The Times-Picayune 07-28-2025 by The Advocate

HIDING FROM THEHEAT

Sharon and Steve Smith, of NewOrleans found theirbeat-the-heat spot on Sundayunder the pedestrian bridgeat BayouSt. John as theyparked their kayaks for abit of shade as temperatures hit 96.

Exonerated mandetails hislegal odyssey

Activist releases memoirafter Angola

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

U.S.-EU deal sets

Move averts threat of majortrade war

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

EDINBURGH, Scotland The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to atrade framework setting a15% tariff on most goods, staving off—atleast for now—far higherimports on both sides that might have sentshock waves through economies around the globe. The sweeping announcement cameafter President Donald Trumpand European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met brieﬂy at Trump’sTurnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-downculminated months of bargaining, with the White House deadline Friday nearing forimposing punishing tariffs on the EU’s 27 member countries.

“Itwas averyinteresting negotiation. Ithink it’sgoing to be great forboth parties,” Trumpsaid. The agreement, he said, was “a good deal for everybody” and“agiant deal with lots of countries.”

“It wasavery interesting negotiation. I think it’s going to be great for both parties.”

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

Vonder Leyen said the deal “will bring stability,itwill bring predictability,that’svery important forour businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

When Calvin Duncanspoke last month to agroupofteen studentsin aNew Orleans courtroom, he offered aseeminglymodestregretfrom his youth. “First, don’tmake the mistake Imade when Iwas 14, shoplifting for clothes,” said Duncan,62. “That ruined my life.” It wasn’tthe crime so muchasthe mugshot. Five years later,itled authorities to pluck Duncan, then 19, from aJob Corpsprogram in the mountains of Oregon and haulhim back to New Orleanstoface acapitalmurder charge.

What followed was aﬂawed 1985 conviction, alife prison sentence and a28year odyssey for Duncan to clear his name in the killing from behind bars, as he became perhaps the mostsuccessful inmate counsel inside theLouisiana StatePenitentiary at Angola.

In “Jailhouse Lawyer,” amemoir released this month, Duncan andappellate attorney Sophie Cull chronicle achildhood in New Orleans, raised as

ä See MEMOIR, page 4A

LONGINGFOR JUSTICE

As with other,recenttariff agreements that Trump announced withcountriesincluding Japan and the UnitedKingdom, some major details remain pending in this one.

Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some $750 billionworth of U.S. energy andinvest $600 billion more than it already is in America —aswell as make amajor military equipment purchase. He said tariffs “for automobiles and everything else will be astraight across tariff of 15%” and meantthat U.S. exporters ”have the opening up of all of the European countries.” Vonder Leyen said the 15% tariffs were “acrossthe board, allinclusive” and that

ä See TARIFF, page 6A

Newunittakes on logjam of N.O. homicide cases

It’s making progress, buta huge challengeremains

BY JILLIAN KRAMER andJEFF ADELSON Staff writer

On his first day at the Orleans Parish District Attorney’sOffice four years ago,prosecutor MatthewDerbes looked around and thought the building hadbeen looted. Case files were jammed into warped, unlabeled boxes meant for frozenseafood. His caseload stretched 40 feet. Laptops crashedontrial mornings.

“It was avery difficult place to work,” Derbes said.

He arrived four months after Jason Williamstook ofﬁce. The pandemic still loomed, stalling cases, and awave of veteran prosecutors loyal to former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro quit. Then,the city recorded the highest percapita murder rate in thenation. An already massivecasebacklog collided with asurge in newkillings, pushing the systemtoits breaking point. Something had to be done. Williams successfully won city funding to support anew, specialized homicide unit,now led by Derbes. Its goal: chisel themassive logjam of homicide cases in the court system.

ä See UNIT, page 4A

File cabinets and boxes are stacked toward

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER

Israel again intercepts Gaza-bound aid ship

TEL AVIV Israel

The Israeli military has intercepted a Gazabound aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory, detaining 21 international activists and journalists and seizing all cargo, including baby formula, food and medicine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Sunday

The coalition that operates the vessel Handala said the Israeli military “violently intercepted” the ship in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, cutting the cameras and communication, just before midnight Saturday

“All cargo was nonmilitary, civilian and intended for direct distribution to a population facing deliberate starvation and medical collapse under Israel’s illegal blockade,” the group said in a statement. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israel’s Foreign Ministry posted on X early Sunday that the Navy stopped the vessel and was bringing it to shore.

It was the second ship operated by the coalition that Israel has prevented in recent months from delivering aid to Gaza, where food experts have for months warned of the risk of famine. Activist Greta Thunberg was among 12 activists on board the ship Madleen when it was seized by the Israeli military in June. In May, the coalition’s civilian aid ship Conscience sustained a drone attack off Malta that disabled the vessel.

Police seek attacker in deaths of couple in Ark.

WEST FORK, Ark. — Police in Arkansas were searching on Sunday for the attacker in the deaths of a couple who investigators said were attacked while on a wooded walking trail with their two young daughters.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead Saturday at Devil’s Den State Park in Washington County in a suspected homicide, Arkansas State Police said Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members

Ofﬁcials described the attacker as a White male wearing dark shorts, a dark ball cap, sunglasses and ﬁngerless gloves. He was seen driving toward a park exit in a black, four-door sedan with a license plate partly covered by tape.

The car, possibly a Mazda, may have been traveling on Ark 170 or Ark. 220 near the park in a rural, wooded area with limited cellphone service police said Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said that rangers had stepped up patrols at Devil’s Den.

There was no information about a possible motive, ofﬁcials said.

Extremist rebels capture town in central Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia The extremist rebels of al-Shabab seized control of the central Somali town of Mahaas on Sunday after an assault involving explosions and a ground offensive, according to witnesses Mahaas, in the central region of Hiraan, is located about 220 miles north of the federal capital, Mogadishu. The town is a key government outpost and a critical center in the fight against al-Shabab, which for years has been ﬁghting to overthrow the federal government and impose Islamic law

The rebels entered the town after federal and local forces withdrew, according to residents and local ofﬁcials.

“There were multiple suicide blasts just outside the town early this morning, and heavy gunﬁre followed,” said Ahmed Abdulle, an elder in Mahaas, speaking to local media.

Government troops and allied militias, known as Ma’awisley, pulled back shortly before alShabab fighters entered the town, he said.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on Mahaas through its affiliated media channels, saying it was now in control there

Terrorism counts sought in knife attack

Authorities say suspect stabbed 11 shoppers at Mich. Walmart

BY MIKE HOUSEHOLDER, RYAN SUN and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A

man accused of entering a Walmart in Michigan and randomly stabbing 11 shoppers before being detained by bystanders in the store parking lot is expected to face terrorism and multiple assault counts, authorities said Sunday Grand Traverse County

Sheriff Michael Shea said a motive behind the attack by Bradford Gille of Afton, Michigan, remains unclear Gille, who Shea said had “prior assaultive incidents as well as controlled substance violations,” said very little as he was arrested. The man is expected to be charged with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder

Shea praised the quick response by law officers who arrived within three

minutes of receiving the call about the stabbing — as well as a group of bystanders who intervened and detained Gille in the parking lot of the store in Traverse City The community of about 16,000 people is along Lake Michigan.

Gille entered the store at 4:10 p.m. and remained there for some time before the attack began, authorities said. Calls began

coming in to authorities at 4:43 p.m. on Saturday and a sheriff’s deputy arrived at 4:46 p.m.

He said the “remarkable” efforts likely prevented others from being harmed, adding a 3½ inch cutting blade was used in the attack.

“I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough,” Shea said at a news conference. “When

you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody the individual was detained within one minute.”

Gille remained jailed and his name did not appear Sunday in Michigan’s online jail records. Messages left Sunday with phone numbers and an email listed for Gille were not immediately returned His previous court cases

did not have an attorney’s name listed in public records.

Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg told reporters that the terrorism charge will be brought due to the fact that the attack impacted the community, rather than one individual.

“It’s something that is done not to individual people, not to those individual victims — obviously they are most affected — but it is, we believe, in some ways done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis,” Moeggenberg said. “So that is why we are looking at that terrorism charge.”

Shea said the 11 victims were both men and women and they ranged in age from 29 to 84 and included one Walmart employee Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr Tom Schermerhorn, speaking at Sunday’s news conference, said one patient was treated and released; two were in serious condition; and the rest are in fair condition. All were expected to survive.

Israel starts daily pause in fighting in 3 Gaza areas

Military allows ‘minimal’ aid as hunger grows

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, TIA GOLDENBERG and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip

The Israeli military Sunday began limited pauses in ﬁghting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day, part of measures including airdrops as concerns grow over surging hunger and as Israel faces criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war

The military said the “tactical pause” from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, all with large populations, would increase humanitarian aid entering the territory

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher welcomed Israel’s decision to support a “oneweek scale-up of aid” and said “some movement restrictions appear to have been eased.” But he said action needs to be sustained, vast and fast.

“Whichever path we

others, if at all. “We saw the planes, but we didn’t see what they dropped,” Samira Yahya said in Zawaida in central Gaza. “They said trucks would pass, but we didn’t see the trucks.”

Some people feared going out and having a box of aid fall on their children, Ahmed al-Sumairi said.

choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Images of emaciated children have fanned criticism of Israel, including by allies who call for the war’s end. Israel has restricted aid to Gaza’s population of over 2 million because it says Hamas siphons it off to bolster its rule, without providing evidence. Much of the population squeezed into ever-smaller patches of land, now relies on aid.

As the military had

warned, combat operations continued otherwise Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians from late Saturday into Sunday, including 26 seeking aid.

“I came to get ﬂour for my children because they have not tasted flour for more than a week, and thank God, God provided me with a kilo of rice with difficulty,” said Sabreen Hassona, as other Palestinians trudged along a dusty road carrying sacks of food from the Zikim crossing.

But aid came slowly for

IS-backed rebels attack church in Congo, killing at least 34

BY JUSTIN KABUMBA and OPE ADETAYO Associated Press

GOMA, Congo Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a Catholic church in eastern Congo on Sunday killing at least 34 people, according to a local civil society leader.

Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, in the Ituri province, told The Associated Press that the attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burned.

“The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church,” Duranthabo said.

Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on

the floor of the church.

Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.

At least ﬁve other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani.

“They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,” Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told the AP

Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force armed with guns and machetes.

Lt. Jules Ngongo, a spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri, confirmed at least 10 fatalities in the Komanda church attack However U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported 43 deaths, citing security sources The attackers reportedly came from a stronghold about 7 miles from Komanda and

ﬂed before security forces arrived.

Duranthabo condemned the violence in what he said was “a town where all the security officials are present.” He called for immediate military intervention, warning that “the enemy is still near our town.”

Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.

The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.

Israel’s military said 28 aid packages containing food were airdropped, and said it would put in place secure routes for aid delivery It said the steps were made in coordination with the U.N. and other humanitarian groups. The U.N. World Food Program said it had enough food in, or on its way, to feed all of Gaza for nearly three months. It has said nearly half a million people were enduring famine-like conditions.

Antoine Renard, WFP’s

country director for the occupied Palestinian territories, said around 80 WFP trucks entered Gaza, while another over 130 trucks arrived via Jordan, Ashdod and Egypt. He said other aid was moving through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. He stressed it was not enough to counter the “current starvation.”

Gaza saw 63 malnutrition-related deaths in July, including 24 children underage 5, the World Health Organization said. Dr Muneer al-Boursh, Gaza Health Ministry’s director-general, called for a ﬂood of medical supplies to treat child malnutrition.

“This (humanitarian) truce will mean nothing if it doesn’t turn into a real opportunity to save lives,” he said. “Every delay is measured by another funeral.”

TRAVERSE CITy RECORD-EAGLE PHOTO By JAN-MICHAEL STUMP

Employees and customers wait outside the Traverse City, Mich., Walmart on Saturday while law enforcement investigates a stabbing attack.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians on Sunday over the northern Gaza Strip.

Thai,Cambodian leaderstomeetinMalaysiafor talks

BY JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press

BANGKOK Thai and Cambodian leaders will meet in Malaysia for talks to end hostilities, aspokesperson for the Thai prime minister’sofﬁce said Sunday. Thiscomesfollowing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end adeadly border dispute now in its fourth day,which has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 218,000.

Jirayu Huangsap said Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend Monday’s talks in response to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim “to discuss peace efforts in the region.” Anwar has been actinginhis capacity as this year’schair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet late Sunday night on several socialmedia platforms conﬁrmed his participation as well.

“I will lead (the) Cambodian delegationtoattenda special meetinginKuala Lumpur hosted by Malaysia, co-organized by the United States and with participation of China,” he said. China is aclose ally of Cambodia, and had early in thefighting urged the two nations to resolvetheir differences peacefully,but Hun Manet’s statement appeared to be the first mentioning aChinese linktoMonday’splanned talks.

Trump postedonthe Truth Social social network Saturdaythat he spoke to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would notmove forwardwith trade agreements with either countryifthe hostilities continued. He later said both sides agreed to meet tonegotiate a ceaseﬁre.

Cambodian Prime MinisterHun Manet said earlier Sunday his countryagreed to pursue an “immediateand unconditionalceaseﬁre.”He said Trumptoldhim that Thailand had also agreed to halt attacks following the

U.S.president’sconversation withPhumtham. Phumthamthanked Trump andqualiﬁedThailand’sposition, saying it agreed in principle to aceaseﬁre but stressedthe need for “sincereintention” from Cambodia, theThaiForeignMinistry said.

U.S.State Department spokespersonTammyBruce on Sunday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spo-

TomLehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97

BY GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press

LOS ANGELES TomLehrer the popular and erudite song satirist who lampooned marriage,politics, racism and the Cold War, then largelyabandoned his music career to returntoteaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died. He was 97. Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He did not specify acause of death.

His songsincluded “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,”

Lehrer had remained on the math faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz well into his late 70s. In 2020, he eventurned away from his own copyright, granting thepublicpermission to use hislyricsinany format without any fee in return.

AHarvard prodigy (he had earned amath degree from the institution at age 18), Lehrersoonturned his very sharp mind to old traditions and current events.

“TheOld Dope Peddler” (set toatune reminiscent of “The Old Lamplighter”), “BePrepared” (in which he mocked theBoy Scouts) and “The Vatican Rag,” in which Lehrer,an atheist, poked at the ritesand ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. (Sample lyrics: “Get down on yourknees, fiddle with your rosaries. Bowyour head with greatrespect,and genuflect, genuflect, genuflect.”)

Accompanying himself on piano, heperformed the songs in acolorful style reminiscent of suchmusical heroes as Gilbert and Sullivanand StephenSondheim, the latter alifelong friend. Lehrer wasoften likened to such contemporaries as Allen Sherman and Stan Freberg for hiscomic riffs on culture andpolitics and he was cited by Randy Newman and “Weird Al” Yankovic among others as an inﬂuence.

He mocked the forms of

music he didn’tlike (modern folk songs, rock ’n’rolland modern jazz), laughed at the threat of nuclearannihilation anddenounced discrimination.

Butheattacked in such an erudite, even polite, manner that almost no one objected. “Tom Lehrer is the most brilliant song satirist ever recorded,” musicologist BarryHansen once said. Hansen co-produced the 2000 boxedset of Lehrer’s songs, “The Remains of Tom Lehrer,” and had featured Lehrer’smusic for decades on his syndicated “Dr.Demento” radio show

Lehrer’sbodyofwork was actually quitesmall, amounting to about three dozen songs.

“WhenIgot afunny idea forasong, Iwrote it. And if Ididn’t, Ididn’t,” Lehrer toldThe Associated Press in 2000 during arareinterview.“Iwasn’t like areal writer whowould sitdown and put apiece of paper in thetypewriter.And whenI quit writing, Ijust quit. It wasn’tlike Ihad writer’s block.

3killed in German trainderailment

BY STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press

BERLIN Aregional passenger train derailed in southern Germany on Sunday killing at least three people andseriously injuring others, authorities said. Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen,roughly 98 miles west of Munich, remains under investiga-

tion.Photosfromthe scene showed parts of thetrain on its side as rescuersclimbed atop thecarriages. It was not immediately clearhow manypeoplewere injured. Roughly 100 people were onboard thetrain when at least two carriages derailed in aforested area around6:10 p.m.

Storms passedthrough the area before the crash and investigators were seeking to

determineifthe rain was a factor

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in apost on social platformX,said he mourned thevictims and gave his condolences to their families.

DeutscheBahn, Germany’smain national railway operator,said in astatementthat it was cooperating withinvestigators. The companyalso offered its condolences.

ken with the foreign ministers of bothThailand and Cambodia urging them “to de-escalate tensions immediately andagree to aceaseﬁre.”

Herstatement added that theU.S.“is prepared to facilitate future discussions in order to ensure peace and stability” between thetwo countries.

Theﬁghting ﬂaredThursday after aland mine ex-

plosionalong theborder woundedﬁve Thaisoldiers.

Both sides blamed each other forstarting the clashes

Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia, with an exception for migrant Cambodian workers returning home.

Despite the diplomatic efforts, fighting continued Sundayalong parts of the

contested border,withboth sides refusing to budgeand tradingblame over renewed shelling and troop movements.

Col. RichaSuksowanont, aThai army deputy spokesperson, said Cambodian forces ﬁred heavy artillery into Surin province, including at civilianhomes, earlySunday.Hesaid Cambodia also launched rocket attacks targeting theancient Ta Muen Thom temple, claimed by both countries, andotherareas in abid to reclaimterritory secured by Thai troops. Thaiforcesrespondedwith long-range artillery to strike Cambodian artilleryand rocket launchers.

Battleﬁeldoperations will continue and aceaseﬁre can only happen if Cambodia formally initiates negotiations, he added.

“Cambodian attacksremain irregular and mayconstituteviolationsofrulesof engagement, posing further risk to border communities,” said the Thai military’sdaily summary of the ﬁghting issued Sunday night.

BY MINGSON LAU and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press

Passengers slid downan emergency slide of asmoking jet at Denver International Airport due to apossible problem withthe plane’s landing gear,authorities said.

American Airlines Flight 3023 reported a“possible landing gear incident”during its departure from DenveronSaturday afternoon, the Federal AviationAdministration said.The problem involved an aircraft tire,the Fort Worth, Texas-basedairline said in astatement.

TheBoeing 737 MAX 8

carrying 173 passengers and sixcrew members wasonits waytoMiami International Airport, American said. Video aired by local media showed people sliding down the inflatable chute near the front of the plane while clutching luggage and small children. Some passengers, including at least oneadult carrying ayoung child, tripped at the end of the slide and fell onto the concrete runway. Passengers were then taken to the terminal by bus.

Shay Armistead, a17-yearold from Minturn, Colorado, described achaotic scene.

“I started grabbing my friend’shands, Iwas like ‘Oh my God,’ andthen they slammed on the brakes, and we alllike went forward andthey ﬁnally brought the plane to astop,” she said. “It was just terrifying.”

One of the passengers wastaken to ahospital with aminor injury,American Airlines said.

After hearing aloud “boom,” the plane “started to violently shake and we were drifting to the left side of therunway,”Armistead toldThe Associated Press in an interview Armistead andher teammates on aski racing team were on their way from Colorado to Chile whenit happened.

Lehrer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOBySAKCHAI LALIT

Ahouse is damagedSunday after Cambodia fired artilleryshellsinSurinProvince, Thailand.

Continued from page 1A

“You need people who aren’t bogged down with drug cases, burglary cases, to be able to focus on something as complicated as a murder case,” said Williams.

The unit closed more homicide cases last year — its first full year in operation — than in any other year over the last decade. The average age of those cases: three years and five months, a figure inflated by long-delayed prosecutions finally resolved.

But its prosecutors still face serious, chronic challenges. At the end of 2024, their case backlog stood 40% higher than what experts consider a sustainable load. Many of the remaining cases will face signiﬁcant delays.

Even so, the unit’s progress offers a glimpse of what’s possible in a fractured justice system.

‘When the stars align’

As New Orleans’ criminal court prepared last year to shutter for the holidays, two homicide cases went to trial on the same day: one for Mertis Wade, the other for Freddie Smooth.

Both resulted in guilty verdicts. But the cases unfolded in starkly different ways.

Wade’s second-degree murder case closed in less than a year, a clip nearly 93% of New Orleans homicide prosecutions don’t achieve, according to an analysis by The Times-Picayune.

Smooth’s case slogged through the slow grind that deﬁnes most.

His prosecution spanned three years, about the average age of homicide cases closed over the last decade in New Orleans

The speed of Wade’s prosecution, said Derbes, “is what happens when the stars align.”

They rarely do in one of the slowest courts in the country

Inside the court, systemic delays from DNA tests to court closures — erode murder cases.

But chronic under-resourcing and attrition are also major obstacles to quick resolutions for prosecutors, said Melba Pearson, co-manager of the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators project, which tracks prosecutorial data in ofﬁces across the country, including New Orleans.

For more than a decade, attorneys in the district attorney’s office have worked with outdated tools, limited resources and an aged case management system. The office was bleeding experienced talent.

In 2020, more than half its staff, from assistants to attorneys, had been there more than ﬁve years.

MEMOIR

Continued from page 1A

an orphan in an abusive home, and Duncan’s remarkable evolution behind bars as he maintained his innocence in the crime that landed him there.

Helped by lawyers from Tulane University and Innocence ProjectNew Orleans, Duncan ﬁnally won his release in 2011 in an agreement with former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s ofﬁce He eventually was exonerated.

The book amounts to an intimate history lesson on Louisiana’s treatment of its imprisoned over decades, and the pivotal laws and court decisions that Duncan and others scrambled to ﬁght or exploit from behind prison walls.

“I wanted the world to know there was once some Black men, you know, in the darkest place in the world, that rose above our situation and helped each other,” he said in a recent interview

“Because you don’t never hear those kind of stories. You generally hear stories about other people coming in and doing the heavy lifting. But we did our own heavy lifting. How we taught each other the law How we educated one another.”

Duncan this month qualiﬁed to run for clerk of Criminal Court against incumbent Darren Lombard and another challenger, Valencia Miles.

His legal career began in the New Orleans jail before his trial, with a simple, winning motion for a copy of the state Code of Criminal Procedure. He soon became known as the “Snickers” lawyer, for the chewy fee he’d charge to help others.

He racked up a string of court wins from the Orleans Parish lockup, helping fellow inmates, including those in need of dentures, waiting on their court dates. Duncan

LONGING FOR JUSTICE

Today, just 17% have that tenure. Williams’ aim for the homicide unit extended beyond case closures. He hoped it would aid retention, offering higher pay a narrower focus and a clear path for young attorneys to grow Since its launch, only one of 10 attorneys has left the unit.

Higher pay attracts veterans

After Smooth’s arrest in the November 2021 killing of Monique Blunt, prosecutors lost track of the only witness who could tie him to the murder weapon.

Corbin Bates took over the case in May 2023. He and the defense sought three trial delays while searching for her With help from four new investigators and four victim-witness advocates, the unit found the witness in California, and Bates secured a trial date.

Derbes, a veteran prosecutor who came from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, said a steady team and additional resources have sped up cases. Last year, the unit closed 35 homicide cases by trial and 57 by plea, an increase of 48% over the typical year in the past decade. Overall, Williams’ administration, which inherited a court system stunted by the pandemic and a yearlong surge in homicides, is resolving cases 14.9% more slowly than under his predecessor Danny Engelberg, chief public defender of the historically underresourced Orleans Public Defend-

convinced the sheriff to ship him at last to Angola, where a team of inmate counsel had access to training and a law library he coveted.

Duncan would become a leader and teacher in the group, even as his pursuit of records and an investigation into his own case often went sideways.

Prison advocacy Wilbert Rideau, the acclaimed prison journalist who was released in 2005 with Duncan’s help, has credited Duncan as having “the most brilliant legal mind in Angola.”

Attorney Keith Nordyke, who was appointed by a federal judge to monitor conditions at Angola and provided computers for the inmate counsel, called Duncan “by far the star of the show” among them.

“I think of all of the inmate counsel, he was the most curious, the most driven to learn this stuff,” Nordyke said.

At Angola, news of new court decisions or changes in the law tended to stir immediate reaction.

“It’s their oxygen It’s what keeps their hope up,” Nordyke said. “It

tends to matter a little more to them whose ox is getting gored.”

Those prisoners also “knew the lawyers that were worth a ﬂip and who were the hacks,” he said.

Duncan pointed to gains the inmate counsel made over the years — in decisions that secured the right for instance, to police reports and district attorney ﬁles — only to face new hurdles, such as buying them.

“People were working in the fields for that money,” Duncan said. Or, until it was barred, selling their plasma. Duncan’s pay as an inmate counsel rose to 20 cents an hour

“That’s why people participate in the (Angola prison) rodeo, to get money to get some of their records. People think of it as a fun event, but these guys are out there working for the paper.”

Procedural obstacles

Duncan’s book recounts some of the key court opinions that helped open doors for some prisoners, and fresh legal obstacles that elected lawmakers put in place in response.

He recounts a campaign that

million, about a 68% increase from 2022. Unit attorneys earn at least $100,000 a year, more than the office’s $60,000 starting salary for trial lawyers. The pay has attracted seasoned prosecutors and young attorneys like Bates, who’d tried three homicide cases in 18 months as a section attorney The attorneys now have dedicated support staff. Seafood boxes have been replaced with digital storage and ﬁve-ﬁgure servers. Still, Williams said the budget doesn’t go far enough. Staff are pushing for raises amid rising living costs. And DNA testing, he said, is growing prohibitively expensive. Facing a growing backlog

Much also remains outside the unit’s control.

Prosecutors were prepared to try at least 47 additional homicide cases last year, records show, but were thwarted. Twelve cases were dismissed, Derbes said, many because of missing witnesses. The result is a system that still fails many families.

Homicide prosecutor Forrest Ladd said he rarely shares how “dirty the work is,” to spare families from “unnecessary trauma.”

The backlog has also grown. On Jan 11 2021, the day Williams took office, 197 homicide cases were pending. By the end of 2024, that number was 258.

Derbes has tried to improve efficiency The unit handles cases from arrest to disposition, avoiding handoffs that once slowed progress. Discovery is now digitized and often hundreds of pages long, reducing disputes over missing evidence.

Prosecutors push for trial dates to be set at arraignment, and plea deals now expire 30 days before trial to discourage last-minute bargaining.

“You have to start anticipating the excuses,” Derbes said, “and try to remove them.”

ers, said the “breakneck pace of trials is exhausting people who do the job.”

Ronal Serpas, a former New Orleans police superintendent and criminologist at Loyola University, said specialized units have long strengthened cases, including in New Orleans. What’s different now, he noted, is more funding.

Williams’ push for budget increases from a council he once served on and sometimes opposed — gives New Orleans “the best possible chance at closing homicide cases,” Serpas said.

Williams’ budget is now $12.34

rose up from inside Angola in 1991 after the Legislature passed a law restricting post-conviction relief petitions to three years after a conviction became ﬁnal. It meant some inmates could lose out, regardless of the merits of their claims.

Nordyke, inmate counsel Norris Henderson and others hatched a plan to broadcast the news over prison radio. Duncan and others manned cell blocks to help inmates meet the new deadlines.

Recent moves by the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Legislature to further tighten the rules for post-conviction relief strike Duncan as a return to form — fresh weight against the courtroom door under the guise of ﬁnality for victims.

In his own case, former Criminal District Judge Julian Parker denied Duncan’s claims on procedural grounds before the Louisiana Supreme Court later ordered an evidentiary hearing, setting the table for an agreement on his release, Duncan wrote.

Parker, a former prosecutor who left the bench a decade ago and is now running for Orleans Parish sheriff, said he couldn’t recall the case.

To Duncan, who rarely goes out without a grin, the judge’s denial appeared to seal his fate. At Angola, Duncan despaired.

“He procedurally barred me in a way that I wasn’t gonna get any relief,” Duncan said. “And that’s when I hit rock bottom, and I stayed at rock bottom. It was so bad. I saw visions of my dead friends and stuff, and I couldn’t shake that s*** at all.”

Out of prison

Duncan’s transition after his release proved swift and unusual Since leaving prison, Duncan has gone to attend law school.

While working in New Orleans as a paralegal after his release, he spearheaded two dozen challenges by prisoners to Louisiana’s nonun-

On the ﬁnal day of Smooth’s trial, defense attorneys urged jurors to acquit in a three-year-old case still riddled with gaps.

Bates faced the jury in response.

“They want to mislead you,” he said, “into the idea that we live in a perfect world. We don’t.”

Smooth’s guilty verdict came at 1:06 a.m., after nearly ﬁve hours of deliberation.

Bates was still in his ofﬁce. He was preparing for his next murder trial.

Email Jillian Kramer at jillian. kramer@theadvocate.com.

animous jury law, before the U.S Supreme Court outlawed them in 2020.

At the same time, Duncan was ﬁxing up transitional houses for returning prisoners.

“His hobby on the side was going to the DA’s Office and scanning files and sending them to people at Angola,” said attorney Ben Cohen, who filed the split-jury challenges with Duncan’s help. It was one of many legal avenues that Duncan pressed, Cohen said.

“He was litigating people’s conditions, litigating people’s sentences. He was litigating lots of things that lost, and so it’s not as if he had some magical insight this was the one thing to litigate. He was doing all of it.”

Most of his clients had no lawyers of their own.

Duncan and Cull, his co-author, met after he’d left prison. They worked in the same legal outfit, bonding on walks and drives to Shreveport to protest a Confederate monument that no longer stands outside the Caddo Parish courthouse.

Cull said she found a source for Duncan’s drive to help others from his distant past: steps he took to protect his younger sister, or while working cleanup at age 17 in Le Pavillon hotel downtown.

“Calvin was sneaking unhoused people into the hotel so they could work while no one was looking, pay them, give them food, a place to shower, then they would go back out,” Cull said. It was a risk he took for others before he was ever accused in a murder, Cull said.

Duncan was also committing crimes, he noted, as another lesson crossed his mind when it comes to the legal help that Louisiana prisoners can bank on after their initial appeals are done.

“They’re gonna see: You might have an overworked attorney for your appeal, but after that, your son is on their own,” he said. “And that’s the scary part.”

Assistant District Attorney Corbin Bates, left, chats with a co-worker at the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. On the shelves are files of cases waiting to be dealt with.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Derbes, a veteran prosecutor who came from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, said a steady team and additional resources have sped up cases.

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, right, talks with his staff while in his office near Tulane Avenue in New Orleans.

Ladd

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Sophie Cull and Calvin Duncan wrote ‘Jailhouse Lawyer.’

Homebuilderchallengesrulingonlawsuit

Judgesayscontracts couple signed with D.R. Horton notenforceable

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

When the chief judge of East Baton Rouge Parish’s district court last weekrejected the arbitration contract aYoungsvillecouple signed before buying their home from residential developer D.R. Horton, it was the ﬁrst pivotal domino in a series of potential developments for alawsuit against one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.

The July22ruling made by 19th Judicial District Judge Donald Johnson preserves plaintiffs West and Alicia Dixon’sright to pursue their lawsuit against D.R. Horton in state court. There,ajury could one day render the ﬁnal verdict on whether the mold,humidity andwater intrusion issues that persist in their four-bedroom home derive from afaulty HVAC system the Texasbased builder had installed in the residencewhen it was erected. If the company is held liable, ajury would also determine how much D.R. Horton should pay the family in damages to ﬁx the problems.

D.R. Horton has insisted for the last three years that an arbiter should make those decisions in adifferent forum —anarbitration proceeding under construction industry rules. While arbitration is generally considered acheaper and faster option than court,plaintiff attorneys say the construction industry arbitration is “prohibitively expensive” and could cost the Dixons well over $10,000 in fees and ﬁling costs.

Attorneys for D.R. Horton will continue to press the issue, despite Johnson’sﬁnding that the sales contracts the Dixons signed were not binding nor enforceable. The contracts included arbitration and delegation clauses that said all legal disputes would be settled by aprivate arbitrator,not in acourt’sjurisdiction.

D.R. Horton’slawyers notified the judge and plaintiffs’ attorneys on Thursday that they intend to file a supervisory writ that challenges Johnson’s rulingat the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. The attorneys arerelying on the appellate court fora reversal. In amemo submitted last week, James Alcee Brown, the New Orleans lawyerleading D.R. Horton’sdefense against the Dixons, noted the 1st Circuit routinely sides against trial court judgments “denying enforcement of contractual arbitration right.”

“The irreparable harm in this context is that D.R. Horton would be subjected to further proceedings in anon-arbitral forumthat lackslegal authority— an errorthatcannot, as apractical matter,becorrected on appeal from aﬁnal judgment at the conclusion of the case,” Brown wrote in his

memo asking for atemporary freezeon proceedings in the Dixons’ case. The Dixons’ complaintalleges their Lafayette Parish home wasn’tbuilt to stand up to Louisiana’sswelteringheatbecause theHVAC system is defective. Consequently,the plaintiffs contend, they’ve beenforced to grapple with mold and humidityissues that would cost thousands of dollars to repair. New Orleans attorney Lance Unglesby,who’sleading the Dixons’ legal team, laid out the Dixons’ theory of fraudduringa lengthyevidentiary hearing July16. Unglesby aims to prove that D.R. Horton builtand sold thousands of homes along the Interstate 10 corridor— from Lake Charles to Slidell —between 2007 and 2024 even thoughcompany officials knew the houses had afaulty ventilationsystem that would cause microbial growthand leakage issues. Bell Mechanical, aBaton Rouge HVAC company, remains adefendant inthe lawsuit,althoughitbecame clear in discoveryphase of thecasethatitwasn’tthe subcontractor that installed the faulty ventilationsystem at the Dixons’ house, as the plaintiffs originally alleged. Unglesby still insists Bell Mechanical was akey player complicit in D.R. Horton’s scheme to defraud homebuyers because it did install the HVACs in hundreds of other D.R. Horton houses.

He’shired experts to do hygrometer readingsand air quality inspections inside scores of the D.R. Hortonbuilt homesacross thestate and claims the common thread amongall of them is negative pressure.

Negative pressure means the indoor pressureofa homeis lower that the pressure outside the building’s envelope, allowingoutdoor airelementsto be pushed into ahouse’sindoor environment.

“That’saserious problem that D.R. Horton was aware of from the beginning,” Unglesby said. “These homes are in negativepressure That is the No. 1biggest problemfor homes in Louisiana. If the home had negative pressure and it was like Arizona or in the North,that wouldn’t be aproblem.Because they don’thave that hot, humid, moistair.”

D.R. Horton has continuously denied the Dixons’ allegations and defends the integrity of its homes.

“Weare committedtosuperior customerservice and buildingquality homesand neighborhoodsthroughout Louisianaand acrossthe United States,” company spokesperson Bethany Carle said in an email Friday.“We take homeowner concerns seriouslyand encourage any D.R.Hortonhomeowner with concerns abouttheir home to visitdrhorton.com/ warranty and submit arequest.”

While D.R.Horton moves to challenge last week’s ruling, attorneysfor the plaintiffs are preparing to file motionsfor aclass-action hearing should the ruling hold up in appeals.Toget a class of plaintiffs certiﬁed by thetrial court, theDixons must show what’scalled a“commonality” that draws aclear linkbetween thealleged defects of their home andthe homes of otherproposed plaintiffs for whom they’re poised to serveas class representatives.

Negative pressure is the commonality upon which the couple’slegal team intendstobuild theircasefor class action.

“Bottom line,whatI’m goingtodoisshowthat Horton andBell knew that the homeowners were experiencing negative pressure,” Unglesby said. “They didn’tdisclose any of it to the homeowner during the warrantyperiod. They refused to tell themthe truth, refused to ﬁx it when they knew that the people were uncomfortable.”

Whenthe airpressure indoors is lower than the ambient pressure outside, it causes outdoor airtobe drawn inward.

During summertime monthsinLouisiana, that amountstohumidair seeping into homes through the attic,foundationand any unsealed crevices around windows. It often leadsto ﬂuctuating temperatures in differentparts of ahouse andthe humidity caneventually causemold and moisture problems.

Theworking theory being advanced by the Dixons’attorneysisthat D.R. Horton cut cornersbydeciding not to install areturnair grille in the master bedrooms of its homes as away to reduce building costs.

HVAC systems rely on supply air ventstopush cool air from an air conditioner or warm airfrom afurnace into the home.The return vents pull the conditioned air back into theHVACsystemand cycles it through again.

“The system is looking for air,” Unglesby explained. “And instead of gettingcold air to recycle, it’s sucking thathot air intothe house and that’swhat creates the humidity. When it gets to 65-degreehumidity or more, that is when youbegin to have these problems with mold and moisture damage to thehome.”

Unglesby pointed to adeposition last year in aseparateongoing lawsuit against D.R. HortoninLafayette Parish thatwas filed by one of the Dixons’former neighbors. Unglesby,who is representing the plaintiffs in that case as well, grilled Mike Bell, oneofBellMechanical’s co-founders, about the absence of return vents in bedrooms during theAug. 24 deposition.

Bell testified that“the room will pressurize” if homeowners shut their bedroom doors because there’s no way for the air to escape, according to transcripts

from the deposition. When Bell told D.R. Horton about theventilation issue and recommendedthatitinstall return vents in themaster suites, company officials opted against it.

“Itdoesn’t alwayshappen,” he testified. “The builders don’tlike to pay for theextra ductsorwecan’t get an extra ductdownstairs in the area sometimes.”

Thedeposition hasnot been admitted as evidence in the Dixons’ lawsuit, but theirattorneys hope to be able to use it if aclass is certiﬁed to help bolster allegations that D.R. Horton continuedtosell houses after they became aware their homes hadfaulty ventilation systems thatcaused negativeindoor pressure.

D.R. Horton challenged the district court’s jurisdiction and sought to compel

thepresidingjudge to send the matter into arbitration.

Brown, the attorney leading the company’sdefense, leaned on the sales contracts the Dixons signedin April and June 2014, both of which includedarbitration clauses. In making his ruling last week, Johnson honed in on the contracts. Both were standard form contracts with what he said was “unreasonably” small print and single-spaced, dense blocks of text. The initial contract, copied from aprinter with low toner,had ink streaks and wasablurry printout that Johnson said was “virtually unreadable.”

D.R. Horton asked theDixonsto“re-execute” the contract two months later due to the poor print quality.But Johnsonnoted key discrepanciesbetween the two purportedly identical

agreements —the priceof the home was listed about $4,000 higher in the second document —and determined they weren’tthe same. Despite the arbitration clause,there wasnoevidenceD.R. Horton’s sales agents explained to the Dixonsthat“AAA”referenced in the clause stood for the American Arbitration Association. Sales agents also failed to show the couple a copy of the AAA construction industry arbitration rules, Johnson’sjudgment says. While the Dixons signed both contracts, there was no signature fromany D.R. Horton representatives on theJune 2014 document, even though the contract called foran“authorized ofﬁcer of seller” signing it in ordertomakethe agreement legally binding.

“indeed, basicallythe European market is open.”

At alater news conference away from Turnberry,she said the $750 billion in additional U.S. energy purchases was actually overthe next three years —and would help ease the dependenceon natural gas from Russia among the bloc’s countries.

“When the European Union and theUnitedStatesworktogether as partners, the beneﬁts are tangible,” von der Leyen said, noting thatthe agreement “stabilized on a single, 15% tariff rate for thevast majority of EU exports” including cars, semiconductors andpharmaceuticals.

“Fifteen percent is aclear ceiling,” she said.

But von der Leyen alsoclariﬁed thatsuch arate wouldn’tapply to everything, saying that both sides agreed on “zero for zerotariffs on anumber of strategic products,” like all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resourcesand critical raw materials.

It is unclear if alcohol will beincludedinthat list.

“And we will keep workingto add more products to this list,” she said, while also stressing that the “framework means the ﬁgures we have just explained to the public, but, of course, details have to be sorted out. And that will happen overthe next weeks.”

In the meantime, there willbework to do on other fronts.

“I think bothsides want to see fairness,” the Republican president told reporters.

atariff rate of 30% that had been set to takeeffect.

“When

Vonder Leyen had a mandate to negotiate because the European Commission handles trade for member countries. But the commission must nowpresent the deal to member statesand EU lawmakers, who will ultimately decide whetherornot to approve it. Before theirmeeting began, Trump pledgedtochange what he characterizedas“avery one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”

Vonder Leyen said the U.S. and EU combinedhavethe world’slargest trade volume, encompassinghundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars andadded that Trump was “known as atough negotiator and dealmaker.”

“But fair,” Trump said.

Trump has spent months threatening most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major U.S. tradedeﬁcits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with theEUwould have to “buy down”

Butduring his commentsbefore theagreement was announced, thepresident was asked if he’dbe willing to accept tariff rates lower than 15%, and he said “no.”

Theirmeeting came afterTrump played golf for thesecond straight dayatTurnberry,thistime with a group that includedsonsEricand Donald Jr.Inadditiontonegotiating deals, Trump’sﬁve-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name.

Asmallgroup of demonstrators at thecourse waved American flagsand raiseda sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer,who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday

Other voices could be heard

cheering and chanting “Trump! Trump!”asheplayed nearby On Tuesday,Trumpwill be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family hasanother golf course and is opening athird next month.The president and his sons plan to helpcut the ribbon on the new course.

The U.S. andEUseemed close to adeal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened the 30% tariffrate. The deadlinefor the Trumpadministration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now ﬁrm and coming Friday,the administration insists.

“No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set, they’ll go into place, Customs will startcollectingthe moneyand off we go,”U.S. Commerce Secretary HowardLutnick told “Fox News Sunday” before the EU deal was

announced. He added, however, that even after that “people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he’s alwayswillingtolisten.”

Withoutanagreement, theEU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef andauto partstobeer andBoeing airplanes.

If Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, meanwhile, it could have made everything from Frenchcheeseand Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States. “I think it’sgreat that we made adealtoday, instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all,” Trumpsaid. “I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

PHOTOByJACQUELyN MARTIN

European Commission President Ursula vonder Leyenand President Donald Trump shakehandsafter reaching atradedeal

Poll: In year of change, Trump’s approval stays same

BY AMELIA THOMSONDEVEAUX and JONATHAN J COOPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Eric Hildenbrand has noticed prices continue to rise this year, even with President Donald Trump in the White House. He doesn’t blame Trump, his choice for president in 2024, but says Gov Gavin Newsom and other Democrats who control his home state, California, are at fault.

“You can’t compare California with the rest of the country,” said Hildenbrand, who is 76 and lives in San Diego. “I don’t know what’s going on in the rest of the country It seems like prices are dropping. Things are getting better, but I don’t necessarily see it here.”

Voters like Hildenbrand, whose support of the Republican president is unwavering, help explain Trump’s polling numbers and how they have differed from other presidents’ polling trajectory in signiﬁcant ways.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in March found that 42% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s job performance. That is a lower rating than those of other recent presidents at the beginning of their second terms, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush.

The most recent AP-NORC poll, from July, puts Trump at 40% approval. While that is not a meaningful change from March, there is some evidence that Trump’s support may be softening, at least on the margins The July poll showed a slight decrease in approval of his handling of immigration since earlier in the year Some other pollsters, such as Gallup, show a downward slide in overall approval since slightly earlier in his term,

in January But even those shifts are within a relatively narrow range, which is typical for Trump. The new AP-NORC polling tracker shows that Trump’s favorability rating has remained largely steady since the end of his first term, with between 33% and 43% of U.S. adults saying they viewed him favorably across more than five years. Those long-term trends underscore that Trump has many steadfast opponents. But loyal supporters also help explain why views of the president are hard to change even as he pursues policies that most Americans do not support, using an approach that many find abrasive.

Trump has not had a traditional honeymoon period in his second term. He did not in his ﬁrst, either An AP-NORC poll conducted in March 2017, two months into his first term showed that 42% of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” approved of his performance. That is largely where his approval rating stayed over the course of the next four years. The recent slippage on immigration is particularly significant because that issue was a major strength for Trump in the 2024 election. Earlier in his second term, it

was also one of the few areas where he was outperforming his overall approval. In March, about half of U.S adults approved of his handling of immigration. But the July AP-NORC poll found his approval on immigration at 43%, in line with his overall approval rating.

Other recent polls show growing discontent with Trump’s approach on immigration. A CNN/SSRS poll found that 55% of U.S. adults say the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally, an increase of 10 percentage points since February

“I understand wanting to get rid of illegal immigrants, but the way that’s being done is very aggressive,” said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, North Carolina, who did not vote in the 2024 election. “And that’s why people are protesting because it comes off as aggression. It’s not right.”

Ratings of Trump’s handling of the economy, which were more positive during his first term, have been persistently negative in his second term. The July poll found that few Americans think Trump’s policies have beneﬁted them so far

Even if he is not a fan of everything Trump has done so far, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is giving him the beneﬁt of the doubt Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, likes what he is seeing from the president overall, though he has his concerns both on style and substance, particularly Trump’s social media presence and his on-again, off-again tariffs. Nichols also does not like the push to eliminate federal agencies such as the Education Department.

Despite his occasional disagreements with Trump, though, Nichols said he wants to give the president space to do his job, and he trusts the House and Senate, now run by Republicans, to act as a safeguard.

“We put him into ofﬁce for a reason, and we should be trusting that he’s doing the job for the best of America,”

Nichols said. Trump has spent the past six months pushing farreaching and often unpopular policies. Earlier this year, Americans were bracing themselves for higher prices as a result of his approach to tariffs. The July poll found that most people think Trump’s tax and spending bill will beneﬁt the wealthy, while few think it will pay dividends for the middle class or people like them.

Discomfort with individual policies may not translate into wholesale changes in views of Trump, though.

Those have largely been constant through years of turmoil, with his favorability rating staying within a 10-percentage point range through the COVID-19 pandemic, a felony conviction and attempted assassination.

To some of his supporters, the beneﬁts of his presidency far outweigh the costs.

Kim Schultz 62, of Springhill, Florida said she is thrilled with just about everything Trump is doing as president, particularly his aggressive moves to deport anyone living in the country illegally

Even if Trump’s tariffs eventually take effect and push prices up, she said she will not be alarmed.

“I’ve always had the opinion that if the tariffs are going to cost me a little bit more here and there, I don’t have a problem with that,” she said. Across the country, Hildenbrand dislikes Trump’s personality and his penchant for insults, including those directed at foreign leaders. But he thinks Trump is making things happen.

“More or less, to me, he’s showing that he’s on the right track,” he said “I’m not in favor of Trump’s personality, but I am in favor of what he’s getting done.”

BY DIDI TANG and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON When top U.S. and Chinese ofﬁcials meet in Stockholm, they are almost certain to agree to at least leaving tariffs at the current levels while working toward a meeting between their presidents later this year for a more lasting trade deal between the world’s two largest economies, analysts say Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to hold talks for the third time this year — this round in the Swedish capital, nearly four months after President Donald Trump upset global trade with his sweeping tariff proposal, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods.

“We have the confines of a deal with China,” Trump said Friday before leaving for Scotland.

Bessent told MSNBC on Wednesday that the two countries after talks in Geneva and London have reached a “status quo,” with the U.S. taxing imported goods from China at 30% and China responding with a 10% tariff, on top of tariffs prior to the start of Trump’s second term

“Now we can move on to discussing other matters in terms of bringing the economic relationship into balance,” Bessent said He was referring to the U.S running a $295.5 billion trade deﬁcit last year The U.S. seeks an agreement that would enable it to export more to China and shift the Chinese economy more toward domestic consumer spending.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing hopes “there will be more consensus and cooperation and less misperception” coming out of the talks

With an eye on a possible leaders’ summit, Stockholm

could provide some answers as to the timeline and viability of that particular goal ahead of a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“The meeting will be important in starting to set the stage for a fall meeting between Trump and Xi,” said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“Beijing will likely insist on detailed preparations before they agree to a leaders’ meeting.”

In Stockholm, the two sides are likely to focus on commercial announcements to be made at a leaders’ summit as well as agreements to address “major irritants,” such as China’s industrial overcapacity and its lack of control over chemicals used to make fentanyl, also to be announced when Xi and Trump should meet, Cutler said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

President Donald Trump escorted by Air Force 89th Air Wing

Deputy Cmdr. Melissa Dombrock, walks Friday to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

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NOLA.COM | Monday, July 28, 2025 1Bn

IG: Parish wrongly paid firefighters $3M

Report questions

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

ﬁreﬁghters continue to pack

Jefferson Parish Council meetings demanding higher pay, the parish watchdog has released a report saying the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department improperly paid over $3 million to ﬁreﬁghters for medical leave.

nature or severity of each per-

son’s condition which would have ensured that the ﬁreﬁghter wasn’t at fault for negligence or indiscretion.

Jefferson Parish may have violated state law with its leave policies and that the department failed to enforce its own internal controls for managing sick leave.

The 43-page report, authored by the ofﬁce of Inspector General Kim Chatelain, says the Fire Department paid just over $3 million to 78 employees between 2020-23 for off-duty injuries and illnesses without documenting the cause,

“The Parish paid employees for off-duty injuries without knowing what the injury was, how it happened, or if it qualified for compensation under the law,” the report says.

The report goes on to say that

BLADE FOR EACH OTHER

ABOVE: Tyana Leberecht and Christina Roberts battle at the lakefront Sunday. Members of the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism gathered at the lakefront in New Orleans on Sunday for a bit of sword play. The weekly gathering found the group working with Renaissance-era swords rather than heavy medieval broadswords, which the group also trains with. Members participate in local and regional events where they evoke ages past.

RIGHT: Mark Leberecht fights off an opponent on Sunday.

By JOHN McCUSKER

Fourth-generation oyster farmer plans new restaurant

Gretna spot aims for 2026 opening Tony Tesvich sorting through oysters on his boat, Legacy Tesvich Oyster Farms plans a new oyster bar Captain Rallo’s Oyster House & Sports Bar on New Orleans’ West Bank.

PHOTO PROVIDED By TONy TESVICH

BY COURTNEY LUCIUS Staff writer

A family that’s been supplying oysters to southeast Louisiana restaurants for nearly 100 years is now planning a restaurant of their own in Gretna. Tesvich Oyster

Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng acknowledged the issues in a written response, saying that parish personnel rules “present many challenges” regarding sick leave documentation, and that the parish would develop procedures and forms to ensure ﬁreﬁghters provided proper documentation for future leaves of absence.

Salvo’s Seafood Restaurant & Market and Porgy’s Seafood Market, as well as offering home delivery As a fourth-generation oysterman with nearly 40 years of experience, Tony Tesvich is passionate about bringing Louisianians quality, fresh

Chatelain’s report, however, said Lee Sheng’s responses were “vague, non-specific, do not resolve the ﬁndings and provide no timetable which gives reasonable assurance that the ﬁndings will be

N.O. agency plans housing in medical corridor

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

The city’s ﬁrst attempt to create transitional housing for homeless people, especially those in need of mental health services, is moving forward with the the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority as the new leaseholder of the vacant Tulane-Gravier-area site that has caused a stir among neighbors unhappy with the plans. The agency will start looking for developers this fall to build a homeless shelter on a vacant, cityowned lot at the corner of Tulane Avenue and South Gayoso Street. The plan is part of a push by Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration to shelter all 1,500 people experiencing homelessness in the city by the end of 2025. At a neighborhood meeting

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom plans to open a second location in the New Orleans area for its off-price retail division, Nordstrom Rack. Nordstrom plans to

STAFF PHOTOS

Police: One dead, another wounded in bridge shootout

Staff report

One man was killed and another person was wounded early Sunday morning in a multi-vehicle shootout on the Crescent City Connection, according to the New Orleans Police Department. The shooting was reported to

STORE

Continued from page 1B

Co., Elmwood is the largest openair shopping center in the state, with tenants including TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Nordstrom Rack to Elmwood Center,” William Place, director of development for Lauricella, said in a news release.

“This signiﬁcant lease, the result of a tremendous team effort, reinforces Elmwood’s commitment to elevating our retail offerings and bringing value to our shoppers.”

police at 1:03 a.m. Police said at least two people were shot as multiple cars exchanged gunﬁre on the westbound span of the bridge.

One man made it to a hospital, where he later died, police said. Police did not immediately release more information.

in the Elmwood Center’s original building, ﬁrst leased in 1974, following major renovations, Place added.

The new store will be the fourth one in the state, with other locations in New Orleans’s Riverwalk Outlets, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

Nordstrom Rack offers customers up to 70% off on apparel, accessories, home decor and shoes from Nordstrom stores.

Sunday’s searing heat reached 96 degrees by the afternoon. In Mid-City, residents went to an old stand-by to beat the heat, sno-balls. BELOW: There was a steady ﬂow of customers at Pandora’s on Sunday

SHELTER

Continued from page 1B

Tuesday redevelopment agency ofﬁcials said construction is expected to cost $8 million and be completed in 2028. The apartment-style units would serve between 45 and 60 people and include wraparound services, such as access to a social worker, job and education referrals or mental health treatment.

The new shelter has been touted by city leaders and nonproﬁt partners as a solution that ﬁlls the gap between clearing homeless encampments and finding permanent housing.

It comes in the wake of state and federal efforts over the past year to intervene in New Orleans’ homelessness crisis by clearing encampments in high-proﬁle areas Gov Jeff Landry sparked outrage last fall, during a big tourism weekend for the Taylor Swift concerts, when his administration bypassed the city’s homelessness plan and cleared a large encampment under the U.S. 90 overpass State ofﬁcials cleared them again ahead of Super Bowl LIX and moved people to a new temporary shelter in Gentilly And last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for states to clear homeless encampments, aligning with the majority-conservative Supreme Court’s 2024 decision to allow cities to ban them entirely.

But homeless advocates maintain that relocation efforts require planning and permanent housing resources that the new shelter would offer

Right place

A few blocks away from the proposed shelter at University Medical Center, redevelopment agency ofﬁcials on Tuesday held the ﬁrst of a series of public information sessions to share timelines and give residents and business stakeholders a chance to ask questions. The public agency tasked with redeveloping city-owned properties to revitalize neighborhoods heard from residents who pushed back against the shelter being in their neighborhood. It’s a common issue with homeless shelters and drug rehab centers across the

country that’s been coined ”not in my backyard” or NIMBY Agency Director Brenda Breaux said the site was selected for its accessibility to essential resources like public transportation and health care. It’s in the city’s medical corridor, which community leaders have been trying to develop as a BioDistrict

Residents generally supported the idea of more housing options to tackle the city’s persistent homelessness issue but argued that it’s not ﬁtting for the area that’s a mix of business and residential.

“I understand that families need places to stay but I don’t think it’s the right place I really don’t. There’s a nursery across the street,” resident Kelly Lewis said.

Lewis said Tulane Avenue which turns into Airline Drive and is a busy thoroughfare between New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, is already teeming with homeless people and that the shelter could worsen the problem

Residents suggested the shelter could worsen an existing safety and security problem in the neighborhood, referencing recent break-ins of cars and apartments.

They also suggested that such a development would cast a shadow over an area that has seen an influx of new housing and commercial investments in recent years For example, con-

struction on the city’s ﬁrst Trader

Joe’s grocery store near the New Orleans VA Medical Center was completed this summer

A multimillion-dollar plan for street improvements are also in the works, which would see new bus shelters, lighting and landscape upgrades along Tulane Avenue.

Far from crowded

Breaux acknowledged that there’s a common stereotype toward homeless shelters and said the development’s smaller, individualized apartment-style units would blend in with the neighborhood and serve families and individuals on their way to ﬁnding permanent homes.

Breaux added that the development would be very different from the crowded, shared living space in the Low Barrier shelter on the outskirts of the Central Business District. That shelter has been criticized by homeless advocates and city ofﬁcials for a lack of services, safety issues and rampant drug use.

“I do believe that if we design this right, we do the things that we’re supposed to, then we can have a place that we’re proud of,” Breaux said. The redevelopment agency will close its call for developers by this winter and will hold another community engagement meeting then, according to the agency’s projected timeline. Construction is expected to begin by winter 2026.

The new Nordstrom Rack will be

REPORT

Continued from page 1B

resolved.”

The criticism of the east bank Fire Department’s operations come as its union, the Jefferson Firefighters’ Association, conducts an aggressive campaign against Lee Sheng to increase starting pay Firefighters have crowded Parish Council meetings for months now, forming a sea of red fire department T-shirts and holding up signs demanding raises as they have voiced frustrations with the administration at the podium for not granting pay raises they see as long overdue.

Lee Sheng, on the other hand, said the parish is waiting to hear back on a pay study, which is several months delayed, before engaging in any salary talks. State law requires that any changes to the bottom of the pay scale be matched all the way to the top, so any increases to starting pay would impact the entire department’s payroll.

She also argued that the current starting wage of $10.53 per hour doesn’t accurately characterize ﬁreﬁghter take-home pay as they also receive state supplemental pay and guaranteed overtime that she said brings the actual takehome pay to about $16.91 per hour

Robert Burkett, Jefferson Firefighters’ Association president, said the inspector general’s report was “ill-timed” considering the ongoing campaign and pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic could have exacerbated the department’s ability to track leave.

However Burkett said the report does not accuse the ﬁreﬁghters of any wrongdoing, as the administration failed to provide them with

RESTAURANT

Continued from page 1B

seafood.

“I just want to bring the freshest oysters out of the bayou,” he said.

The Tesvich family is originally from Croatia, part of a wave of Croatian immigrants who traveled to the Gulf Coast seasonally in the early 1900s to supply cheaper labor to the seafood industry Tony Tesvich’s grandfather permanently settled in the state in 1931.

“And my brother worked in the oyster business,” Tesvich said.

“My brother-in-law worked in the oyster business. Many cousins in the oyster business, so it’s tradition for us.”

Tesvich still relies on the foundation his family built to supply the oyster demand. It takes Tesvich Oyster Farm boats almost four hours to get to the oyster reefs they obtained through handeddown oyster leases or leases that Tony Tesvich got over the course of his career

“We always strive for a better quality oyster And we grow them in areas that are known for better quality,” he said.

Now, Tesvich and his son Anthony Tesvich want to see people enjoy their oysters ﬁrsthand at the soon-to-topen Captain Rallo’s Oyster House & Sports Bar in Gretna.

Tony Tesvich said the name Captain Rallo’s helps customers know that they are getting fresh, local

The new store comes as Lauricella seeks to transform Elmwood Shopping Center into a walkable, mixed-use development, including a $120 million, 251-unit apartment complex on the site of a former Kmart that had been delayed by years due to COVID-19.

proper instructions.

The Jefferson Parish Inspector General’s Ofﬁce was launched in 2011 to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the parish following the Aaron Broussard corruption scandal. The ofﬁce has come into the forefront of parish politics over the past year for Chatelain’s scrutiny of a parish project to build a brewpub in Gretna.

The new report says inspector general investigators took a sample of 28 Fire Department employees who took off-duty medical leave a total of 36 times and found that in 31 of those cases, the department failed to obtain proof that the injury or illness wasn’t the employee’s fault, leaving the system vulnerable to fraudulent claims and abuse.

The parish also potentially violated state law, the report claims, by choosing to give ﬁreﬁghters onduty vs. off-duty leave depending on the outcome of their workers’ compensation claim in certain instances, even though workers’ compensation claims use a different set of criteria for determinations than state law

The inspector general recommended the department develop a claims process to verify the cause, nature and severity of injuries or illnesses that lead to medical leave, and consider amending its personnel rules to better comply with state ﬁreﬁghter laws.

The parish said it would require in the future that firefighters provide affidavits attesting that they did not cause their own off-duty injury or illness as a result of negligence or indiscretion, and would amend the parish’s personnel rules for firefighters to fix issues pointed out by the inspector general.

Lee Sheng did not disagree with any of the report’s ﬁndings in her response.

seafood.

The Jefferson Parish Council in June approved a request to resubdivide the land at the corner of Stumpf Boulevard and Van Trump Street, just north of the Westbank Expressway

Blueprints show plans for an indoor bar, dining area and separate event space, as well as shaded outdoor courtyard dining.

Because of their dedication to local seafood, Captain Rallo’s is going to have a limited menu, Tony Tesvich said.

“I’m gonna get the shrimp from the shrimp boats, shrimp docks, and just right here locally,” he said. “Nothing imported so I’m going to pride myself on that and stick to that That’s why it’s going to be a limited menu.”

The earliest visitors could hope to visit Captain Rallo’s, 901 Stumpf Blvd., is September 2026, but with expected renovations it could be longer

LOTTERY SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2025 PICK 3: 2-5-3

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EASY 5: 2-7-17-24-35

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STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

homeless person packs up her belongings Jan. 20 after New Orleans Police Department officers asked her to move on in the French Quarter

STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN McCUSKER

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Daley, Irène

GaribaldiIII, William NewOrleans

DW Rhodes

GaribaldiIII, William

Obituaries

Daley, Irène Voorhies

AMass of Christian Burial willbeheld on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 at 1:30 PM in TheCathedral of St. John the Evangelistin Lafayette, for Irène Voorhies Daley, age 97, who passed away on July 26, 2025, at her residence in Lafayette. The family requests that visitation be observed on Tuesday, July 29, 2025,at Martin &Castille's DOWNTOWN location from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM with a Rosary recited at 6:00 PM Visitation willcontinue on Wednesdayfrom 10:00 AM until time of services.

Interment will be held in St. John CemeteryLafayette.

The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, D.D., M.A., Bishop, Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana, willbe the Celebrant of the Funeral Mass and officiate the services. Deacon George Jourdan will assist with the services. Irène is survived by her son, Gregory Chris Daley; daughter, Janet Daley Duval and her husband, Stanwood; and the granddogs, Kali and Doc Holiday.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 73 years, Chris Pantely Daley; her parents, Blanche Van Wiel Voorhies and Sydney Louis Voorhies; her brothers, EdwardGregory Voorhies and Raymond Voorhies.

Agracious spirit anddevoted heart, Irène passed away peacefully, leaving behind alegacy of love, elegance, and grace.

Adevoted wife and mother, Irène gave of herself freely and forgave easily. She was generous with her time, always ready with alistening ear, awise word, and awarm smile Herhome was ahaven for her children and agathering place for friends of all ages.

Aproud member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Irène began her service with the 1776 Chapter in New Orleans and transferred to the Galvez Chapter in Lafayette in 1980. Her deep love for history was matched only by her passion for travel. Alongside her beloved husband, she explored the beauty of England, France, Mexico, and Greece, returning with stories she loved to share always told with unending humor and sparkle.

Irène had agift for needlepoint, finding peace in everystitch. She was an exquisite storyteller with a delightful wit, and her joyful personality made hera friend to all. Young people, especially, were drawn to

her wisdom and warmth. Theyoften sought her advice and found comfort in her presence

Always elegant,Irène carried herselfwithpoise, dignity, and style, areflection of herbeautiful soul Above all, she was adevout Catholicand afaithful parishionerofthe Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, whereher faith was theguidinglight of her life

Shewillbedeeply missedbyall who knew her,but her spiritlives on in the livesshe touched with such grace and love

Pallbearers willbe StanwoodDuval, Berwick Duval,David Duval, Ben Mayfield,Edward Rivera, and Mark Elder.

Honorary Pallbearers will be GregoryChris Daley and Brother GaleCondit

The Daleyfamily extendstheir heartfelt gratitude to Jennifer Mayfield, AnnaBroussard,Paulette Pinion, Patricia Mouton, IsabellaKing, Shelley Thomas, Dolores Hopkins, and Brenda Dugas fortheir compassionand tender care. In lieu of flowers donationscan be made in Irène Voorhies Daley's nameto the Lafayette Museum (formallyThe Mouton House) 1122 Lafayette Street, Lafayette,LA70501 or http://www.lafayettem useum.com/support-us/ Irène is adirect descendant of Jean Mouton and Alexandre Mouton, the first democratic governor of Louisiana.Inaddition, Judge Cornelius Voorhies, Jr., her great-great grandfather,was aprevious owner of the Mouton House. View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin &Castille Funeral HomeDOWNTOWN, 330 St LandryStreet,Lafayette, Louisiana 70506,337-2342311

WilliamVainard Garibaldi III wasbornonSep‐tember22, 1947, in New Or‐leans,Louisiana,tothe late WilliamVainard Garibaldi Jr. andMaryFordGaribaldi Hepeacefully transitioned fromthislifeonJuly19, 2025, followinga long and courageousbattlewithill‐ness. Affectionately known asBill, he wasa proud product of NewOrleans publicschools, attending ValenaC.Jones Elemen‐tary, RiversFrederick Ju‐niorHigh, andthe leg‐endarySt. AugustineHigh School.Asa talented trum‐pet player,Billmarched withpride in St.Augus‐tine’srenownedmarching band, aprelude to alife‐longloveofmusic anddis‐cipline.Heearneda music scholarship to DillardUni‐versity,where he gradu‐atedwitha bachelor’s de‐greeinbusinessand ac‐counting. Over thecourse ofhis distinguishedcareer, BillservedasanAccoun‐tantand Auditorfor Shell Oil Company, Director of Internal Auditing forNew Orleans Public Schools, and Director of Fiscal Af‐fairs andOperationsatthe New OrleansCenterfor CreativeArts. He wasalso a proudsmall business ownerand partnerina handfuloflocal ventures

around NewOrleans.Bill was aman of theoutdoors. Anavid fisher andskilled hunter,hefound peaceon the waterinhis boat and pride in hiscollectionof firearms.Herelishedin Mardi Gras balls,commu‐nitygatherings, andwas legendary forhosting fam‐ily andfriends with warmth, food,and spirited conversation. Hisdoor was alwaysopen, andhis glass was always full.Billissur‐vived by hisdevoted chil‐dren: Dana MarieGaribaldi Trina GaribaldiBob (Ter‐enceSr.), andWilliam Vainard GaribaldiIV—born fromhis union with JoAnn Robert. He lovedhis chil‐drendeeply andwas fiercely proudofthem. In turn, they honoredhim withunwavering care and presencethroughouthis lengthy illness. He wasthe cherished grandfatherof Jovan Hughes andTerence Bob Jr., andgreat-grandfa‐therofJeilahBob.Healso leavesbehindhis loving siblings: Dr.Brenda Garibaldi Hatfield(Charles) ofGonzales, LA;Wanda Garibaldi CrossLiggins (Joe) of Victorville,CA; and James O’Neil GaribaldiSr. ofDenhamSprings,LA. Bill’sextendedcircleof loveincludeshis god‐daughters,Crystal Jour‐dainand TracyKirkland, and ahostofnieces, nephews,cousins,and life‐longfriends.Relatives and friends of thefamily, also priestand parishioners of CorpusChristi Catholic Church areinvited to at‐tenda FuneralMassof Christian Burial at Corpus Christi Catholic Church 2022 St.Bernard Ave.,New Orleans,LA70117 on Tues‐day,July29, 2025 at 10:00am.Visitationwill begin at 8:00am until 10:00am.FatherHenry Davis,Officiating. Intern‐ment: Private.

Howto place an Obituary Notice

Howto place a

GaribaldiIII, William Vainard

Stateshould increase the homestead exemption now

In 1980, the Louisiana homestead exemption was $75,000. The median house price was $85,000.

The median house price in Louisiana today is approximately $240,000. If the ratio of the exemption compared to the median house price remained the same, the homestead exemption today would be over $200,000. Property taxes are reassessed every four years. However,if there is asigniﬁcant change to theproperty (suchasnew constructionorrenovations),the tax assessor may make an interim assessment in between these four-year cycles. Furthermore, if the homeowner fails to pay the property tax, the local government can sell the property at auction to collect unpaid taxes. Hasthe homeowner become the tenant and the government the landlord?

The original intention of the homestead exemption was to protect homeowners and enhance their financial security. Homeowners are the backbone of afree society.They pay most of the taxes, do more to improve ourcommunities, are law-abiding and extremely family-oriented.They are the glue that holds our society together Louisiana’shomestead exemption should be increased now to reflect the 1980 ratio of exemption to median home prices. In other words, if the median house price is $240,000, the homestead exemption would be $211,200. Therefore, as home prices increase, the homestead exemption would increase at the same 1980 ratio. All homeowners would benefit, especially lowincome and middle-classhomeowners. Lower property taxes would attract newcomers to our state, it would encourage our residentsto stay,and the demand forsinglefamily dwellingswould increase dramatically Ahome should be aman’s castle, not acash cow forthe government.

JOSEPH E. BELLANDE III Chalmette

Protectblack bears, at least untilthere’s an accurate

As aboy in the 1950s, Iwent on several bearhuntsinthe swamps near Avery Island and havesince becomeanadvocatefor our ofﬁcial state mammal.

In 1987,atthe urging of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service zoologist Ronald Nowak, who had studied theuniqueness of Ursus americanus luteolus, Iﬁled theoriginalpetition to list the Louisiana black bear as athreatenedspecies. In 1992, in responsetomysuit against the U.S.Fish andWildlife Service, thebear was listed, and thepopulation has been recovering with critical habitat being recognized in federal court in 2005. The last ofﬁcial count wasconducted in 2006 in the coastal region using infrared photography and hair snares. Nonetheless, with no updated count,the bear wasdelisted in 2016, and we are now in the second year with an open bear hunting season.

As alifelong hunter,Ienvision afuture when hunting bears in Louisianawould be

count

feasible, but we are far from it.

Several thingsneed to happen

First,weneed to set agoal forabear count that would readily rebound from hunting depending on habitatsunder consideration, it could range from 5,000 to 6,000 (one-third of the estimated population circa 1900).

Second, we need an updated count using current technologies.

Third, we need to partner with neighboring states within the bear’shistorical and actual range (where Louisiana black bear hunting remainsillegal) to protect areas vital to the bear’sexistence.

This year,the LouisianaDepartment of Wildlife and Fisheries will issuebylottery 26 permitstohunt black bears. Nonhunters and those hunters who are particularly bad shots are encouraged to apply; all others should wait until we have an accurate count.

HAROLD SCHOEFFLER Lafayette

Cuttingrenewable energy credits short-sightedand will hurt Louisiana

In thearticle “How Mike Johnson, Steve Scalise and Donald Trumpgot the OneBig Beautiful Bill Passed,”Scalise is quoted as saying, “A lot of people wrotethis bill off as dead.”

We can only wish it were.

There’sbeen lots of media attention to the harmsthisbill will cause to not only the nation’spoorest, but also to all Americans inheritingarecord-breaking deﬁcit that could easily beresolved by appropriately taxing thesuper-rich. But let’sfocus on the short-sighted elimination of theInﬂation Reduction Act’srenewable energyincentives. Because this makes no senseeconomically,let alone environmentally

parently,Trump’spersonal obsession with eliminating anything Joe Biden innovated “trumps” America effectively competing in afast-growing global industry.How is that “America First?”

Irespectfully ask Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy toexplain their votes forabill that eliminates green energy incentives, and why they align themselves with an administration that, despite scientiﬁc data proving that fossil fuels accelerate global warming, willfully dismisses climate change as an existential threat.

Health care system can be fixed, if we have thewill

Back in the 1980s, Iwas asecretary forthe World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Igot apretty good overview of health care systemsand problems around the world, from cancer, AIDS,mother and child health, vaccination, tropical diseases, etc. At one point, it becameobvious to me that the United States was somesort of outlier in the world. The American health care system wasbased on proﬁt, exclusion of ordinary illnesses, lies, gamesmanship and trickery.It’sakind of bait-and-switch system that plays with human lives. The American system is called a“health scam”by the rest of the world. Iremember thinking: “Why don’tthey just call someone and ask them how to create ahealth care system that works forpeople?” Iwas young. Ithought somehow the American governmentjust didn’tknow how to do it. That was 45 years ago. While Americans donate massive amounts of money into corporate “health scam”proﬁts, what return are they getting on the investment? The U.S. is 48th in lifeexpectancy.The devastation of the system includes premature death, high disease rates, drug addiction, homelessness, bankruptcy,food insecurity,crime, etc. The unnecessary suffering that people endure cannot be calculated; however, we all experience it in one way or another.Maybe it’stimethe U.S. woke up and madethat phone call. The world is watching. We are all waiting.

JOAN FOX NewOrleans

Column correctly called Landry to task

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

According to theEnergy Institute, in 2024, windand solar energy were thefastest growingofall energies. China produced 57% of these, with solar almost doubling in two years. This bill, in slowing down American production of renewables and EVs, will help speed up China’sdominance while strangling alreadyunderway American projects. Ap-

Coastal Louisianaisalready feeling the effects of global warming; this will only get worse without legislation and regulation. But this administration has deliberately weakened the EPAand NOAA, and the congressional majority,trapped in an echo chamber of “talking points” and outright propaganda, and afraid to challenge aﬁckle and corrupt president, is happy to play along. Their combined legacy will be catastrophic.

FRANCESCA KELLY NewOrleans

Public broadcasting lost supportwhenitbecametoo leftist

In response to Mark Romig’s guest column on theimportance of supporting theCorporation for Public Broadcasting. Iagree. Butour family is aformer contributor to PBS

Unfortunately,asthe NPRarm of CPB has turned to avery one-sided, political and sometimes bitter agenda, we have decided to stop ourPBS contributions. We are not alone in enjoying the many

movies and documentaries on PBS, but the one-sided NPR political news view and stories makeitvery difﬁcult for manyofour friends to ﬁnancially support avery onesided point of view

Hopefully,Ilook forward to contributing again to aless political and more balanced PBS

GARYM.DAMARÉ Marrero

Quin Hillyer’scolumn on July 6 precisely and publicly nailed several of Gov.Jeff Landry’sblatantly political vetoes on several bills from this legislative session. These vetoed bills included subjects such as child school safety,tutoring, an athletic ﬁeld, tennis/pickleball courts, eight parks, sewer problem repair,better bridges and roads, economic development —all for small towns and schools all across the state. As stated in the article, these were relatively small items, budgetarily speaking, plus they had previously been passed unanimously by both the Senate and the House.

Meanwhile, the governor did not veto certain other bills, some of which enjoyed the magician’s sleight of hand with state ﬁnancing, and someofwhich were obvious political gifts forafew of the governor’svery supple legislators. So these lesser political entities across the state will just have to live with their rejected needs vetoed and unfulﬁlled —for yet another year.It’stoo bad forthem that this administration still has two and ahalf moreyears to rule with mayhem and malpractice.

JOHN BERRY Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

ALouisiana black bearhangs out in atree near the Broadmoor United Methodist Church on May30inBaton Rouge.

CAM RANH, Vietnam The story sounds like a“Mission Impossible”script.

Fifty yearsago,near the end of the Vietnamwar as North Vietnamese troops headed south, the director of the Cam Ranh ChristianOrphanage, PastorNguyen Xuan Ha —known to everyone as Mr Ha —decideditwas time to escapeto somewhere safe.

WINNER: Erin O’Sullivan Fleming, River Ridge

COURSE PRO

Well played! We received 586 entries in this week’sCartoon Caption Contest. Ithought this might be a tough one buty’all playeditlikepros! We had alarge bucket full of funnypunchlines to choosefrom,and ourwinner hititright down the fairway! Nice job, everyone. As always, when we have duplicate entries, andwealways do,wepick the earliest sent in.—Walt

CHARLES THEAUX, PONCHATOULA: “Did youknowhehas amancave in the windmill?”

ANDYJANES,PASS CHRISTIAN, MISS.: “His shortgame is outstanding!”

JIM WILLIAMSON, MANDEVILLE: “Aim forhis left foot. It should ricochet back towards the hole!

LARRYDEBILEUX, METAIRIE: “I hear he bathes in the ball wash machineonNo. 1.

CAROLYN MCCARTY,SLIDELL: “He’s a mini driver!”

MICHELE STARNES,KENNER: “I think we just gothustled by agarden gnome!”

TOMMY METZ, JEFFERSON: “Heysis, don’t look nowbut Ithink this might be a ringer.”

LOIS WILLOZ, METAIRIE: “That’sthe new owner.The leprechaun invested his endof the rainbowmoneytobuy this place.”

RAYAUTREY,MORGAN CITY: “They say he’samaster on the shortputts!”

STEVE VILLAVASO,NEW ORLEANS: “He took awrong turnoff the yellowbrick road!”

D. SABRIO, METAIRIE: “Tousit’sa 25-foot putt.To himit’sa150-yard par 3!”

RALPH STEPHENS,BATON ROUGE: “Let himplaythrough. He’sthe pro here.”

MARIANO HINOJOSA, BATONROUGE: “I heard he wonthe Lilliputian Open last month.”

LYNN WISMAR, KENNER: “He must be Dutch —hejust walkedout of that little windmill!

TODD BOUDREAUX, DONALDSONVILLE: “Uncle John takes hisminigolfserious. JIMMIEPAPIA, METAIRIE: “He’son summer vacation. During the winter,he works at the North Pole.”

JACK KNAUER, RIVER RIDGE: “Wow, there’sminiature golf, and then there’s THIS guy!”

MARTHA STARNES,KENNER: “I’m pretty sure he’s sponsored by LEGO!”

DALE STOUT,COLORADOSPRINGS, COLO.: “Wanna makealittle bet?”

KIRT H. ULFERS,METAIRIE: “I hear this guy can line up putts accurately without bendingdown.

DAVIDDELGADO, NEWORLEANS: “He designed this course!”

JOE KOVACS,NEW ORLEANS: “Don’t worry, he’sjust headedhometothe castle on the 9th hole!”

SHERRIE HOLLIDAY, METAIRIE: “Is it mini golf forhim or just golf?”

TIMOTHY F. BENSON, SIOUX FALLS,S.D.: “He won’tsink the putt. He always comes up short.

GRADYMICHAEL TOWNLEY,BATON ROUGE: “yeah, he mayhavethe advantagenow but waittill he walks 18 holes!”

AMALIE THIBODEAUX, HAMMOND: “It’s allfun and gamesuntilsomebodyuses the word ‘literally’ correctly.”

STEPHEN RADCLIFFE, BATONROUGE: “Pssst… hissize is about par for this course.”

BRUCE TAMPLAIN, LAPLACE: “Webetter let himgothrough, he’sa big shot.”

EDWARD LASCELLE, PINEVILLE: “He’s also the shortorder cook at the snack bar!”

What Americansthink aboutimmigration

Recently,CBS News published anew poll with the headline, “Poll ﬁnds support for Trump’sdeportation program falls.”The story seemed straightforward. But the story behind thestory is worth looking into.

The poll found that 44% of those surveyedapproved of the way PresidentDonald Trumpis handling the issue of immigration, while 56% disapprove. After that came anumber of more speciﬁc questions. What do you think about “the Trump administration’sprogram to ﬁndand deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally?” Forty-nine percentapproved, while 51% disapproved.

“On matters of deportation, differences hinge on who, and how many, Americans see as being targeted, as well as the use of detention facilities,” wrote CBS.

It was all pretty run-of-the-mill stuff, until this question: “Doyou think Donald Trump’spolicies are makingthe number of migrants crossing the U.S.Mexico border go up, go down, or not change?” Unlike an opinion question, this was afact-based query,witha right and awrong answer.

Sixty-four percent gave theobviously correct response —Trump has made the number of migrantscrossing the border go down. But 28%said the Trump policies have made nodifference, which was ﬂatly wrong.And 8% said crossings have actually goneup, which was crazy wrong.

Just for the record, the Border Patrol recorded 2,206,436 encounters withillegal border crossersinfiscal year 2022, the first full year of Joe Biden’spresidency.(The government keeps thenumbers in fiscal years—fiscal year 2022

ran from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept.30, 2022.) In fiscal year 2023, there were 2,045,838 encounters, and in fiscal year 2024 there were 1,530,523. So far in Trump’spresidency,there were8,348 encounters in February, 7,183 in March, 8,378 in April, 8,723 in May,and 6,072 in June. Youdothe math;there hasbeen an off-the-cliff drop in encounters sinceTrumpbecame president.And just to emphasize things, even of thosesmall numbers of crossings, U.S. officials arenot allowing any of the illegal crossers to stay in thecountry So how didsomany poll respondents get thesituation so wrong? Putthe 28% andthe 8% together,and you get 36% of Americanswho don’tknow what Trump has done onthe border.Ormaybe they know but will not acknowledge it.So takeacloser look into thedetails of that simple question:Have Trump’spolicies made thenumber of migrants crossing theborder goup, or down, or made no difference?

Looking into the details of the poll, the numbers forDemocratic respondents were striking. Afull 43% of Democrats said Trump’spolicies have madenodifference, while an additional 10% said those policies have madeborder crossings go up. That’sa majority who either do not knoworwho reject thefacts on theborder.Just 47% of Democrats knew, or admitted, the correct answer Some ofitisjust lack of knowledge. In any poll, there will be some number of people whodon’tknow basic political facts. Butthe Democratic numbers seem larger than that. Perhaps respondentshavebeen reading and watching news outlets that largely ignore the border issuebut pay alot of attention to thedeportation issue. Or perhaps they

know thesituation on the border but just don’twant to acknowledge it. In any event, theanswers to theborder crossings question could tell us something about the answers to all the other immigration questions in the CBS poll, and perhaps in other polls as well. What do people mean when they say they do not approve of Trump’s“immigration” policy? Do they mean border security? Do they mean ICE enforcementoperations? Do they mean action against people who broke thelaw by entering the country and then broke it again by committing some other crime? Or those who broke thelaw by entering but have not committed any additional crimes?

Andwhat do they know about what theTrumpadministration is doing? Do they know about the border crossing numbers? Do they know what the ICE raids are accomplishing? Alot of that will depend on what, if any,news coverage they read and watch.

For example, for theworst years of theBiden border incursion, Fox News was the only national news organization to cover what was one of the most important stories of recent decades. People who got their news from other sources might not have known what was going on. Why did those news sources downplay such obviously consequential news? That’sanother story.The fact is, it’s entirely possible signiﬁcant numbers of Americans, even now,are not fully informed on what is going on in the Trumpadministration under theheading of “immigration.” The new CBS poll, with its seemingly confusing results, appears to show that Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.

Mr.Haput 85 childrenand staff on two busesand headed for Saigon where he hopedtheycould flee to safety One of the buseswas shot at by aNorth Vietnamesesoldierand the buses separated. Somehow,they reunitedinSaigon. After renting aboat andgetting some distancefromshore, the engine quit. Forfive days, theydriftedbefore aThailand tanker approached.The captain refusedto help, but laterchanged his mind, turned around andtowed themfor awhile. After cutting the towline,agroup of fishermen towed themtowardSingapore.

Soldiers refusedtolet them ashore. Mr Ha wrote aname on apiece of paper and askeda soldierifhecould locatea missionary named Ralph Neighbour to help. Dr.Neighbour (now96),and newly arrivedinSingapore, wasmiraculously found. He picks up the story from there in an emailtome: “Singapore government kept themout on St. John’sisland. Our missionary team took clothesand food out.

The U.S. embassy contacted Swiss United Nations Refugee Center.Special ﬂight arrived. Childrenwhiskedthru Singapore on bus with windows covered.Government feared losing neutrality during war. No ofﬁcialrecordtheywere there.” IknewDr. Neighbour fromwhen he was apastorinHouston, where Iworked at alocal TV station.

He calledand askedifIcould help get the orphans andstaff to the U.S. andﬁnd temporary housing forthem. Icontacted some Washingtonofﬁcials Iknew and permission forthem to enter the country was granted. WhentheyarrivedinHouston, achurchcouple with alarge ranch offered themshelterand food until the BucknerChildrenand Family Services in Dallas could assist with processing and adoptions.

Recently,I’ve been in Vietnamtomark the 50thanniversary of the orphans’ escape. Iinterviewed the youngest, oldest andone in between who made the anniversary trip.

SamSchrade, who was ababywhen he was rescuedfrom the streetsofSaigon, is 51 andowns asuccessful media business in Houston. Howwould his life have been different hadhestayedinVietnam? He says the fact thatheisof“mixedrace” (American Asian) would make it “doubly hard” because native Vietnamese “look down upon suchpeople Ihavebeen told by many people Iwould nothavehad agoodlife here because of the race issue and agovernment that didn’twantme.”

Kelli St. German, now56, thinks she might have been growing coffee beans anddoing hard laborhad she notcome to America.

She also believesshe would not have developeda strong faith because of the state’s antipathy toward religion. “I became ateacher for 30 years.” Thomas Ho,the oldest orphan, now 76, was 25 whenheleftVietnam. He helped organize the evacuation and prepared small amounts of food for the children. In America, he became achef and then studiedtobecome an engineer.Hesays if he hadstayedinVietnam, “I might not have survived, especially at my age now. Life here is very difﬁcult. Alot of the food is notveryhealthy.”

Reuniting with these adults, many of whom Imet when theywerechildren, is areminderthat there are things far greater thanpolitics, celebrities and the petty jealousies that are the focus of too many of us. There arefew greater blessings than to have hada role in changing these lives for the better. These former orphans are blessed. So am I.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub. com.

Byron York

Cal Thomas

NewOrleans Forecast

FI T LO

Saints running back Kendre Miller, left,and cornerback Alontae Taylor runadrill during training camp on Sundayatthe team’sfacility. STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Forget about all those statsyou saw the ﬁrst four daysofSaints training camp.

Disregard the number of completions and incompletionsthrown by Spencer Rattler,TylerShough and Jake Haener thusfar

TheRabbys look back at thrilling sports year forLSU

There are midsummer classics —like baseball’sAll-Star Game —and there are midsummer classics.

Welcometothe latter —very much the latter —the 2025 edition of The Rabbys. No,being mentioned in our list of someofthe greatest (and occasionally,the worst) moments from the past sports academic year surrounding LSU athletics isn’tthe samething as being selected as an All-Star Game starter

But, Ican guarantee anyone mentioned here will get morerun support than Paul Skenes gets from the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup —zing! So, without further ado, straight from the Jello Shot Room at Rocco’sindowntown Omaha, Nebraska (shameless plug, but I’mexpecting an NIL deal any day now), ﬁre up the Flau’Jae Johnson greatest hits soundtrack and enjoy our list of honorees: Team of theyear

How can you start, or end, with anyone else but the LSU baseball team?The Tigers wereconsistently solid all season, found themselves pushed to the brink in the NCAA Baton Rouge regional by ashocking defeat to lowly Little Rock, then won their last eight straight to take the regional, super regional and the College World Series championship. Wasitthe greatest of LSU’s eight CWS championship teams? Probably not. But all these Tigers had to be wasthe best team in their time. That they were, and now they take their place among this program’s truly elite teams. But hey, before we go, atip of the cap to the Little Rock Trojans, huh? They certainly can enjoy alittle offseason chuckle at big brother Arkansas’ expense.

Youcan toss out how well Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson andMason Tipton have played, too.

Rod Walker

The real football startsMonday when theSaints put on the pads for the ﬁrst time thistraining camp.

Through the ﬁrst four days in Metairie,the stiffest competition the Saintsplayers havefaced is the downright brutal south Louisiana humidity

As the humidity increases even more this week, so willthe tension.

Expect to add afew more skirmishes to thelist to accompanythe onewehad between BrandinCooks and Rejzohn Wright on Day 2.

Once the pads come on, we’ll get abettergauge of whatto expect from the Saintsthisseason

Are they as bad as manyofthe nationalpunditssay?

Or do they have achance to be the latestNFL team to turn thingsaround in one year and be one of the biggest surprises in theleague?

We won’treally be able to answer any of that until thefall.

Butwe’ll start getting amuch better idea soon.

The ﬁrst four days were basically ﬂag football.

Or as former head coach Dennis Allen (sorry,Saints fans) described thestartoftraining campthreeyears ago, “We’ve had four days in underwear,now we get to play thegame the way it’ssupposed to be played.”

Saintsplayers are looking forward to it.

“You can’treally call it for real until we start smacking,” said defensive end Chase Young. “It’stime.”

Young is part of aSaints’ defensive front that brought in several new pieces this offseason. Veterans Davon Godchaux, Jonathan Bullard andChris Rumph, along with rookie Vernon Broughton are now all in the mix up front withreturnees like Young, Cam Jordan,

closer Billy Wagner,who made it in his ﬁnal try on thewriters’ ballot. Suzuki fell one vote shy of beinga unanimous selection and he took ajab at theunidenti-

Fromleft, Mondo Duplantis, Anthony Eyanson and Kailin Chio STAFFFILE PHOTOS

ﬁed sports writer whodidn’tvote forhim

“Three thousand hits or 262 hits in one season aretwo achievements recognizedby the writers. Well, all but one,” Suzuki said to roaring laughter “By the way,the offer for the writer to have dinneratmyhome hasnow expired,” he added, with emphasis on “expired” for good measure. Apair of Era Committee selections rounded out the Class of 2025: Dave Parker,who earned the nickname Cobra during 20 big league seasons, andsluggerDick Allen. Parker died June 28, just amonth before he was to be inducted.

An estimated30,000 fans crowded onto the ﬁeld adjacenttothe Clark Sports Center,sun umbrellas and Japanese ﬂags sprinkled around. Suzuki’sNo. 51 was seemingly ä See HOF, page 4C

Scott

Rabalais

Baseball Hall of Fame inductees from left, Billy Wagner,Ichiro Suzuki, and

Sabathia pose for aphoto with Willa Allen,second from right,widowofinductee

Dave Parker II, son of the late inductee Dave Parker,onSunday

the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction

N.y

GOLF ROUNDUP

Kitayama wins 3M Open

By The Associated Press

BLAINE, Minn. Kurt Kitayama

ﬁnished asizzling weekend with a6-under 65 to win the 3M Open on Sunday by one shot over Sam Stevens for his second PGA Tour victory Kitayama, who tied the tournament record with acareer-best 60 on Saturday to enterthe ﬁnal round within one of the lead, birdied six of the first eight holes to take control on a91-degree afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities.

Kitayama led by one playing the par-5 18th when he hit 5-irononto the back slope of abunker. He blasted out to about 18 feet and tooktwo putts for partoﬁnish at 23-under 261.

Matt Wallace, David Lipsky, Pierceson Coody and JakeKnapp tied for third, three strokes back. Kitayama,whose only other PGA Tour win was the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2023, moved to No. 53 in the FedEx Cup with one week remaining for the top 70 to qualify forthe postseason. He also earned atwo-yearexemptionand aspotin the Masters next year

LPGA In Irvine, Scotland,Lottie Woad

never ﬂinched Sunday on her way to a4-under 68 to winthe Women’s Scottish Open by three shotsover HyoJoo Kim in her professional debut

The21-year-oldEnglishwoman isthe secondplayer in three years to winonthe LPGA Tour in her prodebut,followingRose Zhang in the Mizuho Americas Open atLibertyNational in 2023. Woad finishedat21-year 267and earned $300,000. Woad was theNo. 1amateur in thewomen’s rankingwhenshe won theWomen’sIrish Open on the Ladies European Tour three weeks ago. Then, theformer FloridaState player finishedone shot out of aplayoff in theEvian Championship in France, an LPGA major, andturned pro. Nelly Korda shot 71 and finished eight shots behind Champions

In Berkshire, England Padraig Harrington wassofocused on his game that he didn’tnotice aleaderboard or see Rory McIlroy in the gallery Sundayatthe Senior BritishOpen. He closed with a3-under 67 to win hissecond senior major of theyear Staked to atwo-shotlead, Harrington made eagle on the first

hole on theOld Course at Sunningdale andnoone gotcloser than two shots therest of theway as he becamethe ﬁfthplayer with aSenior British Open and aBritish Open title. He wonbythreeshots over Thomas Bjorn(67) and Justin Leonard (68). Harrington joined Darren Clarke, TomWatson, Gary Player and BobCharles as players to have wonthe British Open and thesenior version.

LIVGolf

In Uttoexter,Engand, Joaquin Niemann changed his coach and hiscaddie andwon for thefifth time this year on theLIV Golf League, closing with a3-under68 in LIV Golf-UK for athree-shot victory over Bubba Watson. Niemann missed the cut in the BritishOpen last week for his second straight missedcut in amajor He made bigchangesbyleaving his coach andgetting anew caddie but found his comfort zone back on LIV Niemann haswon seven times, all in the lasttwo years,onthe Saudi-backed circuit. He has won just over $21 million this year Watsonclosed witha65, while Caleb Surratt also had a65toﬁnish alone in third. Legion XIII won

theteam title.

Korn Ferry

In Glennview, Illinois, Johnny Keefer played bogey-freeoverthe final10holes andpulledaway with a2-under 69 foratwo-shot victory in theNV5 Invitational, his second KornFerry Tour win of the year that secures his spot on the PGA Tour next year Jeffrey Kang madeeagle on the par-5 18thatThe Glen Club fora 65 that allowed him to finish alone in second.NealShipley closed with a63and tied forthird along with Kensei Hirata (65) and Davis Chatfield (67).

Keefer regained the topspoton theKorn Ferry Tour points list andjoined Austin Smotherman as two-timewinners on thecircuit this year

Othertours

Brett White made eagle on the ﬁnal hole for a59, and then won theCommissionairesOttawa Open with abirdie on the second hole of athree-man playoff. It was the second 59 on the PGA Tour Americasinasmanyyears. Ayaka Watanabe closed with an 8-under 64 for atwo-shot victory in the DaitoKentakuEheyanet Ladies on the JapanLPGA.

Piastribeats Norris to winF1Belgian GrandPrix

Oscar Piastri had to wait, and wait some more. Then he made his move. Piastri beat his McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris to win Formula 1’sBelgian Grand Prix on Sunday afterheavy rain delayed the start.

Piastri powered past his teammate and title rival Norrisonthe ﬁrst racing lap afterthe safety car pulled intothe pits on lapfour, following adelay to the start of more than an hour

“I knew Iwas goingto tryand lift (off the accelerator) alittle bit less than Lando did and try to make it stick,” said Piastri, admitting hiscar felt “lively”ashe took on the extra risk throughthe steeply uphill Eau Rouge corner Norris suggested over theradio he was having issues with the battery providing his electric power.McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told broadcaster Sky Sports that there was “asmall battery issue whichwe’ve gotto look at.” Norris reduced Piastri’slead toward the end of the race but theAustralianheld on with worn tires and Norris couldn’tget close enough to challenge. Charles Leclerc wasthird for Ferrari after he keptRed Bull’s

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEERT VANDENWIJNGAERT

Firstplacewinner McLaren driver OscarPiastri, center,celebrates on the podium withsecond place McLaren driver Lando Norris, left, and third place Ferrari driverCharles Leclerc after the Formula 1Grand Prixatthe

Max Verstappen behind him all race.

Titlebattle

Piastriextended his championship lead over Norris from nine points to 16 anddenied his British teammatea thirdGrand Prixwin in arow

It was the second straight day that Piastri heldoff Norrisafter taking second place ahead of his teammate in Saturday’ssprint, won by Max Verstappen. Except for theweather,Piastri’s overtake of Norris was almost a copy of Verstappen’s opening-lap passonthe Australian from second on the grid in thesprint Piastrihad been disappointed to qualify second for theGrand Prix behind Norris, but it “turns out starting secondatSpa is not so bad after all,” he said.

Liberty’sStewartavoids significant leginjury

NEWYORK New York Liberty star

Breanna Stewart avoided asigniﬁcant injury when she hurt her right legina gameSaturday night, aperson familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The All-Star forward had imagingdoneand nothingmajorturned up, according to the personwho spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday because no ofﬁcial statement had been made. Stewart left the game nearly 31/2 minutesinto the Liberty’s101-99 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. She had three points and arebound. Stewart seemed to injure the leg while running up the court. She went to the locker room and never returned to the bench.

“No update, hopefully she’ll be OK,” coach Sandy Brondello said after the loss.

U.S. swimteam battling ‘acute gastroenteritis’

SINGAPORE TheUnited States team at the swimming world championships in Singapore is battling acase of “acute gastroenteritis” that compromised performances on Sunday,the opening day of eight days of competition.

NikkiWarner,the spokeswoman forUSA Swimming,conﬁrmed the outbreak to The Associated Press andsaid it hadits roots at atraining camp the American team held in Phuket, Thailand, before arriving in Singapore.

She said all American swimmers had traveled to Singapore. She declinedtosay how many had been affected with the infectious diarrhea.

The UnitedStatesswim team is trying to rebound from adifﬁcult showing at the Paris Olympics. The Americans won only eight gold medals, their lowest total since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Bills WR Shavers carted off field with ankle injury

PITTSFORD,N.Y Buffalo Bills backup receiver Tyrell Shavers was carted off the ﬁeld at training camp after hurting his right ankle on what proved to be the ﬁnal play of practice Sunday Shavers made acatch in the end zoneand fell awkwardly while attemptingtoprotect theball from rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston.Shavers was on theground for several minutes while beingtendedto by thetrainingstaff, leadingtocoach Sean McDermottending practice a few minutes earlier than scheduled

The 25-year-old Shavers signed with Buffalo as an undrafted rookie free agent twoyears ago, and appeared in three games with the Bills last season.

Fernandez crushes Kalinskaya at D.C. Open

Piastri took his sixth win of the season andisthe ﬁrst McLaren driver to win the Belgian Grand Prix since Jenson Button in 2012.

Hamilton’s surgetoseventh

Unlike thethrilling and chaotic last race in Britain, there wasno signiﬁcant rain afterthe race ﬁnally gotunderway and Sunday’s race was largely aprocession after afew early attacks on the stillwet track.Mostkey contenders switched to dry tires at roughly the same time and didn’thave to stop again.

In RedBull’sﬁrst Grand Prix sincethe firing of Christian Horner as team principal, Verstappenfailedwithanattemptto get past Leclerc at the start and spent the rest of the race behind theFerrari driver on his way to fourth.

George Russell was fifth for Mercedes after an early pass on Alex Albon, whoﬁnished sixth for Williams after holding off Ferrari’sLewis Hamilton, who was seventh.

The seven-time champion started 18th and Hamilton carved his waythrough the ﬁeld on the wet track early on but thenlostmomentum. LiamLawson was eighth forRacingBulls,withSauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto ninth and Pierre Gasly 10th forAlpine.

WASHINGTON— Leylah Fernandez collected the biggest title of her career at the D.C. Open with her mostlopsided victory of thetournament, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 in the final on Sunday The left-handedFernandez, a 22-year-old from Canada whois ranked36th,earnedher fourth singles trophy —all have come at hard-court tournaments —and first at aWTA 500 event. She came quite close to aGrand Slam championship as ateenager at the 2021 U.S. Open, making it all the wayto the final in New York before losing to Emma Raducanu.

Until Sunday, the 48th-ranked Kalinskaya had not dropped aset allweek

This was the ﬁrst title forFernandez since October 2023 at the Hong KongOpen.

Sovereignty ralliestowin JimDandy at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS,N.Y.— Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty rallied after losing position heading into the ﬁnal turn to win the $500,000 Jim Dandy by a length at Saratoga on Saturday Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Sovereigntyran nine furlongs in 1:49.52 and paid $3 to winasthe 1-2favorite againstfourrivals,the smallest ﬁeld of his career Hall of Fame trainerBill Mott said Sovereignty would be pointed toward the $1.25 millionTravers on Aug. 23.

Approaching theturn, there were afew tensemoments as it appeared Sovereignty wasretreating when losing position to the advancing Baeza and deep closers Sandman and Hill Road, leaving Sovereignty in last forafew strides.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByABBIE PARR

KurtKitayama holds his trophyafter winning the 3M Open at the Tournament Players ClubonSunday in Blaine,Minn.

No quarterbackwins theday in sloppy outing

QBshavearough time in finalpractice before pads come on

Let’stakealook at thenumbers throughSunday’spractice —with apologies to Hall of Famer J.J.

Watt, whorecently derided the use of keepingtrack of training camp stats:

Rattler: 5of11(20 of 28 overall)

Robinson prepares fora busy season

BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press

The challenge forcoach Raheem Morris is to makethe most of Robinson’sproduction while not overextending his workload.

“You deﬁnitelywanttoprotect that kind of unique athlete,” Morris said, adding that Robinson “doesn’tneed agovernor” as an artificial cap on his numberof carries.

Youcan tell that Kellen Moore has coached Dak Prescott andJalen Hurts. The New Orleans Saints coach likes his quarterbacks to use their legs, and that’s beenaconsistent part of his offense datingback to his days of being the playcaller in Dallas and Philadelphia. And throughfour days of training camp, Moore has sprinkled in speciﬁc calls that give the quarterback the chance to takeoff in space. The Saints might need it, too.

Tyler Shough: 5of10(11 of 21)

Haener: 3of3(11 of 15)

Sunday’spractice —the last session before pads come on turned out to be arough showing when the quarterbacks were required to use their arms,not their legs. Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener each threw interceptionsin7-on-7 drills, and all three quarterbacks were uneven when work shifted to full 11-on-11.

It wasn’tfor alack of opportunities, either.Onthe hottest dayof camp so far,which required New Orleans to go inside for thelast period of practice, the Saintsgot extended team reps —opting to double dip with the 2’sto work on theopposite end of the ﬁeld when Rattler and the starters were working in the red zone near the end of the session.

“Wedid atwo-spot drill, and we’ll do those on occasion throughout camp,” Moore said “It’stomaximize as manyrepsas we can, while not being outhere forthree hours.”

Continued from page1C

Carl Granderson, Bryan Bresee, Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd. The defensive linewas aweakness last season. It’s clear the depth is better —although not all of them willmake the53-man roster.It’stoo earlyto tell just how much better though. That’s about to change now thatthey will don the pads and go up against an offensive line that ﬁrst-year head coach Kellen Moore(andI) believe could be the strengthof this team.

“It’ll be abattle,” said center Erik McCoy.”Ithink we have a super talented D-line and asuper talented O-line. Those guys are physical. We’re physical. Ithink we are going to have somebattles all camp long.” There will be plenty more battles. So far,much of theink of training camp has gone to the quarterbacks and receivers. The non-pad days are geared towards them. Things will level out more starting Monday.You’ll see the pass rush. You’ll see if the Saints can stop the run this year.Receivers’ routes won’talways be as crisp now that defensive backs can get more physical with them.We’llsee which of the running backs vying

If Friday’spracticewas the Rattler whoballed out in the ﬁrst half of games last season,then Sunday’sversion represented the Rattler whofellapart in the second half.Rattler’ssplitswere so drastic last year that he had a103.3 passer rating in the ﬁrst half anda46.5 passer rating after halftime. That inconsistency again was on full display on Sunday Rattlerappeared to let an earlierinterception by linebacker DannyStutsman snowball his play

On the turnover, Stutsman read thepass perfectly and jumped in front of Cedrick Wilson’s route at the goal line. It was Rattler’ssecond red-zone interception of camp.

From there, Rattler mostly unfolded. Althoughhedid have anice touchdown to Juwan Johnson that avoided oncoming pressure from Cam Jordan,Rattler threw a ball incomplete behindanintended for Dante Pettis and closed his daywith three straight incompletions. Perhaps the incompletions were the rightreads —two of them avoided pressure— but Rattler also looked frustrated. Before his second-to-last throw, he clapped hishands prior to the huddle

As for Shough,the rookie’s most impressive moments of the afternoon occurred with his legs. He opened his ﬁrst set of team drills with two straight runs, with theﬁrst playseeing thequarterback outrundefensive end Carl Granderson and Stutsman for agood

chunk of yards. Shough’smobility is an interesting wild card for theSaints: The 25-year-old can run, but his coaches at Louisville avoided using him that way given Shough’sinjury history (two broken collarbones, one broken leg) The approach worked as Shough stayed healthy for theentire campaign.

If there was aquarterback who did best of the three, it was arguably Haener.Hehad areally nice throw to Chris Olave on acomeback routethat got thedefense to bite on aplay action. Later,hehit a wide-open Bub Means in the back of theend zone for atouchdown.

Butthere were down moments for thethird-year signal-caller —lowlights that prevented him from outright winning thepractice. In 11-on-11s, he would have likely been sacked on aplay that was blown dead soon after Haener tried to climb the pocket to takeoff. Then, in theindoor 7-on7session, Haener tried to needle athrow to Chris Tyree and instead was picked off by safety Julian Blackmon in the end zone.

“Bothguys just madereally, really good plays from adefense perspective,”Moore said of the interceptions. “And quarterbacks, again, just ball placement and you know,giving us an opportunity We’ll evaluate on ﬁlm and see if there are any other coaching points.”

The Saints still have weeks before they have to decide astarter, and putting on the pads this coming week will help provide clarity to their eventual decision.

ButSunday’ssession appeared to be astep back after the offense found arhythm two days earlier

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

Saints coachKellen Moore directs aplayduring the opening dayof trainingcamponWednesday at the team’s practice facility

to be the No. 2guy behind Alvin Kamara can block.

“When you put the pads on, that’s really when you can see who can do what,” said Kendre Miller Nobodyisreadytosee that morethan Moore. This will be the ﬁrst true glimpse of his team.

“That (putting on the pads) is a bigpart of it,” Moore said. “Ultimately,that’s what we arebuildingtowards. This whole entire offseason program has been built to thepointwhere we are actually in pads andthat’s ultimately how

you play this game.”

Moore says there will be abit of an acclimation period because players haven’tbeen in pads since January.The team is scheduled to have six practices in pads before heading off to California on August 6.

“I’mready to get cracking,” said Alontae Taylor If youwanttoknowmore about this year’sSaints, youshould be too. Email RodWalker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

FLOWERYBRANCH, Ga.— Michael Penix enters his ﬁrst full season as Atlanta’sstarting quarterback with the good fortune of knowing Bijan Robinson has been both productive and durable as the focus of the Falcons’ offense at running back. Robinsonwas ado-it-all back for Atlanta in 2024, hissecond pro season. He rankedthird in theleague with 1,456 yards rushing and third among all running backswith61catches.Hetiedfor ﬁfthwith 14 rushing touchdowns and was fourth with 304 carries.

While Philadelphia’sSaquon Barkley was votedthe NFL’s top running back by The Associated Press entering the season, Robinson wasincluded in the top ﬁve. Now,afterPenix made only three starts as arookie to close lastseason, the Falcons can be expected to takeadvantageagain of their strong running game with Robinson and Tyler Allgeier

“You have to get him the rock,” Penix said at the start of training camp. “It’ssimple as that. It doesn’tmatter how we do it. Somehow,some way he’sgot to have the rock.”

Robinson said he learned more aboutpreparing foranother busy seasonbyworking out with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in California this offseason.

“It wasgreat,” Robinson said. “Me and him just giving each other so many tips and feeding off knowledge fromeach other on the field. …Weworkedtogether the whole month. Igot to see how he worked. He got to see how Iworked. It wasreally cool two guys coming together trying to make each otherbetter. He taught me some nuancemoves on the ﬁeld, and Idid the same for him.”

“He’scertainly one of those guys thatcan carry the load,” Morris said.“Certainlyone of the guys that has carried the load for us. And you could deﬁnitely do that. But we just happen to have somereally good backs, you know? .Wehave aluxury of having aguy like Tyler on our team.” Allgeier rushed for1,035 yards as arookie in 2022and averaged 4.7 yards per carry while rushing for644 yards on acareer-low 137 carries last season.There is an emphasis on creating opportunities to use Allgeier morethis season.

“We’ve got to find ways to get Tyleronthe field, to find ways to feature him on the field,” Morris said.

It wouldn’tbeasurprise to seemoretwo-running back sets, perhaps withdefenseshaving to monitor Robinson put in motion as areceiver while Allgeier remains lined up behind Penix. Kudosfor Cousins

General manager Terry Fontenot said Sunday that Kirk Cousins hasbeen “the ultimate professional” after losing his starting jobtoPenix last season and returning as abackup, despite speculation theveterancould be traded.

“Outside, it’salot moreofa big deal than it is in thebuilding,” Fontenot said of the questions about Cousins’ status. “He shows up. He does his job just like anybody He’sbeen agreat professional. He’shandled himself well.”

WR McLaurin at camp despitecontractdispute

BY BEN STANDIG Associated Press

ASHBURN, Va Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin reported to training camp on Sunday following afourday holdout, but the 2024 secondteam All-Pro andthe team have yet to agree on newcontract terms The Commanders removed McLaurin from thereserve/ did notreport list for campand placed their leading receiver on theactive/physically unable to perform list because of an ankle injuryfrom the previous season, according to coach DanQuinn. Despitethe limbostatus, fans were thrilledwhen McLaurin walked onto the ﬁelds behind the team facility following practice, serenading him with chants of “Terry! Terry!” McLaurin spent roughly 30 minutes signing autographs and taking photos before brieﬂy speaking with reporters. He said it’s been “tough”towatch his teammates practice and acknowledged he is dealing with the “business” side of football but primarily kept his comments to thescene.

“It feels good to be around my teammates and around my fans,” McLaurintold reporters. “I can’t beat that at all.” Quinn said before Sunday’s practicethat he was “pumped” that McLaurin was there. The coach said he spoke directly with McLaurinonSaturday.

“He is such an awesome competitor.Athis core, that’swho he is.” McLaurindid not report on Tuesdayalong withhis teammates and incurred a$50,000 daily fine for skipping the first four officialdaysofcamp. The seven-year veteran has one year remaining on athree-year,$68.2 million extension signed in 2022 but has been seeking anew deal. He set acareer-high with 13 touchdown receptions and had 1,096 yards last season on 82 receptions. The PUPlistdesignation forbids McLaurin from participating in on-field activities, but he can join teammates and coaches in meetingsand nowcountstoward the 90-player roster limit. McLaurin worked with the trainingstaffinside theteam facility on Sunday He participated in early portions of Washington’soffseason program but skipped the on-field portions of organizedteam activities and mandatory minicamp. Teammates have supported their absent receiver during camp.Quarterback JaydenDaniels andMcLaurin fueled an offensethat wascentral to Washington’ssurprising run to the NFC championship game last season.

“Just business in the NFL,” Daniels said.

“Weknow Terry’s working at the end of the day, he’sstill one of our brothers.”

STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Washington released cornerback Fentrell Cypress to open a roster spot.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler,center,calls aplayinthe huddle withwide receivers Chris Olave,left, BrandinCooks and Cedrick Wilson during trainingcampSundayatthe team’s practice facility.

Matthew Paras

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Atlanta Falcons running backBijan Robinson, left,and quarterback MichaelPenix rundrills during practice May27inFlowery Branch, Ga. The versatile Robinson has been getting readyinhopes of another productive year

Wallace becomes ﬁrst Black driver to win at Indy

BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS Bubba Wallace be-

came the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400. The third NASCAR Cup victory of Wallace’s career was also his most significant — his first win at one of the series’ four crown jewel races.

It snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas. He also won at Talladega in 2021, but this milestone victory also gave him a playoff spot. No Black driver has won the Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 raced on the track’s road course.

“Unbelievable,” Wallace shouted on his radio after crossing the yard of bricks.

And while the final gap was 0.222 seconds, he didn’t reach victory lane without some consternation. Larson trailed by 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go but the gap was down to about three seconds with six remaining when the yellow flag came out because of rain.

The cars rolled to a stop on pit lane with four to go, giving Wallace about 20 additional minutes to think and rethink his restart strategy But after beating Larson through the second turn, a crash behind the leaders forced a second overtime, extending the race even more laps as Wallace’s team

Wallace

thought he might run out of gas. Wallace risked everything by staying on the track then beat the defending race winner off the restart again to prevent Larson from becoming the fourth back-to-back winner of the Brickyard. It also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe surpass with one of the last runs in the session.

He made sure there was no repeat Sunday, giving an added boost to the 23XI Racing coowned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin, as it continues to battle NASCAR in court over its charter status.

The race inside the race the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day Gibbs ﬁnished 21st to win the inaugural March Madness-like single-elimination tournament and collect the $1 million prize

Dillon, a surprise championship round entrant after making the field as the 32nd and final driver, finished 28th.

Three-time series champ Joey Logano appeared to have the edge with 26 laps to go until his right rear tire went ﬂat. Though he was able to drive it into pit lane for a tire change, he lost power and struggled to get back on the track, knocking him out of contention.

Pirates ace Skenes dominant again, strikes out 9 in 6 innings

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Pirates let Paul Skenes take on a more normal workload again What did not change was his effectiveness.

Skenes struck out nine in six three-hit innings, and the Pirates shut out Arizona for a second straight day beating the Diamondbacks 6-0 on Sunday It was the fourth scoreless outing in Skenes’ last ﬁve starts, but this time he threw 99 pitches — his most in over a month.

“Ramping him back up a little bit,” manager Don Kelly told reporters afterward.

Pittsburgh’s pitching staff is on a bit of a roll right now The Pirates beat Detroit 6-1 on Wednesday, then lost 1-0 in 11 innings to Arizona on Friday night the only run in that game was unearned after the Diamondbacks started the final inning with a man on second.

Then Pittsburgh outscored Arizona 8-0 over the ﬁnal two games of the series.

This was the most pitches by Skenes since he threw 105 at Detroit on June 19. In his next ﬁve starts, he did not throw more than 88.

Kelly visited the mound in the sixth, drawing boos, but left Skenes in to complete the frame.

“It’s a hot day, he’s approaching 100 pitches. We’ve kept his pitch count down a little bit,” Kelly said. “Just wanted to make sure that he was in a good spot there to ﬁnish it off.”

Skenes has thrown 133 innings this year, matching his total as a rookie in 2024.

Twins

All-Star Buxton is day-to-day with rib cartilage irritation: The Minnesota Twins announced on Sunday that All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton is day-to-day with cartilage irritation in his rib cage. Buxton was pulled from Saturday’s game against Washington after he experienced discomfort in his side while running. An MRI performed on Sunday conﬁrmed the irritated cartilage.

“It’s a good outcome,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said

“We’ll see how he is tomorrow and so on, but to be day-to-day with what he left the game with, it’s a good thing.”

The 31-year-old Buxton is hit-

Dodgers go to 6-man rotation

BY KEN POWTAK Associated Press

BOSTON Los Angeles Dodgers

two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to start on the mound Wednesday as he continues his buildup from elbow surgery that kept him from pitching all last season.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before the Dodgers faced the Boston Red Sox in the ﬁnale of their three-game series that the plan is for Ohtani to work four innings at Cincinnati, with an off day to recover before hitting in a game. With the Japanese superstar working his way back along with left-hander Blake Snell, who pitched 4 2/3 innings on Saturday in his fourth rehab start for TripleA Oklahoma City, the Dodgers will be using a six-man rotation. They currently have Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan in the rotation.

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ting .282 with 23 home runs and an OPS of .905.

Blue Jays

All-Star catcher Kirk placed on 7-day injured list: The Toronto Blue Jays placed All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk on the seven-day injured list with a concussion on Sunday

In a corresponding move, the club recalled catcher Ali Sanchez and activated him for the series ﬁnale against the Detroit Tigers.

The 26-year-old Kirk was pulled in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 6-1 victory over the Tigers after he took a foul tip off his face mask. He was replaced by Tyler Heineman.

Kirk began Sunday sixth in the majors with a batting average of .304. He has seven home runs and 47 RBIs in 88 games this season.

Yankees

Judge goes on injured list with flexor strain but no damage to UCL: Yankees

captain Aaron Judge, his teammates and New York’s fan base exhaled Saturday when the twotime AL MVP learned he has a ﬂexor strain in his right elbow but no acute damage to his ulnar collateral ligament that might cause a long-term layoff.

Judge was sent for an MRI on Saturday and missed just his second game this season, a 9-4 loss to Philadelphia. He had a platelet-rich plasma injection and was put on the injured list Sunday He hopes to return to action in 10 days to two weeks, initially as a designated hitter

“You never want to go in the tube. It’s never fun. You don’t know what’s going to show up,” Judge said after Saturday’s game. “That’s why I kind of pushed off a lot of that imaging and stuff like that because if I don’t know what’s going on it can’t hurt you, I guess.” Judge leads the major leagues with a .342 batting average and 1.160 OPS. He has 37 home runs and 85 RBIs for a New York team that opened a sevengame AL East lead by late May but dropped a season-high 6 1/2 games back of ﬁrst-place Toronto on Saturday

“All in all, we got good news today,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said “I think all of us kind of feared the worst.”

everywhere as fans, thousands of them Seattle Mariners boosters who made the trek from the Paciﬁc Northwest, chanted “Ichiro” several times throughout the day A sign that read “Thank You Ichiro! Forever a Legend” in English and Japanese summed up the admiration for Suzuki on his special day

With 52 returning Hall of Famers on hand, Suzuki paid homage to his new baseball home in Cooperstown and his adoring fans by delivering his 18-minute speech in English. His humor, a surprise to many, delighted the crowd.

He threw shade at the Miami Marlins, the last stop of his professional career

“Honestly, when you guys offered me a contract in 2015, I had never heard of your team,” Suzuki joked.

He kidded that he showed up at spring training every year with his arm “already in shape” just to hear Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs scream, “‘Holy smokes! Another laser-beam throw from Ichiro!’”

He even took a moment for some tongue-in-cheek modesty

“People often measure me by my records. Three thousand hits. Ten Gold Gloves. Ten seasons of 200 hits.

“Not bad, huh?” Suzuki said to more laughs.

He thanked his late agent Tony Anastasio for “getting me to America and for teaching me to love wine.”

But he also took time to get to the root of what made him extraordinary

“Baseball is much more than just hitting, throwing and running. Baseball taught me to make valued decisions about what is important. It helped shape my view of life and the world. The older I got, I realized the only way I could get to play the game I loved to the age of 45 at the highest level was to dedicate myself to it completely,” he said. “When fans use their precious time to see you play, you have a responsibility to perform for them whether you are winning by 10 or losing by 10.

“Baseball taught me what it means to be a professional and I believe that is the main reason I am here today I could not have achieved the numbers without paying attention to the small details every single day consistently for all 19 seasons.”

“Shohei is going to go on Wednesday and then he’ll probably pitch the following Wednesday, so that probably lends itself to the sixman,” Roberts said.

In Ohtani’s last start, he allowed one run and four hits in three innings against Minnesota on July 22. He struck out three and walked one, throwing 46 pitches, 30 for strikes.

Roberts feels like this season is sort of a rehab year in the big leagues and doesn’t foresee the team extending Ohtani’s workload deep into games for a while.

“I think this whole year on the pitching side is sort of rehab, maintenance,” he said. “We’re not going to have the reins off where we’re going to say: ‘Hey you can go 110 pitches.’ I don’t see that happening for quite some time. I think that staying at four (innings) for a bit, then build up to ﬁve and we’ll see where we can go from there.”

Also Sunday, the club activated right-handed reliever Blake Treinen from the injured list

and recalled left-hander Justin Wrobleski.

The 37-year-old Treinen was a big part of last season’s run to the World Series title, picking up two victories in the Series against the New York Yankees.

He has been sidelined since April 19 because of forearm tightness.

“I think the only thing I’m going to be mindful of is the up-down,” Roberts said on Treinen’s usage. “To come into an inning of leverage, I have no problem.” Wrobleski, 25, is with the Dodgers for the fourth time this season. He’s a starter now, but Roberts said he’ll work out of the bullpen.

“Just trying to get a quality arm, get some length, potentially using him in two-inning stints, three-inning stints is going to be helpful for our ‘pen,” Roberts said. “The goal is to get the best pitchers on your roster in whatever role.”

To make room on the roster, LA optioned right-handers Will Klein and Edgardo Henriquez.

Now he’s reached the pinnacle, overcoming doubters, one of whom said to him: “‘Don’t embarrass the nation.’ ” He’s made his homeland proud.

“Going into America’s Baseball Hall of Fame was never my goal. I didn’t even know there was one. I visited Cooperstown for the ﬁrst time in 2001, but being here today sure feels like a fantastic dream.”

Sabathia thanked “the great players sitting behind me, even Ichiro, who stole my Rookie of the Year award (in 2001).” He paid homage to Parker and spoke about Black culture in today’s game.

“It’s an extra honor to be a part of Dave’s Hall of Fame class. He was a father ﬁgure for a generation of Black stars. In the ’80s and early ‘90s when I first started watching baseball and Dave Parker was crushing homers, the number of Black players in the major leagues was at its highest, about 18%. Me and my friends played the game because we saw those guys on TV and there was always somebody who looked like me in a baseball uniform.

“Baseball has always been a great game for Black athletes, but baseball culture has not always been great to Black people. I hope we’re starting to turn that around.

I don’t want to be the ﬁnal member of the Black aces, a Black pitcher to win 20 games. And I don’t want to be the ﬁnal Black pitcher giving a Hall of Fame speech.” Wagner urged young players to treat obstacles not as “roadblocks, but steppingstones.”

“I wasn’t the biggest player I wasn’t supposed to be here. There were only seven full-time relievers in the Hall of Fame. Now, there are eight because I refused to give up or give in,” he said.

Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes

(99.7%) from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was picked on 342 ballots (86.8%) and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%.

After arriving in the majors in 2001, Suzuki joined Fred Lynn (1975) as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.

Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami. He is perhaps the best contact hitter ever with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a seasonrecord 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose’s major league record of 4,256. Sabathia, second to Suzuki in 2001 AL Rookie of the Year voting, was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among lefthanders behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the New York Yankees. A seven-time All-Star, Wagner was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston, Philadelphia, the New York Mets, Boston and Atlanta. Tom Hamilton and Tom Boswell were also honored during Hall of Fame weekend. Hamilton has been the primary radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Guardians franchise for 35 seasons and received the Ford C. Frick Award. Boswell, a retired sports columnist who spent his entire career with The Washington Post, was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

A man holds up an Ichiro Suzuki jersey before the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.y

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAyNE KAMIN-ONCEA

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning of a game in Los Angeles on July 21.

England beats Spain in a shootout to retain title

BY GRAHAM DUNBAR AP sportswriter

BASEL, Switzerland — More drama, another penalty shootout and never giving up. England successfully defended its Women’s European Championship title on Sunday in its own special way, thriving in high tension yet again to take down world champion Spain in a shootout in the ﬁnal.

Chloe Kelly lashed in her spot kick to give England a 3-1 win on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time.

“I was cool, I was composed, and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,” said Kelly, whose goals decided a second straight Women’s Euros final, and also the semiﬁnal ﬁve days earlier England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved spot kicks from Mariona Caldentey and Spain superstar Aitana Bonmatí, before substitute Salma Paralluelo dragged her shot wide of goal

The defending champion won the only way it knew how at this thrilling Euro 2025.

“It was the most chaotic tournament we played,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman, who has now won three straight Women’s Euros titles.

Super subs

England had fallen behind in the ﬁrst half, fought back in the second and relied on its superb substitutes including Kelly – just as it did against Italy and beating Sweden on penalties previously in the knockout rounds.

“I actually can’t believe it myself,” Wiegman said. “How can this happen? But it happens We’re just going to party tonight.”

England leveled the score in the 57th on Alessia Russo’s header from a cross by Kelly after Caldentey had given Spain the lead in the 25th ﬁnishing Ona Batlle’s cross.

Spain trailed for only four minutes in the entire tournament — and not for one second against England yet could not seal its

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Coach of the year

When LSU won the CWS in 2023, I predicted that it would not be the Tigers’ only title under Jay Johnson. Turns out that has been a little like predicting a summer rainstorm in South Louisiana. In leading LSU to its second title in three seasons, Johnson has reestablished LSU as the nation’s preeminent baseball program.

A program that is now poised — shall we say it? — for the second coming of a Skip Bertman-like dynasty Johnson’s level of dedication and drive is rare, and the Tigers are almost certain to beneﬁt from it with more CWS titles in the years to come.

Headliner moment of the year

It would be easy to go with the ninth inning of the second Arkansas game in Omaha (more on that later). But instead we’re going to set the wayback machine for nearly a year ago, this past Aug. 5, when LSU’s Mondo Duplantis broke his own world

first European title against the team it beat in the World Cup ﬁnal two years ago.

“I think this team deserved more.

At least not living with this bitter feeling,” Spain coach Montse Tomé said in translated comments.

Kelly had scored an extra-time winning goal for England at Wembley three years ago to beat Germany 2-1.

Spain’s missed chance

In extra time Spain had good possession in the England penalty area so many times yet did not force a decisive goal.

“It was cruel,” Bonmatí told Spanish broadcaster La 1, after being named best player of the tournament. “We played better, created more scoring chances, but in soccer sometimes that’s not enough ”

Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll saved spot kicks from England captain Leah Williamson and the ﬁrst by Beth Mead.

It was appropriate in England’s memorable tournament that Mead’s penalty had to be retaken under a new soccer rule that allows a second chance when a player scores by slipping and touching the ball twice. It did not matter after Hampton’s saves.

Classic Arsenal goals

Arsenal attackers like scoring with perfectly placed headers from inviting crosses sent to the ideal spot.

Spain took the lead Sunday with a very English goal – a full back’s cross from the byline ﬁnding the head of an Arsenal player to score, on a rain-slicked ﬁeld on an overcast, cloudy day

The strong Spanish ﬂavor leading to Caldentey’s opener was in the neat passing to find Athenea del Castillo in the penalty area and her vision to see Ona Batlle’s direct run into space.

Caldentey was in the Arsenal team that won the Women’s Champions League ﬁnal in May beating a Barcelona side with six starters who also lined up for Spain

record and won the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. Duplantis had already clinched the gold, but went to his third and ﬁnal attempt before breaking his own mark with a leap of 20 feet, 6 inches. The amazing thing about Mondo is he has since nudged the bar higher three times since then, now putting the record at 20-7 at meet last month in Sweden. His father, Greg, said before last year’s Olympics that 21 feet was feasible for his son. It seems even more possible now for the amazing Mondo.

Surprise of the year

Why on Earth did Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy throw to third to force out Derek Curiel instead of going for the double play on Steven Milam?

Shocking surprise of the year

Seeing Luis Hernandez’s liner bounce off the shoulder of Arkansas left ﬁelder Charles Davalan. In 33 years of covering LSU sports, I’ve never felt so sorry for an athlete competing against the Tigers.

Super shocking surprise of the year

Pogacar wins Tour de France in style

BY JEROME PUGMIRE AP sportswriter

PARIS The roads were dangerously slippery after heavy rain. A fourth Tour de France title was all but won anyway, so finishing safely in the pack would do fine for Tadej Pogacar Especially considering Sunday’s final stage had already been neutralized for safety reasons and he just had to complete the race.

Surely there was no need to launch a seemingly pointless attack and risk crashing?

But holding back or being cautious rarely appeals to Poga ar, the 26-year-old cycling star from Slovenia. He clinched his fourth Tour title in inimitably daring style on Sunday and further cemented his place among cycling’s greats. Even though he really did not need to, and risked falling on oil slick-wet roads, Pogacar simply could not help himself. Against all logical opinion, he tried winning Sunday’s 21st and ﬁnal stage with trademark uphill attacks, only to fall short of the stage win itself.

“In the end I found myself in the front, even though I didn’t have the energy,” said Pogacar, who won the Tour last year and in 2020 and 2021.

the world’s best climber, on the steepest section.

“Hats off to Wout, he was incredibly strong,” Pogacar said.

Van Aert rolled back down for a prestigious stage win on the famed Champs-Élysées. Pogacar looked weary as he crossed the line in fourth place, 19 seconds behind.

‘Peace and some nice weather’

But then it was time to celebrate title No. 4. Although don’t expect Pogacar to make any headlines on that front.

“Everyone celebrates in their own way, I just want peace and some nice weather, not like here today,” Pogacar said. “Just to enjoy some quiet days at home.”

Only four riders have won the showcase race five times: Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Induráin and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.

Poga ar won four stages this year to take his Tour tally to 21 and 30 at major races, including six at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Spanish Vuelta.

The UAE Team Emirates leader praised his teammates.

on Sunday Spain used three more Barcelona players as substitutes.

The Arsenal forward line in that final, Russo and Kelly, combined to tie the Euro 2025 final. Kelly’s right-foot cross from the left was floated toward the head of Russo who guided the ball back toward the top corner of the Spain net. Wiegman’s hat trick

England coach Wiegman has still never before been eliminated from a Women’s Euros tournament. Despite how close she came three times this month, she acknowledged after the ﬁnal whistle Sunday

The top female national-team coach of her generation has a Euros hat trick after leading England to victory in 2022 and her native Netherlands to the 2017 title.

Both those titles were won as the host nation team and no England senior team, men or women, had previously won a world or continental title abroad.

Wiegman also extended the run of title-winning women coaches to eight Women’s Euros editions across 28 years. Women were outnumbered by male coaches each time.

Royal appointment

There was royalty from both nations in the VIP box at St-Jakob Park including heirs to each throne.

Prince William, the ﬁrst son of Britain’s King Charles, was with his daughter Princess Charlotte. He is president of the English Football Association.

Also present were Princess Leonor of Spain and her younger sister, Infanta Sofía. At the 2023 World Cup final Sofia was at the game with her mother Queen Letizia in Sydney Australia.

After the game King Charles congratulated the Lionesses team on their “sporting skill and awesome teamwork.”

“For this,” the king wrote, “you have my whole family’s warmest appreciation and admiration.”

After everything that happened in that fateful ninth inning, why did Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn pitch to Jared Jones with

“Just speechless to win the Tour de France, this one feels especially amazing,” Pogacar added. “Just super proud that I can wear this yellow jersey.”

Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard ﬁnished the overall race 4 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pogacar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was 11 minutes adrift in third.

Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the 21st and last stage, which broke with tradition and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill. Because of heavy rain and the risk of crashes, organizers had earlier neutralized the times 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the end, effectively giving Pogacar the victory — providing he crossed the finish line. He did the opposite of what almost every rider would do with victory a near certainty As the rain teemed down, he set a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered all along the cobbled Rue Lepic, with flags and fans hanging out of windows. Only five riders were left with Pogacar on the third ascension of the 1.1-kilometer Montmartre hill.

After fending off American Matteo Jorgenson, he was caught cold near the top as Van Aert launched a stunning attack to drop — yes, drop! — Pogacar,

“I think the second week was the decisive moment,” Pogacar said. “We took more advantage.”

Lipowitz, meanwhile, secured his ﬁrst career podium at a Grand Tour, the alternative name given to the three major races.

His performance, following his third-placed ﬁnish last month at the Critérium du Dauphiné, suggests the 24-year-old German rider could challenge in the near future.

Breaking with tradition

Traditionally, the last stage is largely processional with riders doing laps around Paris. The Tour broke with tradition after the success of the Paris Olympics road race, which also took in Montmartre, famous for its Sacré-Coeur basilica.

Five in a row

It was the fifth straight year where Pogacar and Vingegaard ﬁnished 1-2 at the Tour

Vingegaard was second in 2021, before beating Pogacar the next two years with the Slovenian second. When Pogacar reclaimed his title last year, Vingegaard was runner-up.

“We’ve raised the level of each other much higher and we push each other to the limit,” Pogacar said. “I must say to him, big, big respect.”

Hernandez at second one inning after he hit a home run? Jones did something not surprising considering LSU’s baseball history, lining an RBI single off second baseman’s Cam Kozeal’s glove for the 6-5 win that put the Tigers in the ﬁnal.

Athlete of the year

Back to Skenes, who was National League rookie of the year in 2024 with an 11-3 record, 1.96 earned run average and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched. This year, Olivia Dunne’s boyfriend is only 5-8 because of the aforementioned shoddy run support, but with a 1.91 ERA and other stellar numbers making him one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Newcomer of the year

The 2025 season was supposed to be a victory lap for 2024 college gymnast of the year Haleigh Bryant as she returned for a ﬁfth season. Bryant was excellent, though hampered much of the year by a preseason elbow injury Instead, the year ended up belonging to freshman Kailin Chio, who was remarkably sturdy and

consistent all season (she only didn’t compete as an all-arounder one time). Chio capped her brilliant year with a perfect 10 on vault March 14 against Auburn and ended the year by winning the NCAA vault title, just like Bryant did as a freshman. Chio could turn out to be LSU’s next all-time great.

The Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Award

To LSU coach Brian Kelly who put up $1 million of his $9.2 million compensation package to spur donations to LSU’s recruiting collective Talk about priming the pump. Including Kelly’s matching million, LSU brought in a total of $3.3 million from some 1,600 donors, helping the Tigers build the nation’s top transfer portal class for 2025. Will it pay off with a national title, or at least LSU’s ﬁrst appearance in the College Football Playoff since 2019? We’re

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson raises the championship

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

England’s Leah Williamson, center left, and Keira Walsh lift the trophy after winning the Women’s Euro 2025 final soccer match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park on Sunday in Basel, Switzerland.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

THIBAULT CAMUS

CHASING YESTERDAY

A photographer finds the places where time slows down on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

BY DAVID GRUNFELD | Director of photography

was sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to shoot a story about how tourism’s booming again, five years after the pandemic. And I got the photos we needed — traffic backed up with golf carts and SUVs, beach bars packed, people everywhere. But for me, it was about more than that. I know a different version of the coast — before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Back when the Broadwater Beach Resort was still around, and you could have fun at the retro beachfront amusement park. It had grit. Old souvenir shops, salty air, things felt kind of frozen in time. It wasn’t fancy, but it had soul. That version’s mostly gone now. The coast has changed — a lot. But I still try to make pictures that feel like the old days. A kid chasing seagulls, a couple barefoot in the sand, two guys fishing in the quiet — those are the kinds of moments I look for. That’s where I feel the old coast still lives, even if it’s just for a second. And driving along Beach Boulevard, it’s hard not to notice — it feels like there’s a

Wafﬂe House every mile or two. Like little yellow landmarks dotting the new coast, serving up scattered, smothered, chunked and a little bit of what’s left of the past.

STAFF PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD

A young boy runs through a flock of seagulls on the beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss., as families gather along the Gulf Coast during the Fourth of July weekend.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are for sale along the road near Ocean Springs.

A vintage truck parks on the beachfront in Bay St. Louis.

With a schooner off the coast, fishermen wade into the waters off Biloxi to try their luck

The historic Biloxi lighthouse, draped with a U.S flag for July Fourth, rises over traffic in Biloxi.

A kid browses inside a candy store in Ocean Springs.

A Waffle House glows near the beach at 1759 Beach Blvd in Biloxi.

Heat-related illnessoccursatacellularlevel

Dear Doctors: Ican’tget my husband and his brother to take hot weather warnings seriously They’re in good shapeand think thatsince they’re younger (29 and 33)that it’sOKfor them to go out hiking in hot weather.Can you talk about why it’sdangerous for everyone when there’saheatwave?

Dear reader: It can be easy to underestimate the risks of physical exertion in hot or even warm weather.The early symptoms of heat-related illness, such as sweating and ﬂushed skin,are the same as what happens when you’re simply abit too hot. The danger lies in how easy it is for overheating to progress to severe heat-related illness if you don’t address early symptoms.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

On themilder end of thespectrumisheat stress. Symptoms include excessivesweating and ﬂushed skin.The body sweats to create an evaporative effect. Flushing sends blood to the surface of the body where theblood can cool down quicker.Other symptomsofheat stress can include headache, muscle cramps,

ALZHEIMER’SQ&A

At advanced stages of care, consider aconservatorship

What is adult guardianship?

Generally,adult guardianship, or conservatorship, are thesame thing and different statesuse one name or the other.When an individual cannot make important decisions for himself or herself, ajudge appoints someone called the conservator (or guardian) to make decisions. The conservator has the legal backing of the court in all decisions, including finances, medical and personal care. There are advantages and disadvantages to setting up a conservatorship for someone. A conservator is good to have because it allows familymembers to know that someone is making the decisions, and it gives clear legal authority to deal with thirdparties. And, it provides a process to have ajudge approve major decisions. The disadvantagesofappointingaconservator are that it is costly in that it requires alawyer,filing of court papers and requires acourt hearing. It is also time-consuming with ongoing paperwork to be done. Forthe older adult who feels he or she is still somewhat capable, it can be humiliating for him or her to have someone appointed as the guardian. And, family members can create conflict in choosing aconservator which can make the overall process emotionally difficult.

Many people ask when it is an appropriate time to seek conservatorship. If theindividual has become mentally or physically incapable of making important decisions for himself or herself, then it would be wise to have a court-appointed guardian. Additionally,ifthe individualdoes not already have legal documents in place, such as alivingwill or power of attorney,then the conservatorship wouldbenefit in covering decisions aboutpersonal and financial matters. Further, even if the individual has apower of attorney for both health care and finances, he or shemight

needa conservator to make decisionsabout his or herpersonal life,suchaslivingarrangements and whoisallowedtovisit

Although it’snot always easy to determine if an individual can make decisions,a judge understands theobvious that aconservator is viable for those with advanced Alzheimer’sorother forms of dementia.

Families wishing to setupa conservatorship need to ﬁle formallegal papers and participate in acourt hearinginfront of a judge. Thephysicaland mental condition of theindividual requiring conservatorship must be clearly presented.The individualinquestion does have the opportunity to contest the conservatorship. It is helpful to ﬁnd alawyer whospecializes in conservatorships. Youcan contact theNational Academy of Elder Law Attorneysfor areferral in your area.

The appointed conservator handlesthe estateofthe person, theﬁnances and generally their basicaffairs and everyday care.

Administrativematters such as Medicare,insurance, pensions, medical coverageand thelike are also managed bythe conservator, with meticulous record keeping required accordingly with thejudge’sorders.

Conservatorship typically lasts as longasthe individual lives.

The person serving as conservatormay change in such acasein whichheorshe dies, moves away or can otherwisenolonger manage the conservator duties and responsibilities. Ajudge also has the authority to replace the conservatorifthe conservatorisrepeatedly making poor decisions or neglecting required duties.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.”Email her at thememorywhisperer@gmail com.

TODAYINHISTORY

ByThe Associated Press

Today is Monday,July 28,the 209th day of 2025. There are 156 days left in the year

Todayinhistory

On July 28, 1945, aU.S.Army B-25 bomber crashed into the 79th ﬂoor of New York’sEmpire State Building, the world’s tallest structure at the time,killing 14 people.

Also on this date:

In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de SaintJustwere executed by guillotine during the FrenchRevolution. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.

In 1984, the Los Angeles Summer Olympics ofﬁcially opened; 14 Eastern Bloc countries, led by the Soviet Union, boycotted the Games

In 1995, ajury in Union, South Carolina, rejected thedeathpenalty for Susan Smith, sentencing hertolife in prison for drowning her two young sons In 1996, 8,000-year-old human skeletalremains (later referred to as Kennewick Man) were discovered in abank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. In 2015, it was announced that Jonathan Pollard, the former

weakness and dizziness. These occur because an increase in core temperature has begun to adversely affect the functioning of thebody’smetabolic processes.

Heat stress is not an immediate danger to health. However,it’sa loud warning thatthe body is struggling to staycool. When core temperature rises much beyond the optimal range of 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, the three-dimensional enzymes thatpower biochemical reactions in the body begin to lose their shape. This impairs their function and leads to the symptoms of heat exhaustionand heatstroke.

Heatstrokeisa medical emergency that can cause lasting damage to the tissues of theheart, kidneys, liver and brain. Without

prompt medical intervention, heatstroke can lead to death. Keeping asafe core temperature in hot weather depends on afew factors. Air temperature is important,ofcourse. So is sunlight, which is radiant energy that directly heats the skin. Our muscles alsogenerate heat. So exercising in hot and sunny conditions exposes you to three separate sources of heat. Then there’shumidity,which affectshow muchevaporative cooling can occur.Adding up all these factors, it can be all too easy to crossthe threshold from mild discomfort to severe heat illness. Your husband andbrother-in-law are partially correct: Being healthy and in good physical shape can improve tolerance to hot weather

However,the metabolic cascade of severe heat-related illness occurs at acellularlevel.Once it begins, your levelofﬁtness won’t matter The only waytostay safewhile exercising in hotweather is to protect core bodytemperature. Avoidpeak heat and be aware of humidity. Wear light,loose layers to shield from thesun. Hydrate before, during andafter exertion.Ifyou have symptomsofheat stress, address them immediately.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

Feelingforgotten laterinlife

Dear Annie: Ihave always considered myself someone who values friendship deeply.Ihave many friends, at least on paper,but I have noticed something that has started to weigh heavily on me. Iamalmost always the one reaching out. If Idonot initiate the call, text or invitation, days or even weeks go by in silence. It is rare that anyone checks in just to see how Iamdoing.

busy,but Icannot shake the feeling that if Idisappeared tomorrow,itmight take days before anyone noticed.

doing the work, it is OK to take a step back and see whonotices. It may be disappointing, but it can also be clarifying.

U.S.Naval intelligence analyst who had spentnearly three decades in prison for spying for Israel, had been granted parole. In 2018, Pope Francis accepted theresignation of U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, theemeritus archbishop of Washington, D.C., followingallegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an11-year-old boy.Both diedinApril2025. In 2019, agunmanopened ﬁre at apopular garlic festival in Gilroy,California, killing three people,includinga 6-year-old boyand a13-year-old girl, and wounding17others beforetaking his own life.

Today’sBirthdays: Music conductor RiccardoMutiis84. Former Senatorand NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley is 82. “Garﬁeld” creator Jim Davis is 80. TV producer Dick Ebersol is 78. Actor Sally Struthers is 78. Architect Santiago Calatravais74. CBS TV journalist Scott Pelley is 68. Actor Lori Loughlin is 61. Jazz musician-producer Delfeayo Marsalis is 60. UFCpresident DanaWhite is 56. Actor Elizabeth Berkley is 53. Basketball Hall of Famer ManuGinobili is 48.Actor JohnDavid Washington is 41. Actor Dustin Milligan is 40. Rapper SouljaBoy is 35. Pop/rock singerCher Lloyd is 32. Golfer Nelly Kordais27.

Iam70now,and lately Ihave been feeling theache of loneliness morethan ever.Istill trytobeupbeat,loyal and supportive. Ilisten attentively,I laugh easily and Inever pretend to be perfect.Ican talk about hard things, too. Butdespite all that, Ioften ﬁnd myself alone. Idonot feel like Iampushing people away,but Iwonder if Iam somehow missing something Even with my adult sons, it is thesame. Ilove them dearly,but they rarely reach out unless there is areason. Iknow everyone is

Iamtrying to makethe most of this stage in life, but timefeels like it is moving quickly,and Iam scared it might run out before Ihave had the kind of connection Ilong for. Am I alone in this? Do others my age experience this, too? And moreimportantly,is thereanything Ican do differently? —Lonely in West Virginia Dear Lonely: Youare not alone. Many people, especially as they get older,ﬁnd themselves in theexact position you describe. Friendships shift, families get busy and somehow the phone stops ringing unless you are the one dialing. First,give yourself credit. You are showing up with heart, humor and honesty.That is no small thing.But here is the truth: relationships are atwo-way street, and if you are always the one

As foryour adult sons, it might be timefor agentle, honest conversation. Let them know you miss them.Bespeciﬁc about what kind of connection you are looking for. They may not realize how distant they have become. In the meantime, consider ﬁnding new ways to connect. Join a local group, take aclass, volunteer or explore something that brings you joy.Sometimes the best way to feel seen is to start where the energy is, and that may not always be with the people you expected.

Time may be moving quickly, but there is still room fornew connection and meaning. Youare not invisible. Youmatter.Donot be afraid to remind the world of that, kindly but clearly

Send yourquestions forAnnie Lane to dearannie@creators com.

Find away to includethese guests

Dear Miss Manners: Avery dear friend is getting married in eight weeks. She and her betrothed compromised and negotiated a great deal to finalize theguest list, and 10 people didn’tmake the cut. Unfortunately,she mistakenly invited those persons to her bridal shower Iexplained that they may feel slighted at being invited to the shower, but not thewedding. She now wants to contact these 10 people to explain the couple’sfinancial constraints and state that while the wedding guest list was final, these folks can forgo a shower gift because they are still participating in one small way Ithink this is likesending good money after bad. What can she possibly say to the10people —all of whom eagerly accepted the shower invite—tofixthis?

mission to the shower.”

Rather,Miss Manners thinks your friend should take responsibilityfor her mistake. Maybe cut theﬂower budget or serve cheaper refreshments so that these people —who you say were eager to celebrate with her —can be invited to the wedding.

starting timefor the party.Give or take.

Dear Miss Manners: Ioften struggle with ﬁnding the right timetoserve the meal at adinner party

Should it be as soon as all theguests have arrived? Or maybe when all the appetizers are gone?

Should we set atimeinthe invitation and start eating then, even if not everyone is there yet? I’ve also heard you should wait one hour after guests arrive.

Gentlereader: It is true that Miss Manners is good at dressing up unpleasant information to be acceptable, but there are limits. There is no polite way to say, “When we trimmed ourguest list, you were thepeople we decided we could do without. Butdon’t worry: We won’tcharge you ad-

Dear Heloise: We spend all this energy saving thingstorecycle, but Iwonder just how much of it actually gets recycled.

Do you know? Thanks for all your advice. —Bob S.,in Cortland, Ohio

Bob,the mostrecent dataestimates that the overall recycling rate in theUnited States is 32.1%:

n Paper andpaperboard accounts for 79.1%.

Gentlereader: Well, you don’twant to rush people to the table the minutethey arrive. But if you wait until all the appetizers are gone, your hungry guests will be nibbling on thenapkins. Youwant to serve dinner as soon as it is ready,but also leave areasonable margin to allow for varying trafﬁc and weather conditions.

Miss Manners suggests aiming for 45 minutes after your stated

Dear Miss Manners: I’majournalist whocovers politics. It’s exhausting, especially lately But at social functions, friends, family and strangers often share their political opinions (which usually include plenty of misinformation). It often gets heated —everyone thinks they’re an expert. Trying to change the subject rarely works. Is there apolite waytoshut it down, other than just leaving?

Gentle reader: Sadly,ithas become difﬁcult foranyone to have acivil and productive discussion of politics nowadays. But Miss Manners notices that you can offer apolite excuse: “Sorry,but Ideal with politics all day,and Ineed abreak. Can you recommendagood movie or book about something else?”

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

n Plastic is sadly only 5% to 9%.

The difﬁculty with plastic centers around added dyes and the lack of machinery needed for various plastic types.

n Recycling rules and regulationsdepend heavily on state, city and regional directives. For example, some recycling centers will take shredded paper while others will not. —Heloise

Shop local

Dear Heloise: Iknow it’s fun to shop at abig-box store, but Iwish morepeople would shop locally especially for common items

such as casual clothes, groceries, and other things that help small businesses stay aﬂoat. My sister drovetoanother city to buy ababy gift, agreeting card and wrapping paper when she could have gotten it at abetter price in a local mall. Iknowthere is nothing youcan do aboutthis, but Ijust wantedtoremind people thatsmall businesses need to keep their doors open and usually offer better service becausethe shopper is thelifeblood of their community No one likes ofﬁces and shops that stay empty for years. So, shop local andhelpyourcommunitythrive! —HilaryG in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania Handwrittenthank-you notes

Dear Heloise: How long after my wedding should Iwait until I thank everyone fortheir gift? Andmymother said “no” to the idea of having ageneric card printed up that simply says,

“Thank you forthe lovely wedding gift.” She thinks it’stacky We need your help. —Holly and Russell D.,inMinnesota Holly and Russell, as soon as you get back from your honeymoon, you both need to sit downand start writing out your thank-you notes. Your mother is correct; ageneric “thank you” is not appropriate. Handwrite a fewthank-you notes every night, and soon you’ll be done. Be sure to mention the gift and how you’ll use it. Always remember good manners are classy! —Heloise Paperplatesnomore!

Dear Heloise: Imade adiscovery

Many deli trays from the supermarkets have foam trays to display their food. These can be carefully cleaned and reused as picnic plates. Just makecertain you never use atray that contained raw meat of any kind. Wayne T.,inFalmouth, Maine Send ahinttoheloise@heloise com.

Annie Lane DEAR ANNIE

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) Rise to any occasion and do your part. Theway you approach achieving your goalswill have an impact on your popularity. Putmore thought into how you presentyourself to others.

VIRGO(Aug. 23-sept. 22) Keep your financial position to yourself. Theless you share, the easier it will be foryou to negotiate on your own behalf. Don't jeopardize yourhealth or finances to accommodate someone else.

LIBRA (sept. 23-Oct. 23) Achange will becomea revelation, encouraging you to broadenyour vision while dismissingwhat's no longer working for you. Putyour energy where it counts, and youwill feel thedifference.

scORPIO (Oct. 24-nov. 22) Let your feelings and instincts guide you. You will surpass expectations if youact more than youspeak.Learnasyou go and elevate your game in real time.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Payattention to your finances, health andhome. Updating your look, getting in shape andsocializingmore will lead to interesting connectionsand insight into what to strive fornext.

cAPRIcORn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listen, but don't believe everything you hear.Someone will be more intenton impressing you than on sticking to facts. Get thelowdown andavoid joint ventures.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Deal with issues regarding lifestyle, expensesor boundaries.Make apoint of lettingoth-

ers knowwhatyou are willing to share andwhat's off-limitstothose who venture into your world.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Evaluate situationsbefore youget involved. Ask questions and considerthe emotional ramifications your actions will have on your lifeand the lives of others. Take physicalprecautionstoavoid injuryor illness. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take time to engage in talks and conduct research that will lead to better choices. Avoid restrictions that compromise your health or emotionalwell-being. Trust your instincts.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Sethigh standards and make the changes necessary to achieve your goals. Thereisnoplace for anger or stubbornness. To succeed, you must first learntoget along with others.

GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Achange of scenerywill improve your attitude and feed your imagination. Networkingand social events will lead to valuableinformation andintroductions.

cAncER(June 21-July22) Dream big, but be realistic. Consider howtomake your surroundings more convenient or clear aspace to develop amoneymaking sideline.Startsmall andbuild from there.

Ciphercryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.Eachletter in thecipher stands for another.

CeLebrItY CIpher

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle basedona 9x9 gridwith severalgiven numbers The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe emptysquares so that each row,eachcolumn and each 3x3 box contains thesame number onlyonce.The difficultylevelofthe sudoku increasesfrommonday to sunday

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Napoleon Hill wrote books that explained how achievement actually occurs and gaveaformula that put successwithinthereachofalmosteveryone. Hill said,“Patience,persistence and perspiration make an unbeatablecombination for success.”

At thebridgetable,you needpatience andpersistence. If you arealsogetting alot of perspiration, either you should try to relax or the air conditioning needs adjusting.Additionally,playingsuitcombinations correctly can be important. In this deal, for example, howshould South try to make four spades? After West leads theclub queen, the defenders take threetricks in thesuit.Then they cast adrift with ahearttodummy’s king. North’s jump to four spades showed four-card supportand 18-20 support points,counting high-card and shortage points.Itwas not asign-off. If South had astrong hand, he wouldhave headed toward slam.

Declarerneedstodrawtrumpswithout loss. Therightstart is alow spade from the board—not the queen,incaseEast hasasingletonking.However,whenEast plays low, declarer puts in his jack.

Afterthat wins,South plays aheart to dummy’s ace and now calls for the spade queen. If East does notcover, the queen takes the trick, declarerplays aspade to his 10, cashes the spade ace and claims 10 tricks. If East covers the spade queen, South wins with hisace and notesthat West discards. Back to the board with adiamond to theking (or aheart ruff), declarerplays aspade to his eight, cashes the spade 10 and claims. ©2025 by nEa,inc dist.Byandrews mcmeel syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIOns: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four

Wheredoyou hurt? Giveyour burden to the Lord.— G.E.Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directionsat right. Finally 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5thEdition. Formore information on tournaments and clubs, email naspa

ken ken

WiShinG Well

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is aplEasanTliTTlEgamEthat

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble Wallace the brave breWSter rockit

luann

American with DisabilitiesAct Amendments Actof2008, as amended, Jefferson Parish shallnot discrimi‐nate againstindividuals with disabilitiesonthe basisofdisabilityinits services,programsorac‐tivities If yourequire auxiliary aids or devices, or other reasonable accommoda‐tion under theADA Amendments Act, please submit your requestto theADA Coordinatorat leastforty-eight (48) hoursinadvance or as soon as practical. Asev‐enty-two (72) hour ad‐vanced notice is required to requestCertiﬁed ASL interpreters ADACoordinator /De‐partment of Citizens Af‐fairs 1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite403 Jefferson, LA 70123 (504) 736-6094 barry.sprague@ jeffparish.gov LouisianaRelay Services TTY Services:Dial711 or 800-846-5277 https://hamiltonrelay. com/louisiana/index.htm 7/28/25 151362-jul28-1t $93.11