The Times-Picayune 07-29-2025 by The Advocate

2 firmsmight haul trashinQuarter

Showdown escalatesasboard approves IV Wastecontract

BY JAMES FINN Staffwriter

For months, rivalNew Orleans trash-hauling companies and their political allies have been at war over who has the right to keep streets and sidewalks clean in the

historicFrench Quarter

On Monday,after theFrench Quarter ManagementDistrict Board voted to fund an emergency contract for oneofthose ﬁrms, the showdown reacheda new peak as each company insisted itscontract nullified the other— setting up

the likelihood that both IV Waste andHenry Consulting will deploy garbagetrucksinthe city’s downtown, ultimately at taxpayers’ cost, by week’send. Residents “may seetwo companies doing similar work,” board Chair Jane Cooper told reporters

after the panel’svote.

“I guess on Friday,everyone shouldfindtheirfavorite to-go cupand walk through the streets of the FrenchQuarter andobserve what’shappening in the French Quarter in termsofsanitation services,” Cooper said, “and then carefully put their to-go cup in the trash.” The board’svote ensures IV Waste owner Sidney Torres IV will be paid $459,000 so his ﬁrm can continue hauling trash and spraying down streets in theFrench Quarter during August.

Texasfirmrenews push forwater from Toledo Bend

Agency facesrenewed opposition from thosewho live near lake

BY DAVIDJ.MITCHELL Staff writer

The agency overseeingthe state’sshareofthe huge Toledo Bend Reservoir in centralwestern Louisiana is looking again at whether to sell water to private Texasinvestors andisfacing renewed opposition from people who live alongside orotherwise count on thelake’swaters. Built as ajoint projectby

Texas and Louisiana in the 1960s for hydroelectric power water supply andrecreation, the186,000-acre reservoir created from damming the Sabine River isthe ﬁfth largestmanmade lake in the nation, accordingtoagency materials.

Straddling theLouisianaTexas border,the jagged-edged reservoir has become aboating, ﬁshing and camping spot rimmed with lakeside homes, butalso remains an ample

source of water in an increasingly water-thirsty world.

The controversyled Gov. Jeff Landry to weigh in last week in an attempt to offer assurances that any deal would getthe close local andstate scrutiny that’s been in thelaw for more than adecade.

“There’sbeensomefalse reports on social media about sellingLouisianawater outof

ä See WATER, page 4A

At the same time, Henry Consulting, owned by Troy Henry,is set to start doing the same work in the QuarteronFriday under an

Jefferson Parish losesits bond rating

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Twomajor credit rating agencieshavewithdrawn Jefferson Parish’stop-notch bond rating afterofficialsfailedtofile financial audits for2023 and 2024, meaning the parish will have far more difficulty borrowing money for capital projects until it gets its financial housebackinorder Moody’sand

Move comesafter officialsfailedto file multipleaudits LeeSheng

S&P Global Ratings yanked the parish’s rating in the spring after Parish President Cynthia LeeSheng’sadministration missedits 2023 audit deadline, according to theLouisiana DepartmentofTreasury.Abond rating is similar to acredit score, in that it indicates the ﬁnancial position and reliability of agovernment to pay back its debts, said Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack. Having abond rating withdrawn isn’tlike acredit score dropping. It’sasifthe parish has no credit at all, whichmakes it much more challenging to ﬁnd investors willingtopurchase bonds at reasonable interest rates.

“Ifyou show up at aFord dealership and wanttobuy anew Explorer and have no credit score, you’re like nonexistent,” Waguespack said. “They can’tﬁgure out if they

ä See RATING, page 5A

Israelistrikekills dozens in Gaza as aiddeliveryremains chaotic

Agencies warn of worsening starvation

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH,

or gunﬁre

at least

across the Gaza Strip on Monday,including apregnant woman whose baby was delivered afterher death but alsodied,local

health ofﬁcialssaid. Dozenswere killedwhile seeking food,evenas Israel moved to ease restrictions on theentryofaid. Under mountingpressure over the spiraling hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel said over theweekend that themilitarywould pause operationsinGaza City,Deir al-Balah and Muwasi for 10 hours aday and designate secure routesfor aid delivery.International airdrops of aid havealso resumed. Aid agencies saythe newmea-

ä TwoIsraeli rights groups say Israelcommittinggenocidein

sures arenot enough to counter worsening starvation in the territory. Martin Penner,a spokesperson for theU.N. food agency,told The Associated Press that all 55 of its aid trucks that entered on Sunday

ä See GAZA, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JILL PICKETT

Toledo Bend Reservoir,built in the 1960s as ajoint project by Texas and Louisiana, is the fifthlargest manmadelakeinthe nation.

Palestinians inspectthe site struck by an Israeli bombardment in Muwasi, Khan younis, GazaStrip, on Monday.

By MARIAM DAGGA

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump moves to lift visa restrictions for Argentina

BUENOS AIRES Argentina The United States and Argentina on Monday announced that they are working on a plan to allow Argentine tourists to again travel to the U.S. without a visa.

It will likely take two to three years before visa-free travel becomes a reality for Argentine passport holders, but the Trump administration’s move to kickstart the process marked a show of support for President Javier Milei, its staunchest ally in South America and a darling of conservatives around the world.

The gesture coincided with a visit by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Buenos Aires for closed-door meetings with Milei and his ofﬁcials. Noem signed the statement of intent alongside Security Minister Patricia Bullrich in Milei’s ofﬁce.

The Department of Homeland Security praised Milei for reshaping Argentina’s foreign policy in line with the U.S

“Under President Javier Milei’s leadership, Argentina is becoming an even stronger friend to the United States — more committed than ever to border security for both of our nations,” the statement quoted Noem as saying.

This

ﬁrst step toward Argentina’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, it added, “highlights our strong partnership with Argentina and our mutual desire to promote lawful travel while deterring threats.”

The department cited Argentina as having the lowest visa overstay rate in the U.S. of any Latin American country County votes to release Uvalde shooting records

HOUSTON Leaders of the county where 19 students and two teachers were killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, voted Monday to release records related to the massacre, ending a yearslong legal battle over disclosure of the information.

Uvalde County commissioners voted 2-1 to release the records and to stop appealing a 2022 lawsuit that a group of media organizations including The Associated Press, had ﬁled seeking to make the information public.

The decision by commissioners came a week after the Uvalde district’s school board voted to release its records related to the deadly rampage, one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history

The group of media organizations had sued both the county and the school district for the release of the records.

County commissioners and the school district voted to release the records after a Texas appeals court on July 16 upheld a judge’s ruling that had ordered the information be made public.

Both the county and the school district have not said when the records will be released.

Michigan university has moo-ving day for cattle

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Dozens of dairy cattle were on the moo-ve Monday at Michigan State University

About 80 cows hoofed it to their new home, the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, a $75 million facility the East Lansing school says will allow agriculture, veterinary and other students to learn on a modern farm that’s equipped to replicate the most high-tech operations in the world.

George Smith, who heads up Michigan State’s AgBioResearch department, called it a “21st century cattle drive.” Crews erected a fence between the two buildings and herded the animals via claps, calls and whistles.

The remaining 180 cows are expected to be herded to the new building on Tuesday Michigan’s dairy industry leads the nation in milk production per cow, according to Smith, adding dairy also is the No. 1 contributor to the state’s agricultural economy

The new complex is significantly larger than the existing dairy farm, which was constructed in the 1960s and was so limited in space and equipment that researchers have a backlog of up to two years on funded projects.

At least 3 killed in Manhattan shooting

Sources say N.y. police officer among the dead at

BY PHILIP MARCELO and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

NEW YORK A shooting at a midtown Manhattan ofﬁce building on Monday left at least three people dead, including an off-duty New York City police officer, sources told the The Associated Press

The suspect was identified as Shane Tamura, of Nevada, two people briefed on the investigation told the AP Sources said he fatally shot himself.

Law enforcement ofﬁcials located identification on Tamura’s body, including a concealed carry permit from Las Vegas, the people said. The people were not authorized to discuss details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The Fire Department of New York said emergency crews were called to the

Park Avenue office building about 6:30 p.m. for a report of someone shot The building houses some of the country’s top ﬁnancial ﬁrms and the National Football League.

Jessica Chen told ABC News she was watching a presentation with dozens of other people on the second ﬂoor when she “heard multiple shots go off in quick succession from the ﬁrst

She and others ran into a conference room and barricaded tables against the door

“We were honestly really, really scared,” she said, adding that she texted her parents to tell them that she loves them.

Mayor Eric Adams said multiple people were injured. He posted a clip to social media urging people

Trump says he’s shortening deadline for Russia to end war

President giving Putin 10 to 12 days to end killing in Ukraine

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

EDINBURGH, Scotland

President Donald Trump

said Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine, shortening a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. Russia ﬁred an overnight barrage of more than 300 drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said, as the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities continued despite Trump’s pressure for it to end. U.S.-led peace efforts have also failed to gain momentum.

Trump had said on July 14 that he would implement “severe tariffs” on Russia unless a peace deal is reached by early September On Monday, Trump said he would now give Putin 10 to 12 days, meaning he wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug. 7-9.

The plan includes possible sanctions and secondary tariffs targeting Russia’s trading partners.

The formal announcement would come later Monday or on Tuesday, Trump said.

“No reason in waiting,” Trump said of the shorter timeline. “We just don’t see any progress being made.” Putin has “got to make a deal. Too many people are dying,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland. There was no immediate

response from Russia.

Trump repeated his criticism of Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians.

“And I say, that’s not the way to do it,” Trump said. He added, “I’m disappointed in President Putin.”

Asked at a news conference about a potential meeting with the Russian leader, Trump said: “I’m not so interested in talking anymore.”

Still, he voiced some reluctance about imposing penalties on the Kremlin, saying that he loves the Russian people. “I don’t want to do that to Russia,” he said, but he noted how many Russians, along with Ukrainians, are dying in the war Ukraine has urged Western countries to take a tougher line with Putin.

Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential ofﬁce, thanked Trump for shortening the deadline.

“Putin understands only strength — and that has been conveyed clearly and loudly,” Yermak said on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared the sentiment

A Russian drone blew out the windows of a 25-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram. Eight people were injured, including a 4-year-old girl, he said.

The attack also started a ﬁre in Kropyvnytskyi, in central Ukraine, local ofﬁcials said, but no injuries were reported.

The main target of the Russian attack was Starokostiantyniv, in the Khmelnytskyi region of western Ukraine, the air force said. Regional authorities reported no damage or casualties.

Western Ukraine is on the other side of the country from the front line, and the Ukrainian military is believed to have signiﬁcant airﬁelds as well as arsenals and depots there.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out an overnight strike with long-range, airlaunched weapons, hitting a Ukrainian air base along with an ammunition depot containing stockpiles of missiles and components for drone production.

Suspect in Mich. Walmart stabbings charged with state terrorism count

BY ED WHITE Associated Press

DETROIT A Michigan prosecutor filed a terrorism charge Monday against a man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart store. The charge has been rarely used in the state’s courts since it was adopted more than 20 years ago during the national outrage over the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle

Moeggenberg said she believes the charge ﬁts because the weekend attack was intended to “put fear in the entire community and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis.” But proving that could be difﬁcult. Bradford Gille, 42, has a history of mental health problems. A judge signed an order Friday, the day before the attack, telling police to find him and take him to a hospital because he was considered a risk to himself or others.

Police said they were unable to ﬁnd him. Moeggenberg also filed attempted murder charges, one for each Walmart stabbing victim. A notguilty plea was entered for Gille, and bail was set at $100,000.

Tobacco companies are “selling cigarettes with Fiberglas and chemicals in ’em just to kill off the population You can’t really accuse me of anything if you’re doing that,” Gille said in court

cludes offices of Blackstone and the consulate general of Ireland. Some finance workers at an office building down the block were picking up dinner at a corner eatery when they heard a loud noise and saw people running.

“It was like a crowd panic,” said Anna Smith, who joined the workers pouring back into the ﬁnance ofﬁce building. They remained there for about two hours before being told they could leave.

still inside the ofﬁce building to stay put because police officers were conducting a floor-by-floor search. The Democrat said he’s headed to the hospital to speak with the family and loved ones of those involved.

Local TV footage showed lines of people evacuating the office building with their hands above their heads. The building in-

The building where the shooting happened is in a busy area of midtown, located a short walk north from Grand Central Terminal and about a block east of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The city’s emergency management alert system warned of traffic delays, road closures and disruptions to public transportation in the area.

Through late July, New York City is on pace to have its fewest murders and fewest people hurt by gunﬁre than any year in recent decades.

Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed from New York.

2 kids killed in Miami after barge collides with boat, officials say

BY JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press

Two kids were killed and two more are in critical condition after a barge struck their boat and sent them overboard during a sailing camp in Miami on Monday, authorities said.

All six people on the sailing boat were pulled from the water by responders, and four kids were rushed to a nearby hospital where two were pronounced dead upon arrival, said Petty Ofﬁcer 3rd Class Nicholas Strasburg, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The six — one adult and five children were in their last week of the sailing camp for kids from 7 to 15 years old, according to

the Miami Yacht Club.

“The entire MYC family is devastated by this terrible tragedy,” said Emily Copeland, the commodore of the yacht club, in a statement. Two of the six who were rescued were in “good condition,” Strasburg said. Last year, there were over 550 deaths in recreational boating of which 43 were caused by vessels crashing into each other, according to Coast Guard statistics.

The boats collided near Star Island, which runs between Miami Beach and Miami in Biscayne Bay, said Arielle Callender, a regional spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in a statement.

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

Firefighters put out a blaze Monday in a fire department school after a Russian attack in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine.

PHOTO By ANDyBARRON

Police:Shooter opens fire at Reno casino

erswho were injured.

BY ANDYBARRON and RIO YAMAT Associated Press

RENO,Nev.— Agunman openedﬁre Monday outside the largestcasino in Reno, Nevada, killing two people and wounding three others before beingtaken into custody,ofﬁcials said.

The suspected shooterat the Grand Sierra Resort was amongthose transported to ahospital, said Dr.Chad Kingsley,district health ofﬁcer for the Northern Nevada Public Health Department.

Ofﬁcers arrived less than three minutes after the ﬁrst shotsrang outand firedat the suspect, police said in a statement. Authoritiesdid not releasethe conditions of the suspect or the three oth-

The resortisone of Reno’s most prominent venues, hosting concerts, sporting events and acampaign rally by PresidentDonald Trump before the 2024 election. Near theCaliforniaborder andjust northeast ofLake Tahoe, the town is apopular summer tourist destination.

Hotel guests heard several shotscoming from the resort’s valet areaaround 7:30 a.m Michael Sisco, 60, said he was in hisroomand about to head to the valet for his car when he heard popping sounds. He looked out hiswindow and saw people screaming and running from the valet area

He said he sawaman holding his stomachand staggering beforefallingmotionless next to acar.Sisco moved away from thewindow as the gunshots continued.

“A half-hour after theincident Istartedshaking becauseI realized Icould’ve been there,”hesaid. “That’s

exactly whereIwas going.”

Christina Martinez heard the shots just as she was stepping onto an elevator in the lobby,and they werestill goingoff whenshe stepped out ontothe 18thﬂoor

Someone in aneighboring room toldher therewas agunmanright outside the main entrance, near where Martinezsaid she was getting coffee just moments before.

“I feel very blessed, but that’skind of whyI hada panic attack,”she said. “I was like, oh my God. Iwas just there.”

Hours after theshooting, theentranceinside the casino leading to the valet area was roped off to guests and privacy screens were placed in frontofthe glass doors to block the view outside.

In additiontothose who were killed and the people taken to thehospital, three moreweretreated for minor injuriesatthe resort, accordingtoDevon Reese, chairof the BoardofHealth in northernNevada.

Trumpsaysheended friendship with Epsteinoverstealingworkers

Presidentsays disgraced financier ‘stole people that worked forme’

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President DonaldTrump saidMonday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced ﬁnancier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed himmore than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

Trump did not say what his employees did or where they worked, and the White House declined further comment. But the White House had previously offered adifferent explanation for the falling-out. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director,said in a statementlast week: “The fact is that the President

kicked himout of hisclub for beingacreep.”

Epstein killed himself, authorities say,ina New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaitedtrial on sex trafﬁcking charges. Trump and his topallies stokedconspiracy theories aboutEpstein’sdeath before Trump returned to power and are nowstruggling to manage the fallout after the Justice Department said Epstein didinfact die bysuicide and that it would not release additional documentsabout the case.

Thepresident and hisallies, someofwhom are now in the administration, had promised to release the ﬁles.

The case has dogged Trumpathomeand abroad andeven followedVice PresidentJDVance during an appearanceinhis home state of Ohio on Monday.A smallgroup of protesters assembled outside afactory in Cantonthat Vance toured,holding signs that spelledout “JD ProtectsPe-

dophiles”and indicatingthat “GOP” stands for “Guardians Of Pedophiles.”

TheRepublicanpresident spoke at his golf propertyin Turnberry,Scotland,ashe satwith British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the leadershad metand were answering questions from U.S. and U.K. journalists.

Askedtoexplain why the relationshiphad faltered, Trumpsaid, “That’ssuch old history,veryeasy to explain, but Idon’twant to waste your time by explaining it ”

He thenexplained, saying he stopped talking to Epstein after “he did something that was inappropriate.”

“Hehired help andI said, ‘Don’t ever do thatagain,’” Trumpsaid. “Hestolepeople thatworked for me. Isaid, ‘Don’t ever do thatagain. He did it again, andIthrew him outofthe place, persona non grata.”

“I threwhim out andthat was it.I’m glad Idid, if you want to know the truth,” Trumpadded.

JudgeblocksTrump’s efforts to defund PlannedParenthood

BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press

Afederal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed forMedicaid funding as the nation’slargest abortionproviderfights President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to defund theorganization in his signature tax legislation. The new order replaces a previous edict handed down by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last week. Talwani initially granted a preliminary injunction specifically blockingthe governmentfrom cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn’tprovide abortion care or didn’tmeet athreshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in agiven year “Patients are likely to sufferadversehealth consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable,” Talwani wrote in her Monday order.“In particular,re-

stricting Members’ ability to provide healthcareservices threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications becauseofreduced access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs.”

AprovisioninTrump’stax bill instructed the federal government to end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received morethan $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, even to those like PlannedParenthood that also offer medical services like contraception, pregnancytests and STD testing.

Although Planned Parenthood is notspecifically named in the statute, which went into effect July 4, the organization’sleaders say it wasmeanttoaffecttheir nearly 600 centers in 48 states.However, amajor medical provider in Maine and likely others have also been hit.

In herMondayorder,Talwani said that the court was “not enjoining the federal

government fromregulating abortion and is not directing the federal governmenttofundelective abortions or any health care service not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage.” Instead, Talwani said that her decision would block the federal government from excluding groups like PlannedParenthoodfrom Medicaid reimbursements when theyhavedemonstrated asubstantial likelihood of success in theirlegal challenge. In itslawsuit,Planned Parenthood had argued that they would be at risk of closing nearly 200 clinics in 24 states if they are cut off from Medicaidfunds.They estimated thiswould result in more than1millionpatients losing care. “We’re suing the Trump administration over this targeted attack on Planned Parenthood health centers and the patients who rely on themfor care,” said Planned Parenthood’s president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson in astatement on Monday

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda Food insecurity is rising in many parts of Africa, with the number of people unable to afforda healthydietsurpassing 1billion —some two-thirds of the continent’s population —in2024, according to aUnited Nations report publishedMonday

The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Africa is more than double theglobal averageof 28%, whereas ﬁgures from

Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Oceania don’treach that mark, the report said. The annual report, produced by ﬁve U.N. agencies, analyzes trends in efforts to achieve the goal of zero hunger around the world by 2030.Those agencies include the World Health Organization,the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

An estimated 8.2% of the globalpopulationmay have faced hungerin2024, down from 8.5% in 2023 and 8.7%

in 2022, apositive trend that “contrasts with the steady rise in hunger in most subregions of Africa” and in western Asia, or parts of the Middle East and South Asia, the report said. The prevalenceofundernourishment, akey measure of progress, surpassed 20% in Africa and rose to 12.7% in western Asia, it said. The report is the latest to suggestthateliminating food insecurityuniversally remains aserious challenge Africa remains the most vulnerable continent.

state,” he wrote on social media. “I’d like to let you all know these reports have no merit — there have been no changes to this process!”

Some of the same Texas investors approached the agency, the Sabine River Authority of Louisiana, nearly 15 years ago for 600,000 acre-feet annually for 50 years — three times the amount of water being sought now — but couldn’t win approval from thenGov Bobby Jindal.

Over the past three years, they renewed talks on a new proposal that would have gradually increased withdrawals over 30 years to 600,000 acre-feet, according to agency documents, but an earlier letter of intent for that deal expired last fall

Now the company, Aqueduct Partners LP of Dallas, is offering to seek one-third of the ﬁnal withdrawal total from the previous request, authority officials said. Henry Goodeaux II, the authority board chairman, appointed a six-member board committee last week to eventually recommend whether to engage in renewed discussions with Aqueduct Partners.

Some residents question the wisdom of selling Louisiana water to another state whether the amount agreed upon would eventually expand and if the price would be worth it. They also ask if the already well-funded agency needs the new revenue and, most of all, are concerned water levels could be lowered too much and harm the lake and the recreation on it

“Once that valve opens, it will never close again because it’s being used for human consumption,” said Shane Sloane, 54, a Lafayette insurance agent whose family has a longtime lake home.

The self-funded agency ended ﬁscal 2024 with a nearly $110 million surplus, about $35.4 million of which hasn’t been set aside for speciﬁc needs, according to an audit.

Agency officials said the pipeline that the company is proposing could take eight to 10 years to build before the ﬁrst drop of water is withdrawn — and that would come after a potentially lengthy review and state approval process.

“When it comes down to it, they may say, ‘We can’t do that,’” Goo-

GAZA

Continued from page 1A

were unloaded by crowds before reaching their destination. Another U.N. ofﬁcial said nothing on the ground has changed and no alternative routes were allowed.

Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures.

A baby girl died hours after being delivered in a complex emergency caesarean. She had been placed in an incubator and was breathing with assistance from a ventilator, according to AP footage.

Her mother, Soad al-Shaer, who had been seven months pregnant with her, was among 12 Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house and neighboring tents in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies

Another strike hit a twostory house in Khan Younis, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the hospital. At least ﬁve others were killed in strikes elsewhere in Gaza, according to other hospitals.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on most of the strikes. It said it was not aware of one strike in Gaza City during the pause that health officials said killed one person.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.

The daily airstrikes across the territory frequently kill women and children.

Images of emaciated children have sparked outrage around the world, including from Israel’s close allies.

President Donald Trump on Sunday called the images of emaciated and malnourished children in Gaza “terrible.”

Trump on Monday expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged

deaux said.

Calls to the listed agent for the company weren’t returned.

