The Advocate 07-10-2025 by The Advocate

Landry vetoes ban on balloon releases

Governor says bill would be difficult to enforce; environmental advocates express disappointment

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Some wildlife advocates, a lieutenant governor with a passion for Louisiana’s natural environment and at least one state lawmaker are dismayed after Gov Jeff Landry vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal to intentionally release balloons into the air, a regulation that supporters say would protect wildlife and their habitat.

But others — even some who say caring for the natural environment should be a priority — were OK with the governor blocking the balloon release ban, which could have led to

civil penalties between $150 and $500 for anyone over age 16.

Baton Rouge Audubon Society Treasurer Mark Pethke said his organization is “tremendously disappointed by the governor’s veto.”

The organization says that balloons can end up littering the natural environment, including lakes, streams, beaches and oceans.

Fish, sea turtles and dolphins sometimes eat those balloons, causing a slow, painful death by starvation, the society says, and birds can get wrapped in or even strangled by balloon string.

Pethke said the anti-litter measure would have caused organizations that

frequently release balloons into the air such as schools and businesses, to ﬁnd “another, more environmentally friendly way to conduct celebrations.”

State Rep. John Illg

Jr a Harahan Republican who sponsored the proposed ban in House Bill 581, echoed those ideas.

“It’s just something that needs to be recognized, that it is litter It’s basically releasing litter into the air and who knows where it comes down,” he said

ä See BALLOON, page 4A

U.S. measles numbers highest in decades

BY DEVI SHASTRI Associated Press

The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there were 1,274 cases for the year and the country almost lost its status of having

1,288 cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. this year

eliminated the vaccine-preventable illness. That could happen this year if the virus has nonstop spread for 12 months.

This year’s outbreaks, some of them interconnected, started five months ago in undervaccinated communities in West Texas. Three people have died — two children in Texas and

an adult in New Mexico and dozens of people have been hospitalized. Public health experts maintain the true case count may be higher than state health departments have conﬁrmed. North America has three other major measles outbreaks, with 2,966 cases in Chihuahua state, Mexico, 2,223 cases in Ontario, Canada and 1,230 in Alberta, Canada. Thirteen other states have confirmed outbreaks of three or more people Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois,

Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah — and four other states saw their outbreaks end. The measles mumps and rubella vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles after two doses.

The World Health Organization said in 2000 that measles had been eliminated from the U.S.

ä See MEASLES, page 4A

Schools in jeopardy see little progress on LEAP

Results

come ahead of tougher

grading system

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

Many Baton Rouge-area public high schools needed to see improved results on the LEAP tests students took this spring in order to position themselves better for a tougher new school accountability system.

Many schools still have a long way to climb.

Capitol, Glen Oaks and Istrouma high schools, all with “F” letter grades, had mixed results, with Capitol High, the lowest performing of the trio, declining in math, English and science. All three are in the single digits when it comes to the percentage of students demonstrating mastery on the annual standardized tests.

LEAP results released last week generally showed improvement across the state in math, declines in English and no change in science. Social studies results are to be released later this year LEAP tests — short for Louisiana Educational Assessment Program — are given annually in grades three to eight as well in six high school subjects. Scores for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, which operates Capitol, Glen Oaks and Istrouma, were unchanged overall, trailing the state as a whole, which was also ﬂat overall.

Superintendent LaMont Cole noted the school system outperformed the state in two areas: fourth grade and in English II, a high school course. But he acknowledged there is a lot of room for improvement.

“While we’ve seen encouraging progress in some areas, we know there’s still important work ahead,” Cole said.

Finalist to build LSU arena accused of bid rigging

BY ANDREA GALLO and PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writers

The CEO of the ﬁnalist developer that LSU enlisted to potentially build a new arena on campus has been indicted in a federal case saying he rigged the bidding process over a similar project at the University of Texas at Austin.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Oak View Group founder and CEO Timothy J Leiweke was indicted by a federal grand jury “for orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process,” the DOJ said. Records obtained last year by The Advocate | The Times-Picayune showed that Oak View Group and ASM Global were the ﬁnalists for an LSU arena project that university ofﬁcials pitched as a replacement for the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Balloons are released at a park on America Street in New Orleans during a 2023 memorial. A bill that would have made it illegal to intentionally release balloons into the air was vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry.

Senate confirms

new FAA administrator

WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate on Wednesday conﬁrmed Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, putting him in charge of the federal agency at a precarious time for the airline industry after recent accidents, including the January collision near Washington, D.C that killed 67 people.

Bedford was conﬁrmed on a near party-line vote, 53-43.

Republicans and industry leaders lauded President Donald Tr ump’s choice of Bedford, citing his experience as CEO of regional airline Republic Airways since 1999. Sen Ted Cruz, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called Bedford a “steady leader with executive experience.”

But Democrats and ﬂight safety advocates opposed his nomination, citing Bedford’s lack of commitment to the 1,500-hour training requirement for pilots that was put in place by Congress after a 2009 plane crash in New York.

Bedford declined during his confirmation hearing to commit to upholding a rule requiring 1,500 hours of training for pilots, saying only that he would not “have anything that will reduce safety.”

Congress implemented the 1,500-hour rule for pilot training and other safety precautions after the 2009 Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, New York In that ﬂight, the pilot had not been trained on how to recover from a stall in the aircraft. His actions caused the plane carrying 49 people to fall from the sky and crash into a house, where another man was killed.

Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, made famous for safely landing a plane in the Hudson River, also opposed Trump’s pick, posting on social media that “with the nomination of Bryan Bedford to be FAA Administrator, my life’s work could be undone.”

Allen Hassenfeld, former CEO of Hasbro, dies

NEWYORK Alan G. Hassenfeld, a renowned philanthropist and former CEO of iconic toy company Hasbro Inc., the maker of G.I. Joe and Play-Doh, has died He was 76, according to the toy company.

Hasbro declined to offer more details. Hassenfeld’s family foundation, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, wasn’t immediately available to comment. Hassenfeld was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and received an undergraduate arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970. Upon graduation, he joined the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based family business in 1970. Hasbro was founded in 1923, by Hassenfeld’s grandfather, Henry Known initially as Hassenfeld Brothers, it sold textile remnants but expanded into school supplies and later toy manufacturing under the Hasbro name in the 1940s, according to Hasbro’s website. It went public in 1968.

Hassenfeld labored for years in the shadow of his older brother Stephen. His brother’s death of pneumonia in June 1989 at age 47, however, moved Hassenfeld into the position of chairman and chief executive ofﬁcer Hassenfeld stepped down as CEO in 2003 and in August 2005, he became emeritus chairman. He stepped away from that role last year Hassenfeld was the last family member to sit on the board, according to Hasbro.

CORRECTION

A story in Wednesday’s editions incorrectly stated the number of redfish estimated to have been killed as bycatch by Louisiana’s menhaden industry in 2024. The correct number is approximately 30,000. The story’s headline also implied that there is a legal limit on the amount of redfish killed. The limit applies to bycatch of all fish species. The Advocate regrets the error

Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza

No sign of breakthrough after Trump’s talks with Netanyahu

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, KAREEM CHEHAYEB, and MELANIE LIDMAN

Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israeli

airstrikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 10 members of a family sheltering in a tent, hospital ofﬁcials said Wednesday The strikes came as U.S President Donald Trump pushed for a ceaseﬁre that might end the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages.

Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in two days at the White House on Tuesday evening, but there was no sign of a breakthrough.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the 21-month war until Hamas is destroyed, while the militant group has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceaseﬁre and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis said the dead included 17 women and 10 children. The war has gutted Gaza’s health system, with several hospitals taken out of service and leading physicians killed in Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza over the past day, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities,

missile launchers and tunnels. Israel accuses Hamas of hiding weapons and ﬁghters among civilians.

‘I found all my children dead’

On Wednesday, crowds of people bid farewell to the 10 members of the Shaaban family killed in an Israeli strike while they were inside their tent in Khan Younis.

“I found all my children dead, and my daughters’ three children dead,” said Um Mohammad Shaaban, a nickname that means Mohammad Shaaban’s mother “It’s supposed to be a safe area where we were.”

She said that strikes have intensiﬁed even as hope for a ceaseﬁre has risen. “The hospital last night was jam-packed,” she said.

As she wept over the bodies of her three grandchildren, others holding the bodies struggled to let

go before they were sent to burial.

Struggling to secure food, water

Palestinians are desperate for an end to the war that has killed tens of thousands, destroyed vast areas and displaced around 90% of the territory’s population.

Aid groups say Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order have made it extremely difﬁcult to deliver humanitarian assistance, leading to widespread hunger and fears of famine.

In the sprawling coastal Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands of people live in tents after being displaced from their homes, Abeer al-Najjar said she had struggled during the constant bombardments to get food and water for her family

“I pray to God that there would be a pause, and not just a pause

where they would lie to us,” she said, referring to an earlier ceasefire that Israel ended in March.

“We want a full ceaseﬁre.”

The war started after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been released in earlier ceaseﬁres. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry

The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatantss.

Trump says ‘we’re close’ to deal Netanyahu told reporters on Tuesday that he and Trump see “eye to eye” on the need to destroy Hamas and that coordination between Israel and the United States has never been better

Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, and other senior administration officials met with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer as well as Qatari officials at the White House on Tuesday to discuss sticking points in the talks, including Israel’s desire to maintain a military presence in Gaza during a potential 60-day truce, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity

Asked about the meeting, Trump did not conﬁrm that “secret” talks had happened, but said if they did, he hoped the engagement “gets us to where we want to be.”

“We want to have peace. We want to get the hostages back. And I think we’re close to doing it,” Trump added.

Biden’s former doctor refuses to answer questions

BY MATT BROWN and MICHELLE L PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden’s former White House physician refused on Wednesday to answer questions as part of the House Republican investigation into Biden’s health in ofﬁce.

Dr Kevin O’Connor invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, his attorney and lawmakers said Republicans on the Oversight Committee subpoenaed O’Connor last month as part of a their sweeping investigation into Biden’s health and his mental fitness as

president. They claim some policies carried out during Biden’s term through the use of the White House autopen may be illegitimate if it’s proven the Democrat was mentally incapacitated for some of his term.

Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in ofﬁce, calling the claims “ridiculous and false.”

David Schertler, one of O’Connor’s lawyers, said the doctor had “no choice” but to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in testimony before the committee. Schertler cited both O’Connor’s responsibilities to protect patient privacy as a doctor and the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into Biden’s use of the autopen.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the Oversight chair, said O’Connor’s refusal to testify made it “clear there was a conspiracy.”

“The American people demand tr an spa re nc y, but Dr O’Connor would rather conceal the truth,” Comer said in a statement. Witnesses routinely invoke their Fifth Amendment rights in testimony to Congress. Allies of President Donald Trump, for example, invoked their rights when refusing to testify to the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capi-

Influencer’s conviction for spreading 2016 election falsehoods overturned

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a self-styled right-wing propagandist’s conviction for spreading falsehoods on social media in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal for Douglass Mackey, ﬁnding that trial evidence failed to prove the government’s claim that the Florida man conspired with others to inﬂuence the election.

Mackey, 36, was convicted in March 2023 in federal court in Brooklyn on a charge of conspiracy against rights after posting false memes that said supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could vote for her by text message or social media post. He was sentenced to seven months in federal prison.

“HALLELUJAH!” Mackey wrote on X after the 2nd Circuit’s decision was posted Wednesday In follow up messages, he thanked God, his family wife, lawyers and supporters, and threatened legal action over his conviction.

One of Mackey’s lawyers on his appeal was Yaakov Roth, who is now principal deputy assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Division

The federal prosecutors’ office in Brooklyn declined to comment.

In charging Mackey, prosecutors alleged that he conspired with others between September and November of 2016 to post memes, such as a photo of a woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” the tweet said.

“Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925.”

About 5,000 people followed the meme’s instructions, according to trial

testimony Nearly all of them received an automated response indicating that the social media posts were not associated with the Clinton campaign, and there was “no evidence at trial that Mackey’s tweets tricked anyone into failing properly to vote,” the 2nd Circuit found.

In overturning Mackey’s conviction, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel wrote, “the mere fact” that he “posted the memes, even assuming that he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote, is not enough, standing alone, to prove a violation” of the conspiracy law

“The government was obligated to show that Mackey knowingly entered into an agreement with other people to pursue that objective,” Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Judges Reena Raggi and Beth Robinson wrote. “This the government failed to do.”

Livingston and Raggi were appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Robinson was appointed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

At Mackey’s sentencing, the trial judge, Ann M. Donnelly said that he had been “one of the leading members” of a conspiracy that was “nothing short of an assault on our democracy.”

The 2nd Circuit disagreed, ruling that the prosecution’s primary evidence of a conspiracy was ﬂimsy at best.

At Mackey’s trial, prosecutors showed messages exchanged in private Twitter groups that they said proved an intent to interfere with people exercising their right to vote. However, the three-judge panel ruled that prosecutors “failed to offer sufﬁcient evidence that Mackey even viewed — let alone participated in — any of these exchanges.”

“In the absence of such evidence, the government’s remaining circumstantial evidence cannot alone establish Mackey’s knowing agreement,” the judges wrote.

tol by a mob of his supporters. Comer has has sought testimony from nearly a dozen former Biden aides as he conducts his investigation. He has also issued a subpoena for Anthony Bernal, the former chief of staff to former ﬁrst lady Jill Biden.

Trump’s White House has waived executive privilege, a right that protects many communications between the president and staff from Congress and the courts, for almost all of those senior staffers. That clears the way for those staffers to discuss their conversations with Biden while he was president Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, dismissed the Republican investigation as a waste of time.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG

Israeli army vehicles transport a group of soldiers and journalists along the Morag corridor in southern Gaza on Tuesday.

Trump slapping 50% tariff on Brazil over Bolsonaro

He calls trial against former Brazilian president a ‘witch hunt’

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON President

Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50% on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showing that personal grudges rather than simple economics were driving the U.S. leader’s use of import taxes.

Trump avoided his standard form letter with Brazil, speciﬁcally tying his tariffs to the trial of Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump has described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020.

“This Trial should not be taking place,” Trump wrote in the letter posted on Truth Social “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”

Brazil’s vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, said he sees “no reason” for the U.S to hike tariffs on the South American nation.

“I think he has been misinformed,” he said. “President Lula was jailed for almost two years. No one questioned the judiciary No one questioned what the country had done. This is a matter for our judiciary branch.”

Trump also objected to Brazil’s Supreme Court ﬁning of social media companies such as X, saying the temporary blocking last year amounted to “SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders.” Trump said he is launching an investigation as a result under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which applies to companies with trade practices that are deemed unfair to U.S. companies.

The Brazil letter was a reminder that politics and personal relations with Trump matter just as much as any economic fundamentals.

And while Trump has said the high tariff rates he’s set-

ting are based on trade imbalances, it was unclear by his Wednesday actions how the countries being targeted would help to reindustrialize America.

The tariffs starting Aug. 1 would be a dramatic increase from the 10% rate that Trump levied on Brazil as part of his April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement. In addition to oil, Brazil sells orange juice, coffee, iron and steel to the U.S., among other products. The U.S. ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Census Bureau.

Trump initially announced his broad tariffs by declaring an economic emergency,

arguing under a 1977 law that the U.S. was at risk because of persistent trade imbalances. But that rationale becomes problematic in this particular case, as Trump is linking his tariffs to the Bolsonaro trial and the U.S. exports more to Brazil than it imports.

Trump also sent letters Wednesday to the leaders of seven other nations. None of them — the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka — is a major industrial rival to the United States. Taken together, the trade imbalances with those seven countries are essentially a rounding error in a U.S. economy with

a gross domestic product of $30 trillion. Most economic analyses say the tariffs will worsen inﬂationary pressures and subtract from economic growth, but Trump has used the taxes as a way to assert the diplomatic and ﬁnancial power of the U.S. on both rivals and allies. His administration is promising that the taxes on imports will lower trade imbalances, offset some of the cost of the tax cuts he signed into law on Friday and cause factory jobs to return to the United States. Trump, during a White House meeting with African leaders, talked up trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade,

he said, “seems to be a foundation” for him to settle disputes between India and Pakistan, as well as Kosovo and Serbia.

“You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,” Trump said. “And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.”

On Monday, Trump placed a 35% tariff on Serbia, one of the countries he was using as an example of how fostering trade can lead to peace.

Trump said the tariff rates in his letters were based on “common sense” and trade imbalances, even though the Brazil letter indicated otherwise.

Ofﬁcials for the European Union said Tuesday that they are not expecting to receive a letter from Trump listing tariff rates. The president started the process of announcing tariff rates on Monday by hitting two major U.S. trading partners, Japan and South Korea, with import taxes of 25%. The letters were posted on Truth Social after the expiration of a 90-day negotiating period with a baseline levy of 10%. Trump is giving countries more time to negotiate with his Aug. 1 deadline, but he has insisted there will be no extensions for the countries that receive letters. The president threatened additional tariffs on any country that attempts to retaliate. He said he chose to send the letters because it was too complicated for U.S. officials to negotiate with their counterparts in the countries with new tariffs.

Musk’s xAI scrubs posts after chatbot makes antisemitic comments

By The Associated Press

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it’s taking down “inappropriate posts” made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemiti c com ments that praised Adolf Hitler Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT Musk said Friday that Grok has been improved signiﬁcantly, and users “should notice a difference.”

Since then Grok has shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.

the inappropriate posts,” the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without being more speciﬁc.

antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms.”

“Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion,” Grok said.

It also appeared to praise Hitler, according to screenshots of posts that have now apparently been deleted.

After making one of the posts, Grok walked back the comments, saying it was “an unacceptable error from an earlier model iteration, swiftly deleted” and that it condemned “Nazism and Hitler unequivocally — his actions were genocidal horrors.”

“We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove

“Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.”

The Anti-Defamation League, which works to combat antisemitism, called out Grok’s behavior

“What we are seeing from Grok LLM right now is irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple,” the group said in a post on X.

“This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the

X CEO resigns after two years at helm

BY MATT O’BRIEN and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP

technology writers

X CEO Linda Yaccarino

Musk later waded into the debate, alleging that some users may have been trying to manipulate Grok into making the statements.

“Grok was too compliant

to user prompts. Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially That is being addressed,” he wrote on X, in response to comments that a user was trying to get Grok to make controversial and politically incorrect statements.

Also Wednesday a court in Turkey ordered a ban on Grok and Poland’s digital minister said he would report the chatbot to the European Commission after it made vulgar comments about politicians and public ﬁgures in both countries.

said she’s stepping down after two bumpy years running Elon Musk’s social media platform. Yaccarino posted a positive message Wednesday about her tenure at the company formerly known as Twitter and said “the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with” Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok. She did not say why she is leaving.

Musk responded to Yaccarino’s announcement with his own 5-word statement on X: “Thank you for your contributions.”

“The only thing that’s surprising about Linda Yaccarino’s resignation is that it didn’t come sooner,” said Forrester research director Mike Proulx. “It was clear from the start that she was being set up to fail by a limited scope as the company’s chief executive.” In reality, Proulx added, Musk “is and always has been at the helm of X. And that made Linda X’s CEO in title only, which is a very tough position to be in, especially for someone of Linda’s talents.”

Musk hired Yaccarino a veteran ad executive, in

May 2023 after buying Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and cutting most of its staff. He said at the time that Yaccarino’s role would be focused mainly on running the company’s business operations, leaving him to focus on product design and new technology Before announcing her hiring, Musk said whoever took over as the company’s CEO “must like pain a lot.”

In accepting the job, Yaccarino was taking on the challenge of getting big brands back to advertising on the social media platform after months of upheaval following Musk’s takeover

She also had to work in a supporting role to Musk’s outsized persona on and off of X as he loosened content moderation rules in the name of free speech and restored accounts previously banned by the social media platform.

Yaccarino has, at times, ardently defended Musk’s approach, including in a lawsuit against liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America over a report that claimed leading advertisers’ posts on X were appearing alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist content The report led some advertisers to pause their activity on X.

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Article 7, Section 23(C) of the Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 47:1705(B) that apublic hearing of FloridaParishesJuvenileJusticeCommission will be held at its regular meeting place at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center located at 28528 US 190, Covington, La 70433, on Monday,August 11, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. to consider levying additional or increased millage rates without further voter approvaloradopting the adjusted millage rates after reassessment and rolling forward to rates not to exceed the prior year’s maximum. The estimated amount of tax revenues to be collected in the next year from the increased millage is $14,593,200.00, and the amount of increase in taxes attributable to the millage increase is $2,193,200.00.

Musk

Yaccarino

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

U.S. President Donald Trump, center speaks with African presidents Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal Joseph Nyuma Boakai of Liberia, Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania and Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon during a lunch Wednesday in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.

BALLOON

Continued from page 1A

Illg, who said he is “passionate” about combating the state’s litter problem, said Louisiana has a “Mardi Gras mentality,” where the thinking is that someone else will pick up when things are left or tossed in the street.

In the letter explaining his veto, Landry said that HB581 would have been “impossible or impractical to execute.”

Landry said law enforcement agencies across the state would have been “tasked with tracking down locations from where balloons were released based on eyewitness accounts, only to be met — if met at all — with excuses and ﬁngerpointing to avoid meeting the bill’s requirements for a ﬁne to be issued.”

And local governments are empowered to regulate balloon releases if need be, Landry said.

State Sen. Regina Barrow, a Baton Rouge Democrat who was among a small, bipartisan minority of lawmakers who voted against the bill, said she agreed with Landry on leaving restrictions up to local governments. She also questioned who would be tasked with enforcement and said that the

FINALIST

Continued from page 1A

LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward said in late May that LSU had locked in on working with the Oak View Group and that ASM was out of the running, though he did not give a reason why Both companies are tied to the indictment against Leiweke, who was working for Oak View while he was accused of coaxing competitors from Legends, which acquired ASM last year, to drop their bid for the Moody Center at UT Austin. Previously, LSU officials repeatedly said they hoped to model the new arena after the Moody Center LSU estimated the project to cost $400 million, and has considered using public land at the LSU Golf Course to house it, along with a potential tax from a new economic development district. One of the architects of the plan, Baton Rouge developer Charles Landry, previously said there would be no public bid process for the arena deal.

Reached Wednesday, Landry did not answer questions about how the indictment would affect the LSU arena project. The LSU Foundation referred comment to the LSU Athletics Department, who said “we’re aware of today’s news and will continue to monitor developments ” They referred further comments to Landry While Landry and LSU leaders have pointed to the Moody Center as their inspiration, the federal indictment states the process for

MEASLES

Continued from page 1A

The CDC identiﬁed 22 outbreaks in 2019, the largest being two separate clusters in New York — 412 in New York state and 702 in New York City These were linked because measles was spreading through closeknit Orthodox Jewish communities, the CDC said.

It’s a similar situation in North America this year, where the Canada, Mexico and Texas outbreaks stem from large Mennonite communities in the regions. Mennonite churches do not formally discourage vaccination, though more conservative Mennonite communities historically have low vaccination rates and a distrust of government.

A recent study found childhood vaccination rates against measles fell after the COVID-19 pandemic in nearly 80% of the more than 2,000 U.S. counties

ﬁnes seemed too steep Barrow also said that, in her community, balloon releases are a common way of memorializing certain events, such as the death of a loved one, and they can bring about a certain “level of peace.”

“I think those things are important,” she said. “Everybody processes grief differently.”

And while Barrow said she is “always very concerned about the environment,” she took issue with “abruptly” implementing a ban and said a wind-down period should be considered instead.

The Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association was one of several groups that supported the bill during the legislative session. Executive Vice President Shae Simon called Landry’s veto “disheartening.

“We had a hard time understanding his point of view on the fact that you couldn’t patrol this or enforce it, if you can enforce littering ﬁnes for any other piece of trash,” she said Simon explained that balloons, like other trash, can end up in hay bales and cow pastures, getting eaten by curious baby cows and mature cattle alike

The balloon can tie up a cow’s stomach, leading to suffering and a painful death, Simon said.

building the Moody Center was rigged.

“Timothy Leiweke allegedly led a scheme designed to steer the contract for entertainment services at a public university’s arena to his company,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G Raia in a statement. “Public contracts are subject to laws requiring an open and competitive bid process to ensure a level playing ﬁeld.”

‘The law is clear’

As Leiweke set his sights in 2017 on building a new arena for UT, he emailed others saying he was surprised that another company Legends was bidding against them, according to the indictment ﬁled in the Western District of Texas. Leiweke mused in his emails about getting the other company “to back down.”

“More than happy talking to them about not bidding and doing (food and beverage), but no interest in working with them if they intend on putting in a bid,” he wrote, according to the indictment.

Leiweke allegedly reached an agreement with the competitor to stand down in vying for the project, and agreed instead to award them subcontracts. The Oak View Group submitted the sole qualiﬁed bid to build the Moody Center, which opened in 2022, and the DOJ said the company continues to reap revenues from it. A spokesperson for Leiweke denied that he’d done anything wrong on Wednesday and said he would “vigorously defend himself.” She said the DOJ case seeks to criminalize a common practice of teaming efforts be-

with available data, including in states that are battling outbreaks this year

Only 92.7% of kindergartners in the U.S. had the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the 20232024 school year, below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks In Gaines County Texas, the epicenter of the Texas outbreak, only 82% of kindergartners were upto-date with MMR vaccines.

State and federal leaders have for years kept funding stagnant for local public health departments’ vaccination programs that are tasked with reversing the trend.

“What we’re seeing with measles is a little bit of a ‘canary in a coal mine,’ ” said Lauren Gardner, leader of Johns Hopkins University’s independent measles and COVID tracking databases.

“It’s indicative of a problem that we know exists with vaccination attitudes in this county and just I think, likely to get worse.”

Political punishment?

Illg is a board member for Keep Louisiana Beautiful, an agency housed in the office of Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser that focuses on litter prevention and beautiﬁcation He sponsored the balloon legislation at Nungesser’s request

Nungesser said balloon releases, including some that number in thousands, have become a big environmental and safety problem, hurting pelicans, turtles and baby cattle and causing power outages and drainage problems.

“Since I took over Keep Louisiana Beautiful, it’s become a movement of people wanting to clean up our state,” he said.

Nungesser said Landry’s veto was political, but not aimed at the lieutenant governor

“It’s obvious that it’s political punishing for Rep. Illg,” he said. “People need to be able to vote for what they think is right for Louisiana without being punished.”

Illg on Monday said he had not spoken with Landry about the veto and took his letter at “face value.”

He also said that during the legislative session he wasn’t aware of the governor’s opposition over enforcing the balloon ban until he received the veto letter

“I just wish he had brought

tween companies, which she said both enhance competition and beneﬁt the public.

“The Antitrust Division’s allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought,” said Ellen Davis, a spokesperson for Leiweke, in a statement. “The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal.”

Companies to pay fines

Neither the Oak View Group nor Legends Hospitality were prosecuted, but both agreed instead to pay civil ﬁnes to the DOJ. OVG agreed to pay $15 million in penalties related to the case, while Legends agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties.

Legends now manages both the Caesars Superdome and the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans through its ownership of ASM Global.

OVG said in a statement Wednesday that the company fully cooperated with the DOJ investigation “and is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges ﬁled against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing. We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices.”

OVG did not answer a direct question about how the case would affect plans for the LSU arena project

LSU ofﬁcials agreed in late May to create a subdistrict that would levy a 1-cent tax on sales at the new arena. They’ve also signed off on plans to collect another

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says.

People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity.”

that up to me, you know, in the process,” Illg said. “That is the ﬁrst bill I’ve ever had vetoed in six years.”

Landry through a spokesperson, declined to elaborate on the legislation and his reasoning for opposing it, or whether he was retaliating against Illg.

Illg was among a group of lawmakers who opposed a bill strongly favored by the governor — some of whom had funding for local projects cut through line-item vetoes by the governor

House Bill 148 was at the center of a fight between Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple over Louisiana’s high auto insurance rates during this year’s legislative session. The measure ultimately won passage and was quickly signed into law

It gives the insurance commissioner greater authority to reject “excessive” insurance rate increases. Landry argues that empowers the commissioner to halt unreasonable price hikes for Louisianans.

Temple, however has opposed the measure, saying it will allow his successors to reject rate changes indiscriminately rather than by relying on data.

Staff writer Tyler Bridges contributed to this report. Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.

1-cent sales tax within a broader LSU economic development district

The DOJ said the public and taxpayers suffered from the bidding process involved in the Moody Center

“The defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the beneﬁts of competitive bidding,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater in a news release. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold executives who cheat to avoid competition accountable.”

LEAP

Continued from page 1A

Capitol High will be very different next year, thanks to a recently approved districtwide “realignment” plan that closes nine schools and revamps several others.

That plan closed several schools with “F” grades, including IDEA Bridge and IDEA Innovation, two large charter schools in Baton Rouge.

The plan also calls for Capitol High to move to a new location and add seventh and eighth grades. The changes come only two years after Capitol High was returned to local control, 15 years after it was taken over by the state.

Since returning, Capitol High has lost students. It has lost ground in English over that time and shown no improvement in math or science.

But, in a sign of the many ways high schools can make the grade in the current system, Capitol High Principal Brandon Fontenot in April predicted the high school would shed its “F” status and improve a letter grade or two. He noted that the school ranks high in other factors such as ninth graders who are on track to graduate and in tests that assess whether students are ready for the workforce.

Nearly 70% of Louisiana high schools currently earn As or Bs under the outgoing accountability system.

That will change dramatically under the new accountability system that takes effect with the 2025-26 school year

Last year, the state simulated what the new accountability could do to school performance. It found that 88% of high schools would decrease their letter grades and none would increase. An estimated 34% of elementary and middle schools would decline, while 6% would increase.

In addition to the three “F” schools, there are six high schools in the Baton

Rouge region with “D” letter grades Four are part of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system: Belaire, Broadmoor, McKinley and Scotlandville high schools

The other two are Collegiate Baton Rouge, a charter school in Baton Rouge, and St. Helena College and Career Academy Of those six schools, all but Belaire improved in English. In math, the results are less stellar All but two have mastery rates in the single digits Scotlandville and St. Helena have 10% mastery in math, barely out of single digits.

Baker High, another local school in academic jeopardy is getting a reset on its school accountability clock thanks to its recent conversion to a charter school.

Ascension Parish earned the top ranking in the state this year for its all-around performance on the LEAP tests.

“This is a moment to celebrate the hard work of our students and the dedication of our educators and community,” Superintendent Edith Walker said after the announcement. “However, even as we celebrate, we remain deeply committed to the students who have not yet reached their highest potential.”

Of Ascension’s five high schools, Donaldsonville High, which has a “B” letter, will have the toughest time of the bunch maintaining that level of performance. This year’s results were not much help as the high school suffered a seven-point decline in math, offset partially by slight improvement in English and science.

The newest high school in Ascension, Prairieville High, opened in August, drawing students from the three other large high schools on the east bank of the parish. In its first test score results, it was slightly behind high-performing Dutchtown and St. Amant high schools, but posted a higher mastery rate than those schools in math and came in second to Dutchtown in science.

Universities urged to drop China scholarship program

BY COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON House Republicans

are urging seven U.S. universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship program that lawmakers call a “nefarious mechanism” to steal technology for the Chinese government.

In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raise concerns about the schools’ partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad program funded by China.

The program sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at U.S. universities. After graduating, they’re required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security

“CSC purports to be a joint scholarship program between U.S. and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China’s military and scientific growth,” wrote Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the committee.

The Chinese Embassy didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Associated Press for comment.

Dartmouth said Wednesday it has had fewer than 10 participants in the program over the last decade and already had decided to end its participation. Notre Dame said it began the process of terminating its association with the program earlier this year University of Tennessee said it had also received the letter and was reviewing the committee’s request.

Letters were also sent also to Temple University and the Univer-

sity of California campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. The committee said it’s opening a review into the program’s “inﬁltration” of U.S. universities and demanded records related to the program from all seven institutions.

The universities’ partnerships with the council bring up to 15 graduate students a year to Dartmouth, along with up to 60 at Temple and 40 at Notre Dame, according to the letters. Some schools split the cost of attendance with China. Dartmouth, for instance, covers 50% of tuition and provides a stipend to doctoral students Among other records, lawmakers are demanding documents showing whether scholarship recipients worked on research funded by the U.S. government. President Donald Trump and House Republicans have stepped up scrutiny of Chinese students coming to the U.S. In May, Secre-

tary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would revoke visas from some Chinese students studying in “critical fields.” During his first term, Trump restricted visas for students affiliated with China’s “military-civil fusion strategy.”

Many U.S. universities acknowledge a need to improve research security but caution against treating Chinese scholars with hostility and suspicion, saying only small numbers have been involved in espionage.

China is the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., behind only India. In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. For a majority of them, their college tuition is paid by their families, rather than by the Chinese government. Many stay to work in the U.S., while some return

to China after graduation.

Moolenaar has made it a priority to end partnerships between U.S. universities and China. In May, he pressed Duke University to cut its ties with a Chinese university saying it allowed Chinese students to gain access to federally funded research at Duke. Under pressure from the committee, Eastern Michigan University ended a partnership with two Chinese universities in June.

Last year House Republicans issued a report ﬁnding that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding had gone toward research that ultimately boosted Chinese advancements in artiﬁcial intelligence, semiconductor technology and nuclear weapons. The report argued China’s academic collaborations served as a “Trojan horses for technology transfer,” accusing China of “insidious” exploitation of academic cooperation.

Trump administration sues California over trans athlete policies

BY SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America

SACRAMENTO,Calif.— President Donald Trump’s administration sued the California Department of Education on Wednesday for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law

The move escalates a battle between the Republican administration in Washington and Democratic-led California over trans athletes.

The lawsuit ﬁled by the Justice Department says California’s transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. The department says California’s rules “are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned other states that allow trans girls to compete in female athletics that they could also face challenges by the federal government. “If you do not comply, you’re next,” she said in a video posted on

social media. “We will protect girls in girls sports.”

The state Education Department and the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports that was also named a defendant, said they would not comment on pending litigation. Democratic Gov Gavin Newsom’s ofﬁce deferred to the federation and the education agency to comment on the lawsuit because the governor was not named a defendant. But Newsom’s ofﬁce said the Trump administration’s attacks on the state’s transgender athlete policies are “a cynical attempt” to distract from the federal government’s withholding of funds for after-school and summer programs.

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California has a more than decade-old law on the books that allows students to participate in sex-segregated school programs, including on sports teams, and use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity

Trump criticized the participation of a transgender high school student-athlete who won titles in the California track-and-ﬁeld championships last month. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter after the meet that the California Interscholastic Federation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by allowing trans girls to compete against other female athletes.

The federal Education Department earlier this year launched an investigation into California’s policies allowing athletes to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity The agency said last month that the policies violate Title IX, and it gave the state 10 days to agree to change them. But the state this week refused.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit against California says its policies “ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous

’gender identity.’”

“The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition,” the suit says.

Meanwhile, on his podcast in March, Newsom angered some party allies when he questioned the fairness of trans girls competing in girls sports. GOP critics have called on the governor to back a ban, saying his remarks do not square with his actions.

The issue is part of a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth in which states have limited transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams, barred gender-afﬁrming surgeries for minors and required parents to be notiﬁed if a child changes their pronouns at school. More than two dozen states have laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some of the policies have been blocked in court. Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at barring trans girls and women from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By yURI AVILA Student-athletes hold signs during a hearing to consider bills to pass rules banning transgender student-athletes April 1 in Sacramento, Calif.

Harrowing stories emerge from Texas floods

BY SEAN MURPHY, NADIA LATHAN and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

HUNT, Texas In the frantic hours after a wall of water engulfed camps and homes in Texas, a police officer who was trapped himself spotted dozens of people stranded on roofs and waded out to bring them to safety, a fellow ofﬁcer said Wednesday

Another off-duty officer tied a garden hose around his waist so he could reach two people clinging to a tree above swirling floodwaters, Kerrville officer Jonathan Lamb said, describing another harrowing rescue.

“This tragedy, as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse,” Lamb told a news conference, crediting first responders and volunteers with saving lives and knocking on doors to evacuate residents during the flash floods on the July Fourth holiday

More than 160 people still are believed to be missing, and at least 118 have died in the floods that laid waste to the Hill Country region of Texas. The large number of missing people suggests that the full extent of the catastrophe is still unclear ﬁve days after the disaster The ﬂoods are now the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976, when Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon flooded, killing 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.

Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles along the Guadalupe River in the search of missing people.

“We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,”

Gov Greg Abbott said Tuesday “Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list.”

BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, MORGAN LEE

RUIDOSO, N.M. — A New Mexico mountain village prepared Wednesday for another round of monsoon rains as crews scrambled to dig out from a historic ﬂash ﬂood that killed three people, damaged dozens of homes and left streets and culverts clogged with mud and debris. A man, a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were swept away from an RV park along the Rio Ruidoso as floodwaters raged through the area Tuesday The bodies were found downstream from the park at a distance between one-fourth of a mile and 2 miles.

The two children were related, but authorities were not releasing their names. They had yet to identify the man who was killed.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said the community is devastated by the loss of life, a tragedy that is not unfamiliar for the popular summer retreat, which is about 130 miles southeast of Albuquerque. Before summer rains began, Ruidoso had made much progress in recovering from last year’s wildfires and post-fire flood-

Officials face backlash

Public ofﬁcials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made.

“Those questions are going to be answered,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said “I believe those questions need to be answered, to the families of the loved ones, to the public.”

But he said the priority for now is recovering victims. “We’re not running. We’re not going to hide from anything,” the sheriff said.

The governor called on state lawmakers to approve new ﬂood warning systems and strengthen

emergency communications in ﬂood prone areas throughout the state when the Legislature meets in a special session that Abbott had already called to address other issues starting July 21. Abbott also called on lawmakers to provide ﬁnancial relief for response and recovery efforts from the storms.

“We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” Abbott said in a statement.

Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a ﬂood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens.

Raymond Howard, a city council member in Ingram, said it was “unfathomable” that county ofﬁcials did not act.

“This is lives. This is families,”

he said. “This is heartbreaking.”

Number of missing has soared

A day earlier, the governor announced that about 160 people have been reported missing in Kerr County, where searchers already have found more than 90 bodies.

Ofﬁcials have been seeking more information about those who were in the Hill Country, a popular tourist destination, during the holiday weekend but did not register at a camp or a hotel and may have been in the area without many people knowing, Abbott said.

The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27

the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Several roads remained closed Wednesday and the mayor said it would take

ing, but village ofﬁcials acknowledged Tuesday’s rain was too much to absorb “As bad as it is, it could have been way worse because people did heed the warning, did get the higher ground,” Crawford said during a radio address. “But we do have people that are in greater need today than they were yesterday.”

New Mexico’s governor signed an emergency declaration Tuesday night and requests were pending for more assistance from the federal government as search and rescue crews

fanned out Wednesday in places that had been hard to reach the night before.

Village ofﬁcials continued to encourage people to call an emergency line if their loved ones or neighbors were missing or affected by the ﬂood.

Emergency crews had completed dozens of swift water rescues before the water receded Tuesday, including of people who were trapped in their homes and cars. Two National Guard teams and several local crews already were in the area when the flooding began, said Danielle Silva of

campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found.

Just two days before the ﬂooding, Texas inspectors signed off on the camp’s emergency planning. But ﬁve years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press did not provide any details about how campers would be evacuated.

Challenging search for the dead

With almost no hope of ﬁnding anyone alive, search crews and volunteers say they are focused on bringing the families of the missing some closure.

Crews fanned out in air boats, helicopters and on horseback. They used excavators and their hands, going through layer by layer, with search dogs snifﬁng for any sign of buried bodies.

They looked in trees and in the mounds below their feet. They searched inside crumpled pickup trucks and cars, painting them with a large X, much like those marked on homes after a hurricane.

More than 2,000 volunteers have offered to lend a hand in Kerr County alone, the sheriff said.

How long the search will continue was impossible to predict given the number of people unaccounted for and the miles to cover

Shannon Ament wore knee-high rubber boots and black gloves as she rummaged through debris in front of her rental property in Kerr County A high school soccer coach is one of the many people she knows who are still missing.

“We

time to restore utilities in some neighborhoods. He said damage assessments would take several days to complete. Along the river, pieces of

metal and other debris were twisted around tree trunks while broken tree limbs were wedged against homes and piled on porches.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

family as they pick up items Wednesday at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas.

Russia battersUkraine with more than 700drones

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russia ﬁred more than 700attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks, part of Moscow’sintensifying aerial and ground assault in the three-year war,Ukrainian ofﬁcials said Wednesday Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major attacks that include increasingnumbers of decoy drones.The most recent one appeared aimedatdisrupting Ukraine’svital supply of Western weapons.

The city of Lutsk, home to airﬁelds used by the Ukrainian army,was the hardest hit, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Itlies near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, aregion that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid. The attack comes at atime of increased uncertainty over the supply of crucial American weapons and as U.S.-led peace efforts have stalled. Zelenskyy said that the Kremlin was “makinga point” with it.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces took aim at Ukrainian air bases and that “all thedesignated targets have beenhit.” Meanwhile, Ukraine ﬁred drones intoRussia overnight, killing three peopleinthe Kurskborderregion,including a5-year-old boy,the local governor said.

The Russian attack, which included 728 drones and 13 missiles, hadthe largestnumberofdronesfired in asingle night in thewar On Friday,Russia fired 550 drones, less thana week afteritlaunched 477, both the largestatthe time,officials said.

Beyond Lutsk, 10 regions were struck. One personwas killed in theKhmelnytskyi region, andtwo wounded in theKyiv region, ofﬁcials said.

Poland, amember of NATO,scrambledits ﬁghter jets and put itsarmed forces on the highest level of alert

in response to the attack, the Polish Armed Forces OperationalCommandwrote in an Xpost.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was “not happy” with Russian President VladimirPutin, whohasn’tbudged from his ceaseﬁre and peace demands sinceTrump took ofﬁce in January and began to push forasettlement.

Trump saidMonday that the U.S. would havetosend moreweaponstoUkraine, just days after Washington paused critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv Kremlin spokesman Dmitry PeskovsaidTrump “has quite atough styleinterms of the phrasing he uses,” adding that Moscow hopes to “continueour dialogue with Washington and our course aimed at repairing the badly damaged bilateral ties.”

Zelenskyy,meanwhile, urged Ukraine’spartners to impose stricter sanctions on Russian oiland those who help finance the Kremlin’s warbybuying it.

“Everyone who wants peace must act,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader met Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday during avisit to Italy ahead of an international conference on re-

building Ukraine. Ukraine’sair defenses shot down296 drones and seven missilesduring the overnightattack,while 415 moredrones werelost from radarsorjammed, an air force statement said.

Ukrainian interceptor drones, developed to counter the Shahed ones ﬁred by Russia, are increasingly effective, Zelenskyy said, adding that domestic production of anti-aircraftdrones is being scaled up in partnership with some Western countries.

Western military analysts say Russia is also boosting its drone manufacturing andcould soon be capable of launching 1,000 anight at Ukraine.

“Russia continues to expand its domestic drone production capacity amid theever-growing role of tactical drones in frontline combat operations and Russia’sincreasingly large nightlylong-range strike packages against Ukraine,” theInstitute forthe Study of War, aWashington-based think tank, said late Tuesday. Ukraine has also built up its ownoffensive drone threat, reaching deep into Russia with somelong-range strikes.

European courtfinds Russia committedviolationsinUkraine,downedjet

BY MOLLYQUELL Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Europe’stop human rights court delivered damning judgments Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back morethan adecade.

Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespreadviolations of international law —from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, to the murder,torture,

rape, destructionofcivilian infrastructure and kidnapping ofUkrainian children afterMoscow’s full-scale invasion of 2022.

Readingthe decisions in apacked courtroom in Strasbourg, Court President MattiasGuyomar said Russian forces breached internationalhumanitarian lawinUkraine by carrying outattacks that “killed and wounded thousands of civilians and created fearand terror.”

TheKremlin said it would ignore thelargely symbolic judgment, but Ukraine hailed it as “historic andun-

precedented,” saying it was an “undeniable victory” for theembattled country

The judgesfound the human rightsabuses went beyond anymilitary objective andthatRussiausedsexual violence as partofastrategytobreak Ukrainian morale, theFrenchjudge said.

“The use of rape as aweapon of warwas an actofextreme atrocity that amounted to torture,” Guyomar said.

The 501-page judgment notedthat Russia’srefusal to participate in theproceedings also was aviolation of European Convention of Human Rights, the treaty that

Trumpadministrationresumes sending some weaponstoUkraine afterpause

BY TARA COPP Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration has resumed sendingsome weapons to Ukraine, aweek after the Pentagon had directed that some deliveries be paused, U.S. officials said Wednesday The weapons heading into Ukraine include 155 mm munitions andprecisionguided rockets known as GMLRS, two officials told The AssociatedPressonthe condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been announced publicly It’sunclear exactly when the weapons started moving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the pause on some shipments last week to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in amove that caught the White House by surprise.

AWhite House official speaking Wednesday on the condition of anonymity said there was never a“pause” in shipments, but areview to ensure U.S. military support

alignswith its defense strategy.The official said the Pentagon never announced apause.

In apress briefing with reporters last week,though, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said he could not “gointo detail about what weapons were paused and when and what we’re providing and when. Ultimately,the president and the secretary will make those decisionsabout what happens withthoseweapon systems.”

Thepause affected Patriot missiles, theprecisionguided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles,Howitzer rounds and more, taking not only Ukrainian ofﬁcials and other allies bysurprise but also U.S. lawmakers and other partsofthe Trumpadministration, including the State Department.

It was not clear if apause on Patriot missiles would hold.The $4millionmunition is in high demand and was keytodefendinga majorU.S. air base in Qatar last month as Iran launched

aballisticmissile attack in response to theU.S.targeting its nuclear facilities.

President Donald Trump sidestepped questions about whoordered the pause in exchanges withreporters this week.

“I would know if adecision is made. Iwill know,” Trump said Wednesday.“Iwill be thefirst to know.Infact, most likely I’dgive the order, but Ihaven’tdone that yet.”

Askeda day earlier who ordered the pause, he said: “I don’tknow.Why don’tyou tell me?”

Trump hasprivately expressedfrustration with Pentagon officials for announcingthe pause— a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House,according to threepeople familiar with thematter

The Pentagon has denied that Hegseth acted without consulting the president., saying: “Secretary Hegseth provided aframeworkfor the President to evaluate military aid shipments and assess existing stockpiles.”

underpins thecourt.

Asked about the judgment before the rulingswere read,Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We won’tabide by it,weconsider it void.”

The Boeing 777flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur wasshotdownon July 17, 2014, using aRussian-made Bukmissile ﬁred from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels loyal to Moscow.All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.

The judges found that Russia’srefusal to acknowledge

its involvement in the Flight MH17 disaster also violated internationallaw.Russia’s failure to properly investigate “significantly aggravated the suffering” of the relativesand friendsofthe dead.

“Russianever took any opportunitytotellthe truth,” Schansman said.

In May,the U.N.’s aviation agency found Russia responsible forthe disaster

The separatist conflict that broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 killed about 14,000 people before Russia launched its full-scaleinvasion in 2022.

The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s foremost humanrights institution. The court’sgoverning body expelledMoscow in 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russiadating from before itsexpulsion and, legally, thecountry is still obliged to participate in the proceedings. The court will rule on ﬁnancial compensationata later date but Russia’sdeparture leaves little hope that damages willever be collected.

Notice is hereby givenpursuantto Article7,Section 23(C)ofthe Louisiana Constitution and R.S. 47:1705(B) that a publichearing of Town of Killian will be held at itsregular meeting placelocated at 28284Hwy 22 Springfield, LA 70462on Monday August 18,20256pm to consider levyingadditionalorincreased millage rateswithout furthervoter approval or adopting theadjustedmillage rates afterreassessmentand rolling forward to ratesnot to exceed theprior year’s maximum. Theestimated amount of tax revenues to be collectedinthe next year from theincreased millageis$124,375.79 and theamountofincreaseinthe taxes attributable to themillage increaseis $21,713.88.

aprofessional that can get you the best price using the latest marketing and negotiating techniques.

PHOTO PROVIDEDByUKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

A fire burnsfollowing aRussian attack Wednesday near Kyiv,Ukraine.

Threats alleged over Zachary millage vote

Unnamed official promised retribution, council member says

BY OLIVIA McCLURE Contributing writer

A Zachary council member claims

a city ofﬁcial tried to sway his vote on an ordinance that would increase residents’ property taxes a charge the mayor denies knowing anything about.

Council member John LeBlanc said the ofﬁcial, whom he declined to name, also made political threats against him and another member of

St. George council elects mayor pro tem

Drew Murrell had served as transition chair

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

At the elected body’s ﬁrst meeting together, the St. George City Council took another step in building out the new city’s government Tuesday, reappointing its city attorney and city clerk, and electing a mayor pro tempore to help lead the council.

Drew Murrell, District 5 council member, was unanimously elected by his colleagues as mayor pro tempore of the City Council.

“It’s an honor It’s humbling to be the ﬁrst mayor pro tem of the city of St. George,” Murrell said “It’s part of the work we’ve done to get here It’s part of the work we have moving forward to build a world-class city, and that includes thinking outside the box and doing things that beneﬁt the citizens and being a good steward of their tax dollars.” Murrell was the sole nominee, put forward by at-large council member Jim Talbot.

Mayor Dustin Yates, a longtime ally of Murrell in the St. George movement, backed his colleague’s bid.

“He’s always done a great job with everything that we’ve been doing for so many years,” Yates said. “I appreciate his willingness to serve on the council. I appreciate his willingness to accept the nomination.”

A personal injury lawyer Murrell previously chaired the St. George Transition District in the year following the Louisiana Supreme Court’s ruling last April in favor of the city’s incorporation He ran unopposed for his District 5 seat in the May election.

“It’s a good day for him, it’s a better day for St. George,” Yates said about Murrell’s new role.

Sherri Morris was reappointed as the city attorney, and Lorraine Beaman was reappointed as city clerk.

Morris previously served as the city of Central’s city attorney from 2006 until 2016. In 2019, she began representing St. George in the various legal battles challenging incorporation and the city’s boundaries. Since last year’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of the new city, Morris has acted as St. George’s interim city attorney Beaman, a retiree, has served as city clerk for St George for the past year On bodies like the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council, the mayor pro tem typically leads public meetings — but Yates said the St. George City Council hasn’t yet decided whether he or the mayor pro tem will take on that role, adding that the procedure will be settled soon.

the council. He brought up the issue at a meeting Tuesday when the City Council took up an ordinance that would raise the millage rate — currently set at 5.07 mills — to 5.48 mills. The council introduced the ordinance on a 3-2 vote, meaning it will be considered for ﬁnal adoption at a later meeting.

Before registering his vote against the measure, LeBlanc presented his allegations. He said a member of the

said amounted to intimidation from a city ofﬁcial.

“I won’t be coerced and I won’t be threatened or bullied or manipulated by anyone in this administration or any administration,” LeBlanc said. Neither Mayor David McDavid nor any other members of his administration addressed the matter during the meeting which, by the time the council reached the millage item on its agenda, unfolded before a virtually empty room.

At the meeting, LeBlanc said he did not believe the city needed the extra funds that the higher tax rate would generate. He decried what he

city administration summoned him to a meeting in May There, LeBlanc said, he was told that if he didn’t vote for the rate hike, he could face political consequences. Reading aloud from a prepared statement, LeBlanc said: “I was informed that certain political materials, including photos of a sign at my residence and posts on social media from an elected ofﬁcial colleague, would be used in future campaign advertisements against myself and my colleague if we did not support rolling millages forward.” LeBlanc didn’t say which colleague he was referring to, nor did he elaborate on what type of sign had been photographed at his home or by whom. Pressed later in an interview LeBlanc said he was not comfortable sharing those details.

In an interview afterward, McDa-

PAWSOME PETS

ABOVE: Curious kittens, from left, Larry, Delilah and Baker, look out from their kennel on Tuesday at Companion Animal Alliance in Baton Rouge. CAA is offering $20 adoption fees on ready-to-go pets until July 19 through the Bissell Pet Foundation’s ‘Empty the Shelters’ national adoption event.

LEFT: Traci Lowe gives a big kiss to her new pup, Kamp, before ﬁnalizing the adoption.

BR officer has both legs amputated

Family says he continues to heal after accident

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Doctors were forced to amputate both legs of Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, as he recovers from a near-fatal crash in June an incident authorities say was caused by a driver who intentionally rammed into Eisworth’s motorcycle. According to an update sent to Baton Rouge police from the Eisworth family on Monday, doctors at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center performed a double amputation above his knees.

“Almost immediately” after the operation, Eisworth’s vitals improved to their best levels since he was rushed to the hospital after

the crash on June 16, the family said. On that Monday in June, Eisworth was driving his motorcycle on Joor Road near Prescott Road when he allegedly was rammed from behind by another vehicle. The same day as the crash, sheriff’s deputies booked Gad Black, 41, of Baton Rouge, on a count of attempted ﬁrst-degree murder of a police ofﬁcer Black, who has a lengthy criminal record — including a 2014 police chase where he attempted to ram Baton Rouge police vehicles — and a documented history of mental health issues, allegedly followed Eisworth for a short distance before striking him with his pickup. After the incident, Black reportedly posted on social media bragging about the attack. He is currently being held without bond in the East Baton Rouge Parish

Zachary police break up Baker dogfighting ring

Thirty dogs were seized and the majority euthanized after Zachary police broke up a dogﬁghting ring based out of a Baker warehouse Tuesday Five people were arrested for their roles in the dogfighting enterprise, as well as for possessing drugs and laundering money

For more than two months, Zachary Police Department detectives investigated two families for alleged narcotic distribution, ﬁnding multiple addresses in East Baton Rouge Parish that were being used to facilitate their crimes. One of the addresses was a warehouse in the 3000 block of Baker Boulevard, where the suspects promoted and operated a dogﬁghting ring, according to a release from Zachary police. At the warehouse, officers found treadmills, steroids, vita-

mins and protein used to enhance the ﬁghting dogs. Following a raid at the address, animal control seized 30 dogs, taking them to a local shelter However, 28 of the 30 animals were euthanized in accordance with state law, a spokesperson for Companion Animal Alliance said. Louisiana state law has a process for deeming a dog dangerous or vicious, which could lead to a judge ruling that that dog must be euthanized.

However, in situations where animals are captured following a raid on a dogﬁghting operation, it is assumed that the seized animals are vicious and are required to be put down.

The 28 animals were euthanized Tuesday night, a spokesperson for the shelter said.

The dogs that have not been euthanized have the opportunity to be rehomed, the shelter’s spokesperson said.

STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK

Council to review FEMA holds N.O. meeting

Report: State ranks high for recovery funds

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

The council that President Donald Trump established to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency met in New Orleans on Wednesday, promising a complete remake of the agency that Louisiana has relied upon to recover from disasters ranging from destructive hurricanes to saltwater intrusion.

Led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the FEMA Review Council is tasked with reporting on the agency‘s strengths and failures and making a list of recommendations for overhauling it. As the council met, natural disasters were

unfolding in parts of the U.S., with severe ﬂooding in Texas and New Mexico claiming the lives of more than 100 people In Louisiana, hurricane season is just getting underway An above-average number of storms is forecast this year.

Trump formed the council, Noem said at the meeting, to “streamline and rightsize the federal government, especially in its role in disaster management.” She noted that she had been in Texas and that her ﬁrsthand experience there underscored the need to overhaul or eliminate FEMA.

“This entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency,” she stressed.

Though the meeting was held in New Orleans, Noem and Secretary of Defense

Pete Hegseth attended remotely over Zoom.

Gov Jeff Landry, who is not an official member of the council but hosted Wednesday’s meeting, noted FEMA’s failures in his state. He stressed his strong support for the president’s effort to reform the agency but stopped short of calling for FEMA to be eliminated.

“What is happening in Texas today is exactly why this FEMA review council matters,” he said. “This is not political theater The president has tasked Secretary Noem and Secretary Hegseth and this council with addressing emergency response, because, like me, he believes that disaster response must be fast, it must be smart, and it must be closer to the ground.”

Responding to questions from reporters after the meeting, Landry emphasized that he thinks FEMA — or,

perhaps, a new federal agency charged with assisting in disaster recovery — would still exist after the council makes its recommendations.

“What we want out of FEMA (is) a competent and functional agency, whether it’s FEMA, whatever it is, we just want it to be able to work,” Landry told reporters after the meeting. Trump “is not saying he’s doing away with FEMA and not replacing it,” he stressed.

Trump has stated, however, that he wants to “wean off” of FEMA and hand disaster recovery over to states.

“We want to bring it down to the state level,” Trump said in the Oval Office last month. “A governor should be able to handle it, and frankly, if they can’t handle it, the aftermath, then maybe they shouldn’t be governor.”

Dismantling FEMA would have enormous consequences for Louisiana, which has

Man takes plea deal in fatal crash

Convicted killer fled police in BR

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A convicted killer with a serious criminal history accepted a plea deal nearly three years after he led Baton Rouge police on a high-speed chase with fatal consequences.

Derian Jerome Bailey, 27, pleaded no contest Monday to charges of negligent homicide and illegal carrying of weapons with controlled dangerous substances. District Judge Brad Myers, who is presiding over the case, set Bailey’s sentencing date for Nov 10, according to prosecutors.

Bailey was set to stand trial this week for the fatal results of fleeing a Sept. 19, 2022, traffic stop near North Ardenwood Drive. Larry Harris, a front-seat passenger in Bailey’s car, was ejected through the windshield when Bailey crashed into two other vehicles while trying to outrun a police officer Bailey faced charges of manslaughter, aggravated flight from an officer hit-and-run causing death or serious injury, aggravated criminal damage to property, first-degree vehicular negligence and convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm Prosecutors agreed to reduce the manslaughter and firearm charges in exchange for Bailey’s pleas, according to court records. The four remaining counts were dismissed.

According to arrest afﬁdavits, a Baton Rouge police detective became suspicious when he spotted a Nissan with tinted windows stopped illegally in the exit passageway of the Renaissance Gateway apartment complex along Ardenwood Drive. The ofﬁcer noted a man later determined to be Bailey was behind the wheel in a black hoodie with a mask over his face in midsummer humidity with a juvenile sitting in

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Continued from page 1B

However it will be at the discretion of East Baton Rouge Animal Control as to what will happen with the animals.

Companion Animal Control is not accepting offers to adopt these dogs at this time.

In total, ﬁve arrests were made Tuesday in connection with a host of drug, gun and cruelty to animal counts.

Terry Wilson, 42, of Zachary, was booked on:

n Five counts of aggravated cruelty to animals

n Seven counts of dogﬁghting

n Possession of narcotics

n Possession of drug paraphernalia

n Transactions involving proceeds from drugs

n Money laundering.

Delvekio Neff, 40, of Zachary, was booked on:

n 29 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals

n 29 counts of dogﬁghting

n Possession of a firearm by a felon

n Possession of drug paraphernalia

n Transactions involving proceeds from drugs

n Money laundering.

Terry Neff, 61, of Zachary, was booked on:

n 29 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals

the back seat.

The officer followed the Nissan out of the complex after Harris got in the passenger’s seat The officer flickered his lights and sirens, but Bailey sped away, running red lights and driving into oncoming lanes, according to the report. He was westbound on Winbourne Avenue when he tried to speed through the intersection at Acadian Thruway and collided with a Ford vehicle and a Ram truck, police said.

Three people in the two other vehicles had to be rushed to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center for treatment.

PolicesaidHarriswasejectedand lying on the ground near the front passenger door Bailey climbed out of the driver’s side, over the passenger’s seat and took off running on foot after the crash. The juvenile was trapped in the back seat and had to be taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to the police report. Detectives with the Street Crimes Unit nabbed Bailey about two blocks south of the crash.

Police said a .40-caliber Glock was thrown from Bailey’s Nissan as a result of the wreck along with a Micro Draco semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine. Police found that weapon wrapped in a blanket near the crash site. Two grams of marijuana were also in the vehicle, according to reports.

In a June 17 pretrial motion, state prosecutors said Bailey made statements on jail calls that he ran from the trafﬁc stop because he knew he had two guns in the car and feared being arrested for them. Prosecutors said he “put the car in sport mode” and claimed he “would either go to jail or die.”

Bailey was 14 when he helped ambush a Baton Rouge resident as the man was sitting at his table eating during a November 2012 home invasion The teen, his older brother Benjamin Anthony Bailey and their cousin Juan Herbert kicked open the front door of 34-year-old Der-

n 29 counts of dogﬁghting n possession of drug paraphernalia

n possession of a firearm by a felon.

Two women were arrested as well, Daisy Holiday, 29, and Erinn Watson, 38, but their charges were not yet available in police records.

Multiple agencies, including the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, East and West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s offices and the Louisiana State Police Narcotics Division assisted with the investigation by executing search warrants.

“I am extremely proud of our Detectives for their thorough investigation. The Zachary Police Department is committed to the safety of our city and surrounding areas,” Zachary Police Chief Darryl Lawrence said in a release.

“Thank you to all Law Enforcement Agencies for their roles in this investigation, seizures and arrests. Additionally, thank you to Animal Control for safely removing the dogs and providing them with care and treatment.”

Man arrested in connection with shooting

A man wanted for his involvement in a 2022 fatal shooting at a Baton Rouge apartment complex was arrested Tuesday, police said.

Demetris Parker, 23, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon

rick Marioneaux’s house along Wyandotte Street and entered the residence shooting. Two of the robbers were wearing ski masks, according to court documents. Marioneaux was shot and killed, and Derian Bailey inadvertently shot Herbert during the home invasion.

A jury found Benjamin Bailey guilty of second-degree murder at the end of a four-day trial in May 2018, and he was given an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole. Derian Bailey, who was tried as an adult for his role in the homicide, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August 2018 and five months later was sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the time of the 2022 fatal crash, Derian Bailey was out on bail just days after being arrested on charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of a stolen firearm. Those charges stemmed from a July 2018 incident in the 5700 block of Bradley Street. Bailey’s ex-girlfriend claimed he spotted her in a car with her new boyfriend, then chased the man down the street firing gunshots at him. The alleged target in that shooting was not injured, but told officers he ran when he saw Bailey produce a gun, according to arrest reports. Bailey at that time was out on bail awaiting trial in his murder case in Marioneaux’s death. By the time Baton Rouge police tied Bailey to the 2018 shooting, he already had pleaded guilty in the 2012 homicide and was incarcerated After being released from prison, he was booked on the attempted murder charge, and days later a district court judge set a $300,000 bail. Court records show he posted bail 12 days before the fatal crash.

Prosecutors also dismissed the attempted murder case as part of Bailey’s plea deal on the negligent homicide charges, according to court records.

and felon in possession of a ﬁrearm, according to a Baton Rouge Police Department news release.

Delta Hunt, 30, was shot on June 13, 2022, at the Bayou Ridge Apartments in the 10000 block of Avenue L, according to earlier reports. Police said at the time that the shooting was the result of an ongoing feud between two men.

Hunt was taken to the hospital but died from his wounds the next day

Deondrae Green was arrested in July 2023 in connection with the death. Green was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of second-degree murder and possession of a ﬁrearm by a convicted felon. The status of his case was unavailable.

17-year-old booked in double Baker shootings

A 17-year-old male was booked into jail on a count of second-degree murder in Monday night’s shooting in Baker that killed a teenager and critically injured the victim’s brother, ofﬁcials said.

The suspect, QuinDarius Washington, had been taken into custody immediately after the shooting, Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said. “He was leaving the scene,” Dunn said.

On Tuesday, in addition to the second-degree murder count, Washington was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of resisting an ofﬁcer obstruction of justice, illegal use of a

received nearly $47 billion to recover from 28 disasters since 2003, according to a January Carnegie Endowment report. Louisiana residents have received $2,953 in federal disaster recovery dollars per person from FEMA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development since 2011 — more than any other state, according to a 2024 report from Rebuild by Design, a nonproﬁt that helps communities recover from disaster Noem has suggested that FEMA, rather than directly managing disaster recovery, would instead rapidly distribute “block grants” to states to manage their own recovery Participants in Wednesday’s meeting also emphasized shifting their priority toward public-private partnerships and employing private government contractors to more quickly carry out tasks like debris removal.

ZACHARY

Continued from page 1B

vid said he had no comment on LeBlanc’s claims.

“I have no response, because I’m not sure what he’s talking about,” McDavid said “I haven’t been in any of his discussions of what he’s talking about. If he’s going to make that allegation, I would think he would offer up some evidence.”

McDavid said the council meeting was the ﬁrst he had heard of LeBlanc’s concerns. LeBlanc wants McDavid to investigate and apologize.

“I’m wanting the mayor to look into this and to ﬁnd out who orchestrated this plan against me and my colleague,” LeBlanc said in an interview Wednesday morning. “I want a public apology from the mayor that this happened to us. This came from his administration, and I feel like he

OFFICER

Continued from page 1B

Prison and faces additional charges of resisting an officer and hate crimes against law enforcement Black’s girlfriend, Asia Raby, 40, was also booked the same day on counts of obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder of a police officer According to arrest records, Raby called police to report the crash, saying “I think a police officer just got hit or killed,” and telling dispatchers that Black might have been suffering a “mental breakdown.” However, when dispatchers asked about the status and location of both Raby and the pickup, she disconnected the call. Eisworth was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and doctors performed emergency surgery the same day His status was initially “touch-and-go,” according to Chief Thomas Morse, but Monday’s up-

weapon and possession of Schedule II drugs, according to jail records.

Terrence Freeman, 18, died in the shooting, police said. His brother Terrell Freeman, was critically injured.

The brothers had graduated from Baker High School in May

BRPD arrests two teens on drug and gun charges

Baton Rouge police officers arrested two teenagers who appeared to be armed after they ﬂed on foot Monday, the department said in a Facebook post

Two ofﬁcers were patrolling near the 6100 block of St Gerard Avenue on Monday when they observed the teens, who led the ofﬁcers on a short foot pursuit

When officers apprehended the pair, they were in possession of ﬁrearms and drugs.

Officers recovered an AR-style pistol modiﬁed with a Glock switch, a device that allows a firearm to ﬁre as a machine gun. It was loaded with a 60-round magazine. A Glock handgun, 6 grams of marijuana and 3 grams of crack were also found, according to the Police Department.

One of the teens, Lawrence Journee, 19, was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on the following counts:

n Possession of a machine gun

n Possession of schedule I substance

n Criminal damage to property contributing to the delinquency of

FEMA already provides funding to states in the form of grants and helps them to coordinate disaster recovery, sometimes through privatepublic partnerships.

The National Flood Insurance Program, which FEMA also oversees, may be substantially reformed as a result of the agency’s overhaul. Louisiana is among the most flood-prone states in the U.S., and homeowners hold more than 400,000 federallybacked flood insurance policies, according to FEMA. “We need to fix the system,” Landry said of the flood insurance program. “It is exacerbating the problem of our homeowners insurance crisis that we have here in Louisiana.”

Since the Texas ﬂoods this month, however Trump appears to have put the question of whether to scrap FEMA aside while the recovery effort unfolds.

is responsible for this.”

Three council members — Jennifer Landry James Graves and Brandy Westmoreland — voted in favor of introducing the millage ordinance. In addition to LeBlanc, Ambre DeVirgilio was against it.

DeVirgilio said sales tax collections and other revenue streams remain strong.

“Some will say this is just an increase of a few dollars a year,” she said. “But those dollars add up especially for seniors, young families and residents on ﬁxed incomes.”

Raising the millage to 5.48 mils would bring in an extra $98,000 a year, according to Deanna Mankins, the city’s chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer

“For a home that has an assessed value of $310,000, the cost would be approximately $12.75,” Mankins wrote in an emailed response to questions from The Advocate. The additional $98,000 represents a small fraction of the city’s general fund budget of about $21.3 million.

date said doctors were “cautiously optimistic” Eisworth would recover The update continued to say that Eisworth was still intubated but improving daily The statement said there isn’t a timetable for Eisworth’s recovery but that he “continues to ﬁght each and every day to heal.” Eisworth, who joined the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Motorcycle Division in 2008, has received multiple awards for heroism in the line of duty, including the Medal of Valor — the highest honor bestowed by the agency Since the incident, the Baton Rouge first-responder community has rallied around the 23-year veteran of the department and his family “Sgt. Eisworth’s family continues to appreciate the outpouring of support and care that they have received from within the BRPD as well as the Mayor’s Ofﬁce, surrounding law enforcement agencies and the public. They ask that the prayers and support continue as Sgt. Eisworth has much healing left to do,” the statement ended.

a juvenile

n Resisting an ofﬁcer

Journee is a fugitive from NOPD for a previous offense for aggravated assault with a ﬁrearm, according to police records.

The other arrestee, a 15-year-old, was booked into the juvenile detention center on the following counts:

n Possession of a machine gun

n Possession of a handgun by a juvenile

n Possession of Schedule II

n Possession of a ﬁrearm (with a Glock switch)

n Resisting an ofﬁcer

The 15-year-old is an escapee from the Bridge City Center for Youth in Jefferson Parish, BRPD said in its post. He will be held at the juvenile detention center until he is extradited back to Jefferson Parish, a spokesperson for BRPD said.

The Office of Juvenile Justice could not be reached Wednesday morning for comment.

Brown, Sarah Hall Davis, 9348 Scenic Hwy,Baton Rouge,LAat10am.

D'Gerolamo,Frank

Greenoaks Memorial FuneralHome, 9595 FloridaBlvd.,Baton Rouge at 6:00pm

Hebert,Carolyn BakerFuneral Home,6401 Groom Road,Baker,LAat12pm.

Jordan,Genevieve

St.Thomas

St.AugustineCatholicChurch,809 New RoadsStreet in NewRoads,at 11:30a.m Mayer, Randy

OurLadyofMercy Catholic Church 445 Marquette Ave.,Baton Rouge

Louisianaat9:45am.

Ned,Jonathan Rose Hill Church,3213Groom Road

BatonRouge,LAat10am. Plauche, Rodney ResthavenFuneral Home,11817

JeffersonHighway in BatonRouge at 10:30am.

Rube Jr., Fred Holy GhostCatholic Church in Hammond, LAat 11:30a.m

Obituaries

Brown, Sarah McNeil

Sarah McNeilBrown was born on October 11, 1950, to the late Elijah Saul Sr. &Sarah Battle in Vidalia,Louisiana. She was blessed to livefor 74 years &will live forever in our hearts. She was one of 12 siblings. Sarah was preceded in death by her adopted parents, Ella & Spenser Nettles, birth parents, her brothers; Jerry& Louis, &sister, Elizabeth. Sarah spent her life in Louisiana &Missouri. She was afaithful believer of JesusChrist &received the gift of the Holy Spirit at a youngage. Sarah was an avid reader and awise woman with the gift of storytelling &aneven better listener. She dedicated her life to serving others &retiredasa BusMonitor.To cherish her memory are her daughters, Cynthia and Nyia, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Endeared as "Mama Sarah"& "Sarah Mae," she is adored and will be greatly missed. FuneralService: July10, 2025 in Baton Rouge, LA, Hall Davis 9348 Scenic Hwy, BatonRouge, LA, visiting 9a-10a, service 10a conducted by Bishop Herman Williams Sr. Ark of Safety Holy Church. Interment Resting Place Memorial Garden, 14040 Locust St.

Brunet,RobertPaul

Robert Paul Brunet, age 78,passed away peacefully on June 26, 2025. He shared 59 wonderful years of marriage with his wife, Lydia Tidwell Brunet. Together they raised two daughters, Kristi Brunet Shuckrow (Gordon) and Nicole Brunet Cureton (Robert). He wasa loving and proud Poppa to Alli Nicole Wesley (Damian), Robert Paul Cureton, and EmilyGrace Brunet Shuckrow. Services will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025, at Victory Harvest Church on North Flannery Road in Baton Rouge. Visitation willtake place from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., followed bya memorial service and atime of fellowship at the church. Burial willtake place at alater date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Caring to Love Ministries, aministry close to Robert's heart. https://secure.anedot.com /caring-to-love-ministries/ brunet For full obituary, please consult www.churchfunera lservices.com/obituaries/ robert-brunet

Henry Cockhomos, Jr. transitionedtoeternalrest onSaturday, June 28, 2025 at the ageof69. Aviewing willbeheld onFriday, July 11,2025atHall's Celebration Center,9348Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge, LA at 10:00am to 11:00am/ Interment: Oak Grove Cemetery. Services Entrustedto Hall Davisand SonFuneral Services www.halldavisandson.com

Couhig, Kevin

Afuneral Mass willbe held for former West FelicianaParish president KevinCouhigMonday, July 14at11a.m.atOur Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in St. Francisville Visitation begins at CatholicHall at 9a.m. Burial in the CatholicCemetery willfollow the service. Rob and MissyCouhig will host areceptionattheirhome following the graveside service (4363 Hwy. 966)

Edwards Jr., Charles Ernest

CharlesErnestEdwards, Jr., adevoted husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather,and proud Marine, passed away peacefully after along and courageous battlewith Parkinson'sdisease.

Born on December 10, 1949inGainesville, TX, Charles liveda life defined by strength,determination, and love. AVietnam Warveteran,heserved his country with honorasa United States Marine, carrying the values of service and perseverance throughout his life.

He found peace and satisfaction whileworkingin the yard, flying, playingthe guitar,wood working and home improvements. There was no projecttoo big or small. He was always present and always made time for family. He taught us how to work hard, lend ahelping hand to those in need, and love unconditionally.Hewas passionate about sharing his knowledge of history cooking, and health and wellness. He was known byhis family and friends as Dr. Google

He was aman who never sat stillfor long. An avid runner and fitness enthusiast, Charlesfound joyin challenging himselfphysicallyand took great pride in staying active.Hemade dailyvisits to the gym where he made lifelong friends.

Charles spent over 50 wonderful years married to the love of his life, Karen.Their relationship was abeautiful testament to commitment andpartnership. Togetherthey builta family grounded in love and support. He was a deeply proud and loving father to Amy, Brooke,and Chris,and he pouredhis heart into being agrandfather and great-grandfather. Hisfamilywas his greatest joy.

dren;and many dear friends and extended family members. He is preceded in death by hisparents; CharlesEdwards,Sr. and Frances Edwards;sister, Anne Edwards;and uncle, Bill Grammar.

Aspecial thankstohis many lifelong friends,especially Keith Kellum. We wouldalso like to send a special thank youtoThe VA and Dr.Hau, Dr. Keith Kellum and Hospice of BatonRouge and hismany othercaregivers. In lieu of flowers,the family asks that donations be madetothe Parkinson's Foundation, The VA, Hospice of BatonRouge, or St. Aloysius Catholic Church in his honor SemperFi, Dad!Welove youalways.

Jules Anthony Fryoux III, "UncleBubbie",age 97, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, July8,2025. He attended SacredHeart Elementary School and he graduated fromCatholic High School. While in elementary school,Jules began working in his father's lawnmower repair business. Afterserving his country in The United States Army, during the Korean War,hereturned to thelawnmowerbusiness, with his father, where he eventuallybecame owner and operator of Fryoux's Lawnmower Service on NorthStreet in Baton Rouge, until retiring in 1995; and in 2000, he moved to Frost,LA.

Julesissurvivedbyhis sister, Beverly Fryoux Jackson; tennieces and sixteen nephews.

Jules is preceded in death by his parents, Jules A. Fryoux, and EdithPaille Fryoux; sisters and spouses, DorisFryoux, BillieF Kuylen,Katherine F. (Bentley) Mackay, Clothilde F. (Earl)Knight,Edith F. (Joseph) Boudreaux, Joyce F. (Aubry) Jackson, and brother-in-law, Zalvia B. Jackson; one brother, Arthur Guy Fryoux and his spouse Alice Faye Sandifer Fryoux; along with one niece and four nephews.

In lieu of flowers,the family request that donations please be madetoeither ImmaculateConception CatholicChurch in DenhamSprings, or to your own church or favorite charity.

DenhamSprings, LA Relatives and friendsof thefamily are invited to attend aVisitation from the Chapel of Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, 7738 Florida Blvd.,Denham Springs, LA.onFriday, July 11, 2025 from at 9:00 a.m. until thestart of theFuneral Service at 11:00 a.m.

LucilleStone Godchaux, thedaughterofthe late Henry and Evelyn Cole "Bae"Stone, was born on February 9, 1930, in Zachary, LA.She was reared by Lizzie Barnes Dannell Lucilleissurvivedbyher daughter, Cassandra (Willie); son, Elston; four brothers, Frank, Joseph "Joe",Willie J.,and Larry; twograndchildren, Allen and Keidrin; threegreatgrandchildren; and ahost of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends Lucillewas preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Albert Godchaux; twosons, Dowinand Albert K. "Boosie"; four sisters; and threebrothers. Visitation willbeat8 am, followedbya Discourse at 9:45, on Friday, July11th, at Richardson Funeral Home of Clinton. Interment willfollowat Port Hudson National Cemetery

Hill, JuanitaJackson Juanita Jackson Hill transitionedtoeternal rest on Sunday, July6,2025 in GrosseTete, LA. Family andfriends of Juanita are invitedtoattendthe Visitation on Saturday, July12, 2025 at NewMt. OliveBaptist Church, 76625 Garner Ln. GrosseTete, LA from 9:00am to 11:00am with Funeral Servicesimmediately following. ReverendHermanWilliams, Jr., Officiating.Interment:Grace Memorial Park, Plaquemine,LA. ServicesEntrusted to HallDavis and SonFuneral Services. www.halldavisandson.c om

star,a Brownie GirlScout anda Post Oak Little Leaguesister for life. Shecould notwait to go to Camp Mystic with her cousinsand friends. Everloyal Kiowa, Lainey joined theranks of thenearlyone -hundred-year-old camp on thebanks of the Guadalupe Riverwhere hearts are loyal and true Shewas anatural leader duringthe spirited scavenger hunt,where her smileradiatedasbrightly as heramazing costume Shelived herbest life at camp, filledwith singing songs, extra special friendships, and dance parties with herBubble Inncabinmates. Hercommitment to her faithwas unwavering. Laineyreceivedher First Holy Communion on May 10, 2025, andfollowed in obedience throughprayers andservice.Along with her family, Laineywas amemberofSt. Theresa's Catholic Church.Lainey wasthe loudestsinger in church and always knew that no matter what, when she asked herDad how much longer church would last,itwould always endin "12 parsecs." Laineyloved ourLord, and prayed every single day.

Laineywas preceded in death by hergrandfather HenryJames Landry, Jr., of Baton Rouge,Louisiana.

In addition to herparents, Laineyissurvived by herbrothers, DanielTimothyand Luke Joseph Landry, of Houston, Texas; herpaternalgrandmother Brenda Richard Landry, of Baton Rouge,Louisiana; hermaternal grandparents, Susan and Timothy Weaver,ofHouston,Texas; heraunts, uncles,and cousinsStephanie andWill Landryand theirchildren, Graham William andHallie LynnLandry, of Baton Rouge,Louisiana; Katherineand David Andrew, and theirchildren, CullenLee Sophia Elaine,and Wesley Gray Andrew, of Houston, Texas; Jamieand Laura Weaver,and theirdaughterWynne Ruth Weaver,of Houston, Texas.

Laineyisalso survived by numerous cousins, extended familymembers, and devotedfriends. With heartfelt gratitude, the Landryfamilyextends theirdeepestappreciation to all those whohave supported them duringthis difficult time

Avisitation will be held fromthree o'clock to five o'clockinthe afternoon on Friday, July 11, at St Michael's Catholic Church, 1801 SageRd, Houston, TX 77056. Afuneral will be held forfamilyand friends at twoo'clock in theafternoon on Saturday, July 12, at St.Michael's Catholic Church.Aprivate gravesideservice will be held for thefamily. In lieu of customary remembrances, donations may be made in honor of LaineyAnneLandry to St Michael's Catholic School713-621-6847, https://stmichaelcs.org/ or St.Theresa Catholic Church -713-869-3783, https://www.sttheresa.cc/

ucated AscensionCatholic Church historianand loved to give tours. He wasa Eu‐charisticministeratAs‐censionChurch andhis most satisfying service wasdeliveringthe Eu‐charisttoprisoners at An‐gola. He wasa member of theDonaldsonvilleRotary Club andthe Donald‐sonville Elks Club formany years. Hewas also a foundingmemberofRiver Parish Community College Foundation Board. He helped to spread educa‐tional opportunities to the riverparishregion. Hisser‐vice to God, familyand countrywas evidentinthe wayhis life waslived.Sur‐vivedbyhis wife of 10 years, Emma Aymond Mayeauxand hisextended Mayeaux/Harvey family, daughter andson-in-law, Lisa L. andEdBushof Baton Rouge; twosonsand daughters-in-law,Mikeand KarenZ.LeBlanc, Prairieville;Daveand Rhonda L. LeBlanc, Donald‐sonville;9 grandchildren, EmilyL.Dirks (Jack),Greg LeBlanc(Shannon),Jon LeBlanc(Lyndsi), BetsyL Holtzclaw(Brock),Jake LeBlanc(Laura),Katie L. Cusimano (Gabe),David LeBlanc, Jr.(Anna), Nathan Bush (Erika), NatalieBush (Bruce); 18 great-grand‐children Jack,Jr.,Lee, and Jude Dirks; Annabelle, Amelia,and Addison LeBlanc; Charli Holtzclaw; Lula andKenzi LeBlanc; Sam, Claire,Isabella, and Joseph LeBlanc; Grace, Mollyand Caroline Cusi‐mano;Ameliaand David, III (Tre`) LeBlanc; sister-inlawand brother-in-law Cathyand DavidLandryof Donaldsonville;sister-inlaw, SelmaBlanchard of Tucker,Georgia;sister-inlaw, TippyBlanchard of BatonRouge.Hewas pre‐cededindeath by hiswife of over 60 yearsVirgesB LeBlanc; hisparents Louis L. andMaria O. LeBlanc; siblings,Corinne L. (T.R.) Speden,Grace L. (James) Truxillo,Ned (Alma) LeBlanc, Clyde(Helen) LeBlanc, Dick (Rosemary) LeBlanc, Percy(Clarisse) LeBlanc, Doris(Lloyd) LeBlanc, MarieLouise LeBlanc, andBill(Kate) LeBlanc; hisin-laws,Hu‐bert andEloyt Blanchard, LeeAnna B. Papet(Louis), Hubert Jr., Joe, O.J. and Larry Blanchard. Visitation will be on Friday,July11, 2025, at OursoFuneral Home,Donaldsonville, from 5:30 p.m. to 8p.m.and Saturday,July12, 2025, at AscensionofOur Lord Catholic Church from 9:00 a.m. until Mass of Christian burial at noon.The Mass will be conductedbythe Rev. Paul Yi followed by burial in thechurch mau‐soleum.Inlieuof ﬂowers, donationsmay be made to AscensionofOur Lord Catholic Church Preserva‐tion Fund or Ascension Catholic School.The family wishes to thankFr. Paul Yi TheHospice of Baton Rouge(Kimand Brittany) anddevoted caregivers PearlTraylor,T Traylorand Rena Caldwell, alongwith allthe staff andresidents of Azalea Estates, other caregivers andfriends for theirlovingcareand sup‐port

He willberemembered for his tirelesswork ethic, his unwavering love forhis family,and the quiet strengththat carriedhim through eventhe toughest of times. His legacy lives on in allwho knew and loved him. He is survived by his beloved wife, Karen; his children, Amy and husband Jeff Brown,Brooke and husband David Nelson, and Chris Edwards; hischerishedgrandchildren (Tyler, Mason,BonnieClaire,Taylor, Beau,Maggie and Virginia) and great-grandchil-

AnativeofBaton Rouge, born on August 4, 1953, Susan passed away on Thursday, July3,2025, at Our Lady of the Lake hospital. She was 71, abeloved daughter, sisterand friend to many. Ahard-working accounting professional forthe first part of her life, she then had to face the challenges and pitfalls that come with living with schizophrenia. "Rejoice with thosewho rejoice, and weepwiththose who weep." (Romans 12:15). To walk in theshoes of someone who liveswith schizophreniaisa lesson forusall.She was the daughter of Louis and PearlGaudet,and thesisterofKevinJames -all of whom preceded her in death. Survivorsinclude her twobrothers, Louis Michael and John Stephen. In lieu of flowers,donations may be madetothe National Alliance on MentalIllness (nami.org). Visitation willbeatGreenoaks Funeral Home,9595 Florida Blvd.,Baton Rouge, LA,on Friday, July11, 2025, from 9am until thetime of memorial services at 10am.

LaineyAnne Landry departed this world to be with her Savior, Jesus Christ,onFriday, July4, 2025. The memory of Laineycontinues to encourageand light the heartsofall who knew her Laineywas adynamicnine -year-old,born March 30, 2016. She was theproud daughter of her loving parentsNatalie and Ben Landry, thebest sisterto brothers Danieland Luke, and themost gentle caretakertoher catsLilaand Yawyaw, as wellasDoc thedog. Cherished by her paternal grandparents Brendaand Henry Landry, and maternal grandparentsSusan and Timothy Weaver. Lainey's kindness, curiosity, and beautiful smile willberemembered by allwho knew her. Fromthe moment she arrived, Lainey filled her family and friends'life with love,laughter, and spunk. She was alight-onher-feet, courageous and imaginativechildwho lovedplaying withslime, eating popsiclesand popcorn, playing OldMaidand Gin with her grandparents, Susu and Bebo, and baking chocolatechip muffins with her Grandma. She was theabsolutebestgiver of hugs, an inclusive friend and astrongpresence.Wise beyond her years, Laineyhad agiftfor makingadultslaugh like they were children and making everyone feelspecial.Lainey's confidence and kindness touched everyone she met and her laughwas trulycontagious.

LaineyAnne, also known as LaineyBoo LaineyBanana,Laine-R, T'bot,T'noon, Butch times Ten, Lil' Babe, GirlChek and even Bruh, was astudent at St. Michael's Catholic School. She started her daywith the"dry that hair special"and her days were filledwith laughter, learning and sports teams. She dreamed of being asurfer, scientist,singer and a mom. She lovedher friends like she lovedher family She was afierce Firefly soccer player, aSt. Michael'sTiger basketball

GodcalledLouis "Boo" LeBlanctoa newlifewith HimonThursday,July3, 2025. He liveda long and beautifullifetotally de‐votedtoGod andfamily. He wasknown as PaBooto his9grandchildren and18 greatgrandchildren.He wasa native andresident of Donaldsonville formore than 90 years. He wasborn on August 3, 1930, to Louis L. andMaria O. LeBlanc, the10thof10children. Upon graduationfrom Catholic High School in Donaldsonville he attended LSU. He hadvarious jobs until age34whenhefound hiscalling with NewYork Life as an agent. He served hisclientsfor over 50 years. With severalsiblings having served in WWII, his interest in military service became apriority. He proudlyenlistedinthe Army National Guardon January31, 1949, andre‐tiredafter 20 yearsofser‐vice with therankofCap‐tain of Btry D769thAAA Bn (Mbl). Servicewas away of life forhim.His serviceto Godlasteda lifetime.From Catechismteacher to Bap‐tism prep to Conﬁrmation prep to marriage prep to RCIA assistance to leading smallfaith groups to start‐ingperpetual adorationto openingthe church for earlymasstoattendance at devotion services at as‐sisted living, he partici‐patedineverything. He wasalsothe most self-ed‐

Willie B. London, born August 22, 1941 wasa residentofBaton Rouge.She enteredintoeternal rest surrounded by herchildren andgranddaughteronJuly 3, 2025. She waspreceded in death by herhusband, ErnestLondon,and her daughter, ErnestineLondon.She leaves to cherish hermemory,her children: Darryl (Julia) London,Betty (Wellington)Williams, Rose (John) Bailey,Sylvia (Oscar)Franklin, andWalter Jerome Kenney. Eleven grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, and onegreat-great grandchild. Onesister,and three brothers, as well as numerousnieces, nephews, and otherrelatives. Visitation will be held at Greater New Bethel Baptist Church on Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, followed by amemorial service at 11:00 am. The familywould like to expressour heartfelt appreciation for thecare provided by St.Joseph Hospice Arrangemententrustedto Wilson-Wooddale Funeral Home.

Godchaux, Lucille Stone

FryouxIII,Jules

Anthony 'Bubbie'

Landry, Lainey Anne

LeBlanc, Louis'Boo'

Gaudet,Susan Elizabeth

London, WillieB

DefendingLa. againststorm threatsisa sound investment

The destructive power ofwaterisverymuch in the news these days, due to the tragedy still unfolding in Texas. But the truth is that Louisiana didn’t need areminder of how deadly ﬂooding can be, because livingwith thedanger is aconstantaround here. And so is the need to keep the defenses surrounding some of south Louisiana’smostpopulated areas strong and up-to-date, particularly as extreme weather events becomemorefrequent andmore threatening.

Risk reduction is expensive,though, and there are new concerns about whetherthe federal government is willingtodoall that’snecessary to keep ourareaassafe as it should be.

Arecentstory by environmental reporter Mark Schleifstein outlined the costofthe ﬁght againstboththe effectsofclimate change and sinkinglandinthe area,reporting that federal investment is just not keeping up.

Twokey projects are at issue.

The ﬁrst is maintenance of New Orleans-area hurricane levees so that theystay high enough not to be overtopped by storm surgesdrivenby aso-called100-yearstorm.Congresshas authorized plansfor the federal government to pay 65% of the cost of keeping the leveesatthe 100year level through 2078, with the state picking up the rest.

But it’sadifferent story with the second project, to study how to bring the east bank levee system to the level where it can withstand 200year storm surges. To date,nomoneyhas been appropriated for this.

Both time-speciﬁc labels are likely misleading, due to projections that hurricaneswill continue to grow more intense and the documented sinking of current ﬂood walls.The so-called100-year system might not offer the promisedlevel of protection, which is what makes looking at 200-year risk reduction urgent.

“The Greater New Orleans area is home to critical industries, including energy,shipping, and tourism, all of which rely on robustﬂood protection infrastructure,” said Glenn LedetJr.,the former executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority who was recently appointedtohead the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. “The devastation of Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the dire consequences of levee failure, and we must act nowtofortify our ﬂood protectionsystems before the next major storm.”

Indeed, Katrina’sdevastationwas such awakeup call that the nation rallied to install astate-ofthe-art$14.5 billion risk reductionsystem.Yet the system is in constantbattle with forces that would undermine it and cause dangerous, and expensive, damage.

We urge Louisiana’spowerfulCongressional leaders to use their clouttokeep thefederal dollars ﬂowing for this important—and in thelong run, likelymoney-saving —project. For taxpayers across the country,it’sabout protecting the generousinvestmentthey made after the horriﬁc events of 2005

For the communities behind the federallevees, it could well be amatter of survival.

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

Sen. Bill Cassidy’scall for postponing themeeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices seemed like an incredibly tepid response to theoutrageous actions of Healthand Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy,i.e. summarily ﬁring all 17 long-serving membersof thatcommittee and partially replacing them with folks with dubious credentials.That is so, especially because Cassidy’sdeciding vote to conﬁrmhis appointment in February was contingent on what we now know were false assurances. We deserve better from our representatives in Congress. Washington Rep.Kim Schrier (also aphysician) has been moreforthright in her criticism of Kennedy,and should be an

example to all of us, especially those in Congress. If it was not clear to manybefore his appointment, it ought to be clear now that Kennedy not only lacks the requisitecompetence to serve as HHS Secretary, but he is also afringe ideologue attempting to wield his newfound power in away that can be immensely destructive. For another example, just takealook at his efforts to ban U.S. government scientists from publishing in widely respected medical journals. In light of what we have seen so far, Cassidy and everyone else in Congress ought to be demanding the resignation or impeachment of RFK Jr.—nothing less.

BRUCEWILDER

NewOrleans

The East Baton Rouge ParishMetro

Council recently approved acontract between the Baton Rouge Police Departmentand theproduction company behind “OnPatrol: Live.”

BRPD Chief Thomas Morse cited ofﬁcers’ potential for celebrity status and potential boosts to recruitment and tourism as reasons to partner with thereality television show

But, is reality TV really what we want from BRPD?

“OnPatrol: Live” is adescendant of thelong-running series “Cops.” Viewers are encouraged to follow along with the show and interact with the hostsvia social media. “On Patrol: Live” captures, in real-time, many people’sworst days, and its viewership revels in mocking and belittling those unfortunateenough to have their lives permanently exposed on national television. Transparency in policing is essen-

tial to building community trust, but trust cannot comewithout treating communitymembers with dignity and respect The hosts and featured ofﬁcers of “OnPatrol: Live” may enjoy internet celebrity status; however,reality television and celebritystatus are inconsistent withwell-established principles of police legitimacy and procedural justice. Police chiefs whowork hard to incorporate these concepts into their departments generate the goodwill and public support —and accompanying investigative and public relations successes —that Morse appears to desire. It takes courage to swim against the current of entertainment fame,but BRPD and the Metro Council need to end the relationship with “On Patrol: Live.” It’sbad for Baton Rouge.

STACEY PEARSON Baton Rouge

As aPort Allen resident commuting daily to Plaquemine, my evening drive highlights signiﬁcant trafﬁc challenges West Baton Rouge Parish has struggled to address.

The Intracoastal Canal Bridge remains our biggest chokepoint. When trafﬁc was temporarily routed over the old northbound span, congestion eased. Nowthat all vehicles use the new southbound bridge, gridlock has returned.

The Department of Transportation and Development needs to consider immediate fixes. Installing large plastic barriers on the northbound side across the new Intracoastal canal bridge would separate traffic going to Port Allen and Baton Rouge, as people cut lanes and cause wrecks, creating asafety issue. These barriers would be betterthan the poles used on the old northbound bridge. From the Walmart red light to the bridge, the shoulder could be converted into atravel lane for northbound traffic, or another lane added if ashoulder is needed. These improvements would help traffic flow to Port Allen by reducing congestion.

Iwas under theimpression that theSaints have three quarterbacks competing to become the starter.Jake Haener,Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough arethe men who are in camp.

Is this fact or ﬁction?

I’m only asking because whenever Isee the sports segments on TV,or Iread the sports segments on the computer,all Isee and hear is how wonderful and great Tyler Shough is doing. Very littleismentioned about the progressofRattler and Haener.It’s like themedia has already anointed Shough thestarter How about informing us of the progress of all three, instead of focusing on the player you want to seeasthe starting quarterback?

KIMMINOR NewOrleans

From Addis through Port Allen, the La. 1signal system is outdated and poorly timed. Drivers hit redlight after red light —including the “temporary” Sugar Plantation Parkway signal. This creates unsafe conditions as motorists speed between lights, while those crossing La. 1face safety concerns. However,temporary measures won’taddress underlying challenges. We need acoordinated trafﬁc strategy led by atask force including West Baton Rouge mayors, the West Baton Rouge Parish president, DOTD, our state delegation and possibly Iberville leaders, as Irecently discussed at aWest Baton Rouge parish council meeting. For decades, residents have endured metro-level congestion while West Baton Rouge leaders focused on asingle incomplete approach.

It’stime to explore modern alternatives to trafﬁc signals or upgrade signals to work together and respond to trafﬁc conditions. Residents on the westside deserve safer roads, shorter commutesand planning.

This isn’tjust about trafﬁc —it’s about safety,quality of life and economic impact.

ANTHONY

SUMMERS Port Allen

COMMENTARY

Medicaid changesmakesense forLa.

There is much to likeand plenty to dislike about the misnamed“Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July4,but the fearmongering about its provisions on Medicaid is unwarranted. Moreover,despite the doomsayers, Louisiana is especially well situatedtoavoid drastic repercussions.

In particular,acrucial protection for Louisiana came via language U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,RBaton Rouge, was able to insert into the bill late in the process.

“losses” likelywill be rather minimal, it’s worth understanding why Louisiana is well situated.

In general, thebill imposes new limits on something called “state-directed payments,” amethod by whichstates draw from federal funds to paymanaged care organizations forMedicaid patients. The 28-word phrase addedby Cassidy “grandfathers in” requests to the federal government, already in the pipeline when the bill wassigned, for reimbursements at the previous, higherallowable rate.

Louisiana had two such requests already pending, so the state likely will be able to garner the higher federal payments until 2028.

For many weeks, people agitating against the bill had cited whatalready were unfounded predictions that its Medicaid cuts wouldcost the state $4 billion annually.That amount already exceeded even the worst-case scenarios of respected observers suchasthe center-left KFF group.

Now,with the Cassidy language and other late Senate adjustments such as delayingimplementationofother cost-cutting measures —almost none of which, by KFF’sown account, are included in KFF’sestimates— Louisianaislikely to break even in the near term. Longer term, Louisiana will have plenty of time to prepare forthe coming changes.

Forgive abit of policy wonkery,but to bolster the contention thatLouisiana’s

SEA YOUINCOURT!

First, there’sacomplicated system whereby states usesomething called “providertaxes”essentially to game thesystem,bringing home much moreinfederal funds thanthe state’smedical providers put up in theﬁrst place. This bill, quiterightly, ratchets down astate’sabilityto game the system quite so much.

But some states have been assessingprovidertaxes at a6%rate, whereas Louisiana was assessing them at just 4.6%. As theratcheting process is gradual, starting at that 6% rate and working downward, thatmeans it will take several years before the toplimit comes downtoLouisiana’s 4.6% (and eventually down to 3.5%).This provision, then, holds Louisiana harmless for quite some time.

Then, consider theabundant caterwaulingabout how rural hospitals would beforced to closebecauseofthis bill. The complaintsalways were excessive, but the Senate eventually negated alarge portionofwhatever concerns might have been legitimate. The law, as enacted, creates a$50 billion fund (spreadoverﬁve years) to help keep ruralhospitals open. The formula is complicated, but it will effectively provide poorerstatessuch as Louisiana with more moneyper capitathan wealthier states will get Back-of-the-envelope math says Louisiana, at just over 1% of the nation’s population, could get nearly 2% of the rural hospital funds —meaning something approaching $1 billion total,or $200 millionper year. It was state SenatePresident Cameron Henrywho, in somewhat vague andoffhand remarks during an online conference, mostwidely popularized theoverblown fearthat Louisiana could

Louisiana haswater everywhere. It must be tough to be alittle fish down there. In this week’sundersea scenario, here’sa placewhere theycan settletheir disputes.So, what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy, absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’snolimit on the number of entries

Thewinning punchlinewill be lettered into the word balloon and runonMonday, in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive asignedprint of thecartoon alongwith acool winner’s T-shirt! Somehonorable mentions will also be listed.

Email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com

DON’T FORGET! All entries must includeyour name,homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.The deadline for all entries is midnight on Thursday. Good luck, everyone! —Walt

As the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representativesneared passage of President Donald Trump’s beloved —and enormous —“One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” my mind racedback as it often does in such debates to memories of the late Linda Taylor,a Chicago woman better known as “the welfare queen.”

That’snot what she calledherself.The nickname was coined either by the late George Bliss, aPulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, in 1974 or later by Jet magazine.

lose up to $4 billion annually.With the ﬁnal changes, though, Henry said “Louisiana is in good shape”becauseSens. Cassidy and John Kennedy,R-Madisonville, “ﬁx[ed] harmful provisions and protect[ed] our hospitals.”

The mostunjust criticism of the new law,meanwhile, was aimed at its “work” requirementsfor Medicaid.

The ﬁnal version of the bill solves one semi-legitimate earlier objection by delaying implementation of the new requirements until theend of 2026. This will give states 18 months to make the new system workable, without undue redtape.

Meanwhile, therequirementsthemselvesaren’tthe least bit onerous. They apply only to able-bodied adultsbetween ages 19 and 65, only to those with moreincome thanthe ofﬁcial poverty line, and only to those who aren’tcaregivers, who aren’tpregnant,and who don’thave dependent children.

To meet the requirements, one need only spend 80 hoursper month in any combination of paid work, volunteer work, schooling or job training. These requirements, by theway,are far less stringent than the120 monthly work hours required in the1996 welfare reform bill that Democraticthen-President Bill Clintonand Vice President Al Gorespent years touting as agood thing.

At least threeother tax incentives in the bill would make it easier for those leaving Medicaid to ﬁnd insurance in the privatemarket that likely would provide better care with more options. Those are just the highlights of why the Medicaid-related critiques of the new law are wrongheaded. Otherexamples aplentycould showthat the vast bulk of theMedicaid changes arenot merely acceptable, but wise.

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

cash incomealone was estimated at more than $150,000.”

Reagan’saim was to justifyreallife changes to policies, including the shrinking ofthe social safetynet. And he succeeded —the imperative to dismantle thesocial safety netbecame bipartisan Beltway orthodoxy for decades after Reagantook power in 1981.

Taylor ultimately was chargedand convicted in 1977 of illegally obtaining 23 welfare checks, among other charges, and using two aliases.She died of a heart attack in 2002 in Ingalls Memorial Hospital, outside Chicago Taylor the woman may be gone,but the “welfare queen” livesoninAmerican political legend. She was ﬁrstmade famous by Ronald Reagan in his 1976 presidential campaign. In speech after speech he recounted her exploits in the characteristic Gipper storytelling style. Crowds ate it up.

“She has 80 names, 30 addresses, 12 Social Security cardsand is collecting veterans’ beneﬁts on four nonexisting deceased husbands,” saidReagan in a1976 campaign speech in Asheville, North Carolina, quoted by The New York Times. Reagan didn’tname her.Hedidn’tsay her race.

“There’sawoman in Chicago,” he told aNew Hampshireaudience. Wink, wink.

“Andshe’s collecting SocialSecurity on her cards. She’sgot Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare and Social Security cards under each of several names. Her tax-free

Today, amid the ferocious debate over Trump’s“Big Beautiful,”Ican hear echoes of the old “welfare queen” legend, particularly when lawmakers or other opportunistssuch as erstwhile DOGE operativeElon Musk cynically hackand slashaway at programs and agencies Americans depend on. We depend onthem to deal with our real problems, and the “ﬁxes” appear designed to create new problems.

Rep. George Latimer,aNew York Democrat,called Trump’sspending bill “Robin Hood in reverse”beforevoting againstthe House version. “This House Republican budgettakes away money from people who desperately need it,” he said,“and givesittopeople who alreadyhave plentyofit.”

This was conﬁrmed by experts at the Budget Lab at Yale, aresearch center in its analysis of the Senatebill.

“Americans who comprisethe bottom ﬁfth of allearnerswould seetheir annualafter-taxincomes fall on average by 2.3%within the next decade,” the BudgetLab concluded, while those at thetop wouldsee about a2.3% boost, whichfactors in wages earned and government beneﬁts received.

“On average,”asThe New York Times summarized the ﬁndings, “that translatestoabout $560 in losses for someone whoreports littletonoincome by 2034, and morethan$118,000 in gains for someone making over $3 million, the

report found. Yet, Republicans have continued to defend the package as awin for all Americans.Intheory,maybe. Treasury Secretary ScottBessent called it a“deal for working people” and claimed it would protect Medicaid.

Oncethe legislation passed, Stephen Miran, the chairmanofthe WhiteHouse Council of Economic Advisers, heralded it as aboon for economic growth.

Yetthe fact remains that Republicans areonly slightly offsetting signiﬁcant taxcuts for therich by decimating programs thathelp thepoor,including food stamps and Medicaid. The suffering and ﬁnancial burdens on theseAmericans will take alarge tollontheir lives. And for what?

To cover only afraction of the enormous costofthe bill, which will add morethan $3 trillion tothe federal debt by 2034. The cutshave been described as one of the largestretrenchmentsin the federal safety net in ageneration That sounds about right to me. But it also sounds wrong, deeply wrong. In atime when thesuffering and seemingly hopelessprospectsof America’spoor areknown to allwho have eyes tosee, the only fig leaf available to hide theobscenityofthis bill is the old partisan charge of waste, fraud and abuse. Even after DOGE —especially after DOGE —that tropelacks any credibility For now,another old saying comes to mind: Elections have consequences As the full impact of thebill that looks increasingly like abig, beautiful disasterhits home, it may be left up to the voters to have the final word. Idon’texpect them— or us —tobe filled with glee.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com

Democrats last carried Texas in apresidential election 49 years ago, last elected aU.S. senator there in 1986 and have lost all statewide elections since 1994. Texas Republicans could, however,surrender their considerable advantages and lose the state’s2026 U.S. Senate election.

John Cornyn, whonext year will seek aﬁfth term,isrespected by colleagues, whoelected him to be Republican whip from 2013 to 2019. He is judicious: He was aTexas Supreme Court justice. He is conservative: The National Riﬂe Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses give him 100% ratings. His AFL-CIOrating is 0%.

Currently,however,Cornyn is polling behind achallenger in next year’sRepublican primary: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whohas, to say no more, acheckered past.

Resignations and whistleblowers from Paxton’soffice, and his, shall we say,casual approach to financial disclosures and appearances, have occasioned doubts about his administrative competence and the rigor of his ethical scruples. There also are interesting questions about how he, without private wealth and having been in elective offices mostofhis adult life, has come to own properties in Texas, Utah, Hawaii, Oklahomaand Florida. Where there is smoke, there is not necessarily fire, but Paxton’spublic career and private financial and personal affairs have generated enough smoke to cover Texas across the 800 miles at its widest points. Furthermore, Paxton is markedly discordant with today’sTexas. The state is afar cry from longhorns roaming wide-open spaces dotted with oil derricks. It has six of the nation’s25most populous cities: Houston (4), San Antonio (7), Dallas (9), Austin (10), Fort Worth (13) and El Paso (22). It has the headquarters of 107 of the Fortune 1,000 companies, including manynonenergy corporations: e.g., AT&T,Tesla, DellTechnologies, Hewlett-Packard,Charles Schwab, andAmerican andSouthwest airlines. Texas’soil industry has been gigantic since January 1901, when astonished drillers on ahillock called Spindletop, near Beaumont, brought on an uncontrollable geyser.In“Texas: An American History” (Yale, 2025), Southern Methodist University historian Benjamin H. Johnson writes that oil coated “all of Beaumont’sbuildings” before “it settled downtoasteady production of 100,000 barrels aday,athousand times greater than what had been considered agood well.” In 1931, the Texas National Guard was deployed to East Texas to combat an oil crisis: Aglut wasdepressing prices. By 1928, Texas produced one-fifth of the world’soil. By 1950, oil had been produced in 80% of the state’s254 counties.

Today,however,Texas is unlike the cattle-andoil-centered state depicted in the 1956 movie “Giant.” It is remarkably urbanized, economically complex and culturally sophisticated. Paxton is (to be polite rather than —heaven forbid —judgmental) a colorful reminder of Texas’spre-modern past. As in 1938, when W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel toured with his companysponsored country musicians, the Light Crust Doughboys, to get elected governor.(Three years later,this entertainer-as-politician won aSenate seat by winning aspecial election against Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson.)

In 2024, Donald Trumpcarried Texas by 13 points. That was,however,less than his margin in 19 of the 31 states he won.Someday,Texas will elect another Democratic U.S. senator Were Trumptoendorse Paxton, whose enthusiasm forTrumphas been reciprocated, that day could come two Novembers from now.Of course, this assumes what cannot be assumed: that prudence will conquer the national Democratic Party’simpulse to incessantly annoy the electorate’stemperate center

Cornyn has hired Chris LaCivita, aTrump political adviser,torun asuper PACsupporting Cornyn’sreelection. And Cornyn has hired Trump’spollster Tony Fabrizio.

If Cornyn is renominated, his reelection would be highly probable, so securing it would not burden the national party.With Paxton as its nominee, theRepublican Party might have to spend$250 million (Texas’s20media markets devour $2 million aweekfor saturation advertising) to drag himtovictory.Even that sum might fail to do so.

Also, every national dollar spent in Texas cannot be spent elsewhere. So, if Texas’sRepublicans pick Paxton in the March 3primary next year,this would improve Democrats’ now-slim hopes forcapturing the Senate. Another dimension to the Cornyn-Paxton contest is aesthetic but has civic importance. Plainly put, Cornyn is agentleman. This might seem like an eccentric, because anachronistic, consideration. It has, however,contemporary relevance: Any subtraction from the Republican Party’ssupply of civility increases the party’salready large quotient of loutishness. Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com

George Will

Clarence Page Quin Hillyer

Matherne, Steven Kurt

Steven KurtMatherne, age59and aresident of French Settlement, LA, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 7, 2025, surrounded by his loving family, following abrief but courageous battle with cancer. Known for his infectious sense of humor, Kurt lived his life to its fullest and cherished time spent with his family. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and he found great joy in sharing these adventures with friends and family. Kurt is survived by his mother, Mary Porche Matherne; sister, Theresa Matherne Trabeaux; niece and nephew, Stephanie Cunningham (Treg) and Craig Trabeaux; great nieces andnephews, Haidyn Trabeaux, RylieTrabeaux, Ali Cunningham andHenryTrabeaux; stepchildren,Crystal Williams Paul Williams Jr., and Christopher Williams; 2 granddaughters, Makinley Williams and Chloe Hutchinson; andnumerous aunts, uncle, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Corky Matherne; father, Odom C Matherne Jr.; and brotherin-law, Michael Trabeaux Visitation for Kurt will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025, from 9amuntil funeralservice at 11 am at St. Joseph CatholicChurch of French Settlement. He will be laid to rest in St. Joseph Cemetery. Aheartfelt thankstohis special caregivers, for thelove and care given to him during his illness. In his memory and playful spirit, his family shares this final coded message: HLWLDALTWBTHFI.

Kay Waggenspack Smith passedawaypeacefully on July 6, 2025, surrounded by her childrenaftera courageous battle with leukemia. Kay was bornonSeptember 15, 1948, in BatonRouge, Louisiana,the onlychildto Irma and Claude Waggenspack.Kay was precededindeath by her loving husband of 55 years, Donald Russell Smith.Asa little girl, Kay took the ferry boat from Burnside Louisiana,toschoolatAscension CatholicinDonaldsonville,Louisiana,where she cultivated lasting friendships that sustained her throughouther life. ShemovedtoBaton Rouge in 1966toattend Louisiana State University, where she earneda degree in educationand mether husband, Don. After teaching middle school,Kay began herfamily, which was her most important life's work.Kay was the epitome of warmth,kindness, and grace.Kay was aconfidant to many because she truly caredwhat people were carryingontheir heart, and, in return, shewas blessedwithmany wonderfulfriends.Her willingnesstolistenwithcompassion and without judgment was one of her greatest gifts, aswas her ability to seethe best in people and every circumstance.Her faithand positivity throughout her life was an inspiration to all and, despite herdeclining health, she always showed up for her loved ones with abeautiful smile, words of encouragement,and ahumorous anecdote.Kay was selflessly dedicated to her family,friends, andcommunity. Shefaithfully caredfor herhusband, Don, through two battles with cancer, the second one whileshe was also fighting the illness. She supported him in his legal practice and through the Baton Rouge Bar Auxiliary. Shewas an active member at St.Georgeand St. AloysiusCatholic Churches through eucharistic minis-

tering and ministering to thesick. She organized and ledher neighborhood civic association, was a docent at Magnolia Mound,and volunteered extensivelywiththe Charity Ball of Baton Rouge and theU-High Mom's Club She drovefor every field trip, ran theschoolconcessionstand,and hosted the Easter egg huntsinher beautiful yard, which brought hersomuch joy. KayKay, as she was affectionatelyreferred to by her 9grandchildrenand their friends, had theability to make life brighterand festive foreveryone, whether it was by cooking, hosting, cheerleading,flower arranging, painting,orsharing her passionfor history and current events. She beganevery daywithgratitude and calls fromher 3 children, where she sincerely offered to help and receivedanupdateonher grandkids' sports,performances, or schoolschedules that she would eagerly attend. She willbe deeply missed by allwho lovedher, especially her children, grandchildren and cousins. Kay is survivedbyher sonDr. Adrian Russell Smith and hiswife Jessica,ofJackson, Mississippi, her daughters, Lauren Hensgens and her husband Scott,Gretchen Q=Petersen and her husband Preston,both of BatonRouge,Louisiana, and her 9wonderful grandchildren Olivia Ansley Smith, LukeRussell Smith, Samuel CovingtonSmith,Caroline Scott Hensgens, George Nikolaus Hensgens, Henry Russell Hensgens, Thomas ClaudeQ=Petersen,Adele LaurenQ=Petersen,and Helen ClaireQ=Petersen Visitation willbeheldatSt. Aloysius CatholicChurch, 2025 Stuart Avenue, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, July11, 2025, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm, followedbya funeralmass at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation to your local bloodbank

WalterLoclonSmith,III belovedhusband, father, grandfather and friend passed away on FridayJuly 4, 2025. He was born in BatonRouge,LAtoWalterLoclonSmith,Jr. and Adeline Landry Smith on March 20, 1952. Walterattended JeffersonTerrace Elementary School, Glasgow Junior High and Robert E. Lee High School, where he met his future wife, Carol.Walterthenreceivedhis Bachelor's degree in Marketing fromLSU in 1975 and Juris Doctorate in 1980 from LSU Law School. Thereafter, Walterwas in privatepractice of law until his retirement in December 2019. Walterissurvived by his loving wife, CarolLambremont Smith; his sons, Bradford Loclon Smith (wife Haylie Nola Smith) and Matthew Benjamin Smith (wifeLeah Waters Smith); and grandchildren: Bradford LoclonSmith,II, Collin RuthSmith,Allyson Marie Smith,Caroline May Smith,and AnnieJane Smith. He is also survived by his sister, Jan Smith and brother Ray Smith (wife CarolynSmith)and sistersin-law,Suzanne Lambremont (husband Rob Jesson), Barbara Peters (husband Warren), YLambremont. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews, John Lambremont,Jr.,Chad Smith,Paul Lambremont,Sarah LambremontChristakis, Lauren Peters Mitchell, Ryne Smith, Elizabeth Call, and LewisPeters. Walterispreceded in death by his parents, WalterLoclonSmith, Jr Adeline Landry Smith and hisbrother-in-law, John Lambremont.Walter's grandchildrenwere thelight of his life,and he enjoyed every opportunity to spend time with them. He was an avid LSUbaseball and footballfan. In the lateryears he enjoyed taking Loclon, ahuge LSU baseballfan, to LSUbaseball games. Walter has been blessed with many close friends for many decades, and they have enjoyed fishing, hunting

andgolfingtogether. Walter andCarol attendedThe Chapel on theCampus manyyears, until they joined Community Bible Church.Walter hasan abidingfaithinGod throughJesus and was not afraid to leave andgoto theother side. Walter's familywould like to thank Dr.Roy Cullota and Dr Michael Yorek for their care over theyears, and Hospice of Baton Rouge, NurseDebbie,AideLaMarla andthe entire staff at the BR Hospice Butterfly Wing for theircareduring thelast few weeks.Inlieu of flowers, Waltersaid he wouldappreciateany donations be made to the CommunityBible Church Missions Fund. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at RabenhorstFuneralHome East, 11000 Florida Blvd,from5pm until8pm. Visitation will resume on Friday at Community Bible Church,8354 Jefferson Hwy,from1pm until service at 2pm. Entombmentwill follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park Mausoleum.

DonnaStaplesVetter (Tutta), alifelongresident of Baton Rouge,Louisiana, passed away peacefullyon July 5, 2025, at the age of 82, comfortable and secure in thehomeshe built and loved. Born on June 11, 1943, Tutta was aproud graduate of St.Joseph's Academy andLouisiana State University, both institutions that wouldremain close to herheart throughouther life.

Earlyinher career,Tutta demonstratedher concern for childrenand familiesas aHead Start counselor. Shewas an active andappreciatedpresence in Baton Rouge's social and philanthropic circles, generouslylending hertime, energy, and leadership to causesshe caredabout deeply.

Shechaired the fundraiser that was the

origin of theSt. Joseph's Academy Scienceand Technology Center,ensuringfuturegenerationsof students wouldhave access to STEM resources. Tutta's love for LSUextendedfar beyond the classroom; sheservedas Chair of theLSU AlumniAssociation Board and on the LSUAthleticCouncil championingthe university's mission andspirit.She wasalso adevoted supporter of theLSU School of VeterinaryMedicine,playinga pivotal roleinhelping theVet School acquire radiologyequipment to bettercarefor animals and train futureveterinarians. Herservice in those roles wascut short by adiagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Aboveall,Tutta cherished herfamilyand friends. Shewas atalented chef and served as Executive Chef in herfamily's Baton Rouge restaurant. Shemade an early cooking video, butdecidedshe didn'twant to promote it because she "didn't wanther hairtoalways smell like roux."Tut had an eye for fashion and wasknown for herunique style. Shehad an active lifestyle. Before MS slowedher down, she enjoyed powerlifting,golf, andrunning. Andwhenit didslowher downshe began to paint andher paintings are treasured by her family.

Sheissurvived by her loving husband CyrilVetter hertwo daughters, Heather (Mark) Schaefer of Nashvilleand Gabrielle Vetter of Baton Rouge;her threeadored granddaughters, Ellie, Claire,and Ava Schaefer, all of Nashville, andher sister Lou Staples of Baton Rouge Tutta will be rememberedfor herwarmth, her spirit,her easy andinfectiouslaugh, andthe legacy of service andlove she leaves behind. Herfamily andall whoknewher take comfortinher love,her peacefulpassing andthe lives she touched.

Visitation willbeonFriday, July 11 from 11AM12PM, followedbya short service at noon. RabenhorstFuneral Home, 825 Government Street.Inlieu of flowers, if so inclined, considera donation to St Joseph's Academy or the LSUSchool of Veterinary Medicine in hermemory

Smith III, WalterLoclon

Vetter, Donna Staples'Tutta'

SUMMER STAGE

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen already have some NBA Summer League memories etched in their brains.

For Fears, it was all of the times in middle school when he visited Las Vegas and got to watch Summer League games. He even got to play in some pickup games as a freshman in high school.

Queen still remembers watching six years ago when Zion Williamson ripped the ball out of the hands of then-New York Knicks forward Kevin Knox and ﬁnished the play with a thunderous slam dunk.

Now Fears and Queen drafted seventh and 13th overall, respectively, by the New Orleans Pelicans two weeks ago — get to make some Summer League memories of their own.

They’ll make their Summer League debut Thursday at 2:30 p.m. when the Pelicans play their opener in Vegas against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

“We are going to come out and set a statement and show everybody what the New Orleans Pelicans can bring,” Fears said. “Every time we step on the court, we are going to go out there and go hard and play together and we’re going to rack up some W’s.”

The Pelicans went 1-4 in Summer League play last year, but the record doesn’t really matter The focus will be

BY SCHUYLER DIXON

AP sports writer

ARLINGTON, Texas Paige Bueckers has been just about everything the Dallas Wings hoped as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, matching Caitlin Clark from a year ago as a rookie All-Star starter while shouldering a heavy load for a rebuilding team. The former UConn star is also passing her most predictable test — handling losing when she didn’t have much experience with it in college. Beyond managing the losing, Bueckers has helped engineer quite the response. Although they just lost to Phoenix by 30 points after beating the Mercury in their previous game, the Wings are 5-3 since blowing an 11-point lead in the last four minutes of an 88-84 loss at Las Vegas that dropped them to 1-11.

on how well Fears, a guard from the University of Oklahoma, and Queen, a forward from the University of Maryland, play

“Those guys are going to get a ton of work,” Pelicans Summer League coach Corey Brewer said. “We want to see what we got.” Although Fears was the higher draft

“Credit to Paige,” said Chris Koclanes a rookie himself as a head coach. “Her mindset and her intention into the mental side of the game, she’s resilient. She’s not discouraged at all. She’s in there, she’s positive. She knows there is a larger vision here and that you’ve got to go through some of this tough stuff early to ultimately get to where you want to go.”

Bueckers missed four of the losses while recovering from a concussion and then an illness. She also sat the second night of a backto-back with a sore right knee, and the Wings won for the ﬁrst time without her A three-time Associated Press All-American during a UConn career capped by the storied program’s first national championship in nine years, Bueckers lost 13 times in four seasons with the

See

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

LONDON At least Novak Djokovic could laugh about it immediately afterward. Yes, he took what he called a “nasty” and “awkward” fall on his second match point at Wimbledon on Wednesday Yes, he slid into the splits and ended up facedown on the Centre Court grass. And, yes, those sorts of things aren’t ideal for a 38-year-old seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title.

Still, Djokovic dusted himself off and took the next two points, reaching the semiﬁnals at the All England Club for a men’s record 14th time with a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli to set up a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner

“Obviously, (my) body is not the same today like it was before,” Djokovic said at his news conference, “so I guess the real impact or effect of what happened, I will feel tomorrow So let’s see I’m hoping in the next 24, 48 hours, that the severity of what happened is not too bad, that I’ll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days.”

That’s when he will take on three-time major champion Sinner, who didn’t play like someone dealing with an injured right elbow while using terriﬁc serving and his usual booming forehand to beat 10th-seeded Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.

“It’s going to take the best of me at the moment to beat Jannik. I mean, I know that,” said Djokovic, who has lost his last four meetings with Sinner, including in the French Open semiﬁnals last month.

because in the 1980s and early 1990s, Knight fearlessly invested in his alma mater, and all of his Nike millions created an identity for a program that previously didn’t have one. Campbell, who played at Tech and in the NFL but made his money in oil and gas, is doing the same thing for his alma mater Led by Campbell, no program in college football has spent more money on facility upgrades — and now on players — like the Red Raiders. “What do people think of when they think of Texas Tech? The transfer portal,” Tech receiver Caleb Douglas said Tuesday during Big 12 media days. “And ä See PELICANS, page 3C

page 3C ä See WIMBLEDON, page 4C ä See ENGEL, page 5C

MAC ENGEL Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TNS) FRISCO Texas Texas Tech, with inﬂuential booster Cody Campbell, is trying to do what Oregon did with Nike founder Phil Knight and spend its way to national relevance. The plan could work. Long before the Ducks joined the Big Ten, Oregon was famous because it allowed “Animal House” to be ﬁlmed on its campus. There were decades when Oregon was just another team on the wrong coast of college sports. The Ducks are a monster now

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears celebrates a 3-pointer against Georgia during a game at the Southeastern Conference tournament on March 12 in Nashville, Tenn.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By TERRANCE WILLIAMS Maryland center Derik Queen looks to shoot as Rutgers center Lathan Sommerville, left, defends during a game on Feb 9 in College Park, Md

Reese, Anthony featured by NBA 2K26

By The Associated Press

2K Games announced Wednesday that NBA 2K26 will be released on Sept. 5 and Angel Reese and Carmelo Anthony will be featured on special edition covers.

Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was announced a day earlier as the cover athlete for the video game’s standard edition, which will cost $69.99 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X’S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch 2.

Chicago Sky forward Reese, a former LSU star, will be on the WNBA edition and Anthony, who is set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will be on the superstar edition.

A fourth edition will feature all three players on the cover

“Being on the cover of NBA 2K26 and debuting my ﬁrst-ever signature shoe with Reebok on that cover the Angel Reese 1, is more than a milestone — it’s a statement,” the two-time AllStar Reese said in a news release. “It’s about representation and showing young girls they can be conﬁdent, bold, and take up space unapologetically

“To be cemented in NBA 2K history is a special honor that reflects not only my journey, but also all the veteran WNBA players who have paved the way before me and the growing impact of the league as a whole I’m proud to be part of a game that continues to elevate wom-

Fever routed in Clark’s return

Indiana star struggles after missing past five games with groin injury

By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS Veronica Burton

had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Kayla Thornton added 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Indiana Fever 80-61 on Wednesday to spoil Caitlin Clark’s return. The Valkyries held Clark to just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting as the Fever scored their second-fewest points of the season.

Clark returned after missing the past ﬁve games with a left groin injury The All-Star captain participated in practice Monday the first time she’d done that since getting hurt on June 26.

“It felt good to be out there I thought we started really well,” Clark said. “When they went on their ﬁrst run it kind of deﬂated us a little bit. I’m not really sure why We struggled to do what the coaches asked of us. They just played with more energy and effort, and those are things that just can’t happen.”

Golden State led 41-32 at halftime and Kate Martin scored ﬁve consecutive points in the third for a 15-point lead.

“Overall we played team basketball today and I think that’s something we’ve been missing,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “We played team defense I’d say the last two games it got a little individual. Credit to our players, just being coachable, coachable, coachable.”

After Indiana went on a 10-1 run to get within 55-50, Burton ended Golden State’s drought with a 3-pointer Burton also capped Golden State’s 9-0 run on another 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the third for a 64-50 lead.

Burton’s ﬁfth 3-pointer, setting a career high, came with 6:32 remaining for a 70-53 lead and Thornton’s wide-open 3 about a minute later made it a 20-point lead.

PRESS

Golden State guard Kate Martin goes to the basket against Indiana’s Caitlin Clark on Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Valkyries held Clark to 10 points in an 80-61 victory

WNBA ROUNDUP

Golden State (10-9) went 12 of 32 from 3-point range, compared to 6 of 27 for Indiana.

Kelsey Mitchell also struggled for Indiana (9-10), going 3 of 13 for 12 points. Makayla Timpson added 10 points off the bench.

SUN 93, STORM 83: In Uncasville, Connecticut, Tina Charles set season highs with 29 points and 11 rebounds to help Connecticut end a 10-game losing skid.

Connecticut (3-16) won its ﬁrst game since June 6.

Charles made a baseline jumper with 5:36 left in the fourth quarter to give Connecticut its ﬁrst lead of the game at 79-77. Charles also made two layups in eight seconds following a steal by Saniya Rivers — for a 91-81 lead.

The Sun pulled away by scoring 11 straight points late in the fourth.

Charles ﬁnished 11 of 22 from the field for her sixth 20-point

game of the season. Jacy Sheldon added 16 points and Bria Hartley had 15. Rivers scored all 11 of her points in the opening ﬁve minutes of the third.

Skylar Diggins led Seattle (13-7) with 23 points and seven assists. Gabby Williams added 21 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Diggins, Williams, Ogwumike, and Ezi Magbegor each scored in double ﬁgures in the ﬁrst half and combined for 43 points as Seattle led 49-41.

Seattle used a four-point possession at the end of the third to take a 74-66 lead. Diggins made a layup while being fouled and Connecticut forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa was called for a technical foul. Skylar Diggins made both free throws for an eight-point lead.

MERCURY 79, LYNX 71: In Phoenix, Alyssa Thomas scored 12 of her career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and Phoenix closed on a 19-4 run to beat Minnesota. Thomas, who was coming off

her 16th career triple-double on Monday, was 14 of 24 from the ﬁeld to top her previous high of 28 points. She also had eight rebounds and ﬁve assists.

Phoenix tied it at 69 and 71 before Thomas scored on back-toback possessions to take a 75-71 lead. She scored 10 points during the Mercury’s game-closing run.

DeWanna Bonner, Thomas’ fiancee and former Connecticut Sun teammate, signed with Phoenix as a free agent on Tuesday and played her first game since June 10. Bonner, who spent the first 10 years of her career with the Mercury and helped them win titles in 2009 and 2014, finished with seven points and six rebounds in 26 minutes.

Monique Akoa Makani added 13 points and Sami Whitcomb, coming off a career-high 36 points, scored 10 for Phoenix (14-6). The Mercury were without Satou Sabally (right ankle) and Kahleah Copper (right hamstring) for a second straight game.

Shreveport’s Smith earns status of the world’s longest golf driver

ROY LANG III

Staff writer

SHREVEPORT Few people — no matter the occupation, discipline or sport can boast of being the best in the world at what they do.

On Wednesday, Shreveport’s Jack Smith joined the exclusive club.

The Loyola and LSU graduate is now No. 1 in the World Long Drive rankings.

“It was a grind to get here,” Smith said Wednesday “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to do it.”

Smith already has one victory on the WLD Tour this season He averages 389.5 yards per swat during competition and unleashed a

season-best 432-yard effort at the Duel in the Desert.

Led to this discipline of golf by a snowboarding accident and an innocuous meeting with Hal Sutton, Smith founded a golf apparel company dubbed “Kairos,” an ancient Greek word that means “the right or critical movement.”

“It’s an incredible honor to reach No. 1,” the 25-year-old Smith said.

“The sport pushes all of us to our limits and I have immense respect for the talent and drive of everyone I compete alongside,” he said. “I’m grateful for the support of my team, family and everyone who’s been a part of this journey I don’t take this moment for granted I know the competition will only keep raising the bar.”

LSU’s Morrow named Corbett Award winner LSU forward Aneesah Morrow was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Corbett Award winner as the top female athlete in Louisiana Morrow, a DePaul transfer, was LSU’s leading scorer at 18.7 points per game and the nation’s leading rebounder (13.5 per game). Her 485 rebounds were the fourth most in a season by an LSU player The senior led the nation with 30 double-doubles. In two years at LSU, Morrow helped the Tigers reach two Elite Eights, winning 31 games both seasons. Morrow was selected No. 7 overall in the WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun.

Other finalists for the award were Leah Varisco (multi-sport star at Academy of Sacred Heart), My-Anh Holmes (Willow tennis) and Luci Schroeder (Xavier soccer).

Yankees designate veteran LeMahieu for assignment

NEW YORK The New York Yankees designated two-time batting champion and former LSU star DJ LeMahieu for assignment, one day after manager Aaron Boone said the aging inﬁelder with a diminished defensive range would primarily be used off the bench.

The Yankees, who owe LeMahieu about $22 million on the remainder of a six-year deal that ran through the 2026 season, made the announcement before Wednesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners.

LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday and has dealt with a variety of toe, foot and hip injuries, was hitting .266 with two homers, 12 RBIs and a .674 OPS this season.

Holmgren, Thunder agree on $240M extension

Chet Holmgren has agreed on a ﬁve-year contract extension worth nearly $240 million to remain with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, a person with knowledge of the deal said Wednesday It is the second major extension for the Thunder since winning the NBA title last month. The other went to NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and reigning scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who got a fouryear, $285 million extension. Soon, the Thunder could extend Jalen Williams — another huge part of the title team and lock up the entirety of their young core for years. Holmgren will make $13.7 million this coming season, the ﬁnal year of his rookie deal, before his salary jumps to about $41 million for 202627 and the start of the extension.

MLB to use robot umpire system in All-Star Game

NEW YORK Major League Baseball plans to use its robot umpire technology for ball-strike challenges in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Atlanta, another step toward possible regular-season use next season.

MLB said Wednesday it intends to make the All-Star announcement Thursday Teams won 52.2% of their ball/ strike challenges during the spring training test, with 617 of 1,182 challenges successful in the 288 exhibition games using the Automated Ball-Strike System. ABS was installed at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams, and an animation of the pitch was shown on video boards displaying the challenge result for spectators to see.

Ex-NBA player McLemore sentenced to over 8 years

PORTLAND, Ore An Oregon judge on Wednesday sentenced former NBA player Ben McLemore to more than eight years in prison, a week after a jury found him guilty of raping a woman at a 2021 party at the home of a then-teammate. The ex-Portland Trail Blazer was sentenced to 100 months in prison by Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wetzel, Portland TV station KGW reported. The jury last week found the 32-year-old guilty of rape, unlawful sexual penetration and one count of sexual abuse He was found not guilty on another count of sexual abuse.

The charges involved a 21-yearold woman and stemmed from a party at a home owned by thenteammate Robert Covington in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego.

en’s basketball and can’t wait for fans to see how NBA 2K26 brings our game to life like never before.”

PHOTO By 2K GAMES

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, a former LSU star, is featured on the WNBA cover edition of NBA 2K26.

STAFF PHOTO By By JILL PICKETT

Jack Smith, an LSU graduate, leads the World Long Drive rankings with an average drive of 389.5 yards.

ASSOCIATED

PHOTO By DOUG McSCHOOLER

These Pelicans worth watching this summer

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

When the New Orleans Pelicans open Summer League play Thursday, all eyes will be on Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.

And rightfully so.

The Pelicans used their two ﬁrstround draft picks on the University of Oklahoma guard and the University of Maryland forward. But who else should Pelicans fans keep an eye on over the next week in Las Vegas?

Here are six other players to watch:

Yves Missi: The ﬁrst-round draft pick in 2024 doesn’t have a lot to prove after making the secondteam All-Rookie team last season. He’s added weight and gotten stronger since the season ended. “But the main thing that’s helping Yves right now is his conﬁdence,” Pelicans Summer League coach Corey Brewer said.

Micah Peavy: Taken in the second round out of Georgetown, the 6-foot-6 forward prides himself on playing defense. “A lot of guys don’t like playing defense,” Peavy said. “I love it I don’t like being scored on. I don’t like the other team getting buckets ” Peavy who turns 24 next week, can do it on the other end as well He shot 40% on 3-pointers last season.

Trey Alexander: The 6-4 guard was G League Rookie of the Year this

Pelicans center yves Missi dunks the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks during a game at the Smoothie King Center on April 6.

past season. He averaged 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the Grand Rapids Gold, the Denver Nuggets’ G League afﬁliate “I want to showcase that I can score, because I feel like that’s what I do best,” Alexander said. “But also I want to

Dunne’s deal to buy Babe Ruth’s old home falls through

CHUCK SCHILKEN Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES Gymnast and social media inﬂuencer Olivia Dunne was all set to buy her ﬁrst home, and it wasn’t just any home. Dunne had a contract in place to buy a $1.6 million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It ended up not being a Dunne deal. The recent LSU graduate won’t be moving into the former digs of the player known to fans as “the Bambino” because the building’s co-op board rejected her application.

In a video posted to TikTok on Tuesday Dunne told her 8 million followers that she is “so upset” after coming so close to residing in the same seventh-ﬂoor apartment where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox legend is said to have lived from 1929-40.

“It was Babe Ruth’s apartment,” said Dunne, who grew up less than an hour away in Hillside, N.J. “So naturally, like, I’m telling everybody I’m excited. I was gonna buy it and I was gonna pay with cash, like I wanted this apartment bad.”

The 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model said her real estate agent “was so confident” the deal would go through that she brought boyfriend Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ All-Star pitcher and former LSU standout, to see the place.

“I got an interior designer be-

JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne gives a thumbs up before her routine on the uneven bars on Dec. 16 in the PMAC. Dunne recently tried to buy Babe Ruth’s old apartment, but the deal fell through.

cause I didn’t want to bring my college furniture to Babe Ruth’s apartment — that would be like, criminal,” Dunne said. “Then the week that I’m supposed to get my keys to my brand-new apartment, I get a call. The co-op board denied me.”

The listing agent confirmed to The Los Angeles Times that Dunne had made an offer on the property that was accepted by the seller and, as the final step in the process, turned in an application for the purchase for the co-op board’s approval. The board rejected that

ries for the ﬁrst time since moving to the Dallas area in 2016 — they still had 2024 All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale in their backcourt.

application about three weeks ago, the agent said.

No explanation was given for the rejection, although Dunne has her theories

“For all I know, they could have been Alabama fans and I went to LSU,” she joked. “I have no clue. Maybe they didn’t want a public ﬁgure living there. But I was literally supposed to get the keys, and that week they denied me.”

She added: “Long story short, don’t try to live in a co-op. You might get denied and you won’t get Babe Ruth’s apartment.”

be able to make plays. Show that I can play the 1 and the 2.” Hunter Dickinson: You may not ﬁnd a player on the Summer League

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

pick, even more focus will be on Queen. He is the player who ﬁrstyear executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars traded up 10 spots for in the draft to select. In that trade with the Atlanta Hawks, the Pelicans gave up their first-round draft pick in the 2026 draft.

The move drew a lot of criticism. Queen’s play is the one thing that can silence the noise.

“I just want to show that I’m one of the best that got drafted this year,” Queen said. “It doesn’t matter if I went 13, second, third or fourth or whatever I just want to show them that I’m the best.”

Queen will get a chance to show his ability to score and pass, as well as his basketball IQ, the traits that made Dumars covet him so much. Fears, whose quickness has impressed during practices so far, will get a chance to show he can run the offense.

“I want to put the ball in his hands, let him make plays,” Brewer said. “He’s got to make mistakes, too. The only way you’re going to get better is by making mistakes, so he’s going to have the ball in his hands.”

Fears relishes the opportunity

“A lot of coaches don’t give rookies the opportunity to go out there and show what they are capable of,” Fears said. “So him giving me the ball and letting me learn on the ﬂy and make mistakes is going to be something that I can take with me and something I can learn from as well.”

Queen will get to play minutes alongside second-year center Yves Missi, the ﬁrst-round draft

roster with a bigger chip on his shoulder than Dickinson. The 7-2 center from Kansas went undrafted, despite being a third-team All-American. The Pels signed him to a two-way contract. “I knew once I got here, I had a shot and that’s all I was looking for was a

to prove myself,” Dickinson said. Antonio Reeves: In a

Huskies. She’s at 10 in games in which she played in less than two months with the Wings.

“Just staying disciplined in your habits and not changing who you are based on the results, but sticking to your process and how you do things,” Bueckers said.

“Regardless of the winning and losing, just enjoy coming to work every single day It’s been fun to enjoy the process. You never want to get used to losing, but you also don’t want to be used to being result-oriented.” Clark, the ﬁrst overall pick last year by Indiana, is a captain in just her second All-Star appearance, and Bueckers’ bid makes it three years in a row to have a rookie starter Clark’s teammate with the Fever, Aliyah Boston, did it in 2023.

Bueckers leads the Wings and all WNBA rookies — in scoring (18.7 points per game), assists (5.7) and steals (1.8), which means she’s well on her way to matching another Clark accomplishment from a year ago: Rookie of the Year

Even though the Wings plummeted to 9-31 last season just a year after winning a playoff se-

Bueckers ﬁt perfectly as a facilitator alongside one of the league’s elite scorers, but clearly she has proven to be a scoring option equal to Ogunbowale, who has missed the past two games with a thumb injury

“I’m asking her to do a ton right now,” Koclanes said of his 23-yearold star “Having her bring the ball up the ﬂoor every single time and then also score and also facilitate. How she’s been able to handle that has just been extremely impressive.”

The Wings overhauled most of the rest of their roster this past offseason. First-year general manager Curt Miller is now tinkering, having recently sent NaLyssa Smith, one of the acquisitions, to Las Vegas for a 2027 ﬁrst-round pick.

There’s no question the Wings plan to build around Bueckers.

“I think her greatest gift is she makes everyone better around her,” Miller said. “She’s a humble superstar. She’s just had a remarkable start with a lot of pressure. And coming off a very long collegiate season where, chasing that national championship, you can’t

imagine what the weight on her shoulders must have felt like.” Repeating one other thing Clark did might be difﬁcult for Bueckers. The Fever rebounded from a 1-8 start to make the playoffs last year before getting swept by Connecticut in a best-of-three series in the ﬁrst round. A postseason bid is likely to require getting back to .500, and the

the Pelicans waived Reeves last

surprising

But they

on the Summer League roster, which will give him a chance to showcase some of what he showed toward the end of last season. Reeves, drafted in the second round by the Pelicans in 2024, averaged 15.4 points over the last 10 games of his rookie season and shot 39.5% on 3-pointers. Christian Shumate: The 6-6 forward from McNeese State was one of the best dunkers in all of college basketball. But he’s more than that, as he’s shown in practice this week. He’s been knocking down shots, showing a side of his game that he didn’t really get to show at McNeese. “I’ve been working on my shot a lot, so I can pretty much be a ‘3 and D’ guy,” Shumate said. He plays with a nonstop motor something that bodes well for guys trying to latch on to an NBA squad.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

just want to show that I’m one of the best that got drafted this year. It doesn’t matter if I went 13, second, third or fourth or whatever. I just want to show them that I’m the best.”

pick last year who was named to the second-team All-Rookie team this season.

“Yves is going to love playing with me because I’m going to keep throwing him lobs and just help the team,” Queen said. “And both of us work well together.” Fears isn’t just interested in who he is playing with. He’s also focused on who he is playing against.

His goals for Vegas?

“Just to compete and see some of my old teammates that I played with in high school,” Queen said. “I have some people on my hit list, so hopefully I can get to them.”

The real NBA games don’t come until October. That’s when Fears and Queen will get to put on their uniforms and play alongside Williamson, Trey Murphy and other veterans. But this trip to Vegas is the next best thing for Fears and Queen, who last played in meaningful games during March Madness.

“It’s one of those things where you’ve got to look back and kinda reminisce a little bit and just take it all in,” Fears said. “It’s a great experience and something you dream of doing all your life. Finally being able to be in this position is something that every kid wants to achieve.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

schedule over the next month has plenty of playoff contenders, including three meetings with the reigning champion New York Liberty There is almost a weeklong break in there, but not for Bueckers. She’ll be at the All-Star

said. “I just go out there and play every single game and every single possession as it is. And the results may vary So whatever that looks like on any given night, you live with the results.”

She’s living by those words as a rookie.

Wings rookie Paige Bueckers

FILE PHOTO By DIMA AHMAD

Rising talent makes Korda feel ‘like a grandma’

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sports writer

At age 26, Nelly Korda is much too young to be feeling “like a grandma.”

Yet that’s what is going through the mind of the world’s top-ranked women’s player as she heads into this week’s Evian Championship, the fourth major of the year

“That’s the best thing about sports in general,” Korda said Wednesday, “you can never stay comfortable where you are because there is a new generation, new talent coming, and they’re going to be better and have more knowledge.”

One kid, in particular, likely springs to mind.

Lottie Woad, a 21-year-old college student from England, is the talk of women’s golf after delivering one of the most stunning wins by an amateur by six shots over a strong ﬁeld at the Women’s Irish Open on Sunday Woad, the world’s No. 1 amateur, is now on the cusp of securing a place on the professional tours

and a big week at the picturesque Evian Resort Golf Club overlooking Lake Geneva in the Alps could get her there.

Finish in the top 25 and Woad would have enough qualifying points to seal LPGA Tour membership through its Elite Amateur Pathway, if she is prepared to ditch her college career at Florida State with one year left.

“I haven’t decided yet. I just don’t want to think too far ahead,” Woad said Wednesday “Just get the points and focus on the golf really, and the rest will take care of itself.”

There are other things occupying Woad’s mind during a trip over to Europe that has underlined her status as the next big thing in the women’s game — even if it hasn’t earned her any money because she is an amateur

Asked what she’s excited about most when she comes back to Europe, Woad said: “The food.”

“The chocolate,” she continued, when pressed on speciﬁcs. “It’s better in England than in America.”

Winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last year got her

Swiatek enjoying her best Wimbledon run

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

LONDON Iga Swiatek reached the Wimbledon semiﬁnals for the ﬁrst time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages

Wednesday

“Even though I’m in the middle of the tournament, I already got goosebumps after this win,” said Swiatek, who will face unseeded Belinda Bencic on Thursday for a spot in the ﬁnal. “I’m super happy and super proud of myself.”

Bencic beat No. 7 Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2019 U.S. Open. The other women’s semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against No. 13 Amanda Anisimova; they advanced with wins Tuesday

“It doesn’t end here,” Bencic said.

Swiatek is a five-time major champion, with four of those titles on the red clay of the French Open, and the other on the hard courts of the U.S. Open. She’s also twice been a semiﬁnalist at the hard-court Australian Open. The grass courts of the All England Club always had given her the most trouble as a pro, even though she did claim a junior championship there in 2018 In her five appearances in the Wimbledon women’s bracket before this year, she had made it as far as the quarterﬁnals just once, exiting in that round in 2023. But the 24-year-old from Poland is enjoying a career-best run on the slick surface, thanks in part to being more comfortable with the footing required.

“I, for sure, feel like I really worked hard to progress here on this surface,” Swiatek said. “So this year I feel like I can just work with it and work with myself. I’ll

into every LPGA major except the Women’s PGA Championship, and her results in the biggest events of the year include a tie for 23rd at last year’s Chevron Championship and a tie for 10th at last year’s Women’s British Open.

On the back of a series of strong results on the college scene and then in Ireland last week, Woad is just “trying to carry on the momentum” at the Evian Championship.

“If that means I can be in contention, that would be great,” Woad said. “Just trying to look to play good golf and continue what I was doing last week.”

Korda is seeking her third major title — and ﬁrst since the Chevron in April 2024 — and her ﬁrst win of the season

Another threat is likely to be No. 2-ranked Jeeno Thitikul, who is bidding to win a major for the ﬁrst time.

There have been 12 different winners in the last 12 women’s majors. Most recently, Minjee Lee the No. 6-ranked Australian — won the Women’s PGA Championship last month.

McIlroy rekindles excitement ahead of the Scottish Open

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — A change of scenery might be just what Rory McIlroy needs to shake off the doldrums since winning the Masters for the career Grand Slam, a moment he has said most likely will be the greatest highlight of his career He hasn’t seriously contended in the six tournaments since then, including two majors. And then he ﬁnally made it back to familiar turf in the United Kingdom, where the scenery has his attention.

McIlroy said he could hear the excitement in the voices of friends talking about his Masters win. And there’s the anticipation of two weeks of a different brand of golf, the Scottish Open that starts Thursday and then the British Open at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland.

“I think over these last couple of weeks, coming back over here, seeing people that I know that I haven’t seen since Augusta, having conversations about how people felt watching it obviously rekindles how I felt playing,” McIlroy said Wednesday He went home to see his parents with his Masters green jacket. And then it was back to tournament golf, a media tour, more majors, all part of the routine.

a hybrid links carved along the Firth of Forth that has matured over the last decade.

just keep doing that.”

Before the start of Wimbledon, Swiatek was the runner-up in Bad Homburg, Germany her first final at a tournament played on grass — and her first final at any event in more than a year, a drought that resulted in her falling from the No. 1 ranking and being seeded No. 8 at the All England Club.

Her rough stretch included a one-month ban last season in a doping case after an investigation determined a failed out-of-competition drug test was caused by an unintentional contamination of non-prescription medication for issues with jet lag and sleeping.

On the court, a semiﬁnal loss to Sabalenka at Roland-Garros last month ended Swiatek’s 26-match French Open winning streak.

Swiatek led by a set and 3-0 in the second against Samsonova, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterﬁnal.

Soon, though, it was 4-all, then 5-all. But Swiatek held for a 6-5 lead, then broke to end it, and a smile spread across her face.

“I saw how I can play on practice courts. I was just not sure if I can do it on the match court,” Swiatek said “I kind of already did. I’m going to try to continue that.”

Bencic, who at 28 is a decade older than Andreeva, is competing in her second major tournament since returning to the tour after giving birth to a daughter, Bella, in April 2024.

“I’m very proud, actually All my career, I didn’t say it a lot to myself, but after having Bella, I really say it to myself every day,” Bencic said. “We are just enjoying life on tour with Bella, traveling. It’s been beautiful to create these memories together And obviously, to play great is so amazing, but for me, it’s a bonus.

I’m generally just really happy to be able to play again.”

“It’s been nice to have these couple of weeks to reﬂect, as well as rekindle my excitement and enthusiasm for the rest of the year,” McIlroy said. “We have this week in Scotland and massive week next week in Portrush I’m excited for the rest of year.”

The Scottish Open is in its fourth year as a PGA Tour and European tour event, with more to come after Genesis announced it was extending its sponsorship through 2030.

The ﬁeld features eight of the top-10 players in the world, missing only Russell Henley and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley The test is The Renaissance Club,

WIMBLEDON

Djokovic is 2-0 against Sinner at Wimbledon, eliminating him in the 2023 semifinals and 2022 quarterfinals. Against Cobolli like Sinner a 23-year-old from Italy — the latematch tumble was not the only thing that was far from smooth for Djokovic. He served for the opening set at 5-3 but got broken at love. He later was a point from owning that set before first-time major quarterfinalist Cobolli came through. Djokovic did stretches and breathing exercises at changeovers. He whacked his shoe with his racket after one miss in the fourth set. He seemed bothered at times by the bright sun above Centre Court. He also showed off all of his considerable skills, accumulating 13 aces, holding in 19 of 21 service games, using a drop-shot-lobdrop-shot combination to take one point and limiting his unforced errors to 22 half as many as Cobolli.

It’s not a true links, but certainly a true test to get the world’s best better prepared for the ﬁnal major championship of the year McIlroy, Scottie Schefﬂer, U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele and most of golf’s best players have been away the last two weeks and return to what likely will be a week of mostly sunshine and enough wind to get them acclimated.

Schefﬂer ﬁrst played this brand of golf in 2021, before he had won on the PGA Tour and risen to No. 1 at a level not seen since Tiger Woods.

It’s about the one area he has yet to master. Scheffler has played seven times during the ScottishBritish swing and has yet to ﬁnish closer than ﬁve shots.

“I think one of the things that surprises us is the way turf is over here,” Schefﬂer said. “I played in

On Friday, Djokovic will try to reach his seventh consecutive ﬁnal at the All England Club and get closer to equaling Roger Federer’s men’s mark of eight trophies there. The other men’s semifinal is two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, against Taylor Fritz. The women’s semiﬁnals Thursday are Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek vs. Belinda Bencic Against Shelton at No. 1 Court, Sinner wore a white sleeve on his right arm with strips of tape visible underneath — one above the elbow one below it after he was hurt when he fell in the opening game of his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday Sinner, the runner-up to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, had an MRI exam on Tuesday and initially canceled a practice session that day but did hit some balls in a 20-minute session at an indoor court later

“When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it,” Sinner said. “It has im-

a lot of wind growing up at home. You grow up in Texas, you play in wind all the time, but the wind affects the ball differently because of the turf. This turf is a little bit spinier than the turf at home.”

The 156-player ﬁeld consists of PGA Tour and European tour members, and up for grabs are the ﬁnal three spots for Royal Portrush.

But the focus for now is on the Scottish Open, a big tournament with a strong field in its own right, particularly for the reigning champion. Robert MacIntyre is from across the country in the tiny coastal town of Oban, and this was the next best thing to a major for him.

He will play alongside Schefﬂer and Adam Scott, whom MacIntyre outlasted a year ago.

“It’s the biggest golf tournament, I would say, outside of the major championships for me,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve won it once. But every time I pitch up, I want to win it again.”

proved a lot from yesterday to today.”

He played as though nothing was amiss, grabbing 27 of 29 service points in the ﬁrst set while accumulating a total of 15 winners to just one unforced error

“You can’t go into a match thinking that the guy’s not going to be at 100%,” Shelton said. “His ball was coming off pretty big today, so I didn’t see any difference.” Shelton stayed right with him until 2-2 in the tiebreaker That’s when Sinner surged in front, helped by a double-fault and four consecutive forehand errors by Shelton.

At the outset of the second set, Shelton ﬁnally made some headway in the return game, getting a pair of break points at 15-40. On one, Sinner produced a forehand winner. On the other, he pounded a 132 mph serve — his fastest of the match — and rushed forward, getting to deuce when Shelton’s backhand pass attempt found the net. That was followed by a 118 mph ace and a 125 mph service winner Those were Shelton’s only break chances.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Nelly Korda watches her tee shot on the 10th hole during the second round of the Women’s PGA Championship tournament on June 20 in Frisco, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JESSICA HILL Keegan Bradley, left, talks with Rory McIlroy as they start the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 20 in Cromwell, Conn.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates after winning a quarterfinal match against Liudmilla Samsonova of Russia at Wimbledon in London on Wednesday.

Giants catcher chugsway to history

BY MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press

SANFRANCISCO Patrick

Bailey’sentrance intothe

MajorLeague Baseball record books on Tuesday night began with atight swingthat sent afastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley

It ended with Baileychugging his way around third base then getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates after becoming the third catcherinmajor league history to hit agame-ending, inside-the-park home run.

The three-run shot had an exit velocity of 103.4mph andbounced off thebrick wall at the Giants waterfront ballpark.Itricochetedback toward center ﬁeld as Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh gave chase.

Bailey said his initial thought was to get atriple before he saw third base coach Matt Williams waving him in.

“Off the ball Ijust knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “I saw it was toward Triples Alley and Iwas like, ‘Oh I gotta go. Iatleast gotta get to third.’ Once Isaw the bounce, Iwas like ‘All right,justdon’t fall over.’ ”

It’sthe ninth time this season that the Giants have won in their ﬁnal at-bat, tops in the majors.

It was also the first time in nearly nine years that a player has hit awalk-off, inside-the-park home run in the majors. Cleveland’sTyler Naquin was the last to do so on Aug. 19, 2016.

The three-run home run lifted the Giants to a4-3 win that had the crowd roaringas Bailey crossed the plate.

“He has gotten some big hits this year,” Giants manager Bob Melvinsaid. “In big situations he’scome through. Not as much as he would like. Hopefully that’ssomething that catapults him. Haven’t seen him drive aball like that in awhile.”

Bailey couldn’trecall if he had previously hit an insidethe-park home run at any level. And as nice as this one was, Bailey said that he would have preferred to hit aregular home run

“Tired,” Bailey said when asked how he felt. “I wished it would have gone over the fence.”

ENGEL

Continued from page1C

probably dollar signs.”

“That is true. That is very true,” Tech quarterback Behren Morton said.

Tech is on atimeline that says it’s time fora bumpin the record. That won’tfall on Campbell or athletic director Kirby Hocutt. It’son coach Joey McGuire. Here are the minimums forMcGuire in 2025: Ten wins, aﬁrst forTech since 2008. On the listincludes at least ﬂirting with reaching the Big 12 title game, afeatthe team has never achieved, and the College Football Playoff.

“That is absolutely correct; it’sabout that time for us to do it,” Douglas said.

“We’ve always had the same expectations,but (the money) will help us realize those expectations. Bringing in a different caliber player.” McGuire is the most successful football coach Texas

Coloradocoach Deion Sanders listens to aquestion

WednesdayinFrisco, Texas.

Rich Rod’sreturn to West Virginia ahomecoming, too

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

FRISCO,Texas Rich Rodriguez has moregray around the temples than the last time he was at West Virginia, nearly 20 years ago when he bolted forMichigan as one of the hottest coaching prospects in college football.

Twomore head coaching stops and plenty of losses later,Rodriguez is more than just back at West Virginia. He’shomeagain, in the state where he was born andraised, fora second tour at his alma mater

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Sandersmum on health status Colorado coachputsfocus on

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sports writer

FRISCO,Texas— Deion Sand-

ers declined to address his healthatBig 12 football media days Wednesday, which came duringhis extended absence from Colorado.

“I’m not here to talk about my health,” said Sanders, whoisgoing into histhirdseason as theBuffaloes coach.

“I’m here to talk about my team.”

Since overseeing Colorado’sspringgameApril 19, Sandershadn’tattended football camps in Boulder The school had said last month, amid reports that the coach was ill, that it couldnot saywhy he was absent.

Sanders did not speciﬁcally answer anyquestions about his health.

“I’m looking good. I’m living lovely.God hastruly blessed me,”hesaid. “Not acare in the world. Nota want or desire in the world.”

Sanders was the last of the league’s16coachesto appear on the main stage over two days at the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys, which is about 75 miles from thesprawling ranch thatthe Pro Football Hall of Fame playerhas in Canton, Texas.

During his question-andanswer session that lasted nearly 17 minutes, Sanders addressed topics suchas his coaching staff, quarterbacks and even Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire Sanders then returned to the stage for aroundtable discussion with the other seven coaches in attendanceWednesday,but he didn’t takepartinhis mediabreakout session

Tech has had since the late Mike Leach, and clearing that barisnow ofﬁciallyno longer good enough. McGuire is in his fourthyear in Lubbock, andhe’shad a winning record in allthree seasons.A23-16 record with two bowl winsispretty good.

Tech has spentalot of money to land players in the transfer portal,adding more than 30 transfers in thepast year to upgrade the roster This includes, amongothers, linebackerRomello Height, who has played at USC, Auburn andGeorgia Tech

“I understand howimportantthis year is,” McGuire said Tuesday.“Iwould rather be herethan aplace hoping like crazy everything goes right just to win four or ﬁvegames. (The) players shouldn’tfeel the pressure. Letus(coaches) havethe pressureand see ifwecan’t go out andbeat those expectations.”

He getsLubbock and the Red Raiderscommunity At aplace like Texas Tech,

“I’m lookinggood. I’m livinglovely.God has truly blessed me.Not a care in theworld. Not awant or desire in the world.”

DEIONSANDERS

Coloardo coach

histeam, season

sons on the team. QuarterbackShedeur Sanders was aﬁfth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the NFLdraft, and safety Shilo Sanders signed with TampaBay as an undrafted free agent.

scheduled for each coach at the end of the day

It was unclear whether the latest health issues are new.Sanders, amonth shy of his 58th birthday,has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State. He missed Pac-12 media dayin2023, hisﬁrstyearatColorado, after aprocedure to remove ablood clot from his right legand another to straighten toes on his left foot.

Coloradoathletic director Rick George, who wouldn’telaborate on Sanders’ health,saidthey stay in constant contact. The AD said Sanders probably will be back on campus in aweek or two.

“Wealways talk.Wetext, we talk,” George said. “We have agreat relationship. We trust each other.”

While commending the work of Big12commissioner BrettYormark in his opening remarks, Sanders said that Yormarkcalled himdaily to check to make sure he was getting better.There have also been alot of callsfrom his fellow league coaches.

“I love them. They’ve been calling and checking on me, making sure I’m straight,” Sanders said.

This will be Sanders’ first season at Colorado without having one of his

those are vital attributes.

He’salso been entrusted by theRed Raiders administration to put Tech in a place it’snever been previously.This is acommunity thatwantshim to succeed because he’sone of theirs. But theywant to succeed ﬁrst.

Cash creates expectations.

“Westill have to perform The money doesn’tperform,” Height said. “Weare the ones who have to make it happen. They can payus all we want, but we have to makethe thingshappen.”

Techies should notexpect a2025 national title,but a seat withadecent view is not unreasonable. It took Oregon well over adecade, and afew coaches, to reach its current spotnear the front, but the Ducks are consistentlyatop-15 program and in the highest tier of college sports. That is Tech’slong-term goal.

Before the NCAA announcedwhat effectively

Alsogone is Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter,the two-waystandout who was also like ason to Sanders. Hunter played for him at Jackson State and Colorado, and now will trytoplaybothways in the NFLafter Jacksonville drafted him second overall.

“Now Ionlyhave to be acoach. Idon’thave to be thecoach and adad,”Sanders said during asegment with ESPN

“You’vegot to understand, when you’re the coach and thedad make sure youwatch the defense, make sure you watch the offense, but you want to watch your kids as well.

“I don’thave that dilemma. Now Ican just pour everything Igot into all of these young men.”

Sanders is 13-12 in his two seasons with the revived Buffaloes, whoin their return to the Big 12 last season missed making the league championship game on atiebreaker after being one of four teams to finish 7-2 in conference play

He is under contract with the Buffaloes through the 2029 season afteragreeing to anew $54 million, ﬁve-year deal this spring that made himthe Big 12’s highest-paid coach.

That replaced thefinal three years of the$29.5 million, five-year deal he got whenhearrived from Jackson State, where he was 27-6 in three seasons.

amounts to “a salary cap” for DivisionI athletic departmentsearlier this summer,afew programs took advantageofthe window of an uncappedperiod where they could offer playersvast sumswithout limits.

But when those limits are enforced, Tech hasmadeit clear it plans to be one of those programs that will go above and beyond theminimums with NIL deals. Tech recentlylandedfive-star offensive tackleFelix Ojo, the top-ranked recruit in Texas forthe Class of 2026. He reportedly agreed to a three-year contract worth a reported $5.1 million.

“That’s thegameofNIL thesedays,” Morton said. “Weare using our resources just like everyone elseis using their resources. We have adonor who can use his resourcestohelp us get players. This dayand age is different,and it’s awild.” ThankstoKnight, this plan worked for Oregon. It couldworkfor Texas Tech, too.

“I knowwhere the bodies areburied and the traps are laid and kind of understand theenvironment,” Rodriguez said Wednesday during Big 12 media days at the headquartersofthe Dallas Cowboys in thenorthern suburb of Frisco. “But then again,times have changed.”

Rodriguez speaks of a different conference —it was the Big East back then —and therapidly changing landscape of collegeathletics, along with the money West Virginia has spent on facilities that wowed the 61-year-old when he got a good look at the campus for the ﬁrst timein17years.

Timeshave certainly changed foracoach who was the youngest in the country as a24-year-old at Salem in 1988, and two yearslater took over at tiny GlenvilleStatenot farfrom ahometown that is just 20 miles from the WVU campus in Morgantown.

Therewas thehumbling experience starting in 2008 at Michigan, where Rodriguez wasﬁred with a15-22 record after athree-year stint that began with the first back-to-backlosing seasons forthe Wolverines in 46 years.

Next was asix-year stay at Arizona that ended with awinning record but under the cloud of an investigation over claims of sexual harassment andahostile work environment.

Rodriguez took aﬁve-year break fromhead coaching before joining Jacksonville State,where thenine wins in each of his three seasons ledtoareunion with the Mountaineers.

“I’masmarter andbetter coach than Iwas aweek ago, letalone 20 yearsago,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like 20 years ago, we had some success and that maybe helped me get somerespect in getting this job.

But Ithink if Ididn’twin at Jax State the past three years, Iwouldn’thave had this opportunity.Ithink we’rebetter than we were back then.”

Rodriguezled West Virginia during easily the best three-year stretch in school history.After consecutive 11-2 seasons, the Mountain-

eers hada chancetoqualify forthe national championship game in 2007 butlost the regular-season ﬁnale at rival Pittsburgh, which was aheavy underdog. That stunner sparked an acrimonious departure, with fans blaming Rodriguez’sdecision on the loss to the Panthers and the coach countering that his relationship with athletic director Ed Pastilong was in shambles while the school was refusing to pay assistant coaches whatRodriguez thought they deserved.

West Virginia went after Rodriguez to try to recoup the buyout in his contract. Asettlement led to Michigan paying $2.5 million and Rodriguez the remaining $1.5 million. At Rodriguez’sreintroductorynewsconference, a heckler had to be escorted out. And Rodriguezsaid the administration wondered what the reaction would be. He said he tried not to let that factor intothe decision to return.

“There’sbeen acouple of timesand somebody’ssaid something here or there and allthat,” Rodriguez said. “And Iunderstand that. It might be better off. If theydidn’thavehard feelings, maybe they didn’t miss you.”

Receiver Jaden Bray,going intohis secondseason at West Virginiafollowing two years at Oklahoma State, saidhehasn’tseen any hard feelings. He has an internship that requires himtoworkplentyofsporting events,and it’s worth noting thatthe Mountaineers haven’thad consecutive winning seasonssince 2018.

“WhenIwould be at those events, I’dhavefans coming up to me,‘Are you ready for Rich Rod? Is Rich Rod back?’ ”Bray said. “They were telling me all these storiesabout when he washere, howfun the townwas.” Rodriguez knows how he can quiet the critics.

“I think if you learn from everything,whether it’s good or bad, you’vegot a chance to win,” Rodriguez said. “Every decisionI makewiththe program is does it help us win?”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

during Big 12 media days on

Compère Lapin Buttermilk Biscuits, RECIPE 2D

Make Nina Compton’s ﬂaky biscuits at home

BY ANN MALONEY

Contributing writer

Chancesare,ifyou’ve eaten at CompèreLapin restaurant, you started your meal with Nina Compton’sdelicious, ﬂaky,herbﬂecked buttermilk biscuits.

In the chef-restaurateur’s first cookbook, “Kwéyòl/Creole” (Clarkson Potter,2025),she shares the recipe that lets you createthe tall, tenderbiscuits in your homekitchen.

The kitchen staff makesmore than1,000 of thebiscuits each week to meet diners’ demand. And, the popular biscuits were recently featured in aSouthern Livingmagazinestory about where to ﬁndthe best biscuits in theSouth.

The biscuits are just one of many recipes Compton includedinthe cookbook she describes as “story-driven.” In it, those who love Compton’sfood get to step behind the kitchen’s swinging door to learn about the life experiences that shapedthe way she cooks and discover how she andher husband Larry Miller came to putdownsuchdeep roots in the Crescent City As achild, Compton recalls bouncing in the back of her family’spickup, high-ﬁving banana tree leaves with her sisterasthey traveled St. Lucia’s windingroads. It’sthat kind of joy and vivid detailthat draws readers into her ﬁrstcookbook.

Flip the book open, and you’ll findacolorful map that reflects the chef’s beginnings in her hometown of Moulin aVent on St.Lucia andher subsequent stops in Montego Bay in Jamaica,Miami and, finally,New Orleans, where she and herhusband Larry Miller have lived for 10 years. The couple now runstwo restaurants, including Compère Lapin, which opened to much acclaim and markedits 10th anniversary this summer Naturally reserved,Compton credits her co-author,Osayi Endolyn, with helping her dig deep soshe could not only share recipes, but how herfood flavored the worlds she has inhabited and their way of life.

“A lot of people are really touched by the book,” she said. People have become tearyat her signings, as they reminisce about their favorite dishes from

ä See BISCUITS, page 2D

AFLAIR FORFLAVOR

Spiceupthe summer with catfish in aParmesancrust,Creolecoleslaw

Inaworld increasingly homogenized, New Orleans remainsstubbornly and deliciously itself —acultural gumbo thatrefuses to be replicated. Like theperfect étouffée, the city smothers you in warmth, complexity and satisfaction.

The architectureofthe French Quarter is avisual feast—buildings frosted with ironworkbalconies that curland swirllike chocolate decorations on afancy dessert. Beneath them, shops offerpralines so sweet they make your ﬁllings ache, while thescent of chicorycoffee provides abalanced counterpoint.

In City Park, ancient oak trees stretch their arms like ladles stirring the sky, their Spanishmoss hanging like herbs drying in a kitchen window.Locals picnic on thegrass, spreading blankets and unpacking containers of spicy boiled shrimp and cold Abita beer

The Mississippi River ﬂows be-

side it all. Paddlewheel steamboats churnthrough itswaters, offering jazz brunches wherethe musicis as rich as thehollandaisesauce on eggs Sardou. Butyou needn’toverindulge to capturethe essence of theCrescent City in your own kitchen. The magic of New Orleans cuisine lies in itsbold ﬂavorsrather than heavy techniques

My Parmesan-crusted baked catﬁsh delivers all thesatisfaction of a traditional fry without oil, the nutty cheese forming agolden crust that crackles with each forkful.

ä See SPICE, page 2D

Mint yogurt saucerevelsinzesty chickenthigh pairing

BY GRETCHENMcKAY PittsburghPost-Gazette (TNS)

Likemany home cooks, Ikeep akitchen garden planted with herbs during the summer growing season. Ihave apretty good hand with basil and rosemary,and my parsley generally does pretty well, too. Yetone of the mostproliﬁc —ordare I say dastardly —patches of green contains mint The bully of theherb world, mintisquick to takeover a garden by

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Kevin Belton

Creole Slaw PAGE 2D

Rinseand recycle

Dear Heloise: I, too, live in Tucson, Arizona, and follow the same ritual for rinsing recyclables in dishwater as J.B. Ialsoput some items in the dishwasher when there is room. Most loads always have aspot or two where adish or cup may not ﬁt, but arecyclable might. —Valerie Golembiewski, in Tucson,Arizona

Agem of wisdom

They arealsoamajor sourceof the antioxidant lycopene, which is believedtoreduce thelikelihoodofcancerand heartdisease. Most tomatoesare about 95% water, with the remaining 5% being ﬁber and carbohydrates. —Heloise Frozen dogs

Parent’s phobia meanscouplecan’t host

meals at theirhouse and then not reciprocating? We are young and broke, so entertainingthemina restaurant is notareal possibility. Do we have to get ridoftwo pets in order to satisfyhis father?

The shorter version is:“Yes, dear.” —Chuck N., in San Antonio

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Sometimes the best way to win an argument is to say,“Youare right.”

Themightytomato

Dear Heloise: I’ve been reading about various foods to avoid,and tomatoes have come up afew times. Ithought tomatoeswere supposed to be good for you. Bridget, in Scottsdale,Arizona

Bridget, if you have acid reﬂux or some other condition that your doctor tells you is aggravated by tomatoes, then it’s probably best to avoidthem However,tomatoesare agood source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K.

By The Associated Press

Dear Heloise: Iused to freeze hot dogs in the entire package, but they were difﬁcult to separate whenIonlyneeded one or two. Now Iremove them from the package, lay them one by one on acookie sheet, and freeze them.While they’restill frozen, Iplace them in afreezer bag, andwhen Iamready, they come right out and don’t stick together —B.R.,Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (Don’t)takeastabatit

Dear Heloise: Whycan’tpeople use their utensils (fork, knife andspoon)properly when they eat? There is noneed to hold your utensils in your ﬁsts and stab or slash away at your food.

—Luisa, in Texas

Email heloise@heloise.com.

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Thursday,July 10,the 191st day of 2025. There are 174 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On July 10, 1940, during World WarII, the Battle of Britain began as the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

Also on this date:

In 1509, theologian JohnCalvin, akey ﬁgure of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, Picardy,France.

In 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th US state.

In 1925, jury selection began in Dayton, Tennessee, in thetrial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin’sTheory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and ﬁned, but the verdict was overturned on atechnicality.)

In 1929, American paper currency was reduced in sizeasthe government beganissuing bills that were approximately 25% smaller In 1951, armistice talksaimed at ending the Korean Warbegan at Kaesong.

In 1962, the ﬁrst active communications satellite,Telstar 1,

was launched byNASA. In 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of ofﬁce as the ﬁrst elected presidentofthe Russian republic.

In 2002, theU.S.House approved ameasure to allow airline pilots to carry gunsinthe cockpit to defendtheir planes against terrorists (President GeorgeW.Bush latersigned the measureinto law) In 2015, South Carolina pulled the Confederate battle ﬂag from its place of honor at theStatehouseaftermore than 50 years. Today’sbirthdays: Singer Mavis Staplesis86. Actor Robert Pine is 84. International Tennis Hall of Famer Virginia Wade is 80. FolksingerArloGuthrie is 78. Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is 71. Rock singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys)is71. Banjo player Bela Fleck is 67.

Actor FionaShaw is 67. Singer/ actor JackyCheung is 64. Actor Alec Mapais60. Country singer Gary LeVox(Rascal Flatts)is55.

Actor Soﬁa Vergara is 53. Actor Adrian Grenier is 49.Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is 48. Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas is 45. Singer/actor Jessica Simpson is 45. Actor Emily Skeggsis35. Pop singer Perrie Edwards (Little Mix) is 32. Actor Isabela Merced is 24.

Spicy Chicken ThighwithMint YogurtSauce

Serves 4. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

FORCHICKEN:

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs(about 6)

4tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

4tablespoons tomato paste

5garlic cloves, minced Zest and juice of 1lemon

2tablespoons smoked paprika

2tablespoons dried oregano

Generouspinch of cayenne pepper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper FOR SAUCE: ½cup plain Greek yogurt

½bunch fresh mint, leaves picked (about 1cup), roughly chopped

4green onions, roughly chopped 1jalapeno pepper,seeded and roughly chopped Zest and juice of 1lemon

2tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,totaste FOR SERVING:

2cups cooked rice, quinoa or couscous

1. Prepare chicken: Pat chicken thighs dry with aclean papertowel. (This will help the marinade adhere better to the meat.)

2. In largebowl, whisk together olive oil, tomato paste,garlic, lemonjuice andzest,paprika, oregano and agenerous pinch of cayenne. Seasontotaste withsalt andpepper.

3. Add chicken thighstobowl,

MINT

Continued from page1D

yogurt in afood processor with green onion, fresh lemon and jalapeño to create atopping for gently spiced, roasted boneless chicken thighs.

Marinating the chicken thighs beforecooking will help tenderize the meat andadd ﬂavor.I letthem rest in the marinade overnight in the fridge, buteven

Dear Miss Manners: My boyfriend and Ishare an apartment,and also share two pet snakes. These are not large reptiles, and are kept in very secure glass tanks behind closed doors. We understand that manypeople are not comfortable with reptiles, so we never let them roam around the apartment. If we have company,we never bring our petsout or even open the door to that room;they stay completely out of sight. We would never presumetoforce anyone to interact in theslightest with an animal that caused them anxiety

and toss to combine, making sure all of the meat is covered with marinade.

4. Cover bowl with plasticwrap, andplace inthe refrigerator.Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1hourand up to overnight.

5. Aboutahalfanhour before you want to cook, remove chicken from fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425 F.

6. Placechicken in aroasting pan(Iused acast-iron skillet) and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or untilchicken registers 165 Fonan instant-read thermometer

7. While chicken is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Add yogurt, mint,green onions, jalapeño pepper, lemon zestand juice and olive oiltothe bowlofa food processor or blender. Process untilthe mixture is as smooth or chunky as you like.(Imade it fairlysmooth.)

8. Pour sauce into aserving bowl,season to taste withsalt andpepper and set asidewhile youplate the chicken.

9. Remove chicken from the roasting pan or skillet to aserving platter.Ifyou like, pour some of thejuices in the pan on top.

10.Slice chicken thigh into thin slices, or servewhole with your favorite grain and the mint yogurt sauce.

an hourwill add aquick ﬂavor boost. If you don’t use all the marinade when roastingthe meat,besuretodiscardit. Iused about acup of packed mintleaves in theyogurt sauce, but youcoulduse moreorless depending onhow thick and/or chunkyyou wantittobe. Ipaired thechicken and sauce with steamed whiterice, but anyfavorite grain is agreat accompaniment. Youcan cut the chicken into slices before serving, or serve whole.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

The problem is that my boyfriend’sfather is so afraid of snakes that he will not even set foot in theapartment, despite thefact that they are securely contained and not visible. Iwould love to be able toentertain his family in our home, but his father is adamant that he will not come over until thesnakes are no longer there. Is it rude of us to persist in eating

SPICE

Continuedfrom page1D

Pair it with my Creole Slaw,the crisp cabbage spiked with Creole mustard and alil’ bit of hot sauce, if you dare (and very little mayo because Monica is not afan of mayo).

Suddenly,your Tuesday night dinner proves that New Orleans’ culinary ﬂair can be both soulful and sensible.

New Orleans teaches us that life, like cooking, isn’tabout following someone else’srecipe to the letter It’s about throwing in what you have, adjusting to taste, andsharing the resultswithothers.

It’sabout understanding that sometimes themost meaningful experiences come from embracing the mess, thespice and the unexpected combinations that create something magniﬁcent!

Kevin Belton is resident chef

Gentle reader: What you need is amutual agreement on how you will reciprocate their hospitality

Would your boyfriend’s parents, forexample, be amenable to having you sometimes prepare and bring ameal to them?

Surely that is preferable to ﬁnding alternative living arrangements for Antony and Cleopatra.

Dear Miss Manners: What is the proper way to exit achurch at the end of aservice? My boyfriend thinks that you must let everyone in the adjacent pew(the one closer to the doors) exit before you do. I view it more like astreet intersection, but less formal, where groups of people take turns exiting.

In my view,you should not try to rush, bumporpush people out of the way,but you should also go

of WWL-TV and has taught classes in Louisianacooking for 30 years. Themost recent of his four cookbooks, “KevinBelton’s Cookin’ Louisiana:Flavors from the Parishes of thePelican State,” waspublishedin2021. Email Chef at chefkevinbelton@ gmail.com.

with the flow and not hold people up. My boyfriend thought Iwas very rude, and berated me in the parking lot, because Idid not let all of the people in the next pew exit first. Instead, Ifollowed the womaninfront of me. She had invited the people in the other pew to go first, but they said no, waving her ahead. Ifollowed her out without stopping to invite the samepeople to exit first. WasI rude?

Gentle reader: Miss Manners agrees that if someone asks people to go ahead, then the request should be obeyed, as it maymask aneed for more time to disembark. Youwould hardly want to get into apushing match in church with an elderly couple by insisting that you are not going anywhere until they get amove on. Why you would want aboyfriend whoberates you is another question.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com.

CreoleSlaw

This recipe calls for aquarter cup of mayonnaise, but for a lighter version, substitute plain Greek yogurt. This slaw is best eaten the sameday,asitloses its crunch over time. However,you can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3days. Serves 6-8.

16 ouncesofpackaged coleslawmix ¼cup mayo 1tablespoon Creole seasoning 2tablespoonsCreole mustard 1tablespoon apple cidervinegar 2teaspoons sugar

1. Combine themayo, mustard, seasoning, cider and sugar.Mix well.

2. Add the seasoning mixture to the coleslaw

3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

4. Tasteand adjust forseasoning. If you wantaspicier slaw,add a splash of hot sauce.

Compère Lapin Buttermilk Biscuits

From “Kwéyòl/Creole.” Made with butter and all-purposeaswellascake ﬂour,these biscuits come outtall, tenderand ﬂaky.The recipe calls forusing amixer,sothere is no folding and re-rolling thedough.Compton likes to make themwith chives, but we tried avariety of herbs, so dealer’schoice. The chef makes herbiscuits salt-forward, using atablespoonofsalt,but we reduced that forthis at-home version. Makes 12 biscuits.

4sticks unsalted butter,cold 5¼ cups all-purpose flour,plusmore for dusting 2cups cake flour

2tablespoons granulated sugar

1tablespoon baking powder

1½ teaspoons fine salt

½teaspoon baking soda

½cup chives, thinly sliced

2cups plus 6tablespoons buttermilk, divided 1largeegg yolk

3tablespoons flaky sea salt(optional)

1. Position arack in the middle of theoven and preheat to 325 F. Line asheet panwith parchment paper.

2. Cut thecold butter into ¼-inch cubes and refrigerate until needed.

BISCUITS

Continuedfrom page1D

their island homes.

“I wanted to be very respectful of the recipes that people expect,” she said.

To thatend, the recipes sometimes feature ingredients thatmay be unfamiliartothose born outside theCaribbean, such as ackee, breadfruit, goat and green ﬁg (or unripe banana)

“There are some things that you cannot substitute,” shesaid, andshe hopespeoplewho use her recipestry newﬂavors andingredients. “I wantpeople to venture out to the Latin and Asian markets and really explore.”

The book also features her spins on popular Southern dishes, such as herCreolePotato Salad,made withthe trinity of green bell pepper,onion and celery,along with generous additions of Creole mustard andseasoning blend resulting in abig-ﬂavored, creamy dish that’sideal for summer gatherings. When St.Lucians usethe term Creole, or Kwéyòl, theyare talking abouta cuisine that reflects diverse African influences,said Compton, whose father,Sir John GeorgeMelvin Compton,led St. Lucia to independence and served severalterms as prime minister Other cultures left their mark on the island’sfood as well, even within her own family

The chef’s parents—Compton’s father died in 2007, but her mother

3. In thebowl of astand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, addthe all-purpose and cake flours, sugar,baking powder,saltand baking soda. Mix forafew seconds on low speed to combine.Add the butterand mixonalow speeduntil the mixture forms into pea-sized balls, 5to8minutes. Add the chives and continue mixing for about 1minute, just to combine. Slowly add 2 cups of thebuttermilk and keep mixing just until afirm,smooth, cohesivedough forms, about5 minutes. Do not over-mix.

4. On alightly ﬂouredsurface, turn outthe dough and roll into a rectangle about12-by-4-by-2 inches. Use adough cutterora sharp

knife to cut the biscuits into 12 2-inch squares. Place the squares on the sheet pan. It’sOKifthe biscuits touch as theyexpand and bake.

5. In asmall bowl, whisk together the remaining 6tablespoons of buttermilk and the egg yolk, until combined to make an egg wash. Gently brush the egg wash over the top of the biscuits and sprinkle the ﬂaky sea salt, if using.

6. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes to ensure even baking, until golden brown. The biscuits are thick, so if youare unsureiftheyare cooked completely,carefully slice one open and take apeek.

Lady Janice Barbara Clarke still livesonSt. Lucia—traveleda good deal, so, as achild, Compton learnedtocook fromher grandmother,Phyllis Clark, anative of Britain, who married aSt. Lucian and moved to the Eastern Caribbean island afterWorld WarII. Having lived through deprivation during the war,she also taught Compton howtodeftly manage a kitchen.

Compton “learned from standing side-by-side, watching, listening and mimicking,”she said, adding that, by the time she was 16, she knew shewanted to be aprofessional cook.

Like her grandmother, she is dead-seriousabout herfoodand her business, but that laser focus is balanced by her exuberance when it comes to enjoying life. And, in New Orleans, she said, she’sfound asecondhome that embraces that balance. Compton ﬁrst cametothe Cres-

cent City when she was invited to be acontestant on Bravo’s“Top Chef” in 2013. Theappearance brought her anational following as shecameinsecondand wasnamed “fan favorite.” The city’sweather,brightly painted houses and warmth drew herin. And, nowshe andher husband have put down deep roots, expanding their business by opening Nina’sCreole Cottage, aquick-service restaurant in the Caesars Hotelin2023. The couplealsodoesa podcast together called “Between Bites,” in which they talk with New Orleanians aboutthe city’sculture (Their third restaurant Bywater American Bistro, also known as BABS, closed in May.)

“It’sreallythe people,” she said of her adopted home. “It’sjust howtheyare. It’s the pleasantry, the kindness, the hospitality.We were coming from Miami, where it was becoming very competitive.Here, it was, ‘Hey do you have aﬁsh guy? Ihave someone.’ I thought, wow, that’sreally nice. It’s all about sharing, because there is strength in numbers. Whereas in some places,theywanttosee you fail because they see you as competition.

“And,” she added, “New Orleans feels like abig island.”

Reprinted withpermission from “Kwéyòl/Creole: Recipes Stories,and Tings from aSt. Lucian Chef’s Journey” by Nina Compton withOsayiEndolyn. PublishedbyClarksonPotter, adivisionofPenguinRandom House,LLC.

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Creole Slaw

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Tech stocks push

Nasdaq to record

A rally in big tech stocks led the broader market to a higher close Wednesday, lifting the Nasdaq to an all-time high and helping Wall Street claw back most of its losses from earlier in the week

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% for its ﬁrst gain this week. The benchmark index remains near the record it set last week after a better-than-expected U.S jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, closed 0.9% higher The gain was good enough to nudge the index past the record high it set last Thursday.

Wednesday was initially set as a deadline by President Donald Trump for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been extended to Aug. 1. This latest phase in the White House’s trade war heightens the threat of potentially more severe tariffs that’s been hanging over the global economy. Higher taxes on imported goods could hinder economic growth, if not increase recession risks.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would be announcing tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs at a “very, very high rate, like 200%.” He also said he would sign an executive order placing a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.

Amazon’s Prime Day gets a solid start

NEW YORK The first day of Amazon’s Prime Day event and competing retail sales that kicked off on Tuesday drove solid online spending compared to a year earlier according to two data sources. Adobe Digital Insights, which tracks visits to e-commerce sites, reported that U.S. consumers spent $7.9 billion at online stores on Tuesday, a 9.9% increase from the comparable day last year

Retailers offered discounts in the range of 9% to 23%, on par with July 2024 sales events, Adobe said.

Shoppers appeared especially eager to take advantage of deals on appliances, electronics and home improvement products, the data company said. Online sales of appliances were 135% higher than last month’s daily average, according to Adobe’s data.

Amazon doubled the length of Prime Day to four days this year.

‘Click-to-cancel’ rule is blocked by court

A “click-to-cancel” rule, which would have required businesses to make it easy for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions and memberships, has been blocked by a federal appeals court just days before it was set to go into effect. The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed changes, adopted in October, required businesses to obtain a customer’s consent before charging for memberships, auto-renewals and programs linked to free trial offers.

The FTC said at the time that businesses must also disclose when free trials or other promotional offers will end and let customers cancel recurring subscriptions as easily as they started them.

The FTC rule was set to go into effect on Monday, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said this week that the FTC made a procedural error by failing to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis, which is required for rules whose annual impact on the U.S. economy is more than $100 million.

Nvidia soars to $4 trillion valuation

Chipmaker is first publicly traded company to reach that number

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP technology writer

SAN FRANCISCO Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia on Wednesday became the ﬁrst publicly traded company to surpass a $4 trillion

market valuation, putting the latest exclamation point on the investor frenzy surrounding an artiﬁcial intelligence boom powered by its industry-leading processors.

Although Nvidia’s market value dipped back below $4 trillion by the time the stock market closed, reaching the milestone highlighted the upheaval being unleashed by an AI craze that’s widely viewed as the biggest tectonic

shift in technology since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the ﬁrst iPhone 18 years ago.

Underscoring the changing of the guard, AI bellwether Nvidia is now worth $900 billion more than Apple, which rode the iPhone’s success to become the ﬁrst publicly traded company to valued at $1 trillion, $2 trillion and eventually, $3 trillion.

Nvidia’s rise as come as Apple has struggled to deliver on its

ambitions to infuse the iPhone and other products with more AI with an array of new features that included a more than year-old promise to smarten up its often bumbling virtual assistant. Apple acknowledged last month that delivering on its AI vision is going to take until at least next year, leading some industry analysts to wonder if the company will have to acquire an AI startup to regain momentum.

KNOW THE POLICY

Property owners are often shocked how expansive flood devastation can be

BY SALLY HO

By The Associated Press

SEATTLE Though natural disasters cycle

across seasons and regions in the U.S., it’s often a shocking discovery for property owners how expansive and expensive ﬂood and water damage can be when a major storm devastates their homes, businesses and communities.

That’s because oftentimes insurance doesn’t cover what the policyholder thinks it does or thinks it should.

The disappointing surprise is that while the standard home insurance policy does cover ﬁre and wind damage, even good property insurance typically doesn’t cover things like ﬂooding and earthquakes, which usually require a special and separate policy for each.

Who has flood insurance

Most people who have ﬂood insurance are required to have it.

Although many property owners have the option of purchasing ﬂood insurance, it is mandated for government-backed mortgages that sit in areas that the Federal Emergency Management Agency deems highest risk. Many banks require it in high-risk zones, too.

But most private insurance companies don’t carry flood insurance, leaving the National Flood Insurance Program run by FEMA as the primary provider Congress created the federal ﬂood insurance program more than 50 years ago when many private insurers stopped offering poli-

cies in high-risk areas. FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center has an online tool to check your area. FEMA notes even a 1% chance of ﬂooding is considered high risk because it amounts to a 1-in-4 chance of ﬂooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

Who doesn’t have flood insurance

Homeowners in high-risk areas who should have it sometimes decide not to get it. Someone who pays off their mortgage can drop their ﬂood insurance once it’s not required. Or if they purchase a house or mobile home with cash, they may not opt for it at all.

The rest of us are just rolling the dice, even though experts have long warned that flooding can happen just about anywhere because flood damage isn’t just water surging and seeping into the land — it’s also water from banks, as well as mudflow and torrential rains.

Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group, said only about 6% of U.S. households have a ﬂood policy primarily in the costal areas prone to hurricanes. That rate has remained steady in recent years despite the increasing frequency of severe ﬂooding events, including in areas that are not formally considered by the government to be high risk.

“Lack of flood coverage is the largest insurance gap across the country,” Friedlander said in an email. “Ninety percent of U.S. natural disasters involve flooding and flood-

ing can occur just about anywhere it rains.”

What flood insurance covers

Even if a homeowner does have ﬂood insurance, the coverage may not be enough to make a policyholder whole again.

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program only covers up to $250,000 for singlefamily homes and $100,000 for contents. Renters can get up to $100,000 for contents, and commercial flood insurance will cover up to $500,000. There are concerns that such flooding coverage limits are not robust enough, especially at a time when climate change is making strong hurricanes even stronger and making storms in general wetter, slower and more prone to intensifying rapidly And what typically happens to the people without flood insurance in a major storm is that they can try to recover some money from their standard home insurance but may end up in a fight to determine what damage is or isn’t wind versus rain, or even “winddriven rain.”

Don Hornstein, an insurance law expert at the University of North Carolina, said the line between wind and water is a thin but very clear line that technical experts can determine.

Should there be a proverbial tie the law favors the insurance company

“If the house was simultaneously destroyed by ﬂood and, concurrently (by) wind, it’s not covered by private insurance,” Hornstein said.

Company says doll ‘captures the community’

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK Mattel has introduced its ﬁrst Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes, as part of wider efforts from the toy maker to increase inclusivity among its dolls.

In an announcement Tuesday, Mattel said it had partnered with Breakthrough T1D a Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF — to ensure that the design of the doll “truly captures the community.” That includes accessories that “accurately

reﬂect the medical equipment” people with Type 1 diabetes may need, the California-based company noted.

“Visibility matters for everyone facing Type 1 diabetes,” Emily Mazreku, director of marketing strategy at Breakthrough T1D, said in an accompanying announcement. And as a mother who lives with Type 1 diabetes, she added, “it means everything to have Barbie helping the world see T1D and the incredible people who live with it.”

The new Barbie wears continuous glucose monitor, a device that tracks blood sugar levels, on her arm — while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app. She also has an insulin pump attached to her waist. And the doll carries a blue purse that

can be used to carry other essential supplies or snacks on the go.

The Barbie’s outﬁt is blue, too — with polka dots on a matching top and skirt set. Mattel says that this color and design are nods to symbols for diabetes awareness.

This new doll “enables more children to see themselves reﬂected in Barbie,” Mattel wrote Tuesday, and is part of the company’s wider Fashionistas line committed to inclusivity The line features Barbies with various skin tones, hair colors and textures, disabilities, body types and more. Previously-introduced Fashionistas include a Ken doll with a prosthetic leg and a Barbie with hearing aids. Mattel also introduced its ﬁrst doll with Down syndrome in 2023.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT People search debris along the Guadalupe River on Wednesday after deadly flooding in Kerrville, Texas

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Participate and enjoy. Don't putoff what you can accomplish today. Joinin, formulate a plan andmake things happen. Take the initiative, be an instigator andsee what unfolds.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Keep your eyeon the ball when dealing with government, legal and financial matters. Do your best to get along with your colleagues and to align yourself with those you feel akin to.

VIRGO(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Be smart about investing your time, money andemotions. Know who you are dealingwith and get everything in writing. Emotional energy will surface, leaving you vulnerable if you take the bait.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Be smart about investing your time, money andemotions.Not everyone will share your principles. Know whoyou are dealing with and get everything in writing.

SCORPIO (Oct.24-Nov. 22) You'll want to exploreprospects that require upgrading your skills and expertise. Don't let fear stand between you and strivingfor something better

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Concentrate on learning, exploring possibilities and finding ways to bring in more cash. Doing what you enjoy will bring you in contact with like-mindedpeople and potential partners andfriends.

CAPRICORN(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Precision, attention to detail and quick action will help you gain respect and increase your potential to negotiate success-

fully.Keep things simple and avoid interference.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20-Feb. 19) Make alterations at home that will help youpursue what's essential. Discussions will help youresolvepending issuesand give youaccess to suggestions that can improve your work.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Don't overlook what others aredoing. Place more thought into networking andmingling with people you can learnfrom. Personal and professional growthlook promising,but youwillhavetodosome legwork. Get moving.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Give and take will be essential if you plan to get along with others. Be willing to compromise andshare the cost, time and workload necessary to achieve positive results.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Work to ease your mind andstop others from pressuring you. Look for opportunities to expand your horizons and relationships. Make changes at home to ensure optimumefficiency.

GEMINI (May21-June20) Spend time researching, interacting with experts and considering your options. Bide your time, avoid premature action and be cognizant of what others choose to do

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

CelebrityCipher cryptograms are created fromquotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands foranother.

CLUE: EEQUALS F

For better or For WorSe

SALLYForth beetLe bAILeY

GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases fromMonday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

JoshBillings, the penname of humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw, said, “There arepeople whoare always anticipating trouble, and in thisway they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happentothem.”

Bridgeexperts, though, are always anticipating trouble, andinthis waythey managemoreplusscoresthanthosewho always assume everything will work out perfectly

In today’s deal,South opensand closes theauctionwithhisthree-spadebid.West leads the diamond 10. East wins with his ace and returns the diamond two. What should South do now?

The traditional requirements fora weakthree-bid are two of the topthree or threeofthe topfivehonors in the seven-card suitand 5-10 high-card points These days the requirements have been lowered by manyplayers, especially at favorable vulnerability. But it does not hurt to have atextbook hand occasionally

North thought about raising to four spades, but knew game wasunlikely And he hoped thatEast might balance, allowing North to double the opponents andgain asizable penalty.

It is tempting for South to winthe secondtrickonthe board andimmediately to playa trump. However, with thislayouthewouldgodown. West would take the trickand give his partner adiamond ruff.

wuzzles

East would cash the heartace, and West wouldget asecondtrump trick Southshouldanticipatethe5-2diamond break.(Intheory,ifEasthadstartedwith three diamonds, he would have returned his higher remaining diamond, not the two.) Before touching trumps, declarer should cash dummy’s topclubs anddiscard histhird diamond. ©2025 by NEA,Inc.,dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

EachWuzzleisawordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

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

ToDAY’sWoRD MELAnIn: MEL-uh-nin: Apigmentfound primarily in skin, hair, feathersand eyes

Average mark 22 words Time limit30minutes

Can you find 29 or morewords in MELANIN?

YEsTERDAY’s WoRD —BEGRuDGED

beer begged begrudge berg bred breed budge bugged burg burgee edge

edger egged grebe greed grub grudge redbud reed rube rude rugged

udder urge debug debugged debugger deed deer dredge dreg drub drudge drug drugged dude

loCKhorNs

Youdon’t have to be in the dark about life. Letthe Lord shine his truth intoyour life. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

mallard

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