 2million Palestinians

struggle to feed theirfamilies. Throughout the more than 20-month-old war, the U.N. led the massive aid operation by humanitarian groups providing food,shelter, medicine and other goods to Palestinians even amidthe fighting. U.N. and other aid groups say that when significant amounts of supplies are allowed into Gaza, looting and theft dwindles.

Israel, however,seeks to replace the U.N.-ledsystem, saying Hamas has been siphoning offlarge amounts of supplies from it,aclaim the U.N. andotheraid groups deny Israel has backed an American private contractor,the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has started distributing food boxes at four locations, mainly in the far south of Gazafor the past month.

Thousands of Palestinians walk forhours to reach the hubs, moving through Israeli military zones where witnesses say Israeli troops regularly open fire with heavy barrages to control the crowds.

Health officials say hundreds of people have been killed andwounded. TheIsraeli military says it has only fired warning shots.

EU leadersseekbig boostinUkraine military support

munition,tohelpUkraine as it exercises its inherent right to self-defence, to protect its citizens and territory against Russia’sintensified daily attacks.”

armyhas relied heavily on drones to keep theRussians back.

BY SAM MCNEIL Associated Press

BRUSSELS European Union leaders on Thursday called for even greater efforts to help meet Ukraine’s pressing military needs, and expressed support for the country’squesttojoin their ranks, butthey made little headway with new sanctions against Russia. At asummit in Brussels, the leaders said it was important to delivermore “air defenseand anti-drone systems,and large-calibre am-

Theyalso underlined theneed to helpsupport Ukraine’sdefenseindustry,which can make weaponsand ammunition more quickly and cheaply than its European counterparts. Ukrainian President Vololdymyr Zelenskyy took part in the meetingvia videolink Russian forces havemade slow gains at some points on the roughly 620-mile front line, but it has been costly in terms of troop casualties and damaged equipment. The outnumbered Ukrainian

Months of U.S.-led international effortstostop the more than three yearsof war have failed. As hostilitieshave ground on, the twosides have continued to swap prisonersofwar

The leaders said the bloc “remains steadfast in its supportfor Ukraine’spath towards EU membership.”

That message comes aday after NATO leaders refrainedfrom putting areference to Ukraine’shopes of joining the military organization in their summit statement, due in largepart to U.S.resistance.

The EU is working on yet another raft of sanctions

CommandersaysUkraine halts Russia’s advanceinSumyregion

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Ukrainian forceshave halted Russia’s recent advance into the northern Sumy region and have stabilized the front line nearthe border with Russia, Ukraine’s topmilitary commander said Thursday Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commanderinchief of Ukraine’sarmed forces, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deployingabout 50,000 Russian troops,including elite airborne and

marine brigades, to other areasofthe front line

His claim couldn’tbeindependently verified, and Russianofficialsmade no immediate comment. Russianforces have been slowly grindingforward at some pointson the roughly 620-mile front line, though their incremental gains have beencostlyinterms of troop casualties and damaged armor.The outnumbered Ukrainianarmyhas relied heavily on drones to keep the Russians back. Months of U.S.-led internationalefforts to stop the

more than threeyears of war have failed. Amid thehostilities, the twosides have continued swaps of prisonersof war agreed on during recent talks between their delegations in Istanbul.

Russia’sDefense Ministry andUkrainianauthorities said another exchange took place on Thursday Ukraine’scoordination headquarters for POWs said the swap included injured soldiers and those withhealth complaints.The youngest is 24 andthe oldest is 62,itsaid, adding that more exchanges areexpected soon.

against Russia, but theleaders madelittle headway.A key aim is to make further progress in blocking Russia’s“shadow fleet” of oil tankers andtheir operators from earning more revenue for Moscow’swar effort.

TheEUhas slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in Feb. 24, 2022. More than 2,400 officials and entities —usually government agencies, banks andorganizations —have

been hit.

The statement on Ukraine was agreed by 26 of the 27 member countries. Hungary objected,asithas often done.AtaNATOsummitonWednesday,Prime Minister Viktor Orbánsaid that “NATOhas no business in Ukraine.Ukraine is not member of NATO,neither Russia.Myjob is to keep it as it is.”

In other developments, the EU leaders deplored “the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the unac-

ceptable numberofcivilian casualties and the levels of starvation.”They called “on Israel to fully lift its blockade.” Theyalsosaidthat their European Council “takes note” of areport saying that thereare signsthatIsrael’s actions in Gaza are violating human rights obligations in an agreement governing EU-Israel ties. The report was debatedbyEUforeign ministers on Monday,but the bloc is divided over what to do about it.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByABDEL KAREEM HANA

food

aidpackages

Kennedy’s advisers back fluvaccination

Panelvotes againstshots with rarely-used preservative

BY MIKE STOBBE and LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press

ATLANTA— The Trump administration’s newvaccine advisers on Thursday endorsed this fall’sfluvaccinationsfor just about every American —but only if they use certain shots free of an ingredient anti-vaccine groupshave falsely tied to autism. What is normally aroutine step in preparing for the upcoming flu season drew intense scrutiny after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.abruptly fired the influential 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and hand-picked replacements that include several vaccine skeptics.

The seven-member panel bucked another norm Thursday as it discussed the safety of apreservative used in less than 5% of U.S. flu vaccinations: It deliberated based

only on apresentation from an anti-vaccine group’sformerleader —without allowing the usualpublic airingof scientific data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thepreservative, thimerosal, haslongbeen usedin certain vaccines that come in multidosevials,toprevent contamination as each dose is withdrawn. But it has beencontroversial becauseit contains asmall amount of a particularformofmercury Study afterstudy has found no evidence that thimerosal causes autism or other harm. Yetsince 2001, allvaccines routinely used for U.S. childrenage 6years or younger have come inthimerosal-free formulas— including singledose flu shotsthat account forthe vast majority of influenza vaccinations

Theadvisory panel first voted, withone abstention, to backthe usualU.S. recommendation that nearlyeveryoneage 6monthsand older get an annual flu vaccination. Then theadvisers decided peopleshould only be given thimerosal-free single-dose formulations, voting 5-1 with one abstention. That would includesingle-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SHELBy LUM

Lyn Redwood,a nurse practitioner whoonce ran the antivaccine group that RobertF.KennedyJr. founded, attends ameeting of the AdvisoryCommittee on Immunization Practices on Thursdayatthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

dose shots that already are the mostcommon type of flu vaccination, as well as the nasalsprayFluMist. It would rule out the subsetoffluvaccine dispensed in multidose vials.

“There is still no demonstrable evidenceofharm,” one panelist, Dr.Joseph Hibbeln, apsychiatrist formerly with theNational Institutes of Health,said in acknowledging the committee wasn’t following itsusualpractice of acting on evidence.

Butheadded that “whether the actual molecule is arisk or not,wehave to respect the fear of mercury” that might dissuade some people from getting vaccinated.

TheACIP helpsthe CDC determine who should be vaccinated againsta long list of diseases, andwhen. Those recommendations have abig impact on whether insur-

ance coversvaccinations and where they’re available Normally the CDC’sdirector would decide whether to accept ACIP’srecommendation,but the Senate hasnot yet confirmed nominee Susan Monarez. Administration officialssaidKennedy would make that decision. Medical groupsdecried the panel’slack of transparency in blocking aCDC analysis of thimerosal that concluded there was no link betweenthe preservative and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. Thedata hadbeen posted on the committee’s website Tuesday,but was later removed— because, according to ACIPmember Dr.Robert Malone,the report hadn’tbeen authorized by Kennedy’soffice. Panel memberssaid they had read it.

Justices rule against PlannedParenthoodin Medicaid moneycase

SupremeCourt says states can blockfunds

BY LINDSAYWHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON States can block the country’sbiggest abortionprovider, Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday The 6-3opinionbyJustice Neil Gorsuchand joined by the rest of the court’sconservatives was notdirectly about abortion, but it comes as Republicansback awider push across the country to defund the organization. It closes off Planned Parenthood’s primary court path to keeping Medicaid funding in place: patient lawsuits.

The justices found that while Medicaid law allows people to choose theirown provider,that does not make it aright enforceable in court. Thecourt split along ideological lines, with the three liberals dissenting in the casefromSouth Carolina.

Public health care money generally cannot be used to pay for abortions, but Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for other needs in part because it can be difficult to find adoctor who takes the publicly funded insurance, theorganization has said.

in states where abortion is legal, Planned Parenthood has said. McMasterfirst moved to cut off the Medicaid funding in 2018, but he was blocked in court after a lawsuit from apatient,Julie Edwards, who wanted to keep going to Planned Parenthood forbirth control because herdiabetesmakes pregnancy potentially dangerous. Edwards sued under aprovision in Medicaid law that allowspatients to choose their own qualified provider

SouthCarolina argued that patients should not be able file such lawsuits. The state pointed to lower courts that have been swayed by similar arguments and allowed states such as Texas to act against Planned Parenthood.

The high court majority agreed.

“Deciding whether to permit private enforcement poses delicate policy questions involving competing costs andbenefits —decisions forelectedrepresentatives, notjudges,” Gorsuch wrote. He pointed out that patients can appeal through other administrative processes if coverageisdenied.

McMaster,ina statement, said hisstate hadtaken “a standtoprotect the sanctity of life and defend South Carolina’s authorityand values—and today, we are finally victorious.”

BY MARIA CHENG Associated Press

LONDON U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.says the countryispulling its support from the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the organization has “ignoredthe science” and“lost the public trust.” Avideo of Kennedy’s short speech was shown to aGavi meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, where theorganization that has paid for more than 1billion children to bevaccinated through routine immunization programswas hoping to raise at least $9 billionfor thenextfive years. Kennedy,alongtime vaccine skeptic,mentioned Gavi’spartnership with the WorldHealth Organization during COVID-19, accusing them of silencing“dissenting views” and“legitimate questions” aboutvaccine safety His speech also cast doubt on thediphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine —which WHO and other health agencies have long deemed to be safe andeffective.

Gavisaidina statement Thursday thatits “utmost concernisthe healthand safetyofchildren,” adding that any decision it makes on vaccines to buy is done in accordance with recommendations issued by WHO’sexpert vaccine group.

SouthCarolina Gov. Henry McMaster,a Republican, said Planned Parenthood should notget anytaxpayer money.The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cutMedicaidmoney for thegroup. That could force the closure of about 200 centers, mostofthem

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the opinion“amajor victory forcommon sense”and said it underscores the Republican president’sposition that states shoulddetermine abortion policy In adissent joined by her liberal colleagues, Justice Ketanji BrownJackson said the ruling is “likely to result in tangible harm to real people.”

Senators diverge on damage done by Iran strikes

Lawmakers receive classified briefing

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Senators emerged from a classified briefing Thursday with sharply diverging assessments of President Donald Trump’s bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came to Capitol Hill to give the classified briefings, originally scheduled for Tuesday

Many Republicans left satisfied, though their assessments of how much Iran’s nuclear program was set back by the bombing varied.

Sen. Tom Cotton said a “major blow” and “catastrophic damage” had been dealt to Iran’s facilities.

“Their operational capability was obliterated. There is nobody working there tonight. It was highly effective There’s no reason to hit those sites anytime soon,” said Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Democrats remained doubtful and criticized Trump for not giving Congress more information. Senate Democratic leader Chuck

Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing Thursday On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Ratcliffe sent out statements backing Trump’s claims that the facilities were “completely and fully obliterated.”

Gabbard posted on social media that “new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed.” She said that if the Iranians choose to rebuild the three facilities, it would “likely take years to do.”

be rebuilt over the course of years.”

Most Republicans have defended Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered in the Israel-Iran war House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, went as far as to question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is intended to give Congress a say in military action.

to review the Constitution,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky “And I think there’s a lot of evidence that our Founding Fathers did not want presidents to unilaterally go to war.”

BY FRAZIER MOORE

AP television writer

NEW YORK Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary who became one of television’s most honored journalists, masterfully using a visual medium to illuminate a world of ideas, died Thursday at age 91.

Moyers died in a New York City hospital, according to longtime friend Tom Johnson, the former CEO of CNN and an assistant to Moyers during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. Moyers’ son William said his father died at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York after a “long illness.” Moyers’ career ranged from youthful Baptist minister to deputy director of the Peace Corps, from Johnson’s press secretary to newspaper publisher senior news analyst for “The CBS Evening News” and chief correspondent for “CBS Reports.” But it was for public television that Moyers produced some of TV’s most cerebral and provocative series. In hundreds of hours of PBS programs, he proved at home with subjects ranging from government corruption to modern dance, from drug addiction to media con-

Schumer, of New York, said the briefing “raised more questions than it answered.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn., said the strike appears to “have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months.”

“There’s no doubt there was damage done to the program,” said Murphy but “allegations that we have obliterated their program just don’t seem to stand up to reason.”

“I just do not think the president was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated,” he added.

The session came as senators weighed their support for a resolution affirming that Trump should seek authorization from Congress before launching more military action against Iran A vote on that resolution could come as soon as Thursday.

Democrats, and some Republicans, have said the

solidation, from religion to environmental abuse.

In 1988, Moyers produced “The Secret Government” about the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration and simultaneously published a book under the same name. Around that time, he galvanized viewers with “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth,” a series of six onehour interviews with the prominent religious scholar. The accompanying book became a best-seller His televised chats with poet Robert Bly almost singlehandedly launched the 1990s Men’s Movement and his 1993 series “Healing and the Mind” had a profound impact on the medical community and on medical education In a medium that supposedly abhors “talking heads” shots of subject and interviewer talking Moyers came to specialize in just that. He once explained why: “The question is, are the talking heads thinking minds and thinking people? Are they interesting to watch? I think the most fascinating production value is the human face.”