‘That’s the difference’

Officials with the state authority say the 200,000 acre-feet per year being sought amounts to a small percentage that flows downstream through the reservoir for power generation or the overflow spillway

They argue water sales would be many times more lucrative than using the same volume for hydropower They also note it could provide a ﬁnancial hedge against an aging hydroelectric system in a more competitive electricity market that has the authority down to one power buyer

In a recent presentation on the proposal, Warren Founds III, executive director of the authority, explained that Louisiana’s share of the water sales would generate $7.2 million per year Water sales, already about half of the authority’s annual revenue, would go up by 80%, according to audits.

The same volume of water currently generates $225,000 for the authority’s share of electrical sales.

“So that’s the difference that we’re talking about when we look at our operations and why the river authority and past boards would have ever directed whoever was in my place right here to, ‘You ought to be looking at water sales towards your future,’” Founds said.

The full volume of the water

Israel to get people food, seemingly recalibrating his stance on Gaza as images of emaciated children have sparked renewed worries about hunger in the war-torn territory

Trump, speaking in Scotland on Monday, said that the U.S. and other nations are giving money and food to Gaza but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “got to sort of like run it.”

“I want him to make sure they get the food,” Trump said. “I want to make sure they get the food.”

His remarks marked a new divergence from Netanyahu after the two leaders had become closer following their nations’ join strikes in Iran

The U.S. president was asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s comments on Sunday in which the Israeli leader said, “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

“I don’t know,” Trump replied Monday “I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry.”

Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages.

Israel partially lifted those restrictions in May but also pushed ahead on a new U.S.backed aid delivery system that has been wracked by chaos and violence. Traditional aid providers have encountered a breakdown in law and order surrounding their deliveries.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid shipments said U.N agencies collected 120 trucks for distribution on Sunday and that another 180 trucks had been allowed into Gaza.

The United Nations and aid groups say the territory needs 500-600 trucks a day to meet its needs Israel’s blockade and military operations have destroyed

sales would be worth $14.4 million per year, authority ofﬁcials said, split with the authority’s companion agency the Sabine River Authority of Texas, as the electricity fees currently are.

The Louisiana and Texas authorities split the reservoir water 50-50. Each has the right to sell about 1 million acre-feet of water from behind the dam but must divide the revenues, authority ofﬁcials said.

The Louisiana authority sells around 36,000 acre-feet per year from its allocation to Louisiana users, International Paper and small local water systems, including for Many, Logansport and Mansﬁeld. The agency also sells water once it leaves the reservoir through a diversion canal to industrial plants and communities in the Lake Charles area.

The reservoir can hold nearly 4.5 million acre-feet of water and has, on average, another 4 million acre-feet pass through the system each year About 80% of that additional amount is used for electrical generation, according to authority documents.

Goodeaux explained that if the full year’s worth of proposed withdrawals for Texas were taken all at once, this 200,000 acre-feet would lower the reservoir levels by 13 inches, or about an inch per month.

“I will lose more than that in evaporation this time of year,” he said. “This amount is kind of trivial on the lake.” At the same time, the reservoir has experienced droughts where

nearly all food production in the territory of roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Also on Monday, two air force planes from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped 17 tons of humanitarian aid in Gaza — an amount that would ﬁll less than a single aid truck. Aid groups say airdrops are often ineffective and dangerous, with falling parcels landing on people or in combat zones or other dangerous areas.

“At the moment, 2 million people are trapped in a tiny piece of land, which makes up just 12% of the whole strip — if anything lands in this area, people will inevitably be injured,” said Jean Guy Vataux, emergency coordinator in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders.

“If the airdrops land in areas where Israel has issued displacement orders, people will be forced to enter militarized zones — once again risking their lives for food,” he added.

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that airdrops are “expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,” and would not address the crisis.

At least 25 people were killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip, according to health officials and witnesses. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military Four children were among those killed, according to records at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The shooting occurred in a military corridor Israel has carved out between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. It was not immediately clear who had supplied the convoy Survivors at the hospital said Israeli forces had fired toward the crowds. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, according to the U.N. human rights office, witnesses and local health officials.

ﬂow through the lake was about a quarter of the 4 million acre-foot average.

During the 2011 drought, reservoir water levels dropped more than 12 feet from the operational peak. Those reductions were exacerbated, however, because the lake was lowered by 3 feet for previously planned reservoir repairs, authority ofﬁcials said.

Under state law and federal licensing requirements, the authority must maintain relative stability in lake levels following legislative and other changes in the 2000s

The reservoir’s operational range for electrical power generation has been narrowed from the designed 10 feet of play to 4 feet during typical conditions.

Exceptions exist for power and other emergencies.

A statewide plan?

Toledo Bend isn’t the only place where tensions have emerged over sharing water among people, business and agriculture.

In Baton Rouge, concerns about saltwater intrusion into the region’s primary drinking water aquifer have spurred years of debate over whether big industrial users should continue to use the underground resource when the Mississippi River is nearby

The Chicot and Sparta aquifers in southwest and northeast Louisiana have had their own stresses over heavy use.

In 2020, seeing those problems and the potential for water-needy

states to pursue Louisiana water, the state Legislative Auditor’s Office recommended the state develop a water management plan, in part, to determine what Louisiana’s needs would be in the future and the value of its water

The report speciﬁcally cited the failed 2011 proposal to ship a piece of Louisiana’s share of Toledo Bend Reservoir water to Texas.

The state never created that recommended plan, state natural resource ofﬁcials said, but the Legislature added layers of approval for any future out-of-state deal from Toledo Bend.

In addition to the authority board, two-thirds of the six parishes that border the reservoir must back the deal, along with the House and Senate natural resource committees and the governor The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must also weigh in if the volume ever exceeds 1 million acre-feet per year

As news of renewed interest in the deal spread, state ofﬁcials reiterated that law in an attempt to address false rumors that recently adopted legislation, Act 458, vested total authority over such a sale with the state Department of Energy and Natural Resources secretary

“The law does not weaken or eliminate any of the multiple safeguards or approval steps required by law,” the agency statement says.

Goodeaux, the authority chairman, said it will probably be ﬁve to six months before the committee and full board even decide whether to restart talks on a letter of intent with Aqueduct Partners.

The 78-year-old, who has been on the board for 19 years and lives along Toledo Bend, says he’s as interested as anyone in ensuring the lake remains as it is for his grandchildren.

“They come up now but I want them to come up even after I’m gone and still have it just like it is now,” Goodeaux said.

Those assurances aren’t enough for some residents.

Bernie Sloane, 77, who is Shane Sloane’s father and has owned the family home on Toledo Bend for 27 years, said he can’t understand why authority officials haven’t already gotten the message that residents don’t want out-of-state sales.

“What has to happen to stop this once and for all is that we need to pass legislation,” he said.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JILL PICKETT

TRASH

emergency contract with Mayor LaToya Cantrell’sadministration.

Monday’svote thus escalates amonthslong legal and political fight over who should cleanthe city’ssignature downtown neighborhood. That feudhas ragedsince earlier this year when the City Council, whose relationshipwith Cantrell has soured during her second term, began questioning along-term trashcontractHenry wonwith the city lastyear.

Torres won an emergency contract with the city to keep the French Quartercleaninthe interim. In the months since, residents have clamored to support IV Waste’sperformance. They lauda signature lemony-scentedcleaningﬂuid Torres’ trucks dispense.

Many say they’ve never seen the French Quarter this clean in years.

When Cantrell moved in April to cancel IV Waste’semergency deal at the end of July and to install Henry as the emergency contractorinstead, blowback from residentsand theCity Council came swiftly

Acourt challenge claimed Cantrell had conjured afake emergency to grantthe work to Henry Consulting and accused the mayorofpaying Henry $2.1 million more than Torres’ firm would have received. Theplaintiffs drew support from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who filed afriend-of-the-court brief saying that Cantrell’semergency declaration was “a manufactured pretext to circumvent procurement laws.” In afresh court ﬁling on Monday Murrill’sofﬁce doubled down on her critique of Cantrell’shandling of the contracts.

“If left undisturbed, the lower

RATING

Continued from page1A

can lend you money or not.”

Lee Sheng said the parish isn’tscheduled to sell bonds in the foreseeable future, making the withdrawal less pressing than if taxpayers were relying on an upcoming bond sale to ﬁx roads or improve drainage.

However, the auditing problem has exposed major organizational issuesinthe ﬁnance department.

Lee Sheng said the parish’s ﬁnancial arm has struggled to keep up with the millions of dollars in emergency aid it’sreceived from the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes Francine and Ida. She estimated that her administration had 15 times the amount of grant moneyto manage compared to years prior

That crush has exacerbated other structural issues, like heavy turnover,inefficient protocols, outdated accounting softwareand a national accountant shortage that’sforced many municipalities into asimilar position. This also is the ﬁrst year the parish is managing an annual budget over $1 billion.

“You never want to have your bond rating withdrawn, but Iknew it was apersonnelissue andnot an issue that we havedebtwecan’t pay,” said Lee Sheng, who is also aforensic auditor

courts’ refusal to enjoin the mayor’s unlawful contract withHenry Consulting sets adeeply troubling precedent byeffectively sanctioninga clear abuse of emergency powers andundermining the legal limits that safeguardagainst such misuse,” wroteMurrill andadeputy, Jennifer Wise Moroux. The deal signed by Torres and theFrench Quarter Management District on Mondaystemmed from anew state law created this spring by New Orleans legislators and councilmembersindefiance of Cantrell’s authority. Thelaw,car-

ried by state Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, letsthe district board strike emergency sanitation contracts when thecity fails to provide those services.

Torres cited Murrill’sbrief Mondayinarguing that Henry’scontract should be rendered moot.

“Nothing is going to change,” Torres saidfollowing the board vote. “We’re just going to be workingfor the French QuarterManagementDistrict instead of the city of New Orleans.”

On Monday,Henry stood by his contract, which ajudge recently

upheld,saying it should nullify any deal rendered by the district.

“Wehave afully executed valid contract with thecity,”Henry said “It should render any FQMD contractnull, void andunnecessary according to the law.”

Henry has insisted his ﬁrm can provide services on par with IV Waste’spopular approach. Underthe lawsponsored by Harris, New Orleans’ city government must reimburse theFrenchQuarterManagement DistrictBoard for its sanitation contracts.

That means taxpayers will ulti-

mately foot the bill forthe board’s August emergencycontract with Torres. Theboard is paying upfront forthose services with reserve funds, said Cooper,the chairperson.

If the city fails to repay the board, the panel could seek state dollars to be madewhole, Cooper said.

“I think we can all agree that the current administration in the city of New Orleansisnot going to reimburse the board forsanitation services performed by IV Waste,” she said.

“You

never want to have yourbond rating withdrawn, but Iknew it wasa personnelissue and notanissue that we have debt we can’t pay. There wereno big, ominous financial concerns.”

CyNTHIA LEE SHENG, Jefferson Parish president

“There were no big, ominous ﬁnancial concerns.”

Themistake hasbeentrying to solve all the issuesat once, sheadded. “Shouldwebetaking all that on rightnow? Absolutely not,” LeeSheng said.“But we are only goingto getourselves in adeeper hole the longer we delay.”

To digitself out, theparish in Junehired theconsulting ﬁrm Deloitte andTouche to reorganizeand supplement the accounting department, as well as replace outdated accountingsoftware to a

more modern program, all at acost of $5.7 million.

Theconsultants arealso tasked withcollecting the ﬁnancial information needed by EisnerAmper,another ﬁrm hiredtocomplete the 2023-25audits forover $700,000. The 2023 audit is projected to be completed by theend of September, andthe 2024 audit by the endofthe year,roughly six monthsoverdue.

The parish also moved its ﬁnance director,Tim Palmatier, to anew role as technical advisertoLee Sheng in April andappointedchief administrativeassistant Victor LaRocca as theinterim Apermanent ﬁnance director will takeover in August At-large councilmember Jennifer VanVrancken called the bond rating withdrawal “unprecedented.”

“It puts us in amore vulnerable position than I would ever like to see,” she said.

Scott Walker,also an at-large council member,

said the rating withdrawal was caused by a“perfect storm” andthe administration needs“to getpastitas quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile,Jefferson Parish Inspector General Kim Chatelain said she is drafting apublic letter to thecouncil for “failing to timely file annual financials for 3consecutive years,” according to her office’s most recentmonthly

report. The parish also submitted its2022 audit about six months late.

“Weare considering the why,the how,and the impact,” Chatelain said. “Why weren’tthe ﬁnancials ﬁled, how are we going to get out of this situation, and what is the impact long term and short term?”

Before the withdrawal, Jefferson Parish main-

tainedarating of Aa1 with Moody’s, one of the best scores possible. Waguespack, the state legislative auditor,said the withdrawal will remainon the parish’scredit history even after theratingisrestored.

Email Lara Nicholsonat lnicholson@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

IV Waste employees pick up trash on DecaturStreet in the French Quarter on July 21.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street ends

Monday nearly flat

U.S. stock indexes drifted througha quietMonday after the United States agreed to tax cars and other products coming from the European Union at a15% rate, lower than President Donald Trump had earlier threatened. Many details of the trade dealare still to be worked out, andWall Street is heading intoaweekfullofpotential flashpoints that could shake markets.

The S&P 500 was nearly ﬂat and edged up by less than 0.1% to setanall-time high fora sixth straight day.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 64 points, or 0.1%,while theNasdaq composite added 0.3% to its ownrecord.

Tesla rose 3% after its CEO, Elon Musk, said it signed adeal with Samsung Electronics that couldbeworth more than$16.5 billion to providechips for the electric-vehicle company.Samsung’sstock in South Korea jumped 6.8%.

Other companies in the chip and artificial-intelligenceindustries were strong, continuing their run from last week after Alphabet said it wasincreasing itsspendingonAI chips and other investments to $85 billion this year.Chipcompany AdvancedMicro Devices rose4.3%, and server-maker Super Micro Computer climbed 10.2%

But an 8.3% drop forRevvity helped to keep the market in check.The companyinthe life sciencesand diagnostics businesses reported astronger proﬁt for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected, but its forecast for full-yearproﬁt disappointed analysts.

Russian airline victim of cyberattack

Acyberattack on Russian airline Aeroflot has causeda major outage, leading to more than 100 flight cancellations and delays.

On Monday,Russia’s prosecutor’sofﬁce conﬁrmed the incident. Ukrainian hacker group SilentCrow and Belarusian group Belarus Cyber-Partisans claimed responsibility.The attack is one of the most disruptive since Russia’sinvasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Images showed crowded scenes at Moscow’sSheremetyevo airport. Most affected ﬂights were domestic,but some internationalﬂightswerealso canceled.

Silent Crow claims to have accessed Aeroﬂot’snetwork for a year,copying sensitive data. Russia has opened acriminal investigation.

Tariffs threaten Asian beauty product boom

South Korea is one ofthe countries that hopes to secure atrade deal beforethe Aug. 1 datePresidentDonald Trump setfor enforcingnation-speciﬁc tariffs. Anot-insigniﬁcant sliceofthe U.S. populationhas skin in thegamewhen it comes to Seoul avoiding a25% dutyon its exports.

Asian skin care has been a booming global business for a more than adecade, with consumers in Europe,North and South America, and increasingly the Middle East, snapping up creams, serums and balms from South Korea, Japan and China

In the United States and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or K-beauty for short, have dominated the trend. Acraze for all-in-one “BB creams” acombination of moisturizer, foundation and sunscreen morphed into afascinationwith 10-step rituals and ingredients like snail mucin, heartleaf and rice water. Vehicles and electronics may be South Korea’stop exportsto the U.S. by value, but the countryshipped more skincare andcosmetics to the U.S. than any other last year,according to data from market research company Euromonitor.France, with storied beauty brandslike L’Oreal and Chanel, wassecond, Euromonitorsaid.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

U.S.-EUtrade deal wards offescalation

BY DAVID MCHUGH, SAMMCNEIL and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

FRANKFURT,Germany— U.S. President DonaldTrump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15%tariffsonmost European goods, warding off Trump’sthreat of a30% rate if no deal had been reached by Aug. 1. The tariffs, or import taxes, paid when Americans buyEuropean productscouldraise prices for U.S. consumers and dent profits for European companies and their

partners whobring goods intothe country Trump andvon derLeyen’s announcement,made during Trump’s visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, leaves many crucial details to be ﬁlled in.

The headline ﬁgure is a15% tariff rate on about 70% of European goodsbrought intothe U.S., including cars, computer chips and pharmaceuticals. It’slower than the 20%thatTrump initiallyproposed, andlower than his threats of 50% and then 30%. The remaining 30% of goods are stillopen to further decisions and negotiations.

Vonder Leyensaidthatthe two sidesagreed on zero tariffs on both sides for arange of “strategic” goods: Aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, semicon-

ductor equipment, certain agricultural productsand some natural resources andcritical raw materials. Speciﬁcs were lacking. Shesaidthat thetwo sides “would keep working” to add more productstothe list. Additionally,companies in the European Union would purchase what Trump said was $750 billion worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel over three years to replace Russianenergy supplies that Europe is seeking to exit anyway Meanwhile,European companieswould invest an additional $600 billion in the U.S. under a politicalcommitment that isn’tlegally binding, ofﬁcials said. Brussels and Washington will shortly issueajoint statementthat frames the deal but isn’tyet le-

gallybinding,according to senior ofﬁcials whoweren’tauthorized to be publicly named, according to European Commission policy

The joint statement will have “somevery precise commitments andotherswhich will need to be spelledout in different ways,” a senior European Commission ofﬁcial said.

EU officialssaidthat the zero tarifflistcould include nuts, pet food, dairy products and seafood. Trump said that the 50% U.S. tariff on imported steel would remain. Vonder Leyen said that the two sides agreed to further negotiations to ﬁght aglobal steel glut, reduce tariffs and establish import quotas—thatis, setamountsthat can be imported, often at alower rate or tariff-free.

Creating

BY DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON— The phone rings. It’sthe secretary of state calling. Or is it?

ForWashington insiders, seeing and hearingisnolonger believing, thanks to aspate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonatingtop ofﬁcials in President Donald Trump’sadministration.

Digital fakes are coming for corporate America, too, as criminal gangsand hackersassociated withadversaries including North Korea use synthetic video and audio to impersonate CEOs andlow-level jobcandidatestogain access to critical systems or business secrets

Thanks to advancesinartificialintelligence,creating realistic deepfakes is easier than ever,causing security problems for governments, businesses andprivateindividuals and making trust the most valuable currency of thedigital age.

Responding to the challenge will require laws,betterdigital literacy andtechnical solutions that ﬁght AI with moreAI.

“As humans, we are remarkably susceptible to deception,” saidVijay Balasubramaniyan, CEOand founderofthe tech ﬁrm Pindrop Security

But hebelievessolutionstothe challenge of deepfakes may be within reach: “Weare going to ﬁght back.”

This summer,someone used AI to createa

deepfake of Secretary of StateMarco Rubio in an attempt to reach out to foreign ministers, aU.S. senator andagovernor over text, voice mail andthe Signal messaging app. In May,someone impersonated Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

Another phony Rubio had popped up in a deepfake earlier this year,saying he wanted to cutoff Ukraine’saccesstoElonMusk’s Starlink internet service. Ukraine’sgovernmentlater rebutted thefalse claim.

Thenationalsecurityimplications are huge: People who think they’re chatting with Rubio or Wiles, for instance, might discuss sensitive information about diplomaticnegotiationsormilitary strategy

“You’re either trying to extract sensitive secrets or competitive information or you’re going after access, to an email server or other sensitive network,” Kinny Chan, CEO of the cybersecurity ﬁrm QiD, saidofthe possible motivations.

Synthetic media can alsoaim to alter behavior.Last year,Democratic voters in New Hampshire received arobocall urgingthem nottovoteinthe state’supcomingprimary The voice on thecall sounded suspiciously likethen-President Joe Biden butwas actually created using AI. Their ability to deceive makes AI deepfakes apotent weapon for foreign actors. Both Russiaand China have useddisinformation andpropaganda directed at Americans as away of undermining trust in democratic alliances and institutions. Steven Kramer,the politicalconsultant whoadmittedsending thefake Bidenrobocalls, said he wanted to send amessage of thedangers deepfakes pose to theAmerican

political system.Kramer was acquitted last month of charges of voter suppression and impersonating acandidate.

“I did whatIdid for $500,” Kramer said. “Can you imagine what would happen if the Chinese government decided to do this?”

The greater availability and sophistication of the programsmean deepfakes are increasingly usedfor corporate espionage and garden-variety fraud.

“The financial industry is right in the crosshairs,” said Jennifer Ewbank, aformer deputy director of the CIAwho worked on cybersecurity and digital threats. “Even individuals whoknow each other have been convinced to transfer vast sumsofmoney.”

In thecontextofcorporate espionage,they can be usedtoimpersonate CEOsasking employeestohandoverpasswords or routing numbers.

Deepfakes can also allow scammerstoapply forjobs —and even do them —under an assumed or fake identity.For somethis is away to access sensitivenetworks, to steal secrets or to install ransomware.Others just want thework and may be working a fewsimilarjobsatdifferent companiesat the sametime.

Authorities in the U.S. have said that thousands of North Koreans with information technology skills have been dispatched to live abroad, using stolen identities to obtain jobs at tech ﬁrmsinthe U.S. and elsewhere. Theworkers getaccess to companynetworks as well as apaycheck. In somecases, the workers install ransomware that can be later used to extort even moremoney

Theschemes have generated billionsof dollars forthe North Korean government.

BY TIMOTHYBOONE Staff writer

Venture Global haswrapped up financing and made afinalinvestment decisionfor itssecond liquefied natural gasfacilityin CameronParish. The company said it closed on $15.1 billion in financing for Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, from leading banks in the U.S., Europe and Asia such as Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, J.P.Morgan, Bar-

clays and Mizuho.

“Thisproject,fully ownedby Venture Global and our shareholders, is expected to deliver reliable AmericanLNG to the world beginning in 2027,” Mike Sabel, Venture Global CEO, said in astatement. Lastmonth, Venture Global startedconstruction on CP2. The facility is expected to employ around 400 direct, permanent workers and approximately 7,500 temporary construction workers.

Venture Global said it has purchaseagreementswithcompanies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and China Gas forthe LNGproduced at the plant. The LNGexport business has beenboominginLouisiana since at least 2010, when Cheniere Energy ﬁrstapplied to ship the fuel from itsthen-planned Sabine Pass terminalinsouthwest Louisiana Three other LNG terminals have opened in thestate sincethen, most recently Venture Global’s

Plaquemines LNG, whichstarted production in December.Venture Global announcedplans in March foran$18 billionexpansionof Plaquemines LNG, which would make it the largest exporter in North America. In April, Woodside Energy made aﬁnal investment decision to go ahead with the Louisiana LNG production andexportfacilityin Calcasieu Parish.The $17.5 billion facilityisexpected to start production in 2029

ASSOCIATED

Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire

BY EILEEN NG, JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia Thailand and Cambodia agreed Monday to an unconditional ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia, in a signiﬁcant breakthrough to resolve ﬁve days of deadly border clashes that have killed dozens and displaced tens of thousands.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai agreed to a halt in fighting, starting at midnight, while appearing with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a meeting held under U.S. pressure in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya. The Cambodian and Thai leaders hailed the meeting’s outcome and shook hands at the end of a brief news conference.

An Associated Press journalist in Cambodia reporting from close to the border with Thailand where artillery duels had been taking place said the sounds of shelling stopped about 10 minutes before the ceaseﬁre came into effect. Reports from other fronts in the fighting were not immediately available

The ﬁghting began Thursday after a land mine explo-

sion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes, that have killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides.

Anwar, who hosted the talks as annual chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, said both sides have reached a common understanding to take steps to return to normalcy following what he called frank discussions.

“This is a vital ﬁrst step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security,” Anwar said.

The Malaysian meeting followed direct pressure from President Donald Trump, who warned that the U.S might not proceed with trade deals with either country if hostilities continue, giving both sides a face-saving justification for backing away from the fighting In a statement later Monday on social media, Trump said the two sides had “reached a CEASEFIRE and PEACE... I am proud to be the President of PEACE!”

As part of the ceasefire deal, military commanders from both sides will hold talks Tuesday to defuse tensions while Cambodia will host a border committee meeting on Aug 4. Anwar said. The foreign and de-

fense ministers of Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand have also been instructed to “develop a detailed mechanism” to implement and monitor the ceaseﬁre to ensure sustained peace, he added.

Hun Manet said he hoped that bilateral ties could return to normal soon so that almost 300,000 villagers evacuated on both sides could return home. It is “time to start rebuilding trust, confidence and cooperation going forward between Thailand and Cambodia,” he said.

Phumtham said the outcome reflected “Thailand’s desire for a peaceful resolution.”

The joint statement on the agreement said that the United States was a co-organizer of the talks, with participation from China. The Chinese and American ambassadors to Malaysia attended the meeting that lasted over two hours.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was involved in arranging the meeting, applauded the ceaseﬁre declaration. Rubio said he and Trump “are committed to an immediate cessation of violence and expect the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conﬂict.”

Turkey faces ‘risky week’ for wildfires

Flames also scorch parts of southeast Europe

BY ANDREW WILKS Associated Press

ISTANBUL Turkey faced a “very risky week” for wildfires, an official said Monday, as blazes across parts of southeast Europe and the Balkans damaged homes and led to a huge firefighting operation that included evacuations. Nearly 100 people face prosecution over the fires in Turkey Blazes erupted near Bursa, Turkey’s fourth-largest city over the weekend.

A wildﬁre to the northeast of Bursa had been largely extinguished, but one to the south of the city continued, although its intensity had been “signiﬁcantly reduced,” Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters in Ankara.

He also said that a ﬁre that has been burning for six days in Karabuk, in northwest Turkey had also “been reduced in intensity,” and a blaze in Karamanmaras in the south had largely been brought under control.

A wildfire also erupted Monday in forests outside the western port city of Izmir, where 11 aircraft were helping ground-based fire units and residents battle the blaze.

“We are in a very risky week,” Yumakli said of the wildﬁres.

In Greece, firefighters raced to tackle a wildfire that broke out Monday near a university campus close to the center of Athens.

Water-dropping planes and helicopters buzzed over the city center as they headed to the wildﬁre near the National Technical University of Athens, located in foothills ringing the Greek capital. In all, 11 planes and eight helicopters were reinforcing 110 firefighters on the

ground, the ﬁre department said. Police announced road closures in the area, including to the only highway that circles the city.

A waning ﬁre on the island of Kythera, which lies south of the Peloponnese, was reinvigorated by strong winds. Over the weekend, the blaze burned through around 10% of the small island’s land mass, triggering the evacuation of several villages.

A Turkish firefighting team of 22 personnel and five vehicles crossed the northern border Monday to assist Bulgarian crews fight a large fire near the village of Lesovo, which was evacuated. The blaze was one of hundreds across Bulgaria, the most severe of which was near the southwestern village of Strumyani The Interior Ministry described the fire as “extremely large” and “widespread,” leading to 200 firefighters being withdrawn because of the effects of high winds on the fire.

Houthis threaten to escalate ship attacks

By The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they will target merchant ships belonging to any company that does business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality, as part of what they say is a new phase of their operations against Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis launched a campaign targeting ships in response to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, saying they were doing so in solidarity with the Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passes each year. In an announcement late Sunday night, the Houthis said they had “decided to escalate their military support operations and begin implementing the fourth phase of the naval blockade” against Israel. They warned that they

would target “all ships belonging to any company that deals with the ports of the Israeli enemy, regardless of the nationality of that company, and in any location within the reach of our armed forces.” The vessels would be targeted regardless of their destination, they added.

The group said countries should pressure Israel to stop the war in Gaza and lift its blockade on the Palestinian territory “if they want to avoid this escalation.”

Two Israeli groups say Israel committing genocide in Gaza

BY SAM MEDNICK Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel Two prominent Israeli rights groups on Monday said their country is committing genocide in Gaza, the ﬁrst time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations against Israel during nearly 22 months of war

The claims by B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel add to an explosive debate over whether Israel’s military offensive in Gaza — launched in response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage — amounts to genocide.

The Palestinians, their supporters and international human rights groups make that claim, and the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case ﬁled by South Africa against Israel.

But in Israel, founded in the wake of the Holocaust, even the government’s strongest critics have largely refrained from making such accusations due to the deep sensitivities and strong

memories of the Nazi genocide of Europe’s Jews. Many in Israel also view the war in Gaza as a justiﬁed response to the deadliest attack in the country’s history and not an attempt at extermination.

The rights groups, while prominent and respected internationally, are considered in Israel to be on the political fringe, and their views are not representative of the vast majority of Israelis. But having the allegation of genocide come from Israeli voices shatters a taboo in a society that has been reticent to criticize Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Guy Shalev, director of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said the Jewish-Israeli public often dismisses accusations of genocide as antisemitic or biased against Israel.

“Perhaps human rights groups based in Israel coming to this conclusion is a way to confront that accusation and get people to acknowledge the reality,” he said.

Israel asserts that it is ﬁghting an existential war and abides by international law It has rejected genocide

Lawyers: ‘Alligator

allegations as antisemitic.

It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s allegations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant committed war crimes in Gaza. Both face international arrest warrants.

Israel’s government on Monday said it rejects what it called an “obscene” and “politically motivated document.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the AP that the accusation is baseless and only emboldens Hamas. It said Israel only targets Hamas and not civilians.

The rights groups, in separate reports released jointly, said Israel’s policies in Gaza, statements by senior ofﬁcials about its goals there and the systematic dismantling of the territory’s health system contributed to their conclusion of genocide. Their claims echoed those of previous reports from international rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Alcatraz’ detainees held without charges, barred from legal access

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

Civil rights lawyers seeking a temporary restraining order against an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades say that “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been barred from meeting attorneys, are being held without any charges and that a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings.

The immigration at-

torneys argued Monday during a virtual hearing that the detainees’ constitutional rights were being violated and that 100 detainees already had been deported from “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been told that the immigration court doesn’t have jurisdiction over their clients, and the civil rights attorneys demanded that federal and state ofﬁcials

identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees so it can start accepting petitions for bond.

“This is an emergency situation,” Eunice Cho, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, said during the hearing in federal court in Miami. “Ofﬁcers at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ are going around trying to force people to sign deportation orders without the ability to speak to counsel.”

PRESS PHOTO By MOHD RASFAN

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet, left, and Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, right, shake hands Monday as Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim gestures after talks on a possible ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

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LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Paddling ‘forest primeval’

As Henry W. Longfellowsaid, “This is the forest primeval.”

Those words have stuck with me since Imemorized part of “Evangeline”inninth grade, but they’ve rung truer since Iﬁrst paddled through one of Acadiana’sancient cypress forests.

In late fall, winter and spring, canoeing on St. Martin Parish’s Lake Martin is one of my favorite things to do. Last week, against my better judgment, the forest primeval was calling.David D’Aquin, an old friend, was visiting, and Iconvinced him to join me on the adventure despitethe Julytemps

We met at Lake Martin at 10:15 a.m. It was already warm, but we set out in ared canoe. Most friends prefer kayaks, but I’m an old-school canoe girl. We rented one from Champagne’son Lake Martin —$20 per person, per hour,with alicenseheld as deposit.

We paddled from the dock straight into the cypress forest

Once there, we glided in asilence

ä See RISHER, page 2B

Manfaces federal indictment in killings

Callihan accusedin deadly kidnapping case from June 2024

BY BOBWARREN Staff writer

Just days before his trialwas to begin in federal court in New Orleans, prosecutors filed anew indictment against Daniel Callihan, who is accused of abrutal Tangipahoa Parish murder-kidnapping that shocked the northshore in the summer of 2024.

The superseding indictment, ﬁled into the court record Friday,camea day after U.S. District Judge Lance Africk agreed to aprosecution motion to continueCallihan’s trial, which had been scheduled to start on Monday

The new indictment includes the same charges against Callihan kidnapping resulting in deathand transporting aminoracross state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity —but comes from agrand jury.Callihan had previously been charged in abill of information from the U.S. government.

MunicipalIDprogram set

Documents may be used to get city-issuedcards

BY DESIREESTENNETT Staff writer

New Orleanians may soon submit birth certiﬁcates, passports and other documentstoget a city-issued ID, under amunicipal program designed to help immigrants, homelesspeople and others who struggle to obtain identiﬁcation

Those documents are afew of thedozens of ways residents can qualify for the Crescent City ID program, according to program rules, which Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s Office of HumanRights and Equity submitted to City Council membersearlier this month

Therules answermany pending questions about an initiative Cantrell andCity Council Vice President Helena Moreno have championed as an aid to immigrant andother vulnerablepopulations. The new cards are also expected to cater to LGBTQ+ people, whocan select cardsthat list theirpreferred gender and name, along withtheir legal name. While those populations are the focusofthe program, city officials have also stressedthat the cards are available to all-comers, even those whoalready havestate IDs.The cards will grantaccess to publiclibraries andcityrecreation facilities, for example, and unlock discountsfor recipients at certain businesses.

The ﬁrst residentscan apply for aCrescentCityIDcard on Sept. 6, at the Treme NORD Recreation Center on Villere Streetfrom

Permit issues mayclose restaurant

PlumeAlgiers owners owe$4,800in fines

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

An onerouscitylicensing procedure is tripping up small businesses with big ﬁnes,business owners complainedata City Hall hearing on Monday

Among themorethan two dozen New Orleans businesses facing fines over delinquent local liquorlicense renewalsthis week were many prominent names, from theInternational House Hotel to the Zulu Social Aid &Pleasure Club.Bothofthose agreed to paythe city $2,600 to settle.

Butthen there was Plume Algiers, a tiny Indian restaurant in Algiers, whose husband-and-wife owners say that paying the $4,800 in ﬁnesbefore them will put them out of business.

“We’re struggling, andincurring something like this would destroy us,” said MerrittCoscia, who with her husband Tyler Stuart startedthe restaurant as apop-upbefore opening on Teche Streetin2000.

Their plighthas drawn vocal community support. It has also spurred other small-business operators to callfor changestohow thecityhandlesliquor licenserenewals, criticizing the process as onerous and the ﬁnes for lapses excessive.

Plume Algiers’ operatorsappeared MondayinCity Hall at asales tax hearing from the New Orleans Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

ANew Orleans real estate de-

veloper has been charged with one count of racketeering and four counts of criminal blight, accused of allowingmultiple properties to deteriorate into hazardous and uninhabitable conditions. OrleansParish DistrictAttor-

That meetingdrew numerousAlgiers neighbors andcustomers who praised the restaurant and pleaded with hearing ofﬁcer Mollie Ponds for leniency to save it.Atone point, theturnout for thesenormally sparsely attended meetings prompted Ponds to ask if everyone was sure they were in the right place.

Coscia said that during theannual renewal of their restaurant’sstate liquor license in Mayshe andStuart were shocked to discover theseparate city permit wastwo years delinquent. She said the only notice they received from thecitywas via email, to an address they had ﬁled with the city but no longer routinely use.

neyJason Williams announced the chargesagainst developer EdwardNeal Morris III, who ownsdozensofproperties across New Orleans, at anewsconference Monday,calling it a“historic step forwardfor public safety and neighborhood preservation.”

Assistant City Attorney Jasmine Bandy pointed out that expiration dates are marked on permits, and that it is the responsibility of permit holders to keep them current.

The charges mark anew strategyinNew Orleans’ attempts to hold landlords accountable for neglected properties, Williamssaid. It follows achange in state law that makes it easier forprosecutors to charge property owners with criminal blight andalso addedthe wrongdoing to the list of crimes that can be considered racketeering activity

The indictment, returnedby agrand jury earlier this month, accuses Morris of running a criminal enterprisethatallowed his propertiestofallintodisrepair and failed to remedy conditions that posed adanger to public health and safety.Itnames twodozen properties that Morris owned through limitedliability companiesthatfaced repeated code violations.

STAFF PHOTO By IAN McNULTy

The operators of Plume Algiers restaurant address ahearing of the NewOrleans Alcoholic BeverageControl Board over itsliquor license as others waittospeak on their behalf at CityHall on Monday.

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER NewOrleans MayorLaToyaCantrell, fromleft, is joined by Kahlida Lloyd, of the Mayor’sOffice of Human Rights and Equity; Daisy Reyes-Cabral, Crescent City ID program manager;and Shakira Cruz-Gonzalez, an equity and inclusion program manager,for the Mondayunveiling of the ID design at Gallier Hall ä See PROGRAM, page 2B

CHARGED

Continued from page 1B

“This case is about people who use a patchwork of corporate entities to shield themselves from accountability,” Williams said. “Through this ﬁligree of companies and LLCs, Morris allowed dozens of properties across New Orleans to deteriorate to the point of legally being declared public nuisances.” Williams described the properties as crime magnets and health hazards. He said families living next to the houses had to endure rats, mold and collapsing walls.

PROGRAM

Continued from page 1B

a.m. to 2 p.m. Those who bring the needed documents will get their IDs on the spot, city ofﬁcials said Monday at an event to announce the details of the program

“Making sure that the city is as welcoming as possible, and having the ability to meet our people where they are, regardless of where they come from, regardless of who they are and who they love — that was a priority,” Cantrell said at the event at Gallier Hall.

The mayor vowed that the program will continue even after her term ends in January.

When the council signed off on the program last year, New Orleans joined some 42 cities across the country with similar cards, according to research by local nonproﬁt Our Voice Nuestra Voz, which supported the program.

“It’s taken some years but we’re really excited that the municipal ID is here and that folks will now have access to a safe and inclusive way of being able to identify themselves,” said Mary Moran, the group’s executive director

“I truly do know that when you center the most vulnerable, you support everybody else.”

How to get a Crescent City ID

To obtain a card, applicants will have to submit documents that prove their identity and residency

To prove their identity, applicants may submit a single docu-

PERMIT

Continued from page 1B

Tara Francolini, owner of Francolini’s Italian Deli on Tchoupitoulas Street, attended the hearing in support of Plume Algiers and said the city should do more to help businesses stay in compliance.

“I think what’s being missed is, as a small business, the sheer number of things we need to keep track of,” from the city, Francolini said. “There’s no one place for a small business to go and ﬁgure it all out.”

The specialty wine and spirits shop Keife & Co. resolved its own 12-month delinquent liquor license with a consent judgment of $2,400. But owner John Keife also spoke out at the meeting on the need for change.

Continued from page 1B

that’s hard to ﬁnd when we aren’t surrounded by towering, knobbykneed cypress. The forest didn’t feel as full as it once did, but it was still majestic David and I are both talkers, but the beauty there is so overwhelming that, without a word, we both chose to be quiet and take it in. Remarkably, in the cypress forest, the temperature wasn’t so bad.

‘Perpetual summer’

As we quietly paddled through the trees, I tried to remember Longfellow’s lines I had memorized long ago — words on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring them to mind.

I looked them up — and was surprised how well they ﬁt a steamy July morning.

“Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight, Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic They were approaching the region where reigns perpetual summer Over their heads the towering and tenebrous boughs of the cypress Met in a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in midair

At least one property was used a hiding place for one of inmates that escaped from the jail, Williams said Among Morris’ properties, the city of New Orleans had certified four as blighted, forming the basis for the four criminal blight charges. Those included: 1609 S. Liberty St., 8830-8834 Hickory St., 1909 Eagle St and 1821 Hamilton St. Morris couldn’t be reached for a comment. According to public records, he’s due for arraignment on Aug 18.

Law change

At Monday’s news conference, Williams lauded New Or-

ment, such as a U.S. or foreign-issued passport, a driver’s license, or 21 other forms of ID that include the applicants’ name, date of birth and photo.

If someone can’t produce an acceptable document with all three pieces of information, they may submit two documents — one with their name and date of birth, and another with their name and photo.

That could include a U.S. or foreign-issued birth certiﬁcate, prison release paperwork, a health insurance card with date of birth included, a U.S. or foreign student ID, or a letter of care written by an approved community organization that certiﬁes the applicant’s name and date of birth. Approved organizations include religious organizations, shelters and others the city deems appropriate.

Applicants will also have to separately prove that they live in New Orleans. They will only need to submit one document to do so, such as a rental lease, voter registration card or utility bill. Children may also obtain IDs, but parents will need to apply on their behalf, according to the program rules.

A full list of acceptable documents is available online at NOLA.gov City ofﬁcials ﬁnalized the rules after holding multiple focus groups, surveys and city meetings, ID program manager Daisy Reyes-Cabral said.

The program launch announcement comes just over one month after the city of Chicago paused online applications for a similar municipal ID program after officials with the U.S. Immigra-

“I think the process clearly needs to be reformed,” Keife said.

“One email is not sufﬁcient for us.

None of us want to be here.”

Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration didn’t immediately respond late Monday to additional questions about how the city contacts permit holders for renewal.

Fines in hard times

The issue of city ﬁnes on businesses arises as many are struggling with higher costs, from insurance to taxes. A slew of highproﬁle local restaurant closures has underscored the hardships for this sector in particular

Another business operator cited for a lapsed license, Mike Serio, of the downtown restaurant Serio’s Po-boys, said he felt blindsided by the ﬁnes and that the city’s email renewal notice wasn’t enough.

“We’ve been in business 67

leans Democratic state Rep. Mandie Landry for championing legislation in 2023 that gave prosecutors the tools to ﬁle the charges. “For generations, public safety agencies, code enforcement officers, city departments and neighborhood residents have struggled with the toxic impact of blighted and abandoned properties,” Williams said. “And for far too long, the law simply lacked the meaningful tools to respond effectively.”

Under the previous state law, property owners could be charged with “criminal blighting of property” only after the property was certified as

tion and Customs Enforcement subpoenaed its records. Though the New Orleans program is expected to serve a wide range of people, Kahlida Lloyd, the city’s human rights director, said her ofﬁce will keep as little information as possible to safeguard anyone who uses the program.

“The way we’re going to do it here in the city is that we will not store anyone’s data,” Lloyd said. “So any part of the application or any paperwork that they give us, we will return that back to them.”

The city will, however, keep information on people’s age, ZIP codes, ID card numbers and ID issue and expiration dates. Residents can opt into letting the city keep additional information, if they want to avoid having to resubmit identifying documents when it’s time to renew their IDs. How to use the IDs

The cards will be small enough to ﬁt in a wallet, and free to any eligible city resident who requests them. They would be accepted as valid identiﬁcation by all city agencies and will double as a library card. It’s unclear how widely the cards will be accepted for purposes outside of accessing city services. The IDs cannot be used to register to vote, though they can be used to cast a ballot if the cardholder is already registered to vote with another valid form of ID

City ofﬁcials say the cards will not grant driving privileges or replace a state ID. They cannot be used to travel, access federal buildings, purchase alcohol or

years, and business is tanking since the pandemic, expenses are through the roof, and revenue is through the floor, we’re barely hanging on,” Serio said.

“To jeopardize a business over this foolishness isn’t right. I need a break.”

Serio got one, with the hearing ofﬁcer cutting the ﬁne by half to $2,400 and doubling to 60 days the time to pay it.

Also facing similar ﬁnes at this meeting alone were long-running restaurants and bars including the Gumbo Shop, Vincent’s Italian Cuisine and the Delachaise, and institutions including the New Orleans Jazz Market, the Autocrat Club, the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club and the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute.

They either agreed to a settlement in ﬁnes, sometimes reduced,

Waved like banners that hang on the walls of ancient cathedrals. Deathlike the silence seemed, and unbroken, save by the herons Home to their roosts. …” Gliding through the water, I realized Longfellow did a pretty good job of capturing Louisiana. He wrote the poem in 1847. Apparently, Longfellow never came to Louisiana. According to Maria Hebert-Leiter’s “Becoming Cajun, Becoming American: The Acadian in American Literature

from Longfellow to James Lee Burke,” the poet relied on “William Darby’s Geographical Description of the State of Louisiana” to provide insight to the ﬂora and fauna of the Bayou State. On Jan. 7, 1847, Longfellow journaled: “Went to the library and got Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia, and the Historical Collections of Pennsylvania. Also, Darby’s Geographical Description of Louisiana. These books must help me through the last

blighted by the city and any potential appeals were resolved. State law deﬁnes blighted properties as those that are vacant, uninhabitable and hazardous because of their physical condition. The new law allowed criminal charges to be filed even if the administrative process of declaring a property blighted is not fully resolved. It also included the blight charge in the list of crimes that can be considered racketeering activity, which carries far greater penalties and jail time.

Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate.com.

tobacco or enter bars or casinos.

At minimum, the cards will display the cardholder’s legal name, birth date and photo, and have issue and expiration dates, just as state IDs do.

Still unclear is how often each issued card would need to be renewed. Cardholders will also have the option to include on the card an alternative name, their address and information about any disabilities they have.

To increase sign-ups, the Regional Transit Authority will offer temporary discounts to cardholders from Sept. 6 through Sept. 30, offering 40-cent rides on buses and streetcars, 80cent day passes and $1 ferry rides.

Natalie Rupp, executive director of the Trans Income Project, said the IDs are a win for LGBTQ+ people, as cardholders will have the option of including a self-designating gender marker that is not dependent on the gender marked on their birth certiﬁcate.

Rupp’s organization worked with city officials to establish three gender markers. They include M for males, F for females and an X for anyone who does not identify as male or female

“That could be if you’re nonbinary, gender nonconforming, gender ﬂuid or gender expansive in any way,” she said. “This allows people to more accurately reﬂect themselves on their ID.”

Email Desiree Stennett at desiree.stennett@theadvocate. com.

or had their cases continued to a future meeting of the board.

The exception was Plume Algiers, whose owners asked the hearing officer to waive its fines altogether. With slow summer business and costly expenses, Coscia said the fines would kill the restaurant.

Ponds did not waive the ﬁnes, and instead continued the matter for the full board to consider at its Aug. 15 meeting. She urged the restaurant operators to contact their City Council member, Freddie King III.

Stewart said they would try to keep Plume Algiers open until the next hearing. Since the issue came up this spring, the restaurant has invited customers to bring their own alcohol.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

part of Evangeline, so far as facts and local coloring go. But for the form and the poetry — they must come from my own brain.”

Minutes after passing through the ﬁrst “grand cathedral” of cypress, D’Aquin and I ﬂoated by a giant egret — nearly eye to eye. Unbothered by our presence, the elegant white bird stood still, waiting for us to pass before resuming its hunt.

“This is so pretty,” D’Aquin said. “Now, I see why people like to do this.”

We paddled across a clearing to a tree with a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sign saying the area beyond was restricted: “No boat entry: Feb. 15 to July 31.”

I was glad to see the sign and hopeful it could protect the rookery area. As we turned back, I told my friend about my ﬁrst spring in Louisiana in 2002 about how I had come out to Lake Martin that March and had seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of roseate spoonbills roosting. They returned each spring for the ﬁrst several years we lived in Louisiana. Then, around 2006, something happened and they stopped coming for a number of years. I understand that they’ve returned in smaller numbers in recent years, but they’re still not there like they used to be. All the birding talk reminded

INDICTMENT

Continued from page 1B

Callihan is set to be rearraigned and enter a plea on the superseding indictment on Aug. 6.

Callihan is accused of killing 35-year-old Callie Brunett and her 4-year-old daughter, Erin, who authorities say he kidnapped along with her 6-year-old sister The child’s body was found near Jackson, Mississippi, where Callihan was apprehended after a manhunt. The older daughter survived and was found near where Callihan was caught.

Brunett’s body was found inside her home in Tangipahoa Parish’s Loranger community on June 13, 2024. She had been stabbed multiple times, investigators have said.

The missing girls sparked a massive search and intense media coverage across Louisiana and into Mississippi. Authorities issued an Amber Alert in their quest to locate the missing girls.

At the time of his arrest Callihan told TV reporters that he had killed Brunett and her daughter Callihan’s attorney, Kerry Cuccia, declined to comment Monday on the superseding indictment or any plea that Callihan might enter at his arraignment

The superseding indictment does include a “notice of special findings,” which outlines several allegations, including that Callihan intentionally killed Brunett and her 4-year-old daughter and that the crimes happened after “substantial planning and premeditation.”

Asked about the superseding indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Ofﬁce in an email would only say “Our ofﬁce has no comment beyond the language of the superseding indictment itself.”

In a motion ﬁled in federal court Thursday seeking to continue Callihan’s trial, prosecutors told Africk that they and Callihan had been in talks regarding a possible plea.

“The Government and the defendant have concluded discussions regarding a resolution of this matter without the necessity of a criminal trial,” the prosecution’s motion states, adding that “due to the complex, multi-jurisdictional nature of the matter,” an extension not to exceed 30 days was needed.

The prosecution motion says Callihan’s legal counsel did not oppose the request for a continuance.

Callihan faces numerous state and federal charges in Louisiana and Mississippi, including ﬁrst-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery Victoria Cox, who authorities identified as an accomplice, was arrested along with Callihan and also faces murder and kidnapping charges in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Federal prosecutors have not said publicly if they intend to seek the death penalty. However, the district attorney in Louisiana bringing the state charges, Scott Perrilloux of the 21st Judicial District, has said his ofﬁce would pursue the death penalty.

The multijurisdictional nature of the charges against Callihan and Cox both face state and federal charges — has also added a layer of complexity to the prosecutions, Perrilloux said in a recent interview

Perrilloux, whose district covers Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena parishes, has also said he thinks the ﬁrst trial for Callihan should be held in Tangipahoa Parish.

D’Aquin to tell me about his recent trip to Las Vegas.

“The strangest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, which apparently is common, but there was this woman who looked like a park ranger out by the pool,” he said. “She had on a leather glove. And I was like, ‘What is this lady doing?’ Then, I realized she also had a hawk. She kept releasing the hawk above the pool to chase away all the other birds.”

The hawk repeated the process time and again, returning to her gloved hand between rounds.

Our conversation wandered as we paddled back onto the dock. We were sweatier but lighter somehow I thought again of Longfellow’s “forest primeval” and wondered how he had gotten it so right, even from far away Some places speak for themselves. You just have to be still long enough to hear them.

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

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

David D’Aquin, of Atlanta, and Jan Risher canoe at Lake Martin in St. Martin Parish.

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Bordelon,Alvin

Isaac,Ammie

Lassiegne,Raymond

Pflueger,Lucille

Isaac,Ammie

Williams,Johanna

EJefferson

DW Rhodes

Isaac,Ammie

Greenwood LA Muhleisen

NewOrleans St Tammany

Grace Funeral

West Bank

Mothe

Obituaries

Alvin "Al" Joseph Bordelon, Jr., age 79, passed away peacefullyon July 27, 2025, surrounded byhis loving family. Born in New Orleans on November 1, 1945, Al led a life defined by intellectual curiosity, eloquence, and a lasting devotiontothose he loved.

Agraduate of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Al possessed abrilliant legal mind and spent the better partofhis life as adistinguished trial attorney. Known for his incisive reasoning and commanding courtroom presence, he earned the respect of peers, adversaries, and judges alike. He considered his career not merely aprofession, but apursuit of justice powered by intellect and integrity.

Al is survived by his wife, Melanie Bond Bordelon; his children, Emily Guidroz (Thomas), Peter Bordelon, Vicki Licciardi (Jimmy), and John Scott (Jennifer); histreasured grandchildren: Grace Guidroz,Beau Guidroz, Joshua Bordelon (Madysyn), James Licciardi (Sarah), Jake Licciardi (Tylar), Blake Scott, Emily Robert (Jeff), Amanda Borne, and Laura Beth Amason (Colin). Great grandchildren LynnLee Bordelon, Sloane Robert, Parrish Robert, Gianna Licciardi, and James Liccardi, V"Vinny" and sister Catherine Brauner (John). He is preceded in death by his parents, Al Bordelon, Sr., Mildred Quarrella Bordelon and beloved dog Goober.

ARenaissance man in the truest sense, Al was a lifelongstudent of literature, an elegant writer, and avoracious reader witha deep reverencefor language. He found solace in nature,fishing the waters of Lake Borgne withclose friends, exploring trails in Magee with his dog, or diving the reefs of Belizeasa master scuba instructor. He served in the Navy reserve as boatswain mate 3rd class and in the 3rd infantrydivision in West Germany Al willberemembered as aman of formidable intellect, thoughtful presence, and quiet strength. His conversations were rich with insight, and poetic turns of phrase, often shared over awell-made martini. His legacy endures in the hearts of his family, the lives he touched, and the words he left behind.

Acelebration of Al's life will be held with close loved ones to drink martinis, read poetry, listen to music, share stories, and remember alife beautifully lived. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Baton Rouge General's d i i h f h

On Monday,July21, 2025, Godwhispered in Ammie’sear,“Beloved, PurposeFulfilled! Come, receiveyourreward.” Ammiewas thefourth childborntothe late ManuelMcCrainey and Ruth Haynes McCraineyin Natchez, Mississippi. She attended theNatchezAdam’s schools andcom‐pleted 8thgrade.Many yearslater,she received herGED from Orleans Parish School System.At an earlyage sheprofessed herfaith in JesusChrist andwas baptizedatThe GroveAMECinher home‐town. Shehas served faith‐fully in thechurch,singing in thechoir,chair of the Beautification Ministry, andSteward Board. Throughout allofher Christianexperiences she grew in spiritualdevelop‐ment andleadanexem‐plarylifeofsacrifice,in‐tegrity, andfaith.She was unitedinholymatrimony to LeeIsaac,Jr. on March 12, 1949. This union was blessedwith five children They trainedup theirchil‐dren to servethe LORD and contribute to ourstate and nation as educators, labor‐ers, US LetterCarriers, and Petty Officer1st ClassUS Navy.Ammiefreelyac‐ceptedGod’s purposefor herlifeasa devoted “mother figure”to five ad‐ditional andbeloved chil‐dren in thecommunity Ammie’sprofessional ca‐reer spanned33years of serviceinthe oral health care province in NewOr‐leans, includingconstruct‐ingdentures, to dental chair-side assistant, and retiredfromLSU School of Dentistrywhere shewas a dispensary clerk. Shewas preceded in deathbyher husband LeeIsaac;par‐ents,Manueland Ruth Mc‐Crainey; brothers,Herbert McCrainey, Willie Mc‐Craney,William McCrainey and Alfred McCrainey; sis‐ter, GeorgiaProfice;grand‐son, DarnellHarris; and son-in-law,JasperDoakes. Herbeautiful life will for‐ever be cherishedinthe livesofher children:Cyn‐thia Isaac-Romar (Lionel) of Prairieville,LA, Hender‐sonIsaac andTonja IsaacDoakes of NewOrleans,LA, JohnelIsaac (Carmen) of Cordova, TN,and Derrick Isaac (Charlene) of San Diego, CA; five grandchil‐dren:Trenell Harris,Shanel Isaac (Jaiden),Emanuel Isaac,Sr. Of NewOrleans LA,DestineeIsaac of Port‐land,OR, DerrickIsaac,Jr. of SanDiego, CA,and MichellBuckley (Bobby) of Portsmith, VA;eight greatgrandchildren: KaylaGar‐ner, NiaWilson, Shamya Isaac,EmanuelIsaac,Jr., Da’Shawn Asbury,Da’Jah Asbury,JaheimGreene, andJadaGreene; twogreat, greatgrandchildren: AntonioIsaac andLotus Willis;sisterLeanna Morris of LosAngeles,CA; broth‐ersHueyMcCrainey (Dorothy)ofNatchez,MS, Jake McCrainey(Thelma) of Chicago, IL,ManuelMc‐Crainey(Thelma)ofNew Orleans, LA;and ahostof devotednieces, nephews, cousins, andfriends.Rela‐tivesand friendsofthe family areinvited to attend herFuneral ServiceatHis‐toricSt. JamesAME Church,222 N. Roman Street on Thursday,July31, 2025 at 10:00am. Visitation will beginat9:30am. Inter‐ment:Southeast LA Veter‐ansCemeteryonFriday, August 1, 2025 at 11:00 am ArrangementbyD.W Rhodes FuneralHome, 3933 Washington Avenue Please visitwww.rhodesf uneral.com to sign the guestbook

LassiegneJr. He wasthe grandson of thelateBer‐nice RodriguezLassiegne andHarveyLassiegne,Sr. andHermanCalliganand EsterLandryCalligan. He is survived by hisbonus mom, KarenQuirk Hebert Lassiegne. He is dearly lovedbyhis surviving brother, Howard Lassiegne (Shannon Bayhi),god‐daughter andniece Elyssa St.Germain (Jacob), niece Brianna Guthrie(Nick)and nieceKailynLassiegne (fiancé DevinBreaux) alongwitha host of family membersand friendswho will fondly remember him. He hasjoinedeternitywith hisfather-in-love, Patrick Cascio,and hisgrand‐mother-in-love,Catherine Lowery.Heissurvivedby hismother-in-love, Tammy Lowery Cascio,whomeach of them lovingly served as acaregiver during hisjour‐ney, offering supportand compassion in histimes of need.Heisthe brother-inlove of Talise Cascio and thecherished godparent of Cassidyand Cooper Car‐rick,childrenofJason and JameyDyer. Raywas are‐tiredSgt.ofSpecial Opera‐tions, Physical Training In‐structor,Narcotics Detec‐tive,partofthe multi-juris‐dictionaltaskforce with theGretnaPoliceDepart‐ment andwas an Instruc‐torand Graduate of Nine LivesAssociates which is a specialprogram created andprovidedbythe Execu‐tive Protection Institute. Rayalsoenjoyed bass fish‐ing, golf, travelingwithhis wife andstaying active througha lifestyleof fit‐ness,exercise, andnutri‐tiousliving. He wasalsoan instrumental andvital part of Experience ELLE Min‐istries. Tiffanyand Blaze wish to expresstheir heartfeltgratitude andaf‐fectiontoShannon Lassiegne, Elyssa St.Ger‐main,and Brianna Guthrie as well as Jaredand Victo‐riaDuhon, Jasonand JameyDyer, andRontunda Moranfor theirconsistent supportand dedicated caregiving.Wewould also like to extend ourdeepest appreciation to Alexandra Boadafor herconstant love andencouragement In lieu of flowers, Ray’s wishes arefor donationsto be made in hismemoryto Experience ELLE Ministries To donate,pleasevisit the websitewww.experienceE LLE.com andclicking the donate icon or emailing info@experienceelle.com, andother ways to donate are•Venmo: experienceELLE •Paypal: experi‐enceELLE •Cash/Checks maybemailedto3436 Magazine St.#248New Or‐leans, LA 70115. Family and friendsare welcometo honorRay’s life at West‐pointChurch,664 Behrman HwyinGretna, LA,on Thursday,July31, 2025. Vis‐itationwillbefromnoon to 1PM. ACelebration of Life servicewillbegin at 1PM with PastorsJared andVic‐toriaDuhonofficiating. In‐ternment will be held pri‐vately.Mothe Funerl Home is assistingthe familydur‐ingthisdifficult time.The familyinvites youtoshare thoughts,fondmemories andcondolences online at www.mothefunerals.com

Pﬂueger,

andher favorite holiday, Halloween Lu wasknown forher witty personality andquirkysayings.She lovedcollectingantiques anddecoratingher home andacquiredanimpres‐sive collection of crosses andnativities. Lu devoted herearly yearsasa mother to volunteeringfor CubScouts, Girl Scouts andMount Carmel theater. Lu wasa member of St John of theCross Catholic Church in Lacombe, and sheembracedthe commu‐nity as hersecondfamily. Sheattended dailymass andwas alector, Eucharis‐ticMinister, anda member of theLadiesGuild.Luis survived by herlovingchil‐dren,Michael Edward (Marissa)Pﬂueger, and KarenElizabeth (David) Stoehr;grandchildren, Sarah(Joey)Fox,Jacob (Emily)Stoehr, Emily(Will) Fink,Rachel(Joel)Bour‐geois, ZacharyStoehr, Claire Stoehr,and Olivia Stoehr;sister, Georgia Schaffner.Lualsoleaves behind to cherishher memory 10 greatgrand‐children,a niece, andthree nephews, anda host of friends. Lu’s familywould like to thankthe caregivers from St.Tammany Health System Hospice. In lieu of ﬂowers, donationsinher name to St.Johnofthe CrossCatholicChurch in Lacombeare appreciated. Visitation will be held from 9:30 am until 11:00amon Friday,August1,2025 at St John of theCross Catholic Church (61030 BrierLake Drive,Lacombe,LA).A Mass of ChristianBurial will be celebrated at 11:00 am on Friday,August1 2025 at St.Johnofthe CrossCatholicChurch GravesideServiceswillbe held at Greenwood Ceme‐tery in NewOrleans

JamesM.Rabalais, Jr passedawaypeacefully at hisresidence on Wednes‐day, July 23, 2025atthe age of 86. He wasprecededin deathbythe love of hislife andhis bridefor over 60 yearsJune BorgstedeRa‐balais.Jim andJune were

marriedonJuly2,1961. Shortlyafter,Jim was drafted into theUSArmy during theCuban Missile Crisis.The twowould spendthe next several yearsinAberdeen Mary‐land.Jim served as aMedic in theUSArmy. Jimand June were greatstory tellers.One storyJim told, waswhenhis monthly army paycheck wasnot availabledue to an error. Thetwo found themselves withoutfood,ormuch money. Jimgrowing up in Lakeview andJune in Buck‐town, took string and chickennecks andwent crabbing in theChesa‐peakeBay.After catching an abundanceofcrabs,the twomadeenoughcrab cakesto ﬁll theirfreezer Jimattended Warren East‐ernHighSchool where he wasforcedtoleave school during hisJunior year after hisfatherwas injuredina fallthatbroke hisback. Jim wasa greatdancerand al‐though he nowfound him‐self workingtosupport his parents, he nevermisseda school dance. Jimwas a skilledguitarplayer, play‐ingboththe Electric and Hawaiianslideguitar. Jim lovedmotorcycles and cars andraced throughout theyears.Jim andJune spentmanyweekends and vacationsatLeisure Land‐ing, aprivate community locatedinJellystonePark. So many memories were made there. Jimand June hosted Thanksgiving as well as many otherparties andspecial familyocca‐sionsuntil Junie'shealth declined.Theycherished theirfamily, theirchildren, grandchildrenand were elated to become great grandparents.Theyare deeply missed. They are survived by oneson Marty Rabalais (Sandy), one daughter JulieHastings, a soninlaw DeweyHastings, twogranddaughtersBrit‐tnyToca(Derek),Ashlyn Hastings (Tevin), twogreat grandsonsCameron Toca, Benjamin Toca onegreat granddaughterAlessandra June Toca,a nieceand Junie'sbestfriendCathy Amos (Robert) andmany niece's, nephewscousins andfriends.Jim is also pre‐cededindeath by hisfa‐ther JamesM.Rabalais, Sr., hismotherCelinaTaranto, asisterCelinaRabalais that passedawayshortly after birth, hiscousinEs‐telleTodaroand hisGod‐child BruceTaranto.Rela‐tivesand friendsare in‐vitedtoattend theVisita‐tion andFuneralService at L. A. Muhleisen& SonFu‐neralHome, 2607 Williams Blvd., Kenner on Thursday, July 31, 2025. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. followed by aFu‐neralService at 11:00 a.m. AGraveside Servicewillbe held on Friday,August1, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. at the

Rabalais Jr., James Williams,Johanna Kramer

Johanna Kramer Williams,age 97 of Destre‐han, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on Satur‐day, July 12, 2025, with fam‐ilybyher side.Johanna wasprecededindeath by herhusband of 69 years, George J. Williams Sr.Also precedingher in death were herfather, Ferdinand H. Kramer,her mother AgnesFreeseKramer, and hersister, Ruth Christie Shewillbedeeply missed by herfamily, friends, and allwho knew her. Johanna is survived by oneson George J. Williams Jr.(Jan‐ice),and threedaughters, Joan Hoover,PatriciaCow‐and(Charles),and Barbara Youngblood (John).Also survived by 9grandchil‐dren and17great-grand‐children.Johanna wasa re‐tiredAT&Tcustomerser‐vicesrepresentativeand a graduate of theMcDonogh High School System.The familywishestoexpressa sincerethankstothe staff at East JeffersonHospital CCU andthe staff at St Joseph Hospice. Family andfriends areinvited to attend amemorialservice at theGreenwood Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Thegathering will beginat12:00 noon,and theRosarywillberecited at 12:30 pm,followedby Mass at 1:00 pm.Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery.Wealsoinvite youto shareyour thoughts,fondmemories, andcondolences online at www.greenwoodfh.com Your shared memories will help us celebrateJo‐hanna’s life andkeep her memory alive.

Lassiegne,Raymond Joseph Raymond Joseph Lassiegne of NewOrleans, LA -January 13, 1968 to July 15, 2025 -wenthome to Heaven at theageof57. He is thecherished hus‐band of TiffanyCascio Lassiegne andthe father of Londyn Lynn andBlaze Joseph.Heisprecededin deathbyhis parents, Bar‐bara Calligan Lassiegne andEdwardLassiegne Sr andhis brother, Edward

Adevoted wife,mother, grandmotherand greatgrandmother, Lucille“Lu Pﬂueger, 86, of Lacombe, LA passedawayonMon‐day, July 21,2025, at home surrounded by herloving family. Shewas born on October25, 1938, in Odessa,TXtoGeorge& Agnes“Gigi”Odam. Sheis preceded in deathbyher parents; andhusband of 55 yearsRobert“Bob” C. PﬂuegerIII. Lu grew up and livedthroughoutTexas Shegraduated from Texas Women’sUniversityinDen‐ton, TX in 1960 with aDe‐gree in Art. During college shemet Bobwho attended TexasA&M Collegeand they marriedonJune 18, 1960. They movedtoNew Orleansand starteda fam‐ily. In 1992 they bought property on theNorth Shoreand builta home in Lacombeand made it their permanentresidence in 2002. Lu designed andcre‐ated Miniatures with vi‐gnettesand dolls which earned hernumerous awards andrecognition Shewas publishedand very proudthather dolls found homesacrosssev‐eral continents.“It’s a Lulu”represented her brandwhich highlighted herwhimsical talent and drew inspirationfrom Louisianaculture,her life

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Rabalais Jr., JamesM.

Rabalais Jr., James

Bordelon, Alvin Joseph

Foundation in honorofthe amazing caregiversonthe 3rd floor.

Lucille'Lu'

La.courts cannot

The agony of losing someoneclose to violent crime is unimaginable. Butitbecomes even worse when, afteranarrest is made,the justice system is slow,halting and oftenunpredictable

The loved ones of hundreds of victims in two of the state’sbiggest court systems, New Orleans and East Baton Rouge, knowitall too well. Repeatedly,their questsfor closure through the criminal justice system have faced lengthy delays, repeated continuances andtrials scheduled and then postponed.It’sled manyto despair

That’sthe conclusion of an exhaustive analysis of the justice systems in thosetwo parishes by this newspaper’sJillian Kramer andJeff Adelson. Their study,which looked at yearsof homicide case data, found that, in both places, murder cases move far slower thanwhatexperts recommend and similar cases in other cities with ahigh number of murders. Kramer and Adelson concluded that there was no single cause of the dysfunction: Stafﬁng shortages, inadequate funding,forensic testingdelays, repeated continuances and heavy workloads forcourt staffall contribute to the morass

More thanjust abstract terms, these have real-world effects.Taj Sullen spent years attending court hearings in New Orleansfor the men accused of killing her son, Sabastian,in February 2022. The trial has been resetmultiple times, andnow won’thappenuntil at leastSeptember Paulette Odom’s49-year-old son Keith was shot at atruck stop in East Baton Rouge Parishin2017. His case remains pending. Paulette Odom’s husband, Kenneth,died sixyearsafter their son was shot, still waitingfor justice. Sometimes the delays become serious or fatal to prosecutions.Witnesses’ memoriesfade, evidence is lost or misplaced, other cases pile up and turnover among prosecutors andjudges mean some casesend up ﬁzzling outoropting for reduced charges.

These problems are starkly laidout in the opening stories of the Longingfor Justiceseries, an in-depthlook at problems in thejustice system.

It’sworth noting that the loved ones of victims arenot the only ones suffering.Defendants, too, sometimesare forced to spend years in jail just waiting for their day in court

Thestate’s“tough on crime” policiesare often justiﬁed by adesiretodoright by crime victims’ families. But as these storiesshow, all the punishment in the world can’tmake up for delaysinadjudicating crime.

We believe some systemic reforms arecalled for, including perhaps dedicatingmoremoney to prosecutors, forensic testing andpublic defenders.Increased funding forstrappedofﬁces would stabilize and speed investigationsinways that will beneﬁt the entire system.

In addition, the state should study waysto make the court systems more efﬁcient, even if that includes accountability andefﬁciency standards for elected judges.

These arebut small steps, but they could make abig difference. Crime victims’ families deserve at least the effort

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Mike Smithand his colleagues are doing agreat job covering environmental news, nicely ﬁlling thehuge shoes left behind when the great Mark Schleifstein retired. Loudkudos to you all.

Icould not be happier that we are gettingmoremoney for coastal restoration. I’ve been working in that ﬁeld for years, and we need all thehelp we can get.

Acouple of points on this issue need to be made, however.Innoway should this increase in resources for our coastal issues be perceived as agift, considering the federal government and the petrochemical industry share responsibilityfor our current land loss

In anation that prides itself on freedom and democracy,one group often fades intothe background after giving everything to protect those ideals: the U.S. veteran. These menand women endureunimaginable hardship and make tremendous sacriﬁces to serve their country.Yet when they hang up their uniformsfor the lasttime, too many areforgottenbythe very society they swore to protect

After the parades endand theapplause fades,veterans often face a silent battle:mental health struggles, unemployment and even homelessness. Thousands sleep on the streets each night. How can anation that calls them heroes allow them to be discarded so easily?

The wounds many veterans carry are invisible. PTSD, anxiety and depression affect alarge portion of this community,but care is often inadequate, and the stigmaaround mental healthmakes it

crisis.

Also, thenew $650 million annual cap (likethe former $500million cap) is not nearly enough tomakesigniﬁcant improvements to our coast as demonstrated by decades of scientiﬁc studies and data analysis and multiple Coastal Master Plans.

Finally,since the current administration has accelerated oil and gas activity and reduced regulations and enforcement, the increased activity, pollution and physical damage will require even more resources forcoastal restoration going forward This is indeed good news. Sort of. ALVIN DUVERNAYIII NewOrleans

worse.Veterans areoften passed over for jobs because their military skills aren’t“relevant.” We wait months for careatoverwhelmed VA hospitals. Our pain is ignored, except on Memorial Day or Veterans Day,when they are brieﬂy remembered before slipping back into the shadows.

Being forgotten doesn’tmean being erased from history.Itmeans being excluded from the present. Veterans don’t want pity; we want dignity.Wewant fair access to healthcare, education, housing, and meaningful work. Veterans want to be part of the communities theysacriﬁced to protect not pushed aside and forgotten.

Yellow ribbons and patriotic slogans mean nothing without action. If we truly value their service, we must show it everyday,not justwhen it’sconvenient to wave aﬂag.

MARK BIRDEN Army veteran 2000-2011

Amount of energy Meta data center needsalarming

Iread with interest the guest column: “The Metaproject is hugefor northeast Louisiana. Let’skeep the momentumgoing.” Independent of concerns about big dataand AI, Iamconcerned about the fossil fuel footprint. The article acknowledges thehigh electricity demand. However,itdoes not mention that, in addition to asolar farm, according to multiple sources, thefacility will install three gas-turbine power plants. In atime of climate crisis, construction of any new fossil fuel power is

counterproductive. “Natural gas” is methane. Methane often leaks unburned intothe atmosphere, where it is amore potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. When burned for fuel (oxidized), it is converted to carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global heating andextremeweather events. We need to stop burning fossil fuels andtransition to clean energy exclusively

MARION FREISTADT NewOrleans

As alicensed social worker,I can conﬁdently say,most of the time, people do not makeachoice to hurt someone without ﬁrst being hurt by someone. When someone is hurt in a traumatic waybefore the age of 18, it alters the structure of the brain and therefore changes the behavior of the person. Iamnot at all defending the action of murder,asitiswrong and violent. Iamsaying adjustments to the incarceration system need to be made. In America, 80% of those released from jail are rearrested, and the likelihood of that rearrest increases when there is alack of stable housing available to that person. Prisons are violent, unsafeand have unhealthy living conditions. We have twooptions: to believe people are overwhelmingly inherently bad or to believe that the system is ineffective and needs to be changed. The current prison system does little for the well-being of the person. I’dlike to challenge the perception that people in prison deserve nothing. Prison should be aplace for healing, not just punishment. The wayinmates are currently treated in prisons further traumatizes individuals and does not teach them to learn how to manage their bodies, causing them to be in the same, or worse, place when they are released, hence the 80% recidivism rates.

KATIE BOUDREAUX Gonzales

Remember whopushed to pass The One Big Beautiful Bill. Afront-page headline on July 4 read “Johnson, Scalise push bill to finish” with aphoto of the giddy two celebrating. They madeitfinal by hook or by crook. Remember them when you find out whether the results of the bill are truly beautiful foryou and the people and services that affect you. Or not beautiful. You’ll know whom to thank.

FAYE LIEDER NewOrleans

VeritasgetsarebootatHarvard

It took threats to cut off itsfederal funding following anti-Semitic, antiIsrael and pro-Palestinian demonstrations for Harvard Universitytoconsider again pursuing what used to be the foundation of its motto “Veritas,” or truth The Wall Street Journal reports that leaders of the university are discussing whether to create acenter for conservative scholarship. It would mirror the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California. That thediscussion is taking place is atacit admission that Harvard has been excluding conservative thought from itscurriculum, not to mention most of itsprofessors who toe the liberal line and teach their students to do the same.

Like the other old Ivy League schools, Harvard once had areligious and conservative foundation.Founded by Puritans in 1636, Harvard had its roots in the Puritan worldviewand way of life. Its stated purpose was to train ministers and prepare students forcommunity and civic leadership

By the mid-18th century,Harvard had evolved into an increasingly secular institution, broadening itscurriculum to include amore liberal artseducation and establishing aresearch branch

While it still has aDivinity School, that too is liberal in its theology and more aligned with aliberal political agenda. Whenhewas president of Harvard (1953-1971), Nathan Pusey said: “The ﬁnestfruit of serious learning should be theability to speak theword God without reserve or embarrassment.”

Given what we’veseen in recent months on their and other campuses it would appear that God has become an embarrassment, unless Hisname is used as ablasphemy

The idea that there should be a separate institution to “study” conservatism will be an affront tosome conservatives.Itsounds like aform of “separate but equal.”

Are conservatives considered such a rare species at Harvard that their way of thinking must be studied in order to be understood? Arethey alife form from another planet that could infect others if not kept away from “normal” people? Will students who study conservatism be required to wear identiﬁcation badges or arm bands to identify them to liberal students and liberal professors so as to avoid possible “contamination”?Will this new branch of studies produceaconservative commencement speaker instead of the continuing stream of liberal speakers at graduation?

Over theyears there have been

manyconservative intellectuals whose ideas and policies have demonstrated far more positive results than secular liberalism. Such thoughts and history should be incorporated into mainstream learning and not put at the “back of the bus.”

Oneofthe toweringconservative intellectuals of the 20th century was thelate William F. Buckley Jr.While he graduated from Yale and wrote abook “God and Man at Yale,” he famously said this about Harvard: “Iwould rather be governed by theﬁrst 2,000 people in thetelephone directory than by theHarvard University faculty.” Imagine what he might say now given all that has transpired at the university in recent months. Better to have aplace where conservative thought can be studied and studentsexposed to adifferent way of thinking than to have nothing at all, but even better to have that line of thinking taught alongside liberal thought. That would give conservative thought and conservative thinkers the recognition they deserve, along with examination of why conservative economic, social and foreign policy ideas have produced mostly better resultsthan secular liberalism.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditorstribpub.com

ZohranMamdani’sideas are Bernie.But his political maneuvers areDonald.

The similaritiesbetween the Democratic Socialist running forNew York City mayor and President Donald Trump —as well as their respective bases— arefascinating.

For ageneration, Americans have had ahistorically large number of expresidents around, apossible source of counsel from one of only 45 people who have exercised the broad powers conferred by Article II of the Constitution

Youmight expect former presidents to supply elements of personal comity and institutional norms to current politics, and sometimes they do. Certainly,the few periods with no living former presidentshave been times of stress when incumbents might have called on seasoned predecessors for advice.

Presidents in those periods faced threatened war with France (17991801), violent resistance toReconstruction(1875-77), the Great Depression (1933) and Watergate(1973-74) During the only quiet ex-presidentless period (1908-09), Theodore Roosevelt witnessed the return of theWhite Fleet’svoyage around the world. But having alot of ex-presidents around hasn’talways helped. The only period before the 1990s withﬁve living former presidents was between March 1861 and January 1862, when Abraham Lincoln faced secession of the Confederate states. None were Lincoln voters, and none gave him much support.

Americans didnot have ﬁve living ex-presidents again until Bill Clinton was inaugurated in January 1993, and we’ve had at least four,except for 25 months in 2006-09.

Clinton, presumably aware of voters’ continued respect for the men he succeeded, seemed to carefully refrain from blaming them for his woes. George W. Bush, aware of his father’s respectfor Clinton,behaved similarly This was astark contrast of the hostility and noncommunication between the onetime confreres but thenrivals —Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower On the surface, that comity has continued. Five presidents, including the incomingand outgoing incumbents, attended the Trump inaugurations in 2017 and 2025.

But none had endorsedhim —not entirely surprising givenhis vitriolic attacks, going back to the 1980s, on the immigration and trade policies of both parties.

Barack Obama, taking office after the financial crisis of 2008 and the successful execution of the stillunopposed Iraq conflict he had long opposed, did notleave off his criticism of his immediate predecessor after his victory speech.

Nor did he deal with his party’sdefeat in the 2010 midterm elections by engaging with Congress successfully,

LETTERS TO THEEDITORARE

as Clinton had with then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Republicans after 1994, and Bush didwiththen-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’sDemocrats after 2006. Instead, his administration responded, as conservative lawyer Cleta Mitchell recalls, with IRS persecution of TeaPartyactivists. AndObama himself, nettled by repeated charges by Trump and others that he was born in Kenya, after ﬁnally releasing his long-form Hawaii birth certiﬁcate, days later launched alengthy attack on Trump, seated in theaudience, at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.Some reporters believe that attack prompted Trump’s candidacy

Thenthere is thefact, underlined by documentsreleased by Director of National Intelligence TulsiGabbard last week, that inDecember 2016, after Trump’ssurprisevictoryover Hillary Clinton, the intelligence community “prepared to produce an assessment per the President’srequest” —italicsadded —“that pulls together the information we have on the tools Moscow used and the actions it took to inﬂuence the 2016 election.”

Within days, newspapersprinted leaked accounts of the bogus Steele dossier,paid for by theClinton campaign —critical fuel for theRussia collusion hoax.

Whether and how much the outgoing president was involved in theproject of delegitimizing theincoming president, based on fake documentation, is aquestion that the press has shown little or no interest in addressing, justasithas shown little interest in why he is the ﬁrst president since the invalidedWoodrow Wilson to stay in Washington, in ahouse bought for $8 million, after his time in ofﬁce.

Blaming your party’selection loss on foreign interference or collusion was once known as “red baiting” and “McCarthyism.” The norm in the past, observed by Bill Clinton in 2000, was for apresident to acceptthe result, however disputed, and not to cast a pall of illegitimacy over his successor. Obama, at the least, failed to fulﬁll what was arguably his duty to prevent that from happening.

Onemight reply that Trump failed much more grievously to uphold that normbychallenging theresult of the 2020 election and inspiring the proTrump crowd’s assault on the Capitol. Iagreed at the time and agree today “While Trump’sexact words to the crowd on the Ellipse didn’tconstitute acriminal incitement,” Iwrote then, “they were uttered with areckless disregard for the possibility they’d provoke violence that anyreasonable person could ﬁnd impeachable.”

Reversing this spiral may turnout to be atask for the next generation. This has happened before. The ﬁve ex-presidents in 1993 were among the seven from the GI Generation (born 1908-24) who served over the preceding 32 years. The ﬁve presidents elected to servethe 36 yearsupto 2029 include three leading-edge baby boomers(all born in 1946), one late boomer (1961), andone pre-boomer (1942). After electing 77- and 78-year-old candidates in 2020 and 2024, Americans are surelyready to choose someone from alater generation in 2028. Will that president, with several expresidentsintheir 80s plus one over 65, reverse the negative spiral?

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Like Trump, Mamdani’splaybook is heavyonculture and grievancesthathave little to do with the offices theyare seeking. Like Trump during his first campaign, Mamdani is acharismatic figure with no relevant experience running amassive government.

Both said extreme things thatwereperfume to their far-right or far-left bases, the voters who can dominate primaries. But once they faced abroader electorate, they had to clean up their messages.

Trump reposted QAnonmemes on his Truth Social site in 2022.

But during the 2024 campaign, he avoided mentioning the lunatic conspiracy theory while refusing to disavow it.

That’sMamdani’sapproach to his controversialrhetoric against Israel. He refuses to disavowthe slogan, “Globalize the Intifada.” “Globalize” suggests the battle should notbelimited to conﬂicts in the Middle East but spread to the streets of Paris andNew York City

Not long ago, Mamdani called the New York City Police Department “a rogue agency” and“wicked andcorrupt.” He vowedtocut policefunding “annually towards zero.” (That 13 lawenforcementunions have endorsed his opponent, current Mayor Eric Adams, is no surprise.)

Many Democrats believe this defund-the-policebusiness, popularonly in the fringiest left precincts, was responsible for the Democrats’ losing controlofthe House in 2022. It notably causedlossofsupport among needed moderates, especially in “communities of color.”

“’Defund the police’ almost cost me my race because of an attack ad,” former Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger said. “Don’tsay socialism ever again,” she added. Mamdani hassince executed aU-turn on the matter —ortomakeitseem that way. He told arecentbusiness group that no, “I will not defund the police. Iwill work with the policebecause Ibelieve the police have acritical role.” Good thathenoticed.

To put furtherspace between this andpast statements, Mamdani said thatifelected mayor,hemight keep Adams’ popular police commissioner,JessicaTisch, in that job. “I believe thatit’spremature to make anypersonnel commitments at this time,” he said, “but it’sa considerationthatisreal? —and it’sinkeeping with the city that we’re fighting for.” Considerthe word “consider.” That’swhat Trump usestomakepeople think he’s going to do something he has absolutely no intention of doing. Exhibit A: his previous promises to “consider” releasing the Epstein files. One thing the MAGA right and MAGA left have in common is avague understanding of economics,specifically the lawofsupply and demand.

Trump frequently blamed Joe Biden for rising energy costs, when the price of gas was simply recovering fromthe COVID-era crash. Workplaces hadclosed, and Americans did far less driving.

Mamdani vows to freeze rents on approximately 1millionrent-stabilized apartments. Doing thatwould cause the opposite to happen. Landlords don’twin anypopularity contests, but history shows rent controlgreatly discourages the building of new apartments and maintenanceofolderones.

Rents arehigh because supply has not kept up with demand. Atlanta used to be amagnet for urbanAmericans seeking more affordable housing.

Thatinﬂux hasstalledasthe demand for housing causedAtlanta’s prices to skyrocket Home prices in Atlanta have doubledsince 2012, according to the S&P/Case-ShillerHome PriceIndex. Cult-like followings canget drowned out when the normiesshow up for the general election. Thathappened to Trump in 2020. Let’ssee what happens in New York’supcoming mayoral race

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Former President Bill Clinton speaks during the Democratic National Convention in 2024.

Michael Barone

Froma Harrop

Mamdani

Cal Thomas

NewOrleans Forecast

Tulane hoopsstarGlenn dies

Source:22-year-old

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Tulane men’sbasketball player

Gregg Glenn,a well-likedsenior from PompanoBeach, Florida, died Sunday,school officials announced Monday morning

Although details have not been made public yet, asource said Glenn drowned off the coast ofMiami while swimming witha friend.

“He was atalented student-athlete who enriched our lives with his spirit, dedicationand passion for both sports and academics,” Tulane vice president of student affairs Sarah Cunningham wrote in aletter to the Tulane community.“Gregg was an outstanding athlete on our men’sbasketball team andanindividual who brought

drownedwhile swimming

joy andlight to those around him.

His commitment to excellence inspired many of us.

“Let us remember Gregg not just for hisachievements in sports, butfor the kindnessand warmth he shared with everyone. He will forever remaina part of ouruniversity family.”

Glenn,22, startedall 34 games last season, averaging10.6points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He scored in doubleﬁgures21times and was expected to be ahuge cogthis year asthe Green Wave tried to build on aone-point loss to American Conference champion Memphis in thesemiﬁnals of the league tournament in March.

“Our programwas devastated this morning as we learned of the passing of our Gregg Glenn III,”

Tulane coach RonHunter said in astatement.

“He was not only an exceptional athlete but alsoa remarkable personwho brought energy,dedication and kindness to our team and community.Gregg’s spirit and passion will be deeply missed, and our thoughts are with hisfamily andfriends during this difﬁcult time. We will honor hismemory by continuing to celebratethe impact he had on all of us.Rest in peace, Gregg.”

Glenn, who signed withMichigan before the 2022-23 season, was rated the 90th overall prospect in the country by 247Sports.After playing in only four games for the Wolverines as afreshman, he transferred to Tulane andaveraged3.6

See GLENN, page 3C

backKendreMiller,left,and

MILLER’STIME?

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

On his 30th birthday,AlvinKamara watchedfromunder thebrimofa bucket hat as his New Orleans Saints went through atraining camp practice.

That it was his birthday was beside the point, but the early rest day was telling Undercoach KellenMoore,the Saints are factoring load management into the equation with their veteran players. For Kamara in particular,thatideamay leak into the regular season as well.

As he’sentering his ninth NFL season, Kamara hastallied three of hisfourhighest carrytotals in the lastfourseasons —228 last year,223 in 2022 and240 in 2021. Those seasons also largely have correlated with Kamara’s least explosive years in terms of yardsper carry

Which makescomments likethese from Kamara even more interesting

“I think balance is important,” Kamara said. “So, efﬁciency withhow I’m getting the ball and when I’m getting the ball And we’ve got dogs on theteam, sohopefully those guys getsome spin and get the ball and loosen things up forme.

“I’m abig believer in hustle smart, not hard. So the best way Ican get theball and the most productive Ican be in the most efﬁcient ways, that’s what I’m looking for and Ithink Kellen’sgot that.” In an ideal world,Kamara’srole might look more like it did early in hiscareer From 2017-20, Kamara averaged 249.5 touches per season, and in that spanhe averaged 6.2 yards every time he touched

theball. That number has jumped to an average of 279.5 the last four seasons, including acareer-high 296 lastseason. His average yards per

Chris Olave knowsit’scoming. He’swaited nine months to get hit again on the football field. Nine months of waiting and wondering. No one was moreexcited to don pads Monday forthe New Orleans Saints’ first day of full-contact practice than Olave, the team’s supremely talented fourth-year receiver After nine months of meetings, doctor’svisits, and consultation about his health and football future, Olave wasinhis element and back on the field, the place he feels mostathome.

“I’m excited, man,excited to get back on that field,” Olave said recently when asked about his anticipation for the first day of fully padded practice. The Monday practice wasOlave’sfirst live action in football pads since being knocked unconscious from a hit by Xavier Woods during a23-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 3. The vicious head shot left Olave sprawled motionless on the field while teammates rushed to his side. He was transported from the field on a cart and did not play again last season, missing the remaining eight games. The concussion was Olave’ssecond of the season, fourth of his NFLcareer and sixth since his playing days at Ohio State.

Olave’sconcussion issues had become career-threatening. But after getting cleared by specialists earlier this year,Olave said he’sexcited to resumehis career.And Monday was abig step in his comeback, albeit one that was moremental than physical, as he largely avoided any major contact during the 90-minute workout.

“It’sbeen along time, man,” he said. “It’sbeen just watching from the sideline, watching from the stands. It feels like along time, but it’sonly been like nine months. But just with me wanting to get back on that ﬁeld, it wastough forme.” Olave is not running from his health issues. He’sfacing them, forlack of a better term,head on.

He’schanged his diet to, as he said, improve his “brain health” and changed his helmet. He is wearing the Riddell Axiom 3D, the NFL’stoprated helmet forreducing head impact severity.And like the rest of his teammates, he is wearing aGuardian cap during practice, although he said he doesn’tplan to wear one during games. What won’t change, he said, is his mindset and playing style. Olave said he plans to run every pattern in the route tree, including crossers, seams

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints running

quarterback Jake Haener practice during training camp in Metairie on Sunday.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints running back Alvin Kamara, left, looks on during training camp in Metairieon Friday.The Saints gave Kamara arest dayonFriday.

Olave

Jeff Duncan

STAFF FILE

PHOTOByBRETT DUKE

Tulane forward GreggGlenn, center,drivestothe goal between SMU players RicardoWright, left, and Tyreek Smith at Devlin Fieldhouse on Feb.15.

Eligibility battles rage on for athletes

Wave of lawsuits over more eligibility seems to be slowing down

BY TERESA M. WALKER Associated Press

The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to ﬁzzle out for a bit. With preseason football practice cranking up this week, players still hoping for a judge allowing them to take the ﬁeld may be left waiting for a ruling that likely won’t help them compete again.

“We’re at a point in the summer where I think any athlete out there is going to know that it’s probably too late to ﬁle a case and be able to get relief on it,” said Sam Ehrlich, a professor of legal studies at Boise State studying the 2021 Alston ruling’s effect on college athletics. Relief on a larger question surrounding eligibility may be a while coming, too: In cases from California to Wisconsin, judges have provided inconsistent results for players seeking legal help for another season, and it may very well be a topic settled for good by a higher court.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is perhaps the highest-proﬁle athlete to win his court ﬁght. The New Mexico State transfer

sued the NCAA last fall, arguing his junior college years should not count against his eligibility, citing the potential losses in earnings from name, image and likeness deals. U.S. District Judge William Campbell Jr in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the NCAA to allow Pavia to play

The NCAA is appealing Campbell’s decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow an extra year of eligibility for Pavia and other athletes who played at nonNCAA Division I schools before enrollment if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year Pavia won. Others, such as Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, have lost or are in limbo.

Practice starts Wednesday for Southeastern Conference members Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Chris Bellamy and Targhee Lambson are among four football players waiting on the same federal judge who gave Pavia another season of football last December

Some schools have helped by ﬁling waivers. Others wait and hold a spot, letting the athlete ﬁght the legal battle.

“They’re just kind of in limbo in the transfer portal because schools don’t really know whether they’re going to have eligibility,” Ehrlich said. “It’s a really weird situation right now.”

The NCAA would like Congress to grant limited liability protection to help address all the law-

suits over eligibility NCAA President Charlie Baker noted in June that athletes had ﬁve years to play four seasons for about a century, a situation that changed recently Baker told The Associated Press then that the NCAA has won more of these cases than the association lost.

“But the uncertainty it creates, the consequences of this for the next generation of young people if you play this thing out, are enormous,” Baker said. “Moving away from an academic calendar to sort of no calendar for college sports is hugely problematic.”

Duke coach Manny Diaz thought such eligibility issues would be addressed after the House settlement, which took effect July 1.

“All I have been told is once they got House out of the way they are going to double back on a lot of these oddities and make sure eligibility is tied into a college career,” Diaz said at ACC media days. “We don’t want nine-year guys playing the sport.”

Thanks to the extra season added to careers for the coronavirus pandemic, the college eligibility calendar has been scrambled a bit. Pavia will be playing his sixth season after starting with two at New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college, then two more at New Mexico State.

Fullback Hayden Large played three NAIA seasons at Dordt before transferring to Iowa, where he will be playing his sixth season

this fall after being granted another year Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sees a simple solution in giving players ﬁve years to play ﬁve seasons. He’s also in favor of players who start in junior college having an extra year, although he sees the need for a limit, even if he doesn’t know what that should be.

“If a guy during his ﬁrst year ends up being able to play ﬁve or six games, why not let him play?” Ferentz said. “It’s all about creating opportunity, in my mind. I’ve never understood the rationale for not doing that.”

Ehrlich is attempting to track all lawsuits against the NCAA, ranging from the House settlement; name, image and likeness litigation; college athletes as employees; and Title IX lawsuits, along with other cases. Ehrlich has tracked more than a dozen lawsuits involving eligibility, and common factors are hard to come by

He saw three very different rulings from judges appointed by President Donald Trump. Standards of evidence for a preliminary injunction also have varied from judge to judge. Three cases have been appealed, with other motions helping delay some waiver requests.

Ehrlich said there remains the chance a case lands before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I don’t see these cases drying up anytime soon,” Ehrlich said.

Clase on leave as part of MLB betting probe

BY JAY COHEN Associated Press

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug 31. It was unclear if the cases were related. The Guardians said in a statement that the organization “(has) been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.”

The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves in each of the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week’s MLB trade deadline.

“I’m not happy This stinks,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Monday night’s game against visiting Colorado. “It’s a different part of our game now because it’s legal. Two of our guys are being investigated — and it hurts. It’s an unfortunate situation.” Major League Baseball has been monitoring sports gambling

DERMER

Cleveland relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase reacts after the Guardians defeated the Athletics on July 18 in Cleveland. Clase is on paid leave as part of an MLB investigation into sports betting

more closely since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.

ond place in the AL Central. Vogt said the plan is to go with a closerby-committee approach for now

“He’s a part of the team,” reliever Cade Smith said “It sucks for him to be not here today.”

The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the righthander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was ﬂagged by a betting-integrity ﬁrm and forwarded to MLB.

The pair of Cleveland pitchers on leave comes after MLB suspended ﬁve players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres inﬁelder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Reports: LSU admin to become Rutgers AD

Rutgers reportedly is close to hiring a top-level LSU administrator as its next athletic director

According to multiple reports Sunday, LSU executive deputy athletic director Keli Zinn is on the verge of following former LSU president William F. Tate IV to Rutgers.

Zinn, a West Virginia native, has worked at LSU since 2022. She has directly overseen the school’s football and gymnastics programs, while also helping its athletic department craft an athlete revenuesharing plan and plot the early stages of a potential construction project for a new arena.

Tate’s tenure as LSU president started in 2021 and ended in May, when he left the university to take the same job at Rutgers. Vice president for agriculture Matt Lee is LSU’s interim president.

Cubs legend Sandberg dies after cancer battle

CHICAGO Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman who became one of baseball’s best allaround players while starring for the Chicago Cubs, has died. He was 65.

Sandberg was surrounded by his family when he died at his home on Monday, according to the team.

Sandberg announced in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer He had chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and then said in August that he was cancer-free.

But he posted on Instagram on Dec. 10 that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs. He said this month that he was still ﬁghting, while “looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends.” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Sandberg “will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise.”

Source: Sutton, Broncos agree to four-year deal

ENGLEWOOD,Colo.— Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has reached agreement on a four-year, $92 million extension, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of the deal that runs through the 2029 season and averages $23 million and includes $41 million in guarantees. Sutton has had his best two seasons of his eight-year NFL career under coach Sean Payton, who arrived in Denver in 2023. Sutton caught a career-best 81 passes for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns last season, his first 1,000-yard campaign since 2019. He had a career-high 10 TD catches the year before.

Tigers acquire Paddack from division rival Twins

MINNEAPOLIS The AL Centralleading Detroit Tigers acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack from the division rival Minnesota Twins in a three-player trade on Monday to plug another injurycreated vacancy in their rotation. The Tigers announced righthander Reese Olson will miss the remainder of the regular season with a strained shoulder suffered during his most recent bullpen session, joining right-hander Jackson Jobe on the shelf. The Twins packaged Paddack and right-hander Randy Dobnak for catcher Enrique Jimenez, who was the Tigers’ 14th-best prospect in MLB’s preseason rankings.

Pitcher Lugo gets $46M guaranteed from Royals

MLB said in a statement that Clase — per an agreement with the players’ association — had been placed on leave while the league “continues its sports betting investigation.” It declined further comment. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment Monday Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said he was informed of the situation with Clase on Sunday

He met with his coaching staff and the players before the series opener against the Rockies Cleveland began the day in sec-

Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions. Umpire Pat Hoberg was ﬁred by MLB in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league’s investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Right-hander Seth Lugo and the Kansas City Royals agreed Monday to a $46 million, two-year contract for 2026 and ’27, a signal the team intends to push for a second consecutive playoff appearance rather than sell ahead of this week’s trade deadline. Lugo, 35, could have become a free agent after this year’s World Series; he is in the second year of a

$20 million deal that included a

for

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By AARON GASH

Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean’s eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA is in limbo.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID

Wallace’s new life perspective leads to career breakthrough

BY MICHAEL MAROT

AP sports writer

INDIANAPOLIS Bubba Wallace spent three long years questioning everything about his racing world.

During a 100-race winless streak, he saw teammate Tyler Reddick win five times and post three top-10 ﬁnishes in NASCAR’s ﬁnal standings. Wallace also watched team co-owner Denny Hamlin make regular trips to victory lane. The drought forced Wallace to contemplate what was wrong and whether he’d continue to be employed in racing — until he realized there was more to life than racing Sunday’s life-changing Brickyard 400 title reinforced that notion.

“When Amanda and I ﬁrst started dating, I was like ‘Hey racing is everything, right?’ I knew I made a mistake saying that,” Wallace said, referring to his wife Sunday night. “It took me all these years to realize this isn’t always going to be here. So I think it’s better to enjoy moments like this, but nothing can overcome the joyful times you have with your family.”

Those aren’t just empty words, either After celebrating with his crew a jubilant Wallace hugged his wife and hoisted their 10-month-old son over his head, an image that may far outlive Wallace’s reign as

champion

His second family, other Cup drivers, also embraced Wallace after the biggest victory of his career By becoming the ﬁrst Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s historic 2.5-mile oval, Wallace also locked up his second playoff appearance.

But long before Sunday, there were indications Wallace was turning things around After posting just six top-five finishes and 12 top 10s in his first five Cup seasons, Wallace broke through with five top fives and 10 top 10s in 2022 and 2023. Last year he had career bests of six top fives and 14 top 10s. And he won one pole in each of those three seasons, too. He also won two qualifying races leading up to this year’s Daytona 500, though those wins don’t count in the Cup’s official stats. Midway through last season, Hamlin noticed a change in Wallace.

“When I hired Bubba, I believed in his capability — not necessarily the results he had shown but I understood his potential. And then there was a time where we were kind of wrestling with, ‘Do I want it worse than him? I can’t make him want it,’ “ Hamlin said “It just seems like something happened mid last year — maybe related to having a child or whatever — but something happened where I saw

a change in attitude that changed work for him.”

It was a new perspective on life.

Suddenly, Wallace had more to think about than just racing. It freed him up to alleviate some of the pressure he put on himself and the brutal self-critiques.

“I’m a guy with a beautiful wife, a beautiful son and putting family ﬁrst, that’s all that matters and just fortunate enough to be driving race cars,” he said. “That makes things easier, gives you something to kind of focus on, the racing stuff is kind of secondary now, and you have to have a mental shift to say that.”

But the philosophical change was only part of the equation.

Crew chief Charles Denike, whose nine years in the U.S. Army showed him how to cope with pressure, added a calming inﬂuence on the radio Wallace also started reading “The Daily Stoic,” a resource with exercises to help people cultivate wisdom and resilience.

Fatherhood changed things, too.

“I’ve got the family here,” he said. “Beck’s win, officially his ﬁrst race, and see his dad do it get to victory lane — that brings me a lot of joy Amanda’s here, we lost our grandmother Friday night, so it’s just kind of been a special weekend for us. Our family’s here in Indiana, so this is really cool to be able to do.”

Aces face critical stretch to keep championship window open

BY MARK ANDERSON

AP sportswriter

HENDERSON, Nev From management to coach Becky Hammon to the players, the Las Vegas Aces say they remain a championship team despite what has been, at best, an uneven season.

The Aces must keep their championship window open or major changes could come during what is expected to be a chaotic offseason given the number of pending free agents in Las Vegas and throughout the WNBA.

“I think as we look at big-picture decisions for the Aces, this stretch is very important,” team president Nikki Fargas said. “It’s where championship habits are going to be solidified, and there’s a lot of great talent that’s going to be available. Are you wanting to be a part of a championship legacy? We’ve found that that’s been a great opportunity for us to talk about that in free agency previously.”

The Aces, who in 2023 became the first WNBA team to repeat in 21 years, have been one of the league’s model franchises in recent seasons. They were on the short list of favorites to contend for another championship this season, but are in a ﬁght just to secure a playoff spot. They are 13-13, which puts them seventh in the standings. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason and the Aces are for intents and purposes in playoff mode now because the ﬁfth through 10th teams were separated by 3 1/2 games entering Monday

“We’re just trying to string together some wins,” guard Jackie

Young said. “We know every game’s important We’re trying to go out there and build off of the past games, learn from our mistakes.”

Falling short of the playoffs or getting bounced early could lead to major offseason changes that could be coming anyway given the number of free agents. Only Aaliyah Nye is under contract beyond this season, according to Spotrac.

That’s largely the case around the league as well because the collective bargaining agreement ends after this season. Players timed their contracts to take advantage of what should be a much more lucrative CBA because of an 11-year media rights deal valued at more than $2.2 billion

“I think next year’s free agency is like the wild, wild West,” Hammon said “There’s going to be people we’re obviously trying to keep their services here in Vegas, and then there are others we’re going to try to bring some people in. So I just think it’s about ﬁnishing the season well, keeping our culture and our character intact through the rest of the (18) games so we make this a destination that people want to come and play with and be competitive at.” Hammon quickly made the point she’s not the general manager, and the Aces remain without a GM since Natalie Williams was dismissed in October The organization chose to not fill that position, with Fargas working with Tonya Holley vice president of basketball operations, on personnel decisions with input from Hammon.

This is an organization that has built through the draft A’ja Wilson, Young and former Aces star Kelsey

Sanders plans to coach after bladder-cancer

BY PAT GRAHAM AP sportswriter

BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado coach Deion Sanders disclosed Monday that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer but after surgery his oncologist has considered him cured, so he plans to coach this season.

Dr Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the CU Cancer Center/UCHealth University of Colorado hospital, said Sanders had his bladder removed as part of the surgical plan.

“It was dynamic. It was tough. It wasn’t a cakewalk. It wasn’t easy,” said Sanders, who arrived to his news conference wearing a cowboy hat and overalls along with sunglasses, which he removed after getting choked up.

“That was a ﬁght, but we made it.”

Sanders, who turns 58 next month, has drawn headlines for his health, but the focus largely was on two toes he’s had amputated and concerns over blood clots. He said he’s had 14 surgeries since 2021, when he was still the coach at Jackson State, but kept his cancer ﬁght private.

Sanders spoke on the eve of fall camp as he enters his third season overseeing the Buffaloes. He brought his medical team with him to discuss his diagnosis. It was revealed that a section of his intestine was reconstructed to function as a bladder He won’t need radiation or chemotherapy, Kukreja said.

“The ‘C’ word, when we hear that word there’s normally a life sentence attached to it,” Sanders said. “But not this time. But not this time.” Sanders said he lost about 25 pounds, leading him to joke, “I was like Atlanta Falcons Prime at one point.” He later added: “I truly depend on Depend, if you know what I mean. I can’t control my bladder Let’s not be ashamed of it. Let’s deal with it head on.”

Just Sanders being Sanders he remained upbeat throughout the entire process, his medical team said.

“He never folded one time and never wavered,” team trainer Lauren Askevold said. “You couldn’t ask for a better patient because he wants to get up and get going right away. It’s been a hectic journey It’s been a lot But there’s a blessing in disguise with all of this.” Never once did Sanders waver in his belief that he would return to the sideline.

“I always knew I was going to coach again. It was never in my spirit, in my heart, that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again,” he said. “I just didn’t want to be running down to the hospital once a week when I have all of this on my plate. I don’t want that. I was like, ‘OK, can they bring one of those machines and put them in the ofﬁce?’

Athletic director Rick George echoed Sanders.

straight,” Sanders said. “Randy Moss prayed for me he and his wife. Told me what I needed to be doing.” Sanders repeatedly stressed the importance of early detection. His cancer was discovered when he went for an annual CT scan as a precaution given his history with blood clots.

“We’re lucky to have found it at this stage where I could say the word cure,” Kukreja said, “because I don’t use that word lightly as a cancer doctor.”

The charismatic coach missed football camps in Boulder this summer amid reports that he’s been ill. He returned to campus last week and announced on social media, “Back and Feeling Great!”

On Sunday, the production crew of “Well Off Media,” which chronicles Sanders and the Buffaloes, posted a video on YouTube of the coach’s ﬁrst meeting with the team Included is a scene dated May 9 in which Sanders said: “I don’t know if I’m ready mentally emotionally Last night was tough, yesterday was tough, because I had to make a will. That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here.”

Sanders used humor Monday to talk about drafting a will, saying it was a chance to rank his kids. Jokes aside, he added: “You don’t want to be a fool and leave and not have your business affairs in order.”

Sanders has dealt with other health issues. Several of them have involved his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while he was coaching at Jackson State. He missed Colorado’s media day in 2023, his inaugural year, after a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot.

Plum were all No. 1 overall picks — but also hasn’t been afraid to be aggressive in free agency or trades. Point guard Chelsea Gray signed as a free agent in 2021 and a year later was named WNBA Finals MVP when Las Vegas beat Connecticut in four games for its ﬁrst championship. The Aces added two-time MVP Candace Parker in 2023, but she played just 18 games before a season-ending foot injury She retired last year They made their most audacious move this January, sending Plum to Los Angeles in a three-team trade that brought Jewell Loyd from Seattle. The move hasn’t quite worked out the way the Aces envisioned, with Plum averaging 20.1 points and 5.9 assists while Loyd has scored 10.8 points per game. That’s her lowest scoring average since putting up 10.7 as a rookie in 2015. But perhaps Loyd will more closely resemble the player who was a six-time All-Star with the Storm, who just last season averaged 19.7 points. She came off the bench — at her request — in Sunday’s 106-80 victory at Dallas and scored 20 points.

A resurgence by her and the expected addition of Cheyenne Parker-Tyus could be major boosts entering the postseason. Parker-Tyus, who signed as a free agent, is on maternity leave and her Aces debut is yet to be determined.

Fargas said she was bullish on the Aces making another title run, pointing out the number of top players on the roster with championship experience, including Wilson and her three MVP trophies.

“He’s so positive, and he said he’d be back,” George said. “I had every confidence that he would be.”

While he dealt with the cancer diagnosis, Sanders said he had plenty of friends and family check in on him. Among those who reached out was fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, who took a leave of absence from ESPN in early December after having surgery for his cancer

“Randy Moss called me every other day to make sure I was

GLENN

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points in 9.7 minutes in 2023-24 while playing behind versatile forward Kevin Cross, before taking on a much bigger role last season as a 6-foot-7 ballhandler, passer and post player

Frequently allowed to bring the ball up the court, he ranked second to point guard Rowan Brumbaugh on the team with 106 assists, handing out a careerhigh 11 against Florida Atlantic on Jan. 15.

“I love to make my teammates shine,” he said. “That is the best feeling in the world.” He had back-to-back games with double ﬁgures in rebounds in December, and he scored a personal-best 22 points against Tulsa in March. That was part of a stretch of eight consecutive games with 10 or more points

In March, Sanders signed a contract extension through the 2029 season. The Buffaloes kick off the season on Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech at Folsom Field It will be the first season in quite some time that he hasn’t coached one of his sons. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was drafted by the Cleveland Browns while Shilo, a safety, is in camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes went 4-8 in his ﬁrst season and 9-4 last season, with an appearance in the Alamo Bowl. They have big shoes to fill in replacing Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter

“I never look down. I’m always looking up and I’m always trying to go get it,” Deion Sanders said. “I want to be the best Prime I can be for everybody. For everybody.”

to end the season. He averaged 14.3 points in nine games through the American Conference Tournament, learning how to play through the foul trouble that limited his effectiveness earlier in his career For the second consecutive year he chose not to enter the transfer portal, joining Brumbaugh, the Green Wave’s leading scorer, and third-leading scorer senior guard Asher Woods as returning starters on a team that added five transfers in the pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid. Very visible with his spiky hair rising well above his head, Glenn said his look reflected his relaxed personality “I’m from Florida, so it’s a natural,” he said. “He (Hunter) is always talking about my hair flying all over the place and stuff. Honestly, it’s just me. I can’t really do anything about that.” Glenn was majoring in health and wellness.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DARRON CUMMINGS

Bubba Wallace kisses the trophy after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday in Indianapolis.

AP PHOTO By AARON ONTIVEROZ Colorado head coach Deion Sanders smiles before speaking about his journey while beating bladder cancer during a news conference Monday in Boulder Colo.

QB Shough uneven as physicalityramps up

CAMP OBSERVATIONS

n SpencerRattler: 4of9(24 of 37)

n Jake Haener: 2of3(13 of 18)

Luke Johnson

Monday was abig opportunity for New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough,who operated the first-team offense as the teamdonnedpads for thefirst time in training camp. While there were some positives, Shough still is lacking abreakthrough performance through five days in Saints camp. The rookie effectively communicated andcommanded the offense, but he was often inaccurate and sometimes indecisive. His peers, SpencerRattler and Jake Haener,had better high moments but didn’texactly assert themselves in the competition for thestarting job, either.

“These guys will grow every day,” coach Kellen Moore said. “Every opportunity,especially for Tylerasaﬁrst-time rookie in training camp, every day there’snew install, new material that maybe is aﬁrst time for him. So he’sgoing through that process. Ithink he’s doing an excellent job.”

New Orleans ran two full-team periods, one of which focused on the rushing attack. Again, the Saints split thesquads between two practice ﬁelds at one point as away to maximize the snaps. Here is how the quarterbacks performed in Monday’spractice:

n Tyler Shough: 6of9(17 of 30 overall)

There is no denying Shough’s talent. He is aﬂuid athlete in a 6-foot-5, 219-pound frame, andhe again showed off his scrambling ability during Monday’spractice. It is always impressive when Shoughlets the ball ripontime and with conﬁdence. His pure throwing ability is probably the best on the team.

The question for Shough has been how he would hold up once real pressureisaddedto the equation. The earlyreturns were notpromising Monday when the padscame on andthe offensive and defensive linemen played with something approaching regular speed and physicality

Shough completed his ﬁrst two passes during 11-on-11 drills during aperiod meant to simulate third downs. Both of those passes movedthe chains as Shough navigated pressureinthe pocket, but both of them werealso low throws, requiringhim to be bailed out by Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed Shough’snext threepasses fell incomplete —anoverthrow on an outbreaker, another low throw he skipped at Shaheed’s feet as he was falling away in the face of pressure, and what appeared to be abad overthrow

on ascreen.Shough’sdrill ended when Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders split asack on him. Therealso was asomewhat strange sequence in the sevenon-sevenperiod,whenShough decidedtoholdonto the ball and run outofbounds on consecutive plays. It’snot entirely an indictment of Shough —the coverage was gluedtothe receivers, and

quarterbacks don’talways throw the ball during seven-on-seven drills —but it was odd to see it happenonconsecutive plays. Mooredid not seem concerned aboutitafter practice.

“Obviously,we’d love to be on time and all that good stuff,” Moore said. “On acouple of those, the defense did anice job. We do really encourage the scramble

drill because it comes up so much in our league. That is the second part of aplay,and we really emphasize that is alive action, we’re trying to make an explosive play on offense and our defense has to plaster and match everyone out.”

If there’sone area where Rattler has been ahead of Shough during camp, it has been decisiveness. Now in his second season, Rattler clearly benefited fromhis experience ayear ago. The ball is coming out quickly,and when he sees an opportunity for abig play he pulls the trigger —ashe did when he hit Shaheed for a big gain down the sideline on a go route. While Shough operated the offense on the main field, Rattler worked with the second team on aside field. He completed only one of his four passes in that setting, connecting with Mason Tipton Haener again saw limited practice snaps with the third-team offense. His lone incompletion in team drills cameonathrowaway after he was flushed out of the pocket to his right. He had an opportunity to connect with rookie tight end Moliki Matavao for abig play during seven-on-sevens, but he left his throw downfield just a bit short, allowing linebacker Isaiah Stalbird to jump and get ahand on it.

EmailLuke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Fitzpatrickwants to stay in Miamifor long haul

By The Associated Press

MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. It has been about amonth since Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Miami Dolphins organization that drafted him, andthe All-Pro safety hopes to remain in Miami long term. Fitzpatrick spoke to reporters Monday for the ﬁrsttime since he returned to Miami, which drafted him in 2018 and traded himaway at his request in 2019. He said his lack of public comment was notan expression of frustration with returning to the Dolphins.

“My silencewas not areflection of how Ifelt aboutthis team or this organization,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that he would not take any questions about “Pittsburgh or previous coachesoranythinglike that.” Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins agreed to arestructuredcontract Sunday that moved $2 million from

his 2026 salary to this upcoming season and converted someofhis salary into a$16.2 million signing bonus. It gave hima raise to $17.5 millionthisseasonashis agentand theDolphins work toward alongterm deal.

“I knowitwas reported that I wanted anew contract,” Fitzpatrick said, “but Ijust wanted to know that Iwas going to be here formore than aseason andI got that. And now,I’m goingtogoout there, play All-Pro,Pro Bowl level and hopefully earn the respect of my teammatesand theorganization to have that long-term contract.”

TheDolphins selected Fitzpatrick 11th overall in 2018, but the safety became displeased with hisrole under then-coach Brian Flores, requested atrade andwas dealt to the Steelers ayearafter being drafted. Fitzpatrick quickly became one of theNFL’s top safeties in Pitts-

burgh,makingﬁve ProBowls and threeAll-Pro teamsduringhis time there.

Hisnew Dolphins teammates havepraised hisleadership in the short time he’s been in Miami. He came up with theﬁrst interception of training camp on Saturday with an athleticpickofquarterback Zach Wilson.

“Minkahisveryquiet, butwhen he does talk, everybody listens,” receiver JaylenWaddlesaid.“He’s gotone of (those)personalities when he gets on theﬁeld —just got thatdog, brings thatenergy.He’s been here acouple days but it’s just like the defense gravitates towards him. He made acrazy play today, so everybody got hyped. It’sgreat.”

The Dolphins added more experience to their secondaryMonday when they signed former Bengals andSteelers cornerback Mike Hilton. Hilton has made56starts in eight seasonswith Pittsburgh (2017-20)

SAINTS

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days of training camp to steadily rotate runningbacks in the lineup, getting alook at just about everyone moving behind the ﬁrst-and second-team offensive line.

That should start to crystallize soon.

“That’sgoing to be goingon here for acouple more days, and then we’ll let the thingstartfalling in place on how guys have played, how they’ve protected, how they’ve caught the ball and how they took care of the ball in trafﬁc,” Thomas said.

The Saints have amix of proven veterans and mostly unproven youth vying to become Kamara’s No. 2. Cam Akers and Clyde Ed-

wards-Helaire were both top-60 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft who both have a750-yard rushing season undertheir belt. TheSaints added Devin Neal in the sixth round thisyear and signed Marcus Yarns as an undrafted free agent. But the biggest wild card is Kendre Miller.

Entering his third season, Miller is eager to prove his worth. Injuries havelimitedhim to just 14 of apossible 34 games since the Saints selected him in the third round of the 2022 draft,and he’s gainedjust 304 career yards rushing in thosecontests

Finallyhealthy this offseason, Millerchanged some things up. He plans to play between 215-218 pounds this offseason, slightly less than hislisted 220, buthe’snoticeably leaner.Healso ditchedhis old No. 25 jersey in favor of No. 5.

“I was injured in (No.)25, andI just wanted somethingnew,” Miller said. “I feel good ﬁnally,and I want to leavethat old mojo in the past and move on.” Millerhas had an uneven start to training camp —during Sunday’spractice, he slipped on one play and was penalized for afalse startonanother. Butifthe Saints can get him to realize his talent, he may prove tobethe complement forKamarathat hasbeen missing. Whether it’sMiller or someone else, the mostimportant role is getting Kamara in positiontobe as productive as possible. “Whether it’s 10 rushes andﬁve catches, or 10 catches andfive rushes —ifthose spotsare good, we’re rolling and it putsmeinthe best positiontohelp thenthat’s what I’m looking for,” Kamara said.

andCincinnati (2021-24), making 520 tackles (386 solo), 111/2 sacks and13interceptions, one returned for atouchdown.

DUNCAN

Continued from page1C

and posts that take him into harm’s way.The only concession to his injury history,hesaid, will be to avoid unnecessary contact by getting downquicker after receptions.

“If Igoout there nervous or go out there alittle scared, it’sgoing to makemeplay alittle slower and make me play worse, so I’m not really scared to get hit,” he said. “I’m not scared to go over the middle. I’m not scared to do none of that.”

So far,Olave has lived up to his word.Early in camp, he went up high to snare apass from Spencer Rattler on acrossing route over themiddle of the ﬁeld during seven-on-seven drills. Safety Justin Reidzeroed in on him but slid past at the last instant withoutmaking contact. Olave knows things would have been different in full-contact work. During team drills afew days later,Olave took ahandoff on a jet sweep and raced left to the sideline with amob of defenders in hotpursuit. As he turned upﬁeld, linebacker Pete Werner leveled him with amassive hit that smashed him to the ground. Several of his offensive teammates took exception to the hit, which came during non-contact drills. This is how it’sgoing to be for Olave. Every big hit or violent tackle is going to be ahold-yourbreathmoment forteammates, coaches, fans and maybe even Olavehimself

“Obviously, no one wants to get abig hit, but it comes with thegame,” said veteran receiver Brandin Cooks, whoendured concussion issues of his own early in his career.“Instead of having that anxiety about it, just knowing andaccepting that it’s going to come with the gameand then everything else will take care of itself.”

It’s abig year forOlave. He needs aproductive, injury-free season to re-establish himself among the premier NFLreceivers. Before missing nine games last season, Olave was enjoying one of the strongest starts of any receiver in Saints history With atotal of 159 receptions and 2,165 yards in 2022 and 2023, he becameonly the third Saints receiver to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in his ﬁrst twoseasons, joining Michael Thomas and Marques Colston.

The Saints picked up the ﬁfthyear option on his contract this offseason, so, barring atrade, he’ll be with the club foratleast twomore seasons. But alifechanging, long-term extension like the four-year,$130 million deal his former Ohio State teammate, Garrett Wilson, signed with the NewYork Jets this year is on hold. Olave knowsheneeds to produce and stay injury-free to score asimilar payday

“It’skind of obvious, just with my injury history (and) all the concussions, Imean, of course they’re going to be questionable about my future and all that stuff,” he said. “So (I’m)just trying to makeitobvious on the ﬁeld every day,just trying to dominate everybody,bethe best player on the ﬁeld and go into the season and try to play every game, really play 17 games so it’sgoing to be easy on them to makethat decision when we get to the table.”

His teammates and coaches say Olave is in agood space right now,and his mindset has been impressive. He’sfocused on making the mostofhis comeback and is facing the future with eyes wide open.

Getting through his ﬁrst full-contact practice was asigniﬁcant milestone. There will be morehurdles to clear along the way,but after nine months on the sideline, Olave knowssmall steps are better than no steps at all.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Saints running backCam Akersruns adrill duringtraining campatthe team’s facility in Metairie on Monday.

STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, left, gets past strong safety Terrell Burgess during aplayattraining camp at the team’sfacility in Metairie on Monday.

The 31-year-old had 73 tackles, 12 tacklesfor loss andaninterception as one of the leaders of the Bengals defense last season.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLyNNE SLADKy Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick runs drills at the team’s training camp on WednesdayinMiamiGardens, Fla

Swinney rooting for Renfrow’s comeback

BY STEVE REED Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Hunter Renfrow remembers being cut by the Las Vegas Raiders on March 13, 2024, and not even caring all that much.

He had no desire to play football.

Physically, he felt awful. He’d lost 35 pounds, went a week with a 103-degree fever and was completely zapped of the energy and ﬁre he was once known to bring to the football ﬁeld. Running routes, catching passes and being blasted by defensive backs were the last things on his mind.

But after being diagnosed with a severe case of ulcerative colitis, a chronic inﬂammatory bowel disease that causes inﬂammation and ulcers in the lining of the large intestine and rectum, the 2021 Pro Bowler is now feeling like himself again. He’s trying to make an NFL comeback with the Carolina Panthers, the team he rooted for as a kid growing up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Dabo Swinney his college coach at Clemson, believes if anyone can make it back, it’s Renfrow

“You’re playing football at the highest level, and he just couldn’t eat,” Swinney said. “It affected him, and he was really done (with football). I didn’t think he was gonna play again.”

Neither did Renfrow

“I was like, ‘I’m never playing football again,’ ” Renfrow said “Like when you feel like that, you feel like you’re letting your teammates down.”

Renfrow’s problems surfaced late in the 2021 season, in which he caught a career-high 103 passes for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns. He noticed his energy level had dropped off signiﬁcantly, and he could never seem to get it all the way back, even after taking a month off to prep for his ﬁrst Pro Bowl appearance.

The Raiders rewarded Renfrow with a two-year $32 million con-

tract extension that offseason, but he never came close to reaching that level of production again

He caught just 36 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns in 2022 and 25 passes for 255 yards and no touchdowns in 2023, leading to his release.

But after several hospital visits and a referral to a Charlotte-area doctor, Renfrow ﬁnally received a diagnosis. He began receiving treatment, started a new diet and saw his appetite return. By September, he’d put back on the 35 pounds he’d lost and then some.

His energy returned.

He played pickleball, basketball and golf, and the competitive juices began to return

As the 2024 NFL season went on without him, Renfrow privately began discussing a possible comeback with Swinney, who has remained a close friend and father ﬁgure.

“I was like, ‘Hunter, listen, you know you’re gonna be 40 one day,’ ” Swinney said “ ‘So if you got more left in you ..’ ” In January, Renfrow took Swinney’s advice and began to work his way back into football shape

He asked his agent if the Panthers might be interested in giving him a workout. They were, and that ultimately led to a one-year, $1.22 million contract that included a modest $50,000 signing bonus.

It was a no-lose proposition for the Panthers.

But if Monday is any indication, Renfrow might just be a solid under-the-radar free agent addition for the Panthers.

With Swinney observing from the Panthers sideline as a guest of coach Dave Canales, the 5-foot10 Renfrow made two impressive catches reminiscent of the player who went from walk-on to catching the game-winning touchdown pass with 1 second remaining in Clemson’s dramatic 35-31 win over Alabama in the national championship game in the 2016 season.

Renfrow said he feels appreciative as he continues “pushing toward something special.”

The unimposing Renfrow may look like an ordinary guy off the field, but Swinney said when he puts on the pads, he “turns into Superman.”

“He catches it. He makes plays,” Swinney said. “He understands the leverage and influence and route-running and break points and how to set things up and how to play with his hands at full speed. And he’s just got elite change of direction. But he’s a little guy that plays really big and is really crafty Just his ability to separate and change direction, that’s hard to ﬁnd.”

Renfrow is no lock to make the Panthers roster

The Panthers have upgraded their wide receiver position in recent years, drafting Xavier Legette and Tetairoa McMillan in the ﬁrst round in 2024 and 2025, respectively They also have veteran wide receivers Adam Thielen and David Moore, and the team remains high on last year’s surprise undrafted rookie standout Jalen Coker

But Canales likes what he has seen so far from Renfrow

“He looks like the Hunter that I remember,” Canales said.

Canales said Renfrow began to show a burst during the team’s OTAs in the spring, and he has been pleased with his development ever since, citing the five-year NFL veteran’s knowledge of coverages and leverages and ability to attack defenses.

The next month will go a long way toward determining whether Renfrow is able to make it all the way back.

Either way, at least he has his health.

“I’m just pulling for him,” Swinney said. “He’s having fun again. He’s 29, and so I’m just happy that he’s back out here. If he stays healthy, he’ll do what Renfrow does. That’s just who he is.”

Jets QB returns to team drills

BY DENNIS WASZAK JR. Associated Press

FLORHAM PARK, N.J New York

Jets quarterback Justin Fields returned to team drills Monday, four days after dislocating a toe on his right foot. Fields participated in seven-onseven drills at training camp Saturday as the team eased him back into practice. Coach Aaron Glenn had said Fields had “a ways to go” before fully returning. But after a day off Sunday, Fields ran the offense during 11-on-11 drills — and on the ﬁrst day this summer the Jets wore pads.

an even more signiﬁcant injury

After sitting out completely on Friday, Fields threw passes in 7-on-7 drills Saturday and showed no signs of his injured foot ailing him. His ﬁrst pass in team drills Monday was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Byron Cowart, but Fields had an otherwise solid practice session.

“There are some things that he did today that I was very pleased with,” Glenn said. “But there’s also some things he’s got to get better at, too. He knows that.”

Harper reportedly confronts Manfred at team meeting

BY JAY COHEN Associated Press

CHICAGO Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation. The person spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN.

Speaking before Philadelphia’s game at the Chicago White Sox, Harper did not dispute the published descriptions of his confrontation with Manfred.

“I won’t be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that,” Harper said. “I don’t think it does any good for anybody for that to happen. So, for me, I just, you know, trying to worry about baseball, trying to worry about everything in here.” Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour Manfred spoke with the NL team about the media landscape and working together to grow the sport, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. At some point, Harper told Manfred if he was there to talk about a salary cap, he could “get the (expletive) out” of the clubhouse.

Baseball’s collective bargain-

ing agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and some players are concerned about a possible management push for a cap.

Harper is a two-time NL MVP and one of the game’s marquee names, making his conversation with Manfred more noteworthy The eight-time All-Star agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in February 2019.

“Obviously, I don’t want that to happen in those meetings,” Harper said. “I don’t want those things to be out there. I think, you know, when we have meetings with the commissioner or anybody else that comes to our clubhouse, those are good meetings to have.”

Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as one of baseball’s biggest problems, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one.

Manfred has been meeting with teams more often since he said in the aftermath of baseball’s March 2022 labor agreement that he needed to work on his relationship with players.

“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred said during the All-Star break. “I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”

Asked for his argument against a salary cap and why it’s such an important issue for players, Harper responded: “I don’t want to get into details as of right now.” He also said he planned to remain vocal about labor issues behind closed doors just as he has done in the past.

England coach calls for boost to women’s soccer

By The Associated Press

LONDON England coach Sarina

Wiegman has called for greater investment in women’s soccer as her side celebrated Euro 2025 success at a “very, very special” reception at 10 Downing St.

The Lionesses successfully defended their Women’s European Championship title with a penalty shoot-out victory over Spain in the final in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday Having become the first England team to win a major tournament on foreign soil, the squad flew home to attend a reception hosted by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock in central London. The team arrived just before 7 p.m., with the prime minister’s office decorated for the occasion with St. George’s flags — also known as the flag of England — draped over windows and bunting along the railings. As Wiegman rose to speak to those gathered in the Downing Street garden, she joked that “this is different from standing next to a pitch”.

She added: “I have to make my apologies (for giving) you lots of heart attacks. You all made it through, and we made it through, and that’s why we’re here now The team is just incredible. We won the Euros but making the final we’re already legendary, what the team has done and the team behind the team.

Euros and then straightaway sent a letter to you, the government, asking for attention and asking for access to football for all girls,” Wiegman said. “Steps have been taken, but we’re not done yet. We have to keep moving forward, and we need a little bit more.”

“We need some more investment,” she said. “We’re not there yet. In England we’re up there, but England needs to stay the trailblazer; it needs to be the big example. The players first but also the FA, the clubs, the government, the country, the fans — let’s keep being the trailblazers.” In her own speech, Rayner congratulated Wiegman’s team on defending their title “with grit, with determination and with skill.”

“You roared, and I know I wasn’t the only one roaring with you,” Rayner said.

Earlier on Monday, following almost a month of competition in Switzerland, the team’s airplane branded with the word “home” touched down at Southend Airport in southeast England. In a post on social media, the team shared a photo of the Euros trophy draped in an England ﬂag on a seat of the plane.

Holding the trophy, captain Leah Williamson was ﬁrst to step off the plane alongside Wiegman Outside the airport, crowds were lined up to welcome the team.

week.

“He was limited, but he was limited the way that we want him to be limited,” Glenn said after practice. “He made some good throws out there. And again, when Justin gets on the ﬁeld, I mean, we’re going to let him be who he is.” Glenn wouldn’t specify what he meant when he said Fields was “limited” and was asked if perhaps the team doesn’t want him to run as much as he normally would.

“Just limit him the way we want him to be limited,” Glenn said. “I’ll just keep it at that.” Fields sent Jets fans and social media into a frenzy last Thursday when he dislocated a toe on his right foot early in practice. He was carted from the ﬁeld to the facility, where he had multiple tests before the team announced the diagnosis — relieving fears that it could be

Gus Hartwig injured

Rookie center Gus Hartwig left late in practice with what Glenn said was a knee injury that was being evaluated. Hartwig, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Purdue, went down during team drills and stayed down for several minutes as he was examined on the ﬁeld. Several teammates took a knee around him before he was able to get up and walk to the injury tent.

“Thank you so much for having us here. It’s very, very special to be here, and to be in this very nice garden with the way you set it up with all these pictures, it makes it more special. It’s the ﬁrst moment it sinks in a little bit because it was surreal what happened last night.” Wiegman, speaking a few hours before the UK government announced a new package of measures to boost access to grassroots soccer, used the moment to call for further investment in the game. “This incredible team won the

On Sunday, fans erupted with joy across England after Chloe Kelly lashed in her spot kick to give her team a 3-1 win on penalties, after a 1-1 draw following extra time.

According to the BBC, a peak live audience of 12.2 million watched the game across its platforms, making it the most watched television moment of 2025 across all TV broadcasters. King Charles III said the team had the royal family’s “warmest appreciation and admiration” following its win.

“The next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can,” he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEVE REED

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Hunter Renfrow speaks to the media on Monday in Charlotte, N.C. Renfrow is on the mend from a severe case of ulcerative colitis and his coach at Clemson, Dabo Swinney, says if anyone can make a comeback, it’s Renfrow

AP PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II Jets quarterback Justin Fields throws a pass during training camp Thursday in Florham Park, N.J Fields dislocated a toe last

Harper

Manfred

Toto co-founder bemused by yacht rock revival

BY RODNEY HO

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

(TNS)

ATLANTA Toto had a handful of hits in the 1970s and 1980s but was never considered among the top echelon of arena rock acts of that era along the lines of Journey, Styx and Foreigner Yet two factors have brought the band into the 2020s with greater prominence and bigger tours than ever: the growth of the soft-rock genre known as yacht rock and a new generation discovering “Africa,” their only No. 1 song from 1983. The band is touring with Men at Work and Christopher Cross, who has also seen his star rise courtesy of the yacht rock phenomenon.

The triple act combo was the idea of Steve Lukather, lead guitarist and original member of Toto going back to 1977 He knows Men at Work lead singer Colin Hay because both are touring members of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

And Lukather worked on multiple tracks with Cross in the early 1980s.

“We’re all old friends,” said Lukather in an exuberant interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from his home in Los Angeles

“Let’s go have some fun!”

‘Call it whatever you want’

Unlike Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, Lukather is not dismissive of the rise of yacht rock and Toto’s place in the pantheon of a made-up subgenre invented decades after the music ﬁrst became popular

“Call it whatever you want as long as people dig the music,” Lukather said. “People have called it soft rock. I’ve heard ‘West Coast,’ which I like but nobody uses.”

Nicholas Niespodziani, lead singer of Atlanta’s popular Yacht Rock Revue for 17 years, marvels at the resurrection of Toto.

“I don’t know any artist that has been more reassessed than Toto,” Niespodziani said. “People look at them completely differently than they did 15, 20 years ago They got panned by critics when they came out They still sold millions of albums and won Grammys, but for a long time, they were a punchline everyone made fun of.” Toto now draws 27.8 million unique listeners a month on Spotify alone. That is higher than rock band peers Journey (26.2 million), Foreigner (18.7 million), Def Leppard (9.2 million) and Styx (5 million).

“The naysayers said it couldn’t be done, but we turned it around,” Lukather said “We

ä See REVIVAL, page 2D

A tale of

TOUGH LOVE

Biker club gives out school supplies: ‘We’re just trying to fill in the gap’

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Amanda Hill disliked the thought of riding motorcycles. But when her husband wanted to take a Harley-Davidson riding class, she knew it was a battle she wouldn’t win.

“It was James’ idea,” Amanda Hill said “Instead of ﬁghting it, I joined the shenanigans.” It took one class to ignite sparks. The passion for riding opened a new road for the couple, driving them to start a motorcycle club in 2022 with a mission of giving back to the community Six motorcycles later, the couple has raised over $1,000 for leukemia research, and donated hundreds of back-to-school backpacks and dozens of prom dresses and toys for the community And it wouldn’t have been possible without their bikes, leather vests and love of the road. Love hard, ride hard

Vicious Ryderz Motorcycle Club is a biker group founded by disabled Navy veterans Amanda, 43, and her husband, James Hill, 54. Recently, the St. Charles Parishbased club distributed over 200 backpacks ﬁlled with school sup-

plies to local families at their third annual school drive.

“It lives up to the name, Vicious Ryderz,” Amanda Hill said “Because we love hard. We ride hard. Everything is done viciously Vicious doesn’t necessarily mean a negative way, but when we do something, we do it full-heartedly.”

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Hill took her brand-new motorcycle,

named Aphrodite, and rode it across 48 states in two months with a tent, sleeping bag and air mattress. The whole trip was 17,000 miles, she said. She rode solo until meeting her husband halfway in Wyoming, and the duo ﬁnished together Not long after that, they founded Vicious Ryderz MC.

BY JAKE COYLE

writer NEW YORK — A Post-it

near Ari Aster while he wrote “Eddington”: “Remember the phones.” “Eddington”

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

Amanda Hill helps Ca-mahri young, 3, with her new backpack full of school supplies during the Vicious Ryderz MC school supply giveaway.

Motorcycles are parked in front of the Vicious Ryderz clubhouse in Hahnville.

Lukather

Proper dishwasher use

Dear Heloise: After reading the letter from Pat D. in Irvine, California, about not putting dishesin the dishwasher with dried food on them, Iwould like to share my thoughts: Idon’thesitate to do this very thing. With the newer dishwasher detergent pods, they have enough enzymes in them to take care of dried-on food. Most newerdishwashersalso have soft food disposals in them, which easily takes care of whatever food particles are removed from dishes. One of the biggest problems with getting dishes clean in the dishwasher is that the water is not hot enough. Another thing is not loading it properly or overloading it. However,itis always best to read the use and care manual of any dishwasher to be certain that you are usingit properly —John S.,inBelton,Texas Dustinglampshades

and they were just lovely

I’vetried to grow them in my home,but Idon’tseem to have the talent for making them bloom like mother did. Herﬂowers were big while mine are sickly.Got ahint for my plants?

NoraK., in Utah Nora, place some rusty nails in the soil next to theroots, and you’ll see adifference. Bigger, brighterblooms! —Heloise Throwing medicinesaway

Dear Heloise: Never throw medicines, either prescription or over-the-counter,into the garbage. If your garbage goes to a landﬁll, the medicinemight be washed down into thegroundwater or someone’swell, or it might be washed into surface water andpoison streams, rivers or other people’swater

Dear Heloise: Recently you suggested using asmall paintbrush to dust lampshades. The best thing to use to dust asmooth lampshade is alint roller.Itpicks up the dust, whereas apaint brush will allow the dust to drop onto the ﬂoor or on the furniture. All it does is move the dust from one place to another Alint roller also works well on upholstery.Itpicks up any grit or dust on the sofas, chairs, etc.

—Debbie, in North Carolina Africanviolets

Dear Heloise: Iabsolutely love African violets. Every timeIsee one, it reminds me of my mother’skitchen. She grew them on along windowsill in her kitchen

Neither wastewater plants nor water puriﬁcation plants can removemedicines from the water.The next town over has a box for medicinestobedisposed of properly —Andi W.B.,inGardiner, New York

Bitterness in coffee

Dear Heloise: Iused to be acoffee salesman, andI found that complaints about bitterness were due to using too littlecoffee for the amountofwater used. Coffee has alimited amount of solubles, which are the source of ﬂavor.Once the hot water removes the solubles,what comes next is oil and acid, which gives abitter taste and often leaves a ﬁlmofoil on top. —Ed, via email

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday,July 29, the 210th day of 2025. There are155 days left in the year

Todayinhistory

On July 29, 1967, an accidental rocket launch on the deck of the supercarrier USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin resulted in aﬁre and explosions thatkilled 134 service members.

Also on this date:

In 1836, the newly completed Arc de Triomphe was inaugurated in Paris.

In 1858, the UnitedStates and Japan signed the Harris Treaty, formalizing diplomatic relations and trading rights between the two countries.

In 1890, artist Vincent van Gogh, 37, died of an apparent self-inﬂicted gunshot woundin Auvers-sur-Oise, France

In 1914, transcontinental telephone service in the U.S.became operational with the ﬁrst test conversation between New York and San Francisco.

In 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’(Nazi) Party

In 1954, the ﬁrst volume of JRR Tolkien’snovel “TheLord of theRings” (“The Fellowship of the Ring”) was published In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency was established.

In 1958, President DwightD Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act,creating NASA.

In 1981, Britain’sPrince Charles married Lady Diana Spencerinaglittering ceremony at St. Paul’sCathedral in London (They divorced in 1996.)

In 1986, afederal jury in New York found that the National Football League had committed an an-

REVIVAL

Continued from page1D

just hung in there long enough. We are the last of adying breed of guys from an eraofmusicians who worked hard and played our instruments for real.”

TheTototop 4

There are ahandful of songs Toto will 100% play at their shows: “Hold the Line,” “Pamela,” “Rosanna” and “Africa,” their most popular song on Spotify.It’s an evocatively catchy tune written by Toto original member and keyboardist David Paich,who had never been to Africa but name-checks Kilimanjaroand the Serengeti in the song. The song never quite disappearedfrom the pop culture zeitgeist, remaining amainstay of any radio station playing ’80s music over the years. Younger

titrust violation against the rival UnitedStatesFootball League, but the juryordered the NFL to pay token damages of just $3.

In 1994, abortion opponent Paul Hill shot andkilled Dr.John Bayard Britton and Britton’sescort, James H. Barrett, outside theLadies Center clinic in Pensacola, Florida.

In 1999, aformer day trader, apparently upsetover stock losses, opened ﬁre in two Atlanta brokerage ofﬁces, killing nine peopleand wounding 13 before shootinghimself; authorities said Mark O. Barton had also killed hiswife andtwo children.

In 2016, former suburban Chicagopolice ofﬁcer Drew Peterson was given an additional 40 years in prison fortrying to hire someone to kill the prosecutor whoput him behind bars for killing his third wife.

In 2021, American Sunisa Lee won the gold medal in women’s all-aroundgymnastics at the Tokyo Games; shewas the ﬁfth straight American womanto claim theOlympic title in the event.

Today’sbirthdays: Former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum-Baker is 93. Former Sen.Elizabeth H. Dole is 89. Artist Jenny Holzer is 75. Documentary ﬁlmmaker Ken Burns is 72. Style guru TimGunn is 72. Rock singermusician Geddy Lee (Rush) is 72. Rock singer Patti Scialfa (Bruce Springsteenand the E StreetBand) is72. Actor Alexandra Paulis 62. Country singer Martina McBrideis59. Actor WilWheaton is 53. R&Bsinger WanyaMorris (Boyz II Men) is 52.Actor Stephen Dorff is 52. Actor Josh Radnor is 51. Hiphop DJ/musicproducer Danger Mouse is 48. NFL quarterback Dak Prescott is 32.

generations found thesong on social media with the band Weezer fanningthe ﬂameswithits cover of “Africa” in 2018, which landed at No. 1onthe Billboard alternative rock chart.

“I alwaysthought it was our most oddball song,but we are happy to playit,” Lukather said. Lukather is thrilled to see multiple generations in the audience now,not justgray-haired Gen Xers and boomers.

“They don’tjust knowthe hits but are going into the catalog,” he said. “Wecan see it in streaming andhardrecords.”

Butatage 67, he hascededto time and has stopped dying his hair,which he did for morethan 30 years.

“I asked my oldest son acouple of years ago that ifI started looking like that old guy with jet black hair,tell me to stop,” he said. “He told me to stop. It’snow white, but at least Istill have afull head of hair!”

SUPPLIES

Continuedfrom page1D

The school supply giveaway took place at thebikers’ private clubhouse in Hahnville. The motorcycles parked outside made the building easy tospot,and the front door was propped open so families could comeinside and take what they needed.

Inside, two tabletops were covered with backpacks, one for high schoolstudents andthe other for younger students. Inside each bag weresupplies like notebooks,pens, pencils and folders. Acrockpot of chili was next to hotdogsand buns.

James Hill ticked off afew reasons the biker couple wanted to start aclub.

“One, it was ourpassion of riding, but just ourabilitytoconnect with other motorcycle clubs and come together collectively as a whole to be like bigbrothers, big sisters tothe youthinour community,”hesaid.

“We’re just trying to ﬁll in the gap thatthe city or thestate doesn’thave the funding for,” Amanda Hill said.

Ahomeawayfromhome

The clubhouse’spool table,bar andseatingmakefor theperfect hangout. Skulls andmotorcycle trophies ornamentthe space, and thegray walls are covered in Sharpie signatures of everyone who’svisited, mostlyother bikers and social groups.

“This is ahome away from home pretty much,” Amanda Hill said.

‘EDDINGTON’

Continuedfrom page1D

firstthree films— “Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” “BeauIsAfraid” have vividly charted strange new pathways of dread and deep-rooted anxiety.Those fixations make Aster,amaster of nightmare and farce, uniquely suitedtocapturing thecurrent American moment.

“Eddington,”which A24released in theatersFriday,may be the most prominent American movie yet to explicitly wrestle with social and political division in theU.S. In a showdown between Joaquin Phoenix’sbumbling right-wing sheriff andPedro Pascal’s elitistliberal mayor,arguments over maskmandates, Black Lives Matter protests and elections spiral into ademented Western fever dream At atimewhenour movie screensare ﬁlledwithescapism andnostalgia,“Eddington” dares to diagnose something frightfully contemporary.Aster,ina recent interview at an East Village coffee shop he frequents, said he couldn’t imagine avoiding it. “Tonot be talking about it is insane,”hesaid. “I’m desperate forworkthat’s wrestling with this moment because Idon’tknow where we are. I’ve never been here before,” says Aster.“Ihaveprojects that I’ve been planningfor alongtime. They make lesssensetomeright now. Idon’t know why Iwould makethose right now.”

Predictablypolarizing “Eddington,” appropriately enough,has been divisive. Sinceits premiere at the Cannes Film FestivalinMay,Aster’sﬁlm hashad one of themostpolarizing receptions of the year among critics.Even in Cannes, Asterseemed to grasp its mixed response. “I don’tknow what you think,”hetold the crowd. Some critics have suggested Aster’sﬁlm is too satirical of the left. “Despite apose of satirical neutrality,hemainlyseemsto want to score points off maskwearers,young progressives, anti-

The gatherings build fellowship and motivate the crew to give back, she said. The connection between riders in the club, and even between differentmotorcycle groups, is tight, she said.

“They’re the reasons whywe continue to do what we do,because it’satight family,” Amanda Hill said. “If we ever have anyissues, IknowIcould call any of these members up right now, andthey’re there.Noquestions asked.”

Theclubhouse sees weekly events like Monday Bike Nights, agroup gathering with food, drinks, birthday celebrations and DJ beats by one of their own, Phillip Petty Jr., also known as Mixer.HeDJs allthe social events like CincoDeMayo Night,’80s Night and’90s Night. Every member has anickname. Amanda Hill is Vixen, andJames Hill is Lights Out. Nicknames are patched onto the front of members’ vests, among other patches like theAmerican flag. On the backs of each vest is the group logo:askull witha snake emerging from an eye socket. And of course, they ride together almost daily.When they go on rides together,Amanda Hill is the safetycaptain. She inspects every bike regularly,leadsthe pack and ensures overall safety

Breaking stereotypes

Theﬁrst timeAmanda Hill rode amotorcycle wasinthe riding class in 2013 with James Hill. The second she hoppedonthe HarleyDavidson training bike and felt the engine’sroar,she was hooked.

“I felt that power, themovement,” she said. “I was like, man

racists and other targets beloved of reactionaries,”wrote TheNew Yorker’sJustin Chang. For The New York Times,Manohla Dargis wrote: “Aster knows howtograb your attention, but if he thinks he’s sayingsomething aboutAmerica, thejoke is on him.”

Aster was expecting adivisive reaction. But he disputes someof thediscourse around “Eddington.”

“I heard one person say it was harderonthe left than the right, and Ithink that’spretty disingenuous,” he says. “In theﬁlm, oneside is kind of annoyingand frustrating and hypocritical, andthe other side is killing people and destroying lives.”

For Aster,satirizing the left doesn’tmean he doesn’tshare their beliefs. “Ifthere’snoselfreﬂection,” he says, “how are we ever goingtoget out of this?”

Capturing‘what wasinthe air’ Aster began writing “Eddington” in June 2020. He set it in NewMexico, where his family moved when he was10. Asterwanted to try to capture the disconnect that didn’tstart withthe pandemicbut then reached asurreal crescendo. He styled“Eddington” as aWestern with smartphonesinplace of guns —though there are deﬁnitelyguns,too.

“The dread Iwas living with suddenly intensiﬁed. And to be honest, I’ve been living with that level of dread ever since,” Aster says. “I just wanted to see if Icould capture what was in the air.”

Scriptsthat dive headlong into politicsare far fromregularin today’s corporate Hollywood. Most studios would be unlikely to distribute aﬁlm like “Eddington,” though A24, the indie powerhouse, hasstood behind Asterevenafter 2023’s$35 million-budgeted “Beau Is Afraid” struggled at the box ofﬁce. A24 hasshown awillingness to engage with politicaldiscord, backing last year’sspeculative war drama, “Civil War.” And Aster’sscreenplayresonated withPhoenix, who had starred in “Beau Is Afraid,” and with Pascal. In Cannes, Pascal noted that “it’svery scary to participate in amovie that speaks to issues like

they got me.”

As aformer Navyengineer

Amanda Hill experienced firsthand what it was like being a woman in amale-dominated ﬁeld. Being afemale biker is no different, and she didn’tknow any other women riders at ﬁrst. Since then, she’strained about 15 women on how to ride motorcycles.

The ﬁrst female bikershe met was Kim Lomonaco, in late 2019. Lomonaco, nicknamedIcy for her striking blue eyes, had been riding by herself forthe past year anda half until she metAmanda Hill. She becameone of theclub’sﬁrst members.

“Wedothings A: Out of kindness of our hearts, and becauseB:When people seebikers, they’relike,‘Oh, that’sabiker,’ ”Lomonaco said. “Theysee this old, scrappy guy, or,you know,whatever I’mhere to break stereotypes.”

Growing up Marrero, Lomonaco did community service all thetime,whether it wasfor the church or gathering volunteer hours forhigh school graduation. “Service was woven into my personality,who Iamand what I’ve done throughout my life,” Lomonaco said.

Vicious Ryderz hopes to grow into a501(c)(3), atype of nonprofit. James Hill said this would allow them to cover even more ground beyond St. Charles Parish and host additionaldrivesfor holidays like Thanksgiving.

“Our No.1focus is community, trying to give back and looking for opportunities for a501(c)(3),” James Hill said. “That’sthe big one.”

this.” For Phoenix, “Eddington” offered clarity andempathy forthe pandemic experience.

“Wewere all terrified and we didn’tfully understand it. And instead of reaching outtoeach other in those moments, we kind of became antagonistic toward each other and self-righteousand certain of our position,” Phoenix earlier told The AP.“And in some ways it’s so obvious:Well, that’s not going to be helpful.”

‘A time of totalobscenity’

Since Aster made “Eddington” —itwas shot in 2024 —the second administration of President Donald Trump has usheredina new political reality that Aster acknowledges would have reshaped his ﬁlm

“I would have made the movie moreobscene,” he says. “And I would have made it angrier. Ithink the ﬁlm is angry.But Ithink we’re livinginatimeoftotal obscenity, beyond anything I’ve seen.”

“Eddington” is designed to be argued over.Even those whofind its first half well-observed may recoil at the violent absurdism of its second half. The movie, Aster says, pivots midway and, itself, becomes paranoid and gripped by differing world views. Youcan almost feel Asterstruggling to bring anycoherence to his, and our,modernday Western. But whatever you make of “Eddington,” youmight grant it’svitally importantthatwehavemore films like it —movies that don’ttiptoe around today in period-film metaphor or avoid it like the plague. Aster,atleast, doesn’tsound finished with whathestarted.

“I’m feeling very heartbroken about where we are, and totally lost, so I’mlooking forwaystogo into those feelings but also to challenge them. What can be done?” Astersays.“Because this is a movie about people who are unreachable to each other and completely siloed off, or fortressedoff, aquestionthatkept coming to me was: What would an olive branch look like? How do we ﬁnd away to reengage with each other?”

Hints from Heloise

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Lakechia ‘Madam Key’ Variste helps fill backpacks with school supplies during the Vicious Ryderz MC school supply giveawayattheir clubhouse in Hahnville.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Take the initiative, explain your intentions and act with clarity and precision. A friendly gesture or kind word will help you get the response you need to advance.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) A change may entice you, but first, ensure you have the necessary funds, time and energy to accommodate what's required to achieve your goal. Not everyone will play fair. Take the safe route.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Avoid excess and indulgent behavior, as well as taking on responsibilities that don't belong to you. Map out your schedule and stick to it. Choose self-improvement over criticizing others.

ScoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Look for an opportunity to discover what others have to offer that you can incorporate into your plans. Scrutiny is necessary to avoid mistakes. Watch, transform and conclude.

SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Refuse to let the little things upset you or hold you back. Embrace what life has to offer; apply your skills, and the impact you have will help you move in a positive direction.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Stop pondering over what to do next; do what's necessary and keep moving. The point is to stay busy and avoid criticism It's up to you to build your opportunities on solid ground.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Share your thoughts and feelings with those who affect your life emotionally or finan-

cially. A change will provide a unique blend of learning and financial assistance.

PIScES (Feb. 20-March 20) Seekoutopportunities, and you can find them today. Put your energy and discipline behind your dreams, and you'll discover something or someone that extends your vision. Avoid taking physical risks. ARIES (March 21-April 19) It's up to you to take the lead in the conversation if you want to have a significant impact on how things unfold. Refuse to let emotions interfere with what's important to you.

tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Be careful what you share with associates. Personal information can put you in a vulnerable spot if you are too revealing. The best change you can make is in how you approach your responsibilities.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Learn from experience, and it will help you avoid confusion and uncertainty. Discipline and hard work will pave the way to a brighter future.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Overreacting will cost you. When in doubt, sit tight, say little, observe and consider how to utilize your energy to move forward. Do as much work as you can on your own to save money.

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy'S cLuE: R EQuALS V

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe peAnUtS

FrAnK And erneSt SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’sPuzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

DenisDiderot,an18th-centuryFrench art critic, philosopher and writer, said, “There arethree principal means of acquiring knowledge: observation of nature, reflection andexperimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them;experimentation verifiesthe result of that combination.”

At thebridge table, declarer, after observing thedummy, collects facts winners and losers —and reflects by combining them. Then he tries to find the best lineofplay without experimentation. In today’s deal, how should South play insixno-trumpafterWestleadstheclub jack?

As soon as North opened the bidding, Southknewitwas either asix or seven deal. But he started quietly with atwodiamond response. However, when Northraised diamonds, South launched Blackwood to learn that the diamond king wasmissing. South can afford one diamond loser, not two. If thesuit is splitting 2-1, there are no problems. So declarer should assumea3-0 break.

If South first cashes his ace, he loses two tricks when West discards.Similarly, if declarer starts by calling for dummy’squeen, he fails when East has the void. The guaranteed line is to take

thefirst trick on the board and play the diamond three. If East pitches, South winswithhis ace and leads back toward dummy’s queen. But when Eastplays the two, declarer covers with his four! Here,thatwinsthetrickandthecontract is safe. But if West takes the trick, the suit must be 2-1. ©2025 by nEa,inc., dist.

By andrews mcmeel

syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

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

toDAy’S WoRD toMcAtS: TOM-kats:Male domestic cats

Average mark14words

Time limit 25 minutes

Can you find 19 or morewords in TOMCATS?

yEStERDAy’S WoRD —ScAPuLAS

salsa scalp scapula scaup scup slap casual causal clap clasp class cusp alas pass plus puss lass

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

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

WiShinG Well

the number of

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

&78's.

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CEMETERY PLOTS

Requestfor Proposals (RFP)for VehiclePur‐chaseRFP Number: HLE001 IssueDate: 7/10/25 Proposal DueDate: 8/10/2025, 2pmCST ContactInformation: Anne Chapman ChiefFinancial Ofﬁcer LouisianaSociety forthe Prevention of Crueltyto Animals(LASPCA) 1700 MardiGrasBlvd, NewOrleans,LA70114

1. Introduction TheLASPCAisseeking proposalsfromqualiﬁed vendorsfor thepurchase of vehicles in compliance with federalfundingre‐quirements. This RFP outlines thespeciﬁca‐tionsand requirements forthe acquisitionof thesevehiclestoensure adherencetofederal guidelines andtomeet theneedsofour organi‐zation

2. Organization History Charteredin1888, the LASPCA theLouisiana SPCA is theoldestand most comprehensiveani‐mal welfareorganization in thestate andservesto protectthe well-being of OrleansParishanimals Ourcurrent facility erectedafter Hurricane Katrina, serves thou‐sandsofanimals annu‐ally.The facilityisthe only open admissions shelterinOrleans Parish andprovidesnumerous services includingen‐forcementofcityordi‐nances,adoptions,fos‐ter, low-cost medical care,community vacci‐nation events,a commu‐nity food petpantryand more Learnmoreat: www.louisianaspca.org https://www.instagram com/laspca/ https://www.facebook com/thelaspca

3. ScopeofWork Theselectedvendorwill be responsiblefor pro‐viding anddeliveringve‐hicles that meet thefol‐lowing speciﬁcations: oTypeand Quantity of Vehicles:4 New(four) ¾ Ton Pick

ments: Allvehiclesmust comply with

datesthatall manufac‐turedproductsare

ducedinthe

oDisadvantaged Busi‐ness Enterprise (DBE)Re‐quirements:Vendors are encouragedtoengage with DBEs.Provide infor‐mation on howyourpro‐posalsupportsDBE par‐ticipation oDavis-Bacon Act: If ap‐plicable,ensurecompli‐ance with wage rate re‐quirements as perthe Davis-BaconAct oAdministrativeRequire‐ments: Adherencetofed‐eral grantadministrative requirements,including procurementstandards andrecord-keeping. oSam.gov:Mustnot be debarred from doing business with thefederal government andorgani‐zation canbefound as such whensearchedon Sam.gov oConﬂictofInterest: must disclose anyactual or perceivedconﬂictof interest with theLASPCA or anyofLASPCAboard members, executive leadership,orpersons employed by LASPCA in‐volved in procurementof this vehicle. o

4BR/2BAHome. 8815 FigSt. Appliances included,central a/h, yard $1400/mo.Sec 8welcome.Text or Call Earnest504-473-8128

TheCarsonCompany,Inc of NewOrleans Realtors 2553 OrleansAvenue,NOLA 2900 ThirdSt. #15, 1Bd/1Ba........$700 2757 OrleansAve Comm'l...........$900 2513 Pasadena (Met), 1Bd/1Ba...$995 2300 N. BroadSt.,1Bd/1Ba.........$1236 6126 Baccich St 2Bds/1.5Bas...$1300 2503 S. DorgenoisSt, 2Bds/1Ba.$1425 1927 Painters,3Bds/2Bas...........$1500 1221 N. Miro #1 (Sec 8Ok) 2/1..$1600 1223 N. Miro,5Bds/2Bas.............$3000 6131 Eastover,5Bds/2Bas..........$5000

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oCostProposal: Detailed pricinginformation,in‐cludingany applicable taxes, fees,and delivery costs. oComplianceDocumen‐tation:Evidenceof com‐pliancewithfederal re‐quirements,including certifications, non-de‐barmentstatus, conflict of interest statement, andattestations. oReferences: At least threereferencesfrom previous clientswith similarvehicle procure‐ment projects 7. Evaluation Criteria Proposalswillbeevalu‐ated basedonthe follow‐ingcriteria: oCompliancewithSpeci‐fications:How well the proposed vehicles meet thespecified require‐ments. oCost: Overallcost, in‐cludingpricing andany additional fees oVendorExperience: Relevant experience and qualificationsofthe ven‐dor. oCompliancewithFed‐eral Requirements:Ad‐herencetofederal fund‐ingrequirementsand regulations. oDeliverySchedule: Abil‐itytomeet thespecified deliverytimeline. 8. Submission Instruc‐tions Allproposals must be submittedbyAugust 10th, 2025, 2pmCST,to Anne Chapmanachap‐man@laspca.org.Late submissionswillnot be considered 8. Additional Information Forany questionsorre‐quests forclarification regardingthisRFP please contactAnne Chapmanatachapma@ laspca.org by July 31st ,2025. 9. RighttoReject TheLASPCAreservesthe righttorejectany or all proposals, to waiveany informalitiesorirregular‐itiesinthe proposal process, andtonegotiate with anyorall qualified vendorstoensurethe

MardiGrasBlvd NewOrleans,LA70114 achapman@laspca.org

Thankyou foryourinter‐estinthisRFP.Welook forwardtoreceiving your proposal 149680-jul15-31 $1,561 49 JML2025 SPECIALELECTION –JUDGE, CIVILDISTRICT COURT, DIVISION N, PARISH OF ORLEANS WHEREAS, avacancy ex‐ists in theoffice of Judge, CivilDistrictCourt,Divi‐sion N, Parish of Orleans, duetothe resignationof theHonorable EthelS Julien,effective Decem‐ber31, 2025; WHEREAS, R.S. 18:621re‐quires theGovernorto call aspecial election to fill thevacancy in an ex‐isting judgeshipwhen more than twelve (12) months of thetermre‐main unexpired, in accor‐dancewiththe provi‐sionsofLa. R.S. 18:621 and/or thedates forelec‐tionsset forthinLa. R.S. 18:402. NOWTHEREFORE,I,JEFF LANDRY,Governorofthe StateofLouisiana,by virtue of theauthority vested by theConstitu‐tion andlawsofthe State of Louisiana, do hereby orderand direct as fol‐lows: Section1:A specialpri‐mary andgeneral elec‐tion forthe unexpired term shallbeheld throughout thejurisdic‐tion of Judge, CivilDis‐trictCourt,DivisionN Parish of Orleans, forthe purposeofelecting a judgeto fill thevacancy in theoffice Section2:Any qualified person desiring to be‐come acandidate forthe office shall file anotice of candidacy, accompa‐nied either by aqualify‐ingfee or anominating petition,asrequiredor authorized by law, with theappropriate election official in themanner andform, andunder the procedures andcondi‐tions, provided by R.S. 18:461etseq andall otherapplicable provi‐sionsofthe Louisiana Election Code,R.S.18:1et seq.,duringthe period commencing Wednesday, d d

g y January14, 2026 and end‐ingFriday, January16, 2026. Section3:The special election shallbeheld andconducted under the applicable provisions of theLouisiana Election Code,La. R.S. 18:1 et seq. Section4:The primary election shallbeheld Saturday,April 18, 2026, andthe generalelection shallbeheldSaturday, May30, 2026, at the timesand places andin themanner, prescribed by law. Section5:The Secretary of State, Commissioner of Elections, Parish Board of Election Supervisors, ClerkofCourt,Registrar of Voters,and allother personscharged with anypower,function right, duty or responsibil‐ityinconductingelec‐tionsinthe jurisdiction of Judge, CivilDistrict Court, Division N, Parish of Orleans, arehereby authorized,requested directed andempowered to exercise everylawful function andtodoevery actnecessary to conduct thespecial election,to causethe returnstobe made,tocanvass and promulgate theresults andtoperform allre‐latedand incidental functions.

IN WITNESSWHEREOF,I have setmyhandofﬁ‐cially andcausedtobe afﬁxedthe GreatSealof theState of Louisianain theCityofBaton Rouge, on this 22ndday of July 2025.

Jeff Landry GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA ATTEST BY THE SECRETARYOFSTATE NancyLandry SECRETARYOFSTATE 151635-jul29-1t $40.64