The Acadiana Advocate 07-24-2025 by The Advocate

Judge keeps Horton suit in state court

Builder had sought arbitration for dispute over youngsville home

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Instead of arbitration, the

La. cane farmer optimistic about Coca-Cola’s sugar push

Expert says move won’t have immediate effect on price, expansion

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL and HALEY MILLER Staff writers

Coca-Cola will create a cane sugar version of its quintessential soda, the company said Tuesday after President Donald Trump called for the company to make a version that doesn’t contain corn syrup.

Youngsville cane farmer Eddie Lewis III said the move could beneﬁt farmers during a time of increasing costs and shrinking margins.

“(Trump) is carrying out his words,” Lewis said. “He’s selling American

products. He’s selling Louisiana.”

The Louisiana sugar cane industry is a major economic driver for the state, bringing in approximately $4 billion annually and Louisiana is the secondlargest producer in the United States, behind Florida.

The industry, at least in Louisiana, shows no signs of shrinking, with acreage growing in recent years.

However, like most industries, inﬂation and rising labor costs have had an impact, Lewis said. He expects sugar prices to drop over the next two to three years, but said that a cane sugar Coke product may help stabilize prices

If price or production are affected, those changes will likely be modest and over the long term, said LSU agricultural policy professor Michael Deliberto. That’s partly because beverage products make up only 8% of total sugar consumption in the U.S., he said.

“When you look at beverage use, it can begin as a long-term driver for the industry,” Deliberto said “I don’t think it’s going to have any kind of immediate effect on price or immediate expansion in our state just from increased use in the beverage category.”

BREAKING A SWEAT

As Saints training camp opens in the sweltering heat of New Orleans, coaches and doctors offer tips and tricks on how to stay cool

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints opened training camp Wednesday in Metairie, preparing for a season that will largely transpire inside the climate-controlled Caesars Superdome. But ﬁrst, they have to endure playing in a different kind of dome.

“We are conﬁdent Chief Judge

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case will remain in district court, where it could proceed to trial for a jury to decide whether D.R. Horton should pay the couple damages. That remains a long way off. Johnson’s decision is almost certain to be challenged in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, and possibly the Louisiana Supreme Court. Attorneys and spokespersons for D.R. Horton were not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening after the ruling came in. Lance Unglesby, the New Orleans attorney leading the Dixons’ legal team, called it a “big win” that will hold up in appeals.

La. to join anti-DEI college accrediting initiative

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

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Louisiana will join other Southern states that are developing a new accrediting agency for public colleges and universities, Gov Jeff Landry said Tuesday, echoing a conservative complaint that existing accreditors have imposed liberal values on the institutions they evaluate.

Accrediting agencies hold significant sway over universities, which must meet accreditors’ quality standards in order for students to receive federal financial aid. Lately, the littleknown private agencies have come under ﬁre from conservative critics.

Southern states uniting to create new agency “This task force will ensure Louisiana’s public universities move away from DEI-driven mandates and toward a system rooted in merit-based achievement.”

GOV. JEFF LANDRy

In April, President Donald Trump said some accreditors “abused their enormous authority” by requiring schools to meet standards related to diversity equity and inclusion, or DEI. Last month, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said the public university systems in Florida and ﬁve other Southern states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas will create a new accreditor to compete with the “accreditation cartel.”

On Tuesday, Landry signed an executive order creating a task force to explore adopting that new accreditor, which he said will offer “an alternative to the out-of-touch accreditation system.”

“This task force will ensure Louisiana’s public universities move away from DEIdriven mandates and toward a system

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A massive heat dome — a highpressure system that traps hot air near the ground — has settled over much of the United States, pushing temperatures into dangerous territory from Texas and the Midwest to the Northeast. In Louisiana, that dome is helping to drive heat index values as high as 114 degrees, with the National Weather Service warning that heat illness “can occur quickly” without precautions. Louisiana recorded 51 heat-related deaths last year and 88 in 2023, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. So far this year, ﬁve people have died and nearly 1,900 have visited an emergency room for heat-related illnesses. Keeping football players cool

Tyler Shough as he throws during the first day of training camp on Wednesday in Metairie.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

The Louisiana sugar cane industry brings in approximately $4 billion annually

Sweat flies off Saints quarterback

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

BRIEFS

8 taken to hospitals after church concert

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Eight children at a church near Harvard University where a French youth choir was holding a concert suffered seizure-like symptoms and were taken to hospitals, possibly the result of fumes from cleaning supplies, ofﬁcials said.

The symptoms were not lifethreatening, the Cambridge Fire Department said in a news release. About 70 other people in attendance at the concert Tuesday at St. Paul’s Parish in Harvard Square were not affected

The children, described as preteens and early teens, were doing ﬁne Wednesday and were all released from local hospitals, according to the department. The Cambridge Fire Department’s hazardous materials team determined fumes in the building could have come from cleaning supplies used shortly before the ﬁrst complaint, the department’s release said.

Groups warn of starvation in Gaza

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip More than 100 charity and human rights groups said Wednesday that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation as Israeli strikes killed another 29 people overnight, according to local health ofﬁcials.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli ofﬁcial about ceaseﬁre talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.

Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and the offensive launched in response to Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack. The head of the World Health Organization said Gaza is “witnessing a deadly surge” in malnutrition and related diseases, and that a “large proportion” of its roughly 2 million people are starving.

Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by U.N. agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceaseﬁre and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel has vowed to recover all the captives and continue the war until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed. In an open letter, 115 organizations, including major international aid groups, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”

The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid-distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.

The Israeli government’s “restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.

WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed that criticism, telling reporters that acute malnutrition centers in Gaza are full of patients and lack adequate supplies. He said rates of acute malnutrition exceed 10% and that among pregnant and breastfeeding women, more than 20% are malnourished, often severely

The U.N. health agency’s representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, said there were more than 30,000 children under 5 with acute malnutrition in Gaza and that the WHO had reports that at least 21 children under 5 have died so far this year

The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism in the open letter and accused the groups of “echoing Hamas’ propaganda.” It said it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting a complete blockade in May, and that more than 700 trucks are wait-

ing to be picked up and distributed by the U.N.

That’s an average of around 70 trucks a day, the lowest rate of the war and far below the 500 to 600 trucks a day the U.N. says are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceaseﬁre earlier this year

The U.N. says it has struggled to deliver aid inside Gaza because of Israeli military restrictions, ongoing ﬁghting and a breakdown of law and order An alternative system established by Israel and an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy

An ofﬁcial familiar with the negotiations said Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was traveling to Rome to meet Witkoff on Thursday The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations. The evolving deal is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

USPS stamps honor Franklin, letter carriers

The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday marked its upcoming 250th anniversary with the release of new commemorative stamps, including an exclusive, modernized version of the nation’s ﬁrst 5-cent stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin, the ﬁrst postmaster general

The event was held at the USPS headquarters in Washington and included an appearance by the 76th postmaster general. David Steiner, a former board member of the shipping giant FedEx, began in his new role last week.

“For the United States Postal Service, today is a milestone 250 years in the making,” Steiner said in a statement.

The U.S. mail service ofﬁcially turns 250 years old Saturday Established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, the Postal Service was launched nearly a year before the colonies declared their break from British rule. It is seen by historians as crucial to the nation’s independence and to keeping the young country uniﬁed.

Franklin was chosen as the first postmaster general because he had previously served in the British postal service for North America, including as coPostmaster General from 1757 until 1774.

The new Forever stamp features a redesigned, modern interpretation of an 1875 reproduction of the original 5-cent stamp released in 1847. President George Washington was featured on the ﬁrst 10-cent stamp.

The USPS has also released a commemorative sheet of 20 interconnected stamps, dubbed “250 Years of Delivering,” that portray a mail carrier making her rounds throughout a year 3 who went missing in Miss. River found dead

MEMPHIS Tenn. Three men who were reported missing while fishing and swimming on a sandbar in the Mississippi River have been found dead near Memphis, Tennessee, authorities said Wednesday Search and rescue teams with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and other Memphis-area agencies began looking for the men Tuesday after they were reported missing near a boat ramp at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, authorities said. The first two bodies were recovered about 11 a.m. and the third about 12:45 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. The three men were described as Hispanic, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s, the county fire department said.

Ukrainians protest anti-corruption law

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Activists on Wednesday called for more protests of a new law that they say weakens Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, following the ﬁrst major anti-government demonstration in over three years of war

The legislation, which has also drawn rebukes from European Union ofﬁcials and international rights groups, has put increased pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endangered his public support at a critical phase of the war

On Wednesday evening, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a third round of talks in as many months. The two sides agreed to exchange more prisoners of war

In the morning, Zelenskyy convened the heads of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption and security agencies in response to the outcry against his decision to approve the law that was passed by parliament

“We all hear what society says,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption. “Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment,” he said.

Zelenskyy said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness. A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks,

aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles and ensuring justice across the board, he said.

Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities Tuesday to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After he approved it, activists went on social media to call for another demonstration Wednesday night in central Kyiv

Zelenskyy acknowledged the protests and criticism in his nightly address Wednesday, and he said government and law enforcement agencies had agreed to come up with speciﬁc steps to “strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine.” Those recommendations, he said, would lead to a bill he would propose to parliament to safeguard the autonomy of the agencies.

Critics say the step could signiﬁcantly weaken the independence of those agencies and give Zelenskyy’s circle greater inﬂuence over investigations.

Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in the war

“Limiting the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine’s way towards the EU,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned in a post on X.

EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: “In war, trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership.”

Court allows Trump to fire CPSC members

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to remove three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who had been ﬁred by President Donald Trump and then reinstated by a federal judge.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal from the Justice Department, which argued that the agency is under Trump’s control and the president is free to remove commissioners without cause.

That’s what Trump did in May providing no reason for removing all three

Democratic commissioners on the ﬁveperson board, despite a federal law that allows commissioners to be ﬁred only for “neglect of duty or malfeasance.”

The court provided a brief, unsigned explanation that the case is similar to earlier ones in which it allowed Trump to ﬁre board members of other independent agencies, whom Congress protected from arbitrary dismissals.

The three liberal justices dissented.

The fired commissioners had been serving seven-year terms after being nominated by President Joe Biden.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox in Baltimore ruled in June that the dismissals were unlawful.

Meta launches new teen safety features

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writer

Instagram parent company Meta has introduced new safety features aimed at protecting teens who use its platforms, including information about accounts that message them and an option to block and report accounts with one tap.

The company also announced Wednesday that it has removed thousands of accounts that were leaving sexualized comments or requesting sexual images from adult-run accounts of kids under 13. Of these, 135,000 were commenting and another 500,000 were linked to accounts that “interacted inappropriately,” Meta said in a blog post.

The heightened measures arrive as social media companies face increased scrutiny over how their platform affects the mental health and wellbeing of younger users

This includes protecting children from predatory adults and scammers who

ask then extort them for nude images.

Meta said teen users blocked more than a million accounts and reported another million after seeing a “safety notice” that reminds people to “be cautious in private messages and to block and report anything that makes them uncomfortable.”

Earlier this year, Meta began to test the use of artificial intelligence to determine if kids are lying about their ages on Instagram, which is technically only allowed for those over 13. If it is determined that a user is misrepresenting their age, the account will automatically become a teen account, which has more restrictions than an adult account Teen accounts are private by default. Private messages are restricted so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. In 2024, the company made teen accounts private by default.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BABENKO Protesters chant Tuesday while holding banners that read ‘I stand for you, and for those who are on the frontline,’ ‘Do you want it like in Russia’ and ‘Stop robbing our future’ during a protest against a law targeting anti-corruption institutions in central Kyiv Ukraine.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Postmaster General David Steiner looks at a Benjamin Franklin stamp unveiled to mark the 250th anniversary of postal service’s founding Wednesday in Washington.

House panel votes to subpoena DOJ for Epstein files

BY STEPHEN GROVES and MATT BROWN Associated Press

WASHINGTON A House subcommittee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for ﬁles in the sex trafﬁcking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after Democrats successfully goaded GOP lawmakers to defy President Donald Trump and Republican leadership to support the action. The vote showed the intensifying push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation even as House Speaker Mike Johnson — caught between demands from Trump and clamoring from his own members for the House to act was sending lawmakers home a day early for its August recess. The House Committee on Oversight also issued a subpoena Wednesday for Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex offender and girlfriend of

the late Epstein, to testify before committee officials in August.

Meanwhile, Democrats on a subcommittee of the powerful House Oversight Committee made a motion for the subpoena Wednesday afternoon Three Republicans on the panel voted with Democrats for the subpoena, sending it through on an 8-2 vote

tally

The Republican subcommittee chairman, Rep. Clay Higgins of Lafayette, said that work was beginning to draft the subpoena but did not give a timeline for when it would be issued. “I’ve never handled a subpoena like this. This is some fascinating stuff,” said Higgins, who voted against the motion Democrats cheered the action as proof that their push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation was growing stronger. The committee agreed to redact information on victims, yet

ald Trump. What is Donald Trump hiding that he won’t release the Epstein files?” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee.

ers to forget about.

Democrats successfully blocked a push by Republicans to only subpoena information that was deemed to be “credible” — language that Trump has also used

when discussing what he would support releasing. “Democrats are focused on transparency and are pushing back against the corruption against Don-

Earlier Wednesday, Johnson, RBenton, had said there was no need to vote on a separate piece of bipartisan legislation calling for the release of the Epstein ﬁles this week because the Trump administration is “already doing everything within their power to release them.”

“They’re fleeing our work, our job and sending us back home because they don’t want to vote to release these files. This is something that they ran on. This is something that they talked about: the importance of transparency, holding pedophiles accountable,” said Rep Summer Lee, D-Pa. Democratic leaders are hoping to make the issue about much more than just Epstein, who died in his New York jail cell six years ago while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Yet Democrats have delighted in pressing Republicans to support the release of the files. Their efforts halted the GOP’s legislative agenda for the week and turned attention to an issue that Trump has unsuccessfully implored his support-

“Why haven’t Republicans released the Epstein ﬁles to the American people? It’s reasonable to conclude that Republicans are continuing to protect the lifestyles of the rich and the shameless, even if that includes pedophiles,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a news conference. “So it’s all connected.”

Gabbard attacks Trump’s enemies on Russia investigation

BY DAVID KLEPPER, ERIC TUCKER and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON As the national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard is responsible for guarding America’s secrets and discovering threats from overseas. But when she made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday, her targets were President Donald Trump’s political enemies.

Escalating her attempts to undermine the long-settled conclusion that Russia tried to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton for the presidency nearly a decade ago, she unspooled what she called unshakable proof that thenPresident Barack Obama and his advisers plotted nothing short of a coup.

“They conspired to subvert the will of the American people,” she said, claiming they fabricated evidence to taint Trump’s victory. Little of what she said was new, and much of it was baseless. Gabbard said her investigation into the former Democratic administration was designed to stop the weaponization of national security institutions, but it spurred more questions about her own independence atop a spying system intended to provide unvarnished intelligence.

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who ran for president herself before joining Trump’s idiosyncratic political ecosystem, seemed prepared to use her presentation to burnish her own standing. She was trailed by her cinematographer husband, who held a video camera to capture the moment.

The White House rejected questions about the timing of Gabbard’s revelations and whether they were designed to curry favor with Trump or distract attention from the administration’s handling of ﬁles relating to Epstein.

Still, Trump was quick to reward Gabbard’s loyalty this week, calling her “the hottest person in the room.”

oline Leavitt accused jour-

nalists of looking for a story where there wasn’t one.

“The only people who are suggesting that she would release evidence to boost her standing are the people in this room,” Leavitt said. Trump, however, has said he wants the media, and the public, to focus on Gabbard’s report and not his ties to Epstein.

administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump’s favor

show she has placed partisanship and loyalty to Trump over her duty and some have called for her resignation.

Trump appeared satisﬁed. He posted a video of her remarks, pinning them at the top of his social media feed. It was a display that cemented Gabbard’s role as one of Trump’s chief agents of retribution, delivering ofﬁcial recognition of Trump’s grievances about the Russia investigation that shadowed his first term The focus on a years-old scandal also served Trump’s attempts to shift attention from the Jeffrey Epstein case and questions about the president’s own association with an abuser of underage girls.

Gabbard touts revelations

During her White House remarks, Gabbard said she has referred the documents to the Justice Department to consider for a possible criminal investigation Obama’s post-presidential ofﬁce declined to comment Wednesday but issued a rare response a day earlier “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman.

On Wednesday she released a report by Republican staff of the House Intelligence Committee during the ﬁrst Trump administration. It does not dispute that Russia interfered in the 2016 election but cites what it says were tradecraft failings in the assessment reached by the intelligence community that Russian President Vladimir Putin influenced the election because he intended for Trump to win.

Gabbard went beyond some of the conclusions of the report in describing its findings from the White House podium She, along with the report, also seized on the fact that a dossier including uncorroborated tips and salacious gossip about Trump’s ties to Russia was referenced in a classiﬁed version annex of an intelligence community assessment released in 2017 that detailed Russia’s interference.

The dossier was not the basis for the FBI’s decision to open an investigation in July 2016 into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, but Trump supporters have seized on the unverified innuendo in the document to try to undercut the broader probe.

Timing prompts questions

Responding to a question from a reporter about Gabbard’s motivations White House press secretary Kar-

Judge in Florida rejects effort to unseal Epstein grand jury records

BY ED WHITE Associated Press

A judge on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations of Jeffrey Epstein years ago in Florida, though a similar request for the work of a different grand jury is pending in New York.

U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach said the request to release grand jury documents from 2005 and 2007 did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. The Justice Department last week asked the judge to release records to quell a storm among supporters of President Donald Trump who believe there was a conspiracy to protect Epstein’s clients, conceal videos of crimes being committed and other evidence.

In 2008, Epstein cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to

escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had asked judges in Florida and New York to unseal transcripts from grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Epstein and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, saying “transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration.”

Federal grand juries hear evidence in secret and then decide whether there is enough for an indictment. Experts say the transcripts likely would not reveal much because prosecutors typically are trying only to present enough material to get charges and don’t introduce the entire investigation.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, years later was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafﬁcking charges, while Maxwell was charged with help-

ing him abuse teenage girls.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City about a month after he was arrested. Investigators concluded he killed himself. Maxwell later was convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The case attracted attention because of Epstein and Maxwell’s links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. It also led to some of the biggest conspiracy theories animating Trump’s base.

The furor over records has been stoked by the Justice Department. In February, far-right influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassiﬁed.” The binders contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain.

The department on July 7 acknowledged that Epstein did not have a list of clients. It also said no more ﬁles related to his case would be made public.

“We caught Hillary Clinton. We caught Barack Hussein Obama you ought take a look at that and stop talking about nonsense,” Trump said Tuesday

The CIA declined to comment on Gabbard’s remarks Wednesday

Other recent releases

On Friday, Gabbard’s ofﬁce released a report that downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama

But Obama’s Democratic administration never suggested otherwise, even as it exposed other means by which Russia interfered in the election, including through a massive hackand-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks, as well as a covert inﬂuence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts.

Dems call on her to resign

Lawmakers from both parties have long stressed the need for an independent intelligence service Democrats said Gabbard’s reports

“It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein ﬁles,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement Wednesday Warner predicted Gabbard’s actions could prompt U.S. allies to share less information for fear it would be politicized or recklessly declassiﬁed.

But Gabbard enjoys strong support among Republicans. Rep. Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said she was working to put the intelligence community “on the path to regaining the trust of the American people.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.y., flanked by Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., left, the House minority whip, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., chair of the House Democratic Caucus, talks to reporters Wednesday at the Capitol about the decision by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, to leave Washington early

Johnson

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Wednesday in Washington.

JUDGE

Continued from page 1A

Don Johnson’s thoughtful opinion is bulletproof,” Unglesby said.

“The Dixons always knew that if given the opportunity to present the evidence in a fair forum, the facts would carry the day It has already been a hard ﬁght, but the correct application of the law by the judge accomplished what the

SWEAT

Continued from page 1A

during the sweltering days of training camp is critical, and the strategies they use can be adapted for anyone spending time outdoors, especially those most at risk: young children, the elderly, people on certain medications or with underlying medical conditions, and those who work outside.

Saints staff closely monitor the heat index (“feels like” temperature), humidity, sun angle and a measurement called “wet bulb globe temperature” to determine how long outdoor practice is safe. Sometimes, that might look like 15or 30-minute stretches.

“We start practice inside for a walk-through or stretch, then shrink the time we’re exposed outside,” said Ted Rath, director of sports performance for the team.

During practice, players rotate through two large air-conditioned tents and a “cooling box,” which Rath said can be chilled to as low as 35 degrees. Even a few minutes in these spaces can help reduce players’ core body temperature before they return to the ﬁeld

For people without personal walk-in freezers cooling down might look like stepping inside a gas station or sitting in an air-conditioned vehicle for a few minutes, said Rath.

Beyond air conditioning, the Saints use a variety of tools to cool the body quickly Rath recommends a method backed by Stanford research: palm cooling.

Professional football players use glove-like devices to rapidly cool the blood in their palms, which lowers core temperature.

For those without high-tech gear,

COLLEGE

Continued from page 1A

rooted in merit-based achievement,” he said in a statement.

Known as the Commission for Public Higher Education, the new accreditor must still be approved by the U.S. Department of Education, a process that typically takes at least two years Depending on the recommendations of Louisiana’s new 13-member task force, which is expected to meet for the ﬁrst time next month, the state’s public university systems could pursue dual accreditation from their current accreditor and the new agency while it awaits federal approval.

University leaders in states that joined the effort for a new accreditor say they want a streamlined process that’s less burdensome and more focused on student outcomes. Higher-education experts say that developing an accreditor speciﬁcally to serve public institutions could offer some advantages But some have raised concerns about college accreditation becoming overly politicized, with

CANE

Continued from page 1A

While some have dubbed the new drink as “American Coke,” the United States alone could not produce enough sugar to meet the megabrand’s demand while keeping up with general domestic sugar consumption Coca-Cola could look toward countries like Brazil, the world’s largest sugar producer, said NPR’s Ari Shapiro on “All Things Considered,” but tariff impacts may make that difficult. High tariffs for sugar are already in place.

Louisiana produces around 13.8 million tons of sugar cane each year, according to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry with eight reﬁneries producing over 900,000 metric tons of sugar a year Exactly how much sugar Coca-Cola uses in a year is tricky to pin down.

1st Circuit Court of Appeal required. We are looking forward to our day in court in front of Louisiana citizens. This is a big win for Louisiana homeowners.”

The Dixons filed the lawsuit in March 2022. They alleged D.R. Horton sold them a home with an poorly designed HVAC system that wasn’t built to stand up to Louisiana’s blistering summertime humidity Attorneys for the plaintiffs have argued ofﬁcials for the Texas-based company knew their

ventilation systems were faulty and schemed to keep buyers from taking legal action by duping them into signing sales contracts with arbitration clauses buried in agreements the that barred homeowners from suing the company in court D.R. Horton’s attorneys have insisted from the outset that the issue should be settled in arbitration, citing the fact that the Dixons twice signed a sales contract with a binding arbitration clause that directs any legal disputes into me-

diation under construction industry arbitration rules. Johnson, in Tuesday’s decision, noted that the original sales agreement the Dixons signed in April 2014 had material differences from a sales agreement they signed two months later Sales agents for the company told them they were simply reexecuting the old contract because the original was an illegible print out and needed to be updated. But Johnson said the price of the

Rath suggests a low-cost version:

“Throw a couple water bottles in the freezer,” he said. When you start to heat up, holding the cold bottles in your palms can offer a quick cool down

Other simple tactics, like placing cold towels on the neck or keeping a cloth handy to wipe away sweat, help to maintain the body’s natural cooling process.

Wearing lightweight, light-colored and loose-ﬁtting clothing also helps sweat evaporate and heat escape. Hats offer protection but can trap heat; removing them during breaks, like players remove their helmets, helps release body heat more quickly

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can escalate quickly, especially when humidity interferes with the body’s ability to sweat and cool itself, said Dr Gregory Stewart, team physician for Tulane Athletics.

“You’re already getting hot. Now you’re getting dehydrated on top of

politicians wielding the process which Trump has called his “secret weapon” — as a cudgel to reshape higher education.

“Accreditation is getting caught up in the culture wars,” said John Przypyszny, a Washington, D.C.based attorney who specializes in higher education law. “When you start looking at accreditation through an ideological lens, it’s just not a healthy dynamic.”

Until recently, college accreditation was a bureaucratic process that mostly played out behind the scenes.

Nonproﬁt accreditors which are recognized by the federal government but operate independently — assess school quality by looking at finances, curriculum, faculty, student achievement and other factors. Louisiana and surrounding states are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACS.

Some university administrators call the accreditation process an expensive box-checking exercise that does little to improve student outcomes. Critics on the right have slammed some accreditors for assessing colleges’ efforts to enroll students from diverse back-

that,” Stewart said. The humidity in Louisiana makes it difﬁcult for sweat to evaporate, leaving the body with fewer ways to release heat.

As dehydration progresses, Stewart explained, fluid shifts inside the body Swelling in the hands and feet is common. So are cramps and lightheadedness, the early signs of heat exhaustion. In severe cases, when the body can no longer compensate, core temperatures can spike to dangerous levels, “essentially cooking some of your internal organs,” he said. Heat illness typically develops in stages. The earliest is heat cramps, which are painful muscle spasms in the legs or abdomen caused by the loss of ﬂuids and electrolytes through sweating. That can progress to heat exhaustion, marked by fatigue, dizziness, nausea and heavy sweating. If not addressed, heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke, a medical emergency deﬁned by confusion,

grounds and ensure they feel welcomed and supported on campus.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to “ﬁre the radical left accreditors.” In April, he issued an executive order directing the U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to rescind approval of any accreditor that requires colleges or universities to adopt diversity, equity or inclusion practices, which he called “unlawful discrimination.” Trump, who eventually wants to eliminate the Education Department, also ordered McMahon to approve new accreditors. Florida and its partner states seized on Trump’s call for new accreditors, announcing in June their plan to establish the Commission for Public Higher Education.

According to the group’s business plan, the new accreditor will be a nonproﬁt incorporated in Florida and initially funded by $4 million from that state’s Legislature. It aims to begin accrediting institutions next year while working to obtain approval from the U.S. Education Department by 2028.

The plan follows earlier disputes between Florida and SACS, the Southern states accreditor, which in the past has raised concerns about political interference in

loss of consciousness and a core body temperature above 104 degrees. At University Medical Center, emergency physician Dr Peter DeBlieux sees the consequences of waiting too long to cool down. The escalation from heat exhaustion to heatstroke can take “nanoseconds,” he said.

DeBlieux urges immediate action by removing the person from the direct heat, getting them cool liquids and cooling them down through airﬂow and evaporation. The most effective approach, he said, is brushing the skin with cool towels and then fanning it, creating an artiﬁcial sweat mechanism.

Inside the hospital, doctors use cooling blankets, misting fans and specialized IVs that chill the blood directly But outside the ER, basic steps like rest, shade, airﬂow and misting are what make the difference. He also advises people to monitor

Florida’s public university system. In June, DeSantis said the accreditor had told the state’s universities, “You’re not going to get accredited unless you do DEI,” the online publication Inside Higher Ed reported.

SACS, unlike some accreditors in other regions, does not list diversity equity and inclusion in its standards.

“I don’t really think that’s an issue that SACS has had strong, or really any standards, in,” said Przypyszny the higher-education attorney “DEI is a little bit of red herring, in my view.”

SACS President-elect Stephen Pruitt, who starts next month, said he appreciates Landry establishing a task force focused on accreditation.

“Accreditation is central to quality education,” he said in an email Wednesday, adding that “accreditors are held to high standards and must themselves be reviewed.”

Before Louisiana’s public universities can change accreditors, the consortium of states must get their agency up and running — a potentially heavy lift.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, an advocacy group, said on its website this week that the six states seeking to es-

home was different on the two contracts, and he said no D.R Horton representatives signed the second contract of sale, making it unenforceable.

Johnson’s ruling was the ﬁrst time a judge weighed in on the arbitration issue after more than three years. It is a pivotal decision in the lawsuit, which is poised to become a sweeping class-action case involving hundreds of other Louisiana homeowners who purchased D.R. Horton-built houses after 2007.

hydration by watching their urine.

“If you can’t force yourself to go urinate every two hours, you’re not drinking enough,” he said. “Your urine should be light yellow — like watered-down lemonade.”

Sugary, caffeinated or alcoholic drinks can worsen dehydration because they increase urine output.

It’s difﬁcult to pinpoint an exact temperature that can become dangerous, because heat affects people differently and risk depends on activity environment and overall health.

DeBlieux said those at greatest risk are the very young and the very old, those with heart conditions, people who use alcohol or drugs, and anyone taking medications that affect hydration or thermoregulation, including diuretics, beta blockers, psychiatric medications and stimulants.

Even a heat index in the 80s can be dangerous in the wrong conditions, said DeBlieux.

Acclimating to extreme heat also takes time. A player coming from a dry, high-altitude climate like Utah needs more time to adapt than someone who’s already used to Gulf Coast conditions, Stewart said The same goes for high school band members, athletes or young children starting summer programs after months spent mostly indoors.

The ﬁrst week to 10 days is the most critical. Tulane players begin with minimal gear and gradually build up to full pads as their bodies adjust.

Even pro athletes with medical teams and cooling tents can get “borderline” to overheating, Rath said. Telling a family member or friend your plans to be outdoors in hot weather can be a simple but important precaution.

“It’s a team effort,” Rath said.

tablish a new accreditor must still hire a staff for the agency, set its standards and complete the review process for several institutions.

“All these steps must be successfully completed before the new accreditor can apply for recognition,” the group wrote.

Landry’s order says the new Task Force on Public Higher Education Reform should assess the potential beneﬁts of switching to the new accreditor and identify any laws or administrative actions needed to make the move.

The new accreditor will focus on student outcomes and efﬁciency, while preventing the “imposition of divisive ideological content on institutions,” the order states.

The task force will include the commissioner of higher education; the chair of the Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s public university systems; the board chairs of the LSU, Southern, University of Louisiana and Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges systems; and several lawmakers and members of the Landry administration. The group, whose chair Landry will appoint, must hold its ﬁrst meeting by the end of August and issue recommendations by Jan. 30.

The beverage industry as a whole uses around 400 million bushels of corn, or 2.5% of U.S. corn production, annually to create high-fructose corn syrup The shift to cane sugar could harm American corn growers and jobs the Corn Refiners Association said in a statement before CocaCola’s announcement Others suggest that corn grown for high-fructose corn syrup makes up a small portion of the market.

Lewis said he’s more than willing to meet the challenge Coca-Cola has brought to American sugar cane farmers.

“Between Louisiana and our 11 sugar mills here, one in Florida and a bunch more Northern sugar beets; we can meet the demand for the American Coke product, and we got the land available to put more cane in production if necessary,” Lewis said.

Coca-Cola’s shift to cane sugar came a week after

Trump issued a statement that he had spoken to the company and they had agreed to use “REAL Cane Sugar” for Coke sold in the United States.

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said it will “remain to be seen” how much additional sugar is needed because of the quota system in place.

But prudence doesn’t stop the industry from feeling enthusiastic about the possibilities, he said.

“Overall, I think it’s going to mean long-term stability, better prices for our farmers and potentially an increase in the amount of sugar that we can grow here in Louisiana,” Strain said.

The new drink is set to launch in the fall.

“In Louisiana, we produce some of the best sugar in the world. So once that sugar gets into American Coke, the taste buds are going to ring, and I think it’s going to be a great thing,” Lewis said.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., left, and running back Alvin Kamara cool off in the cooling trailer during the first day of training camp in Metairie on Wednesday.

Victims’ families address Idaho killer

Bryan Kohberger receives four life sentences

BY REBECCA BOONE and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho Police released doc-

uments Wednesday detailing their investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students. Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the yearslong case. In one of the documents, Moscow Police Department’s lead detective, Brett Payne, described walking through the crime scene and discovering the victims, each of whom had multiple stab wounds.

Other documents describe police interviews with friends and acquaintances of the victims Some names have been redacted from the documents.

During a sentencing hearing earlier Wednesday, one after another, the friends and family of the four University of Idaho students murdered by Bryan Kohberger vented their emotions in sobs, insults and curses before a packed courtroom Wednesday as he was sentenced to life in prison.

Ben Mogen, the father of Madison Mogen, credited her with helping to keep him alive through his

Dylan Mortensen

ﬁght with addiction. He called her “the only thing I’m proud of.”

Dylan Mortenson, a roommate of the victims who told police of seeing a strange man with bushy eyebrows and a ski mask in their home that night, called Kohberger “a hollow vessel, something less than human.” She shook with tears as she described how Kohberger “took the light they carried into each room.”

“Hell will be waiting,” Kristi Goncalves, the mother of Kaylee Goncalves, told the killer

Judge Steven Hippler ordered Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole for firstdegree murder in the deaths of Mogen, Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The defendant was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and assessed $270,000 in ﬁnes and civil penalties. Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty just weeks before his trial was to start in a deal to avoid the death penalty Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on the sentence.

When it was his turn to speak in court, Kohberger said, “I respectfully decline,” shedding no light on why he slipped into the rental home in Moscow Idaho, through a sliding glass door early on Nov 13, 2022, and brutally stabbed four of the students inside.

The crime horrified the city, which hadn’t seen a homicide in about ﬁve years, and prompted a massive search for the perpetrator Some students took the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe. Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks later

A Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house and genetic genealogy was used to match Kohberger’s DNA to material recovered from a knife sheath found at the home, investigators said. They used cellphone data to pinpoint his movements and surveillance camera footage to help locate a white sedan that was seen repeatedly driving past the home on the night of the killings.

But investigators told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing that exhaustive efforts had failed to ﬁnd the murder weapon, the clothes Kohberger was wearing at the time, or any connection between the killer and the students.

“This world was a better place

with her in it,” Scott Laramie, Mogen’s stepfather, said. “Karen and I are ordinary people, but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie.” Goncalves’ father, Steve, taunted Kohberger for getting caught despite his education in forensics.

“You were that careless, that foolish, that stupid,” he said “Master’s degree? You’re a joke.”

Kernodle’s father, Jeff, recalled that his daughter hadn’t been feeling well that night, and he thought about driving the 7 miles to the rental home to be with her He decided against it because he had been drinking.

Mortenson and another surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, described crippling panic attacks after the attack.

“I slept in my parents’ room for almost a year, and had them double lock every door, set an alarm, and still check everywhere in the room just in case someone was hiding,” Funke wrote in a statement read by a friend.

Alivea Goncalves’s voice didn’t waver as she asked Kohberger questions, including what her sister’s last words were. She drew applause after belittling Kohberger, who remained expressionless.

“You didn’t win, you just exposed yourself as the coward you are,” Alivea Goncalves said. “You’re a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.”

Exhibit near Independence Hall under Trump scrutiny

submit materials for review

BY EVGENIA ANASTASAKOS The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

PHILADELPHIA At Indepen-

dence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, the Trump administration will soon decide whether to remove displays addressing the history of slavery.

The park is home to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall and the President’s House memorial that commemorates the nine enslaved people who George Washington brought from his home at Mount Vernon to Philadelphia.

The site will play a key role in the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026, which have received millions of dollars in state and municipal investment and are expected to attract scores of out-of-state visitors.

The displays were ﬂagged for review in accordance with a Trump administration order directing National Park Service staff to identify language and historical depictions that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living,” according to internal documents obtained by The New York Times.

The order also directed the secretary of the Department of the Interior to provide “sufﬁcient funding, as available” to restore Independence Hall ahead of the upcoming semiquincentennial celebration.

The Trump administration gave parks and historical sites until last week to

Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he’s released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against him.

The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE.

“Defendants have done little to assure the Court that absent intervention, Abrego Garcia’s due process rights will be protected,” Xinis wrote in her order

President Donald Trump’s administration violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there

The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with

nine passengers. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on.

Abrego Garcia’s criminal attorneys in the Tennessee case want him released from jail to await trial, but only if he won’t be taken into ICE custody and deported. A federal judge in that criminal case on Wednesday afﬁrmed that Abrego Garcia is eligible for release. U.S District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that appropriate release conditions will mitigate any risk of ﬂight or any danger to the community Crenshaw then sent the case back to U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, who originally held that Abrego Garcia is eligible for release last month. On Wednesday, Holmes signed yet another order putting off his release from jail, this time for 30 days.

U.S. ofﬁcials have said they’ll try to deport Abrego Garcia to a country that isn’t El Salvador, such as Mexico or South Sudan, before his trial starts in January because they allege he’s a danger to the community.

U.S. officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally around 2011 and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, although not to his native El Salvador Following the 2019 decision, Abrego Garcia was released under federal supervision received a federal work permit and checked in with ICE each year, his attorneys have said.

Last month, it also instructed staff to display QR codes and signs asking visitors to report “inappropriate content.”

In the documents reviewed by the Times, Independence National Historical Park employees raised concerns about an exhibit panel discussing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which required all states, including “free states,” to return enslaved people who had escaped from other states. They said an illustration depicting George Washington’s hands signing the act, while

a group of white men attack four black men in the background, “may need revision.”

Another exhibit, about freedom and slavery at the President’s House, was also submitted for review

Meanwhile, at the Liberty Bell, staff highlighted a panel discussing the bell’s extensive travels to expositions and celebrations around the country during the post-Reconstruction period, saying it referred to “systemic and violent racism and sexism that existed at the time.”

Trump’s executive order also called out Independence

National Historical Park, in particular, claiming that the Biden administration had “sponsored training by an organization that advocates dismantling ‘Western foundations’ and ‘interrogating institutional racism’ and pressured National Historical Park rangers that their racial identity should dictate how they convey history to visiting Americans because America is purportedly racist.”

The Trump administration has said it will remove “inappropriate” content by Sept. 17.

By The Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KyLE GREEN

gets

hug Wednesday after speaking at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER PHOTO By TOM GRALISH The President’s House memorial in Independence National Historical Park tells the story of the paradox of liberty and enslavement that existed in the same house.

Shown is today’sweather.Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’slows.

It says countries couldbeinviolation of internationallaw if they fail to act

BY MOLLYQUELL and MIKE CORDER Associated Press

THE HAGUE,Netherlands TheUnited Nations’ top court in alandmark advisory opinion Wednesday said countries could be in violation of internationallaw if theyfailto take measurestoprotect the planet from climate change, and nations harmed by its effects could be entitled to reparations. Advocates immediately cheered the International Court ofJustice opinion on nations’ obligationsto tackle climate change and the consequences they may face if they don’t.

“Failure of astate to take appropriate action to protect the climate system …may constitute an internationally wrongful act,” court President Yuji Iwasawa said during the hearing. He called the climate crisis“an existential problemofplanetaryproportions that imperilsall forms of life andthe very health of our planet.”

The nonbinding opinion, backed unanimously by the court’s15 judges, was hailed as aturning point in international climate law

FEMA

BY GABRIELAAOUN ANGUEIRA Associated Press

Theacting administratorofthe Federal Emergency Management Agency is pushing back on criticisms of the federal response to the central Texas ﬂoods that killed at least 136 people earlier this month.

“I can’tsee anythingwe did wrong,” David Richardson told a House panel of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday.Hecalledthe relationship between state and federal agencies “a model for how disasters should be handled.”

Lawmakersused the hearing about improvements toFEMA disasterresponse to address reportsthat FEMA support was impaired by bureaucratic delays that slowed the deployment of urban search and rescue teamsand

Notably,the court said a“clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is ahuman right. That paves the way for other legal actions, includingstates returning to the ICJ to hold each other to account as wellasdomestic lawsuits, along with legal instruments like investment agreements.

‘Today,the tables have turned’

The casewas led by the Paciﬁc island nation of Vanuatu and backed by more than 130 countries.

AllU.N. member statesincluding major greenhouse gas emitters likethe United States and China are parties to thecourt.

Climate activists had gathered outsidethe crowded court with abanner that read: “Courts have spoken. The law is clear.States must ACT NOW.”

“Today,the tables have turned.

Theworld’s highest courtprovideduswith apowerfulnew tool to protect people from the devastatingimpacts of the climate crisis —and to deliverjusticefor the harm their emissions have already caused,” former U.N. humanrights chief Mary Robinson said in astatement.

Island nationsled thelobbying

After years of lobbying by vulnerable islandnations whofear they could disappear underrising sea waters, the U.N.General Assembly asked the ICJin2023 for

left the agency’scall centers unstaffed, which Richardson denied. The response “brought the maximumamount ofcapability to bear in Texasatthe right time and the right place,” he said.

Richardson’s appearance came after awave of criticism and fallout over theresponse, including the resignation Monday of FEMA’surbansearchand rescue leader.President Donald Trump andHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have toutedthe robust federal support for Texasdespite their past support for eliminatingFEMA Reportsofdelaysdenied

Theacting administrator denied reportsthatFEMAurban searchand-rescue teams were delayed over 72 hours because of anew rule imposed by Noem thatshe must personally approve any contract of

U.N. courtissueslandmarkclimate change opinion

Activists demonstrate WednesdayinThe Hague, Netherlands, outside the International CourtofJustice ahead of an advisoryopinion on what legal obligations nations have to address climate changeand what consequences theymay face if theydon’t.

an advisory opinion,animportant basis for international obligations.

Itspanel was tasked with answering twoquestions: What are countriesobliged to do under international lawtoprotect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? Second,what are the legal consequences forgovernments when their acts, or lack of action, have signiﬁcantly harmed the climate andenvironment?

“The stakes could notbehigher.

$100,000 or more. Richardson said aTexas-based FEMA task force was on theground on July 4, along with other Homeland Securityassets like the Coast Guardand Customs andBorder Protection, and that additional support came within “24hours” of being requested.

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., pushed back on FEMA’s readiness, asking why more of the 28 FEMA urban search-and-rescueteams located around the country were notonstandby ahead of receiving arequest fromthe state of Texas. “It hauntsmethat we could have had moreurban search and rescue pre-positioned in place,” said Stanton.“That was achoice.”

The leader of FEMA’s urban search-and-rescueeffort, Ken Pagurek, expressedfrustration with the delays to colleagues before resigning Monday, according to

The survival of my people and so many others is on theline,”Arnold Kiel Loughman, attorney general of theisland nationofVanuatu, toldthe court during aweek of hearings in December

In the decade up to 2023, sea levels rose by aglobal average of around 1.7 inches, with parts of the Paciﬁc rising higher still. The world hasalso warmed 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit sincepreindustrialtimes becauseofthe burning of fossil fuels. Ralph Regenvanu,Vanuatu’s

CNN. In response to Pagurek’sresignation, aDHS spokesperson told The Associated Press, “It is laughable thatacareer public employee, who claims to serve the American people,would choosetoresign over our refusal to hastily approve asixﬁgure deployment contract without basic ﬁnancial oversight.”

The Texas Division of Emergency Management did not respond to arequest forcomment on whether search-and-rescue efforts were impacted by delayeddeployment of the FEMA teams. Richardson also denieda report from The New York Timesthat 84% of calls to FEMA went unanswered on July7,three days after the July 4ﬂoods, because Noem let lapse contract renewalswith outside call centers. The contracts were renewedJuly 10,according to The Times.

minister for climate change, calledthe ruling a“very important course correction in this critically important time. For the ﬁrst time in history,the ICJ has spoken directly about the biggest threat facing humanity.” He said the rulingexceeded his expectations. “I didn’texpect it to be good.It’sgood.And it did go above and beyond,” he told reporters in The Hague.

Rulingcould be leverage Activists could bring lawsuits against theirown countriesfor failing to comply with the decision, which ran to over 130 pages. The senior attorney at the Center forInternationalEnvironmental Law,Erika Lennon, said the ruling also can be used as leverage at the next U.N. climate conference later this year in the Brazilian city of Belém.“States must take this ICJ ruling anduse it to advance ambitious outcomes at COP30 and beyond. People and the planet deserve it,” she said.

The United States and Russia, both of whomare major petroleumproducing states, are staunchly opposedtothe court mandating emissions reductions. The Trump administration hasagain withdrawn the U.S. fromthe 2015 Paris Climate Agreementand hasmade it harder to ﬁnd scientiﬁc assessments of how climate change endangers the U.S. and its people.

“The vast majority of phone calls wereanswered.There wasnever alapse in thecontract,” said Richardson,echoingNoem’sstatements that the report was “fake news.” FEMA’s fate is stillinquestion

Sincethe Texasfloods, Trump has deflected questionsabout FEMA’s fate. In June, he said he wanted to begin “phasing out” FEMA after the hurricane season “to weanoff of FEMA and bring it to the state level.”

Both Democraticand Republican lawmakers asked about the fate of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program which Trumpcanceledearlier this year.The grantssuppliedhundreds of millions of dollars in disaster mitigation funding. Twenty states are now suing the administration over the loss of funds.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByPETER DEJONG

Man faces ‘failure to report’ charge

St. Martinville teen missing for nine days found dead

BY ASHLEY WHITE | Staff writer

A St. Martinville man has been charged with failure to report in connection with the death of 16-year-old Iris Davis, according to reports. Her brother, 25-year-old Dorian

Savoy is being charged in connection with failure to report the commission of certain felonies in connection with her death, KATC reported Savoy had not yet appeared in jail records Wednesday afternoon. The charge, according to state

law, states it is unlawful for anyone to know about the commission of a homicide, rape or sexual abuse of a child and not report or disclose the information to law enforcement, unless there is a privilege of conﬁdentiality as outlined by the law If convicted, a person can be

ﬁned up to $500 and face up to one year in jail.

Iris went missing on July 13, St. Martinville Police Chief Ricky Martin said in a statement. Authorities weren’t aware she was missing until four days later, he told KATC. Iris was found on Tuesday — nine days after she ﬁrst went missing — in a ﬁeld not far from her home on

Song and dance

ABOVE: Couples ﬁll the 3,600-square-foot dance ﬂoor as Louisiana Express performs during the Coushatta Crossroads Festival at the Coushatta Pavilion in Kinder on Saturday. In its 15th year, the festival featured performances by 10 Cajun and zydeco bands playing nonstop on two stages.

LEFT: Members of Louisiana Express perform during the Coushatta Crossroads Festival on Saturday STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

Newtron Group founder Newton Thomas dies at 81

Electrical contracting giant also LSU hall-of-famer

BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer

Newton Thomas, an LSU hallof-famer and founder of a $1 bil-

lion Baton Rouge-based specialty industrial engineering contractor died Saturday at the age of 81.

Coined during his time as an electrical engineering student at LSU, Thomas’ nickname of “Newtron” would go on to also title his award-winning company, The Newtron Group,

ranked as one of the nation’s leading providers of industrial electrical instrumentation.

Thomas was named LSU’s Alumnus of the Year in 2015, having graduated from University Lab School in 1962 and earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LSU in 1967. As a student, Thomas played for the LSU baseball team, was a cheerleader and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity Before founding The Newtron Group with two other LSU grads, Thomas worked for the electrical instrumentation ﬁrm Southern Instruments from 1967 to 1971, including two

Maraist Street. Police are investigating her death as a homicide. The teen’s death has rocked St. Martinville. Mayor Jason Willis said in a Facebook post he “tossed and turned” thinking about Iris’ death. The entire city is mourning, he said.

“Emotions are high, and

Pianist to bring Polish inspiration home

Lafayette native to perform Chopin-inspired concert

BY JA’KORI MADISON | Staff writer

Infusing the melodies of Polish composer Frederic Chopin with his own flair, a Lafayette pianist is returning to his hometown to present a free concert called “The River of Chopin.” Vinayak Chaturvedi debuted the program first in Warsaw Poland, and later performed in New York and New Jersey Now he is set to return to Lafayette for a performance at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Northwood United Methodist Church at 4530 Moss St. the place where he first discovered his passion for performing.

“I’ve lived in Poland for 6 years now and it’s still so rewarding to return home. Our food, culture, music is like no other,” Chaturvedi said.

Louisiana is known for its rich musical heritage ﬁlled with upbeat tempos like zydeco, jazz and swamp pop, but Chaturvedi said his musical tastes took a different direction at an early age. While studying classical piano at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Chaturvedi worked as a pianist for Northwood United Methodist Church before moving to Warsaw to immerse himself in the world of Chopin and classical music.

According to Chaturvedi, the key distinction in Warsaw’s traditional music is in its strong emphasis on classical music.

“We call Louisiana music boogiewoogie — something people can dance

returns to Lafayette bringing his Polish inspiration for a free, Chopin-inspired classical concert.

PHOTO PROVIDED By VINAyAK CHATURVEDI Pianist Vinayak Chaturvedi

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

Tariffs threaten a cherished morning ritual

The bite of tariffs is beginningtobefeltin an importantpartofthe daily routine formany Americans—their morning coffee.Perhaps as you are reading this, you areenjoying acup of your favorite brew.Ifso, you may have noticed thatsomecoffee shops and store brands have raisedtheir prices in recentweeks as they grapplewithtariffs on imported coffee beans

In Louisiana, coffee isn’tjust acherished ritual, it’salso big business. J.M. SmuckerCo., which roasts coffee for Folgers, Dunkin’ and Café Bustelo, employs nearly 700 people at its facilitiesinNew Orleans. BatonRouge-based Community Coffee has been roastingand distributing its beans for more than 100years. The Port of New Orleans handles 16,000containers of coffee beans ayear,makingitthe largest containerized commodity at theport.

So it’snostretch to say that much isatstake for Louisiana as President Donald Trumppursues atrade strategy thatisincreasing prices on this key commodity.Since April, a10% tariff on all imports has left businesses scrambling Community and J.M. Smucker increased prices last month in response. Some brands, like French Truck Coffee, aNew-Orleans-based chain, are trying to be creative, addingsurchargestocoffee purchases. The chainsaysit will remove those extra charges when andifthe tariffs are lifted.

But another worry is on the horizon. President Trump recently threatened to impose a50% tariff on Brazil as punishmentfor howithas treated its former presidentJair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally facing trial for plotting acoup to remain in power after losing a2022election. Brazil supplies about 30%ofthe Americanmarket, and there is no way any other sourcecould easily ﬁll the gap.

For Port NOLA and the manywell-known Louisiana coffee brands,the effects could be devastating.That’sto say nothing of thehundreds of small business owners operating local coffee shops in towns and cities across the state.Many have said they have triedto sparecustomers the effects of these price increases foraslong as they could. But ultimately,theyhavetolook at the bottom line.

If the goal of tariffs is to strengthendomestic industry and bring manufacturing back to our shores, we can support that. But coffeeisa commoditythatisn’t producedinthe UnitedStates, largely.Only Hawaii and Puerto Ricohave any sizablecoffee-growing regions. The coffee industry is amajor contributortoour economy that relies on an importedproduct.

Some entrepreneurs have spent yearsbuilding businesses based on this globalcommodity Now they face uncertainty as forcesbeyond their control put all they built in jeopardy.We urge our political leaders tokeep them in mind as they make decisions whose effects reach all the way down to our coffee cups.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

What wouldJesus think of ‘Alligator Alcatraz?’

Regarding “Alligator Alcatraz,” I have seen memes that aresupposed to be funny,trading cards withDonald Trump’spicture on them, assorted merchandise and horriﬁc comments supporting this cruelty.The depths thatthis country has fallen to continue to astound, mortify,depress and anger me all at the same time. Not only are we OK with immoral, inhumane treatment of humans, whose only “crime” may be seeking abetter life for themselves and their families,but we are makingfun of it and celebrating it. Humansinliteral cages, in theheat of the swamp, unprotected from the elements, treated worse than we treat animals in this country.This makes us no better than thepeople who jeered and laughed at Jesus on the cross. Have we no shame? No dignity? Have we completely abandoned basic human decency? Howinheaven’s namecan we even get our mouths

to form theword “Christian” in conjunction with the actions being taken?

Ifeel the tears and pain of Jesus as he looks upon us, wondering how we could even claim him. Ikeep saying there are no words for what is happening, for what our country is becoming, but Iamworking hard to ﬁnd away to let the world know this is not me, this is not who Iam, not whomy friends are, not what America is supposed to be. If my heart is broken, I can’teven contemplate how Jesus is feeling about His people right now Iknow he loves us all, all the time. Led by his love, Iwork to love all, all the time. Butthat just adds to the profound sadness and disappointmentwhen those you love act reprehensibly Iamconstantly praying forareturn to decency

ANGELE GIVENS NewOrleans

Disconnect of left is drivingits deathspiral

The American political left is in a free fall —morally,intellectually and electorally.Once positioning itself as the voice of the working class and commonsense reform, themodern left now claims an unearned monopoly on both morality and intelligence. Butthe resultsoftheir actions —and therejection they face from everyday Americans—tell adifferent story

Instead of addressing real concerns like rising crime, economic instability and the erosion of national pride, theleft doubles down on identity politics,climate alarmism and censorship. The result?They’ve becomenot aparty of progress, but amovement marked by arrogance, intolerance and delusion.

The modernleft appears to despise everything America standsfor: free speech, individual liberty, secure borders and national pride. They tear down statues of our founders,rewrite history through thelens of grievance and teach our children to be ashamed

of their own country.Tomany,itfeels as though their goal isn’t to improve America —but to dismantle it. In contrast, theleadership of President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise has reignited American strength. Together,they represent acoalition that honors faith, family, freedom and theConstitution. Under their guidance, America is seeing a return to common sense, patriotic spirit and the belief that this nation’s best days are still ahead

The left’sdownfall is not just political —itisphilosophical.The more they mock American greatness, the moreAmericans turn away.The future belongs to those wholove this country and are willing to ﬁght forit. Under the leadership of Trump, Johnson and Scalise, America is great again —and only getting greater God bless America.

ADRIAN BRUNEAU chairman, Orleans Parish Republican ExecutiveCommittee

When Iread that people often think it is OK to treat prisoners badly,I realize that manyhave no concept of “there but forthe grace of God, go I.”They have often broken the law because they were abused as children. Ninety-eight percent of the prison population has at least one adverse childhood experience. Add to the fact that we do not have community mental health care, enough child care social workers or enough foster care homes, and we have ahigh incidence of unwanted and unviable births (often born addicted). Ninety-ﬁve percent of Medicaid recipients work. Many do not have ahome. They live in the back seat of acar In the U.S., 52% of female prisoners (and 49% of maleprisoners) have experienced sexual abuse. Sixty percent have experienced physical abuse. The rates are higher in Louisiana, where 80% of the incarcerated experience substance abuse disorder along with multiple medical problemsand suicide attempts. Add to this that over 50% of prisoners have IQswell below 90 because of the conditions they wereborn into, such as drug addiction, alcohol withdrawal syndromeand general lack of prenatal care (even moresoinLouisiana). As an ex-social worker,I have had manyofthese people tell me they wished they had never been born. How much moredoyou think they need to sufferinprison?

CINDYKENDALL youngsville

Iread and reread the article on about CBS editing Kamala Harris’ answer.This article wasatleast as slanted as washer response. It’s just another example of shading, twisting and weasel wording. This is not news. It’s another editorial and should have been moved to that page. JOHN BANQUER Belle Chasse

COMMENTARY

What will higher ed’s troubles mean forpolitics?

Nine months after the 2024election, we’ve been graced with deﬁnitive dissections of the electorate and howit has changed since that escalatorride 10 years and one month ago. There’swide agreement in the analysesofThe Associated Press/Fox News Vote Cast, the Democratic ﬁrm Catalist’sWhatHappened and the Pew ResearchCenter analysis.

comingyearsand that theirreduced or vanishing Democratic margins are bad newsfor that party. But will thatbeoffsetbythe continuing growth of White collegegraduates casting relatively steady Democraticmargins?

had some effect in shaping the political views of college graduates and widening the chasmbetween thoseofWhite graduates and nongraduates.

All three conclude that President DonaldTrump owed his ﬁrst popularvote plurality to gains from racialminorities, especially Hispanics, and from the young, especially men. The result, as aPew chart shows, is alessracially polarized electorate,contrary to the many earlier analyses that Trump’s supposed “racism” would repel minority voters. This also confounds the optimistic projections of Democrats like pollster Stan Greenberg that Democrats wouldbeneﬁt from an “ascendantmajority” of groups —Hispanics, millennials and college graduates —destined to be agrowing shareof the electorate.

The Associated Press, Catalistand Pew reports also take note of what is nowold news: the sharppolarization of White college graduates and White nongraduates. That came as asurprise in 2016: There was so little difference between these groups in previous elections that most pollsters didn’tdisaggregate results according to levels of education.

Now,the contrast is stark. The Associated Press’ Vote Cast showedformer Vice President Kamala Harris carrying White college graduates 53-45 and Trump carrying noncollege White people by awhopping 65-34.And while White college graduates moved slightly toward Trump in 2024, the education gaphasn’tnarrowed nearly as muchas the racial and ethnic gap.

There’snodoubt that Hispanic,millennial and Generation Zvoterswill be an increasing proportion of voters in the

COURSE PRO

Don’tcountonit. Current trends suggest the population of college graduates may be starting to decline, after more or less constant growth since World War II,from 5% of theadult population in 1940 to 38%in2022.

Now,the population of future college graduates looks settodecline. Births in the United States peaked in 2007 at 4.32 million, almost identical to the baby boompeak of 4.31 million in 1957.

The numberofbirths thendropped through the Great Recession, down to 3.62 millionin2024, a16% drop. That means fewer Americans graduating fromhigh school and applying to college in 2025 and 2026, with numbers declining into the 2040s

That’s notjusta projection; it’sa continuation of adozen-year trend. Higher education (college and university) full-time enrollment peaked in 2012 at 11.6million, dropped to 10.1 million in COVID-19-stricken 2020, a13% drop, andhas reboundedonly slightly since.

Moreover,the job market for recent graduateshas been declining over the last dozen years, as Derek Thompson noted in The Atlantic this spring, and maycontinuetodeteriorate as artiﬁcial intelligence becomes morecommon. As he noted, the lifetime earnings gap between college and high school graduatesstopped widening in 2010

Young people may be getting the news. An increasing number of teenagersare expressing interest in trade schools and apprenticeships, which can lead to higher-paying workthan many collegemajors. Young men, especially, maybetaking this route, avoiding 60%plus female colleges with, as one conservative put it,campuses patrolled by the feminist thought police.

There seems little question that the “woke”perspective of bothhigh-paid professors andlow-paid adjuncts has

Mini golf is asummer favorite for kids and adults everywhere.But something alittle strange is happening here. youtell me. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeepitclean.There’sno limit on the number of entries. The winningpunchlinewill be letteredinto the word balloon and runMondayinour printeditions and online. In addition, thewinner will receiveasigned print of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com

There’salso littlequestion that many young people are not wired to beneﬁt from higher education. The G.I. Bill of Rights, beginning in the1940s,and the post-Sputnik scholarship school aid, beginning in the1950s,enabled many people withthe requisiteskills and temperament toearncollege and professionaldegrees,togreat national beneﬁt.

But suchpeople arenever going to be 100% of the population, and if 5% is too low,perhaps 38% is too high. Generous student loans and promised loan forgiveness may have overshot themark, and today,the Biden loan forgiveness program is gone, and Trump’slimits on student loans have become law

For the larger society, subsidizing “woke” colleges and universities,with their speech codes and racial quotas, may have become not avalue-addedbut avalue-detracted segment of the economy.Higher education, long agrowth industry,isatrisk of decline.

In any case, in electoral politics, the promise of an ever-increasing body of college graduates permanently swelling an ascendant Democratic majority seems uncertain of fulﬁllment,even as longstanding nine-to-one majorities among Black people and two-to-one among Hispanic people have been regressing towardthe national mean.

That doesn’tmean that Republicans areguaranteed anything like apermanent majority. Far from it. It means that our partisan politics will continue to be sharply divided, with developmentsthat help one partywithone group sooner or later helping theother partywithanother.And election resultswill continue to be affected, in ways that almostno one anticipates,bydevelopmentslike those thatfollowed that escalator ride 10 yearsand one month ago.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Recently,the Trump administration laid off about 1,350 employees at the State Department. Anumber of news reports describedthe staff cuts as “devastating.” Others suggested the downsizing will endanger U.S. nationalsecurity The New York Timessaid the cuts “demote longtime U.S. values,” while The WashingtonPost said they “will degrade America’sstanding in the world and curb U.S. soft power.”

First, alittle perspective. According to State Department documents, the total numberof department employees has grown signiﬁcantly over the years. In 2007, there were 57,340. By 2015, there were 72,895. By 2024, there were 80,214. That is an increase of 22,874 employees in the course of 17 years. After the addition of 22,874 employees, can acut of 1,350 be “devastating”?

Nearly three months ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said big changeswere coming. The hiring of thousands of newemployees over the last decade and ahalf, Rubio said, not only made operations cumbersome and less efﬁcient, but it also distracted from the department’score goals.

“In its current form, the department is bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic missioninthis new eraof great power competition,” Rubio said in astatement on April 22. “Over the past 15 years, the department’sfootprint has had unprecedented growth, and costs have soared. But far from seeing areturn on investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and efﬁcient diplomacy.The sprawling bureaucracy created asystemmore beholden to radical political ideology thanadvancing America’score national interests.”

The cuts are focused and not across-the-board. Asigniﬁcant number appear to be at the department’sBureau of Democracy,HumanRights and Labor,known as DRL.

Rubio has long believed that the State Department has become sidetracked from its main mission. In 2023, when he wasinthe Senate, he published, along with Rep. Brian Mast, abrief report entitled “Diversity Over Diplomacy: How Wokeness Is Weakening the U.S. State Department.” Rubio noted that the BidenState Department seemed to be more concernedwith promoting diversity than with dealing with the threat posed by China.

“Why did the Biden administration create internal Ofﬁces of Diversity and Inclusionat both the State Department and USAID?” Rubio asked. “Why did State and USAID request $83.3 millionfrom Congress for their FY2024 budget, afull 26.9% increase from their 2023 budget request for diversity recruiting initiatives? Surely such resources would be betterspent countering Beijing, yet to date there has been no institutionwide messaging in the State Department on China.”

FRANKFORT,Ky. The Republican Party was declared moribund after its1964 presidential nominee,Sen.Barry Goldwater (Arizona),lost 44 states and 61% of thepopular vote. But the party won ﬁve of the next six presidential elections, 1968-1988. Democrats interrupted their losing streak in 1976 by nominating aSouthern governor, Jimmy Carter,and ended their losing ways in 1992 and 1996 by nominating aSouthern governor,Arkansas’ Bill Clinton, whose running mate was aSouthern senator, Al Gore. Kentucky Gov.Andy Beshear might remind his party’snominating electorate of this.

He is agreeably uncoy about his interest in becoming president, soon.His electoral and governing achievements are impressive. He won statewide to become attorney general, then defeated aRepublican incumbent governor whosesandpapery personality rubbed Kentuckians the wrong way and made them relish Beshear’smeliorative style thathas earned him the title of Kentucky’sMr. Rogers He has twice won the governorship of astate that Donald Trump won three times by an average of 29 percentage points. Republicans hold allother statewide offices, and they control the legislature. This column favors aconstitutional amendment: “No person shall be eligible to be president whoisoreverhas been asenator.” Governors administer things rather larger than aSenateoffice and are individuallyaccountable forresponding to large challenges. Beshear is much admired for his handling of some of the most serious floods and tornadoes

in his state’s recorded history. His ﬂuency in the political art of saying justenough to stop short of imprudent claritymight owe somethingto the fact that he is to themanner born: His father wasa two-termgovernor He is, however,speciﬁc in his denunciation of theRepublican-controlled Congress’s enactment of Trump’sagenda in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Attached to legislation, thephrase “big beautiful” is invariably oxymoronic: Suchbills are jumbles of pork, and most members of Congressprobably would ﬂunkaquiz about what is in this one. If Beshear is right about its consequences, he is rightly incensed.

One-third of Kentuckians and half of thestate’schildren, he says, are on Medicaid,which covers40% of the state’sbirths and 70% of long-term elderly care. He says that under his administration, 600,000 are no longer uninsured. The legislation will reverse many gains and will mean a$1billion hittothe state’shealth care. He says Medicaidcutsput 35 rural hospitals at risk.Inmany small communities, thelocal hospital is second only to the school system in terms of the number ofpeopleitemploys. Apregnant woman near her due date might have a three-hour drive to ahospital, and then perhaps the expense of ahotel stay To compete for his party’snomination, Beshear must, as all Democratic candidates must, run thegantlet of “the groups.” (For three more years, Republicanswill not have asimilar problem, because they are membersless of a partythanofa personalitycult.) These factions are ideologically contentious andpronetobeadisproportionate share of the voteinprimaries. They often haveagendas that strike many peopleoutsidethe groups as cultural

aggression.

In 1992, Clinton underscored his credentials as acentrist by publicly rebuking Sister Souljah, aBlack rapper with apenchant for extreme racial rhetoric. In 2028, Democratic candidates might seek their Sister Souljah momentsby conspicuously saying “no” to one or moreitems on the agendas of one or moreof“thegroups.”

Consider an issue thepolitical salience of which was missed by many Democratic candidates in 2024: biological men competing in women’ssports. Explaining his veto of abill (a veto since overridden) that would have prevented this, Beshear says it was meanspirited, and he doesn’twant governmentmaking the rules (ingovernment schools?),and he wants local communities to decide these things. Such dusty answers will not get him through Nov 7, 2028.

Kentucky’stransition from reliance on coal and tobacco has been facilitated by being aright-to-work state (no thanks to Democrats) and by diversiﬁcation that, he says, includes $2.7 billion in Toyotainvestments producing 10,070 new jobs during Beshear’s governorship, and soon will include two largebattery plants. There alsois theBourbon Trail: Touristscome from around the world to stroll, or perhaps stagger,through themany distilleries. Kentucky,which is contiguous to seven other states, is alaboratory for learning to speak Middle American, a skill that has atrophied in aDemocratic Party with coastal obsessions. Beshear is the great-grandson and grandson of Baptistpreachers. Hiscadences will be heard.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

Rubio and Mast listed some of the same questionable expenditures from the State Department that, two years later,were eliminated by the DOGE effort. There was the funding for drag theater in Ecuador; support for an “LGBT activist group supporting prostitution in Colombia”; the “ﬁlm festival featuring incest and pedophilia in Portugal”; the memo fromthenSecretary of State Antony Blinken that“could be construed to classify Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdomashuman rights abusers for their association with ‘conversion therapy’ treatment for gender dysphoria”; the grant to “promote social acceptance of LGBTQI+ persons” in Botswana; and more. Projects like that “distracted State Department leaders from their duty to protectand promote America’snational security,” Rubio wrote. Now Rubio, with amandate from President Trump, is in aposition to act on his beliefs. Afew of the laid-off workers left messages taped to walls and mirrors. “Here satAmerica’s experts on democracy,human rights (yes, which includes women’s, LGBTQ+, &minorities’ rights), elections security,freedom of expression, privacy,oncountering corruption, violent extremism and disinformation, and more,” said one message. “You’ve just released them and hundreds of their colleagues into the wild in the United States of America.”

It seems likely the creators of those ﬂyers were nottotally on board with Secretary Rubio’s new direction. Maybe it is best that they leave. In any event, the cuts, which amount to about 1.6% of State Department staff, can hardly be described as “devastating.” Of course, theyare upsetting for those who lost their jobs. But this kind of thing happens every day in the private sector,sometimes involving many more people, without the kind of hand-wringing thathas characterized media coverage of the State Department. Now,ashetakes the heat in the coverage, it’s time for Rubio to keep going, to put into place the reforms he envisioned for the department. In politics, such opportunities do not last long. Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.

Byron York

Michael Barone George Will

BR mantakes plea deal in deathofgirlfriend

Victim wasstabbed 39 times, officialssay

BYMATTBRUCE Staff writer

ABaton Rouge man confessedto stabbing his girlfriend to death duringa2020 domesticdispute inside their Jefferson Highway apartment and was sentenced to70years in prison Wednesday Kinnedy Smith’slife was cut short six monthsafter shegraduated from LSU. Connor Regan pleadedguiltytomanslaughter and two counts of obstruction of justice as part of aplea deal in the June 6, 2020, killing. Prosecutors said he stabbed the 21-year-old woman39 times.

Regan, standinginastriped jail jumpsuit, gave no statements during Wednesday morning’shearing inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. He hung his head low as prosecutors laid out the details of the crime.

District Judge ColetteGreggs sentenced Regan to 40 yearsfor the manslaughter charge and tacked

on 15 years apiece forboth counts of tampering withevidence as part of theplea deal. Regan, 32, was indicted forsecond-degree murder and would’ve faced amandatory life sentence if he’d been convicted of that offense. Prosecutors allowed him to plea to the reduced manslaughterchargein exchangefor hisguilty plea.The state addedthe twoobstruction of justice countsthis week as part of the deal.

“This was avery heinous crime which took the lifeof averyyoung lady who had apromising future,” East BatonRouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said.

amaximum sentence of 40 years.”

Mooreadded that becauseofthe potential for Regan to get alesser conviction and sentence in atrial, his office allowed him to plead guilty.

“WhileIfeel,asdoall involved in this case, that this defendantdeserved alife sentence, ourconcerns were with the4,367 pages of documented mental health records that we believe had asignificant chance of being presented at trial. And used tosuccessfully sway ajurytoa manslaughterconviction,which wouldhaveresulted in

Smith majored in international studies at LSU, andhad hopedtotravel the world in her20s. She dreamedofmakinga differenceinher community.

While working as an intakespecialist at Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers several weeks beforeher death,she conﬁdedinher supervisorthat she wanted to pursue alaw degree.

Those dreams were shattered thenight of June 6, when prosecutorssaid Regan killed her during an argument inside their shared residenceatthe ArtsApartment at JeffersonHeights in the 8900 block of JeffersonHighway

According to avideotaped confession, Regan toldBaton Rouge detectivesheand Smithbegan ﬁghting after she rousedhim from his sleep. Regan detailed his and

Mankilledinhelicoptercrash

Lafourche Parish authorities are investigating afatal helicoptercrash early Wednesday morning in acane field off La. 308 in

PIANIST

Continued from page1B

to. Poland, though, is more reserved and Iwas able to perfect my craft while there,” Chaturvedi said Choosing to play the piano felt like anatural path for him. Growing up, his mother regularly played classical music at home, and he said the melodies left alasting impression. Chaturvedi started learningatthe age of 6. What he loves most about the piano is its elegance —and the way it patiently waits in silencefor you as it is ready to come alive.

Thibodaux, accordingto WVUE in New Orleans. Lafourche Parish ofﬁcials said a911 call was received at 6:40 a.m. reportingthe crash near 691 La. 308. The incident occurred

about amile off the highway on private property,the station reported. The station also conﬁrmed that thepilot has been identiﬁed as Stanley HebertJr. of Abbeville.

“Unlike instruments you have to carry,like aguitar, violin or ﬂute, thepianois always there, waiting for you to sit down andbring it to life,” Chaturvedi said Now working as afreelancemusician, Chaturvedi regularly engages in salon concerts and live performances, and he has gradually shifted his focus from composition to performing. He hopesto perform as asoloist with the Warsaw Symphony one day In the meantime,hesaid he looks forward to returning to Northwood United MethodistChurchwith asense of gratitude and homecoming.

CHARGE

Continued from page1B

rightfully so,” he said in his post. “I remember Iris as a younggirl,standingonthe corner of Maraist Street waiting on my school bus. Later,I’d see her on that same corner making sure her younger brother caught his.

“Shewas loving, protective,and full of life —and nowshe’s gone.”

Willis saidcity leaders will “doeverythinginour power” to “bring justice for Iris.”Hesaidthe community owes that to her family. He urged anyonewith information about herdeath to comeforward.

“Stayingsilentmakes you

Smith’s16-monthrelationship and told police he sufferedfrombipolar disorder

“The defendant, Connor Regan, advised that Kinnedy hadahabit of waking himupwhen she could not sleep. It was normallynot aproblem, butonthisnight it was,” Assistant District Attorney Angelica Torrance said while reading the factsofthe state’scase against Regan at Wednesday’splea hearing.

Regan told investigators he was upset with Smith because he thought she called his mother and told her mother he had suicidal ideations the day prior.Heattacked Smithwhen she woke him up and she threatened to call the police. Regansaid that angered him and he wentdownstairstothe kitchen, armedhimself with aknife and came back to thebedroom with theweapon. He said he stabbed Smithmultiple timesasshe lay in bed facing away from the door After Smith managed to getout of thebed,Regan tolddetectiveshe walked over and stabbed herseveral moretimes. He took herphone andhis and fled the apartment, calling 911

THOMAS

Continuedfrom page1B

years as president At itsfounding, Thomas laid down The Newtron Group’score values: All employees shouldbetreated with respect anddignity.The values hung in all of The NewtronGroup’s ofﬁces and job site trailers across the country

“Employees shouldhave an enjoyableenvironment in which to work,” thedocument reads, “and should find that when they do what they think is right, it will be consistent with the values of thecompany.”

Today, TheNewtron Group hasmorethan4,500 employees across Louisiana, California, Texas and Nevada andisa$1billion company

Newtron has won the Business Report’sLarge Private Companyofthe Year Award,the Louisiana

just as guilty as theperson or people responsible. The streets talk. This is not the time to stay quiet,”hesaid.

“I’vegonefrom sadness to rage and back again. But Iknowthis: Godsees everything. And justice will come.”

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

hourslater andtellingemergency dispatchers he stabbedhis live-in girlfriend andwas heading to Texas. Patrol ofﬁcers responded to the apartment and found Smith’sbody in thecouple’sbedroom, Torrance said.

Reganturnedback around and headed toward Baton Rouge and Louisiana State Police madecontact withhim near Crowley. He was taken to Ochsner Acadia General Hospital to be treated for defense wounds to his hands andanklesthat he suffered while stabbing Smith. Detectivesquestionedhim there andhegavehis confession. Medical examiners determined Smith suffered 39 stab wounds, according to prosecutors. Before the fatalstabbing, Regan was arrested in Pointe Coupee Parish in November 2019 following reports from acouple that said they saw him physically abusing Smith on the side of the road. Pointe Coupeeprosecutors chargedhim with amisdemeanor count of battery of adating partner

Email Matt Bruceatmatt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

FreeEnterprise Company of the Year Award, andthe first Baton Rouge Better Business Bureau Manship Ethics in Business Award.

In 2012, The Newtron Group was ranked as ENR Magazine’s seventh-largest industrial electrical contractor in the country

The companyalso provided electrical instrumentation for many chemical plants andoil reﬁneries along the banks of the Mississippi River in the Baton Rouge area.

“Newton believedthat long-term, committedemployees were thekey to a successful company,and he instilled in us the belief that every employee and customer deservestobe treated with dignity and respect,” amemorialpost from the company states.

“Our world has been forever changeddue to Newton’slife, his vision for the company and the values he instilled in every single one of us.”

Thomaswas the founding chairmanofthe Dean’s Advisory Council of the LSU College of Engineering andwas inductedinto theLSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1994. He was also the past chairman forAMIkids of Baton Rouge, anonproﬁt rehabilitation program for adjudicated youth in the juvenile justicesystem, serving as the national boardoftrustees’chairmanaswell.

LouisianaPress Association’s Classiﬁed Network. Pre-payment required To learnmore, email advertising@lapress.comorcall 225-344-9309.

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Smith Regan

FON OF

Kelly hammers home Clemson priority

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

On Wednesday,coach Brian Kelly did it again. He found another way —after six months of searching for others —togive LSU’sseason opener vs. Clemson the weight he thinks it deserves.

Rather than let audio issues interfere with hisannual visittothe Baton Rouge Rotary Club, Kelly ditched the faulty microphone he wasgiven, choosing instead to shout the entirety of his25-minute address to the gatheredcrowd. The move allowed his voice to match the urgency of his message: that theTigers are focusedonpicking up awin on Aug. 30 at Clemson’sMemorial Stadium —aplace he slyly called “Death Valley junior.”

“When we talk about what adjustmentswe were making in 2025 into 2026,” Kelly said in his final public comments before preseason camp, “it’sNo. 1, let’sput out agoal. For the first time,let’snot talkabout anything else but 1-0 against Clemson.” Kelly,ahead of his fourth year in Baton Rouge, wants his LSU team to snap its fivegamelosing streak in season openers. Stopping that skid is officially an acute concern.

MathieuisLSU football’s greatest,and rarest,No. 7

ive years ago, when compiling the namesofthe greatest playersinLSU football historyto wear each number for the book “LSU By the Numbers,”Ihad one huge dilemma: Whotopickfor No. 7?

More great players for the Tigers have wornNo. 7than any other number.Noless than sevenAll-Americans havewornit, includingsuch immortals asBert Jones, Patrick Peterson and Leonard Fournette.

Therewas no wronganswer but just one right answer Tyrann Mathieu.

Why?I’ve beencoveringLSU football for along time,much longer than Icare to admit, going back to 1992. In that time,I’ve neverseen amore disruptive defensive player wear the purple and gold. Aforce of nature and colossal game-changer bothondefense and special teams. His retirement from theNew Orleans Saints on Tuesday at theage of 33 makes this aﬁne time to remember how amazing Mathieu wasasan LSU Tiger

Scott Rabalais

He streaked across thesky of LSUfootball like ameteor,shining brieﬂy but oh so brightly for two seasons. But in that time, he left an indelible mark.

Every big play on defense, it seemed, Mathieu made it. Every time theTigers needed abig stop, he got it.There were times his knack for theball, and ball carriers, seemed miraculous, like he had somefootball ESP on display for all to see on ESPN.

“I thinkI’ve seen guys makeplays like this every year,” LSU coach Les Miles said then. “Tyrann Mathieu

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

LSUcornerback Tyrann Mathieucelebrates an overturned call on the field during agameagainst theArkansas RazorbacksonNov.26, 2011, at TigerStadium. STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL DEMOCKER

The Kellen Moore era ofﬁcially kicked off Wednesday as the Saintsopened training camp at the team’straining facility in Metairie.

Always atime of optimism, Day One was atypically lightand energetic affair,asplayers and coaches worked efﬁciently through acrisp workout of alittle more than an hour in helmets and shells.

But as opening days go, thisone noticeably was low-key

Maybe fans were trying to familiarize themselves with all the newfaces or simply were content to enjoy thecloudy skies and unseasonably temperate weather conditions, but they were reserved. The Who Dat chants were infrequentand less enthusiastic than usual. Thecostumesand handmade signs were left at home.

We all know the Who Dat Nation takes abackseat to no fan base when it comes to passionand support, so itsreticence speaks volumes about thecurrentstate of

the Saints. After years of declining results andunrealized potential, fans appear to be takingashow-me approach to theupcomingcampaign. At times Wednesday,the practice was so quiet you could hear thecommunication on the walkietalkies of security personnel on the sidelines.

Themuted environment was partly by design. Week 1isan installment phase of camp, and Moore clearly wanted players and coaches to focus on the task at hand, so the traditional in-practice soundtrack from the sideline sound system was turned off duringdrills. Still, Ican’trecall amore subduedatmosphere for the opening day of aSaints’ trainingcamp. “Right now,we’re just building,” veteran running back Alvin Kamara said. “We Quietﬁrstday at Saints’camp reﬂectsfans’

ä See DUNCAN, page 3C Jeff Duncan

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It’snot hard to figure outwhy James Madison received 11 first-place votes as thetop overall vote-getter in the Sun Belt’spreseason coaches poll. Sure,the Dukesslipped abit record-wise in 2024 under first-year coach Bob Chesney after Curt Cignetti leftfor Indiana. But every expectation for 2025 is that James Madison relentlessly will attack the upcoming season. One reason forthat expectation is that the Dukes offense wasveryefficient last season with only nine turnovers.James Madison jumped on teams to the tune of 116-45 in the first quarter Alack of depth helps explain whythe Dukes saw four gamesslip away to finish 9-4 and 4-4 in the Sun Belt. “How did we lose those games?” Chesney saidWednesday during the second dayof SunBeltmedia days at theNew Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District. “It was tough, especially since we were up 17 and 14 in twoofthem.”

TheDukes collected 94 pointsinthe Sun Belt East Division preseason poll, 18 ahead

STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough runs adrill duringopeningday of training camp Wednesdayatthe team’s practice facility

CFL

8 p.m. Montreal at Calgary CBSSN CYCLING

5 a.m. Tour de France: Stage 18 PEACOCK GOLF

7:30 a.m. Champions: Senior Open Golf

3 p m. PGA

3:30

Waiting for clarity

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

LAS VEGAS Next week, college football coaches can put the recruiting promises they have made to high school seniors on paper Then the question becomes whether they can keep them.

Uncertainty over a key element of the $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement that is reshaping college sports has placed recruiters on a tightrope.

They need clarity about whether the third-party collectives that were closely afﬁliated with their schools and that ruled name, image, likeness payments over the ﬁrst four years of the NIL era can be used to exceed the $20.5 million annual cap on what each school can now pay players directly Or, whether those collectives will simply become a cog in the new system.

Only until that issue is resolved will many coaches know if the offers they’ve made, and that can become ofﬁcial on Aug. 1, will conform to the new rules governing college sports.

“You don’t want to put agreements on the table about things that we might have to claw back,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said at this week’s Big Ten media days. “Because that’s not a great look.”

No coach, of course, is going to fess up to making an offer he can’t back up

“All we can do is be open and honest about what we do know, and be great communicators from that standpoint,” Oregon’s Dan Lanning said.

Aug. 1 is key because it marks the day football programs can start sending written offers for scholarships to high school prospects starting their senior year

This process essentially replaces what used to be the signing of a national letter of intent It symbolizes the changes taking hold in a new era in which players aren’t just signing for a scholarship, but for a paycheck, too.

Paying them is not a straightforward business. Among the gray areas comes from guidance issued earlier this month by the newly formed College Sports Commission in charge of enforcing rules involved with paying players, both through the $20.5 million revenue share with schools and through third-party collectives.

The CSC is in charge of clearing all thirdparty deals worth $600 or more. It created uncertainty earlier this month when it announced, in essence, that the collectives did not have a “valid business purpose.” if their only reason to exist was ultimately to pay players. Lawyers for the players barked back and said that is what a collective was always met to be and if it sells a product for a proﬁt, it qualiﬁes as legit. The parties are working on a compromise, but if they don’t reach one they will take this in front of a judge to decide.

With Aug. 1 coming up fast, coaches are eager to lock in commitments they’ve spent months, sometimes years, locking down from high school recruits.

“Recruiting never shuts off, so we do need clarity as soon as we can,” Buckeyes athletic director Ross Bjork said. “The sooner we can have clarity the better I think the term ‘collective’ has obviously taken on a life of its own.

“But it’s really not what it’s called, it’s what they do.” In anticipating the future, some schools have disbanded their collectives while others, such as Ohio State, have brought them in-house. It is all a bit of a gamble. If the agreement that comes out of these negotiations doesn’t restrict collectives, they could be viewed as an easy way to get around the salary cap. Either way, schools eyeing ways for players to earn money outside the cap amid reports that big programs have football rosters worth more than $30 million in terms of overall player payments.

“It’s a lot to catch-up, and there’s a lot for coaches and administrators to deal with,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said, noting the terms only went into play on July 1. “But I don’t think it’s unusual when you have something this different that there’s going to be some bumps in the road to get to the right place.”

WELL-ARMED

BY STEVE REED AP sportswriter

CHARLOTTE,N.C.— Carson Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami because he viewed himself as a great fit in the Hurricanes’ explosive offensive scheme. Miller Moss left USC for Louisville after learning of coach Jeff Brohm’s history of developing transfer quarterbacks And Tommy Castellanos moved on from Boston College to Florida State for a crack at beating national power Alabama in the season opener And then there’s Gio Lopez, who wouldn’t mind becoming Bill Belichick’s next Tom Brady at North Carolina.

In all, eight of the top 25 quarterbacks in 247Sports’ transfer-portal rankings landed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. By comparison, the Southeastern Conference has six of those top-level transfer QBs, while the Big Ten has four and the Big 12 three. It’s why the ACC has spent this week touting itself as the “conference of quarterbacks” while pointing to being the only league with at least one QB drafted in the ﬁrst round of six different drafts since 2018.

Each QB has his own story and reasons for leaving for greener pastures — and no doubt about it, NIL money played a huge factor but each comes with aspirations of replicating what Miami transfer Cam Ward accomplished last season.

Ward left Washington State for the Hurricanes and in one season developed into the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, securing a fully guaranteed $48.7 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.

Beck, who was the No. 2-ranked QB in the transfer portal behind only former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava at UCLA, left Athens despite going 24-3 as a starter for the Bulldogs.

He called it a “very difﬁcult decision,” but said it’s one that has worked out well so far leaving him excited about the future.

“What Cam was able to do is undeniable,” said Beck, who said he’s fully recovered from an elbow injury he suffered in last year’s SEC championship game.

“The last school I was at, I followed up the two-time national champion, so I didn’t really feel any pressure there. It’s a game; I’ve played football my whole life I’ve played quarterback since I was 7 years old. I’ve got a lot of good talent around me and really good coaches in position to be really successful.”

Miami coach Mario Cristobal couldn’t resist the temptation of adding such a proven commodity, saying “everything” drew him to recruiting Beck.

“He’s played in monster games and he’s played at a high level,” Cristobal said.

“He is ultra competitive, and his football IQ is off the charts. It didn’t take long to realize that he’s a team player, and that his work ethic is also through the roof.”

Moss threw for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for the Trojans, but needed a change of scenery and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to work with Brohm, who’s viewed by many as a quarterback whisperer for his efforts in developing the likes of Aidan O’Connell, Tyler Shough of the Saints and Jack Plummer

“Obviously different coaches try to sell you on different things, but when there’s consistent proof of your ability to do something, that kind of transcends any words you hear in a meeting,” Moss said of Brohm’s history Castellanos hasn’t played a snap at Florida State but has already created a stir nationally when he told On3 that he doesn’t believe Alabama can stop him in the Aug 30 season opener — in part because the Crimson Tide no longer has Nick Saban running the show

He didn’t back down from those comments on Wednesday at the ACC media days.

“We stand on what I said,” said Castellanos, who’ll look to lead the Seminoles back to national prominence following a miserable 2-10 season.

LSU was also No. 1 in average attendance with a ﬁgure of 11,186 per game, just two shy of the school record of 11,188 in 2023. The Tigers posted a home record of 35-6. LSU set a school single-game attendance record of 13,376 for an April 26 game versus Tennessee, and its attendance exceeded 12,000 six times during the 2025 season. The top schools for total attendance were: LSU 458,606; Arkansas 407,196; Ole Miss 344,364; Mississippi State 330,009; South Carolina 251,414; Texas 250,754; Tennessee 235,035; Florida 226,903; Texas A&M 206,577; and Auburn 201,703.

Bonmatí leads Spain past Germany into Euro final ZURICH Aitana Bonmatí scored in extra time to send Spain to its first Women’s European Championship ﬁnal with a 1-0 win over Germany on Wednesday setting up a repeat of the 2023 World Cup title match.

A stubborn Germany performance had seen it take the world champions to extra time and Spain needed a superb strike from the two-time Ballon d’Or winner to secure a ﬁrst win over Germany In the 113th minute, Athenea del Castillo threaded the ball through to Bonmatí, who got past Rebecca Knaak with a clever dummy and turn before squeezing home an audacious attempt from the tightest of angles. England also needed extra time to snatch a 2-1 win over Italy on Tuesday

Williams wins tour-level singles match at age 45 WASHINGTON — There are plenty of reasons this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match resonates with so many folks.

That she’s 45, for one thing. Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004.

That Williams hadn’t entered a tournament anywhere in 16 months. That she needed surgery for uterine ﬁbroids. On Tuesday night, she beat her 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open. Williams, who received a wildcard invitation on Wednesday for next month’s Cincinnati Open, won her pro debut at age 14.

Ohtani ties Dodgers record with HR in 5th straight game

“But there’s no disrespect between that team or anything like that. It’s just the conﬁdence that I have in my teammates and the way we’ve been preparing and putting this preparation together this offseason. I just feel conﬁdent in the guys and the work that we’ve been putting in.”

Among the other QB newcomers in the ACC include Cal’s Jaron Sagapolutele, who was ranked ﬁfth in the transfer portal after his decision to leave Oregon.

Duke landed a key transfer in Tulane’s Darian Mensah, and Syracuse coach Fran Brown signed a pair of bigschool transfers in Rickie Collins from LSU and Steve Angeli from Notre Dame. Collins is projected to start and attended the league’s preseason media days on Wednesday, and will look to build on Kyle McCord’s success last season after McCord himself a transfer from Ohio State — threw for a national-best 4,779 yards for the Orange The ACC has some highly touted returning quarterbacks as well, most notably 4,000-yard passer Cade Klubnik at Clemson and the versatile Kevin Jennings at SMU. Both led their teams to the ACC title game and College Football Playoff berths last season. Georgia Tech’s Haynes King transferred from Texas A&M after the 2022 season, said he never entertained the idea of leaving despite two successful seasons with the Yellow Jackets in which he’s thrown for nearly 5,000 yards and combined for 68 TDs.

LOS ANGELES Shohei Ohtani homered for the ﬁfth consecutive game on Wednesday, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record.

Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year

Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 441 feet to center He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip.

The Dodgers won 4-3 on Freddie Freeman’s two-run, game-winning single in the ninth.

This is the seventh time in Dodgers history that a player has homered in five consecutive games. Ohtani joins Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Shawn Green and Roy Campanella in that club.

NASCAR announces race on U.S. Naval base in ’26

LOSANGELES NASCAR is returning to Southern California, only its cars will be racing on the streets of Coronado and not on an oval in Fontana.

The stock car racing circuit announced Wednesday it will host a three-day series of races June 1921, ending in a NASCAR Cup Series race on the U.S. Naval base in Coronado.

NASCAR did not race in Southern California last year for the ﬁrst time since 1997, with the exception of 2021, when the schedule was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. For much of that time, the races were held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, but that track was torn down in 2023 to make room for a giant warehouse complex.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEVE REED

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah transferred to Duke.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK Former LSU quarterback Rickie Collins transferred to Syracuse.

SUN BELT

Continued from page 1C

of runner-up Georgia Southern Last year’s scenarios haunted the James Madison coaching staff for much of the offseason.

“Usually it comes in a short period of time. There ends up being a turnover that leads to a big play, and then there ends up being something that happens on special teams,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened in three of those games for us.

“You can’t turn that ball over We did a great job of that all year, but in the games we lost, we didn’t.” Finishing was the theme of the offseason.

“When there’s blood in the water, you’ve got to smell it and you’ve got to be ready to attack,” Chesney said. “You cannot go out nicely and put yourself in position where you’re preserving a win. The win doesn’t happen until the ﬁnal buzzer goes off. There’s nothing to protect. We should always be

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

seems to make them every game himself.”

A radio call from the 2011 LSUKentucky game bears that out. In the third quarter, Mathieu blitzed from the left side for a strip sack, forcing the ball out of the hands of quarterback Maxwell Smith. Mathieu picked it up on a hop and dashed in for a touchdown as Tiger Stadium roared.

“He’s going to be hit and the ball is knocked loose,” then LSU play-by-play announcer Jim Hawthorne said. “It’s at the 23-yard line, picked up you want me to tell you who it was?”

“No,” LSU color analyst Doug Moreau answered, “we know already.”

“Tyrann Mathieu!”

He even had the best nickname ever, the Honey Badger, an honoriﬁc bestowed upon Mathieu by one of the most unlikely of phrase-makers: crusty, curmudgeonly LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis. Mathieu didn’t care for it until Chavis found a wildlife video that described a honey badger’s attitude.

“The honey badger,” the narrator said, “takes what it wants.” It was perfect.

Mathieu started only one game as a freshman, but what a season. He led the Southeastern Conference with five forced fumbles, tied for first in the conference with three fumble recoveries and had two interceptions. In the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M alone, Mathieu had seven tackles (including a sack), forced two fumbles, recovered one, had an interception and broke up a pass. Turned out he was just preparing the football ground for the 2011 season. Back in the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium for the colossal opener between No 3 Oregon and the No. 4 Tigers, Mathieu gave LSU its first lead early in the second quarter when he stripped punt returner Kenjon Barner of the ball and scooped it up for a touchdown.

The Tigers drove from that game to the SEC championship and a berth in the BCS

Continued from page 1C

have to earn the respect of these coaches and get back the respect of these fans and on Sunday, it will take care of the rest. We’ve got talent. We’ve just got to get our vibe back.”

That might take a while if you believe outside observers.

Pundits have picked the Saints to ﬁnish last in the NFC South and miss the playoffs for a ﬁfth consecutive season ESPN analysts ranked the roster as the least talented in the league. And Vegas oddsmakers have set their over-under win total at 5.5, tied with the Giants, Browns and Titans for lowest in the league.

It’s been a while since the Saints opened a season with such low expectations. Decades, maybe.

Predictably, these dire predictions elicited scoffs and smirks from Saints players and coaches this week.

“I’ve never been a fan of the noise,” Kamara said Cam Jordan echoed those sentiments, saying he doesn’t care if people are for or against the team.

“What’s important right now is how we feel about us,” Jordan

in attack mode.”

At quarterback, Alonza Barnett suffered a knee injury in last year’s ﬁnale and isn’t 100%. That may not come until after the start of the regular season.

No one has to tell Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton about the importance of turnovers The Eagles got to 8-5 and 6-2 last season despite committing 22 turnovers after posting 31 two years ago.

“To put ourselves into contention, we had to get better at protecting the ball last year and we did that,” Helton said. “But better and good doesn’t mean great, and that’s our next step.

“We went from poor to good last year Now we’ve got to go from good to great if we want to go for that championship.”

Helton said the process began immediately after a turnovermarred bowl game loss to Sam Houston with a conversation with returning quarterback JC French.

“I’ll never forget being in that tunnel and him (French) walking straight up to me after the game and saying, ‘Coach, I promise you

that’s never going to happen again as long as you and I are together,’ ” Helton said. Throughout the offseason, Helton said French “backed it up with everythinghe’sdonefromthedayafter that game all the way until now He runs the team. He protects the ball.” Georgia Southern essentially was oneplayawayfromplayingintheSun Belt championship game last season.

“The third thing to me is the chip this team has on its shoulder,” Helton said. “We know how close we were last season. We still all have a pit in our stomach right now I’ve seen that carry over into our offseason workouts.”

The popular dark horse candidate from the East Division is Old Dominion, which settled for 5-7 and 4-4 in 2024 under coach Ricky Rahne. The Monarchs were predicted to ﬁnish ﬁfth in the East race

“A lot of that is us having some continuity in our quarterback and in our coaching staff, which is a rare thing in this day and age,” said Rahne, who said ODU lost only one coach in the offseason.

The big key for the Monarchs is

FILE PHOTO By TRAVIS

LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu basks in the confetti-ﬁlled atmosphere after winning the SEC championship in a game against Georgia on Dec 3, 2011, in Atlanta.

final against Alabama, Mathieu leading the way He recorded a team-high 76 tackles, broke his own school record with six forced fumbles (recovering five) with two interceptions. If anything, he expanded on his repertoire and reputation with two punt return touchdowns, including one in the SEC championship game against Georgia as the Tigers shook off an early 10-0 deficit to win in a rout, 4210. Mathieu was the MVP Soon he would be a Heisman Trophy finalist (he finished fifth) and winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive back.

“Tyrann Mathieu,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler said, “is instant impact.”

Unfortunately for Mathieu and LSU, his impact was over after LSU’s sobering 21-0 BCS title game loss to Alabama in the Superdome. Instead of another

incredible season as a junior, he was kicked off the team just a month before the 2012 campaign started, reportedly for repeat violations of the school’s substance abuse policy Mathieu was drafted in the third round by Arizona in 2013 and went on to a dozen stellar seasons with the Cardinals, Texans, Chiefs and Saints.

A 12-year NFL career is something rare. But rarer still was Mathieu’s brief and brilliant career as an LSU Tiger Now that he is retired from football, hopefully Mathieu will return to Tiger Stadium this fall and have a chance to be honored on the ﬁeld where he had perhaps his greatest glory And was the best No. 7 anyone at LSU ever saw

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

winning close games.

“We’ve had 21 of our last 25 games decided by one score, and in the last two years, each of our conference games were decided by one score,” he said.

A big issue was 21 turnovers.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Rahne said. “If it was one thing, I would have already ﬁxed it. We do need to be better in the third quarter.”

ODU’s depth chart includes veteran linebacker Jason Henderson, who missed all of last season while injured. He has 438 career tackles and 34 stops behind the line.

“We just had a workout yesterday, and it was probably the best I’ve ever seen him in an offseason workout,” Rahne said. “Not the best I’ve seen him since his injury, the best I’ve ever seen him. I am very excited to see him this year I’m happy for him to be able to concentrate on football and not the physical aspect of it.”

Quarterback Colton Joseph returns after 647 yards and 11 scores on the ground. His wide receiver crew is inexperienced, but “that

KELLY

Continued from page 1C

Kelly has the ﬁrst game on the docket “circled” for the first time in his career, as he said at SEC media days and reiterated Wednesday

LSU’s practice facility now reﬂectsthatchangeinmindset.Clemsonpawprintsadornpunchingbags in the weight room, and the screens insidecarryanaccompanyingmessage — a clear, direct “1-0.”

“I know the main idea is that that could be too much,” Kelly said, “but not this time. Because our guys have a speciﬁc goal. It’s attainable. It’s a challenge, and they are driven individually to get that done.”

Kelly’s optimism is not unfounded. An offseason fundraising push allowed LSU to acquire the ﬁnancial resources it needed to build a roster he thinks can compete for a spot in the 12team College Football Playoff. The Tigers couldn’t contend before, Kelly has said. Now they can, thanks in large part to the $1 million he put forward in December to drum up interest in a campaign that raised $3.3 million.

LSU used that inﬂux of cash to solidify a top-10 freshman class and sign one of the nation’s best groups of transfers.

Now returning quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has more weapons, particularly those who can stretch the ﬁeld, and secondyear defensive coordinator Blake Baker has more depth, especially in the secondary and at the edges.

Three new edge rushers from power-conference teams are in the mix, as well as Virginia Tech transfer corner Mansoor Delane, Houston transfer safety AJ Haulcy and North Carolina State transfer safety Tamarcus Cooley a trio of versatile, experienced defensive backs expected to carve out important roles in a revamped secondary On offense, transfer receivers Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky) will compete for targets with returners such as Aaron Anderson, Chris Hilton and tight end Trey’Dez Green. The Tigers even landed Virginia Tech transfer Braelin Moore and Northwest-

position group performed better than any position group we had over the spring.”

The East Division features the reigning Sun Belt champion, but Marshall is more of an afterthought in Sun Belt circles this week after coach Charles Huff and many of his players left for Southern Mississippi after beating UL 31-3 in the Sun Belt championship game. Consequently, the Thundering Herd don’t have the target on their back like most reigning champions do.

“We haven’t even talked about it,” Marshall coach Tony Gibson said. “What we have to do is win today. We have to stack days. Don’t listen to all the noise. I don’t care where they pick us. There’s only two things that can happen: We’re going to prove them right or we’re going to prove them wrong. We’re excited for the challenge.”

Gibson said the Herd have 72 new players, including 54 from the transfer portal.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

ern transfer Josh Thompson — two offensive linemen expected to step into prominent roles as part of a unit that’s replacing four starters.

“On paper,” Kelly said, “this is the best roster that we will put out there since I’ve been here. And I’m excited about that.”

LSU still has a few key questions to answer in preseason practices.

Kelly and his staff will use that time to sort out, for example, their base group of receivers and defensive backs How healthy is Nic Anderson after he sat out most of spring practices? How much is prized freshman corner DJ Pickett ready to contribute this season?

LSU also will use the opportunity to evaluate its new-look offensive line. The only returning starter, redshirt sophomore DJ Chester, may switch positions, moving from center to guard. Two tackles took most of the ﬁrst-team reps in the spring, but one (Tyree Adams) has started only two career games, and the other (Weston Davis) took a redshirt during his 2024 true freshman season.

Those questions are important, but on Wednesday they each took a backseat to the ones at the forefront of Kelly’s mind. How can he prepare LSU to beat Clemson on the road to avoid a sixth straight season-opening loss? How can the team begin a new year without the burden of climbing out of an 0-1 hole against a daunting eightgame SEC slate?

“I’d get on a plane or a bus or a train,” Kelly said, “and I would go watch (the Clemson) game. Because it’s gonna be exciting. Because our players set that as a goal and a goal that is attainable. It’s speciﬁc it’s challenging, and they are driven for it.”

Does Kelly think the new focus will pay off? Will LSU, for the ﬁrst time since 2019, win its season opener?

“Well, you can see my excitement,” Kelly said, “and if I’m excited, you should be excited too because it’s gonna be an exciting, exciting time for us. There’s no doubt.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Keenan Allen, a veteran receiver who the Saints have courted heavily this offseason, remains in wait-and-see mode on the open market. Ditto cornerback Asante Samuel Jr Likewise, the sudden retirements of Tyrann Mathieu, Derek Carr and Dallin Holker are indicative of a team in flux. Each decision was made autonomously but collectively they reflect something bigger If the Saints were division favorites or Super Bowl contenders, you have to think one or two of them would have strapped on their cleats for at least another season rather than hanging them up. Who knows, maybe the Saints will shock the world and win the division like they did in 2000 and 2006 under Jim Haslett and Sean Payton, respectively Worst-tofirst turnarounds happen every year in the NFL. See: the 2024 Washington Commanders. But more often than not, these things take time, especially with a first-year head coach and unproven quarterback. Until the Saints prove otherwise, I like many of the fans in the stands Wednesday will be in show-me mode. The best way for the Saints to quiet the noise about them is to make some of their own this season.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints guard Kyle Hergel, center, runs drills with teammates during the opening day of training camp Wednesday at the team’s practice facility

STAFF

SPRADLING

Saints QB competitionstartsinearnest

QUARTERBACK OBSERVATIONS

Let the battle begin. The New Orleans Saintsopened training camp Wednesday morning at their Metairiefacility with ashort practice thatlasted roughly 68 minutes,signaling not only the start of their 2025 season but also the next step in deciding who will start at quarterback in the season opener New Orleans currently is deciding among three options in Spencer Rattler,Tyler Shough and Jake Haener.Rattler took the first spin with the firstteam offense, but coach Kellen Moore said Shough will work with the first team for Thursday’s practice, and the quarterbacks will be rotated throughout camp. We’ll keep tabs on the quarterback competition with daily notes and observations throughout training camp until the Saints name astarter,includingtracking their daily statistics from 11-on-11 drills (seven-on-seven periods won’tcount toward the numbers, but they will be included in the observations). It should be noted that these numbers don’t always translate —the players could be working on aspecific skill, and it’ssometimes hard to separate what is

or isn’ta sack since the passers wear non-contact jerseys —but they’re still ahelpful tool to gauge general performance.

Here’show the quarterbacks performed on Day 1:

n Spencer Rattler: 4-4

n Tyler Shough: 3-5

n Jake Haener: 2-3

Going beyond the numbers, every quarterback had some snaps they’d like to have back —though that was something Moore said he waslooking forward to, because he wants to see howthey respond to bad moments.

Each of Rattler’scompletions in theteam periods came within about 5yards of the line of scrimmage. He opened it up alittle bit more in theseven-on-seven setting, hittingJuwan Johnsonon anice intermediate out-breaker with hisﬁrst rep, then drilling Chris Olavedown the seam fora biggainlater on.

Theonly down moment forRattler was abotched shotgun snap on the ﬁrst play of the ﬁnal team period. It looked like the ball got on himtoo quickly, maybe catchinghim by surprise,and the play had to be stopped.

Shough and Haenerwere more up and down.

For Shough, the No.40overall draft pick, there was aatleast oneclear sack andacouple of poor throws. He skippedone at tight end Treyton Welch’sfeet while navigating pressure during oneteam period, then leta

pass drift toward themiddle of the ﬁeld on acurlroute during seven-on-sevens that wasnearly intercepted Shough did have acouple of impressivethrows, including one on an incomplete wheelroute to

undrafted rookie running back MarcusYarnsdeep downfield. Yarnshad to turn his hips to try to make thecatch,but it wastoward thesideline andawayfrom thesafety,giving Yarnsthe only attemptatmaking acatch Haener,who missed mostofthe summer while recovering from an oblique injury, looked rusty to start. His first tworepswere interrupted by pressure,with both likely resulting in sacks. His thirdwas apoorlythrown over route to an open DantePettisthat left abig playonthe field. He reboundedinthe seven-onseven period,thenmadesome nicethrows in thefinalteam period —completing an on-therunsideline throw to Michael Jacobson on an RPO, then layering apass over thecoverageto hit Jacobson forabig gain on his ensuing throw Howthe quarterbacksperform as passers is obviously going to be weighed heavily in the Saints’ evaluation,but Moore also is placing emphasisonhow thequarterbacksoperate theoffense. Thatside of things should become moreclear as training camp progresses andthe Saints getintolonger, morephysical practices

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Saints open camp acknowledgingnew reality

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Mickey Loomis cameclose to saying the quiet part out loud The New Orleans Saintsgeneral manager,tobeclear,still rebuffs the idea that his team is completely rebuilding. Loomis sees adistinctionbetween outsideexpectations —which peg the Saints as one of the NFL’s worst teams —and aspirations —which involvestriving to win the NFC South and seeing what happens after that But for the first timepublicly, Loomis acknowledged that,yeah, the Saints are in abit of atransition.

“Well, clearly it’satransition because we’re going to have achange of quarterback,” Loomis said. “And that’sobviously the most important position on the field for any team.” On the first day of training camp, that transition was more than evident when the Saints took the field Wednesday.The Saints not only havethree quarterbacks —first Spencer Rattler,followed by Ty-

lerShough and Jake Haener

rotate reps but also an entirely newcoaching staff in place. The way coach Kellen Moorehandled thepracticelookeda bitdifferent from past years, fromthe variety of drills to the crisp session that took roughly70minutes.

Evenifthe Saints don’t want to comeout and say they are rebuilding, thevibes indicate apotential long road ahead.

The quarterback competition will take its time,withMoore telling reporters he planstorotate ﬁrst-team reps by the dayupuntilatleast the team’sAug. 10 preseason opener againstthe LosAngeles Chargers But there also has been an inﬂux of newfaces and ajettisoning of old ones. This offseason alone, the Saints have hadfour playersfromlast year’sroster retire —including their formerquarterback (Derek Carr),and twoothers(safety Tyrann Mathieu andtight endDallin Holker) this week.

“Right now,we’re just building,” running back Alvin Kamara said. “Wehave to build.Wehaveto

earn the respectofeachother.We have to earn therespect of these coaches,get back the respectof thesefans. Andshoot, on Sunday, it’ll takecare of itself.We’vegot talent. We just gottoget our vibe back, we just gottoget our spark back.”

In some ways, that’sbeen Kamara’s approach everyyear. The 29-year-old is entering his ninth season, and the sport’s routine leans into the concept of havingtostart from thebottom of the mountain and climbup. Kamara said last year’s5-12record doesn’trequire New Orleans to build more than usual. Striving to be better than thepreviousyear is an essential part of the sport, he said.

Kamara also said the Saints had losttheir“core values” in recent years. Thoughhedid notspecify what those valueswere, therunning back indicated they were “sticking” consistentlythroughout the team.

Thosevalues, if they indeed need to be reset, are nowset mainlyby Moore. As aﬁrst-time head coach,

Moorelong has envisioned how he wantstorun ateam. He said he keepsnotes on themethods that work best, borrowing bitsand pieces from his past threecoaching stops withthe Philadelphia Eagles,Los Angeles Chargers andDallas Cowboys, and advice fromother coaches —including his own father Moore recognizes the Saints still have core veterans who know what it’s like to win at ahigh level —and strivefor that. So, Moore said he’s formeda “leadership council” madeupof12-14 players to lean on.

“I want wins,” defensive end CamJordansaid. “I’vehad as much success in the league as anybody in the league.Right now, I wantwins.”

Across the league, people don’t expect many wins from the Saints this season. ESPN recently ranked New Orleansashaving the worst roster in the NFL. Oddsmakers put theSaints rightinthe mixfor the No.1pick.

The players have heard the noise. Kamara said his family sends him

SCOREBOARD

N.Y. Mets 6, L.A. Angels3 Kansas City8,Chicago Cubs 4 Colorado 6, St. Louis0 Milwaukee 10, Seattle2 Houston 4, Arizona 3 L.A. Dodgers4,Minnesota 3 Boston at Philadelphia, n Thursday’s games San Diego at St. Louis, 6:45 p.m. American League Leaders League leaders American League BATTING—Judge, New York, .346; Peña, Houston, .322; Aranda, TampaBay 316; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, .315;Meyers,Houston, .308; Kirk, Toronto, .304; Ramírez, Cleveland, .295; M.Garcia, Kansas City 291; Buxton, Minnesota, .290; Y.Díaz, TampaBay 290. RUNS—Judge, New York, 89;Buxton, Minnesota, 68; Raleigh, Seattle, 68;Neto, Los Angeles, 65; Ju.Rodríguez,Seattle, 65; Rooker,Athletics,63; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 62; Ramírez, Cleveland, 61; Witt, Kansas City,60; Bellinger,New York, 58;Caminero, TampaBay,58; Springer, Toronto, 58 RBI—Raleigh, Seattle, 84;Judge, New York, 82; Greene, Detroit, 79; Ward,Los Angeles,76; Caminero, TampaBay,65; Perez, Kansas City,62; Pasquantino, Kansas City, 61; Torkelson, Detroit, 59; Story,Boston, 59; Devers, San Francisco, 58; Adell, Los Angeles, 58; Buxton, Minnesota, 58;Y.Díaz TampaBay,58. HOME RUNS—Raleigh, Seattle, 39;Judge, New York, 36; Caminero, TampaBay,25; Greene, Detroit, 25; Buxton, Minnesota, 23; Ward,Los Angeles, 23; Adell, LosAngeles 21; Torkelson, Detroit, 21; Ramírez, Cleveland, 21; Rooker,Athletics, 21. PITCHING—Fried, New York, 11-3;Crochet, Boston, 11-4; Valdez, Houston, 11-4; deGrom, Texas, 10-2; Skubal,Detroit, 10-3; Ryan, Minnesota, 10-4; Bassitt, Toronto, 10-4; Rodón, New York, 10-7; H.Brown, Houston, 9-4; Mize, Detroit, 9-4. ERA Crochet, Boston, 2.19; Skubal, Detroit, 2.19; deGrom, Texas, 2.28; Bubic, Kansas City,2.38; Fried, New York, 2.43; H.Brown, Houston, 2.57; Ryan, Minnesota, 2.63; Valdez, Houston, 2.67; Woo, Seattle, 2.91; S.Lugo, Kansas City,2.95. STRIKEOUTS—Crochet, Boston, 165; Skubal, Detroit, 164; H.Brown, Houston, 144; Rodón, New York, 139; Ryan, Minnesota, 132; Flaherty,Detroit, 130; Valdez, Houston, 129; Kikuchi, LosAngeles,123; deGrom, Texas, 122; Pepiot, TampaBay,118. National League BATTING—W.Smith, LosAngeles 325; Stowers, Miami, .295; Frelick, Milwaukee, .294; F.Freeman, LosAngeles 293; Naylor, Arizona, .293; Donovan, St. Louis, .292; Edwards,Miami,.292; Burleson, St. Louis, .290; T.Turner, Philadelphia, .288; Hoerner Chicago, .286. RUNS—Ohtani, LosAngeles,95; E.De La Cruz,Cincinnati, 77; Soto, New York, 72; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 71; Tucker, Chicago, 71;Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 69; Chourio, Milwaukee, 67;Tatis, San Diego, 67; Carroll, Arizona, 66; Lindor,New York, 65; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 65 RBI—E.Suárez, Arizona, 86;Suzuki, Chicago, 81; Alonso, New York, 80;Schwarber, Philadelphia, 75; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 74;

Perdomo, Arizona, 72; Wood, Washington, 70; Ohtani,Los Angeles, 69; Yelich,Milwaukee, 66; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati,65. HOME RUNS—E.Suárez, Arizona, 36; Ohtani LosAngeles,36; Schwarber, Philadelphia 33; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 27; Suzuki, Chicago, 26;Soto, New York,24; Wood, Washington, 24; Stowers, Miami, 22; Alonso, New York, 22; Carroll, Arizona, 21. STOLEN BASES—On.Cruz, Pittsburgh, 33; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 28; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 27; V.Scott, St. Louis, 25; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 25; Tucker,Chicago, 23; Tatis, San Diego, 22; Abrams, Washington, 20; Hoerner, Chicago, 19; Turang, Milwaukee, 18. PITCHING—F.Peralta,Milwaukee, 12-4; Boyd Chicago, 11-3;Pivetta, San Diego, 10-2; Pfaadt, Arizona, 10-6; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 9-2; Wheeler, Philadelphia,9-3; Ray, San Francisco, 9-4; Gray,St. Louis, 9-4; M.Kelly,Arizona, 9-5; Webb, San Francisco 9-7. ERA Skenes, Pittsburgh, 1.91; Boyd Chicago, 2.20; Wheeler, Philadelphia,2.39; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia,2.40; Yamamoto, LosAngeles,2.55; Pivetta, San Diego, 2.81; F.Peralta, Milwaukee, 2.85; Peterson, New York, 2.90; Ray, SanFrancisco,2.92; Lodolo, Cincinnati, 3.08; Webb, San Francisco,3.08. STRIKEOUTS Wheeler,Philadelphia,164; Cease, San Diego, 144; Gore, Washington, 140; Webb, San Francisco,140; Skenes Pittsburgh, 137; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 134; Ray, San Francisco,131; Luzardo, Philadelphia,129; Pivetta, San Diego, 127; Yamamoto, LosAngeles, 124. Cycling Tour de France 17th Stage A99-mile ride from Bollene to Valence 1. Jonathan Milan, Italy, Lidl-Trek, 3:25:30. 2. JordiMeeus, Spain, RedBull-Bora-Hansgrohe,same time. 3. Tobias Lund Andresen,Denmark, Picnic PostNL, same time 4. Arnaud de Lie, Belgium, Lotto, same time 5. Davide Ballerini, Italy,XDS Astana,same time. 6. Alberto Dainese,Italy, Tudor ProCycling Team, same time

7. Paul Penhoet,France, Groupama-FDJ, same time. 8. Yevgeniy Fedorov,Kazakhstan, XDS Astana Team, same time 9. Clement Russo,France, Groupama-FDJ, 3:25:36. 10. Jasper Stuyven,Belgium, LIDL-Trek, 3:25:39. Also 67. Sepp Kuss, UnitedStates, Team Visma Lease aBike, 3:27:20. 95. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, 3:27:44. 103. William Barta, United States, Movistar Team, 3:27:44. 113. Neilson Powless, United States,EF Education-EasyPost, 3:28:07. 147. Quinn Simmons, UnitedStates, LidlTrek, 3:30:15. Overall standings 1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia,UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 61:50:16. 2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, 61:54:34.

all sorts of narratives, even though he triestoactivelyavoid them Chris Olave said he sees the predicted last-place ﬁnish, the doubt about the team’s quarterbacks and the concern about the team’sdepth. For now,Kamara said he sees hunger.Hesaid he can tell that the quarterbacksare hungry to make their mark in the league, guys who are willing to take criticism and “don’twant to let their teammates down.”

If the Saints do surpass expectations, the quarterback will play a signiﬁcant role in that.

Butiftheydon’t,and theSaints go onto have theseason that most expect,the process is just getting started for this coaching staff. “It’snot something that happens overnight,” Loomis said, referring to ateam’sidentity. “I mean, look at what (Lions coach)Dan Campbell and(generalmanager)Brad Holmesdid in Detroit. That didn’t happen overnight. Most of the time, it takes awhile to build that.”

EmailMatthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

3. Florian Lipowitz, Germany,Red Bull— BORA —hansgrohe,61:59:19. 4. Oscar Onley,Great Britain,Picnic PostNL, 62:01:20. 5. PrimozRoglic, Slovenia,Red Bull—BORA —hansgrohe,62:01:58. 6. Kevin Vauquelin,France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 62:03:36. 7. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team,62:05:06. 8. Tobias Johannessen,Norway,Uno-X Mobility,62:07:17. 9. BenHealy,Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost 62:08:08. 10. Carlos Rodriguez, Spain, IneosGrenadiers, 62:11:01. Team standings 1. Team Visma ‘Lease aBike, 186:15:24. 2. UAETeamEmiratesXRG, 186:31:14. 3. RedBull—Bora—Hansgrohe, 187:03:35. 4. Arkea-B&BHotels, 187:11:59. 5. Decathalon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 187:31:46. 6. IneosGrenadiers, 188:03:19. 7. XDS Astana Team, 188:10:11. 8. Groupama-FDJ,188:12:06. 9. Movistar Team,188:15:24. 10. Team Picnic Postnl,188:41:29. Pro tennis World Tour Citi Open results Wednesday At WillianH.G.FitzGeraldTennisCenter Washington Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Men’sSingles Round of 32 Jiri Lehecka(11),Czechia,def.Zachary Svajda,United States,6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Yibing Wu,China, def. Alexei Popyrin (10), Australia,7-5,5-7,6-3 Daniil Medvedev (8), Russia,def. Reilly Opelka, United States,3-6,7-5,6-1. Matteo Arnaldi, Italy, def. LorenzoSonego (16),Italy, 7-5, 7-5. Alex de Minaur (7), Australia,def.Yunchaokete Bu, China, 7-6(5),6-2. TaylorFritz (1), UnitedStates,def.Aleksandar Vukic, Australia,6-3,6-2 Women’s Singles Round of 16 Anna Kalinskaya, Russia, def. Magda Linette (8), Poland, 6-4, 6-0. Men’sDoubles Round of 16 Michael Venus,New Zealand, and Yuki Bhambri (4), India, def.AndreGoransson, Sweden,and SemVerbeek, Netherlands, 6-7 (1), 7-6(3),10-6. AlexanderErler, Austria, andRobert Galloway, United States,def. JacksonWithrow and NathanielLammons,United States,6-3 3-6, 10-7.

Women’s Doubles Round of 16 Xu Yifan and Zhaoxuan Yang, China,def. Ellen Perezand Maya Joint, Australia, 6-4, 6-4. Women’s Doubles Quarterﬁnals Zhang Shuai,China, andTaylorTownsend (2), United States,def.Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste, United States, 6-4,

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler throws during the first dayoftraining camp in Metairie on Wednesday.

Luke Johnson

Mango features in sweet, spicypork steaks

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Service (TNS)

Tribune News

Another recipe, Rice and Green Bell Pepper 6C

Ilove this time of year when large, juicy mangoes are in season. They’re perfect for creatinga sweet and spicy summer dinner— like using them as a fresh relish for pork steaks. The recipecalls for mango cubes, and here’saquick, easy way to prepare them: First, slice off each side of the mango as close to the seed as possible. Hold one half in your hand, skin side down, and score the ﬂesh in a crosshatch pattern, beingcareful not to cut through the skin.Then, gently push the skin insideout so the cubes pop up and slice them away from the peel. Don’t forget to score and slice any remaining fruit around the pit —it’stoo good to waste!

HELPFUL HINTS:

n Ripe peaches can be used instead of mango.

n Any type of sugar can be used instead of brown sugar

Sauteed Pork Steaks with MangoRelish and Rice with BellPeppers

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

½cup ripe mangocubes (see above)

1½

1. Mix mango, brown sugar,onion and lime juice together in asmall bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Remove visible fat from the pork and cut into 1-inch slices, press them down with aspoon or bottom of apan to make ½-inch pieces.Heat oil in alarge skillet and addthe pork steaks. Saute 5minutes, turnsteaks over and saute 3minutes. Ameat thermometer should read145 F.

3. Divide in two and place on two dinner plates. Spoon mango relish over the steaks.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 273 calories(27 percent from fat),8.3 gfat (1. gsaturated, 3.6 gmonounsaturated), 108 mg cholesterol, 36.2 g protein, 12.1 gcarbohydrates, 1.0 g ﬁber,92mgsodium.

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Sauteed Pork Steaks with Mango Relish and RicewithBell Peppers

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Imiss my husband when he’s out of town for work(of course), but come dinner time, Ican’thelp butappreciate being able tocook whatever Iwant for dinner without worrying about whether he’ll walk away from the table happy

Translation: Though Iusually steer clear because he’shighly allergic to shellfish, finally,I canfill up on something Ilove —shrimp! Fried, steamed, cooked withgarlic in ascampi or served over sushi rice as nigiri —Icould eat shrimp every day in one fashion or another and never get tired of it. Singapore shrimp burgershit a classicspot

ä See BURGERS, page 6C

rocery stores and farmers markets are bursting right now withfruit and vegetables that taste their very best. It is certainly a time to eat tomato sandwiches why deny yourself something so traditional and so delicious? Those summertime sandwiches always bring back wonderful memories. But in addition to tradition, it is the season to try new vegetables and fruit,orat least new ways to eat the familiar ones. Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables. They make everythingyou eat with them taste even sweeter —yes, this is scientiﬁcally true. Andthey are wonderful alone. If you can get your hands on fresh artichokes, you will see how thetexture is different from canned and how theﬂavor is more pronounced. When Ihave fresh artichokes, I plan to cook too many,sothat Ican eat them with dipping sauce and still have morefor other dishes. If you scrape themeat off the leaves and mix that with the chopped

bottoms,you will have thebasis of many dishes. The bruschetta mixture on toast makes anice appetizer or accompaniment to soup for lunch.

The special sweetness of ﬁgs and thesalty sourness of capers enhance arugula. Arugula is sturdy enough and has enough punch to round out this salad. It is great by itself, but if you have afew extra boiled or grilled shrimportuna (even from acan), it can turn this salad into ameal.

Let me recommend that youexperiment withcapers— they come in all sizes. Some are as large as a grape. Ilike thesmall onesfor this salad, but youcould chop larger ones for variety,especially if you made this saladonrepeat during

Arugula, Figand Caper Salad Serves 4to6

8fresh ripe figs 8ouncesbabyarugula ¼cup small, preserved capers fromajar ½cup choppedpecans or walnuts

1. Removethe stems and slice the figs in half or quarters, depending on the size of the figs. Place the ﬁgs and arugula into a saladbowl. Drain thecapers and chop them on a cutting board. Add them to the salad bowl.

2. Add the nuts. Add the dressing and toss. Serve immediately

DRESSING: ¼cup olive oil

2tablespoonsbalsamic vinegar 1clovegarlic, minced Salt and peppertotaste

1. Place allingredients into aliddedjar.Shake welland then pour onto the preparedsalad.Tossand serve.

Arugula, Figand Caper Salad

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Liz Williams TIPOFTHE TONGUE

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, July 24, the 205th day of 2025. There are 160 days left in the year Today in history

On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts — two of whom had been the ﬁrst humans to set foot on the moon splashed down safely in the Paciﬁc. Also on this date: In 1567, Mary Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son James.

In 1866, Tennessee became the ﬁrst state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War. In 1915, the SS Eastland, a passenger ship carrying more than 2,500 people, rolled onto its side while docked at the Clark Street

Bridge on the Chicago River An estimated 844 people died in the disaster In 1959, during a visit to Moscow, Vice President Richard Nixon engaged in his famous “Kitchen Debate” with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev In 1974, the U.S Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor In 1975, an Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Paciﬁc, completing a mission which included the ﬁrst docking with a Soyuz capsule from the Soviet Union. In 2010, a stampede inside a tunnel crowded with techno music fans left 21 people dead and more than 500 injured at the famed Love

Parade festival in western Germany Today’s birthdays: Actor Dan Hedaya is 85. Actor Chris Sarandon is 83. Actor Robert Hays is 78. Actor Michael Richards is 76. Actor Lynda Carter is 74. Movie director Gus Van Sant is 73. Country singer Pam Tillis is 68. Basketball Hall of Famer Karl Malone is 62. Retired MLB All-Star Barry Bonds is 61. Actor Kadeem Hardison is 60. Actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth is 57. Actor Laura Leighton is 57. Actor-singer Jennifer Lopez is 56. Director Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”) is 54. Actor Eric Szmanda is 50. Actor Rose Byrne is 46. Country singer Jerrod Niemann is 46. Actor Elisabeth Moss is 43. Actor Anna Paquin is 43. Actor Mara Wilson is 38. TV personality Bindi Irwin is 27.

Rice and Green Bell Pepper

Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1. Make rice according to package instructions and measure 1½ cups Reserve any remaining rice for another meal.

2. Add the green bell pepper, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide in half and serve on the plates with the pork steaks.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 235 calories (23 percent from fat), 6.1 g fat (1.1 g saturated, 2.7 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 40.9 g carbohydrates, 3.2 g ﬁber, 8 mg sodium.

use an outdoor grill if you are grilling something else. It will give a smoky ﬂavor to the bruschetta.) Grill the bread on both sides until grill marks develop, but do not make

Makes one 8-inch tart 3 cups

Shrimp Burgers

Serves 2. Recipe is from “Craveable: All I Want to Eat” by Seema Pankhania. FOR SHRIMP PATTIES:

1. Very finely chop half the shrimp (or blitz in a food processor) and roughly chop the

2. Put into a bowl with green onions, egg white, white pepper soy sauce, salt and half of the breadcrumbs.

3. Divide the mixture in half and shape into patties They’ll be sticky so press them into the remaining breadcrumbs to coat evenly 4. Chill the patties on a plate in the fridge while you make the sauce.

BURGERS

Continued from page 5C

This easy recipe for fried shrimp patties served burger-like on a squishy bun satisﬁed my craving for the seafood. Pulled from food creator Seema Pankhania’s cookbook “Craveable: All I Want to Eat” (Ten Speed, $30), the dish is both easy to pull

chop them; I used a food processor). 6. Heat a generous glug of oil in saucepan (about 2 tablespoons) and saute the onion mixture for 5 minutes. Add chili powder black peppercorns, ketchup, soy sauce and 6 tablespoons water

7. Cook for 2 minutes, mix well, and once combined, turn off the heat. Taste and season with salt.

8. Heat about 1½ inches of oil in a skillet and gently shallow-fry the shrimp patties for 5 minutes or until golden on all sides.

together — if you hustle, you can have dinner on the table in about 20 minutes — and packed with ﬂavor It’s based on a sweet and savory chile crab dish the social media star (and Lucky Cat alum) enjoyed in Singapore and then reimagined with shrimp to make it a little easier on the pocketbook. I doubled the patty recipe to make four burgers (I shared two with a colleague for his dinner), and substituted one large jalapeño pepper for the three long red chilies. Even with double the number of patties, there was more than enough sauce for all four servings, with some leftovers for sandwiches. Unless you slather it on like cream cheese on a bagel, the recipe also makes more than enough mayo for four sandwiches.

THE FILLING:

1. Scrape the meat off the leaves of the artichokes into a bowl. After all of the leaves are scraped, discard the choke and chop the artichoke bottoms. Add to the bowl.

2. Add the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese and the oregano

and dry. Then rub the toasts with the garlic clove on one side. Set the toasts aside until ready to use.

Rustic Berry Tart

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Place the berries into a bowl. Add the cornstarch, sugar and orange zest. Toss well.

3. Place the crust on a piece of parchment paper. Place the berry mixture on the crust, leaving a 2-inch edge free. Turn up the edge over the berry mixture. Turn the parchment paper and continue to turn the crust over the berry mixture until it is complete.

4. With a brush, paint the turned-over edge of the pastry Sprinkle the edge lightly with sugar Place on a cookie sheet with the parchment paper Place into the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cut slices and slices and serve.

5. Serve the tart plain or with vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche or with plain or vanilla yogurt, if you like.

to the bowl. Stir until well combined. Use a fork to mash any big lumps of artichoke bottom.

3. With a butter knife, spread each of the prepared toasts with the artichoke mixture and place on a plate. Using the lemon and a microplane grater, zest the lemon over each toast. Sprinkle with black pepper Place a Parmesan curl over each toast and serve.

PIE CRUST Everything, including the ﬂour, should be as cold as possible.

1¼ cup flour ½ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter (omit if using salted butter) cut into cubes of ¼ to ½

1. Add the ﬂour and salt to the bowl of the food processor Add the butter and pulse for 5 to 8 times until the mixture is well mixed. Remove from the machine’s bowl into another bowl. It is best to use a cold stainless-steel

bowl if you have one.

2. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and mix with a large cold metal spoon. Incorporate all the water If the mixture seems too dry to hold together, add more ice water 1 teaspoon at a time.

3. Remove from the bowl and form into a ball with your hands. Then ﬂatten the ball into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour

4. Unwrap the disk and place on a piece of parchment paper Using a rolling pin, roll out into a 12- to 13inch circular crust. Lift onto a cookie sheet. Follow the instructions above.

Artichoke Bruschetta

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE PHOTO By GRETCHEN MCKAy Singapore Shrimp Burgers

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Artichoke Bruschetta

Rustic Berry Tart

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) An open mind will lead to knowledge and new possibilities. Learn as much as you can and apply what you discover throughout your day. Engageintalksthatsatisfyyourpersonal and professional needs.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take on a challenge and do something to fix what concerns you. Actions speak louder than words; if you want others to listen, you must go beyond the call of duty. Be prepared to face opposition.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Make what you do count. Bulldozing your way forward isn't likely to work. Start by enlisting people who share your views and build a strong foundation to help carry your agenda forward.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Review all your options before you proceed. Expect to encounter people who are spouting halftruths and making innuendos that can make or break your plans. Don't be too accommodating or frivolous.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) A financial plan will ease your mind and help you save for something that will improve your life. Refuse to let anyone treat you poorly or force you to do things their way. Romance and personal gains are apparent.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) A change of heart will help you figure out which path isbestforyou.Don'tspendtoomuchtime pondering what you can and cannot do. Seize the moment!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) It's time to stop pontificating and start doing. What you

embrace will feed your soul and offer a multitude of opportunities to connect with like-minded people.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Savenothingfor later. If you don't take advantage of what comesyourway,someoneelsewillscoop it up. Distance yourself from unhealthy competition and focus on your goals. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Takingyourideas to the top or developing what you do best will encourage financial gain and interesting proposals. Don't expect everyone to be on your team. When someone opposes you, don't get angry; up your game.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Preparation, organization and focus will help you overcome distractions. An energetic approachtomanagingyourworklifewill ensure you enjoy downtime with friends and family.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) A positive attitude can change your life. Put a smile on your face. Offering help can lead to new friendships, opportunities and fresh beginnings. You'll meet with opposition if you project a disgruntled demeanor.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You may need backup if you take on too much today Rethink your schedule and consider how to achieve your goals more effectively. Timing and budget are crucial when trying to meet demands.

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: U EQUALS B

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

bIG nAte

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

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

JimRohn, amotivational speaker and author, said, “The few who do are the envy of the many whoonlywatch.”

At the bridge table, the few whowatch are the envy of the many who look but do not take the next vitalstep Theplaytheme in today’sdealcatches outmanylessexperiencedplayers.They do not watch theirlosersorthen work out how to eliminate the one that they cannot afford.

South is in four spades. West leads theheart queen. How would awatchful declarer play? North used atransferbid.Onthe next round, he wasborderline between rebidding two no-trump andthree no-trump. He was swayed by the good spade-suit qualityintojumping to game. (Donot commityour side to ahigh-level spade contract unless you know of at leastan eight-card fit. Here, South might have only adoubleton spade.) South, despite his 4-3-3-3 distribution, corrected to the nine-card fit. Notethat three no-trump would fail after aheart lead. Those missing aces are fatal.

AnobservantSouthwillseefourpotential losers: one in each suit.Itisimpossible to do anything about thethree aces, so declarer must work out how to avoid conceding aheart trick.

IfSouthplaysatrumpattricktwo,East should win and return aheart, condemningthe contract. Instead, declarer must lead aclub at trick two. SupposeWest ducks this trick, takes the second club, and plays another heart. South winsand cashes hislastclub, discarding dummy’s remaining heart. Now, finally, it is time to tackletrumps.

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

or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAY’s WoRD LoGIstIcs: lo-JIS-tiks: The handling of the details of an operation. Average mark21words Timelimit

or morewords in LOGISTICS?

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Feds cancel $4.9B loan for energy project

JEFFERSON CITY Mo. — The U.S. Department of Energy has canceled a conditional $4.9 billion loan for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express transmission line that developers have sought to build for over a decade.

The Department of Energy said in a news release dated Wednesday that the conditions necessary to issue the loan guarantee were unlikely to be met and that “it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project.”

It added that the loan, issued by the Biden administration in November, was “one of many conditional commitments that were rushed out the door” in the administration’s ﬁnal days.

The project has long been a target of Missouri Republicans, with U.S. Sen Josh Hawley calling for its cancellation this year Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been investigating the project.

Bailey on Wednesday celebrated the decision to cancel the loan. In a statement, he called the Grain Belt Express a “massive green energy scam,” saying it was “propped up by the Biden administration to benefit corporate interests at the expense of family farms.”

Uber will allow women to pick drivers, riders

Uber is rolling out a new program for women in the U.S. that allows them to choose female riders or drivers, the company said Wednesday

“Across the U.S. women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips,” Uber said in a statement.

Women customers will see an option called “women drivers” and choose a different driver based on the pick-up time. Female riders will also be able to pre-book trips with women drivers Only 1 in 5 Uber drivers are women, according to the company

Women drivers will be able to choose the “women rider preference” option in their settings to get paired with female customers

“When we make our platform better for women, we make it better for everyone,” Camiel Irving, Uber’s vice president of U.S. and Canada operations, said in a release. “It’s about giving women more choice, more control, and more comfort when they ride and drive.”

Rival Lyft started a similar program in 2023 for women and nonbinary users.

Apple launches monthly AppleCare plan

Apple Inc. is launching a new product-insurance plan that bundles coverage for as many as three devices, part of a broader effort to drum up subscription revenue. The new offering is called AppleCare One and costs $20 a month, the company said Wednesday The service also includes battery replacements, all-hours customer support and coverage for accidental damage, such as drops and spills. Any additional products added to the plan will cost an extra $6 a month. Customers can sign up for the plan on their iPhone, iPad or Mac, or in person at a retail store. The service, which will be limited to the U.S. for now, launches widely on Thursday The new program will cover all products already offered under the existing AppleCare+ plan, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, watches the Vision Pro headset, displays, headphones, TV set-top boxes and HomePod speakers. The service covers any product model or variation, so users can bundle for example — an iPhone 16 Pro with the Vision Pro and a newermodel MacBook Pro, without it affecting the cost.

It also includes theft and loss coverage, which lets customers get a new iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch if their device is lost or stolen.

BY ALEX VEIGA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slid in June to the slowest pace since last September as mortgage rates remained elevated and the national median sales price rose to an all-time high of $435,300.

Existing home sales fell 2.7% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.93 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday

Sales were flat compared with June last year The latest home sales fell short of the 4.01 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet

Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 24th consecutive month to reach record heights.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Home sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

Sluggish home sales led to a lackluster spring homebuying season, traditionally the busiest period of the year for the housing market

Stubbornly high mortgage rates

and rising prices have intensiﬁed the hardships for would-be homebuyers who had already been pummeled by a real estate market that overheated during the pandemic And while the number of homes on the market has increased sharply from a year ago, it remains well below normal levels, meaning prices continue to rise even as sales slow “The second half of the year really depends on what happens with mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. High mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting their purchasing power So far this year, the average rate on a 30-year mort-

gage has remained relatively close to 7%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in May and June, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.76% to 6.89%. Yun estimates that if the average rate on a 30-year mortgage were to fall to 6%, that would lead to an additional roughly half-million more homes sold. The housing market’s affordability crunch is keeping many aspiring ﬁrst-time homebuyers

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks set more records on Wednesday following a trade deal between the world’s No. 1 and No. 4 economies, one that would lower proposed tariffs on Japanese imports coming to the United States. The S&P 500 added 0.8% to its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 507 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6% to hit its own record.

Stocks jumped even more in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5% after President Donald Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15% tax on imports coming from Japan. That’s lower than the 25% rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on Aug. 1.

“It’s a sign of the times that markets would cheer 15% tariffs,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief.”

Trump has proposed stiff taxes on imports from around the world, which carry the double-edged risk of driving up inﬂation for U.S. households while slowing the economy

But many of Trump’s tariffs are currently on pause, giving time to reach deals with other countries that could lower the tax rates.

Trump also announced a trade agreement with the Philippines on Tuesday

U.S. automakers are concerned about President Donald Trump’s agreement to tariff Japanese vehicles at 15%, saying they will face steeper import taxes on steel, aluminum and parts than their competitors.

“We need to review all the details of the agreement, but this is a deal that will charge lower tariffs on Japanese autos with no U.S content,” said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Big 3 American automakers, General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis.

Blunt said in an interview the U.S. companies and workers “deﬁnitely are at a disadvantage” because they face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and ﬁnished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in 2020.

The framework with Japan will remove regulations that prevent American vehicles from being sold in that country, the White House has said, adding that it would be possible for vehicles built in Detroit to be shipped directly to Japan and ready to be

BY MATT O’BRIEN and ALI SWENSON Associated Press

sold.

But Blunt said that foreign auto producers, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea, have just a 6% share in Japan raising skepticism that simply having the open market that the Trump administration says will exist in that country will be sufﬁcient.

“Tough nut to crack, and I’d be very surprised if we see any meaningful market penetration in Japan,” Blunt said So far, the U.S. economy has seemed to hold up OK despite the pressures on it. And tariffs already in place may be having less of an effect than expected, at least when it comes to the prices that U.S households are paying at the moment.

“The main lesson about tariffs so far is that passthrough to consumer prices is tracking somewhat lower than in 2019,” according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle.

Tariffs are certainly having an effect, to be sure, as big U.S companies across industries have been showing through their proﬁt updates in recent days.

Hasbro took a $1 billion non-cash hit to its results for the spring to write down the value of some of its assets following a review triggered by the implementation of tariffs. It said tariffs have had no impact yet on how

much proﬁt it’s making from each $1 of its sales, but it expects to see costs ramp during the current quarter

Texas Instruments’ stock fell despite delivering results for the latest quarter that were above analysts’ expectations It gave a forecasted range for proﬁt in the current quarter whose midpoint fell a bit shy of Wall Street’s.

Analysts pointed to some cautious commentary from Texas Instruments executives about how the uncertainty created by tariffs could slow demand.

Most of the stocks on Wall Street nevertheless rose, including a 14.6% jump for GE Vernova. The energy company not only delivered a stronger profit than analysts expected, it also raised its forecasts for revenue from its power and electriﬁcation businesses.

Lamb Weston rallied 16.3% after the supplier of French fries and other potato products delivered better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected and said it expects customers will continue to eat fries even with an uncertain economy It also announced a plan to cut at least $250 million in costs by cutting about 4% of its workforce and making other moves.

President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping new plan for America’s “global dominance” in artificial intelligence, proposing to cut back environmental regulations to speed up the construction of AI supercomputers while promoting the sale of U.S.-made AI technologies at home and abroad. The “AI Action Plan” introduced Wednesday embraces many of the ideas voiced by tech industry lobbyists and the Silicon Valley investors who backed Trump’s election campaign last year Trump was also expected to sign three executive orders at

an afternoon event. The unveiling was co-hosted by the bipartisan Hill and Valley Forum and the “All-In” podcast, a business and technology show hosted by four tech investors and entrepreneurs, which includes Trump’s AI czar, David Sacks. The plan includes some familiar tech lobby pitches. That includes accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings that are needed to form and run AI products. It also includes some of the AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year Trump had given his tech advisers six months to come up with new AI policies after revoking President Joe Biden’s signature AI guardrails on his ﬁrst day in ofﬁce. The plan prioritizes AI innovation and adoption, urging the re-

moval of any “red tape” that could be slowing down adoption across industries and government.

But it also seeks to guide the industry’s growth to address a longtime rallying point for the tech industry’s loudest Trump backers: countering the liberal bias they see in AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.

Trump’s plan aims to block the government from contracting with tech companies unless they “ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.” A Biden-era framework for evaluating the riskiest AI applications should also be stripped of any references to “misinformation, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and climate change,” the plan said.

The plan says the nation’s leading AI models should protect free speech and be “founded on American values,” though it doesn’t de-

fine which values those should include.

Sacks, a former PayPal executive and now Trump’s top AI adviser, has been criticizing “woke AI” for more than a year, fueled by Google’s February 2024 rollout of an AI image generator that, when asked to show an American Founding Father, created pictures of Black, Asian and Native American men.

Google quickly ﬁxed its tool, but the “Black George Washington” moment remained a parable for the problem of AI’s perceived political bias.

Chief among the plan’s goals is to speed up permitting and loosen environmental regulation to accelerate construction on new data centers and factories. It condemns “radical climate dogma” and recommends lifting a number of environmental restrictions, including clean air and water laws.