Demonstrating what someone called “a soft, probing style” in the native

White House overstepped its authority when it failed to seek the advice of Congress. They also want to know more about the intelligence that Trump relied on when he authorized the attacks.

A similar briefing for House members will be held

Friday A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back only a few months, contradicting statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the report They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated choose your word. This was an historically successful attack,”

Texas accent he never lost, Moyers was a humanist who investigated the world with a calm, reasoned perspective, whatever the subject.

From some quarters, he was blasted as a liberal thanks to his links with Johnson and public television, as well as his no-holdsbarred approach to investigative journalism It was a label he didn’t necessarily deny “I’m an old-fashion liberal when it comes to being open and being interested in other people’s ideas,” he said during a 2004 radio interview But Moyers preferred to term himself a “citizen journalist” operating independently outside the establishment.

Over the years, Moyers was showered with honors, including more than 30 Emmys, 11 George Foster Peabody awards, three George Polks and, twice, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award for career excellence in broadcast journalism. In 1995, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1934, Billy Don Moyers was the son of a dirt farmer-truck driver who soon moved his family to Marshall, Texas. High school led him into journalism.

Ratcliffe said in a statement from the CIA that Iran’s nuclear program has been “severely damaged.”

He cited new intelligence “from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to

“The bottom line is the commander in chief is the president, the military reports to the president, and the person empowered to act on the nation’s behalf is the president,” Johnson told reporters.

But some Republicans, including some of Trump’s staunchest supporters, are uncomfortable with the strikes and the potential for U.S. involvement in an extended Middle East conflict.

“I think the speaker needs

Paul would not say whether he would vote for the resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would require congressional approval for specific military action in Iran. A simple majority in the Senate is needed to pass the resolution and Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage.

“I will have Republican votes, plural,” Kaine said. “But whether it’s two or 10, I don’t know.” Kaine authored a similar resolution in 2020 aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran. At the time, eight Republicans joined Democrats in approving the resolution.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROD LAMKEy CIA Director John Ratcliffe departs

briefing for senators on Thursday at the Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Moyers

Fewer sought jobless benefits last week

WASHINGTON The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, a sign that companies aren’t cutting many jobs

Jobless claims for the week ended June 21 dropped 10,000 to 236,000, a historically low level. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly volatility dipped 750 to 245,000.

Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and so the decline is evidence that businesses are mostly holding onto their employees

Yet separate data suggests hiring also remains cool, in what economists are referring to as a “no hire, no fire” job market.

The unemployment rate remains low So far this year, employers have added a solid but unspectacular 124,000 jobs a month, down from an average 168,000 last year Most of the hiring has been concentrated in a few industries, specifically health care, government, and restaurants and hotels. Layoffs have mostly remained low, but hiring has also been weak.

GE Appliances moves washer production

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — GE Appliances announced a nearly half-billiondollar project Thursday that it says will create 800 new jobs and shift production of clothes washers from China to its massive manufacturing complex in Kentucky

The $490 million investment positions the Kentucky home appliances company to rank as the biggest U.S. manufacturer of washing machines, it said.

“We are bringing laundry production to our global headquarters in Louisville because manufacturing in the U.S. is fundamental to our ‘zero-distance’ business strategy to make appliances as close as possible to our customers and consumers,” CEO Kevin Nolan said. “This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment.”

Conagra to phase out artificial colors

Conagra Brands, the parent company of Duncan Hines, Slim Jim and other brands, is the latest big food company to say it’s discontinuing the use of artificial dyes.

In a statement released Wednesday — the same day as a similar statement from Nestle — Chicago-based Conagra said it will remove artificial colors from its frozen foods by the end of this year Conagra’s frozen brands include Marie Callender’s, Healthy Choice and Birds Eye.

Conagra said it won’t offer products containing artificial colors to K-12 schools by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, and it will work to discontinue artificial dyes across its entire portfolio by the end of 2027. Kraft Heinz and General Mills made similar pledges earlier this month.

The federal government has stepped up its scrutiny of artificial colors in recent months. In January, days before President Donald Trump took office, the U.S regulators banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

In April, Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency would take steps to eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry

Many of Conagra’s products already make a point of using natural dyes. On a jar of Vlasic kosher pickle spears, Conagra notes that they’re colored with turmeric, not the synthetic Yellow 5. For the cheesy color in its frozen vegetable sides or its Orville Redenbacher popcorn, Conagra uses annatto, a plant extract.

Stocks rise to the brink of a record

Markets recover nearly all their 20% spring drop

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market ran up to the edge of another record on Thursday.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and is sitting just 0.05% below its alltime closing high, set in February

It briefly topped the mark during the afternoon in the latest milestone for the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, which had dropped roughly 20% below its record during the spring on worries about President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 404 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.

McCormick, the seller of cooking spices, helped lead the way and jumped 5.3% after delivering a better-than-expected profit report. The company also gave a forecast for profit over its full fiscal year that topped analysts’ expectations, including planned efforts to offset increased costs caused by tariffs.

Over the longer term, it’s been big technology stocks that have led the market for years and since the S&P 500 hit a bottom in April.

Chip company Nvidia, which has been the poster child of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, added 0.5%. It’s the most valuable company in the U.S. stock market after rushing 61% higher since April 8 towering over the S&P 500’s gain of 23%. Another AI darling, Super Micro Computer, rose 5.7% to bring its gain since April 8 to 55%.

Micron Technology, which sells computer memory and data storage, swung between gains and losses after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said it’s seeing growing AI-driven memory demand, and the company gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. Its stock ended the day down 1%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 48.86 points to 6,141.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 404.41 to 43,386.84, and the Nasdaq composite gained 194.36 to 20,167.91. Wall Street’s worries about Trump’s tariffs have receded since the president shocked the world in April with stiff proposed levies, but they have not disappeared. The wait is still on to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be, whether they

will hurt the economy and whether they will push up inflation. The economy so far seems to be holding up OK, and more reports arrived on Thursday bolstering that. One said that orders for washing machines and other manufactured goods that last at least three years grew by more last month than economists expected. A second said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, a potential signal of fewer layoffs.

A third report said the U.S. economy shrank by more during the first three months of 2025 than earlier estimated. But many economists say those numbers got distorted by a surge of purchases of foreign products by U.S. companies hoping to get ahead of tariffs. They’re expecting a better performance in the upcoming months.

La. classifies natural gas as green energy

Backers claim move provides reliable grid

BY JACK BROOK and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT Associated Press/Report for America

Louisiana is the latest state to redefine natural gas as green energy under a new law the Republican governor signed this week, even though it’s a fossil fuel that emits planet-warming greenhouse gases.

Three other states led by Republicans — Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee — have passed similar legislation. In some Democratic-led states, there have been efforts to phase out natural gas. New York and California cities like San Francisco and Berkeley have moved to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings, though some of these policies have been successfully challenged in court.

President Donald Trump has signed a spate of executive orders promoting oil, gas and coal, which all warm the planet when burned to produce electricity The European Union previously designated natural gas and nuclear as sustainable, a move that Greenpeace and the Austrian government are suing over Gov Jeff Landry, a major booster of the state’s petrochemical industry, says the new law “sets the tone for the future” and will help the state “pursue energy independence and dominance.”

Environmental groups say these new laws are part of a broader push by petrochemical industry-backed groups to rebrand fossil fuel as climate friendly and head off efforts to shift electric grids to renewables, such as solar and wind. It’s “pure Orwellian greenwashing,” said Tim Donaghy, research director of Greenpeace USA.

Globally, the term green energy is used to refer to energy derived from natural sources that do not pollute solar wind, hydropower and geothermal energy Louisiana’s law could enable funds slated for state clean energy initiatives to be used to support natural gas.

Natural gas has been the top source of electricity generation in the United States for about a decade since surpassing coal Coal and natural gas both produce carbon dioxide that warms the planet when burned, but coal produces over twice as much. Switching from coal to natural gas lowers carbon dioxide emissions, but it can increase

emissions of methane. The primary component of natural gas, methane is an extraordinarily powerful greenhouse gas, more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide and responsible for about 30% of today’s global warming.

Besides coal, everything else is better than gas for the planet, said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University climate scientist. Building new gas plants locks in fossil fuel emissions for decades, he added.

Louisiana’s law orders state agencies and utilities regulators to “prioritize” natural gas, along with nuclear power on the grounds that it will improve the affordability and reliability of the state’s electricity

The law’s author, Republican Rep. Jacob Landry, runs an oil and gas industry consulting firm.

“I don’t think it’s anything crippling to wind or solar, but you got to realize the wind don’t blow all the time and the sun don’t shine every day,” Landry said. The legislation “is saying we need to prioritize what keeps the grid energized,” he added.

Landry told The Associated Press that he used a model bill by the American Legislative Exchange Council as a template. ALEC is a conservative think tank with ties to the oil and gas industry’s billionaire Koch family

ALEC helped shape Ohio’s 2023 law to legally redefine natural gas as a source of green energy, according to documents obtained by watchdog group Energy and Policy Institute and first reported by The Washington Post. Ohio’s legislation was also heavily influenced by an advocacy group led by Republican donor Tom Rastin, a now-retired gas industry executive.

According to Dave Anderson, policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute, these laws are part of a long-running disinformation campaign by the gas industry to cast their product as clean to protect their businesses and prevent a shift to renewable energy sources that will address the climate crisis.

Landry and other proponents of the new law said they want to make sure that residents and businesses have a reliable electric grid. Nearly 80% of Louisiana’s grid is already powered by natural gas.

Landry said that businesses will come to Louisiana if they know they can count on the state’s electric grid. He highlighted Meta’s plan to build a massive AI data center powered by three natural gas plants.

Some consumer advocates say states do not need to embrace natural gas at the expense of wind, solar and other technologies to have a reliable grid.

U.S. economy shrank 0.5% in first quarter, worse than earlier estimates

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March as President Donald Trump’s trade wars disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in an unexpected deterioration of earlier estimates.

First-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as U.S. companies and households rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2% in the first quarter Economists had forecast no change in the department’s third and final estimate. The January-March drop in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services reversed a 2.4% increase in the last

three months of 2024 and marked the first time in three years that the economy contracted Imports expanded 37.9%, fastest since 2020, and pushed GDP down by nearly 4.7 percentage points. Consumer spending also slowed sharply, expanding just 0.5%, down from a robust 4% in the fourth quarter of last year It is a significant downgrade from the Commerce Department’s previous estimate.

Consumers have turned jittery since Trump started imposing big taxes on imports, anticipating that the tariffs will impact their finances directly And the Conference Board reported this week that Americans’ view of the U.S. economy worsened in June, resuming a downward slide that had dragged consumer confidence in April to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index slid to 93 in June, down 5.4 points from 98.4 last month. A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell 4.6 points to 69. That’s well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead.

Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said, “the downward revision to consumer spending today is a potential red flag.” Sahm, now chief economist at New Century Advisors, noted that Commerce downgraded spending on recreation services and foreign travel — which could have reflect ”great consumer pessimism and uncertainty.”

A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a 1.9% annual rate from January through March. It’s a decent number, but

down from 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and from the Commerce Department’s previous estimate of 2.5% January-March growth.

This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

And federal government spending fell at a 4.6% annual pace, the biggest drop since 2022. In another sign that Trump’s policies are disrupting trade, Trade deficits reduce GDP But that’s just a matter of mathematics. GDP is supposed to count only what’s produced domestically, not stuff that comes in from abroad. So imports — which show up in the GDP report as consumer spending or business investment — have to be subtracted out to keep them from artificially inflating domestic production.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MARTHA IRVINE

A flare burns at Venture Global LNG in Cameron on April 21, 2022. Louisiana is the latest state to redefine natural gas as green energy under a new law the Republican governor signed this week.

CULTURAL

Continued from page1A

theconcept of coffee, music, vinyls,and Louisianabooks,” Nakabayashi said.

Although encounteringsomuch Louisiana in Japan was asurprise, Bernard said she grew up hearing about her father,Shane Bernard’s two friends —Kaz Kimura and Yoshi Nakabayashi. The three men would bond over Cajun and Creole history and Shane’sdad, Rod Bernard, awellknown Opelousasswamp pop musicianand broadcaster.Kimura’s relationship with Shane Bernard started nearly adecade ago when he sent him aletter to find out more about his father’smusic. The two eventually became pen pals and shared cultural similarities, leadingtoShane Bernard’sdiscovery of acommunity in Japan that enjoyed Louisiana culture.

Nakabayashi says he’sbeenin love with the cultureand music since visiting Louisiana for the first time in 1997.

“I’ve always loved musicand have

contained in the bill

“Should the Senate Finance language succeed, Louisiana faces amore than $2 billion cut,” said Ryan Cross, government affairs directorfor the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, which runs hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, including Our Lady of theLake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.

“Wehavetoprotect longstanding Medicaid financing tools that provide lifesaving access to careacrossLouisiana,” Cross added.

MacDonough’sdecision doesn’tnegate GOP ideas for revamping Medicaid. It just means that instead passing those provisions with 51 of the chamber’s100 votes, atotal of 60 “yes” votes will be needed.

Hitting 60 may prove difficult because even the 53 Republican senators disagree with various facets of the thousand-plus page megabill. All 47 Democratic senators oppose the bill.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the House in May by asingle vote, includes anumber of Trump’s campaign promises, such as continuation of his signature 2017 taxbreaksand anumber of increased reductions and creditsfor businesses and seniors as well as tipped wages and overtime pay

Much of that is paid for with spending reductions to Medicaidand food stamps. But not completely. The bill would add about $3 trillion

MISUSE

Continued from page1A

differed from thebids he previously submitted to LPSS for other work.

After conductingits own investigation, LPSS handed over its interviewsand documents to the Lafayette Po-

been playing rhythm and blues on the piano since Iwas 20 years old. I started playing the accordion after visiting Louisiana,and that same year,Chris Ardoin cametoJapan to perform,” Nakabayashi said.

In 2003,hevisited Lafayette to attenda festivaland learnmore about theculture. He hasanaccordionmadebyIota’slegendary

to the nation’s debt. Republican leaders want to pass themeasure with a simple majority,rather than the usual 60 votes needed in theSenate. The rules allow policy changes in the bill providedthat language hewsclosely to reaching budget goals

MacDonough, the arbiterofSenate rules since 2012, found in about nine instances that thelanguage contained toomuchpolicy changeand not enough budgetwork

For instance, the 6% cap on the amount of taxes states could charge providers was approved by 60 votes several years ago. Therefore, 60 votes would beneeded to changethat limit to 3.5%, as theSenate Finance Committee proposed.

Language in the Senate’s version of the overall bill, whichhasn’tbeen drafted yet, could revert to the House’sversion,whichtemporarily froze providertax rates at current levels; the provision could be dropped altogether; or Senate Finance couldtry to tweak the language.

The Senate Agriculture Committee changedsomeof the language in its proposals on theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program afterMacDonoughfound the original wording didn’t comply with the reconciliation rules. The agriculture committee was able to reinsert their efforts to shift more of the responsibility to payfor food stampsfrom thefederal government to thestates.

MacDonoughstill hasn’t decided on SenateFinance changes to Medicaid’s state-

liceDepartment last week. It also met with the Legislative Auditor’sOffice on Tuesday to share information about the investigation, Wirtz said.

instrumentmaker,LarryMiller Yearslater,in2019, Nakabayashi’s band performed for thefirst time at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles Nakabayashihas continuedtovisit, performing at Festival International,and he continues to immerse himselfinCajunand Creole culture to better understand the music.

“I truly couldn’tbelieve that a

directed payments. Louisiana and other states use part of the provider taxes to supplement thefinances of rural hospitals. The Senate changes would stripabout $2 billion of that funding for Louisiana’srural hospitals.

Reviving the Senate Finance version to limit provider taxes to raise more money would create friction withmoderateGOP senatorswho already believe the House cut Medicaid too deeply Senateleaders had forwarded an ideafor making provider tax limitations more palatable to moderates. They suggested creatingafund to help rural hospitals, whose patients are often on Medicaid, which rarely pays the actual costs of medical services provided.

Many far-right House members are seething at MacDonough’sdecision and demanded she be fired. As a lawyer,House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said he could probably come up a legal argument to rid the Senate of MacDonough, but that’snot ajob for the lower chamber

More important to him is getting the bill through the Senate this weekend, back to the Housefor confirmation of the language changes, thenfinal passageinboth chambers to get the bill on Trump’sdesk by the July 4 self-imposed deadline.

“It doesn’tmakeiteasier,but youknowme, hope springs eternaland we’re going to workaround the clock and try to meet that deadline,because Ithink that’sthe way we should do it,” said Johnson.

Japanesepersonlike me was able to play in this place that Ihad always dreamed of,” he said. “I’m still very grateful to the people of Lafayette for accepting me in the opportunity.”

In addition to the music,Nakabayashi saidheloves the strong sense of tradition in south Louisiana, whichhesaidissimilarto

Japanese culture. There are culinary similarities, too, as rice is the foundation of both Japanese and Louisiana cuisines. He describes Lafayette in particular as acity that perfectly blends nature, urbanity and aculinary destination. Bernard said she appreciates the similaritiesinthe cultures, especially theemphasis on family and preserving tradition.

“During my trip, Ialso got a chance to makeDaruma dolls, and Iexperienced their worktopreservetheir own culture just how my daddoes in Lafayette,” Bernard said.

Daruma dolls, which are traditional Japanese dolls used to make wishes, set goalsand symbolize perseverance, aregoing extinct, she said. Kimaru took her to the set of his ethnographic film, organized by local government officials in Tokyo to teach locals about the dolls’ meaning, creation and history

“I mean it takes acertain kind of person to care about atradition, but there are people allover the world continuing to preserve their culture, andIthink that’swhatresonates between the two worlds,” Bernard said.

Theschoolsystemhas since implemented additional internal safeguards to protect the district’sbid process, Wirtz said Bosco Oilfield Services, since January2024, has been awardedmorethan$224,000 in LPSS work through purchase orders, The Current reported in May.Someof those projects required a contractor’slicense, which thecompany did not have.

Email Ashley White at ashley.white@theadvocate. com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

yoshitakeNakabayashi has filled the Creole Coffee StandinTokyowith Louisiana memorabilia.

3 schools to undergo renovations

$61.5M

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

in bonds secured by School Board

Three Lafayette Parish Schools will receive major renovations after the school district secured $61.5 million in bonds.

The bonds will pay for renovations and wing additions at Judice Middle, L.J. Alleman Middle and Acadiana High. Construction has already begun at Judice Middle and is expected to be completed in the spring. Work

is expected to begin on L.J. Alleman and Acadiana High in the fall or winter with construction being complete in fall 2026 and spring 2027, respectively

“We’re excited to continue expanding access to the opportuni-

ties LPSS has to offer through thoughtful improvements to our schools,” Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr said in a statement “Culture is one of our core values, and it starts with having a safe, welcoming place to learn.”

“Every investment we make in our buildings is an investment in our people and the future of our district,” he added.

The Lafayette Parish School Board voted in April to seek up to $70 million in bond funding.

The bonds, underwritten by D.A. Davidson Financial Advisors, received AA+ ratings and were signed Thursday as Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2025.

“We are proud to be part of

UNDER THEIR SWING

ABOVE: A camper swings to measure his bat speed during the University of Louisiana at Lafayette summer baseball camp at M.L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park in Lafayette on Thursday. Campers worked on throwing, hitting, fielding and running the bases. There are two more camps on July 7-11 and 14-18.

RIGHT: Camper Zackery Bourque, left, takes off to first base during the summer baseball camp on Thursday

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Food trucks to dish out dinner at area parks

Celebrate the day with family-friendly fun

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

A traffic stop for tinted windows Tuesday led to two men being pinged by Homeland Security Investigations and their arrest.

Mohamed Mounah, 20, and Mohamed Oudeika were arrested Tuesday around 12:30 a.m. after officers pulled over a vehicle for dark window tint, said a Lafayette Police Department spokesperson. When the two men identified themselves, police were able to determine they had detainers from Homeland Security Investigations. LPD did not bring charges against the men. The two were brought to the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, where they were held for the agency The two were not in LPCC as

of Thursday, according to records, and a search on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not yield results.

Details beyond the traffic stop were not provided, other than that the two did not offer any form of identification when booked in LPCC. All other questions regarding the arrest were directed to HSI officials, who have not responded to inquiries.

LPD does not have any affiliation with HSI or ICE, but the spokesperson said, when someone is found to have a detainer, the department is obligated to hold that individual.

Elsewhere in the state, the status of an Iranian-born LSU doctoral student remains unknown more than 24 hours after he was reportedly detained by Immigration and

Customs Enforcement agents. Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad remained listed as “in custody” Thursday on ICE’s official database, but the website does not indicate where he is being held On Sunday morning, Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian, a 64-year-old Iranian woman who has lived in the U.S. for 47 years, was detained by ICE outside of her home in New Orleans. She is now being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile. The country of origin of the two men detained in Lafayette is unknown.

ICE announced on its website Monday that it had arrested 11 Iranian nationals over the weekend, but did not mention any detainees who had been residing in Louisiana.

Staff report

For the third time in a week, an Acadiana motorcyclist has been seriously injured or killed in a crash.

Troopers with Louisiana State Police Troop I began investigating a two-vehicle crash just after 3 p.m. Tuesday in Vermilion Parish. The crash, which occurred on La. 92 at its intersection with

OPINION

NOAA cuts will weaken oilspill response

Iresponded to oil spills for decades. We’re no longer ready for abig one.

Arecent oil and gas spill near New Orleans took more than aweek to contain. Over 70,000 gallons spewed from an old well off Garden Island Bay.Officials are now focused on cleanup and restoration After 33 years responding to spills like this one and catastrophes like the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon,I was getting ready to retire later this year But with the Trump administration’sdrastic changes at theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, my job became untenable. The agency is being gutted. Teams once nimble are now finding roadblocks thatmake it harder to do the work.

sponse and Restoration. Further reductions in force are expected. Theaverage tenure of those leaving is 27 years. Thinkabout that: Some 27,000 years of experience has just walked out the door. On my farewell, colleagues gave me amap of spills Ihad managed. There are over 700. Our small team responded to about 150 or more spills a year. We’d use NOAA’s resources, technologiesand knowledge to give the Coast Guard technical and scientificsupport for cleanup andrestoration

The Trumpadministration has made changes withoutconsidering the consequences, smashing our capabilities with asledgehammer.

and other natural disasters.

NOAA’s capacities are also critical forother major incidents nationwide. We supported the Coast Guard, forexample, after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed.

Events like Deepwater Horizon are rare, but Iworry it could happen again. Ithink about commercial fishermen, shrimpers, oystermen, tourists and people whowork at our beaches, hotels and restaurants. Iremember how that disaster harmed sea turtles, 1,000-year-old corals and fish and whales that swam through toxic oil in the water column.

NOAA’s spill response team has provided scientific support to the Coast Guardfor nearly 50 years —a mission mandated by law.Weused to drop everything to respond. Now,responders have to write memos seeking approval from headquarters offices for emergency travel, just to get to the spill. That can take days. Not exactly the forward-leaning mindset we’ve had.

So when some 1,000 employees, almost 10% of NOAA, took early retirement this month, Ijoined them, departing the Office of Re-

What’sworse, these changes weaken our national preparedness for managing oil spills.

Deepwater took everything we had. At thepeak,close to 1,000 NOAA employees responded. All told,over 45,000 people assisted, from federal and state employees to contractors, cleanup personnel andwell control experts.

The Coast Guard relies on NOAA to analyze where aspill is likely to spread andanswer technical questions. Oil moves quickly.

Our models help responders understand where it will be tomor-

row,and we share information in real timebetween officials on the ground, in boatsand on aircrafts. NOAA’s oceanographic expertise, weather tools, overflights and shoreline surveys help focus on the areas most impacted. We provide expertsonmarine mammals,endangered species and other wildlife. NOAA’s Environmental SensitivityMaps help minimize harm to people by identifying drinking water intakes, for example.

NOAA relies on specialized contractors to manage and share information, train thousands of responders and provide surge capacity for larger incidents.

In session, stateSenatedid theright thingontax bills

If you find yourself in ahole, stop digging. This is exactly what Louisiana senators did when they rejected two tax-cut bills that would have created abillion-dollar shortfall in the coming fiscal years.

Routinecontracts are now reviewed at thehighest levels of the agency

Ouroffice used new technologies to advance capabilities. Autonomous aircraft can detect oil at sea and on shorelines, and by integrating satellite data and other remote sensing capabilities, we could detect, document and rapidly report on where the oil is.

The agency madethat information available on NOAA’s Environmental Response Management Tool, or ERMA. ERMA also documents marine debris, displaced fuel tanks, hazardous drums, stranded vessels and environmental impacts after hurricanes

The U.S. has been the world’s top producer of oil and gas for morethan adecade. The Trump administration is trying to promoteeven moreoffshore drilling. Members of Congress debated these policies in acongressional hearing where Itestified as an expert witness. The key point Imade, that Ihope resonated across party lines: Expanding offshore drilling while also weakening our oil spill response and recovery capacity is adangerous combination.

Doug Helton is theformer regional operationssupervisor in theNational Ocean Services Office of Responseand Restoration at theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tenyears of gaymarriage, butthe work continues

House Bill 578 would have reduced the state’s sales tax from 5% to 4.75% costing the State General Fund $266 million ayear by 2028 while HouseBill 667 would have cut the personal income taxfrom 3% to 2.75% and allowed seniors to claim an additional standard deduction, costing the state $378 million ayearby 2028. The Senate also rejected aconstitutional amendment that would have eliminated the state’srainy day fundtohelp fund the cuts. The state was already projecting a$590 million budget shortfall in the coming fiscal years When you add the proposed tax cutstothis, you get acool $1.2 billion deficit by 2028. These tax cuts would have followed major changes passed lastyear that cut taxes forcorporations and traded our state’s tiered personal income tax structure for aflat 3% rate —all while making low- and middleincome households disproportionately foot the billbyincreasing our state sales tax to 5%.

State Sen.Franklin Foil, RBaton Rouge, chairman of the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee, pointed out that the scenario felt too similar to 2008 when Louisiana lawmakers unanimously approved a tax cut at atime when the state was flush with cash duetomany

factors, including windfalls of federal dollarspost-Katrina Backthen, lawmakers were unaware thata few months after theyleftBaton Rouge, the market would crash, leading to skyrocketing unemployment and plummeting staterevenues. Then-Gov. Bobby Jindal and the legislaturechose to cut thebudgettothe bone insteadofraising taxes, leading to huge hikes in tuition at Louisiana’spublic universities, stagnant funding forpublic educationand underfunded public servicesthat are still generating lawsuits to this day.

But unlike 2008,when few people were projecting aglobal market crash, there are clear warningsigns todayshowing howdetrimental these tax cuts couldbe. And these warning signs are inadditiontothe fact that major economists and banks are projecting apossible recession.

The pending federal cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program coulddevastateour statefinances as Louisiana’s statebudget is more reliantonfederal dollars than almost any other state in the union. With our paltry $7.25 perhour minimum wage, disinvestment in socialprograms, underfundedpublic schools and poor workforceconditions, we consistently have one of the highest povertyrates of any state This forces asignificant portionofLouisianans to rely on Medicaid and SNAP to make ends meet. Nearly1 in 3Louisianans get their health insurance through Medicaid. And about 1 in 5receive assistancethrough SNAP.These areour neighbors, co-workersand friends. While making Louisianans

sickerand hungrier would undeniably have aripple effect through our state’seconomy, our state lawmakersface other budget threats that make their decision to hold ontoevery dollar we have theright one. Hurricane season began June 1.

The Trump administration has already slashed30% of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’sstaff and has talked about eliminating the agency altogether

The president is also denying disaster aid toboth blue and redstatesafter major weather eventslike tornadoes in Arkansasand flooding in West Virginia and withholding continued Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina. Louisianans can’tbank on the federal government’s assistancewhen we are inevitably hit with amajor hurricane.

Recent historyshould be our guide. Less than four years ago, when Hurricane Ida hit as a Category 4, our state took $18 billion in insured losses while over 1million households were left without power in thedead of summer Louisianans who have been around awhile know far too well thatrushed and ill-timed taxcuts can quickly result in the decimation of healthcare, education, public safetyand other services Louisianans expect to function when we need them Amid so much fiscal uncertainty, other states should heed the warning from Louisiana lawmakers who know preserving revenue during this time is paramount toweathering whatever comes down theline.

Neva Butkus is asenior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and aBaton Rouge resident.

It was ahot, sunny morning on our farm in East Tennessee the morning the Obergefell vs. Hodges decision came down. We had the television on, as we had for several days, knowing thedecision was coming soon. Twice in thepast severalyears, as part of the Campaign for Southern Equality’s “WeDoCampaign,” we had applied for marriage licenses at our local clerk of court’soffice, knowing we would be denied becausewe’regay.When the news finally broke that morning that the Supreme Courthad ruled that same-sex couples had the legal right to marry, we cheered and hugged. Getting married that same day wasn’tabout being first to cross the finish line. It wasabout not letting another day go by that denied what we had known foradecade already: the permanence of our love for each other Afew minutes later,wegot aphone call. It was our local clerk of court, the same one who had twice denied us. She was calling to ask if we wanted to get married —because if we did, she wanted us to be the first same-sex couple she issued alicense to.Anhour or so later,license in hand, we had to find ajudge to marry us. Raymie’sfamily started calling judgesthey knew.One after another said no.But finally,they found one who agreed.

But Obergefell showed us, 10 years ago on June 26, that many of the divisions we imagine,and talk about as given —red vs. blue, rural vs. urban —are illusions stoked by partisan politicians. They are not sufficient to the compassion and kindness that neighbors show one another,that humans show even to people they have never met.

Obergefell showed us that support can comefrom the places you least expect it, and that meaningful political action can happen not only in organizing and protest but in the quiet, everyday ways one person shows up to help another.It’ssomething both ordinary and radical: That community is everywhere, and not so far away as they would have us believe. Matt Griffin and RaymieWolfe live in NewOrleans.

That afternoon, on afarm just a quarter mile down the same road as ours, she married us. Things came together for us that day in away that felt serendipitous and impromptu, but it was actually the work of the people who fought before us and the people around us. That judge dropped all her plans that day to make our marriage happen. What Obergefell did was allow support for marriage equality that had been hidden to finally cometothe surface. It gave people the opportunity and the courage to stand up for whatthey really believed all along. What we found that day wasa community all around us that we hadn’tknown was there, people ready to stand with us —and to take personal and professional risks to do so. It was adesire for more of that kind of community that led us, not long after,toNew Orleans. Here we found what we’d been craving —aplace where people can be fully themselves, and where neighbors take care of each other every day We need that kind of community now more than ever.Wemust continue to support marriage equality as afederally protected right because no one should have to wonderiftheir rights will exist tomorrow simply because of their ZIP code. Equal rights are not forever unless we fight for them. The work that got us here isn’t finished —itisnever finished —and we still need our community to stand with us.

PROVIDED PHOTO By U.S. COAST GUARD

Nearly3 miles of containmentboom corral spilled oily water in coastal marshes near Garden Island Bayasskimmers and other vesselswork to clean up the product on May1

COMMENTARY

ROOM FOR DEBATE CONFLICT WITH IRAN

President Donald Trumpstunned the worldlast week when he ordered the bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran.The questionremains, though, where the long-running effort to prevent that countryfrom developing nuclear weaponsgoesfrom here. Here are twoperspectives.

AfterOperation Midnight Hammer,whatcomes next?

In much of life, but especially in foreign policy,athree-word question is crucial: But then what? That is approximately whatAdm Isoroku Yamamoto said when Japan’s government asked if he could stealthily take afleet across the northern Pacific and deal adevastating blow to the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor

Yes, Yamamoto said, if we can design some shallow-running torpedoes of the sort the British hadused afew weeks earlier (Nov.11, 1940) to cripple the Italian navy at Taranto. Then, Yamamoto said, Iwillrange freely in the Pacific for perhaps ayear.But then what?

Thewar should be turned back to Israel

George Will

Having studied at Harvard andserved as a military attaché in Washington, he knewthe United States and knew that his attack would produceanindustrial superpower unifiedby rage.Japan’sdefeat was assured on Dec. 7, 1941, not six months to theday lateratMidway Iran has no comparable capacity forretribution.There are, however,reasonstoworry about Iranian threats to the 40,000U.S. militarypersonnel in theregion, Iran’scapacity fornihilistic attacks on global energy and commerce and the tentacles of Iran’s international terrorism apparatus. It will be amajor surprise if there is only anegligible surprise from Iran.

Possible reasons PresidentDonald Trump decided to join Israel’sattack includethis: He saw the successofIsraeli virtuosityand he hungered to jump in at thehead of theparade. He is less amilitarymaven than adrum major,and his public life of flippancies about serious matters has not earned himthe benefitofany doubts. Were Congress not controlled by Republicans he controls, it mightbestir itself to investigate what U.S. intelligence agencies knew about howclose Iran wastobuilding a useable bomb and missiles capable of delivering it to atarget. Shortly before the U.S. attacks, Tulsi Gabbard, the astonishingly unsuitable amateur confirmed by the Senate as director of national intelligence, said in March that Iran had not decided to produce anuclear weapon.She was either incompetent or theintelligence servicesare. Will RepublicansinCongress seek the president’spermission to inquireas to which it was?

Perhaps the other three(China, Russia, North Korea) members of the axis of disruption will be sobered by thedemonstration of the U.S. ability and willingness to project power globally.Perhaps thepresident will

reconsider his contempt for Ukraine and hisindifference toits fate. Andhis equally obviousinfatuation with Vladimir Putin, who hasreceived substantial material assistance from Iran. Israel has earned America’sunalloyed respect by its recent displays of an audacity commensurate with the dangers of living surrounded by genocidal aspirations. Israel in Iran has delivered amessage to others who threaten itsdestruction: We takeyour words seriously.Soseriously,Israel has departed from past practices.

In Tennessee Williams’splay “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the pathetic Blanche DuBois’slast line is plaintive: “I’ve always depended on thekindness of strangers.” The Jewish state’sfounding in the wake of the Holocaust was adefiant proclamation: “Never again!” Never again would Jews depend on the kindness of others.

In its WarofIndependence (1948), the Six Day War(1967), the YomKippur War(1973) andits unending conflict with non-stateactors (thePalestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, Hezbollah),including thefourth majorwar,which began Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has had material, financial and intelligence assistance from others, but has always done the fighting. Its major departure from this policy,the 1956 British-French-Israeli attempt to seize the Suez Canal that Egypt had nationalized, was adebacle.

By joining Israel against Iran, theUnited Stateshas expanded its commitmentsmore than it can now know.The United States is waging only aproxy war in Ukraine, but its prestige and credibility are fully at risk there. Andnow the United States is aparticipant in awar the likely outcome of which is obscured by thefog of war,and themomentumand direction of which is being set by an ally that has its own agenda. Adolf Hitler reportedly said to one of his private secretaries, “The beginning of every war is like opening the door into adark room. One never knows what is hidden in the darkness.” He supposedly said this as he prepared to do what he did 84 years ago. He launched Operation Barbarossa, theinvasion of Russia that proved his point U.S. Operation Midnight Hammer began June22. Its reverberations are far from over

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost. com

Let me offer some rare praise for President Donald Trump. His attack on Iran’snuclear development sites was carefully executed. Nobody outside a tight circle knew about it in advance. And he was wise in shifting the talk intocalls forpeace. We don’tknow whether the bunker busters reached allthe near-bomb-grade uranium or if other sites for fuel enrichment remain hidden. But analysts believe theIranian nuclear program may have been turned back years.

nal group chat. For the latter reason, somebelieve that Hegseth wasn’t even told much about the impending action.

Israel had been degrading Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but it didn’thave the30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetratorsneeded to blast deep inside the mountains housing Iran’s nuclear program.Only the United States had thebombs and the B-2 stealthbombers to deliver them without detection. The action was justified by the signs that Iran was close to obtaining anuclear weapon. It would have raised not only the threat to Israel but also the region by setting anuclear arms race among Sunni Arab nations at odds with Shiite Iran. There have been contradictory reportsonhow far Iran had gone in building abomb. Respectable sources, like CNN’sJohn Miller,persuasively argue that it is on thecusp of having aweapon of mass destruction. Miller had been theNew York City Police Department’sdeputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.

Whether Iran was currentlybuilding abomb was not aprecondition forthe U.S. operation. Miller wrote that “the intelligence estimates suggest Iran’s posture on being readytomakea bombnever looked moreaggressive.” No civilian energy program,headded, “operates facilities buried under remote mountains andstrives forfaster centrifuges and more-highly enriched uranium.”

It would have been comforting had someoneother than Pete Hegseth had been in charge of theDefense Departmentand put in front of the cameras after the U.S. strike. The talking head from Fox News wasshockingly unqualified plus ablabber mouth having spread classified information in aSig-

Israel should lead in prosecuting the war. Iran started it long ago through its employmentofproxy forces —the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah. By running the attacks from outside Iran, the ayatollahs spared their own country from counterattack.

Iran shares much blamefor the human tragedy in Gaza. It paid Hamas to build tunnels in Gazato protect its fighters while turning innocent civilians into martyrs exposed to Israeli counterattacks.

Israel’swar against the Iranian regimerightly remains Israel’swar.It’s clear whyIsraelis are dead set against letting Iran get anuclear bomb. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called forthe “elimination of Israel.” Israel and Iran should be friends. The twopeoples go wayback, to at least since 586 BC, when Jews arrived in Persia after the Babylonian Exile. Many Jews leftwhen the ayatollahs took over,but Tehran remains hometo several synagogues.

Many have questioned the motives behind Trump’sdecision to send the U.S. military after Iran’snuclear program.Some hold that this was basically another distraction against the increasingly controversial immigration raids and his troubled “big, beautiful” tax-and-spending bill.

Others say that Trump, upon observing great admiration forIsrael’s “brilliant” precision strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and scientists, needed to grab back the spotlight with somespectacular action of his own. He went so far as to take credit forIsraeli successes. America did what was needed. Trump’s“now is the timefor peace” statement was welcome. We should step back unless Iran retaliates. The Israelis have awide intelligence net in Iran. They know what they are doing. As forthe fighting, the U.S. should now step aside.

Email Froma Harrop at fharrop@ gmail.com.

Froma Harrop

FILE PHOTOS

President Donald Trump,left,and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Judgesetstimelinefor N.O. archdiocese

Deadlines

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabillhas laid out atimeline for the next stepsinthe long-running Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy,aprocess that involves avote of abusesurvivors anda trial later this year to determine whether the long-running case can be successfully resolved. During acourt hearing Thursday,Grabill tentatively scheduled the trial for Nov.12. It could include sworn testimony from Archbishop Gregory Aymond and some of his top advisers. At issue will be whether aproposedsettlement by the archdiocese that would financially compensate hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors should be confirmed by the court Before such atrial can take place, however,more

TRUCKS

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Parc De Oaks will takea step back in time to the ’90s for its National Food Truck Day Located at 3302 Moss St., Parc De Oaks is celebrating with alineup of food trucks, activities and 1990s hip-hop trivia with prizes brought to youbyPigeonPo, who hosts popular trivia events all across Louisiana.This event is free. Food lovers can also head overtoMoncus Parkon Friday between 4p.m. and

MOTORCYCLIST

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than two-thirds of abuse survivors in thecase, as well as othergroups of creditors, must votetoapprove theplan. Grabill has set aJuly 15 deadline for the plan,which hasn’tbeen finalized, to be filedwith thecourt If theplan fails to pass muster with abuse survivors, there won’t be any need fora trial. Grabill would likely dismiss the case, as shehas repeatedly threatened to do in recent months amid frustration over the slow pace of progress after more than five years and nearly $50 million in legal fees.

Such amove wouldclear the way for abuse survivors to suethe church and itsaffiliated parishes andcharitable organizations in state court.

Want theirday in court

Avocal group of abuse survivors andtheir lawyers are pushing for dismissal

This group,which comprises as many as 20% or more of the 600survivorswho have filed abuseclaims with the bankruptcy court, is at

odds with theofficial courtappointed committee that represents allsurvivors and has been negotiating with the Roman Catholic church over asettlement.

