The Acadiana Advocate 07-25-2025 by The Advocate

Lafayette High School Principal Layne Edelman shows off the auditorium during a tour of the new school on Thursday.

SNEAK PEEK

School Board members, elected officials and staff get walk-throughs of new Lafayette High School

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

After years of planning, students and staff will ﬁnally walk into a new Lafayette High School in August School Board members, elected officials and media were invited to view the 310,000-square-foot building Thursday afternoon, and staff were invited for a separate evening walkthrough.

“I am grateful to the board and

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

Former Glenmora police chief accused of involvement in visa scheme

During the ﬁrst half of 2024, Tebo Onishea, then the police chief of Glenmora, in Rapides Parish, wrote up a series of reports that documented a jarring number of armed robberies for his town of about 1,000.

Visitors hailing from as far as Charleston, South Carolina, or Flushing, New York, reported passing through town late at night, stopping to rest or change a tire, when they were accosted by masked or hooded men carrying guns, Onishea wrote in six reports from incidents he said he handled himself. The men demanded money and jewelry from victims who “feared for their life,” he wrote. Some were shoved to the ground and kicked, his reports stated. The men then escaped into the dark woods. Federal prosecutors say Onishea made all of it up, and that he wasn’t the only one.

ä See REPORTS, page 7A

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

They still aren’t on the same page. Gov Jeff Landry and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple are offering sharply contrasting views over how and why General Motors Insurance entered the Louisiana market — a continuation of a battle between the two Republicans during the regular legislative session over how best to hold down rising insurance rates and who is responsible if that doesn’t happen. Much of their earlier dispute centered on the passage of House Bill 148 which gives whoever is the insurance commissioner the right to reject excessive rate increases without backing up the decision with hard data. Landry pushed HB148 through the Legislature, over Temple’s objections, saying that if rates keep rising, the public should then blame the insurance commissioner

again Officials diverge on how insurer entered La. market ä See SPAR, page 7A

Lafayette Parish schools Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr , center, welcomes visitors to a tour of the new Lafayette High School on Thursday

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Visitors tour the new Lafayette High School on Thursday

Iran says it’s ready for nuke talks with U.S TEHRAN, Iran Iran is ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only if Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust, a senior Iranian diplomat said Thursday, ahead of a key meeting with European ofﬁcials.

That meeting will be the ﬁrst since a ceaseﬁre was reached after a 12-day war waged by Israel against Iran in June, which also saw U.S. B-52 bombers strike nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic.

The discussions will bring Iranian ofﬁcials together with officials from Britain, France and Germany known as the E3 nations — and will include the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. A similar meeting had been held in the Turkish city in May In a social media post, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday that for talks with the Unites States, Tehran would seek that “several key principles” be upheld.

These include “rebuilding Iran’s trust as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States,” he said, adding there could be no room “for hidden agendas such as military action, though Iran remains fully prepared for any scenario.”

Washington would have to respect and recognize Iran’s rights under the international agreement known as the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty, including the right to enrich uranium “in line with its legitimate needs” and the lifting of crippling economic sanctions on Iran.

Supreme Court blocks N.D. redistricting ruling

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a lower-court ruling in a redistricting dispute in North Dakota that would gut a landmark federal civil rights law for millions of people.

The justices indicated in an unsigned order that they are likely to take up a federal appeals court ruling that would eliminate the most common path people and civil rights groups use to sue under a key provision of the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act.

The case could be argued as early as 2026 and decided by next summer

Three conservative justices, Samuel Alito Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, would have rejected the appeal.

The court also has a separate redistricting case over a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana. The justices heard arguments in March, but took the rare step of calling for a new round of arguments in their term that begins in October. They have yet to spell out what issues they want discussed.

In the North Dakota case the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, with reservations 60 miles apart, argued that the state’s 2021 legislative map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates.

Ammo depot explosion in Syria kills at least 7 DAMASCUS, Syria An explosion at an ammunition depot in northern Syria on Thursday killed at least seven people and wounded scores, rescuers and monitors said.

There was no official statement as to what has caused the blast in Idlib province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said the explosion took place at an ammunition depot

The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, also said the blast in Idlib, in the town of Maarat Misrin, struck an ammunition depot.

“Our teams are working to recover the bodies of the dead, treat the injured, and extinguish ﬁres at the site of the massive explosion of an ammunition depot,” the White Helmets said in a statement.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV referred to the explosion as involving “remnants from the war,” likely shorthand for arms and ammunition left over from Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war

The TV report did not give more details.

U.S. cuts short Gaza ceasefire talks

Envoy accuses Hamas of lacking ‘good faith’

BY MICHELLE L PRICE and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The United States is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing its negotiating team home from Qatar to discuss next steps after Hamas’ latest response “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday.

“While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,”

Wi tk of f said in a statement.

“We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott would not offer details on what “alternative options” the U.S. is considering to free hostages held by the militant group.

A breakthrough on a ceaseﬁre deal between Israel and Hamas following 21 months of war has eluded the Trump administration as humanitarian conditions worsen in Gaza. Thursday’s

move is the latest setback as Trump has tried to position himself as peacemaker and vowed to broker agreements in conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza.

When pressed on whether and how the U.S. would proceed on seeking a truce in Gaza, Pigott did not offer clarity and told reporters that “this is a very dynamic situation.”

He said there’s never been a question of the U.S. commitment to reaching a ceasefire and faulted Hamas.

The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs.

Ofﬁcials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.

Witkoff said the U.S. is “resolute” in seeking an end

RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE

PHOTO PROVIDED By

Debris is scattered Thursday after a Russian An-24 passenger plane crashed 9 miles south of Tynda in the Far Eastern Amur region of Russia.

Passenger plane crashes in Russia’s Far East, killing 48

By The Associated Press

MOSCOW A passenger plane crashed Thursday in Russia’s Far East, killing all 48 passengers and crew on board, ofﬁcials said.

The Angara Airlines ﬂight disappeared from radar and searchers later found the burning wreckage of the plane on a hillside south of its planned destination in Tynda, more than 4,350 miles east of Moscow, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said.

Regional Gov Vasily Orlov said in a statement that all 48 people aboard were dead, and announced three days of mourning in the Amur region over what he called a “terrible tragedy.” It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash

Russia’s Interfax news agency said there were adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services. Several Russian news outlets also reported that the aircraft was almost 50 years old, citing data taken from the plane’s tail number

The Soviet-designed twin turbo prop plane had initially departed from Khabarovsk be-

fore making its way to Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border and onward to Tynda.

Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke.

Orlov said rescuers had struggled to reach the site due to its remote location, 9 miles south of Tynda.

An earlier statement from the governor said that 49 people had been onboard the flight, but that number later was updated to 48. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear

The transport prosecutor’s ofﬁce in the Far East said in an online statement that the plane was attempting to land for a second time when it lost contact with air trafﬁc control and disappeared from radars.

The authorities launched a probe on the charge of flight safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths, a standard procedure in aviation accidents.

Aviation incidents have been frequent in Russia, especially in recent years as international sanctions have squeezed the country’s aviation sector

to the conﬂict in Gaza and it was “a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way.”

The White House and representatives for Hamas had no immediate comment Earlier Thursday, Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s ofﬁce recalled his negotiating team in light of Hamas’ response. In a brief statement, Netanyahu’s ofﬁce expressed appreciation for the efforts of Witkoff and other mediators Qatar and Egypt but gave no further details.

The deal under discussion was expected to include an initial 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. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotia-

tions on a lasting ceaseﬁre.

The talks have been bogged down over competing demands for ending the war Hamas says it will only release all hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and end to the war Israel says it will not agree to end the conﬂict until Hamas gives up power and disarms. The militant group says it is prepared to leave power but not surrender its weapons.

Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages in different locations, including tunnels, and says it has ordered its guards to kill them if Israeli forces approach.

Trump has made little secret of the fact he wants to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. For instance, he has promised to quickly negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but little progress has been made.

On the war in Gaza, Trump met with Netanyahu at the White House this month, putting his weight behind a push to reach a deal.

But despite a partnership further solidified by their countries’ joint strikes on Iran, the Israeli leader left Washington without any breakthrough.

The State Department had said earlier in the week that Witkoff would be traveling to the Middle East for talks, but U.S. ofﬁcials later said that Witkoff would instead travel to Europe. It was unclear if he held meetings there Thursday

The apparent derailing of the talks comes as Israel’s blockade and military offensive have driven Gaza to the brink of famine, according to aid groups. The U.N. food agency says nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe, acute malnutrition, and the Gaza Health Ministry has reported a rise in hunger-related deaths.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an emergency call Friday with ofﬁcials from Germany and France to discuss how to urgently get food to people in need and launch steps to build a lasting peace.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France would recognize Palestine as a state, saying, “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.”

DOJ official meets with Epstein’s ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell

BY ERIC TUCKER, KATE PAYNE and COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Justice Department’s No. 2 ofﬁcial met Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following ﬁerce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.

“Ms. Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped, she never invoked a privilege, she never declined to answer She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability,” attorney David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, where Maxwell met with Blanche.

In a social media post Tuesday Blanche said that Trump “has told us to release all credible evidence” and that if Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the Justice Department “will hear what she has to say.”

Markus said his team was “thankful” the deputy attorney general came to question Maxwell, calling it a “good day.”

Asked if his client could potentially receive a pardon or see her prison term reduced, Markus said: “There’s no promises yet. So she’s just answering questions for now.”

The House Committee on Oversight issued a subpoena Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee ofﬁcials in August

Maxwell is serving a 20year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

Ofﬁcials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more ﬁles related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from At-

torney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told Trump in May that his name was among high-proﬁle people mentioned in government ﬁles of Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing.

Trump has said that he once thought Epstein was a “terriﬁc guy” but that they later had a falling out.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIEL SCHALIT

People attend a rally Thursday in Tel Aviv Israel, calling for the end of the war and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Witkoff

Trump, Powell bicker over Fed building renovations

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, JOSH BOAK and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON After months of criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump took the fight to the Fed’s front door on Thursday, publicly scorning the central bank chief over the ballooning costs of a long-planned building project. Powell pushed back, challenging the president’s latest price tag as incorrect.

celerate economic growth and reduce the government’s borrowing costs. Presidents rarely visit the Fed’s ofﬁces, though they are just a few blocks from the White House, an example of the central bank’s independence from day-to-day politics.

“We have to get the interest rates down,” Trump said later after a short tour, addressing the cameras this time without Powell.

“People are pretty much unable to buy houses.”

We aring hard hats and grim faces, standing in the middle of the construction project, Trump and Powell addressed the cameras. Trump charged that the renovation would cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5 billion ﬁgure. Powell, standing next to him, shook his head.

The Fed chair, after looking at a paper presented to him by Trump, said the president was including the cost of renovating a separate Fed building, known as the Martin building, that was finished five years ago. The visit represented a significant ratcheting up of the president’s pressure on Powell to lower borrowing costs, which Trump says would ac-

Trump is likely to be disappointed next week, however, when Fed officials will meet to decide its next steps on interest rates Powell and other officials have signaled they will likely keep their key rate unchanged at about 4.3%. However, economists and Wall Street investors expect the Fed may start cutting rates in September

Trump did step back a bit from some of his recent threats to ﬁre Powell before his term ends May 26. Asked if the rising costs of the Fed’s renovation, estimated in 2022 to cost $1.9 billion, was a “ﬁreable offense,” Trump said, “I don’t want to put this in that category.

“To do that is a big move, and I don’t think that’s necessary,” Trump added. “I just want to see one thing happen,

A worker stands in the window of the 1951

renovations continue on the Federal Reserve in Washington.

very simple: Interest rates come down.”

The Fed allowed reporters to tour the building before the visit by Trump, who, in his real estate career, has bragged about his lavish spending on architectural accoutrements that gave a Versailles-like golden ﬂair to his buildings.

On Thursday, reporters wound through cement mixers, front loaders, and plastic pipes as they got a close-up view of the active construction site that encompasses the Fed’s historic headquarters, known as the Marriner S. Eccles building, and a

second building across 20th Street in Washington.

Fed staff, who declined to be identiﬁed, said that greater security requirements, rising materials costs and tariffs, and the need to comply with historic preservation measures drove up the cost of the project, which was budgeted in 2022 at $1.9 billion.

The staff pointed out new blast-resistant windows and seismic walls that were needed to comply with modern building codes and security standards set out by the Department of Homeland Security The Fed has

to build with the highest level of security in mind, Fed staff said, including something called “progressive collapse,” in which only parts of the building would fall if hit with explosives.

Sensitivity to the president’s pending visit among Fed staff was high during the tour Reporters were ushered into a small room outside the Fed’s boardroom, where 19 officials meet eight times a year to decide whether to change short-term interest rates.

for more marble in the second of the two buildings the Fed is renovating, known as 1951 Constitution Avenue, speciﬁcally in a mostly glass extension that some of Trump’s appointees derided as a “glass box.” Fed staff also said tariffs and inflationary increases in building material prices drove up costs.

The room, which will have a security booth, is ovalshaped, and someone had written “oval ofﬁce” on plywood walls. The Fed staff downplayed the inscription as a joke. When reporters returned to the room later it had been painted over During the tour, Fed staff also showed the elevator shaft that congressional critics have said is for “VIPs” only Powell has since said it will be open to

Trump signs bill to cancel foreign aid, public broadcasting funding

BY KEVIN FREKING

Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed a bill Thursday canceling about $9 billion that had been approved for public broadcasting and foreign aid as Republicans look to lock in cuts to programs targeted by the White House’s Department of Government Efﬁciency.

The bulk of the spending being clawed back is for foreign assistance programs. About $1.1 billion was destined for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which finances NPR and PBS, though most of that money is distributed to more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country The White House had

billed the legislation as a test case for Congress and said more such rescission packages would be on the way Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda. Democrats unanimously rejected the cuts but were powerless to stop them. The White House says the

public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. Conservatives particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced grave concern about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state. Some stations will have to close, they warned.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, said the stations are “not just your news — it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert.”

On the foreign aid cuts, the White House argued that they would incentivize other nations to step up and do more to respond to humanitarian crises and that the rescissions best served the American taxpayer Democrats argued that the Republican administration’s animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America’s standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to ﬁll. They also expressed concerns that the cuts would have deadly consequences for many of the world’s most impoverished people.

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday submitted a new bill that would restore the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies in an effort to defuse tensions following his approval earlier this week of a controversial law that weakened their autonomy

Zelenskyy said parliament would review the new bill, which “guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine’s law enforcement system, the independence of anticorruption bodies, and reliable protection of the legal system from any Russian interference.”

The previous bill was seen as undermining the agencies’ independence and sparked a public outcry and protests, the ﬁrst major demonstrations since the war began, as well as sharp criticism from the European Union.

Ukraine’s two main anti-graft agencies the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized AntiCorruption Prosecutor’s Office quickly welcomed Zelenskyy’s new proposal, saying it restores all their procedural powers and guarantees their independence.

The agencies said they helped draft the new bill, and urged lawmakers to

adopt it “as soon as possible” to prevent threats to ongoing criminal cases.

The bill would replace the contentious law passed by lawmakers and approved by Zelenskyy earlier this week. Critics said it stripped Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies of their independence by granting the government more oversight of their work.

Zelenskyy initially argued the law was needed to speed up investigations, ensure more convictions and remove Russian meddling.

After Thursday’s U-turn, Zelenskyy said the new bill reverses the earlier changes and also introduced additional measures aimed at “combating Russian influence,” including mandatory polygraph tests for law enforcement ofﬁcers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREW HARNI

Constitution Avenue building on Thursday as

Trump Zelenskyy

MigrantsenttoElSalvadorprisonsaysguardsbeathim

Mansentthere afterbeing deported by U.S.

BY SUDHIN THANAWALA and GARYFIELDS Associated Press

WASHINGTON Amigrant from Venezuela deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador has taken the first step toward suing the U.S. government,saying he was wrongly sent to anotorious prison in the Central American country wherehe wasbeatenbyguardsand kept from contacting his family or an attorney

Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, has ﬁled aclaim for $1.3 million with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,his attorneys with Democracy Defenders Fundsaid Thursday.Rengel is among more than 250 migrants from Venezuelasent to El Salvador in March, out of the jurisdiction of U.S courts, after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 against members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Immigration agents took Rengel into custody on March 13 in the parking lot

of hisapartmentinIrving Texas, wrongly claiming his tattoos reflected an affiliationwith Tren de Aragua, accordingto his claim. He hadentered theU.S.in 2023. He workedasa barber and was scheduled to appear before an immigrationjudge in 2028

Homeland Security said in an email that Rengelwas a“confirmedassociate” of the Tren de Aragua gang though it did notspecifyhow it reached that conclusion who had entered the country illegally.Itcalledhis claims a fake“sob story.”

“President Trump and Secretary Noem will not allow foreign terrorist enemiesto operateinour country and endanger Americans,” the emailsaid. It added, “We hear far too much about gang membersand criminals’ false sob stories and not enough about their victims.”

At El Salvador’sTerrorism Conﬁnement Center,orCECOT, Rengel said guards hit himwith ﬁstsand batonsand, on one occasion, viciously beat himafter taking him to an area of the prison without cameras

Rengelwas sent toVenezuela earlierthis month as part of aprisoner exchange deal His attorneys sayhe is living

withhis mother and is “terriﬁed” to return to theUnited States.

Theyare seeking compensationfor emotional and psychological injuries

Afederal judge ruled in June that the Trumpadministration must give some of the

migrants sent to the prison in El Salvador achance to challenge their deportations.

U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said the people hadn’tbeen able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they were members of Tren de

Aragua. He ordered the administration to work toward giving them away to file those challenges. The judge wrote that “significantevidence” had surfacedindicatingthatmany of the migrants were notconnected to the gang “and thus

were languishing in aforeign prison on ﬂimsy, even frivolous, accusations.” At ahearing on Thursday, an attorney for the Trump administration told Boasberg it would not immediatelybring themigrants sent from El SalvadortoVenezuelaaspart of theprisoner exchange back to the U.S. Trump ofﬁcials planned to awaitthe outcome of other court cases before deciding whether to allowthe migrants to return,U.S.Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis said.

Boasberg had ordered the administration to turn planes carrying theaccused gang members around, but the demandwas ignored.Rengel’s attorneys say he was on one of those planes. The judge hasfound probablecause that the administration committedcontempt of court.

Boasberg saidThursday he plannedtoexpand his contempt probe to include a recent whistleblower complaint that claims atop Justice Department ofﬁcial suggestedthe Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelanmigrants it accused of being gang members.

Federalregulatorsapprove Paramount’s$8B deal with Skydance

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writer

NEW YORK Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount’s$8billion merger with Skydance, clearing the way to close adeal that combined Hollywood glitz with political intrigue.

The stamp of approval from theFederal CommunicationsCommissioncomes after months of turmoilrevolvingaround President Donald Trump’slegal battle with “60 Minutes,” the crown jewel of Paramountowned broadcast network CBS.With thespecter of theTrumpadministration

Jazz legend Chuck Mangione dies at 84

BY MARK KENNEDY Associated Press

NEW YORK Two-time

Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single “Feels So Good”and laterbecame avoice actor on the animated TV comedy “King of the Hill,” has died. He was 84. Mangione died at his home in Rochester,New York, on Tuesday in hissleep, said his attorney,PeterS.Matorinof Beldock Levine &Hoffman LLP.The musicianhad been retiredsince 2015.

Perhaps his biggest hit “Feels So Good” —isastaple on most smooth-jazz radio stations and has been called one of the most recognized melodies since “Michelle” by the Beatles. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Billboard adult contemporary chart.

“It identified for alot of people asong withanartist, even though Ihad apretty strong base audience that kept us out there touringas often as we wanted to, that song justtoppedout there and took it to awhole other level,”Mangione told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2008. He followedthat hit with “Give It All YouGot,” commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics at LakePlacid, andheperformed it at the

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Two-time Grammy Awardwinning musician Chuck Mangione, best known for his jazz-flavored single ‘Feels So Good,’has died at 84.

closingceremony Mangione,aflugelhorn andtrumpet player and jazz composer,released more than 30 albums during acareer in which he built asizablefollowing after recording several albums,doing all the writing.

He won his first Grammy Award in 1977 for his album “Bellavia,” which was namedinhonor of his mother. Another album, “Friends and Love,” was also Grammy-nominated,and he earned abest original score Golden Globenomination and asecond Grammy for themovie “The Children of Sanchez.”

Mangione introduced himself to anew audience when he appearedonthe ﬁrst several seasons of “King of the Hill,” appearing as acommercial spokesperson for Mega Lo Mart, where “shopping feelssogood.”

Courtrules againstCalif.law requiring background checks forammunition

ByThe Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Avoter-

backedCalifornia law requiring background checks for people who buy bullets is unconstitutional, afederal appeals court ruled Thursday in ablow to the state’s efforts to combat gun violence. In upholdinga 2024 ruling by alower court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state law violatesthe Second Amendment. Voters passed the law in 2016 and it

took effectin2019

Manystates, including California, make people pass abackground check before they can buy agun. California went astep furtherbyrequiring abackground check, which costs either $1 or $19 depending on eligibility,every time someone buys buy bullets.

Last year,U.S. District JudgeRogerBenitez decided thatthe law was unconstitutionalbecauseifpeoplecan’t buybullets,theycan’tuse their guns for self-defense.

potentially blocking the hard-fought deal withSkydance, Paramount earlier this month agreed to paya $16 million settlement with thePresident Critics of the settlement lambasteditasaveileda bribe to appeaseTrump,

amid rising alarm over editorial independence overall. Further outrage also emerged after CBS said it was canceling Stephen Colbert’s “LateShow” just days after thecomediansharply criticized the parent company’ssettlementonair

Paramount cited financial reasons, but big names both within and outside the company have questioned those motives.

In astatement accompanying the deal’sapproval, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr hailed the merger as an op-

PUBLIC NOTICE SECTION001113– AD‐VERTISEMENTTOBID Notice is hereby given that sealed bids (one original)willbereceived by theLafayette Parish School System Purchas‐ingDepartment, located at 202 RueIberville, Lafayette,Louisiana 70508 andelectronicbids will be received at www centerlinebidconnect com. Delivery to any otherdepartmentother than thePurchasingDe‐partmentisunaccept‐able andmay result in non-consideration of the bid. Bids will be received until 10:00 a.m.,CST on Thursday,August07, 2025 forconstructionof thefollowing projectas describedinthe Bidding Documentsand listed on theBid Form: LPSS SouthsideHigh School Pavement andLimestone Project 312 Almonaster Road Youngsville,LA70592 BID# 14-26

It is further understood andagreed that thework under this contract shall

portunity to bring morebalance to “once-storied” CBS network.

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately,and fairly.Itis time for achange,” Carr said.

be completedasfollows: SouthsideHighSchool Pavement andLimestone Project shallbesubstantially complete by Friday September19, 2025. TheContractorshall be subjecttoreimburse‐ment to theowner of liq‐uidateddamages in the amount of ﬁfteen hun‐dred dollars($1,500.00) perconsecutive calendar dayifthe projectisnot

Phone: 504-291-5738, emailbidconnect@ centerline.co. Each bidmustbeaccom‐panied by acertiﬁed check, cashier’scheck or BidBondusing the Owner’sformpayable to theLafayette Parish School System,the amount of whichshall be ﬁve percent(5%)ofthe amount of theproposed Base Bidplusall Alter‐nates. MoneyOrderswill notbeaccepted. Electronic bids maybe submittedonlineat www.centerlinebidco nnect.com.Inaccor‐dancewithLARS38: 2212.E(6),bidsfor this projectmay be submit‐tedelectronicallyvia up‐load to Centerline Bid Connect (www.centerl inebidconnect.com ). All biddocuments shallbe uploaded by thedue date andtimestatedabove Questionsabout this pro‐cedure should be di‐rected to Centerline (phone:504-291-5738) (email: bidconnect@centerline. co). ABid bond will be re‐quired,per thecontract documents, andshould be uploaded with the rest of therequiredBid Documents. If ascanned copy of theBid Bond is uploaded,the original notarizedbid bond must be produced “on-de‐mand perthe Owner’s request.

NOTICE TO PUBLIC

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE

NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN

Thesuccessful Bidder shallberequiredtofur‐nish aPerformance and PaymentBondinan amount equalto100% of theContractonthe formsprovidedbythe School Boardand written in accordance with Louisianalaw Bids shallbeaccepted only from Contractors whoare licensed by the LouisianaState Licensing Boardfor Contractorsfor theclassiﬁcation of Building Construction.No bidmay be withdrawn fora period of forty-ﬁve

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By ARIANA CUBILLOS

Migrants deported months agobythe United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration’simmigration crackdown arriveonJuly 18 at Simon Bolívar International AirportinMaiquetia, Venezuela.

Continued frompage1A

superintendent for completing the project on time and producing such abeautiful building for the students of Lafayette High,” said Justin Centanni, apreviousboardmemberwho helped spur the rebuilding project into action.

The school year is expected to start with about 1,800 students and 170 staff members.

Construction started on the $100 million project in September2023. Workerswith Lemoine Construction put in more than 1million hours and averagedabout 250 peopleonsite aday

Some construction still needs to be completed, largely including theabatementofthe originalschool.The old buildingsshould be cleared by the end of the year.All construction should be concluded by spring2026

The old Lafayette

Visitors getalookatthe courtyard of the newLafayette HighSchool on Thursday.

Visitors tour the kitchen of the newly built Lafayette High School on Thursday.

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

European Central Bank holds off on rate cuts

FRANKFURT Germany The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday, hitting pause on rate cuts amid uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff moves and high-stakes trade talks marked by threats of drastically higher import taxes on European goods.

Bank President Christine Lagarde said the current economic environment and the potential impact of higher tariffs was “exceptionally uncertain.” Higher tariffs could slow investment, growth and inﬂation — or they could be inﬂationary by disrupting existing supply chains for parts and raw materials.

“The sooner this trade uncertainty is resolved the less uncertainty we will have to deal with,” she said. “And that would be welcome by any economic actors, including ourselves.”

“You could argue that we are on hold, we are in this wait and watch situation.”

The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro is facing the same dilemma that has led the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting rates further: It’s hard to tell how high the tariffs will end up after fraught negotiations, and what the ultimate impact will be on the economy Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been harshly criticized by the Trump for delaying rate cuts. For his part, Powell has said the Fed wants to see the impact of the duties on prices and the economy before making any rate changes.

The ECB has already cut rates eight times since June of last year

Jobless applications fall for sixth week

WASHINGTON The number of Americans ﬁling for jobless aid fell for the sixth straight week, hitting the lowest level since mid-April.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 19 fell by 4,000 to 217,000. That’s fewer than the 227,000 new applications analysts were expecting.

Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as representative of layoffs

Earlier in July, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, adding to evidence that the American labor market continues to show resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The job gains were much more than expected and the unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May Chocolate makers hike prices, blame costs

Here’s the good news: The Hershey Co. says it’s not raising prices for Halloween candy this year

But here’s the bad news: Hershey and other chocolate makers are continuing to hike prices, saying a volatile cocoa market gives them no choice. Hershey, the maker of Reese’s, Whoppers, barkThins and other chocolate candies, said Wednesday that it will be raising U.S. retail prices later this fall. In some cases, pack sizes will get smaller; in others, list prices will rise. The average price increase will be in the low double-digit percentages.

“This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies. It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the unprecedented cost of cocoa,” Hershey said in a statement Hershey stressed that the price increases won’t apply to products for Halloween.

The average unit price of a chocolate bar in the U.S. in July 2021 was $2.43, according to Nielsen IQ, a market research company As of last week, it was $3.45, a 41% increase.

That’s hurting customer demand. Nielsen said unit sales of chocolate fell 1.2% in the year ending July 12.

UnitedHealth says it is under investigation

BY TOM MURPHY AP health writer

UnitedHealth Group says it is cooperating with federal criminal and civil investigations involving its market-leading Medicare business.

The health care giant said Thursday that it had contacted the Department of Justice after reviewing media reports about investigations into certain elements of its business.

“(UnitedHealth) has a long record of responsible conduct and

effective compliance,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission ﬁling.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal said federal ofﬁcials had launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage plans. Those are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and over The company’s UnitedHealthcare business covers more than 8 million people as the nation’s

largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. The business has been under pressure in recent quarters due to rising care use and rate cuts.

The Journal said in February, citing anonymous sources, that the probe focused on billing practices in recent months.

The paper has since said that a federal criminal health care-fraud unit was investigating how the company used doctors and nurses to gather diagnoses that bolster payments.

UnitedHealth said in the ﬁling

Thursday that it “has full confidence in its practices and is committed to working cooperatively with the Department throughout this process.”

UnitedHealth Group Inc. runs one of the nation’s largest health insurance and pharmacy beneﬁts management businesses. It also operates a growing Optum business that provides care and technology support.

UnitedHealth raked in more than $400 billion in revenue last year to come in third in the Fortune 500 list of biggest U.S. companies.

How data centers could affect U.S. energy use

BY ALEXA ST JOHN Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s plan to boost artiﬁcial intelligence and build data centers across the U.S. could speed up a building boom that was already expected to strain the nation’s ability to power it.

The White House released the “AI Action Plan” Wednesday, vowing to expedite permitting for construction of energy-intensive data centers as it looks to make the country a leader in a business that tech companies and others are pouring billions of dollars into.

The plan says to combat “radical climate dogma,” a number of restrictions — including clean air and water laws — could be lifted, aligning with Trump’s “American energy dominance” agenda and his efforts to undercut clean energy Massive amounts of electricity are needed to support the complex servers, equipment and more for AI. Electricity demand from data centers worldwide is set to more than double by 2030, to slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today the International Energy Agency said earlier this year

In many cases, that electricity may come from burning coal or natural gas. These fossil fuels emit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane. This in turn is tied to extreme weather events that are becoming more severe, frequent and costly

The data centers used to fuel AI also need a tremendous amount of water to keep cool.

That means they can strain water sources in areas that may have little to spare.

What Big Tech is saying

Typically, tech giants, up-and-comers and other developers try to keep an existing power plant online to meet demand, experts say and most existing power plants in the U.S are still producing electricity using fossil fuels — most often natural gas.

In certain areas of the U.S., a combination of renewables and energy storage in the form of batteries are coming online.

But tapping into nuclear power is especially of interest as a way to reduce data center-induced emissions while still meeting demand and staying competitive.

Amazon said last month it would spend $20 billion on data center sites in Pennsylvania, including one alongside a nuclear power plant. The investment allows Amazon to plug

data center needs entirely with renewables by 2030. It’s necessary to use fewer fossil fuels, he said.

Experts say it’s possible for developers, investors and the tech industry to decarbonize

However though industry can do a lot with clean energy, the emerging demands are so big that it can’t be clean energy alone, said University of Pennsylvania engineering professor Benjamin Lee.

More generative AI, ChatGPT and massive data centers means “relying on wind and solar alone with batteries becomes really, really expensive,” Lee added, hence the attention on natural gas, but also nuclear

What about electricity bills?

Regardless of what powers AI, the simple law of supply and demand makes it all but certain that costs for consumers will rise.

right into the plant, a scrutinized but faster approach for the company’s development timeline.

Meta recently signed a deal to secure nuclear power to meet its computing needs. Microsoft plans to buy energy from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, and Google previously signed a contract to purchase it from multiple small modular reactors in the works.

What’s at stake

Data centers are often built where electricity is cheapest, and often, that’s not from renewables. And sometimes data centers are cited as a reason to extend the lives of traditional, fossil-fuel-burning power plants. But just this week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the world’s largest tech players to fuel their

New data center projects might require both new energy generation and existing generation. Developers might also invest in batteries or other infrastructure like transmission lines.

All of this costs money, and it needs to be paid for from somewhere.

“In a lot of places in the U.S., they are seeing that rates are going up because utilities are making these moves to try to plan,” said Amanda Smith, a senior scientist at research organization Project Drawdown.

“They’re planning transmission infrastructure, new power plants for the growth and the load that’s projected, which is what we want them to do,” she added. “But we as ratepayers will wind up seeing rates go up to cover that.”

STAN

CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK Wall Street inched to more records on Thursday as gains for Alphabet and artificialintelligence stocks helped make up for Tesla‘s steep tumble. The S&P 500 added 0.1% to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 316 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% to its own record Alphabet climbed 1% after the company behind Google and YouTube delivered a fatter profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It’s leaning more into artificial-intelligence technology

and said it’s increasing its budget to spend on AI chips and other investments this year by $10 billion to $85 billion. That helped push up other stocks in the AI industry, including a 1.7% rise for Nvidia. The chip company was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500 because it’s the largest on Wall Street in terms of value. But an 8.2% drop for Tesla kept the market in check Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle company reported results for the spring that were roughly in line with or above analysts’ expectations, and Musk is highlighting Tesla’s moves into AI and robotaxis.

The focus, though, remains on how Musk’s foray into politics is turning off potential customers, and he said several rough quarters may be ahead as “we’re in this

weird transition period where we’ll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.” Stocks have broadly been rallying for weeks on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs. The record-setting gains have been so strong that concern is rising about how expensive stock prices have become. That in turn puts pressure on companies to deliver solid growth in proﬁts to justify their gains.

Chipotle Mexican Grill also helped weigh on the market despite delivering a profit for the spring that topped analysts’ expectations. The restaurant chain’s growth in revenue was short of expectations, and its stock fell 13.3%. IBM dropped 7.6% even though it likewise reported a stronger profit than expected. Analysts

pointed to slowing growth in its software business, among other things underneath the surface. American Airlines lost 9.6% despite reporting a stronger proﬁt than expected. The company said it expects to report a loss for the summer quarter It also gave a forecast for full-year results that had a wide range: between a loss of 20 cents per share and a proﬁt of 80 cents per share, depending on how the economy performs.

Reactions in the stock market have generally been stronger than usual when companies beat or miss their profit targets by a wide margin, according to Julian Emanuel at Evercore.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following the latest signals that the U.S. economy seems to be holding up ﬁne.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JENNy KANE

An Amazon Web Services data center is seen on Aug. 22, 2024, in Boardman, Ore.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order after speaking during an AI summit Wednesday at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington.

The latest disagreement began Wednesday when Landry touted General Motors’ move as proof hisapproach is working.

“This announcement is atestament to thework accomplished during the legislative session to bring about real insurance reform,” Landry posted on socialmedia. “Today marks anew milestone in affordable auto coverage. This is just thebeginningofamore consumer friendly insurance market.”

Not so fast, countered Temple, providing atimeline showing that General Motors made its decision before the Legislature passed pro-insurance industry bills favored by the governor andthe insurance commissioner in June. On top of that,Temple said those measures don’tgofar enough in making insurance

REPORTS

Continued from page1A

Thenewly-obtained Glenmora police reports provide the first look at what federal prosecutors allege was abribes-for-visas scheme in a62-count indictment unsealed last week. The alleged immigration fraud conspiracy centers around Onishea and police chiefs in neighboring Oakdale and Forest Hill,along with an Oakdale marshal and a businessman in town, Chandrakant “La La” Patel. Federal prosecutors in the Western DistrictofLouisiana allege that Patel bribed thefourlawmentodraft fake police reports, which could then be usedtohelp foreignnationals —most, if not all, from India —obtain special visas.

The “majority” of them weren’tliving in Louisiana, prosecutors said. All the reports penned by Onishea identiﬁed the victimsasbeing from out of state.

The so-called Uvisas, created in 2000,are largely designed to grant temporary status to immigrants who are victims of violent crimes in the U.S. At an arraignment in AlexandriaonWednesday,Patel pleaded not guilty to charges that include aconspiracy, bribery,fraud and illegal money transactions, saidhis attorney,David Rozas. Patel wasordered detained until trial, Rozas said, declining further comment.

Onishea pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges last week. On Wednesday,his attorney didn’treturn amessage seeking comment on details of the police reports that Onishea wrote.

The three other lawmen Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Oakdale Marshal Michael Slaney and former Forest Hill Chief Glynn Dixon —also have pleaded not guilty.Dixon resigned Friday; thestatusofthe other two is apparently un-

companies want toinvest in Louisiana and keep down rates. “I look forward to working with the Legislature to continue identifying the areas of ourlegal system that make us an outlier andaddressing those distinctions to align our legal system with best state practices, thereby enacting themeaningful legal reformsthat our citizensdeserve,” Temple said. “Ifwe want to see change in our market, it starts withmeaningful change in ourlegal environment.”

Landry then respondedto Temple “General Motors is expanding to Louisiana,” Landry posted. “Period. End of question.”

But he went on.

“It’sunfortunate thatthe DepartmentofInsurance feelsthe needtodistort the facts that bring our citizensrelief,”Landry added. “Collectively weshould celebrate goodnews! TheLegislature and Iworked hard to get us to this point, and

changed Prosecutorsallege Patel offered police $5,000 for each visa seeker included in their reports. The newly released recordsshow Onishealistedasmany as ﬁve victims perincident, in reportsthat describe carloads of people being held up at gunpoint That wouldhavebeen extremelyunusualfor the area, according to records andinterviews.

In Oakdale,armed robbery was virtually nonexistent, accordingto thelatest city crimedata reported to the state in 2022 and 2023.

PoliceinOakdale and Forest Hill declined areporter’s request for armed robbery reports drafted by thechiefs of those departments.The Times-Picayune obtained Onishea’sreports through a public records request

Theyshow Onishea listed 22 victimsinhis six reports.

Theyranged from 25 to 46 years oldand hailed from Lithonia, Georgia; Frankfort, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; several townsinTennessee; and Flushing,a neighborhood in Queens, N.Y

Nineteen of the 22 had thesurname Patel, which is amongthe most common on the planet, andparticularly in East Asia.Alawyer for Pateldeclined to say whether hehad anyfamilytiesto the listed victims, as dida spokesperson for the U.S. attorney.The other three others were named Prajapati accordingtorecords.

Onishea’sreports portray atown under siege.

In aJune 17 report last year,hewrote that he came upon agroup standing on theside of the highway “in a panic.” They told him they’d pulled over to ﬁx aﬂat.

Just before midnight, three men approached with “what appeared to be asilver gun and pointed it at all thesubject(s) and demanded that they give them money andany valuables (they)had on them,” Onishea wrote.

“I patrolled theareaof interest looking for the suspects. Iconducted several

we will continue to open the door to anyinsurance companies that want to do business in our state.”

Landry gavenocredit to Temple for his role in passing the pro-industry measures.

On Thursday, Temple sought to lower political temperatures. He said he was simply trying to set therecord straight the day before, adding,“I want to emphasize that I have no interestinentering into apublicdisagreement” with Landry

That was not theapproach taken by Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, who saw Landry veto his pro-insurance industry bill in June and then accuse him of pushing legislation to beneﬁt his pocketbook. Seabaugh, an attorney,representsinsurance companiesthathave been sued.

“Jeff’s postwas clearly untrue,” Seabaugh said, referring to Wednesday’s post.“It’s hard not to callit alie. Jeff was clearly trying

stop(s) on people walking in theareaand could not establishprobable cause to pinpoint (their) involvement. Case will be continued to bee(sic) investigated at this time.”

In areport 10 days earlier, Onishea wrote that he was on patrol near aGlenmora park around 2:30 a.m. when he spotted avehiclewith four menstanding outside who looked“in apanic and scared.”

The group of travelers had stopped to“stretch out” and“getsome bloodmoving,”before twomen with guns shoved them to the ground, “pointing the gun at them and kickedthemin thetorso area,” according to Onishea’sreport,dated June 7, 2024.

“After receiving the statements,Iconducted asearch of thearea andthe woods beside thepark but no suspects (were) found at the time,”he wrote.

to spin something into somethingit’snot. Thankfully, Timcorrected the record.”

State Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge,who chairs the Senate Insurance Committee, wanted no part of the Landry-Temple dustup, saying only: “I’m gladGM Insurance has decided to come to Louisiana. We need morecompetition to drive rates down.”

Rep.Gabe Firment, R-Pollock,who chairs the House Insurance Committee, also lauded GM’sdecision, adding: “Weneed to be worrying less aboutwho is going to getthe credit andmore about how this is going to impact thepeopleofLouisiana.”

While Temple said he didn’twant to continue the quarrelwith Landry on Thursday over GM Insurance, he showed on apodcast last week that he will still decrythe passage of HB148.

“It introduced the notion that the reason rates are high in Louisiana today is

because the commissioner doesn’thavethe authority to hold down excessive rates,”hesaidonthe “State of Freedom”podcast. “That is further from thetruth. I have deniedrates more than 20 times. This introduces a subjectivity that Ican wave amagic wand andreduce rates.”

Temple then referred to a news storywhich reported that 16 of the 17 spending projects killed by Landry through the line-item veto weresponsored by Republicans who voted against HB148.

“I came into thisofﬁce, not to be political but to bring my experienced background and knowledge to try and shape Louisiana into amore competitive marketplace,” Temple said. “This has introduced astickingpoint in our marketplace that we did not have to have.”

Jim Donelon, the previous insurance commissioner said he believes Temple has his facts right on when General Motors Insurance came

to Louisiana, noting that it usually takes months from when acompany submits its initial review until it can begin operating. The larger issue,though, is that thefight between Landry andTemple harms Louisiana, Donelon said. “It sends amessage to the market nationwide that we’re not going to get our act together to do real reform, unlike whatwas done in Florida with aRepublican governorand Legislature when they addressed their crisis,” Donelon said. Sen. Royce Duplessis, DNewOrleans, said during the legislative session that Temple sides too often with insurance companies.

On Thursday,hesaidthe fact that GM Insurance decidedtocome to Louisianabefore the legislative session began “is probably indicativethatinsurance companiesare making big proﬁtsinLouisiana.Those savings arenot being passed on to consumers. We’renot seeing lower rates.”

Howtoplace an obituary notice

Email: acadianaobits@theadvocate.com or visit placeads.theadvocate.com. Fo einf tion, ll 337-504-7804

Howtoplace amemorialad Amemorialadisaway to pay tributetoyour lovedone. This remembrance is oftenprintedon the anniversary of aloved one's death. Formoreinformation on howtoplace an"In

‘Something magical’

Disney trip grantedtoLafayette girl aftercancerbattle

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

EmmyQuebedeaux,a 5-yearold Lafayette girl who was diagnosed with cancer, got achance to visit Disney World thissummer througha partnershipbetween the Make-A-Wish Foundationand Halliburton.

Emmy’stoddler years were unlike most because of her cancer diagnosis. When she was3,Emmy’sparents noticed alumpnear her neck. Tests revealed her red blood cell count was dangerously low,and further scansshowed threetumors. Afterinitialevaluationin Lafayette, her doctor referred her to aSt. Jude afﬁliateinMemphis,Tennessee, for conﬁrmation. Specialistsdiagnosed Emmy with stage 4neuroblastoma, an aggres-

sive childhood cancer that affects thenervous system.

“Toadjustfrombeing ahealthy child to achild that stayed in the hospital was very difﬁcult on her She couldn’teven attend her ﬁrst year of school,” saidher mother, Chrystal Quebedeaux.

Following her diagnosis, Emmy spent ayear at St. Jude Children’s

Five-yearoldEmmy Quebedeaux’s dream Disney tripcomes true after her cancer battle, thanks to Make-A-Wish and Halliburton.

Sweettreats

ABOVE: Olivier Pucheu, 2, takes abiteofice cream from his mother,Sarah, duringNational Ice Cream Day at MoncusPark in Lafayette on Sunday.Visitors could celebratethe sweetest dayofthe year by gettingice cream from vendors Smiley Ice, Ellie P’sMobile Ice Cream Parlor,Sweet &Creamyand Pop& Chill.

RIGHT: Visitor Javion Parker,left, serves some icecreamtoMailyn Hays,3,right, during National IceCream Day on Sunday STAFF PHOTOSByBRAD KEMP

The Lafayette Police Department shut downan unlicensed massage business and one employee was arrested in connection with solicitation ofsexual acts

Ofﬁcers visited Oasis Massage, 1511 AmbassadorCaffery Parkway,at3 p.m. Wednesday in response to numerous complaints. An investigationled to the arrest of WeiChenZhang, 30, on acount of solicitation of sexualacts.

The investigation found that Oasis Massagedid not possess avalid massage licensetooperateinLafayette, police said. That led to theclosureofthe business.

Breaux Bridge teen dies in electric scooter crash

Ateenager died in St. Martin Parish after being hit while traveling on an electricscooter,according to State Police. The crash claimed the lifeof16-yearoldDa’Marion Lagrange of Breaux Bridge. EarlyWednesday,shortly aftermidnight, troopers with Louisiana State

Lake Charles campus rebuilding

Catholic high school expandingatnew site

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

The only Catholic high school in Lake Charles has ofﬁcially broken ground on anew campus nearly ﬁve yearsafter HurricaneLaura caused irreparable hurricane damage to its former home.

St. Louis Catholic High School was acomplete lossafter thestorm tore off its roof and left the academic building unsalvageable in August 2020.

Now,the school is rebuilding and expanding its campus on anew site.

“The landscape of our beloved St. Louis is mostcertainly changing,” Principal Kelly DeMolle said. “We are closing achapter to start anew

BY JOANNA BROWN

When social media foodpersonality Mr.Chimetime trieda plate of smothered ribs and red beans and rice from JB’sCruisin Cuisine in Lafayette, he wassoimpressed that he madeanextravagant offer

Today, starting at 3p.m theﬁrst 100 people to arrive at the JB’s Cruisin Cuisine food truck, located in the Northgate Mall parking lot at 1601 Moss St., Lafayette, will eat on Mr.Chimetime’stab.

The reviewer also lovedhis fried fish, hamburger steak and stuffed

PHOTO PROVIDED By CHRySTAL QUEBEDEAUX

OPINION

It’s time to push forwardonearly cancer detection

With acombined population of less than 400,000, the ShreveportBossier metro areaisonly slightly larger than New Orleans, but its impact on the national stage cannot be denied. Twoofthe most prominent men everborninthis area are not hard to ﬁnd on television. Youcan see Dak Prescott, agraduate of Haughton High School, quarterbacking the Dallas Cowboys in the fall, while Captain Shreve High School alum Mike Johnson isnever far from the C-SPAN cameras as he oversees the U.S. House of Representatives. Thoughbothare widely visible in public life, the arenas they occupy and the audiences they engage could hardly be more different. However,weall share another bond, which is tragicallyall too common. We have all lostparents to cancer —Prescott’smother passedaway in 2013, Johnson lost his father just three days before he was ﬁrst elected to Congress in 2016, and Ilost my dad to lung cancerin1979, the secondyear of what was to be an eight-year

NFL career with theNew Orleans Saintsand theWashington Redskins.

Rich

Mauti GUEST COLUMNIST

And now we’re all ﬁghting in ourown ways to reduce cancer’simpact on our lives. In cancer treatment, the critical factor that often separates survival from deathisearly detection. Identifyingcancer at an early stageenables more effectiveand less invasive treatments and greatly decreases theburden of cancer

Arecentpersonal milestone for me was a$500,000 donation from the Rich Mauti Cancer Fund to St.TammanyHealth System to fundthe purchase of amobile lung screening unit, bringing vital early detection services to underserved communities across Louisiana.Webelieve this step can make areal difference in the lives of those battling cancer Ourefforts must also include newinnovations like multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests. These tests can check for dozens oftypes of cancer simultaneouslyfroma simple blood

draw.This is acomplement and vast improvement toour current cancer screening infrastructure, which can only test for asmall handful of cancers,one at atime.

The burden of cancer is alarmingly high in Louisiana, with rates approximately 40% higher than thenational average, according to thefederal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This disparity has manyroot causes. Butbarriers to access for healthscreenings and specialty care compound the challenges. MCED technology,which can be deployed in nearly any care setting, can help address this burden.

Seven of every 10 cancer deaths come from cancer types for which there haven’tbeen available screening tools —such as pancreatic, ovarian or stomach cancer.Puttingthese multicancer early detection tools in morehands can save lives and signiﬁcantly reduce the$210 billion spent annually in the U.S.on cancer treatment.

Prescott andJohnson can advance early cancer detection through their own outside-inside

Medicare cuts will hitindependent doctorshard, whichimpacts patients

Sixty of Louisiana’s64parishes are classiﬁed as “health professional shortage areas” by the federal government, meaning there are over3,500 people for everyone provider.The shortages are particularly severe in specialties such as geriatric and preventive medicine that serve the most vulnerable Louisianans.

less personal. Nearly one-third of Louisianans live in rural areas. These patients may have to travel hours to ahospital to getthe care they once receivedlocally

game. Prescott worked to arrange MCED tests forthe Dallas Cowboys front ofﬁce employees and it may well have saved the lifeof acolleague whose cancer would likely have otherwise gone undiagnosed.

Working on theinside, Johnson, as Speaker of the House, has the power to advance legislation that can deliver that samebenefit to millionsofMedicare beneficiaries and findmore cancers earlier while saving Medicare and its recipientsmoney Medicare cannot easily cover new preventive services, which is problematic since seniors make up themajority of all cancer cases in the country.The bipartisan Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act would enable Medicare coverage of these game-changing blood tests.

This legislation has momentum behind it.Ithas enjoyed rare bipartisan support from nearly 400 lawmakers in the House, as well as strong support from Johnson’s committees that oversee Medicare. It has the backing of more than 550 organizations across the

country.Unsurprisingly,people wantpublic policy that aligns with evolving science and uses that science to makeour lives better.Speaker Johnson has fought forthe bill and taken it within inches of the goal line. It also recently becamethe ﬁrst health care bill in Congress to secure majority support in both chambers, making it the mostpopular health policy proposal on Capitol Hill.

I’mproud to join Prescott and Johnson on this common purpose of turning loss into mission and using our respective positions to help others. Giving morepeople access to early cancer detection is atremendous waytohonor our loved ones.

As aformer NFLplayer,I’m glad to see Prescott be aleader in his community.It’stimefor Congress to ﬁnish the job and get this legislation into the end zone.

RichMauti is aformer NFL player and afounder of the MautiCancer Fund workingto educatethe public on cancer prevention,detection and treatment.

Unleashing U.S. energy results in thebestenvironmental data

The Gulf of America is one of themost strategic energy assets the United States has. Its vast reserves of oil and natural gas power our homes, fuel our economy and support Louisiana’scoastal communities Formore than80years, offshore energy production in the Gulf has been essential to our shared prosperityasAmericans

meansAmericansget affordableand reliable energy withfewer emissions.

Casey

Chapman

Our state’spowerful congressional delegation has the chance to address this state of affairs in the months to come. Louisiana patients should hope they takeit. The problem is straightforward.It’sincreasingly difﬁcult for doctors to practice medicinein Louisiana, especially in rural areas, due to repeated cuts in Medicare reimbursement. Earlier this year,Medicare reduced physician reimbursement by 2.8% —the ﬁfth cut in as many years.

Doctors in private practice were the only providers to receive apay cut from Medicare. Hospitals,ambulatory surgical centers and hospice providers all got boosts in reimbursement to keep pace with inflation. That’ssadly been arepeat pattern.Since 2001, the federal governmenthas steadily increased payments for hospitals and other large health care providers. Yetover this same period, Medicarephysician reimbursement has fallen roughly30% when adjusted for inflation. Without meaningful Medicare payment reform, it will become increasingly difficult formyfellow independent doctors —the ones whosepractices are unaffiliated with hospitals —tokeep serving their communities.

We can’tpass on increased costs to patients or demand higher paymentsfrom private insurers. Our only options areto cutstaff, reduce servicesorsell ourpractices to hospitals.

Many have already doneso. Nearly 75,000 doctorsnationwide joined ahospital or health system between 2019 and2024. Hospitals now own nearly 70,000 physician practices nationwide —a 12% increase in just ﬁve years. When independent practices disappear, the cost of care goesup.

Research from Blue Cross Blue Shield found that routine procedures cost signiﬁcantly more in hospital outpatientdepartments. Women paid 32% more for mammograms in ahospital outpatientdepartment than women who went to adoctor’sofﬁce. Colonoscopies were double thecost in the hospital setting. Care also becomes less accessible and

Taxpayers take ahit,too. Research across five specialties shows that when adoctor movesfrom an unaffiliated private practice to ahospital-affiliated one, Medicare spending goes up by an averageof$1,300 per beneficiary in the 12 monthsthatfollow. It’stime for lawmakers to pump the brakesonhospital-driven consolidationand ensure patients can getaffordable care in their own communities Congress took an importantfirst step this month by schedulinga 2.5% increasein physicianreimbursement underMedicare for next year as part of thebudgetreconciliation package.

But there’smoreworktobedone. Aonetime hike in reimbursement does notoffset more than two decades of decliningMedicare reimbursement. Nor does it offer private physician practices thesecurity that hospitals andother providers have against the risk that inﬂation can pose to their operational viability

The House versionofthe budgetreconciliation bill —which two Louisianans, SpeakerMike Johnsonand Majority LeaderSteve Scalise, shepherded through the lower chamber —would have partially indexed Medicare physician reimbursement to inﬂation in the costofoperating amedical practice. It didnot become law. But it shows that House leadersunderstand what’sneeded.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy has alsobeen actively engaged on efforts to address physicianreimbursement underMedicare. Last year, he formally askeddoctorsfor information on howto“better support and improve pay for high-qualityprimary care providers.”

Fixing Medicarephysician reimbursement —and ensuring that independent physicianpractices cannotjust survive but thrive —has historically attracted bipartisan support. More than 175 membersof the House co-sponsored abill introduced earlier this year that would undo this year’s Medicare paycuts andindexreimbursement to inﬂation permanently. Lawmakers should revisit that bill thisfall. The clock is ticking. Absent action,many physicians could be forced to close their doors or sell their practices to hospitalsystems. That’sbad for doctorsand taxpayers —but even worse for patients in ourstate.

Casey Chapman is apracticing gastroenterologist in Baton Rouge and chief medical ofﬁcer at GI Alliance.

Tommy Faucheux GUEST COLUMNIST

That is why the recent biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service is so concerning. Forced to redothe original opinion by court order and rushed to meet an artiﬁcial deadline duetoBiden administration scheduling promises, theNMFSrecently issued a677-page opinion thatincludes aso-called “jeopardy ﬁnding,” which has been seized on by misguided environmental activists to suggest thatthe oil and gasindustry presents arisk to the Rice’swhale

These opinions are important because the NMFS’sbiological opinionisanimportant document thatcan require actionsby industry to reduce thatrisk. Maintaining an up-to-date, informed biological opinion is key to safely supporting theenergysectorinthe Gulf.

Unfortunately,the new opinion fails to reﬂect the real data we know aboutoffshore operations and marine life in the Gulf. In fact,there is no proven evidence thatany oil and gas vessel haseverstruck aRice’swhale.

Ratherthan relying on decades of records of oil and gas operations in theGulf withnoevidence of interaction between the industry and the Rice’swhale,NMFS utilizes speculation through predictive modeling to conclude industry activity could be allegedly harmingRice’swhales. It would be inaccurateand irresponsible for this claim to be considered as fact.

If left uncorrected, the ﬂawedbiological opinion maydisrupt critical permitting processes and delay or block responsible energy development,severely restricting exploration and production in theGulf.

The consequences will be felt farbeyond Louisiana. Energy production in theGulf accountsfor roughly 97% of allU.S.offshore oil and gas output. These resources are not just aregional asset. Theyare a national strength.

Offshore development meetsenergy demand with some of the lowest-emission barrels produced anywhere in theworld.

The carbon intensityofoil from the Gulf is 46% lower thanthe global average outside of the United States and Canada. That

The Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement foundthatstopping offshore leasing would not reduce demandfor oiland gas andwould result in an increase in greenhousegas emissions by shifting production to places withweaker environmental protections. Offshore energyprojects in theUnited States are subject to someofthe most rigorousenvironmental standardsinthe world. These reviews are designed to ensure safety,minimizeenvironmental impact and protect sensitive habitats.

The newbiological opinionignores the energyindustry’s decades of experience operating responsibly andinnovating continuouslytoimprovesafety andsustainability. Its conclusionsabout theendangered Rice’swhale are notbased on the best availablescience.

According to the National Ocean Industries Association,the decision is driven by speculation andworst-case scenarios instead of fact-based data. The result is aregulatory document that threatensto slow or block responsible activityinthe Gulf based on fear rather than facts

Thatslowdown wouldhit Louisiana especially hard.Our state’soil and gasindustry supports morethan306,000 jobs, making up 15% of thestate’stotal employment. It generates morethan$25.5 billioninwages andcontributes over $77.7 billiontoour economy

Butthis is about morethaneconomics. When we allowﬂawed regulationsto block development,wemakeAmerica moredependent on foreign powers. That meansgivingleveragetonations likeRussia, Venezuelaand the membersofOPEC, countries that do notshare our values or ourenvironmental standards.

PresidentDonaldTrumphas madeit clear that his energyagenda is aboutunleashing American energy, notholdingit back.The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oiland GasAssociation supports theadministration’s effort. We believe theUnited States shouldlead theworldinenergyproduction andenvironmental stewardship.

The Gulf of America is too important to be sidelinedbymisguidedpolicy. Offshore energyproduction strengthens our economy,protects ourcoast andprovides theenergysecurity every American family depends on. Let’sdefendit. Let’sgrow it.And let’skeep theGulfstrong.

Tommy Faucheux is the president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil andGas Association.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Commuterswalk past abus stop with aposter showing President Donald Trump and JeffreyEpsteinnearthe U.S. Embassy in London last week.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK THEEPSTEIN FILES COMMENTARY

The case of JeffreyEpstein, whodied in prison 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, continues to fascinate asegment of the American public whobelieve there is awider conspiracy behind Epstein’scrimes.While campaigning,President Donald Trump vowed to his supporters to release more information about the government’sinvestigation into Epstein.But recently,AttorneyGeneral PamBondi said there wasnothing more to be released, and Trump urgedhis supporters to move on. But some have refused to do so, fracturing the MAGA base.Arethe questionssurrounding the Epstein case valid, and is this adefining moment for Trump’spolitical movement? Here are twoperspectives.

JefferyEpstein’s rumored Mossad linksjusta canard

It’salmost conventionalwisdom in certain quarters that Jeffrey Epstein must have been working for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.

“It’sextremely obvious to anyone who watches that this guy,” Tucker Carlson said of Epstein the other day,“had direct connections to aforeign government. No one is allowed to say that that foreign governmentisIsrael because we’ve been somehow cowed into thinking that that’snaughty.”

Acosta,rather an unnamed source told the story to areporter.Acosta denieshe ever said it.

Asked about the matter at anews conferenceaslabor secretarywhenthe Epstein story reemerged, Acosta seemed to deny it,although, admittedly,ina halting andindirect fashion

Steve Bannon, coveringall his bases, says Epstein was working forMossad, MI6, Saudi intelligence and the CIA, while Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA only says that Epstein may have been working for Mossad.

The ﬁrst question to askabout this purported relationship is, Why would Mossad want to associate itself with Epstein? He was under investigationfor his sexual crimes going backto2005and convicted of afew of them (as partofa sweetheart plea deal) in 2008,and would be under federal investigationagain about adecadelater

Clearly,itwould risk an enormous black eye for the State ofIsrael to connect itself to aknown sex offender whose lifestyle was ﬂamboyant and anongoing crime scene.

What would be thesupposed upside? Compromisinginformationonthe rich and powerful? Presumably,there’d be mucheasier ways to honey-trap men with untoward sexual appetitesthan hope they become friendly with Jeffrey Epstein and compromisethemselves on hisprivate island

If the notion of Epstein asanIsraeli spy seems implausible, if not farcical, it’s gotten some superﬁcial plausibility from parts of the record that have beenexaggerated or misinterpreted.

Perhaps most important, the U.S. attorney for the Southern DistrictofFlorida who worked out the plea dealwith Epstein, Alex Acosta, supposedly said that he was told to go easy on Epstein by higher-ups in the Bush administration at the time because Epstein was with intelligence. Acosta allegedly said this aspart of his vettingprocess to become Trump’s ﬁrst secretary of labor in the ﬁrst term. But this didn’t come directly from

As part of an extensive 2020 JusticeDepartmentOfﬁce of Professional Responsibilityreport into the handling of thecasebyAcosta andthe Southern District, Acosta told theinvestigators that he had no information about Epstein beingan intelligence asset and that his answer at the news conference was meant to be a“no.”

The report related that “OPR found no evidencesuggestingthatEpstein was such acooperating witness or ‘intelligenceasset,’ or that anyone —including any of the subjects of OPR’sinvestigation— believed that to be the case.”

Whatabout Epstein’swell-documented relationshipwithformer Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak? One assumes that aMossadasset wouldn’tspend inordinate time with aformer high-ranking Israeli ofﬁcial.

AlanDershowitz, whorepresented Epstein,maintains that he asked his client if he had contacts with intelligence agencies, and Epstein said “no,” even though it would have been in his legal interest to disclose any relationships.

Regarding Epstein’sdeath,which many believe wasreallya murder,the Mossad accusationsget morefantastic: Israeli intelligence hadtoclean up after itself by killing an American citizen on U.S.soil in fact, while he was held in aU.S. jail? By the way,ifMossad killed Epstein, and wascapable of pulling off ano-fingerprints operation in extremely difficult circumstances on U.S. soil,surely they would have killed hiscloseassociate GhislaineMaxwell beforeshe wentto trial with an incentive to spill herguts. All of this so beggars beliefthatit’s almost not worth addressing, exceptthat influentialvoices on theright believe Israel might be behind oneofthe most hideous scandalsinrecentAmerican life.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry

Don’tbet that theEpstein scandalisbehindus

When areporter asked Attorney General Pam Bondi about theJeffrey Epstein investigation, President Donald Trumpcould not contain himself amomentlonger

“Are you still talking aboutJeffrey Epstein?” he said, pushing back against the question. “This guy’sbeen talked about for years. Arepeople still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable.”

the “Epstein ﬁles” in what he implied would be aday of comeuppance forhis political enemies.

It was aday after the Justice Department concluded the convicted sex offender died by an unassisted suicide —not by foul play,ascountless rumor-mongers and conspiracy theorists had alleged. Epstein was accused of trafﬁcking and sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

He pleaded guiltytoprocuring achild for prostitution and soliciting in aFlorida statecourt in 2008 as part of adeal to avoid federal charges

He later was charged with sex trafﬁcking in New York federal court but died in jail while awaiting trial.

Yetthis case, like any other “heater,” as prosecutors often call an attentiongrabbing case like this one,isnot about to slip far out of therumor mills and conspiracy theorists across party lines. Whether they exist or not, “the Epstein ﬁles” becameastoryinthemselves, unfettered by anything as mundane as a lack of evidence, and easily available to be weaponized by various factions.

The ﬁles found their way into the news morerecently as Trump’sfeud with his former ally Elon Musk heated up. The billionaire entrepreneur claimed that theTrumpadministration had withheld the“ﬁles” because thepresident was named in them.

Well, who wasn’tnamed in the “ﬁles,” if you believe the rumors? Idon’tbelieve them, but in theage of social media, the never-ending cascade of information and misinformation at least offers some entertainment value if you don’ttake it too seriously

Yetit’sironic that the reporter’s question about Epstein provoked the president of the United States into an oncamera hissy ﬁt. Ialso detect ameasure of cosmic justice. After all, it wasTrump who made acampaign promise to open

In the annals of American politics, you would strain to find afigure who mademore effective use of innuendo than Trump, whofirst becameadarling of right-wing conspiratorialists around 2010 by promoting lies about Barack Obama’sbirth in the United States.

Since the salad days of “birtherism,” we have witnessed aﬂowering of outlandishly paranoid politics as social media platforms prioritized audience engagement over such antiquated notions as accuracy in the design of their algorithms. This era saw the launch of a new generation of media stars liberated from any editorial authority that might submit their assertions to afact check.

Unsurprisingly,the rising conspiracy media elite loved Donald Trump, and he loved them right back.

Trumpdepended on their loyalty when he promoted the Big Lie of the stolen election in 2020, which in turn led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the gravest threat to constitutional rule in the United States since the Civil War.

Is this asignificant turn in the political firmament, or is it merely an indication that Trump’stactical use of conspiracy theories is having unintended consequences? It’s hard to say,but it may not bode wellthat his administration is stuffedwith conspiracy theorists, including two—FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino —who have pushed the “Epstein files” narrative.

Idon’texpect much in the wayofreliable further revelations, but newsisa business that tries to prepare forthe unexpected —with healthy skepticism More likely,wemight ﬁnd out whoare the grifters, the shills and the suckers in this con game.

As an old-school journo, Istill rely on the advice of the old Chicago City News Bureau slogan: If your mother says she loves you, check it out —especially if it arrives in atweet.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com

Clarence Page

Rich Lowry

BatonRouge momwillnot be deported

California judge rulesonwifeof Marine veteran

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

ABaton Rouge motherof two, who has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Monroe for months, will not be deportedafter aruling by a California judge. The move comes after two Iranian-bornLSU doctoral students anda 47-year-old

MAGICAL

Continued from page 1B

Research HospitalinMemphis, undergoing intensive treatmentincluding chemotherapy,radiation and multiple bone marrow transplants.

New Orleans mother,also originallyfrom Iran, were allfreed from theirown ICE detentions earlier this month. Adrian Clouatre, aMarine veteran, hasbeenﬁghting to gethis wife, Paola, 25, outof ICEdetentionaftershe was detainedinMay at what thecouple thoughtwas a routine citizenshipappointment for their green card application. As the couplewaitedin NewOrleans after the appointment for aset of paperwork, Paola Clouatre was taken into custody by

Emmy’sjourney was already tough, but beingseparated from her threesiblings and family back in Louisiana made itevenharder,Quebedeaux said.Asthey continued to navigate theirnew reality, things took ahopeful turn. Since November 2024, Emmy has been cancer-free and her family was granted Emmy’sone wish, the chance to visitDisney

REBUILDING

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one, andwhile lettinggoof the past is hard, preparing for the best possiblefuture of our Saints is exciting.”

DeMolle, who was aSt. Louis Class of 1999 graduate, said demolition began on the former St.Lake Charles campusin December and was completed by early March. All that is left on thesite at 1620Bank St. is the Landry Gym, acouple athleticcomplexes and the school’stemporary campuses.

While the demolition was nearing completion, ground was broken for the new campus at the corner of East McNeese Street and Corbina Road. The property was purchased for the school in 2022 to give the campus room to

EATFREE

Continued from page1B

turkey wingsfromLaura’s II so much that he made the same offer for that restaurant. On Saturday,hewill pay for the ﬁrst 100people to eat free at the Creole soul food restaurant, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. He said, “The second you put your tongue on this turkey wing, it’sbaptized in ﬂavor.” MadonnaBroussard, the chef at Laura’sII, was nominated for aJames Beard “Best Chef in the South” award this year Eachdealisgood until sold out, and willbesubject to restrictions by therestaurants. At JB’sCruisin Cuisine, people receiving the

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

Police Troop Ibegan investigating afatal crash involving an electric scooter on La. 347, just south of Jolie Blonde Road in St. Martin Parish. The preliminary investigation revealed that Lagrange was on an electric scooter with no lights travelingnorth in the southbound laneofLa. 347. At the same time, a2015 Chrysler300 wastraveling in the northbound lane of La. 347 and was attempting to pass aslower vehicle in apassing zone. For reasons still under investigation, as the Chrysler moved into the southbound lane to pass, it struck the scooter from the rear Lagrange, who was not wearing ahelmet, suffered serious injuriesand was taken to anearby hospital, where he later died. The driver of the Chrysler was restrained and not injured. The driver of the Chrysler was not suspected of being impairedand voluntarily provided abreath sample, which showed no alcohol was detected. Astandard toxicology samplewas collected from Lagrange and submit-

threeICE agents. Since then, Adrian Clouatre has made the four-hour drive from BatonRouge to Monroe twice aweek in order for the couple’s10-month-old to nurse andtheir1-year-old to see his mom.

Paola Clouatrehad adeportation order out for her since she was ateenager, the result of hermother having missedanasylum appointment in 2018. The Clouatres were unaware of the order,and the mother anddaughterare no longer in contact. ButasofFriday,ajudge in

World this summer.There, they met Emmy’s favorite characters and celebrated her incredible journey

“Thesechildren are going through so much fear every day of their lives,” Quebedeauxsaid. “So to allow her to be akid and do something normalwith herfamily was something magical.

the case’soriginal jurisdiction of SouthernCalifornia hasstayed that order of removal.

“Well it moves theballforward,” said Carey Holliday the Clouatres’ attorney and former immigration judge. “Westill gotsome movement to make.”

The stay of removal and reopening of Paola Clouatre’s case is not the end of things.She is stilldetained in Monroe, although the case’svenue has been transferred to aLouisiana court in Jena.

Holliday said he plans to

Sinceher recovery,Emmy has remainedinremission.

Constructionisongoing

grow as it begantorebuild

“St. Louis has always been conﬁned toaone-block radius,” DeMolle said. “Inorder for St. Louis to grow to its potentialand have all its ownfacilities, its own football field, its own athletic

Mr.Chimetimedeal can order ared beansand sausage or white beans andsausage plate,limited to oneper person. Aside of cornbread and other dishes will beavailable for purchase. According to Mr.Chimetime, areviewer known forhis direct and honest takes, JB’s Cruisin Cuisinewas “oneofthe best foodtrucks I’ve ever hadin my life.”

“That ﬁrstbite wassensational,” he said about his ﬁrst taste of smothered ribs. After tryingwhat he described as arich, creamy andslightly herbaceous plate of red beans, Mr.Chimetime said, “I see why y’all invited me now.Y’allcan really cook.”

Thevlogger’sname is Rashad Moore, and he hails from North Carolina. He got

ted for analysis

Twoarrested after shootingincident

Twomen were arrested after ashooting incident in Opelousas on Tuesday Christopher Esquivel and Kevin Rosettebothface counts of illegal use of a weaponand aggravatedassaultwith aﬁrearm,accordingto an OpelousasPolice Department announcement. Police responded around 8p.m.Tuesday tothe 1700 blockofRodneyMilburn Boulevard inNorth City Park to reportsofa shooting incident.Upon arrival,officers were able to getadetailed description of the vehicles involved in the incident, and the two menwere later located and arrested.

Videosurveillanceallegedly showed that Esquivel and Rosettegot inaverbal altercation whenEsquivel pulled out ahandgun and pointed it at Rosette. Rosette thengot an AR-15 styleriﬂe from another person and fired two rounds into the ground. Twobullet casings were found at the location of the alleged shooting TheOpelousas Police Department encourages anyone with additional information

complexes and fields, we decided it was necessary to purchase moreproperty.”

In fact, DeMolle said the school has never owned its sports fields and was unable to build thefacilities because there was no ad-

his start primarily reviewing food around his home state beforebranching out to cities like Detroit and New Orleans. With around 4million followersacross his channels on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, Moore’s fans love his no-punches-pulledtakes. Several of his New Orleansbasedreviewswere less than stellar, andbased on that experience, Moore took the advice of his commentersand cametoLafayette.

After trying several spots around Lafayette and Acadiana, including Bourque’s, Mama’sFriedChicken and Best Stop boudin, Moore said, “whoeverranked New Orleansasthe top food spot, bring your a** down to Lafayette.”

regarding this incident to contact us at (337) 948-2500. All calls can remain anonymous.

Mandies in New Iberia house fire

Afatal house fire claimed thelife of a71-year-old man in New Iberia, officials said. According to the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal, thefireoccurredFriday morning in the 1300 block of MarshfieldRoad in New Iberia. Investigators reported the causeofthe fire is undetermined, but they confirmed there were no smokealarms in the home.

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As Emmy begins kindergartenthis year,she continues to face side effects from chemotherapy.She lives with gastroparesis, aradiation-induced condition that weakens her stomach muscles and slows digestion. She has also experienced signiﬁcanthearing loss andnow useshearing aids to adapt

ditional land available for purchase at the Bank Street property

Thenew CorbinaRoad location is 47 acres

The initial build, which is expected to be completed by spring 2027, will include fourmajor buildings: a 70,000-square-foot academic building,a 16,000-squarefoot sciencebuildingand cafeteria, a22,000-squarefoot athletic complex,and a 47,000-square-foot gymnasium

While theschool has around 500students on average, DeMolle said thenew campus will be built to hold up to 800 students. The project will cost around $54 million and is being funded by $32 million from FEMA and acapital campaign for the additional funds. DeMolle said thefundraisingcampaignisabout halfway to itsgoal.

makeimmediate motions to ﬁle bond forClouatre as soon as the court administratively closes her notice to appear.Hesaid he also believes Clouatre is entitled to “paroleinplace” as the wife of aMarine veteran

This discretionary immigration benefit allows some family of veterans to remaininthe U.S. legally in one-year increments during their trials, even if theylack legal status.

Meanwhile, Hollidayis working to get the Clouatre’sgreen card process back on track

Despite everything she’s faced over the past few years, hermother said Emmy has remained strong. “She is still themostloving, playful, little girl and is readytoconquerthe world,” Quebedeaux said.

Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Once the first phase is complete andthe students movein, DeMolle said a second phase will funded by another capital campaign. It will include achapel, amphitheater and several athletic ﬁelds.

The project was designed by architectChampeaux Evans Hotard and built by Trahan Construction.

“We’vehad familiesthat have stood by us. Some of ourstudentshavenever seen the old nor will see the newcampus. They’ve been in temporary buildings for four years,” DeMolle said.

“I’m excitedtobeableto ﬁnally deliver acampus to our families that we can be proud of and that will be lasting foryearsand years to come.”

Email Courtney Pedersen at courtney.pedersen@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By COURTNEy PEDERSEN

at the newSt. Louis Catholic High School campus at the corner of East McNeese Street and Corbina Road on Tuesday.

SPORTS

MIND CONTROL

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staffwriter

Late in Thursday’spractice during a red zone period, Spencer Rattler rolled to his right, saw nothing there and decided to heave the ball out of the back of the end zone.

The problem is theball didn’t getthere.

“Gottaput more on it,” Rattlersaid.

“Just missed it. Bad decision.”

The ball hungupand stayed inbounds, allowing Saints rookie cornerQuincy Rileytopluck it outofthe airfor an interception. It was anotable lowlightthat landed in reporters’ notebooks andmade the rounds on social media.

And then, on theverynextsnap, Rattler saw the defense parting in front of himand scrambledthrough thegap for atouchdown.

As the Saints let athree-man race play out for the starting quarterback job, the players competing forthe spot arefocusing on doing exactly what Rattlerdid in that moment:Not letting onebad snap turn into several badsnaps

They’replaying ahigh-stakes game

where mistakes can feel magniﬁed. That requiresmental focus and the ability to not only ﬂush apoor moment,but correct it in the aftermath.

“It’s alwaysabout howyou respond to adversity,”saidcoach Kellen Moore

GeorgiaSouthern bigwinnerat SBCmedia

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Chris Olave was happy to see the New York Jets pay Garrett Wilson. The two were teammates at Ohio State, andthe NewOrleansSaints wide receiversaid he could tell almost instantly that Wilson would be “destined forgreatness.” AndWilson’snew contract reflects that journey —four years, $130 million. With an average of $32.5 million per year,the Jets madeWilson the ﬁfthhighest-paid wide receiver.Itwas the kind of deal that could setthe market forOlave,who wasdraftedthe same year as his former teammate.

Buttalks of his own contract extension will have to wait, Olave said. “Coming off the season Ihad,I was out for the year,I’m not really looking at it right now,” Olave said. “I feel like I’ve got to prove myselftobeable to get that type of money or to getthattype

“Guys are going tomake mistakes, Spencer threw an interception today in ared zone period, which he’d donesomany good thingsdown there. Those moments

The ear-splitting noise emanating from the speakers in Tiger Stadium’s SouthStadium Club at Wednesday’sjam-packed Rotary Club luncheon sounded like an ocean liner’sfoghorn being melted in ablast furnace.

LSUcoach Brian Kelly,the reason hundreds of people were there and willing to endure themetallic rending sound, decided he didn’twant to deal withit.

“I don’tneed a microphone,” LSUfootball’shead man said as he took thepodium. Kelly took charge, then in aloud voice that carried easily above therapt room he spent mostof thenext 20 minutes basically describing how he is in charge of atalented, promising, well-supported and well-funded football program.Ateam that he said is comprised of players who understand attention todetail and are following theright leaders within theteam (he ticked off three: quarterback GarrettNussmeier, linebacker Whit Weeks and offensive lineman Bo Bordelon) to help them get there. “LSU football and LSU athletics is about being elite,” Kelly said.

“It’s about astandard, aTiger standard, that is ahigh bar,that we expect you to meet and exceed every day.That’scalled accountability.That’smyjob as the head coach, to create the culture and maintain it on aday-to-day basis.

That’sthe mostimportant thing to us when we talk about thinking the right way. That

“What’s important to our guys? Those traits of excellence: Being on time, having good habits, having attention to detail, having a good attitude, showing somegrit.

STAFF PHOTOSByBRETT DUKE

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler throwsthe ball during training camp in Metairie on Thursday.

Saints quarterbacks, from left, Hunter Dekkers, Spencer Rattler,JakeHaener and Tyler Shough gather during Wednesday’spractice.

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Wrestling icon Hogandiesat71

WWEsuperstar had colorful career in andout of thering

BY CURT ANDERSON and ED WHITE The Associated Press

CLEARWATER, Fla. Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing, bicep-busting icon of professional wrestling who turned the sportinto amassive business and stretched hisinﬂuence into TV,pop culture and conservative politics during a long and scandal-plagued second act, died Thursday in Florida at age 71. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital less than 90 minutes after medics in Clearwater arrived at his home to answer amorning call about acardiac arrest, police said.

“There were no signs of foul play or suspicious activity,” Maj. Nate Burnside told reporters.

Hogan,whose real name was Terry Bollea, was perhapsthe biggest starinWWE’slonghistory He wasthe main draw for the ﬁrst WrestleMania in 1985 and was a ﬁxture foryears,facingeveryone fromAndre TheGiantand Randy Savage to The Rock and evenWWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

But outside the the ring, Hogan also foundtrouble.WWE in 2015 cut ties with him for three years, even removinghim from its Hall of Fame, after it was reportedthat he was recorded using racial slurs about Blacks. He apologized and saidhis words were “unacceptable.”

Hogan won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and reinstated there in 2018. WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums,and millions of fans have watched the company’sweekly live television program, “Raw,” which debuted in January on Netﬂix.

Hogan’sbrand of passion

“Hulkamania,” as theenergy he created was called, startedrunning wild in the mid-1980s and pushed professional wrestling into the mainstream. He was aﬂag-waving American hero with the horseshoe mustache, red and yellow gear and massive arms he calledhis “24-inch pythons.” Crowds were hysterical when he ripped off his

T-shirt in the ring —atrademark move —revealing atan, sculpted body Hogan wasalso acelebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerousmovies and television shows, including areality show abouthis lifeonVH1,“Hogan Knows Best.”

In recent years,Hogan added his celebrity to politics. At the2024 Republican National Convention, he merged classic WWE maneuvers with then-candidate Donald Trump’srhetorictopassionately endorse him for president.

“LetTrumpamania run wild brother! Let Trumpamania rule again! Let Trumpamania make America great again!” Hogan shoutedintothe raucous crowd He rippedoff aT-shirt emblazoned with apicture of himself on amotorcycle to reveal abright red Trump-Vancecampaignshirt underneath.Trump stood to applaud themove.

“Welost agreat friend today, the ‘Hulkster,’ ”Trump said Thursday on Truth Social. “HulkHogan was MAGA all the way—Strong, tough,smart, but with thebiggest heart.”

Hoganlately began to invest in alternativestotheatrical, professionalwrestling, announcing plans in April to serve as the ﬁrst commissioner for the Real American Freestyle organization, which describes itself as “the ﬁrst unscripted prowrestling”leagues in the

world. Theﬁrst eventisAug. 30 at Cleveland State University Broken leg, newattitude

Hogan was born in Georgiabut lived much of his life in the Tampa, Florida, area. He recalled skipping school to watch wrestlers at the Sportatorium,aprofessional wrestling studio in Tampa.

“I had been running my mouth, tellingeverybody I’m goingtobe awrestler,and in asmall town,the word gets out,”Hogan said in 2021. “And so when Iwent down there, they were laying low for me.They exercisedmetill Iwas readyto faint.”

The result:a broken legand a subsequent warning fromhis dad.

“Don’tyou ever let anybody hurt you again,” Hogan recalled his fathersaying. “SoIwentbackfouror ﬁve months later with awhole new attitude. Therest is history.”

Hoganfirst becamechampion in what was then the WorldWrestling Federation in 1984, and pro wrestling took off from there. His popularityhelped lead to thecreation of the annual WrestleMania event in 1985, when he teamed up with Mr.T to beat “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr.Wonderful” Paul Orndorff in the main event.

He slammed andbeat Andre the GiantatWrestleManiaIII in 1987, and the WWF gained momentum His feud with the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage —perhaps his greatest rival —carriedpro wres-

tling even further. Hoganwas acentral figure in what is known as the Monday NightWars. TheWWE andWorld Championship Wrestling were battlingfor ratings supremacy in 1996. Hogantilted things in WCW’s favor with the birth of the Hollywood Hogan character and the formation of theNew World Order,a villainousstable that put WCW ahead in the ratings.

He returned to the WWEin2002 and becameachampion again.His match withThe Rock at WrestleMania X8, aloss during whichfans cheered forhis “bad guy” character, wasseenasapassing of the torch.

Outsidethe ring

He crossed over into movies and televisionaswell. He wasThunderlips in the movie “RockyIII” in 1982.

In 2016,aFloridajuryawarded Hogan $115 million in alawsuit against Gawker Media andthen added $25 millioninpunitive damages. Hogan sued after Gawkerin 2012 obtained andposted video of him having sex with his former best friend’swife. He said the post violated his privacy Hogan ended up settling the case for millions less after Gawker ﬁled for bankruptcy There wasother fallout.The litigation led to the discovery that Hogan had usedracial slurs on the tape.

“Itwas unacceptablefor me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it;and Iapologize for having done it,”Hogan said in awrittenstatement.

After Hogan was booed at the premiere of Netﬂix’snew WWE show in January,former WWE wrestler Mark Henry,who is Black, said that the scandal was a “darkcloud” over Hogan’scareer

Henry said he believes in secondchances but that Hogan “never wanted to go forward and ﬁx it.”

Outside Hogan’sHangout, his restaurantinClearwater Beach, people talked abouttheir admiration for Hogan as newsofhis death spread. Rich Null of St. Louis said the twomen worked out together.

“Thirty minutesinto our workout in the gym, he said,‘cut the Hulk Hogan crap, call me Terry,’ ”Null said. “He wasa really super-nice guy,and we’re going to miss him.”

England, Spaintomeetfor Euro title

BYDANIELLA MATAR AP sportswriter

ZURICH Here we go again. There’sasense of déjà vu about the Women’sEuropean Championship ﬁnal that pits reigningchampion England against World Cup winner Spain.

The two nations faced off in the World Cup ﬁnal two yearsago with Spain edging an open match 1-0.

“I think obviously that was a massive disappointment and Ifeel like from acollective we probably feel like we didn’thave our best performancethatday,but Ithink …ifyou’re trying to pull on that too much then you’re going to be too emotional with too many things going on,” England midﬁelder Keira Walsh said Thursday

“Obviously you thinkabout it a little bit butIthink for us, put it to thesideand focus on the game on Sunday.We’ve got so many new players in this team who are really conﬁdent and bring so many things to this team, so it’sexciting and we can just focus on the positives.”

Both teams needed 120 minutes to get through their gruellng semiﬁnals. England’ssuper-subs had their parttoplay again Tuesdaywith late goals ﬁrst taking the match to extra time and then securing alast-gasp 2-1 victory over Italy

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ABBIEPARR England’sKeira Walsh, left,vies for theball withSpain’sMariona Caldenteyduring the Women’sWorld Cup finalonAug.20, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. The twoteams meet again Sunday in Basel, Switzerland.

Spain neededa momentof magicfromtwo-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatítoget past aresilientGerman side 1-0 on Wednesday

It will beaﬁrst Euros ﬁnal for Spain but even before thetournament it hadbeen the favorite to add theEuropean title to its collection after winning the World Cup and Nations League in the past two years.

Thetwo teams have faced off twice since theWorld Cup ﬁnal, garnering awin apiece in the Nations League this year.Jess Park scored the onlygoal when England beat Spain 1-0 in February and Clàudia Pina grabbeda second-halfdoubletohelp Spain to a2-1 victory in June.

“Our past meetings mean nothing because each game is aquestion of moments, the style of play

Trumpsigns ordertoclarify athletes’ employmentstatus

WASHINGTON President Donald TrumponThursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarifywhether college athletes can be considered employeesofthe schools they play forinanattempt to create clearer nationalstandards in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era. Trumpdirectedthe secretary of labor andthe National LaborRelationsBoard to clarifythe status of collegiate athletes through guidance or rules “that will maximize theeducationalbeneﬁts andopportunities providedbyhighereducation institutions through athletics. Theorder does not provide or suggest speciﬁcs on the controversial topic of college athlete employment. The movecomes after speculation about whetherTrump will establish a college sportscommission to tackle some of thethorny issues facingwhat is now amultibillion-dollar industry

NewJerseyLittle Leaguer clearedafter suspension

WOODBURY,N.J.— The 12-year-old LittleLeaguer whofaced suspensionfromhis team’s first state tournament gamefor ﬂipping his bat after hitting agame-winning home run was allowed to play Thursday night.

Marco Rocco of Haddonfield, New Jersey, tossedhis batinthe aironJuly 16 after his sixth-inning, two-run homer in the ﬁnal of the sectional tournament. Marco was ejected andsuspended fora game over what the family was told wereactions deemed “unsportsmanlike” and “horseplay.” The family sought an emergency temporaryrestraining ordertoallow him to play in theNew Jersey state tourneythatstartedThursday

Raducanu beats Osaka at D.C. Open in firstmatchup WASHINGTON Emma Raducanu dominated her first career matchup against Naomi Osaka, winning the showdownatthe D.C. Open on Thursday between past U.S. Open champions 6-4, 6-2. “I didfeel it had abit of extra,” Raducanu said. “It’samatch that Ifeel alot of people were talking aboutbeforehand. Iknewthat ahead of thematch,but Iactually quite like these kind of matchups, whereyou’replaying agreat opponent. Alot of people have eyes on the match. They’re into it.” Raducanu, the first qualifier to claim aGrand Slam titlewhen she did that in NewYork in 2021, saved the only two break points shefaced and managed to break the big-servingOsaka three times.

DC council setfor Aug. 1 vote on stadium plan

changes,the squads change, Bonmatí said.

“They have alot of players that we have faced alot of times, in the 2023 World Cup too. We know them, theyknow us. So we want to prepare the best for the game, to win it.”

Spain’striumph at the World Cupwas marred by the Luis Rubiales scandal, afterthe-thenhead of theSpanishsoccer federation kissed player JenniHermoso during the awards ceremony Rubiales wassubsequently charged with sexual assault and convicted afew months before the start of Euro 2025, bringing an end to one of the worst chapters in the history of Spanish soccer Walsh, who made 100appearances for Barcelona over 21/2 seasons, was playing in Spain at the time and witnessedthe fallout ﬁrst hand.

“I think the mostimportant thingfor them is that they can enjoy this final, there’snot the controversy surrounding it,” she said. “I think just forthe girls this time andasa friend andanother football player,for them just to go and enjoy it.

ASHBURN,Va.— The D.C. Council is set to vote Aug. 1onrevised legislation that could allow the Washington Commanders to return to the site of their formerhome at RFK Stadium,chairman Phil Mendelson announced Thursday, describing the updated proposal as awin forthe city and its residents. The updated plan would support a$3.7 billion redevelopment project featuring anew stadium,6,000 housingunits —including1,800 designated as affordable —and retail space and parkland across the 174-acre RFK campus. Mendelson’sstatementcomes days after President Donald Trumpthreatened to block federal support forthe stadium project unless the team reverted to its former name, “Redskins.”

2-time Gold Glover Ahmed announces his retirement Two-time Gold Gloveshortstop Nick Ahmed announced his retirementThursday on social media.

“I gottoliveout my childhood dream and play foravery long time!” Ahmed wrote. “After 15 professional seasonsand over a decadeinthe big leaguesIamofﬁcially hanging up my spikes and retiring from playing.”

The35-year-old Ahmed hit .233 with 72 homers and339 RBIsin964 games. He played 10 seasonsfor Arizona, winning GoldGloves in 2018 and2019, was with SanFrancisco, theLos Angeles Dodgers and SanDiego last yearand played ﬁve games forTexas this season. Ahmed played shortstop and pitched at East Longmeadow High School in Massachusetts andat UConn. He wasdrafted 85th overall by Atlanta in 2011.

Euro 2025 championship. NOON SUNDAy,FOX

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHRISCARLSON Hulk Hogan fires up thecrowd by ripping offhis shirtbetween matches at WrestleMania 21 on April3,2005, at theStaples Center in Los Angeles.

SCOREBOARD

American League Leaders BATTING—Judge, New York, .345; Peña, Houston, .322; Aranda, Tampa Bay, .318; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, .311; Meyers, Houston, .308; Kirk, Toronto, .304; Ramírez, Cleveland, .297; M.Garcia, Kansas City, .291; Y.Díaz Tampa Bay, .290; Buxton, Minnesota, .288; Goldschmidt, New York, .288; Witt, Kansas City, .288. RUNS—Judge, New York, 90; Buxton, Minnesota, 68; Raleigh, Seattle, 68; Neto, Los Angeles, 65; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 65; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 64; Rooker, Athletics, 64; Ramírez, Cleveland, 62; Springer, Toronto, 60; Witt, Kansas City, 60 RBI—Raleigh, Seattle, 84; Judge, New York, 84; Greene, Detroit, 79; Ward, Los Angeles 76; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 68; Perez, Kansas City, 62; Pasquantino, Kansas City, 61; Story, Boston, 60; Y.Díaz, Tampa Bay, 60; Torkelson, Detroit, 59; Bichette, Toronto, 59. HITS—Judge, New York, 129; Bichette, Toronto, 117; Witt, Kansas City, 116; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, 114; Y.Díaz, Tampa Bay, 113; Rooker, Athletics, 111; Ramírez, Cleveland, 110; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 109; Kwan, Cleveland, 108; Greene, Detroit, 107.

Dodgers (Sheehan 1-1) at Boston (Bello 6-4), 6:10 p.m.

(Littell 8-7) at Cincinnati (Martinez 8-9), 6:10 p.m. San Diego (Pivetta 10-2) at St. Louis (Mikolas 5-7), 6:15 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Imanaga 7-3) at Chicago White Sox (Houser 5-2), 6:40 p.m. Atlanta (Wentz 2-1) at Texas (Eovaldi 7-3), 7:05 p.m. Washington (Gore 4-9) at Minnesota (Matthews 1-2), 7:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Holmes 8-5) at San Francisco (Webb 9-7), 9:15 p.m.

DOUBLES—Witt, Kansas City, 33; Bichette, Toronto, 29; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 26; Perez, Kansas City, 26; Ja.Duran, Boston, 25; M.Vargas, Chicago, 25; Ward, Los Angeles 25; Butler, Athletics, 24; Judge, New York, 24; 5 tied at 23. TRIPLES—Ja.Duran, Boston, 10; McKinstry Detroit, 8; Buxton, Minnesota, 4; Henderson, Baltimore, 4; Isbel, Kansas City, 4; 10 tied at 3. HOME RUNS—Raleigh, Seattle, 39; Judge, New York, 37; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 26; Greene, Detroit, 25; Buxton, Minnesota, 23; Ward, Los Angeles, 23; Adell, Los Angeles, 21; Torkelson, Detroit, 21; Ramírez, Cleveland, 21; Rooker, Athletics, 21. STOLEN BASES—Caballero, Tampa Bay, 33; Ramírez, Cleveland, 31; Simpson, Tampa Bay, 31; Witt, Kansas City, 27; Robert, Chicago, 26; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 19; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 19; Neto, Los Angeles 18; Buxton, Minnesota, 17; Story, Boston, 17 PITCHING—Crochet, Boston, 11-4; Valdez, Houston, 11-4; Fried, New York, 11-4; Bassitt, Toronto, 11-4; deGrom, Texas, 10-2; Skubal, Detroit, 10-3; Ryan, Minnesota, 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; H.Brown, Houston, 2.57; Fried, New York, 2.62; 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, Los Angeles, 123; deGrom, Texas 122; Pepiot, Tampa Bay, 118. National League Leaders BATTING— W.Smith, Los Angeles, .323; F.Freeman, Los Angeles, .295; Stowers, Miami, .295; Frelick, Milwaukee, .294; Donovan, St. Louis, .292; Edwards, Miami, .292; Naylor, Arizona, .292; Burleson, St. Louis, .290; T.Turner, Philadelphia, .290; Hoerner, Chicago, .286. RUNS—Ohtani, Los Angeles, 97; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 77; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 72; Soto, New York, 72; Tucker, Chicago, 71; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 69; Chourio, Milwaukee, 68; Tatis, San Diego, 67; Carroll, Arizona, 66; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 66 RBI—E.Suárez, Arizona, 86; Suzuki, Chicago, 81; Alonso, New York, 80; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 78; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 74; Perdomo, Arizona, 72; Wood, Washington, 70; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 70; Yelich, Milwaukee, 66; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 65; Chourio, Milwaukee, 65. HITS—T.Turner, Philadelphia, 119; Chourio, Milwaukee, 115; Arraez, San Diego, 111; Machado, San Diego, 111; E.De La Cruz Cincinnati, 108; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 108; Donovan, St. Louis, 107; Hoerner, Chicago, 107; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 106; Per-

Falcons’ QB Penix more conﬁdent heading into

BY CHARLES ODUM

AP sportswriter

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga The Atlanta Falcons may be better positioned for a winning season with second-year coach Raheem Morris because the offense will be led by a quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., who won’t feel like a first-year starter Penix said after Thursday’s opening practice of training camp he feels more confident entering his second season because he was given his first three starts to close the 2024 season after Kirk Cousins was benched.

“Yeah, it’s very important,” Penix said. “Just knowing, just being able to go out there and get those games with full-speed reps. It instills conﬁdence, knowing I can go out there and do the same thing that you saw in college and all my life So, you know just I would say biggest thing is conﬁdence.”

The Falcons were 1-2 with Penix as the starter to ﬁnish 8-9 for their seventh consecutive losing season. Though the switch to the rookie didn’t produce a playoff berth, Penix said the experience was important for his 2025 outlook and his chemistry with the offense.

“So Week 1 this year won’t be the ﬁrst time I’m on the ﬁeld with the starters in a game-time situation,” Penix said “I feel like that was good as well. So the guys around me as well know what they’re going to get out of me.”

Penix spoke with confidence when he was asked about the potential for an offense that returns running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and an experienced offensive line.

“We should be the best in the league with the guys we’ve got around us,” Penix said. “We should be unstoppable. So that’s that’s our goal. We want to be No. 1 in all categories.”

Penix spent extra time throwing to Pitts and London this offseason and had Pitts on his mind when he spoke with reporters Thursday

“You see we got KP the ball today,” Penix said to open the interview session. “There’s going to be a lot of that.”

Penix has the confidence of his teammates as the new leader of the offense

“He’s just that guy and he goes out there and he does the same thing every day and that’s work hard,” London said, adding Pe-

nix “has a cannon” as a passer Old news

Cousins returns in a backup role after disclosing on the Netﬂix docuseries “Quarterback” that he played through pain in his right arm in the second half of the season, in part to avoid losing his job to Penix. Cousins threw eight interceptions with no touchdowns in a stretch of four straight losses following a 6-3 start and insisted through the streak he was healthy

Morris said Thursday the comment by Cousins in the Netﬂix show was “kind of old news” and added “we addressed that when it was happening. Nothing was a shocker.”

Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract last March that included $100 million guaranteed. General manager Terry Fontenot has said the team is comfortable with Cousins as the backup to Penix. Morris said in the offseason “we won’t hold him back if the opportunity presents himself” to be traded to a team looking for a starter

Morris finds 2nd year more settling

Morris said “it feels more settling, more at ease” as he begins his second season as coach.

“I think it feels even more familiar than it had felt before,” he said. “Being back the second time, being back with the same people ... I’ll come back with the entire offensive staff coming back.”

Health update

Morris said all players reported on Wednesday and all are on schedule to be available for the season. Some players, including linebacker Troy Anderson (knee), won’t be exposed to all contact at the start of camp. The team’s ﬁrst practice in pads will be on Tuesday

Right tackle Kaleb McGary showed off a new short haircut and said he is “all good” after having bone spurs removed from his ankle in an arthroscopic procedure.

Fans fired up

Fans were invited to the opening practice, producing a long line at the gate surrounding the practice facility an hour before the session. Morris said he is “really fired up about this team, really fired up about this organization, really fired up about the fan base.”

domo, Arizona, 106. DOUBLES—F.Freeman, Los Angeles, 27; Alonso, New York, 26; Chourio, Milwaukee, 26; Wills.Contreras, St. Louis, 26; CrowArmstrong, Chicago, 25; Olson, Atlanta, 25; Donovan, St. Louis, 24; Machado, San Diego, 24; Suzuki, Chicago, 24; 6 tied at 22. TRIPLES—Carroll, Arizona, 13; J.Lee, San Francisco, 8; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 7; Moniak, Colorado, 6; J.Beck, Colorado, 5; Abrams, Washington, 4; Arraez, San Diego, 4; CrowArmstrong, Chicago, 4; Goodman, Colorado, 4; Hays, Cincinnati, 4; McNeil, New York, 4; J.Sánchez, Miami, 4; Tucker, Chicago, 4. HOME RUNS—Ohtani, Los Angeles, 37; E.Suárez, Arizona, 36; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 34; 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; Chourio, Milwaukee, 18; 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; Priester, Milwaukee, 9-2; Wheeler, Philadelphia, 9-3; Ray, San Francisco, 9-4; Gray, St. Louis, 9-4; M.Kelly, Arizona, 9-5. ERA—Skenes, Pittsburgh, 1.91; Boyd, Chicago, 2.20; Wheeler, Philadelphia, 2.39; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 2.40; Yamamoto, Los Angeles, 2.55; Pivetta, San Diego, 2.81; F.Peralta, Milwaukee, 2.85; Peterson, New York, 2.90; Ray, San Francisco, 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; Luzardo, Philadelphia, 136; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 134; Ray, San Francisco, 131; Pivetta, San Diego, 127; Yamamoto, Los Angeles, 124.

Cycling Tour de France

Thursday 18th Stage A 106-mile ride from Vif to Courchevel Col de la Loze

1. Ben O’Connor, Australian, Team JAYCO Alula, 5:03:47. 2. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 5:05:32. 3. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 5:05:41. 4. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 5:05:45. 5. Einer Rubio Reyes, Colombia, Movistar Team, 5:05:47. 6. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 5:06:12. 7. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 5:06:33. 8. Adam Yates, Great Britain, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 5:06:50. 9. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 5:06:56. 10. Sepp Kuss, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 5:07:13. Also 41. Quinn Simmons, United States, Lidl-Trek 5:37:10. 46. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 5:39:02. 55. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 5:20:52. 93. William Barta, United States, Movistar Team, 5:54:34. Overall Standings 1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 66:55:42. 2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 67:00:08. 3. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 67:06:43. 4. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 67:07:05.

5. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 67:08:31. 6. Felix Gall, Austria, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 67:11:18. 7. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 67:11:57. 8. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 67:14:13. 9. Ben Healy, Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 67:21:23. 10. Ben O’Connor, Australian, Team JAYCO Alula, 67:25:01. Team Standings 1. Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 201:36:51. 2. UAE Team Emirates XRG, 201:50:51. 3. Red Bull — Bora — Hansgrohe, 202:40:37. 4. Arkea-B&B Hotels, 203:25:09. 5. Decathalon AG2R

of deal.” Olave’s injury history, of course, explains why the wide receiver — and the Saints — would take a wait-and-see approach before negotiating over such a heavy ﬁnancial commitment.

Olave has had four concussions throughout his ﬁrst three seasons, and two last year caused him to miss nine games. Despite getting medical clearance to continue playing, and despite two straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, Olave likely doesn’t have the leverage to seek a top-of-market contract. And from the Saints’ perspective, it would make sense if the team wants to see if Olave can make it through another year before beginning talks.

Olave said he wants to “make it easy” on the Saints to offer such a deal. But nothing about Olave’s last season was easy “I’m just trying to make it obvious,” Olave said.

It was obvious, at times, that Olave was arguably the best player on the ﬁeld when the Saints started training camp. He made a leaping catch over the middle of the ﬁeld on a soaring pass from Spencer Rattler And he was precise with his route running, even on passes that didn’t go his way The Saints, it seems, have no

reservations about using Olave in a way that maximizes his skill set. If that involves targeting the 25-year-old across the middle — where wide receivers can be punished — then the quarterbacks will go to him.

Both general manager Mickey

Loomis and coach Kellen Moore said Olave was cleared to practice without restrictions, adding he’d be in the mix when the pads come on next week.

“He’s full go,” Loomis said. Olave, too, said his mindset hasn’t changed even after his con-

cussions. He’s not scared of getting hit, he said. Nor will he avoid going over the middle, which he said was a strength of his game. Instead, Olave said he will prioritize getting down faster to avoid taking unnecessary hits. And he added that he has changed his

diet, which he hopes will keep him healthier over the course of the season. Asked about the possibility of wearing a guardian cap, Olave said he considered the idea, but told reporters that helmets have been so “updated” that he doesn’t feel it’s necessary. He said he’s consulted with trainers so that he’s wearing the “No. 1” helmet available, though said he doesn’t know the brand of helmet that he now dons.

“I feel good,” Olave said. “I’m excited about the year.”

Olave also wants to stick with the Saints for the long haul He made that clear in June when he laughed off trade rumors and told reporters that he wanted to be with the Saints “forever.” He reiterated a similar message Wednesday when he said that he wanted to stay for “a long time.”

The Saints, too, have expressed a desire to keep Olave. Even without an extension, the Saints picked up Olave’s fifth-year option this offseason that guarantees Olave a projected $16 million in 2026. Without it, Olave would have been entering a contract year in which he could have hit free agency after the season. Regardless, next season ﬁgures to be pivotal for Olave.

“It’s going to be easy on them to make that (contract) decision when we get to the table,” Olave said.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

crack at operating the ﬁrst-team offense.

change games, so he gets to evaluate it and learn from it and I thought he responded really well.”

Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener have all been in these spots plenty of times before. All of them were involved in competitions while in college, and Rattler and Haener spent all of last training camp duking it out to be Derek Carr’s primary backup on game day

Those experiences have helped form their mental approach as they go into this training camp vying for QB1 status.

FOOTE

Continued from page 1C

But coaches, the footballstarved fans and media across our region can’t wait for those discussions to begin.

Of everything that was said, these are the most and least convincing presentations: Most convincing

There was no reason to believe Georgia Southern wasn’t a good team going into this week’s trip to New Orleans for Sun Belt media days After all, the Eagles were 8-5 overall and 6-2 in league play last season and had their head coach and starting quarterback returning.

It also shouldn’t have surprised anyone how polished an orator coach Clay Helton can be. We’ve heard him before. But it was hard walking away from the Eagles’ session without expecting big things for Georgia Southern, which is 0-3 in bowls under Helton. He had a cool story about how determined quarterback JC French was to ﬁnally limit the turnover bug that’s plagued the Eagles’ offense in recent years. If the Eagles make progress limiting turnovers they’re going to be tough to beat.

The big loss of the offseason was linebacker Marques WatsonTrent going to Nebraska, but Helton sold that Appalachian State transfer Brendan Harrington would ﬁll that void.

It just seems like their turn after being essentially one play away from the Sun Belt title game last season.

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

fans everywhere.

“So asking, ‘Will we win a national championship?’ is not the question,” he said. “It’s ‘When are we going to win a national championship?’ Because we will. We have the players, the standards, the support. We have 75,000 season ticket holders — no one has more in the entire country. It allows us to get a clearer picture of what the ﬁrst game is going to look like.”

“We know how close we were last season,” Helton said. “We still all have a pit in our stomach right now I’ve seen that carry over into our offseason workouts.”

Having all but one coach on the staff returning also helps the cause.

The only thing Helton didn’t sell me on is how good it was for his Eagles to open the season with two games in California. The players had big smiles on their faces as Helton addressed the issue, but that sounds a bit counterproductive.

Overall, it’s probably a good thing Georgia Southern isn’t on UL’s schedule this season.

Least convincing

No one is necessarily blaming new Southern Miss coach Charles Huff for trying it, but not many should have been swayed.

After winning the Sun Belt crown at Marshall last season and taking over the 1-11 Golden Eagles, Huff proclaimed as often as anyone would listen that his Golden Eagles are a 1-11 team.

If it was yesteryear when a totally new roster wasn’t possible, perhaps so, coach But with so many quality players transferring to Hattiesburg, especially his quarterback Braylen Braxton from Marshall, it’ll be far from a 1-11 roster Southern Miss will put on the ﬁeld this fall.

Certainly continuity and chemistry could be legitimate concerns keeping the Eagles from a run at the West Division crown, but the talent upgrade is way above a 1-11 football team.

Huff knows that, but who can blame him? It’s not very often the coach who won the league cham-

Kelly talks a good game. He’s always talked a good game. That take-charge voice, those words preaching attention to detail and commitment to a high-minded goal of developing players as people and trying to win LSU’s

ﬁfth national title along the way is heady, convincing stuff. Coming from a person who has been in this head coaching business for over 30 years, it carries even more of a visceral impact in a very Nick Saban-like manner

But there could be no clearer delineation of the transition now facing Kelly and his program than his annual appearance at the

pionship the season before can claim to a 1-11 team the following year Nevertheless, this transition isn’t a typical one.

For one, Huff is a wiser more seasoned coach.

“I’m different,” he said than his ﬁrst season at Marshall. “I have a better idea of what it takes. It took me four years to develop and really reﬁne this process.”

“When I got to Marshall, I didn’t really understand the Sun Belt. We were building to be competitive in Conference USA and then ﬂipped, so we had to change.”

Now he’s a championship coach with experience. Ironically, Southern Miss will be UL’s homecoming opponent on Oct. 18.

Biggest unknown

With that issue in mind, many of the new coaches in the league are just now heading down that bumpy road.

Huff got to Marshall from Alabama. New Appalachian State coach Dowell Loggains was the offensive coordinator at South Carolina before heading to Boone.

He clearly appreciates the history of success at Appalachian State, but the Mountaineers got away from their ground-andpound roots in recent years.

But Loggains played at Arkansas and coached for years in the NFL, so he’ll have the same learning curve Huff experienced.

After the Mountaineers led the Sun Belt in passing on their way to a 5-6, 3-5 losing season, it’s impossible to know what to expect at App State this fall.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Rotary Club luncheon, always his ﬁnal preseason speaking engagement. The time for talking is over The time for doing is at hand. It’s why Kelly also talked about doing something for the ﬁrst time in his career: creating an atmosphere within the football complex to have his Tigers tunnel in on their Aug. 30 season opener at Clemson. It will likely be the most highly ranked opener for LSU since 2011, when No. 4 LSU beat No. 3 Oregon 40-27 at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. He talked about the Clemson

“The biggest thing you can tell yourself is these competitions aren’t won with one rep,” Haener said. “ No 1, it’s a long camp, and No. 2, I’ve just got to do everything I can to focus on what I can control.”

In the past, Haener has worked with mental coach Brett Sandwick, whose clients also include U.S military special forces. And for Haener that means dialing in his mindset — how will he respond when things don’t go his way? And how will he respond when things are going well?

At least from the outside looking in, Haener appears to have the longest odds of winning the battle. After struggling in his lone starting opportunity last season, he then missed almost all of the summer program because of an oblique injury He will also be the last of the three to get a

But Haener uses all of that to fuel the mental side of his approach. He said he’s always considered himself an underdog, and while he doesn’t necessarily seek out evidence of people doubting him, he will add it to the ﬁre when he sees it.

“I’ve always got a chip on my shoulder,” Haener said. “I want my teammates to feel my energy and my passion in my command of the huddle, because when those things happen we tend to be more crisp, more upbeat, and when those things happen we execute.”

Like Haener, Shough is doing his best to remind himself not to place any added signiﬁcance on one play — good or bad, by either himself or someone he’s competing against. Practices, he said, are scripted by scenario. It’s not quite like the regular ﬂow of a game.

“So a lot of times, a throwaway or not taking a sack are sometimes good plays,” Shough said. “They may not look good in comparison to if I have a good throw or if Spencer has a good throw or if Jake has a good throw I just try to go out and win that rep, that’s the whole goal.

“I’ve been in a bunch of different competitions, so human nature is, ‘Oh this guy threw it deep, I want to throw it deep.’ But the biggest thing that coach is looking for and what I want to do is execute it to the best of my ability and then the good things will happen.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

paw prints all over the weight room and Clemson videos on all the TV monitors. He even poked the bear (or in this case, the other Tiger) by taking the schools’ Death Valley rivalry up a notch.

“You want attention to detail on fourth-and-goal,” Kelly said. “You want great habits when they’re needed when you’re on the road and playing at Death Valley Junior not the real Death Valley Within that, it’s our job to prepare our players totally

“When they say ‘Coach is really conﬁdent about his team,’ it’s because I see those traits in action.” So, take Kelly at his word. This

is a committed, focused team, the most talented one on paper, he says, in his four seasons at LSU. None of that is guarantee of victory at Clemson, nor enough victories to get the Tigers back in the College Football Playoff for the ﬁrst time since they won it all six seasons ago. But it seems to move the odds in LSU’s

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

LSU football coach Brian Kelly speaks during his annual preseason stop at the Baton Rouge Rotary Club meeting held at the South Stadium Club in Tiger Stadium on Wednesday.

Southern Miss coach Charles Huff speaks during the Sun Belt Conference’s media days on Tuesday in New Orleans.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

By AIMEE CRONAN

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, left, prepares to throw a pass during training camp on Wednesday.

community and acause. Join the10/31 Consortium as amember (threelevels available) at the group’s annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Fridayat5935 Castile Drive. Help provide costumesfor kids and other community outreach. 1031consortium.com

STATE OF THE ART

Theater, planetarium shows fill localartsscene

BY ROBINMILLER Staff writer

Just becauseAugust is super hotdoesn’tmeanBaton Rouge’s artsscene is lagging.

From an abundance of theater productions to art exhibits to the cool escape of planetarium shows, there areplenty of artsy things to do and see in thecapital city Here are afew suggestions: Endlesssummer

The Gallery at the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center of the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., is celebrating the laid-back freedom of summertime with NewOrleans artist James Michalopoulos’ exhibit, “Michalopoulos:Happy Times, Summer in The City.”

The show runs through Oct. 10, and admission is free. Hoursare 9a.m. to 4p.m. Monday,9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5p.m. Sunday Call(225) 344-0334 or visit manshiptheatre.org.

James Michalopoulos’ painting ‘Nifty Nash,’isfeatured in asolo exhibit of his works, ‘Michalopoulos: HappyTimes, Summer inThe City,’ at the Manship Theatre.

Theater in August

Looking for live theater? Well, you’reinluck. Tickets are on sale forChristianYouth Theatre Baton Rouge’sproduction of the musical, “Singin’ in the Rain,”openingat7 p.m. Thursday, July31, in the Shaver Theatre in LSU’s Music and Dramatic Arts Building on Dalrymple Drive.Other showtimes are 7p.m. Friday Aug. 1; 2p.m.and 7p.m.Saturday,Aug.2,and 3p.m.Sunday, Aug. 3. Tickets are $19-$25.Visit https://www.cytbatonrouge.org/.

Tickets also are on sale for Sullivan Theater’sproduction of thecomedy,“Noises Off!,” opening Friday,Aug. 15,atthe theater,8849 Sullivan Road, Central.Tickets are$23-$29 Visit sullivantheater.com.

ä See ART, page 6C

‘That’sasgoodas it’s goingtoget’

N.O. danceteamdazzles on ‘America’s GotTalent’

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Alittle danceteam from NewOrleans madea big splash on July 8’s episode of ”America’s Got Talent.” Positive comments and astanding ovationfrom thejudgesand thestudio audience brought the 15 membersofEyrie Danceand Tumbling to tears. The team, better known as EDT,had just performed high-flying flips, deathdrops and adynamic routine set to Ciara’s “Level Up” and “APT” by Rose and Bruno Mars. But first, Journee Patterson, 10, stepped ontocenter stage in her hot pink and silver,sparkly costume. Judge Simon Cowell asked the team spokesman what she’d do if they won the $1 million grand prize “I would buy me anew wardrobe and …, “she replied as laughter erupted. “Mydream is to have my own dance studio, and Iwant abig star on the Walk of Fame.”

The music began and the dancers did their thing to the amazementofthe audience.

“Usually,you endthe routine withadeath drop. Youwere death dropping all over theplace,” judge Mel Bsaid.

Thedeath dropstarts with the performer leapinginto theair,arching their back and thenfalling backward onto the ground, often extending one leg upward. It’s meant to be ashowstopper

ä Watch avideo of thedance team’s audition. GO TO THEADVOCATE COM.

“I always hope every year that we’regoing to see an act whereyou go,‘That’sasgood as it’sgoing to get,’ and that is one of those auditionsnow,genuinely,” judge Simon Cowell told thegirls. “A lot of the younger actsare coming in here with realdetermination, which is fantasticfor your life, by the way If youreallywantsomething and areprepared to put thehours in to try and win, youwill win, that’s it AndIlove that.”

Four “yesses” fromthe judges and EDT advances on in the competition. In thenextcouple of weeks, those samejudges (which also include Howie Mandel and Soﬁa Vergara) will decide if they’re one of the 44 acts movingontothe live showsbeginning Aug. 19.

Behind every successfuldance team,there’s a coach, and for EDT, that’s Eyrie Toliver Toliver has been dancing since she was 3years old —middleschool, high school and college at Howard University.She hadher sightsset on becominga surgeon.Then COVIDhappened, andshe returnedtoNew Orleans with timeonher hands.

“So Istarted like offering somedance clinics, somedance camps, between times,and then before youknewit, Ihad a full-timedance team,” the med

ä See DANCE, page 6C

EricBana stars

STAFF PHOTO By ROBINMILLER

PROVIDED PHOTOByTRAE PATTON/NBC

Fifteen girls makeupthe EDTdance team from NewOrleans whoauditioned for‘America’s GotTalent.’

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday,July25, the 206th day of 2025. There are 159 days left in the year

Todayinhistory

On July 25, 1972, the notorious Tuskegee syphilis experiment came to light as The Associated Press reported that for theprevious four decades,the U.S. Public Health Service, in conjunction with the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, had been allowing poor,rural Black male patients with syphilis to go withouttreatment, even allowing more than 100 of them to die, as away of studying the disease.

Also on this date:

In 1943, Benito Mussoliniwas dismissed as premier of Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III, and placed under arrest. (He was later rescued by the Nazis and reasserted his authority.)

In 1946, the UnitedStates detonated an atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Paciﬁc in the ﬁrst underwater test of the device.

In 1956, the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm off the New England coast late at night and began sinking; 51 people —46from the Andrea Doria, ﬁve from the Stockholm —were killed. (The Andrea Doria capsized and sank thefollowing morning.)

In 1978, Louise Joy Brown,the ﬁrst “test tube baby,” was born in Oldham, England; she’d been conceived through the technique of in vitro fertilization.

In 2000, aNew York-bound Air

‘UNTAMED’

Continued from page5C

Shonda Rhimes or Ryan Murphy, but he understands television in ways that have become increasingly rare. Here he’sworking with show creators Elle Smith and Mark L. Smith (the latter of whom was thescreenwriter of 2024’s“Twisters”).

The series opens with two climbers ascending the vertical rock face known as El Capitan Suddenly,awoman’slifeless body comes hurtling past them fromabove, getting caughtin their ropes and nearlytaking them down with her.The circumstances of her death become the show’sdriving plotline. When Bana’sKyle Turner arrives at the summit on horseback, apark ranger says with amixture of envy and annoyance: “Here comes Gary Cooper.” Turner is haunted by past mistakes,a broken marriage, adead son and atendency to ﬁnd solace at the bottom of abottle. “What’swith youtonight?” someone says. “You’re extra serious even for you.” That sums up his personality.The ranger assigned to assist his investigation is arookie and that’sbecause Turner has burned through everyone else with his stubborn insistence on doing things his own way.When an Indigenous character showsup, it’sbecause Turner (and Turner alone) has befriended him. These are common tropes that can be tedious in the wrong hands —the dead child has become overused as ashorthand meant to add sympathetic texture to acharacter’sbackstory —but “Untamed” is made with enough talent and skill that these piecesfeel right, instead of hacky.Credit that to Bana’sperformance, which doesn’tbelabor theguy’sissues nor his stoicism.

Continued from page5C

But it doesn’tstop there. Now is the time to order tickets for Playmakers of Baton Rouge’sproduction of the musical, “Footloose,” opening Friday,Aug. 15, in the Reilly Theatre,Tower Drive, LSU campus. Ticketsare $20-$30. Visit playmakersbr.org. Finally,UpStage Theatre’sJuly production of “The Old Settler” was so popular that the company will stage an encore performance at 3p.m. Saturday,Aug.9,onits stage at 1713 WooddaleBlvd. Tickets are $25. Call (225) 9243774 or visit upstagetheatre.biz. At BatonRouge Gallery

Baton Rouge Gallerycenter for contemporaryart, 1515 Dalrymple Drive, will showwork by artist membersApril Hammock, Mary Ann Caffery,Jessica Sharpe, Michaelene Walshand Beth Welch during August. Hours are noon to 6p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.Admission

Sports parentsbehavingbadly

France Concordecrashed outside Paris shortly aftertakeoff, killing all 109 people on board andfourpeople on theground; it was the ﬁrst-ever crash of the supersonic jet. In 2010, the onlinewhistleblower WikiLeaks posted some 90,000 leaked U.S.military records that amounted to ablowby-blow account ofthe Afghanistan war,including unreported incidents of Afghan civilian killings as well as covert operations against Taliban ﬁgures

In 2019, President Donald Trumphad asecond phone call with thenew Ukrainian president,VolodymyrZelenskyy, during which he solicited Zelenskyy’s helpingathering potentially damaging information aboutformer Vice President Joe Biden;thatnight,astaff memberatthe White House Ofﬁce of Management and Budgetsigned adocument that ofﬁcially put military aid for Ukraine on hold.

Today’sbirthdays: Folk-pop singermusicianBruce Woodley (The Seekers) is 83. Rockmusician Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds) is 82.Reggae singerRita Marley is 79. MusicianVerdine White (Earth, Wind &Fire) is 74. ModelactorIman is 70. Rock musician ThurstonMoore(Sonic Youth) is 67.Celebrity chef/TVpersonality Geoffrey Zakarian is 66.Actor Matt LeBlanc is 58. Actor Wendy RaquelRobinson is 58. Actor David Denman is 52. ActorJay R. Ferguson is 51. Actor James Lafferty (TV:“One Tree Hill”) is 40. Actor Meg Donnelly (TV: “AmericanHousewife”)is25.

The Gary Cooper thingisn’ttoo faroff.

Lily Santiago plays Naya Vasquez, the inexperienced park ranger with whom he’spaired. She’s from the city andtherefore not thrilled withthe idea of jumping on theback of ahorse to explore thearea forclues, but Turner won’tbudge. “This park’sthe size ofRhode Island. It’s got ﬁveseparatehighway entrances bringing over 100,000 peopleaweek,” and going off thetrails, on horseback,isbetter than going in histruck. That shewill eventually come around to him, and he to her,isa foregone conclusion. Sam Neill and Rosemarie DeWitt round out the cast as theseasoned head park ranger who looks out for Turner andTurner’samiable ex-wife, respectively Theseries’ premise is better suited to amovie, but at six episodes it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Thewide open spaces andthe occasional appearance of (CGI?) wildlife are as picturesqueasyou’d expect— it’s one of theshow’s selling points—althoughﬁlmingtook place not in California-based Yosemite but in British Columbia. Isuppose onesoaring,mountainous forest looks like another

Thepark rangers are stuck wearing unﬂatteringuniforms, but Turner has too much swaggerfor that and is outﬁtted in jeansand asand-colored work shirt worn with thesleeves rolled up to his elbows. The show’ssubtitle might as well be “Untamed: Eric Bana’sForearms.”

Where other shows trytoleverage the sex appeal of their male lead by having him doff his shirt within the ﬁrst 20 minutes, “Untamed”takes adifferent tack, and Ilike it. Hollywood has never really understood the appealofagood pair of forearms. Now’sasgood atime as any

is free. For moreinformation, call(225) 383-1470 or visit batonrougegallery.org.

Planetarium shows

Looking for fun indoor family activitiestobeat the latesummer heat?Try taking in oneorall of the Louisiana Art &Science Museum’splanetariumdaily shows in August. TheIrene W. Pennington Planetarium, 100S.River Road, will be showing “Ted’sSpace Adventure” at 10 a.m., “T.Rex” at 11 a.m., “Cosmic Colors: An Adventure Alongthe Spectrum” at noon, “Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs” at 1p.m. and “The Dark MatterMystery” at2 p.m Museum hours are 10 a.m.3p.m. Wednesday through Friday,10a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.Tickets are $15, adults, and $12 for children 3-12 andseniors age65and older Call (225) 344- 5272. Visitlasm. org

Email RobinMiller at romiller@theadvocate.com.

Dear Miss Manners: My daughters play competitive soccer.Itis understood, and often in the rule book, that the parents of one team sit on one side of theﬁeld and the parents of theother team sit on the other side. Several times over the years, parentsfrom the other team have sat on our side. Usually it’snot a big deal, but sometimes it makes things awkward. During our last game, half of the parentsfrom the other team elected to sitbehind our team so they could enjoy the sunshine, as their side was in shade. They then proceeded to make snarky comments to and about our players, and us, during thegame. After thegame, one of theparents from the other team tracked aparent down to begin an altercation for aperceived slight

good manners dictate that Ijust sit silently by?

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentlereader: Oh, good manners have leftthe playing ﬁeld entirely.Because those would dictate that parents can be trusted to sit together at asporting event of school-aged children without causing ascene. In an attempt to reinstatedecorum, Miss Manners suggests you turn yourattention toward shaming the other parents into pleasantness, rather than enforcing rules that encourage bad behavior.When you hear comments about yourself or the players, innocentlyrespond, “Sorry,were you talking about us? Because we think both teamsare doing really well, don’tyou?”

If nothing else, this will infuriate them. Since that seemstobe thegoal of all this anyway

In my opinion, these are the reasons we have therules that parentssit on different sides in theﬁrst place! Is there something Ican say to encourage them to sit on their own side during thegame, or do

Dear Miss Manners: Ibelong to a group of ladies whoare currently living in the United States. Their citizenship status varies. Oneofour ladies comes from a part of the world that is now engaged in armed conﬂict. She has often spoken of the terrible car-

nage and loss of life, especially the children. Iwould like to acknowledge her grief and despair,but I’mnot quite sure what is appropriate. I don’tbelieve she’slost any family members or people that she personally knows, so acondolence card doesn’tseem appropriate. And I’mcertain that her politics and mine differsomewhat, so entering into apolitical discussion to show sympathy won’t work. She is in so much pain when she speaks of the loss of innocence. Can you recommendanything that would show her Icare? Iam friendly with this woman, but have not developed astrong relationship to her yet.

Gentle reader: Youcan be sympathetic to this woman’s pain, Miss Manners assures you, without taking astance on its source. “This is awful. Iamsosorry” is all you need say,repeated as manytimes as necessary —and with increasing emphasis if she tries to engage you in further political discussion.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com.

Take atrip back to the ’60s and ’70s withZach Edwards and the MedicineShow’s‘Liquid Light Show’ at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. Tickets are

FRIDAY

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pecan CompanyPie Bar New Iberia, 5p.m

SHARONA: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6p.m

ALEX TOUCHET: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6p.m

ALYSSA MCMURRAY: Charley G’sSeafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m

BURRIS: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6p.m

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza&Brewery,Lafayette, 6p.m KALEB OLIVIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m

JAMBALAYA TRIO: Randol’sCajun Restaurant, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

ZACH EDWARDS AND THE MEDICINE’SLIQUID LIGHT SHOW: Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.

MAJOR HANDY BAND: Whiskey &Vine, Lafayette, 8p.m

#REDROVDAY CONCERT: Artmosphere, Lafayette, 8p.m

HURRICANE ROAD: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

LA ROXX: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9p.m

LIL NATE: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY

ALPHONSE ARDOIN AND THE ZYDECO KINGZ: Buck &Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8a.m

DANCE

Continuedfrom page5C

SHOWSTOWATCH —ACADIANA

TROYLEJEUNE BAND: Fred’s, Mamou,8 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING JAM

SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice,9a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9a.m

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC

JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1p.m

MATHEW EWING &THE ALL STAR BAND: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 4p.m

SIBLINGSDUELING PIA-

NOS: Amanda and Samuel Sphar,Adopted DogBrewing,Lafayette, 6p.m.

AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley G’sSeafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m

CLIFF BERNARD: Prejean’s Broussard, 6p.m

DOYLE TAUZIN: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza&Brewery,Lafayette, 6p.m.

TROUBADOUR: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

BURRIS HOCHKKEPPEL: TapRoom, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

STRAIGHT WHISKEY: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7p.m

GARYCATHEY JAZZ TRIO: Whiskey&Vine, Lafayette, 8p.m

JC MELANCON: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

VERMILLIONAIRES: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9p.m.

student-turned-coach said of her 130 students ages 4through 17. Now an established danceteam, EDThas growna prettybig following on Instagram, Toliver explained, withone of their videos amassing morethan 200,000 views. Aproducer from “America’sGot Talent” sawthe clip, loveditand reached out and asked the team to audition for Season 20 of the allages talent competition series. “And at that moment, Ididn’t think we’dmake it allthe way through to, you know,the end of

DUSTIN SONNIER: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m

SUNDAY GLENN ZERINGUE: Whiskey &Vine,Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: TanteMarie, BreauxBridge,11a.m.

CAJUN JAM: BayouTeche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2p.m.

JAMIE BERGERON: Cypress Cove Landing, Breaux Bridge, 3p.m.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

OPEN MIC: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 4p.m.

JUNIOR LACROSSE: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club,Henderson, 4:30 p.m

GENO DELAFOSE: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 5p.m.

THE SWAMP BLUESREVIVAL: The Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 6p.m.

JAKE SPINELLA: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m.

MONDAY PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

SAMSPHAR: CharleyG’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m.

TUESDAY

TERRYHUVAL &FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant, Lafayette, 6p.m.

DAVE TRAINER: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m.

KILLER KARAOKE: Freetown Boom Boom Room, Lafayette, 8p.m.

the audition process, butwedid,” Toliver said. The 15 girls who traveled to Los Angeles for auditions were chosen by thecoach,aswellasa fewby theshow Toliver saidshe looked at leadership, consistency andskill level. “AGT” producers,meanwhile, watched several videos of thedance team performing and chose threethatcaught theireye, Journee amongthem. Also picked was the youngest member of EDT, Kylee Vann, 6. The style of dance Toliver teaches is called majorette dance.

“But what makes EDT different is that we incorporate alot of tumbling and gymnastics; most dance

WEDNESDAY

DULCIMERJAM: St. Landry VisitorCenter,Opelousas, 10 a.m. ABI CLAIR: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6p.m.

SAMSPHAR: CharleyG’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m.

ANDREW WAIN JAZZ: Whiskey& Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m.

LEIFE MECHE: TapRoom, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8p.m.

THURSDAY

LEIF MECHEACOUSTIC SHOW: Lakeview Park, Eunice,5:30 p.m

PAUL TASSIN: CharleyG’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6p.m.

STREET SIDE JAZZ: Whiskey& Vine,Lafayette, 6p.m.

KIP SONNIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m

GRIFFIN AND THE STRANGE: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8p.m.

KARAOKE PARTY: Panda Entertainment,Black Bull, Youngsville,8 p.m

Compiledby Marchaund Jones

Want yourvenue’s music listed?

Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. Thedeadline is noon FRIDAY forthe following Friday’spaper.

teamsdon’tincorporate that,” she said. “But Ihave alot of (experience in theother elements) because Iused to do cheer as well.”

Toliver said she’spretty much aone-woman band, also choreographing allthe routines and designing all the performance attire. Aseamstress makesthe outfits, and makeup is donebyone of the dance parents.

“Wehave areally,really big support system,” she said. “When we went to California, we had at least 30 supporters out there.”

“America’sGot Talent” airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on NBCand streamsthe next day on Peacock. For moreinfo, visit https://www nbc.com/americas-got-talent.

PROVIDED PHOTO

$25 at simpletix.com.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Surround yourself with competent people and pursue your goals. Embrace change with apositive attitude and input, andyou will have a lastingimpact.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Initiate change, keep busy andignore what others do Remainingcalm will help you make the most of your day. Letting someone goad youintoanargument will leave you at a loss. Seize themoment.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Speak up; sharing your thoughtsand feelings will attract interesting people and lead to conversationsthatwillcontributetoyourpersonal growth.Takewhatyou receive and turn it into aperfect fit

scoRPIo(oct. 24-nov. 22) You'llwanttoget involved in in something that can put you in harm's way. Broadening your awareness andtakingbettercareofyourself andyourfinanceswillbeworthwhileand give youa reason to be grateful.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Refuse to waste time. Focus on whatyou can achieve and get moving. Alignyourself with people whoare upbeat and offer insightthatyoucanincorporateintoyour daily routine

cAPRIcoRn (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Give yourself plenty of time to developand nourish what you want to grow. Consider what's necessaryand what isn't. Declutter your home, resolve any pressing issues and then relax

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You're on the right track,sowhatare you waiting for?

Speak up, share your intentions and

make sure everything runs smoothly Change is brewing. Romance and physical improvements arefavored.

PIscEs(Feb. 20-March 20) You won't get ahead if you don't act. Be awareofwhat othersare doing or saying, but don't followsuit. Attend an event that offersfood for thought and shows youpossibilities that can lead to aricher life

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Plantohavesome fun. Mix business with pleasure, and you'll discover you have moreincommon with an associate than you thought. Developing relationshipslets you gain insight intowho you can count on for support TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Rethink your strategy before you begin. You'll face oppositionifyou haven't thought your intentions through from beginning to end. Size down, sticktoyour budget and be willing to do the work yourself. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Embrace change with vigor and enthusiastically lead the way forward. Set the pace and plan your route. Your compassion andunderstanding, will catapult you into aleadership position. Trust your instincts cAncER (June 21-July 22) Pay attention to your finances. Maintaining astrict budget will help you save for something worthwhile. Saynototemptation and people wanting to lead you astray.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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:o EQuALs P

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains thesame number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIPALDER

Taylor Swift said, “I write songs that arelike diary entries. Ihave to do it in order to feel sane.”

If success is proportionaltosanity, Swiftmust be the mostgrounded person on the planet Abridge expert often has acareful order in which he must play thetricks to enter aplusscoreonto his card. In this deal, for example, how mustSouth play in four spades after West leads the club king?

South’sthree-spaderebidinvitedgame while promising at least asix-card suit. (With only five, he would have rebid two no-trumpormade ahelp-suit game-try.) North,with apotential source of tricksin his heart suit,raised to game.

Southfirst countshis losersbylooking at his hand and taking dummy’s high cardsintoaccount.Here, he should see four: two diamonds and two clubs. Then he counts winners, finding only nine: six spades, two heartsand one club.

Sincethe losercount is toohigh and the winner count too low, declarer should realize thathemustestablish dummy’s heart suit

This is thesafest line: Winthe first trick with theclub ace, cash the spade ace, take dummy’s top hearts, and ruffa heart high in hand. (South ruffs high for tworeasons:Hedoesn’twanttoriskan

overruff by West and he needs the two low spades to lead to dummy’s nine and 10 for entries.) Now declarer plays the spade three to dummy’s nine and ruffs another hearthigh. Back to dummy with atrumptothe 10, South cashes the heart eight,givinghimsix spades, threehearts and one club.

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

Previous answers:

word game

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

ToDAy’s WoRD cELIBATE: SEL-ih-bet:One who abstains from marriage because of areligious vow Averagemark 28 words

Time limit 40 minutes Can youfind37ormorewords in CELIBATE?

yEsTERDAy’s WoRD —LoGIsTIcs

today’s thought

is my strength andmyshield; my heart trusted in him, andIamhelped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will Ipraise him.” Psalms 28:7

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore