The Times-Picayune 07-10-2025 by The Advocate

Qualifying opensfor N.O. elections

7enter mayoralraceaslineforms forsheriff,CityCouncil

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

Three of the four leading candidates formayor on Wednesday filed formal paperwork to run in the Oct. 11 primary election, theﬁrstofa three-day qualifying period.

Council members Helena Morenoand OliverThomas, along with former Criminal DistrictCourt Judge Arthur Hunter,arrived at the Orleans

ä Hutsontorun for reelectionto Orleans Parish sheriff. Page 4A

ä Twoenter specialelection for Slidellmayor Page 4A

Parish Clerk of Court’sofﬁce before noon, in between a ﬂurry of candidates running in other races.

Another mayoral front-runner,state Sen. Royce Duples-

sis, is expected to qualify on Thursday

Four othercandidates

RenadaCollins, FrankJanusa, Tyrell Morris and Ricky Twiggs —alsoqualiﬁed for the mayor’srace.

The qualifying periodisan election-season milestone,as publicly announced candidates make it ofﬁcial and rumored ones put an endtospeculation. The end of qualifying is also when campaigns typically

heat up.

The mayor’srace has thus far been fairly low temperature, with one public forum in which Moreno, Thomas and Hunter —Duplessis hadn’tentered therace yet —focused on their platforms.

As they leftthe courthouse on Wednesday,the candidates said theyexpected the race to remaincivil.

ä See QUALIFYING, page 4A

ACHANGINGCANAL

Palace Café shuttering maybea sign of street’supswing rather than decline

BY ANTHONYMcAULEY Staff writer

Thepossiblepermanentclosure of the PalaceCafé on lower Canal Street has stirred familiar lamentationsabout the decline of the milelong NewOrleans commercial stripthatwas once lauded as “the Champs-Élysées of the South.”

But boostersofthe historic New Orleans boulevard noted that the clos-

ing was, ironically,oversoaring rent and property valuation, an indication more of the improving commercial prospects of theboulevard than its deterioration.

TheCreole bistro’s closing —which mightyet be reversed —also comes amid several public and private initiatives that are aimed at elevating Canal Street, which already has seen some patchy signsofrecoveringits former glory

The Palace Café case “really does seemtobeanindication of commercial vibrancy,atleast of that part of Canal Street,” said Seth Knudsen,executive director of the Downtown DevelopmentDistrict, astate agency that, among other things, overseessecurity beautiﬁcation andeconomicdevelopment efforts for an area that includes lower Canal Street.

ä See CANAL, page 8A

U.S. measlesnumbers highest in decades

BY DEVI SHASTRI Associated Press

The U.S. is having itsworst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with atotal 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 countsurpassed2019, when therewere1,274 casesfor

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

the year and the countryalmost lost its status of having eliminated the vaccinepreventable illness. That could happen this year if thevirus has nonstop spread for 12 months. This year’soutbreaks, some of them interconnected, started five months agoinundervaccinatedcommunities in West Texas. Threepeoplehave died —two children in Texas and an adultinNew Mexico— and dozens of people have been hospitalized. Public health experts maintain the truecase count may be higher than state health departments have conﬁrmed. North America has threeother majormeasles outbreaks, with 2,966 cases in Chihuahua state,

Mexico, 2,223 cases in Ontario, Canada and1,230 in Alberta, Canada. Thirteen other states have confirmed outbreaks of three or more people —Arizona,Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri,Montana, NewMexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah —and four otherstates saw their outbreaks end.

ä See MEASLES, page 4A

BY ALEXLUBBEN Staff writer

The council thatPresident DonaldTrump establishedtooverhaul theFederal Emergency Management Agency met in NewOrleansonWednesday, promising acompleteremake of the agency that Louisiana hasreliedupon to recover from disastersranging from destructive hurricanes to saltwater intrusion

LedbySecretaryofHomeland Security Kristi Noem, the FEMA Review Council is tasked with reporting on the agency‘s strengths and failures and making alist of recommendations for overhaulingit. As the council met,natural disasters were unfolding in parts of the U.S., with severe ﬂooding in Texas and NewMexicoclaiming the livesofmore than 100 people. In Louisiana, hurricane season is just getting underway An above-average number of storms is forecast thisyear Trump formed thecouncil, Noem said at themeeting, to “streamline andrightsize thefederal government, especially in its role in disaster management.”

ä See FEMA, page 4A

Thomas Twiggs

Collins Moreno

Morris

Hunter

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Astreetcar passes the closed Palace Café by Dickie Brennan &Co. in the 600 block of Canal StreetinNew Orleans on Wednesday

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Gov. Jeff Landryholds anews conferenceWednesdayafter aFederal Emergency Management Agency Review Council meeting in NewOrleans.

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 Times-Picayune 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.

Tips /Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM

Comer

Bedford

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.

Hutson to run for reelection

Top challengers file bids

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

Despite rock-bottom approval ratings and a barrage of criticism two months after May’s jailbreak, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said Wednesday she’ll stay in the race for another term, while three others ﬁled formal bids to oppose her in the October election.

Hutson suspended her campaign shortly after 10 detainees escaped from the Orleans Parish lockup on May 16. Nine have been recaptured, while one convicted murderer Derrick Groves — remains on the run.

But Hutson had not said before whether the suspension of her campaign was permanent or temporary When election qualifying began Wednesday, Hutson told a reporter she would ﬁle to run before Friday’s deadline.

“I did always plan to come back,” Hutson said. She’s scheduled a campaign restart event for Thursday night at Addis NOLA on Bayou Road.

Two expected candidates who qualified Wednesday former New Orleans Police interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork

and former OPSO Deputy Edwin Shorty — announced their campaigns months ago and have been actively raising money Woodfork, a longtime New Orleans police ofﬁcer, holds a significant fundraising lead and in June was named the clear favorite among respondents in the race’s only third-party poll. The poll from New Orleans political analyst Ron Faucheux also included approval ratings for several local politicians, including Hutson. It was commissioned by the New Orleans Crime Coalition. Shorty is an attorney and the longtime 2nd City Court constable in Algiers.

A third candidate, Ernest Lee, also qualified Wednesday, but hasn’t released much information about his campaign. Retired Criminal District Court Judge Julian Parker, who announced his candidacy in April, said he’ll formally ﬁle his bid Thursday Neither candidate has reported any fundraising. Hutson was already a vulnerable incumbent after a controversial ﬁrst term, when she fought

off allegations of improper public spending and retaliation against employees. Other problems, including skyrocketing rates of violence and the jail’s faulty maintenance, exploded into public view with the jailbreak.

Hutson has maintained many of the issues are the result of underfunding and understaffing, and has fought with the New Orleans City Council in requesting more money

Her opponents acknowledged Wednesday that they’re running for a difﬁcult job “I would never say that I don’t have sympathy for Sheriff Hutson,” said Shorty, who oversees a team of roughly 35 part-time civil deputies. Hutson has a staff of nearly 800. “But you have to be a good steward of the money that you’ve been given before you ask for more.”

Woodfork maintained she’s as attracted to the job as ever Her 10-month period as interim NOPD chief in 2022 and 2023 coincided with a drop in the city’s crime rates. She said her interest is in continuing that work “so we can have a safer jail and a safer city.”

“We really need to make a change,” Woodfork said. “Make a change in leadership. A change in management.”

“The problems with the jail

didn’t start with the jailbreak,” she added. “They should have been ﬁxed by now.” Hutson would need to mount a massive comeback to win.

Her approval among New Orleanians, already low after a controversial ﬁrst term, sank to 18% after the jailbreak, according to Faucheux’s poll Hutson’s campaign manager and communications ofﬁcer both left their jobs, a person familiar with the campaign said Wednesday, and Hutson is likely tens of thousands of dollars behind in fundraising.

Woodfork holds a 19-point lead over Hutson and 23-point lead over Shorty, according to Faucheux’s poll, though there appeared to be plenty of ground for trailing candidates to make up.

While 32% of respondents said they preferred Woodfork, a plurality — 46% — said they were undecided.

Woodfork also got out to an early fundraising lead of nearly $30,000 over Shorty, according to initial campaign ﬁnance reports ﬁled in April, which showed Woodfork had raised nearly $80,000.

In the last competitive sheriff’s race in 2021 between Hutson and former Sheriff Marlin Gusman, each candidate marshaled around $400,000 in support.

Hutson had around $9,000 on hand, as of April 14. Staff writer Will Sutton contributed reporting.

Two sign up for special Slidell mayoral election

Bill Borchert, Randy Fandal formally jump into race

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

Two candidates signed up Wednesday for what is expected to be a two-candidate campaign to win the remaining months of former Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer’s term in ofﬁce.

The special election is Oct 11. Qualifying opened Wednesday and ends on Friday

The winner of the Oct. 11 election — the lone political campaign in what’s expected to be a low turnout

QUALIFYING

Continued from page 1A

“How are you going to create opportunities for people? That’s really what the people of New Orleans want to hear I don’t think they want a bunch of ugliness and all that, but we’ll see We’re prepared and ready for everything,” Moreno said Thomas, who has now completed three stints on the council in three different decades, said he had never run a negative campaign.

“You always want a civil campaign about ideas, about direction, about different platforms,” Thomas said.

Asked how he would break through in a ﬁeld of four major candidates, Hunter said he would “be in the streets.”

“Some of the people who I still see in this building were in my courtroom,” Hunter said, referring to the criminal courthouse.

“I’m touching people. That’s what it’s about.”

Candidates for other races in this year’s municipal elections also submitted documentation at the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court’s office on Wednesday morning.

Among the first was former interim New Orleans Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, who is aiming to unseat Sher-

MEASLES

Continued from page 1A

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. 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 close-knit Orthodox Jewish communities, the CDC said.

It’s a similar situation in North America this year where the Canada, Mexico and Texas outbreaks

affair will serve until June 30, 2026, which would have been the end of Cromer’s term had he not resigned some 18 months early to take a post in Gov Jeff Landry’s administration.

Bill Borchert, the city’s current mayor, and Randy Fandal, who has been police chief since 2017, formally jumped into the race Wednesday, though both candidates have been campaigning for months. There has been little talk in Slidell political circles involving additional candidates, so it could just be Borchert and Fandal come Oct 11. “I’d be surprised if anybody tried at

iff Susan Hutson in a closely watched race. Second City Court Constable Edwin Shorty who is also running for sheriff, donned his constable uniform and badge when he arrived to qualify shortly after Woodfork Ernest Lee also qualiﬁed for the race.

Council races

State Reps. Delisha Boyd and Matthew Willard ﬁled to run for the at-large council seat Moreno is vacating. The incumbent for the other at-large seat, JP Morrell, ﬁled for reelection. The Rev Gregory Manning filed to run against Morrell.

Morrell was one of five new council members joining the seven-member body after the 2021 elections, when Mayor LaToya Cantrell coasted to a second term. The council has forcefully asserted its independence from the mayor under Morrell and Moreno, the two at-large leaders, and the council-mayor relationship has been remarkably fraught during Cantrell’s second term.

Morrell said he expects the council to continue asserting itself over the next four years, no matter who claims the mayor’s seat, adding that a new mayor will bring the opportunity of a fresh start.

“The council has established itself as more of an independent body, a counterweight to a may-

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 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 2023-2024 school year, below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks. In Gaines County, Texas, the epicenter of the Texas outbreak, only 82% of kindergartners were up-to-date with MMR

this point,” Fandal said Wednesday “I haven’t even heard a whisper.” Cromer stepped down earlier this year Per the city’s charter, the atlarge City Council member who had received the most votes in the most recent election — Borchert in this case — became mayor

Borchert said he had already planned to enter the mayor’s race next March, when Slidell’s regular election cycle comes back around. When Cromer left the job, Borchert was happy to take the ofﬁce. He has said in numerous interviews that he plans to run a campaign as the

or I don’t think that’s going to change,” Morrell said.

The council’s district races are also shaping up to be competitive. Thomas’s old seat in District E now has four candidates They include Cyndi Nguyen, who previously held the seat before Thomas defeated her in 2021, and state Rep. Jason Hughes

Another former District E seat holder, Jon Johnson, also qualiﬁed, as did Danyelle Christmas and Willie Morgan.

Two former staffers for District A council member Joe Giarrusso, Holly Friedman and Aimee McCarron, qualified to run for that seat. Giarrusso is term-limited and taking a job with a law ﬁrm. He has said he will not make an endorsement with two former staffers running. Bob Murrell, who lost to Giarrusso in 2021, also ﬁled to run for that seat.

Sitting council members Lesli Harris, Freddie King and Eugene Green qualiﬁed for reelection in Districts B, C and D, respectively Green and King each drew challengers. Belden Batiste and Leilani Heno will run in District D. Kelsey Foster and Jackson Kimbrell will run in District C.

Harris said she is not aware of any challengers in District B. Assessor Erroll Williams, Clerk of Civil District Court Chelsey Richard Napoleon and Coroner Dwight McKenna filed for reelection.

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.”

Recommendations

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The ﬁrst shot is recommended for

city’s incumbent mayor “It’s not sort-of being the mayor It’s being the mayor,” he said in January when he stepped into the mayor’s role.

“I look forward to the October election,” Borchert said Wednesday Fandal, who is term-limited and cannot seek reelection as police chief next spring, is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Freddy Drennan and Ben Morris, former Slidell police chiefs who went on to become Slidell mayors.

Touting his years as police chief, Fandal said he has dedicated his life to public service.

Echoing his opponent Wednesday, Fandal added, “I’m looking forward to Oct. 11.”

CANDIDATE LIST

Here is the list of candidates running in Orleans Parish who qualiﬁed on the ﬁrst day:

NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: Renada Collins,Arthur Hunter Frank Janusa, Helena Moreno,Tyrell Morris, Oliver Thomas, Ricky Twiggs

AT-LARGE COUNCIL, DIVISION 1: Delisha Boyd, Matthew Willard

AT-LARGE COUNCIL, DIVISION 2: Gregory Manning, JP Morrell (incumbent)

COUNCIL DISTRICT A: Holly Friedman, Aimee McCarron, Bob Murrell

COUNCIL DISTRICT B: Lesli Harris (incumbent)

COUNCIL DISTRICT C: Kelly Foster, Jackson Kimbrell, Freddie King (incumbent)

COUNCIL DISTRICT D: Belden Batiste, Eugene Green (incumbent), Leilani Heno

COUNCIL DISTRICT E: Danyelle

Christmas, Jason Hughes, Jon Johnson, Willie Morgan, Cyndi Nguyen

SHERIFF: Ernest Lee, Edwin Shorty, Michelle Woodfork

ASSESSOR: Erroll Williams (incumbent)

CORONER: Dwight McKenna (incumbent)

CIVIL DISTRICT COURT CLERK: Chelsey

Richard Napoleon (incumbent)

CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT CLERK: Darren Lombard (incumbent)

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.”

from page 1A

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.”

‘Fix the system’

Dismantling FEMA would have enormous consequences for Louisiana, which has 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.

FEMA already provides funding to states in the form of grants and helps them to coordinate disaster recovery, sometimes through private-public 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 federally-backed 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.

“Well, FEMA is something we can talk about later,” Trump said on Sunday when a reporter asked if he still planned to eliminate the agency “But right now, they’re busy working, so we’ll leave it at that.”

Email Alex Lubben at alex. lubben@theadvocate.com and follow him on Twitter @alexlubben. His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Fandal

Hutson Woodfork Shorty

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 theUkrainian 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’s partners to impose stricter sanctions on Russian oiland those who help finance the Kremlin’s war by buying 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 down 296 drones and seven missilesduring the overnightattack,while 415 moredrones were lost 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 some long-range strikes.

European courtfinds Russia committedviolationsinUkraine,downedjet

BYMOLLY QUELL 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 participateinthe proceedings 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 sending some 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 itsweapons stockpiles.

AWhite Houseofficial 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.”

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.

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.

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.

PHOTO PROVIDEDByUKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

A fire burnsfollowing aRussian attack Wednesday near Kyiv,Ukraine.

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.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

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.

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.

reﬂect the medical equipment” people with Type 1 diabetes may need, the California-based company noted.

can be used to carry other essential supplies or snacks on the go.

Company says doll ‘captures the community’ Barbie wears a

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

“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

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

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 and ROBERTO ROSALES

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 need support. I’m not going to say thoughts and prayers because I’m sick of that,” she said.

“We don’t need to be blamed for who voted for who. This was a freak of nature a

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

Mystic in Hunt, Texas.

NewOrleans Forecast

Continued from page 1A

The shuttering of the restaurant, which has been run by Dickie Brennan &Co. for more than three decades, followed alegal dispute over Brennan’soption to purchase the building from the owner, the heirs to the Werlein’smusic business.

The Werlein’smusicoutletwas a throwback to the nostalgic “golden period” forthe boulevardand had operated at 605Canal St. from 1905 until it leased the premises to Brennanin1990. Therestaurant operated in the ﬁrst three stories of the four-story historic building, which coversjustover21,500 square feet. Brennan’slengthylease expired on June 30 this year and, according to Werlein’s lawyer, Phil Franco, the owner had given notice thatthe rent wouldbehiked from around $8,000 amonth to the “market rate” of $45,000 amonth

The Brennan group said it would exercise its option to buy the building but then sued in Orleans Parish Civil District Court in April, arguing that Werlein’sappraisalof$8 million didn’tproperly take account of the investmentBrennan had made improving the property over the years. Brennansaid the price should be around $4 million JudgeEllen Hazeur ruledinfavor of Werlein’sand the Brennan group vacated the lease afteritexpired on June 30. However,Franco noted that Brennan said the decision to close was “for now,”whileit is appealing acourt decision, leaving open the possibility of achange of heart while talks continue Business is booming David Rubenstein, whoowns Rubenstein’sclothing store directly across CanalStreet from the Palace Café, as well as the40-room boutique hotelthat opened above the store in early 2024, said they’ve just had their best year since the store opened acentury ago “Downtown has been doingwell, and Iguess business was so good they decidedtoincreasethe rent fivefold,” he said of Werlein’s move. Atour down the length of Canal Street, from the Interstate 10overpass at North Claiborne Avenueto the CaesarsCasino at the Mississippi River end of the strip, tells the story of both massive investment and stagnation in recentyears. At the river end, billions of dollars have been spent revitalizing

theFourSeasonsHotel,the AudubonAquarium andCaesarsCasino andhotel. Thereisanew 100-seat restaurant settoopen next month in SpanishPlaza as part of apublicprivate initiative to activate that space anddraw locals and tourists to theRiverwalkshopping mall and other businesses.

At theother endofthe strip, the Mayfair,one of the newbreed of hybridhotels, with limited service and longer-stay options, opened last year.

The Ritz-Carlton andadjacent Marriott Courtyard sold as apackage earlier thisyear for nearly $300 million to aMiami-based group. Thosedevelopments followed the purchase four years agoofThe Saint by the New YorkbasedDreamscapegroup,which was the ﬁrst sign of uptick in Canal Street hotel real estate after thecoronaviruspandemic.

At the heartofthe boulevard, the Saenger Theater,which is owned by city via theNew Orleans BuildingCorporation and operated by AmbassadorTheater Group, sees consistent sold-out Broadwaystyle shows and other events, said

Rubenstein, who also sits on the NOBC’sboard.

On themarket

Still, across the street from the Saenger, the century-old Loew’s State Palace Theater remains boarded up with a“forsale” sign hanging over it for years. The owners —hoteliers ChenHorngLee and Chin Li Lee —abandoned their plans to rehabilitate thebuilding, which has been out of use since Hurricane Katrina.

Similarly,the former Governor House Motor Hotel at the interstateend of Canal Street hashad a “for sale” sign posted on its derelict frontage for yearswithlittle signs of life. It is owned by atrust setup by thelate Joe Jaeger and members of thefamily that owns the Hotard construction group. Ideas to convert it to subsidizedhousing have been ﬂoated but have so far gone nowhere. Canal Street has blocks that have become dominated by chicken and daiquiri outlets anddown-market souvenir shops, though others have seen high-end offerings move in, like the Sazerac House museum

anddistillery,orthe FogodeChão Braziliansteakhouse. Sandra Herman,the longtime Louisianapreservationist who recently created ”Celebrate Canal,” a civic organizationthat has plans to do for Canal Street what the Times Square Alliance did to turn around that notoriously seedy districtin New York City,said shehas made progress bringing theinterested public and private sector parties together They plan to unveil adetailed “plan of action” next year that will build on someofthe art andeducational projects the organization ran thisyear.The main objective is to create places where families feel secure andwanttospend time, which will encourage private investment in more upmarket ventures, she said. Last year,the CityCouncildirected theCity Planning Commission to revisit a2018 Canal Street Study to seewhat progress had been made and what wasleft to do. The CPC is expected to complete its work this month. Knudsen said much of the thinkingcenters on how to encourage

the kind of “experiential” retail outlets that have cometodominate in the post-COVID, online-oriented retailenvironment.It’spartofthe ever-evolving retail space that once meant Canal Street was crowded with luggage and camera shops afterthe olddepartmentstores had vanished. Those no longer exist.

“Shopping moved from downtown to the suburbs and then online, and now people want the kind of experiences that they cannot get from either of those,” he said.

Nike, Appleand LEGOstores would be examplesofsuch“experiential” retail ideas that have helped revive downtown Main Streets in other American cities, as well as the Museum of IceCream in Los Angeles.

Rubenstein echoesthe idea that Canal Street’srevival will be less about nostalgia for the past and more about new ideas.

“I’m an optimist, and downtownis going to continue to do well; it’sjust not the old downtown,” he said. “It’s moved on to the new downtown.” Email AnthonyMcAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Pedestrianswalkpast the closed Palace Café by Dickie Brennan &Co. in the 600 block of Canal Street in NewOrleans on Wednesday

NOLA.COM | Thursday, July 10, 2025 1BN

Report pushes against brewpub project

$10M venture a legal, financial risk, it claims

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

The Jefferson Parish inspector

general says a parish project to build a brewery and restaurant in downtown Gretna should be canceled and reevaluated because of the legal and ﬁnancial risks it poses to taxpayers Inspector General Kim Chatelain’s office released a 46-page report Wednesday detailing its opposition to the $10 million brewpub project, which has been at the center of a political ﬁrestorm between her and the council for nearly a year after Chatelain published a letter admonishing the project last September

Landry fills key levee board seats

But controversy over selection process remains

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry has appointed two new board members to the New Orleans area’s ﬂood protection authority, which has been in turmoil after four members resigned in protest over changes pushed by Landry earlier this year

One of the appointments is raising fresh questions over whether the most-qualiﬁed candidates are being chosen — a key goal of reforms following Hurricane Katrina.

The two new members are Gregory Marsiglia, a New Orleans attorney and Peter Vicari, a general contractor from Gonzales who owns a classic car auction business, according to his application materials. Vicari is a business associate of Landry’s hand-picked board president, Roy Carubba, who described Vicari as a “very good friend.”

The appointments come just in time for the board’s next meeting Without the two new appointments, the board would not have had a quorum and would not have been able to meet legally The board already missed its May meeting because it lacked a quorum.

The board has been beset by resignations, and its June meeting nearly erupted in a physical altercation between Carubba and departing board member Clay Cossé Its next regular meeting is July 17.

Marsiglia said in a statement that he had served as an attorney in the New Orleans area for three decades and was motivated to serve by his personal experience during Hurricane Katrina. He and his family were displaced during the storm, an experience that “left a lasting impression on me,” he said

“The devastation that our city experienced was not solely a natural disaster, but a man-made failure of our levees,” he said. “I hope to contribute in a meaningful way to the prevention of another disaster like Katrina.” Vicari described himself as a lifelong resident of the West Bank, who had worked in construction projects “big and small” throughout the New Orleans region.

“I’m at a point in life where I can start coasting, and I’m willing to give myself to service,” he said. Vicari said he had nearly forgotten that he had even applied for the position when he got an email notifying him that he had been chosen.

He also said that he had no relationship to the governor but did make a donation to Landry’s campaign when he was asked to do so by his longtime insurance agent.

The other nominee put forward for Vicari’s position was

The report said Jefferson Facilities Inc. (JFI), the public beneﬁt corporation overseeing the project, unfairly favored New Orleans

Brewery and Avo Taco in its procurement process for the brewpub and poorly constructed the lease agreements, potentially putting the parish at signiﬁcant ﬁnancial risk.

Auditors also could not ﬁnd any documentation conﬁrming Avo Taco’s participation in the brewpub. In a written response, JFI said it maintained transparency throughout the planning process and has

come before the Parish Council on numerous occasions with the project. It added that “the timing of the report signiﬁcantly limited its usefulness,” as the lease agreements were approved almost two years ago and can’t be canceled without possibly creating legal liability

The Jefferson Parish Council also passed a number of revisions to the lease agreements last April, including the extension of the construction timeline to January 2027, with the intention of alleviating Chatelain’s concerns.

However, Chatelain said Wednesday the council instead “rammed through hastily drafted amendments and closed the door,” and thus “negated the opportunity to engage in meaningful corrective action.” Chatelain had requested the council defer the amendments until her report came out, to no avail.

At-large Jefferson Parish Council member Jennifer Van Vrancken said in a written response she

Rollin’ down the river

The paddle wheeler Creole Queen

reflected in a puddle after recent

through a

historical cruises and jazz dinner tours, giving visitors and locals a scenic view of the city’s iconic waterfront and storied past.

Singer slams Essence Fest for ‘problematic’ issues

Stephanie Mills says challenges indicative of shortcomings

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Attendees of the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans aren’t the only ones airing complaints on social media.

Singer Stephanie Mills, who performed Sunday night in the “VVIP Superlounge” inside the Caesars Superdome published an open letter to producers of the festival

taking them to task for a litany of logistical and technical issues that, she wrote, “negatively impacted both my performance and the artist experience as a whole.” Mills, who ﬁrst came to prominence in the 1970s as a cast member of the original Broadway production of “The Wiz,” has enjoyed a decades-long career powered by a slew of No. 1 R&B hits, including “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love,” “Home,” “I Feel Good All Over,” “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush on Me” and “Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel).” Her single “Never Knew Love Like This Before” won a Grammy for best

female R&B vocal performance in 1981.

At 68, she is still releasing new music and touring. But her Essence show clearly did not go as well as she would have liked.

“The challenges I encountered were multifaceted and, in my view, indicative of broader organizational shortcomings,” she wrote. “The scheduling and time management were severely lacking, creating a chaotic and stressful environment backstage. This disorganization cascaded onto the stage, impacting the ﬂow of the event and ultimately diminishing the quality of the performance.”

She also cited “deeply problematic” and “persistent” issues with the sound system at the Superlounge. “This lack of technical preparedness is unacceptable for an event of Essence Festival’s caliber and prestige.”

As a result of the technical issues, she wrote, “the energy and excitement were repeatedly disrupted, creating a less-than-ideal atmosphere for attendees.”

Mills concluded that a “comprehensive review of organizational structure and operational management is necessary to ensure that fu-

ä See MILLS, page 2B

IG ﬁnds NORD, foundation lacking years of audits Report comes in wake of scrutiny of park facilities

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

The city recreation department and its foundation both failed to complete legally required ﬁnancial audits in recent years, the New Orleans Ofﬁce of Inspector General said in a report released Wednesday The report comes as the New Orleans Recreation and Development Commission has recently faced scrutiny for poor maintenance of city parks and playgrounds, and as the foundation has fallen far below its fundraising goals. Both the New Orleans Recreation

and Development Commission and the NORD Foundation, a nonproﬁt created to help fundraise for the agency after Hurricane Katrina, are required to obtain and submit annual independent audits to city ofﬁcials, according to the OIG report.

NORDC has not produced audits requested by the OIG for the past three years, the report said, and the foundation has not obtained required audits or sworn ﬁnancial statements since 2021.

NORD administrators told investigators that the department was not required to conduct annual audits because it’s included in citywide audits, the report said.

NORDC is still required by law to submit its own independent audits, the OIG said, even though the City Charter allows the council to include NORDC in citywide audits.

In a statement, ofﬁcials with Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration said NORD “has been included in the City’s annual comprehensive audit process” since 2010 and “has not historically conducted a separate independent audit.”

“NORD is currently reviewing its internal processes and structure to ensure compliance,” the statement continued. “We are committed to implementing any necessary changes to strengthen transparency and accountability moving forward.”

The NORD Foundation, a “quasipublic body” that gets money from state and city government, is required to submit audits to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor under state law

A foundation representative told investigators that they had stopped obtaining audits to cut costs. But

the OIG report notes that the foundation had access to $150,000 in both 2023 and 2024 from the city that was supposed to be used for audits, among other things. Foundation Chairman Ernest Price Jr said in an interview Wednesday that he “was unaware that the NORD Foundation was considered a ‘quasi-public’ body and was subject to those annual audit requirements.”

“Going forward, the foundation will comply with the requirements,” he said. adding that it did not receive any public funding in 2022, and that roughly a quarter of its funding was public in 2023.

NORD received over $22 million in the 2025 city budget, an increase of $2.2 million from the previous year But city officials have said

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

is seen

riverside fence as it travels along the Mississippi River in New Orleans,

rain. The popular riverboat offers

Number of named storms lowered

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Hurricane researchers at Colorado State University on Wednesday tweaked their prediction of aboveaverage activity during the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, decreasing the number of expected storms. Hurricane experts with CSU — which issues annual forecasts just like the National Hurricane Center said they now expect a slightly above-average season and lowered the number of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes each by one from the initial April 3 prediction.

The probability of a major hurricane making landfall in the U.S and in the Caribbean was also slightly above average.

CSU now predicts the season will produce 16 named storms, including eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or above.

The primary reason for the forecast change is both the observed and predicted high levels of Caribbean wind shear While high wind shear in June and July is generally associated with less active hurricane seasons, the CSU researchers said there are still conditions that are conducive to hurricane formation and intensiﬁcation.

Those conditions include warmer-than-normal tropical Atlantic temperatures and El Niño-Southern Oscillation neutral conditions, a set of conditions over the Paciﬁc Ocean that affects weather patterns across the world.

CSU researchers said there’s now a 31% chance that a major hurricane will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, from the Florida panhandle to Brownsville, Texas There’s a 48% chance of landfall somewhere along the entirety of the U.S. coastline.

So far, there have been three named storms and no hurricanes this year: Andrea, Barry and Chantal. None has posed a threat to Louisiana.

CSU predicted the 2024 season would have 23 named storms including 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes, the highest number ever predicted by the university By the end of last year’s season, there was a total of 19 named storms and 11 hurricanes, with five classified as major

MILLS

Continued from page 1B

Formosa sued over access to site

Activists focus on unmarked cemetery in St. James

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

Two Louisiana community groups claiming historic ties to the state’s formerly enslaved population along the Mississippi River sued Wednesday for greater access to a plantation-era cemetery on the fringes of a planned $9.4 billion petrochemical complex in western St. James Parish.

The groups, Inclusive Louisiana and the Descendants Project, allege that the owner of the site, a U.S. arm of Taiwanese chemical giant Formosa Plastics, has hindered their ability over more than ﬁve years to access the unmarked cemetery that they say holds the graves of their enslaved ancestors.

Filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, the suit recounts the ways in which slaves were denied proper burials that marked their graves, though they were buried on plantation properties up and down the Mississippi. That includes in St James, where 70% of the population was in bondage by 1850.

The plaintiffs charge this history makes it all the more important to mark and preserve such cemeteries when they are found to honor “a people whom those more powerful intended to disappear from history.”

“Like all discovered cemeteries of the enslaved, the Buena Vista Plantation Cemetery is sacred ground, a precious and irreplaceable connection through time when there was once little hope of ﬁnding the grave sites because their ancestors’ lives were so devalued that their burials did not merit formal recording by plantation owners or the dominant society around them,” the suit adds.

Citing past state court precedents, the plaintiffs allege that state law prevents private landowners from “categorically and unreasonably” restricting grave access to descendants of the deceased. Those people have “unrestricted rights” to visit and care for their graves, the plaintiffs allege.

But the groups claim Formosa has applied extensive advanced notice, sign-in and liability waiver requirements, allowed surveillance and interruption of past services by its security guards, and offered only a dusty and sometimes muddy route by foot to the grave site off La 18. Recently, during a Black History Month ceremony, the suit alleges, the company, FG LA LLC, stymied

their wish to put headstones on the now unmarked graveyard with the names of ﬁve people that the groups’ recent genealogical research has uncovered were slaves of the plantation-owning Winchester family during the pre-Civil War era.

The groups assert the ﬁve slaves were buried in the Buena Vista Plantation Cemetery Formosa has contended it doesn’t know who is buried at the cemetery, though its own archaeologist initially concluded several years ago that cemetery likely held slaves due to a number of common telltale signs.

In a previous related case and a statement Wednesday Formosa defended its actions as appropriate to secure its property and said it had offered reasonable accommodations for visits.

“FG remains committed to the St. James Parish community and to preserving its rich history and cultural resources. FG has been and will always be respectful of the remains and unmarked burial site within property the company owns in St. James Parish,” said Janile Parks, director of community and government relations for FG LA.

“With the oversight of and coordination by the appropriate governmental agencies, FG has followed all procedures in researching and preserving the protected area. FG has been fully transparent and cooperative in giving residents access to the burial site.”

‘Loved ones have rights’

In a news conference outside the federal courthouse in New Orleans, genealogist Lenora Gobert detailed how she identiﬁed the five Buena Vista slaves through mortgage and other records and, due to the well-known practices of slavery, reached the conclusion that they had to be buried in the cemetery

“When people died on the plantation, they were buried on the plantation,” she said.

Gobert acknowledged the five slaves haven’t been directly tied to the family trees of any of the members of the plaintiff organizations, but Kayla Vinson, a staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the plaintiffs, said longtime residents in the river corridor and others in the diaspora of slavery have historic ties to the enslaved.

Vinson added that, under state law, a deﬁned familial connection isn’t necessary to assert rights to the burial sites.

“Loved ones have rights to cemeteries, right, so it doesn’t have to be as direct of a connection as you just described under Louisiana law to have access to a cemetery,” she told a reporter

The suit also accuses Formosa’s

practices of violating the 13th Amendment’s ban on slavery and its vestiges. Vinson explained that she expected the suit to lay bare what the 13th Amendment should demand of the state cemetery law when it comes to access to slave burial sites.

“Though Formosa Plastics may be powerful, they do not have what we have the truth, the law and the unbreakable strength of our ancestors behind us,” said Barbara Washington, 74, a co-founder and co-director of Inclusive Louisiana, whose family still owns St. James land ﬁrst purchased by an ancestor who was a freed slave.

Inclusive and The Descendants Project are among several local and national groups that have opposed new industrial development in the Mississippi corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on the grounds of environmental justice — that the Black communities along the river are disproportionately bearing the pollution burden from those industries.

The political and legal pushback over environmental justice has tangled up permits for the still unbuilt 14-unit plastics complex the Formosa afﬁliate has been proposing in northwestern St. James for more than seven years.

Long-stalled project

In a since-dropped lawsuit FG LA ﬁled in January, the company alleges it has made reasonable requests of cemetery visitors, has allowed them access, despite sometimes harsh words from some visitors, and has fenced off the graveyard along the three sides that abut the company’s property

The company says it needs security to ensure people don’t wander elsewhere on their large property or near a pipeline that runs through the graveyard.

That suit, which was dropped in April, had asked a judge to clarify what FG LA’s access responsibilities are and to address the request for headstones. The plaintiffs alleged the on-and-off suit was an attempt to obstruct their attempts to lay the headstones in February.

The plaintiffs’ new suit is asking for court orders ending FG LA’s control of the cemetery, allowing placement of the headstones and ordering new archaeological investigations, among other demands.

The grave suit comes as FG LA may be gaining some traction for its long-stalled project. Last year, after several years of litigation, the state Supreme Court upheld the company’s state air permits, and state regulators have since granted an extension for construction.

Continued from page 1B

supported Chatelain’s ﬁndings and agreed that the parish should scrap the project and start over Van Vrancken has been the only vocal opponent of the brewpub on the council and was the only one of her colleagues to respond to the report. Jefferson Parish Council District 1 member Timothy Kerner Jr., who now represents Gretna, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He heavily criticized the brewpub project during his campaign for the council earlier this year, but softened on that messaging once he knocked former council member Ricky Templet out of the race.

At the center of the controversy is a plan to build a $25 million complex on the site of a parking lot on Huey P. Long Avenue near the 24th Judicial District Courthouse and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. If completed, the state would pay for the construction of a park and 148-space parking garage, while the parish would pay an estimated $10.3 million for the brewpub building as a local match.

Port Orleans Brewery and Avo Taco will pay JFI a monthly rent of 3% of gross revenue for the first 30 months, followed by 6%. The brewery estimates it will generate $4.5 million in annual sales and create 55 new jobs.

But the inspector general, tasked with identifying waste, fraud and abuse in the parish, says JFI’s request for proposals unfairly favored Port Orleans Brewery. Auditors included documentation showing the two companies were in talks about the brewpub more than six months before JFI began its procurement.

Port Orleans Brewery was the only respondent to the RFP, which the IG said was written narrowly to ensure Port Orleans would get the contract.

The report added that Port Orleans’ response didn’t include sufﬁcient information to ensure JFI made an informed selection, like how it would build out the space to serve customers, further bringing “into question the integrity of the selection.”

The report also claims that in order for JFI to make a reasonable monthly rent income, the brewpub would need to generate $5.1 to $10.2 million per month.

The official Essence Fest Instagram account replied to Mills’ post with, “We hear you and we will take your feedback. Thank you for blessing us. Look forward to having you again and to supporting your tour. Glad you could kick it off with us. All love and admiration.”

This year’s Essence Fest, the 31st

NORD

Continued from page 1B ture Essence Festivals run smoothly and meet the high standards associated with the brand.”

that’s insufﬁcient to maintain the city’s parks.

The parks system saw signiﬁcant investment after Katrina 20 years ago. In 2014, the NORD Foundation brought in $2.8 million, 28% of NORD’s $10 million budget that year But in 2024, the foundation provided $190,000, less than 1% of NORD’s then $20 million budget.

That $190,000 was far below an annual foundation goal of $500,000 to $1 million, Price said in an interview earlier this year

The OIG’s ﬁndings come as the department says it has faced significant financial challenges in recent years, and as civic groups have cited “alarming” and “unacceptable” conditions at several playgrounds.

NORD’s “activities boost quality of life and often create lifelong memories for the city’s residents,” Inspector General Ed Michel said in a statement. “The importance of these activities, combined with the more than $22 million investment of public and private money in NORDC, make it imperative that NORDC and the NORD Foundation adhere to the highest standards of ﬁnancial stewardship.”

overall, dealt with a number of challenges. Ticket sales were relatively slow and performances ran behind schedule, resulting in Ms. Lauryn Hill ﬁnishing her show at 3:37 a.m. inside a nearly empty Superdome. Essence’s final night on Sunday also ran late; headliner Boyz II Men wrapped up at 2:55 a.m Additionally, there was controversy over the Superlounge that had nothing to do with Mills’ complaints. For the first quarter-century of Essence, the Superlounges were a popular part of the experience. The small stages were tucked away in corridors around the outer perime-

LEVEE

Continued from page 1B

Gianna Cothren, the chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Orleans.

The selection of Vicari, a contractor with limited ﬂood management experience, over a university engineering chair raised questions about the governor’s criteria for board appointments.

“We saw that Ms Cothren had tremendous qualiﬁcations,” said Windell Curole, the chair of the agency’s nominating committee, which puts forward candidates for the governor to choose from. “Mr Vicari didn’t quite have the qualiﬁcations to match up.”

“We could have delayed some of the nominations and advertised for more people to increase the quality of applicants, but we also knew the time element was there,” Curole added. “We wanted to get names to the governor so we could have a quorum.”

Post-Katrina reforms

The agency, officially known as the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, was formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, along with its

ter of the Dome’s second level. Fans could circumnavigate through all four Superlounge areas, seeing oldschool legends, up-and-comers and local acts while munching food from booths staffed by local restaurants and catering companies.

The renovations to the Superdome ahead of Super Bowl LIX eliminated the spaces previously used for the Superlounges, so the past few Essence Fests took place without them. So when the festival’s producers announced that the Superlounges would return in 2025, longtime fans were excited.

counterpart on the West Bank, the SLFPA-West, as part of an effort to regionalize and professionalize the parish levee boards that existed before the storm. The twin agencies oversee the $15 billion ﬂood protection system built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after the storm

As part of the post-Katrina reforms, lawmakers also established an independent nominating committee, made up of good-government groups and professional organizations, to put forward prospective board members. It was designed to protect the nominating process from political patronage.

Last week, the governor tapped Scott Burke, the current board president of the West Bank’s levee authority, to serve a third term. Until a new law was passed this legislative session, Burke had been term-limited. In a statement, Burke expressed his gratitude to the governor for entrusting him with another term.

“We are engaged in crucial work every day, keeping the homes and businesses of our friends and neighbors safe from hurricane and storm ﬂooding,” he said. “As hurricane season gets underway, having stability, continuity and expertise on the board is especially important to our mission.

But that excitement turned to disappointment when fans learned that this year’s sole Superlounge would be open only to purchasers of premium “VVIP” tickets The festival also designated one act on the main stage as a “superlounge” artist.

Attendance at the Superlounge on the Dome’s second level was so anemic on Essence Fest’s opening night that the lounge was opened to all attendees, not just VVIP ticketholders, on Saturday and Sunday That did little to improve Mills’ experience.

The nominating committee, in its meeting last month, put forward six nominees for four vacancies on the east bank flood agency’s board. The governor has, so far only made two nominations.

That may be because the nominating process was recently reformed under a new law that requires the nominating committee to submit two nominees for each open position. The committee was previously only required to submit one name for certain positions on the board. Because the board met before Landry signed the bill into law, it made nominations under the old rules. It was not clear whether Landry would make nominations from the names that have been submitted to him, or whether he would require the nominating committee to reconvene and make additional nominations. Landry’s spokesperson Kate Kelly declined to comment.

Shane Guidry the governor’s unofﬁcial adviser in New Orleans who has been overseeing changes at the levee authorities, though he holds no ofﬁcial position in government, suggested that Landry would be seeking a legal opinion on how to proceed.

“I’m of the opinion that because they didn’t follow procedures, the governor can pick who he wants,” Guidry said.

Joe Marino, a former interim council member who helped spearhead the project, wrote in a response to the report that the project is intended to spur economic development in the area, rather than ﬁnancially beneﬁt the parish, and therefore can’t be evaluated based on market rates.

The report goes on to point out a number of holes in the lease agreements’ language that put the parish at risk, which the council attempted to correct in its revisions last April, like creating requirements for a minimum annual rent and an open book policy

The IG’s report concludes by saying the parish council should cancel the project in order to reevaluate its leases in consultation with a real estate attorney

It’s unlikely the parish council will heed such warnings unless Kerner requests them, as — except for Van Vrancken they’ve been in staunch opposition to Chatelain since she first criticized the brewpub in a 35-page public letter last year Council members have accused her of acting politically by casting the project in a bad light without finding wrongdoing, and have since enacted new rules prohibiting her from publishing letters without giving subjects the opportunity to respond first.

Van Vrancken, on the other hand, has made several attempts to pause, amend and hold hearings on the project, which have all been voted down by her colleagues.

Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.

Body found in canal, NOPD says

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Abody was found in a canal early Tuesday afternoon in the Seabrook neighborhood, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

Police responded to acall shortly before 1:45 p.m. in the 200 block of Wales Street and found the body in anearby canal, an NOPD spokesperson said.

The incident is being investigated as an unclassiﬁed death

The Orleans ParishCoroner’sOfﬁce will release the identity of the victim after notifyingthe family. No other information was immediately available.

Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe@ theadvocate.com

Ongoing feud led to teen’s shooting, police say 14-year-old shot;3arrested

BY MICHELLEHUNTER Staff writer

Three suspects are behind bars,accused in a Kenner shooting that left a14-year-old boyinjured, according to authorities.

The victimsuffered a gunshot wound to his leg Tuesday evening and was taken to ahospital for treatment.

Kenner police eventually arrestedthree suspects,includingthe alleged shooter,17-year-old Tory Nelson, of Metairie, police said. Nelson was booked with aggravated battery, illegaluse of a weapon and obstruction of justice.

His accused accomplices,JasonKing, 21, and Rayfield Lee, 17, both of Kenner,were booked withbeing principalstoaggravated battery andobstruction of justice, said Kenner Police Deputy Chief Mark McCormick.

The shooting was reported just before 5p.m. in the 2400 block of West Metairie Avenue. The trio had gotten into an altercation withthe 14-year-oldboy,according to police,who did not disclose the source of the feud.

Police calledtothe scene applied atourniquet to the boy’sleg.

The suspects, meanwhile, ﬂed toward aservice station at West Metairie Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard in Kenner.Nelson is accused of giving the gun used in the shooting to his brother according to authorities. Nelson’sbrother,an unnamed juvenile, then rode away on abicycle. He is wanted on an arrest warrant for his alleged involvement, authorities said. In addition to the principal to battery charge, Lee was booked with two counts of drugpossession.

Kenner police ask that anyone with information about the case contact the department at (504) 7122222 or submit atip anonymously to Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.

NewOrleans Area Deaths EJ Fielding

Berlin Sr., Daniel Blaum, Roy Adams, Clarence Rhodes, Joyce Barzon, Marie Rome,Ronald Batiste,Wendell West Bank Berlin Sr., Daniel Blaum, Roy Mothe

BlumeJr.,Rudolph

Schouest Sr., Dudley Boyd, Luther Robinson FH Christiani,Elaine Manuel, Pauline Clementine, Thelma Rapp, Clinton Cuccia, Patricia Obituaries Daniels, Jacqueline Adams, Clarence

Dedeaux, Fannie Delatte,Laura Edwards, Rena Eugene,Shelia Foster Jr., Thomas Gagnet, Brian Garrett, Rychon Gauthier,Gertrude Guidry,Robert Johnson, Gregory Manuel, Pauline McMillian, Iretta Ramon, Mary Ramsey,Irene Rapp, Clinton Rhodes, Joyce

Rome,Ronald Schouest Sr., Dudley Smith,Gloria Vallelungo, Joseph Williams,Alice Williams,Williebea EJefferson Garden of Memories

BlumeJr.,Rudolph Gauthier,Gertrude Guidry,Robert NewOrleans

Boyd Family

With sadnessweshare thepassing of Clarence Adams, on June 26, 2025. Please visitwww.rhodesf uneral.comtoviewservice information, sign online guestbook,send ﬂowers andshare condolences.

Barzon,Marie Louise Thomas

With sadnessweshare thepassing of Marie Louise Thomas Barzon,on July 2, 2025. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral.comto view serviceinformation, sign online guestbook send ﬂowers andshare condolences.

Batiste,Wendell Batiste, WendellSterling

have livedspeak forme.” Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

Berlin Sr., Daniel Stokes

Williams,Alice Williams,Williebea DW Rhodes

Adams, Clarence Barzon, Marie Boyd, Luther Christiani,Elaine Delatte,Laura Garrett, Rychon

Estelle JWilson Ramsey,Irene

Gertrude Geddes

Foster Jr., Thomas Greenwood

Ramon, Mary Vallelungo, Joseph JacobSchoen

Johnson, Gregory Lake Lawn Metairie

Gagnet, Brian

Majestic Mortuary

Daniels, Jacqueline St Bernard CharbonnetLabat

Eugene,Shelia St Tammany

Audubon

Cuccia, Patricia

It is with heavyhearts that we announcethe passingofWendell Sterling Batiste, age70, who de‐parted this life peacefully on July 1, 2025, after along andcourageousbattle with Multiple Myeloma. Born on May9,1955, in NewOrleans,Louisiana Wendellwas abeloved husband,father, grandfa‐ther,brother,uncle,and friend.Hespent hislifeex‐emplifying class, dignity, strength,kindness,and quietdetermination.His battlewithcancerwas marked by resilience grace, anda deep appreci‐ationfor everymoment—a testamenttothe manhe was. He is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, GwendolynBatiste;his daughter,KemaBatiste stepchildren:Glenn, Glyn‐niece, andGlennardSmith grandchildren: Gabrielle, Maegan,Zeric,Kayla Lyriss,Kennide,Glennard Jr Girod anda host of great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind hissis‐ters,EdnaritaBatiste Can‐ton(Michael),Melanie BatisteBrown (Gregg) nephews; Evan,Tye, Alexander, Stephen, and many extended family membersand closefriends who were like family. A CelebrationofWendell’s life will be held on Friday, July 11,2025, at St.Peter Claver Catholic Church 1923 St.PhilipSt.,New Or‐leans, LA 70116. Viewing will be from 9:00 a.m. –10:00a.m.and aFuneral Mass will beginpromptly at 10:00 a.m. Father Ajani Gibson,ofﬁciating. Inter‐ment will take placeat Providence Memorial Park andMausoleum.Repastto follow at Letterman Hall Hisstory mayhavecome to aclose,but hislegacy will live on in theheartsof allwho knew andloved him. “May thelifethatI

Daniel Stokes Berlin Sr., longtime resident of Cov‐ington,LA, wascalled home to be with theLord on July 7, 2025, at theage of 96. Danwas born Sep‐tember 1, 1928, in Jackson Barracks,New Orleansand fell in love with Covington after hismovein1947. He wasprecededindeath by hisparents MarieBeulah ChampagneBerlin and FrankStokesBerlin and threebrothers, Robert (Aline),Francis (Beverly), andJohn. He is survived by hisbeloved wife of 73 years, InaBeverly Berlin; threechildren, Daniel S. Berlin Jr.(Seleta), David Berlin (Theresa), andDiane Hawkins(Jack); tengrand‐children,Lacie (Ed) Colleen (Ty),Jade, Miranda (Ryan),Michelle,Michael (Taylor),DanielIII (Jes‐sica), John, Lonnie, and Douglas; andtwelvegreatgrandchildren. Danwas a loving husband,father, and grandfather.Hewas knownfor hiskindness, a manfullofcompassion andgenerosity. He loved theLordJesus Christ,and he lovedthe Catholic Church.Dan demonstrated hislovefor thechurch while aparishioner at St PeterinCovington,serving as aleaderofsongand as the firstParishCouncil presidentthere.Hewas also abookkeeper forthe school.After becoming a member of St.Benedict Catholic Church,Dan served in many capacities, includingasa lector,a member of theHolyName Society, in themen’s club, andonthe St.Benedict’s Parish Counciland Finance Committee. On May6,2001, DanreceivedThe Orderof St.Louis IX Awardfrom Archbishop Schulte in recognitionofhis leader‐ship in theparish. He was also amemberofthe woodwork shop volunteers at St.JosephAbbey.Over theyears,Dan belonged to varioussocialgroupsand otherorganizations,in‐cludingthe Lion’s Club,the Rotary Club,Boy Scouts of America, KnightsofColum‐busCouncil 3016, andthe KreweofKCCarnivalClub, servingasanofficerin many of theseorganiza‐tions. He wasmadea Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary Club International. Dan beganhis bankingcareer at Citizens Bank& Trustin 1948 andsubsequently worked forseveral other fi‐nancialinstitutionsinthe community.In1977, Dan received an associatede‐gree in bankingfromLSU andwas Presidentofthe Junior BankingAssocia‐tion.After asuccessfulca‐reer in bankingspanning closeto50years,Dan re‐turned to Citizens Bank & TrustCo. andwas elected to theBoard of Directorsin May 1996, andthenelected as Chairman of theBoard in May2014. Upon hisre‐tirement from theBoard,in appreciation forDan’s ded‐icated service, theBoard appointedDan as Chair‐manEmeritus. Mass of Christianburialwillbe held at St.Benedict Catholic Church,20370 SmithRd, Covington, LA 70435, on Saturday,July12, 2025 at 11:00AMand the visitation will be from 9:00 AM to 11 AM.Interment will follow theservice at PinecrestMemorialGar‐dens,2280 West 21st Ave, Covington, LA 70433. In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made to St.Benedict’s building fund or Mass In‐tentions.E.J.FieldingFu‐neralHomehas been en‐trustedwithfuneral arrangements.Pleasesign theguestbook at www.ejf ieldingfh.com.

RoyMatthew Blaum passedawayonThursday July 3, 2025. He wasbornin NewOrleans,LAonApril 8, 1935. He is survived by his children,Kelly BlaumShort (Darin), KristaLaneBlaum andChadMatthew Blaum; grandchildren, Collin Ger‐ardMoreau, Matthew Ar‐sene Blaum, RileyBlaum Corkernand Mason WilliamBlaum.Hewas pre‐cededindeath by hispar‐ents,Roy FrancisBlaum andDella Olga Haase Blaum;and siblings,Louis “Buddy”Arthur Blaumand B. Conrad Blaum. Roywas born in NewOrleans Louisianawhere he at‐tended Holy name of Jesus GrammarSchool andDe LaSalleHighSchool.Heat‐tended Tulane University majoring in Architecture andBusinessAdministra‐tion.Heenlistedinthe Army in 1956 where he served as aradio operator in Korea. It wasinKorea that he discovered hispas‐sion forphotography.After hishonorable releasefrom active duty he attended SanMateo CollegeinCali‐fornia in ordertostudy photography. He wasthen accepted to BrooksInsti‐tute in SantaBarbara,Cali‐fornia forhis advanced photographystudies.He laterworkedasa camera‐manfor Channel8,WVUETV filmingnewsand sports,and producing commercials.Hebecame the ChiefCameraman with channel4,WWL-TVand WYES-TV, filmingnews, documentaries, commer‐cials, production andspe‐cial features forWalter Cronkite andMikeWallace showsonCBS News.He wasalsoa Cameraman andStringerfor United PressInternational andUPI films, Newsweek,Timeand Life Magazinesaswellas theAssociated Press. He completeda film for Plaquemine Parish on life styles andindustry. He wasa staff photographer forthe TimesPicayune, Daily Record andStates Item newspapers in New Orleans. It wasaround this time that he begantolearn theHarmonica andwas theCameraman,Editor, andperformed theoriginal harmonicamusic over film fora documentarycalled “Help”.Shortly thereafter Roybegan to master the guitar.Hemoved to the northshore in 1978 and began hislifeatthe shop He startedmakingknives andopened2 knifeshops then the3rd shop in 1978 on NorthColumbiaSt. in Covington. He wasanavid bass fishermanand tradi‐tional bowhunter.He carved amazingand whim‐sical figuresand shared them with so many people He lovedthe Covington Communityand thepeo‐ple. “The Shop”was his home where he wouldal‐ways be availablefor a quick joke,a song on the guitar or an importantlife lesson.Hecontinued to run hisbusinesslivinghis en‐tire life on hisown terms until he was90years old andwenttoglory.Hehas left ahugevoidinthe com‐munity andwillmostcer‐tainly be missedbyall who knew andloved him. In lieu of flowers, contributionsin memory of Mr.Blaum may be made Wish to Fish https://www.wishtofish org/.Relatives andfriends areinvited to attend the memorial services at E. J. Fielding FuneralHome, 2260 W. 21st Avenue,Cov‐ington LA 70433 on Friday July 11, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. with visitation on Friday beginningat8:30a.m.In‐termentwillfollowinthe SoutheastLouisiana Veter‐ansCemetery. E.J. Fielding FuneralHomehas been en‐trustedwithfuneral arrangements.The Blaum familyinvites youtoshare thoughts,fondest memo‐ries,and condolenceson‐line at E. J. Fielding Funeral Home GuestBook at www ejfieldingfh.com

RudolphO.Blume Jr., knownaffectionatelyas Rudy to allwho knew him, passedawaypeacefullyon July 2, 2025, at theage of 81, born on August 14, 1943, in NewOrleans,Louisiana He wasthe sonofthe late, RudolphO.Blume Sr and thelate, Garnet T. Blume. Rudy waspredeceased by hisdevoted wife of 57 years, June I. Blume, and hisbeloved daughter,Pa‐tricia Juneau.Heissur‐vivedbyhis lovingchil‐dren,Janet Walston(Billy), RudolphO.Blume III, and ConnieLaCombe (Dennis) Rudy wasa cherished grandfathertoTimothy Rolf (Amy)(late,Nicole Cooley), Monica Poret (Michael), Jeremy Barraco (Lauren),Jessica Becnel (Andrew),Tyler LaCombe (Darby), Gabrielle Hasler (Dakota),BenjaminBlume, Matthew Blume, Suzanna Walston, andAlexandra Walston. He wasthe brotherofthe late Shirley Bentel,the late Gerald Blume, andCarol Naquin Rudy wasa proudveteran andservedinthe U.S. Navy where he developeda last‐ingsense of disciplineand commitmentthathecar‐ried into everyaspectof hislife. Rudy worked as a ChiefEngineer forShera‐ton, where he dedicated20 yearsofservice.Helater became self-employedfor thelasttwo decadesofhis life.Rudy'slegacyalsoin‐cludes hisauthorshipof "Cow Shit Alley,"a book that showcasedhis witand storytelling. He wasan artist at heart, atrue"Mr FixIt,"who couldmend anything.His love forhis familyand friendswas dominant.Rudyenjoyed hangingout at Dot'sDiner, where he shared countless mealsand laughter with friendswho became fam‐ily. Rudy's memory will live on throughthe storiestold, the projects completed, andthe love he shared with all. Relativesand friendsare invitedtoat‐tend Rudy’s funeralser‐vicesonSaturday, July 12, 2025, at Garden of Memo‐ries FuneralHome, 4900 AirlineDr.,Metairie, Louisiana70001. Visitation will beginat9:30am, fol‐lowedbya Mass at 12:30 pm.Burialwilltakeplace immediatelyafter services To offerthe familyonline condolences,send ﬂowers to thefamilyorplant atree in memory of Rudolph "Rudy" BlumeJr.,please visit, www.gardenofmem oriesmetairie.com.

Dedeaux, Fannie Edwards, Rena Charbonnet Clementine, Thelma McMillian, Iretta Smith,Gloria Boyd,Luther Clyde'Johnny'

(Johnny) Clyde Boyd wasbornonJune 30, 1936, in McAlpin, West Vir‐ginia, to Odessa Knox Boyd andJ.Richard Boyd.Luther passedpeacefullysur‐rounded by hisfamilyon June 25, 2025—just ﬁve days shyofhis 89thbirth‐day. Aman of quiet strength anddeep in‐tegrity, Luther dedicated 43 yearsofhis life as a longshoreman with Cooper T. SmithStevedoring Com‐pany (Local ILAUnion #3000), where he earned therespect of hispeers throughhardworkand un‐wavering commitment. He wasa devotedhusband to DorothyP.Boydfor 62 years. Theirmarriagewas alasting testamenttolove, faith,and unity.Heispre‐cededindeath by his belovedwife, DorothyP Boyd;his parents, Odessa Knox Boyd andJ.Richard Boyd;his brothers,James Boyd,SamuelBoyd, and WayneBoyd; hissisters Shirley B. Hollandand Joan Tanks; hisgrandson, Kelian Boyd Sr.; hisson-in-law, Melvin Pierre;brothers-inlawLeroy Palmer,Darris Guzman,Jr.,JohnMomon andsisters-in-lawOdessa Palmer andDebra Guzman He leaves to

Blaum, RoyMatthew

Luther

4B ✦ Thursday,July 10,2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ TheTimes-Picayune (Keisha);nephews whom he raised DerekGivensJr. and John Seth Momon, his sister,Drema Marks; 13 grandchildrenand 13 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by ahostof nieces,nephews,relatives andfriends who will dearly miss him. Luther wasa dedicatedand faithfulDea‐conatGreater LibertyBap‐tist Church in NewOrleans Louisiana. FollowingHurri‐cane Katrina, he relocated to BatonRouge,Louisiana, where he placed hismem‐bershipatLittleZionBap‐tist Church.Later he then joined theNew Home Fam‐ilyWorship Center in Baton Rouge. He enjoyeda rich life filledwithhobbies and passions.Lutherhad a keen interest in collecting antiques andcollectibles, appreciating theirvalue anduniqueness. He also lovedhis NewOrleans Saints andmanyother sports.Heenjoyed fishing, bowlingand watching golf. Luther’s life wasone of quietservice—tohis fam‐ily, friends, church,and community.His kindness, humility,and strength touchedall who knew him. Whetherthrough hiswork, hiswisdom, or hissteady presence,Luthermadea lastingimpactthatwillnot be forgotten. He leaves be‐hind alegacyoflove, hard work,and quietstrength that continuestoliveonin thosewho survivehim Relativesandfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend aCelebration of Life at NewHomeFamilyWorship Center,1616R.C.Blakes Drive, NewOrleans Louisiana70130 on Satur‐day, July 12, 2025, at 10:00 am.Viewing will beginat 9:00 am.BishopSamuelR Blakes:Officiant. Inter‐ment:ProvidenceMemor‐ialParkMausoleum,8200 AirlineDrive,Metairie, Louisiana70003. Arrange‐mentsentrusted to D.W. Rhodes FuneralHome, 3933 Washington Ave.,New Or‐leans, LA 70125. Please visitwww.rhodesfuneral. comtosignthe online guestbook,share memo‐ries andcondolences with thefamily. "Welldone, good andfaithfulservant." –Matthew 25:23

Christiani,Elaine

Elaine Christiani,atage 96,was called to herHeav‐enly Home on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.She wasborn in Enmore East CoastDe‐merara,GuyanaonMay 18, 1929 to MarieCatoand Au‐gustineFernandes.From age8 shelived with her aunt andgrandmother who latermoved to Vigilance. Sheattended St.Anthony’s R.Cfor about8 years. In 1947, after thedeath of her grandmothershe movedto Georgetown to live with hermother. Afew years latershe metand married RudolphChristianiand gave birthto4 children Claudine,Lorraine, Juliana andRudolph Jr.In1978, she movedtoNew York where shelived with herdaughter Claudine andworkedasa home health aide formany years. Shelater then movedtoLouisiana with herlatedaughterJuliana where shequickly and happily made NewOrleans home.In2021, shemoved back to NewYorkand live with daughter Lorriaine where shespent her ﬁnal yearssurrounded by love andfamily. Elaine wasa loving wife,motherand grandmotherserving as thematriarch of theChris‐tianifamily. Elaine was caring,loving, andkindhearted. Shelived herlife guided by herstrongfaith where shefound comfort andstrengthinthe Scrip‐turesand church.She wor‐shippedatSt. David Catholic Church where she wasdearlyloved.She is lovingly remembered by herchildrenClaudine, Lor‐raineand RudolphJr.,9 grandchildren, Rawle, Carla, LaShaunda, Terry ByronJr.,Rushawn, Asha, Ariel, andElaine, 10 greatgrandchildren, Gabriel, Ch‐enee, BJ,Chace,Ben,Zain, Eli, Bree, Braylon, Noor, andhostoffriends who lovedher dearly.Relatives andfriends of the family, also priest andparish‐ioners of St.David Catholic Church areinvited to at‐tend aFuneralMassof ChristianBurialatSt. David Catholic Church,5617 St Claude St NewOrleans LA on Friday,July11, 2025 at 10:00 am.Visitationwill beginat8:00amuntil 10:00 am.Pleasejoinusby Livestream at 9:50 am by visiting www.facebook com/D.W.RhodesFuneralHo

me/live. Interment: Mt

Olivet Cemetery,New Or‐leans, LA.Arrangements entrustedtoD.W.Rhodes FuneralHome, 3933 Wash‐ington Ave.,New Orleans, LA 70125.

Clementine,Thelma Brossett

Thelma Brossett Clementine,age 95, en‐teredeternal rest on Sun‐day, June 29, 2025 sur‐rounded by herlovingfam‐ily. Loving anddevoted wife for59years to thelate WilliamF.Clementine. Thelma wasbornin Cloutierville, LA,a rural community locatedalong thebanks of theCaneRiver in Natchitoches Parish,the oldest daughter of thelate Alex andAdelisaRachal Brossett. Belovedmother ofCynthia Clementine Creighton(Arthur), Ralph Clementine,Patrick Clementine andthe late Gerald Clementine.Step‐mother of thelateJoseph Clementine (Marie)and John Clementine.Daugh‐ter-in-law of Ferran and Mathilda Clementine.Sis‐terofAlmaBrossettLa‐Cour,LeonBrossett and Daniel Brossett. Also sur‐vivedbysister, TheresaB Gonzales (the late Sonny) daughter-in-law, Linda R. Clementine,ninegrand‐children,six great-grand‐children,several nieces nephews, otherrelatives andfriends.Thelma' spar‐ents relocatedtoNew Or‐leanswhenshe wasinele‐mentaryschool.She at‐tended Danneel School and Booker T. Washington High School.She wasemployed as aclerk forThe Southern Book Mart,dealing with rare booksand maps,for more than 15 yearsand after itsclosing,she joined theteamatThe Acorn Store. Thelma andher hus‐band were oneofthe origi‐nalhomeownersin PontchartrainPark, when they movedtheir very young familytothatcom‐munity in 1955. Relatives andfriends,Priestand parishioners of theformer St.Gabriel theArchangel andSt. Martin de Porres Catholic Churches,mem‐bers of theTrumpateers, PontchartrainParkNeigh‐borhood Association, PontchartrainParkCom‐munity Center,SisterSer‐vantsofMary, AnvoiHos‐pice andthe Carnival KreweofKingArthur,are invitedtoattend thefu‐neral. AMassofChristian burial honoring thelifeand legacy of thelateThelma Brossett Clementine will be held at St.MartindePorres Catholic Church,5621 ElysianFieldsAvenue,New Orleans, LA 70122 on Fri‐day, July 11, 2025 at 11 am, Father AnthonyF.Rigoli, OMI, Celebrant. Visitation 9 am in thechurch.Inter‐ment St.Louis Cemetery No.3,3421 EsplanadeAv‐enue,New Orleans, LA 70119. Please sign online guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion Directors(504) 581-4411.

Cuccia, Patricia Mary McGinnis

Patricia Mary McGinnis Cuccia,ofPearl River, Louisiana, passedaway peacefully in herhomeon Saturday,July5,2025, at theage of 84. Born in New Orleans, LA,Patriciawas a longtime resident of Metairie,LA, where she wasa parishionerofSt. Angela Merici Catholic Church.For thelast28 years, shehas been a parishionerofSts.Peter andPaulCatholicChurch of PearlRiver.Patriciais survived by membersof herbeloved family includ‐ingher husband of 61 years,ThomasJ.Cuccia; herchildren, DavidT.Cuc‐cia(Leslie)and Cheryl Cuc‐ciaSpansel;and hergrand‐daughters, Charlotte A. Cuccia andGwendolyn M. Cuccia.She waspreceded

in deathbyher parents, Edward andRenaMcGin‐nis, andher cherished grandson,BenjaminL Spansel. Patricia grew up in theCarrollton area of NewOrleans,attending MaterDolorosafor ele‐mentaryschool andgradu‐atingfromSt. Stephen High School.She attended Loyola University,where shewas amemberofBeta EpsilonUpsilonhonorary medicaltechnology soci‐ety, Cardinal Keynational honorsociety,and Tri Sigmasocialsorority, grad‐uating summa cumlaude with abachelor’sdegreein medicaltechnology.Patri‐ciawas aproud anddedi‐catedmotherand home‐maker. Shealsofound time to engage with andserve hercommunity,enjoying activities andthe company of others viamembership in theBonnabelCivic Asso‐ciation, theSt. Angela Ladies Association, andas avolunteer docent at his‐toricLongueVue House andGardens.Following Pat andTom’s move to Pearl River, shecontinuedto serveothersasa volunteer at SlidellMemorialHospi‐tal, member andcounselor with Marriage Encounter volunteer at Sts. Peterand Paul Church,and as acerti‐fied Master Gardener of St TammanyParish. Thefam‐ilyextends theirheartfelt thanks to SofiaSulguado forher compassionateas‐sistance,aswellasthe team from VitalCaring Hospice. Relativesand friends areinvited to at‐tend avisitationonFriday, July 11, 2025 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Sts. Peter andPaulChurch locatedat 66192 St.MaryDrive,Pearl River, LA 70452. AFuneral Mass will begininthe chapel at 11:00 a.m. fol‐lowedbya memorial re‐ceptioninthe adjacent church hall.Interment will be on Saturday,July12, 2025 at Greenwood Ceme‐tery in NewOrleans at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flow‐ers, donationstoSts.Peter andPaulChurch arewel‐come.Ifanyonewould wish to send flowers, they should be directed to the church addressonSt. Mary Drive. Memories andcon‐dolences maybeex‐pressedatwww.Audubon FuneralHome.com.

Jacqueline Marie Daniels, 73,a native anda resident of NewOrleans died Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Jacqueline attended elementary school in Cen‐terville,MSand later movedtoNew Orleans, LA to attend high school.She is survived by herchildren: twosons, Willie and GnorvelDaniels;one daughter,LateefaDaniels; and11grandchildren;one greatgranddaughter;three sisters, Cynthia, Shirley andCharmaine Daniels, oneGod-child Erin Harris anda host of nieces nephews, familyand friends. Shewas preceded in deathbyher parents Dorisand Willie Daniels, Sr., twobrothersWillieand Veotis Danielsand sister BarbaraHaynes; andone grandson PatrickDaniels Relativesand friendsofthe familyare invitedtoattend theFuneralService on Sat‐urday, July 12,2025at ReapingThe HarvestInter‐national Church,5123 Dauphine St NewOrleans LA 70117. Visitation will be from 9a.m.to10a.m.with theFuneralService to fol‐lowat10a.m.The Burial is private. Professional arrangements entrustedto

Majestic Mortuary Service, Inc.,(504) 523-5872.

Born on October23, 1935, to thelateRoosevelt Hunter andthe late Mattie Belle BridgesMcBride,CoPastor Fannie H. Dedeaux wasa beloveddaughter, sister,friend, andmother whose generous spirit,and unwavering faith touched theheartsofeveryoneshe met. Shewas baptizedat theage of 7atSaint John Batist Church in Moultrie, Georgia- acommitmentto faith that wouldshape the rest of herlife. Afterleav‐ingGeorgia shemoved to NewOrleans,where she pursuedhighereducation at Straight Business School while workinginguest op‐erations at thehistoric HotelMonteleone. Sheat‐tended Dillard University andlater graduatedfrom UnionBaptist Theological Seminary.She served as a boardmemberfor Sixth BaptistChurch.Fanniewas afaithfulservant andspiri‐tual leader,she wasli‐censed andordainedasa minister under Bishop J.D. WileyatLifeCenterFull Gospel Cathedraland went on to serveasCo-Pastor of TheStore HouseChurch under Pastor Emelda Washington.She leaves to cherishher memory her devoteddaughterPastor Emelda Washington and son-in-law Paul Edward Washington Sr., brother-inlaw; JamesE.Hayes,six nieces,seven nephews, and ahostofgreat-nieces, great-nephews, andcount‐less of extended family members, church mem‐bers,and friends. Preceded in deathbyher sons Curtis Hunter,Michael Smith, grandson:PaulEdward Washington Jr., siblings: Ella P. Hayes, CarolynSter‐ling,LonnieRuthMcBride, Willie FrankMcBride,and EmogenePhillips. Family andfriends areinvited to attend theCelebration of Life ServiceonFriday, July 11, 2025, for1:30p.m.at TheBoydFamilyFuneral Home,5001 Chef Menteur Hwy, NewOrleans,LA 70126. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m. Reverend Kerry Roby Sr ofﬁciating. Intermentisprivate Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

Delatte,Laura

LauraMarie Mitchell De‐latte,a native of NewOr‐leans, enteredeternal rest at theage of 77 on June 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. Born on March25, 1948, shewas thethird of sevenchildren born to theunion of her parents, Louisand Laura Mitchell.Fromabout the ageof10, after thepassing of hermother, sheand her siblings were raised,loved, andguidedbyher uncle andaunt,Hermanand Louise Wynne,until they all reachedadulthood.Laura washer mother’s name‐

sake,and shewas affec‐tionatelyknown by many as Marie. Whetheryou called herLaura,Marie, mama,granny, sister nanny, T-Ree, mother-inlaworfriend, whenyou were with heryou felt lovedand special. Marie wasraisedinthe Catholic faith.CorpusChristi has been herchurch forher en‐tire life.She waseducated in Catholic schoolsinthe city of NewOrleans.She attended St.Monica, Cor‐pusChristi,and St.Mary’s Academy, where shegrad‐uatedin1966. Shewas em‐ployed by AT&T (formerly Bell South).Inher time with Bell South, sheserved as aunion representative After30years of dedicated service, sheretired and beganher ownhousekeep‐ingbusiness. Mariewas knownfor hostingfabu‐lous Christmasdinners Themenuheadliner for dinner,every year,was her stuffedmirliton. Shewas thebestatmakingthis dish andshe wasthe only person who made it.Be‐yond thegreat Christmas food,she made sure that everyone who walked throughher door at Christ‐masfeltwelcome.Each person wouldleave with a gift.She wouldput on a Santahat andoutfitand head to thetree. Shewould callout each person’s name,inher Santavoice, forthemtocometoget theirgiftfromSanta.Be‐fore receivingtheir gift, shewould ask“Have you been good this year?” and they hadtorespond before shewould give them their gift.Thisisa bigfamilytra‐dition that will continue foreveratChristmas.Truly amatriarch by nature,she wasa dedicatedmother, grandmother, great-grand‐mother,sister, nanny, aunt, cousin,mother-in-law,and friend.Her flowing, long, white hair washer signa‐ture look,along with that bigleftdimpleand warm smile.She wasthe boss. Sheknewitand so did everyone else.Laura wasa strong,independent,as‐sertivewoman with agreat senseofhumor.She al‐ways hada quickand quirky comeback when somethingwas said.You mighttry to startsome‐thingwithher,but shewas definitely going to finish it If youknewMarie,you knew where to find her. Shewas going to be at the casino,infront of aslot machine, sippingona cold Coke.She also lovedplay‐ingcards,especiallyPo‐keno andgamecalledin between with herfamily during theholidays. Rais‐ingthe ante washer spe‐cialty andshe wouldal‐most always winthe big pot. Shealsoloved shop‐ping,whether it wasfor a newoutfit, theperfect Christmasgift, or just somethingthatcaughther eye; shopping broughther joyand excitement.Her fa‐vorite storewas Stein Mart,and shewas disap‐pointedwhentheyclosed theirdoors. Shehad a sharpeye forstyle anden‐joyed findingnicegifts for herselfand others.The most specialplace in her heartbelongedtoher grandkids andgreat grand‐kids.She didn’t consider babysittinga duty,itwas herabsolutepleasure. She lovedthemdearlyand they lovedher.Grannywas a titleshe washonored to hold.She wasgratefulto Godand hertwo sons,Dar‐ryland Damien,for thegift of making hera grand‐mother.Her sons were de‐votedtoher,speakingwith herevery daytomakesure shewas good. They adored andprotected her.The re‐lationship that shehad with each of them wasa joytowatch.She knew that hersonsloved her dearly andshe lovedthem rightback. Shewas a proudmama. Lauraispre‐cededindeath by herpar‐ents,Louis Mitchell Sr.& LauraMitchell, heruncle andaunt,HermanWynne andLouiseWynne,3 broth‐ers, LouisJr.,Addisonand Marcel Mitchell,one sister Mary Louise Combre,and onegranddaughter, Giona SantaMaria.She leaves to cherishher memory,her devotedsons, Darryl De‐latte Jr.(Tamika)and Damien Delatte (Shakira), 7 grandchildren: Damien Dix, Daniel Delatte,DrewDe‐latte,DillonDelatte,Da‐mond Stovall, DaiDelatte

andDamianWalton, 2 great-granddaughters, Nyla SantaMarinaand Dia‐mond Dix; hersiblings, Leah Brown, Michael Mitchell, Peggy Jupiter, MarilynMagee(Larry)and KennethMitchell, onegod‐son, Gary Jones, herformer husband,DarrylDelatte Sr.; anda host of nieces, nephews, cousinsand friends. Thelegacyshe leaves is ﬁlled with love, laughter,great food,in‐cludingthe stuffedmirliton recipe,thank Godshe didn’t take that with her; thefamilyfun card games, in which theantewillbe uppedinher honor, and lastly,her beautifulwhite hair that canbeseen in her sons andher nieces and nephews. Herbeauty, great skin,quick comebacks, greatfood,including acold coke anda welcomingde‐meanor,willliveonfor generationsinher blood‐line.Thisisthe legacy that sheleaveswitheachofus. Relativesand friendsofthe family, thefamilyishost‐inga Memorial Christian Mass at Corpus ChristiEpiphany Catholic Church 2022 St.Bernard Ave.,New Orleans, LA on Saturday July 12, 2025, at 10:00am Visitation:8:00am-9:00am Rosary:9:15am. Repass to immediatelyfollowinthe church cafeteria. Crema‐tion by D.W. Rhodes Fu‐neralHome, 3933 Washing‐tonAve., NewOrleans,LA 70125. Please visitwww rhodesfuneral.comtosign theonlineguestbook sharememoriesand con‐dolences with thefamily.

Rena HillsEdwards passedawayonJune 25, 2025, at theage of 72. Born on October25, 1952, to the late Eddieand OraHills Sheissurvivedbyher hus‐band BruceEdwards,sib‐lings; Eileen Saulsbury, Eu‐gene HillsSr.,Monique Webberand ahostofrela‐tivesand friends. Preceded in deathbyher parents, sister;Peggy Hills, brother; EddieHills,Jr.,and nephew Ronald Hills. Rena leaves behind alegacyoffaith, strength,and unwavering compassion.She gradu‐ated from Walter L. Cohen High School andLoyola University.She wasa dedi‐catedsocialworkerfor 30 years. Relatives, friends, andmembers of NewSt. Mark,St. Mark’s 4thand Franklin Avenue Baptist Church areinvited to at‐tend theFuneral Serviceon Friday,July11, 2025, for 10:00 a.m. at St.Mark’s4th BaptistChurch,2130 Per‐dido Street,New Orleans, LA.Visitationwillbegin at 9:00 a.m. Reverend Robert Turner Sr ofﬁciating. In‐termentwillfollowat Mount Olivet Cemetery 4000 Norman MayerAv‐enue,New Orleans, LA 70122. Please sign the Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear BrooksBoydand Donavin D. Boyd Owners/FuneralDi‐rectors.

Dedeaux, FannieH

Edwards, Rena Hills

Daniels, Jacqueline Marie

MarieMitchell

Eugene,Shelia DoloresGreen

Shelia DoloresGreen Eu‐gene,age 69, transitioned from this worldonTues‐day, June 17, 2025 at West JeffersonMedical Center Shelia wasborninNew Or‐leans, raised in Oakville LA,PlaquemineParishand wasa resident of Harvey LA.WifeofMichael Eu‐gene.Daughterofthe late Amos andDelores Green Sister of Lorraine Green, Gail Johnson, Amos Green Jr., Michaeland Adrel Green Mother of Jasmine, Michael, Jr.and Maurice Eugene.Grandmother of Denver MichaelBurnette Shelia wasa graduate of Belle Chasse High School, attended Gramblingand Southern University (New Orleans) where sheob‐tained herBachelor'sDe‐gree in Elementary Educa‐tion.She wasa member of BethlehemBaptist Church, TheBethlehem Mass Choir andCMMBAMassChoir Mrs. Eugene wasa lifelong educator for45years in thePlaquemineand Or‐leansParishPublicSchool Systemsand will always be remembered by alumni andstudentsasa loving andcaringteacher.Rela‐tivesand friends; Pastor andmembers of Bethle‐hemBaptist Church arein‐vitedtoattend thefuneral ACelebration servicehon‐oringthe life andlegacyof thelateSheliaDolores Green Eugene willbeheld at TheBethlehem Baptist Church,111 Bethlehem Lane,Braithwaite, LA 70040 on Saturday,July12, 2025 at 10 am,The Rev. Dr MichaelW.Jiles, Sr., Ofﬁci‐ating. IntermentRestlawn Cemetery,Hwy.90, Avon‐dale,LA. Please sign online guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Finalarrangementsen‐trustedtoCharbonnet Family Services,(504) 3021520

Foster Jr., Thomas

Thomas Foster Jr age 78, of NewOrleans,LA, passedawaypeacefully on Friday,July4,2025, sur‐rounded by hislovingfam‐ily. He wasbornonMarch 31,1947, to theunion of AliceHiteFosterand Thomas Foster Sr.Hewas adevoted father,grandfa‐ther,great-grandfather, brother, uncleand friend He leaves behind 3siblings Patricia,Ritaand Michael, 6children: Dedra, Ron, LaShanda NyokiToni, Thomas,27grandchildren and18great-grandchildren anda host of nieces and nephews, otherrelatives andfriends.Hewas pre‐cededinhis transition by 8 brothers,2 sistersand 2 sons (Reneand Wayne).A celebrationofThomas's life will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025, at Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral Home,2120 JacksonAve, NewOrleans,LA70113 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation from 9:00a.m.until 10:00 a.m. PrivateBurial. Youmay sign theguest book on www.gertrudegeddeswilli s.com. GerrtrudeGeddes Willis Funerale Home Inc., in charge (504) 522-2525

Spencer(Licy), Allain,and Alex (Norris); and he was also acherished uncleto his ten nieces and nephews -Trevor, Ellen Claire,Mary Margaret Tyler, Mathilde, Chandler, William, Nelson, Christopherand Kelsey. He was preceded in deathby his mother, Ellen Louise BriouGagnet, and his father, Harold Joseph Gagnet, Jr.Asa childgrowing up inthe Milanareaof Uptown,Brian had many wonderful adventureswith his brothers and their friends. In hisyounger years, he attended St Michael Special School. Later,Brian movedtothe St. Mary's Residential CommunityinAlexandria where he earned his high schoolcertificate. Upon returning to the New Orleansarea,heworked for many years forthe Arc of GreaterNew Orleans. Brian participated in Special Olympics wherehe enjoyed contending in the weightlifting competition. Brianwas kind-hearted, funny,and never met a stranger. He was aSaints fan and loved animals, especially his dogs. Aspecial thankyou to Carl Payton and everyone at the VolunteersofAmerica Southeast Louisiana who so lovingly cared for and supported Brianover the years. Relatives and friends of the familyare invited to attend aFuneral Mass at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100PontchartrainBlvd., New Orleans on Friday, July 11 at 12 noon. Visitation willbeatthe funeralhome from 11:00a.m. until service time. Private interment for the family willfollow at Lake Lawn ParkMausoleum. In lieu of flowers, pleaseconsider making adonation in Brian'smemorytothe Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana. (https://www.voasela.org)

Rychon DavelGarrett, a NewOrleans native,en‐teredeternal rest on Satur‐day, June 21, 2025. Rychon D. Garrettreceivedanun‐expected call,and he ac‐ceptedthe call from the Lord at theage of 51. Al‐though hisfamilydid not know this call wasoccur‐ring,heacceptedit. Rychon wasbornonAu‐gust 19, 1973, to thelate AliceJ.Garrett andRobert Garrett. Rychon wasthe second sonbornout of threesonsborntoAlice andRobertGarrett. Rychon lovedthe Lord,his family, hisbrothers, andhaving theability to travel.Rychon attended school in theNew OrleansParishSchool Sys‐temand participated in the BoyScouts. He attended Hartzell MethodistCenter, Thomas Edison,George Washington Elementary, Andrew J. Bell Junior High School,F.W.GregoryJunior High School, Pierre Capdau Junior High School,and John F. Kennedy (JFK) High School (Class of 1991) Rychon lovedmusic andin hispastime,hefound joy playingthe SnareDrum where he excelled by at‐tendingseveral Junior High Schoolstostudy under di‐versebanddirectors be‐fore attendingJFK.Al‐though he wasa band head,heexcelledinsci‐ence,technology,and math,which ledhim to se‐lecttoattend Xavier Uni‐versityofLouisiana to majorinChemistry.Al‐though he wasa Xavier student, he frequently vis‐ited Dillard University where he metanabun‐danceofpeoplewho be‐came lifelong brothers During hissummers in high school,Rychonwas intro‐ducedtomotor coach buseswhere he learned howtodrive thecoaches andcarefor them.He wouldwork on theweek‐ends while attendinghigh school andcollege to earn money. In addition,Rychon joined Prince Hall Vera Cruz Lodge#24 where he studiedtobecomea Mason, reaching thelevel up to the33rdDegree. Also, Rychon aShrinememberin Karum#48 LodgeinGulf‐port,Mississippi.Rychon wasalsoanactivemember of theZuluSocialAid & Pleasure Club.Rychon was theheart andsoulofthe family.Heenjoyed family gatherings andreunions,

cooking, andtalking to the elders to learnfamilyhis‐tory.Rychonissurvivedby hiswonderful of 18 years, La’Charlotte’C.Garrett, his children Ryla D. Garrett, Rychon D. Garrett, Jr.and Ry’Ann D. Garrett; hisfa‐ther Robert Garrett; hisinlaws Gerald andLa’Jean Green;his brother, Michael C. Garrett(Anjanlyn); his sisters-in-law Gwendell Garrettand Ashanti Green; hisbrother-in-lawGerald Green,Jr.;his god-daugh‐terand nieceMicha Gar‐rett; hisnephews Michael GarrettII, Matthew Garrett, Dave Peterson,David Green,and Sterling Gar‐rett; andhis nieces Shiyanne Green,Gabrianna Green,Giovanna Green,Gi‐anna Garrettand Ophelia Green;his auntsDr. Wanda G. Griggs (Robert);Gail Garrett, Jonell Scurlock (Gerald),Rosetta Jackson, andGodson HyramHurd. Also,survivedbya host of Godchildren, cousins, and closefriends.Rychonis preceded in deathbyhis mother AliceJ.Garrett, his younger brotherOmarL Garrett, hisgrandparents Williamand Correen Jack‐son, auntsRosie Jackson Johnson, Mary Jackson Lynum,Lilly JacksonGreen, LuBertha Jackson, and MurrielJackson Barber Uncles WilliamMcKinley Jr., Thomas Jackson, and Cleo Jackson. Family and friendsare invitedtoat‐tend aCelebration of Life ServiceonFriday, July 11, 2025, for11:00 am at St Mark’s 4thBaptist Church ,2130 PerdidoStreet,New Orleans, Louisiana70112. Relativesand friendsofthe familyand employees of LewisCoaches,David Tours, Xavier University of LouisianaDivisionofEn‐rollment Management Staff, CabriniHighSchool &Athletics, TheWillow School &Athletics,and Lake Forest CharterSchool areinvited to attend the CelebrationofLifefor Rychon Garrett. ACelebra‐tion of Life Serviceis scheduledatSt. Mark 4th BaptistChurch,2130 Per‐dido Street forSaturday, July 12, 2025, at 11:00am. Visitation is 9:00 am –10:00 am only with aRiteofPas‐sage to startat10:00 am TheofﬁciantisRev.Dr. Robert Turner Sr.and inter‐ment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery.Arrange‐mentsentrusted to D.W. Rhodes FuneralHome, 3933 Washington Avenue,New Orleans, LA.Pleasevisit www.rhodesfuneral.comto sign theguestbook

Gauthier,Gertrude Dupont

Gertrude Dupont Gau‐thierpassedawaysud‐denlyonSaturday, July 5, 2025, at theage of 88. She wasthe belovedwifeof thelateNolan Joseph Gau‐thier. Daughter to thelate KilrainDupontand Pamela Francios Dupont.Loving mother to KeithGauthier (Ginger),Vanessa G. Odems(late,Mel), JoeGau‐thier, andthe late Vickie G. Snell. Also survived by her grandchildren, Kyle Gau‐thier, Jena S. Rogers,and Sean M. Snell, andher great-grandchildrenKatie J. Gauthier andKyleGau‐thier, Jr.Gertrudeworked at Tiny Tots Daycarefor over 40 years. Sheenjoyed going to work each and everyday,she lovedall the littleonesthere.Relatives andfriends areinvited to attend thefuneral services on Friday,July11, 2025, at Garden of Memories Fu‐neralHomeand Cemetery 4900 AirlineDr., Metairie, LA.70001. Visitation will beginat9:00amwitha Servicestartingat10:30 am.Interment will be im‐mediatelyafter.Inlieuof ﬂowers, thefamilyrequest donationsinGertrude’s name to theAmericanDia‐betesAssociationat https://donors.diabetes orgorChildren'sHospital at www.chnola.org

Robert J. “Bob”Guidry departed this life on June 16, 2025, after a4 year-long battlewitha rare cancer (NETs).Hewas 64 years old. Bobwas predeceased by hisparents,HervinJ Guidry,Jr.,and Mary Ann Richards Guidry.Heissur‐vivedbyhis wife DebraE Guidry,his sonRobert MaxwellGuidry, hisdaugh‐terMegan E. DelatteGuidry,and herhusband BrittanA.Delatte-Guidry. He is also survived by his brothers Hervin A. Guidry, marriedtoSusan G. Guidry andJames R. Guidry,mar‐ried to Sandra D. Guidry andhis nieceKatherine E. Guidry.Bob graduated from Holy CrossHigh School in 1978. He went on to graduate from Loyola University in 1983 with a degree in computer sci‐ence anda minorinmath‐ematics. He worked in the pensionadministration business since1976. He wasa co-founder of Soft‐ware Dimensions,Inc Later, he wasa founder andpartner at Retirement Strategies Group. Bobwas an Accredited PensionRep‐resentative(APR),a desig‐nation conferredbythe National InstituteofPen‐sion Administrators.He wasalsoa member of the Relius Administration Na‐tional Daily User Groupand theAssociationofEm‐ployee BenefitPlannersof NewOrleans.Bob wasa lifelong learner, anatural problemsolver, anda gen‐eroussoulwho nevermet astranger. Curiousbyna‐ture andtenacious in spirit,heconstantlyex‐plored newideas,revisited oldones, andencouraged others to sharetheir per‐spectives. Whetheratthe familydinnertable or in conversation with anew friend,hecreated space foropendialogueand thoughtfuldebate—always seekingcommonground andgrowth. Recently,his greatest intellectual and spiritualjoy came from the Little FarmsChurch discus‐sion group, where he en‐gagedinvibrant,respect‐fulconversations about faith,questionedlong-held beliefs, andembraceda broaderunderstanding of theworld.Bob approached hisfaith with honestyand courage, neverafraidto wrestle with doubtormys‐tery.Bob wasanavid Saints fan andwas an ac‐tive follower of newor‐leans. football, where he wasa regularcommenter In addition to theSaints, hisinterests over theyears included workingonauto‐mobiles, sailing, andboat‐ing. He wasanavidreader —especiallydrawn to sci-fi andfantasy—and alifelong fan of RoyRogers,Super‐man, andcowboytales.He lovedSolitaire,storytelling, andsharing awell-crafted, well-timedjoke. He ap‐proached everyproblem with thebeliefthata solu‐tion existed—andhewould find it.Athome, he wasthe family’sbartender and barista, asourceofcom‐fort,laughter, andguid‐ance.Hementoredmany, always listeningintently andofferingwisdomwith humility.Generoustothe core,hequietly helped oth‐ershonoringtheir dignity andstrength. Bobde‐lightedinconversingwith people from allwalks of life.His abilitytobefully presentwithothers— undistractedand gen‐uinely interested—made everyone feel seen andval‐ued. Aboveall, Bobcher‐ishedhis family. He loved deeply anduncondition‐ally, findinghis greatest joy in time spenttogether Hislegacylives on in the conversations we have,the questionsweask,and the humor we share. Bob’swit, warmth,and open heart will be profoundly missed andforever remembered Thefamilywould like to thankDr. Mary HobbsMaluccio andher staff. We aredeeply grateful forher relentless pursuitofnew groundbreaking treat‐mentstoextendBob’s life andwellness. Visitation will be held on July 12 at 10 a.m.,followedbya memor‐ialservice at 11 a.m. Visita‐tion andthe memorial ser‐vice will take placeatGar‐denofMemories, 4900 Air‐line Dr,Metairie, LA 70001, which is less than amile from Saints training camp Please feel free to wear ca‐sual,comfortable clothes forthe service. Astorysharingreception at the Guidry home will follow the memorial service. Thefam‐ilyasksthatyou consider a donation to Bob’schurch Little FarmsUnitedChurch of Christ.Donations canbe sent viacheck to Little FarmsUCC at 2120 Frankel Avenue,Metairie, LA 70003

or made viapaypalatlit‐tlefarmsucc.org. charityofyourchoosing. Arrangements by Jacob Schoen &Son Funeral Home.Condolences may be left at www.schoenfh. com.

Johnson,GregoryMichael

GregoryMichael John‐son, age69, wasbornon April29, 1956 in NewOr‐leans, Louisianaand left this worldunexpectedlyon June 28, 2025. ANew Or‐leansnativeand longtime resident of Shreveport Louisiana, Greg waspre‐cededindeath by hisfa‐ther John A. JohnsonJr. andmotherDoriseGean Johnson. In addition to nu‐merous nieces,nephews, in-lawsand friends, left to cherishGreg’s memory are hissiblingsElizabeth Dean (Melvin),JohnJohnson (Diane), Mary AnnLaForge (Mike),Jeannie Hardouin (Larry), daughter Ashley andher mother Peggy Gremillion,stepchildren, Kandy(Ben),James (DeAnn) andJason (Heather)grandchildren Kenley,Nate, Kingston, Micah, Steeleand Slade, sweet puppiesWinston andAllie,and hisloving wife of 24 years, Lisa.Greg graduatedfromBrother MartinHighSchool in 1974 andwas aproud member of thestate champion Cru‐saders football team.Greg spentlonghours working forUPS while attendingthe University of NewOrleans Greg graduatedfromUNO with adegreeinaccount‐ing. Followinggraduation Greg accepted asales po‐sition with Gordon’s Jewel‐ers. After45years in the jewelryindustryGregre‐tiredasSeniorVicePresi‐dent of LeeMichaelsFine Jewelryin2023. Greg was involved in many organiza‐tionsincluding butnot lim‐ited to TheRotaryClub, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, theIndependence Bowl,the Ambassadors Club,the SalvationArmy, theKrewe of Justinianand BEI. Greg lovednothing more than spending time with hisfriends andfamily. On anygiven dayyou could find Greg at thePilatesstu‐dio, on thepickleballcourt, or visiting with neighbors on hisdaily walk.Heloved workingoutside andthen coolingoff in thepool fol‐lowedbya well-deserved rest in hisrecliner watch‐ingsports. AlifelongLSU Tigers fan,Gregattended hundredsoffootball gamesatTiger Stadium andbeyond. Greg enjoyed hishobbies,but he enjoyed hisfriends andfamilyeven more Aconsummatesto‐ryteller,Gregcould hold courtatthe kitchen counter,ora five-star restaurant allthe while keepinghis guests en‐gaged, entertainedand laughing at storiesof childhood hijinksand col‐orfulcharactersfromhis past.Gregenjoyed travel‐ingand goodmeals in the finest restaurants, butyou were most likely to find himonthe patioofThe Oyster Barwithhis “sweet lady Lisa by hisside. Evenings with Greg often endedwitha Michelob Ultrabythe pool or the fire pit, sharingjokes,stories andlaughter-familyand sweet puppiesbyhis side Husband, Father,Brother, Uncleand friend were all importanttitlestoGreg, buthis favorite wasproba‐bly“PopPop”. Greg loved nothingmorethanspend‐ingtimeonthe sidelines cheeringonhis grandchil‐dren.Afterretirement, Greg split histimebetween Northand SouthLouisiana attendingdance recitals, band concerts, fielddays, awardceremoniesand football games. Nothing made himprouder than bragging on hisgrandchil‐dren.Pop Popwas the grandfatherevery kid dreams of.FromDisney tripstolaunching “moon‐shots” in thepool PopPop wasalwaysthere forhis grandkidswitha joke,a word of encouragement anda sneaky hand ready to stealanother French fry. We take comfortinknow‐ingthatthe hugeholeGreg left in ourheartswillbe filledwitha lifetime of love,laughterand cher‐ishedmemories. Visitation will be held at Jacob Schoen andSon Funeral Home on July 12 from 10:00-12:00 with aCatholic funeralmasstofollow. A CelebrationofGreg’sLife will be held at theRobin‐sonFilmCenterinShreve‐port,La. on August 2from 2:00-5:00. Pallbearerswill be BrettJohnson,Garrett Johnson, JasonKline JamesKline,Ben Mathis, andNateMathis. In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be made to theLSU School of Veterinary Medicine or the

It is with greatsorrow that we announcethe homegoingofour beloved mother,sister, aunt,grand‐mother andfriend, Pauline Miller Manuel. Paulinede‐parted herearthly life at OchsnerMedical Center Westbank Hospital on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at theage of 83. Shewas born on September10, 1941 in NewOrleans LA.and wasthe firstofninechil‐dren born to theunion of thelateLawrenceMillerJr. andMorganMiller. Hersib‐lingsare Brenda andEu‐gene "Willie"Millerand thelateFlorenceShedrick (lateElijah),Matthew Williams (Leola), Thomas Vernon,Herbert,and Re‐nard Miller.She is thewife of thelateHermanManuel Jr andthe loving mother of Denise Manuel(Eugene), Trudie M. Lambert(late Willie), Michelle Sylve (David)and thelateHer‐manManuelIII andRos‐alyn Manuel. She also leaves behind herstepchil‐dren Darren Wilson (Sherita)and Denise Ross Byes,ninegrandchildren, sixteen greatgrandchil‐dren,fourgreat great grandchildren, brothers andsister-in-law,nieces andnephews anda host of otherlovingrelatives and friends. Paulinewas akind andgeneroussoul, always thinking aboutothers. Aboveall shewas afaith‐fulchild of theMostHigh God. She kept thefaith and fought thegood fight, neverwaveringinher be‐liefs. Even in illness, she stood firm in hertrust in theLord. Herquiet courage, patience and graceinspiredeveryone around her. Oneofher fa‐vorite saying "Itiswhatit is", wasa testamenttoher peacewithGod's will and herrefusal to worry about whatshe norman could notcontrol.Paulinewas a devotedmemberofthe St Paul MissionaryBaptist Church of Ironton, LA where shewas baptized at ayoung ageinthe Missis‐sippi Riverbythe late Rev. JamesBrown. Sheat‐tended Scottville School andretired from Belle Chasse StateSchool (Met‐ropolitanDevelopmental Center)after many years of dedicatedservice.Rela‐tivesand friendsofthe family, alongwiththe pas‐tor, officers andmember of St.PaulMissionaryB.C andall neighboring churches andRiverbend Nursingand RehabCenter areinvited to attend the HomegoingCelebration on Saturday,July12, 2025 at Robinson Family Funeral Home,9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse LA 70037. Thevisi‐tation will beginat9:30 a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. service. Pastor Haywood Johnsonwillofficiateand entombment will follow in IrontonCemetery.Funeral planning entrustedto Robinson Family Funeral Home (504) 208-2119. For online condolences, please visitwww.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com.

Guidry,RobertJ.'Bob'

Manuel, PaulineMiller

Garrett, Rychon Davel

McMillian, Iretta 'Tut'

Iretta McMillian(Tut), retiredco-ownerofMcMil‐lian Trucking andhome‐makerdiedThursday July 3, 2025 at 85 yearsofage Iretta wasborninNew Or‐leans, LA anda lifelong resident.She is preceded in deathbyher husband Willie McMillian; sons,Roy andCurtisMcMillian;and daughter,Diane M. Harris Mother of Rayand Alvin McMillian, DebbieMcMil‐lian-Williamsand Gail McMillian- Morgan of St Johns,Florida.Sisterof

Gagnet, Brian Mariner

Brian Mariner Gagnet passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 1, 2025,at the age of 62. Brian was born in New Orleans on September 25, 1962. He was affectionately known as "Bub" to hisfour brothers,Ben (Charlene),

OPINION

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

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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

When ICEcomes to your neighborhood

Andso, is this what the United States, theland of my birth and the country Irevere, has come to? As we have watched what amountstogoon squads in ski masks grab people off thestreet, out of their homes and off their jobs, one wonders, is this how the law is supposed to work? Is this theexample of afree countrywhere rights and dreams are respected, President Ronald Reagan’sshining cityonahill?

Now that the Trumpadministration faces what for it is theawful truth that there just aren’tthat manyimmigrant robbers,murderers and rapiststo fulﬁll campaign hyperbole, thegoon squads are trapping those attempting to livewithin the immigration laws, even to become citizens.Proper,hardworking and respected members of thecommunity are seized at scheduled immigration appointments, off college campuses and while gardening in New Orleans.

Just recently,your paper reported on thearrest and jailing of aneighbor of minewho has lived an exemplary life in the United States since 1978. ICE agents swept her away as she wasgardening and talking with neighborhood children. Her offense happened when she was ayoung student, and at the time of her arrest, shewas here legally under astay of deportation while her case is considered by authorities.

I’m afraid this action is just the tip of theiceberg towardwhich the country is sailing full steam ahead. And while my neighbor must clear her long past missteps, those most to blameare the Republican politicianswho condone illegal government use of force and intimidation after scuttling bipartisan immigration reform in 2024. For everyone’ssake, Ihope there is political courage tochange course. BILL KAPPEL NewOrleans

The divisioninour country is not so much political as the need for powerand greed

Overhumanexistence, we have hadexamplesofthis, andwhile it’snot been particularly kind to the populace, it’sended badly for the man at the top. Think of Julius Caesar,Hitlerand faux pastor Jim Jones,who diedalong with his followers.

Idonot have the education or experiencetounderstand how these people have achieved such loyalty thathas followers fall upon their swords. It’sobvious to acceptpower as areason because who wouldn’t like power. But history has shown thatthis is alimitedachievement andit’sthose closest to the paragonwho commits the mutiny.It’s possible thatCaesar didn’tsay “et tu Brutus,” but it’slogical that he thought it while being stabbed by onesupporterafter another There will always be prejudice, but thatdoesn’tmeanone supports it. Empathy seems to be the foundationfor most religions, but these men at the tophaven’thad any Ihaveliveda long time and experienced these self-proclaimed heroes andtheyare ultimately unsuccessful. The cost on livesand careersduring the McCarthy erais an example of using fear to achieve powerand in East Germany,childrenweremanipulated to turn on their parents.

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 littleismentionedabout 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?

Do we learn from these mistakes, or will humans repeat history over andover? Whenwelive through good times, it’ssoacceptable as to require no thought. When time stressesus, we lookfor answers from someone. We neglect taking the blame ourselves. It’seasierto take things away thantogrant support, providing ahammock to comfort or provide something essential to humanity.This seemscounterintuitive.It’salso pathetic. Again andagain. Enough is enough.

LAURABARNES NewOrleans

KIMMINOR NewOrleans

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.

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!

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

SusanHutsonis back in the sheriff’s race

Will Sutton

When Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson suspended her campaign in May,lots of people said her reelection campaign was over,she was done, there was no way she wasgoing to come back from adevastating, 10-person jailbreak that happened on her watch May 16. After all, traditionally,when candidates suspend their campaigns, it means the campaign continues ofﬁcially,but primarily in name only.They gradually or quickly disappear I’m not much of a“Itold you so” guy,but Irefer you to my May 21 columntitled ”Did Orleans Sheriff Hutson make amove to revive herreelection campaign?”

Isuggested then that the campaign suspension might be astrategic move.

Now, Hutson has made it clear.Itisnot over

The sheriff is in the race.

“I did always plan to comeback,” Hutson told me in an interview Wednesday morning. Referencing the May 16 jailbreak, Hutson said she decided that “job one wassupporting the retention of those individuals to custody.” Thenwere significant plumbing and flooding issues. Then there were anumber of structural issues. Then abig deficit and funding disagreements with the NewOrleans City Council.

Igot wind of Hutson’splans when Iheardshe wasplanning an event this week. There are a number of qualifying election parties. Turns out she’shosting areelection campaign kickoff at Addis NOLA on Bayou Road in NewOrleans Thursday night. She launched her last campaign at the restaurant’sBroad Street location. She plans to officially become acandidate whenshe files to qualify on Friday One by one, each of the escapees wasreturned to confinement —except for one. Derrick Groves remained at large as of Wednesday morning. I’m certain Hutson would have preferred to resume her campaign with all 10 being behind bars so the criminal justice system could continue its work as she resumed campaigning. Qualifying ends this week, and Grovesisn’tcooperating. It’stough to beat an incumbent, but it has been done. Hutson did it when she whupped Sheriff Marlin Gusman. She wasthe challenger. She had to build name recognition, raise money, earn support. She wasthe progressive candidate. Gusman was the moderate or “conservative” candidate.

Ilooked at voting back then. It’sgood to rememberwhat happened.

Gusman won 53% of the Black vote. Hutson won59% of the White vote. That means they just about split the Black vote and Hutson won over most Whites. Iasked pollster John Couvillon to take alook. Excluding Lakeview,a predominantly White, more conservative neighborhood, Hutson took 67% of the White vote. Gusmantook 65% of the Lakeview vote.

Popular former Interim New Orleans Police Chief Michelle Woodfork is the presumedfrontrunner.She and Constable Ed Shorty qualified Wednesday morning. They will be targeting all of those voters. So will former criminal court judge Julian Parker,adeclared candidate for sheriff. So will Republican Ernesto “Ernest” Lee Sr., who qualified Wednesday If all declared and qualified candidates stay in the race, the Black vote will split enough that conservative, moderate and progressive Whites will be in play. There are other factors.

After the New Year’sDay terrorist attack that killed 14 and injured many others, NewOrleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick took heatfor not knowing enough about available safety precautions that might have prevented the attack altogether,oratleast lessened the harm.

After the May jail escape, Hutson tookheat for not running asecure jail facility,not stafﬁng accordingly and being responsible fora team that didn’tknow 10 people had escaped until a morning check about eight hours later.Plus, they didn’ttell her for hours.

Agroup of Black pastors and faith leaders cameout in support of Kirkpatrick, gathering to symbolically embrace her and praying forher protection.

No Black pastors cameout in support of Hutson. The Black community noticed. Anumberof grassroots people thought Hutson also deserved support because she had been dealt abad hand. When one Black pastor campaigned against a sheriff’s ofﬁce millage that each of Hutson’s challengers supported, anumber of people scratched their heads.

Hutson had arocky path forward whenshe started her reelection campaign. At leastone poll shows she has lost signiﬁcant support. Hutson told me she’snot focused on that. She’sfocused on the job and talking to the people. “I know they’ll listen,” she said.

Hutson decided it wastime “to let folks know for sure” that she wants to keep her job. She’s counting on voters listening and then choosing her.“Ican’twait to tell my story in this campaign.”

Time will tell.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate. com.

Clarence Page Quin Hillyer

FreddieHampton(de‐ceased). Survived by 18 grandchildren, 34 greatgrandchildrenand ahost of nieces,nephews,rela‐tivesand friends. Relatives andfriends areinvited to theHomegoing Celebration honoring thelifeofMrs Iretta McMillianon Satur‐day, July 12, 2025 at Greater Pleasant Green Baptist Church,3431 S. Claiborne Ave, NewOrleans, LA at 10:00am.Visitationwillbe at 9:00am.Interment: ResthavenMemorialPark, 10400 OldGentillyRd, New Orleans, LA.Pleasesign theonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com.CharbonnetLabat Glapion, Directors. (504) 581-4411.

DEATHS continued from andWillHaggerty. Sheis also survived by ahostof nieces,nephews,cousins, otherrelatives,and dear friends. Mrs. Ramsey served formanyyears as a Licensed PracticalNurse at DaVita DialysisCenter, of‐fering care andcompas‐sion to patients throughout hercareer.She wasalsoa faithful member of Historic Second BaptistChurch for over 70 years. Relatives andfriends of thefamily, alongwithPastor, ofﬁcers, andmembers of Historic Second BaptistChurch,are invitedtoattend theCele‐brationofLifeService for IreneRamseyonSaturday, July 12, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Historic Second Baptist Church,2505 Marengo Street,New Orleans, LA 70115. Rev. Robert B. Jack‐son(Pastor)ofﬁciating. Visitation from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. service time.Interment:LakeLawn Mausoleum, 5100 PontchartrainBlvd.,New Orleans, LA 70124. Profes‐sional services entrusted to Estelle J. Wilson Funeral Home,Inc., 2715 Danneel Street,NOLA70113. Infor‐mation:(504) 895-4903. To sign online guestbook, please visitwww.estelle jwilsonfh.com.

Mary LopiccoloRamon anativeNew Orleanian, passedawaypeacefully on July 7, 2025, at theage of 83. Born on February 6, 1942, to thelateJerome “Jimmy”and Rose Lopic‐colo,Marylived alifefull of love,service,and quiet strength.She wasknown by everyone around herfor herboundless kindness, selﬂessness, andincredi‐bledetermination,espe‐cially during herillness. Mary retiredfromCharity Hospital of NewOrleans andworkedwithMetropol‐itan Dialysis andDameron Pearson. Sheloved staying connectedtoher commu‐nity andenjoyed beingpart of severalsocialclubs,in‐cludingAARPChapter 4273 (where sheservedastrea‐surer),the ItalianAmeri‐canSociety,the JPRD Golden AgeSeniorClub, andthe St.AngelaMerici Senior Club.She brought joyand laughter wherever shewent. Mary is survived by herbeloved son, Jerome JamesRamon,and hiswife Teri;her grandchildrenJef‐frey Ramon(Christina) and ChristinaRamon;and her greatgrandchildren Joseph,John, andJude, who were herpride and joy. Family andfriends are invitedtocelebrate Mary’s life with avisitationat 11:00 a.m. on Friday,July 11, 2025, at Greenwood Fu‐neralHome, 5200 Canal Blvd., NewOrleans,fol‐lowedbya Mass at 1:00 p.m. Intermentwillbeat Greenwood Cemetery.In lieu of ﬂowers, andinthe spirit of theway Mary lived, herfamilyasksthat youdosomething kind for someonetoday,a smallact of love that would’ve meanteverythingtoher

Ramsey,Irene

Mrs. IreneRamsey peacefully enteredinto eternalrestonTuesday, July 1, 2025, at herhomein NewOrleans,Louisiana Shewas 87 yearsold.A womanofdeep faith,a ra‐diantspirit, andunwaver‐ingdevotiontofamily, Mrs. Ramsey liveda life rooted in love andservice.She wasborninVancleave,MS to thelateFreeman and AnniePayton. Shewas the belovedwifeofthe late Margie Ramsey andthe proudmotherofSharon Ramsey,MaryRamsey Price, andDonaldRamsey. Shenot only raised her children,but helped raise hergrandchildren,Maurice Stacker(Carla),Carvell Stemley(Khadijah), Marissa Carlisle (Roland), RaionRamsey, JaronPrice andN'Dia Ramsey.She was theproud great-grand‐mother of Hailey,Careion MauriceJr. Cavalli, Jaron Jr CarvellJr.,and Masey. Belovedsister of Sarah Haggerty, Mary Batts,Ole‐viaPayton, FloritaFairley, andthe late Edward Pay‐ton, ElizabethColeman, PearlieWilliams, Rosetta Briggs,Odell Payton and Melvin Payton.She was also alovingsister-in-law to Rena McLauren,Augus‐tine Payton,EdwardBriggs

Rapp, ClintonDru ClintonDru Rapp de‐parted this life onTuesday July 1, 2025 at West Jeffer‐sonMedical Center in Mar‐rero.Hewas 63 yearsold anda native andlifelong resident ofBoothvilleVenice,LA. Belovedson of SedoniaTaylorRappand thelateLeroy Rapp Sr.De‐votedbrother of Lachella Jones(Perry Sr.),Clitras Prout,DwayneRapp (Ethel), LeroyRappJr.,and thelateBernell James Prout andLoraJeanRapp. Clintonisalsosurvivedby hisaunts, uncles,nieces, nephews, cousins, other relativesand devoted friends. Relativesand friendsofthe familyare in‐vitedtoattend thefuneral serviceonSaturday, July 12, 2025 at theMount Olive Missionary BaptistChurch, 39752 Hwy. 23, Boothville, LA 70038 Thevisitationwill beginat9 a.m. andthe ser‐vice will beginat11a.m Pastor Theodore Turner Jr ofﬁciating. Funeralplan‐ning entrustedtoRobinson Family FuneralHome (504) 208-2119. Foronlinecondo‐lences,pleasevisit www. robinsonfamilyfuneralho me.com.

JoyceM.Rhodespassed into eternalrestonSun‐day, July 6, 2025, in Coving‐ton, LA.She waspreceded in deathbyher husband, Ronald A. Rhodes,Sr.,and herparents,Wallace L. Markhamand Gladys T. Harmon.She is survived by herchildren, Kathleen Rhodes,RonaldA.Rhodes, Jr.(Sherrie),David Rhodes (Darlene), andher grand‐children,LaurenRhodes, Sean Rhodes,and stepgrandchild,JamesBerg‐eron.She is also survived by hersisterDarlene Bonura(thelateJoseph) herbrother-in-lawLarry Rhodes (Betty), andher sister-in-lawSuzanne Stafford (Pat)and several nieces andnephews.Joyce wasa native of NewOr‐leans, LA,and wasa long‐time resident of Meraux, LA.Following HurricaneKa‐trina, sheresided in St Amant, LA,beforemoving to Mandeville,LA. Shewas alongtimeparishioner of St.MarkCatholicChurch in Chalmette,LA, where she wasa Eucharisticminister, andwas active in St.Anne Church in Sorrento,and laterwas amemberof Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Man‐deville, LA.Her faith and devotion to Godwereex‐traordinarilyimportant to her. Aftergraduatingfrom high school at theage of 16, Joyce enrolled in the CharityHospitalSchool of Nursing, butsoon realized that shewas notyet ready forsucha challengingpro‐fession. Soon thereafter shemet theloveof herlife, Ronald Rhodes,got mar‐ried,and starteda family. Whileher children were growingup, shewas ade‐votedmom andhome‐maker. Herlovefor her family wasevident in all that shedid.Inher early forties, herdream of be‐coming anurse wasrekin‐

dled,and shereturnedto nursing school finished firstinher class, and earned herLPN license. In theearly yearsofher nurs‐ingcareer,she worked at Montelepre Hospital on CanalStreet until itsclo‐sure.She then went on to work at St.Margaret’s DaughtersNursing Home until herretirement. Al‐ways thecaregiver,Joyce took exceptionalcareof herhusband,Ronnie, and continuedtodoteonher children andgrandchil‐dren,whomshe lovedbe‐yond measure. Thefamily wouldliketoexpress their appreciation andgratitude to thenursing staff at St TammanyHospital, Dr Nathalie Kerkow,Dr. GeorgesAntoun, Sarah Bourgeois, anda special thankyou to FeliciaFontan forall of hersupport.Rela‐tivesand friendsofthe familyare invitedtoattend theMassofChristian bur‐ialonFriday, July 11, 2025, at 12:00p.m.atMary Queen of PeaceCatholic Church,1501 W. Causeway Approach,Mandeville, LA, andthe visitation will beginat11:00 am until ser‐vice time.Interment will follow in JeffersonMemor‐ialGardens,St. Rose,LA. In lieu of flowers, donations to Feed theHungryorany charitable organization of your choice arepreferred E.J. Fielding FuneralHome hasbeen entrustedwith funeralarrangements. Please sign theguestbook at www.ejfieldingfh.com

Ronald Joseph Rome,84. DevotedHusband,Pharma‐cist,ArmyVeteran,and Faithful ServanttoHis Community.RonaldJoseph Rome,84, born andraised in NewOrleans anda resi‐dent of Covington, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on July 7, 2025, surrounded by theloveof hisfamily. Born on August 8, 1940, Ronald liveda life marked by service, com‐passion, andquiet strength.Heisprecededin deathbyhis belovedwife of 58 years, MarilynMargot Rome;and is survived by hischildren, Gregory Joseph Rome,and Allison Rome Roux (husband, AndreRouxSr.); hisgrand‐children Natalieand Tyler Rome andAbby, Alex and AndreRouxJr. He gradu‐ated AlceeFortier High School in 1958 andLoyola University in 1964. He proudlyservedhis country in theLouisiana Army Na‐tional Guardfrom 1964 through1970, achieving therankofSergeant. His senseofdutyand disci‐plinecarried over into his lifelong career as aphar‐macist,where he caredfor generationsoffamilies with patience andexper‐tise.Ronaldworkedfor K&B, ownedand operated Rome’s Pharmacy in Metairie,and laterserved thecommunity throughhis work with Eckerd,CVS and Winn Dixie. Throughout his career,hewas knownfor hisdedicationtohis pa‐tients,his warm demeanor andhis willingnesstolend alistening ear. Aman of deep faith,Ronaldwas a long-timeparishioner of St PeterCatholicChurch, where he found joyand fel‐lowshipinsinging with the church choir. He gave gen‐erouslyofhis time as avol‐unteer at St.Tammany Parish Hospital and throughthe St.Vincent de Paul Society, always seek‐ingwaystohelpthose in need.Outside of work and service, Ronald enjoyed theserenityand adventure of sailing—apassion that reflectedhis calm and steady nature.Ronald’s legacy is oneofquiet faith, gentle leadership,and steadfastlovefor hisfam‐ilyand community.Hewill be remembered forhis in‐tegrity, hiswarmsmile, andthe countless liveshe touchedthrough both his profession andhis service. He filled ourlives with joy andlaughter. He will be deeply missed andlovingly remembered.Relatives and friendsare invitedtoat‐tend theFuneralMassat St.Peter Catholic Church, 125E.19thAve., Covington, LA 70433 on Thursday,July 10,2024 at 12:00noon with visitation at church on Thursday beginningat 10:00a.m.Interment will follow in SaintJosephAbby Cemetery,75376 River Road,Saint Benedict,LA 70457. In lieu of flowers, thefamilyrequeststhat donationsbemadein Ronald’s memory to theSt. VincentdePaulSociety, 72040 MapleStreet,Abita

Springs, LA 70420, (985) 871-1563, or St.Tammany Health Foundation,1202 S. TylerStreet,Covington LA 70433, (985) 898-4110, https://www.sthfoundati on.org/donate. E.J. Fielding Funeral Home hasbeen en‐trustedwithfuneral arrangements.The Rome familyinvites youtoshare thoughts,fondest memo‐ries,and condolenceson‐line at E. J. Fielding Home GuestBook at www.ejﬁeld ingfh.com.

Dudley Alfred Schouest Sr., acherished father, grandfather, andfriend, passedawayonJune 30, 2025, at West Jefferson Hospital.BornonNovem‐ber2,1935, in Raceland, Louisiana, Dudley was knownfor hiswarmper‐sonality andhis abilityto connectwitheveryonehe met, treating allasfriends Hislifewas characterized by dedication,bothinhis work andhis passions Dudley enjoyed afulﬁlling career as atruck driver for ABFand DeltaMotor Lines, where he demonstrated notonlycommitmentbut also an admirablework ethic. Additionally,hetook prideinserving as theVice Presidentfor theLocal 270 Teamsters, an accomplish‐ment that reﬂectedhis leadership anddedication to hisprofession. Beyond hisprofessionalendeav‐ors, Dudley hada profound love forhis family. He en‐joyedspendingtimewith them,and hisproudest momentsincludedbee‐keeping, apassion he cher‐isheddeeply.Manyafter‐noonswerespent in the garden with hisbeloved wife,Janet Lineman Schouest,attheir Wave‐land,Mississippi property, where they nurturedboth theirplantsand theirlove forone another. Dudley is survived by hisson,Dudley (Ann) SchouestJr.;his daughter-in-law, Donna Ri‐chouxSchouest; hisgrand‐son, StephenD.(Ashleigh) Schouest;and hisgrand‐daughter,SheaKing. His legacy continuesthrough theloveand memories shared with hisfamily. He wasprecededindeath by hismother, MaudePertuit; hisfather, Anatole Schouest;his wife,Janet; hisson,Stephen J. Schouest;and siblings Adam Schouest,Donald Schouest,Dorothy Stortz Daniel Schouest,MaryAnn Rodriquez, andBetty Becker.A Memorial Gath‐eringwilltakeplace on July 12, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM,followedbya Memorial Servicefrom2:00 PM to 3:00 PM.Bothevents will be held at MarreroMotheFuneralHomes,LLC, locatedat7040 Lapalco Blvd,Marrero,Louisiana, 70072. Dudley's gentle spirit,unwavering kind‐ness, andpassion forlife will be rememberedbyall who knew him. Hislegacy is onerooted in love,fam‐ily, anda community that he embraced wholeheart‐edly.Mothe FuneralHome hasbeen entrustedbythe familytohandleall funeral arrangements.Pleasevisit mothefunerals.comtoview andsignthe online.guest‐book

Sister Gloria MaeSmith “Glo”, age86, departed this life peacefully,onThurs‐day, June 19,2025 at River‐bend NursingHomeReha‐bilitation Center.She was preceded in deathbyher husband,EmmanuelSmith, Sr.; parents, Westly andEl‐nora Wilson;children, Clarence Smith, Emmanuel Smith, Jr.and DebraAnn Smith-Broussard; sisters, LeeEthel Wilson,Eloise Wilson Smithand grand‐daughter,LaDonnahPi‐chon Boyard.She is sur‐vivedbytwo granddaugh‐ters,eight greatgrandchil‐dren,son,son-in-law, a specialgreat-niece anda

host of nieces,nephews, otherrelatives andfriends ACelebration servicehon‐oringthe life of thelate Sister Gloria MaeSmith will be held at St.JohnDi‐vine M.B.C.,1763 N. Der‐bignyStreet,New Orleans, LA,onFriday, July 11, 2025, at 10 am,Rev.Kenneth Speakes, Ofﬁciating. Visi‐tation 9aminthe church Please sign online guest‐book at www.charbonnetf uneralhome.com. Charbon‐netLabat Glapion, Direc‐tors (504) 581-4411.

Vallelungo, Joseph Anthony

Joseph AnthonyVal‐lelungo, adevoted hus‐band,father, grandfather, andgreat-grandfather, passedawaypeacefullyon June 24, 2025, in Covington, Louisiana, at theage of 90. He wassurrounded by his loving familyinhis final moments, areflection of thedeep bond he cher‐ishedthroughouthis life Born in NewOrleans, Louisiana, in August of 1934, Joseph liveda life rooted in faith,family,and unwavering love.Heissur‐vivedbyhis belovedwife, JerleneLaGraizeVal‐lelungo; daughter,Arlene Johnston (Curtiss);sons, Bruce(Sherry), andBrian Vallelungo(Janet).Hewas theproud grandfatherof Shauntel V. Mohren,Bran‐donVallelungo, Briana V. Fuller,and Dennis O'Brien, anda cherishedgreatgrandfathertoCrew, Cole, andCadeMohren; Zoë Fuller;and Bennettand Ellie Vallelungo; Jake and Andrew Oswald.Heisalso survived andfondlyre‐membered by many cousins, nieces,nephews anddearfriends.A devout Catholic,Joe wasa long‐time andfaithfulmember of St.MarkCatholicChurch in Chalmette,Louisiana andlater,Immaculate Con‐ceptionCatholicChurch in Denham Springs. He was also an active member of theKnights of Columbus andwas an honorablydis‐chargedNavyVeteran.He nowjoins hisparents, Mary D'Antoni Vallelungo andAlphonseVallelungo Sr andhis 10 siblings Rose,Paul, Alphonse Jr., Jacob, Gus, Pete,Mary, Katie, Eva, andAngelina— in eternalpeace.His legacy of faith,love, and togetherness will continue to live on in allwho were blessedtoknowand love him. "I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished therace, Ihavekeptthe faith.” 2Timothy 4:7. Rela‐tivesand friendsare in‐vitedtoa visitation at 9:00 am on Saturday,July12, 2025, 5200 CanalBlvd.,New Orleans, LA 70124, followed by amassat11:00 am.In‐termentwillbeatGreen‐wood Cemetery.Wealso invite youtoshare your thoughts,fondmemories, andcondolences online at www.greenwoodfh.com

AliceLoisWilliams peacefully enteredeternal life at theage of 66 on Sun‐day, June 29, 2025 at East JeffersonHospital, 8:15 pm after losing herbattleto lung cancer.She wasborn to theunion of thelate Henry“Hunchie” Husband andRoseMaryYoung on March15, 1959 in NewOr‐leans, LA,where shespent allher life.Alice Lois had faith andbegan herChrist‐ianlifeatLittleBethelAME Church,where shewas baptized.She took pridein beinga caregivertoher children,grandchildren, familyand community Aliceenjoyed cooking, dancing, karaoke, watch‐ingLifetime, SteveHarvey Show andold cowboy movies.She also lovedto talk andnever meta stranger.She wasa partici‐pant at PACE GreaterNew Orleans. Mrs. Williams leaves to cherishprecious memories,her loving hus‐band,Johnny"JohnnyBoy

Quillens,Jr.;children, Winoka Banks-Ross (Michael), ShedricWilliams (Tanya), JonasWilliams andJohnnyWilliams (Yashika); siblings Paulette Sims (Wallace), ClaudiaWilliams, Miranda Hamlet (David), Bernard Williams (Avarell),Wayne Williams andTerry Hus‐band;seven grandchildren, Zariah,Corey,Sedrione, Trinity, Shedra,Sanai and Ti’yea;great-grandsons Cazmir andCasai Muse,as wellasa host of nieces nephews, otherrelatives andfriends.Inaddition to herparents,Aliceisalso preceded in deathbya brother, Mitchell Williams; nephew,Leguster Williams;daughter, Angel Williams anda grand‐daughter,Angel Williams ACelebration servicehon‐oringthe life andlegacyof thelateAlice Lois Williams will be held at Bethel A.M.E. Church,1437 Fats Domino Avenue,New Or‐leans, LA 70117 on Satur‐day, July 12, 2025 at 12 noon.Interment Resthaven Memorial Park,10400 Old Gentilly Road,New Or‐leans, LA 70127. Visitation 11 am in thechurch.A Repast will be held at St DavidChurch Gym, 1430 Fats Domino Avenue,New Orleans, LA 70117 from 3 pm to 6pm. Please sign on‐line guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors(504) 581-4411.

WilliebeaWilliamswas born in NewOrleans,LAon December 4, 1945, to the late Lucien andEthel Causey.She transitioned peacefully on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, leavingbehind alegacyoffaith,family andservice.Williebea’s journeywas rooted in a strong foundation of faith andresilience.She com‐mitted herlifetoChristat an earlyage,embodying unwavering devotion and love forher Savior.Her de‐votion extended beyond herspiritual walk—she dedicatedher life to nour‐ishing others,working tire‐lesslywiththe Orleans Parish School Boardinthe culinary department where herwarmthand skill touchedcountless children andcolleaguesalike. She retiredin2006. Devoted mother of Thea and Lawrence Williams,Jr; proudgrandmother of Ker‐riganCaston, Thea,James, Sr Lawrence,IV, Lauren andLawrenceTerrence Williams;great-grand‐mother of Alexis Jackson, Knima, Kwes andJames Williams,Jr.,Bruce Smith, Jr., Alanaand MilanCas‐ton. Also survived by a host of otherrelatives and friends. In addition to her parents, Williebeaisalso preceded in deathbyher siblings,Audrey, OraLee, FloraLee Julie, Odell, Fatell anda host of nieces and nephews. ACelebration servicehonoringthe life andlegacyofthe late WilliebeaWilliamswillbe held at Life Center Cathe‐dral,2100 Ames Blvd Mar‐rero,LA, on Saturday,July 12, 2025 at 10 am.Inter‐ment Private. Visitation 9 am in theCathedral.Please sign online guestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com.CharbonnetLabat Glapion, Directors(504)581 4411.

Reporting you can trust on stories thatmatter

Schouest Sr., Dudley Alfred

Ramon, Mary Lopiccolo

Rome,RonaldJoseph

Williams,Williebea

Rhodes,Joyce M.

Williams,Alice Lois

Smith, Gloria Mae'Glo'

SPORTS

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

BY HOWARD FENDRICH

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

See WIMBLEDON, page 4C

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

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

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.

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 PRESS 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-

Continued from page 1C

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-

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.

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

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 ﬁrst-year 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 shot to prove myself,” Dickinson said. Antonio Reeves: In a

surprising

the Pelicans waived Reeves last week. But they kept

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.

“I 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.”

DERIK QUEEN, Pelicans center

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.

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

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 Game at Indianapolis on July 19. She won’t be looking at that recognition as any sort of validation.

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers controls the ball as Alyssa Thomas, right, of the Phoenix Mercury defends during a game on July 3 in Arlington, Texas.

“I don’t live to anybody else’s expectations or what I’m supposed to look like,” Bueckers 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.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TONy GUTIERREZ

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

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

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.

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

last four meetings with Sinner, including in the French Open semiﬁnals last month.

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-lob-dropshot combination to take one point

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

and limiting his unforced errors to 22 half as many as Cobolli.

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

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.”

about it,” Sinner said. “It has improved 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.

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.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO San Francisco’sPatrick Baileyruns home to score after hitting athree-run inside-the-park home runon TuesdayinSan Francisco

ENGEL

Continued from page1C

probably dollar signs.”

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

Tech is on atimelinethat says it’s time fora bumpin the record. That won’tfallon Campbell or athletic director Kirby Hocutt. It’soncoach Joey McGuire.

Here are the minimums for McGuirein2025: Tenwins, a ﬁrst for Tech since 2008. On the list includes at least ﬂirting with reachingthe Big 12 title game, afeat the team has neverachieved, andthe College Football Playoff.

“That is absolutely correct; it’sabout that time for us to do it,” Douglassaid “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 during Big 12 media days on WednesdayinFrisco, Texas.

Sandersmum on health status

Colorado coachputsfocus on histeam, season

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 ofﬁciallynolonger good enough. McGuireisin his fourthyearinLubbock, and he’shad awinning record in all three seasons. A23-16 record with two bowl wins is pretty good. Tech has spentalot of money to land players in thetransfer portal, adding morethan 30 transfers in thepast year to upgrade theroster.Thisincludes, among others, linebacker RomelloHeight,who has played at USC, Auburn and Georgia Tech

“I understand how importantthis year is,” McGuire saidTuesday.“Iwould rather be here than aplace hoping like crazy everything goesright just to win four or ﬁve games. (The) players shouldn’tfeel thepressure. Let us (coaches)havethe pressure and see if we can’t go out and beat those expectations.” He gets Lubbock and the RedRaiderscommunity. At

“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

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

aplace likeTexas Tech,those are vital attributes.

He’salso beenentrusted by theRed Raidersadministration to put Tech in aplace it’s never been previously.This is acommunity thatwants himtosucceed because he’s oneoftheirs. But they want to succeed ﬁrst.

Cash creates expectations “Westill have to perform. Themoney doesn’tperform,” Height said. “Weare the ones who have to make it happen. They can pay us all we want,but we have to make the thingshappen.”

Techies should not expect a 2025 national title, but aseat withadecent view is not unreasonable. It took Oregon well over adecade, anda few coaches, to reach itscurrent spot nearthe front,but the Ducksare consistently atop15 program and in the highest tier of collegesports.

That is Tech’s long-term goal. Beforethe NCAA announced whateffectively amounts to “a salary cap”

Phillies secure stateLegion championship

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

BrodyBower arrivedin

New Orleansknowing he wouldneed to waithis turn, andifeverythingwent according to plan, the righthander would take the mound in the American Legionbaseballstate ﬁnalfor the second year in arow On Wednesday,thatplan played outtonear perfection, as Bower pitched seven shutoutinnings andthe Bossier Phillies secured another Legionstate title, this time with a6-0 victory against the Houma-based Southland Hogs at KirschRooney Stadium Bower allowed five hits, struck outseven and walkednone in awin that extendedthe Phillies’ hopesfor anothertripto theLegionWorldSeries next month in Shelby,North Carolina.

out and compete and throw strikes,” said Peavy,whose Legion coaching experience includestaking an Arkansas team to aWorld Series title in 2016. “Hejustgetsouts. That’swhat we want. He knows the defense is going to playbehind him. He’sone of oursteadyguys.”

Bower steered clear of troubleinthe early innings, leaving arunnerstranded on third base in the ﬁrst inning andgetting astrikeout with the bases loaded to end the third.

“All their hits came from me getting behind in the count,” saidBower,who retired 11 of theﬁnal 12 batters. “And thenour defense, they saved probably three of four hits for me also. It’s ateamgame. They did that for me.”

Bossier built itslead by scoring two runs each in the ﬁrst, third andﬁfth innings.

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.

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.

for Division Iathletic departments earlier this summer,afew programs took advantageofthe window of an uncappedperiod where they could offer players vast sums withoutlimits. Butwhen those limitsare enforced, Tech has made it clear it plans to be one of those programs that will go above and beyond theminimums with NIL deals.Tech recentlylandedﬁve-staroffensive tackle Felix Ojo, the top-ranked recruit in Texas for the Class of 2026. He reportedly agreed toathreeyearcontract worth areported $5.1 million.

“That’sthe game of NIL these days,” Morton said.

“Weare using our resources just like everyone else is using their resources. We have adonor who can use his resources to help us get players. This dayand ageis different, andit’sawild.”

Thanks to Knight, this planworked forOregon. It could work for Texas Tech,too.

“I kind of hadanideathat this was my game, so Iwas prepared for it,” said Bower, a2024 Minden High School graduate andsophomore pitcher at Bossier Parish Community College.“Iwas sitting around allweek,soI was pretty fresh.” This wasthe secondyear in arow thatBower gotthe pitching wininthe Legion stateﬁnal. Last year,Bower pitched into thesixth inning to defeat Jesuit-based Retif Oil.

Bossier coach Dane Peavy mapped out apitching plan before the ﬁve-day tournament beganlast week. He had Bower taking his turn on the ﬁnalday

“He’sone of those guys, we know he’sgoingtogo

SoutheasternLouisiana signeeBrock Laird hit a two-run double anddrove in three alltogether. Louisiana Tech signeeEaston Simmons doubled in arun and scoredtwice. Hudson Brignac, asophomoreatNorthwestern State, reached base three times and scored two runs.

Bossier next will play in the eight-team Mid-South regional tournamentnext month in Missouri, and the winnerwill advance to the Legion WorldSeries, where Bossier posted a1-2 record last year.Thisyear,Bossier returned11players from the team that reached the World Series. Asked what stood out aboutthatWorldSeries experience lastyear,Bower said it was“having the ESPN cameras up in your face.” “Itwas nerve-racking,” he said. “But it was good to get up on abig stage like that andcompete.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

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

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 offer pralines so sweet they make yourﬁllings ache, while thescent of chicorycoffee provides abalanced counterpoint.

In City Park, ancient oak trees stretch their arms like ladles stirringthe sky, their Spanishmoss hanging like herbs drying in a kitchen window.Locals picnic on thegrass, spreading blankets and unpacking containersofspicy 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)

Likemanyhome 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 themostproliﬁc —ordare I say dastardly —patches of green contains mint Thebully of the herb world, mintisquick to takeover a garden by sending

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?

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

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

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.

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

By The Associated Press

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 ChickenThigh with Mint YogurtSauce

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

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

Generous pinch 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 large bowl, whisk together olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, lemon juice andzest,paprika, oregano and agenerous pinch of cayenne. Seasontotaste withsalt and pepper

3. Add chicken thighs to bowl,

MINT

Continued from page1D

yogurt in afood processor with green onion,fresh lemonand jalapeño to create atopping for gently spiced, roasted boneless chicken thighs. Marinating the chicken thighs beforecooking willhelp tenderize the meat andadd ﬂavor.I let them 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, and place in the refrigerator.Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1hour and uptoovernight

5. Aboutahalfanhour before you want to cook, remove chicken from fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature. Preheatovento425 F.

6. Placechicken in aroasting pan (I used acast-iron skillet) and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken registers 165 Fonan instant-read thermometer

7. While chicken is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Add yogurt, mint,green onions, jalapeño pepper, lemonzestand juice and olive oil to thebowl of afood processor or blender.Process untilthe mixture is as smooth or chunky as you like. (I made it fairlysmooth.)

8. Pour sauceintoa serving bowl, season to taste withsalt and pepperand set asidewhile youplate thechicken.

9. Remove chicken from the roasting pan or skillet to aservingplatter.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 adda quick ﬂavor boost.Ifyou don’t use all the marinade when roastingthe meat, be suretodiscard it Iused about acup of packed mintleaves in theyogurt sauce, but youcoulduse moreorless depending onhow thick and/or chunkyyou want it to be. 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

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 likestomakethemwith 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 the cold 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 that may 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 hopespeople whouse 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 with thetrinity 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, ledSt. Lucia to independence and served severalterms as primeminister

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 the bowlofa stand mixer fittedwith the paddle attachment, add the all-purpose and cake flours, sugar,baking powder,saltand baking soda. Mix forafew seconds on lowspeed 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,bythe time she was 16, she knew shewanted to be aprofessional cook. Like her grandmother, she is dead-serious abouther food and 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.

MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Creole Slaw

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Participate andenjoy. Don't putoff what you can accomplishtoday. Joinin, formulate a plan andmake things happen. Take the initiative, be an instigatorand see what unfolds LEO (July 23-Aug.22) Keep your eye on the ball when dealing with government legal and financial matters. Do your best to get along with your colleagues and to align yourself withthose you feel akin to VIRGO (Aug.23-Sept. 22) Be smart about investing your time,money andemotions. Know whoyou aredealing with andget 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 and emotions.Not everyonewill share your principles. Know who you are dealing with and get everything in writing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You'll wantto explore prospects that require upgrading your skills and expertise.Don't let fear stand between you and striving for something better.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec.21) Concentrate on learning, exploring possibilitiesand finding ways to bring in more cash. Doing what youenjoywill bring youincontact with like-mindedpeople and potential partners andfriends.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Precision, attention to detail and quick action will helpyou gainrespect andincrease your potential to negotiate success-

fully. Keep things simple andavoid interference.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make alterations at home that will help youpursue what'sessential.Discussionswill help you resolve pending issues and give youaccess to suggestions that can improve your work.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Don't overlook whatothers are doing. Place more thought into networking andmingling with people youcan learnfrom. Personaland professional growth look promising,but youwillhavetodosome legwork.Get moving.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Give and take will be essential if youplantoget along with others. Be willing to compromise andshare the cost, time andworkload necessary to achievepositive results.

TAURUS (April20-May 20) Work to ease your mind and stop others from pressuring you. Look for opportunities to expand your horizons and relationships. Make changesathometoensure optimum efficiency

GEMINI (May21-June 20) Spend time researching, interacting with experts and considering your options. Bide your time, avoidpremature action and be cognizant of what others chooseto do

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms arecreated from quotations by famous people,past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another TODAy'SCLUE: EEQUALSF

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Josh Billings, the pen name of humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw, said, “There are people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this waytheymanage to enjoy manysorrows that never really happen to them.”

Bridge experts, though, arealways anticipating trouble, and in this way they managemoreplusscoresthanthosewho always assumeeverything will work out perfectly

In today’s deal, South opens and 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 for a weak three-bid are two of the top three or three of the top five honorsinthe seven-card suitand 5-10high-card points. These days the requirements have been lowered by many players, especially at favorable vulnerability. But it does not hurt to have atextbook hand occasionally.

Norththought about raisingtofour spades, but knew game wasunlikely. And he hoped that Eastmight balance, allowing North to double theopponents and gain asizable penalty.

It is tempting for South to winthe second trick on the board and immediately to play atrump. However, with this layout he would go down. West would take the trick and give his partner adiamond ruff.

wuzzles

East wouldcash theheart ace, and Westwould get asecond trump trick. Southshouldanticipatethe5-2diamond break.(Intheory,ifEasthadstartedwith three diamonds, he would have returned hishigher remainingdiamond, not the two.)Before touching trumps, declarer should cash dummy’s top clubs and discard his thirddiamond. ©2025 by nEa,inc., dist. By andrewsmcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

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

ToDAY’sWoRD MELAnIn: MEL-uh-nin: Apigment found primarily in skin, hair, feathers and eyes

Average mark 22 words

Time limit 30 minutes

YEsTERDAY’sWoRD—BEGRuDGED

Canyou find 29 or more words in MELANIN? beer

edger egged

udder urge debug debugged

dredge dreg drub drudge drug drugged dude

Youdon’t have to be in thedark about life. Letthe Lord shine his truth intoyour life. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

ScrabbleGramS

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword fromthe letters in each row. add points of each word using scoring directions at right. Finally 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value.all the wordsare in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5thEdition. For more informationontournaments and clubs, email naspa –north american sCraBBlE playersassociation:info@scrabbleplayers.org. Visitour website: www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzleinquiriescontact scrgrams@gmail.com Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE associated logo,the design of thedistinctive sCraBBlE brand game card, and thedistinctive letter tile designs are trademarks of Hasbro in

kenken

InstructIons: 1 -Eachrow and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within theheavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (in any order) to producethe target numbers in thetop-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages withthe numberinthe top-left corner.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

HErE is aplEasanT liTTlE gamE that will give you amessage

puzzle

thenumber of letters is 6ormore, subtract 4. if

is your key number. start at the upperleft-hand corner and check each of your

bers, left to right.Then read the messagethe checked

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

luann

agencies. Applicants mustagree to comply withthe requirements speciﬁed in paragraphs 11, 12, and13ofthe JJDP Act.The LouisianaCom‐mission on LawEnforce‐ment(LCLE)administers and allocatesthese fundsthrough theOr‐leans District Thetotal amount avail‐abletothe OrleansDis‐trict is $43,430. Onepro‐jectwillbefunded on a 12-monthbasis If interested in this com‐petitiveopportunity:Re‐viewthe complete JJDP FY2024 Notice Of Fund‐ing Opportunity,then completethe corre‐spondingNoticeofIntent (NOI) found on LCLE’s Grant FundingInforma‐tionpage, as well as the Ofﬁce of Criminal Justice Coordination’s (OCJC’s) SupplementalGrant

PAGE 6

July10,2025

HOMAGE TO PAMPLONA TRADITION WITH A CRESCENT CITY SPIN SET THIS WEEKEND

‘Annie’ brings out the sun at Rivertown Theaters page 4

New cafe Uptown invites humans and pups page 11

don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss

beatles fest

It isn’t on Abbey Road (Airline Drive to be exact), but the Jefferson Performing Arts Center is the location for Saturday’s tribute to the Fab Four. The concert brings together a host of national talent to perform the memorable melodies on a magical mystery tour of the music that made the Liverpool Lads the musical icons they are. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and the tickets start at $40. jeffersonpac.com.

stage door idol

Who will win the coveted title from BB’s Stage Door Canteen? Preliminary competitions for singers start at 6 p.m. Tuesday at The National WWII Museum; the winner will be selected at the ﬁnale in August. Four preliminary rounds will narrow the ﬁeld of crooners who perform hits from the war era with the hope of winning the $2,000 cash prize. Tickets are $15 for the preliminary rounds at 945 Magazine St. nationalww2museum.org.

bastille day

n America’s most French city kicks off French National Day (July 14), at 6 p.m. Thursday, at the historic Pitot House, 1400 Moss St., on Bayou St. John, with music by Pardon My French. The event marks the storming of the notorious prison that sparked the French Revolution.

Tickets start at $15. louisianalandmarks.org.

hot wheels monster trucks

Giant-tired machines crank up the spectacle Saturday and Sunday at the Smoothie King Center. Expect to see Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, Bone Shaker and Gunkster, plus a new Skelesaura, a transforming robot and the Freestyle Motocross Team. Tickets start at $22. smoothiekingcenter.com.

n On Friday under the lights at Alliance Française, 1519 Jackson Ave., “la fête nationale” starts at 6 p.m. The local bastion of all things French will transform into a village of food and wine, live music and dancing. Elijah Hartman, Les Jakobins, Louis Michot, Marea and more will provide the musical entertainment. Attendees can take part in a costume contest and other games. Tickets start at $13. afneworleans.org.

n The 3100 block of Ponce de Leon Street in the Bayou St. John neighborhood becomes a little slice of France from 5 p.m. Saturday for the 18th annual party sponsored by the French American Chamber of Commerce-Gulf Coast Chapter. Tap into the city’s French roots through music, artisans with crafts, food and drinks. Allons, enfants! lunionfrancaise.org.

Keith Spera column returns next week

The “Sound Check” live music outlook does not appear in this week’s Lagniappe. It will return next week.

Photoseriesexploresperceptions of migration, immigration, Africanhistory

BY SIMENEH GEBREMARIAM Contributing writer

ARTBEAT

In this series, Lagniappe presents works from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from acurator

Omar Victor Diop’s“Project Diaspora” photographic series offers aprofound exploration of the oftenoverlooked narratives of Africans living outside the continent. Through a deep personal approach, Diop places himself as both the narrator and subject of his work, confronting his own vulnerabilities.

The series revisits history, shedding light on notable Africans in the West between the 15th and 19th centuries. Exhibitedinthe New Orleans Museum of Art’sthird-ﬂoorAfrican art gallery,this work shows Diop in a reimaginedportrait of Omar ibn Said, an educated Muslim Fula man born in Senegambia (modernday Senegal) around 1770. He was captured and enslaved at 37 and died in North Carolina in 1864. Despiteconverting to Christianity in 1821, his writings —such as his 1831 Arabic autobiography featuring Quranic verses —suggest he maintained hisMuslim faith.

Weaving in references to sports, like the soccer ball shown

here, into historical formsofportraiture, Diop highlights aduality —the subject’sglory and recognition alongside aperception of being out of place or “other.” Soccer —orfootball —imagery places the image in the present, urging viewers to reconsider the African position in global narrativestoday

With “Project Diaspora,”Diop provokes dialogue on migration, immigration and African histories, seeking to reshape perceptions of Africans’global discoveries and contributions.

Simeneh Gebremariam is curatorial and programs assistant at theNew Orleans Museum of Art.

PROVIDED PHOTO

OmarVictor Diop depicts himself as the enslaved Senegambia man ‘Omar Ibin Said,’inthe ‘Project Diaspora’ series on exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

ABOUTLAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is publishedeach Thursday by The Times-Picayune | The NewOrleans Advocate. All inquiriesabout Lagniappe should be directed to theeditor.

LAGNIAPPE

EDITOR: Annette Sisco,asisco@ theadvocate.com

COVERDESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING

WRITERS: Victor Andrews, JakeClapp, Simeneh Gebremariam, Rachel Mipro, Chelsea Shannon

GETLISTED IN LAGNIAPPE

Submiteventsto

Lagniappe at least two weeksinadvance by sending an email to events@theadvocate. com.

ON THECOVER

A‘bull’ pointsher batto signal hernexttargetduring the2024 San Fermin in Nueva Orleans. Photoby Matthew Perschall. Rachel Mipropreviews this year’s eventset for this weekendonPage 6.

The orphans of Hudson Street

Home for Girls in the musical

‘Annie’ sing about ‘The Hard-Knock Life.’ PROVIDED PHOTOSBy

KELLyFOUCHI

stages stages stages

today comesout sunThe

Aftergenerations

of performances,‘Annie,’

setfor Kenner’s

Rivertown, stillrelevant

While the Bottom brothers seem to be battling William Shakespeare for ashare of history in Covington, acertain orphan spreads alittle sunshineinKenner as twocommunity theaters open musicals and join abusy theatricalseasoninthe greatermetropolitan area.

Victor Andrews

‘LittleGirls’

Based on the 1920s comic strip,“Annie” has given audiences abit of hope for abetter “Tomorrow” for almost 50 years. Rivertown Theaters for thePerforming Arts in Kenner will keep theshowgoing startingThursday.

The Tony-winning musical, withsuchtunesas “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without aSmile,” “Maybe” and “It’sthe Hard-Knock Life,” looksat

Lillian Miller is Annie and Michael Smith is DaddyWarbucks in the RivertownTheater for the Performing Arts’ production of the musicalopeningThursday.

thelife of orphan Annie, who getsadopted by Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. Alongthe way,the curly-headed tot meets President Franklin D. Roosevelt (and the Cabinet), charmsWarbucks’ secretary Grace and getstokeep her dog Sandy.

Andwhile thestorymarks acentury,and the show is almost half that old, the message is “au courant.”

“I’ve had thebest time revisiting ‘Annie’ 13 years after Iﬁrst directed it at Rivertown,”said Kelly Fouchi, who also serves as choreographer.“Anew

generation of young actors are now experiencing the fun andexcitement of being apart of such awonderfully iconic show

“Directing ‘Annie’ is about morethan staging a classic —it’sabout making an old favorite feel alive and relevant, while guiding ayoung cast through aprofessional-level production, leaving audiences uplifted.”

Taking the title role are Anna Kramer and Lillian Miller,with Michael Smith as Warbucks, Ashley

stages stages stages

Lemmler as Miss Hannigan and Anna Birbiglia as Grace. Orphans include Avery Angle, Ellie Sander, Hannah Mire, Nina Schneider, Syliva Jouet, Taylor Nguyen, Anna Grace DePaula, Eliza Self, Penelope Tschirn and Tamia Fleming. Also appearing are Austin Ventura, Victoria Ventura, Jimmy Murphy, Marc Fouchi, Andrew Antoine, Nina Ballon, Alivia Downs, Colleen D’Aquilla, Emily Ann Mohler, Emmily Patella, Grayson Stephens, Ja’el Mahoney, Joan Frilot, Kelly Amstutz, Kyle Lawrence, Laney Dobson, Lizzie Eshleman, Ryan Kelly, Sean Malley and Wayne Gonsoulin.

Cassie Schmitt is musical director, with Kateline Zelon and Birbiglia as choreographers

Curtain times at 325 Minor St. are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through July 20. Tickets start at $41. Visit rivertowntheaters.com.

‘I hate Shakespeare’

Try competing with Shakespeare

in his heyday. That’s the issue facing Nigel and Nick Bottom in 1590s England. The brothers fasten on the idea of crafting a “musical” with singing and dancing as a way to combat the Bard’s popularity What follows is hilarity and some “slightly risqué” scenes in “Something Rotten,” opening Saturday at Playmakers Theater in Covington.

Filled with references to a host of classic stage shows, the romp through history includes a loathing of Shakespeare, a soothsayer, a bit of larceny and ﬁnally a banishment to the New World.

Jennifer Patterson directs the show

Taking roles are Laura Hayes, Matthew Psotka, Dylan Malbrough, Esther Trosclair Psotka, Brian Zitzman, Daniel Jenkins, Shawn Patterson, Grier Patterson, Fred Martinez, Allen Bryant, Christine Zitzman, Pamella Aline, Nada Elkassouf, Emilie Zitzman, Fiona Patterson, Acadia Fradera, Elizabelle Hayes, Jordan Landry and Michael Psotka.

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and

Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through July 27 at 19106 Playmakers Road. Tickets start at $15. Visit playmakersinc.com.

In production

”CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF”: Opening 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through July 27; Marquette Theater, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave. The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company’s version of the classic set on a prosperous plantation in the Mississippi Delta populated by Big Daddy and Big Mama Pollitt with trouble brewing as the wonderfully wretched family (sons Brick and Gooper and their wives Maggie and Mae), keeping secrets and circling like vultures, celebrates his birthday and “successful” medical tests. Tickets start at $40. twtheatrenola.com.

”COMPANY”: Opening 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Summer Lyric Theatre, Dixon Hall, Newcomb Circle, Tulane University. Stephen Sondheim’s look at a single man

in the 1970s and his circle of friends and their views of life, love, marriage and more, with songs like “Being Alive,” “Ladies Who Lunch” and “Company.” Directed by Leslie Castay, the show is the second of the seasonal company’s 2025 bill. Tickets start at $31.50. summerlyric.tulane.edu.

”A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”: Opening 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Sundays through July 27; New Orleans Shakespeare Festival, Lupin Theater, Dixon Hall Annex, 69 Newcomb Circle, Tulane University Audiences have enjoyed the humor, mischief and midsummer mayhem of the work for more than 430 years, but director Graham Burk promises a “du jour” telling of the classic tales that features an evening spent in the enchanted woods which are the home of mischievous fairies, rehearsing thespians and couples in love. Tickets start at $40. neworleansshakespeare.org.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

events events events

SWAT TEAM

By SCOTT

Stampeding ‘bulls’ chase runners through the streets of New Orleans this weekend

BY RACHEL MIPRO Contributing writer

For almost two decades, horn-wearing roller-derby girls have chased their prey down New Orleans streets in a yearly frenzied thwacking-bat homage to Pamplona, Spain’s famed festival. Meet the Crescent City version of running with the bulls.

ä See BULLS, page 8

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW PERSCHALL

White-clad participants take off from the start in front of Gallier Hall for the 2024 San Fermin in Nueva Orleans.

Skate-clad ‘bulls’ scan the downtown streets for targets at the start of the 2024 San Fer

‘bull’ on wheels looks for runners during the 2023 Running of the Bulls in New Orleans.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

THRELKELD

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW PERSCHALL

ermin in Nueva Orleans.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW PERSCHALL

FROM TOP: Runner traverse a gauntlet of ‘bulls’ swinging their bats during the annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans, Running of the Bulls, in downtown New Orleans.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

events events events

BULLS

Continued from page 6

The New Orleans Running of the Bulls, otherwise known as San Fermin in Nueva Orleans, will make its return for an event-packed weekend On Saturday, crowds of white-wearing runners will be chased by the “bulls” — skaters armed with plastic bats.

Founder Mickey Hanning was inspired to create the festival after his own experience of running with the bulls in Spain. In 2007, years after he ﬁnished his Spain run, Hanning saw a man dressed in the traditional runner’s uniform for Mardi Gras and the two began comparing their race experiences.

“That’s when I clicked and said ‘Why don’t we do something fun like that? We’ll dress up, and the women can be the bulls and chase us. We’ll just do this as a lark,’ ” Hanning said. “He kind of looked at me like I was silly So that’s kind of where it died originally.”

Going rogue

But Hanning and his wife, Beth, kept talking about the idea, and turned it into a reality with the help of two friends. The ﬁrst year, they went “completely rogue,” running down French Quarter streets at 8 a.m. without any city permits. Hanning had hoped for 50 people — and got almost 200 attendees

Over the years, the couple has kept it a labor of love. The two run the festival’s LLC alongside another couple, Scott and Beth Galante, using the help of volunteers to put together what has become an increasingly popular event.

Hanning encourages people to pay for tickets — proceeds go to Beth’s Friends Forever, an organization named for his wife and dedicated to help women ﬁghting cancer in the Greater New Orleans area. The organization was inspired by Beth Hanning’s own battle with cancer.

“Nobody gets paid, not even just us,” Mickey Hanning said “It’s a labor of love. … It wears me out, especially like June into July All of this month, I’m going into my regular job, and when I get home, Beth and I are working on things at the house.

“We do a lot of the screen printing. I taught myself that back in 2008 or 2009, and she does a lot of the craft stuff. All the bandanas, all the sashes

Angela Odom, of the Rolling Elvi, swings a red cloth as she goes through the ‘bull’ gauntlet during the 2024 San Fermin de Nueva Orlean weaving through the streets of downtown New Orleans.

Proceeds for the annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans, Running of the Bulls, goes to Beth’s Friends Forever, an organization dedicated to helping local women fighting cancer.

get made by her. So it really is just the four of us, kind of doing everything whenever we have time.”

Ebb and flow

At its peak, as many as 15,000 people came out to run, Hanning said. Last year, around 4,000 to 5,000 people participated in the run, according to Hanning’s estimate.

“For us, it’s all about watching, looking at the pictures when it’s over, and

just realizing how much joy, how much fun everybody has,” Hanning said. “That kind of keeps us going, keeps us excited about the next year, how we can make it better.”

Andrew Ward, longtime festival emcee, delivers a blessing before each run dressed in a Bishop’s miter made by Beth Hanning, complete with ostrich feathers and roses.

“It is a beautiful, magical, ridiculous series of events that everybody has to do at least once,” Ward said of the run. “If they know what’s good for them, then they do it every year and they make it a family tradition.”

Ward speaks from personal experience; he met his wife at the 2013 run, seeing her for the ﬁrst time from atop a scissor lift while he was throwing roses at the crowd.

Sangria baptisms, skeleton crew

Over the years, Ward’s ofﬁciated weddings, performed baptisms with sangria and even seen a funeral happen at the festival. One man died before realizing his dream of attending the festival, so his family brought his ashes to the festival.

For years afterward, Ward said, the man’s friends and family would attend

A roller skating ‘bull’ emerges from the smoke in search of a target.

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY: El Txupinazo pre-party, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., High Grinds Coffee, 1724 St. Charles Ave.

SATURDAY: Running of the Bulls and post run fiesta: 6:30 a.m. to noon, Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles Ave. SUNDAY: El Pobre de Mí (Poor Me) hangover burlesque brunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,Ty Tracy Theatre at Gallier Hall, 545 St. Charles Ave.

For ticket information and a map, visit the San Fermin in Nueva Orleans website, nolabulls.com.

the run with a plastic skeleton dressed to represent him.

“It still manages to keep that spirit of almost 20 years ago in 2007, where everything seemed possible,” Ward said. “The city was almost destroyed, and yet we still are here. We rebuilt it. You could meet your future life partner at this event, your child could be baptized by a man with sangria, you really have no idea what’s going to happen.

“It’s sort of like the magic of Mardi Gras condensed into one really sweaty summer morning with events on either side of it.”

STAFF FILE PHOTOS By MATTHEW PERSCHALL

music music music

O Z CSMIC

BY JAKE CLAPP Gambit Weekly

Y Y Y T T T T

Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” has long been one of New Orleans-based trumpeter Steve Lands’ favorite classical compositions. The seven-movement suite — epic in its sound, sweeping from the aggression of Mars to the softer Venus and the jovial Jupiter — premiered in 1918 and quickly became popular and inﬂuential.

“The Planets” has inspired ﬁlm composers and rock bands alike, and many projects have tried their own interpretation on Holst’s work, including Lands’ own sweeping Afrofuturist interpretation, “Rearranging the Planets.” But the spark that prompted Lands to take on the challenge came in December 2015 from another favorite composer: Duke Ellington.

“I think he’s one of the greatest composers who’s ever lived. He did ‘The Nutcracker Suite,’ but cats call it ‘The Nutcracker Swing,’” Lands said. “It’s Tchaikovsky, and he did this big band version. Harmonically, sonically, it’s so incredibly derived from the original Tchaikovsky piece, and he messes with rhythm and pacing and timing and adding solos.”

Ellington and collaborator Billy Strayhorn’s recording, released in 1960, recreated the holiday ballet classic through their big band, swing lens. Lands felt inspired to take a piece he loved, Holst’s “The Planets,” and reexamine it.

Lands and his ensemble premiered “Rearranging the Planets” in 2022 at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and they performed the work just a few times since, including at the Dew Drop Inn last year The album “Rearranging the Planets” was released in early May, the same day Lands performed the work at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It is his ﬁrst album under his name.

With nine musicians and three vocalists — all lauded New Orleans players — the 14-track album is a grand tour through the cosmos. Lands blends and bends a range of Black American-rooted genres with Afrobeat, electronica, spoken word and avant-garde aspects. It’s a combination of his wide-ranging tastes and experimentation.

“I like Flying Lotus. I like Art Blakey. These are my things,” Lands said. “So I thought, ‘Why don’t I make this song sound like Flying Lotus met Wayne Shorter?’”

Steve Lands finds inspiration in Gustav Holst classic composition ‘The Planets’

intervention

‘REARRANGING THE PLANETS’

New Orleans trumpeter and composer Steve Lands

PROVIDED PHOTO By NOE CUGNy

Born in Baton Rouge, Lands got his start with bands like the Michael Foster Project before moving to New Orleans in the late-2000s. Over the years, he has played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, PJ Morton, Herlin Riley, Ellis Marsalis and others.

After several years composing “Rearranging the Planets” bit by bit — often working with a MIDI keyboard during long stretches on tour with various bands — Lands turned to friends to help him bring the project to life.

The album was recorded at Marigny Studios with pianist Shea Pierre, guitarist John Maestas, saxophonists Amari Ansari and Gladney, reeds player Rex Gregory, drummer Alfred Jordan, percussionists Xavier Molina and Randy Crafton and bassist Max Moran. Vocalists Amber Rene, Meghan Stewart and Selene Saint-Aime also appear

In his notes about the album, Lands writes that he found inspiration in the composition of “The Planets” as well as how Holst turned to astrological inﬂuences while composing in the 1910s. Holst became a student of astrology, using astrological characters to inﬂuence the sound of the music, but Lands thought further: How were these astrological characteristics

7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St. thestevelands.space Vinyl records are available by emailing Steve Lands at thestevelands@gmail.com.

seen by the Babylonians, Syrians and other ancient cultures. “What does Jupiter sound like to the Zulu?”

Lands wrote.

Each movement in “Rearranging the Planets” is led by a spoken word piece written and performed by Rene (artist Cubs the Poet performed with Lands at the NOMA premiere). Rene’s words are in conversation with Lands’ compositions and prime the listener to consider ideas around love, society and time as they drift past Venus and Saturn.

Lands said he wanted to “add a clear black outline of what this abstract painting is.”

“Here is a line showing you where this (song) is,” he said.

But, at the same time, Lands hopes the listener ﬁnds their own interpretations in the album. All he could do was be “the most honest version of what I feel about music,” he said.

“Reaching farther and farther into the levels of allowing it to be interpreted is I think the point,” Lands said. “The piece itself is an interpretation of another piece. I want to extend that as far down as I could.”

Email Jake Clapp at jclapp@gambitweekly.com.

Dino tale ‘Rebirth’ a sometimes-thrilling retread

BY MARK MESZOROS

The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio) (TNS)

The “Jurassic” movie franchise hasn’t exactly given us a lot of time to miss it.

“Jurassic World Rebirth” stomps into theaters this week, arriving on the big heels of 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion.”

The latter, a guilty pleasure if ever there was one, served as a conclusion to the trilogy begun with 2015’s “Jurassic World” and, given its inclusion of major players from the movie that started it all, 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” played like a thanks-for-the-memories celebration of the entire franchise.

That’s not to say we thought we’d never again see a big-screen affair with “Jurassic” in the title — we’re not that naive — but three years isn’t exactly enough time for the heart to have grown all that much fonder

Of course, you understand why the studio behind the films, Universal Pictures, would be happy to jump right back into the dino game given the successes of the earlier entries — each of the ‘World” flicks surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.

And you can’t exactly blame prolific screenwriter David Koepp, who cowrote “Jurassic Park,” for getting excited when he got a call from that film’s acclaimed director, Steven Spielberg, who wanted to chat about ideas for a seventh film.

It is not Spielberg directing “Rebirth” from Koepp’s screenplay but instead Gareth Edwards, who counts 2014’s “Godzilla” among his credits and has spent time in a galaxy far, far away. (However, the picture of exactly how much of the directorial credit he deserves for 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” remains muddy all these years later).

Edwards and Koepp (“Spider-Man,” “Black Bag”) have delivered a competently and even frequently thrilling adventure, but one that lacks a compelling story and boasts only run-of-themill characters.

At its best, “Rebirth” is an homage to movies including Spielberg’s justturned-50 classic “Jaws,” “Alien” and

ASSOCIATED PRESS

the “Godzilla” series.

Set 32 years after human shenanigans led to the return of dinosaurs to the planet and ﬁve years after the events of “Dominion,” the new movie throws together a bunch of fresh faces.

For starters, there’s Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett, a covert operations expert; her pal and boat captain

Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali); a paleontologist, Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey of “Bridgerton”), who’s, like, bummed out by the recent waning of the public’s interest in dinosaurs; and Rupert Friend’s Martin Krebs, who represents Big Pharma and has put the team together to capture DNA from three large dinosaur species to create a powerful, and no doubt prohibitively expensive, drug to treat cardiac disease.

Along their way to a tropical island — ﬁnding most of the earth inhospitable, dinosaurs have congregated along the equator, where humans are barred from traveling — the crew rescues a family whose boat runs afoul of prehistoric aquatic creatures. Ruben

(an enjoyable Manuel Garcia-Rulfo of “The Lincoln Lawyer”) had been desperate to spend some quality time with his young daughter, Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and her big sister, the college-bound Teresa (Luna Blaise). Ruben’s biggest problem is no longer the laziness of Teresa’s regularly shirtless boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono), who’s also along for the adventure at sea.

After a pulse-raising sequence that sees Duncan get his boat and most of her passengers to the island, we mainly spend time with the groups split up on land. It is home to a research facility where, years ago, work was conducted to cross-breed creatures in the name of keeping the attraction appealing. One of those creations is, of course, the ﬁlm’s big bad, and it is very big, very bad and very ugly.

Spending time with the characters before they reconvene for the intense ﬁnal several minutes is ﬁne but nothing special. Isabella befriends a tiny creature, “Delores,” which leads to

‘JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH’

HH½

STARRING: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali

DIRECTOR: Gareth Edwards

MPA RATING: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference)

RUNNING TIME: 2:14

HOW TO WATCH: In theaters

some cute moments, but an apparent attraction between Zora and Henry never rises above a little light ﬂirting, a questionable choice by Koepp and Edwards. Some romance may have gone a long way here.

Perhaps that’s being saved for a potential sequel, which feels like a near certainty if this movie, too, performs well at the box ofﬁce. Still, given how much this ﬁlm, despite being titled “Rebirth,” feels mostly like a reheating of familiar fare, we can’t say we’re left craving another adventure with Zora, Henry and the rest.

Who knows, though? Perhaps after a few more years, their absences will have made the heart grow fonder.

Scarlett Johansson, left, and Jonathan Bailey star in ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth.’

PHOTO

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT/ JASIN BOLAND

food food food

Magazine Street cafe caters to dog-centriccommunity

STAFFPHOTOSByCHELSEA SHANNON Iris, a4-month-old fromMetairie, surveys thecoffee shop while her owner works on alaptop.

Fur Bebe servesatoast called the Catahoulawith lemonricotta, blueberry compote andmint

FUR

BEBE

4826 MagazineSt.

7a.m. to 3p.m. MondaytoSunday

Paintedred like aﬁre hydrant witha signproclaiming “Dogs welcome, people tolerated,” Fur Bebe Cafe has opened its doors on Magazine Street.

It’s theﬁrst coffee shop in New Orleans with afocus on dogs and joins the ranks of other new dogfocused ventures, suchas The Dog House, adog bar in Mid-City.

“Really (our goal is) to create happiness andremindpeople of the joie de vivreof life that they can spend time with their family andtheir pups, and have agood meal, have agood coffee, have agood matcha to drink,” Cooper said.

Ahallwaylined withart,mostly at a dog’seye level, leads to thebackroom where treats, toys and dog drinks are available forpurchase. At thecounter, humans can order coffee, teas and food with names like theFrenchie sandwich (slicedapple, Brie, arugula and pepper jelly on ciabatta),the Corgi Cobb salad andthe Catahoula toast(blueberry compote,lemonricotta andmint).

“Wewanted to be something thatcould be routine and very approachable,” Coopersaid

Fur Bebe offers traditional Americanos and other espresso-based drinks, teas, blendeddrinks with or without caffeine, soft-drinks and other beverages.

Cooper said he wanted the menu to be affordable, with most human-food items costingnomorethan $13.

With programs like dog yoga and educational “PupTalks,” Cooper hopes to build acommunitycentered around dogs

“Sothe hope is that thehappinessand joy that dogs teach us how to live is essentially the ethos of what we’re trying to create at Fur Bebe,”hesaid.

While the cafe is designed withdogs in mind, for now,all dog patrons must be leashed. But Cooper said that adesignated spacewill be available for off-leash hangouts in thefuture.

The cafe celebrates itsgrand opening with a“LaunchPawty” from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. Saturday.

Email Chelsea Shannon at cshannon@ theadvocate.com.