The official committee announced in May atentative deal with thearchdiocese that would pay survivors at least $180 millionoverfive yearsand entitle them toadditional money from insurers and property sales.

The settlementwould also contain nonmonetaryprovisions that establish certain safeguards andpoliciesto protect children againstfutureincidentsofsex abuse by priests, deacons and other church officials.

Thefaction of survivors pushing for dismissal have alleged in court documents that the case hasbeen mismanaged from the outset. Some now say that no amount of money is enough andthattheywanttohave theirday in court so that they can tell their stories to ajury

Some of those survivors have begun attending routine hearings in the case. A dozen or so crowded Gra-

on July 8, 2023, in Lafayette. The turnout wasgreat with manytrucksrunning out of food

was traveling east on La 92 approaching its intersection with La. 343. At the same time, a2021 Dodge Ram pulling autility trailer was traveling west on La. 92. For reasons stillunder investigation,asthe Ram attempted to turn left onto La.343, the Suzuki failed to stop at astop sign, entered the intersection, and struck the pickup Ducote,who waswearing aDOT-approved helmet, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at thescene. At thetime of the crash,the driver of theRam was properly restrained and uninjured. Impairmentisnot suspected to be afactor in the crash; however,avoluntarybreath sample by thedriver of the Ramshowed no alcohol detected.Routine toxicology samples werecollected from Ducoteand will be submitted for analysis.The crash remains under investigation.

SCHOOLS

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this very successful bond sale for Lafayette Parish Schools,” said Marcus Lambert with D.A. Davidson. “Wewere oversubscribed on most of the deal and able to provide the district with thecapital needed to accomplish theirgoals. My hat’s off to the district for maintaining an excellent bond rating. Looking at 2024 data, Aca-

diana High wasat70% capacity,Judice Middle was at 69%capacityand L.J. Alleman was at 71%capacity.AcadianaHighwas built in 1968, Judice was built in 1927 andL.J. Alleman was built in 1958 But the threeschools have portablebuildings that require students to transfer between them outside, putting them high on the board’sprioritylistfor receiving new facilities, said LPSS spokesperson Tracy Wirtz.

“The board’sgoal is to get

rid of all of the butler buildings so students can attend class in apermanentbuilding,” she said in astatement. “L.J. Alleman, Judice Middle and Acadiana High wereidentifiedasthe most in-need,interms of apermanent facility, and had been listedatthe topofthe longrange (construction)plan for that reason.”

Email Ashley White at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

bill’ssmall courtroom on Thursday

Amongthem was Johnny Krummel, 53, who said he is against theplan.

“I want togotrial. I’m not going to change my mind, and I’m going to votenoto any plan,”said Krummel, who said he wasabusedin the 1970s at Hope Haven andMadonna Manoronthe West Bank, two of the archdiocese’smost notorious orphanages at the time.

Aspokesperson for the archdiocesedeclined to comment.

Hurdlesand questions

Thefactionofabuse survivors opposing the planis notthe only roadblock that attorneys for thechurch, its apostolates and the official committeeofabuse survivors face as theytry to forge ahead with asettlement.

Agroup of bondholders who lent thearchdiocese morethan $40 million in 2017 is also opposing the plan. Earlier thismonth, they accused the church in court of defaulting on its loan and committing securitiesfraud.

8p.m.toenjoy games, music, face painting and food.

There’sa $10 per car entry fee at Moncus Park,which includesparking andaccess to the event, with activities and asunset concertbythe New Natives Brass Band from6 p.m. to 8p.m.There will also be afull-service bar withmixed drinks, cold beer,Pepsi products and frozen lavender lemonade.

“Wereally just want everyone to comeout and enjoythemselves here or at ParcDeOaks. Thesekinds of things bring the communitytogether and are away to supporteach other,” said Moncus Parkmarketing

On Monday,27-year-old Andrew Bollinger,ofLafayette, was killed when the motorcycle he was driving crashed into avehicle at Ambassador Caffery Parkway and Galbert Road

On Friday,amotorcyclist washospitalizedincritical condition after colliding with acar on Verot School Road at Aymar Road

Theaccusationwas not filed as an official complaint with federal regulators, and attorneys forthe archdiocese denied the allegation.

One of the archdiocesan insurance companies, Travelers Insurance, also has yet to getonboard withthe plan.

Adding to theuncertainty are questions about how much ChristopherHomes might fetch if sold later this year.The archdioceseisactively marketing the portfolio of 15 elderly senior apartment complexes to generate additional money to pay survivors.

Until asale is finalized, however,some survivors said Thursday that it’shard to get behind even the broad outlines of aplan.

“With ChristopherHomes andtoo many other things up in the air,I’d rather take my chances in court andlet ajury of my peers decide what’sfair,” said Richard Coon, 58, who said he was abused for several years beginning at age 10.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

and communications director Mary McGoffin.

Each $10 parking pass helps keep thepark clean and thriving, according to McGoffin. Proceeds from the trucks go directly to the businesses.

“Wedoexpect alarge crowdatMoncusPark, but we are hoping people can come here andalsocheck out the fun activities Parc De Oaks is doing,” said McGoffin.

Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2025

PICK 3: 4-4-4

PICK 4: 7-9-8-2

PICK 5: 2-9-5-9-6

EASY 5: 2-14-22-33-35

LOTTO: 8-9-16-25-35-41

POWERBALL: 2-12-37-51-61 (22) Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

FILEPHOTO By ROBIN MAy

The Parc de Oaks food truck park opened on Moss Steet

SPORTS

Saints QB Shough hasyet tosig ki tr t

Salary-cap expert explains whetherquarterback’s contract issuec

BY MATTHEW PARAS

Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints begin training camp in just under amonth, and TylerShough —their potential starting quarterback —has not yet signed his rookiecontract What gives?

TheSaints and Shoughare negotiating over the guaranteed portion of the rookie’s fourth-year salary,a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed

It’sasimilar situation across the NFL.

In all, as CBS Sports reported, 30 of the league’s32second-rounders have yet to

sign their rookie contracts. The negotiations haveslowed down in part because the HoustonTexansand theCleveland Browns became the first teamsthis year to give fully guaranteed contractsfor their secondround selections, wide receiverJaydenHiggins andlinebacker Carson Schwesinger Before this year,first-round draft picks werethe onlyrookiestoearn fully guaranteed deals. But with the now-established precedent, others —includingShough want to see if the deals trigger awave of teamsagreeing to afully guaranteed fourth year.Oratthe very least,they want to seeif teamsstart to guarantee ahigher percent-

Visionary coachSaban changedLSU football’s culture

BY RONHIGGINS

Contributing writer

This is an entry in aprofile series of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The induction ceremony is set for Saturday in Natchitoches.

When Nick Saban arrived by private plane in Tuscaloosa in earlyJanuary 2007 after agreeing to become Alabama’shead football coach, he was mobbed byadoring fans.

Butwhen he appeared in Baton Rouge in late November 1999 at his introductory news conference announcing him as LSU’s coach, the reception was “Who’sNick Sabanand why is LSU paying him$1.2milliona year?”

“I couldn’tbelieve the response and the attitude people had toward me,” Saban said. “I felt like there were alot of questions, alot of doubts. Youhave to understand. Iwas coming from aplace (Michigan State) where the people were pretty happy over what had been done.

“I was shocked. I was thinking,‘Maybe I ought to go back whereIcame from.’”

Thankfully for LSU, he didn’t, and now he’ll be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame —at last. The induction ceremony is set for SaturdayinNatchitoches.

Sabanwas initiallyelected to theLSHOF’s Class of 2020, but that spring’sglobal pandemic postponed the induction.

“It’sanhonor I’m really excited about,” Sabansaid of hisupcoming induction. “I never thought I’d be considered. Iknow there’sa lot of great sportsfolks in Louisiana.”

AllSaban did in five seasonsfrom 2000-04 was save the Tigers’ program withanational championship,two SEC titles, and a48-16 record(.750) before chasing an NFL dream as thehead coach of the Miami Dolphins. He came to Baton Rouge at atime when LSUwas thirstingfor success,stability,and acoach with avision, including the elements required to build and sustain anationalpower

After LSU had just two head football coaches (Paul Dietzel and Charles McClendon) in 25 years from 1955-1979, the Tigers hadsix coaches in 20 seasonsfrom 1980-1999 In that period, LSU won SEC championships in 1986 and 1988, but afterthe ’88 title,the Tigers had eight losing seasons in 11 years

When LSU fired Gerry DiNardowith one game left in 1999, it already hada list of coaching candidates it wanted to pursue.

o sign rookie contrac ould

age of the f To unders cap expert spoke abou chances an the issue co into camp. Will Saints guarantee

If there’s there are e

linger into camp

ourth-year base salary tandmore, NFL agent and salaryJ.I. Halsell tShough’s dwhether uld linger fully rookie’s deal?

one thing to know about the NFL, xceptions almost always made

See SAINTS, page 3C

Joe Dumars needed just 90 minutes Wednesday night to show how aggressive he’sgoing to be as the Pelicansexecutive vice president of operations. The night startedwith Dumars selecting Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears with theNo. 7pickinthe NBA draft. Fearssported two sparkling chains with pendants around his neck. Oneofthe pendants was azero, the number Fearswore in college. The other displayed his last name. Collectively,the two chains said “no fears,” two words that very well could have also summed up Dumars on this night Thirty minutes after drafting Fears,Dumars madea deal. The Pelicanstraded their No. 23 pick to the Atlanta Hawks to moveuptothe No. 13 spot to select forward Derik Queen from Maryland. “It’s crazy,” Dumars said. “Wefelt like we were going to have to choose between these two guys the whole night.Toend up gettingbothofthem was just really exciting for us.”

“When you have chance to get two lottery picks in one draft, you’re accounting forthe following year,” Dumarssaid. “When you identifya player that you think can be one of the foundations here, you go and get him.That’swhat we did. We targeted Queen. We thought he could be a heckuva addition here and we were really aggressive about going to get Queen in this draft.”

Being aggressive is the only way Dumarsknows.

It’sthe waythe Bad Boy Pistons played in the late 80’sand early 90’swhen Dumarswas in his heyday as a guard on back-to-back NBAchampionship teams. And it’sthe wayheoperated when he wasincharge of the Pistons’ team he built that wonanNBA title in 2004. Andit’sapparently the way he’ll continue to be in his new role with the Pelicans.

The Pelicans paid what many will sayisa hefty price to getQueen.Inaddition to theNo. 23 pick, the Pels surrendered their first-round pick in 2026.

“That’sthe only way I’ve ever had success in this league,” Dumarssaid. “I’ve been around aggressive teamsmyentire life. That has always served well. I thought the two teams in the Finals (the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers) exemplified that. They were aggressive on both ends of the court. They

Rod Walker

Derik Queen walks off the stageafter beingselected 13thbythe Atlanta Hawksinthe first round of the NBAdraft on WednesdayinNew york. Queen waslater traded to the Pelicans. AP PHOTO By ADAM HUNGER

Gauff, Alcaraz give tennis two superstars

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

Wimbledon

LONDON Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz are helping usher in a new era for tennis. With Wimbledon beginning Monday, the sport’s most recent Grand Slam champions are Gauff, a 21-yearold American, and Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, who are both at No. 2 in the rankings and are both coming off French Open titles secured in riveting finals against the sport’s No. 1 players.

They are young, they are charismatic as an be on the court and they are media-friendly off it Rivalries brewing

Along with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and former No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the women’s game, and No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the men’s, Gauff and Alcaraz offer a bright future for a sport’s fanbase that in recent years saw all-time greats Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal walk away and currently might be pondering how much longer Novak Djokovic will contend for the biggest prizes.

“Tennis is just in such a great, great place right now We are so fortunate to have not only Coco, not only Carlos, but a deep bench of young stars that are just propelling the growth of our sport,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said. “I’ve been around a long time, and when we have lost great, iconic champions in the past, there’s generally been a little bit of a dip. We have had the exact opposite during this transition. I always like to say the champions of today are standing on the shoulders of the champions of the past These champions have jumped off the shoulders of the past champions.”

One key for a sport, especially an individual one, to gain attention and grow popularity is to have rivalries that demand buy-in.

Alcaraz vs. Sinner clearly provides that, much in the way that

LSU sophomore Tima Godbless qualified for the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 4x100-meter relay at the 2025 outdoor NCAA Championships.

Federer vs. Nadal or Nadal vs. Djokovic did Alcaraz-Sinner raising the bar

The five-set, 5 1/2-hour men’s final at Roland-Garros was as full of momentum swings, terrific tennis and athleticism as anything those greats conjured.

“The level,” two-time reigning Wimbledon champion Alcaraz said, “was insane.”

The way he and Sinner 23, are currently divvying up the biggest prizes — they’ve split the past six major trophies and eight of the past 11 — is certainly reminiscent of the Big Three’s dominance, albeit over a much smaller sample size so far

“Having these two guys fighting for big trophies I think we have to be very happy about it in the sport of tennis,” said Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s main coach.

“For them, for sure it’s something that they raise their level every

time that they go on the court. They know they have to play unbelievable tennis to beat the other guy, and it’s something that is going to help for sure each player to raise the level even more.”

On and off the court buzz

It sure does seem as though Gauff vs. Sabalenka could provide that sort of dynamic and buzz, too.

Consider that, like Alcaraz and Sinner, they occupy the top two spots in the rankings. And consider that, like those other two, both own multiple major titles. Gauff’s two Slam triumphs came via three-set victories over Sabalenka in the finals.

Plus, their latest meeting, at Roland-Garros less than a month ago, came with some added spice because of Sabalenka’s post-match comments that were seen as less than fully gracious toward Gauff. It became such a thing that Sa-

balenka felt the need to issue a pair of apologies — one privately via writing to Gauff, and one publicly in an interview at her next tournament.

Add that sort of off-court intrigue to the on-court interest, and if there are rematches at the All England Club a couple of weeks from now, no one who is invested in tennis will be displeased.

“There’s incredible momentum and wind in our sails as we think about the sport, in total,” said Lew Sherr, who is about to leave his role as the CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association. “We’ve had five consecutive years of participation growth and that certainly is being, in part, fueled by the great talent and inspiring players we have at the professional level, and also is feeding record attendance, record interest, record viewership. Those things go hand in hand. We have not missed a beat.”

LSU’s Godbless quickly found her stride

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Tima Godbless‘ face said everything.

Disbelief Elation Gratitude

The LSU sprinter’s jaw dropped, she folded into a crouch and her eyes barely restrained tears. Godbless’ mind raced, trying to grasp what her body did after running a personal-best 10.91 seconds in the women’s 100-meter dash at the NCAA East outdoor regionals.

The May 29 feat became the year’s world top time is currently tied for seventh.

“In the women’s sprint, you’re under 11 seconds, you’re special, OK,” LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver said. “I don’t care who it is.”

The 5-foot-5 Godbless became the fourth-fastest Nigerian woman ever and is fourth all-time in LSU history in the 100, tying Brianna Lyston (2024). As shocked as she was, the sophomore expected this to happen sooner based on her training She also didn’t think a PR would happen that Thursday She felt pain in her right ankle, which she injured a little more than a week before the SEC Championships The grit to persevere is what the great ones possess, Shaver said Earning that regional title at LSU and winning globally is part of what Godbless envisions. She’s off to a strong start crafting that résumé.

The second-team All-SEC sprinter finished her outdoor season finishing third in the 100 at the NCAA Championships. She was also part of the LSU final in the 4x100 relay and a 200 semifinalist. Godbless, 20, intends to carry her collegiate success into the summer when she returns to Nigeria for national tryouts before competing in the World Athletics Championships in September Track and field wasn’t supposed

to be in Godbless’ DNA. Her parents didn’t play sports and she’s the only one of her four siblings in athletics.

People only noticed her speed when she participated in the annual inter-house sports competition, her country’s version of field day Track coach Richard Torugbene attempted to convince the girl from Bebelebiri to run but was shrugged off. When she finally gave in, she stopped training after a month.

What stood in the way of her destiny: chores.

“I was the only girl around the family and I was doing the housework,” Godbless said “I couldn’t come back from class and do all the housework, then go to practice in the evening. I couldn’t do it.”

Torugbene persuaded her once more, explaining her elite talent and how it was in her best interest to “endure the pain.” Godbless rejoined the team and hasn’t looked back since 2019. Her coach didn’t waste time

entering her in big meets. The goal was to get her accustomed to those settings to make up for lost time as a 15-year-old.

The early days were rocky Nervousness consumed the softspoken Godbless and anxiety on competition days stole her appetite. That slowly dissipated as she became more experienced.

Starting later in the sport actually benefited her and part of what intrigued Shaver in recruiting her “Their training age, so to speak, is younger,” Shaver said of athletes like Godbless who start late, “therefore their chance of improvement is going to be higher than somebody that’s been doing it since they were 6 years old.”

When Godbless was 17, she qualified and went to the Tokyo Olympics. She and nine other Nigerian athletes were disqualified, however, because their country’s athletic officials didn’t perform enough drug tests over several months, according to NPR. She became a two-time U20 Af-

Former Ravens K Tucker gets 10-week suspension

NEW YORK The NFL suspended former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for the first 10 weeks of the season on Thursday for violating its personal conduct policy

The suspension takes effect on Aug. 26, roster cutdown day, and Tucker is eligible for reinstatement on Nov 11. Tucker remains free to try out with and sign with a team. If he is signed, he can attend training camp and participate in preseason games.

The 35-year-old became a free agent after the Ravens released him last month in the aftermath of reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists.

The Baltimore Banner since January has reported over a dozen massage therapists have accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior

Kipyegon falls short in bid for sub-four-minute mile

PARIS Three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon failed in her bid Thursday to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes.

Kipyegon, the Olympic 1,500-meter gold medalist from Kenya, ran in 4 minutes, 06.42 seconds the fastest mile in history by a woman at Stade Charléty in Paris. Her time was better than her world record of 4:07.64 but won’t be recognized by the international federation because the Nike-sponsored event dubbed “Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile” was unofficial. She was supported by pacemakers and equipped with Nike’s latest innovations, from her aerodynamic tracksuit to her spikes.

Buccaneers coach, GM sign multiyear extensions

TAMPA, Fla. — The Buccaneers signed general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles to multi-year contract extensions on Thursday Bucs owner and co-chairman Joel Glazer said in the team’s announcement the two have been critical to the team’s recent success. The team did not provide terms of the extensions.

Bowles is coming off his third year as coach in which he led the Bucs to a fourth-straight NFC South title. He was promoted in 2022 after Bruce Arians stepped down following the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV victory Bowles had previously served as the team’s defensive coordinator for three seasons.

rican Champion in the 100 and 200 in 2023 and competed in the 100 and 4x100 relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Her meteoric rise in the sport is not just a testament to talent. She has a winning spirit that has been nurtured in a household where she grew up fighting with three brothers daily

Godbless was unhappy with her eighth-place finish in the 100 final of the 2024 outdoor NCAA Championships. It didn’t matter that she was only a freshman, she said.

“Oh my God, eighth position, just no way,” Godbless said to herself.

When she committed to LSU after visiting and seeing the success of another Nigerian sprinter, Favour Ofili, she envisioned early success. The biggest barrier to achieving that was communicating.

An introvert at heart, Godbless prefers to observe in the background rather than make her presence known. Add in that she was still adjusting to Baton Rouge without her family nearby and she needed time to build that comfort level, specifically speaking with coaches and teammates.

“The first year, I don’t know if she said a word to me,” Shaver said.

Communicating, including with the training staff, is major part of the winning formula Shaver has crafted as head coach since 2004.

After a full year, the sprint star of a few words grew to be among the more “talkative girls on the team,” she said.

It’s no accident that finding her voice coincided with Godbless’ upward trajectory as she’s still so new

“She has that desire to be great. That’s just something you can’t coach,” Shaver said. “She’s a great competitor and she’s very willing to learn and easy to coach, which is a blessing.”

Ronaldo signs new deal to extend Al Nassr stay

With the words “Al Nassr forever” Cristiano Ronaldo ended uncertainty about his future and signed a two-year contract extension with the Saudi Arabian club on Thursday The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s latest deal means he will play on until at least the age of 42 and gives him the chance to add to his record-breaking career “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream Let’s make history together,” Ronaldo said in a social media post along with a picture of him holding up a shirt that said “Ronaldo 2027.”

The contract sees Ronaldo extend his time in Saudi Arabia, having joined Al Nassr at the end of 2022 in one of the most shocking transfers in soccer history after leaving Manchester United.

Bengals take major step toward extending lease

CINCINNATI

The Cincinnati Bengals and local officials have reached a tentative deal to make $470 million in renovations to Paycor Stadium and keep the team there through at least 2036.

The preliminary agreement announced Thursday still needs final approval from the team and Hamilton County commissioners.

The two sides had until June 30 to agree to a new lease or approve the first of five two-year extensions but they’ve agreed to extend the deadline. The Bengals’ original lease expires at the end of next June. The county will contribute $350 million toward the renovations, and the Bengals will pay $120 million. Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said the agreement will secure the team’s future in Cincinnati.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN WHITLEy

PROVIDED PHOTO By REAGAN COTTEN

But Saban wasn’t on it. He was a Bill Belichick disciple who worked as Belichick’s defensive coordinator for four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Then he was a college head coach for six seasons, including five at Michigan State, where he was basically a .500 coach in his first four seasons with the Spartans before posting a 9-2 record in 1999.

“One of the other things that piqued my interest was that when I was in the NFL, somebody did a study, probably Belichick because he was notorious for this kind of detail,” Saban said. “The study revealed per capita which state had the most players from its colleges playing in the NFL. Louisiana was always ranked third or fourth I always remembered that.”

Saban’s contact with LSU came through his Tennessee-based agent Jimmy Sexton. Sexton gauged Saban’s interest, and then had his business partner Sean Tuohy contact then-LSU athletic director Joe Dean.

From that point on, steps toward the Saban-LSU marriage were over-the-top clandestine. He agreed to meet with LSU officials at Sexton’s house in Memphis, Tennessee

“I was getting beat up so bad at Michigan State (by the media) because word was out I might leave,” Saban said. “I felt if I went to Baton Rouge for an interview, I’d have

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defended like heck. They pushed the ball. Those are the elements that win. So we want to be aggressive at all times.”

And that includes his decision making.

This time a week ago, the Pelicans only had the No. 7 pick in the draft But Dumars made a deal with the Pacers to get the No. 23 pick and gave the Pacers back their own 2026 first-round pick. That extra pick ended up being the move Dumars needed to get the chess piece he really wanted: the Queen. Derik Queen “When I got here, we had just the seventh pick and I was like ’we

SAINTS

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to take the job, and I didn’t know enough about it to know if that was what I really wanted to do.”

So,SabandispatchedhiswifeTerry “on a secret mission” to get a personal look at his potential next coaching stop. It’s something he hadn’t done before and hasn’t done since.

She knew she had successfully stayed under a cloak of secrecy when she ate lunch with Emmert’s wife at TJ Ribs. The popular Baton Rouge restaurant had a blackboard on which patrons could vote for who they thought the next LSU coach would be.

Nick Saban’s name wasn’t on the board, so Terry Saban asked the waiter to add the name of “Nick Saban.”

The waiter had no clue who Nick Saban was.

Meanwhile, Nick was dazzling Emmert and the other LSU officials.

“We liked his attitude toward the student-athlete and his analytical approach to building a program,”

Emmert said. We all came away feeling this was somebody who could do what we wanted.”

Terry Saban did her due diligence, returned home, and gave her husband an honest review of the strengths and weaknesses of the LSU situation

For $1.2 million annually, the most ever paid to an LSU coach in any sport at the time, Saban agreed to become the 31st head football coach in LSU history

It wasn’t long in Baton Rouge — especially at LSU — that Saban became a force of nature.

don’t have enough assets to move around in the draft,’” Dumars said “So we had to get that asset. We had to get that asset and put it into this draft and hope that we had a chance to do what we did tonight.”

Once Dumars drafted Fears with the No. 7 pick, he began looking for a trade two picks later

“We started from nine all the way until we got a deal,” Dumars said. You don’t pull the trigger on the asset next year until you get that deal. Otherwise, you keep it.”

There was a contingency plan if he didn’t find a deal.

“If you get stuck at No. 23, you better have a handful of guys you like,” Dumar said “And we did.”

There were guys they liked. But Queen is who they really coveted.

“It shows how much they

for quarterbacks. That doesn’t mean the Saints will automatically meet Shough’s asking price. But Halsell noted that teams tend to get innovative on these sorts of issues when the most important position is involved.

Take Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis, for instance. Drafted 33rd overall in 2023, Levis received additional guarantees in the form of roster bonuses for the second, third and fourth year of his rookie deal. That was a different structure from how the Titans operated with 2022 secondround cornerback Roger McCreary, whose guarantees were limited to the first three years of his base salary, a tiny portion of his fourth-year salary and his signing bonus.

“The great thing about the Saints is that (assistant general manager and cap guru) Khai Harley, if you’ve looked at the deals he’s done since he’s been there, has shown a willingness to be creative,” Halsell said. “He and Mickey (Loomis) have shown a certain level of creativeness.

“You’re going to need that creativity to find some middle ground (that’s) win-win for both the club and the agent.” Halsell suggested that middle ground could entail having the fourth year of Shough’s contract be guaranteed for injury only or by triggering the guarantee in terms of a roster bonus. That would be similar to how the Saints guaranteed portions of Derek Carr’s four-year, $150 million contract in 2023. That would allow Shough’s camp to claim they got a “fully guaranteed contract” while not actually making it fully guaranteed, Halsell said.

Complicating matters is also the NFL’s rookie wage scale. The scale determines the player’s specific salary based on when they were drafted, adjusted for the growth of the salary cap each year So, because the salary is non-negotiable, teams and agents typically clash over smaller details such as when bonuses are to be paid and how much of the contract is guaranteed.

Shough was the 40th overall pick, and historically, that doesn’t do the quarterback any favors. Last year’s 40th selection, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean, had only the first two years of his base salary fully guaranteed and gained a partial guarantee in the third year New Orleans edge rusher Isaiah Foksey, picked 40th in 2023, received three years guaranteed but not his fourth year

How are second-round picks approached?

When trying to determine whether the Saints will guarantee all of Shough’s deal, it’s important to examine their history of second-round contracts.

Since 2012, the first year that the league’s

He changed the program’s culture through “The Process,” his revamped coaching philosophy born Nov 7, 1998, when Saban’s 30-point underdog Spartans scored 19 straight second-half points for a 28-24 win at No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State.

“That’s when I started,” Saban said, “the whole process-oriented ‘one play at a time, play the next play, don’t worry about what happened on the last play.’ I felt that was the only way we would have a chance in that game. The players actually did it. They played loose, free, they weren’t worried about winning. They just focused on what was in front of them.

“That told me, ‘This is a much better way to do it than talking about winning.’ Play the next play, dominate your box every play just focus on that and not the outcome.”

Saban educated the Tigers, but also learned a few things exclusive to college football in the South.

