The Times-Picayune 07-15-2025

Lawsuitseeks to blocktrash contract

N.O. restaurantowner,residentchallenging emergencydeal

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

Plaintiffs in alawsuit that seeks to block acontroversial,sevenyear sanitation contract for Henry Consulting asked ajudgeonMonday to halt aone-year emergency contract for that firm that Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed last week. In their request for atemporary

restraining order,Daniel Conwill, owner of Felix’sRestaurant and Oyster Bar in the French Quarter, andMarinaCostopoulos, aFrench Quarterresident, saidCantrell signed an emergency contract for sanitation in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District after shemade abogus emergency declaration. Even if thefake emergency were

real, the plaintiffs said, theHenry contract would still violate city policy because Cantrell didnot solicit competitive bids before she issued it. They pointed to a2013 policy by thecity’schief administrative office, which states that normal competitive bid rules apply during emergencies unless “a competitive market does not exist or (an) extreme urgency exists.”

Conwill and Costopoulos claim that Cantrellunnecessarily created an emergency in April when she terminated aseparate emergency contract for IV Waste to handle sanitation in theFrench Quarter That deal was settoexpire Dec. 22. “Mayor Cantrell’sunilateral termination of the IV Waste Emergency Contract effective July30 will render theFrenchQuarter and Downtown Development District without any sanitation services,” wrote theplaintiffs’ attorney,

Metairie Towers forsaleagain

Atemporarysecurity fencesurrounds the

BYSTEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Metairie Towers,avacant

50-year-old condominium complex in the heart of Old Metairie, will be auctionedoff next month after the developer said he is walkingaway fromthe property less than ayear after buying it.

Darren Aschaffenburg, who had ambitious plans to renovate thecomplex withlarger, upscale units and luxury amenities, will put theproperty back on the market because he wasunabletosecure financing

“Banks and lenders are

Rebuilding effortsstopped months agoatthe Metairie Towers.

more conservative right now andthey’re holding back their powder,” Aschaffenburg said

“But this is also on me. This is largerthananything I’ve done in the past and Ipersonally didn’thavethe financial

strength to getitover the finish line.”

The change of plans is the latestdevelopment after several difficult years for Metairie Towers, which sits on someofthe mostvaluable

real estateinJefferson Parish but was badly damaged during Hurricane Ida.

Aschaffenburg paid $24.5 million in October for the 265,000-square-foot building, which has seven floors and sits on 4acres alongMetairie Road. He estimates his plans to convert the original 219 units into 160 larger,upscale units with an eighthfloor of luxury penthouses, will cost $50 million to complete.

Overthe past year,hegutted thebuildingand completedthe design andengineering work, he said. He also secured all the necessary permits to add an eighth floor and begin construction.

“I’ve doneall theheavy lifting,”hesaid.“It’s readytogo. Butthe temporary or bridge

ä See TOWERS, page 4A

Leonard Levenson.

Cantrell issuedthe emergency declaration on Wednesday and signed an $8.3 million contract with Henry Consulting on the sameday.Ifitstands, Henry Consulting would replace IV Waste, which is working on a$6.1 million emergency contract. Cantrell announced in April that she would terminate the IV Waste contract and allow Henry to start

BY

MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The SupremeCourt is allowing President Donald Trumptoput his plan to dismantle theEducation Departmentback on track —and to go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees. With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an orderfromU.S District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, whoissued apreliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan. The layoffs “will likely cripplethe department,” Joun wrote. Afederal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed. The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding downthe department, one of Trump’sbiggest campaign promises.

“When the Executive publicly announcesits intent to break thelaw,and then executes on that promise, it is theJudiciary’s dutyto check that lawlessness, not expedite it.”

In apost Monday night on his social media platform,Trumpsaid the high court “has handed aMajor Victory to Parents and Students across the Country.” He said the decision will allow his administration to begin the “very important

page

Drug forfatty liverdisease showspromise in Tulane study

BY EMILYWOODRUFF

Staff writer

Fatty liver disease affects more than athird of adults in the United States, asilentepidemicclosely tied to obesity and diabetes. In Louisiana, where both conditions are more common than the na-

tional average, doctors suspect the disease is even more widespread, often going undetected until it becomes life-threatening.

Scientistsfrom Tulane University are partof a multiuniversity team exploring apotential new treatment that could stop the disease before it turns deadly

In astudy publishedearlier this year in Nature Aging, theteam found that adrugcalled 753b cleared out harmful aging cells known as senescent cells.

Sometimes called “zombie cells,” they build up in theliver as people age or develop obesity and diabetes. The cells no longer function

properly,but they don’tdie off. Instead,theylinger in the body, increasing inflammation and damaging nearby tissue, which sets the stage for disease.

Senescentcells are akey feature of chronic liver disease, said Liya Pi, apathologistatTulane School of Medicine and an author of the

study. Thedrugcan clear senescent cells and reduce the development of liverdiseasetofibrosis andthe most common type of liver cancer,she said.

The disease, now called MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated

ä See LIVER, page 4A

STAFFPHOTOSByCHRIS GRANGER

vacant Metairie Towers condominium complex on Metairie Road on Monday.

Cuomo continues runfor N.Y.mayor despite loss

Former Gov.Andrew Cuomo launched an independent run for New York City mayor on Monday,restarting his campaign after abruising loss to progressive Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary In avideo, Cuomo announced he would remain in the race to combat Mamdani, ademocratic socialist state lawmaker,who the former governor said “offers slick slogans but no real solutions.”

“The fight to save our city isn’t over,” Cuomosaid. “Only13% of New Yorkers votedinthe June primary.The generalelectionisin November and Iaminittowin it.”

Critics of Mamdani’sprogressive agenda, which includes higher taxes on the wealthy,have called on donors and voters to unite behind asingle candidate for the November election.

The current mayor,Eric Adams, is also running as an independent in the general election, as is former prosecutorJim Walden. Curtis Sliwa, founder of the 1970s-era GuardianAngels anti-crime patrol, is on the Republican line.

Cuomo’sdecision to pressonin the race is the latest chapterinhis comeback attempt, launched almost four years after he resigned as governorin2021 following a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. He denied wrongdoing duringthe campaign, maintaining that the scandal wasdriven by politics.

Elmo’shacked Xaccount posts racist messages

Sesame Workshop wastrying to regain full control over its Elmo account on the XplatformMonday after ahacker gainedaccess and posted astring of racist and antisemitic messages.

“Elmo’sXaccount was compromised by an unknownhacker who posted disgusting messages, includingantisemiticand racist posts. We are working to restore full control of the account,” aSesame Workshop spokespersonsaid Monday.Sesame Workshopisthe nonprofitbehind “Sesame Street” and Elmo.

The account was compromised over the weekend and instead of theusual posts of encouragement and kindness, Elmo’s650,000followers were given antisemitic threats and aprofane reference to theJeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Those tweets were soon deleted,though Elmo’saccount retains alinkto aTelegram channel from auser who takes credit for the hack.

Xdid not immediatelyrespond to arequest for comment. Elmo’ssocial media account has lately become aplace for mental health awareness. Last year,the red fuzzy monster, eternally 31/2,caused asensation when he asked: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” It prompted responses from thenPresident Joe Biden and Chance the Rapper

Officials: Man smashes Stone of Destiny case

LONDON Aman from Australia has been charged with “malicious mischief” for allegedly smashing aglass case holding the Stone of Destiny,anancient symbol of Scottish nationhood.

Arnaud Harixcalde Logan, 35, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday to face the charge, which is similar to vandalism. Logan, whose address was given as Sydney,wasn’taskedto enter aplea and was ordered detained until ahearing next week.

Police said that they were called to a“disturbance” atPerth Museum in central Scotland on Saturday,after reportsofa kilt-wearing man attempting to smash the case containing the royal rock.

The 335-pound sandstone block is also known as theStone of Scone —and was usedinthe crowning ceremonies of medieval Scottish monarchs at Scone Abbey,near Perth. It was stolen by England’sKing Edward Iin the 13th century and taken to Westminster Abbey in London, where it was installed underthe seat of the coronation chair

It has been used in coronations at the abbey ever since first of Englishand then of British monarchs The English and Scottish crowns were united under one monarch in the 17th century

Trumpthreatens Russia with tariffs

Presidentboosts U.S. weapons forUkraine

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced arejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reachUkraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow aftermonthsoffrustration aboutunsuccessful negotiations for ending the war

The latest steps reflect an evolving approach from theRepublican president, who promised to swiftly resolve the war started by Russian President VladimirPutin when he invaded Ukrainethree years ago.

Trump once focused his criticism on Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, whomhedescribed as unwilling to compromise, butmorerecentlyhas expressedgrowing irritation toward Putin.

“My conversations with himare very pleasant,and then the missilesgooff at night,” Trump said.Hecomplainedthat“it just keeps going onand on and on.”

Trumpsaid he would implement “severe tariffs” unless apeace deal is reached within50days He provided fewdetails on howtheywouldbeimplemented, but he described them as secondary tariffs meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow

in the global economy In addition,Trump said European allies would buy “billions and billions”ofdollars of U.S.militaryequipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country’ssupplies of weapons. He made the announcement in theOval Office alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Included in theplanare Patriot air defense systems, atop priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.

Doubts were recently raised about Trump’scommitment to supplyUkraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S.stockpileswere running low.

Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway,Sweden, the United Kingdom andDenmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said “speed is

of the essencehere,” and he suggested thatsome weapons would be rushed to Ukraine andlater replaced with purchases from the U.S.

Later Monday,Zelenskyy posted about having spoken withTrump by phone andsaid he “discussed the necessary means and solutions with the President to provide better protection for people from Russianattacks and to strengthenour positions.”

Zelenskyyadded that Trump had “agreed to catch up moreoften by phone and coordinate our steps in the future.”

Trumphas long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin,and he repeatedly asserted that Russia was more willingthanUkraine to reach apeace deal.He also accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war and called him a“dictator with-

out elections.” But Russia’srelentless onslaught againstcivilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump’spatience. In April, Trump urgedPutin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv,and the followingmonthsaid in a social media post that the Russian leader “hasgone absolutely CRAZY!”

While Rutte was in Washington, Trump’sspecial envoytoUkraine andRussia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, metwith Zelenskyy in Kyiv

Zelenskyy said he had “a productive conversation”withKellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production andpurchasing U.S. weapons in conjunction withEuropean countries, as well as thepossibilityof tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.

At the same time, Russia’sbigger armyismaking anew effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the620-mile front line.

Trump confirmed the U.S. is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriotair defense missilesand that the European Union will pay the U.S. forthe “various pieces of very sophisticated” weaponry Asenior Russian lawmaker,Konstantin Kosachev,said Trump’splan had “only one beneficiary —the US military-industrial complex.”

Germany has offered to financetwo Patriotsystems, government spokesperson StefanKornelius said Monday in Berlin. The country hasalready giventhree of itsown Patriot systems to Ukraine.

GermanDefense MinisterBoris Pistorius was travelingtoWashingtonon Mondaytomeet withDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“Wehope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will notstop unless its ambitions are stopped by force,”Zelenskyy said on Telegram. Russia haspounded Ukrainiancities, includingthe capital,Kyiv, with hundreds of dronesand cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine’s airdefenses are struggling to counter June brought the highest monthlyciviliancasualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the U.N. human rights missioninUkraine said.

Israelistrikes kill at least31inGaza, officialssay

U.N. agencies warn of

fuel

crisis

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, FATMA KHALED and SALLYABOUALJOUD Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Stripovernight killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals, as U.N. agencies warned on Monday that critical fuel shortages put hospitals and other critical infrastructure at risk.

The latest attackscame after President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended withnosign of abreakthrough in negotiations over aceasefire and hostagerelease.

Twelvepeople were killed by strikesinsouthern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis,which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children andtwo

women,after aseriesof strikes in the north, according to the hospital’s director,Dr. Mohammed AbuSelmia.

Al-AwdaHospital reported seven killed and 11 wounded in strikes in central Gaza.

The Israeli militarysays it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas becausethe militants operateindensely populated areas.

Separately,three Israeli soldiers werekilled in northern Gaza, according to the military.Amilitary official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, saidon

Mondaythattheydiedin an explosion in their tank, apparently after it was hit by an anti-tank missile, though the incidentwas still being examined.

U.N. agencies, including those providing food and healthcare, reiterated awarning made at theweekend that without adequate fuel,they “will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely.”

In ajoint statement, they said that hospitals are already going dark andambulances can no longer move. Without fuel, transport, water production,sanitation and telecommunications will shut down andbakeries and community kitchenscan-

Officials: SuspectinKy. shooting had domestic violence hearingthe next day

BY BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press

The manaccused of a shooting rampage Sunday at arural Kentucky church after wounding astate trooper had been expected in court Monday for adomestic violence hearing, alocal official said.

Police sayGuy House, 47, shot thetrooper during atrafficstop nearLexington’s airport, fled in a carjacked vehiclethen opened fire at Richmond Road Baptist Church, killing twowomen and woundingtwo men before

officers fatally shot him. House went to the church lookingfor the motherofhis children but his domestic violence hearing did notinvolve her,the Lexington HealdLeaderreported,citinga sister of thewoman,Rachael Barnes. Matt Ball, adeputy clerk forfamilycourt in Fayette County,confirmedto The Associated Press that House hadbeen scheduled for thedomestic violence hearing on Monday Police sayBeverly Gumm, 72, and Christina Combs, 34, werekilled in theshooting. Oneofthe

woundedmen was being treated for critical injuries andthe other wasin stable condition, police said. The trooper was in stable condition,police said.

“Preliminary information indicates that the suspect may have had aconnectiontothe individuals at the church,” Lexington PoliceChiefLawrence Weatherssaid at anews conference Sunday Theshootings remain under investigation, Weathers said. The trooper stopped House after receiving a“licenseplate reader alert,”police said.

not operate, they said.

The agencies confirmed that some 150,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza last week —the first delivery in 130 days. But they said it is “a small fractionofwhat is needed each day to keep daily lifeand critical aid operations running.”

“The United Nations agencies andhumanitarianpartners cannotoverstatethe urgency of this moment: fuelmust be allowedinto Gaza in sufficient quantities

and consistently to sustain lifesaving operations,”they said.

The agencies signing the statement were the U.N. humanitarianoffice OCHA, food agency WFP,health organization WHO, children’s agency UNICEF,the agency helping Palestinianrefugees UNRWA,population agency UNFPA,development agency UNDP,and UNOPS which oversees procurement and providesmanagementservices.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByEVANVUCCI

PresidentDonald Trump, right, shakes the hand of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Mondayduring ameetinginthe Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAyA ALLERUZZO Smoke rises Monday from an Israeli bombardmentin the northernGaza Strip near the Israel-Gaza border

Flames tear through Mass. assisted-living facility

Authorities say 9

killed as residents were trapped inside

BY MICHAEL CASEY, KIMBERLEE KRUESI, PATRICK WHITTLE and HOLLY RAMER Associated Press

FALL RIVER, Mass. — Flames

roared through an assistedliving facility in Massachusetts, killing nine people and trapping residents inside including some who leaned out of windows and screamed for help, authorities said Monday. At least 30 people were hurt.

A firefighters union said inadequate staffing hindered the response to the blaze and contributed to the death toll, though the mayor criticized that characterization, and the fire chief suggested no number of first responders would have been enough. Meanwhile, several residents who praised firefighters and police for heroic rescue efforts said staff members did little to help.

“They didn’t knock on one door,” Robert Cabral said.

“They just ran.”

Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House facility in Fall River, about 50 miles south of Boston, at about 9:50 p.m. Sunday and were met with heavy smoke and flames at the front of the building. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office

said in a statement that the fire’s cause does not appear to be suspicious at this time.” Its origin remains under investigation, authorities said.

Lorraine Ferrara, one of about 70 residents at the facility, awoke to a neighbor pounding on her door She tried to make her way through the smoke in the hallway but retreated to her room as the sprinkler system shot hot water onto her back.

As her room filed with smoke, Ferrara opened her window and yelled. A firefighter broke the window and carried her down the ladder she said.

“I really thought I was going to die,” she said “I thought there was no way out.”

That fear mixed with anger as she watched two employees run from the building.

“They left us alone and ran out into the parking lot,” she said. “I was hanging out the window — ‘Help! Help!’ and they just kept running.”

The dead ranged in age from 61 to 86, authorities said. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office identified seven of the deceased as Rui Albernaz, 64; Ronald Codega, 61; Margaret Duddy, 69; Robert King, 78; Kim Mackin, 71; Richard Rochon, 78; and Eleanor Willett, 86. The office said a 70-year-old woman and 77-year-old man were still pending notification of family

Gabriel House opened in 1999 and has 100 units, according to Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging

and Independence. Its website promotes studio apartments “for those seniors who cannot afford the high end of assisted living” as well as group adult foster care within walking distance of shopping, restaurants and churches.

“If an emergency occurs, no matter the time, there will be someone ready to help,” the website states.

Dennis Etzkorn, the facility’s owner, declined to comment Monday but officials said he was cooperating with what Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon called “a very extensive investigation.”

District Attorney Tom

Quinn called the fire a “terrible tragedy” in a statement that also commended first responders “bringing many of the residents to safety while being confronted with very difficult circumstances.”

About 50 firefighters responded to the scene, including 30 who were off-duty. Police also helped break down doors and carried about a dozen residents to safety

Five injured firefighters were released from the hospital Monday

“You couldn’t have had enough people here to save everybody that needed help last night,” Bacon said.

But officials with the firefighters union said the closing of fire companies and cutbacks on staff have been a problem for decades.

If staffing had been at the nationally recommended level, eight more firefighters would have been at the scene Sunday night, said Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters union.

“There’s no doubt that would’ve made a difference in the amount of people that we lost to this terrible fire last night,” Kelly said. “Lives would’ve been saved if the Fall River Fire Department

was adequately staffed.”

Capt. Frank O’Reagan said there was no breathing equipment available when he arrived, so he started going door to door on the third floor without an air tank.

“First room, empty Second door I kicked in, body Next room, empty Next room, body,” he said “I searched as much as a could but after a while you just can’t take that much smoke.”

O’Reagan’s brother and fellow firefighter Michael O’Reagan said he was shocked that 40 minutes after firefighters arrived, a large part of the building had not been searched.

“We did the best we could with what we had, and what we had was not enough,” said Michael O’Reagan, president of the Fall River firefighters union.

Mayor Paul Coogan said the fire department is staffed based on the recommendation from the fire chief.

“We staff the fire department at the number the chief asked for,” he said “We’re not even 24 hours into this and that’s going to be a priority not the families?”

The Rev Michael Racine, the city’s fire chaplain, spent the night blessing the bodies of the dead and trying to console survivors, families, staff members and firefighters.

“Nobody in that department has seen what we saw last night. Nobody,” Racine said. “We’ve seen fatalities, which we don’t want to see, but nobody’s seen anything like last night.”

Search for missing in Texas floods resumes in some areas

Officials: Rain hampered efforts

BY GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA, NADIA LATHAN and JIM VERTUNO

Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas For a second straight day, rain forecasts hampered the search Monday for people still missing after deadly floods pummeled Texas this month, as officials made plans to drain reservoirs in the search for victims. While some crews resumed the search along the Guadalupe River on Monday, others held off, wary of the forecast. Officials also asked for patience, saying some have been threatened for their perceived lack of action that could have prevented the deaths at least 132 people in the July 4 storm.

The first pause in search efforts due to the weather came Sunday in Texas Hill Country, where the soil is still primed for enhanced water runoff.

More than 160 people are unaccounted for in Kerr County alone, and 10 more in neighboring areas. Texas Hill Country is a popular destination for tourists where campers seek out

spots along the river amid the rolling hills.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said during a commissioners’ meeting Monday that it’s been difficult to determine exactly how many tourists were in the area when the flooding occurred.

“We’ve heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the river with families in the them. Can’t find the trailers,” Kelly said. “It’s what we don’t know We don’t know how many of them there are.”

Kelly said he’d been told of one trailer that was found “completely covered in gravel” 27 feet below the surface of the river He said sonar crews have been searching the river and local lakes and more are expected to arrive.

Commissioner Don Harris said officials plan to drain two reservoir lakes on the river

“Who knows how many out there are completely covered,” Harris said The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue teams fully resumed operations on Monday, said Obed Frometa, FEMA Blue Incident Support Team information officer

Levi Bizzell, a spokesperson for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, which has been organizing about 200 searchers, said the department suspended operations for the day on Monday because several inches of rain were expected to fall on Kerr County by late afternoon.

“Everybody here wants to be out there working,” Bizzell said. “They literally come in the morning whether they are tired or not, and they just want to get out there and work because they want to find closure for these families.”

Kerr County meanwhile advised all volunteers to leave the river area and move to higher ground, saying only those teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command were permitted in the response zone.

In Kerrville, about 100 miles west of Austin, local officials have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water on July 4.

Authorities in Kerrville went door-to-door to some homes early Sunday warning that flooding was again possible, and pushed phone

EU trade officials plan how to counter Trump’s ‘unacceptable’ 30% tariffs

BY SAM MCNEIL Associated Press

BRUSSELS EU trade ministers agreed Monday that U.S President Donald Trump’s announcement of 30% tariffs on the European Union was “absolutely unacceptable,” and they are studying a new set of countermeasures to respond to the move. The ministers met Monday in Brussels following Trump’s surprise announcement over the weekend of such hefty tariffs, which could have repercussions for governments, companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. The EU is America’s biggest business partner and the world’s largest trading bloc.

Maroš Šefcovic, the EU’s trade representative in its talks with the U.S., said after the meeting that it was “very obvious from the discussions today, the 30% is absolutely

unacceptable.” He said that the commission was sharing proposals with the 27 member countries “for the second list of goods accounting of some $84 billion worth of U.S. imports. They will now have a chance to discuss it. This does not exhaust our toolbox and every instrument remains on the table.”

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, foreign minister of Denmark, which recently assumed the presidency of the EU, said the ministers vowed to work together in negotiating a trade deal with Washington or agreeing on countermeasures

“The EU remains ready to react and that includes robust and proportionate countermeasures if required and there was a strong, feeling in the room of unity,” Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting.

The tariffs, also announced

for Mexico, are set to start on Aug. 1 and could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the U.S., and destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.

The “countermeasures” by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1. Trump’s letter shows “that we have until the first of August” to negotiate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday Šefcovic, said negotiations would continue Monday

alerts to area residents.

Kerr County commissioners asked the public for their patience as the search and cleanup continues. Commissioner Rich Paces said during a meeting Monday morning that he has received death threats.

“They’re just playing a blame game,” Paces said.

During a special Kerrville City Council meeting, council member Brenda Hughes also complained of threats to city officials and staff, which she did not detail, and called for increased security at

City Hall. “We’re not only dealing with all of the aftermath of this tragic event, but now we have to worry about threats that are coming to staff, targeted threats that are specific to individual staff members,” she said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEVEN SENNE

Michael Pimentel, center, a resident at the Gabriel House assisted-living facility in Fall River, Mass., receives assistance Monday from an emergency medical worker outside a temporary shelter after a fire that killed at least nine.

GuardfacilitytoreturntoCampBeauregardname

Center will nowbe namedfor father of former namesake

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Effective Monday,the Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville will once again be called Camp Beauregard at the direction of Gov.Jeff Landry, the Guard announced.

Dating back to 1917,the name of the military installation previously honored Confederate Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. But the name Camp Beauregard was changed in 2023 to Training Center Pineville, following atrend of removing references to Confederate soldiers.

Now,Camp Beauregard will honor Capt. Jacques Toutant Beauregard, amember of the Louisiana Militia who fought in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, the National Guard said.

The name change is in line with federal military installations that are returningto“knownnames” and is being undertaken at the direction of Landry,the Guard’s commanderinchief, saidNational Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Collins.

Last month, the administration of President DonaldTrump returned seven Army bases to their original names after they had been

TOWERS

Continued frompage1A

loan that financedthe preconstruction work was running out and he couldn’tsecure permanent financinginthe current lending climate.

“You got to know when to hold and when to fold,” he said Metairie Towers, built in 1973, wasa popular condo geared toward retirees and older adults in walking distance to stores, restaurants and achurch alongasuburban stretch of Metairie Road

In 2021, Hurricane Ida’sCategory 4winds tore the roof off the building, forcing residents to leave their homes for repairs.Itwas beset by more problems duringthose fixes, and afight with the insurance companyensued. In late2023, amajority of owners voted to sell the building and hired abroker to solicit proposals for the building

changed in 2023 to avoid honoring Confederate leaders.

In asocial mediapost Mondaymorning, Landry lauded the change with aphoto of tombstone inscribed with the term “wokeism.”

“Let this be alesson that we shouldalwaysgive reverence to history andnot bequick to so easily condemn or erase the dead, lest we andour timesbejudged arbitrary by future generations,”

Landry’spost stated.

Asked if the revival of the Camp Beauregard name is meant to acknowledge P.G.T.Beauregard and how the name change fights“wokeism,” Landry spokesperson Kate Kelly respondedby noting that Jacques Toutant Beauregardisthe father of P.G.T Beauregard.

P.G.T.Beauregard was apromi-

nent Confederate general, commanding the troops who opened fire on Fort Sumter at theoutset of theCivil War. After thewar was over,however,hewas part of acoalition that unsuccessfully tried to integrate Black andWhite Louisianans.

Landry’s approach of returning thePineville installation to a previous namebut recognizing an alternative servicemember with the same last name mirrors the approach theTrumpadministration has taken recently Fort Polk in Vernon Parish was among the seven Army bases whose names changed.

For years, it honored Leonidas Polk, aConfederate general, slave owner and Louisiana’s first Episcopal bishop.Then in 2023 it was changed to FortJohnson to commemorate Sgt. WilliamHenry

Johnson, aBlack Medal of Honor recipient who fought withFrench forces on the front lines of World WarI

Now the Army base, again known as Fort Polk,isnamedafter Gen. James H. Polk, whowas awarded the SilverStar forserviceinWorld WarII.

The BattleofNew Orleans wasfought by Americanforces against the British army andwas thelast major battle of the Warof 1812.

“Byrestoring thename Camp Beauregard, we honora legacy of courage and service that dates back over two centuries,” Landry said in astatement. “Captain JacquesToutantBeauregard stood at thefront linesindefense of New Orleans during one of our nation’s mostdefining battles.”

Maj.Gen.Thomas Friloux, adju-

Aschaffenburg’sproposal was selected in March 2024 over several others because it was the highest with the most favorable terms, the broker handling the process said at the time. Unlike several of the other proposals, he planned to keep thebuilding intactand renovate it.

Aschaffenburg, who grew up in OldMetairie and now splitshis time between Dallas and New Or-

leans, said the area’shigh-end amenities would appeal to buyers of his

EDUCATION

Continued from page 1A

process” of returning many of the department’s functions “BACK TO THE STATES.”

The court did not explainits decision in favor of Trump, as is customary in emergency appeals. But in dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor complained that her colleagues were enabling legallyquestionable action on the part of the administration.

“When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law,and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’sduty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it,” Sotomayor wrote for herself and Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said it’sa “shame”

LIVER

Continued frompage1A

steatotic liver disease), was previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It rarely causes symptoms in early stages.

“It’sapoorly recognized disease,” said Dr.George Therapondos, ahepatologist at Ochsner Health who was not involved in the study

“Most people will not have symptoms until they develop liver failure or liver cancer.”

Louisiana has one of the country’shighest rates of liver cancer,with liver and bile duct cancers occurring

it took the Supreme Court’s intervention to let Trump’s planmove ahead.

“Today, theSupreme Court again confirmed the obvious: the President of theUnited States, asthe head of the Executive Branch, has theultimate authority to make decisions aboutstaffing levels, administrative organization, and day-to-day operations of federal agencies,” McMahonsaid in astatement.

Alawyer for theMassachusetts cities and education groups that sued over the plan said thelawsuit will continue, adding no court hasyet ruled that what the administration wants to do is legal.

“Without explainingtothe American people itsreasoning, amajorityofjustices on the U.S. Supreme Court have dealt adevastating blow to this nation’spromise of public education for all children.Onits shadow docket,

more often than in nearly any otherstate, according to federal cancer data. For both mortality andincidence, Louisiana ranks first among states over the last five years.

Therapondos saidthe conditionis likely evenmore prevalentdue to the state’s high rates of obesity and diabetes,and encouraged screening for people with risk factors. Patients with obesity or diabetes with normal liver enzymetests may still have thedisease.

“Even if your liver tests are normal, you may actually have some disease if you are at risk,” hesaid

theCourt hasyet again ruled to overturn thedecision of two lower courts without argument,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement

The SupremeCourthas handedTrump onevictory after another in his effort to remakethe federal government, after lower courts have found the administration’s actionsprobably violate federal law

Last week, the justices cleared the way for Trump’s plan to significantlyreduce thesize of the federal workforce. On theeducation front,the high court has previously allowedcutsin teacher-training grantsto go forward.

Separately on Monday, morethan 20 states sued the administration over billions of dollarsinfrozen education funding for after-school care, summer programs and

For most patients, lifestyle changes such as weight loss andmanaging blood sugar can help prevent serious complications. Buttreatmentoptions for advanced disease are limited. One drug is currently approved. In severe cases, aliver transplant maybethe only option.Donor organs remain in short supply The 753b compound is still in early development. It has only been tested in mice, and researchers say it will be years before it could be ready for human trials Still, Pi hopes thedrug could eventually be used alongside existing therapies to better manage disease progression.

more.

Education Department employeeswho were targeted by the layoffshave been on paid leave since March, according to aunion thatrepresentssomeofthe agency’sstaff.

Joun’sorder had prevented the department from fully terminating them, though none had been allowed to return to work, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. Without Joun’sorder,the workers would have been terminated in early

June.

tant generalofthe Louisiana National Guard, said, “We’re naming ourpremier training installation after an American hero andpatriot whofought forthe freedom of the city of New Orleans, the State of Louisiana, and the United States of America against aforeign invader.”

Accordingtothe National Guard, Capt.Beauregard wasa member of the Third Regiment of the Louisiana Militia, aprecursor of the NationalGuard. Thatgroup ledthe first land engagement in the Battle of New OrleansonDec. 23, 1814, against Gen. Edward Packenham and the British army,the Guard said.

“Webelieve thatthe patriotism and heroism that he showed is something thatall of ourLouisiana National Guardsmen can and should aspire to,” Collins said.

condos. He hadplannedtoprice smaller units at around $600,000 with larger andpenthouse units priced at several milliondollars each, he said.

On Friday,Aschaffenburg said he received lots of inquiries in the months that he was working on the project.

“Everybody said, ‘Save me a unit,”’ he said. “I wasn’tconcerned with demand. That wasn’tthe issue. It wasabout the financing.”

The building will be auctioned Aug. 25 by commercial auction house TenX,which says in its marketing materials that condo salescould generate $200 million forthe newowner and$100 million in profits.

The minimum bid is $10 million, though real estate experts say the property will likely go for anywhere from $25 millionto$40 million.

Aschaffenburg said the auction format mademore sense than atraditional listing because he needs to sell fast.

“My current loan is due in October,” he said. “I have a finite date.”

Email StephanieRiegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

The Education Departmenthad said earlier in June that it was“actively assessing howtoreintegrate” the employees.A department email asked them to share whether they had gained other employment, saying the request wasmeant to “support asmoothand informed return to duty.”

The current caseinvolves twoconsolidated lawsuits that said Trump’splan amountedtoanillegalclosure of the EducationDepartment.

One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthamptonschool districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachersand other education groups. Theother legal actionwas filedbya coalition of 21 Democraticattorneys general. The suits argued that layoffs left thedepartmentunable to carry outresponsibilitiesrequiredbyCongress, including dutiestosupport special education,distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws.

The name of Camp Beauregard was changed in 2023 to Training Center Pineville.

PHOTO PROVIDED By THELOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Metairie Towers wasbuilt in 1973 and wasgeared toward retirees and older adults.

Report:Issuesfound at 3nuclear plants

ButEntergy,NRC say critique is flawed

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

Entergy Corp.’sthree nuclear power plants in southern Louisiana and Mississippi had someof the most safety and security issues among plants of their type in the nation overthe past three years, but most, if not all, were in the lowestrisk category,anenvironmental group says.

The group, the Union of Concerned Scientists, reached that conclusion in an analysisoffederal data as part of abroadercritique of nuclear regulators’ color-coded inspection rating system. The group contends the system may miss or underrepresent emerging risks by failing to account appropriately for high numbers of the lowest-level “findings,” or issues raised in inspections.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which issues the findings, called the group’smethodology flawed and notinline withhow it operates. Entergy dismissed the report as inaccurate andnot “in good faith.”

The raw tallies of NRCsafety findings from 2022-2024 madethe plants along the MississippiRiver the first- and second-most-cited single-unit plants in the nation over the three-year period,itsaid Waterford 3inNew Orleans had the fifth-most findings

But the NRC says all three Entergy plantsremain in theregulator’s“highest performance category in safetyand security”after the agency applies its “action matrix” that accounts for avariety of factors, not just safety and security findings.

“The NRC uses multiple inputs to assess performance, including inspector findings and objective performance indicators showing how well aplant is performing when measured against established thresholds,” Victor Dricks, NRC spokesperson, said in astatement.

“The assessment process allows NRC to integrate various information sources relevant to plant safety performance, make objective conclusions regarding their

LAWSUIT

Continued from page1A

work on aseven-year,$73 million contracthewon through arequest for proposals process lastyear.But that contractistiedupin court after the City Council refused to sign offonit. Conwill and Costopoulos suedin June to stop the long-term contract, after Cantrell said she would allow Henryto proceedregardlessofwhat the courts say The temporary restraining order has been assigned to Judge Sidney Cates, who is expected to rule on Tuesday.Aspokesperson for Cantrell’sadministration did notrespond to arequest for comment Monday But in astatement last week, Cantrell’soffice defended her decision and blamedthe council for refusing to back Henry’slongterm contract, in what a spokesperson called “a blatant disregard for the city’s procurement rules.”

“The administration stands firmly by the legitimacy of the (request for proposals) process,the fairness of Henry Consulting’sselection, and the fundamental principle that all contractors —particularly Black-owned businesses with aproven trackrecord —deserve equal treatment under the law,” the statement said.

Trash fight

Henry Consulting’sowner, Troy Henry,said on WBOK on Friday that acouncil vote last week to repealCantrell’s emergencydeclaration was irrelevant,because his contract was inked by the time it happened.

“During the time of the emergency that the mayor declared, we signed afully executed, valid contract,” Henry said during the morning show at the station, which he partially owns.

IV Waste ownerSidney Torres IV said Monday he is considering all options, and that the 2013 policy

significance, takeactions based on these conclusions in apredictable manner,and effectively communicate these results to licensees and thepublic.”

The Union of Concerned Scientists usedarelatively new NRC database to generate thetallies. Most, if not all, of thefindings thegroup uncovered were rated “green,” the lowest risk category that doesn’ttrigger extra levels of scrutiny from the nuclear agency “Green” findings have “very low safety significance,” the NRC says.

Butthe group faults this colorcodingsystem andcreated its own metric to try to assess what alarge numberof“green” findings might mean for plant safety It equated five “green” findings to one “white” finding andweighted the results.

A“white” finding, thenext risk category up from “green,” represents“lowtomoderate safety significance,” theNRC says. White and other worse findings spark additional NRCoversight

Using the UnionofConcerned Scientists’ metric, the group ranked the three Entergy plants first, second and thirdonits ”Terrible Thirteen” nationwide listing

theplaintiffs cited Monday “proves (the mayor) did not have theright” to sign Henry’scontract. Meanwhile, council members —two of whom are running for Cantrell’sjob and themayor have been divided on the sanitation issue.

Some council members initially balked at votingfor the contract after Henry’s subcontractor,Richard’s Disposal, claimed Henry switched upthe payment termsafter he was selected for thejob.Henry andRichard’shavesince resolved their differences,but that didn’tsatisfy other council members who accuse the administration of giving Henry preferential treatment duringcontract negotiations.

They point out the increased value and expanded scope of services added after Henry was selected, as well as areducedperformance bond and otherconcessions. The administration and Henry havesaid the changes are normal parts of the request for proposals process.

Henry sued the council in December,claiminga 2023 ordinance that requires councilapprovalofmost professional servicecontracts worth more than $1 million, claiming thatthe council president’s signature on the document is “a purelyministerial function” thatdoesn’tauthorize the council to block contracts awarded by the executive branch. ACivil District Court judge sidedwithHenry and ordered the council to approve thecontract,but the order is stayed while the councilhas appealed that ruling.

Acreated emergency?

Cantrell’s emergency declaration last week highlightedthe risk of service disruptionwhenIVWaste’s contractterminatesonJuly 30. While thelong-term contractisheldup, themayor awarded Henry thejob temporarily AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill said on Fridaythather

for single-unit reactors.

In the three-year periodanalyzed, Waterford 3had 32 “green” findings and four “white” ones; River Bend in St. Francisville had 60 “green” findings and two “white” findings; Grand Gulf in Port Gibson, Mississippi, had58 “green” findings, including 27 in 2024, but no “white” findings

“River Bend andGrand Gulf are by far the worst violators,”the report says. “This does not come as asurprise, as accusations of financial problems and mismanagement of its nuclear fleet have swirledaround Entergy for decades.”

Entergy alsohas adual nuclear reactor plant in central Arkansas.

The reportpointed out that the Louisiana Public Service Commissionand other officials filed a complaint in 2021 against Entergy.The stateofficialsalleged to the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission that “safety and reliability problems caused “subpar performance of theGrand Gulf nuclear plant and excessive costs for ratepayers.

The report added thatEntergy’sperformance should be kept in mind as the utilityplans to increase thepower output of its

nuclear fleet and, therefore, work reactors harder. It is also considering building anew reactor at theGrandGulf site

The report also comes as Entergy and Cleco facerenewed scrutiny over reliability following aforced blackout in the New Orleansarea in May,triggered by adowned interstate transmission line andlarge,unplannedplant outages that included afive-day shutdown of Entergy’sRiver Bend following aleak.

MichaelBowling,a spokesman for Entergy’snuclear operations, countered the criticisms in the environmentalgroup’sreport, also notingthat NRC’sonline oversight pagesshowthe plants remain in the agency’sbest safety and performance category

“Weare proud of the nearly 3,000 nuclear professionalswho work 24/7, 365 to ensure we safely produce clean powerfor our customers,” he said. “Wedonot consider this blog report accurate or in good faith.”

In astatement, NRCofficials pointed out that “green” and “white” findings can’tbeequated because they represent different magnitudes of safety and security risk. Simplyadding up green find-

ings also isn’thow NRC evaluates plants, the agency said.

UnionofConcerned Scientists pointedout in its report, however, that NRConce produced itsown watchlistsbased on safety performance but the lists went away in thelate1990s when Congress changedthe agency’ssafetyassessments to the current, colorcoded one.

The groupcontends thecurrent system could fail to address patternsthat mightemergefroma series of the lowest level “green” problems.

“Associating higher-risk violations withincreased oversight does seem like areasonable thing to do. However,itviolates common sense to argue that the total number of violations, and their cumulative impact on risk, should not be also considered,” wrote Edwin Lyman,UCS’s nuclear expert and the author of the report.

The report noted that even with that number of findings in 2024, Grand Gulf remained in the NRC’shighest performance category alongwitha facilitythathad two findings in that year

In an interview,Lyman argued that green findings can be serious, representing “sometimes years or decades of negligence.”

In his report, he pointed out that Entergy receiveda “green” finding for its failure to implement a program at Waterford 3toaddress more than 2,500 corrosion issues. Someofthe problemshad been identified“as farback as 2011, with around 200 classified as severe and affecting critical safetyrelated systems,” thereport noted Lyman also alleged that NRCinspectors mayface pressure from industry to keep borderline findings “green” and avoid morehigher rated findings with more serious regulatory consequences.

He argued some “green” findings countonbackupsystems implemented since theFukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan in 2011 thatdon’t have the same reliability demands as other equipment.

“So,there arealot of uncertainties in there, andIthink ‘green’ maynot be as benign in many cases as the NRCclaimsitis,” Lyman said.

PHOTO PROVIDED By ENTERGy CORP

Entergy’sGrand Gulf Nuclear Station in Port Gibson, Miss., is one of three owned by the companyinLouisiana and Mississippi.

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

17% duty imposed on Mexican tomatoes

The U.S. government said Monday it is placing a 17% duty on most fresh Mexican tomatoes after negotiations ended without an agreement to avert the tariff.

Proponents said the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking U.S. tomato industry and ensure that produce eaten in the U.S. is also grown there. Mexico supplies around 70% of U.S. tomato market, up from 30% two decades ago, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange.

Opponents, including U.S. companies that grow tomatoes in Mexico, said the tariff will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for U.S. buyers.

In announcing its withdrawal from the Tomato Suspension Agreement, the Commerce Department said in late April that it had been “flooded with comments” from U.S. tomato growers who wanted better protection from Mexican imports

But others, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, had called on the Commerce Department to reach an agreement with Mexico.

Ice cream makers to drop artificial dyes

Ice cream makers representing about 90% of the U.S. supply of the frozen treat have pledged to remove artificial dyes from their products in less than three years, federal health officials said Monday

The move is the latest voluntary effort by food manufacturers to heed calls from the Trump administration to remove synthetic dyes over concerns about potential health effects. In recent weeks, companies including Nestle, Kraft Heinz and General Mills said they would pull artificial colors from their foods, too.

“This is a Renaissance moment for health in America,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference.

About 40 makers of ice cream and frozen dairy desserts said they would remove seven petroleum-based dyes from their products by 2028, according to Michael Dykes, president of the International Dairy Foods Association.

The colors are Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. The trade group wouldn’t identify the firms, although Turkey Hill Dairy chief executive Andy Jacobs joined the gathering.

Starbucks workers asked to return to HQ

Starbucks is requiring some remote workers to return to its headquarters and increasing the number of days that corporate employees are required to work in an office. In a letter to employees posted Monday, Starbucks Chair and CEO Brian Niccol said corporate employees would need to be in the office four days a week starting in early October instead of three days a week.

The Seattle-based company said that all corporate “people leaders” must be based in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months. That is a change from February, when it required vice presidents to relocate to Seattle or Toronto.

Starbucks said individual employees working under those leaders would not be asked to relocate. But the company said all hiring for future roles and lateral moves will require employees to be based in Seattle or Toronto.

Niccol said affected workers who choose not to relocate will be eligible for a onetime voluntary exit program with a cash payment.

President Donald Trump visits with workers as he tours U.S. Steel Corp.’s Mon Valley Works-Irvin plant in West Mifflin, Pa. Administrations both Republican and Democratic are in agreement that American manufacturers need help.

U.S. manufacturers are stuck in a rut

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much, but they share a conviction that the government should help American manufacturers, one way or another Democratic President Joe Biden handed out subsidies to chipmakers and electric vehicle manufacturers. Republican President Donald Trump is building a wall of import taxes — tariffs — around the U.S. economy to protect domestic industry from foreign competition.

Yet American manufacturing has been stuck in a rut for nearly three years. And it remains to be seen whether the trend will reverse itself.

The U.S. Labor Department reports that American factories shed 7,000 jobs in June for the second month in a row Manufacturing employment is on track to drop for the third straight year

The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported that manufacturing activity in the United States shrank in June for the fourth straight month. In fact, U.S. factories have been in decline for 30 of the 32 months since October 2022, according to ISM.

“The past three years have been a real slog for manufacturing,” said Eric Hagopian, CEO of Pilot Precision Products, a maker of industrial cutting tools in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. “We didn’t get destroyed like we did in the recession of 2008. But we’ve been in this stagnant, sort of stationary environment.”

Big economic factors contributed to the slowdown: A surge in inflation, arising from the unex-

U.S lawmakers focusing on pro-crypto legislation

BY ALAN SUDERMAN AP business writer

Bitcoin continued its rapid climb and hit another all-time high Monday as U.S. lawmakers begin a week focused on passing pro-crypto legislation.

Data from CoinMarketCap showed bitcoin climbed above $123,000 early Monday, up from about $108,000 only a week ago

The world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency is currently the fifth-most valuable asset class in the world at $2.4 trillion, giving it a higher market cap than Amazon.

The enthusiasm for bitcoin comes as the U.S. House is set to take up several pieces of cryptocurrency-related legislation in what’s been dubbed “crypto

pectedly strong economic recovery from COVID-19, raised factory expenses and prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. The higher borrowing costs added to the strain. Government policy was meant to help.

Biden’s tax incentives for semiconductor and clean energy production triggered a factory-building boom — investment in manufacturing facilities more than tripled from April 2021 through October 2024 that seemed to herald a coming surge in factory production and hiring. Eventually anyway

But the factory investment spree has faded as the incoming Trump administration launched trade wars and, working with Congress, ended Biden’s subsidies for green energy Now, predicts Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, “manufacturing production will continue to flatline.”

“If production is flat, that suggests manufacturing employment will continue to slide,” Zandi said. “Manufacturing is likely to suffer a recession in the coming year.”

Meanwhile, Trump is attempting to protect U.S. manufacturers — and to coax factories to relocate and produce in America by imposing tariffs on goods made overseas. He slapped 50% taxes on steel and aluminum, 25% on autos and auto parts, 10% on many other imports.

In some ways, Trump’s tariffs can give U.S. factories an edge. Chris Zuzick, vice president at Waukesha Metal Products, said the Sussex, Wisconsin-based manufacturer is facing stiff competition for a big contract in Texas. A foreign company offers much lower prices. But “when you throw the tariff

on, it gets us closer,” Zuzick said “So that’s definitely a situation where it’s beneficial.”

But American factories import and use foreign products, too — machinery, chemicals, raw materials like steel and aluminum. Taxing those inputs can drive up costs and make U.S. producers less competitive in world markets.

Consider steel. Trump’s tariffs don’t just make imported steel more expensive. By putting the foreign competition at a disadvantage, the tariffs allow U.S. steelmakers to raise prices and they have. U.S.-made steel was priced at $960 per metric ton as of June 23 more than double the world export price of $440 per ton, according to industry monitor SteelBenchmarker In fact, U.S. steel prices are so high that Pilot Precision Products has continued to buy the steel it needs from suppliers in Austria and France — and pay Trump’s tariff.

Trump has also created considerable uncertainty by repeatedly tweaking and rescheduling his tariffs. Just before new import taxes were set to take effect on dozens of countries on July 9, for example, the president pushed the deadline back to Aug. 1 to allow more time for negotiation with U.S. trading partners.

The flip-flops have left factories, suppliers and customers bewildered about where things stand. Manufacturers voiced their complaints in the ISM survey: “Customers do not want to make commitments in the wake of massive tariff uncertainty,” a fabricated metal products company said.

“Tariffs continue to cause confusion and uncertainty for long-term procurement decisions,” added a computer and electronics firm.

Wall Street holds near its record amid tariff doubts

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stock indexes hung near their records on Monday following President Donald Trump’s latest updates to his tariffs, as speculation continues on Wall Street that he may ultimately back down on them. The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1% to pull within 0.2% of its all-time high set on Thursday The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3% to set a record. Stock indexes elsewhere around the world were mixed in their

rst

after Trump announced plans over the weekend for 30% tariffs on goods from Mexico and the European Union. They won’t take effect until Aug. 1, the same deadline that Trump announced last week for updated tax rates on imports from Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries The latest postponements for Trump’s tariffs allow more time for him to reach trade deals with other countries that could lower the tariff rates and prevent pain for international trade. They also feed into speculation that Trump may ultimately back down on his tariffs if they end up creating too much damage for the economy and for financial markets. If Trump were to enact all his proposed tariffs on Aug. 1, they would raise the risk of a recession. That would not only hurt U.S voters but also raise the pressure on the U.S. government’s debt level relative to the economy’s size, particularly after Washington approved big tax cuts that will add to the deficit.

“We therefore believe that the administration is using this latest round of tariff escalation to maximize its negotiating leverage and that it will ultimately de-escalate, especially if there is a new bout of heightened bond and stock market volatility,” according to Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

“As usual, there are many conditions and clauses that can get these rates reduced,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “That’s probably why the market might not like the tariff talk, but it’s not panicking about it either.” For the time being, all the uncertainty around tariffs could help keep markets unsteady This upcoming week has several potential flashpoints that could shake things.

On Tuesday will come the latest reading on inflation across the United States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated to 2.6% last month from 2.4% in May

week” in Congress. Lawmakers have been under pressure from President Donald Trump and the big-spending crypto lobby to pass legislation quickly That includes a bill passed last month by the Senate that would regulate a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins. The House is also set to take up a cryptocurrency market structure legislation that is far more sweeping. Trump, once a skeptic of the industry, has vowed in his second term to make the U.S. the global capital of crypto. Meanwhile, he and his family have moved aggressively into nearly every corner of the industry: mining operations, billion-dollar bitcoin purchases, a newly minted stablecoin and a Trump-branded meme coin. The crypto industry has rapidly become a major player in Washington after feeling unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. The industry spent huge amounts on last year’s elections and has been spending heavily on

lobbying and other influence efforts this year

Bitcoin has seen a significant rebound since April, when it briefly dipped below $75,000.

Spot bitcoin ETFs are becoming increasingly popular since launching last year and several publicly traded companies have made using debt and stock sales to buy bitcoin their primary business strategy Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, bitcoin has taken a highly volatile path to mainstream acceptance. Its backers say the asset is like a “digital gold” that can act as a hedge against central bank and government malfeasance. Only 21 million bitcoins will ever be created.

“Bitcoin’s price is finally catching up to what’s been building under the surface,” said Adam Back, CEO of the crypto company Blockstream. “This is institutional demand aligning with bitcoin’s fundamentals, and a fixed supply doing what it was designed to do.”

Companies are also lining up to report how they performed during the spring. JPMorgan Chase and several other huge banks will report their latest quarterly results on Tuesday followed by Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday and PepsiCo on Thursday Fastenal, a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, on Monday reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock rose 4.2%, though it also said that market conditions remain sluggish Shares of Kenvue rose 2.2% after the former division of Johnson & Johnson said CEO Thibaut Mongon is stepping down. Kenvue, the maker of Listerine and Band-Aid brands, is in the midst of a strategic review of its options, “including ways to simplify the company’s portfolio and how it operates,” according to Larry Merlo, the board’s chair Waters slumped 13.8% after saying it had agreed to merge with Becton, Dickinson and Co.’s biosciences and diagnostic solutions business in a deal valued at roughly $17.5 billion. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.42% from 4.43% late Friday In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

More than 20 states sue over frozen education funds

BY BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS Associated Press

— More

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I.

than 20 states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more Some of the withheld money funds after-school and summer programming at Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA or public schools, attended by 1.4 million children and teenagers nationwide. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families. But Trump’s administration recently froze the funding, saying it wants to ensure programs align with the Republican president’s priorities. Led by California, the lawsuit alleges withholding the money violates the Constitution and several federal laws. Many low-income families will lose access to after-school programs if the money isn’t released soon, according to the suit. In some states, school restarts in late July and early August. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Darleen Reyes drove through a downpour last week to take her son to a free Boys & Girls Club day camp in East Providence, Rhode Island. She told camp administrators the flash flood warning would have kept her away but her son insisted on going.

Before kissing his mother goodbye, Aiden Cazares, 8, explained to a reporter, “I wanted to see my friends and not just sit at home.” Then he ran off to play In Rhode Island, the state stepped in with funding to keep the summer programs running, according to the East Providence club, and the state has joined the federal lawsuit. Other Boys & Girls Clubs supported by the grants have found ways to keep open their summer programs, said Sara Leutzinger, vice president for communications for the Boys & Girls Club of America. But there isn’t the same hope for the after-school programming for the fall.

Some of the 926 Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide that run summer and after-school programs stand to close if the Trump administration doesn’t

release the money in the next three to five weeks, Leutzinger said. The clubs receive funding from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program

The YMCA and Save the Children say many of the centers they run are also at risk of shuttering.

“Time is of the essence,” said Christy Gleason, executive director of the political arm of Save the Children, which provides after-school programming for 41 schools in rural areas in Washington state and across the South, where school will begin as soon as August. “It’s not too late to make a decision so the kids who really need this still have it.”

Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze in federal education grants. Ninety-one of the 100 school dis-

Fire that destroyed Grand Canyon lodge allowed to burn for days

BY ROSS D FRANKLIN and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK,Ariz. — A wildfire that tore through a historic Grand Canyon lodge and raged out of control Monday had been allowed to burn for days before erupting over the weekend, raising scrutiny over the National Park Service’s decision not to aggressively attack the fire right away

The wildfire along the canyon’s more isolated North Rim, where most visitors don’t venture, was burning quickly with no containment, fire officials said. No injuries had been reported, but more than 70 structures were lost, including a visitors center and several cabins.

At

first, the fire didn’t raise alarms after igniting from a lightning strike on July 4 Four days later, the Park Service said the fire was being allowed to burn to benefit the land and fire crews were keeping close watch

“There are no threats to infrastructure or public safety at this time,” the park said on Facebook.

Then three days later, on Friday, fire officials and the park service sent out warnings to “evacuate immediately” as the fire grew by nearly eight times within a day to more than 1.4 square miles.

Arizona Gov Katie Hobbs called for a federal investigation into the Park Service’s handling of the fire.

“The federal government chose to manage that fire as a controlled burn during the driest, hottest part of the Arizona summer,” the governor said in a social media post Sunday. She will be meeting with leadership in the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior soon to learn more about the decisions made in managing the wildfire, Hobbs’ spokesperson Christian Slater said in an email.

Authoritiesfirstuseda“confineandcontain” strategy but shifted to aggressive suppression as the fire — one of two that firefighters are dealing with on the North Rim rapidly grew because of hot temperatures, low humidity

and strong wind gusts, fire officials said.

The Associated Press left phone and email messages Monday with a park service spokesperson seeking comment about how the fire was managed.

The fire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park’s North Rim, along with employee housing and a wastewater treatment plant, park Superintendent Ed Keable said Sunday Park officials have closed access for the rest of the year to the North Rim, a less popular area that draws only about 10% of the Grand Canyon’s millions of annual visitors.

Hikers in the area were evacuated and rafters on the Colorado River which snakes through the canyon, were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, an outpost of cabins and dormitories. Trails to the area from the canyon’s North and South rims also were closed From the air plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the canyon walls and haze filled parts of the park. From the park’s South Rim, visitors took pictures on Monday of the smoke blanketing the canyon in the distance.

The fire flared up Saturday night, fueled by high winds. Firefighters managed to make progress, using aerial fire retardant drops near the lodge before they had to pull back because of a chlorine gas leak at the water treatment plant, the park service said.

Hikers also were evacuated over concern that the poisonous, heavier-than-air gas could sink downhill, into the canyon.

White House says it won’t publish climate report on NASA website

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Monday took another step to make it harder to find major, legally mandated scientific assessments of how climate change is endangering the nation and its people. Earlier this month, the official government websites that hosted the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark. Such sites tell state and local governments and the public what to expect in their backyards from a warming world and how best to adapt to it. At the time, the White House

said NASA would house the reports to comply with a 1990 law that requires the reports, which the space agency said it planned to do But on Monday, NASA announced that it aborted those plans. “The USGCRP (the government agency that oversees and used to host the report) met its statutory requirements by presenting its reports to Congress NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov’s data,” NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in an email. That means no data from the assessment or the government science office that coordinated the work will be

on NASA, she said. On July 3, NASA put out a statement that said: “All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting.”

“This document was written for the American people, paid for by the taxpayers, and it contains vital information we need to keep ourselves safe in a changing climate, as the disasters that continue to mount demonstrate so tragically and clearly,” said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe. She is chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and co-author of several past national climate assessments.

so we can ensure the success of our students.”

The Office of Management and Budget said some grants supported left-wing causes, pointing to services for immigrants in the country illegally or LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts.

But Congress’ appropriation of the money was in a bill signed by Trump himself, said Maurice “Mo” Green, North Carolina’s Democratic superintendent of public education. “To now suggest that, for some reason, this money is somehow or another needing review because of someone’s agenda, I think is deeply troubling,” Green told reporters Monday after North Carolina joined the federal lawsuit.

subtraction, learned about pollination, watched a nature video and ate club-provided chicken nuggets. Veteran teachers from his school corrected him when he spoke without raising his hand and offered commonsense advice when a boy in his group said something inappropriate.

tricts that receive the most money per student from four frozen grant programs are in Republican congressional districts, according to an analysis from New America, a left-leaning think tank. New America’s analysis used funding levels reported in 2022 in 46 states.

Republican officials have been among the educators criticizing the grant freeze.

“I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility, which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies, but also means being responsible releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump,” said Georgia schools superintendent Richard Woods, an elected Republican. “In Georgia, we’re getting ready to start the school year so I call on federal funds to be released

In North Carolina, about 40 schools are already in session, so the state is already trying to figure out ways to keep programs going, using state and local money, along with some federal money that has not expired.

The freeze affects programs including mental health services, science and math education, and support for students learning English, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said, with the most severe effects in smaller, rural school districts. The freeze could also lead to approximately 1,000 teachers and staff being laid off, Jackson said.

At the East Providence summer camp, Aiden, a rising third grader, played tag, built structures with magnetic tiles, played a fastpaced game with the other kids to review addition and

“When someone says something inappropriate, you don’t repeat it,” teacher Kayla Creighton told the boys between answering their questions about horseflies and honeybees. Indeed, it’s hard to find a more middle-of-the road organization in this country than the Boys & Girls Club. Just last month, a Republican and a Democrat sponsored a resolution in the U.S. House celebrating the 165-year-old organization as a “beacon of hope and opportunity.” The Defense Department awarded the club $3 million in 1991 to support children left behind when their parents deployed for the Persian Gulf. And ever since, the Boys & Girls Club has created clubs on military installations to support the children of service members. Military families can sign up their kids for free.

“I suspect they will realize that most of those grants are fine and will release them,” said Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education policy think tank, speaking of the Trump administration’s review of the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants.

Powell seeks watchdog review of overhaul of Fed building

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABGER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has asked an inspector general to review the cost of the central bank’s building renovations that White House officials have attacked as “ostentatious.”

A spokesperson for the inspector general, an independent watchdog, confirmed the request and declined further comment. The request was previously reported by Axios.

The Fed has been renovating two of its office buildings in Washington for several years at a current cost estimate of about $2.5 billion, $700 million more than originally expected. The project was first approved by the Fed’s governing board in 2017. Trump administration officials have seized on the expense and some alleged amenities in the remodeled buildings to extend their criticism of Powell, whom the president has attacked for not reducing the Fed’s short-term rate.

On Thursday, Russ Vought, the president’s top budget adviser, said that President Donald Trump is

“extremely troubled” about the “ostentatious overhaul” and suggested that it may be violating local building rules.

The letter represented a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to gain greater control over the Fed, an independent agency charged with seeking stable prices and maximum employment Independence from day-today politics has long been seen as a critical element in the Fed’s ability to achieve those goals.

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Powell cut the short-term interest rate that the central bank controls, in part because the president believes it will lower the government’s borrowing costs.

Trump in April threatened to fire Powell, though he later backed off those threats after stock prices fell in response. The Supreme Court has since signaled that the president doesn’t have the authority to remove the Fed chair over a disagreement about interest rates.

The law governing the Fed does say that the chair can be fired “for cause,” such as wrongdoing by the chair or neglect of duty Powell’s

term as chair ends in May 2026. Vought’s letter criticizes Powell’s management of the Fed, suggesting that the administration could be trying to build a case to remove the chair for cause.

“I still think it’s unlikely, but not impossible that Trump would try to replace Powell before his term was up,” Stephen Moore, a former adviser to Trump and an economist at the Heritage Foundation, said. The letter charges that the Fed altered its building plans without notifying a Washington planning commission, known as the National Capital Planning Commission, and may be in violation of its rules. Trump recently appointed two close aides to the commission. Over the weekend, the Fed said in a post of “frequently asked questions” on its website about the building project that it is “not subject to the direction” of the commission and has only complied with its directives voluntarily The Fed also said that it is accountable to the Senate and House of Representatives, and is also overseen by the independent inspector general, not the White House.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SOPHIE PARK

Girls read an Amelia Bedelia book Thursday during the East Providence Boys & Girls Club Summer Camp at Emma G. Whiteknact Elementary School in Providence, R.I.

PHOTO PROVIDED By CAREN CARNEy

Smoke rises Thursday as fires burn at the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Your hearing is an integral part of your overall health and wellbeing. Studiesshow that untreated hearingloss has been linked to many health issues, including cognitivedeclineand dementia.1

We are hosting aSpecial Eventduring the month of March! During this event, we will be offering these FREE services:

•FREE Hearing Consultations

•FREE Video Otoscope Exam: Hearinglossorjust earwax?

•FREE Clean &Check on currenthearing aids

•FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment

•FREE Familiar Voice Test

•FREE Demo of Audibel’s latest hearing technology!

AreYou or Anyone YouKnow Experiencing the Following?

1. Asking people to speak up or repeat themselves?

2. Turning theTVuploud tounderstandwhat is being said?

3. Ringing or noises in your ears?

Audibelis NOW Offering...

•Hearingaids at NO COST to those who qualify!•

• That’s Right. No Co-Pay!NoExamFee! No AdjustmentFee! If youhavethiscard, youmay qualifyfor free hearing aids! Call today to verifyyour benefits

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Reader marks100 years

Bob Stuart was born July 14, 1925 For most of his 100 years, Stuart hasstarted his day with the morning paper.The Advocatebegan in 1842, but on the very day he was born, it became amorning paper

Reading the paper is just one part of his morning routine. At 11 a.m., he heads to the Baton Rouge Country Club to exercise.

“I do that about an hour and a half of exercising each day —on abicycle, treadmill and weights,” the centenarian said. “AndI let the trainers tell me what to do, but they don’tstay there hovering over me.”

His history with the newspaper includes astint as adelivery boy back in the late 1930s. He picked up his papers at the City News Stand, on the corner of Third Street and North Boulevard.

“I had the State Capitol on my route, and Igot 60 paid-up subscriptions,” he said.

Stuart has been alive for just over 40% of the nation’shistory

When asked for advice on navigating these troubled times, Stuart just shakeshis head.

“I’ve been asked this question so many times,” he said, witha chuckle.

His guidancefor others echoes what his mother told him.

He has lived his life by her advice and believes it could come in handy to others.

“My mother said, ‘Bob, stay in the middle of the road. Whatever you do, stay in the middle of the road,’”hesaid. “And, Ialways did.” His interpretation of his mother’sinstructions centers on moderation —not veeringtoo far to either extreme in thought,

ä See RISHER, page 2B

2vie in historic Jean Lafitte race

Kerner family noton ballot for firsttime sinceincorporation

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Acoastal Louisiana fishing town that’sbeen run by one family since its incorporation will soon see a new mayor For the first time since Jean Lafitte was incorporated 50 years ago, amember of the Kerner family won’tappear on the ballot for the town’stop position after two contenders qualified for the special mayoral election in October: Yvette Crain, the town clerk of 35 years, and Will Wyman, alocal firefighter of 25 years Crain has served as interim mayorfor theroughly 1,800-persontown since its previous leader Timothy Kerner Jr., vacated the seat in May to become the aJeffersonParish Council member She worked as town clerk under

N.O. planshomelesssweeps

French Quarterboard asks formorepolice

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

New Orleans officialswill begin homeless camp sweeps in the French Quarter andparts of theMarigny next week,while a state-created board has asked for expanded Louisiana State Police presence in the neighborhood, part of aconcerted effort to tackle homelessness, crime andqualityof-life issues.

TheNew OrleansPoliceDepart-

ment will carry out sweeps Monday of “any person who’scamping out, laying tents,blankets, anything of that nature,onthe sidewalk,” said 8th District Capt Samuel Palumbo to theFrench Quarter Management District board on Monday

“Essentially,nosleeping in the French Quarter,” saidPalumbo, who said theplan had been developed by thecity’sOffice of Homeless Services. Aspokesperson for Mayor LaToya Cantrell didnot

respond to arequest forcomment on the plan on Monday

TheFrenchQuarterManagement District also approved aproposal Monday to allocate $260,000 to fund anew StatePolicedetail in theFrenchQuarter that will “conduct focused Quality of Life andNuisanceSweeps”incollaboration with the New Orleans Police Department and other lawenforcement.A StatePolice spokesperson said the agency was “evaluating the feasibility” of the

district’srequest.

“LSP remains committed to supporting the City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) through ongoing assistance and proactive enforcement efforts citywide,” said Sgt. KateStegall, aspokesperson. The French Quarter proposal which was approved unanimously,cites “an uptick in concerns related to public order,nuisance activities and overall safety” in the Vieux Carre, according to the proposal. Neighborhood business

French fashion

Moreno launches firstTVads

Segments highlight prominentthemesin mayoralcandidacy

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

HelenaMorenolaunched apair of new videospromoting hercampaign for New Orleansmayor on Monday, markingthe firstround of television advertising of the city’smounting local election cycle.

Onevideofeaturesremarks from seven prominent New Orleanians —including 8thWard Black Seminoles Chief Kenny Young, GrisGris chef Eric Cook andmeteorologist Margaret Orr —toutingtheir support for Moreno,the current CityCouncil vice president. The other pledges that Moreno as mayor will bring fixes to New Orleans’ troubled infrastructure at apace akin to the blitz of work thatengulfed thecity’sdowntown before Super Bowl LIX this spring.

Moreno is one of four major candidates whosigned up forthe race at Orleans Parish Criminal Court on TulaneAvenue and South Broad Street last week. The mayoralprimary is Oct. 11. She has led polling and fundraising tallies in the race so far,amassing more than $1.5 million in her campaign account,according to herApril campaign finance disclosure. Thetwo 30-secondsegments

seek tohighlight apair of themes prominent to Moreno’scandidacy and to the race’sbroader landscape.

Moreno, who launched her career in politics witha failed run for Congress in 2008 and then servedinthe stateHousebefore being elected tothe City Council, hassought for yearstocraft relationships with community figures andpolitical powerbrokers as she laid the groundwork for a mayoral run. Hercampaign said in astatement that thefirst video piece aims to highlight Moreno’s “broad and diverse support” in New Orleans.

Thepeople who appear in the segmentare Young,local advocatesValeriaSchexnayder and Julie SchwamHarris,Orleans ParishCourt Clerk Donna Glapion, Cook, Orr and Barbara Major, acivil rights leader and activist The second segment takes aim at an issue that asuccessionof polls and voter interviews show has driven New Orleanians’ dismal viewsofcity leadership, and that is alreadyformingakey point of messaginginthe race: crumbling infrastructure anda slate of political leaders many view as sluggish or inept at fixing

Five students at Athlos Academy make claims

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office filedcharges against aformer teacher at Athlos AcademyofJefferson Parish who is accused of sexually abusing five boys whowere students at the Terrytowncharter school. Tokeby Mixon, 38, of Harvey, wascharged with five counts of indecent behavior with ajuvenile. Mixon is accused of inappropriately touching children who were enrolled at Athlos, which serves kindergarten to eighth grade. Mixon worked at the school as asocial emotional learning specialist and third

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Attendeesembrace French fashion at the Bastille Daycelebration in the French Market of NewOrleans on Monday.The Council of French Societies and the French Market Corporation hosted the event at the Joan of Arc statue

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

NewOrleans CityCouncil member Helena Moreno greets supporters after submitting her qualifying paperwork to runfor mayoratthe Orleans Parish ClerkofCourt’sOffice on Wednesday.

3 plead not guilty in deputy’s death

St. Tammany officer killed during high-speed chase

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Three Slidell teenagers who face charges in the death of a St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s deputy who was killed during a high-speed police chase pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Covington on Monday, northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said Sgt. Grant Candies, 37, was struck and killed while setting up a spike strip on an Interstate 10 onramp in Slidell to stop a speeding vehicle in March. The Sheriff’s Of-

HOMELESS

Continued from page 1B

owners and residents have repeatedly cited concerns about homelessness, unpermitted vending and illegal parking.

Both efforts also come amid a multiyear plan by the Cantrell administration to clear homeless encampments across downtown and move people from the streets into shelter and subsidized housing. Palumbo said the plan was modeled off efforts by State Police and other state officials, who worked at Gov. Jeff Landry’s direction this year to clear encampments downtown and the French Quarter ahead of the Super Bowl and move residents into a temporary shelter.

Palumbo said Monday that while violent crime is down in the French Quarter “on the qualityof-life side of things, there’s significant improvements that we would like to see.”

Violent crime dropped by 27% in the second quarter of this year compared with the same time period in 2024 in the 8th District, which includes the French Quarter, Central Business District and the Marigny, according to statistics compiled by the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

behavior or lifestyle. Through the years, he has seen her advice as a reminder to avoid risky extremes, whether recklessness or rigidity, to stay grounded and be thoughtful, measured in decisions.

In short: be steady He says that whenever he has found himself getting in trouble of any sort, or overindulging, thanks to his mother’s advice, he knew it was time to reevaluate and get back in line.

Witness to history

He remembers so many major news events that most people alive today only know about from history class — the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor, to name a few.

“The Depression news was always there,” he said. “But we didn’t know as much about it then. Our parents didn’t let us know that we were poor.”

During the Depression, he recalls, the land where the State Police headquarters now stands was home to people who had lost everything — well-educated individuals who had left their families and lived there in desperation.

Stuart was one of seven children. When his twin brother joined the Navy in the summer of 1943, he joined the Merchant Marines. That service did not qualify him for the GI Bill once he was out. Later, he was drafted to serve in Korea, where he worked in counterintelligence.

TEACHER

Continued from page 1B

fice said deputies had tried to stop the vehicle after seeing it being operated carelessly near Slidell, but it sped off, leading to chase that wound up on I-10 and eventually ended in New Orleans.

In June, authorities said the vehicle’s driver, Adrian Waughtal, 17, and one of the passengers, Mason Paul Eugene Fischer, 17, had been indicted on charges of second-degree murder. Another passenger in the vehicle, Michael Lanier, 18, was indicted on manslaughter

The three entered their pleas during proceedings at the St. Tammany Justice Center

A trial date was set for Oct. 6, WWL-Louisiana reported.

Email Willie Swett at willie. swett@theadvocate.com.

Palumbo said the city’s Office of Homeless Services would be on site Monday to help move people from the street into the city’s Low Barrier Shelter on Gravier Street.

“Our goal here is not to go out and arrest and do all that. We will do that when absolutely necessary,” Palumbo said.

Sweeps by both city and state officials have repeatedly drawn criticism from people experiencing homelessness and advocates.

“Any sweeps or forcible relocations of unhoused individuals inevitably involve profiling and policing,” said Angela Owczarek, a member of New Orleans Homeless and Houseless Advocacy Research, and Rights Monitoring, on Monday Owczarek said profiling is more likely in the French Quarter because “many individuals who survive outdoors on the streets there are not in typical encampment structures or tents.”

Palumbo said people would only be told to leave if their belongings were blocking a sidewalk.

Owczarek also noted city officials’ earlier opposition to stateled encampment sweeps and to a proposed public camping ban during the state’s legislative session.

The proposed sweep in the French Quarter “would make such city efforts ring hollow and would counter all available best practices about addressing home-

He graduated from Baton Rouge High and LSU, where he was a cheerleader at both.

Once home, Stuart went to work for Buquet and LeBlanc, Inc., General Contractors, a company he eventually owned. He retired in the late 1980s and consulted into the early 2000s.

One of his strengths, according to his daughter Sally Stuart Morgan, is his ability to look to the future.

“He is always looking forward and his aim is true,” she said.

The Stuart Special

For the last few weeks, Stuart has been looking forward to his 100th birthday party, which happened Sunday afternoon at the Baton Rouge Country Club.

More than 250 people came to celebrate the milestone birthday with the Stuart family, including folks he hired in the 1970s at Buquet and LeBlanc.

Several guests mentioned the birthday boy’s signature drink, the Stuart Special — a drink he has ordered so often that he printed up business cards with the recipe to hand to waitstaff.

He asks for two double rocks glasses filled to the top with ice and a teaspoon. His instructions include filling one of the glasses with Smirnoff Vodka. Then, add two olives and a twist of lemon.

His son, Rob Stuart, president and CEO of the LSU Foundation, said his father’s daily commitment to exercise, especially in his later years, is a factor to his long life.

“His longevity is certainly attributable to the positive attitude toward life he always maintained during both the good times, but

Kenner Planetarium’s laser light shows return

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

The Kenner Planetarium and Rivertown Space Science Complex has relaunched its Friday night laser light shows this month, featuring hits from classic rock and disco bands.

The “Late Nite Laser” light shows take place every Friday at the planetarium, with shows at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The next upcoming light show will start at 7 p.m. with “laser vinyl,” followed by an AC/DCthemed show and ending with an Aerosmith show

Other bands featured this month at the planetarium’s night shows are Metallica and Tool. Last weekend, the planetarium played Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and ABBA. The night shows take place

lessness and preventing further harm,” Owczarek said.

Agency will look to CBD next

Palumbo said he had concerns that sweeps in the French Quarter could displace people who don’t agree to go to the shelter

“We do believe and fully anticipate seeing some of that,” Palumbo said, adding that once officers had finished removing people from the French Quarter, they would move onto the Central Business District.

Palumbo also said the management district’s plan to fund a Louisiana State Police detail in the French Quarter could “fit into” the plan to keep the neighborhood clear of people sleeping on the street.

According to the district’s proposal, the plan “builds upon the proven success of the Louisiana State Police in making substantial quality of life improvements during their deployments in the French Quarter for major events such as the Super Bowl, New Year’s, Mardi Gras, and the Taylor Swift Concert.”

Ahead of the Swift concert, State Police conducted sweeps of homeless encampments across downtown New Orleans and relocated people to a single designated site at Landry’s direction. Ahead of the Super Bowl, State

in addition to the planetarium’s regular Saturday programming, including a 40-minute “Spirit of America” patriotic show at 1 p.m. and hourlong classic rock laser light show at 3 p.m. Saturday’s classic rock show will feature 57 minutes of music by Kiss. Science documentaries of varying run times play throughout the day as well.

The Kenner Planetarium is typically open only on Saturdays from 11 a.m to 3 p.m at 2020 4th St in Kenner’s Rivertown.

Tickets to the Friday night shows are $5 and can be purchased at the box office the day of or in advance online. Saturday tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors, and include admission to the Rivertown Space Science Complex.

Police cleared homeless encampments and bused people to a temporary shelter in Gentilly

The State Police troopers will work four eight-hour shifts per week, according to the district’s proposal.

The district has agreed to bankroll the extra state officer hours even as Landry last year launched a new Troop NOLA branch of State Police. That troop’s headquarters is in the Cabildo at Jackson Square

In June, a spokesperson for a firm the city commissioned to aid its homeless services initiatives, Clutch Consulting Group, said the Cantrell administration was working to quickly move people from the shelter to subsidized housing. Since launching its effort in 2023, the city has housed 365 people from homeless shelters, 300 people from encampments and another 469 people who are not in group encampments, Mandy Chapman Semple said.

It is unclear how many people have been offered housing through the city’s initiative from the French Quarter and the Marigny

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

Stuart

particularly during the times of adversity,” Rob Stuart said.

Morgan said her father has a knack for doing the right things.

“And his commitment to integrity has always allowed him to get a good night’s sleep,” said Morgan. “He enjoys uplifting

Continued from page 1B

Kerner, his father, Timothy Kerner Sr., and his grandfather, Leo Kerner Jr., who became Jean Lafitte’s first mayor in 1974.

Crain, a Republican, said if elected, she hopes to use her experience to continue the work of her predecessors, particularly to finish repairing damages from Hurricane Ida and to get every home elevated to at least Base Flood Elevation levels for future storms.

“I learned so much from them (the Kerners), and now I just want to serve in a different capacity rather than being behind the scenes,” Crain said.

Wyman, on the other hand, paints a different picture of the town when explaining his motivation for running. He expressed frustration with the Kerner administration’s lack of communication since Ida and believes he could better fill the community’s many unmet needs.

“If you drive down through Lafitte, you can see all the For Sale signs,” said Wyman, whose home is still in disrepair from Ida. “They’re getting fed up and getting out of here.”

Wyman, a Democrat, works as a rescue chief for the Lafitte-Barataria-Crown Point Volunteer Fire Department.

Flooding and storm damage are two constant worries for Lafitte residents, and will be a major focal point for the next mayor The town’s levee board has over $100 million in storm surge protection projects in the works, and officials at every level are constantly looking for funds to help residents protect their flood-prone homes. Kerner Jr resigned earlier this year after serving the town since 2019. He was appointed mayor after his father won a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives and later won the position permanently in a 2020 election. Crain and Wyman will face off in the Oct. 11 election, which will be the fourth time in Jean Lafitte’s history that the mayor’s race has had more than one candidate. The last two times a mayoral election election was contested — in 2007 and 2020 — the Kerners won with at least 93% of the vote. Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.

MORENO

Continued from page 1B grade teacher, according to authorities.

He’d been at the school for about three years in November 2022 when a then-14-year-old boy notified school officials that Mixon had tickled him without permission and tried to kiss him, according to the Jefferson Parish

Sheriff’s Office. The school immediately contacted authorities and placed Mixon on leave, officials said at the time. He was arrested Dec. 21, 2022, and booked with indecent behavior with a juvenile. The school

fired Mixon after his arrest. Within weeks, a second victim came forward. Another student, a 12-year-old boy, told detectives that Mixon had touched his genitals, tried to kiss him and had inappropriate contact on several

occasions while he was in third, fifth and sixth grades, according to authorities. The boy told investigators Mixon threatened to cut off his genitals if he told anyone about the abuse, authorities said. Mixon was rearrested and booked with three counts of molestation of a juvenile in January 2023. Fifteen days later, detectives arrested Mixon for a third time after identifying three more victims, also students from Athlos

others, which lifts him up as well, as he never dwells on the negative but faces any situation confidently.” Happy birthday, Bob.

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

Academy, according to authorities. The boys, who were between the ages of 8 and 12, also accused Mixon of inappropriately touching them, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Mixon, who is free on $30,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 5 on the indecent behavior charges

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate.com.

it. “Effective city services shouldn’t happen just for major events,” Moreno said in the video. “They should happen all the time, in all our neighborhoods.”

Moreno has argued that her experience on the City Council has positioned her to provide better city services for New Orleans residents.

She has led the council through a period of conflict with Mayor LaToya Cantrell, whose approval rating plummeted during her second term, as voters grew increasingly embittered with her handling of a slate of scandals and the city’s infrastructure.

At a candidate forum in late June, Moreno repeatedly criticized Cantrell’s leadership She argued that she and other City Council members have stepped into a leadership void created by Cantrell’s administration, saying she worked through legislation to accomplish day-to-day goals that should have been the administration’s responsibility Moreno faces three other major candidates: state Sen. Royce Duplessis, City Council member Oliver Thomas and retired Judge Arthur Hunter Ten other candidates with less name recognition and funding will also be on the ballot.

Thomas’ campaign has paid for billboard space, plus digital and media advertising, a campaign spokesperson said.

Hunter’s campaign has bought advertising space on billboards and social media, a spokesperson said, and plans to run a “full media campaign” including TV radio, direct mail and print. Representatives for Duplessis’ campaign did not provide details of the campaign’s advertising spending Monday, saying only that the campaign “has momentum” after two weeks of operation.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Bob

greets guests at his 100th birthday party at the Baton Rouge Country Club on Sunday Stuart turned 100 on Monday.

NewOrleans Area Deaths and Classical music, an avid reader, and alifelong cruciverbalist.Heenjoyed actionmovies (the more stuffthat blew up, the better)and was an amateur magician. In retirement, Dr. Bagalman studiedSpanish and piano.

Bagalman,Paul Edwards,Anthony Green, Marilyn Jéan,Joycelyn

Kirby, Donna

MunchSr.,Carl Piglia Sr., Thomas Singleton Sr., Larry Edwards, Anthony

Stagg, Paul EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Piglia Sr., Thomas

Singleton Sr., Larry NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Edwards,Anthony

Charbonnet

Jéan,Joycelyn

Greenwood

MunchSr.,Carl

Lake Lawn Metairie

Green, Marilyn

West Bank

Robinson FH

Kirby, Donna

Obituaries

Bagalman, Paul Michael

Dr. Paul Michael Bagalman, 89, of Metairie, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on June 23, 2025

BorninNew Orleans on April 19, 1936, Dr. Bagalman was the son of the late Boris and Anne (Zion) Bagalman. He was predeceased by his cherished daughter, Jill Erin Bagalman, whopassed away in 2023.

He grewupina house just off the main campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, attended LSU as an undergraduate, and then continued to LSU Medical School, earning his M.D. in 1961. After completing his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans (1961-62), he spent ayear in residencyatCleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. Discovering that Cleveland winters weren't for him, he returned to Charity Hospital to finish his Internal Medicine residency (1963-65).

Dr. Bagalman served in the United States Air Force from 1965-67 and was Chief of Medicine at the 439th USAF Hospital at Misawa Air Force Base. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal and the National Defense Service Medal; he was in the USAF reserve until 1972.

Following his active duty service, Dr. Bagalman returned to New Orleans as aFellow in Cardiology at TouroInfirmary in 196768, during which time he met his wife, Catherine Carol (Dixon) Bagalman, whom he married in 1968. He continued to practice medicine until his retirement in 2001, but maintained his medical license throughout his life via continuing education as he always kept up with the latest developments in the field. Dr. Bagalman also served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine for Tulane Medical School from 1973 to 1993. He was amember of both the Orleans Parish Medical Society and the Louisiana State Medical Society.

Dr.Bagalmanrarely

missed aday at the gym, wherehewould lift weights and bend ears in roughly equal proportion. He was afan of Big Band

He is survived by his belovedwifeof56years, Carol Bagalman; his son and daughter-in-law, MichaelDavid Bagalman and Sonya Sklaroff;and his two grandchildren, Nathanieland Natasha Bagalman.

AnthonyEdwards,a re‐tired Carpenter, age73, was eternally called to rest inthe Kingdomofthe Lord, onFridayJuly4,2025, at Baton RougeGeneral Hos‐pital surrounded by his family. Mr.Edwards wasa nativeofNew Orleans, LA Herelocated to Brusly,LA, in2005 where he livedfor 20years.Hewas an hon‐orary member of theUS Military(AirForce). He was a memberofTrumpet of Truth Ministries,Arabic, LA. Honorary member of the Star Hill Missionary Baptist Church,Saint Fran‐cisville, LA,under thelead‐ershipofPastorMurlon Webb. Sonofthe late Emile Edwards andthe late Ruth BellEdwards.Survivedby his belovedwifeJuliet Smith-Edwards, andhis two sons Anthonyand HaroldRichardson, two daughters:De’Quan Richardsonand Geanna (Zeb) Turner,Christopher (Melita) Smith, of Dallas TX, andKennishaSmith,of Baton Rouge, LA 19 grand‐children; twosisters:Bev‐erlyWilson, of Monroe,LA. Betty EdwardsofNew Or‐leans LA,goddaughter Gilda Condoll, andgodson Mark-ElliottMetayer; brother-in-lawtoDinah Johnson,Sandie(Dwight) Mikell, CarolSmith-Martin, MelodySmith,Kimberly Smith-Washington,John Smith, Melissa (Ryan) Dykes,Wanda,Terrell Greg, andGregorySimon Along with ahostof nephews,nieces, cousins and otherrelatives and friends.Precededindeath byhis son, CoreyRichard‐son,three brothers:and three sisters. Family, friends,members of Trum‐pet of TruthMinistries, Star HillB.C,NextGeneration OriginalMorning Star FGBC,New KingdomB.C Baton RougeGeneral Hos‐pital,Louisiana Office of Motor VehicleHQ, Pregis LLC,Klein Tools, Southern ChampionTrey(SCT) Housing AuthorityofNew Orleans,Walmart,General Motors, areinvited to at‐tendthe CelebrationofLife Service on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at Trumpetof Truth Ministries,7451 W. St Bernard,Arabi,LA70052 Visitationwillbegin at 9:00 a.m.officiatingBishop RobertCollins.Interment willfollow at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Ceme‐tery, Slidell, LA.Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditi onbegins.com(504) 2820600. DonavinD.Boydand LinearBrooksBoydOwn‐ers/FuneralDirectors

Green,Marilyn Kapper

Marilyn KapperGreen died on Friday,July11, 2025 at the ageof85. She was a native ofBoston, MA and resident of Old Metairie. Marilyn was extremely outgoing and fiercely independent.She enjoyed art, fashion, traveling, classical music, reading, and was an avid painter.She is survived by her daughter, Robyn Sue Green (Carey Lynn Hattic); her sons, Henry Evan Greenand MatthewAlanGreen; her grandchildren, Tobin Francis Green-Moranand Harris Lowell GreenMoran. Marilynwas preceded in death by herhusband of 33 years, LesterL Green; her parents, Harry Kapper and Edna Hyman Kapper; and herbrother MauriceH.Kapper.The family wouldlike to give

special thanks to Dr Carmen Sanchez, Monique Theriot,RachelEriksen, Jennifer Vorhoff, Carol Rattigan, NicoleHewitt AngeletaByfield, Danyell Spencer, and dear friends JudyKatz,PhyllisFeran, and BuddyKullman. The family wouldlikeyou to considera donationin Marilyn's name to Jewish Family Services of Greater NewOrleans who helped support thefamily through thefinalchapter of herlife Avisitationwillbeheldat Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home,5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. New Orleans, LA at 11:00am on Monday, July 14, 2025. A graveside servicewillfollowat11:30am in Lake Lawn Park Cemetery, New Orleans, LA

Jéan,Joycelyn Charbonnet'Mamee'

Joycelyn,age 96, affec‐tionately knownas Mamee”,was born on De‐cember1,1928 to thelate Walterand Leonie Crocker Charbonnet. Shewas calledhomeonWednes‐day,July2,2025 sur‐rounded by herloving daughters,Karen,Shellie and Kim. Joycelyn gradu‐atedfromXavierUniversity Preparatory High School and earned aBachelorof ArtsdegreeinEducation fromXavierUniversityof Louisiana.While at Xavier, she pledgedDelta Sigma Theta Sorority,Inc proudly upholdingthe val‐ues of sisterhood andser‐vicethroughouther life She taught in NewOrleans for 37½ years, shaping young mindswithloveand dedication. Herteaching journey included Blessed Sacrament,HolyRe‐deemer,St. Paul theApos‐tle,St. Mary of theHolyAn‐gels, Bauduit, Phyllis Wheatley,Edgar P. Harney and retiredfromJohnA ShawElementary. Shevol‐unteered at thePeoples Program,teachingdriver’s education.Asa TitleOne MathResourceTeacher and mentor,Joycelynsup‐portedand guided future educators.She also taught Religious Education(CCD) atOur Lady Star of theSea Catholic Church,where she was honoredwiththe St Louis MedallionMedal for her service. Shewas an ac‐tivememberofthe United TeachersofNew Orleans, serving as both arepresen‐tativeand delegate.Inad‐ditiontoher parents, Joycelynisalsopreceded indeath by hersister, Vic‐toria Charbonnet Barreand nephew, LloydBarre.She adoredher entire family and is survived by three daughters,Karen Jéan Robinette (DwightSr.), Prairieville, LA;Shellie Jéan Simmons (Anderson) Southfield, MI andKim T. Jéan, NewOrleans,LA; beloved grandchildren, DwightRobinette,Jr. (Denice), Prairieville,LA, Kenneth Matthews, Jr (Stacey), NewOrleans,LA, GerardRobinette,Sr.,Gon‐zales,LAand Ashley Chambers(Courtney), Irv‐ing,TX; great-grandchil‐dren, Tiyena Brown, Dwight Robinette,III, Gerard Robi‐nette,Jr.,Kenneth Matthews, IIIand Kruz JéanMatthews; nephew ClarenceBarre,Jr.,aswell asa host of otherrelatives extendedfamilyand dear friends.A Mass of Christ‐ian burial honoring thelife and legacy of thelate JoycelynCharbonnetJéan, willbeheldatCorpus Christi/EpiphanyCatholic Church,2022 St.Bernard Avenue,New Orleans, LA onWednesday,July16, 2025 at 10 am,FatherTony Ricard, Celebrant. Inter‐mentMt. Olivet Cemetery Visitation8 am in the church.Pleasesignonline guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors (504)581 4411.

Kirby, Donna LeeBergeron

Donna LeeBergeron Kirby departed this life on Thursday July 10, 2025 at Plaquemines MedicalCen‐ter in Port Sulphur LA.She was 74 yearsand alifelong residentofBuras LA Daughterofthe late Ho‐raceBergeronSr. andthe lateIsabell TullierBerg‐eron. Devote wife of Mal‐colmBergeronfor 44 won‐derfulyears.Loving motherofKortKirby and LisaKirby Bowman (Thomas). Grandmotherof Haileyand EmilyBuchner SisterofRobertBergeron and thelateRolandBerg‐eron(late Mary Ellen),Ho‐raceBergeronJrand Is‐abell Baugh(late Douglas) Sisterinlaw of Carolyn Bergeron, ChristineLee (Lowell),Rovenia McDon‐ald (lateJohn),Cecelia Segrave (lateClinton) and the late Paulette Bergeron Donna is also survived by 3 great grandchildren, ahost ofnieces, nephews, cousins,other relatives and devotedfriends whom she loveddearly. Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattend the funeral serviceonTuesday July15, 2025 at Saint Patrick Catholic Church lo‐cated at 28698 LA-23, Port Sulphur LA.70083. Thevisi‐tationwillbegin at 9AM followedan11AMMass. FatherLawrencewilloffici‐ate andentombmentwill followinOur Lady Of Good HarborCemeteryinBuras FuneralPlanningentrusted toRobinsonFamilyFuneral Home(504) 208-2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

Carl J. “Chief”Munch Sr.,a lifelong resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, passedawaypeacefully on Friday, July 11, 2025, at the age of 97. Whilegrowing upinNew Orleans, Carl was an avid duck andrab‐bit hunter andlearned the carpentry tradefromhis father. As ateenager,he proudly served in theUS Navyand deployed to Oki‐nawaduringWorld WarII. After thewar,heworked asa carpenterand builder, while teaching hissonsthe trade,until he retired. A truecraftsman,his meticu‐lousworkcan be found in manyhomes throughout the city.Carlwas amem‐ber of theDixie Pigeon Club, where he enjoyed racinghomingpigeons.He could also be found at his camponLakeCatherine spendingtimewithhis familyand workingonhis latestproject.Inrecent years,Carlfound joyin caringfor hisdog, chick‐ens,and pigeons, and watchingThe Incredible Dr Pol.“Chief” wasa lifelong lover of animals! He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 65 years, JoanSegrave Munch, and sonsEricV.Munchand Christopher J. Munch. Carl was also preceded in death by hisparents,John A.Munch(Sarah) andHilda C.McCormick (Broward), and hissiblings, ClydeA Munch, Elaine Roberts, Ernie Tassin, JoyM.Koen, and LindaPage. Carl is sur‐vived by hischildren, Carl J.MunchJr. (Jessie),Joan “Kathy” Nuccio (Dominick), and Greg L. Munch(Tammy Nick);his grandchildren, GeneL.LeBouef Jr., Gina M. Finch (Tony),KristyEvans (Bobby),Jeffrey D. Nuccio, BreannIvers,Kimberlee Munch, andBrianna Nick; aswellashis great-grand‐children, Peyton Finch, ConnorEvans,Parker Finch,JordanEvans,Vance Finch,and MaxFinch.Carl alsoleavesbehindhis brother,Orrin“Buddy” Munch, alongwitha host ofniecesand nephews. The familywould like to thank Dorothyand Nurse Tiffanyfor theiryears of lovingcareand compas‐siontoMr. Munchand his latedog, Sweetie Girl Carl’slegacyofresilience, hardwork, determination, storytelling, andcrafts‐

manship will foreverbere‐memberedbythose who wereblessedtoknowand lovehim.“Ihavefoughtthe good fight, Ihave finished the race,I have kept the faith.” 2Timothy 4:7. Rela‐tives andfriends arein‐vited to attend avisitation atGreenwood Funeral Home, 5200 CanalBlvd. New Orleans, on Friday, July18, 2025, starting at 9:30am, followed by a massinthe chapel at 11:00 am. Intermentwillfollow atGreenwood Mausoleum. The familyinvites youto share your thoughts,fond memories, andcondo‐lencesonlineatwww.gre enwoodfuneralhome.net In lieu of flowers, please considermakinga dona‐tiontoTunneltoTowers www.t2t.org

Thomas JamesPiglia, Sr.,leftthisworld peace‐fully on July 12, 2025 sur‐rounded by hisfamily. He issurvivedbyhis beloved wife, Mary Jo AnnMartin Tut” of 70 years; hischil‐drenMarilynD’Antoni (David, deceased), Tommy Piglia(Theresa),Larry Piglia(Sally), Mary Cather‐ine Reiser (Richard), Jackie Schroeder (Mark) andJoel Elam(Ed); hisgrandchil‐drenJared (Stephanie), Scott (Ginny), Amanda Tommy (Emma), Richard, Zoe,Katie,and Olivia; great grandchildrenAida, Thomas, Annie, andSadie sister, AnnWetta and brothersLarry Piglia and Pat Piglia.Heispreceded indeath by hisparents JohnGeorgePiglia, Sr and Viola Ellis, brothers John, EJ, Jerry, andsister, Clare. Tom wasa remarkable per‐son who lovedpeopleand saw thegood in everyone Hewas born in theIrish Channel andgraduated fromFortier High School Hewas employed by Tex‐aco for41years.Tom ex‐celledinbaseballand bas‐ketball in hisearly years evenbeing offeredtoplay withthe Pelicans in the minor league.Hedeclined the offertostayand take careofhis family. At the age of 20, Tommet thelove ofhis life,MaryJoAnn Martinata CYOdance.He loved having familyto‐gethertocelebrate allthe holidaysand specialocca‐sions.Healsoenjoyed the manyPigliafamilygather‐ingswhere hisbrothers and sistersand alltheir families came together Tom lovedThoth Sunday, havinganopenhouse every year forfamilyand friends,evenproviding a brass band andleading a secondlinetothe parade Asa long time parishioner ofSt. FrancisofAssisi,he was very active as lector and annualfairchairman. Hewas knownas“Mayor ofPattonSt.”and the alumnae of SFAdesignated him “Mr. St.Francis of As‐sisi.”Visitationwillbeon Wednesday,July16, at 9:00 AMfollowedbya funeral Massat11:00 AM at St Francis of Assisi Church, 631 StateStreet,New Or‐leans,LA70118. Interment willfollowatGardenof MemoriesCemetery, 4900 Airline Dr Metairie,LA 70001.

SingletonSr.,Larry

Charles

Larry CharlesSingleton, Sr. departed this life on Tuesday,June 24, 2025. He was theson of late Nor‐man Sr.and Mary Allen Singleton.Larry graduated fromHahnville High School,class of 1970, after graduatingheenlistedinto the United States Navy.He was employed at Cytec ChemicalPlant,until his retirementin2001. He is survivedbyhis wife of morethan30years,Debra Williams Singleton; six children: Kelley Harris (Denise), LarryC.Single‐ton,Jr.,Rafeal Joseph,Sr. (Rockell),Enger Singleton, DanaWilliamsand Allende’ Williams;12grandchildren ninegreat-grandchildren,3 brothers, 1sister, 4god‐children, anda host of nieces, nephews, otherrel‐ativesand friends. Acele‐bration of life will be held onWednesday,July16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at Mount ZionBaptist Church of Ama,10867 RiverRd.,Ama, LA. Visitation will beginat 9:00a.m.Interment:South‐eastLouisiana Veterans Cemetery, Slidell, LA Arrangementsentrusted to RichardsonFuneralHome ofJefferson,River Ridge, LA. www.richardsonfuner alhomeofjefferson.com

Memorial serviceswill be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 BertrandDrive, Lafayette, La for PaulWayne Stagg, whodiedonMonday, June 2, 2025, at hisresidence in Houston, Texas. Visitation begins at 3p.m.,followed by amemorial service led by Deacon Timothy Maragos at 4p.m. Receptionimmediatelyfollowing.Survivors include hisdaughter, Lorie Jacobs andher husband, Richard, granddaughters, Lili and MaeJacobs, and Judith Harris, former wife and mother of hisdaughter, all of Houston, TX; stepson Chris Mautererand stepgranddaughter Taylor and herchildren, all of Monroe; brothers, William Stagg of Lafayette andFrank Stagg of Baton Rouge;sister, Alice Sheffieldof Lafayette, andmany nieces andnephews. He waspreceded in death by hiswife,the former Carolyn Parker, stepson EricMauterer;parents, PaulC.and Clara R. Stagg, brotherPaulC.Stagg,Jr., andsister,Ellen Ruth Stagg. Paulwas anative of Opelousas. He was a1967 graduate of Opelousas High School anda veteran of theU.S.Navy serving on theUSS Kitty Hawk during theVietnam War.Hewas a graduate of San Diego State University. Paul established amortgage brokerage firminthe New Orleansarea.

Piglia Sr., Thomas James

Richardson FH

Stagg, Paul Wayne

MunchSr.,CarlJ.'Chief'

Make paid parental leave for teachers apriority

We often say how muchwevalue the work that teachers do, but actions speak louder than words. That’swhy Louisiana should do everything it can to ensure the teachers who care for our children have the timetocare for their own.

It may come as asurprise thatmany districts in Louisiana offer no paid parental leave to teachers. Asurvey of adozen districtsbythis newspaper found that of those who had their policiesreadily available online, only one Orleans Parish —offered any kind of paid leave to new parents.

No state body keeps information on parental leave policies of districts, but reporting by staff writer Elyse Carmosino found thatmany offer only the bare minimum. Federal law allows for unpaid family leave after the birth of achild for90days. But for many teachers, taking time off without pay is unrealistic.

Teachers typically get 10 days of paid sick leave per year.Itcan take years of accumulating time off in order to cobble together enough leave to have achild. So new parentsare left to apply for extended medical leave, take out a short-term disability insurance policy or rely on other measures to fill the gap. Some have been able to make do thankstothe generosity of other teachers, who can donatetheir unused sick days to help acolleague.

Needless to say,itdoesn’thave tobethisway In many Southern states, paid parental leave for teachers has moved tothe top of the agenda. Alabama’snew law allows for eight weeks of paid parental leave fornew mothers and two weeks for new fathers. And seven other states offer some kind of paid parental leave forteachers. In the recent legislative session, abill by state Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport,that would have given teachers six weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of achild was ultimately pulled due toconcerns about the estimated $15 million price tag. Now,a study group appointed by the Legislature seeks to pin down the costs, and Jenkins plans to reintroduce arevised bill next session.

We understand that in the astate already grappling with ateacher shortage, apaid leave policy would make it harder for districtsto fill classrooms.

But we note that states withparental leave for teachers have seen tangible benefits. In Tennessee, turnover dropped by 22% and retirements by 25% two years after it approved paid leave. That’sto say nothing of intangible benefits like reduced stress and greater job satisfaction for teachers, which studies have also shown. In Louisiana, we have lauded the strides made in the classroom in recent years with improved scores on national assessments. The question now is will the statepass the test in how we treat our teachers?

CORRECTION

An editorial in Sunday’spaper said thatthe “One Big Beautiful Bill” allots an additional $50 million annually in proceeds from offshore oil and gas activity throughthe Gulf ofMexico Energy Security Act. The total figure is $150 million, with$50 million availabletoLouisianaand therestavailable to other Gulf Coast states.

WYES,publicbroadcastingare vital

New Orleans is acityofstories. Youknow them becausesomeone told them to you. Youasked, “How did our country become so enamored of our Creole culture andcuisine?”Let me tell you the story of Lafcadio Hearn. “Why do we pray to Our Lady of Prompt Succor beforehurricane season?” Let me tell you thestory of theUrsuline nuns and theirshrine on StateStreet. “Why are there five Catholic churches within a five-block radius?” Let me tellyou the story of the German, Italian and Irish immigrants. Storytelling has away of nurturing our identity Through its storytelling, WYES highlightsour local culture and his-

tory andpreserves it for future generations. Ihave been dismayed to seethat federal funding for WYES andPBS is at risk That supportcomes to just $1.60 per American per year,a small price to pay for lifelong learning not available elsewhere.

How important is storytelling? According to author Pat Conroy,“The most powerful words in English are ‘Tell me astory.’

EssayistGeorge Santayana warned us,“Thosewho cannotremember thepast are condemned to repeat it.” Stories inspire success and illuminate failure, serving as guideposts as we takethe next step

Criticscan’t admitNoKings protests hadwide-ranging, grassroots support

Iwitnessed several hundred neighborsendurethe sweltering heat at the“No Kings” protestand rally in downtown Covington. Despite thehigh temperature in both Louisiana and in our nation’spolitics, this was democracy in action. Therewere families, veterans, teachers, retirees and studentswaving American flags in celebration of Flag Day.There were pro-democracy signs that read “Protect theConstitution” and pro-Christian signs that read “LoveThy Neighbor”and “LoveImmigrants As Yourself.” There was community and aspirit of compassion. The crowd was peaceful, joyful and respectful. It’sdisheartening, then,tosee some spreading falseclaims that attendees were“paid,” “bused in,” or that the protest was un-American. Thosewho attended live right hereinthis community. They votehere. They worship here. They raise children here. They care deeply aboutthis parish and this country Buteven moredisturbing are the thinly veiled threats of

violence to Americansexercising theirright to protestpeacefully As bothaChristian andapolitical independent, Iwould like to say this:You don’thave to be aRepublican to love America. Youdon’thave to belong to one political party to follow the teachings of Christ.

Christian values —like defending thevulnerable, welcoming the stranger and speaking up for what’s right —do not belong to only one group. They arefor all of us. They representwhat is bestabout America.

Ihope we can soon learnto see one another more clearly Ihope we can stop treating disagreement as athreat.This protestwas not about tearing anything down —itwas about honoring theideals that built this nation in the first place. Remember: Democracy has never thrived on uniformity of belief. It thrives on courage, conversation and ashared belief that love —not hate —is thehigher calling MELANIE TODD Covington

Storytelling is one of the great gifts endowed to humanity It is the essence of the creative process that propels us forward into afuture made better by our storytelling. Through storytelling, you get to know yourself and, more importantly, the person standing next to you at the bus stop. Your life is enriched. WYES and PBS enrich our lives. Whether it’sBig Bird or Ken Burns, chef Paul Prudhomme or Peggy Scott Laborde, Mr.Rogers or Dr.Henry Louis Gates, they have all had a classroom in WYES. That classroom deserves support.

MATIAS J. GRAU JR. NewOrleans

I’maco-director of Queer Northshore, an allvolunteer LGBTQ+ nonprofitthathas produced 177 (mostlyfree) events in just over three years. This year,wehosted oursecondannualPride celebration With over 600 peoplemarching and2,000 attending theblock party,itwas thelargest queer gathering in St. TammanyParish history

Ourtheme was “Protesting withPride,” chosen because many in ourcommunityare angry andafraid aboutthe direction ourcountry is heading. Two krewes chose not to participate, wishing to remain “politically neutral.” But thetruth is youcan’t stand withthe LGBTQ+ community andbepolitically neutral.Pride is political.Queer existence is political And neutralityinthe face of oppression is complicity. The Palestinian flag in ourparadealso sparked criticism.Some saidweshould stay in ourlane, that Palestinian liberation isn’tanLGBTQ+issue andthe flag is “divisive.” Over 50,000 people,including more than 15,000 children,have been killedinGazainthe past twoyears. That’swhy aPalestinianAmerican proudlycarried their flag in ourparade.

We reject theideas that we mustonlyadvocate for LGBTQ+ issues andthatopposing humansuffering is divisive

As atrans American,I know the dangerofbeing labeledpolitically unpalatable. After the2024 election,evensome Democraticleaders discussedstepping back from supporting us claiming that we cost Democrats elections.

Queer Northshore believes our liberation is inextricably linked withthe liberation of allpeople.Pride without solidarity is just aparty —and we’renot here only to throw parties.

Our silencewill not keep us safe. Joinus.

None of us are free untilall of us are free. MEL MANUEL Madisonville

COMMENTARY

ESSENCE FESTIVAL’S FUTURE

EssenceFestival, athree-day celebrationofBlack culture, has been astapleofNew Orleanssummerseasonfor decades, drawingvisitorsfromaroundthe world. Themostrecentedition earlierthismonth,though, sparkedseveral controversiesinvolving scheduling,setup andpartnerships. Organizers saytheyare listeningtoconcerns andthatthe festivalwillneedmorestate and localsupport to be successful.Wereceivedseveral viewsonwhat it will take to make Essencea winner again. Here’s what they said:

This Blackwoman andher besties have fallen outoflovewithEssence

Iwas an Essence Festival fanfor decades. Along with my beloved pack of girlfriends, I first attended in the early 2000s and we all fell in love with the annual event.

about color themes, hats and breathable fabrics to beat the Louisiana heat

It was hardly afullhouse inside the Caesars Superdome ahead of alatenight, early morning Lauryn Hill performance at the Essence Festivalof Culture on July4

STAFFFILE

That’swhy I’m so disillusioned with how we have been sold out by Essence Festival, which has revealed itself to care more about green dollarsthanBlack women. For me, attending the festival was an extension of the love and reverence Ifelt forEssence magazine. Like so manyBlack woman, Igrew up running to the mailbox to get the latest edition so Icould study and admire the images of the beautiful Black women icons that we didn’tsee in most publications —Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Aretha Franklin. Essence Festival continued this celebration of Black women. It connected us with our past whilewedoubled down on our personal connections and saw the brilliant Black women icons of the future.

The festival was the essence (see what Idid there)ofsisterhood, where Black women, old and young, light and dark, big and small, could come together and love on one another Who loved on Black women like that? Nobody.Not until Essence Fest. Being there felt like along overdue patonthe back for just being us.

When my besties and Imade our plans to attend, it didn’tmatter who the headliner was or what acts would be performing or how much money we had in the bank.

If we had to, we’d take out payday loans to bankroll theJuly trip to New Orleans. We’d start planning our outfits,sending photos in ourgroup chats

We’d pack our most stylish-butcomfortable shoes to be set to dance thenightaway to Frankie Beverly and Maze at theSuperdome.

It became one of the highlights of our year

Butrecently,wehad the uneasy feeling thatthe festival and itsorganizers have lost their way Instead of celebrating Black women, the festivalwas about celebrating the culture. The panels were more“universal.” It seemed less afamily affair and more like afree-for-all to attract new attendees. Our Essence Fest, the event we were excited to call our own, was being marketed to the masses.

Iknew the tide had shifted when the lineup included theBlack Eyed Peas. Nothing against the group, but the core crowd, Black women, wanted Frankie, not Fergie. Imean, she’scool, but there was acollective eye roll in Section 122 when she took the stage.

Essence took our loyaltyfor granted, assuming we would ignore or be blind to what was happening and come every year like we’ve always done. They acted like we needed them and they didn’tneed us.

So Black women swung away

Onebyone my friends stopped joining me for our annual field trip.

Everyyear,Ifelt more disconnected from the festival. The last timeIattended,itfelt— Iamalmost embarrassed to say it —like amoney grab.

Therewas no heart, no soul and no celebration of Black women.

This was no family affair; this was all about finances. This wasn’tfor the culture, it was for the coin.

Oneyear,there were 21 of us who attendedthe festival, but this year,not oneofmyfriends even mentioned it. Nobody asked who was in the lineup

or put the question in the group chat about who would make the trip to the BigEasy Essence stopped caring about us, so we stopped caring about itsfestival.

And to add insult to injury,this year, Essence Festivaltook sponsorship dollars from Target.

Yes, the same Target that rolled back its DEI and folded on its promises like acheap card table during an intense game of dominoes at the family cookout

The Target that donated $1 million to Donald Trump’sinauguration fund afterheinsulted Vice President Kamala Harris by calling her “lazy as hell,” “stupid,” “slow,” witha“low IQ.”

If the organizers co-sign withTarget and Target co-signs on Trump’sracist tropes, aren’tthey signing on to what Trump said about Madame Vice President?

In case the organizers hadn’theard, we’re boycotting Target right now

And the check from Target was the final insult to the thousands of Black women who weren’tinthe Caesars Superdome this year

We’re done with Targetand those who associatewiththem,including Essence Fest

In thewords of Maya Angelou, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.The first time.

Yes, sister The famous quote, often attributed to Alexander Hamilton, reminds us that“Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.

Essence Fest fell for Target and its attendance fell right along with it.

Sheletta Brundidge is CEO of a Black-focused marketing company and aformerLouisiana resident now living in Minnesota.She can be found at ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com

Challenges and lessonslearned from another Black-runfestival

business events.

Thirty years ago,what began as a one-time celebration of Black excellence has now grown into one of the most powerful cultural, economic andsocial festivals in theworld —the Essence Festival of Culture. As someone who was there from the beginning, Iknow firsthand just how far we’ve come —and how important it is that we don’tlet this jewel slipthrough our fingers. Iwas ayoung New Orleans City Council member when then-Mayor Marc Morial —now presidentand CEO of the National Urban League— extended the city’sarms to welcome Essence for what was then envisioned as aone-year event. Ihad theprivilege of working closely with him to help weave Essence into the permanent cultural fabric of New Orleans. What followedwas more than we could’ve ever imagined. Over the last three decades, theEssence Festival has grown into aglobal destination for music, art, commerce,

activism andsisterhood. It’sbecome amultiday,multimillion-dollarinfusion into the lifeblood of New Orleans filling hotel rooms, energizing restaurants and small businesses, andbringingvisitors from around the world to experience the soul of our city.It’snot just aparty.It’saparty with apurpose. Yes, this year brought some hiccups —late starts, scheduling confusion andawell-documented debacle with thesuper lounges. But Essence has acknowledgedthoseshortcomings and pledgedtodobetter moving forward. And it deserves that opportunity.Any majorevent with this kind of scale andlegacy deserves grace —and commitment— from those of us who benefitfrom its presence. That’swhy I’m calling on ourstate andlocal leaders to step up. Just as we invest significant resources to attract Super Bowls, Final Fours, Sugar Bowls andnational conventions, we must bring that same energytoEssence. This festival brings in millions of dollars, global visibility and immeasurablegood will —and yetittoo often has to fight forthe same basic support routinely given to sports or

Investing in Essenceisinvesting in New Orleans. It’s investing in tourism, economicdevelopmentand cultural pride.It’sinvesting in the countless jobs that depend on that summer boom —from hotel housekeepers and ride-share drivers to vendors, artists andlocal entrepreneurs.

I’m committed to working with city andstate leaders, New Orleans &Co., the hotel andtourism industry and Essenceleadership to ensure we do more than just talkabout supporting this festival —weactually do it. That means long-term investment, infrastructure support andreal marketing partnerships that treat Essencelike the world-class eventthatitis. The Essence Festival is not just an event. It is an institution. It is the crown jewel of New Orleans’ summer season Anditisour responsibility to protect it, nurture it and investinits future. Let’sdothe right thing —for the culture,for theeconomy andfor the soul of ourcity Rep. Troy A. Carter Sr.represents Louisiana’sSecond District in Congress.

Cleveland Spears III GUEST COLUMNIST

Ivividly remember the very first National Fried Chicken Festival opening its gates in 2016 at atiny park in New Orleans called Lafayette Square. What unfolded that day is etched into my memory,not only because over 30,000 people showed up, far surpassing expectations, but because many walked away frustrated. The lines were too long. The site was too small. The restaurants ran out of food. It was hot. Some even called it adisaster What people didn’tsee were the months of planning, the late nights, the process of learning how to build afestival from scratch with intention, the risks we took to create something fresh, joyful and uniquely ours. But none of that mattered in the moment. What mattered was that people were disappointed. And that mattered to me

So, we went back to the drawing board. We listened, really listened to the critiques. We overhauled our operations, moved to a larger venue, doubled the number of food vendors, revamped crowd flow and refined the overall experience. And the next year,we got better.Every year since, we’ve gotten better.That’s the beauty and the burden of creating something you love: Youmust be willing to let it grow through its growing pains.

That’swhy I’m rooting for the Essence Festival.

Ifully acknowledge that the Essence Festival and the National Fried Chicken Festival are not the same, not in size and scale, scope and certainly not in the decades of cultural legacy that Essence carries. FCF is younger and smaller,but while the celebration looks different, the spirit behind both events is the same.

This summer,like many who call New Orleans home or who make the Essence pilgrimage each July,I watched the public conversation turn sharp.

Some of the critiques were fair.Someweren’t.

But here’swhat Iknow to be true: If you’re doing something of impact, you’re going to be criticized.

And if you’re doing it while Black, at scale and in public, that criticism will be

louder,less forgiving and often layered with expectations that others don’thave to carry But that doesn’tmean you fold. It means you evolve. Essence Festival is more than aweekend event. It is asymbol of Black cultural expression. Areunion. A marketplace. Astage for our music,our businesses, our stories and our joy It’swhere entrepreneurs launch, artists rise and connections deepen. For 31 years, it’sbeen apulse point in the Black experience. And yes, Ibelieve it will continue to be all of those things, as the Essence team listens to its audiences, learning and growing from it. What people are asking for isn’tperfection. They’re asking for intention. For clarity.For care. They’re asking for an experience that honors the commitment they make, by saving up money to book flights, gathering friends and showing up expecting to see Black excellence while indulging in Black culture. We’ve been there. The National Fried Chicken Festival was born out of that same hunger: to create something where culture, community and celebration meet. We’ve stumbled, too. But we never let amisstep stop us from getting back up. So to the team behind Essence Festival: This moment is hard, but it’snot the end. It’sacall. Take the feedback. Sit with the hard truths. Center the community.Invite new voices to the table. Reimagine without losing the soul. Don’tfear the critiques, use them to sharpen your vision. That’s what leadership looks like. Because at the heart of it, Essence Fest and FCF are kin. Black-owned. Built with love. Held to higher standards. And still, we rise. We don’tcancel what we’ve built; we improve it. That’show we honor those who camebefore us and inspire those who will come next.

That’sthe legacy we owe ourselves: not just to create, but to continually rise, refine and reclaim the spaces that celebrate who we are. Because when Black festivals thrive, our culture and businesses thrive, and that’s always worth fighting for Cleveland Spears III is the founder and executive producer of the National Fried Chicken Festival

PHOTO By KEITH SPERA

SPORTS

FALSESTARTS

BY WILSONALEXANDER Staff writer

ATLANTA— If you spent time around LSU’s summer workouts, you would notice constant reminders of the season opener Clemson paw printsdecorate bagsthatget hit every day.Screens above all thesquat racks say “1-0” on them. Strengthcoaches play distracting music at times, trying to prepare the players for aroad game

LSU has lost five straight seasonopeners, including the first three undercoachBrian Kelly.The Tigers have not wontheir first game since the 2019 national championship season, and Kelly recognizedheneededto try something new.HesaidLSU “circled” the first game, which he had neverdone before.

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

“I felt like Ineeded to change the way we lookedatthe opener,” Kelly saidMonday at SEC media days. “And so that was aspecificmindset change of how we would go attack Game 1.

“There will be some other things that I’m not going to get into relative to how we prepare our team. Butthat was adecision that Ineeded to make after critically looking at not having success in the first game.”

It won’tbeeasy.Clemson broughtback

mostofits team after reaching the College FootballPlayoff by winning the ACC, including projected first-rounders in quarterback Cade Klubnik, defensive lineman Peter Woods and defensive end TJ Parker It’saprime-time game inside Memorial Stadium, and LSU has started the season with atrue road gameonly once during its losing streak.

“Weneeded to do some things differently this year,and that is embrace this opener,” Kelly said. “And embracing it in amanner thatthis is abig game. It’satangible goal for our football team to wanttobe1-0.”

In the past,quarterback Garrett Nussmeier said,LSU thought toomuchabout tryingtowin thenational championship

LSUraises stakes with personnel investment

$1 million from his own $9 million-plus compensation package to spur donations to LSU’s Bayou Traditions collective. Coaches cannot give directly to their school’scollectives —believe it or not, there are still

of 1,600 boosters. The seed money Kelly put in (I imagine he will still be able to keep up the car payments) paid off handsomely, though he madeitclear it won’t be an annual thing.

“I’m not going to do amillion every year,no,” Kelly said with agrin Monday as he wasthe first coach to speak at SEC media days at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Kelly will be apermanent resident here one day as an inductee, makenomistake about that. The question is whether all the money and all the players the Tigers have brought in over the past year will result in a fifthmodernera national championship for LSU

The immediate question is can LSU snap a five-gamelosing streak in season openers —three straight under Kelly,ashehimself brought up Monday when talking to reporters —with abig winAug. 30 at Clemson? Then

ä See RABALAIS, page 4C

LSU had four playersand four high school signees selected on Day2ofthe 2025 MLBDraft on Monday, ending the draft with nineplayers and eight recruits picked by major-league clubs.

Junior Daniel Dickinson, junior Jared Jones,junior right-hander Jacob Mayers and junior left-hander Conner Ware were drafted on Monday.

Dickinson landed withthe MilwaukeeBrewers in the sixth round. Jones was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth roundalongwith Mayers, who wasselected by the Boston Red Sox. The New York Mets picked Ware in the 15th round.

Junior right-hander Kade Woods also wasselected in the draft. He had entered the transferportal in June after throwing only 22/3 innings across two seasons for the Tigers. The Atlanta BravespickedWoods with the No. 307 pick in the10thround.

Sophomore left-handerKadeAnderson, redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores,junior righthanderAnthony Eyanson and juniorEthan Frey were picked in the first three roundsonSunday. On the highschool side, catcher Landon Hodge, right-hander Miguel Sime and left-handerBriggs McKenzie were selected in the fourth round, and right-hander River Hamiltonwas picked in the 11th round. Hodge was selected by the Chicago White Sox; Sime waspicked by theWashington Nationals;McKenzie landed with the Atlanta Braves;and Hamilton was scooped up by the Detroit Tigers. Theyjoined third baseman Brady Ebel, outfielder andcatcher Jaden Fauske, shortstopQuentinYoung andoutfielderDeanMossamong theLSU signees

whowere selected in thedraft. Ebel, Fauske, Young and Moss heard their names called Sunday night Notable names who were not selected in the draft and are on track to return to LSU include junior right-handerZac Cowan, junior center fielderChris Stanfield and redshirt sophomoreright-hander Jaden Noot. All three Tigers will have achance to expand their roles on next year’steam withCowan getting apotential opportunityasastarting pitcher,Stanfield

Tulane’s

Lombardi

goes in second round Junior highestWave pitcherpickedsince ’08

BY GUERRYSMITH Contributing writer

Tulane reliever Michael Lombardi was taken Sunday night by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the Major League Baseball draftatNo. 61 overall, easily going higher than any Tulane pitcher in 17 years. Lombardi, aright-handedjuniorfrom PoundRidge, New York, rocketed up the draft chartswithadominant performance after taking over as the Green Wave’scloser early last season. He tied forthe American Athletic Conference lead with 11 saves while striking out 73 in 42 innings, earning first-team AllAAC honors from the league’s coaches. He finished 4-1 with a 2.14 ERA, blowing his fastball by hittersand freezing them with an old-fashioned 12-to-6 curveball. Coach Jay Uhlman named him the starter forthe Green Wave’s AAC Tournament opener against FloridaAtlantic, and the decision paid off when he allowedonly two hits andone run while striking out 11 in acareer-long seven innings.

MLB.com rated him the No. 75 overall prospect entering the draft,lauding him forhaving one of thehighest swing-and-miss ratesinDivision Iwitha95mph

PHOTOBySOPHIA GERMER

STAFF FILE

Tulane right-hander Michael Lombardi was chosen No. 61 overall in the MLBdraft by the Kansas City Royals

fastball thathad tremendous run. The Royals picked him even earlier than the projection. His approximate slot value is $1.49 million.

“What set him into adifferent stratosphere wasthe starts late in the season,” Uhlman said. “They (MLB teams) got to see that. You could make theargument about starting him alittle bit sooner,but at the time he wasvaluable on offense.Wehad him as an offensive two-way player,and we didwhat we thought wasbest forthe team and forhim.” Lombardi was atwo-way performer for most of the season, starting primarily in center field for 44 games and hitting .273 before suffering an oblique injury

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

basemanJared Jones, right, greets second

Dickinson after

McIlroy embraces love at British Open

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy practically had Royal Portrush all to himself Monday morning, but not for long. By the time he finished his first practice round for the British Open — his first time back on these links in 2,187 days — there was a big crowd that weathered rain and sunshine to see him finish.

The circumstances are far different now McIlroy remembers being illprepared for the wave of emotions that hit him on the first tee in 2019. He has tried to forget the opening tee shot that sailed out-of-bounds and led to a quadruple bogey. And there was thunderous support for him on that Friday when he made a furious rally only to miss the cut by one shot.

On Monday, he walked over to dozens of spectators wanting his autograph, including on one large

flag of his native Northern Ireland with emblems of all four majors in each corner

The pressure to perform has not left But that flag was an example that he returns home to Northern Ireland to be celebrated as much as the fans want to see him end a special year on a spectacular note.

This was different from 2019, when he wanted to treat that British Open like any other, ignoring that it was the first time golf’s oldest championship was on his home soil in 68 years.

“I think in ‘19, I probably tried to isolate, and I think it’s better for everyone if I embrace it,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times. I think it’s more embrace everything that’s going to come my way this week and not try to shy away from it or hide away from it. And I think that’ll make for a better experience for everyone involved.”

He is rarely home these days, living in Florida, preparing to move to London, traveling the world for golf. There was never a reason to be at Royal Portrush — caddie Harry Diamond came over a few weeks ago on a scouting trip — but it felt good to be home.

“When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably circled, even more so than the Masters for different reasons,” he said. “It’s lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that’s happened this year.”

That “everything else” was the Masters, the major that teased him for so many years and then brought him so much joy when he won in a playoff to complete the career Grand Slam.

The next two months were a struggle, from listless play to so much fatigue from questions of “What now?” and how to reset goals. He went six straight

rounds at majors without talking to the media. He didn’t seriously contend in any of his six tournaments.

“I think everyone could see over the last couple of months how I struggled with that. I’ve done something that I’ve told everyone that I wanted to do, but then it’s like I still feel like I have a lot more to give,” McIlroy said. “I probably just didn’t give myself enough time to let it all sink in.”

But coming back to these parts has recharged him. He nearly won the Scottish Open last week, losing on the back nine to Chris Gotterup, flew straight over to Portrush on Sunday night and checked into his hotel at 1 a.m. He was on the first tee six hours later

“By the time I got to the back nine today, there was a nice crowd out there,” McIlroy said. “After the 18th and seeing all the kids and signing autographs, it’s really, really nice, and I’m sure that’ll just build as the week goes on.”

Sinner says he needed to beat rival Alcaraz

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

LONDON Jannik Sinner needed this victory He wanted to win Wimbledon, of course, and it would have meant a lot to him no matter who the opponent was in the final.

That this championship, his fourth at a Grand Slam tournament, came via a win over Carlos Alcaraz made it all the more significant to Sinner — and to the future of their burgeoning rivalry for many years to come.

“It is important, for sure,” the No. 1-ranked Sinner said Sunday night after prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against No 2 Alcaraz, “because when you lose several times against someone, it’s not easy.” Sinner had lost five matches in a row against Alcaraz, none more disheartening than the one they played last month in the French Open final. Sinner grabbed a twoset lead in that one, then held a trio of championship points, before losing in five sets after 5 hours, 29 minutes.

“I keep looking up to Carlos, because even today, I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did,” Sinner said. “So that’s something we will work on and prepare ourselves, because he’s going to come for us again.”

Perhaps as soon as the U.S. Open, which starts in New York on Aug. 24 and where Sinner is the reigning champion. They will

be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 again, so could only meet there in another final Alcaraz won the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2022, beginning a stretch in which he and Sinner have combined to win nine of the past 12 majors. That includes the last seven, leaving zero doubt that these two young guys — Sinner is 23, Alcaraz is 22 — have pushed themselves way past everyone else in the game.

“I’m just really, really happy about having this rivalry with him. It’s great for us, and it is great for tennis. Every time we play against each other, our level

is really high,” Alcaraz said. “We don’t (see) a level like this, if I’m honest with you. I don’t see any (other players) playing against each other (and) having the level that we are playing when we face each other.” Both serve well, although Sinner was better at that Sunday Both return well, although, again, Sinner was superior over these particular three hours. Both cover the court exceedingly well — Alcaraz is faster; Sinner has a bigger reach and is a better slider Both hit the ball so, so hard — Alcaraz is more prone to the spectacular; Sinner is as pure and consistent a ball-

LSU women’s basketball to play in Virgin Islands

The LSU women’s basketball team announced Monday that it will travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands in November to play two nonconference games.

The Tigers will fly to St. Thomas Island to compete in the 2025 Paradise Jam Tournament. A win over Marist in their opening game on Nov 28 will set them up for a title matchup with either Miami of Ohio or Washington State on Nov 29. LSU previously had finalized one other nonconference battle: a road contest against Duke in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge.

This is the fifth consecutive season in which LSU has scheduled November games at a tropical locale since coach Kim Mulkey arrived. Last year, the Tigers traveled to The Bahamas.

Wemby says he’s cleared to play basketball again

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama expects to play this coming season and has been fully cleared after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder for the past few months, he told the French newspaper L’Equipe in remarks published Monday

A person familiar with the situation later told The Associated Press that the Spurs have received word that Wembanyama has been cleared to resume play and, barring anything unforeseen will be able to fully participate in training camp when it opens this fall.

“I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again,” Wembanyama said. The fact that Wembanyama has been cleared suggests that his type of DVT was provoked, which would rule out a genetic predisposition to a clot returning.

Cavs reward president of hoops operations Altman Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday General manager Mike Gansey and assistant GM Brandon Weems also received extensions. Altman has been with Cleveland since 2012. He has been in his current position since January 2022 after being named general manager in July 2017.

The Cavaliers won 64 games this past season and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016, when they won their only NBA championship. Cleveland swept Miami in the first round but was eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana in five games in the conference semifinals.

Jets extend WR Wilson with $130 million deal

striker as there is.

One other contrast, usually, is that Alcaraz shows emotion, whether via yells of “Vamos!” or the sort of point-to-his-ear-thenpump-his-fist celebration he did after winning Sunday’s opening set by stretching and reaching low for a cross-court backhand to close a 12-stroke point.

Sinner is far more contained. Even his arm-raised victory poses are mild-mannered.

Sunday, though, there were more visible displays. He even shouted “Let’s go!” after one point. Later, he shook his racket overhead while the crowd roared after a well-struck backhand. When he took a set with a forehand winner, Sinner held a pose, then lifted a fist.

“You saw a bit more energy from him in the big moments,” said one of Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill, “and a bit more focus to knuckle down and make sure that, when he had his nose in front, that he kept on closing the door against Carlos.”

Both players spoke about their matchup motivating them to work hard to try to improve.

“It gives me the opportunity to just give my 100% every practice, every day Just to be better thanks to that,” said Alcaraz, who won the past two Wimbledon titles and was 5-0 in Grand Slam finals before Sunday “The level that I have to maintain, and I have to raise, if I want to beat Jannik is really high.”

The New York Jets and wide receiver Garrett Wilson have agreed on a four-year, $130 million contract extension, a person familiar with the situation said Monday Wilson, drafted 10th overall in 2022, was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year that season and has more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first three years — the first player in franchise history to do so. In all, Wilson has caught 279 passes for 3,249 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The extension represents a significant commitment from general manager Darren Mougey and new coach Aaron Glenn, who have focused on making the roster younger in their first offseason together in New York.

U.S. men’s soccer team sets 2 October friendlies

The United States will play Ecuador and Australia in October friendlies as preparation for next year’s World Cup.

The No. 15 Americans will meet No. 25 Ecuador on Oct. 10 in Austin, Texas, and No 24 Australia four days later in Commerce City, Colorado, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Monday Coming off its 2-1 loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, the U.S. plays No. 23 South Korea on Sept. 6 in Harrison, New Jersey, then faces No. 17 Japan three days later in Columbus, Ohio. Following the October friendlies, the U.S. will have a pair of exhibitions in both November and March After the World Cup roster is set, the Americans will have a pair of sendoff matches in June.

ASSOCIATED PHRESS PHOTO By PETER MORRISON

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland signs autographs on the 18th green after a practice round for the British Open on Monday at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam earlier this year

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIN CHEUNG

Jannik Sinner left of Italy celebrates with the trophy after beating Carlos Alcaraz, right, of Spain to win the men’s singles final at Wimbledon on Sunday in London.

LSU gymassistant Gnat leavesprogram

BY SCOTT RABALAIS

Ashleigh Gnat is stepping off the mat for the last time.

The LSU gymnasticsgreat has decided to leave coaching after five yearsasanassistant coach with the Tigers and onepriorseason at Penn State, Gnat announced Monday on social media.

It’sachoice she said hasbeen a long time coming.

“It’sdefinitely been alot of thinking and processing,” Gnat said. “The thing Ifear most is people thinking Imadethis decision lightly.Ididn’t. It’snever been on my radartoeventually be ahead coach, but when the opportunity came to coach here, Iknew Icouldn’tmiss it. But Ialso told myself Ididn’tknow how long I’d do it for.”

LSU gymnastics coachJay Clark, who also coached and recruitedGnat as an assistant under long-time former coach D-D Breaux,describedGnat’sdeparture as “a huge loss

“Wecertainly willmiss her presence and personality and all the contributions she makes, all the stuff administratively she does behind the scenes,” Clark said. “ ‘Bugs’ is aperson who takes initiative and is constantly moving and doing things.

“But more than anything, for me personally,it’sahit becauseweare so close. Having coached her and watchedher grow into the coach she is now,Iconsider her one of my dearest friends in the world.” Gnat indicated to Clark whenthe season began in January that this probably would be her final year of coaching, but he said her decision wasn’t firm until after the Tigers won their second straight Southeastern Conference championship

meet in March.

TheLakeMary,Florida,native is planningtomove to Tampa, Florida, to be with longtime boyfriend Jarret DeHart. The former LSUand Tulane baseball playeris basedinTampaasthe director of hitting for the New York Yankees organization

“We’ve been in along-distance relationship sincecollege,” Gnat said of DeHart.“In termsofwhy (she is leaving), Idefinitely wanted asense of family life and want to start afamily.Turning 30 put thingsinperspective for me.”

Gnat said sheisgoing to work for GK Elite, the leotard companythat supplies outfits for LSU, in sales Another former LSUgreat, Rheagan Courville,isLSU’s representative for GK.

Born into agymnastics family —mother Joan competed for the U.S.inthe 1972 MunichOlympics andfather Ray was amember of LSU’s long-defunct men’sprogram —Gnat quickly capturedastarring role as the Tigersrose from a solid program to national contender duringher careerfrom2014-17.

“When Iwas recruited, we were ranked 12th and never really got above12th exceptfor oneortwo times,” Gnat said.

By her senior season, LSUwon its first SEC team title since 1981 and was NCAA runner-up three times in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

“Towatch it grow and expand andwatch our coaches pour themselves into the program, it’sbeen agift to be part ofit,” Gnat said.

She won 62 individual titles, including the2017NCAA floor championship,and four SEC titles, including vault, beam and floor that same year.Gnat’s win totalistied for ninthinprogram history,and her nine perfect 10sare tied for second amongTiger gymnastsbe-

268 overall selection.

summer,hehad a.315. batting average with 12 home runs anda.984 on-base plus slugging percentage. He posted those numbers despite playing with abroken hamate bone in his left hand from the first game of the Baton Rouge regional until the final out of the College World Series when LSU defeated Coastal Carolina Dickinson also played stellar defense at secondbasefor theTigers, committing just four errors. Three rounds needed to go by before the next LSU player wasselected as the Pirates picked Jones in the ninth round with the No. 263 overall pick.

Jones returned to LSU forhis junior season despite being drafteligible last summer as asophomore. He hit 22 home runs this season, posting a1.027 on-base plus slugging percentageand finishing third on LSU’sall-time career home runs list with 64 Jones hit 28 home runs as asophomore and 14 as afreshman on the 2023 national championship team

The next Tiger selected came

five picks later whenthe RedSox scooped up Mayers with the No.

Mayerstransferred to LSU from Nicholls State last summer and posted a4.80 ERAin15innings. He struck out 36.1% of the batters he faced but alsowalked nearly 28% of thehitters he saw.Heallowed just fourhits.

Before transferringtoLSU, Mayers had a4.58 ERA in 18 appearances in his secondseason at Nicholls. He also started 15 games and posted a2.02 ERA as afreshmanatNicholls.

Five rounds passed beforethe next LSU player was selected when theMetspickedWarewith the No. 463 pick.

He struggled in his only season in Baton Rouge despite astrong fall.Hehad a5.48ERA andwalked 7.59 batters per nine innings in 211/3 innings this season. He was acandidate to crack the startingrotation to begin the season andstarted on the mound in LSU’swin over Dallas Baptist in February.Afterthat outing, he never threw more than three innings in agame for the rest of the year

Thefirst LSU signee, and the first overall player,selected on Day2was Hodge, who went No 106 overall. Hodge is the No. 65 player in The Athletic’sdraft rankings, the

Ex-QBBridgewater gets suspendedfrom high school coaching

By The Associated Press

MIAMI Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater saidhe hasbeensuspendedfromcoaching his former high school team in Miami because he provided players with financial benefits that he said he’d reported to the school.

The32-year-old Bridgewater, who played for the Saints from 2018-19,publicizedaction taken against him by Miami Northwestern HighSchool in asocial media post in which he also reaffirmed his desire to continuing coaching the team for which he once played.

“I’mnot going anywhere,” Bridgewater’ssocial media post said. “And if it comes down to it, Iwill volunteer from the bleachers like Iused to in 2018 and 2019 when no one had aproblem.”

Amessage left forschool administrators on Monday was not returned

Last fall was Bridgewater’s first season coaching his former school, which he led to aClass 3A statechampionship before signing with Detroit in late Decembertoserve as abackup forthe playoff-bound Lions. He wound up seeing his only action in the postseason, completing his only pass for3 yardsina divisional-round loss to Washington. Bridgewater had written in an earlier social media post that he paid for rides, meals and treatment for players last season This year,hesolicited donations to help cover those costs. He said in his morerecent post thathereported those payments to the school.

Drafted 32nd overall out of Louisville by Minnesota in 2014, Bridgewater appeared in 79 regular-season NFL games during 10 seasonssplit amongthe Vikings, New Orleans, Carolina, Miami, Denver and Detroit.

hind only Haleigh Bryant’s 18. Gnat earned 17 All-America honors during her career,and in 2017 won the AAI Award, given annually to the nation’stop senior gymnast

For all her success as agymnast, Gnat said her greatest moment came in the 2024 NCAA final. LSU’s balance beam coach, shewas on the podium andwas the first one to embrace Aleah Finnegan when her9.95 performance captured the Tigers’ long-awaited first national championship.

“Those two days (after thesemifinals),knowing we would finish on beam, that was something,” she said. “Thatwas the pinnacle momentofmy entire time here.”

Gnat saidshe expects to remain highlyconnected to theLSU program

“I look forward to supporting them,” she said. “I’llbeback all thetime for alumni weekends and summer camps.”

Four seniorstakeextra year

Four gymnasts from the 2025 team have decidedtoreturn for an extra season in 2026: Chase Brock, Alexis Jeffrey, Tori Tatum and Kathryn Weilbacher

Brock, whose 2025 season was cut short in February by an Achillestendoninjury,will be asixthyear Tiger

“Theywillprovide us with stability,” Clark said. “Their experience andleadership in theroom will be important. Had they not come back, we only had one natural senior on the team in Ashley Cowan. This bolsters ourupperclass when we have so many newfaces with our freshmen and our transfers.”

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

No.164 player in MLB.com’s list and the No. 215 player in thedraft according to ESPN. He attended Crespit Carmelite High in Californiaand is the No. 8catcher in the nation, according toPerfect Game. Fiveselections later,the Nationalspicked Sime. He attended Poly Prep CountryDay School in New York andposted a1.13 ERA with 89 strikeoutsin491/3 innings last season. He is the No. 85 player in ESPN’sdraft rankings and the No. 86 player in MLB.com’slist. To roundout abusyfourthround forLSU signees was McKenzie, whowas pickedwith the No. 127 overall selection. McKenzie is theNo. 69 overall player in MLB.com’sdraft rankings, the No. 73 player in ESPN’s draft listand the No. 79 player in thedraft according to The Athletic.Heattended Corinths Holders High in North Carolina and is the No.10left-handed pitcher in the country,per Perfect Game. Sevenroundspassed before another LSU signee was selected in Hamilton. TheOregon native was selected with the No. 399 overall pick. Hamiltonisthe No. 99 playerin MLB.com’srankings. He attended SamBarlow High in Oregon and was previously committedto Oregon State before flipping his pledge to LSU.

LouisianaTechgets OK to move to SBC

BY BRETT MARTEL AP sportswriter

TheSun Belt Conference has approved aproposal to extend a membership invitation to LouisianaTech, aperson familiarwith thesituation said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Mondaybecause the Sun Belt hasnot announced the membership offer,and Louisiana Tech has notannounced itsdecision to acceptitand leaveConference USA.

The person said it is not clear how soon the Bulldogs will join the Sun Belt, but that it could be as early as the 2026 football season if the university is able to negotiate adeparturefrom Conference USA at the end of the 2025-26 academic year

Another personfamiliarwith thesituationsaidLouisiana Tech had notified Conference USA commissionerJudy MacLeod of its intent to movetothe Sun Belt. That person spokeoncondition of anonymity because MacLeod

LOMBARDI

Continued from page1C

against Florida Atlantic on May 2that limited him to mound work therest of the way.Healso performeddouble duty as asophomore in 2024, starting 45 times while batting .277 andpitching in 17 games with a4-3 record and 3.89 ERA in 412/3 innings. Before Chandler Welchwent in the sixthround last year,no Tulane pitcher had been selected above the eighthround since Shooter Hunt went in the first round at No. 31 overall in 2008. Outfielder Hudson Haskin, who went 39th overallin2020, was the last Wave player at any position picked higher than Lombardi. The draft continued with the fourth through 20th rounds on Monday,and two more Tulane playerswent off the board. Lefthanded pitcher Tayler Montiel landed with theArizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round at No. 363 overall, and infielder ConnorRasmussenjoinedLombardi in the Royals organization in the 15th round at No. 458 overall. Afterpitching sparingly and ineffectively in his first two years with the Wave, Montiel put it all

had not yet commented publicly on the matter,which was first reported by ESPN

The Sun Belt hasbeen exploringthe possibilityofadding ateamsince Texas State announced in late June that it would be leaving forthe Pac-12. The addition of Louisiana Tech would restore SunBelt football to a14-team league and also place Tech in same league as several current, former or newregional rivals, including UL-Monroe, UL, SouthernMissand SouthAlabama “The @SunBelt conference just got even more interesting!” Louisiana Gov.Jeff Landry wrote in asocial media post. “Congratulations, @LATech. Looking forward to some great in state rivalries going forward!”

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech’s move wouldmarkthe 10th departure from Conference USAsince 2022 —alist that includes Southern Miss, Texas-San Antonio, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Rice, North Texas, Marshall, Florida Atlantic and Alabama-Birmingham leaving the league.

together this spring, striking out 54 in 431/3 innings while going 5-2 with a3.53 ERA in 26 relief appearances. Afastball approaching the mid-90s madehim attractive foralefty Rasmussenexcelledfor two yearsatsecondbasefor Tulane after transferring from East Carolina,starting allbut onegame. He batted .310 with 15 doubles, sevenhome runs and51RBIs in 2024 to garnersecond-team All-AAC honors. Then he hit .333 with 15 doubles, five homers and 45 RBIs this season,earning firstteam All-AAC honors. Added to the four players drafted last season, Tulane’stotal of seven in twoyears is tied with 1986-87 for its second most ever in the first 20 rounds. The only time theWavehad more was 1979-80, when ninewere taken in that span. The draftwas shortened to 20 rounds in 2021 after going in excess of 40 previously “It’sthe signofahealthy program,” said Uhlman, whoguided the Wave to AAC tournament titles in 2023 and 2024 before losing in the championship game this year.“We want to keep our guys, but at the same time you grow up wanting to play pro ball, and that’sour mission. I’m really proud and happy forthe guys.”

Staff writer

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU assistant coach Ashleigh Gnat throws her arms up in celebration after gymnast Kailin Chio finishes her routine on balance beam during the NCAA championshipssemifinals on April17inFortWorth,Texas.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByDAVID GRUNFELD Saints quarterback TeddyBridgewater Lookstopass late in agame against the TampaBay Buccaneers on Oct. 6, 2019, in NewOrleans.

SECMEDIA DAYS

THREEAND OUT: SCOTTRABALAISBREAKSDOWNDAY 1INATLANTA

SEC SCHEDULINGREDUX

Everytime SEC commissionerGreg Sankey talks to reporters, he expects questions about apermanentfootball schedule format.“I (would) liketoget out of the football scheduling decision questions,”hesaid,“so that suggests alonger term(format) would be better.” Reading betweenthe Sankey tea leaves, he appears to favoreight SEC games instead of nine since manyschools playbigtime nonconference rivals. He saidto expecta format soon but would not offer adate. 2

THELANORRISSELLERS FACTOR

Shane Beamersaidhis firstteam at South Carolina in 2021 was predicted to win twogames. In 2025, the Gamecocks are being talked about as aCFP contender, with quarterback LaNorris Sellers,a darkhorse Heisman contender,the biggest reason why. He was injuredjust before halftime of last year’s36-33 home losstoLSU.Thisyear Sellersand South Carolina visit TigerStadium on Oct. 11ina sneakybig matchup for both teams

ON STAGETUESDAY

AUBURN

LAST YEAR:5-7 (2-6 SEC)

COACH:Hugh Freeze (3rd year)

PLAYERS:QBJacksonArnold,DLKeldric Faulk, C

VANDYDREAMING BIG

3

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia looked likeaPark Avenue doorman with his darksuit and bowtie, andhis Commodores are used to being adoormat for SEC foes. But aftershockingNo. 1Alabama in 2024, the ‘Doresare aiming to knock the door down. No, really.“The mission ain’t finished We want to win anational championship,” Pavia said with astraight face.Ifyou can’t dream biginJuly,when can you? Vandyhosts LSUonOct. 18.

TENNESSEE

LAST YEAR:10-3 (6-2 SEC)

COACH:Josh Heupel (5th year)

PLAYERS:LBArion Carter,DTBryson Eason,TE Miles

Kelly: WR NicAnderson doingfine aftercar crash

BY WILSON ALEXANDER and SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writers

Notebook

in Stockton?Smart didn’t signa transferquarterback after Carson Beck left for Miami, and nowhe’sbringing the redshirt junior whostarted the Sugar Bowl to mediadays.Things canchange, butall indications arethatStockton is nowinchargeofthe powerhouse Bulldogs offense.

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

the Tigers make the 12-team College Football Playoff,which would be their first CFP berthsince winning the 2019 nationaltitle? All important questions, of course. This is aseason of urgency for theTigersno doubt, and everyone involved withLSU knows it.

“When you go in our building, all 105 players are thinking we can be national champions,” linebacker WhitWeekssaid. Yousee that confidencenot only bought with themoney Kelly andthe Tigers are putting toward landing atop-10 recruiting class and the nation’sNo. 1transferportal classbut also with the coachingand player personnel staff that has been built. Every one of Kelly’sposition coaches now have ties to Louisiana. Transferportal or no, the state always will bethe bedrock of LSU’sprogram thankstothe seemingly eternal spring of football talentthe Bayou State produces. For Exhibit Awegive you one of LSU’smost recent 2026 commitments, U-High defensive tackle Lamar Brown, the nation’sNo. 1overall prospect per ESPN. In the constant battlefor talent, you have to have people who have the ties to the homeland. Then there is the front office sideof things. Kelly brought back Austin Thomas in January 2024 from OleMiss tobehis generalmanager —his first GM,a position that used to be an exclusivepro sports term. As college sports have become more pro-like, for good or bad, schools such as LSUhave had to invest in player personnel experts.The task has gotten far toobig for the head coach and his position coaches to deal with any longer “I think we all canagree that thetop teams need to recruitatthe highestlevel,” Kelly said. “But you also havetohave the infrastructure to retain them. Howdoyou retain them? Through contractsand revenue sharing and building trust.

“So this whole operation is not just about recruiting. It’s evaluations. It’s personnel. It’s relationships.All of these things areso

KELLY

Continued from page1C

trying to win the national championship instead of focusing on the first game. Nussmeier, asenior,has not won aseason opener going into his fifthyear at LSU. “At LSU, there’salways an expectation, right?” Nussmeier said. “There’s always an expectation to compete for anational championship. Ithink in the past, we’ve kind of looked too forward to that and always talked about where we wanted to be at the end of the season, instead of focusing on where we had to start.”

That’swhy LSU put 1-0 on the weight room screens and Clemson logos on the bags, creating dailyvisual reminders. Players said strength and conditioning coach Jake Flint also has emphasized the importance of taking

Kitselman

THEBUZZ:Nooffseason storycommanded more headlines than Tennessee’s messy breakup with Nico sagathat forced the title-contending Vols to make alate terback. Heupel settled on Appalachian State transfer Joey void, butdid he playhis cards right? We’ll soon find out.

TEXAS

3-3 (7-1 SEC)

Sarkisian (5th year)

PLAYERS:QBArch Manning,LBAnthonyHill, S Michael Taaffe

THE BUZZ:All eyes are on Manning,the NewOrleans native whohails fromfootballroyalty.Hebacked up

Quinn Ewers for twoyears. Nowhe’sthe face of aTexas program hungry forits first national title since 2005. Last season, theLonghorns lost to national champion Ohio State in the CFP semifinals ReedDarcey

important if you want to continuously be one of thetop schools in the country bringingintalent. Acquisition of talent, recruiting retention, answers all of those really important things to being achampionship program.

Youcould say Kelly and Thomas have taken their transfer portal acumen and trained it on theplayer personnel wing of the LSU football complex.They recently hired Kelvin Bolden away from Ole Miss as theassistant general manager.They brought in Amite native Sam Petitto, previously director of player personnel for national champion Ohio State, to becomethe director or scouting and personnel strategy. AndNew Orleansnative and LSUgrad Jeff Martin, last at USC before he worked afew years in private business, is now executivedirector of player personnel.

“I think coach Kelly and everybody upstairs have done aremarkable job just adapting, getting ahead of the times,” Tigers quarterback GarrettNussmeier said.

theseason one gameatatime. Kelly compared theapproach to when he puts aclock in frontof himduring hisown workouts.

“This is aclock in front of themsaying, ‘This is where we start this,’ ”Kelly said. “And then it becomes 1-0 every week after that.” In the pastfive years, LSU lost the first game by multiple scores three times. Twoofthose cameinEdOrgeron’s finaltwo seasons. Under Kelly, LSU lost 24-23toFlorida Stateinhis first yearand 27-20 to Southern Cal last year.Its worst opening loss in the past five yearswas 45-24 to Florida Stateatthe startof the2023 season

“We’reawarethatwe’ve lost thelast five openers,” Nussmeier said. “And Ithink our awarenessofthat situation andour awareness of whowe’re playing kind of led into the 1-0mindset. Ithink it’skind of acombination of both.”

LSUscheduled the Clemson

“Our program in general, everybody’s bought in to what the expectations are.

Not just theplayers. It’s coming from the entire staff.”

Weeks, ajunior,has noticedthe changes in approach during his time at LSU.

“It’s acommitment to winning,” he said.

“I thinkcoach Kelly is doing the best job in the country right now bringing people in who have been around winning teams, been on championship teams and bringing them to LSU just to help us even more.”

There are no guarantees all this investment of manpower and money will pay off in another national championship trophy forLSU. Another huge question: Is all of this viable in thelong term?

“I thinkwestill have to be thinking about how we continue tobuild support forNIL,” Kelly said, “because it’snot going away, nor should it.Like revenue sharing. We’re in the first stages of where we need to be, but we have to still be moving in that direction.”

game sixyearsago. As thelosing streak grew,therehas been a thought that LSU should change itsapproach toscheduling the first game.But that likely won’t happen for at least another year

In the second part of the home-and-home series, LSU hostsClemson to start the2026 season. It does not have an openinggameonthe books for 2027.

The following twoyears, LSU already has scheduled opening games against SMU.

“Weknow we’re going into a tough environment toplay,and Ican’tbemore excited to be doing that,” juniorlinebacker Whit Weeks said. “You cometoLSU to play the best, and Clemson is one of the best teams in the country.Why wouldn’tyou want to go play them?”

It’s not just Clemson logos on bags and 1-0 on the screens.

During team runs, Flintblasts music that alot of the players don’tlike, trying to emulate aroad game.Seniorwide re-

ceiverChris Hilton called it a “distraction tactic.” Flint blasts music the players enjoy during a break between sets, referredto as halftime. Then, he goes back to theunpopular songs.

“We’ve never done anything like that before,” Nussmeier said.

Could focusing on one game backfire? Not only does LSU open at Clemson, it appears to have afront-loadedschedule, playing Florida, Ole Miss and SouthCarolina within the first seven weeks What if so much pressure gets put on the first game that, if LSUloses to Clemson, it can’t rebound? Nussmeier dismissed that idea.

“If it doesn’tgothe way we wantittogo,” Nussmeier said, “then we’reback to going 1-0 again.”

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

ATLANTA— LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson was in acar crash Friday night and needed medical treatment, coach Brian Kelly told The Advocate, but he’sexpected to practice at the start of preseason camp. Kelly said the crash wasn’t“as bad” as a January single-car wreck involving LSU redshirt freshman quarterback Colin Hurley,who has since rejoined the team Anderson, an Oklahoma transfer,will miss about aweek before returning to the offseason program

“Itwasn’tquite as bad as Colin Hurley’s, which was life-threatening, but enough that he had to get checked in and stayed overnight forobservations,” Kelly saidMondayatSEC media days. “But he comes out of it really good.”

Aftertransferring in December,Anderson was limited during spring practice witha hamstring injury,Kelly said. Anderson missed almost the entire 2024 season with an injury

“Wedidn’twant to get into asituation where, as youknow,the medicalissues with him at Oklahoma were real,” Kelly said. “So, we just wantedtobecareful with him.”

The nature of Anderson’sinjury at Oklahoma hasbeen vague.Oklahoma coach Brent Venables told reportersthatAnderson suffered aquadriceps injury,but ESPN described the issue as ahip injury

As aredshirt freshman two years ago, Andersonrecorded 31 catches for798 yards and10touchdowns, whichset an Oklahoma freshman record. A6-foot-4, 216-pound sophomore, he wasconsidered one of the top available players in the transfer portal.

“Wethink that this is going to be short term,aweek or so, and then he’ll be back at it,” Kelly said.

Injury updates

Six months after suffering an ankle injury that required surgery, LSUlinebacker Whit Weeks is getting closer to afull return.

“I finally feel like myself again,” Weeks said. “These past couple weeks, especially in July,I’ve been able to play every snap that we go during practice.

“It’sexcitingtosee because theroadto recovery was long. Imean, Ihad apretty nastyankle injury. To be back on the football field is really abreath of fresh airfor me.” Weekswas carted offthe field at the Texas Bowl, ending abreakout sophomore year.Heneeded surgery to repair abroken fibula, asource said, but he has been regaining his strength and confidence. He credited the LSU athletic training and strength staff.

“They’ve helped me tremendously throughout this process,” Weeks said. “I’ve really put alot of trust in them to get me back, and they’ve done it. They’ve gotten me back.”

Weekshas been on what Kelly described as a“pitch count” to ease him back into the training program. Kelly said theexpectation remains that Weeks and senior linebacker Harold Perkins will be full participants at the start of preseason camp.

Perkins is recovering from an ACLinjury suffered in Week 4last fall.

“Within this past week,” Weeks said, “meand Harold have both been able to go full practices, full racks, everything.” KiffintrollsFreeze

OleMisscoach Lane Kiffin was put in the position of trying to defuse what recently looked like acase of social-media trolling directed at Auburn coach HughFreeze Freeze hasbeen criticized forplaying too much golf in the offseason and was pictured in May with atrophy he helped his golf club winover arival club. Kiffin, notorious for his online zingers, posted a photo on Xwiththe response, “Great job Coach!! Game is on (fire emoji).”

Asked about it Monday,Kiffinsaid: “I like coach Freeze. Ihaveathing with him, going back afew years ago, andhe, like, posted apicture in response to me, of some2-pound bass or something like that.

“So, I’ve kind of always posted bigger fish pictures back toward him. So it had nothing to do with his golf game, which it sounds like he’sdoing amazing at that.

“AndIwas fishingyesterday.People wanttosay that fishing is like golfing. It’s the dead period.”

Stay tuned for Freeze’sresponse when he speaks here Tuesday afternoon.

Proposingorpassing (out)?

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was asked what was morenerve-wracking: proposing earlier this monthtolongtime girlfriend Ella Springfield or throwing a fourth-and-5 touchdown pass to AaronAnderson leading to an overtimevictory last October against Ole Miss.

“Proposing, definitely,” said Nussmeier, decked out in aplaid purple suit. “I kind of blacked out.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK LSUlinebacker Whit Weeks pressures Oklahoma’sJacksonArnoldonNov.30atTiger Stadium.

Both All-Star teams announce starting lineup

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

ATLANTA— ShoheiOhtaniwill bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League inTuesday night’sAll-Star Game at Truist Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be followed in thebatting order by left fielder Ronald Acuña of the host Atlanta Braves.

Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte will hitthird in the batting order announcedMonday by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, followed by Los Angeles first basemanFreddie Freeman, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado, Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker, New York Mets shortstopFranciscoLindorand Cubs center fielder PeteCrowArmstrong.

Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes will start his second straight All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced last week. Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal will makehis first All-Star start for the American League.

“I think when you’re talking about the game, where it’sat, these two guys …are guys that you can root for,are super talented, are going to be faces of this game for yearstocome,” Roberts said.

Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres will lead offfor the AL,followed by Tigers left fielder Riley Greene, NewYork Yankees

2025 ALL-STAR ROSTERS

American League Starters r-replacement; u-unavailable Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Mariners First base: Vladimir GuerreroJr.,Blue Jays

Second base: Gleyber Torres, Tigers

Thirdbase: INF r-Junior Caminero, Rays

Shortstop: Jacob Wilson,Athletics

Designated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles

Outfield: Riley Greene, Tigers,Javier Báez, Tigers, Aaron Judge, Yankees Pitcher: Tarik Skubal, Tigers

Reserves Pitchers u-Garrett Crochet, RedSox,uYusei Kikuchi, Angels, u-Max Fried, Yankees u-Jacob deGrom, Rangers, Shane Smith, White Sox, u-Hunter Brown, Astros,Kris Bubic, Royals, Bryan Woo, Mariners, r-Drew Rasmussen, Rays,r-Casey Mize,Tigers, r-Carlos Rodón, Yankees,r-Joe Ryan,Twins Aroldis Chapman, RedSox,r-Carlos Estevez, Royals, Josh Hader, Astros, Andres Muñoz Mariners Batters CAlejandroKirk, Blue Jays,INF Jonathan Aranda, Rays,INF Brandon Lowe,Rays, INF Alex Bregman, RedSox,INF Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees,INF JeremyPeña, Astros, INFBobby Witt Jr., Royals, INFJosé Ramírez, Guardians, INF Isaac Paredes,Astros, INF Zach McKinstry, Tigers,INF Maikel Garcia, Royals, DH Brent Rooker, Athletics, OF Byron Buxton, Twins, OF Steven Kwan, Guardians, OF Julio Rodríguez, Mariners,OFRandy Arozarena, Mariners

right fielder Aaron Judge, Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Baltimore designated hitterRyan O’Hearn, Tampa Bay thirdbasemanJuniorCaminero, Tigers center fielder Javier Báez andAthletics shortstop Jacob Wilson. Ohtani led off forthe AL in the 2021 All-Star Game,when the twoway sensation also was the AL’s starting pitcher.Hehit leadoff in 2022, then was the No. 2hitter for the AL in 2023 andfor theNLlast yearafter leaving theLos Angeles Angels for theDodgers.

Skenes and Skubal are 1-2 in av-

National League Starters Catcher: Will Smith, Dodgers

First base: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers

Second base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks

Thirdbase: MannyMachado, Padres

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor,Mets

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers

Outfield: Ronald AcuñaJr.,Braves, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs,Kyle Tucker, Cubs

Pitcher: Paul Skenes, Pirates

Reserves Pitchers—Clayton Kershaw,Dodgers (Legend Pick), ChrisSale, Braves, u-Zack Wheeler,Phillies,Logan Webb, Giants,uRobbie Ray, Giants, u-Freddy Peralta, Brewers, MacKenzie Gore, Nationals, u-Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers,u-Matthew Boyd,Cubs, r-Andrew Abbott, Reds,r-DavidPeterson, Mets, r-Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers,Edwin Diaz, Mets, Jason Adam, Padres, Randy Rodriguez,Giants,r-Robert Suarez, Padres, r-Trevor Megill, Brewers,r-AdrianMorejon, Padres Batters— CHunter Goodman, Rockies INF Pete Alonso, Mets,INF Elly De La Cruz, Reds,INF Brendan Donovan, Cardinals,INF Matt Olson, Braves,INF EugenioSuárez, Diamondbacks, DH Kyle Schwarber, Phillies, OF Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks, OF Kyle Stowers, Marlins,OFFernando Tatis Jr., Padres, OF James Wood, Nationals

eragefour-seamfastball velocity amongthose with 1,500 or more pitches this season, Skenes at 98.2 mphand Skubal at 97.6mph, according to MLB Statcast

A23-year-oldright-hander, Skenesis4-8 despite amajor league-best 2.01 ERA for thePirates, who arelastinthe NL Central. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year has 131 strikeouts and 30 walks in 131 innings.

Skubal, a28-year-old left-hander is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.Heis10-3 with a2.23 ERA, striking out153 andwalking 16 in 121 innings.

Robotumpires to make All-Star Game debut

H BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

ATLANTA TarikSkubal views the strike zone differently than robot umpires.

“I have this thing where Ithink everything is astrike untilthe umpire calls it aball,”Detroit’s AL Cy Young Awardwinnersaid ahead of his start for the American League in Tuesdaynight’s All-Star Game.

MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 and will use it in an All-Star Game forthe firsttime Tuesday Each team gets twochallenges andretains the challenge if it is successful.

“Pitchers think everything is astrike. Then you go back and look at it,and it’s two, three balls off,”Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes, starting his second straight All-Star Game for the National League, said Monday “Weshould notbethe ones that are challenging it.”

MLB sets the topofthe automatedstrike zoneat53.5% of a batter’sheight andthe bottomat 27%, basing thedecision on the midpoint of the plate, 81/2 inches fromthe front and81/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, whichsays the zone is acube.

“I did afew rehabs starts with it.I’m OK with it.I thinkit works,”saidthree-timeCyYoung Award winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. “Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have different-sized boxes. They’ve obviously thought about that. As long as that gets figured out, Ithink it’ll be fine.”

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred anticipates the system will be considered by the sport’s 11-man competition committee,

which includes six management representatives.

Many pitchers have gravitated to letting their catchers and managerstriggerball/strike appeals. Teamswon 52.2% of theirchallenges during the spring training test.Batters won exactly 50% of their596 challengesand the defense 54%, with catchers successful 56% of the time andpitchers 41%.

Hall of Famer Joe Torre, an honorary AL coach, favors the system. After his managing career,heworkedfor MLBand helpedsuperviseexpandedvideo review in 2014.

“You couldn’t ignore it with all the technology out there,” he said. “You couldn’tsit and make an excuse for, ‘Look at what really happened’ the next day.”

Now 84, Torre recalled how his Yankees teamsbenefitted at least twicefrom blown calls in the postseason, including one involving the strike zone.

With the 1998 World Series opener tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning, Tino Martineztooka 2-2 pitch from San Diego’sMark Langston that appeared to be a strike but was calledaball by Richie Garcia.Martinezhit a grand slam on the next pitch for a9-5 lead, and the Yankees went on to afour-gamesweep.

Asked whether he was happy therewas no robotumpire then, Torre grinned and said: “Possibly.”

Then he added without a prompt: “Well, not to mention the homerun that Jeter hit.”

His reference was to Derek Jeter’shomerun in the 1996 AL Championship Series opener, when 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to snatchthe ball abovethe glove of Baltimore right fielderTony Tarasco.

Curveballs on declineas velocity obsessionincreases

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

ATLANTA— Curveballs have been thrown acurve by amodern gamevaluing velocity over variety, disappearingfrom the major leagues by more than 20,000 annually

The Athletics have thrown curves on just 2.5% of their pitches this season. The overall big-league figure dropped from 10.7% in 2019 to 8.1% last year, thelowest since MLB starting tracking in 2008, before rising slightly to 8.5% this season.

There were 22,962 fewer curveballs in 2024 than five years earlier

“You don’treally see alot of people throwing 12-6 curveballs anymore,” TampaBay pitcher ShaneBaz said.“They’d rather have ahard cutter/slider.It’sa lot easier forguys to throw asweeper than it is a12-6 curveball.”

Baz’s28.1% is seventh in curveball use amongthose who have thrown at least 1,000 pitches this season. Charlie Morton of Baltimore, first at 39%, learned to throw ahook from his dad.

“He was reading some article or maybe he was reading some pitchingbook,” the41-year-old right-hander said. “You basically throwitlike you’re re-throwing aknife.”

Hall of Famer Candy Cummings, a145-game winner, is creditedwithinventingthe curveball in 1863 when he was 14, discovering the movement when he threw sea shells into the Atlantic Ocean. Someattribute the curve to amateur pitcher Fred Goldsmith in 1870.

With an average velocity of 80.2 mph, curves are the slowest and loopiest of breaking pitches, often disrupting the timingofbatters set for smoke.

Thephrase “thrown acurveball” has become part of the English language.

Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Clayton Kershaw were among the consummate curveballers, bamboozling batters as balls they gave up on dropped likehang gliders into the strike zone.

“It’sbecomeanindustry of throwing over pitching,” New York Yankees senior adviser Omar Minaya said. “Whenyou pitch, you use differentpitches. What we’reseeinginthe industryasa whole,especiallywith

showcases, is people are looking more at velocity thanpitchability —asascout, Isaid that unfortunately.”

Nike’s“Chicks Digthe Long Ball” commercial definedbaseball in theSteroidsEra.These days the slogan might as well be: “Velo Rules!” There werejust 214 pitches of 100 mphormore in 2008. There were arecord 3,880 twoyears ago, and this year is on track for3,252. In tandem,starting pitcher use has dropped. Starters have averaged just under 51/3 innings this season, down from 61/3 innings in the 1980s. Their pitch countaverages85.7, down from 97 in 2010.

Those missing hooks have been replaced by sliders, sweepers and slurves. They are 22.6% of pitchesthisyear, up from 13.9% in 2008, and their average velocity has risen to 84.8 mph from 83.4 mph.

Colorado throws curves the mostoften at 15.6%, not that it hasbrought anysuccess to a team that entered thebreak at 22-74, on track fora37-125 finishand the post-1900record for losses.

The Athleticshaven’t thrown 10% curveballs since 2017. “If youlook around the game, swing andmiss hastaken more of apriority, so guys aretrying to throw more sweepers with morehorizontal movement, or they’re trying to throw the slider really hard at the bottom of the zone,” Athletics pitching coach ScottEmerson said. “They’re worried about contact with the curveball.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF CHIU

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores againstthe SanFrancisco Giants during the 11th inning of a game SundayinSan Francisco. Ohtani will leadoff theAll-Star Game for the National League

AP PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Charlie Morton delivers during the second inning against the Newyork Mets on Thursdayin Baltimore.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE STEWART

Home RunDerbyonMonday in Atlanta.

PGA Tour Statistics Through July 13 FedExCupSeason Points 1, Scottie Scheffler, 4,056. 2, Rory McIlroy,3,219. 3, Sepp Straka, 2,583. 4, Justin Thomas,2,254. 5, Russell Henley,2,246. 6, Ben Griffin, 2,212. 7, J.J. Spaun, 2,097. 8, HarrisEnglish, 1,732. 9, Tommy Fleetwood, 1,717. 10, Keegan Bradley,1,715. Scoring Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 68.424.2,RoryMcIlroy 69.024. 3, TommyFleetwood, 69.797. 4, Sepp Straka, 69.807. 5, Russell Henley,69.989. 6, Harry Hall, 69.997. 7, J.J. Spaun, 70.012. 8, Ben Griffin, 70.058. 9, Justin Thomas, 70.066. 10, Thorbjorn Olesen, 70.085. Driving Distance 1, AldrichPotgieter, 328.2. 2, Rory McIlroy, 322.2. 3, Michael Thorbjornsen, 319.2. 4, Niklas Norgaard, 319.1. 5, Jesper Svensson, 319. 6, Nicolai Hojgaard, 317.5. 7, Kurt Kitayama, 317.2. 8, Chris Gotterup, 316.6. 9, Will Gordon, 316.1. 10, Rasmus Hojgaard, 315.8. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Paul Peterson,73.88%.2,Aaron Rai 73.62%. 3, Ben Kohles,72.68%.4,Collin Morikawa,71.90%. 5, Takumi Kanaya,70.62%.6, Andrew Putnam, 70.23%. 7, Zach Johnson, 69.84%. 8, Lucas Glover, 69.18%. 9, Brice Garnett, 68.66%. 10, Brandt Snedeker, 68.55%. Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with 00%. Total Driving 1, Rico Hoey,58. 2, Michael Thorbjornsen, 68. 3, Thomas Rosenmueller,76. 4, Kevin Roy,78. 5, Alex Smalley,88. 6, Luke List, 90.7 Kevin Yu,99. 8, Ricky Castillo, 101. 9, Isaiah Salinda, 106. 10, Kris Ventura, 108. SG-Putting 1, Sam Burns, .950. 2, Taylor Montgomery,.819. 3, Harry Hall, .789. 4, Rory McIlroy 754. 5, Sam Ryder, .750. 6, SamiValimaki, .638. 7, Jacob Bridgeman, .587. 8, Nico Echavarria, .580. 9, DennyMcCarthy, .552. 10, DannyWillett, .547. Birdie Average

1(tie), Sepp Strakaand JustinThomas, 4.52. 3, Harry Hall, 4.47. 4, JakeKnapp, 4.42. 5(tie), ScottieScheffler and Michael Thorbjornsen, 4.38. 7, Nicolai Hojgaard, 4.37. 8, KeithMitchell, 4.34. 9, Collin Morikawa, 4.3. 10, AkshayBhatia, 4.25. Eagles (Holes per) 1, AlejandroTosti,66.9. 2, Steven Fisk,73.4. 3, ScottieScheffler, 83.1. 4, CharleyHoffman, 84. 5, DavidSkinns, 88.2. 6(tie), Kurt Kitayama and Karl Vilips, 90. 8, ScottieScheffler, 92. 9, Chan Kim, 96.5. 10, Cam Davis, 97.2. Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. All-Around Ranking 1, Scottie Scheffler, 206. 2, KeithMitchell, 282. 3, Sepp Straka, 302. 4, Kevin Yu,330. 5, Alex Smalley,342. 6, Nicolai Hojgaard, 359. 7, Rory McIlroy, 363. 8, Sam Burns, 370. 9, Keegan Bradley,392. 10, Kevin Roy,395. LPGA Tour Statistics Through July13 Scoring 1, Jeeno Thitikul, 69.24. 2, Nelly Korda, 69.69. 3, Angel Yin, 69.75.4,Minjee Lee, 69.91. 5, Somi Lee, 70.06. 6, HyoJoo Kim, 70.14. 7, Jin Young Ko,70.23. 8, YealimiNoh, 70.24. 9, HyeJin Choi,70.26. 10,Rio Takeda, 70.34. Driving Distance 1, Polly Mack, 289.17. 2, Julia Lopez Ramirez 286.66. 3, Auston Kim, 284.36. 4, Emily Kristine Pedersen,282.87. 5, Maude-Aimee Leblanc,279.24. 6, Bailey Tardy, 278.72. 7, BiancaPagdangnan, 277.9. 8, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 277.77. 9, Weiwei Zhang, 277.68. 10, ALim Kim, 277.02. Greens in Regulation 1(tie), Haeran Ryu and RioTakeda, .77%. 3, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, .76%.4 (tie), Allisen Corpuz,Yealimi Noh and Jeeno Thitikul .75%. 7, 4tied with .74%. Putts per GIR 1, Jeeno Thitikul, 1.71. 2(tie), Yuka Saso and Yahui Zhang, 1.72. 4, Minami Katsu, 1.73. 5, Angel Yin, 1.74. 6(tie), AriyaJutanugarnand HyoJoo Kim, 1.75.8,10tied with 1.76. Birdies 1, Rio Takeda, 213.2,Celine Boutier, 207. 3, Somi Lee, 201. 4, AyakaFurue, 195. 5, Auston Kim, 188. 6(tie), Minami Katsuand Jeeno Thitikul,186.8(tie), Mi Hyang Leeand Minjee Lee, 185. 10, Nelly Korda, 183. Eagles 1, Mi Hyang Lee, 10.2,Madelene Sagstrom, 9. 3(tie), Yealimi Noh and RioTakeda, 8. 5 (tie), Somi Lee, Chanettee Wannasaen, Angel Yin and InaYoon, 7. 9, 11 tied with 6. Sand Save Percentage 1, XiaowenYin, .67%. 2, Miyu Yamashita, .61%. 3, HyoJoo Kim, 59%.4(tie), AriyaJutanugarn, Minjee Leeand JennyShin, .58%. 7 (tie), Hannah Green and JinHee Im, .57%.9 2tied with .56%. Rounds Under Par 1, Rio Takeda, .71%. 2, Somi Lee, .68%. 3, Celine Boutier, .63%.4,Hye-Jin Choi 70%. 5, Jeeno Thitikul, .78%.6(tie), AyakaFurue and Mi Hyang Lee, .60%.8,Minjee Lee, .67% 9, Jin Hee Im, .61%. 10,Angel Yin, .72%. 11, Miyu Yamashita, .62%

Cycling

Monday 10th Stage A103-mile ride from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore PuydeSancy 1. Simon Yates,Great Britain, Team Visma Lease aBike, 4:20:05 2. Thymen Arensman, Netherlands,INEOS Grenadiers, 4:20:14 3. Ben Healy,Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 4:20:36. 4. Ben O’Connor,Australia,Team JaycoAlUla, 4:20:54. 5. Michael Storer, Australia,Tudor Pro Cycling Team, 4:21:28. 6. Joe Blackmore, Great Britain, Israel-Premier Tech,4:24:02. 7. Anders Halland Johannessen, Norway, Uno-XMobility,4:24:43 8. LennyMartinez, France, Bahrain Victorious, 4:24:56.

9. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia,UAE Team Emirates-XRG, same time 10. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, same time. Also 12. Matteo Jorgenson, United States,Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, 4:24:59. 23. Sepp Kuss, United States, Team Visma Lease aBike, 4:26:03. 29. Quinn Simmons, United States,Lidl-Trek 4:27:46. 73. William Barta, United States, Movistar Team, 4:37:22. 86. Neilson Powless, United States,EF Education-EasyPost, 4:46:03 Overall Standings 1. BenHealy,Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 37:41:49. 2. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia,UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 37:42:18. 3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal QuickStep, 37:43:18. 4. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma Lease aBike, 37:43:35. 5. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, same time 6. KevinVauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 37:44:15. 7. Oscar Onley,Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 37:45:13. 8. Florian Lipowitz,Germany, RedBull— BORA —hansgrohe,37:45:23. 9. PrimozRoglic, Slovenia, RedBull—BORA —hansgrohe, 37:45:30. 10. Tobias Johannessen,Norway,Uno-X Mobility,37:46:52. Team Standings 1. Team Visma‘ Leasea Bike,113:06:32. 2. UAETeam EmiratesXRG, 113:23:17. 3. Decathalon AG2R La MondialeTeam, 113:34:44. 4. Groupama-FDJ, 113:35:39. 5. Arkea-B&B Hotels, 113:36:13. 6. RedBull —Bora—Hansgrohe, 113:40:22. 7. Ineos Grenadiers, 113:43:10. 8. EF Education—EasyPost, 113:46:08. 9. Movistar Team,113:53:42. 10. Total Energies, 113:58:14.

PKade Anderson

So. PAnthonyEyanson,

Jr. PIsaac Rohde,LSU Shreveport, Sr PMichaelLombardi,Jr., Tulane CDiegoAragon, LSUShreveport, Sr 1B Jared Jones, LSU,Jr. 2B Connor Rasmussen, Tulane,Jr. 3B Josh Gibson, LSUShreveport, Sr SS StevenMilam, LSU,So. OF Derek Curiel, LSU, Fr OF Cardell Thibodeaux,Southern, Jr. OF Conor Higgs, UL, Sr. DH Ethan Frey LSU, Jr. UTL Bryce Calloway, UNO,Sr. Second team PBrennan Stuprich,Southeastern, Gr. PCasan Evans,LSU,Fr. PDravenZeigler, LSUShreveport, Jr. PCobe Reeves, LSUShreveport, Sr CConnor O’Neal,Southeastern, So 1B Ryan Brome,Southeastern, Sr. 2B Daniel Dickinson, LSU,Jr. 3B Alex Dupuy,LSU Eunice, So SS TysonLeBlanc,LSU Eunice,So. OF Ryan Davenport, LSUShreveport, Sr OF JakeBrown, LSU, So. OF GarrettFelix, Loyola (N.O.), Gr. OF Jackson Syrin, LSU Shreveport, Sr DH SebastianMexico,Louisiana Tech,Jr. UTL Aidan Mouton LSU Eunice,Fr. Honorable mention Pitcher: Alec Beversdorf, LSUEunice;Zac Cowan, LSU; Catcher: Luis Hernandez,LSU; First base: Austin Gomm, LSUShreveport; Jackson Legg, LSUEunice; Second base: Brandon Mooney,Loyola (NewOrleans); Vantrel Reed,LSU Shreveport; Third base: Rocco Gump, NorthwesternState; Shortstop: TJ Salvaggio, Southeastern Outfield: Connor Westenburg, McNeese; Chris Stanfield,

A life in layers

Louisiana’s chief archaeologist steps down after decades of digging

BY JAN RISHER Staff writer

Chip McGimsey is no Indiana Jones seeking the Holy Grail.

“Indiana Jones was looking for individual artifacts and stealing them — and we don’t do that,” McGimsey said as he walked by box after box of carefully labeled artifacts in the state’s archaeological storage warehouse in Baton Rouge. The site looks like a smaller version of the anonymous government storage site where the Ark of the Covenant is placed at the end of the first Indiana Jones movie. However with McGimsey as a guide, the anonymity evaporates

SCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy

State Archaeologist Chip McGimsey discusses a handful of artifacts July 2 at the State of Louisiana Archaeological Archives in Baton Rouge.After decades of serving in the position, McGimsey retired July 4.

A walk through the boxes and bundles is like a walk through time:

n He points out cannons from a ship that sank between 1812 and 1820. It was found in the 1990s during the Mardi Gras pipeline exploration at about 4,000 feet in federal waters about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

n Nearby, there’s another cannon that was made in 1697 in Sweden. It has a fleur de lis on top and was probably used by the French military, maybe as ballast.

n Then there are artifacts from El Nuevo Constante, a Spanish ship that sank in 1766 off the Louisiana coast and was recovered between 1980 and 1982.

n There are beautiful oversized crockery jugs, made in America, also recovered from the Mardi Gras shipwreck.

n Thousands of dart points, often called arrowheads, gathered from sites throughout Louisiana line the shelves.

n Boxes of ancestral remains line a long shelf and await their return to Native American tribes McGimsey, 71, can tell the story of every item, every box. Not in collecting business

While the nation celebrated its 249th birthday on July 4 the day marked the end of McGimsey’s 30-year career as Louisiana’s state archaeologist. He’s spent the time uncovering and protecting the stories of Louisiana’s past.

There were no fireworks. Just the quiet significance of time passing — a life dedicated

ä See LAYERS, page 2D

LIVING

‘A

second opportunity’

139 graduates cross the stage at alternative high school diploma ceremony in New Orleans

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Kendra Merrick wore a red gown and a cap decorated by her eight children. It shone with metallic butterflies, purple pompoms and her initials, K.M.

“My babies decorated my hat,” she said in the lobby of McDonogh 35 Senior High School as she prepared to walk in her commencement ceremony June 26. “Emotions are running high.”

Merrick, 47, was graduating from YEP Educates, the Youth Empowerment Project’s alternative high school program in New Orleans. In the audience sat her sons and daughters, one of whom also enrolled in the program this year and will graduate in 2026.

Merrick was among the recordbreaking 139 students who graduated from the program this year

Established in 2004, YEP is an adult education and high school equivalency program for people who didn’t complete high school. Graduates as young as 16 receive their credentials through the High School Equivalency Test, an alternative route to the traditional diploma.

“It’s really flexible,” Merrick said. “It’s at your pace, so if you can make the time, and if you really want to get it done, (faculty and staff) are there to get you to that step.”

Kelly Osbourne and Sid Wilson, of Slipknot, arrive on the red carpet for the 2024 Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Last year’s class had 84 graduates Overall, 820-plus people from 13 parishes have graduated from the program.

Now with four locations in New Orleans and one in St. Charles Parish, YEP meets students where they are, so some graduate in a couple of months; others, years. The program receives a mixture of public and private funding and is free for students

Educational attainment levels in New Orleans are on par with the national average but higher than in Louisiana as a whole, according

to a report by the Cowan Institute. In 2023, 33% of residents had a high school degree or less, better than the state rate of 46% and the national rate of 37%.

Chief of staff Darin McCall said YEP enables students to do things like join the military, enroll in postsecondary education or gather credentials for workforce training programs Passing the HiSET is the first step that allows people to choose their own path, he said.

“The more barriers we can

BY KARU F DANIELS New york Daily News

(TNS)

Kelly Osbourne and her baby’s father, Sid Wilson, got engaged backstage at her dad Ozzy Osbourne’s final Black Sabbath concert over the weekend.

The Slipknot DJ popped the question to the singer and TV personality at Birmingham, England’s Villa Park on Saturday in a moment shared on

social media by his betrothed. “Kelly, you know I love you more than anything in the world,” he said before her potty-mouthed father interjected: “F*** off, you’re not

STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE

Graduates line up for the procession into the yEP Educates graduation at McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans on June 26.

Graduates sport decorated caps during the yEP Educates graduation at McDonogh 35.

Potato masher worksfor eggsalad

Dear Heloise: Apotato masheris terrificfor making an eggsalad. It helps break up hard-boiled eggs faster and better —Adele Bloom, via email

Laying parchmentpaper

Dear Heloise: Iread your column each day and always love the hints.

Recently Iwas reading about ways to keep parchment paper in place. What Idotokeep unruly parchment in place is to spray cooking spray on the pan, thenlay the parchment paper down. It works like acharm; no moresliding parchment paper!

—Adrienne Harris, via email

Excludingfamily

pass on at home surrounded by family

So,all thechildren and grandchildren came together to feed them, bathe them, and love on them. For my husband’sparents and mine, thankfully we were with them at homewhen they passed.

Dear Heloise: Iwanted to write in regarding the recent letters printed from seniors who had to tellfamilyand friends that they may visit their lake house or vacation home by invitation only

The most wonderful memories of my life are from the times Ispent at my grandparents’ as achild. Did the children make messes, raid the refrigerator,and eat all the snacks?

Absolutely! But later in life, our grandparents developed dementia and cancer.They begged us, “Please don’tsend me toa nursing home.” They wanted to

By The Associated Press

Todayinhistory

from

Seniors, you better use all thetime you have left to loveon your family and not exclude them.

Asad picture is visiting anursing home andseeing seniors die aloneafter staringatthe walls for years withoutone visitor

R.D.S., in North Carolina

Resolution success

Dear Heloise: I’d been buying itemsonline everyfew weeks or monthsand payingitoff with acredit card. At the end of last year,Idecided to stop buying thingsonlinesothatI could go on acruise this year.Imade a resolution and am sticking to it!

Now I’d rather get in the car, go to thestore, and pay in cash —and Ican afford thecruise. Virginia, in California Virginia, I’m glad it was worth the sacrifice. Enjoy your reward! —Heloise

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Tuesday,July 15, the 196th day of 2025. There are169 days left in the year

On July 15, 1799, the Rosetta Stone, akey to deciphering ancient Egyptian scripts,was found at Fort Julien in theNile Delta during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt

Also on this date:

In 1834, the SpanishInquisition was abolished more than 350 yearsafter its creation.

In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederatestate to bereadmitted to the Union.

In 1913, DemocratAugustus Bacon of Georgia became the first person elected to the U.S Senate under the terms of the recently ratified 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for popular election of senators.

In 1916, The Boeing Company, originally known as PacificAero Products Co., was founded in Seattle.

In 1975, three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship hours after twoSoviet cosmonautswere launched aboarda Soyuzspacecraft fora mission that included alinkupof the two ships in orbit.

In 1976, a36-hour kidnap ordeal beganfor 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, California, by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed; the kidnapperswere caught.)

In 1996, MSNBC, a24-hourallnews network, made its debuton cable and the internet.

In 1997, fashion designer Gianni Versace, 50, was shot dead outside his Miami Beach home; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan, 27, was found dead eight days later, asuicide. (Investigators believed Cunanan killed four other people before Versace in across-country rampage that beganthe previous March.)

In 2002, John Walker Lindh, an American who’d fought along-

OSBOURNE

Continued from page1D

of my life with you,” the 48-yearold said. “So, in front of your family and all of our friends, Kelly, will you marry me?” Kelly,40, appeared shockedby the proposal. She nodded yes before embracingWilson aseveryone cheered them on. Her mother,Sharon Osbourne, and brother Jack were also present.

The couple, who share2-yearold son Sidney,went public with their romance on Valentine’sDay 2022.

“After 23 years of friendship I can’tbelieve where we have ended up,” Kelly captioned anInstagram snapshot of the pair kissing. “You are my best friend, my soul-

GRADUATES

Continuedfrom page1D

remove forfolks,hopefully,the easier it is for them to just actualize and maximize their own potential,” McCall said.

Abuildingblock to foundation

Families filled theauditorium June 26. Audience membersstood withphones recording as the graduatesentered through the center aisle in their red caps and gowns. Hollers, whistlesand applause echoed through the room.

Chasesaid. “A foundationofa young African American woman with dreamsofhaving a fine dining restaurant open for her community at atime whenshe had to work at restaurants where she couldn’tdine.”

Leah Chase proved that hard work creates asturdierfoundation for generations to come, he said.

“So class of 2025, Ijust wantyou to go out there and keep building,” EdgarChasesaid. “Keep buildingwith thetools your family and friends,teachers and mentors gave you.”

A‘second opportunity’

sidethe Taliban in Afghanistan, pleadedguilty in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to two felonies in adeal sparinghim life in prison.

In 2006, Twitter (now known as X) was launched to thepublic. In 2019, avowed White supremacist JamesAlex FieldsJr. was sentenced byastate court to life in prison plus 419 years for killing oneand injuring dozens when hedeliberately drove his car into acrowd of anti-racism protestersduring arally in Charlottesville, Virginia. (The previous month, Fields received alife sentence on 29 federal hate crime charges.)

In 2020, George Floyd’sfamily filed alawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death, alleging theofficers violated Floyd’srightswhen they restrained him andthat thecity allowed aculture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish inits police force. (The city would agree to pay $27 milliontosettle thelawsuit in March2021.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Patrick Wayne is 86. R&B singer Millie Jackson is 81. Singer Linda Ronstadtis79. Author Richard Russo is 76. MusicianTrevon Horn is 76. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of TheHuffington Post, is 75. Former professional wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura is 74. Actor Terry O’Quinn (TV:“Lost”)is73. Rock drummer Marky Ramone is 73. Rock musician Joe Satriani is 69. Model Kim Alexis is 65. Actor Willie Aames is 65. Actordirector Forest Whitaker is 64. Actor Brigitte Nielsenis62. Rock drummer Jason Bonham is 59. TV personalityAdam Savage (TV” “MythBusters”) is 58. Actor-comedian Eddie Griffin is 57. Actor-screenwriter Jim Rash (TV:“Community”) is 53. Actor Scott Foley is 53. Actor Brian Austin Green is 52. Singer Buju Banton is 52. Actor Diane Kruger is 49. Actor Lana Parrilla is 48. Actor Travis Fimmel is 46. Actor-singer Tristan “Mack” Wilds is 36. Actor Iain Armitage (TV: “Young Sheldon”) is 17.

mate and Iam so deeply in love with you Sidney George Wilson.”

Her father,who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’sdisease, announced in 2023 that he is retiringfrom liveperformances after morethan 50 years.

Ozzy,76, original Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler,drummer Bill Ward andguitarist Tony Iommi reunited for the first time in twodecades at the“Back to the Beginning” concert,which was livestreamed in the U.K.

The 10-hour show,hosted by Jason Momoa, also featured performances from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Steven Tyler and Jack Black, among others.

Duringhis set, the British rocker sang hits such as “Crazy Train” and“Mama I’m Coming Home” while sittinginablack, thronelike chair with abat on top.

Keynote speaker chef Edgar “Dook”Chase IV told thecrowd of graduates that they’ve added a building block to theirlife’sfoundation.Astheycontinue to grow, learn and experience, they’ll continue to add blocks, he said.

Dook told the story of his grandmother,chef Leah Chase, who grewupcrossing city lines to attend school. He said herfather told her threethings: work hard, pray and do for others.

“One father’s messagetohis daughter became afoundationof afamily for manygenerations,

LAYERS

Continuedfrom page1D

bridging what was and what remains. Instead of Indiana Jones’ obsession with trophy artifacts, McGimsey sees them as pure information Simply handing apileofartifacts to McGimsey doesn’treveal a story

“That’sreally what archaeologists are after,” he said. “Wedon’t collect stuff. We go after information.Artifactsare just one part of the information that’sinthe ground.”

He likens artifacts to wordsina story

He suggests imaginingcutting up abook so that each wordisits ownlittle slip of paper

“Someone could hand you abag with all the words and say,‘Tell me the story,’”McGimseysaid. “You can understand why you can’t. Because in order to tellthe story,you need to know where each word is relative to everyother word— in asequence of sentences, paragraphs, pages and chapters.”

When he andotherarchaeologistsspend time at asite or multiple sites —studying pieces and patterns,comparing findingsand connecting threads across locations —theybegin to uncover a narrative. They can form hypotheses aboutwhatwas happening, when, where and with whom.

“It’sknowing where everything fitsrelativetoeverythingelse,” he said.“That’s thepart that fascinates me.”

Thebig challenge

In his last week on the job,he met with his colleague from the state’sarchaeology outreach and education program.

“The big challengeistoget people to have an awareness of the past —how to reachthe broadest audience and ultimately,insome way,bewilling to support it,” McGimsey said. “The thing that makes archaeology difficult is that it’s nonrenewable. Youcan’treintroduce aspecies like gray wolves or a fish in your river and let them start over again. Onceyou erase history,it’sgone forever.” McGimsey andhis fellowarchaeologists are working to determine which sitescan be saved and for those that can’tbesaved, what knowledge can be gathered andused to deepen ourunderstanding of the past Helen Bouzon,anarchaeologist

Merrick joined the program in 2023, completing classes off and on, until teacher Wanda Rogers encouraged herto finish the final stretch. Rogers wassupportive in everything, Merrick said, in coursework and personal life.

“She worked with me,” Merrick saidabout Rogers. “I went as much as Icould, morning or evening, whatever time. She waslike, ‘You’re test ready.Let’sgobefore you decide not to.’”

Emilie Mendoza,22, said she wouldn’thave graduated without thesupport of herHispanic com-

munity.Her carnation androsecovered cap read, “They sacrificed everything; Icarry their legacy.”

“It’ssuch an honor,” Mendoza said. “It’snot just us graduating today but showing that every little sacrifice that they made for us is worth it, and we’re living their wildest dreams.”

Mendoza was enrolled in the program for three months and will apply to Delgado Community College to study phlebotomyordentalhygiene. Shesaidshe believes everyone has another opportunity with support and motivation, and the programmadeher feel like a high schooler again, she said.

“I’mverythankful forthat, for giving all of us asecond opportunity and helping us go farther in our education,” Mendoza said.

Tenstudents were recognized with awards. The Mr.Lenny Kindess Awards went to Gus Singleton and Fershaad Hunt. The Progress Awards wenttoAntoinetteRoussell and WillishaJohnson. The Integrity Awards wentto Kendra Allen and Patricia Dorsey The AccountabilityAwards went to Waldina Garcia and Nijhal Robinson. The Respect Awards went to Cyril Davis and Jeremiah Hicks.

sible —likeadowntownBaton Rouge temporary tourist attraction. People could cross the railroad tracks that run right beside theMississippi River,walk down the hill andsee, touch, walk around and even walkonit.

They could take any photograph theywanted.Theycould take pictures of their kids on it.

“Whatever that old TV commercial was, you know,upclose and personal?The Brookhill brought history alive to people,” McGimsey said.

Perhaps, he speculates that the “Brookhill frenzy” was due to a combinationoffactors,including the possibility that the low Mississippi River was caused by climate change.

Even still,he’snot sure whyit captured the attention of so many.

with thestate of Louisiana,has worked with McGimsey for three years. “He knows everything about everything,” she said. “Evenifit’s notwritten somewhere, youcan be like, ‘Chip, what about this site? What do you know?’”

And off he goes, witha near-encyclopedic knowledge of the site, its details and significance.

She says his retirement marks asignificant loss of institutional knowledge.

“I’m not aprehistoric archaeologist, I’m ahistoric archaeologist. So getting to work with Chip was the first pre-contact archaeology I’ve done,” Bouzon said. “So that wasoverwhelming, having him watch me try and do excavations on pre-contact sites. But Ialso learned about things I’ve never done before.”

TheBrookhill Through the years, McGimsey’s work has been largely invisible to most, but when the Mississippi River ran low in 2022 and the Brookhill was exposed, his work surfaced and captured public imagination. He did47media interviews about the Brookhill, which sank Sept.29, 1915, as ahurricane blew in from the Gulf

“The Brookhill was oneofthose thingssent from heaven,” he said.

“It was apiece of history that people could walk up andtouch. For most people, history exists in amuseum case or avideo. Youcan look at it, but you can’t really interact with it.”

The Brookhill was easily acces-

“If it hadbeen aCivil Wargunboat, then absolutely,I could understand whyeverybody would be fascinatedand want to seeitand whatnot,” McGimsey said. “But Imean,this wasa work boat—a ferrythatall we hadwas oneofthe pontoons, and she didn’tdoanything interesting except she sank three times.”

Life after

McGimseysays that Indiana Jones’ impact on archaeology wasn’tall bad.

“My guesswould be, in the end, it was kind of awash,” he said of the media franchise. “I think it brought archaeologytoalot of youngerpeoplewho wouldn’t have ever otherwise thought about it.” McGimseyexplains thatJones’ swashbuckling image of archaeology isn’tfactual.

“But it served to bring the concept of archaeology to ahuge audience. Out of that,I suspect there weresome kids whosaid, ‘Yeah, I’d like to be an archaeologist,’ andevencontinued to saythatafter they figured outwhatitreally meant.”

Along theway,McGimsey figured out just that.

Eventhough he’s retiring,with allthe contacts he’s madethroughout his career,McGimsey won’t be quitting archaeology any time soon.

“The mostfun thing Iknow to do is to be out walking the field looking forstuff or standing in 100-degree heat in a3-foot hole in the ground digging up dirt,” he said. “For me,itjust doesn’tget any better than that.”

Email Jan Risheratjan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

Hints

Heloise

STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Cary Porter cheers on his sister during the yEP Educates graduation at McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans on June 26.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK Chip McGimseyshows off a stoneware jugfrom the Mardi Gras shipwreck at the State of Louisiana ArchaeologicalArchivesinBaton Rouge.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You can dream, but don't go overboard. Too much of anything will lead to backtracking. Take your time and consider every angle. Charm trumps aggression, and kindness outmaneuvers intimidation.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Your charismatic presentation will captivate people who can contribute to your success. Personal improvements are evident. Let domestic improvements enhance your professional life.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Choose your confidants cautiously to avoid emotional backlash. Share information with people whohavesimilarconcerns.Avoidpeople trying to convince you that they know what's best for you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Keep a low profile. The less others know about you and what you're up to, the better. Change begins with you and what you know; learn and practice until you are ready to show off your skills.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You'll shine at events if you display your talents. An opportunity will develop if you are gracious with your time, talent and advice. Apply what you discover about yourself to your everyday routine.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Hold tight; don't feel obligated to share every detail with everyone you encounter. There is safety in silence when you are trying to get something done without interference.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Engage in events that connect you with people

heading in the same direction. Invest your energy into an outlet that propels you toward your desires. Spend time with someone who makes you shine.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make your surroundingsmoreconducivetoyourneeds. How you feel in your chosen environment will determine your accomplishments, so strive for peace of mind.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Make a to-do list and get moving. The sooner you rid yourself of the pressure that comes with unfinished business, the more you will enjoy the rewards. Your happiness is your responsibility.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) A change will clear your head and help you envision lifestyle choices. Set a budget and make some necessary cuts. Leave nothing to chance regarding your home, family and finances.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Interact with others, fulfill your promises and let what you do for people lead the way. Less talk and more action will offer hope, boost your reputation and be your calling card.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Trust your instincts, not your emotions. Home improvements or lifestyle changes will brighten your day. Spending time with someone you love will lead to special plans or projects.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

TODAy'S CLUE: U EQUALS G

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. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Gioacchino Rossini, an Italian opera composer who died in 1868, said, “One cannot judge ‘Lohengrin’ from afirst hearing, and Icertainly do not intend to hear it asecond time.”

At the bridge table, do not judge adeal totally from your first glance; give it a second look to check that you have not missed something. So, have asecond sliceoftoast this morning. South is in four spades. West leads the heart king and continues withthe heart queen. How shoulddeclarer plan the play?

Pre-empts are apain. South’s sequence shows avery strong four-spade bid, because an immediate four-spade overcallwouldalsobestrong. When you intervene over apre-empt, assume your partner has six or seven points and base your actionsappropriately. So, jumping straighttofourspadessuggestsarounda working20-count.Thissequencepromises more. Here, of course,North couldn’t care less!

South hasnine top tricks: six spades, one diamond and twoclubs. At first glance,heneedstheclubfinessetowork. However,there is asecond chance diamonds might break 3-3.

Afterruffingthesecondheart,declarer shouldcash the spadeace, then play the diamond ace and another diamond. Suppose East winsand leads athird heart.

Declarer ruffs high and plays another diamond. In amoment, South will draw trumps ending withdummy’sspade 10 and cashthe high diamond. But note that if diamonds had split 4-2, theclub finesse wouldstill have been available. For more on thisdeal,tune in tomorrow.

©2025 by nEa,inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters 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 wordsare not allowed

ToDAY’s WoRD FIEnDIsH: FEEN-dish: Perversely diabolical.

Average mark16words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 24 or morewords in FIENDISH?

YEsTERDAY’s WoRD —cAssoWARY

crass craw cross crow across assay away awry scar scary scow soar sora sway orca wary racy rosy

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann