The Advocate 07-03-2025 by The Advocate

DIDDY ACQUITTED OF RACKETEERING, CONVICTED

La. schools brace for possible cuts

Trump administration withholds $7B nationally

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Louisiana schools are bracing for potentially painful cuts, including to after-school programs and teacher training, after the Trump administration said this week that it is withholding nearly $7 billion in education grants.

About 22,000 Louisiana students attend summer and after-school programs funded by the grants, advocates said. The federal money, which Congress approved earlier this year, also pays for programs

for summer learning, migrant students, English learners, adult literacy arts and science education and violence prevention in schools across the country Schools had expected to receive the money on July 1, as required by federal law which would allow them to plan and budget for the fall. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education told states in a brief memo Monday that it would not release the funds until it had reviewed the grant programs, adding that funding decisions for the upcoming school year have not yet

been made. Louisiana could lose out on more than $109 million, or about 14% of its federal K-12 education funding, if the Trump administration does not restore the grant money, according to an estimate by the Learning Policy Institute, which conducts education research. A Louisiana Department of Education spokesperson said the agency is still reviewing the funding amounts and could not immediately conﬁrm that ﬁgure.

ä See SCHOOLS, page 4A

BOOMING BUSINESS

Revelers head to area fireworks stands for Fourth of July supplies

$36K EBR

Offroad vehicle is for district use, he says

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Spending bill could boost La. federal funds

Oil, gas money for coastal projects may increase

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

A measure that would increase the amount of money Louisiana receives from offshore oil and gas production has survived the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill making its way toward a final vote in Congress, potentially boosting federal funds dedicated to the state’s coastal protection and restoration plans. While the larger bill has fueled the country’s divisions, leading to warnings over its projected ballooning of the deﬁcit and its cuts to programs like Medicaid, the little-known change in offshore revenue disbursements marks a victory in Louisiana’s yearslong efforts on the issue.

Louisiana’s congressional delegation has led a charge to increase the state’s share of revenue collected by the federal government from offshore production. The additional money would help address a steep decline in coastal protection funds in the coming years as billions ﬂowing to the state from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement expire.

The Trump administration’s cost-cutting and intent to shift more of the burden onto states has

ä See BILL, page 4A

at the center in his district, though “sometimes I’ll ask somebody ‘Hey man, let me store it here.’” But on Monday and Tuesday, the vehicle was parked in his driveway at his house in Monticello, about a 9-mile drive east of the center Several council districts have community centers which council members oversee, like Hurst’s Charles R. Kelly Community Center in District 5. Council Administrator Ashley Beck said it “is not proper” for a metro council member to keep a city-owned vehicle at a personal residence.

When asked why the vehicle was in his driveway, Hurst said the enclosed trailer at the District 5 community center was full. He said he does not use it at his house. “I’m not using it for personal, I only use it for community cleanup,” Hurst said. “And because I

ä See VEHICLE, page 4A

Hurst

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Louisiana schools are bracing for potentially painful cuts after the Trump administration said this week that it is withholding nearly $7 billion in education grants.

ä GOP leaders in the House are working to win over holdouts and pass Trump’s spending bill. Page 7A

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton

7 missing after blast at fireworks warehouse

ESPARTO, Calif. Seven people were missing Wednesday following an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in rural Northern California that caused a massive fire that spread to farm ﬁelds and forced evacuations in the surrounding community, authorities said.

Emergency crews and investigators were working with the property’s owner and monitoring the area using drones to ﬁnd the individuals, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

It was not immediately clear if those missing worked at the warehouse or lived nearby.

People were urged to avoid the area after the Tuesday night blast, which set off a barrage of ﬁreworks and caused a huge blaze that led to other spot ﬁres and collapsed the building near Esparto in Yolo County about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation.

The property is owned by “an active pyrotechnic license holder,” Cal Fire said in a statement Wednesday “This type of incident is very rare, as facilities like this are required to not only follow our stringent California pyrotechnic requirements, but also federal explosive storage requirements.”

Object from outside our solar system tracked

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers are monitoring an object headed our way that may have wandered over from another star system.

Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency said Wednesday The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of miles away and moving toward Mars, but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It’s too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet, or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to conﬁrm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation.

Astrophysicist Josep TrigoRodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at roughly 25 miles across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honor of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/ Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.

Flossie weakens to Cat 2 off Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY Hurricane Flossie strengthened continued to weaken as a Category 2 hurricane off Mexico’s southwestern Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, the U.S National Hurricane Center said.

Flossie became a powerful Category 3 hurricane late on Tuesday, but was slated to steadily weaken on Wednesday and is expected to remain offshore. While its center is forecast to remain offshore, swells as well as “life-threatening” surf and rip currents were expected in southwestern Mexico and the Baja California peninsula in the coming days.

$16M settlement planned over CBS interview

Paramount says money will go to Trump library

BY DAVID BAUDER AP media writer

NEW YORK In a case that became a closely-watched test of whether a corporation would back its journalists and stand up to President Donald Trump, Paramount Global decided to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit regarding editing at CBS’ storied “60 Minutes” news program.

Paramount which owns CBS, says the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library and to pay his legal fees, and it is not apologizing or expressing regret about the story The company announced the deal overnight, before a Wednesday morning shareholders meeting.

Trump’s lawyers claimed he suf-

fered “mental anguish” following the “60 Minutes” interview in October with his Democratic opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and sued for $20 billion. At issue was the broadcast’s editing. Harris was shown giving two different answers to a question about Israel by correspondent Bill Whitaker in clips aired on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation.” Both responses came as part of a longwinded answer that Harris gave to Whitaker Editing for brevity’s sake is commonplace in television. What was jarring was hearing different words from Harris directly after Whitaker spoke. Trump said CBS was trying to make his opponent look better; CBS said that claim had no merit in trying to get the case thrown out. Many legal experts dismissed the president’s claim

But the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation — a complication for Paramount

as it seeks administration approval of its proposed merger with Skydance Media. In Wednesday’s shareholders meeting, Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks said companies often settle litigation to avoid high legal costs and the unpredictability of a trial. Settlement allows a company to focus on its objectives “rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction,” Cheeks said. But it was received by Trump’s legal team with excitement. With the settlement, a spokesman said, Trump “delivers another win for the American people.”

“This settlement is a cowardly capitulation by the corporate leaders of Paramount and a fundamental betrayal of ‘60 Minutes’ and CBS News,” said Rome Hartman, who helped produce the Harris interview for the show “The story that was the subject of this lawsuit was edited by the book and in accordance with CBS News standards.” CBS journalists stood united

Sean

Combs denied bail after mixed verdict

Rapper convicted of prostitution-related counts, not racketeering

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Sean “Diddy” Combs dropped to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafﬁcking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop’s celebrated ﬁgures behind bars for life. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses and denied bond by the judge as he awaits sentencing The mixed result capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs’ affable “Puff Daddy” image and derailed his career as a Grammywinning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star

Combs stands convicted of two counts of a crime transportation to engage in prostitution — that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But jurors cleared him of charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

He was convicted of flying people around the country including his girlfriends and male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

The charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but Combs’ lawyers said that under federal sentencing guidelines he’d likely face about two years in prison. Prosecutors, citing Combs’ violence and other factors, said the guidelines would call for at least four to ﬁve years Jailed since his September arrest, he’s already served nine months behind bars.

Defense lawyer Marc Agniﬁlo asked that Combs be released on bond immediately to await his sentencing, saying the acquittals had changed the calculus about whether he needed to be held.

“He’s not going to ﬂee. He’s been given his life back,” Agniﬁlo said. Prosecutors opposed the release request.

Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs — for now — hadn’t met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community.”

Combs, 55, sat stoic, hands at his lap, as he heard the bond decision.

The judge will decide Combs’ punishment and suggested Oct. 3 as a sentencing date. But ﬁrst, there will be a virtual hearing Tuesday on the defense’s request for an earlier sentencing date.

Federal ofﬁcials involved in the case responded to the outcome by noting that sex crimes “are all too present in many aspects of our society.”

Jurors deliberated for about 13 hours over three days before announcing their verdict. It came after they said late Tuesday that they had decided on four counts but were stuck on the racketeering one. At that point the judge told them to keep deliberating and keep the partial verdict under wraps.

Combs did not testify at his trial, which featured 34 witnesses as well as video of the rapper attacking his former girlfriend Cassie, the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura.

Her lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement after the verdict that “by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the ﬁght for justice.” Later he asked the judge in a letter to deny Combs bail, saying “Ms. Ventura believes that Mr Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testiﬁed in this case, including herself, as well as to the community.”

against the deal, seemingly in the works for months. CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who both opposed a settlement, resigned this spring. In a letter to Paramount’s leadership in early May, the “60 Minutes” correspondents said they were troubled by reports that Paramount might settle the case “in a way that acknowledges some sort of wrongdoing on our part.”

The correspondents, in the letter obtained by The Associated Press, said that “if our parent company caves in to his pressure and lies, it will leave a shameful stain and undermine the First Amendment.” It was signed by Whitaker Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim and Cecilia Vega.

As part of the deal, Paramount said that “60 Minutes” will in the future promptly release full transcripts of interviews with presidential candidates.

U.S. to hold back on weapons for Ukraine

BY LISA MASCARO and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration will hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons as part of its announced pause to some arms shipments amid U.S. concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, ofﬁcials said.

The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter They both requested anonymity to discuss what is are being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details.

The pause includes some shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellﬁre missiles and Howitzer rounds.

It is a setback for Ukraine, which has faced increasing, and more complex, air barrages from Russia and as President Donald Trump remains determined to quickly conclude a conﬂict that he had promised as candidate to end.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined during a brieﬁng Wednesday to detail which weapons were being held back but said a pause to consider the health of the U.S. stockpile was necessary

“I think that for a long time, four years under the Biden administration, we were giving away weapons and munitions without really thinking about how many we have,” Parnell said. He added, “And I think that this president was elected on putting this country ﬁrst and defending the homeland.”

The move was a bit surprising after Trump last week at the NATO summit suggested that he remained open to sending more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, though he acknowledged it would be difﬁcult.

“They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,” Trump said. “We need them, too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.”

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A story Monday incorrectly reported

In a triumph for Combs, the jury of eight men and four women acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafﬁcking charges related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs’ defense team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justiﬁed the severity of the charges.

Cassie testified for four days about her turbulent 11-year relationship with Combs, which began after she signed with his Bad Boy record label.

Cassie said Combs became obsessed with voyeuristic encounters, arranged with the help of his staff, that involved sex workers and copious amounts of baby oil. During the sex events, called “freakoffs” or “hotel nights,” Combs would order Cassie to do things with other men that she found humiliating, she testiﬁed. When things didn’t go Combs’ way he would beat her, she said.

Combs

COURTROOM SKETCH By ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

‘Diddy’ Combs reacts Wednesday in Manhattan federal court in New york after he was convicted of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him behind bars for life.

Man pleads guilty in students’ stabbing deaths

BY JESSE BEDAYN and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022 that terriﬁed the campus and set off a nationwide search, which ended weeks later when he was arrested in Pennsylvania.

Kohberger, who was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University, admitted to the killings before entering a formal guilty plea in a deal with prosecutors that allows him to avoid the death penalty though the motive remains unclear He had been set to go to trial in August.

The small farming community of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not seen a homicide in about ﬁve years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus on Nov 13, 2022. Autopsies showed each was stabbed multiple times and some had defensive wounds.

Kohberger first killed Mogen and Goncalves together and then ran into Kernodle, who was still awake, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said at the hearing Wednesday He then stabbed Kernodle and her boyfriend, Chapin, who was still asleep, Thompson said. There were no signs of sexual assault, he said.

Family members became increasingly emotional as Idaho Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler explained each charge to Kohberger, naming each victim individually Some cried into tissues, while other wiped tears with their hands. Kohberger remained impassive as he conﬁrmed to the judge that he stabbed the four victims.

As he pleaded guilty, some in the family section looked down and others craned to see him.

Kohberger told the judge he understood the terms of the plea deal, which stipulates he will serve four life sentences and won’t be able to appeal The judge set the ofﬁcial sentencing for July 23.

Hippler said as the hearing be-

gan that he would not take into account public opinion when deciding whether to accept the agreement.

“This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,” he said. Killings seized nation’s attention

The killings grabbed headlines around the world and set off a nationwide hunt, including an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan spotted on surveillance cameras. Police said they used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student

at nearby Washington State University who had just completed his ﬁrst semester and was a teaching assistant in the criminology program.

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later Thompson said investigators recovered a Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house to match Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

Online shopping records showed that Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier — as well as a sheath like the one found at the scene.

The county prosecutor said the murder weapon has not been found and revealed new details about how Kohberger tried to cover up the killings.

Kohberger bought another knife sheath to replace the one he left at the crime scene and scrubbed his apartment and ofﬁce Thompson said. His car had been “pretty much disassembled” and he changed his car registration, Thompson said.

“The defendant has studied crime,” Thompson said. “In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skill set.”

Motive remains unclear

No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. There also was no indication he had a relationship with any of the victims, who all were friends and members of the university’s Greek system.

Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video show that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings, and that he traveled in the same area that night.

Kohberger’s lawyers said he was simply on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed.

Families split on plea deal

Although the Goncalves family opposed the agreement and said they would seek to stop it, they also argued that any such deal should require Kohberger to make a full confession, detail the facts of what happened and provide the location of the murder weapon.

“We deserve to know when the beginning of the end was,” they wrote in a Facebook post.

Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, left the courthouse before Kohberger entered the courtroom. “I’m just getting out of this zoo,” he told reporters.

The family of Chapin one of three triplets who attended the university together — supports the deal, their spokesperson, Christina Teves, said Tuesday

Attorney Leander James read a statement from Mogen’s mother and stepfather after the guilty pleas that said they supported the agreement with the prosecutors.

“While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome for the victims, their families and the state of Idaho,” the family said.

“We now embark on a new path,” they said. “We embark on a path of hope and healing.”

Websites hosting major climate reports taken down

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

WASHINGTON Websites that displayed legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world.

Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details.

Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries.

“It’s critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about

climate that exists for the United States,” said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs who coordinated the 2014 version of the report.

“It’s a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available,” Jacobs said.

“This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people’s access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climaterelated impacts.”

Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama’s science adviser and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local ofﬁcials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said.

“This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who’s trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,” said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has

BY REBECCA SANTANA and ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge said Wednesday that an order by President Donald Trump suspending asylum access at the southern border was unlawful, throwing into doubt one of the key pillars of the president’s plan to crack down on migration at the southern border

In an order Jan. 20, Trump declared that the situation at the southern border constitutes an invasion of America and that he was “suspending the physical entry” of migrants and their ability to seek asylum until he decides it is over.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington said his order blocking Trump’s policy will take effect July 16, giving the Trump administration time to appeal. Moss wrote that neither the Constitution nor immigration law gives the president “an extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States, without an opportunity to apply for asylum” or other humanitarian protections.

The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment but an appeal is likely Moss, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, acknowledged that the gov-

been a volunteer author for several editions of the report.

Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA’s library NASA’s open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site.

The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people’s security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk.

The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren’t needed and ended the contract with the private ﬁrm that helps coordinate the website and report.

Additionally, NOAA’s main climate.gov website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public

were cut or eliminated.

“It’s part of a horrifying big picture,” Holdren said. “It’s just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.”

The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more lo-

calized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said.

The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public.

Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said.

And it’s dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: “And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely It’s like our windshield’s being painted over.”

ernment faces “enormous challenges” at the southern border and an “overwhelming backlog” of asylum claims. But he returned several times in his 128-page ruling to his opinion that the president is not entitled to prohibit asylum.

The White House said Wednesday that the Border Patrol made 6,070 arrests in June, down 30% from May to set a pace for the lowest annual clip since 1966. On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a sharp contrast to late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days.

Arrests dropped sharply when Mexican ofﬁcials increased enforcement within their own borders in December 2023 and again when then-President Joe Biden introduced severe asylum restrictions in June 2024.

They plunged more after Trump became president in January, deploying thousands of troops to the border under declaration of a national emergency Trump and his allies say the asylum system has been abused. They argue that it draws people who know it will take years to adjudicate their claims in the country’s backlogged immigration courts during which they can work and live in America.

Kohberger

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JENNy KANE

The family of Ethan Chapin, including mother Stacy Chapin and father Jim Chapin, walk to the Ada County Courthouse for Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal hearing on Wednesday in Boise, Idaho.

Spanish wildfire kills 2 as parts of Europe bake

BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain Europe’s continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures.

The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that rose 45,000 feet into the sky, making it the largest registered by ﬁreﬁghters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.

Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to ﬂee in a vehicle, local authorities said Wednesday.

Firefighters said that the fire spread at 17 mph at one point as it consumed 16,000 acres mostly of grain ﬁelds.

“Wildfires today are not like they were before,” Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said. “These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out.”

Firefighters credited a rainstorm later on Tuesday for having “quickly changed the situation and helped speed up getting the fire stabilized.”

Two of the 500 ﬁreﬁghters who deployed needed treatment at a local hospital for their injuries.

Some 14,000 residents were ordered to stay indoors for several hours on Tuesday night

Spain’s seas heat up

After Spain set a record for June air temperatures, its port authorities recorded the hottest ever water temperature readings for the month in the Mediterranean and the part of the Atlantic nearest to France.

Experts say higher surface temperatures are bad for sea life and make for warmer nights on shore.

“A much warmer sea around us contributes to the nights not cooling down, which is detrimental to people’s rest,” Manuel Vargas, researcher at the Oceanographic Center of Malaga, told The Associated Press.

In Spain’s southern city of Malaga, the Red Cross set up an airconditioned “climate refuge” to help residents and provided and “assisted bathing service” to help people with reduced mobility to cool down in waters at the beach.

Other nations

In Turkey, authorities evacuated two neighborhoods in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme after a ﬁre that started on an agricultural field, spread to a forested area, threatening some holiday homes

in the region.

Italy’s labor ministry and union representatives signed a protocol Wednesday on protecting farm, construction and other workers who labor outdoors from heat exposure. The non-binding document contains best practices, including changing work shifts to avoid peak heat times of the day, and calls for access to unemployment beneﬁts even for seasonal farm labor when working hours are reduced due to extreme heat.

Italian media reported two heatrelated deaths on Sardinian beach-

es. Earlier in the week, a construction worker died while repaving a parking lot near Bologna.

Heat alerts were issued for 17 Italian cities Wednesday The corresponding surge in air conditioning has strained the electric grid and causing periodic blackouts including in Florence.

France’s national weather agency kept four departments under red alert on Wednesday after temperatures exceeded 104 degrees in many towns.

In Berlin, the homeless feeling the brunt of the 96-degree heat

sought respite at a city mission.

“If you maybe lie down somewhere to rest and go to sleep in the sun, that can lead to death from heat exposure,” said Barbara Breuer of the Berlin City Mission. She estimated the German capital has between 8,000 and 10,000 people without shelter In Switzerland, one of the two reactors at the Beznau nuclear power plant was shut down as part of efforts to prevent excessive warming of the Aare River so as not to further burden wildlife and the overall ecosystem in already hot weather, operator Axpo said. EU plan to cut emissions

As much of Europe was scorched by torrid weather, the European Commission unveiled proposals to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 as the 27-nation bloc aims to be fully carbon-neutral by 2050.

“We are ﬁnally here on a very hot day and some would call that very timely,” Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in Brussels.

The proposals include allowing businesses to use international carbon credits to offset their emissions. Under the plan, international carbon credits could be used — starting in 2036 and limited to 3% of benchmark 1990 EU emissions to reach the 2040 emission reduction target.

The proposals have to be approved by all member states.

BY TODD RICHMOND Associated Press

MADISON,Wis. The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority struck down the state’s 176-year-old abortion ban on Wednesday, ruling 4-3 that it was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure, including statutes that criminalize abortions only after a fetus can survive outside the womb. The ruling came as no surprise given that liberal justices control the court. One of them went so far as to promise to uphold abortion

rights during her campaign two years ago.

The statute Wisconsin legislators adopted in 1849, widely interpreted as a neartotal ban on abortions, made it a felony for anyone other than the mother or a doctor in a medical emergency to destroy “an unborn child.”

The ban was in effect until 1973, when the U.S Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nulliﬁed it. Legislators never ofﬁcially repealed it, however and conservatives argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn

Roe reactivated it.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, ﬁled a lawsuit that year arguing that abortion restrictions enacted by Republican legislators during the nearly half-century that Roe was in effect trumped the ban. Kaul specifically cited a 1985 law that essentially permits abortions until viability Some babies can survive with medical help after 21 weeks of gestation.

Lawmakers also enacted abortion restrictions under Roe requiring women to undergo ultrasounds, wait 24 hours before having the

procedure and provide written consent, and receive abortion-inducing drugs only from doctors during an in-person visit.

“That comprehensive legislation so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was clearly meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion,” Justice Rebeca Dallet wrote for the majority.

Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski, a Republican, defended the ban in court, arguing that it can coexist with the newer abortion restrictions.

Dane County Circuit

Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in 2023 that the 1849 ban outlaws feticide — which she deﬁned as the killing of a fetus without the mother’s consent — but not consensual abortions. Abortions have been available in the state since that ruling, but the state Supreme Court decision gives providers and patients more certainty that abortions will remain legal in Wisconsin. Urmanski had asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Schlipper’s ruling without waiting for a decision from a lower appellate court. The liberal justices all but

telegraphed how they would rule. Justice Janet Protasiewicz stated on the campaign trail that she supports abortion rights. During oral arguments, Dallet declared that the ban was authored by white men who held all the power in the 19th century. Justice Jill Karofsky likened the ban to a “death warrant” for women and children who need medical care. In a dissent, Justice Annette Ziegler called the ruling “a jaw-dropping exercise of judicial will.” She said the liberal justices caved in to their Democratic constituencies.

DPA PHOTO By DANIEL KARMANN

young people walk through the water installation ‘Hexagonal Water Pavilion’ by Danish artist Jeppe Hein in front of the Neues Museum in Nuremberg Germany, on Wednesday.

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocks top record

as Tesla, Nike rally

NEW YORK U.S. stocks ticked higher on Wednesday to hit another all-time high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and set a record for the third time in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 10 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.

Tesla helped drive the market higher and rose 5% after saying it delivered nearly 374,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y automobiles last quarter. That was better than analysts expected, though the electric-vehicle maker’s overall sales fell 13% from a year earlier

Worries have been high that CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in politics is turning off potential Tesla buyers.

Constellation Brands climbed 4.5% despite reporting a weaker proﬁt for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It pointed to slowing growth for jobs in the construction industry and other “4000 calorie+” sectors, which tends to hurt demand for its beer

But the company selling Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine nevertheless stuck with its ﬁnancial forecasts for the full upcoming year

Del Monte seeks bankruptcy protection

Del Monte Foods, the 139-yearold company best known for its canned fruits and vegetables, is ﬁling for bankruptcy protection as U.S. consumers increasingly bypass its products for healthier or cheaper options.

Del Monte has secured $912.5 million in debtor-in-possession ﬁnancing that will allow it to operate normally as the sale progresses.

“After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,” CEO Greg Longstreet said in a statement.

Del Monte Foods, based in Walnut Creek, California, also owns the Contadina tomato brand, College Inn and Kitchen Basics broth brands and the Joyba bubble tea brand.

The company has seen sales growth of Joyba and broth in ﬁscal 2024, but not enough to offset weaker sales of Del Monte’s signature canned products.

“Consumer preferences have shifted away from preservative-laden canned food in favor of healthier alternatives,” said Sarah Foss, global head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire, a ﬁnancial consultancy

Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam Wednesday that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free. Vietnamese exports to the United States, by contrast, would face a 20% levy On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared the pact “a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries.”

In April, Trump announced a 46% tax on Vietnamese imports — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deﬁcits Trump promptly suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations like the one with Vietnam. The pause expires Tuesday, but so far the Trump administration has reached a trade agreement with only one of those countries — the United Kingdom. (Trump has also reached a ”framework” agreement with China in a separate trade dispute.)

The United States last year ran a $122 billion trade deficit with Vietnam. That was the third-biggest U.S. trade gap — the difference between the goods and services it buys from other countries and those it sells them behind the ones with China and Mexico.

Microsoft’s largest layoff in years hits

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technology writer

Microsoft is laying off thousands of workers, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years.

The tech giant began sending out layoff notices Wednesday that hit the company’s Xbox video game business and other divisions.

Among those losing their jobs are 830 workers tied to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, according to a notice sent to state ofﬁcials Wednesday The company won’t say the total number of layoffs except that it was about 4% of the workforce it had a year ago. Microsoft said the cuts will affect

multiple teams around the world, including its sales division, part of “organizational changes” needed to succeed in a “dynamic marketplace.”

Microsoft employed 228,000 fulltime workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual head count. The company said Wednesday that its latest layoffs would cut close to 4% of that workforce, which would be about 9,100 people. But it has already had at least three layoffs this year and it’s unlikely that new hiring has matched the amount lost.

Microsoft just last month cut another 300 workers based out of its Redmond headquarters, on top of nearly 2,000 who lost their jobs in

the Puget Sound region in May, most of them in software engineering and product management roles, according to notices it sent to Washington state employment ofﬁcials.

Microsoft’s chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer Amy Hood said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on “building high-performing teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers.”

The latest layoffs, however, seemed centered on slower-growing areas of the company’s business, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.

“They’re focused more and more on AI, cloud and next-generation Microsoft and really looking to cut costs around Xbox and some of the

more legacy areas,” Ives said. “I think they overhired over the years. This is (CEO Satya) Nadella and team making sure that they’re keeping with efficiency and that’s the name of the game in Wall Street.”

The trimming of the Xbox staff follows Microsoft’s yearslong expansion of the business surrounding its gaming console, culminating in 2023 with the $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard — the California-based maker of hit franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush. Before that, in a bid to compete with Sony’s PlayStation, it spent $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Maryland-based video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.

Solar likely to get ax by new bill

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press

WASHINGTON As Republicans in Congress rushed forward with a massive tax and spending cut bill, a North Carolina renewable energy executive wrote to his 190 employees with a warning: Deep cuts to clean energy tax credits were going to hurt.

“(The changes) would almost certainly include the loss of jobs on our team,” wrote Will Etheridge, CEO of Southern Energy Management in Raleigh. “I’m telling you that because you deserve transparency and the truth even if that truth is uncomfortable.”

The bill now in the House takes an ax to clean energy incentives, including killing a 30% tax credit for rooftop residential solar by the end of the year that the Biden administration’s Inﬂation Reduction Act had extended into the next decade. Trump has called the clean energy tax credits in the climate law part of a “green new scam” that improperly shifts taxpayer subsidies to help the “globalist climate agenda” and energy sources like wind and solar

Businesses and analysts say the GOP-backed bill will likely reverse the sector’s growth and eliminate jobs.

“The residential solar industry is going to be absolutely creamed by this,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2, a business group that advocates for pro-environment policies.

President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” takes aim at renewables broadly, including phasing out tax credits enjoyed by utilityscale solar and wind. But cutting the residential solar credit will happen sooner Companies have announced more than $20 billion in clean-energy investments in North Carolina in recent years. Etheridge, whose company installs solar panels and helps ensure buildings are energy efﬁcient, was among many in the sector to lobby Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina for changes in the bill.

Tillis ultimately was one of three Republicans to vote against the measure, but in a sign of Trump’s power over legislators to pass it, Tillis said he wouldn’t seek reelection after Trump said he’d likely support a primary challenger Now Etheridge says losing the tax credit will likely mean laying off 50 to 55 of his workers. He called the elimination of residential tax credits a “bait and switch.”

“I made a decision from being an employee to taking out a loan from my grandmother to buy into my business and put my house on the line” in part because of the stability of the tax credits, he said. He said he’ll scramble now to ﬁgure out ways to diversify his business.

“If you require a money-spigot from Washington to make your business viable, it probably shouldn’t have been in business in the ﬁrst place,” said Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertar-

ian think tank.

Michel said he doubted many clean energy companies would go out of business, but “I think that they will be right sized for the market and that the people that are employed with them will ﬁnd better jobs and more stable jobs in industries that are actually viable and don’t require billions of dollars of federal subsidies.”

Even ahead of debate over the bill, experts at E2 said in May that $14 billion in clean energy investments across the country had been postponed or canceled this year

The bill the Senate passed Tuesday removes a tax on some wind and solar projects that was proposed in a previous version and gives utility-scale projects some time to begin construction before phasing out those tax credits

Karl Stupka, president of Raleigh-based NC Solar Now that employs about 100 people, said the Senate’s bill eased the impact on commercial projects “while destroying the residential portion of the tax credits.” Roughly 85% of his business is residential work.

“They took it away from every average American normal person and gave it to the wealthier business owners,” he said.

Stupka said if the bill becomes law companies will rush to ﬁnish as many solar jobs as they can before the credit ends. He expected to lay off half his employees, with “trickledown” job losses elsewhere.

“It would cause a pretty severe shock wave,” he said

BY KAITLYN HUAMANI Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Jane Fonda, Cynthia Nixon, Sally Field and several other celebrities are demanding that Amazon address allegations that pregnant warehouse workers are not receiving reasonable accommodations, causing health complications and even miscarriages.

The Hollywood personalities, which include Lily Tomlin, Chelsea Handler Rosario Dawson and Pamela Adlon, signed a letter sent Thursday to Edith Cooper, the chair of Amazon’s leadership development and compensation committee.

The federal Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act, which went into effect in June 2023, requires employers to grant “reasonable accommodation” to an employee’s limitations having to do with pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions For

warehouse workers, this means the company would have to allow pregnant workers to take additional, longer or more ﬂexible breaks, accommodate requests for light duty or help with lifting or other manual labor and meet other reasonable requests.

The company said that it does meet reasonable requests.

However, the letter argues that Amazon is violating the law, saying several workers have shared stories about “being forced to work at a breakneck pace” while pregnant.

Some have faced “severe health complications, miscarriages, and total loss of income with no ability to access parental leave beneﬁts as Amazon workers are either terminated or quit due to their impossible circumstances,” the letter said.

The letter was posted online on the website of Expose Amazon an organization focused on sharing sto-

ries of warehouse employees’ experiences with injuries and detailing working conditions.

Erica Smiley, the executive director of Jobs with Justice, said the organization and other groups have received nearly 150 accounts from current and former Amazon workers who faced difficult working conditions while pregnant, including having to climb ladders or do dangerous tasks even in later stages of pregnancy

“When we were starting to talk to Amazon workers, we thought the big issue was going to be wages, and the fact that the issue is actually, ‘We don’t want to die or lose our children,’ is shocking to us,” said Smiley, whose group helped to organize the letter “I thought I had lost my capacity for outrage, but this was just incredibly outrageous.” Ali Stephens, a director for the people, experience and technology

department within Amazon’s human resources team, told The Times on Tuesday that the vast majority of pregnancy-related accommodations the company receives are approved. Examples of those accommodations include additional breaks and exceptions to policies, like one that requires speciﬁc employees to be required to drive powered industrial trucks. Pregnant employees can also ask to be seated while working. If an employee identifies what they believe to be an unsafe work condition or sees that policies designed to protect employees are violated, they should report it immediately, Stephens said Warehouse workers have reportedly been requesting a meeting with Cooper, to whom the letter is addressed, and Amazon’s board of directors and vice president of safety since July 2024, according to the letter, but they’ve been unsuccessful.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALLEN G. BREED

GOP leaders work to win over House holdouts

BY KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON The House sprang back to action late Wednesday after a prolonged stalemate as Republican leaders spent the afternoon and evening working furiously to convince skeptics to support President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package and send it to his desk by the Fourth of July deadline.

The day evolved into one of fast starts and hard stops, as Speaker Mike Johnson, RBenton, recalled lawmakers to Washington. GOP leadership vowed immediate consideration of the 887-page bill, eager to seize on the momentum of its passage the day before in the Senate. But after a quick procedural vote in the morning, the chamber stood idle for more than seven hours as GOP lawmakers met with Trump at the White House and others shuttled in and out of the speaker’s office for private meetings.

“The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,” the top four House GOP leaders

was ‘We’re on a roll,’” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “He wants to see this.”

Republicans are relying on their majority hold of Congress to push the package over a wall of uniﬁed Democratic opposition. No Democrats voted for bill in the Senate and none were expected to do so in the House.

“Hell no!” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y ﬂanked by fellow Democrats outside the Capitol.

to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults earning less than $75,000 a year

In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years.

said after the Senate passed the bill Tuesday, thanks to Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaking vote. It’s a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump’s demand for a holiday ﬁnish.

Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by the narrowest of margins, only one vote. Their slim 220-212 majority leaves little room for defections.

Several Republicans are balking at being asked to rubber-stamp the Senate version less than 24 hours

after passage. A number of moderate Republicans from competitive districts have objected to the Senate bill’s cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their ﬁscal goals.

It falls to Johnson and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over They will need assistance from Trump to close the deal, and lawmakers headed to the White House for a two-hour session to talk to the president about their concerns.

“The president’s message

But in an early warning sign of House Republican resistance, a resolution setting up terms for debating Trump’s bill barely cleared the House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning. As soon as it came to the full House, it stalled out as GOP leadership waited for lawmakers who were delayed coming back to Washington and to conduct closed-door negotiations with holdouts.

By nightfall, as pizzas and other dinners were arriving at the Capitol, the next steps were uncertain.

The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks from Trump’s first term, plus temporarily add new ones he promised during the 2024 campaign. This includes allowing workers

The bill also provides about $350 billion for defense and Trump’s immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Ofﬁce projects the bill will add about $3.3 trillion to the federal debt over the coming decade.

The House passed its version of the bill in May by a single vote, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, it’s being asked to give ﬁnal passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill’s projected impact on the nation’s debt, for example, is signiﬁcantly higher “Lets go Republicans and everyone else,” Trump said in a late evening post.

Johnson is intent on meeting Trump’s timeline and betting that hesitant Republicans won’t cross the president because of the heavy political price they would have to pay

They need only look to

Sen. Thom Tillis R-N.C. who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend. Soon, the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and criticizing him on social media. Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third term. Flanked by nearly every member of his caucus, Jeffries delivered a pointed message: With all Democrats voting “no,” they only need to flip four Republicans to prevent the bill from passing.

Jeffries invoked the “courage” of the late Sen. John McCain, giving a thumbsdown to the GOP effort to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have described the bill in dire terms, warning that Medicaid cuts would result in lives lost and food stamps cuts would be “literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors,” Jeffries said Monday Republicans say they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.

Veteran gets life sentence for plotting FBI attack after Jan. 6 arrest

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON A military veteran was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate law enforcement officers in retaliation for his arrest on charges that he was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show Edward Kelley was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol. Nearly two years later, Kelley made plans with another man to attack the FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, using improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones, according to prosecutors.

Last November, a jury convicted Kelley of conspiring to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and inﬂu-

encing federal officials by threat.

Kelley, 36, received a pardon from President Donald Trump for his Jan. 6 convictions, but a judge agreed with prosecutors that Trump’s action did not extend to Kelley’s Tennessee case That makes Kelley, who is from Maryvale, Tennessee, one of only a few Capitol riot defendants remaining in prison after the Republican president’s sweeping act of clemency U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan handed down Kelley’s life sentence during a hearing in Knoxville, according to court records. The judge denied a request for Kelley to be released pending the outcome of an appeal.

Prosecutors had recommended a life sentence for Kelley saying he was remorseless and incapable of rehabilitation.

“On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled ‘patriot’ compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination,” they wrote.

Kelley served in the Marine Corps for eight years. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan before his 2015 discharge from the military

On Jan. 6, 2021, Kelley was captured on video helping two other rioters throw a Capitol Police ofﬁcer onto the ground and using a piece of wood to damage a window, according to the FBI. He was the fourth person to enter the Capitol through a broken window, the FBI said.

After a trial without a jury, a federal judge in Washington convicted Kelley last November of 11 counts stemming from the riot. Before Kelley could be sentenced,

Trump pardoned him and hundreds of other convicted Capitol rioters. Kelley argued that his pardon was broad enough to cover his conduct in the Tennessee case, but the judge disagreed. Varlan said Kelley’s crimes in the Tennessee case were separated from Kelley’s conduct on Jan 6 “by years and miles.” Prosecutors reached the same conclusion.

In other Jan. 6 cases, however, Trump’s Justice Department has argued that the pardons apply to separate

convictions. For instance, prosecutors concluded that a Kentucky man’s pardon for storming the Capitol also covered his conviction for illegally possessing guns when FBI agents searched his home for the Jan. 6 investigation. Kelley has been jailed since December 2022. His lawyer, Mark Brown, said Kelley did not hurt anybody or directly threaten anybody with violence. Brown urged the judge to reject prosecutors’ request to apply a “terrorism enhancement” in

calculating his client’s sentence. Kelley’s co-defendant, Austin Carter, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in January 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4. Kelley created a list of 36 law-enforcement ofﬁcers to target for assassination and shared it with Carter, calling it their first “mission,” according to prosecutors. All the officers were involved in Kelley’s May 2022 arrest on Capitol riot charges and the FBI’s search of his home.

BY HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press

At least 15 people were taken to a hospital when a small skydiving aircraft went off the end of a runway at an airport in southern New Jersey and crashed in the woods on Wednesday evening, according to authorities. The incident at the Cross Keys Airport, about 21 miles southeast of Philadelphia, involved a Cessna 208B carrying 15 people, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson, who said it’s under investigation.

Aerial footage of the crashed plane shows it in a wooded area, with several pieces of

debris nearby Firetrucks and other emergency vehicles surrounded the scene.

Three people are being evaluated at Cooper University Hospital’s trauma center in Camden, New Jersey, and eight people with less severe injuries are being treated in its emergency department, Wendy Marano, a spokesperson for the hospital, said. Four other patients also with “minimal injuries” are waiting for further evaluation, she said. She wasn’t able to provide the exact nature of the injuries Members of the hospital’s EMS and trauma department were at the crash site, she said. Skydive Cross Keys didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, left, walk in the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

Texasfamiliessue to blockTen Commandments law

BY NOLAN D. MCCASKILL

The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS Agroup of multifaith and nonreligious Texas families

ﬁled afederal lawsuit Wednesday to block anew state law requiring classroom displays of the Ten Commandments from taking effect in September.

The suit is the latest legal challenge to the law that is set to take effect Sept. 1asopponents call the requirement unconstitutional.

The 16 families who are part of the new federal lawsuitallege that students willbe“forcibly subjected” to state-sponsored scriptural principles such as “I AM the LORD thy God” and “Thou shalt haveno other gods before me.”

“This simply cannot be reconciled withthe fundamentalreligious freedom principlesthat animated the founding of ournation,” they argue in court documents. They want the U.S. DistrictCourt

for theWestern District of Texas to declare Senate Bill 10 aviolation of the First Amendment’s establishment andfreeexerciseclauses —which protect the separation of church andstate and religious freedom, respectively —and preliminarily bar it from taking effect

Thefamilies —who areJewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Hindu or nonreligious —said such displays “willsubstantially interfere with andburden” parents’ right to direct their children’sreligious education and upbringing.

Gov.Greg Abbott signed SB 10 into law last monthaware thatit would bechallenged in court.

“Bring it,” Abbott wrote in asocial mediapostinMay,whencivil rights groups threatened tosue after lawmakerspassedthe measure

If left in place, Texaspublic schoolsmustconspicuously display adurable poster or framed copy of the TenCommandments that is at least 16 inches by 20

inches. The law speciﬁes the exact wording that must be used and requires the text size and typeface be readable for aperson withaverage vision from anywhere in the classroom.

The lawsuit cites a1980 U.S. Supreme Courtdecision that struck Kentucky’sTen Commandments law for being unconstitutional, as well as more recentcivil action. Afederal court in Louisianalast year blocked that state’sTen Commandments law for violating the establishment andfree exercise clauses, aruling that was afﬁrmed on appeal last month.

Last week,the Supreme Court ruledthatunderthe free exercise clause, public schools can’t conditionstudents’ access to education on families’ acceptance of instruction that “substantiallyinterferes withthe religious development of (a) child or pose(s) averyreal threat of undermining thereligious beliefs andpractices the par-

‘Alligator Alcatraz’set to receivedetainees

BY CURT ANDERSON and MARTALAVANDIER Associated Press

OCHOPEE,Fla. The ﬁrst group of immigrants were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at anew detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that ofﬁcials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the state’sattorney general said “Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight,” Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the Xsocial media platform. “Next stop: back to where they came from.”

It wasn’timmediately clearprecisely when the detainees would arrive or where they were coming from.

The facility,atanairport used for training, will have acapacityof about 3,000 detainees when fully operational, according to Republican Gov.Ron DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days over 10 miles of Everglades. It features more than 200 security cameras 28,000-plusfeet of barbedwire and 400 security personnel. Environmental groups and Na-

President DonaldTrump speaks withHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as theytour “Alligator Alcatraz,”a newmigrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility,Tuesdayin Ochopee,Fla.

tive American tribes have protested againstthe center,contendingitisathreat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detaineesbecauseofheat and mosquitoes, and is on land the

tribesconsider sacred.

The Republican PartyofFlorida has taken to fundraising off the detention center,sellingbranded T-shirts andbeer koozies emblazoned with the facility’sname.

ent wishes to instill in the child.”

By that reading, the lawsuit argues, SB 10 is “plainly unconstitutional” as thedisplays will “pressure students …into religious observance” and “send theharmful and religiously divisive message that students who do notsubscribe to” that speciﬁc version of the Ten Commandments “do not belong in their own school community.”

Republican state lawmakers have said young people need God and suggested onlygood could come from exposure to adocument that encourages students to respect theirparents andnot kill, steal or cheat.

They’vealso said Christianity is an important part of the nation’s founding andhistory,noting that references to Godare on U.S. currencyaswell as in the national and Texas pledges.

“Very few documents in the historyofWestern civilization and even more so in American his-

toryhavehad alargerimpact on our moral code and our legal code and just our culture than the Ten Commandments,” Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, saidduring ﬂoor debate in March.

The families are represented by the civil liberties organizations Americans United forSeparation of Churchand State, the national ACLU,the ACLU of Texas and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.The groups warned Abbott in May they would ﬁle suit if he signed the bill.

“Families—not politicians— get to decide when and how publicschool children engage with religion,” saidRachel Laser,president andCEO of AmericansUnited for Separation of Church and State.

The law requires Texas Attorney General KenPaxton to represent the state in any TenCommandments litigation.A spokesperson forPaxton’s ofﬁce didnot respond to an emailed request for comment.

Confederategroup sues to stop museum at StoneMountain

BY CALEBGROVES Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

ATLANTA— The Georgia Division of theSonsofConfederate Veterans ﬁled alawsuit alleging the Stone Mountain Memorial Association is violating astate law requiring the associationtomaintain theparkas an “appropriate and suitable memorial for the Confederacy.”

The lawsuit, filedTuesday in DeKalb Superior Court, targets a planned “truth-telling” museum at thepark.

Theplannedexhibit ”is completely contrary to the purposes of the Georgia law for the Stone Mountain Memorial Park as designed by thepeople of Georgia through their representatives,” thelawsuit states.

Stone Mountaincontains the world’slargest Confederate monument, acarving of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gens.Robert E. Lee andThomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

Foryears, civilrights groups andhistorians have criticized the park’s approach to memorializing

the Civil Warand promoting a“lost cause” version of Confederate history.While largely dismissing calls to remove the bas-relief carving, the state-run association has taken steps in recent years to deemphasize its glorificationofthe Confederacy,including removing the carving fromits ofﬁcial logo and relocating aprominent display of Confederate ﬂags.

In 2022, the association selected Birmingham-based WarnerMuseums, aﬁrm whose projects include several civil rights-related exhibits, to create an exhibit in the park’sMemorial Hall presenting a more balanced view of the war and the history behind the carving. At the time, Stone Mountain Memorial Association CEO Bill Stephens said the organization would continue to fulﬁll themandate to maintain the park as aConfederate monument. The plaintiffs contend the planned exhibits do nothonor the Confederacy but rather “assault itsmemory”and thatsome sections have no connection to the Confederacy

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

Judge blocks DOGE cuts to AmeriCorps

Serve Louisiana programs help community development

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A Baton Rouge federal judge has ordered the government to resume funding for one of Louisiana’s largest AmeriCorps programs, more than two months after a presidential directive dismantled the agen-

cy that helps nonprofits across the nation pay for community improvement projects.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles sided with Serve Louisiana in his ruling Friday, ordering an injunction that terminated the drastic budget cuts that have halted volunteer efforts across the state.

“We are deeply grateful for the court’s ruling,” Lisa Moore, Serve Louisiana’s executive director, said in a statement Monday “AmeriCorps isn’t just about improving lives in the communities we serve it’s about fostering civic engagement in the AmeriCorps members themselves. We acted quickly to challenge this termination because we believe in modeling the very civic responsibility we’ve spent the past 30 years instilling in our members. These young people committed to 11 months of service, and now, thanks to this decision, we can uphold our end of that agreement.”

Serve Louisiana is a Baton Rouge nonprofit that partners with 18

ä See AMERICORPS, page 2B

It’s not clear how wide-reaching the recent ruling’s effects could be. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling earlier this year that bars federal district court rulings on DOGE cases from setting national precedent. While other states saw lawsuits in the wake of the cuts, Serve Louisiana was the only AmeriCorps vendor to ﬁle suit in Louisiana.

PAINT OVER TILL IT’S OVER

Handyman Michael Soulé paints the underside of the trim of a balcony in the

First parish president for West Feliciana dies

Kevin Couhig took office in 2013

Staff report

BLOTTER staff reports

An ambulance parked at Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Mid City was stolen early Wednesday morning, EMS officials said. The ambulance was recovered minutes later when it crashed into another Emergency crews were bringing a patient into the hospital on Florida Boulevard at about 5:30 a.m. when the theft occurred. The driver, who has not yet been identified, was arrested by Baton Rouge police. While on the joyride, the driver crashed into a vehicle at Airline and Old Hammond highways minutes after the ambulance was stolen, an EMS official said. No one was injured in the crash. Baton Rouge police took the driver into custody

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

Kevin Couhig, the ﬁrst parish president of West Feliciana Parish, died Monday Couhig, who was 73, took ofﬁce in 2013 after the parish switched from the police jury system to a homerule charter plan of government.

He retired from ofﬁce in December 2018, with about a year left in his second term, to spend more time with family, he told The Advocate.

he did it. He left West Feliciana better than he found it.”

“On behalf of the parish, I would like to thank his family for allowing him to serve this great parish. We are forever grateful,” Havard said in the statement.

“Our prayers are now with his family.”

“Today we mourn the passing of Kevin Couhig. Kevin was a natural leader, and he was the right leader at the right time, because we were transitioning to a new form of government, said current West Feliciana Parish President Kenny Havard in a statement Wednesday

“He helped lay that foundation and led West Feliciana through that transition period,” Havard said. “It was not an easy task, but

Before Couhig became parish president, he was the assistant secretary of economic development for Louisiana governors David Treen and Edwin Edwards. A graduate of St. Francisville High School and Georgetown University, Couhig said in 2018 that implementing the new home-rule charter plan of government in West Feliciana Parish was one of the things he was proudest of. He was also proud, he said, of working to achieve more funds for the parish from the Louisiana Tax Commission using taxes collected from the Entergy nuclear plant in St. Francisville.

Couhig launched Source Capital in the late 1980s and invested in more than 130 small businesses in the Baton Rouge region.

Activist sues former BR mayoral staffer

Video allegedly captured assault

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

A Baton Rouge activist is su-

ing a former East Baton Rouge Parish mayoral staffer saying she hit him with a chair during an argument at a nightclub.

Walter “Geno” McLaughlin said Courtney Scott, who at the time was an assistant chief administrative officer for thenMayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, hit him hard enough to cause bleeding. A recording of the incident provided by McLaughlin’s attorney, Ryan Thompson, appears to show a heated argument outside the Sky Lounge on Bennington Avenue on June 18, 2024. Scott picks up a metal folding chair and swings it, striking McLaughlin in the face. McLaughlin walks away holding his face while Scott then appears to swing the chair against a wooden fence several times before dropping it and following McLaughlin off-camera.

Photos included in the lawsuit show McLaughlin with blood dripping from his left eye. Other photos appear to show Scott outside the nightclub swinging a chair at McLaughlin.

“Ms. Scott became irate and aggressive toward Mr McLaughlin and proceeded to commit several batteries upon him,” Thompson wrote in the civil complaint.

Scott did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday Accord to the lawsuit, the cityparish was hosting an event at the club to watch an NBA Finals game when the incident occurred.

“Worth noting, at all times Ms. Scott was operating in her ofﬁcial capacity as a city/parish employee,” the suit says wrote. Records obtained by The Advocate last year show Broome placed Scott on administrative leave two days after the incident. Scott officially resigned from her position the following month after an investigation, according to Broome.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Spanish Town neighborhood on June 17.

Couhig

Powerplant site in N.O. mayget newlife

RiverDistrictarena projectadvances

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Theownersofthe Market Street

Power Plant have revived aplan to turn the riverfront property into a midsized New Orleans music venue, aproject that could offer aneeded boost to the River District neighborhood taking shape nearthe Ernest N. Morial ConventionCenter

ASM Global,the multinational venue-management ﬁrm that runs the Caesars Superdome,has a“verbal agreement” with the former powerplant’s ownerstolease and then operate a5,000-seat indoor arena once it is builtthere, Doug Thornton, head of North American venues for ASM, said in an interview last week. And BRGHospitality, the New Orleans-based restaurant company formerlyknownasBesh Restaurant Group, has also been developing plans for various foodofferings at the site, according to BRG co-founder Octavio Mantilla.

Agreements between the firms and property owners Louis Lauricella, Brian Gibbs and Dallas-based Cypress Equities haven’tbeen ﬁnalized. No timeline has beenshared publicly,and Thornton cautioned that there are stillmany pieces that need to fall into place before they would be ready to open doors to concertgoers.

But the involvement oftwo of New Orleans’ biggestnames in hospitality is the ﬁrst sign in years that the former power plant could get anew life as part of the mixed-use neighborhood of housing, offices, museums and entertainment venues developersare planning forthe area.

“Westrongly believe in the projects happeningorcontemplated along the Riverfront,” Mantilla said via email, noting that BRG is just a few weeks from opening Delacroix, a100-seat waterfront restaurant and oyster bar that is nearcompletion at Spanish Plaza.

“For the past couple of years,

AMERICORPS

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different public agencies and grassroots organizations statewide, such as the Boys &Girls Club and the EastBaton Rouge Parish Library.The group supplies student members and senior volunteers to help with community development efforts such as mentoring children, coordinating environmental cleanupefforts and providing hurricane relief. Serve Louisiana sued the Trump administration’sOffice of Management and Budget, AmeriCorps and the recently created U.S. DepartmentofGovernment Efficiency,orDOGE. The volunteer group filed suit May 1in the Baton Rouge-based federaldistrict court, asking ajudge to intervene and stop the cuts that abruptly stripped grantdollars that Serve Louisiana relied upon forits work President Donald Trump gutted the AmeriCorps budget, slashing nearly $400 million away from the $557 million spending planCongress had already earmarked for the federal volunteer agency The money had been appropri-

BLOTTER

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Sheriff’s deputies raid Baton Rouge drug ring

Four men were arrested Tuesday after deputies raided threeaddresses across Baton Rouge linked to adrug distribution ring and found multiple ﬁrearms and narcotics, including lethal amounts of fentanyl, according to anews release from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce. John Butler,34, of St. Gabriel, and three BatonRouge men— Kiera Sheppard, 36, Jerome Palmer, 40, and Charles Allen, 48, were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on multiple charges each. The release said that the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’sOffice Gang Intelligence and Enforcement Unit had conducted hours of surveillanceonButler and Sheppard throughout June,leading authorities to raid three addresses Tuesday: Butler’sresidence and a stash house, both in an apartment complex on 956 N. Donmoor Ave., and Sheppard’sresidenceat16141 Bristoe Ave. Butler and Sheppard both had

The long-abandoned Market Street PowerPlant stands at the corner of Market and Peters streets upriver from the Ernest N. Morial Convention CenterinNew Orleans on Tuesday. The owners of the site have revived a plantoturnthe riverfront property into amidsized NewOrleans music venue.

we have also been deeply involved with the developmentofthe Market Street Power Plant, averycomplicated project that has along way to go to reach fruition,”hesaid, adding that BRG is “very excited tobean integral part of this excitingproject, to work with ASM Global and thedevelopment teamtohelp return the Power Plant backinto commerce after more than ahalf-century of dormancy.”

Mantilla,who co-founded the restaurant group withchefJohnBesh in 2005, was appointed by Gov.Jeff Landry last July to serveonthe ConventionCenter’s13-person oversight board.

Lauricella saidheand his partners would refrain from commentinguntil aformal deal was reached.

“Weprefer to reserve comment on specifics untilweformalize agreements,” he said via email. “We look forward to sharing exciting news on anew future for this space very soon.”

An earlierplanfor thesite

The plant, whose twin smokestacks were ﬁrst ﬁred up in 1905, shuttered in the mid-1970s. It has beenout of use foralmostaslong

atedfor AmeriCorps to award grantstoorganizations thatfoster morethan 1,000 state and local service programsnationwide. In Louisiana, DOGE cuts to AmeriCorps impacted 13 nonprofit programs that for years have depended on the agency to pay its member workersastipend that covers their livingexpenses for 11 months and helps them repay student loans. Members are typically recentcollegegraduates embeddedin nonproﬁt groupsorfaithbased organizations. Through the AmeriCorps programs,they work with schools, churches, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers and other initiatives.

Serve Louisiana challenged the Trump administration’sApril order that suddenly revoked the grantdollarswithout notice midway throughthe ﬁscal year,saying“AmeriCorps had no valid reasoned basis for terminating Serve Louisiana’sgrant,rendering the action arbitrary and capricious.”

The Ofﬁce of Management and Budget, an executive branch agency of the federal government, issued the rescind order in an April 24 memo thatcalled for the immediatecancellation of about

arrest warrants, Butler fordistribution of marijuanaand Sheppard for violation of aprotective order

Itemsseized included 2.09 ounces of powder fentanyl, 17.5 grams of crackcocaine,10.4gramsof crystal methamphetamine and seven semi-automatic ﬁrearms, Butler was booked on 13 felony charges, including possession with intent to distribute Schedule I, II, III, andIVcontrolledsubstances, multiple countsofpossessionofa ﬁrearm by aconvicted felon, and operating aclandestine fentanyl laboratory

Shepard was booked on charges of possession of aﬁrearm and violation of aprotective order

Palmer was booked on four charges related to possessionof ﬁrearmsand drugs, as well as resisting arrest.

Allen was booked on acharge of possession with intenttodistribute crack cocaine. All fourmen had previously been convicted of felonies. 2-year-old dies after being struck by car

A2-year-old Baton Rouge boy died from injuries sustained in a one-vehicle accident shortlyafter noon Tuesday Thetoddler was rushed to the

tionprojects nationwide

The coronavirus pandemic, followedbysupply chain disruptions, surging inflation and rising interest rates, created an uncertain outlook for newoffice buildings, hotels and thehospitality sector generally Work on infrastructure improvements hastaken place on thesite, and an office building forShell Oil is set to be completed in the neighborhood in autumn2026. But last week,Convention Center board memberslearned that the district’s Topgolf project was being halted, and the Convention Center’sleadershipexpressed frustrations with the overall pace of development, telling them they could have no more deadline extensions.

Weather promising forJuly Fourthin BatonRouge

Chance of rain lowest in days

Staff report

as it operated,and many visionsof howtorepurpose the structure have comeand gone.

Joe Jaeger, the developer who died in acar accident last year, bought the property and several adjacent land parcels in 2015. He had hopedthatproject wouldbeintegral to thebroaderdevelopmentofthe River District, the entertainmentfocused new neighborhood that the Convention Center had already been planning for itsown acreage just downriver from the plant.

Jaeger struck atentative deal soon after buying the property with venue operator Live Nation. However,those plans ﬁzzledin2019 when Jaeger fell out with the Convention Center’sleadership.

He eventually soldthe property in 2021 to Lauricella andhis partners, who are thelargest members of River DistrictNeighborhood Investors, the consortium that won thecontract to developthe 47-acre River Districtfor the Convention Center Toughtimes

TheRiver District,which was formally announced four years ago, has made halting progress amid tumultuous times forlargeconstruc-

$400 millioningrants andappropriationsAmeriCorps hadalready awarded.One daylater,AmeriCorps officials sent Volunteer Louisiana, thestate-sanctioned commission that processesand disbursesthe agency’s funding here, atermination notice that said the grant “nolongereffectuates agency priorities.”With that, the feds cut all funding for the AmeriCorps programsacrossLouisiana. The sameprocess playedout in all50 states and monthly disbursements for AmeriCorps grants were cut offnationwide Serve Louisiana billed itselfas thelargest granteethatpartners withAmeriCorps in Louisiana. Thegroup hadbeen awarded about $700,000 in grant dollars for thecurrent fiscal year,Moore saidinanApril 30 affidavit. The cuts meantServeLouisiana could no longerpay monthly stipends to its 37 service members, whowere completing 11-month assignments that saw them work full-time hours for 18 different nonprofit organizations. The members still had about threemonths left in theirassignments but losttheir health insurance and education awardsasaresult of thecuts. In arguing for the injunction,

hospitalbya helicopter from the 5000 block of Larch Meadow Circle. He later diedfrom his injuries.

The boy is believed to have run in front of acar pullingintoa private drivewayatapproximately 12:19 p.m. on Tuesday Deputiesbelievethe crashwas an accident, aspokespersonfor the East Baton Rouge ParishSheriff’s Ofﬁce said. No criminal charges are being considered.

Manarrested for allegedly trafficking teen for sex

ABaton Rouge man wasarrestedWednesday for allegedly trafficking a15-year-old child for sex.

Louisiana State Police arrested and booked Carlos Montano, 32, into theEastBaton Rouge Parish prisononacount of trafﬁcking children for sexual purposes.

Montano was also booked on 23 countsofpossession of pornography involving juveniles.

The State Police Special Victims Unit was originally tipped off about acase involving the sexual exploitation of a15-yearoldbythe FBI’sBaton Rouge Field Ofﬁce.

Theinvestigationidentified Montano as asuspect who had purchasedchild pornography

The ASM Globaland BRG Hospitalityinvolvement in the power plant project represents someprogress, at least forthe privately-owned part of the River Districteconomic development area. Chris Maguire, CEOofCypress Equities,had said in late 2023 that entertainment-based retailand “experiential” concepts, like indoor putting, ax throwing and shufﬂeboard, were the ones doingbest in the marketplace andwere likely uses for the power plant. He pointed to the Area15 development in Las Vegas as the kind of idea he had in mind for thespace. It’s not clear if that is still apotentialelement forthe property In the interviewThursday,Thorntonsaidthatthe 5,000-seat size was the“sweetspot” forNew Orleans, which has larger concert venues like the Smoothie King Center and theSuperdome, as well as smaller ones like the Saengerand Mahalia Jacksontheaters,whichcan seat around 2,500. He said the modelfor the Market Street Power Plantvenue —which is goingbythe name of “Turbine Hall” while in development —isthe Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, whichwas built in 2016 next to Puerto Rico’sconvention center Since its opening in 2021 through last July,the ASM Global-operated space has hosted about400 events withticket sales of $35 million.

plaintiff attorneys said the most devastating impact was thethreat to community projects and activities because Serve Louisiana would no longer be able to provide criticalsupport staff.

The U.S. AttorneysOfﬁcecalled Serve Louisiana a“subgrantee” of thestate commissionthatdistributes the grants. They argued the lawsuit wasreally just acontract dispute between ServeLouisiana andfederal agencies, onethat should’ve been settled in federal claims court. DeGravelles, an Obama appointee, rejected that notion.

“Plaintiff hasnot requested any damages —ithas not asked for any monetary damages. It has not askedforreimbursement for the expenses thatmay have been incurred as aresultofthe termination of its AmeriCorps-funded employees, suchasthe costs of hiring new employees or overtime forexisting employees,” the judgesaid in his ruling. “It hasnot asked for compensation for harms that may have occurred to ongoing projects as aresult of apause in activities.Instead,Plaintiff has requested speciﬁc relief and only speciﬁc relief: that the court enforce thestatutory mandates un-

ACTIVIST

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Thompson says the“batteries” against McLaughlinoccurred after an argument over city-parish business. Along withScott, McLaughlin is also suing the cityparish, alleging Scottwas acting as atop mayoral staffer when the incident occurred. Since leaving the Mayor’sOfﬁcelast year,Scott completed a University of Chicago Community Violence InterventionLeadership fellowship in April in Miami.

TheJulyFourthholiday is looking to be bright and sunny in Baton Rouge on Friday with low humidity in the forecast —and thelowestchance of rain in days, according to the National WeatherService.

“We’re actually going to have aweak front going through the area today that will bring in alittlebit drierair,” Phil Grigsby,ameteorologist with the weather service office in Slidell, said Wednesday After showers last week and over the weekend, the rain chance forthe July Fourth holidaydrops to 10%,hesaid. It’sstill going to be hot, though, Grigsby said. Friday’shigh will be near 94 degrees,with aheat index, the “feelslike”effect, in the lower 100s,hesaid.

It’sa pretty normal heat indexfor this time of year,aided by the lowhumidity —fairly “comfortable”for BatonRouge on July Fourth, Grigsby said. Still, people should take precautionsagainst heat-related illness, if celebrating outdoors on Friday, he said.

“Just remember to take frequent breaks in air conditioning or the shade and drink plenty of water,” Grigsby said. If alcohol is part of the day’s celebrations, folks should also remember that it “actually increases the risk of heat illness” andcontinue to hydratewith water,hesaid.

derwhichAmeriCorps operates.” DeGravelles found that AmeriCorps reallocated funds based simply on new policy priorities, calling it “anact of agency discretion.” But he said Congress has “circumscribed agency discretion” with mandates. Even AmeriCorps’ own policycalls for noticeand apublic “comment rulemaking” hearing before any signiﬁcantpolicyshifts. He determined ServeLouisiana is likely to succeed on themeritofitclaims and ordered AmeriCorps to fund Serve Louisiana forthe remainder of theﬁscal year,whichends Aug. 31.

“AmeriCorpsmay have the right to undertake differentpolicy priorities, provided that it does so in accordance withall legalrequirements such as notice andcomment. However,ifAmeriCorps chooses to terminate existing grants because theydonot comply with new policy priorities, it is still required to followboth the standards set forth by the (Administrative Procedure Act) and those standardsthatAmeriCorps hasset forth foritself.

Email Matt Bruceatmatt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

McLaughlin is requesting a trialbyjury.The suit does not specifydamages.

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STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Armstrong, Ellen Community BaptistChurch,1109 Highway 1043, Greensburgat2:00pm.

Babin, Ben

St.MarkCatholic Church at 12pm

BabinIII, Joseph JeffersonBaptist Church,9135 Jefferson Hwy,Baton Rouge, LA at 11am

Barbato, Louis

St.Jude theApostle Catholic Church 9150 HighlandRoad, BatonRouge at 10:30am.

Blanchard, Minnie ResthavenGardens of Memory & FuneralHome, 11817 JeffersonHwy BatonRouge at 11:00am.

Bourgeois, Emelia

St.JosephCatholic Church,2130

RectorySt.,Paulina, LAat 12pm

Braud, Lory

ResthavenFuneralHome, 11817 Jefferson HighwayinBaton Rouge at 2:30pm Costley, Samuel LIttle Rock BaptistChurch at 11am

Darensbourg, Thomas

St Joseph'sCathedral,401 Main Street at 10am.

Duncan,Brett

WilbertFuneralHome, Plaquemine at 7:00pm

Guichet, Melvin

Greenoaks FuneralHome, 9595

FloridaBlvd.,Baton Rougeat10am.

Henson, Hellen

WilbertFuneralHome, Plaquemine at 12pm

O'Neal,Christopher Greenoaks FuneralHome, 9595

FloridaBlvd, BatonRouge LAat 2pm

Rodosta,Annie Azalea Rest Cemetery,Zacharyat 10:00am.

EllenDoughty Arm‐strong, went to herheav‐enlyhomeonJuly2,2025 Mom wasbornOctober 28, 1937, at FlukersBluff, LA to parents LeoDoughty and Helen HurstDoughty.She had awonderful childhood growing up in Chipolaplay‐ing in thewoodsnearthe Amite River. In theearly 1970’syou could find her onthe seat of a90cc Honda,running the“State LineRun” or climbing the hills near theHurst Camp You couldalso find herrid‐ing throughthe woodsof Chipola.She wasanexpert gardenerdigging in the dirtplanting flowersand fruit trees. Momhad a knack formakingthings grow, shereceivedthis trait from hermother. She had birdhouses of every kind, butshe particularly loved watching herblue‐birds.Mom wasa wonder‐ful cook,her cornbread, biscuits, pies,and coffee wereher claimtofame. She wasanexpertseam‐stressmasterfully making her youngestdaughter’s wedding dress. In herlater years,she enjoyedmaking quiltsfor herfamily. Mom alsoworkedoutside the home, shewas aschool bus driver,assistedDr. Richard “Dick” Munson in Clinton with hismedical practice, ateller/book‐keeperatClintonBankand Trust,retiringwiththe State of Louisiana. Beinga motherwas hercalling in life, even though shewore manyhatsduringher life‐time. Shehad aloving, giv‐ing heart, especially for her children,grandchildren and greatgrandchildren Mom is preceded in death byher parentsand hersis‐ter GretaSue Kirby. Sheis survivedbyher husbandof 69years Fred Lynn Arm‐strong, children Michael (Karen),Peggy Vaughan (Duane) andMaryEllen Goza(Greg), 6grandchil‐dren, 7great grandchildren and hersisterLeota Jean Ray.Visitationwillbeon Thursday,July3,2025 at Community Baptist Church,1109 Highway1043 Greensburg, LA from 1pm to2pm with theservice be‐ginning at 2pm. Officiating willbePastorLarry Stew‐art andReverendLarry Blades. Burial immediately following at Wesley Chapel Cemetery, 5177 Highway 448, Greensburg, LA.Inlieu of flowers, please donate toSt. Jude Children’s Hos‐pital

LouisJoseph Barbato, born on March 20, 1946, was alifelongresidentof Baton Rouge.Hepeacefully passedawayonJune 29th after along and courageous battlewith Alzheimer's disease. Throughout his 79 years, Louisbuilta legacy of service to both his familyand the community

Louisattended Sacred HeartElementary School and graduated from CatholicHigh School in 1964 as adistinguished graduate. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and graduatedfrom LSUMedical School in 1972. Dr. LouisJ.Barbato became apartneratAnesthesiology Group Associatesand taught numerous LSUresidentsatEarlK Long Hospitaluntil hisretirement in 2012.Hewas admired for his compassionate approach, gentle bedside manner, andwitty sense of humor.

While attending medical school,LouismarriedTrenny Trenticosta on June 27, 1970.Together,Dr. Barbato and Trennyraisedtheir two children: Leigh Barbato Kean (Chris Walsh,fiancé)and David Barbato (Leah, wife). He is alsosurvived by his sister,Mary Louise Medici (John, husband), and granddaughters SarahBrennan and Camille Kean, andSusan Barbato. Affectionately known as P-Lou to his granddaughters, he enjoyedtravelingwithhis family, cooking red gravy and meatballs, golfing, and maintaining an immaculate lawn.

Visitationwillbeheldat St. Jude the Apostle CatholicChurch, located at 9150 Highland Road, on Thursday, July 3, 2025,from 9:30 am to 10:30am, followedbya memorial service at 10:30 am with Fr. TreyNelson as the celebrant.

LouisDepland andLeona NelsonDepland andthe lateWilmerGeorgeMathis and RosalieDomingue Mathis; brotherofthe late Hubert“Bobby, Jr.” P. Dep‐land(Dianne), Driscilla Broussard (Elwood), Brid‐get Depland-Grant (Cedric), PhyllisDepland Brown (Barry), andJohn Daryl Depland. He will truly bemissedbyhis brother and sisters, nieces and nephews,and ahostofrel‐ativesand friends. AMass ofChristian burial will be heldatSt. George Catholic Church,7808 St.George Drive,Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 11 AM. Intermentwillbepri‐vate. Arrangements en‐trusted to Demby& SonFu‐neral Home,Donald‐sonville, LA

Ferris, Lora "Bunny" Cross

Lora "Bunny" Cross Ferriswas an exceptional mother, wife, and friend, a gentle ladywhose life was defined by her gracious heart,her warm demeanor, her endless kindness,and her selfless devotion to her family and her faith.

The youngestofthree, Bunny was borntoDr. Albion and Lora Maye Cross on November 20, 1951 in NewOrleans. The family moved to Baton Rougein 1954 where Dr. Cross openedhis medical practice. Bunny graduated fromBroadmoor High School in 1969. She began her university years at LSU, becoming amember of Delta DeltaDelta sorority. Shelatertransferred to the University of Virginia where she completedher Bachelor of Science degree.Following her return to Baton Rouge, she earneda Masters Degree in SpeechPathology from LSU.

of theCrossroadsSunday School Class, Women's Circle One, and asmall group called The Tri Pi Bible Study Group (Praying, Praising, Presbyterians). Bunny was acaretaker at heart,always seeking to serveothers.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Dr. A.B.and Lora Maye Cross. She is survivedbyher husband, Ron; sisters, Amelia Cross Wood and Susan Cross Cornell (Pat); daughter Rebecca Behrnes and husband Jacob; sonChristopher Ferris and wife Megan; stepson Doug Ferrisand wife Julie; stepson Greg Ferris and wife Kori; grandchildrenDouglas, Lyndsey, Taylor, Tyler, Camilla, Madeleine,and Gigi,aswellasnumerous greatnieces and nephews She is also survivedbya very special groupof friends, theTri Pi's: Annie Kelly, Cheryl Tyler, Sherry Tucker,and Lindy Weiner.

Visitation willbeheldat The FirstPresbyterian Church of BatonRouge, 763 NorthBlvd. at 10:00am on Tuesday, July8,2025. A memorial servicewillfollowinthe sanctuary at 11:00am.

In lieu of flowers, memorial giftsmay be madetothe First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge, theMultiple Myeloma Research Foundation, or to thecharity of your choice.

Dianne HarveryMcKin‐ney,70, anativeand resi‐dentofDonaldsonville, Louisiana,passedaway peacefullyonJune 26, 2025 She wasprecededindeath byher husband,Michael K. McKinney, Sr.She leaves to cherish hermemory, her children: LeoMichael (DeLacey) McKinney and Michael K. (Angel)McKin‐ney,Jr. Visitation at Demby and SonFuneralHomeon Friday, July 4, 2025 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM.Visita‐Obituaries

Thefamily wouldliketo expresstheir heartfelt appreciation to The Pearl at Jamestown. Louisenjoyed being partofthe community, particularly traveling the halls and havingdinner in his favorite spot. Additionally, the familyis grateful for the exceptional care provided by Amedisys Hospice

Depland, Dwight Anthony Dwight AnthonyDep‐landpassedontoeverlast‐ing life on Thursday,June 26, 2025, at theage of 65 Hewas born in New Or‐leans,Louisiana and resided in New Orleans until relocating in Baton Rouge in 2005. He wasthe son of thelateHubert “Bobby” Deplandand Emma Rose Mathis Dep‐land,grandsonofthe late

In 1978, she married Ron Ferris, theloveofher life forover 47 years. Her two new stepsons, Doug and Greg, were soonjoinedby daughter Rebecca in 1980, followedbyson Christopher in 1982.

Bunny adored her children and devoted herself completely to building a life of love,laughter, stories,travel, football games, and fellowship for her family. She volunteered wherever she saw aneed, for everything fromher children's schools, to cancer awareness fundraisers,to numerous otherorganizations and causes.She was amember of theBaton Rouge Junior League and The Baton RougeAssembly. She lovedchildren, animals, gardening,visiting friends, and allthe holidays

Her faith and her family were themost important partsofher life.She was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church of BatonRouge,where she served as adeaconand fulfilledmultiple teaching and volunteerroles throughout thechurch, including president of the Presbyterian Women. She wasa long-time member

tion on Saturday,July5 2025 at Mount Zion Baptist Church,Donaldsonville, LA from9:00AMuntil Religious servicesat11:00AM

Rosby, CarlEverett

CarlEverett Rosby, born December 21,1951, entered into eternal rest surrounded by love ones, June 22,2025. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Allene Rosby; fourchildren, Dr.RaphyelRosby(Kaoru Rosby), Dr.JoshuaRosby Katara Eakins(Jarvis Eakins), andWakita Rosby; fourgrandchildren,JasmineRosby, Everett Rosby, Emery Hopkins,and Gavin Eakins; brother, William Ray Rosby(Debra Rosby) Final arrangementsare entrusted to Jackson Family Funeral Service,Lake Providence,LA

Edna M. Tillmanentered intoeternal rest at Clarity Hospice,Baton Rouge, Louisiana on June 26, 2025 She wasa 102-year oldna‐tiveofSpringﬁeld, Louisiana.Viewing at Galilee MissionaryBaptist Church,Springﬁeld, on Sat‐urday,July5,2925 at 10:00 amuntil CelebrationofLife Service at noon conducted byRev.WarrenRichard;in‐terment G.M.B.C. Cemetery Survivors includeher chil‐dren, Vellis Tillman(Tina), New Orleans, Louisiana; Doloris Vincent(Dr Charles),Baker,Louisiana;

DorothyNorman(Willie, Sr.); andMaryTillman,all ofBaton Rouge; ﬁve grand‐children; eightgreatgrandchildren;10greatgreat-grandchildren;one great-great-great-grand‐child; otherrelatives and friends;precededindeath byher husband,Bernard F. Tillman;and herparents Arrangementsentrusted to Miller& Daughter Mortu‐ary

gentle heart, always ready with asmile. Herlove for herfamilyran deep—she wasa devoteddaughter, a loyal sister,a supportive aunt, andacaringfriend.

Williams, Keosha Elsey

Keoshawas asweet, loving,and kind-hearted soul whotouchedthe lives of everyoneshe met. She hada warm spirit anda

Tillman, Edna M.

McKinney, Dianne Harvery

Editor’snote:This editorial, withmodiﬁcations, has appeared in previous Fourth of July editions.

The story of how the Declaration of Independence came to be says much aboutthe ideals of the men who signed it.Wecan learnalot from them about character andcompromise, twoqualities sadly lacking in today’s political culture.

David McCullough lays outthe taleofthe Declaration’sorigins in “John Adams,” his celebrated 2001 biography of the nation’ssecond president andprominentfounding father. Adams’political rival, Thomas Jefferson,was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence. Years later,Adams recalled that Jeffersonhad proposed thathe, Adams, writethe document. As Adams tells it, he deferred to Jefferson, listing his reasons: “Reason ﬁrst:You areaVirginian and aVirginian ought to appear at the head of this business.Reason second: Iamobnoxious, suspected and unpopular.You arevery much otherwise. Reason third: Youcan write ten times better than Ican ” That’snot how Jefferson rememberedthe event. He simply recalled beingasked by a committee of the Founding Fathers to take up hispen.“Possibly neitheroftheir memories served, and possiblyboth were correct,” McCullough tells readers.

Adams’ account of the Declaration’s beginningsisa reminderthat America’searliest leaders weren’tmarble iconsbut ratherhumans with their own egos and foibles. Adams’story about the Declaration indulges abit of selfcongratulation —the nobleAdamsbeing asked to write the text, then magnanimously declining —but there’sauthentic generositytowardJefferson in hisremarks, too.

There is also alesson that politics is ageless: The new nation, as yet unborn,had profound differences in outlook among thestates.Notice that Virginia, the most populous,and onewith a significant number of loyalistsfor KingGeorge III, was in Adams’ thoughts. Differencesin economics and views are the stuffoflegislative maneuvering, now as then Adams and Jefferson became bitter political opponents, withJefferson defeating Adamsto become the nation’sthird president. Afteryears of estrangement, they became friendsagain in their final years, famously dyingonthe same day: July 4,1826. Jefferson died first that day, and an ailing Adams, not knowingofhis passing, was heard to utter from his deathbed,“Thomas Jefferson survives.”

If two ﬁgures so different in outlook and disposition could reconcile, then maybe thepolitical divides now frustratingour nationallife are not as wide and deep as we think they are. That reﬂection cannot be more relevanttoday,a couple of centurieslater,asquestions aboutfundamental rights andthe Constitution arecontentiouslydebated.

That is agreat gift Adams andJeffersonhave given us —the possibility of commonground, even when shared purpose seems hopeless. Tomorrow,wecelebratethe ideathat Jefferson does indeed survive. And Adams does,too.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

OPINION

Some yearsago, our daughter became aStarbucks barista before graduateschool. Her nervous parents were concerned about health insurance, which sheassured us would be available as soon as shebecame afull-time employee. This never happened, as the manager kept her hoursjustbelow the threshold of qualifying for beneﬁts.

In Louisiana, only 48% of workers are offered health insurance at work. The top national corporationswithemployees on Medicaid areWalmart and McDonald’s. Most adults on Medicaid already work somewhere. This is what Republicans are not telling you about their Medicaid “reforms” inTrump’s BigBeautiful Bill. SenateMajority Leader John Thune, R-N.D., saidthat thebest health care is ajob. What he didn’tsay is that that is true only about half thetime in our country today

Further,$800 million in cuts to Medicaid does not mean that the 16 million people who lose insurance under thebill won’tget health

Many years ago, afriend told me thatthe greatest motivator in life is fear.That sounded plausible.

Iimagine that fear will motivate youtodoalot of things. Like running into aburning house to rescue your child. Then he said that fear was also thegreatest demotivator.What?How can that be? Butthere was alot of truthinthat paradox. If you fear that going to workortothe grocery store might get you arrested or deported, Iget it that you might stay home. If you can’task someoneout on adate, afraid of rejection, you don’tcall. I get that, too. If aknock on your door scares the holy bejesus out of you, you freeze. Or run. Fear is everywhere in America today.Group Aisafraid of Group B, who is afraid of Group C. That’show we live today.The threat of war.Another pandemic. Financial collapse. Retaliation.Beingsent to prison for

care. They will still visit emergency rooms and get hospitalized—they cannot be turned awaybecause the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide amedical screening examination and stabilizing treatment, regardless of their insurance statusorabilitytopay Hospitals will bear some of the staggering costs of uncompensated care —estimated by the Congressional Budget Ofﬁce to be $278 million. As thenewspaper has documented, Louisiana will be among the states most affected. Rural hospitals and those that serveless advantaged populations who arealreadystruggling —will be especially hurt. What the16million will lose is outpatient coverage, where preventive care, earlydiagnosis and treatment and monitoring of chronicdiseases take place —things that prevent the need for more expensive care Allthis so thewealthiest 1% can get another big tax break?

CHARLES ZEANAH

Metairie

speaking out.Will you get ﬁred for just doing your job?Young adults are anxious. Older adultsfear that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will disappear People who recognize the source of all this fear should do something about it. Maybe they don’tmind seeing acolleague being pushed to the ﬂoor,handcuffed and taken away just for asking questions or being shot and killed at their front door The source of this fear-motivating or demotivating is clear.Politicians, judges, journalists—many live in fear.And maybe Ishould, too, as Iwritethis letter.Will there be threats? Will there be aprice? Perhaps. ButIbelieve in America and what we’ve always stoodfor.I could go on, but wait,Ihear someone banging on my door.Gotta go.

MARC GOLDSTEIN Baton Rouge

My oldest child starts his senior year of high school in August. Idon’tknow if he and my other two teenagers will relocate or stay in Louisiana, but either way, Iwant people whoare starting or changing careers to have as many opportunities as possible forgainful employment here.

Taxcredits are along-standing way to attract industry to an area and often have bipartisan support. Why,then, wouldn’twewant to encourage companies producing renewable energy to set up shop in Louisiana? These are businesses like utility-scale solar farmsand factories that makesolar panels, wind turbine components, and batteries. Yet, alot of lawmakers do not support keeping the clean energy tax credits from the Inﬂation Reduction Act. The budget reconciliation bill, better knownasthe One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in its current form,does away with the tax credits.

Offering tax credits to these energy companies represents jobs, salaries, supported families and money spent at other businesses. Voting them down amounts to leaving money on the table that could go to Louisiana families. I’m concerned that if the incentives aren’t there at the federal level, individual states will be quick to give their own tax breaks. Right now,wehave more towns angling fornew industries than we have new industries. Iwould hope lawmakers would makethe moreentrepreneurial choice to welcomethese businesses and that they will come to Louisiana, so that my sons, daughter and their peers have moreopportunities forbright futures.

CLANCY RATLIFF Lafayette

LSU recently announced its presidential search committee. Didanyone notice anything strange about the members of that list? Of the 19, only twomembers are women. Surely,there are morethan twowomen in Louisiana with sufficient qualifications to select apresident forour flagship university LSU should do better

GEORGE HELMER Lafayette

Musk goes offagain againstagenda

Hasitreally been less than amonth since Elon Musk ﬂew off the handle, trashed his benefactor,the president, pledged to kill the administration’stop legislative priority,and,ontop of all that, have the president impeached?It seems like years ago, butitwas actually less than 30 days. That’show quickly Musk disappeared from national politicswhen he left his position at DOGE and returnedtohis valuable work at SpaceX and Tesla, among othercompanies.

Now,though, Musk is at it again. With President Donald Trump’stop legislative priority —Trump calls it the “Big Beautiful Bill” —ina critical stage on Capitol Hill, Musk has stepped in again to threatenthe president and the Republican Party with political ruination. What agood friend! Musk’s relapse is important because of 1) who he is, 2) how muchmoney he has, and 3) the importance ofpassing thebill to Trump’sinfluence andlegacy Legislatively speaking, the Big Beautiful Bill is the embodiment of everything Trump has done as president. It would make permanent the premierlegislative achievement of his first term, the Trump tax cuts. It would fulfillthe top unfulfilled promise of the first term, the border wall. It would make good on promises made during the 2024 campaign, such as no tax on tips and greater border security.Itisone long expression of Trump’spriorities as president Forthe last five months, Trump has achieved many things by using his executive authority.Now,the “big,beautiful bill”isteed up to be Trump’sbig achievement in legislation. And his close friend Elonistryingto kill it. Starting on Mondayafternoon, Musk, who overpromised and underdelivered on his self-perceived abilities to cut government spending, began a series of posts on Xinwhichheurged, and then threatened, House Republicans who planned to vote for the bill.

At 3:08 p.m., Musk posted, “Itisobviouswith the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in aone-party country—the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for anew political party that actually caresabout the people.”

At 3:36, he posted, targeting House conservatives, “How can you call your-

self theFreedom Caucus if you votefor aDEBTSLAVERYbill withthe biggest debtceilingincreaseinhistory?”

At 4:02, he posted, “Every member of Congresswho campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately votedfor the biggestdebt increase in historyshould hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next yearifitisthe last thing Idoon this Earth.”

At 6:02, he posted, “If this insane spending bill passes, theAmerica Party will be formed thenext day.Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have aVOICE.

At 9:41,hepostedanillustration of a puppetonﬁre with the heading LIAR. Musk wrote, “Anyone who campaigned on thePROMISE of REDUCING SPENDING, but continues to voteon theBIGGESTDEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY will see theirface on this posterinthe primary next year.”

The posting continued as Monday turnedinto Tuesday.At12:52 a.m., Musk posted, “Hitting the debt ceiling is the only thing that will actually force the government to cut wasteand fraud. That’swhy the debt ceiling legislation exists!”

Obviously,Trumpwould have to respond. So at 12:44 a.m., in the midst of Musk’s rant, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly endorsed me for president, thatI was strongly againstthe EV mandate. It is ridiculous, and was

always amajor partofmycampaign

Electric carsare ﬁne,but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get moresubsidy than anyhuman being in history,byfar,and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to closeup shopand head back home to South Africa. No morerocket launches,satellites, or electric car production, and our country would save aFORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take agood, hard, look at this?

BIGMONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”

Trump’spoint —recipient of massive government subsidiesdecries massive federal spending —was entirely clear Yes, Musk’sspace company does great things and performs services that the governmentneeds.But thesame cannot be said for theelectric vehicle mandate, and if thatiswhat Musk is upset about, then he hassimply run afoulofRepublican orthodoxy on Capitol Hill. Of course, Musk alsoangered Democrats during his brief stint in Washington, so it is unclear where he will go for help on that.

But thebig picture is this: At acritical moment in Donald Trump’spresidency and in the workings of the Republican Congress, Elon Musk stepped in, again, to try to kill theGOP’s top priority. He appearstobelieve that he has too much money to ignore, and that is probably true.But that doesn’tmean he will be taken seriously when he does thesame thing in the future.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.

Sixty years ago this summer,Congressenacted the nation-transforming Voting Rights Act.Soon, however,Congress and adeferential Supreme Court, by reverse alchemy,turned the gold of the VRA into thelead of today’sracial distribution of representation. Recently,the Supreme Court delayed, pending reargument next term, deciding acase that could reverse the VRA’s tarnishment.

On the ﬁnal day of the 2024-2025 term, the court issued 404 pages of decisions, concurrences anddissents in six cases. Singularly important, however, werethe six pages of Justice Clarence Thomas’sdissent from the court’sdecision not to decidethe case concerning the patent racial gerrymandering in Louisiana’sredistricting map Thomas citesthe “intractable” conﬂict between the VRAasthe court has construed it as aguarantee of the rights of groups, and the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws for persons. “Intractable?” No, insoluble. Approximately one-third of Louisianans are Black. After the 2020 Census, the legislature produced acongressional map withonly one “majority-minority” district. In acomplex process of litigation, the state, accepting the court-created principle of racial proportionality,created asecond Black-majoritydistrict. The state simultaneously engaged in political gerrymandering to protect theseats of three senior Republican members of Congress. The result was unlovely The proposed 6th District resembles a250-mile-long python uncoilingfrom northwest to southeast Louisiana to “scoop up” (Thomas’startphrase) enough Black voters, and exclude enough White ones,tobeslightly more than 50% Black. Obviously, race pre-

dominated in producing this affront to the VRA’s original intent.

This is today’sjudicial morass concerningredistricting: Raceconsciousness is mandatory; race as “predominant” is forbidden. The path to this conundrum is explained in “Deconstructingthe Republic,”the invaluable 2008 book by Anthony A. Peacock of Utah State University: Theoriginal VRA was written to guarantee ballot access. Butassubsequently construed by the court and amended by Congress, it confers group rights to “effective” representation. This entitlement to aportion of political power is determined by racial calculations. The court began and Congress joined the process of conferring on afew minorities (Black, Hispanic, Native American) agroup right to elect their preferredrepresentatives, with members of the group presumptively choosingtothink as agroup rather than as individuals.

Classical liberalismholds that althoughindividuals are divided by opinionsand passions,they can be united by shared interests. The uniting is the businessofpolitics. But, Peacock says, the ideology of multiculturalism changed politics by making race and ethnicity preeminent —and inevitably divisive —legal categories. This deconstructed the nation into an archipelagoofracial and ethnic constituencies. This development was congruent with thecredo of 20th-century “behavioral”social science: People do not act freely;they behave predictably because they are conditioned by group membership. By freezing certain racial constituencies into law,the VRA, as (mis)construed and amended, now implicitly endorsesa degraded theory of representation: Elected representatives of agovernment-preferred minority should mechanically serve any desire of the cohesive group.

TheCivil Rights Act of 1964, enacted to end thecognizance of race in law,

has been bent to opposite purposes. The VotingRightsAct, enacted to eliminate acts of invidious discrimination, has been twisted to engineer racial balance in political processes by takinglegal cognizance of, and thereby encouraging, racial as opposed to citizenship identities.

Judicial decisions have held that illegal “votedilution” (a phrase not in the 1965 VRA) exists when governmentapproved minorities could not elect candidates of their “choice,” which was presumed tobedefined racially.The creation of minority-majority electoral districts, drawn to preserve or create racially homogenous enclaves, supposedly serves electoral fairness, defined as facilitating minority office-holding. The VRA becameaninstrument for turning race and ethnicity into legally determinative categories for claims to proportional allocations of political power

Doing so, today’sVRA encourages a group conﬂict model of American politics.And theFounders’ Constitution for freely thinking individuals becomes a Constitution for thinking-alike victims of aperpetual past.

In a2003 case concerning race-based universityadmissions, thecourt afﬁrmed a“diversity” exception tothe laws of equal protection. An “effective representation” exception has been discovered in theVRA, although nothing in its 1965 text or legislative history authorized or required this.

The court has somewhat corrected its 2003 higher-education mistake. Next term, it should jettison mostofits misbegotten VRA jurisprudence. By afﬁrming the equal protection clause’ssupremacy over the court’s torturous misconstruing of it,and Congress’spernicious amending of it, thecourt can restore theVRA’s golden gleam

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

Independence Dayissuch afavorite holiday of mine that when this nation had its bicentennial celebration in 1976, Itold my father Iwanted to live to 112 so Icould see the tricentennial. Still, there wasone Fourth of July Icouldn’t celebrate with friends or ﬁreworks. As acub sports reporter forthis newspaper in 1986, Iwas assigned to cover the Golden Meadow Tarpon Rodeo —areally great event forparticipants, but awful forareporter (at least back then). My job involved waiting in the blazing heat, in an outside walkway at Golden Meadow Junior High School, fortired anglers to drive up with their ﬁsh in the backs of pickup trucks, eager to get the catch weighed and then moveon.

With no air conditioning, not enough coins forthe vending machines and sometimes long periods between trucks, all Icould do was sweat in the heat as Iread my book. Fortunately,itwas one of the best novels I’ve ever read, “All the King’s Men,” by Robert Penn Warren. Brilliantly written, utterly engrossing, it nonetheless was full of dark and tragic undertones of aside of politics Ihad never really experienced in person. Essentially aﬁctionalized version of the career of (in)famous Louisiana Gov.Huey P. Long, the Penn Warren masterpiece is, alas, oft-remembered forperhaps its mostdownbeat passage: “Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud.”

As much as Iwas enraptured by the novel, this washardly awelcome theme about American politics foranidealistic 22-year-old on the Fourth of July.(To say the least!)

As someone whoexpected to spend my career either working in or writing about politics, it leftmewary.Was this really what Iwas getting into?

Well, in the 39 years since then, I’ve seen far morethan Iwant to see of the rotten underside of somepolitics. Still, that’snot the full story Instead, I’ve seen plenty of validation of the idealism the Fourth of July always inspires —the idealism asserting that this American system is almost miraculously wise in conception, and that it can create the conditions for ennobling actions.

In no particular order:

I’ve seen longtimeU.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whom Iknow well, stand on principle even when it cost him his long-desired job as U.S. Attorney General. To keep his job, all he had to do was follow President Donald Trump’s orders to kill the “Russia probe” that marred the first part of Trump’spresidency.Instead, informed in no uncertain termsbythe Justice Department’sethics office that he should recuse himself from all decisions in the case, he followed the ethics rules even as Trumpraged against him.His duty as the nation’schief lawenforcement officer was to the formal ethics rules, not to his own job security I’ve seen Republican state Sen. Ben Bagert (for whom Ibriefly had worked ayear earlier), seeing polls showing he would fall short of a U.S. Senate runoff, withdraw from his race the day before the election and endorse Democratic incumbent opponent Bennett Johnston, all to save Louisiana the nightmare of arunoff election featuring neo-Nazi David Duke. (The nightmare came ayear later in agovernor’s race, but that’sanother story.) For the greater good, Bagert honorably fell on his sword. I’ve seen Vice President Mike Pence stand tall forthe Constitution while under severe pressure to throw out duly attested electoral votes —and then, even as rioters yelled forhis execution, insist on returning that very night to finish the vote-counting procedure. Likewise, I’ve seen Rep. Liz Cheney,with whom I’ve shared twosmall-group mealsatthe vice presidential residence, willingly forfeit her career because of what her principles told her was right.

And I’ve seen “across the aisle” kindnesses: On twodifferent occasions, Democratic operatives reached out to me, long knownasaRepublican, to alert me about and support me for job openings that ﬁt my skill sets.

These examples of honor and decency,and manymore Icould recount, are farremoved from the “stink of the didie,” or even the stench of dead ﬁsh in apickup truck.

In the last letter Thomas Jefferson ever sent to John Adams(before they both died 199 years ago tomorrow), Jefferson wrote that “all eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man These are grounds of hope. …Let the annual return of [the Fourth of July] forever refresh our recollection of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

And all in apolitical system,atits heart, still capable of honor

Quin Hillyer canbereached at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Elon Musk posted on X, ‘If this insane spending bill passes, the America Partywill be formed the nextday.’

Quin Hillyer

George Will

Byron York

Baton Rouge Weather

BALTIMORE PROUD

SAM COHN

The Baltimore Sun (TNS)

BALTIMORE It’s only right that friends and family of Derik Queen, who’s from Baltimore, gathered last week for the NBA draft over bushels of crabs.

“We’re from Baltimore,” said David Knox, Queen’s great-uncle who sat at the head of a long table inside Parkville’s Urban Crab Shack, eagerly awaiting a lifelong dream realized for the city’s nephew By the eighth overall pick on June 25, and with each selection that followed, the room hushed knowing that NBA commissioner Adam Silver might utter the name any moment.

It’s a shame NBA insiders have the power to tip picks. But the beauty of fast-traveling information is when ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the trade that would send Queen to New Orleans with the 13th overall pick minutes later, it meant the local crowd was ready, phones aimed toward the TV and tears already welling.

“Shh, shh,” they whisper-yelled Silver announced the selection at 9:40 p.m. Eastern. It was met by thunderous cheers that wobbled a few tables.

Queen’s cousin, Shanika Adams — wearing a Maryland “Crab Five” T-shirt to represent the nickname of the Terrapins’ starting ﬁve last season danced about in the middle of the room. Her Instagram Live caught every bit of the action, panning from the big screen to the family gathered behind her

“Everybody’s excited. Baltimore’s excited,” Knox said. “He’s everybody’s nephew now He’s going to shine for us. He’s going to make us look real good.”

Queen spent draft night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn ﬂanked by family — by blood and by basketball. His mom, Lisa Anderson; mentor, Donnell “Mookie” Dobbins; and former Terrapins director of player personnel Ricky Harris were among the tight group in the green

“Everybody’s excited. Baltimore’s excited. He’s everybody’s nephew now He’s going to shine for us. He’s going to make us look real good.”

DAVID KNOX, Derik Queen’s great-uncle

room.

Queen arrived at this juncture having completed one stellar season at Maryland, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-foot9, 247-pound forward became the program’s ﬁrst draft selection since newly crowned NBA champion Aaron Wiggins (Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2021, and the ﬁrst player drafted from the city since Bub Carrington (Washington Wizards) this time last year

“He doesn’t just want to make money playing in the NBA,” Dobbins said. “He wants to leave his mark in the NBA.”

Back in Baltimore extended family rejoiced in Queen’s ﬁrst step toward that dream.

“It’s surreal,” said Lashelle Stewart, his distant cousin. “We were happy for him to stay home at Maryland and really happy for him to ﬁnish up his ﬁrst year the way he did. It’s just like answering prayers. It couldn’t have happened to a better family member.”

“When Derik was young, he always had the drive. He always wanted to be in the gym. He wanted it bad,” said Darrick Oliver who coached Queen’s late father, Erik Queen “I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’ll get much better because he likes to put the work in.”

ä See QUEEN, page 4C

Trio of Dodgers, Tigers elected All-Star starters

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK The Los Angeles Dodgers will have three fanelected starters in the All-Star Game for the first time in 45 years, with first baseman Freddie Freeman and catcher Will Smith joining designated hitter Shohei Ohtani as winners in final ballot totals announced Wednesday Detroit will have three fanpicked starters for the first time since 2007 after second baseman Gleyber Torres along with outfielders Riley Greene and Javier Báez were voted in at their positions for the July 15 game at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs were picked for the NL outfield along with Ronald

Jaguars may count on these defenders to step up

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Henry Miller operated from a position of strength this offseason.

Acuña of the host Braves. Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte, New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and San Diego third baseman Manny Machado also were voted NL starters. Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, Toronto ﬁrst baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez and Baltimore designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn were picked as AL starters. Wilson edged Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr 52% to 48% and will become just the second rookie shortstop to start an AllStar Game after Baltimore’s Ron Hansen, who in 1960. Wilson’s father, Jack, was an AllStar for Pittsburgh in 2004.

ä See MLB, page 5C

The defensive coordinator for Southern football was able to build his defense around C’Kelby Givens — a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end that was the SWAC co-Defensive Player of the Year and made The Associated Press FCS All-America second-team defense

The senior is a tonesetter and elite pass rusher who had 12 sacks and 73 tackles in 13 games. He’s the heart of the defense, a guiding light in how Miller approached the transfer portal.

“Everything is built around him from inside to out,” Miller said. “We’re trying our best to make those (offensive) tackles block him one-on-one. We want to give him more opportunities to help us win.

“If that happens, I put my money on him getting the majority of the time.” To ensure that Givens has those opportunities, the staff dived into the portal for talent on the defensive line and secondary that is ready to play a role. Here are five defensive transfers who could have an immediate impact for the Jaguars in 2025: De’Myrion Johnson, DL

Southern landed a defensive lineman starved for playing time after redshirting his freshman season. Johnson transferred from LSU after not receiving any game action in 2024. He’s the only player the Jaguars added from a Power Four team.

“We got a guy that can plug in and play,” Miller said. “He was one of the guys that’s looking for more snaps.”

Coming out high school at Westgate, the 6-1, 295-pound Johnson was the No. 6 player in Louisiana and the No. 16 defensive tackle in the country, according to ESPN.

Johnson entered the transfer portal in December and has been with Southern since the spring.

Kai Brown, DE

Similar to Johnson, Brown is a player the staff believes can contribute early based on the “ﬂashes” seen so far “(He) had a great spring, so now we hope that great spring goes into a good summer and then see how he performs when the season starts,” Miller said. Brown is a 6-3, 230-pound defensive end who transferred from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. Last season, he had 27 tackles (13 solo) in nine games.

Xavier Franks, DB Franks, at 6-3 and 200 pounds, possess the measurables that Miller wants in the secondary The Southern Miss transfer also brings experience that makes the Jaguars conﬁdent he’ll be a reliable player In 2023, Franks had 14 tackles (nine solo) and one interception in 14 games, starting ﬁve games. Last season as a redshirt junior, he played in only one game after suffering a neck injury Franks is from Magee, Mississippi, and was a three-star wide receiver, according to 247Sports. He transitioned to defense during his redshirt sophomore season.

Treylan James, DB James is another prized defensive back Southern picked up. Similar to Franks, he is a lanky athlete at 6-3 and 190 pounds. The Prairie View transfer had 15 tackles (nine solo) a pass deﬂection and a forced fumble in seven games as a redshirt freshman. James and Franks are central additions for Miller, who needed to replace his top cornerback Rodney Johnson who transferred to Louisville after having 35 tackles (21 solo), two pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble last season.

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

forward/center Derik Queen,

Pelicans’ training facility on Saturday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J TERRILL Will Smith, right, of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a home run against the San Diego Padres on June 18 in Los Angeles. Smith joins teammates Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman as All-Star starters.

Miller

8p.m. Winnipeg at Calgary

3p.m.PGA: John Deere Classic Golf

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

11 a.m.Minnesota at Miami MLBN

2p.m. Houston at Colorado MLBN

7p.m. Cleveland at ChicagoCubs MLBN WOMEN’S SOCCER

11 a.m.Belgium vs.Italy FS1

2p.m.Spain vs.Portugal Fox TENNIS

3p.m.WimbledonESPN

6p.m.Los

Path clears forNo. 1Sabalenka

Four of top five women outofWimbledon

BY HOWARD FENDRICH

AP tennis writer

LONDON Aryna Sabalenka

joked that she’d love it if the upsets at Wimbledon would stop, which makes sense, given that she is ranked No. 1. She’salsothe only oneofthe five top-seeded women stillin the bracket after No. 4Jasmine Paolini, last year’srunner-up, followed No. 2Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula andNo. 5Zheng Qinwen on the way out. Sabalenka was two points from dropping the opening set of her second-round match three times on Wednesday before asserting herself for a7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marie Bouzkova.

In all, arecord-tying 23 seeded players —10women, 13 men were gone by the end of Day 2, equalingthe most at any Grand Slam event in the past 25 years.

Five more women joined them by losing Wednesday:Paolini, No. 12 Diana Shnaider,No. 21 Beatriz Haddad Maia,No. 22 Donna Vekic and No. 29 Leylah Fernandez.

“Of course you’regoing to know the overallpicture,”said Sabalenka, then added with a chuckle: “I hope it’snoupsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what Imean.”

She is athree-time Grand Slam champion, with all of thosetitles coming on hard courts at the Australian Open or U.S. Open.

She also was the runner-up to Gauff at the clay-courtFrench Open last month —drawing criticismfromsomeoverher postmatchcomments, aﬂap sheand Gauff set aside via social media videos last week —but hasn’t been past the semiﬁnals on the grass of the All England Club.

Ayearago, Sabalenka was forced to miss Wimbledon because of an injured shoulder

On Wednesday, therecordbreaking heat of the first two days gave way to rain that delayed the start of play on smaller courts for about two hours, along with temperatures thatdropped from above 90 degrees to below 68.

ArynaSabalenka of Belarus reacts during her women’s singles

Bouzkovaofthe Czech Republic at WimbledoninLondon on Wednesday.

At Centre Court, the 48thranked Bouzkova went ahead 6-5 in the ﬁrst set with the match’s initial service break thanks to a double-fault by Sabalenka.Bouzkova served for that set, and was two points away from it at 30-15 in that game, again at 30-all, then once more at deuce.

But on thelastsuch occasion, Sabalenka came through with aforehand volleywinner she punctuatedwithayell, followed by adown-the-line backhand winner that was accompanied by another shout.

“That was atough moment,”

said Sabalenka, who will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu next.

“Until that point, (my) return

wasn’tgreat enough tobreak her serve. I’m really glad. everything clicked together and Iwas able to break herback.Ikind of likefelt alittle bit better.”

That sent them to atiebreaker, andfrom 4-allthere,Sabalenka tookthe next three points, endingthe setwith apowerfulforehand return winner off a67mph second serve. In the second set, the only break arrivedfor a3-2 lead for Sabalenka, and that was basically that.

Sabalenka compileda41-17 edge in winners while making only 18 unforced errors in a matchthatlasteda littlemore than 11/2 hours.

Raducanu defeated 2023 Wim-

bledon championMarketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3, and Australian Openchampion MadisonKeys, who is seeded sixth, beat Olga Danilovic6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday In men’saction, two-time reigningchampion Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 20 matches witha 6-1, 6-4, 6-4victory over 733rd-ranked qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who plays for the University of San Diego, and No. 5TaylorFritz gotpastGabriel Diallo of Canada 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0), 4-6, 6-3 for hissecond consecutive five-set win. ButNo. 12 FrancesTiafoe joined the parade of seeds exiting, eliminated by 2022 Wimbledonsemifinalist Cam Norrie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

Wimbledonforgoes line judges forelectroniccalls

BY HOWARD FENDRICH and KEN MAGUIRE AP sportswriters

LONDON JohnMcEnroe —he of “You cannot be serious!” callarguing fame —isquite all right with Wimbledon’slatestofmany steps into the modernera, choosing technology over the human touch to decide whether aball lands in or out.

There were no line judges at the All England Club’smatches for Monday’sstart of theoldest Grand Slam tournament, with rulings instead being made by an electronic system that uses recorded voices to announce when ashotlands astray

“In some ways, the players, and even thefans, miss thatinteraction, but at the same time if it’saccurate, Ithink it’sgreat, because then at least you know that you’re getting the right call,” said McEnroe, whowon Wimbledon three timesduring his Hall of Famecareer andis aTVanalyst at this year’sevent for ESPN and the BBC.

“My hair,” the 66-year-old McEnroe joked, “wouldn’tbe quite as white as it is now.”

The new system puts Wimbledon in line with nearly every other top-tier tennis event on all surfaces —although the French Open,playedonred clay,remains an exception, sticking with judges —and Monday’sdebut seemed to be mostly seamless,asfar as players were concerned. Indeed, Frances Tiafoe, an American seeded 12th, didn’t even notice therewere no line judges at his ﬁrst-round victory

What he did notice, and chuckled about afterward, was when the chair umpire wasn’t even

paying all that much attention at one point, grabbing the phone on his stand to place acall and request that more towels be broughttothe courtonthe hottest Day 1intournament history.

“It takes him completelyout of play,” Tiafoesaidabout theoncourt official,“other than just callingthe score and calling time violations.”

No.1-ranked ArynaSabalenka liked that the All England Club’s switch to electronic line-calling eliminated the needfor her to question whether she should contesta ruling. From 2007 until last year,players were allowed to ask fora videoreplay to check whether adecisionwas correct.

“Ifyou have line umpires, you (are)always thinking, like, ‘Should Ichallengeorshouldn’t I?’ ”she said. “It’salot of doubt in your head.” Cam Norrie was pleased that there no longerisareason to get angry about what’sperceived as awrong decision, theway McEnroe —and plenty of others through the years —used to. “Tobehonest, it’sgood.You getonwith it. There’snokind of getting mad at anyone for missinga callorsaying something or movingduring the point or something happening,”saidNorrie, a British playerwho won Monday. ”It’s pretty black-or-whitewith the calls. In, out, and youhear it.

LSU OF Curielselected as nation’stop freshman

LSU outﬁelder Derek Curiel was named Wednesdaythe D1Baseball National Freshman of the Year Curiel hit ateam-high .345 with 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 55 RBIsand 67 runs as he helpedlead LSU win the national championship. He collected six hits, threeRBIs andthreeruns in the College World Series. Curiel hit ateam-high .571 in theTigers’ superregionalsweep of West Virginia with one double, one homer, ﬁve RBIsand six runs.

Joining Curiel on the ﬁrst team was LSU right-handed pitcher Casan Evans. Evans posted a5-1 mark this season with2.05 ERA and seven saves in 19 appearances (three starts). He worked 522/3 innings,recording 19 walks, 71 strikeouts and a.228 opponent batting average.

NBA adjusts Popovich’s record, deducting 77 games

The NBA has adjusted all-time wins leader Gregg Popovich’scareer record as coach of theSan Antonio Spurs, removingthe 77 games that he missed last season andcrediting those wins andlossestonew Spurscoach Mitch Johnson Popovich’sﬁnal record has been reset to 1,390-824, which is where it was entering agame on Nov.2

That was the day that Popovich hada strokeatthe team’s arenaand Johnson, one of his assistant coaches, took over.Popovich missed the remainderofthe season andJohnsoncoached theﬁnal77games, going 32-45. The NBA and the Spurs agreed to remove those games from Popovich’srecord and credit them to Johnson, whowas named head coach whenPopovichannounced his retirement earlierthisyear

Grizzlies’ Jackson has surgeryfor turf-toe injury

Memphis GrizzliesAll-Star big man Jaren Jackson is recovering from surgery foraturf-toe injury andwill be re-evaluated in about 12 weeks.

The team announced Wednesday that Jackson’ssurgery was complete, coming aday after saying the 25-year-old would need aprocedure after hurting his right foot whileparticipating in offseason basketball activities.

Memphis said Jackson is expected to recover fully.The 6-foot-10 Jackson, aﬁrst-round draft pick in 2018, earned his second AllStar selectionlastseason, when he averaged 22.2 points and5.6 rebounds. He washonored as the NBA’s defensive player of the year for2022-23, when he ledthe league in blocks at 3per game.

Woodland chosen as final Ryder Cup assistant captain

There’snomistake.”

Not everything is favorable in hisview,though.

The familiar scene of ofﬁcials sitting or standing around the court “looks cool,” Norrie said. Plus, he noted the loss of work for some of the 275 line judges thetournament used in the past (80werebrought back as “match assistants” to help chair umpires from behind the scenes).

“The decision we’ve made there,Isuppose, is very much about the way in whichWimbledon has always balanced heritageand tradition with innovationand howwewalkthat line We’re always very conscious of that. For us, it was time to make that change,” All England ClubCEO Sally Bolton said. “It’s not amoney-saving exercise. It’s aboutevolving the tournament andmaking sure that we’re providingthe mosteffective possible line-calling.”

Frenchman Adrian Mannarino liked having what he called “a machine”involved Monday, saying: “You cannot complain against the machine.”

“When youfeellikesomeoneisjudging the ball and is probably not seeing so well, and maybenot even concentrating, it’spretty annoying,” Mannarino said. “Butthe fact thatit’sa robot calling the balls,there’snothingtocomplain about.”

He did caution that it wasn’t always easy to ﬁgureout which recorded announcements were for his win at Court 5, because it’swedgedamid other courts.

Sometimes he thought an “Out!” callatanadjacent match was for his.

“Itcan be alittle tricky with this,” Mannarino said, “but overall, Ithink it’sagood thing.”

Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland will makehis first RyderCup appearance this year, announced Wednesday as the fifth and final assistant to U.S. captain Keegan Bradley forthe matches at Bethpage Black. Woodland joins Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson as U.S. assistants when the Americans try to win back the cup from Europe on Sept. 26-28.

The assistants could take on extra significance this year as Bradley decides whether to be the first playing captain since 1963. Bradley won the Travelers Championship two weeks ago, giving him morewins in the last year than any American except Scottie Scheffler

Bills’ draft pickHairston accusedofsexual assault

Buffalo Bills first-rounddraft pick Maxwell Hairston wasaccused in alawsuit of sexually assaulting awoman in 2021 at the University of Kentucky

The lawsuit wasfiledTuesday in federal court in Kentucky by a woman who claims Hairstonentered her dorm room without being invited,ignored herwhenshe said she didn’twant to have sexual intercourse, forcibly removed her bottomsand sexually assaulted her

The Associated Pressdoes not name any alleged victimsofsexual assault.

After the Bills drafted him,general manager Brandon Beane said theteamhad “fullyinvestigated” asexualassault allegation from 2021 involving Hairston, who he called “an impeccable kid.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOANNA CHAN

Matteo Berrettini of Italy servestoKamil Majchrzak of Poland in their men’ssingles match at WimbledoninLondononMonday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

match against Marie

United States midfielder DiegoLuna, middle, scoresa goal past Guatemala goalkeeper Kenderson Navarrol, left, duringthe CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinalonWednesdayinSt. Louis.

Luna’s twogoals move U.S. to Gold Cupﬁnal

By The Associated Press

ST.LOUIS Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and the United States hung on to beat Guatemala 2-1 on Wednesday night to reachits first CONCACAF Gold Cup final since 2021. Luna put the U.S. ahead with a left-footed shot in the fourth minute, then scoredwith his right in the 15th for his third goalintwo games Olger Escobar,an18-year-old who was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, cut inside andslid a shot from inside the area between Matt Freese and the farpostin the 80th for his second goal of the tournament for Guatemala. Freese parried José Morales’ shot toward the far post in the second minute of stoppage time.

The U.S. plays reigningchampion Mexico or Honduras for the title Sunday in Houston, the Americans’ lastcompetitive match before their World Cup opener next June. El Trihas won nine Gold Cups, the U.S. seven and Canada one.

The 16th-ranked Americans advanced to the Gold Cup final for the 13th time. All five losses in the finals have been to Mexico.

No. 106 Guatemala, whichhas neverreachedthe ﬁnal,outshot the U.S. 13-1 in the last 30 minutes of theﬁrst half.

Luna gothis first goal after Alex Freeman crossed forMalik Tillman. He touched the ball to Luca de la Torre, whose shot was spilled by goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro. Luna reacted quickly andswitched theball from his right foot tohis left, then shot over Navarro’soutstretched right hand.

Eleven minutes later,Luna received cross-ﬁeldpass from Tillmanabout 40 yardsout,dribbled in,got by defender José Carlos Pintowith astepover and put the ball inside thenear post from the edgeofthe penaltyarea.

Guatemala’s starters included apairofformer U.S. players: 29-year-old forward Rubio Rubin made sevenappearances forthe Americansfrom 2014-18 before switching in 2022 and 28-year-old defender Aaron Herrera made one in 2021and then changed in 2023.

Rubin put theball past Freesein the29th minute but the goal was disallowed for offside. Freese made akick save on Rubin in the 34th

John Deereshapingup as last BritishOpenqualifier

BY DOUGFERGUSON AP golf writer

TheJohnDeere Classic could serve as afinal qualifier for the BritishOpen, even though theR&A no longer offers an exemption to the leading finishers at thePGA Tour stop.

Thisqualifierwould be determined by the Official WorldGolf Ranking next week.

Golf notes

The 156-man ﬁeld for RoyalPortrushonJuly 17-20 is now at 122 players with the additionof two spots from the ItalianOpen, two amateurs (European Amateurand Open Amateur Series), and Sergio Garcia getting thelonespotfrom LIVGolf.

Finalregional qualifying Tuesday in the United Kingdom provided 20 spots. Five more players from the top 20 in the Race to Dubai on the EuropeanTourwillearnspots afterthis week’sBMW International Open in Germany.The following week,three more spots will be available in the Scottish Open.

That brings theﬁeld to 150 players. The other six would come from areserve list,which is based on the Official WorldGolf Ranking published after this week.

Aldrich Potgieter won the Rocket Classic and moved to No. 49 in the world, making him the highestranked playernot alreadyinThe Open.

He is followed by Nico Echavarria, who tiedfor sixthinDetroit and moved to No. 51. Next on the list is Michael Kim at No. 55.

Sevenofthe next eight players in the world ranking notalready exemptfor TheOpen— from Bud CauleyatNo. 59 to Ryan Gerardat No. 71 —are playing the John Deere Classic.Davis Rileyisnot in the John Deere ﬁeld.

The top28players in the current FedEx Cup standings already are exempt,eight of thembecause they already were in the top 50 at the May 25 cutoff.

Seven of those 28 were eligible by reaching the Tour Championship lastyear,and nine othersgot in as past major champions or from a top-10 ﬁnishatThe Openlast year at RoyalTroon.

Potgieter,ofSouth

Golf shots

ScottieSchefﬂerwas raving about a3-ironhehit into apar 5atthe Travelers Championship because it came off perfectly.That led him to recall two other pure shots in recent memory,a9-irononthe par-3third at The Players Championship and a6-iron on the ﬁfth hole at the 2022 Masters.

It’snot always about the score it yields, just thepureness of theshot.

That’s why wheneverCollin Morikawa thinks about one of the best shotsheever hit, it wasn’tnecessarily his driver on the par-4 16th at Harding Park that stopped 7feet away for eagle when he won the 2020 PGA Championship. That was astock drivewithagreat bounce.

Instead, he thought back to his ﬁnal hole when he wonthe DP World Tour Championship in 2021 to become theﬁrst American to win the Race to Dubai

“Itwas on 18, par5,front left pin,” Morikawa saidlast week.“I’ve watched the shot manytimes on YouTube because I’mlike,‘Howdo Imakeitthat easy?’ Front left pin, water on the left, had 4-iron Ithink out of the ﬁrst cutand Ihit it exactly whereIwanted. Icould miss it in the water,losethe tournament; hit it in thebunker, not makeup-and-down.

It was picture perfect.

“And it’srareyou gettodothat, butthat’swhy we keep practicing,” he said. ”I’m telling you, it’sinches, margins, centimeters, degrees.

We’re crazy,but we love it.” LIVin2026

The Saudi-fundedLIV Golf League won’tplayits firsttournament on U.S. soil next year until a week before thePGA Championship. That’saccordingtoaschedule obtained by Sports Business Journal that it said was not finalized but likely to be the final product.

According to Sports Business Journal,LIV Golf wouldstart in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 5-7, go to Adelaide, Australia, the following week and then go three straight weeks starting March 6-8 in Hong Kong, Singapore anda new stop in SouthAfrica. Instead of playing at Trump Doral theweekbefore theMasters, LIVinstead will go to Mexico City aweek after the Masters and then have its ﬁrst U.S. event listed as “D.C./Virginia”onMay 8-10, theweek before thePGA Championship at Aronimink outside Philadelphia. Also new to theschedule is aLIV eventinNew Orleansaweek after theU.S.Open. The schedule would have aU.K eventafter the British Open, and then conclude with three tournaments in Chicago, Indianapolis and Michigan. The D.C./Virginia event would be theonlyLIV eventbefore amajor.The other threemajors would have LIVevents immediately after.There won’t be stops in Florida forthe ﬁrst time.Also gone fromthe schedule,according to the report, is theevent in theDallasarea.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SCOTT KANE

Knicks offer coaching job to veteran Brown

BY BRIAN MAHONEY AP basketball writer

NEW YORK The New York Knicks have offered their coaching job to Mike Brown and are working to finalize a deal with the two-time NBA Coach of the Year, a person with knowledge of the details said Wednesday Brown would replace Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last month despite leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

Brown had his second interview with the Knicks on Tuesday before the job was offered, the person told The Associated Press.

Brown earned his second award as the NBA’s top coach after leading Sacramento to the playoffs in 2022-23 ending what was

the league’s longest postseason drought with its ﬁrst appearance since 2006 but the Kings ﬁred him nearly halfway through last season.

He would take over a Knicks team that believes it can contend for the NBA title and made it clear that was the only goal when it made the surprising decision to ﬁre Thibodeau, who like Brown is a two-time winner of the NBA Coach of the Year award

The Knicks quickly identified Brown as a candidate they wanted to speak with, while also discussing the job with former Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins and current assistants James Borrego of New Orleans and Micah Nori of Minnesota before offering the position to Brown

Brown was honored with his ﬁrst

coaching award when he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team he led to the NBA Finals in 2007 during his ﬁrst stint with the organization. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers and is 454-304 in his career Brown also won four championships as an assistant coach, three with the Golden State Warriors and one under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. His coaching staff will be discussed in the coming days, the person told AP Thibodeau led the Knicks to their only sustained success of the 2000s, with four playoff appearances in his five seasons. They reached at least the East semiﬁnals each of the last three seasons and reached 50 wins in both of the last two.

Big man Ayton to join Lakers

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sports writer

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Center Deandre Ayton has agreed to join the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal could not yet be announced between the Lakers and Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft — two spots ahead of Luka Doncic.

The Portland Trail Blazers bought out Ayton’s contract last weekend, and he has agreed to join Doncic and LeBron James on a deal for the upcoming season with a player option for 2026-27. He will be paid more than $25 million by the Blazers while playing for the Lakers next year

Ayton’s arrival fills the Lakers’ most glaring offseason need, providing a lob target for James and Doncic. And while Ayton isn’t known as a defensive stopper, the 7-footer will provide the size in the middle the Lakers have missed since trading Anthony Davis to Dallas for Doncic Ayton, who turns 27 this month, spent his first five NBA seasons with Phoenix before joining the Trail Blazers two years ago as part of the three-team trade sending Damian Lillard to Milwaukee. Ayton struggled at times in Portland while playing for mediocre teams, but he has averaged 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds

during his seven NBA seasons while making 59% of his shots. He played only 40 games for the Blazers last season, getting sidelined for the rest of the year in February by a strained calf.

While he has never been an AllStar, Ayton is the only player to average a double-double in points and rebounds in his first seven NBA seasons since former Lakers center Dwight Howard did it more than a decade ago.

Ayton also knows Southern California after moving from the Bahamas to San Diego to play high

school basketball. He went on to the University of Arizona before the Suns drafted him. The Lakers struggled without Davis in the paint last season, with Jaxson Hayes playing poorly enough to get benched by coach JJ Redick in their final two playoff games. Los Angeles was eliminated from the first round of the postseason by Minnesota in five games, with big man Rudy Gobert racking up 27 points and 24 rebounds in the clinching victory while the Lakers largely played without a center

QUEEN

Continued from page 1C

Team Thrill coach Edward Mazyck had the pleasure of independently coaching father and son. He wore a toothy smile while trying to articulate his feelings inside the crab house as the draft got underway

“Derik’s dad was a hooper,” Mazyck said. “He’s not here with us anymore, but I’m sure if he was here today he would really take pride in this moment to know that Derik has achieved the things he wanted to achieve.” Queen crossed the stage for a photo-op beside the commissioner, then joined his mom for

an interview with ESPN’s Monica McNutt She asked the 20-year-old to rank two of the greatest experiences of his young life: hitting a game-winner in the NCAA Tournament and getting drafted to the NBA.

“Definitely tonight,” Queen said, rubbing his hands eagerly “I might hit another game-winner, you never know But this is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity.” McNutt followed up with a question about what Queen can bring to the table in New Orleans, which

ﬁnished last season 21-61. To that, he asserted the Pelicans are getting a “winner.”

“I feel like I’ve proved that everywhere I went,” he said. “[I’m] a person that’s ready to compete and just play whatever coach

needs.” On Queen’s special night, he wore a simple black-and-white suit topped by a double-breasted blazer On the inside of the jacket, he had “I’m from Baltimore” printed on both sides. Silver diamonds around his wrist accented the look. At the Urban Crab Shack, there were shirts featuring that signature tagline or “Crab Five.” As the 13th pick approached, folks already had ﬁlled up buckets of crab scraps and started to clean off their hands. This was the culmination of a life in basketball they’d watched blossom before their eyes. “It’s a dream come true,” said Deborah Arthur another cousin. “We from Baltimore!”

SGA’s mega contract stacks up nicely to best in sports

STEVE HENSON LosAngelesTimes (TNS)

NBA players make more money than their counterparts in other team sports. The reasons involve simple math. NBA rosters are half the size of those in MLB and a fraction of the size of those in the NFL.

Fewer players share the spoils of TV deals, merchandise sales, sponsorships and game attendance. That translates into more money per player That also means the contract signed Tuesday by Shai GilgeousAlexander giving him the richest annual salary ever is not a surprise. It’s business as usual.

Fresh off leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA championship, Gilgeous-Alexander signed a four-year $285 million super maximum contract extension that will kick in during the 2027-28 season.

That’s $71.25 million a year

In general, NBA contracts are the most lucrative, MLB contracts the longest and NFL contracts the trickiest to decipher because not all the money is guaranteed.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers makes $70 million a year from the 10-year, $700 million contract he signed before the 2024 season. However, he is paid only $2 million a year because he agreed to defer the rest. The remaining $68 million per year will be paid from 2034-43.

Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets before the 2025 season that does not include deferments.

The outﬁelder received a $75 million signing bonus and will be paid an annual salary of about $46 million through 2038.

Soto’s deal includes the option to opt out after the 2029 season, at which time the Mets can override his opt out by adding an additional $4 million per season to the ﬁnal 10 years of his contract. That would increase his salary to $50 million per year and raise his total earnings to $805 million.

While Ohtani’s and Soto’s contracts are the most lucrative because of their length, the average annual value doesn’t match that of top NBA deals. Eighteen NBA players are under contract to make $50 million or more per season, according to Spotrac.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics became the ﬁrst player to land a deal that will pay him $70 million in a season The ﬁve-year, $314 million extension he agreed to a year ago will max out at $71.45 million for the 2029-30 season, the last on the contract.

Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown signed a similar deal a year earlier, agreeing to play ﬁve years for $285.4 million, an average of $57.1 million a season.

SOUTHERN

Continued from page 1C

“The length, you talking about the athleticism, you’re talking about speed,” Miller said, “so I know that I lost an important guy in Rodney Johnson. So I had to get as close to Rodney Johnson that I can to replace him.”

James is from Baton Rouge and went to Madison Prep.

Habib Bello, DL Bello is a transfer from Gar-

The most lucrative NFL contracts go exclusively to quarterbacks, six of whom are under contracts that guarantee $200 million or more. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills tops the list with a $250 million guarantee from a six-year deal he signed in May Fellow passers guaranteed $200 million or more are Dak Prescott ($231 million) of Dallas, Deshaun Watson ($230 million) of Cleveland, Joe Burrow ($219 million) of Cincinnati, Justin Herbert of the Chargers ($218.7 million) and Trevor Lawrence ($200 million) of Jacksonville. Next season, seven NFL players — all quarterbacks — will be paid more than $50 million: Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes ($56.8 million), Detroit’s Jared Goff ($55 million), Allen ($55 million), Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa ($55 million), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ($52 million), Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts ($51.5 million) and Green Bay’s Jordan Love ($51 million). Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is tied for 13th on the list at $40 million after his contract was restructured to give him a large raise from the $23 million he made in 2024. The highest paid nonquarterback next season will be Philadelphia Eagles tackle Lane Johnson at $41.7 million.

Circling back to MLB, Angels outﬁelder Mike Trout continues to hold the largest contract value besides Ohtani and Soto. He signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract in 2019, at the time the most lucrative contract in American sports.

Trout won his third American League MVP award — he’s also finished second in the voting four times — in the ﬁrst year of the deal, but in the six years since has played more than 100 games only once because of injuries.

Other MLB contracts of note, in order of total value, include the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (12 years, $365 million), the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (nine years, $360 million), the Mets’ Francisco Lindor (10 years, $341 million) and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr (14 years, $340 million). Guaranteeing a player an enormous sum of money and watching him disappoint is a risk teams take regardless of the sport. Witness Watson in the NFL and Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (ﬁve years, $250 million) in the NBA.

Gilgeous-Alexander is considered a low-risk signing because of his youth, his makeup and the fact that NBA players maintain their peak performance longer than those in the NFL and MLB, where catastrophic injuries are more frequent.

The NBA scoring leader is only 26 Until his extension begins in the 2027-2028 season, he’ll have to make do with $38 million next season and $40 million the year after

den City (Kansas) Community College. The 6-3, 315-pound defensive lineman had 13 tackles and a sack in seven games last season.

Miller said Bello is a lineman who has the size and ability to be a “plug-and-play” player that can support Givens.

Bello started his college career in 2023 at Washington, where he didn’t see any game action and redshirted.

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate. com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SPENSER HEAPS Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is pictured in an NBA preseason game against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID ZALUBOWSKI

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton, left, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic vie for the ball during a game on Feb 10 in Denver.

G-Alexander

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Justin Adams, center, brings children in for a cheer after a drill with Pelicans forward/center Derik Queen, right, during the junior training camp at the Pelicans’ training facility on Saturday.

Southern Lab hires former star Flowers as coach

Former McKinley coach to replace Chaney

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

Call it a full-circle moment and a basketball version of both sides now for Krystal Huggins Flowers. Flowers was hired as the girls basketball coach at her alma mater, Southern Lab. She takes over for her former Southern Lab teammate Quianna Chaney, who is moving to the college ranks as an assistant coach at Grambling.

“I was talking to my mom about this,” Flowers said. “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan. I did not see this coming. I

did not see (Chaney) leaving.

“This was not my plan But the job came open and I put my name in the hat and prayed about it. I feel like it was God saying this is your destiny This is where I want you to be.”

Flowers led McKinley to the Division I select title game in 2018 and 2022, and was the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 5A Coach of the Year in 2022.

After spending two years at Central, Flowers stepped away from coaching last fall in part to follow the sports and activities of her growing family She has one son who is a middle school student at

Southern Lab and a second son will enroll in the fall.

Flowers inherits a Southern Lab program that has won three Division IV select titles in the past four years with one runner-up ﬁnish.

“(Flowers) comes with a wealth of experience,” Southern Lab director Herman Brister Jr said.

“She has been to the dance and she has built programs.

“And because she was out of coaching the last year, coach Flowers also attended a lot of our games and was there to support our girls and Quianna.

“She knows this program and our history because she is from here. She understands our culture and the expectations.”

The Kittens graduated Class 1A

and All-Metro MVP Shaila Forman, but senior guard Asia Patin, another all-state player, returns to lead a group of returning starters and reserves. Flowers was an AAU coach for Patin and several other Southern Lab team members when they were middle schoolers.

Flowers and Chaney were teammates who helped the Kittens win three straight Class 1A titles from 2002-04. Chaney went on to play at LSU and Flowers at Southern. At Grambling, Chaney will be an assistant to another former Kittens star from that era, Courtney Simmons.

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, above,

Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2025 fifth-rounder

Steelers swinging for fences this offseason

Tomlin has to hope he doesn’t strike out

BY JASON MACKEY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Top-100 prospect Henderson chooses LSU over UF, Texas

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

LSU football landed a commitment Wednesday night from a top-100 prospect in the 2026 class. Defensive end Trenton Henderson, of Pensacola, Florida, picked LSU over Florida and Texas. He’s the No. 82 overall recruit in the country and a four-star recruit, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

During his announcement on CBS Sports HQ, Henderson said the Tigers’ depth chart was “the deciding factor” because he saw a chance to play early, which he said could help him reach the NFL.

“Everything added up,” Henderson said. “It checked every box.”

A few minutes earlier, threestar linebacker JJ Bush committed to Arkansas over LSU and Missouri. Bush, a native of Theodore, Alabama, is considered the No. 493 overall player in the country Henderson’s commitment came on the heels of three-star Frank-

lin Parish athlete Dezyrian Ellis announcing his pledge last weekend to the Tigers as LSU continued to add to its recruiting class. At the moment, seven of LSU’s 12 recruits for 2026 are ranked in the top 100 of the 247Sports composite.

LSU now has six defensive players in the fold with Henderson, who became the Tigers’ second-highest ranked defensive recruit behind top-50 Karr defensive lineman Richard Anderson. The class is headlined by five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys, the No. 3 overall recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports composite. The Tigers are also battling for Baton Rouge ﬁve-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown, another top-five player in the country Brown is set to announce his decision July 10 in the U-High gymnasium. He’s choosing among LSU, Texas A&M, Miami and Texas.

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

The Steelers are operating in a markedly different way than ever before. For better or worse, it ultimately boomerangs back to Tomlin, as well as offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

These guys need to make it work, or the big swing could turn into a gigantic miss, which will have ramiﬁcations.

PITTSBURGH So often with the teams we follow, we search for linear fits. This player addresses that need. If there’s too much of one thing, give it up to get something else. And my personal favorite: trading the bad and acquiring good. What the Steelers did Monday, however, doesn’t fit those descriptors. It was unique, fun and aggressive — and it could tell us something bigger about Mike Tomlin. It’s also awfully tough to call the Steelers boring. The sum total of the moves brought Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Pittsburgh, with Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2025 fifthrounder going back to the Miami Dolphins. It also makes me wonder whether the Steelers are done. Could they add another true safety? What about wide receiver? In due time. Plenty to chew on for now, during what was supposed to be a quiet period. Before wondering how either could be utilized, let’s not overlook the Tomlin aspect here. Sure, Omar Khan is conducting business differently DK Metcalf, Aaron Rodgers, activity in free agency period all a huge departure. But none of it happens if Tomlin objects, and these haven’t been small moves

Why is Tomlin taking such a huge swing? To end the playoff drought? To save his job? Because he, too, has grown tired of doing the same old?

Continued from page 1C

Since he was the ﬁfth overall pick out of Florida State in 2016, most of Ramsey’s snaps have come outside, though he’s played some in the slot. The 6-foot-1, 209-pounder can run, has picked off 25 passes in nine years and should proﬁle as their best outside guy

Perhaps that means Darius Slay, signed this offseason for $10 million, plays some safety Or the Steelers turn Ramsey loose and get creative with his usage. Chess-piece stuff. The possibilities are endless, which can be both exciting and intimidating. No issue here moving on from Fitzpatrick and his $22.3 million cap hit, especially with his recent drop in production (This could also involve how Fitzpatrick was used, which creates a valid concern for Slay and Ramsey.)

But the Steelers made their team better Monday by acquiring Ramsey, a talented player and a three-time ﬁrst-team All-Pro cornerback. There’s also a succession of trust: Khan to Tomlin and Tomlin to Austin to deploy Ramsey the right way Now, we’ll wait and see. I like that the Steelers are deeper at corner Khan also found DeShon Elliott for $6 million before last season, and repeating that shrewd move or having Juan Thornhill work out could be huge. As much as we’ve criticized the Steelers since the end of last season, they’re going for it in smartbut-aggressive ways. Their draft picks made sense. It was time to move on from George Pickens.

For the reasonable money as well as how he looked during minicamp, I’m largely ﬁne with the Rodgers signing. Depth in the secondary was a lingering concern, as well as whether the Steelers can get another weapon for Rodgers. The funny thing: Neither of the new guys completely address those issues, but it’s hard to not be intrigued.

Jonnu Smith caught 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns last season. That ﬁrst number would have led the Steelers and by a fairly wide margin. He’s an offensively gifted tight end. The creative possibilities for Arthur Smith here are also endless. We know he loves tight ends, and he’ll have two really good ones in the fold — plus Metcalf, a No 2 receiver option in Calvin Austin and potentially Roman Wilson.

If the Steelers can mirror the creativity employed with Ramsey, perhaps they’ll use Jonnu Smith outside and in the slot a bunch. He can handle it. Mix and match with Freiermuth while allowing Darnell Washington to handle a lot of the blocking duties.

There’s a lot the Steelers can do, with the right schematics. Which is what could really deﬁne these moves. Ramsey and Smith can play We know that. But they’re not traditional, linear ﬁts with the Steelers. How they’re integrated into various offensive and defensive concepts will tell us plenty about the abilities of Arthur Smith and Austin.

The man who brought them here, though, has the most on the line. Tomlin seems to be telling us through his actions that he hears the noise. That he, too, is sick of the same old stuff, those feelings contributing to what has been an even crazier Steelers offseason than the last.

Anyone else ready for the real fun to start?

Rangers send down former All-Star Jung

By The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas The Texas Rangers sent struggling third baseman Josh Jung to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday and activated first baseman Jake Burger from the 10-day injured list.

Jung was hitting .237 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 75 games this season, but he hit only .164 (19 of 116) over his past 30 games since May 26. An All-Star starter as a rookie in 2023, Jung didn’t start Tuesday night, a day after he went 0 for 5 for the fourth time since June 16. He has struck out 36 times (29.5%) in his last 122 plate appearances.

Burger returned after missing 10 games with a left oblique strain.

Jung was voted in by fans as an All-Star starter for the American League in 2023, and weeks after playing in the All-Star Game he broke his left thumb on a ﬁelding play at Miami. He returned to hit .308 (20 for 65) with three homers in the playoffs as the Rangers won their only World Series title that season. The 27-year-old Jung missed nine games earlier this year because of neck spasms. He was limited to 46 games last year after his right wrist was fractured when getting hit by a pitch. The Rangers made the same move with Burger in early May when he was hitting .190 with a team-high 32 strikeouts in 100 atbats his ﬁrst 30 games. He hit .391 with two home runs in six games for Round Rock.

Once he returned to the majors,

the 29-year-old Burger hit 243 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in 35 games before injuring the oblique June 20.

Blue Jays

OF PILLAR ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: Kevin Pillar, an outfielder who spent the majority of his 13-year major-league career with the Toronto Blue Jays, announced his retirement Wednesday Pillar confirmed his decision during an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast, about a month after he was released by the Texas Rangers. After rehabilitating from offseason thumb surgery, Pillar played in 20 games for the Rangers his 10th major league team — with nine hits in 43 atbats.

Braves

RHP SCHWELLENBACH BREAKS ELBOW: Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach broke his right elbow during a start last weekend and was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday as left ﬁelder Jurickson Profar returned from an 80-game drug suspension and slumping outﬁelder Alex Verdugo was designated for assignment Schwellenbach said he felt tightness while pitching for Atlanta against Philadelphia on Saturday when he threw 90 pitches. He allowed one run and three hits over seven innings. He felt sore the following day and imaging Monday revealed a small fracture at the top of the elbow

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK McKinley coach Krystal Huggins Flowers directs her team against Chapelle during a playoff game on Feb 17, 2022. Flowers was named coach at Southern Lab, her alma mater

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded with the Miami Dolphins to obtain

tight end Jonnu

Tomlin

MLB NOTEBOOK

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Savor the summer over these cocktail and mocktail recipes. They’re crafted by New Orleans bartenders, so you know they must be good.

We compiled a list of ﬁve seasonal sips, two of which are alcoholfree mocktails. Some drinks sparkle with glitter-infused maple syrup, some smell like Tajin spirit and some

SPICE OF LIFE

Lamb burger with tzatziki sauce, memorable rosemary potatoes makes for a tasty alternative

BY LIZ FAUL Contributing writer

As the heat advisories have started rolling in, I have begun craving the cool and refreshing ingredients of Mediterranean food: tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt sauces and fresh mint.

Tzatziki, pronounced “tuh-zee-kee,” is a dip or sauce made with yogurt, cucumbers and fresh herbs.

Tajin solution recipe: Mix one part Tajin to ﬁve parts hot water and stir to dissolve most of the solids and let cool. It’s recommended to strain through a cocktail strainer or sieve and use a dropper bottle for

The mixture works well as a condiment on a lamb burger served in pita bread. New tastes and ingredients

make life more interesting, so try switching things up for your next barbecue and make a Greek-style lamb burger

Even though beef is the most popular choice of meat for making a hamburger, ground lamb is gaining popularity and it’s easy to ﬁnd at local grocery stores. Greek lamb burgers seasoned with spices like cumin, garlic and ginger offer new tastes and a memorable summer meal.

When we make lamb, my husband quotes the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when the bride confesses

to her aunt that her husband is a vegetarian: “What do you mean he don’t eat no meat?!? (The room goes silent.) “Oh, that’s OK, I make lamb.”

As much as I wish lamb were a vegetable, it is most certainly a meat and best served alongside vegetables. I added garden tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and lettuce

Rosemary roasted potatoes are a perfect side dish for lamb burgers. I like to use small golden potatoes to make this dish.

ä See LAMB, page 2D

The Death by Chocolate trifle: What

BY AMY DREW THOMPSON Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

There is almost no acceptable reason for not liking chocolate pudding.

It’s smooth and creamy and cool and chocolaty It’s great out of those little lunchbox cups. (Remember the cans?

The ﬁlter of my Gen X memory bank has me convinced it tasted better than today’s plastic containers.) It’s great out of the Kozy Shack tub. It’s great plain or with whipped cream or swirled into cake batter where it imparts its lusciousness into the ﬁnal product.

Chocolate pudding is glorious. And, indeed, I found it simple to execute This chocolate pudding recipe is from The Pioneer Woman,

who credited its inclusion of egg yolks as a thickener (along with the more commonly employed cornstarch) with bringing ” a little bit of that French custard feel to the pudding.”

And as I whisked, I wondered if there weren’t more people out there who simply considered Jell-O and My*T*Fine “homemade,” as well. They’re not. Nor were the Duncan Hines salted caramel brownies I “made” to include in what became a “what to do with your from-scratch chocolate pudding once you’ve made it” column. I chose the pudding recipe because it was a simple one in a week when I had no time to spare.

But the Type A in me couldn’t sit with just the chocolate pudding recipe, and so this semi-

homemade Death By Chocolate

triﬂe recipe. The original is entirely semi-homemade. I had a laugh about that.

The author Allrecipes contributor LaNita, says that this triﬂe is “a true favorite. Every time we have a church supper, I have to make this!”

Triﬂes themselves are wonderfully easy summer desserts and ridiculously ﬂexible.

This one is hellaciously chocolaty, but you could offset that by omitting the brownies in favor of cheesecake, pound cake, coconut cake, shortbread cookies or just about anything else. Instead of toffee bars, toasted nuts would make for a wonderfully crunchy texture (and an actual smidge of nutrition).

a way to go

ORLANDO SENTINEL PHOTO By AMy DREW THOMPSON Death by Chocolate Trifle

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL

Storyville Mai Tai

Serves 1. Recipe is by The Bower Bar

That’sright. This drink has glitter-infused maple syrup. Glitter can’tget everywhereifit’s going right down the hatch.

Not every diva has glitterinfused maple syrup in their bar cart. Fret no more. Youcan combine ateaspoon of edible glitter with aquart of maple syrup as a substitute. 2ounces

to acocktail shaker

ible

Serves1.Recipe is by Birdy’s

Pour in all of the ingredients and stir to combine.

TRIFLE

Continued from page1D

Youcould also use this for divine inspiration and make a triﬂe with vanilla pudding. Or butterscotch. Or banana

Imade amore traditional Fourth of July version afew years back that would be ideal for any upcoming BBQplans you might have.

Pudding is auniversal good. No matter where it comes from.

Chocolate Pudding

Recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.

2largeegg yolks

2tablespoons cornstarch

2cups whole milk, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2teaspoons chocolate extract (orvanilla extract*)

*Iused vanilla

1. In amedium bowl,whisk the egg yolks for about 60 seconds until light yellow and increased in volume, then whisk in the cornstarch and about 1/4 cup of the milk. Once smooth and incorporated, set aside.

2. Place the sugar,cocoa, salt and remaining milk in asaucepan and bring to ascald over medium-high heat, which is when the liquid is about 180-190 F. This is before the mixture comes to aboil, and in this stage youwill see little bubbles start forming on the sides of the pan.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and, whilewhisking constantly,dribble the hot cocoa into the egg cornstarch mixture very gradually.Weare tempering, so we don’tscramble the eggs.

Luau Lagoon(Mocktail)

Serves1.Recipe isbyThe Pool Club, Virgin Hotels New Orleans. Bringthe luau right to your housewith this Polynesianinspired mocktail. This citrusy sip is perfect for accompanying adip in the pool duringthose hot summer days.Whatbetter way to beatthe heat?

1ounce SeedlipGrove N/A Spirit

2ounce grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce orgeat 1/2 ounce pineappleshrub Polynesian bitters

1. Combineall ingredients in a shaker.

2. Shakeand strain

3. Garnish with adehydrated lime.

Secret Garden (Mocktail)

Serves 1. RecipeisbyThe Pool Club, Virgin Hotels New Orleans

Thesecret is out, and youcan make this simple mocktail at home. For readers with agreen thumb, some of the three garnishes (cucumber,thyme and aberry of your choice) may already be growing in your summergarden.

1ounce Seedlip Garden N/A Spirit

11/2 ounce lemon juice

3/4 ounce lychee juice

2ounces soda to top

1. Combine all ingredientsin ashaker

2. Shake and strain.

3. Garnish withcucumber, berry and thyme.

4. Pour everythingback into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly,until the puddingcomes to afullboil. Reduce the heat to asimmer and continue whisking for acouple of minutes until the pudding is thickened.

5. Remove thepudding from theheat andstir in thechocolate or vanilla extract.Pour thepudding into abowl and press plastic wrap directlyonthe surface of the pudding so askin doesn’t form. Refrigerate for an hour or two until chilled.Serve and enjoy

Death by Chocolate Trifle

Recipe isfrom Allrecipes.

Brownies:

1(16.3 ounce) package brownie mix (such as Betty Crocker)

2large eggs

1/2 cup vegetableoil

2tablespoonswater

Other:

3(1.4 ounces) bars of chocolatecovered English toffee

1(16-ounce) package frozen whipped topping,thawed

1. Follow box instructions for both browniesand chocolate pudding (if using scratch-made pudding, use provided recipe). Preheat the oven to350 F. Grease a9-by-13-inch baking pan.

2. To assemble, crumble or chunk-chop brownies in the bottom of one largeorfour small triﬂe bowls. Spoon pudding over top.Layer on whipped topping then sprinklecrushed toffee bars over thetop. Repeat layers in same order,ending with whipped topping.

3. Refrigerate until ready to serve, addingthe ﬁnal layer of chopped toffee bar before doing so.

Nitrates in food triggermigraines

in Ohio

First,doyou use acast-iron pan?

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Concerning theuse of molasses in oatmeal or other foods, we found that the nitrates in it can be amigraine trigger to susceptible individuals. Imade Boston Brown Bread, which we thought was very healthy (all whole grains, molasses, etc.).But my husband always got amigraine about 20 minutes after consuming it,soresearch ﬁnally revealed that it was thenitrates in the molasses (and also in cured meats)that triggered theheadaches. —MaryAnn, in Portland, Oregon

Frying steak

Dear Heloise: My husband likes his steaks pan-fried, but frying makes them so tough! Anyhelp would be appreciated. —A Reader,

LAMB

Continuedfrom page1D

Simply quarter thepotatoes anddrizzle olive oil, salt,pepper and freshly chopped rosemary and bake in theoven until golden brown.

Rosemary is aversatile herb with along history.Ancient Greek scholars used rosemary crowns during exams because it was believed to aid with learning and memory,and accordingly theherb was associated with thegoddess Mnemosyne, whose nameliterally means“memory.”

Recentresearch has found some scientiﬁc basis for these practices,asrosemary contains antioxidant bioactivity and functions to decrease inﬂammation —making it apotential therapeutic for Alzheimer’sdisease. These roasted rosemarypotatoes may or may not boost your memory, but they will be amemorable part of the meal.

Liz Sullivan Faul is aregistered dietitian nutritionist who enjoys cooking and sharing meals with her friends and family

TzatzikiSauce

2cups wholemilk Greek yogurt

1largecucumber (peeled, seeded, and finelychopped)

3garlic cloves, finelychopped

1tablespoon olive oil

1tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3tablespoons finelychopped fresh dill(substitute fresh mint and/or Italian parsley)

1/2 teaspoon of salt (add more if needed)

1. Many recipes for tzatziki say to strain theyogurt before makingthe sauce. But Greek yogurts are pre-strained, so Iskip the straining step. But if the yogurt is on therunny side, strain it by lininga strainerwith cheesecloth, or papertowels, andplace it over abowl in the refrigerator for an hour.Thenadd the Greek yogurt to aserving bowl

2. Peel, seed and chop one large cucumber andadd it to the yogurt. Finely chop the garlic cloves andadd it to the yogurt. Mix the cucumber and garlic into theyogurt.

3. Drizzle the olive oiland lemon juice intothe sauce, then add thefinely chopped fresh herbs like dill andmint. Acombination of fresh Italianparsley andmint aregreat substitutes for dill. Mix allingredients together.Add the salt. Then taste,and add abit more saltifneeded

4. Drizzle alittle olive oil and freshherbsoverthe topofthe tzatziki sauce beforeserving it.

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday,July 3, the 184th day of 2024. There are 181 days left in theyear Today’shighlight in history:

On July 3, 1863, the pivotal three-day Civil WarBattle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in amajor victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’sCharge.

Also on this date: In 1775, Gen. George Washington took commandofthe Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1944, during WorldWar II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from theGermans.

In 1950, theﬁrst carrier strikes of the Korean Wartook place as theUSS Valley Forge and the HMSTriumph sentﬁghter planes

It’s the best for frying steak. Next, let your steak warm up alittle before frying it. Take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit for afew minutes. Blot it with apaper towel to get moisture out. (Too much moisture boils the meat.)

Then make sure your pan is veryhot when you drop the steak in and sear it on both sides, after which youcan turn the heat down to medium. Don’tovercook it,orit’llbedry andtough. When you’redonecooking the steak, let it sitona plate for afew minutes so that all the juices ﬂowback into thecenter —Heloise

Home security

Dear Heloise: Most break-ins occur between 10 a.m. and 3p.m. through ground-level windows and doors, so makesure to check bothwindow and door locks. You

can add window bars forextra security.You can also install security cameras or motion detectors. If you can afford asecurity monitoring system,all the better

If you are homewhile aburglar is trying to get in, go to aneighbor’shouse or astore nearby and call the police. Tell them there is arobbery currently in progress. Your safety should be your ﬁrst priority —JanetS., in Waco,Texas Letthere be light

Dear Heloise: Icut out apiece of waxed paper and line awindow forprivacy when Ihaven’thung up curtains or drapes yet (for example, when Imove into anew apartment or home). It allows light in, but no one can see inside. Ireally hope this helps someone in apinch. —Donna R., viaemail

Send ahinttoheloise@heloise com.

Lamb Burger in Pita

Serves 6

2pounds ground lamb (substitute beef, pork or turkey)

4garlic cloves, finelychopped 1teaspoon salt

1teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1teaspoon ground coriander

1teaspoon ground ginger

1teaspoon ground cumin

1teaspoon ground cinnamon

1teaspoon ground allspice

1tablespoon Worcestershire

1tablespoon olive oil

1cup fresh lettuce greens

1sliced tomato (creole tomatoes are in season)

1red onion (thinly sliced)

1thinly sliced cucumber

1. In alarge mixing bowl, place thegroundlamb and use your hands, or alarge spoon, to blend the twopounds of ground meat together

2. In asmall bowl, addall of the dryspicesand mixtogether to form aspice blend. Pour the spice blendover the ground meat. Add theWorcestershire. Lightly mix thespices into the meatwith your hands. Be careful nottooverwork themeat.

3. Prepare abaking sheet with parchment paper.Then form 6 equal-sized hamburger patties (each patty will be about 3/4-inch thick), placing each prepared burger patty on theprepared bakingtray.Refrigerate until ready to grill.

TODAYINHISTORY

against North Korean targets.

In 1971, singerJim Morrison of The Doors diedinParis at age 27

In 1979, Dan White,convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of SanFrancisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor HarveyMilk, wassentenced to sevenyears and eight months in prison.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presided over agalaceremony in New York Harbor that saw therelighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty

In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.

In 2011, Novak Djokovic won his ﬁrst Wimbledon, beating defending championRafael Nadal.

In 2012, Andy Grifﬁth who made homespun American Southernwisdomhis trademark as the wise sheriff in “The Andy

4. Preheat theovento350 degrees, then toast the pita pocket bread for about3 to 5minutes.

5. Just priortogrilling, brush each patty witholive oil. Grill each patty for about 5minutes per side over medium-high heat.

6. To serve: Slip the grilled lamb patties into the pita bread, add abig spoonful of theprepared tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and sliced cucumber

RosemaryRoasted Potatoes

1pound golden potatoes (cut into quarters)

1-2tablespoons olive oil

1teaspoon salt

1teaspoon freshly grated pepper

1-2tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1. Preheat theovento425 degrees.Line abaking sheet with parchment paper.

2. On acutting board, cuteach smallgoldenpotato intofourpieces.Thentransferthe cut potatoes into alarge bowl. Drizzlethe olive oiloverthe potatoes.

Then add the salt, pepper and freshly chopped rosemary to the oily potatoes. Toss the potatoes wellsothat they are coated with oiland herbs.

3. Spread the potatoes evenly on the prepared baking sheet and place them in the oven to bake until they are golden brown —or about25-35 minutes.

Grifﬁth Show,” died at his North Carolina homeatage 86. Today’sbirthdays: Playwright Tom Stoppard is 88. Attorney Gloria Allred is 84. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 82. Country singer Johnny Leeis79. Humorist Dave Barry is 78. Actor Betty Buckley is 78. Talk showhost Montel Williams is 69. Country singer Aaron Tippin is 67. Rock musician VinceClarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure)is65. Actor Tom Cruise is 63. Actor Thomas Gibsonis63. ActorConnie Nielsen is 60. ActorYeardley Smith is 61. Actor-singerAudra McDonald is 55. Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne is 55. WikiLeaks founder JulianAssange is 54. Actor PatrickWilsonis52. Former mixed martial artist Wanderlei Silva is 49. ActorOlivia Munn is 45. Formula One driverSebastian Vettel is 38. Rock singer-songwriter Elle King is 36.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL Lamb Burger in Pita, Tzatziki Sauceand RosemaryRoasted Potatoes

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Take nothing forgranted and prepare to take care of every last detail. You need to getthe most mileage out of your expertise. It's time to shine; avoid getting flustered whenmaking amove is necessary.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Go on alearning expedition and discover how to improve yourself, your relationships or your home. Friendships and life changes will flourish. Enjoy the ride.

VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) Impulse mixed with emotional instability will lead to mistakes andregret. Pour your time andenergyinto something productive Put more detail into your work

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Do whatbrings youjoy. It's time to liquidate what no longer excites you or has meaning in your life. Lighteningyour load will offersatisfaction,peace of mind and free time to follow your heart.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Embrace life andlove, andmake your happiness your goal.Work to get the life you wantand the person you want to become. Make alist of the goals you wanttoachieve, andget moving.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec.21) Make your home your haven. Stay awayfrom people who make you feel selfish or disrupt your space. Live within your means. Don't be manipulated by feelings of guilt or obligation.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Don't letanyonemakechoices for you. Participate in events or activities that interest you,

andadjustmoney matters to ensure your financial safety and security.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Refuse to let someone take control or use manipulative tactics on you. Know your worth and stand up for what'sright and best for you. Achange of attitude will help put your life andsituation back on track.

PIscEs(Feb.20-March 20) Review,adjust and keep moving forward. The changes you make will stand out and make others notice. Trust and believe in your ability to getthings done andlead the way to abrighter future.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Being apart of an organization will allow you to have a say in how things unfold. Change begins with effort and gaining access to aplatform that lets you air your opinion.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Stick to basics andoffer only whatyou knowyou can deliver. Concentrate on personal growth, physical improvements and dealingwithinstitutions that canhelp you with any necessary regulations.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Keep tabs on your expenditures. Generosity, entertainment and hefty contributions or penalties will leaveyou short of cash if you aren'tcareful. Learn as you go and do your best.

CelebrityCipher cryptogramsare created from quotationsbyfamouspeople, past and present. Each letter in thecipherstands for another ToDAy'scLuE:R EQuALs c

better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases fromMonday to Sunday.

Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

This week, we are looking at responder’sactions when he has amajor twosuiter opposite aone-no-trump opening bid. Having covered 5-4 hands, now let’s move to 5-5 holdings.

WelearnedonMay16thatifresponder has aweak 5-5 in the majors, he responds two clubs, Stayman.Then, if opener rebids two of amajor, responderpasses; or if opener rebids two diamonds, responder continues with two hearts to describe his hand.

How responder bids game-invitational andgame-forcing5-5handsisamatterof partnershipagreement.Mynormalstyle is to respond three hearts with the gameinvitational hand (and three spades with the game-forcing one, which Iwill cover tomorrow).

Over threehearts, opener namesthe final contract. Here, with an excellent fit in both majors, he jumps to four spades. Then, how should the card-play go after West leads the club ace?

First, East signals with his eight, starting an echo (high-low) with adoubleton. Then, West continues with the club king. What next?

If South has the heart queen, which is likely, the defenders have taken all of their side-suit tricks. Their only chance is to collect twotrump tricks. West shouldcontinuewithalowclub.Thenthe spotlight falls on East. Suppose he ruffs

low and South, still having the club jack, follows suit. Will the spade queen serve anypurpose?No,itwon’t.So,Eastshould ruff with the spade queen. Then, when Southoverruffs with his ace, West gains two trump tricks to defeat the contract. It is aclassic uppercut.

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers: wuzzles

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must