For instance, he didn’t understand why Louisiana state police troopers escorted him to midfield for a postgame handshake with the opposing coach and then flanked him as he left the field.

“I’d never had cops before,” Saban said.

Sabanhadnevercoachedbelowthe Mason-Dixon line, where Alabama legend Bear Bryant began the timehonored Southern tradition of state trooper escorts in the late 1950s.

“Why do I need you guys?” Saban asked.

Then in the fifth game of his first LSU season, with the Tigers off to

wanted me and how much they believe in me,” Queen said. “I’m just ready to show them they got their money’s worth and ready to put on for the Pelicans.”

If Queen turns out to be the lottery pick type talent that Dumars and his right-hand man Troy Weaver project him to be, the trade to move up and get him will be viewed as brilliant. If he doesn’t pan out, it’ll be a draft night trade that Dumars will be criticized about for years to come, especially this time next year when the Pelicans are sitting out the first round of the draft. Dumars is banking on Queen living up to expectations.

“I like tough guys,” Dumars said. “And you have to have an IQ. You can’t just be tough and nothing else. I put Queen’s IQ of the game

rookie wage scale went into effect, the Saints have drafted 10 other players in Round 2 The first eight only received guaranteed salaries for the first two years of their four-year contract.

But the dynamic shifted over the last two years.

Foskey’s contract was the first time the Saints guaranteed the entire third year of a base salary for a non-first-round, rookiescale contract. And last year, the Saints even went so far as to guarantee a small portion ($168,700) of Kool-Aid McKinstry’s fourthyear base salary What changed? Well, blame the Texans, Halsell joked.

Halsell pointed out how in 2022, Houston guaranteed safety Jalen Pitre’s third-year base salary, which agents then used as precedent for players in a similar range. Pitre was the fifth pick in the second round that year, 37th overall.

“(It’s) a trickle-down effect,” said Halsell, who works at the same sports agency that represents Foskey. “This isn’t just unique to the Saints. It’s really a function of, ‘What are the teams ahead of us … and what have they done?’ …The impact of the Jalen Pitre deal helped all the second-round picks the following year get more Year 3 money guaranteed.”

This year, that trickle-down effect started when the Texans set a new standard with Higgins, followed by the Browns with Schwesinger Shough’s leverage could come down to whether the unsigned players ahead of him then blink by agreeing to only a partial guarantee.

When will it be time to worry?

Though precedents can ultimately facilitate deals, they also can slow down negotiations as the two sides go back and forth over whether the terms actually apply

Foskey and the Saints, for instance, didn’t announce a completed deal until July 19 days before the start of training camp. And the year before that, cornerback Alontae Taylor also waited until July 19 to sign his rookie contract. History suggests that the Saints and Shough will figure something out before camp, which players must report for on July 22. If they don’t, Halsell said it would be common for a player in a similar situation to hold out though rookie holdouts have become a lot more rare since the wage scale was implemented.

Shough, for his part, participated in the entire offseason program despite not having a contract Rookies can sign waivers that allow them to practice while negotiations take place and protect the player in the event of an injury

But if the Saints want Shough to be their starting quarterback, and if the rookie wants to win the job, there’s a seeming deadline for a deal to be complete. Who budges to get it done will be fascinating to see.

a 2-2 start and reeling from two straight losses, including a home stunner to UAB, LSU faced No. 11 Tennessee.

The Tigers won a 38-31 overtime thriller in Tiger Stadium. When LSU’s Damien James knocked down one last Tennessee fourthdown pass, most of the stadium emptied onto the field to tear down the goalposts. Saban found Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer for a handshake and looked for an escape route through an ocean of fans back to the Tigers’ dressing room in the north end zone.

“When that happened,” Saban recalled, “I said, ‘Now I know why I have these cops.’ I could have gotten killed without them.”

Saban never won fewer than eight games in all of his LSU seasons. He had three bowl wins, including the BCS national title game victory in the Sugar Bowl over Oklahoma. His SEC championship game victories came against Tennessee and Georgia.

The win against the Vols in the 2001 league title lit the fuse for LSU’s national championship run two years later

When Saban left LSU to return to the NFL for the first time in 10 years, it was vastly different than when he last coached in the pros as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator in 1994.

Back then, the NFL had just introduced free agency in 1993, so Saban hadn’t fully experienced the rapidly growing roster instability and volatility of players having the freedom to jump ship.

up against anybody in this draft.” Dumars offers equally high praise for Fears.

“Super confident, but not arrogant and not cocky,” Dumars said. “You need some of that to be good in this league. You’ve got to think ‘I’m him’ and he does. I like that about him. But I (also) like his skill set. Just his ability to get anywhere on the court like that, is a unique ability.”

Dumars has one pick in the second round of the draft, which will be held Thursday night. That pick was acquired Tuesday in a trade that sent CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk and a second round pick in 2026 to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey

“One of the things you want to do when you’re building out a team,

Saban, who had a 15-17 record in two seasons with the Dolphins, began looking at college vacancies.

“The best job that was available was Alabama, which happened to be a rival to the place (LSU) in which I had a tremendous amount of pride in terms of what we were able to accomplish, what we were able to do and a lot of the relationships we made,” Saban said.

Because of that, Saban became public enemy No. 1 to a segment of LSU fans who forgot how he rescued the Tigers’ program from the garbage heap.

It didn’t help Saban’s relationship with the Tigers’ faithful that he won six national titles with the Crimson Tide in 17 seasons and had a 13-5 record vs. LSU. That included an eight-game win streak that started with the Tide blanking the Tigers 21-0 for the 2011 national title in the BCS championship game in New Orleans and ending with a 46-41 loss in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to LSU’s eventual 2019 national champions.

Upon his retirement, he joined ESPN’s College GameDay before the start of the 2024 season He’s also had time to reflect on his career move from LSU with a tinge of regret.

“You live and learn, do things, and you find out about yourself,” Saban said “LSU has a great atmosphere, the people are so supportive, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for that program. It’s one of the greatest places athletically in the country right now.”

whenever you have these tempo moments the draft, free agency trade deadline — it’s an opportunity to make a statement about who you are as a team and what you’re going to be,” Dumars said. And what exactly are the Pelicans going to be?

Aggressive.

“We want to be an aggressive team,” Dumars said. “We are going to be aggressive in this front office. We want our players to be aggressive. We want our approach to be aggressive. We want to show up. We’re going to show up for the run. We have 82 runs. We don’t have to be loud. We don’t have to bang our chests. But we intend to be there.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

Play ball

Four hours of pickleball or tennis playfor all levels, and it’sfree? Check it from 8a.m. to noon FridayatBREC’sGreenwood Community Park Racqu Facility,13350 La. 19inBaker.Sessions for those 18+ runeach Frida through July 25,and Aug. 1-Dec.19(no session Nov. 28). brec.org.

‘American Idol’ runner-up John Foster is setto playmultiple shows, the first being Saturday, July 5, at the Paragon Casino ResortinMarksville.

Tunes on tap

‘Idol’ runner-up John Foster playing nine shows till Halloween

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Louisiana country singer and recent “American Idol” runnerup John Foster continues to rack up live show engagements in his home state and beyond. Here are nineupcoming appearancesfor the Addis teen, whomade his Grand OleOpry debut on June 7, just three weeks after “Idol” wrapped its 23rdseason: Saturday, July 5: Paragon Casino Resort’sMari Showroom, 711 ParagonPlace, Marksville. Doors open at 7p.m., show beginsat8 p.m. and tickets start at $25. paragoncasinoresort.com.

*Note: Fosteralso will be grand marshal for the Avoyelles Parish city’sFourth of July parade rolling at 10 a.m. along La. 1. Wednesday, July 9: Grand Ole Opry,2804 Opryland Drive, Nashville. Foster will be celebrating his19thbirthdayathis second Opry show.The all-ages show starts at 7p.m. and ticket range is $46-$272. Also scheduledtoperform are Ashley Cooke, The Isaacs and Jonnie W. opry.com.

Saturday, July26: Marshland Festival,Lake Charles Event Center,900 Lakeshore Drive. Foster shares the festival’ssecond-day bill with Brooks Drost, Louisiana Expresswith Johnnie Allan, Ryan Foret, Zach Edwards &The Medicine, Watersedge, Jamie Bergeron, Steelshot and Dillon Carmichael. $20. visitlakecharles.org.

Fridayand Saturday, Aug.1-2: The Texas Club, 134 N. Donmoor Ave., Baton Rouge. After sellingout theAug. 2show in less than aday,the Friday show was added.Tickets are$137.Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show startsat9 p.m. Both nights also will feature Lauren Lee Band and Connor Martin. Aspecial encore performance with Chase Tyler is plannedfor Friday thetexasclub.com.

Thursday, Aug.21: Grand Ole Opry.6 p.m., doors; 7p.m., show;tickets,$46-$275. Also on the evening’sbill are Jamey Johnson, DeborahAllenand Moe Bandy.opry.com. Friday, Aug.29: Alley Fest Music Festival, Combs Airport, Paintsville,Kentucky. Fostertakesthe stagethe same dayashis former fellow“American Idol” finalist Slater Nalley.Friday tickets are $69, general admission;$350, VIP experience. Thefestruns

ä See FOSTER, page 6C

THE ADVOCATE.COM | Friday, June27, 2025 5Cn

BatonRouge

PROVIDED PHOTO By ROBBy KLEIN

There’safullday of love, unity and celebration taking place at the RaisingCane’sRiver Center Arena from noon to 7p.m. Saturday

It’sBaton Rouge PrideFest, which this year embraces the theme “I Am aWork of Art.”

The presenters —AIDSHealthcare Foundation and Open Health Care say the theme honors the creativity, strength and diversity of theLGBTQ+ community

“With international talentand local pride, this festival is aliving, breathing canvas of joy,visibility and expression,” according to anews release.

The international talent features headlining artist GFlip,anAustralian pop-rock drummer and singersongwriter described as electrifying.

ä See PRIDE, page 6C

BYJUDYBERGERON Staff

GFlip

Kelsi Creek

Deborah Cox

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Laine Hardy and Jordan Gautreau became husband and wifeonJune 20.

Thanking astrangerfor an item loan

Dear Miss Manners: Ibelongtoa

local social media group that lets people loan and borrow items. Irecently posted aquery asking to borrow apiece of equipment for an upcoming surgery, and someone graciously responded. I’d like to include atoken of my gratitude upon returning the item, but have no idea what, since this person is astranger to me. Can you suggest something?

form of agraciousand appreciative handwritten letter,will be thanksenough. That,and returningthe equipment devoidofany bodily fluids.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: Thesurgery and the need for the equipment is what connectsyou to this stranger, more so than any candle or coffee store gift card.

Miss Manners is certain that your heartfelt gratitude,inthe

Dear Miss Manners: When I go to someone’shouse, is it rude to say “Beat it!” to their dogwhen it tries to jump up on me or lick me?

Gentle reader: Sure is. And rude to say to their toddler too.

Dear Miss Manners: I’m seeking some guidance on howbest to navigate my dietary restrictions with grace. Ihave celiac disease, meaning Icannot tolerate gluten in any form. Even trace amounts of cross-contamination —suchasusing the same knifetobutter regular bread and my gluten-freebread

Remember items with akeyword

Dear Heloise: Going from room to room, then forgetting what I went in there for is acommon occurrence. My tip for remembering is to recite akeyword in my head as Igofrom oneroom to the other so that when Iget in there, instead of wonderingwhat Icame in there for,the keyword will remind me. This way, Idon’thave to walk back out to where Istarted in order to remember For example, if I’m going in my bedroom to get my reading glasses, Iwill say “glasses” overand over in my head while going from one room to the next. Just remember that if there is asignificant decrease in your ability to remember,it might be time to consult your doctor —Roma, in New York Thanks for writing in, Roma! Well, readers, what do you do to help you remember things?

Heloise Tomato juiceadd-on

n He may not see the importance of awill, estateplanning, or aliving will, so make an appointment with an attorney and have them explain theneed and importance of having awill and aliving will to both of you.

—can cause me severe illness. Thankfully,myhusband is incredibly supportive and follows my diet at home, so that’snot an issue in our household. For family gatherings, Itypically bring my own meal. While Irealize this isn’t themostconventional approach, my family and Ihave discussed it,and everyone understands that it’snot about rejecting someone’scooking, but about my medical needs. The real challenge arises when dining out.Unfortunately,most restaurantsdon’thave the protocols in place to safely accommodatemyrestrictions. Early in my diagnosis, Itried calling ahead to confirm that my meal could be safely prepared, but many restaurantssimply couldn’tguarantee

that. Even when they madean effort, cross-contamination often happened by mistake. When I’m invited out by friends who may not fully understand my dietary needs,I generally decline theinvitation to avoid making them uncomfortable. If they insist, Iexplain that my dietary restrictionsprevent me from dining out. While somedrop the subject,others suggest Ibring my own food or simply join them without eating. The former feels disrespectful to the restaurant, and the latter isn’tvery enjoyable —though Idolove their company watching others eat food Ican no longer enjoy isn’tquite the same. Iwould be so grateful forany advice you have on how to handle these situations politely without

feeling like I’minconveniencing others or myself

Gentle reader: “Meals are difficult forme, but how about coffee or a drink?”

If Miss Manners werethe betting sort, she would put money on at least one of your friends responding by saying they do not drink alcohol or coffee. Which may makethe solution harder,but your friends’ empathy toward the problem infinitely stronger

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

SHOWSTOWATCH —ACADIANA

FRIDAY

SHADOWROAD: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pie Bar,New Iberia, 5p.m

PRENTICE JAMES: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6p.m

NICKINEEDHAM: Jim Deggy’s,Lafayette, 6p.m

ALYSSA MCMURRAY: Adopted DogBrewing, Lafayette, 6p.m

ORYVEILLON: Naq’s-nDuson,Duson, 6p.m

n Some menfear their mortalityand avoid any discussion of death.Still, death is a part of life. Awill merely ensures that your wishes are carried out the way youwant them to be. It protectsyou and your children from others who might claim that they had averbal agreement with your husband to receive moneyorproperty.

n Awill spells out who gets what, andhemightbeworried that there will beresentment andfighting over theproperty. But on the contrary,a will usually helpsavoid conflict.

Dear Heloise: Ilove tomato juice, but when Idohave aglass, Iadd asqueeze of fresh lemon juice to it to get more vitamin C. So much of this vitamin is lost in thecanning process. It also adds alittle more tang to the taste.

Edith D.,inShelton,Washington

Thegrimreaper

Dear Heloise: Why do so many men avoid making out awill? My husband of 36 years refuses to make out awill. He keeps saying there’snorush, but we never know when we willleave this earth. How can Iget him to sit down and discuss awill?

P.S. Iread your column daily and love all the hints you provide. —Frances A., in Lima, Ohio Frances, Iget afair number of letters from women asking the same question. Hereare some facts of life that he should consider:

n He may resent societal pressuretomakeout awill, but remindhim that it’s an act of love and protection for his family. Your attorney canadvise you on what you need to do and get the paperwork ready for him to sign. —Heloise Chroniccough

Dear Heloise: Ihaveachronic cough,but I’ve found some things that helpkeep me from coughing all thetime. Occasionally I’ll takeadab of honey and placeitonmytongue at theback to helpcontrol thecough. Once in awhile, I’ll place a whole clove in my mouth to stop an irritatingtickle, and it’s better than asugarycough drop. My doctor also told me to chew gum (not in public butathome) to help with coughing. If acough is persistent, it’sbest to see adoctor to find out why you keep coughing. —Mary-Ellen C.,Meriden,Connecticut

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday,June 27, the 178th day of 2025. There are 187 days left in the year

Todayinhistory

On June 27, 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as aCategory 4storm, causing as many as 600 deaths.

On this date:

In 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by amob in Carthage, Illinois.

In 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed aresolution calling on membernations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.

In 1991, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black jurist to sit on thenation’shighest court, announced his retirement.

In 2005, BTK serial killer DennisRader pleaded guiltyto10 murders that had spread fear across Wichita, Kansas, beginning in the 1970s. In 2006, aconstitutionalamendment to ban desecration ofthe American flag died in aU.S. Senate cliff-hanger,falling one vote short of the 67 needed to send it to states for ratification.

In 2011, former IllinoisGov Rod Blagojevich was convicted by afederaljury in Chicago on a widerangeofcorruption charg-

es, includingthe allegation that he’d tried to sell or tradePresidentBarack Obama’sU.S.Senate seat. (Blagojevich was later sentenced to 14 years in prison; hissentence was commuted by President Donald Trumpin February 2020, andhereceived afulland unconditional pardon from Trump in February 2025.)

In 2018, U.S.Supreme Court Justice AnthonyKennedy,whose voteoften decided cases on abortion,gay rights and other contentiousissues, announced hisretirement. In 2022, in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, theSupreme Court ruled that ahighschool football coach who sought to kneel and pray on thefield after gameswas protected by the First Amendment

Today’sBirthdays: Musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is83. Fashion designer Norma Kamali is 80. Fashion designer Vera Wang is 76. Actor Julia Duffy is 74. Actor Isabelle Adjani is 70. Cinematographer JanuszKaminski is 66. Country singer Lorrie Morganis 66. ActorTony Leung Chiu-wai is 63. Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 59. ActorTobey Maguire is 50. Reality TV starKhloé Kardashian is 41. Actor Sam Claflin is 39. Actor Ed Westwick is 38. NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner is 35. ActorMadylin Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”)is34. Singer-songwriter H.E.R. is 28.

LIVE MUSIC: Whiskey & Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6p.m

RORYSUIRE: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

HUGH AND THE WRECKING

CREW: AgaveDowntown, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

JAMBALAYA TRIO: Randol’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

FURTHER NORTH/LONG

LIVE THE LIGHTS/SILVERCAPBABY: The Pit at EPIC, Scott, 7p.m

MICHAEL JUAN &ERIC ADCOCK: HideawayonLee, Lafayette, 8p.m

ZITA/THE POSTS/WAR BUNNIES: Artmosphere, Lafayette, 8p.m

RUSTY METOYER: Cowboys Nightclub,Scott, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY

RUSTY METOYER & ZYDECO KRUSH: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8a.m

TROYLEJEUNE BAND: Fred’s, Mamou,8 a.m.

CAJUN ZYDECO BREAKFAST: Naq’s-n-Duson

Duson,8:30a.m

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9a.m

SATURDAY MORNING JAM

SESSIONS: Savoy Music Center,Eunice,9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

JC MELANCON: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC

JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1p.m

EN CACHETTE: Cypress Cove Landing,Breaux Bridge, 3p.m

PRIDE

Continuedfrom page5C

POISSON ROUGE: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 4p.m

MELISSADUBOIS: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

GRITZ NGRAVY: Agave Downtown, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: TapRoom, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

ALYSSA MCMURRAY: Charley G’s, Lafayette, 6p.m.

AUSTIN REAUX: Naq’s-nDuson,Duson, 6p.m.

CLIFF BERNARD: Prejean’s Broussard, 6p.m MYLES MIGL: Jim Deggy’s, Lafayette, 6p.m

LIVE MUSIC: Whiskey& Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m.

HORACE TRAHAN: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8p.m JAMIE BERGERON AND THE KICKIN’ CAJUNS: Lakeview Park,Eunice, 8p.m

NEW NATIVES BRASS BAND: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8p.m

CHUBBYCARRIER &THE BAYOUSWAMP BAND: La Poussiere, Breaux Bridge 8p.m

5TH AVENUE: Rock ’n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9p.m.

CLIFTON BROWN: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m

Special guestperformers also includeDeborah Cox,aCanadian rhythm-and-blues singer,songwriter,actress, record producer and LGBTQ+ ally; and rising singer,songwriterand musician Kelsi Creek. Creek is aBaton Rouge nativenow living in Austin, Texas. LatangelaFay,Donovan Jackson

HARDY

Continuedfrom page5C

Fordancing, the bride opted for ashort, white,strapless dress layered withruffles.The groom ditched his jacket and undid afew buttonsonhis white, long-sleeved dressshirt. Gautreau,who studied at South-

FOSTER

Continuedfrom page5C

through Sunday.alleyfestky.com. Saturday, Oct. 25: Hobart Arena, Troy,Ohio.Foster will be special

SUNDAY LIVE MUSIC: TanteMarie, BreauxBridge,11a.m. LE BALDUDIMANCHE—

KEVIN HUVAL’S CAJUN/ CREOLE DANCE BAND: Vermilionville,Lafayette, 1p.m. CAJUN JAM: BayouTeche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2p.m.

DIMANCHEMATIN CADIEN —CAJUN FAMILYSUNDAY FUNDAY: La Poussiere, BreauxBridge,2 p.m LEROYTHOMAS: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3p.m.

SINGER/SONGWRITER OPEN MIC: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 4p.m.

JUNIOR LACROSSE: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club,Henderson, 4:30 p.m

SAMSPHAR: CharleyG’s, Lafayette, 6p.m.

BOMA BANGO!: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8p.m.

MONDAY

PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

RICHARD ALLEN: Charley G’s,Lafayette, 6p.m. THE GREGGORDON

PROJECT: The Brass Room, Lafayette, 7p.m.

TUESDAY

TERRYHUVAL &FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant

and London Manchester will host.

The event will honor grand marshals BrittanyMusso King and Y’zell Williamson for their outstanding contributions to the community.

The festival will also offer:

n “A cast of Louisiana’s finest” dragperformances,led by Nicole Foxx.

n The RainbowExchange,shopping in support of queer-owned businesses, artists and organizations. n Akids’ area witharange of

Lafayette, 6p.m.

WEDNESDAY DULCIMERJAM: St. Landry VisitorCenter,Opelousas, 10 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Whiskey& Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: TapRoom, Youngsville,6:30 p.m

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8p.m.

THURSDAY

LIVE MUSIC: Whiskey& Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m.

STEVE RILEY PRESENTS INTERNATIONAL ACCORDION KINGS: Acadiana Center for theArts, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m

KARAOKE PARTY—PANDA

ENTERTAINMENT: Black Bull, Youngsville,8p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: TapRoom, Lafayette, 8p.m.

NOUVEAU STRINGBAND: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8p.m.

Compiledby Marchaund Jones Want yourvenue’s music listed? Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. Thedeadline is noon FRIDAY forthe following Friday’spaper.

engaging activitiesand entertainmentfor children of all ages. Doorsopen at 11:30 a.m. Baton Rouge Pride Fest is afree and open event, Exclusive ticketed seating will be available forthe musical performances.For details andupdates, visitbatonrougepride.org and follow @brpride on Facebook and Instagram

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

eastern LouisianaUniversity in Hammond, is aformer New OrleansSaintscheerleader andNew Orleans Pelicans dancer After winning theABC singing competitionseries“American Idol” in 2019, becoming the state’s first “Idol” titleholder, Hardy signed with Hollywood Records. They parted ways in 2022, with Hardymoving forward as an independentartist.His most recent single,“ThatMan,” was released in January Hardy performed forthe LouisianaCrawfish Festival in Chalmette in March. He is scheduled to headline Chennault Fest 2025 in Monroe in November For more on Hardy,visit lainehardymusic.com

guest for the Joe Nichols-headlining concert. Doors, 6:30 p.m.; show 7:30 p.m. Ticketsare $46-$62. hobartarena.com. Friday, Oct. 31: Boots on the Bayou Music Festival, Lamar-Dixon Expo Centerfestivalgrounds, 9039 S. St. Landry Ave., Gonzales.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

Prices start at $99, general admission. Headlining the two-day fest will be Chris Stapleton andCody Johnson. Theschedule is TBA. lamardixonexpocenter.com.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

Hints from Heloise

PROVIDED PHOTO

RustyMetoyerwill play Cowboys Nightclub in Scott at 10 p.m. Friday

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Communication can spare you from taking on too much. Concentrate on saving, security and peace of mind, and turn frustration and anger into personal gain

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Raiseyourvoice, share your thoughtsand make adifference. Refuse to let what others think steal your focus or turn your energy into anger. Wisdom andcommonsense are your tickets to success

VIRGO(Aug.23-Sept.22) With change comes choices and decisionsthat aren't always easy. Invest time and effort to ensureyou make meaningful decisions that are not disruptivetoyou or the people you love.

LIBRA (Sept.23-Oct. 23) Alignyourself with people who share your objectives. Do your part to gain access to those who have the power to bring about change. Becomepart of the solution,and you'll encounter someonewho stirs your emotions.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Spend more timenurturing what's important to you. Your relationships will suffer if you lack compassion or neglect people vying for your approvalorattention.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take care of your money, possessions and emotional well-being. Show your desire and interest in learning and excelling to meet their demands. Secure your personal and professionalprospects.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Research, fact-check and question anyone pushing youtofollow the herd. Askques-

tions andlook for options that make you feel comfortable. Do what's best for you.

AQUARIUS(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Refuse to let others decidefor you. Speak up, share your thoughts and feelings, and be bold with words andactions.Don't gamble withyour savings,emotions or what you've workedhard to acquire

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Actions speak louder than words. Do what youwant, and don't apologizefor looking out for yourself. Use your status to make inroads with peopleina position to help ARIES (March 21-April 19) Wake up, smell the roses andwelcome the weekend with vim andvigor.Today is about socializing, communicating andsharing your feelings and intentions with the people you encounter.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Rethink your schedule andhow youwanttorespond to someone close to you. Take aback seat, give yourselfamoment to rethink your response andfinda positive way to reply.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You'll face an explosivesituation if youare too aggressive in your approach to beliefs andpolitics. Choose your battles wisely,and you'll gainground andmake positive connections.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS Hi and LoiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

We have been looking at transfers into themajors.Iftheresponderhasonlyfive in his major, he makes that suit trumps when he has aweak hand. Butwhen he has game-invitationalorbetter values, he transfers, then offers achoice of contractsincase his side does not havean eight-card fit in that major.

However, when the responder has six (ormore)inhismajor,heshouldinsiston that suit being trumps because he knows his sidehas at leastaneight-cardfit. But how does he do that over one no-trump?

Ifhehasinvitationalstrength,hetransfers at the two-level, then bids three of hissuit. If he wishes to play in four of hismajor, hemakes his transfer at the four-level —a Texas transfer, as in today’s deal. If theresponder has mild slam ambition, he transfers at thetwolevel, then jumpstofour of his major. If he wants to get to aslam, he uses Texas and bids again. Here, North’s insistence on game is slightly aggressive,but 10 tricks could be laydown opposite the right 15-count Against four spades, West leads the diamondqueen. What should South do? Declarer mustlose two spades and oneheart. Butdummy also has adiamond loser. South should win with his

diamond ace (the honor from the shorter side first), play adiamond to dummy’s king, and ruff the last diamond in his hand. Then, with this layout, South must next lead aheart to drive out East’s ace so that he can make his first trump play from the dummy through East.

©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”

toDAY’sWoRD MELAMInE: MEL-uh-meen: Aresin with ahighmelting

Averagemark 25 words

Can youfind36ormore words in MELAMINE?

YEstERDAY’sWoRD

enter

loCKhorNs

Youare notalone. God will help you. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles