The Advocate 07-30-2025

Unusualcoalition fights plants forMeta

Environmentalists, oilcompanies oppose data center powerproposal

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

It’snot often that environmental groups and oil companies team up for acause. The plan to power Meta’s giant AI data centerinremote Louisiana has proved to be arare exception.

Acoalition of some of Louisiana’s largestoil, gas and petrochemical companies are fighting the proposal from Entergy to spend billions on three new power plantsand related infrastructure to support thetech giant’sbiggest ever data center They have joinedenvironmental and consumer watchdogs in the effort.

Thecompanies, under thebanner the Louisiana Energy Users Group (LEUG), allege Entergy’splan would createan“unprecedented risk”toother utility customers, potentially leaving themtocover costs. Entergy says safeguards will be in place, while Meta and state officials highlight the economicdevelopment benefitsthe project will bring to an impoverished area of northeast Louisiana.

La.OMV replacing computer system

Vendor selected in drivetospeed service

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Getting adriver’slicense, registration or other service from Louisiana’sOffice of Motor Vehicles couldget mucheasierbecause the state has selected avendor to replace its half-century-oldcomputer system, state officials said “It’ll be modern. It’ll be quick. It’ll be easy in-and-out of the OMVs,” said Bryan Adams, who has overseen the agency since Dan Casey resigned as commissioner in March. “Wehope tomake theexperience when yougoto the Office of Motor Vehicles alot friendlier than it is now,because obviously the system we have is outdated. It’sslow.Itshuts down.”

Gov.Jeff Landry announced Tuesday the choice of anew system in avideo posted on social media, saying Louisianans will be able to “rely on astate-of-the-art program.” The video is part of his ‘Diner Days’ series on YouTube. Eventually,the state hopes Louisianans will be able to access some services online, but officials donot yet know what exactly will bepossible,Adamssaid.

“Ultimately we want to be able to give our citizens achoice and make it much easierfor themto renew their driver’slicenses,addressissues at OMV,get adriver’s license,” Landry said. “Wewant

ä See OMV, page 7A

Entergy,the state’slargest utility, is building the plants to power the facility,which will sit on agricultural land the size of around 70 football fields andconsume moreelectricity than two New Orleans summers.

Meta, theparent company of Facebook,Instagramand WhatsApp, announced itsplan in December to build the $10 billion data center in rural Richland Parish. The new facility will be acenterpiece of thetech company’sracetocreate technology smarter than the human brain

Sharing of satellite stormdata to continue

Federalgovernmenthad planned to cutprogram

BY KASEYBUBNASH Staff writer

The federal government is reversing course on aplan to cut crucial hurricane forecasting satellitedata followingpushback from meteorologists and government officials nationwide.

Erica Grow Cei, aspokespersonfor the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday thatdatacollected throughthe DefenseMeteorologicalSatellite Program would continue to be distributed forthe foreseeable future.

DMSP satellites,which are operated by NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, provide environmental and weather information used both in the planning of U.S. military operationsand NOAA’s weatherforecasts, according to the agency

While Grow Cei said the program represents just one dataset in “a robust suite” of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools used by NOAA, hurricane and weather experts say the loss of DMSP satellites, which offer unique capabilities that help scientists track storms at night andspotsigns of rapid intensification, would be adevastating blow.

The U.S. Department of Defense first announced plans to halt data collection through the program in late June, with the suspension slated for June 30. No reasoning was providedina servicenotice issued by NOAA on June 26.

The newscame as ashock to local and nationalweather forecasters, many of whom complained of having little to no notice regarding thecriticalchange. Theyalso

Police sayN.Y.gunman wastryingtoget to

He claimedtohave braindisease linked to contactsports

BY JENNIFER PELTZ, CEDAR

JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

NEW YORK Agunman who killed four peopleinside aManhattan office towerblamedhis mental health problems on the NFL and intended to target the league’s headquarters upstairs, buthetook the wrong elevator,officials said Tuesday

Investigatorssaid Shane Tamura, aLas Vegas casino worker, wascarryinga handwritten note in hiswallet that claimed he sufferedfromchronic traumatic encephalopathy,known as CTE, and accused the league of hiding the dangers ofbrain injuries linked to contact sports.

Tamura, 27,shotseveral people in the skyscraper’s lobby andanother in a33rd-floor office on Mondaybefore he killed himself, authorities said. Among thevictims were an off-duty New York City police officer and asecurityguard.

Theattacker’sgrievances with the NFL emerged as police began piecing togetherthe details of his

life and thecross-country road trip thatbrought him to Manhattan.It’sunclear if Tamura showed symptoms of CTE, which can only be diagnosedby examining the brainafter aperson dies.

Tamura, who played high school football in Californiaadecadeago butnever played in the NFL, had ahistory of mental illness, police said. In the three-page note found on his body,heaccused the NFL

ä See GUNMAN, page 7A

Tamura

Tsunami alertissued after quake in Pacific TOKYO— Japan’smeteorologicalagency issued atsunami alert for Japan’s Pacific coast, upgrading an earlier advisory stemming from thepowerful, magnitude 8.7quake thathit on Wednesday morning near Russia’sKamchatka Peninsula.

The agency issued an advisory for atsunami of up to 3yards across the Pacific coast of Japan,possibly startingtoarrive along the northern Japanese coasts in less than half an hour after the alert.

Atsunami warning also was extended to the U.S. state of Hawaii,withthe National Weather Service’sPacific TsunamiWarning Center saying atsunami from the quake had been generatedthat could causedamage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.

“Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property,” the warning stated. The first waves were expected around 7 p.m. local time.

Japan’smeteorological agency said the quake occurred at8:25 a.m. local time and registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0. The quake was about 160miles away from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost of the country’s four big islands, and was felt onlyslightly,according to Japan’sNHK television.

The U.S. Geological Survey said it hit at adepth of 12 miles.

The USGC said shortlyafter initial reports that the quake’s strengthwas 8.7magnitude Russia’sTass news agency reported from the biggest city nearby,Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,that many peopleran out into the street without shoes or outerwear.Cabinets toppled inside homes, mirrors were broken, cars swayed in the street and balconies on buildingsshook noticeably.

Tass also reported power outages and mobile phone service failures.

The National TsunamiWarningCenter,basedinAlaska, issued atsunami warningfor parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and awatch for portions of the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hawaii Twostorms rumble off the coast of Hawaii

HONOLULU Amajor hurricane was churning across the Pacific Ocean but was several hundred miles south-southeast of Hawaii and posed no threat to the islands, forecasters saidTuesday.

Hurricane Iona is one of two major weather systems in the central Pacific Ocean. In its latest advisory, theMiami-based U.S. NationalHurricane Center said Iona wasabout 735milesawayfromHonolulu, with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph.

Additional strengthening was forecastlater on Tuesday,with steady weakening expected to begin by Wednesday.Iona was moving west at 14 mph.

Hurricane Iona is thefirst named storm of the hurricane season in the central Pacific and emerged Sunday from atropical depression.Itcontinues to trek west over warm, open waters. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Keli has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph,the NHC said Tuesday.Itwas about 790miles southeast of Honolulu and was moving west at about 15 mph.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

12-hour boat chase nets 11/2 tons of coke

SANTODOMINGO,Dominican Republic Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Tuesday that they chased aboat for more than 12 hours and discovered 11/2 tons of cocaine aboard it.

It’sone of the Caribbean country’sbiggest seizures in history, said Carlos Devers, spokespersonfor the country’sAnti-Drug Agency.Helicopters, boats and cars were involved in thechase, which beganMonday off the country’ssouth coast near Pedernales. It ended with the arrest of three Dominicans and one Colombian, Devers said.

Authorities also seized items including acellphone, 13 jerrycans of fuel, asmall cooler filled with water and food, and abackpack with achange of clothes.

Trumpcapshis Scottish visit by openinganew golf course

‘Mymotherwas born here,and sheloved it’

BY WILL WEISSERT and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

BALMEDIE, Scotland— Golf and Scot-

landare close to U.S. President Donald Trump’sheart, and both were in play Tuesday as he opened anew eponymouscourse in the land of his mother’sbirth, capping afive-day trip that was largely about promoting his family’sluxury properties.

Flanked by sons Eric and Donald Jr., Trumpcounted “1-2-3” and wielded apair of golden scissors to cut ared ribbon marking the ceremonialopening of the new Trump course in the village of Balmedie on Scotland’s northerncoast.

“This hasbeen an unbelievable development,” Trump said before theribbon-cutting. He thanked Eric, who designed the course, saying his work on the project was “truly alabor of love for him.” EricTrump said thecourse was hisfather’s“passion project.”

Immediately afterward, President Trump, Eric Trump andtwo professional golfers teed off on the first hole with plans to play afull 18 before the president returns to Washington on Tuesdaynight.

Trumprarely allows the news me-

dia to watch his golf game, though video journalists and photographers often find him along the course whenever he plays.

President Trump’sshot had asolid sound andsoared straight,high and relatively far.Clearly pleased, he turned to thecameras and did an almost half-bow “He likes thecourse, ladies and gentlemen,” Eric Trumpsaid.

Billed as the “Greatest 36 Holes in Golf,” the TrumpInternational GolfLinks, Scotland, is hosting back-to-back weekend tournaments beforeitbegins offering rounds to thepublic on Aug. 13.

President Trumpworked some official business into the trip by holding talks withBritish Prime MinisterKeir Starmerand reaching atrade framework for tariffs between the U.S.and the European Union’s27member countries— though scores of key details remain to be settled

Butthe tripitselfwas centered around golf, andthe presidential visit served to raise thenew course’sprofile.

Trump’sassetsare in atrust and his sons are running thefamily business while he’s in the White House. Anybusiness generated at the course will ultimatelyenrich the president when he leaves office, though.

The new golf course will be the third owned by the TrumpOrganization in Scotland. Trumpbought Turnberry in 2014 and ownsanother course near Aberdeen that opened in 2012.

Trump golfedatTurnberry on Saturday,asprotesters took to the streets, and on Sunday,before meetinginthe afternoon with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

The occasion blended twothings dear to Trump: golf and Scotland.

His mother,the late Mary Anne MacLeod, wasborn on the Isle of Lewis on the north coast.

“WeloveScotland here. My mother was born here,and she loved it,” Trumpsaid Tuesday

Perhaps the only mood-buster forTrump are the wind turbines thatare part of anearby windfarm andcan be seen fromaround the new course.

Trump,who often speaks about his hatred of windmills, sued in 2013 to block construction of the wind farm but lost the case and was eventually ordered to pay legal costsfor filing the lawsuit —a matter that still enrages him more than adecade later Trumpsaid on anew episode of the New York Post’s“Pod Force One” podcast that the “ugly windmills” area“shame” and are “really hurting” Scotland.

Childkilledbybrain-eating amoeba afterS.C.lakeouting

Parentsseekmore warnings, watertesting

BY JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press

COLUMBIA,S.C. Twoweeks after Jaysen Carr spent the Fourth of July swimming andriding on aboat on one of SouthCarolina’smost popular lakes, he wasdead from an amoebathatlives in thewarm water andentered hisbrainthrough his nose.

His parents had no clue the brain-eating amoeba,whose scientific name is Naegleria fowleri, even existed in Lake Murray, just 15 miles west of Columbia. Theyfound outwhen adoctor,intears, told them the diagnosisafter what seemed like afairly regular headache and nausea took aserious turn.

Jaysen, 12, fought for aweek before dying on July 18, making him oneofabout 160 people known to have died from the amoeba in the U.S. in thepast60years.

As they grieve their son, the boy’sparents said they were stunned to learn South Carolina, like most other U.S.states, has no law requiring public reporting of deaths orinfections fromthe amoeba.

The lake wasn’tclosed and no water testing was performed. If they hadn’tspoken up, they wonder if anyone would have even known what happened.

“I can’tbelieve we don’thaveour son.

The result of him being achild was losing his life. Thatdoes not sit well. And Iam terrified it will happen to someone else,” ClarenceCarrsaid,ashis wife sat beside him, hugging astuffedtiger thathad arecordingoftheir middle child’sheartbeat Jaysenloved sports. He played football and baseball.Helovedpeople, too. As soon as he met you, he was your friend, his fathersaid.Hewas smartenough to

have skippeda grade in school andtoplay

several instruments in his middle school band in Columbia.

Friendsinvited Jaysen andhis family for the Fourth of July holiday on the lake, where Jaysen spent hours swimming, fishing andriding on an innertube that was being pulled by aboat.

“Mom and Dad, that was the best Fourth of July I’veeverhad,” Clarence Carrremembered his son telling him.

Afew days later,Jaysen’shead started to hurt. Painrelievers helped. But the next day the headache got worse and he startedthrowingup. He told theemergencyroomdoctorsexactlywhere he was hurting. But soon he started to get disoriented and lethargic.

The amoeba was in his brain, already causing an infection and destroying brain tissue. The amoeba caused an infection called primaryamebic meningoencephalitis. Fewer than 10 people ayear get it in theU.S., and over 95% of them die. The last death from theamoeba in South Carolina was in 2016, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.

Suspect sought in questioning over park murders

BY ANDREWDEMILLO Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Arkansas po-

lice released aphoto Tuesday of aman wanted forquestioning in the investigation into the weekend killing of amarried couple in front of their children at Devil’sDen State Park.

The image released by state police doesn’t show theman’s face,and comes aday after police released acomposite sketchofa person of interest. Detailsabout theattack,including how thecouplewas killedora motive forthe killing, remained scarce.

ClintonDavid Brink, 43, andCristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead on awalking trail Saturday at Devil’sDen, 2,500-acre state park in northwest Arkansas Their daughters, whoare 7and 9, were not hurt and are being cared forbyfamily members, authorities have said.

Policehavenot said howthe couple were killed, but said Monday night the killer likely was injured during the attack. Authorities have asked the public to report tips andurged trailgoers who were at Devil’sDen on Saturdaytolook through their photos and videos for possible images of the suspect. State police said they have received“numerous calls” but have released fewdetails about the investigation.

Police have notidentifiedthe killer,but have provided adescription, the composite sketch and the photo of aperson of interest.

The photo was provided by a witness whowas at Devil’sDen State Park on Saturday,police said. The photo wastaken from behind anddoes notshowthe person of interest’sface.

Officials described the suspect as aWhite male wearing dark shorts, adark ball cap, sunglasses and fingerless gloves. He was seen driving toward apark exit in ablack, fourdoor sedan.

Artistsketch

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByJACQUELyN

President DonaldTrump is followedbybagpipers at the opening ceremony

Linksgolf course, near Aberdeen, Scotland,onTuesday.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Clarence Carr and his son, Jaysen, at his middle school football game in Columbia, S.C.

Thailand,Cambodia

BY JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press

SURIN,Thailand Aceasefire

between Thailand and Cambodia appeared shaky but remained in place Tuesday as tensions lingered despite atruce agreement to end deadly border clashes following economic pressure from the U.S.

The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect at midnight on Monday,but was quickly tested.

Thailand’sarmy accused Cambodia of launching attacks in multiple areas early Tuesday,but Cambodia said there was no firing in any location.

While some spillover had been anticipated in the hours immediately after the ceasefire took effect, a Thai government statement late Tuesday said that anew clash had brokenout at one of the locations where there hadpreviouslybeen heavy fighting.

Jirayu Huangsap, a spokesperson for the office of Thailand prime minister, saidinatext message to journaliststhat the Thai military“is currently responding and controlling the situation” at Phu Makhuea, a

mountain in adisputedarea next to Thaikand’sSisaket province.

Thailand’sarmyhad said the morning fighting stopped after military commanders along the border from bothsides met. They agreed to halt troop movements, avoid escalation and establish coordination teams before ajoint border committeemeetinginCambodia on Aug. 4, army spokesman Major Gen. Winthai Suvaree said.

CambodianDefenseMinister TeaSeihasaid that he spoke to his Thai counterpart about “incidents” that occurred during the implementation of theceasefire, but stressed that Cambodia’s army abided by thetruce He said that Cambodiandefense officials would lead a delegation of diplomats, foreign military attachés and others toobserve the situation.

The Thai government separately said it hascomplained to Malaysia, theU.S. andChinaabout Cambodia’s alleged breach of the ceasefire agreement There were signs of calm alongthe border, with some of the more than 260,000 people displaced by the fighting returning to their homes.

Russianbombs kill 27 in Ukraine

Trumpgives Putin10days

Volodymyr Zelenskyysaid thatovernight Russian strikes across thecountry hit

TrumpsaysU.S.willhelpinGaza

Countrywill partnerwithIsrael on food centers

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday thatthe U.S. will partner with Israel to run newfood centersinGazatoaddress the worsening humanitariancrisis there, but he and U.S.officials offered few additional details about the planorhow it would differ from existing food distributioncenters.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from atrip to Scotlandthat Israelwould preside over the new food centers “to make sure the distribution is proper.”

“We’regoing to be dealing withIsrael, and we think theycan do agood job of it,” Trump said.

The opaque details come as theTrump administrationisfacing calls at home andabroad to do more to addressthe hunger crisis in Gaza.

TheU.S.’sclose ally,Israel, is at the center of an international outcry as more images of emaciated children continue to emerge.

Thatpressure comes after the U.S. pulled out of talks last week to try to broker aceasefire in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war,accusing Hamasofactinginbad faith.But Trumpthis week broke withIsraeliPrime MinisterBenjaminNetanyahu, disagreeing publicly withhim about starvation in Gazaand citing the pictures of hungrypeople.

TheWhite House described it as “a newaid plan”

to help people in Gaza obtain accesstofood and promised that details would emerge. It did not elaborate.

StateDepartment spokeswoman Tammy Brucesaid Tuesday that she didn’t know “the framework” of how the new aid distribution would work.

“I’mwaiting for the president to return.Idon’twant to getahead of him,”Bruce said.

Democrats in Congress have imploredthe Trump administration to step up its role in addressing the sufferingand starvation in Gaza.

More than 40 senators signedaletterTuesday urging the Trumpadministration to resume ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing the Israeli-backed American organization that had already been created to distribute food aid.

Sen. TimKaine, aVirginia Democrat on theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, questionedwhy the U.S. was

not allowing long-standing aidgroups to run food centers.

“I’m glad that the president is saying that this is a problem. But if we want to solve the problem, turn to thefolks whohavebeendoing this fordecades,” Kaine said.

The few details Trump provided about the new food centers appeared similar to aprogram that wasalready rolled outinMay,after Israel had blocked all food, medicineand other imports for 21/2 months.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israelibacked American contractor,opened four food distribution sites that month.

Israel and GHF said that system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid. The United Nations, which has been distributing food in Gaza throughout the war when allowed, denies any significant diversion of aid by Hamas.

Hundreds of Palestinians

have been killed by Israeli forces while heading to the GHF sites, according to witnesses, health officials and theU.N.human rights office. Israel says its forces have only firedwarning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says itsarmed contractors have only used pepper spray and fired occasional shots in theair to preventdangerous crowding.

The aid sites are in Israeli military zones, which is off limitstoindependent media.

The U.N. refuses to cooperate with GHF, saying its model violates humanitarianprinciplesbyforcing Palestinians to travel long distancesand risk their lives for food and because it allows Israel to control aid anduse it to furthermass displacement.

Trump said Tuesday that he last spoke to Netanyahu twodaysearlierand that the Israeli leader wants to distribute food“in aproper manner.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByABDEL KAREEM HANA Palestinians struggle to getdonated food at acommunity kitchen located in Gazaon Saturday.

EPArulerepealproposed

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’sadministration on Tuesday proposed revoking ascientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissionsand fight climate change.

The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescinda2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The “endangerment finding” is the legal underpinning of ahost of climate regulations under theClean AirAct for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.

Repealing the finding “will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America,” EPAAdministrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday

“There are people who, in the name of climate change, are willing to bankruptthe country,” Zeldinsaidonthe conservative“Ruthless” podcast. “They created this endangerment finding and then they are able to put all these regulations on vehicles, on airplanes, on stationary sources, to basically regulate out of existence, in many cases, alot of segments of our economy.And it cost Americans alot of money.”

The EPAproposal must go though alengthy review process, including public comment, before it is finalized, likely next year.Environmental groups are likely to challenge the rule change in court.

ment findingtobefound anywhere,itshould be found on this administration because what they’re doing is so contrary to what the Environmental Protection Agencyisabout,” Christine Todd Whitman,who led EPA under Republican President GeorgeW.Bush, said after Zeldin’s plan was madepublic.

The EPAproposalfollows an executive order from Trumpthatdirected the agency to submit areport “on the legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding. Conservativesand some congressional Republicans hailed the plan, calling it a way to undoeconomically damaging rules to regulate greenhouse gases.

Epstein‘stole’ staff from Mar-a-Lago spa, presidentsays

Maxwellsays she’swilling to talk forimmunity

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN and ERICTUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trumpsaid Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein “stole” young women whoworked forthe spa at Mar-a-Lago, thelatest evolutioninhis description of how their highly scrutinized relationship ended years ago.

courthouse by the Justice Department’sNo. 2official, though officials have not publicly disclosed what she said. Her lawyers said Tuesday that she’swilling to answer morequestions from Congress if she is granted immunity fromfuture prosecution for her testimony Aboard Air Force One while returning from Scotland, Trump said he was upsetthatEpsteinwas “taking people whoworked forme.” The women, he said, were “taken out of the spa, hired by him —inother words, gone.”

Zeldin called for arewrite of theendangerment finding in March as part of aseries of environmental rollbacks announced at thesame time in what he said was “the greatest dayofderegulation in American history.”

Atotal of 31 key environmental rules on topics from cleanair to cleanwater and climatechange would be rolled backorrepealedunderZeldin’splan

Under the Obamaand Bidenadministrations, his predecessors at EPA“twisted thelaw,ignored precedentand warped science to achievetheir preferred ends andstick American families with hundreds of billions ofdollars in hidden taxes every singleyear,” Zeldin said Tuesdayatan eventinIndiana announcing theproposed rule change. TheEPA also called for rescindinglimits on tailpipe emissions that were designedtoencourageautomakers to build and sell moreelectric vehicles, a rule Trump incorrectly labels an EV“mandate.” The transportation sector isthe largest source of greenhousegas emissions in the United States.

Environmentalgroups saidZeldin’saction seeks to deny reality even as weather disasters exacerbated by climatechangegrowworse in theU.S.and around the world.

“As Americans reel from deadly floodsand heat waves, theTrumpadministration is trying to argue that the emissions turbocharging these disasters are nota threat,” said Christy Goldfuss, executive directorofthe Natural Resources Defense Council. “It boggles themind and endangers the nation’s safety andwelfare.”

UnderZeldin andTrump, “the EPAwants to shirk its responsibility to protect us from climatepollution, but science and the law say otherwise,” she added. “IfEPA finalizes this illegal and cynical approach, we will see them in court.”

Three former EPAleaders have also criticized Zeldin, saying his March announcement targeting theendangerment finding andother rules imperiled thelivesof millions of Americansand abandonedthe agency’s dual mission to protect the environment and human health.

“If there’s an endanger-

Butenvironmental groups, legal experts and Democrats said anyattempt to repealor rollback theendangerment finding would be an uphill task withslim chance of success.

The Supreme Courtruled in 2007 that EPAhas authority to regulate greenhouse gases as airpollutants under theClean Air Act.

The EPAproposal“seeks to deny settled science by creating legal distinctions that have no basis in the law,” said Abigail Dillen, president of theenvironmentallaw firm Earthjustice. Rather thantakeseriously itsresponsibility to protect public health,“the Trump administrationis pretending that thepollution causing climate change is not hurting us, even as we suffer moredevastating climatedisasters every year,” she said.

If finalized, repeal of theendangerment finding would erasecurrent limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars,factories, power plantsand other sources and could prevent future administrationsfrom proposing rulestotackle climate change.

One of the women, he acknowledged, wasVirginia Giuffre, who was among Epstein’smostwell-known sex trafficking accusers.

Trump’scomments expanded on remarks he had madeaday earlier,when he said he had banned Epsteinfrom his private club in Florida twodecades ago because his one-timefriend “stolepeople that worked for me.” At the time, he did not makeclear who those workers were.

The Republican president hasfaced an outcry over his administration’srefusal to releasemorerecords about Epstein after promises of transparency,a rare example of strain within Trump’stightly controlled political coalition. Trump has attempted to tamp down questions about the case, expressingannoyance that people arestill talking about it six years after Epstein died by suicide while awaitingtrial, even though some of his own allies have promoted conspiracy theories about it.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’simprisoned former girlfriend, was recentlyinterviewed inside aFlorida

“I said, listen, we don’t want you taking ourpeople,” Trumpsaid.When it happenedagain, Trump said he bannedEpstein from Mar-a-Lago.

AskedifGiuffre wasone of the employees poached by Epstein, he demurred but then said “he stole her.”

TheWhite Houseoriginally saidTrump banned EpsteinfromMar-a-Lago because he wasacting like a“creep.”

Giuffre died by suicide earlierthis year.She claimed that Maxwell spotted her working as aspa attendantatMar-a-Lago in 2000, when shewas ateenager,and hired her as Epstein’smasseuse, whichled to sexual abuse.

Although Giuffre’s allegationsdid notbecomepart of criminalprosecutions against Epstein, she is central to conspiracy theories about the case. She accused Epstein of pressuring her into having sex. Maxwell, who hasdenied Giuffre’sallegations, is serving a20-year-prison sentenceina Florida federal prisonfor conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.

U.S.,China agreetoworkonextending tariff pause

Talkscontinuein

Stockholm

BY JAMEY KEATEN and DIDI TANG Associated Press

STOCKHOLM— The United Statesand China have agreed to work on extending adeadline for new tariffs on each other after two days of trade talks in Stockholm concluded on Tuesday, accordingtoBeijing’s top trade official.

The U.S. side says the extension was discussed, but not decided.

China’sinternational trade representative Li Chenggang said the two sides had “in-depth, candid and constructive” discussions and agreed to workon extending apause in tariffs beyond an Aug. 12 deadline for atrade deal.

“Both sides are fully aware the importance of maintaining astable, healthyChina-U.S.economic and trade relations,” Li said, without elaborating how the extension would work.

chase agreementsofU.S agriculturaland energy products, and reduce trade deficits.

The latest round of talks opened Monday in Stockholm to trytobreak alogjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world’s two largesteconomies.

Thetwo sides previously met in Genevaand London to address specific issues —triple-digit tariffs that amounted to atradeembargo and export controls on criticalproducts —China’s chokehold on rare earth magnets, and U.S. restrictionsonsemiconductors.

ward locking in any major agreements between their two countries.

“I would saybeforethe end of the year,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.

On his Truth Social media platform, Trump insisted late Mondaythathewas not “seeking” asummitwithXi, but may go to Chinaatthe Chinese leader’sinvitation, “whichhas been extended. Otherwise, no interest!”

Trumpannounced earlier in July elevated tariff rates against dozens of countries. China remains perhaps the biggest challenge

“The Chinesehave been very pragmatic,” Greer said in comments posted on social mediabyhis office late Monday.

U.S.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the talks as a“very fulsome two dayswith the Chinese delegation.”

He said they touched on U.S. concerns over China’s purchaseofIranian oil, supplying Russia with dual-use tech that could be used on the battlefield, and manufacturing goods at arate beyondwhat is sustained

by

global demand

“Wejust need to de-risk with certain, strategic industries, whether it’sthe rare earths,semiconductors, medicines, and we talkedabout what we could do togethertoget intobalance within therelationship,” Bessentsaid.

He stressedthatthe U.S seeks to restore domestic manufacturing, secure pur-

Monday’s discussionslasted nearlyfive hours behind closed doors at the office of Swedish Prime Minister UlfKristersson.Before the talks resumed Tuesday Kristersson met with Bessentand U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast.

The talks in Stockholm unfolded as President Donald Trump is mulling plans to meet ChinesePresident Xi Jinping, asummit that could be acrucial step to-

Bessent told reporters the summit was notdiscussed in Stockholmbut that they did talk about“the desire of the two presidents for the trade team and the Treasury team to have trade negotiations with our Chinese counterparts.”

Greer said theAmerican team wouldheadbackto Washingtonand “talk to the president about” the extension of the August deadline and see “whether that’s something that he wants to do.”

TheU.S. has struck deals over tariffs with some of its keytrading partners —including Britain, Japan and theEuropean Union —since

“Wehave tensions now, but the fact thatweare regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us agood footing for these negotiations.”

Many analysts had expected thatthe Stockholm talks would result in an extension of current tariff levels, whichare farlower than the triple-digitpercentage rates proposed as the U.S.China tariff tiff reached a crescendo in April, sending world markets into atemporary tailspin.

The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a90-daypause whichends Aug. 12 —of those sky-high levels. They currently stand at U.S. tariffs of 30% on Chinese goods, and China’s10% tariff on U.S. products.

BY SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Reportfor America

More than 20 mostly Democratic-led states sued theTrumpadministration Tuesday over its efforts to cut Medicaid paymentsto the nation’slargestabortion provider—Planned Parenthood.

The move comes in response to the package of tax breaks and spending cuts Trump signed earlier this month.

Aportion of the new cuts are focused on services such as cancer screenings and tests, birth control and treat-

ment for sexually transmittedinfections —byending Medicaidreimbursements for ayear for major providersoffamily planning services.

Thecutsapplytogroups that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.

The goal was to target Planned Parenthood,but the legislationalso affecteda major medical provider in Maine.

California, New York, Connecticut,other states and Washington,D.C.argue in acomplaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts that theprovision’s

language is unclear about which groups it applies to. They also say it retaliates against Planned Parenthood for advocating for abortion access, violating thefree speech clause of theFirst Amendment

The statesare asking that the portion of thelaw be blocked anddeemed unconstitutional.

The cutsthreaten health care access formanylow-income Americans, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at anews conference.

“This attack isn’tjust aboutabortion,”the Democrat said. “It’sabout denying vulnerable communities

access to carethey rely on every day.”

But the U.S. Department of Health andHumanServices, named adefendant in thesuit,defended the provision.

“States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosenpolitical advocacy over patient care,” spokesperson Andrew G. Nixon said in an email. “It is ashame that these democrat attorney generals seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability.”

MaineFamily Planning, which operates 18 clinics

offering arange of services across the state, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed separate lawsuits earlierthis year challenging the cuts. Planned Parenthood said although it is not specifically named in thelaw,the provisionwas meant to affect its nearly 600 centers in 48 states.

About athird of those clinics risk closure because of the legislation, which would strip carefrom more than 1 millionpatients, the group argues.

Afederal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to receive

Medicaid reimbursements. Maine Family Planning said it hadenough in its reserves to keep seeing patients covered by Medicaid without reimbursements only through October.About half of the group’spatients not seeking abortions are enrolled in Medicaid. The states’ suit filedTuesdayargues that by pushing Planned Parenthood clinics to close or cut services, it could increase the states’ medicalcarecosts in the long term Otherwisethe cuts will make states usetheirown funds to keep health centers open.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FREDRIK SANDBERG

Chinese Vice PremierHeLifeng arrives to Rosenbad ahead of the second day of tradetalks between Chinaand the U.S., in Stockholm,Sweden, on Tuesday.

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of concealing the dangers to players’ brainsfor profit. Thedegenerative braindiseasehas been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports such as football

In thenote, Tamura repeatedly said he was sorry and asked that his brain be studied for CTE. He mentioned aPBS Frontline documentary about the disease and referenced former NFL player Terry Long, who was diagnosed withCTE, andthe manner in whichLongkilled himself in 2005.

The NFL long denied the link between football and CTE, but it acknowledged theconnection in 2016 testimony before Congress and haspaid more than $1.4 billion to retired playersto settle concussion-related claims.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who works outof the offices, called the shooting “an unspeakable actof violenceinour building,” saying he wasdeeplygrateful to the law enforcement officers who responded and to theone whogavehis life to protect others.

Goodell said in amemo to staff that aleague employee wasseriously injuredin the attackand washospitalized in stable condition.

Theshooting happened alongParkAvenue, oneof the nation’smost recognized streets, and just blocks from Grand Central Terminal and RockefellerCenter

The attack drew aresponse from the White House, with President Donald Trump posting on social media, “My heart is with the families of the four people who were killed, including the NYPD Officer,who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Tamura, who worked security at the Horseshoe Las Vegas but failed to show up to his shift Sunday,drove across the country over the past few days andinto New York City just before the at-

OMV

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to try to get them in aposition where —iftheywant to —they will be able to do it online.” CHAMP Titles will work with thestate to installthe new system.

“A lot of the stuff will be automated. We hope that you can do alot of it from LA Wallet, from your phone,” Adams said. “That’spartof what we’ve asked CHAMP to help us produce. We want to make the experience easy, quick and convenient.”

It is expected to take two years to fully install the new system, but Adams said the state hopes to complete the driver’slicense component of the system in one year

It will take time to build a system that suits Louisiana’s needs,and to transfer allthe OMV’sdata from the old system into the new one, he said

tack, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Detectives plan to question aman who supplied parts for the AR-15-style rifle Tamura used Monday including the weapon’s lower receiver, shesaidduring anews conference. Surveillance video showed Tamura getting outofa BMWearly Monday evening and strolling across aplaza in abutton-downshirt and jacket with the rifle at his side beforeheenteredthe building, which also has officesfor theinvestmentfirm Blackstoneand othercompanies. It was closedTuesdayexcept toinvestigators. Once inside,hesprayed the lobby with gunfire, killing DidarulIslam, the off-duty police officer who was working acorporate security detail, and hitting awoman who triedtotake cover, Tischsaid. He then made his way to the elevator bank, shooting aguard at asecurity desk and another man in the lobby,she said. Tamura took an elevator

to the33rd-floor offices of the company thatownsthe building, Rudin Management,and shotand killed someone there before fatally shooting himself, the commissioner said. He shot himself in thechest,according to Adams.

Blackstone confirmed that oneofits employees, real estate executive Wesley LePatner,was amongthose killed. Security officer AlandEtienne also died, according to alabor union. Islam, 36, had servedasa policeofficer in New York City for three-and-a-half years and was an immigrant from Bangladesh, Tisch said. He was working adepartment-approved second job, in his New York Police Department uniform, providing security Monday at the ParkAvenue building.

His body was draped in the NYPD flag as it was moved from the hospital to an ambulance, withfellow officers standing at attention. Islam leaves behind apregnant wife and two children.

“A lot of thestuff will be automated. We hope that you can do alot of it from LA Wallet, from your phone. That’s partofwhat we’ve asked CHAMP to helpus produce.Wewant to makethe experienceeasy,quick and convenient.”

BRyAN ADAMS,Louisiana Office of Motor Vehiclesdirector

The contract with CHAMP will cost Louisiana $54 million over six years, according to theOMV.The company has previously worked for West Virginia, Kentucky, New Jersey and Illinois, the agency said Louisiana’sexisting software system is over 50 years old.That becamea major issueearlier this year when persistent outagesdisrupted services at OMV offices and public tag agents across the state. The outages lasted for weeks.

Duringthat time, Gov Jeff Landry declared astate of emergency related to the outages and waived the procurement process for the

OMV’snew software. Normally,sucha process can takesix to nine months.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

OCT17 6-9PM

LOCATION TheGreat RiverRoadMuseum at Houmas House Serving 75+ Wine Varieties Shaken Martinis

Senate confirms TrumplawyerBovefor

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Senate confirmed formerTrump lawyer Emil Bove 50-49for alifetime appointmentasa federal appeals court judge Tuesday as Republicans dismissed whistleblower complaints about his conduct at the Justice Department.

Aformer federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on Trump’slegal team during his New York hush money trial and defendedTrump in the two federal criminal cases. He will serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Democratshave vehemently opposed Bove’s nomination, citing his current position as atop Jus-

SATELLITE

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complainedofpoor timing —the announcementcamea month into the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1through Nov.30.

Michael Lowry,aMiamibased meteorologist and hurricane specialist, said the elimination of DMSP data was the biggest hit to U.S. hurricane forecasting capabilities in “a very long time.”

On June 30, NOAA announced that the suspension datehad been delayed to “no later than July 31” in response to concerns raised by personnel at NASA. In that notice, the agency said the program was being decommissioned “to mitigate asignificant cybersecurity risk,” though officials didn’t provide further details.

NOAA’s latest announcement comes just aweek after the U.S. Navy confirmed to Lowry that the plan to halt data processing on July31 wasstill ago.

Aspokesperson for the U.S. Navy said Tuesday that officials had planned to discontinuethe satellite dataaspart of aDefense Department “modernization effort.”

“But after feedback from government partners, officials found away to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026,” the spokesperson said. Hurricane and weather forecasterscelebratedthe reversal as at least atemporary win. Colorado State Universityhurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said the plan had faced its fair share of pushback from government officials, many of whom asked that the program continue at least through the end of hurricane season.

New Orleans meteorologist Scot Pilié said he was relieved to hear the news.

involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Bovehas accused FBI officials of “insubordination” for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the attack and ordered the firing of agroup of prosecutorsinvolved in those Jan. 6criminal cases.

The audio is from aprivate video conference call at the Department of Justicein February in which Bove, atop officialatthe department, discussedhis handling of thedismissedcase against Adams, according to transcribedquotes from theaudio reviewed by The Associated Press.

licans are only supporting Bove because of his loyalty to the president.

tice Department official and hisrolein thedismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. They have also crit-

icized his efforts to investigate departmentofficials who wereinvolved in the prosecutions of hundreds of Trump supporters who were

Democrats have also cited evidence from whistleblowers, afired department lawyer who said last month that Bove hadsuggested theTrumpadministration may need to ignorejudicial commands —aclaim that Bovedenies —and new evidence from awhistleblower who did not go public. That whistleblower recentlyprovidedanaudio recording of Bove thatruns contrary to some of histestimonyat hisconfirmation hearing last month,according to two people familiar withthe recording.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because thewhistleblower has not made the recording public. The whistleblower’s claims were first reported by The Washington Post.

None of that evidencehas so far been enough to sway Senate Republicans —all but two of them voted to confirmBoveasGOP senators have deferred to Trump on virtually all of his picks.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer,D-N.Y., said that Bove’sconfirmation is a “dark day” and that Repub-

“It’sunfathomable that just over four yearsafter the insurrection at the Capitol, whenrioters smashed windows, ransacked offices, desecrated this chamber, Senate Republicansare willingly putting someone on the bench who shielded these rioters from facingjustice, whosaid their prosecution wasagravenational injustice,” Schumer said.

Republican Sens. Susan CollinsofMaine andLisa Murkowski of Alaskavoted against Bove’sconfirmation “I don’tthink that somebody who has counseled other attorneysthatyou should ignore the law,you should reject the law,Idon’tthink that that individualshould be placed in alifetime seat on thebench,” Murkowski said Tuesday

But, after thewhiplash over DMSPdata and broader cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service by the Trumpadministration, Pilié remains skeptical of the program’sfuture

“Thisisagood thing,” Pilié said. “I’m very happy.But, you know,we’ll see what happens next.”

The reversal is good news for the current hurricane season as it inches ever closer to the timeofyear when tropical activity in theAtlantic Ocean is historically at its peak, frommid-August throughOctober

Roughly 86% of alltropical activity occurs after Aug. 2, Pilié said, and the loss of such an important hurricane forecasting toolat theend ofJulywouldhave almostcertainlyhad immediateconsequences.

While traditionalsatellites essentially takephotos of the Earth’ssurface,Pilié said microwave satellites like those associatedwith DMSP give scientists alook “under thehood of astorm,” allowing them to analyze thestructure, intensity and changes happening within a storm’score.

This,hesaid, is especially important at night and in between Hurricane Hunter missions, whenmany other kindsof satellites struggle to collect data. Hurricane Hunters areoften hailed as oneofmostuseful tools available to forecasters, but Pilié said they can’tflyinto every storm.

If astormwererapidly strengthening off Louisiana’scoast, Pilié said, DMSP satelliteswould giveforecasters aclearer picture of thechanges happening inside, information thatwould go straight into the hurricanemodels that inform the National Hurricane Center’s forecastsand, thus, the region’semergency planning efforts.

The elimination of that data, he said, wouldlead to less accurate hurricane forecasts.

“Less data in meansworse data out,”Pilié said.

TheTrump administration has made sweeping cuts to NOAA and the weather servicesinceJanuary,leaving nearly half the weather service’s122 localfieldoffices with vacancyrates of more than 20% by early April, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

Some offices were so shortstaffed they were forced to cut down on weather balloon launches andovernight staffing, leadingmeteorologists acrossthe county to voice concerns about the nation’s weather forecastingcapabilities, particularly during natural disasters and the current hurricaneseason, whichisexpected to bring above-average activity

Though the weather service announced plans in June to hire 126 workers and transfer existing employees to its mostunderstaffed offices, Trumpunveiled abudget proposal this month that signals morecutscould be on the way next fiscal year

The proposed budget would close 10 NOAA climate research labs, including oneinMiami that sends Hurricane Hunters into stormstocollect data, according to areport by The New York Times. It would also make majorcutstothe Federal Emergency Management Agencyand afederal program thatuses river gauges to predict floods, changes the White House says are needed to improve efficiency

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey.bubnash@ theadvocate.com.

The proposed natural gas plants and other transmission resources amount to around $5 billion in new infrastructure.

The utility needs approval from the state’s Public Service Commission to build the plants, and a decision is expected this fall

LEUG’s opposition mirrors other fights across the country as the data center build-out transforms the nation’s energy landscape, said Ari Peskoe, a Harvard Law School professor who authored a March study documenting how the public is footing the electricity bills of tech giants.

“It’s just about the money,” Peskoe said. “They don’t want to have to pay a single nickel for a single piece of infrastructure built by Entergy for Meta.”

Entergy argues its proposal will benefit other ratepayers. It says that the tech company will pay for a substantial amount of the costs of the new power generation, including full annual revenue of the new plants for 15 years

The proposal also notes the project will create thousands of construction jobs and up to 500 permanent roles, though it is unclear if they will go to locals The issues came to a head a couple weeks ago at a hearing before a judge in Baton Rouge, as LEUG and the environmental groups questioned Entergy over its power plans.

Lane Sisung, testifying on behalf of the PSC staff at the hearing, analyzed three scenarios and found all show a positive net benefit to ratepayers.

“All of these rely on assumptions — assumptions that may or may not happen,” Sisung noted. “So there’s still risks to ratepayers.” ‘Captive ratepayers’

The companies want Meta to pay for more of the infrastructure Entergy is building for the project and provide longer advance notice if it wants to leave after the initial 15-year contract.

The plants’ fuel and $550 million in new transmission lines are among costs not covered by Meta. LEUG is also concerned that Entergy’s estimated $3.2 billion projection to build the plants could rise, and it wants to ensure the utility pays any increases. Separately, Meta asked for addi-

tional power in February, according to public filings, and LEUG wants to ensure the tech company covers that request The amount of new power that Meta wants has been redacted from public documents.

In the current deal, Meta has to notify Entergy at least one year before the contract expires if it doesn’t want to renew. Entergy says that provision was the outcome of extensive negotiations, and it adds that older plants in the area could be retired and replaced with the new ones if Meta pulls out.

To argue its case, however, LEUG estimates that Entergy shareholders receive $48 million in profit for every billion in new infrastructure added to what all customers collectively pay for That could mean hundreds of millions of dollars of profit for the utility.

It says Entergy “should not be allowed to use its monopoly structure to unreasonably propose financial risks on its existing captive ratepayers to serve the new data center load, while it reaps the return-on-equity benefits to

be gained from the unprecedented billions of new infrastructure spending.”

The utility confirmed that its return on equity is around $48 million per billion of infrastructure, but reiterated that “the vast majority of these investments” are being paid for by Meta.

“It’s also important to note Entergy worked with Meta to prefund significant portions of the investment necessary to serve their load,” said Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardigli. “This approach assures that such investment are paid for exclusively by Meta, not by our customers.”

An unusual alliance

The environmental nonprofits are largely making the same argument as LEUG. Logan Burke, the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, pointed out that the two opposing groups are “representing all of Entergy’s other customers.”

A key issue uniting them is the 15-year deal between Meta and Entergy, since the lifespan of the power plants being built can ex-

ceed 30 years.

They also point out that the actual contract between the utility and the tech giant is not up for regulatory approval and cannot be viewed by the public.

“All of our futures are tied up in a confidential agreement between two massive corporations, which is why it’s so important that the PSC stand in the middle of that,” Burke said.

During public testimony earlier this month, Laura Beauchamp, Entergy’s vice president of business strategy and operations, said that putting the new gas plants into the pool for all customers will end up benefiting everyone.

“The fact that we have brandnew, highly efficient, latest technology combined cycles, all the customers will benefit from the utilization of these resources on our grid,” Beauchamp said.

Renewable concerns

Another concern for the industrial alliance may also be unexpected for oil and petrochemical companies: renewable energy Meta has agreed to build 1,500 megawatts

of solar power in Louisiana to offset some of the emissions that the fossil-fuel powered plants would generate.

LEUG argues Meta is being ushered to the front of the line on that project, ahead of Entergy’s other customers looking to access renewable energy Many of the companies have been waiting for years for clean energy which can be beneficial to them in the global market. LEUG notes more than 3,000 megawatts of industrial requests for renewable energy is “already in line.”

Entergy says the Meta renewables contract is consistent with a system in place that is “intended to incentivize the development of new projects with sustainability goals in Louisiana.”

Scardigli also says many renewable energy requests have been held up by local permitting issues, canceled because of cost increases or are still under construction. Regardless, Entergy is continuing to pursue the requests, he said. Email Josie Abugov at josie. abugov@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

in Holly Ridge earlier this month.

Pope kicksoff Catholic youthfestivalwithsurprisesalute

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV sur-

prised tens of thousands of young Catholics on Tuesday and showed up unexpectedly at aHolyYear welcome ceremony,thrilling the kids and receiving arock star’s welcome in the firstbig youth event of his pontificate.

Leo emerged in St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile at the end of an evening Mass that kicked off the Jubilee of Youth, a weeklong celebration for young Catholics. The estimated 120,000 young pilgrims who hadpacked the square eruptedinshocked cheers and chants, as Leo looped around the square and up and down the boulevard leading to it. For20minutes, Leo beamed, waved and clearly seemed to enjoy the outpouringofenthusiasm from his perch on the popemobile, as he took in the seaofcheering, flag-waving young people from around the world as the setting sun cast agolden glow over the

basilica.

In abrief off-the-cuffsaluteand blessing from the altar,hetold the young pilgrims that they were beacons oflight, hope and peace thatthe world needs today

“The world needs messages of hope. Youare this message,and must give hope to everyone,” he said in amix of Spanish,English andItalian. “Wewantpeace in the world.Wewant peace in the

world!”

Pope Leo XIV greets faithful at the end of aMass in St.Peter’s Basilica during the youth Jubilee at the Vatican on Tuesday.

AP

Leo, thefirst American pope, hadn’tbeen expected to meet with theyoung pilgrims as agroupuntilthe weekend, when he was to preside over avigil Saturday and MassonSundayinthe highlightof theJubilee week.

Tuesday’sMass had been celebrated by theItalian archbishop who organized theHoly Year, ArchbishopRino Fisichella,but

it was he who urged the kids to notleavethe square at the end, because the pope “had asurprise for us.”

The crowd responded withthe classic refrain from Catholic youthgatherings: “This is the youthofthe pope.”

This week,downtown Rome has swarmed with energetic, singing and dancing massesofteenage Catholic scouts, church andCatholic school groups whose numbers are expected to swell to 500,000 by theweekend.

It allhad thevibeofa scaleddown World Youth Day,the once-every-three-year Catholic Woodstock festival that wasinaugurated by St. JohnPaulIIand maintained by everypopesince. Tuesdaybegan with groupsof Catholic influencers—priests, nuns andordinary faithful who use theirsocial media presence to preach andteach the faith passing through the basilica’s Holy Door,arite of passage for the estimated 32 million people participating in the Vatican’s2025

Holy Year celebrations.

Francis met with some of the influencers earlier Tuesday and thankedthemfor using their digital platformstospread the faith. But he warned them against neglecting human relationships in their pursuit of clicks and followers, and cautioned them to not fall preytofakenewsand the “frivolity” of online encounters.

“It is not simply amatter of generating content, but of creatinganencounter between hearts,” Leo said in aspeech that showed his easeinswitching between languages. “Be agents of communion, capableofbreaking down the logic of division and polarization, of individualism andegocentrism.”

“It is up to us —toeach one of you —toensure that thisculture remains human,”hesaid. “Our mission— your mission— is to nurture aculture of Christianhumanism, andtodosotogether” in what he called the only networks thatreally matter: of friendship, love andthe “network of God.”

BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE

Associated Press/ReportFor America

Five medical employeesat an Alabama jail have been indicted in connection with the death of amentally ill man who died of hypothermia after being held for two weeks in aconcrete cell.

The indictment unsealed Tuesdaybringsthe total number of people charged related to the 2023 deathof Tony Mitchellafter hisincarceration at the Walker County Jail up to 25.

Aformer jail medicalsupervisor,ajail health services administrator and three jail licensed practical nurses, are each charged with one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of deprivation of rights, according to the indictment.

During his incarceration, the jail’smedical staff failed to provide Mitchell “with

constitutional conditions of confinement”despite the fact that some corrections officersapproachedthe jail’smedical supervisor with concerns about Mitchell’sdeteriorating health, the indictment read.

Walker County outsourced the jail’s medical care to QCHC Inc., acompany which employed the indicted staff, according to acivil suit filed by Mitchell’s mother

The claims against the Walker County Sheriff’s department employees were settled in July,but the claims against Quality Correctional Health Care andit’sstaff remain still pending.

Quality Correctional Health Care is contracted in 10 other jails acrossthe state, accordingtothe indictment from Tuesday.An attorney listedfor thecompany in thecivil case didn’t respond to aphone call and

an email sent on Tuesday

Only two people indicted on Tuesday had attorneys listed when theindictments were unsealed. Thosetwo attorneys didn’trespond to an email on Tuesday morning.

An attorney for the Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith declinedtocommenton

Tuesday Mitchell’sdeath on Jan. 26, 2023, put aspotlight on conditions andallegations of abuse at thejail in Jasper Alabama.

Mitchell, 33, died after being brought from the jailto ahospital emergency room with abody temperature of 72 degrees.

He hadbeen taken into custodytwo weeks earlier on Jan. 12 after arelative asked authorities to do a welfare check on him because he appeared to be having amental breakdown. The WalkerCounty Sheriff’s Office said Mitchell was ar-

PHOTO

U.S. to crack down on kratom-related products

Supplement industry warns of risks

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. health officials are warning Americans about the risks of an opioid-related ingredient increasingly added to energy drinks, gummies and supplements sold at gas stations and convenience stores, recommending a nationwide ban.

The chemical, known as 7-hydroxymitragynine, is a component of kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia that has gained popularity in the U.S. as an unapproved treatment for pain, anxiety and drug dependence.

In recent months, dietary supplement companies that sell kratom have been urging the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the products containing 7-OH, portraying it as a dangerously concentrated, synthetic form of the original ingredient. The FDA action “is not focused on natural kratom leaf products,” according to a statement Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The agency said it was releasing a report to educate about the risks of “7-OH and its distinction from the kratom plant leaf.” Regulators are also recommending that the ingredient be placed on the federal government’s most restrictive list of illegal drugs, which includes LSD and heroin.

“7-OH is an opioid that

can be more potent than morphine,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary “We need regulation and public education to prevent another wave of the opioid epidemic.”

The agency’s recommendation will be reviewed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which sets federal rules for high-risk drugs including prescription medicines and illicit substances. A national ban wouldn’t take effect until the agency drafts and finalizes new rules governing the ingredient.

Federal regulators have been scrutinizing kratom for about a decade after reports of addiction, injury and overdose. But users and distributors have long opposed efforts to regulate it, saying kratom could be a safer alternative to opioid

Cause of Fla. boat collision that killed two investigated

Coast Guard begins salvage operation

By The Associated Press

MIAMI

— The U.S. Coast Guard said it was beginning a salvage operation on Tuesday while investigating the cause of a boat collision near Miami that left two girls dead, one of whom was identified by family friends as the granddaughter of prominent Argentine television producers.

Capt. Frank Florio, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami, assured the victims’ family members during a news conference that the Coast Guard and its partners would do everything in their power to learn

what caused the crash.

“We owe you answers, and we are committed to finding them,” Florio said. Officials didn’t immediately identify any of the victims or release a cause for the crash.

The collision between a barge and a sailboat occurred around 11 a.m. Monday in Biscayne Bay, between Miami and Miami Beach. All six people on the sailboat, a teenage sailing camp counselor and five children, ended up in the water They were in their last week of a camp for children aged 7 to 15, according to the Miami Yacht Club. All six were pulled from the water, and four were rushed to a Miami hospital, officials said. A 7-yearold girl and a 13-year-old girl were pronounced dead shortly after arriving, while

two other girls, ages 8 and 11, remained in critical condition Tuesday A 19-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were rescued but not hospitalized.

Local media and prominent TV personalities in Argentina identified the 7-yearold girl killed in the boating crash as Mila Yankelevich the daughter of director Tomas Yankelevich and actress Sofia Reca and granddaughter of the prominent Argentine television producers Gustavo Yankelevich and Cris Morena.

Marcelo Tinelli, a popular TV host and friend of the family, posted on X that he was “devastated” by Mila’s death.

“I can’t believe it,” he wrote. “My immense love to the entire family, who are part of my life.”

painkillers that sparked the ongoing drug addiction epidemic.

Last month, the FDA issued warning letters to seven companies selling drinks, gummies and powders infused with 7-OH. Regulators said the products violated FDA rules because they have not been evaluated for safety and, in some cases, claimed to treat medical conditions, including pain, arthritis and anxiety

Supplement executives quickly applauded the move

The FDA “demonstrated the exact kind of data-driven, proactive regulatory excellence needed to safeguard unwitting consumers across the U.S.,” said Ryan Niddel of Diversified Botanics, a Utah-based company that sells kratom supplements.

An industry group, the American Kratom Association, has lobbied Congress for years against restrictions on the plant. Legislation supported by the group would prohibit the FDA from regulating kratom more strictly than food and dietary supplements

On Tuesday, a rival group that supports the availability of 7-OH drugs criticized the government’s move, pointing to the influence of kratom suppliers

“Big kratom trade groups have spent years blaming 7-OH for harms caused by their own unregulated products, because it threatens their market share,” the Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust stated in an emailed message.

Nearly a decade ago, the federal government came close to banning kratom.

In 2016, the DEA announced plans to add it to the government’s most restrictive schedule 1, reserved for drugs that have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.

But the plan stalled after a flood of public complaints, including a letter signed by more than 60 members of Congress

The FDA then began studying the ingredient, concluding in 2018 that kratom contains many of the same chemicals as opioids, the addictive class of drugs that includes painkillers like OxyContin as well as heroin and fentanyl. Since then, FDA regulators have continued to issue warnings about cases of injury, addiction and death with kratom supplements, which are usually sold in capsules or powders.

L.A. wants to reveal officer identities

County ordinance a response to ICE raids

BY CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

Los Angeles County leaders want to prohibit law enforcement officers from concealing their identities while on duty a response to recent immigration raids during which some federal agents refused to identify themselves or covered their faces.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0, with one abstention,

to direct county counsel to draft an ordinance that bars officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks, with limited exceptions such as for medical protection or during undercover operations.

Officers would also be required to visibly display identification and agency affiliation while out in public.

Since early June, immigration agents have swarmed Southern California, arresting hundreds of people and prompting protests against the federal raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines.

About half the Guard troops and all the Marines were pulled out of LA in recent weeks. Supervisor Janice Hahn, who co-authored the motion, said the raids carried out by the Trump administration have sparked fear and residents have a right to know who is stopping, questioning or detaining them.

“Across the county, people are being pulled out of their cars, beaten, and ripped from their families by men in tactical gear with balaclavas, no badges, and no names,” Hahn said. “That’s not how law enforcement in a democracy should operate.”

TheGoldenDeeds awardisthe most prestigious awardinthe GreaterBaton Rougearea. Since itsinceptionin1942, it hasbeen awardedtoonlyone outstanding recipienteach year forphilanthropic servicetothe community. Theactions andservice of therecipients have made thecommunity abetterplace to live andwork. TheGoldenDeeds Awardnominations includethe nine-parishBaton RougeMetropolitan StatisticalAreawhich covers East BatonRouge,WestBaton Rouge, Iberville, Ascension, Livingston,St. Helena,EastFeliciana,WestFeliciana andPointe Coupee

Explainwhy your nomineeshouldreceive theGoldenDeeds Award. Tell us in your ownwords aboutthe most memorable things they’vedoneinservice to thecommunity Tell us howtheir actionstouched your heart; howtheymadea difference. Give specificexamplesofwhatthey’ve done Maximumof750 words. Nominations must meet specificrequirements to be considered.

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Fire-related deaths rising in Louisiana

Officials urge people to get smoke alarms

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Fire-related fatalities are on the rise this year in Louisiana, and public safety officials are urging residents to get free smoke alarms through a state initiative called Operation Save-A-Life.

Liberty Lagoon selling tickets at gate only

BREC blames rainy day interruptions

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

BREC’s Liberty Lagoon water park on Lobdell Avenue in Baton Rouge will now sell tickets at the gate only, dropping online ticket sales, in the face of unpredictable summer weather, Baton Rouge’s parks and recreation agency said The park closes when it rains. The frequency of rain in Baton Rouge has been above the historical average, even though the amount of rainfall is similar to what has been seen in previous years.

“Weather’s wild, so we’re going old school!” Liberty Lagoon posted on its Facebook page Tuesday Liberty Lagoon has had a difficult summer A shortage of lifeguards and maintenance issues kept the park from opening until July 4; it typically opens Memorial Day weekend. A few days after the park opened, BREC changed its daily hours to protect swimmers and staff from the heat. The park implemented two swimming sessions each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. The hour break is designed to give employees and visitors time to cool off. Admission is $6 per person per session. The park briefly offered discounts to visitors who bought advance tickets online, but that was dropped after a few days.

“Arrive early, be ready to wait in line, and always check the skies before you slide!” Liberty Lagoon said in its post. If the water park reaches capacity, guests may have to wait before purchasing a ticket or entering, BREC said.

Liberty Lagoon isn’t the only swimming facility that’s had a number of changes this year The problems began in May when Blue Bayou Water Park announced it would not open for the 2025 season. Its sister attraction, Dixie Landin’ Theme Park, was open for about a week before closing permanently Blue Bayou will reopen in May, with new management and a new name. Last week, BREC announced it had closed Howell Community Park pool on Winbourne Avenue until further notice.

As of Friday, 52 people have died in Louisiana fires in 2025, said Bryan J. Adams, principal assistant chief of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. That’s up from 41 fatalities at this time last year, he said. Adams spoke at the end of a particularly challenging week:

Over seven days in July, the state had eight deaths related to five separate fires. At least four of the sites lacked working smoke alarms, Adams said. Those four fires each involved one death. They occurred in New Iberia on July 18, in Denham Springs on July 20, in Winnfield on July 21 and in West Monroe on Thursday, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Also on Thursday, three children and one woman died in a house fire in Raceland. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating whether the home’s three fire alarms were working, the agency said in a release. The state is urging participation in Operation Save-A-Life, which gets smoke

which

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the

Frozen feast at the zoo

Man arrested for obstruction of justice

Price is vice chair of hospital board

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

A former Donaldsonville mayoral candidate and vice chair of the Prevost Memorial Hospital board was arrested for obstruction of justice. Glenn Price, 68, was booked by the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office into jail Monday evening on one count of obstruction of justice, according to an inmate database maintained by the agency His bail was set at $5,000, and the database showed he had not posted it as of Tuesday afternoon

A call to Price went to his voicemail, which was full. He did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.

Donovan Jackson, the spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office,

said the arrest is connected with a case that emerged last fall. Jackson wrote that Price allegedly tampered with evidence and colluded with his girlfriend. Price serves as the vice chair of the Prevost Memorial Hospital board and twice ran against Mayor Leroy Sullivan He speaks at many City Council meetings and was allegedly threatened by a council member in May He’s currently facing felony charges of illegal possession of stolen things over $25,000, money laundering over $100,000, illegal transmission of monetary funds and a misdemeanor charge of operating a business without a license.

According to a news release last October Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives were investigating the theft and illegal sale of a telecommunication company’s copper wire that had

ABOVE: Primate keeper Allison

O’Donnell hands out cubed watermelon to eager siamangs who reach through the fence for a piece as attendees look on with delight during the Frozen Safari day at Baton Rouge Zoo on Saturday

Several different species of animals were fed some of their favorite food frozen in water to help them cool off in the summer heat.

LEFT: A giant tortoise reaches for a bite out of a carrot popsicle

Louisiana State trooper arrested on battery count

A Louisiana State Police trooper was arrested by East Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies on a battery charge and has been placed on administrative leave, according to State Police.

CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

Tr ooper 1st Class Derrick Parish, 38, was arrested after deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call at a home on La. 63 in Clinton shortly before 9 p.m Monday Following an investigation, he was charged with battery of a dating partner and booked into the East Feliciana Parish jail. Parish was hired in 2015 and is assigned to Troop A, State Police said Officials said all of the equipment assigned to parish will be removed by supervisors. Troop A covers nine parishes in the Baton Rouge area. “Our mission demands that every member of the Louisiana State Police exemplifies the highest level of professionalism and

integrity,” the State Police said. The East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case.

Argument allegedly leads to shots fired at Gardere

A Baton Rouge woman faces an attempted first-degree murder charge after an argument with her sister escalated into her reportedly shooting up a Gardere apartment complex, leaving multiple occupied units riddled with bullet holes. Keyonna Walker, 26, was arrested Monday and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. In addition to attempted first-degree murder, she faces charges of aggravated criminal damage to property and illegal use of weapons. East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies were called to Veridian Apartment Homes on Gardere Lane about 5:45 p.m. April 9,

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Hundreds of people play in the pools of Liberty Lagoon on July 4.

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Gunfirerings outinHarveymurder-suicide

Police saythey visitedhometwice fordomestic disturbances

BY MICHELLEHUNTER Staff writer

Gunfire rang out in aHarvey neighborhood Monday night when authorities say aman shot and killed his girlfriend before taking his own life.

The Jefferson Parish Coroner’sOffice identified the woman as Bryisha Pennington, 39. The man was identified as Laymon Adams, 29, of Terrytown.

The shootingsoccurred about 11:30 p.m.inside Pennington’shome in the 500 block of Third Avenue, according to Capt. Jason Rivarde,spokesperson for the JeffersonParishSheriff’s Office.

Though Pennington had only lived there for about six months, authorities had twice been dispatched to the residence to investigate domestic disturbances involving the couple, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Third Avenue resident Jay Vincent, 75, lives about ablock awayfrom Pennington’shome and described hearing three gunshots Monday night.

“I heard one shot, aslight hesitation and then two more shots,” he said. He looked outside but saw no one. However,within five to six minutes, the flashing blue lightsofpatrol vehicles filled the street.

Vincent looked out again and saw Pennington lying bleedingatthe foot of a driveway across the street. She’d collapsed thereafter fleeing, 10 houses down

from her own residence. Pennington, who hadbeen shot multipletimes,was taken to ahospitalbut died of her injuries. Adams diedofa single gunshotwound insidePennington’shouse,according to the Coroner’sOffice. A gunwas foundnearhis body, authorities said At the house, asingle-story shotgun-style housewith an apartment in the rear, a window was shattered on the side of the house. Sheriff’s Office deputies

had last been to Pennington’sresidenceonJuly 6 when they respondedtoareport of an altercation there, according to Rivarde. Deputies arrived and heardtwo people yellingatone another from inside.

Pennington told deputies thecouplehad been dating and living together for about eight months. But on thatday,Adams revealed he was seeing another woman andplanned to move out, according to authorities.

Adams told deputies thingsturned physical when Pennington tried tostop him from taking some of his belongings,according to authorities.

Neither hadany visible injuries, anddeputiescould notdetermine whowas the aggressor.But Adams was arrestedand booked with resisting an officer for allegedly pulling away from deputies whentheytried to detain him, according to court records.

The couple was involved

in another domestic disturbance on Jan. 2when Pennington accusedAdams of punching her in the face, authorities said. Pennington fileda report in which she describeda tumultuous relationship filled with yelling and jealousy But Adams wasnever arrested in connection with that incident, according to court records. Detectives are still investigating to determine what led up to Monday’sdeadly shooting, authorities said.

Continued from page1B

You’ll have an opportunity to getout of thehouse.” Louisianans mayrequest an alarm online at lasfm.org or by contacting their local fire department. Adamsalsourged residents to test their alarms at least twice ayear to ensure theyare operational. He estimated that about 65% of Louisiana homes don’thave working smoke alarms.

ARRESTED

Continued from page1B

been stolen fromutility polesinLivingstonand East Feliciana parishes Price allegedly purchasedthe stolen wire from residents of Darrowand Prairieville and then sold it to aBaton Rouge recycling center without the necessary licenseordocumentation, the releasestated. He maintained hisinnocence in previous comments to The Advocate, and it’s unclear if Monday’sbooking is related to the case. Kristin Tregre, his attorney in thecase, wasincourt andnot immediately reachable for comment.

Email Christopher Cartwright at christopher.cartwright@ theadvocate.com.

River in theearly hoursof July 3, based on follow-up tests conducted by Cornerstone.

Cornerstone’stenant, Röhm AmericaLLC,operated the plant responsible for the leak

BY JOSIE ABUGOV and LARA NICHOLSON Staff writers

After employees at a plastics facility in Waggaman discovered highly corrosive acid leaking from arusted piece of equipment, initial assessments foundthatmore than 1,000pounds of the chemical had been released into ditches and the Mississippi River

Following weeks of cleanup, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality confirmed the leak wasactually ninetimes greater than originally reported. The regulatory agency said that about 11,128 pounds of methacrylic acid leaked from Cornerstone Chemical Company’sWaggaman facility and into the drainage system, nearby soil and the Mississippi

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

according to arrest records. When they arrived, deputies found multiple apartments struck by gunfire. Investigators soon learned the incident stemmed from an argument between Walker and her sister,which turned violent in the parking lot when Walker pulled out ahandgun and threatened to kill her sister.The sister told authorities that Walker then pointed the gun toward the balconyofan apartment where six people were standing, and fired in the direction multiple times beforefleeing the scene. Detectives found multiple empty cartridgecasings in the parking lot where Walker was seen firing her gun, as well as bullet holes that penetrated the walls of several apartments,ac-

The leak also comes as newdepartmentdocuments shed lightona workplace incident that hospitalized atraineewith burns, which the company said couldhavebeen prevented.

“Cornerstone and oursite partners remain focusedon continued safe operations of the site,”said Shawn Ward, Cornerstone’sdirector of corporate health safety,security,environment and sustainability “As always, our primary focus is on thesafetyand securityof ouremployees, our neighbors, and the environment in which we operate.”

Cornerstone originally reportedtothe U.S. Coast Guard thatthe leak was about1,200 pounds, based on a24-hour water sample

Methacrylic acid,anintermediate used to make

cording toWalker’sarrest records. Police say they also interviewed witnesses andreviewed surveillance footage that corroborated the sister’saccount of the shooting.

Man killedbygarbage truck on Airline

APrairieville man who was struck and killed by agarbagetruck before dawn Tuesday was walking on AirlineHighway after crashing his car earlier Travis Weams, 48, crashed his2012 ToyotaCamry on Airline Highway near Manchac Park in the early hours of Tuesday,accordingto Louisiana StatePolice. Weams exited his vehicle, leaving it as he crossed the median and walked intothe northbound lanes of Airline Highway

Weams was then struck by a2019 Mack garbage truck. Following the first

plastics and other products, can cause irritation and burningupon contact with skin or eyes or irritation to the noseand throat if inhaled. The leak did not result in any injuries or impacts to thesurrounding community,Ward said.

Third-partycrews began cleanup theday of theincident,vacuuming stormwatercollection areas and replacing soil thatwas affected. These effortsconcludedlastweek.

Facility recently shuttered

Cornerstone hosts Röhm, CF Industriesand UBE Corporation at itsWest Bankcampus Röhm, aGerman chemicals company with sites in the UnitedStates, Mexico and China, includeda facility formethacrylic acid at itsCornerstonelocation, company spokesperson Christina Hoehn said. But the leak occurred after operationsatthe site were discontinued at the end of June, Hoehn said. The company did notcomment on how the leak oc-

impact, Weams was then struck by asecond vehicle, a2016 Ford Mustang.

Louisiana State Troopers were called out to the scene shortly after 5a.m., and Weams was pronounced dead on the scene. Both drivers of the garbage truckand the Mustang were properly restrained and reported no injuries. Standard toxicology tests were takenfor both of them, however,noimpairment is suspected by troopers.

LOTTERY

MONDAY,JULY28, 2025

PICK 3:

curred after thesite shut down.

“The reported incident is handled by Cornerstone and we understand that the incident is being investigated,”Hoehn s aid.

Ward,the Cornerstone representative, said that the companyisstill investigating “theroot causerelated to the occurrenceand response to this incident to prevent future recurrence.”

The company is required to provideafollow-upreport in 60 days, according to the department.

Worker injury

Theworkplaceincident thatled to burns of aCornerstoneemployee’s arms, torso and chest occurred in June 2024, according to adepartment incident report.

The topofatank containing the chemical urea blew off, releasing the 280-degree chemical andburning theemployee on theground level below.The company

said thehead tank’stop blew off due to cold process waterunintentionally being sent into thetank, according to the incident report. Some 5,200 pounds of urea and another corrosive chemical, biuret,were discharged, and 8pounds of ammonia “flashed offinto the atmosphere,” the company wrote to the department.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Cornerstone $33,000 in penalties, citing thecompany’slack of safework practices and failure to ensure employees were using the necessary protective equipment.

In correspondence with the department, Cornerstone said the incident was preventable. Acompany spokesperson said Cornerstone could not comment due to pending litigation.

Email Josie Abugov at josie.abugov@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHELLE HUNTER

Awindowwas shattered on the side of Bryisha Pennington’shome in aHarveyneighborhood. Pennington, 39, wasfatally shot inside theresidence by her boyfriend,LaymonAdams,29, before he took his ownlife, accordingtopolice.

Wall Street edges back from its records

U.S. stock indexes edged back from their record levels as a busy week for Wall Street picks up momentum.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Tuesday after setting all-time highs for six straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 204 points, and the Nasdaq composite sliced 0.4% off its own record.

SoFi Technologies rallied but Merck and UPS fell following a jumbled set of profit reports. Treasury yields sank in the bond market as the Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on interest rates.

UnitedHealth falls short of expectations

UnitedHealth delivered disappointing second-quarter earnings and went conservative with its 2025 forecast as soaring medical costs continue to swamp insurers.

The health care giant said Tuesday that expenses that have jumped beyond what it expected when it set coverage prices will continue to pressure its performance But CEO Stephen Hemsley told analysts the company expects a return to “solid but moderate earnings growth” in 2026.

UnitedHealth now expects adjusted earnings of at least $16 per share in 2025 after withdrawing its previous forecast in May It had started 2025 with expectations of making up to $30 per share.

For the full year, analysts forecast earnings of $20.64 per share, according to the data firm FactSet.

UnitedHealth Group Inc runs one of the nation’s largest health insurance and pharmacy benefits management businesses. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, company also operates a growing Optum business that provides care and technology support P&G to increase prices in part due to tariffs

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble offered an annual earnings outlook that was below analysts’ projections and said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. in part due to higher costs from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The assessment delivered Tuesday comes a day after the Cincinnati-based maker of such products as Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, named Shailesh Jejurikar, currently chief operating officer to succeed Jon Moeller as the company president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Moeller, who has been at the company’s helm since November 2021, will become P&G’s executive chairman

The price increases, which will be implemented starting next month, will be in the mid-single-digit percentages and will also be combined with improved features in the products P&G’s Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten told reporters on a call on Tuesday after the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

In April, P&G said it was doing whatever it could to reduce higher costs from tariffs, from shifting sourcing to changing formulation to avoid duties.

Stellantis CEO targets U.S. turnaround

MILAN Stellantis is forecasting that U.S. tariffs would cost the carmaker $1.7 billion this year The announcement on Tuesday is five times the hit taken in the first six months of the year when the carmaker tallied losses of $2.65 billion. The maker of Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat and Peugeot cars said that net profits plummeted from $6.5 billion in the same period last year as it burned through $3.8 billion in cash. Stellantis said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost the company $346 million in the first six months of the year

BUSINESS

Consumer confidence ticks up

Americans remain concerned about tariffs

BY MATT OTT AP business writer

WASHINGTON Americans’ view of the U.S. economy improved this month, but Americans remain concerned about the impact of tariffs on their economic futures.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose two points to 97.2 in July,

up from 95.2 the previous month. The increase in confidence was in line with analysts’ forecasts.

In April, American consumers’ confidence in the economy sank to its lowest reading since May 2020, largely due to anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

A measure of Americans’ shortterm expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market rose 4.5 points to 74.4, however that’s still significantly below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. Consumers’ assessments of their

current economic situation inched down by 1.5 points to 131.5.

Tariffs and the impact they could have on personal finances remains respondents’ greatest concern, the Conference Board said.

Trump’s aggressive and unpredictable policies — including massive import taxes — have clouded the outlook for the economy and the job market, raising fears that the American economy is headed toward a recession.

Consumers’ fears of a recession during the next 12 months declined slightly in July but remain elevated and above last year’s levels.

A government report earlier this month showed that consumer prices rose last month to their highest level since February Trump’s sweeping tariffs pushed up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances.

Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May

Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, also rose.

Economists pay close attention to core prices because they generally provide a better indication of where inflation is headed.

Union Pacific, Norfolk merger would create 1st transcontinental railroad

BY JOSH FUNK AP transportation writer

OMAHA, Neb Union Pacific wants to buy Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country

The proposed merger, announced Tuesday, would marry Union Pacific’s vast rail network in the West with Norfolk’s rails that snake across the Eastern United States. The combined railroad would include more than 50,000 miles of track in 43 states with connections to major ports on both coasts.

The nation was first linked by rail in 1869, when a golden railroad spike was driven in Utah to symbolize the connection of East and West Coasts. Yet no single entity has controlled that coast-to-coast passage.

The railroads argue that a merger would streamline deliveries of raw materials and goods nationwide by eliminating delays when shipments are handed off between railroads. The AP first reported the merger talks earlier this month, a week before the railroads confirmed the discussions last week.

Any deal would be closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators that have set a very high

bar for railroad deals after previous consolidation in the industry led to massive backups and snarled traffic.

But Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena, who would lead the combined company, said the expanded railroad will more seamlessly get lumber from the Pacific Northwest, plastics from the Gulf and steel from Pittsburgh to their destinations. And he promised to avoid past merger mistakes.

“It’s great for America,” Vena said. “We’re going to be able to move products quicker faster, more efficiently, better service, better for our customers in that we are going to be able to give them a product that allows them to win in the marketplace.”

If the deal is approved, the two remaining major American railroads — BNSF and CSX — will face competitive pressure to merge as well. The continent’s two other major railroads — Canadian National and CPKC — may also get involved. The Canadian rails span all of that nation and cross parts of America. CPKC rails stretch south into Mexico.

Some of the benefits of the deal should trickle down to consumers if the railroads are able to streamline shipments because that will help keep costs down, said Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau. But, he said, “there is

that potential that there’s going to be some service disruptions.”

Some big shippers like chemical plants in the Gulf remain wary of lessening rail competition, but Amazon and UPS may see benefits of potentially faster, more reliable delivery They along with unions and affected communities, will have a chance to weigh in before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

The nation’s largest rail union, SMART-TD, quickly opposed the merger over concerns of jeopardizing progress that Norfolk Southern has made in safety and labor relations since its disastrous 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The union said that Union Pacific’s record is troubling on safety and treatment of workers.

There’s speculation that this deal might win approval under President Donald Trump’s pro-business administration, but the STB is evenly split between two Republicans and two Democrats. The board is led by a Republican, and Trump will appoint a fifth member before this deal will be considered.

Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George said the “stars are aligned” for this deal with railroads that have a lot of connections, and the ongoing expansion of domestic manufacturing.

IMF upgrades growth outlook for global economy

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund is upgrading the economic outlook for the United States and the world this year and next because President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies have so far proven less damaging than expected The IMF now forecasts 3% growth for the global economy this year That is down from 3.3% in 2024 but an improvement on the 2.8% it had forecast for 2025 back in April. The 191-country lender, which works to promote growth, stabilize the world financial sys-

tem and reduce poverty, expects world growth to come in at 3.1% next year, up a tick from the 3% it had forecast three months ago. Trump’s decision on April 2 “Liberation Day,” the president called it — to impose taxes of 10% or more on U.S. imports from most of the world’s countries had been expected to be a bigger drag on global growth. But the damage was limited, the IMF said, partly because many U.S. importers scrambled to bring in foreign goods before Trump’s tariffs took effect and partly because Trump ended up suspending his biggest levies (including a 145% duty on Chinese goods).

“This modest decline in trade tensions, however fragile, has contributed to the resilience of the global economy so far,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said at a news conference Tuesday “This resilience is welcome, but it is also tenuous. While the trade shock could turn out to be less severe than initially feared, it is still sizable, and evidence is mounting that it is hurting the global economy.”

Tariffs raised $108 billion for the U.S. Treasury from October through June, nearly double the $55.6 billion they brought during the same period of the previous fiscal year

Global growth of around 3% is below pre-pandemic average and the world economy would be growing faster without Trump’s trade wars. The IMF modestly upped its forecast for U.S. economic growth to 1.9% this year and 2% in 2026 when the big tax cuts Trump signed into law July 4 are expected to provide “a near-term boost.” The Chinese economy, the world’s second biggest, is expected to grow 4.8% this year, a hefty upgrade from the 4% the IMF had forecast in April. China is getting a boost from lower-than-expected U.S. tariffs and from government spending.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

The Los Angeles skyline is seen above the Union Pacific LATC Intermodal Terminal.

Forrest,Willie

NewSunlight BaptistChurch, 1777 America Street,Baton Rouge,LAat 11am

Landry, Pierre

ResthavenFuneralHome, 11817 Jefferson HighwayinBaton Rouge at 10:30am. Spears, Virginia NewPilgrimB.C 4277 OldWeis Rd.inZachary,LAat11am. Vince, Michael St.Alphonsus Catholic Church 14040Greenwell Springs Rd.at11am.

Obituaries

Babington, Nancy Dowling

Nancy was born in Robstown, Texas, April 2, 1946, and peacefullypassed away at herhome in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,onJuly 26, 2025. Her kindness, warmth, and giving heart left alasting impression on all those she encountered. Nancy loved deeply and was an amazing woman, wife, mother, sister,aunt, andfriend to so many. She was a1964 graduate of Ruston HighSchooland a 1968 graduate of Louisiana Tech. She attended Broadmoor Baptist Church and St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge. Nancy married Jim Babington on June 14, 1969, and had two children, Bert and Jamie. She enjoyed traveling and spent many years sightseeing around Europe whileJim lived in Saumur, France Nancy is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 56 years, Jim Babington; her son, Bert Babington and daughter-in -law, Andrea; her daughter, Jamie Babington; her niece, Kimberly Hybel and her brother Richard Dowling; as well as four grandchildren: JP, Riley, Maya and Charlize. She was preceded in death by her parents, Woodrow and Lillian Dowling; her sister, Jo Ann Hybel; her brother-in-law, Dan Hybel; her brother, James Robert Dowling and her niece, Lori Dowling Clark. Visitation willtake place on Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., at RabenhorstFuneral Home, Government Street, Baton Rouge. Thefuneral service will be conducted by Deacon Joseph Scimeca at noon at the same location. Burial will take place immediately following the funeral service at Roselawn Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Chuck Morgan, Mike Gough, Bill Hanley, John Montgomery, Tim Honigman, and Robert Stein. Honorary pallbearers are Ken Hybel, Tod Stigall, and Jim Tate. Memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's Services of the Capital Area.

Jack Ray Carr, 63, of Baton Rouge,LA, son of Duane and Dolores Daigle Carr and father of Joshua Ray Carr,passed awayon July 17, 2025, at the Crossing,surroundedbyloving family andfriends Amemorialwillbeheld at Green Oaks Funeral Home 9595 Florida Blvd. on August1 from 4:00-6:00 pm. Special thanks to the staffatPinnacle Hospice, Clarity Hospitaland Old Jefferson Community Care Center.

BennyJoe Carringone Jr.,age 73, of Plaquemine, passed awayFriday, July 11, 2025.Heissurvived by daughter, TrinityCarringone;son, Ryan Carringone (Tammie), brothers, Mike Carringone (Amelie), Brett Carringone, Leroy Brown (Lucille), DarrenBrown; sister, Dana Berthelot (Donald); grandchildren, Gabby "Goose", Blake, and Kody Alvarez, and Ryan "RahRah"Carringone II; mother, Shirley Carringone Fleniken. He was preceded in death by father, Benny Carringone, Sr.; mother, Shirley Benard Prater. Bennywas acontract workeratDow Chemicalbeforeretiring and an avid LSU sportsfan.Visitation willbeheldAugust 1, at St. John Catholic Church, Plaquemine, LA, from 9 a.m. until Mass at 11 a.m., officiated by his cousinFr. Jason Palermo. Burial will be at Grace Memorial Cemeterywith acelebration afterward at the church hall, foodand drink provided.Everyone is encouraged to wear purple and gold. In Lieuofflowers donations may be made to the AmericanDiabetesAssociation.

is survived by hiswife41 years,RuthieLively Dupont; siblings,Caecilia Teal”Wintz andhusband Dan,AngelaWatts and husband Mike,Andrea Robinsonand husband Ter‐rell, Adrian Dupont and wifeMarsha; andnumer‐ous nieces andnephews D.D.was preceded in death byhis daughter,Trista Parro;parents,JosephJr. and Angela Hannon Dupont; siblings,Kathleen Fultonand Joseph “Pat” Dupont, III. D.D. wasa memberofLocal 1098 for carpenters. To defray the costofthe funeral, memor‐ial donationsmay be made tothe family. Please share memoriesatwww.wilbert services.com.

William "Junior"

Jenkins, Leroy

LeroyJenkins entered intoeternal rest at Hospice ofBaton RougeButterfly Wing on Thursday,July24, 2025. He wasa 91-year old nativeofGloster,Missis‐sippi,a resident of Baton Rouge,Louisiana,a U.S. NavyVeteran anda retired superintendentfromLos Angeles Flood Control. Viewing at GreaterMt. CarmelBaptist Church on Friday, August 1, 2025 at 11:00 am until Celebration ofLifeService at noon con‐ductedbyRev.CleeLowe; interment LouisianaNa‐tionalCemetery. Survivors include hissiblings, Max‐ine Blue,Inglewood,Cali‐fornia; MarieFelton, Perris California; Louise West and Linda Jenkins, Murfrees‐boro, Tennessee; nieces nephews otherrelatives and friends. Arrangements entrusted to Miller & DaughterMortuary.

ed by Father Jason Palermo. Private entombment at GraceMemorialPark, Plaquemine. Brenda is survivedbyher siblings, Ernest Lapeze, Jr.and wife Anne,Carol Davis andhusbandKline,and Elizabeth Lapeze; nieceand nephews, Amanda Lapeze, Joey Lapeze, Brad Davis andwife Lacie,and Jeff Davis andwife Allison; aunts, Vickie Melancon andGloriaRagusa; andnumerouscousins. Preceded in death by herparents, Ernest,Sr. andJosephine Ragusa Lapeze. Please share sympathies, condolences, andmemories online at www.wilbertservices.com.

BrendaM.Lapeze passed away at her home on Wednesday, July23, 2025, at theage of 66. She wasa residentand native of Plaquemine,LA. A memorial mass willbe held at St. John theEvangelist Catholic Church, Plaquemine on Thursday, July31, 2025, from9:30am until Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30am, celebrat-

JimmyRay Schwartz, 85, a lifelong resident of Slaughter,LA, died Satur‐day,July26, 2025, at his homeinSlaughter,LA. Fu‐neral services will be held at10:00 am July 31, visita‐tionwillbefrom9:00am–10:00 am at TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4117 LA 412, Slaugh‐ter,LA. PresidentJim Hofelingwillofficiate. In‐terment will follow at Red‐wood Cemetery,Slaughter LA. McKneelyFuneral Homeismakingthe arrangements.Mr. Schwartz was born October10, 1939 inIndependence, LA,son ofthe late JohnnieAm‐brose andLucilla Craft WarnerSchwartz. He wasa graduateofMcKowen High School in Jackson, LA, where he wasknown for his athleticisminall sports, includingbeing an All-State candidateinfoot‐ball. He proudlyserved fouryears in theU.S.Navy, withtwo yearsonthe USS Springfieldonits Mediter‐raneancruise. He traveled the U.S. as aPlanner Scheduler fornuclear plants. He wasanavid chess player andtaughtall his familythe proper rules and etiquette of thegame. Hewas belovedbyhis fam‐ily andfriends.Hewas a truegentleman.Hewas a memberofThe Church of JesusChristofLatter-Day

Saints.HemarriedCarolyn Corcoran, daughter of the lateCliftonLeroy Corcoran and LydiaHazel Pevey. He was amemberofSt. Alban’s Lodge#28 in Jack‐son,LA, anda charter memberofSlaughter Ma‐sonic Lodge#475. He wasa charter member andan early Chiefofthe Slaughter FireDept. He is survived by his wife,Carolyn Corcoran Schwartzand their five children: LydiaRae (Fred) McInnis,Salem,UT; Clifton Ambrose Schwartz, Slaughter,LA; Holly Amanda(Joseph)Gunter, Everton,MO, AshbyElliott (Shaunessy) Schwartz, Slaughter,LA, andThomas Felps (Cynthia)Schwartz, Slaughter,LA. 19 grandchil‐drenand 8great-grandchil‐drenwithone on theway Heisprecededindeath by his parents, sisters- Hazel Inez Daley, Vivian Irene Parker, June Collette Gas‐pard, Iris MarieSchwartz, and Miriam Ware,and brothers- AmbroseLee HollisOscar,Weldon Aaron,and Douglas McArthur.A specialthanks toHospice,the people working there(Lauren, Maryand Kathryn) were mosthelpful andcomfort‐ing.A specialthank youto our beautifulcousin Melissa “Missy”Schwartz who wasour guidethrough thisdifficult experience.A thank youtoour family, friends andchurch com‐munities that supportedus throughthistrying time

Albert Hays Town, Jr passedawayduringthe early morningofFriday, July 25, 2025, at theage of 90. He died as he lived, wellgrounded in his Christian faithand surrounded by family.Hays wasbornon February 3, 1935, in Jackson,MS, thesecondchild of AlbertHays Town and BlancheAnita Scharff

David “D.D.” Dupont passedawayonMonday, July28, 2025, at hishomein Plaquemine, at theage of 76. He wasnativeand life‐longresidentofPlaquem‐ine.D.D.was aself-em‐ployedcarpenter and teacher of industrial arts in Baker andWorkForce in Baton Rouge. He wasa U.S. Air ForceVeteran.Per his wishes, DD wascremated, and agraveside service willbeheldat Grace MemorialParkinPlaquem‐ine,onFriday, August 1st, at 10 a.m.,conducted by Rev. Martin Lawrence.D.D

Lawrence Edwards, Jr. passed away peacefully at hishome on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at theage of 61 aftera courageous battle against coloncancer. He was acommercial fisherman, star of Swamp People and was known as theKing of theSwamp.Junior was a resident and nativeofBayou Sorrel, LA.Visitation willbeheldatWilbert Funeral Home, Plaquemine on Wednesday, July30, 2025, from 5to9pm and will resume on Thursday, July31, 2025, from 10am until religious service at 2pm, conducted by Pastor TroyRomig.Interment will follow at Grace Memorial Park, Plaquemine.Junior is survivedbyhis wife of 44 years, TheresaEdwards; son, William "Willie" Edwards,III andwifeSherrie; daughter, Letha Daley; grandchildren, Austin Daley, William "Lil Willie"Edwards,IVand wife Victoria, Landon Edwards Randy Edwards, II,Sierra Edwardsand Nathan Winters; siblings, Mary Berthelot and husband Daniel, WinnieMae Edwards, Wayne Edwards,Westley Edwardsand wife Jennifer, and FrankieEdwardsand wife Clorisa; and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his son, Randy Edwards; granddaughters, Michaela and Kaitlynn Edwards; parents, William "Buster" and Margie WheatEdwards; brother, Benjamin "Ben Ben" Edwards; sister, Julia Daley; and in-laws, Robert and Betty Daley. Pallbearers will be Willie,Lil Willie Landon and LilRandy Edwards,Austin Daley, Westleyand Wayne Edwards, and Andrew"Woody" Clark. Junior was aloving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend who enjoyed hunting and fishing with hisfamily.Hewas trulya simple man who madehis and hisfamily's life by surviving off theland.Please share sympathies, condolences, and memories online at www.wilbertservices.com.

Schwartz, JimmyRay

Edwards, William Lawrence 'Junior'

Carringone Jr.,Benny Joe

Town, Albert Hays

Lapeze, Brenda M.

Town. He lived most of his life in Baton Rougewhere he graduated from Louisiana StateUniversity. He wasa member of Kappa Sigmafraternity. At LSU, Hays methis wife of 68 years, Marguerite Gay MayTown, whopredeceased him.

Throughout hislife, Hays wasbeloved andwell -knowninthe community forhis tireless dedication to service andcharitable work.In1988, he and his wife started theSt. Elizabeth Foundation, anonprofit adoptionagency, providing support and care to pregnant womenin Louisianathat has placed more than 600 babies since itscreation. While earning hisMaster of Science in Geography fromLSU in 2013, Haysestablished the Baton RougeCitizens to Save our Waterorganization, dedicated to preservingBaton Rouge ground water. He positivelyimpactedcountless peopleallinmeaningful ways bothsmall and large. For thelast several years, Hays spent hismornings between Thanksgiving and Christmas volunteeringfor theSalvation Army ringing thebell.

Hays earned many honorsover hislifetime, including Manofthe Year fromthe nationalchapter of theAssociatedBuilders and Contractors, Angelin AdoptionAward from Congress, and theLeadership forLife Awardfrom LouisianaRight to Life Hays washonored as an LSU distinguished alumni in 2019, forhaving made significant contributions in hiscareer, personal achievements,and civic responsibilities.

Hays wasknownfor his integrity, moralcharacter, compassion, generosity and strong leadership

Haysissurvivedbyhis 6

children: A. Hays Town III, GeorgeWilton Town(Emily Hanchar), ChristopherAshley Town(Lisa Files), GregoryHarrellTown(Tammi McCallie), Marguerite Gay MayTownCaryl (Theodore Caryl),and JonathanAdam Town (Molly LaPrairie). He is survived by his21grandchildren: MariaTown (Cheryl Lovelady),A.Hays TownIV, John HenryTown (Ana Arnone), Nanette TownSaia(BartSaia), GeorgeWilton Town, Jr (Rachel O'Malley),Amelie TownBernhard(Patrick Bernhard), Mignon Town Kastanos (Jonathan Kastanos),Gabrielle Town Ollendike (Phillip Ollendike, ), MargoTownMathews (Michael Mathews),LindseyTownHardy(Elliot Hardy),Forrest Town (StefanieGillett), Mary Claire TownStickle(Will Stickle), Gregory Harrell(Hal) Town, Jr., Robert(Beau) WebsterTown, Leigh Ann TownPodorsky (Micah Podorsky),Matthew Town, Marguerite GayMott Baruch (Satyam Baruch), Jonathan Adam Town, Jr (CarolineMarks),Martha Buckner Town, and Sarah MayTown. Haysisalso survivedbyhis 28 great grandchildren, his3 sisters -in-law, PatriciaMay Dalton(John Dalton, Jr.) GeorgeMay Jeansonne (RichardJeansonne),and Mary MayStelly (Harry Stelly)aswellashis sister, Blanche Anita Gladney.

Funeral serviceswill be heldonThursday,July31st and will includevisitation from 9:00 to 11:00 at St AloysiusCatholic Church, followedbymass. In lieuof flowers, please send donations to St.ElizabethFoundation, 8054 Summa Avenue, Suite A, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. https://stelizabethfoun dation.org/donate/

Vince,MichaelJoseph 'Mike''Mookie'

Michael Joseph"Mike or Mookie" Vince, 87, passed away peacefullyat11:20 PM.Friday, July25, 2025, surrounded by his family at his home in Central He is survivedbyhis wife of 67 ½years, Yvonne HubbsVince,brothersGeraldVince (Tammy), Ronnie Vince (Debbie), Donnie Vince; sons Michael D. Vince (Mary Kay), Keith J. Vince (Darla), Duane M. Vince (Trudy); and grandchildrenMatthew Vince (Amanda), KyleVince (Hudson), Steven Vince (Mary), Aimee Vince, Joshua Vince and Dakota Vince; greatgrandchildren Alexander Vince and Nicholas Vince, and numerous cousins,nieces and nephews. Mike was preceded in death by his parents Pete and Mary Lamana Vince, asister JosieMichelli, agrandson Marshall R. Vince. Pallbearers willbeGeraldVince,Ronnie Vince,

DonnieVince,Matthew Vince, KyleVince,Steven Vince, Joshua Vince, and DakotaVince. The honorarypallbearerwillbe Marshall Vince. Mike liveda very full life.Heretired twice, once as an electrician with the International Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers Local 995 for 68 years and again as an electrical maintenance supervisorfor LSU Facility Services. While trained as an electrician Mike couldperform many types of constructionand maintenance activities. He helped numerous family members and friendswith home electricalprojects and helpedeach of his sons to build their homes. He lovedfishing and over

hislifeheowned quite a fewdifferent camps where he andYvonneenjoyed beinginthe outdoors.Mike wasa hunterinhis early life butgave that up for fishinginhis later years. Mike didnot toleratelaziness in hisown life and hadsimilar expectations for those withwhomhe worked. He neverbacked downfroma challengeand wasalways ready to learn howtoaccomplish anew task. He was ahumble man whoquietly instilleda strongworkethicinhis sons and hiscoworkers. Mike wasproud of hisfamilyand lovedall of his grandchildrenand great grandchildrenverymuch. Special thanks to hiscaregiversKathy Wilsonand

One of the most basic responsibilitiesofrunning ajailismaking sure thepeoplewho are required to be held there remain locked up. Yet, once more, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office has shown it’snot up to thejob. In agenuinely shocking securitylapse,another inmate is now at large, justtwo monthsafter 10 other inmates pulled offabrash late-night escape from the Orleans Justice Center, allegedly with inside help.

This time, there’s no real question of what went wrong.

Khalil Bryan, 30, was mistakenly released last week due to aclerical error,according to SheriffSusan Hutson,after someone posted bond foradifferent inmate with asimilar name. At anews conference, Hutson acknowledged that “this should not have happened. It wasa failure of the internal processes, and thepublic has everyright to expect better.”

She’sright on that.And coming onthe heels of the headline-grabbing jailbreak, it creates another black eye for the cityjust asit’smaking impressive strides in reducing violent crime.

Bryan was being held on a$125,000bond forfailing to appearathis arraignment, court records show.Hefaces multiple chargesin Orleans and Jefferson parishes for illegal possession of stolen property,possessionofdrug paraphernalia, resisting an officer,aggravated assault with afirearm, domestic abuse child endangerment,home invasion and possessionofa firearm by afelon. He previously pleaded guilty to committing armed robbery in 2014, when he was 18.

The Sheriff’s Office has not said what time Bryan was releasedFriday,but thereare reports that more than 12 hourselapsedbefore the mistake was announced

This put the public, and especiallypotential witnesses, at risk —again, as they were when 10 inmates ranacross Interstate10inMay and dispersed intothe city’sneighborhoods.Weare thankful that neither incidenthas resultedinreported harm, but the people of New Orleans and wherever these inmates might headshould not have to rely on that sortoflucktobesafe.

We’re also thankful thatnine of the 10 escaped inmates have been recaptured andare glad that both local and state authorities continue to probe what went wrong thatfrightening night two months ago, even as thefinger-pointing between the Sheriff’s Office chargedwith keeping the jail secure and the citygovernment that fundsitcontinues.

Meanwhile, authorities are callingonBryan to return to the Orleans Justice Center on hisown accord.

“You are afugitive. I’m going to ask thatyou turn yourself in,” New Orleans PoliceSuperintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. If not, “you —and others who may be harboringhim at this moment —will be subject to prosecution.” Tough talk like that wouldn’tbenecessary if the jail functioned as it should.

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

Nothing says “Catholic mission” quitelike sinking millionsintoluxury basketball suites while millions of Americansbrace for Medicaid loss

OurLady of the Lake Hospital, supposedly afaith-based institution, is reportedly the lead investor of LSU’s new basketball stadium.Because, of course, thereal crisis today is the shortage of premium seating for hospital executives.

Onewould think aCatholic hospital might focus on the corporal works of mercy —like, say,healing the sick or caring for the poor Instead, it seems they’re focused on networking with the Tiger Athletic Foundation over cocktails in a climate-controlled box.

It’sfascinating how fast themoney comes out when it’sabout stadium exposure, yet when patients lose coverage, there’ssuddenly abudget

As areader andsomeoneregistered as “No Party,” Iappreciate your efforts to keep us informed But I’ve noticed something that could use alittle moreattention: the way angry far-left andangry far-right views seem to dominate opinion and political coverage. It is saidthatthere are always two sides to any issue,but Ibelieve there are generally three —consider the one in the middle.

Manyofus, myself included, fall there. We wantpracticalsolutions, respectful conversations and results —not just loud shouting matches. Unfortunately, the voices of centrists and independents often get drowned outbythe extremes. That givesapretty skewedpicture of what most people actually think and discourages the kind of compromise our democracy needs.

crunch.

Let’sbeclear: Funding luxury amenities at acollege basketballarena while people are being dropped from Medicaid isn’tjust tone-deaf —it’s morally bankrupt.And doing so under thebanner of areligious institution?That’sthe kicker Catholic hospitals receive nonprofit benefitsand public trust based on the idea that they serve the community Butwhen their dollars are going towarddonor access and executive perks instead of actual care, that trust erodes fast If OurLady of the Lake truly wants to liveuptoits Catholic identity,it should cancel the luxury suite order and expand care for the uninsured instead. Jesus didn’theal people from askybox.

GREG CABALLERO Baton Rouge

Ithink it would be great if your editorial team looked alittle harder for lettersand columns from those of us in themiddle. Unless readers say it outright, these perspectivescan easily get overlooked, even though they represent abig andthoughtful part of the community Also, I’d love to see the paper encourage readers not just to complain aboutone side or the other buttooffer real solutions. Too many lettersjust point fingers. A better conversation would focus on ideas that bring us together instead of driving us apart. Thanks for allyou do to keep the conversation going. Including more centrist voices and solution-focused letters would only make it stronger.

KYLE WATERS Baton Rouge

Handling of Epstein fileshas echoes of thepast

The foot-draggingonreleasing Epsteindocuments reminds me of President Nixon’sfoot-dragging on releasing his Watergate tapes. The Watergate tapes revealed things that needed to be revealed.

Isuspect thesame for the Epstein documents. Transparency is valuable to good government, no matter thecost to those who govern. TOMHERTWIG Gonzales

Congratulations to Jay Johnson on winning National Coach of the Year awarded by D1Baseball.com. Coach Johnson won the prestigious award for the second time in three years at the helm of the LSU Tigers. Since the arrival of Johnson, college baseball has changed dramatically.NIL is ahuge consideration for many players considering offers for their services However,the Tiger mentor assembled a star-studded roster of blue-chip players who chose LSU over other schools. Afew even turned down lucrative professional baseball contracts to play for the Tigers. Coach Johnson not only mentors his team in the art of baseball, but he also strives to prepare his menfor life after college. He recently mentioned that LSU players have aGPA of 3.0. They participate in community projects and school extracurricular activities. And you don’t read about them in newspaper police reports. When signees join the Tiger program, they cometowin aNational Championship, enjoy the support of 12,000 fans and the unique LSU experience. LSUfansdeserve much of thecredit forthe program’s success. Theyare wellreceivedatevery venue they participate in because they are amongthe mostgenerous, fun-loving, devoted fans in America. Ithought it interesting to hear theOmaha business owners andother schoolswho were ecstaticthatthe Tigers wereback in townfor the College WorldSeries. They share theirbarbecue fare witheveryone who wantsataste of bayou favorites.

WESLEY T. RALSTON Metairie

It is with anger and dismay that Iread of Gov.Jeff Landry and his administration’splan to sponsor an LIV tournament at the Bayou Oaks course in New Orleans. The state will spend $7 million $5 millionwill go to Saudis and $2 million to upgrade the course. The governor can cancel asummer meal program for Louisiana children. These children are our future and need help. Yet, Landry can spend millions on a golf tournament with the Saudis. His priorities are misplaced. What is wrong with our state government?

LYNN MCCLAVE

NewOrleans

Last week, the U.S. Army dida good thing. But it just made abad thing look even worse.

In alow-wattage ceremony followed by aFacebook post, the brass at Fort Polk in west central Louisiana renamed the Post Exchange, or PX, after Sgt. William Henry Johnson, aBlack World WarIhero and MedalofHonor recipient APX, for uscivilians, is like amall and includes afood court.

The announcement came alittle more than amonth after theTrump administration announced that the Army base as awholewould revert to its old name, Fort Polk. That wasthe name of the base from its founding in the 1940s until 2023, when it was changed toFort Johnson as part of an effort to remove Confederatenames from U.S.military installations.

In other words, the Army basically told Johnson’sfamily (he’sbeen dead fornearly acentury): Hey, we don’t think your grandfather was worthy of abase being named for him, but how about afood court? We can thinkofno better tribute to his heroism thanto slap his name on our mall!

To her credit, Johnson’sgranddaughter,Tara Johnson, was graciouswhen asked about the move by thisnewspaper’sJenna Ross.

“I’m very happy with theleadership and the staff at …Fort Polk,” she said. “After removing him from theinstallation, Ican’tthink of abetterplace for him to be.”

Ican. Hisname should stillbeonthe base.Itshould be on the big sign out by U.S. 171, not on aplaqueona small pedestal in front of the PX. That’s where he should be.

The move to change it back to Fort Polk was part of the worst kind of cynicalpandering by the Trumpadministration.

Yes, many of President Donald Trump supporters in the communities

PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Family members stand by aportrait duringthe renaming ceremony at Fort Polk in honor of Gen.James H. Polk, who wasawarded theSilver Star during World WarIIand was named one of Gen.Black Jack Pershing’s100 Heroes of World WarI

aroundthe base were upset when the name waschanged. It upended years of tradition,theysaid, and didn’trespect ourhistory Butthe newFort Polk does nothing to respect that history,either.The installation was originally named for LeonidasPolk, the state’sfirst Episcopal bishop, aslave owner and Confederate army general. The new FortPolk is namedfor Gen. James H. Polk,adistinguishedWorld WarIIveteran who earned aSilver Star It doesn’tmatter.Many won’tknow or understandthe difference. They’ll just see this as another victory over wokeness or DEI policies. The Trump administration is counting on this ignorance. Iguess ignorance is, in away,an exercise of freedom. Andfreedom is what this country is founded on. Maybe it was the ideal of freedom that prompted William Henry Johnson to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1917. Perhaps it fueled him when he was on thefront lines, fighting alongside French troops because, reportedly, White American soldiers refused to fight alongside his Black unit,which

becameknown as the Harlem Hellfighters.

Perhaps he held tight to theAmerican principle of freedom when he almost single-handedly repelled aGerman raid, killing at least four and saving acomrade while sustaining more than adozen wounds in hand-to-hand combat. His actions drew such renown that he earned the battlefield moniker “Black Death.” The French gave him their highest wartime honor.The U.S. didn’t. He died in 1929.

In 2023, Tara Johnson said it was patriotismthat drove her grandfather The base renaming was arecognition of that, she said.

“It meansthat all his effortstoprove that he was an American and that he loved this country are coming to fruition,” she said.

It took morethan 60 years, until 1996, before Johnson was awarded aPurple Heart for being wounded in combat. It wasn’tuntil 2002 that he was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross. And in 2015, he received the Medal of Honor.In2023, more than acentury after his heroic acts, during theBiden administration, Fort Polk became Fort Johnson. Sadly,for some, thetwo most importantwords in that entire narrative are “Biden administration.” For them, that meansitmust be bad. Andsothey took his nameoff thebase. Johnson’sheroism doesn’tmatter

In theFacebook post announcing that the PX would be renamed in honor of Johnson, the Army wrote, “The Exchange is theheart of our installation —aplace where Soldiers, families, retirees,and veterans gather.It now stands as adaily reminder of Sgt. Johnson’slegacy: service before self and unwavering commitment to those beside you.” If only his country could show the samelove and “unwavering commitment” to Johnson as he showed to it.

Faimon A. RobertsIII can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Tariff courtcasecould rein in therampant Trumppresidency

Donald Trump’sdestructive “Liberation Day” tariffs, announced April2, should result in aconstructive judicial ruling that significantlysedates today’shyperactive presidency.On Thursday,a federal appeals court will hear oral arguments about this: May the president, by making adeclaration (that he claims is exempt from judicial review) of anational “emergency”and “an unusual and extraordinary threat,” impose tariffs (taxes paid by U.S. consumers) wheneverhewants, at whatever level he wants, against whatever country he wants, on whatever products he wants, for as long as he wants?

Aunanimous lower court has said, essentially: Of course not. Eighteen organizations, spanning the jurisprudential spectrum, have filed amicus briefs opposing the president. They demonstrate the following: After the preamble, the Constitution’sfirst word is “all”:“All legislative Powers” are vested in Congress. And the power to tax is listed first among Congress’senumerated powers. Because the Constitution vestsin Congress the power to “lay andcollect” duties and imposts, presidential authority to impose them must derive from astatute.

IEEPA’sauthoritycan be exercised only in an emergencyinvolving “an unusual andextraordinary threat,” which trade deficits —the president’s obsession —are not.Unusual? He says they have been “persistent” for half a century Recently,the SupremeCourt said the Federal Communications Commission’s“regulation” of communications carriers could include an FCC-imposed tax on them but only because Congress explicitly authorized this. Otherwise, the FCC tax would violate two related rules, the major questions doctrineand the nondelegation doctrine.

when Congress began empowering presidentstonegotiate —subject to congressional approval —tariff reductions. In 1974, Congress authorized thepresident to impose surcharges of limited amount (15%) and duration (five months).And an appellatecourt stressed in 1975 that adeclaration of national emergency “is not atalisman enabling the president to rewritethe tariff schedules” because this would unconstitutionally authorize “the exercise of an unlimited power.”

As if he didn’thave enough on his mind in late summer,President Donald Trump has calledon two professional sports teams to revert to their former names —which unfortunately sound to many ears like racial slurs.

Is Trump just looking for trouble? Or is he whipping up controversy to direct attention away from other trouble that he is in?

Recently on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, Trump called on the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’sCleveland Guardians to go back to the team names they used before they rebranded in response to complaints about the use of Native American names and imagery

Referring to Washington team, Trump posted, “I mayput a restriction on them that if they don’tchange the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker,‘Washington Commanders,’ Iwon’tmake adeal for them to build aStadium in Washington.”

Moreover,hewrote, “Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians.”

Ah, the old one-two punch of bigotry andextortion.

For fun Trump added, “MAKE INDIANS GREATAGAIN (MIGA)!”

Right. Somehow,Idon’texpect indigenous Americans to be very impressed by his demand. But Isuspect this interlude is merely amessage to his followers to remind them what binds the MAGA movement together.Trump hasfreed them from the need to consider the feelings of people of other races and nations.

Trump is trying to move the news cycle past the mysteries surrounding the late Jeffrey Epstein. More news has emerged tying him to the late financier and convicted sex offenderwho died by suicide while in prison nearly six years ago.

The Epstein story took an unexpected turn earlier this month when the Justice Department announced that it would not release the so-called Epstein files, despite the fact that Trump surrogates had spent months, and in some cases years, making lurid promises to do so

Then, The Wall Street Journal reported that arisque birthday letter sent to Epstein in 2003 bore Trump’ssexually suggestive signature. Trump went ballistic, suing the Journal, its owners and the reporters for $10 billion, contending that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.” However,hesounded abit more mutedafter the Journal’ssubsequent report that Trump was briefed by his attorney general, Pam Bondi, in May that his name appears multiple timesin FBI documents related to the Epstein case. The Epstein case is agrave vulnerability for Trump. Anontrivial segment of the MAGA movement is rebelling at his attempts to quash publication of the “files.” Trump in turn is accusing these people of being “duped” by Democrats. ACBS/YouGov poll published recently found that 9in10respondents think the government should release all of its information on Epstein. Republicans were split almost evenly on approval of the Trump administration’shandling of the controversy,though self-identifiedMAGA Republicans were more likely to say they were satisfied.

Trump relies on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. But it nowhere includes the term “tariff”orany of its synonyms, and no previous president has claimed that it authorizes tariffs. Today’s president argues that IEEPA’sconferred power to “regulate” trade implies the presidential power to tax it. This is anastonishingly radical claim because hundreds of statutes authorize innumerable agencies to “regulate,” butnot to tax Congress hasoften authorized tariffs, but always with specific substantive temporal and procedural limitations on presidential discretion.

Theformer stipulates that for courts to construe statutes to grant the executive broad powers, Congress must “speak clearly”about authorizing executive “decisions of vast economic and political significance.” Congress didnosuchthing with IEEPA. TheSupreme Court says thenondelegation doctrine, which undergirds the separation of powers, “bars Congress from transferring its legislative power to another branch of Government” without providing “an intelligible principle to guide the delegee’suse of discretion.” Today’s president insiststhat IEEPAgrants presidentsunbounded discretion in wielding apower that is neither granted to him by theConstitution nordelegable by Congress. Constitutional scholar Philip Hamburger says the Constitution’sframers thought“the natural dividing line between legislative and nonlegislative power wasbetween rules that bound subjects and those that did not.” Tariffs bind Americans seeking to purchase imports.

The second law enacted by thefirst Congress established detailed tariff rates (e.g 1cent per pound of brown sugars). Tariff changes were largely Congress’s domain until the1930s,

The 1974 law authorized thepresident to impose tariffs only to address “balance-of-paymentsdeficits.” Trump’sidiosyncratic tariffs punish Brazil, with which there is aU.S. trade surplus, because he objectstoBrazil’s internal politics. States of emergency (51 are extant) temptpresidential abuses (thepandemic emergency was Joe Biden’s pretext for trying tocancel $430 billion in student debt) and are difficult to end: Congress cannot easily reclaim power delegated tothe president,who can veto Congress’sretrieval attempts. Given the two-thirds vote requirement for veto overrides, delegation tends to be aratchet clicking to the president’s advantage.

The president claims his declaration of an “emergency” is unreviewable because it involves foreign relations. Buttariffs, which have domestic consequences and purposes, properly are congressional exercises of aconstitutionally enumerated power and must come from statutes.

Today’spresident is ahare, darting here and there. The judiciary is generally atortoise, slow because it is deliberative. Butyou know thefable. Andhere is afact: This tariff case could markedly restrain this rampant presidency

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

As for his overall performance, an overwhelming 89 %ofRepublicans approved of the jobhe’s doing as president, despite his approval slipping to just 42% of all respondents in the survey That could be because the Epstein case isn’t the most important issue respondents considered in evaluating the job he’sdoing. Topofthe list for saying an issue mattered “a lot” in their evaluation wasimmigration and deportation policies (61%), followed closely by inflationand prices and the tax-and-spending bill that recently passed Congress (both at 56%). About 36% said the Epstein case mattered “a lot” in their assessment of Trump.

Yetthe case isn’tgoing away any timesoon In order to avoid aprocedural vote making information about the Epstein case public, House Speaker Mike Johnson instead sent House members home early for amonthlong break from Washington. The vote would have forcedRepublicans to pick aside.

Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney GeneralTodd Blanche, who last year acted as Trump’scriminal attorney,has been dispatched twice to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice who is serving a20-yearsentence for child sex trafficking. Is Blanche visiting Maxwell as ahigh official sworn to protectthe people of the UnitedStates or as Donald Trump’s personal fixer? It’shard to know if there’sadistinction in Trump’smind.

As one who hasgrown quite weary of the epidemic of conspiracy theories that boiledupin the wake of Barack Obama’spresidential campaign, Iamamusedtosee the masters of MAGA get ataste of their own paranoid theories. But Iamalso deeply worried about whatthey will permit themselves to do to get out of the Epstein pickle.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@ gmail.com.

Clarence Page

George Will

Faimon Roberts

Baton Rouge Weather

HERBERT

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD

Saints safety Julian Blackmon goes through drills ThursdayinMetairie.

Blackmon aversatile addition

NewSaintssafetyhas fitinnicely afterMathieu’s surprise retirement

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

When Julian Blackmon recorded hisfirst interception in practice with the Saints,noone was more excited than defensivecoordinator BrandonStaley. As soon as the safety picked off quarterbackJake Haener,Staley yelled: “I’ve waited five years forthat!” It hadbeenalong time coming.

“I said, ‘Coach, this is foryou!’”Blackmon said with asmile. “Itfeels good to be valued.”

Staley’sinterest in Blackmon dated to 2020 when he declared for the NFL draft, Blackmon said.The coordinator,then with the Los Angeles Rams, was the “main guy” who was in contactwith Blackmon ahead of the draft. But the timing didn’tpan out the Rams chose another player one pickahead of Blackmon, who was taken at No. 85 by the Colts Blackmon and Staley stayed in touch over the years. Last year,when Blackmon was afree agent, Staley courted him when he was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. Again, the timing didn’twork out —Blackmon chose to re-sign with the Colts Butthe third time turned out tobethe charm.

The Saints were in need of asafety after Tyrann Mathieu’ssurprise retirement, and New Orleans signed the 26-year-old Blackmon to aone-year deal reportedly worth up to $5.5 million.

“Weobviously feel fortunate (Blackmonwas available),” coach Kellen Moore said. “He’sa big-time player.He’scontributing in alot of different ways.”

Perhaps one of the reasons Blackmon was available was the fact that the sixth-year veteran spent most of last season dealing with atorn labrum.Although he suited up for 16 games,Blackmonsaid the injury affected his play,and he needed to wait to get fully cleared.

But the Saints weren’tscared offbythe injury New Orleans also expressed interest in Blackmon

Southern ecstatic to donfullpads

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

There was aslightly differentair around Southern football on the field.

It wasn’tjust the cooler and sunless 87-degree temperature forMonday’s 8p.m.practice. Players looked and moved differently on the grass,wearing full pads for the firsttimeinpreseason camp

While senior defensive endCkelbyGivensacknowledged the Jaguarshad been in partialpads twicesince camp started July 22,he andhis team were excited for the full experience

The start of anew week meant the next step in the process of preparing the Jaguars fortheir season opener against NorthCarolinaCentral in Atlanta at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23.

Coach Terrence Graves used the first week to study the energy that players practiced with and the attention to detail of returners and newcomers alike. The team passed that test in his eyes and is moving to the next part of theplan.

“Now Iwant to see how(much) betterwecan get,” Graves said, “how fast we can play,how much more can we improve on our installation of allthree phases of the game and really hone in on getting ready for game one.”

The expected players are standingout earlyon. Givens, the reigning SWAC co-DefensivePlayer of the Year,isamong that group.After aseason with 12 sacks and 73 tackles in 13 games, he was focused on getting even stronger in the offseason. He said he added 15 poundsafter playing the majorityof last season at 225.

Tight end Dupree Fuller is another returner who has opened eyes. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound graduate student made the preseason All-SWAC second-team

CHAMPIONSHIP CHECKLIST 4

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Welcome to an LSU football season brimmingwith high expectations and nervous anticipation

Three years have passed under coach Brian Kelly without aCollege Football Playoff berth, but he believes he has themost talented roster of his tenure yet.Witha mix of returning starters andexperienced transfers, can theTigers become championship contenders?

They will begin to findout over thenext month. Players reported Tuesday,and preseason practice beginsWednesday morning. Here are the top questions and storylines for LSUbefore it opens theseason Aug. 30 at Clemson.

1. Howwillthe OL shakeout?

Kelly feels “bullish” about the offensive line, but with four starters gone, there are concerns. Are left tackle Tyree Adams and right tackle Weston Davis ready to be first-timestarters? CanVirginia Tech transferBraelin Moore and Northwestern transfer Josh Thompson slide into the lineup?

Is center DJ Chester going to move to guard? Will someone else take aspot, and can this group be more physical in the run game?It’sgoing to be afascinating month upfront.

2. Whostartsatsafety?

As much as the offensive lineneeds to sort itself out, thiscouldbethe fiercest position battleofcamp. There are five players in the mix: Houston transfer A.J. Haulcy,NCStatetransfer Tamarcus Cooley,senior Jardin Gilbert, junior Javien Toviano and sophomoreDashawn Spears. Haulcy signed in Mayand Gilbert missedspring practice after having shoulder surgery,soLSU hasn’tseen all of them at once. The competition is wide open —and the safetyplay needs to improve

Talkingseasoncomes to an endfor LSU

Whatever themeteorological circumstances, at least we can be sure of one thing: There will be action. There will be moving toward the goal of gettingready for the upcoming season for the Tigers.

No more predicting.

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C ä See BLACKMON, page 4C

page 3C

There is no bigger misnomer in the sportslexicon than “fall practice” for college football. It’ll be in theupper 80s withhumiditytomatch Wednesday morning when the LSUTigers hit the field. “Fall practice.” Bah.It’ll be steamy,stickyand a50/50 chance theteam will get driven indoors by apassing thunderstorm. The chance of rain, ideally,may be never in Tiger Stadium,according to recently retired public address announcer Dan Borne. But what about at The Ponderosa, the long-standing nickname for theLSU football practice fields? Chance of rain …always.

No more guessing. No more trying to hypothesize answers to the burning hot question on the fevered minds of LSU followers ev-

erywhere: Will the Tigers be in the College Football Playoffin2025, and can they winit? Nothing else really matters. There’scertainly no grading on acurve anymore. Notinthe still under warranty 12-team (soon to be 14- or 16-team) era of the CFP Youmake the playoffand your season wastosome degree asuccess. Don’t make it —for the LSUs and Alabamas and Ohio States and Clemsons of the college football world —and it’safail. No extra credit available. For what it’sworth, LSU coach Brian Kelly clearly thinks he’sgot areally good team on his hands. Kelly has been saying so formuch

of the offseason. He’seven gone so farastopoke the bear —orinthis case, the other Tiger —involved in LSU’s season opener,calling Clemson’sMemorial Stadium “Death Valley Junior” during last week’sBaton Rouge Rotary Club luncheon. The cynic can makethe case Kelly doesn’treally care that much. That he knows LSU is on the hook to him for $100 million over 10 years regardless. But Idon’tthink that’strue. Idon’tthink you can go to all this effort to assemble astaff, assemble talent, to put up $1 million from your own compensation package to spur donations to

Scott Rabalais

STAFF FILE PHOTOByHILARy SCHEINUK

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks, left, celebrates with linebacker Harold Perkins after making atackleagainst USC on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas. Both Weeks andPerkins are expected to be fully recovered from injuries when the season starts.

6:05 p.m. Tampa BayatN.y.yankeesPRIME

9p.m.

7p.m. NewMexico U. at Hartford CBSSN

7p.m. Pumas UNAM at Orlando City FS1

9p.m. Phoenix at OrangeCountyESPN2

Los Angelesridinga hotstreak

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

NEW YORK No team has been

playing better since the AllStar break then the Los Angeles Sparks and they’ve been doing it with astellar offense.

The team has won five straight games, including three on the road, heading into Tuesday night’smatchup with the Las Vegas Aces.

It’sonly the third time in the past five years that the team has won five or more games in arow

The Sparks hadanine-game winning streak in 2020 and asixgame one in 2023.

Los Angeles has scored 90 or more points in all five games for the first time in franchise history and has put up consecutive 100-point efforts —again afirst for the team.

“We’ve beenplaying better in the last month, part of that is getting bodies back,” Sparkscoach Lynne Roberts said. “We’re playing with more pace, so they’re figuring it out. We don’tplay a traditional style, there’sa lot of freedom.”

TheSparkshave been getting strong contributions fromall five of their starters Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby areaveraging 20 8points each.

Rickea Jackson and Azura Stevens are right behindat18.2 points and 17.0, respectively

Jacksontorched theLiberty on Saturdayfor 20 points in the first-half and hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer

Los Angeles will also welcome back Cameron Brink onTuesday.She’sbeen sidelined for 13 months with an ACL injury Injuries

Caitlin Clark is still sidelined with aright groin injury and there’snotimetable yet on her return.

Indiana’sstar guard received asecond opinion by adifferent

Angeles

professional on theinjury when the Fever visited New York last week.

Theteam announced there werenosigns of additional damage.

Furthermore, maintaining Clark’slong-term health was the priority of her recovery to prevent any further injuries later down theline in hercareer Player of theweek

Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana was the AP playerofthe week after averaging 28.3points, four assists and 1.7 stealstohelp them go 2-1 lastweek. Otherplayers receiving votes included Napheesa CollierofMinnesota, Plum and Hamby of Los Angeles and Alyssa Thomas of Phoenix. Game of theweek New York at Minnesota, Wednesday. It’sthe first meeting of theseason betweenthe participants of theWNBAFinals last year.The Liberty wonthatseries in adecisive Game 5inovertime.

Woad makesa bigimpressionatScottishOpen

The Women’sScottish Open

wasn’tthe first time Lottie Woad made an immediate impression.

Florida State coach Amy Bond had been recruiting the English girl with astrong work ethic,limited to chatting online and studying the swings Woad posted on socialmedia because of the COVID-19pandemic.

When travel restrictions loosened, Bond headed to Carnoustie for the British Girls Amateur

U.S. Open mixeddoubles

features Venus Williams

Venus Williams’ comeback is headed to theU.S.Opennext month, when she will enter the redesigned mixed doubles tournamentwith Reilly Opelka via awildcard entry

The 45-year-old Williams, who returned to the tennis tour last week after more than ayear away,and Opelka were amongthe 14 teams announced Tuesday by the U.S. Tennis Association for itsmixed doublesevent on Aug. 19-20. Eight of thepairings received direct entry into the field based on having thehighest combined current singles rankings, and six were given wild cards by the USTA

The players withspots in the bracket include nine whohave wonatleast one Grand Slam singles title and 14 whoare ranked in the WTAorATP top 10 forsingles.

Texasman pleads guilty to stalking Caitlin Clark

A55-year-old Texas manwho toldpolicehewas in “an imaginary relationship” with WNBA star Caitlin Clark was sentenced to 21/2 years in prisonMondayafter pleading guilty to stalking and harassing the Indiana Fever guard. Michael Lewis of Denton, Texas, reached adeal with Marion County prosecutors in whichhepleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of harassment. He will get credit for timeserved.

Lewisalsowas orderedtostay awayfromGainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Fever events andIndianaPacersorganization events, as wellastohave no contact with Clark. He also will not be allowed internet access during his sentence.

Orioles, Blue Jays make trade between doubleheader

The Baltimore Oriolestraded relieverSeranthonyDomínguez to Toronto on Tuesday in between games of their split, day-night doubleheader against the Blue Jays. Domínguez did not pitch in the the opener,which the Orioles won 16-4. He wastradedfor minor league right-hander Juaron WattsBrown, anditwas announced aboutanhourbefore thescheduled first pitch of the nightcap. Domínguez is 2-3 with a3.24 ERA in 43 reliefappearances this season. Domínguezwas in his sixth season with the Philadelphia Phillieswhenthe right-handerwas traded to Baltimore. The AL Eastleading Blue Jayshad abullpen ERA of 3.94, which ranked in the middle of the pack heading into Tuesday’ssecond game.

“The first hole Isaw her,she made birdie. Iknew we weregoing to have agreat relationship,” Bond recalled with a laugh. Woad wentonto a7-and-6 victory on the links reputed to be as tough as any The next week shearrived on the Florida State campus for the first timetobegin adistinguished college career.Woad won fivetimes, set the school record for careerscoring average, reached No. 1inthe women’sworld amateur ranking and finished in the top 10 in 25 of her 30 tournaments.

What first brought her acclaim wasaSaturdayat thehomeof the Masters, where Woad birdied three of her last four holes towin the Augusta NationalWomen’s Amateur

Now she is the talk of women’s golf, winning the Women’sScottish Open in her professional debut with such precision the 21-year-old Woad made it look routine.

“I guess that’saprettygood first week at work,” Woad posted on social media. Next up is the Women’sBritish Open this week at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

Woad has been aprofessional for all of two weeks, and BetMGMSportsbook already lists her as the favorite at +650, followed by Nelly Korda and Jeeno

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEVE WELSH England’sLottie Woad holdsthe trophy after winning the Women’s Scottish Open at the Dundonald Links in Irvine, Scotland,onSunday

Thitikul, Nos. 1and 2inthe women’sworld ranking. This couldbethe spark that women’sgolf needs.

Korda is winless this year,surprising afterher seven-winseasonin2024. Rose Zhang, whoalso won an LPGA title in her pro debut in 2023,istrying to play and finish her degree at Stanford.

LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler seized on Woad’sbig moment by getting the final round of the Women’sScottish Open— available on streamingand then tape delay —livecoverageon linear TV CNBC.

“It’sfun that everybody getsto see what Isaw,” Bond said. Shesaw aplayerwitharelentless work ethic who would often take an Uber tothe course in the morning. Woad saidshe wanted to buy acar with her first check —$300,000from the Women’s ScottishOpen—only to reveal

Sundayshe first needs aU.S. driver’s license. She appearstobeonthe superhighway to success. It started earlierthismonth when Woad won the Women’s Irish Open on theLadiesEuropean Tour by sixshotsover Madelene Sagstrom, who earlier this year won theLPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek. The next week,she wasleading in thefinal round of an LPGA major when Woad failed to birdie thepar-5 18th at the Evian Championship and wound up missing a playoff by one shot. But atie for third gave her the finalpoint she needed in the LPGA Elite AmateurPathway program toget an LPGA card, and it made sense for her to turn pro. Bondposted aseries of photos when Woad decided to turn pro twoweeks ago, including the day

she signedwith the Seminoles and when she first set foot on campus. She was with Woad in Franceand couldn’thelpbut noticethatshe looked “eerily comfortable.”

“Sometimes it can be ahard transition from amateur golf to professionalgolf,”Bondsaid.

“But she has great people around, her parents, her swing coach Luke Bone, whoisphenomenal. You’ve got to have that forthe ease of things to work out.”

Ease was an appropriate description, forthat’show it looked at Dundonald Links.

Woad is plenty long off the tee.

She is renowned for her elite wedge play,whichBondsays she honed thelast two years at Florida State.

“Shekeeps trackofall that stuff every day,”Bondsaid. “We have aset routine for different yardages, and shewrites down everything. If she’strying to hit it 65 yards and hits it 68 or 72,she’s writing it down to seeifshe can get it close.”

Mostremarkable about herwin at the Women’sScottish Open beyond making only threebogeys over 72 holes —was the composure she showed while playing thefirst tworounds with Korda andthe high-charged Charley Hull.

Staked to atwo-shotleadinthe

final round, Hyo Joo Kim made a charge to tie forthe lead. Woad eased on the accelerator and pulled away withfour birdies on thelast sixholes

Pretty good first week at work.

That’s howitlookedatthe end. Woad rapped in afinal birdie, took theball out of the cupand slid it into herpocket, offering a politewave to the gallery

It had thelook of someone who hadbeen there before. Woad is 55-under parinher last three tournaments, ascoring average of 67.4. She now is No. 24 in the women’sworld ranking. She hasthe look of someone just getting started.

AthleticsplaceAll-Star SS Wilson on 10-day IL

The Athletics placed All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson on the 10day injured list on Tuesday with a fractured leftforearm.

The 23-year-old Wilson washit on his left hand by apitch in the first inning of a10-1victoryover Atlanta on July 8. The rookie is batting .105 (4 for38) in his last 10 games.

Wilson, the No. 6overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft, hasn’t playedsincehewent 1for 3ina 15-3 winatHouston on Friday Wilson, the son of former big league infielder Jack Wilson, and A’steammate Nick Kurtz are two of the top contenders for AL Rookie of the Year Jacob Wilson is batting .312 with10homers and45RBIsin94 games.

Colts left tackleRaimann gets four-year extension

Bernhard Raimann of the Indianapolis Coltssigned afour-year contract extensionworth $100 million Tuesday,making him one of the league’shighest-paid lefttackles and akey cog forIndianapolis. At Central Michigan,Raimann completed his college tenureasa tight end. Indy initially projected Raimann as its swing tackle, after Indianapolis took him in thethird round of the 2022 draft. Injuries among the team,however,forced Raimann into the startingjob on the leftside,becoming astabilizing force. The extension comes just days after Raimann reporteduncertainties on an agreementfrom between the two. It’salso the first big move since team owner JimIrsay died this spring. Irsay’sthree daughters are now running the team

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES REX ARBOGAST Los

Sparks playerCameron Brink shoots against the ChicagoSky on May30, 2024, in Chicago. Brink returned to the Sparks lineup on Tuesdayafter missing13months withanACL injury.

Doug Ferguson

Florida QB Lagway sidelined to open camp

BY MARK LONG AP sportswriter

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway will open fall camp in the same spot he spent spring practice — watching from the sidelines. Lagway is dealing with a calf strain and wearing a walking boot, and coach Billy Napier offered no timetable on his star player’s return. It’s the latest injury issue for the highly touted sophomore who missed spring with a shoulder injury after undergoing sports hernia surgery “It’s not ideal,” Napier said Wednesday “In the perfect world, he would be perfect every day of the offseason. I think the good thing is his attitude toward it. I think that’s a positive. He’s in Year 2, I think he understands what’s required to be ready It’s not ideal, but I think ultimately we’ll come up with the best plan we can to have him ready” The Gators open training camp Wednesday And Napier, unlike in previous years, closed viewing periods to media for the first three days. Lagway, who went 6-1 in seven starts as a freshman in 2024, is widely considered a Heisman Trophy contender heading into this season. But he’s barely been on the field

SOUTHERN

Continued from page 1C

offense after having 30 receptions for 370 yards and two touchdowns.

at a time when he could be making significant strides. He was limited during spring practice because of a right shoulder injury that could eventually need surgery

He resumed throwing in late April and said earlier this month at Southeastern Conference media days he would fully participate in camp. But then he strained a calf muscle last week.

“Injuries are one of the terrible things about the profession and certainly for him being a Year 2 player and a really motivated and hungry guy,” Napier said. “I think he’s done a good job staying connected. I think he still has a voice as a leader He’s still walking the halls. He’s still able to be a factor in that regard.

“But he’s still a very young player and needs these reps for development as well When he gets back, he’ll be just fine. He’s had a great attitude toward it, and we’ve got to help him manage expectations a little bit as well.”

Lagway completed 60% of his passes for 1,915 yards, with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024. He took over the starting role after Graham Mertz tore a knee ligament at Tennessee in October Without Lagway now, journeyman Harrison Bailey is expected to get most of the first-team snaps.

Bailey played at Tennessee, UNLV and Louisville before transferring to Florida earlier this year

For Lagway, the calf injury is the latest in a growing list of setbacks over the last three years.

The Willis, Texas, native injured his right foot during the Under Armour All-American Game in January 2024 and missed parts of training camp last year because of

shoulder soreness.

Lagway also strained his left hamstring against Georgia last year and missed the following week’s game at Texas. He returned down the stretch and helped the Gators win their final four games.

“The sky’s the limit for that kid,” teammate and defensive end Tyreak Sapp said. “That kid is not just blessed with a lot of ability; the

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

help LSU land a top-shelf transfer portal class if he didn’t want to win badly

So far the evidence has pointed to it. LSU and Kelly have brought together the people and talent to coach and help build a championship-caliber roster You’re going nowhere, man, without talent and depth. The Tigers appear to have both in abundance.

I’ve been asked what I’m looking for during these weeks of preparation lead-

CHECKLIST

Continued from page 1C

That confidence is linked to Fuller’s improvement and his familiarity with secondyear offensive coordinator Mark Frederick’s system.

“Guy’s a matchup problem,” Graves said of Fuller

Graves said Fuller has improved speed, strength and leadership abilities. When asked whether a larger role is imminent for Fuller, Graves said, “No question about it.”

ing up to that blockbuster opener at Clemson I want to see how Garrett Nussmeier looks throwing to new receivers such as Barion Brown and Nic Anderson I want to see which players emerge as the five starting offensive linemen. I want to see whether linebackers Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins are indeed full speed ahead for the Clemson game after both suffered devastating injuries last season I want to see if a less-touted member of LSU’s highly touted transfer class, punter Grant Chadwick from Middle Tennessee, can pin some people

3. Does Nussmeier make leap?

Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels made massive leaps from their first to second years as the LSU starting quarterback Will Nussmeier do the same? He was good last season, throwing for 4,052 yards, but he needs to get better to take LSU to the playoffs. Nussmeier spent the offseason evaluating his decision-making and preparing his body to run a little bit more.

4. Perkins, Weeks return Kelly expects two of the most important defensive players, linebackers Harold Perkins and Whit Weeks, to be ready for practice after their injuries. Perkins will be 10 months removed from tearing his ACL, and Weeks has had six months to recover from surgery on a broken fibula. Perkins will play Star, a hybrid linebacker/safety position, this season, giving defensive coordinator Blake Baker an interesting chess piece.

5. Can Pickett start?

LSU may have two new starting cornerbacks, and one of them could be Pickett. The 6-foot-4, five-star freshman made a positive first impression during spring practice Can he build on that going into the season? Virginia Tech transfer Mansoor Delane likely will start on one side. The other spot is shaping into a battle among Pickett, Florida transfer Ja’Keem Jackson and junior Ashton Stamps.

6. How does Nic Anderson fit?

We haven’t gotten a good look at how Oklahoma transfer wide receiver Nic Anderson fits into the offense because he was limited during spring practice with a hamstring injury He needed medical treatment when he got into a car wreck earlier this month, but Kelly said Anderson was expected to practice at the start of camp. At 6-4, he would add an enticing target to the receiving corps.

7. Who’s poised for a breakout?

Preseason camp can offer clues as to which player may be headed for a big year Some of the candidates are senior wide receiver Chris Hilton, sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green, sophomore defensive tackle Dominick McKinley and sophomore

“He’ll find ways, and coach Frederick is doing some things to help him, to free him up and make sure that he gets his bite at the apple.”

Fuller said he spoke with Frederick about him taking on more responsibilities, which may include time spent in the backfield and

deep with some serious hang time.

Most of all, I want to see if the Tigers are a team instead of a collection of pricey players. Ole Miss was set up in similar fashion last year, with a glut of transfers and an experienced returning quarterback in Jaxson Dart to stir the drink.

The Rebels were good, but not good enough to make the CFP despite having more mercenaries than many teams worthy of earning one of those 12 coveted CFP slots.

I want to see whether the LSU players have

defensive end Gabriel Reliford.

8. Will LSU improve run game?

This question applies to both sides of the ball. On offense, LSU ranked last in the SEC in rushing at 116 yards per game in 2024. It was ineffective in short-yardage situations, even with an experienced offensive line, and abandoned the run at times.

The defense wasn’t much better, ranking 12th in the league with 140 yards rushing allowed per game. LSU struggled in particular with containing mobile quarterbacks, and they are all over the schedule again.

9. Does defense improve?

In Baker’s first season as the defensive coordinator, LSU went from 81st nationally in points allowed per game the year before to 59th. It was a decent jump, but that’s not good enough for title contention.

After adding nine defensive transfers, Kelly said LSU has “given Blake now the tools to play championship-level defense.” He needs to be right. LSU has not ranked better than 33rd in scoring defense over the past five years.

10. Will DL transfers step up?

LSU lost six of its top eight snap-getters on the defensive line. It’s mostly counting on returning players to develop on the interior To fill the holes on the edge, LSU signed Florida State senior Patrick Payton, Florida senior Jack Pyburn and Nebraska senior Jimari Butler They’re trying to prove themselves late in their careers, and LSU needs them to pan out. It also grabbed a potential starter in South Florida defensive lineman Bernard Gooden in the spring portal window

11. An eye on the opener

Though LSU could lose the first game and still reach the 12-team playoff, it doesn’t want to start the season with a loss. Again. The Tigers have not won their season opener since 2019, a streak that has festered for far too long. It won’t be easy to break. But LSU has put a lot of attention on Clemson, and if it wins, it will have early momentum.

12. Can Kelly deliver?

Throughout the offseason, Kelly has talked up the quality of the roster He said LSU has “a team that can win the SEC” and that it didn’t before now His confidence comes from having a returning quarterback, improved depth, a few years of development and a top-ranked transfer class. He has set high expectations. And now he must meet them.

running out as a receiver

“Me and coach (Frederick) have had talks about me getting a bigger role in the offense,” Fuller said. “So I really got to show my skills in camp and show him what I can really do.”

Frederick said he’s expecting success from Fuller as a blocker and receiver

chemistry Whether or not Nussmeier can find the timing with transfer tight end Bauer Sharp after he sheds a block, or know that Brown will be in the right spot to make the catch when Nussmeier releases the ball.

“We’re going to try to get some mismatches with him on linebackers, and try to get him the ball,” Frederick said.

As Fuller and others prepare for the season, Southern bid farewell to graduate transfer quarterback Jamari Jones. The East Mississippi Community College transfer left the team for personal reasons, Graves said. The Jaguars have three quarterbacks left on the roster: returning redshirt sophomore and likely starter Jalen Woods, junior Jackson State transfer Cam’Ron McCoy and freshman Dillon Compton from Bunkie.

I want to see whether the offensive line can be a cohesive unit and create holes for LSU running backs. I want to see if the trust is there in the secondary to make the tight coverage or knock a ball away as a blurring receiver comes over the middle on a post route or a running back leaks out into open space. No one goes into this season believing the Tigers will fall on their collective face a la Florida State last season the Seminoles went from top 10 to 2-10. LSU will be a good team. Can it break the cycle of good in the first three seasons under Kelly and aspire to be great? To take up a legitimate chase of the program’s fifth national championship? Again, no more talking. It’s time for doing.

PHELAN M. EBENHACK

warms up before a game against Mississippi on Nov. 23 in Gainesville, Fla.

Giants hope new-look secondary comes with more interceptions

BY STEPHEN WHYNO Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD N.J Not a lot went right for the New York Giants last season when they tied for the worst record at 3-14, got outscored by 142 points and the offense ranked third from last in the NFL.

Their top-10 pass defense was a bright spot, thanks in large part to edge rushers such as Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns and stout lineman Dexter Lawrence. The secondary played its part, too, and should be better this year after the signings of cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland.

“We can do so much with them: We’re bringing in two vets that know how to play the game,” cornerback Dru Phillips said last week. “We may put a (different) scheme in and they’re brand new here, but they came in like they knew it. They’ve played this type of stuff before at a high level, so you can experiment with a lot of new stuff, and you can have a lot of versatility With these guys, we can switch it up any play We can all play man, zone, blitz. We’re all almost interchangeable in a way.”

Changes on defense also come with a couple of new assistants in charge. Jeff Burris took over as

cornerbacks coach, and Marquand

Manuel is the secondary coach and pass game coordinator

“I like them a lot,” cornerback Deonte Banks said. “I like how they teach.”

Holland noticed Adebo — a fellow member of the 2021 draft class who has played for New Orleans has some similar mannerisms They also think the game the same.

Falcons rookie Pearce bringing edge to pass rush

BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When the Atlanta Falcons made improving edge rusher their offseason priority, they addressed an attitude as well as a position.

Veteran Leonard Floyd and rookie first-round picks Jalon Walker and James Pearce are already making an impact for the Falcons, who had their first practice of training camp in pads on Tuesday Pearce has made a quick impression with his aggressive style. The rookie’s confidence in not backing down to veteran offensive linemen in practice scuffles is evidence of what secondyear coach Raheem Morris says is a new edge to the team. When asked Tuesday what he sees that is new to the 2025 team following an 8-9 finish last season, Morris said “probably a little bit of the edge.”

One of the goals is to produce more takeaways, which is certainly a challenge in a quarterback-studded NFC East featuring Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Dallas’ Dak Prescott. But something has to give on that side of the ball after only Cleveland had fewer interceptions last season than the Giants’ five.

Enter Holland, who has a handful in his four-year pro career with Miami and always keeps his mind on attacking the football.

“Seeking out the ball, punching the rock out in any way, shape or form, disrupt the quarterback — that’s basically what it is,” Holland said. “(It is) having the ball at the front of your mind and straining. That’s how the takeaways happen.”

This time early in training camp is a chance for Adebo, Holland, Tyler Nubin, Phillips, Banks and fellow defensive back Cor’Dale Flott to develop some chemistry before facing Daniels and the Commanders in Week 1 on Sept 7.

The comfort level began building during spring workouts and

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CAROLyN KASTER Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson speaks to media during practice on May 13 in Cincinnati. Hendrickson is seeking a long-term extension with guaranteed money that matches what the league’s top pass rushers are earning

Source: Hendrickson ends holdout, will report to camp

BY JOE REEDY Associated Press

CINCINNATI Trey Hendrickson is ending his holdout and will report to the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced.

The All-Pro defensive end and former Saint missed the first five days of training camp and accumulated $250,000 in fines. Hendrickson left Cincinnati before the start of camp and was working out in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bengals held position meetings Tuesday but did not practice. Hendrickson is seeking a longterm extension with guaranteed money that matches what the league’s top pass rushers are earning. He is scheduled to earn $15.8 million in base salary this season and has a cap number of $18.7 million.

Even though Hendrickson will be in the team complex and attending meetings, it is unlikely he would practice until a new deal is reached.

Hendrickson — who led the league with 17½ sacks last season — also did not attend June’s mandatory minicamp, but he did make an appearance during an offseason workout in May to vent his frustrations about negotiations.

“I’m not looking to offend Trey by saying something, and I’m not looking to try to justify where we are. I think we’re in a good spot,” owner Mike Brown said on July 21, the day before Bengals veterans reported to camp. “I hope this thing comes together soon, and I’m just going to leave it at that.”

Hendrickson is a valuable part of a defense looking to improve with Al Golden in his first season as coordinator The Bengals finished 25th in the league in total defense (348.3 yards allowed per game) last season.

“I kind of understand how he plays,” Holland said. “Being next to him, playing on the same side of him, sometimes I can tell what he’s going to end up doing just based on how he plays.”

Adebo, Holland and Nubin are expected to start and have gotten practice snaps with the first team.

With Phillips at the nickel spot, Flott and Banks are vying for the other outside cornerback position.

Asked what it would take to keep his starting role, Banks said Tuesday “Just be me. Be better.”

He is far from alone in that respect if the Giants are going to take a step forward and win more games this season.

Nabers leaves practice

Former LSU standout Malik Nabers got banged up during a running play at practice Tuesday The second-year receiver appeared to be favoring his left shoulder after getting up and walking off the field.

Initial reports indicated Nabers avoided serious injury, though no official update is expected to come until Thursday when the team resumes camp.

“It is like you can already see it, can already feel it,” Morris said. “In the weight room, you can feel it. Like in the meeting rooms, the excitement, enthusiasm. It becomes authentic. It becomes who they are, becomes what they become. It becomes like contagious throughout the building. And you’ve got to love it. I can already feel that edge.”

The Falcons made a strong commitment to the pass rush in the NFL draft. They chose Walker from Georgia at No. 15 overall and then traded back into the first round to add Pearce from Tennessee at No. 26. This came after making Floyd their top free-agent signee.

The Falcons saw their pass rush as their biggest need after ranking next to last in the league with 31 sacks in 2024. Floyd, 32, is serving as a mentor for Walker and Pearce. Floyd provided early lessons on Sunday when Pearce went too far in the scuffles with offensive linemen, including right tackle Kaleb McGary and right guard Matthew Bergeron. Floyd stepped in to defend Pearce without joining the scuffle. Floyd said Tuesday he wanted

to “teach him to get back, settle down.”

“Once you get rowdy, I try to bring it to the side of helping him cool himself down before he gets real crazy with it,” Floyd said. “But he’s good. He’s a good guy, man. He comes out and works hard. The linemen just don’t like it, you know? The guy works hard, and the linemen don’t like it. So that’s a good thing.” Morris said the two fights were “probably too physical for my liking, but I love the intent.” Outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith said Pearce fits the mold of a pass rusher who adds “a good sense of controlled violence” and is “edgy.”

“Especially when you’re talking about a defense that’s supposed to be known as, you know, ferocious, violent, all the strong words that you can use,” Smith said. “So you can add a little bit of edge in the right way.” Pearce has had the spotlight at the position while Walker worked on the side with trainers on Tuesday Walker missed a second straight practice because of an undisclosed issue Morris referred to as “minor.”

Raiders hoping Jeanty’s physical running style holds up in NFL play

BY MARK ANDERSON Associated Press

HENDERSON, Nev Ashton Jeanty took a handoff Monday on the first day in full pads and appeared to be stopped for a short gain.

But somehow he wiggled free and avoided tacklers for at least a 10-yard gain.

It was a reminder of what he did at Boise State, using his low center of gravity and strength he can squat more than 600 pounds to break tackles on his way to a second-place finish for the Heisman Trophy

It’s also why the Las Vegas Raiders selected him sixth overall in this year’s draft, an unusually high pick for a running back in today’s NFL. But how long Jeanty can hold up

BLACKMON

Continued from page 1C

before Mathieu’s retirement, hosting him on a free-agent visit in May Moore said he sees Blackmon playing more on the back end at free safety, while Justin Reid lines up in the box. That should lean into what Blackmon does best: He spent most of last season at free safety and has had seven interceptions over the past two years.

Neither the Saints nor Blackmon expects to fully “replace” Mathieu, a potential Hall of Famer who carried a leadership presence on the Saints. But New Orleans wanted someone with a similar skill set, and Blackmon can replicate that, Moore said.

Blackmon hasn’t wasted time in appearing to climb the depth chart. He spent Monday’s practice working primarily with the starters,

with such a physical running style, even with all the power packed into his 5-foot-8, 208-pound frame, remains to be seen.

The Raiders, apparently, are willing to find out.

“Ashton has his own unique style,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “I don’t think we’re going to ever coach that out of him. I think he’s amazing after contact, and that’s probably one of his biggest strengths. So our job right now is just getting him lined up, having him understand what our offense, what our scheme is and then let him go in terms of his running style.”

Boise State certainly did that.

Jeanty led the nation with 2,601 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns last season, coming up just 27 yards short of matching Barry

days after his first practice.

The Saints could tell Blackmon was ready to work. Defensive backs coach Terry Joseph, who oversees the safeties, said Blackmon participated in the team’s conditioning test and “blew it out of the water” after flying in from Utah that same day

“He’s a really smart player,” Joseph said. “In 2025, for any secondary player, versatility (is key), because you’re going to play so many offenses that give you all of these funky formations and different sets, you’ve got to have guys who are not one-trick ponies, guys who can play in a box, guys who can play deep, guys who can cover, have feel, guys who can blitz.

“Over his career he’s done all of those things. One of the best things is that he has all of these snaps and experiences, yet he’s still only 26 years old. So he still has a lot of tread left on the tires.” Staley prefers his safeties to be

Sanders’ college record set in his Heisman-winning season in 1988.

Perhaps more remarkable, Jeanty gained 1,970 yards after contact, which not only set the NCAA single-season record but also by itself would have made him the nation’s leading rusher

Jeanty said he makes sure he stays at his physical peak by adhering to a nutritional plan and getting the right amount of sleep in addition to his on-field work. That’s something he is able to do now without the extra duties of classes and homework.

“That’s what’s most exciting, because you can become the best version of yourself,” Jeanty said. “You can devote all the time you want to the game of football. And this game, you get what you put in.”

interchangeable, allowing them to switch roles if an adjustment is needed. But the coordinator takes those levels of disguises to another gear, constantly having his safeties roam at the line of scrimmage and relaying pre-play checks. Joseph called the safeties in this scheme “the quarterbacks of the defense.”

That appeals to Blackmon, who said he felt the Saints were the “best fit” for him before signing In addition to getting to work with Staley for the first time, Blackmon also reunites with former college teammate and safety Terrell Burgess.

Burgess, coincidentally, would be the player the Rams went on to draft later in the third round after the Colts took Blackmon five years ago.

“This year, (Staley) was like, ‘You’re back again. I’ve been trying to get you,’” Blackmon said. “So it’s good to work with him.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Giants receiver Malik Nabers, left, goes up against Paulson Adebo during a practice in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday. The Giants have added veterans to their secondary, including Adebo, who came from the Saints.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Falcons linebacker James Pearce, right, stretches during practice on May 27 in Flowery Branch, Ga. The first-round draft pick is already making an impression with his aggressive style.

Browns ownersaysGMchose QB Sanders

BY TOMWITHERS Associated Press

BEREA, Ohio Blame him for plenty,but Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslamsaid he’snot directly responsible for arecent high-profile draft pick.

Although his influence is undeniable,Haslam said Tuesday thathe didn’tforce general manager Andrew Berry to take rookiequarterback Shedeur Sanders in April. Cleveland, which has been ina never-ending search for afranchise QB, selected Sanders in the fifth round —two rounds after taking Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.The surprising choice Sanders had beenexpected to go as high as No. 2overall, and the Browns passed on him six times —fueled speculation that Haslam, known forahands-onapproach during his tenure and captured on camera sitting in the draft room on Day 3when the pick was announced, had orchestratedthe move. Not true, Haslam said. “Listen, we haveagood process,” Haslam said as he and wife, Dee, held their annual training camp media briefing. “If you’d have told me Fridaynight (Day 2) driving

Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders celebrates after completing apass to widereceiver LukeFloriea during practice Saturday in Berea, Ohio. Sanders is partofafour-manQBcompetitionthat also includes Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and JoeFlacco.

home,y’allare going to pick Shedeur,I would havesaid, ‘That’snot happening.’ But, wehad aconversation early that morning, andwe hada conversation later that day.

Ithink we hadthe right people involvedinthe conversation.

“At the end of the day,that’s An-

drew Berry’scall. Andrewmade thecall to pick Shedeur.”

The additionofSanders andGabrielalong with theacquisitionof Kenny Pickett andre-signing of freeagent Joe Flacco hascreated afour-man QB competition this summer.That’s ararity in the NFL

but almost par for the course for the Browns, who are coming off a 3-14 season. The Haslams’ tenure since 2012 hasbeen awash with losing, offfield issues and controversies, most notably thesigning of quarterback Deshaun Watson to arecord-setting contract. Because of injuries and Watson’sleague suspensionin2022, thatdeal hasset thefranchise back foryears, leading to the current QB uncertainty

Haslam poked fun at himself when asked what he has learned as an owner

“It doesn’t look like very much,” he quipped.

So far,Haslam has been pleased with what he hasseen in Sanders, theformer Colorado standout who begancampfourth on the depth chart, and Gabriel.

“I’ll say this, forthe twoquarterbacks coming in, and Iknow everybody has avision of Shedeur,” Haslam said. “But he’scome in the building,workedhard, kept his head down and done what he’ssupposed to do, as has Dillon, which is no surprise foreither of them.”

Browns fallingshort

The recent arrest of rookie running back Quinshon Judkinsin

Floridahas broughtadded scrutiny to the Browns.

Judkins is the third Cleveland player arrested in the past year on domestic violence charges, and the Haslams acknowledged the team needs to do more.

“It’sextremelyfrustrating,”

Jimmy Haslamsaid. “Obviously we’re notcommunicating as well as we should, andwetakeresponsibility for that. We have internal resources. We have external resources. We talk about it continually,and it’s something that we need to do abetter job on. But it is frustrating.”

Arch Madness Cleveland’squarterback crisis has led to assumptions that the Brownsare pointing toward taking Texas star Arch Manning in 2026. The Haslamsare close with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, Arch’s uncle. That relationship has led to rumors the younger Manning could land in Cleveland, which has twofirst-round picks next year

“Ifyou knowthe Manning family,Iwould bet that —and Idon’t know Arch at all —I would bet he stays in college two years,” Haslam said. “So, Idon’teven really think that’sworth discussing.”

IntensityofChiefstacklewarrants‘ChrisRule’ during practice

BY DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press

ST.JOSEPH, Mo. Nearly six years ago, when the Kansas City Chiefs were just beginningtheir rise to prominence, Chris Jonestweaked amuscle in practice badly enough that coach Andy Reid made the difficult decision to hold him out of a playoff game againstHouston. Jones wanted to play. In fact,he tried to push through theinjury in warmups. But Reid was steadfast, andthe Chiefs didn’tneed him in theend. After spotting the Texans a24-0 lead, Patrick Mahomes & Co. caught fire, and Kansas City rolled to a51-31 victory.And when Jones returned the next week,the Chiefs handily beat theTitansfor theAFC championship —two wins that ultimately propelledthemto

theirfirstSuper Bowltitle in five decades.

It turns out the backstory to the injury explains alot about why Jones, now a31-year-old veteran preparing for his 10th season in the league, has become athreetime All-Pro and one of thegame’s premier defensiveplayers.

He’s competitive. He’s relentless. And he doesn’tsuffer fools gladly.

Yousee, in practice, hitting the quarterback is strictly verboten. It’swhy QBs usually wear adifferent color of jersey,yellow in the case of Kansas City.Yet pulling backasa defenderwhoseinstincts are honed to bringdownwhomever has theball can be adifficult challenge,even more so when it’s Mahomesdancing aroundthe pocket, almost as ifhe’smocking you.

COMMENTARY

“Sowewere in abattle,”Jones recalled, after arecent training camp practice in the brutal heat andhumidity,“andI hadtoshow Pat that Ican really catch you.

“I just chill,”—usually,Jones added —“because we have to stay 5to10yardsawayfromthe quarterback. And it gotseriousone day, and Iended up pulling a(muscle) AndIwas like:‘Youknowwhat, Pat? Yougot it.’

Yes, theaffable Jones had been so competitive that, even in amidweek practice against his own teammates,hemanaged to hurt himself beforewhattothatpoint had been the most important game of achampionship season.

“Now,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said, “we’ve got aspecial rule for Chris on that.”

The so-called Chris Rule is quite

Ryne Sandberg’s grace, dignity were perfectblueprint to follow

BY PAUL SULLIVAN ChicagoTribune (TNS)

MILWAUKEE It was after Ryne Sandberg’s statue ceremony last yearthat the ChicagoCubs great spoke about his bout with cancer

“I’ve learned about the people in my life, from my family to my friends to my neighbors to my teammates to the Cubs fans,” he said. “It’sall about the relationships Ihave with people, and there are alot of them. Just areflection on that. And to see everybody here today,that’s kind of what I’m talking about, how special it is.” Sandberg’sdeath on Monday at the age of 65 brought tears to the people who knew him well and to those whose lives he touched just by being himself, someone who generally enjoyed being around people and being around the game. When he came to spring training in February,following arelapse with the disease, he hid the pain and went about his business of trying to help the Cubs players any way he could.

“He was the blueprint for what it means to be an amazing Cub, the way he carried himself throughout his career,and everything he achieved,” Nico Hoerner said after Monday’sgame. “Just how selfless he was in his time with us. It was never about him. Ever.Hejust truly loved the game of baseball, and that was particularly clear this spring.”

It wasn’tjust about helping the Cubs. He was also good to his fans, knowing it meant something to them to have abrief acknowledgement.

An athlete can do that

if they have it in them to want to deal with their fans, though it’sharder nowadays when everyone wants apiece of you,and you never know if that autograph seeker is doing it because they loved watching you perform or they’re thinking about the resale value downthe road.

But that relationship betweenanathlete and afan can be alife-changing experience.Sometimes, just aword of advice or asmall gesture ofkindness goes along way.Atthe Hall of Fame Inductionceremony on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., Willa White, the widow of Dick Allen, told the storyofayoung boy who waited after agame for Dick’sautograph. Allen asked him if he’d accept ahandshake instead, and the two talked for hours.Allen eventually took him under his wing and looked out for him over the years. Decades later,the young boy was now an old man, and he stood proudly at the Hall of Fame ceremonies as Willa introduced him to the crowd, honoring aman he just wanted to meet. Allen, like Sandberg, died too soon. But they both were able to see how loved they werebytheir fans, with Allengetting his number retiredin Philadelphia afew months before he died, and Sandberg getting his statue ceremony at Wrigley Field in 2024.

Cubs players all filed out of the clubhouse to stand on apatio overlooking Gallagher Waythat day,paying respect to the legend who once made Wrigley Field home.

“That was apleasant surprise with the current

team,” Sandberg said.

“When Icame back as an ambassador in July of 2015, with the core group, the respect of the game with that group hasnow extended over to this group, (showing) respect for all the players that came beforethem. To see them come out, that was very touching.”

Some of those players gottoknowSandberg well enough to keep aline of communication going. Ian Happ spoke after Monday’sgame abouthow Sandberg talked to him about atough start, relatinghis own problems in April, which includedan0 for 31 start to his career

“In times that Istruggled,I’d send him anote,” he said.“Iremember one April, Iwas really grinding, andhetoldmehis career numbers in April, and howhealwayscame out of it. Just little things likethat. And coming up as asecondbaseman,I was 21 years oldinspring training and being able to give some advice and talk to me and notbeing above that, he just loved beingaround. He loved beingthere,and we knew howmuchheloved being aCub. And we’re really luckyinthis organization to have legends that want to come back andwantto be around.”

Sandbergwas considered aquiet Cubwho didn’tgive great sound bites for TV or controversial quotes for the media.

But if he trustedyou and knew you were looking for informationthatwasn’t going to create aheadline forthe sake of creating a headline, he would sit and answer every questionyou had.

simple: Once he beats the offensive line in practice, he must stand there.

Just stand there.

“Patrickdoessomecrazy stuff back there. It gets very competitive,” Jonessaid, soundingdownright exasperated.“Youknow you can’ttouch the quarterback, so the quarterback can stand and hold theball forfive or six seconds during the play.”

Youcan see how that could become annoying. Even infuriating.

Fortunatelyfor Jones,there are no Chris Rules when games begin. And that is decidedly unfortunate for opposing QBs, whohave become keenly awareofhis gamewreckingability.Jones followed a15½-sack season three years ago and 10 ½ the next with five sacks last season,anumbermade more

modest only because the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Jones was faced with constant double- and triple-teams, and those in turn allowed manyof his teammates to get to the quarterback instead.

George Karlaftis hadeight sacks last season, helping to earn him a four-year,$93 milliondeal acouple of weeks ago. Tershawn Wharton produced acareer-best61/2, which earned himathree-year,$30 million contract with Carolina.

“I’ve watched (Jones) over the years,” said Jerry Tillery,who signed with the Chiefs in the offseason to play alongside him,“and that’s somebody at the top of our game who’sdoing it the best. To watch this guy work and to be with him —Ithink thattype of player is somebody who can raise everybody’slevel.”

Cubs unveil patchfor Sandberg

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

TheChicago Cubs have unveiled aceremonial patchontheir uniform in memory of Ryne Sandberg one day after the Hall of Famer’sdeath.

Sandberg, who made 10 All-Star teams with the Cubs before his retirement in 1997, died Monday at the ageof65. The blue patch hasa red 23 —Sandberg’s uniformnumber—and features his signatureinwhite lettering. It sits over the Cubs logo on an arm sleeve.

TheCubspostedavideo on social media of the patch being sewn onto the uniformsbefore Tuesday night’s gameatMilwaukee. During pregame warmups, the CubsworeT-shirtswith themessage, “FO23VER.”

“It’ssad becauseitkind of hits home Ithink alittle more, but in the other

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByNAM y. HUH Fans leave flowers and other items at amakeshift memorial in front of the statue of ChicagoCubs Hallof Famer Ryne Sandberg on TuesdayinChicago.

way,you want to honor Ryno the best we can and shine aspotlight on agreat life lived, forall the great things he representedasa manand as aChicago Cub,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

There was amoment of silencetohonor Sandberg before Tuesday’sgame. Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 344 stealsin15years with the Cubs and was named NL MVP in 1984.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVIDRICHARD

LIVING

Lauren Cheramie BONVIVANT

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux openingnew location

Bon vi·vant /noun/ asociable personwho has cultivatedand refined tastes, especially with respect to food and drink

Newfood on theblock Tuna tartare has made its way to the menu at Tap65,515 Mouton St., Baton Rouge.The dish is made with yellowtail tuna, avocado cream, mango, chili and lemon, served with crisp fennel crackers. In theknow

Anew Walk-On’sSports Bistreaux is opening July 28 at 14365 Grand Settlement Blvd., Central. This is the brand’s12th restaurant and thefirsttofeature “The Wildcat” prototype —anext-gendesignthat pays tributetoCentral High School and the local community Enjoy half-off bottles of wine from 6p.m. to close on Tuesdays when you dine in at Rocca Pizzeria,3897 GovernmentSt., Baton Rouge. Wednesday is for the ladies at Thai Kitchen,4550 Concord Ave., Baton Rouge. Order any entree, and the ladies get two free drinks.

STAFFFILE PHOTO By JAVIERGALLEGOS

Regan Davis, center,hands a bag of oranges to Jimmy,left, as Keely,right, stacks creates of oranges at their vendor stand during the Red Stick Farmers Market in 2023.

NationalFarmers Market Week:

8a.m. to noon Aug. 2, at Fifth and Main streets, downtown Baton Rouge Red Stick Farmers Market will honor the farmers, food producers and community members who make Baton Rouge’slocal food system thrive. To kickoff National Farmers Week, shoppers can enjoy “I Heart My Market” giveaways, live musicfromMel Chavis, acooking demonstration, veggie photo props and children’sactivities. The Baton Rouge Arts Market willalso be set up in the adjacent lot Marketsand more fun

Blueberry watermelon salad demonstration:11a.m. to 1p.m.

Wednesday at Rouses Market, 5909 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge

Enjoy asample and learn about making an easy fruit salad with an LSU AgCenter agent.

Astronomy on Tap:7 p.m. to 9p.m Wednesday at Varsity Theatre, 3353Highland Road, Baton Rouge

Astronomy on Tapisaglobal outreach program that features accessible, engaging presentations on space and science topics to local bars and pubs. The events, which are free and suitable for all ages, include trivia, raffles and more. In Baton Rouge, Dr.Carlos Gary-Bicas will present a talk on “Our Cosmic Oasis and the Search For Life Beyond,” while Dr.Hanyu Weiwill lead

Spaghetti and meatballs is on the

MADE WITH AUTHENTICITY

From Emeril’s

Kitchentohis own, La.cheffinds hiscalling in Prairieville

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

STEFANO’S AUTHENTIC ITALIAN 17188 Airline Highway, Suite L, Prairieville l 11 a.m. to 7p.m Tuesdaythrough Thursday, 11 a.m to 8p.m. Fridayand Saturday l Call (225) 673-1270 for information

Growingupinthe Lakefront area in New Orleans, Stephen Guilbault lived just four doors down from chef Emeril Lagasse. When Guilbault was 16, he was invited into the kitchen during awalk with his dog. Lagasse was cooking that night andasked Guilbault to assist as a taste-tester.They hung out for two hours that night. It wasaone-off experience, but over 30 years later Guilbaultstill remembersthemenu: barbecueshrimp, souffle bread pudding, banana cream pie andcrabmeat crawfish au gratin Guilbaultbegan his culinary careeratVincent’sItalian Cuisine in Metairie afew years later,when he was 18. After an unconventional careerpath, he opened his Italian restaurant in Prairieville, Stefano’s, last August,where he serves up his take on Italian dishesinspired by home cooking and restaurants that helped him hone his craft

The grilled salmon at Brasserie Byronz is classic and warming

Owner Stephen Guilbauot servesup Shrimp Jennyat Stefano’s Authentic Italian.

The name Stefano’sisanhomage to anickname he got while working in kitchens. Vincent’ssous chef at thetime was from Sicily and refused to callhim Stephen. He was always Stefano. Later on,the sous chef at Emeril Delmonico (also from Italy) was the sameway At 30, Guilbault stepped away from the restaurant business and worked in the health care industry instead,setting up clinicsfor physicians. He spent about 15 years in this role, buthis heartwas stillin cooking.

STAFFPHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

STEFANO’S

Continued from page1D

“I was kind of miserable,” he admitted. The patient interaction part was fun when he got to do it, he said, but the logisticalpart of the business,chasing money from insurance companies, just wasn’this passion. According to his wife, Jenny Guilbault, coming back and opening arestaurant had always been the plan; it was just amatter of finding the right place.

ThemakingofStefano’s

So in January 2024, he started looking, andinthe span of three months, he looked at 25-30 locations near Gonzales where he and his family live now.The one he settled on at 17188Airline Highwaywas farfrom homey and inviting

“It was disgusting,” Guilbault said of the space when he first started renting. “I had to get on my hands and knees and scrape all the grout lines and get all the gunky residue out. .Just make it smell like anormal place again.”

The walls were aterrible pea-green color with aweird yellow,both Guilbaults recalled, but it had good bones. There was awalk-in cooler and ahood in the kitchen —things that would’ve cost thousandsofdollars to furnish themselves. With thehelpofhis wife and daughter,Stephen Guilbault picked anew color for the walls —Tiffany blue —and they all painted together After four months of preparation, Stefano’s officially opened in August 2024.They have been slowly building the menu up.

“It’sasimple menu,” Guilbault said.

But he’sbeen refining the dishes. They have 14-inch pizzas, aselection of various pastas, and an appetizer menu. The portions are huge. All meat dishes come with 12 ounces of meat. That means the chicken Parmesan ($19) comes with two chicken breasts. Each pasta dish is designed to create someleftovers.

“He likes to give people alittle something to take home,” Jenny Guilbault said.

After 11 months in, Stefano’sismakingits markon the culinary scene in Prairieville. Histwo signature dishesare the Shrimp Emilia, and the off-menu special, theShrimp Jenny. It’s abowtiepasta dishnamed after Guilbault’swife, and based on the Shrimp Roban at Semolina’sbefore it closed. Guilbault worked there for many years and made the pseudo-spicy Alfredo sauce for the dish,whichwas also hiswife’sfavorite when she patronizedthe restaurant before they met. Thisversion, according to her, is better,and it’s herfavorite thing on his menu.

“It (the Shrimp Roban) didn’thavequite the hardiness andthe backbone to it,soI waslike, Itakethe shrimp real bland and just kick it up five notches,” he said. “I added the paprika. Iaddedthe fresh blackpepper,added allthese other spices and green onions to it. Iknew it would give it that earthy backboneand havea semi-Asian inspired feel to it.”

What’s next forStefano’s?

These days, Guilbault arrives at 6:30 or 7a.m.todo prepwork: pre-portioning pasta,chopping vegetables, and making the parts of dishes that can’t be made to order,like lasagna, meatballs and certain sauces. He works 60-70 hours aweek On Saturdays, he’sthere at 6a.m.toreceivehis deliveries, andhe’stypicallythere until 8:30 p.m Sometimespeopleask why therestaurant closes so early, said Jenny Guilbault,but they don’tsee how early Guilbault hastobethere to maintain the

hours of operation that they have. Still, as of the writing of this article, they’re expanding their hours.

As theowner andhead chef, Guilbault has started mentoring young chefs himself. He found his sous chef, Lance Manno, via aFacebook advertisement. Manno, in his mid-20s,said that he appreciates Guilbault for giving him room to grow.He has aspirations to be an executive chef one day

On thebusiness side, Guilbault loves his little restaurant with five tables. (Dinner reservations are awise choice).Maybe if things pick up, he’ll look forabiggerspotone day,but for now,he’sfocused on executing the menu well and mentoringhis proteges.

“Ifyou’renot putting love into your food, it’slike, what’sthe point?” he said. Email Serena Puang at serena.puang@ theadvocate.com.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday,July 30, the 211th day of 2025. There are 154 days left in theyear Todayinhistory

On July 30, 1976, Bruce Jenner,now known as Caitlyn Jenner,set aworld record of 8,618 pointsand won the gold medal in the Olympic decathlon at the Montreal Summer Games.

Also on this date:

In 1619, thefirst representative assembly in Colonial America convened in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony

In 1864, during theCivil War, Union forces tried to takePetersburg, Virginia, by exploding agunpowderladen mineshaft beneath Confederate defense lines; theattack failed.

In 1945, thePortland class heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, having just delivered components of

the atomic bombtoTinian in the Mariana Islands during World WarII, was torpedoed by aJapanese submarine; only 316 out of nearly 1,200 service members survived.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed ameasure making “InGod We Trust” the national motto, replacing “E Pluribus Unum.”

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which led to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.

In 2008, ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was extradited to The Hague to face genocide charges after nearly 13 years on the run. (He was sentenced by aU.N. court in 2019 to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and warcrimes.)

Today’sbirthdays: Former Ma-

as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care Simply put— without dentalinsurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.

doesn’tpay for dental care.1

That’sright. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocovereverything. Thatmeans if you wantprotection,you need to purchase individual insurance.

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensive ones.

The best waytopreventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. TheAmerican Dental

Sous chef Lance Mannoadds spices to apastadish in front of the giant pot of tomato sauce on the back burner at Stefano’s Authentic Italian in Prairieville

Shrimp Jenny, garlic knotsand shrimpAmelia are servedup at Stefano’sAuthentic Italian.

BONVIVANT

Continued from page1D

“Hunting Ghost Particles Across the Universe.” Learn more at astronomyontap.org.

Red Stick Farmers Market: 8a.m.tonoon Thursday at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, BatonRouge Shop all things local, including vegetables, fruit, cheese, eggs, seafood, plants, baked goods, coffee, goat milk soap and more. Woodstock:Aug. 16, at Brickyard South, 174 South Blvd., Baton Rouge Brickyard South is bringing Woodstock to Baton Rouge with live music, vendorsand more. Stay tuned for more details.

Mark your calendar

Boil Meat Wars:11a.m. to 3p.m. Aug. 23, at The Outside Boys Food Trap, 13501 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge Watch some of the best boilers face off for the crown of the best boiler. Guests can purchase all-you-can-eat passes on the day of the event.

Therestaurant’sregular menu will be available for purchase as well. To enter thecontest, call (225) 5121198. Soulful Sounds:4 p.m Aug.24, at Logan’s Place, 340 FloridaBlvd., Baton Rouge Stepinto the world of theHarlem Renaissance for anight of music and comedy.Asseen on HBO andAmazon, this NYCbasedjazzy R&B duo delivers asoundfans of Erykah Baduand Billie Holiday will love. There will becomplimentary wineand snacksto enjoy throughoutthe show. All purchases support theRenaissance YouthCenter,a SouthBronx-based charity that empowers inner-city youththrough music education,after-school programsand tutoring. Tickets start at $45 per person. Learnmore about the show andpurchase tickets at tinyurl.com/ mwkkvxa5.

If youhave an upcoming food event or akitchen question, email lauren. cheramie@theadvocate com. Cheers!

Installing extrahandrails forstairs

Dear Heloise: We live in a trilevel house and have sevensteps going up and sevensteps going down. My husband installed asecond handrail oppositethe one thatwas already there on both sets of steps. This has made it much easier for us to navigatethe steps sinceweare close to 80, and it is much safer.Perhaps this will help some of your readers who have trouble climbing steps as they age. —Judy S.,inDayton, Ohio

aweek to help clean out drains and avoid a“yucky” drain smell.

P.S. He also said roaches hate vinegar,and it could help eliminate them from crawling up the drains. —Rhonda W.,in Lawton, Oklahoma

Chocolatedebacle

Dear Heloise: Here I am at 81 years old learning something new,and so far,I have passed this wisdom onto eight friends. They all said, “Who knew?”

Anasty garbagedisposal

Dear Heloise: My latehusband was aplumber,and he was called in many times to help people get rid of a nasty-smelling garbage disposal. He always advocated reading your columnfor household hints, and his alltime favorite was theuse of baking soda and vinegar In fact, he would usually tell women to pour thebaking soda and vinegar down their drains about once

Ihave always preferred dark chocolatetomilk chocolate, but my husband is theopposite. So, of course, Ibake with his preferred milk chocolate. The straw that broke the camel’sback was when I madethe last batch of my mom’srecipe for refrigerator cookies. Iused milk

chocolate and had amysterious stomachache. So, what do people my age do? We Google it! Indeed, “milk chocolate” does not refer to the milder taste nor the color.Duh! It is madewith milk, so all of us whoare lactose intolerant would, of course, get stomach issues from eating it.

Itruly hope this “pearl of wisdom”helps others. Nancy L., in Simi Valley,California Nancy,it’strue that many adults cannot digest milk or milk products due to lactose, which is the milk sugar in the product. —Heloise Puttingchildrenahead

Dear Heloise: Iknow you promote reading and education whenever you can, and as aschoolteacher,I appreciate this very much. However,before children start school, and before they can makeacomplete sentence,

please encourage parents to read to their children. Studies have been done showing that reading to children and explaining words to them that they might not understand will inspire them to read and learn. An education does not stop on graduation day; it’sonly the beginning. We know from various studies that achild whohates reading or aperson whois reading on afourth grade level by the age of 17 will be handicapped in the job market. So, read to your children and makethem read to you. Help them sound out words they don’tknow.Give your child abetter chance in life and abetter future. —Margaret E., in Connecticut Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Continued from page1D

moment! Afabulous touch for awonderful meal and evening.

—Margaret DeLaney health section coordinator Tacos, rice andbeans n Veracruz Restaurant, 3510 Drusilla Lane, BatonRouge

The taco variety at Veracruz is top tier.There are grilled octopus, fried oyster and sweet potato tacos, among others. On my first visit to the restaurant, I opted for the pescado (made with beer-battered fish, cabbage, salsa macha, pico de gallo and chipotle mayonnaise), asada (made with grilled skirt steak, sauteed onions, cabbage, cotija and avocado) and panza (made with fried pork belly, pickled onions, beans and guacamole). The meal was accompanied by rice and beans Each taco offeredatotally different flavor pro-

file, andI appreciated the individual ingredientsand combinations. Thepork belly tacowas tender,but thecrispy fish taco reigned supreme. The crunchy batter gave way to fresh fish that paired wellwithpico de gallo andcabbage.

—Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator Chicken, sausage gumbo n The St. JohnRestaurant, 203 N. NewMarket St St Martinville

Even thoughthe airoutside last week felt like a hairdryer settohigh, Istill ordered thegumbo on my first visittoSt. JohnRestaurant in St. Martinville. Doingsoproved to be the correct decision. It may not bethe most photogenicgumbo, it was thebest I’vehad in any restaurant. The rouxwas brown, but not too brown. Thechickenwas tender. Thesausagewas cut into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces, so those bites of-

Restaurant

St.Martinville is worththe drive.

fered more than the taste of sausage. The rice cameon theside.

This was agumbo that ticked all the right boxes.

Ihighly recommend making atrip to St.Martinville to trythe gumbo. The rest of the meal was delicious, but thegumbo was the unquestionable star —Jan Risher,Louisiana culture editor

STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER

The chicken and sausage gumbo at St.John

in

STAFF PHOTO By LAUREN CHERAMIE

The pescado taco, bottom left,asada taco, bottom right, and panzataco, top,from Veracruz Restaurant in Baton Rouge

Heloise

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Say no to temptation. Going into debt, neglecting to pay attention to what you consume or taking risks with your emotional, financial or physical well-being will lead to regret.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take precautions. Refuse to let someone else make choices for you or lead you down a path that can damage your reputation or position. Take responsibility, and you'll deter others from trying to take control.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Letting your emotions run the show will backfire. Do your research, consider what's feasible and affordable, and build your plans around what makes sense and has a chance to succeed.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) You'll have to stay on top of matters if you want to reach your goal. Lay the foundation and see matters through to the end. Take precautions to avoid injury when engaging in physical activity.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put your money somewhere safe. Spontaneity and spending will lead to regret. Updating your image and surrounding yourself with upbeat people and plans will help you achieve positive results.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Initiate change and put your energy where it will bring the highest monetary returns. An opportunity to team up with someone who is just as ambitious as you will give you the momentum you require to reach your goal.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Rearrange your surroundings to accommodate what you want to do, and address concerns with those whose plans will be affected by the choices you make.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Observe rather than participate in events or protests that can lead to negative results. Instead, sign up for something that will help you gain knowledge, skills or interests.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Participating will help you connect with people who motivate you and inspire you to trust and believe in yourself Redefine your qualifications to suit the sector you want to work in.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Focus on what's possible, and distance yourself from anyone trying to take advantage of you. Pay attention to your work and responsibilities. Working alone will help you achieve the most.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Put your energy where it will bring the highest return. Participate in events that inspire you to act. Turn any situation into an opportunity.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Keep a low profile, and you'll achieve more. Taking on responsibilities that don't belong to you will lead to resentment. Focus on easing stress and maintaining good health. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: I EQuALs G

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Confuciussaid,“Whenitisobviousthat the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals; adjust the action steps.”

Bridge players usually know the goal of adeal.For each side, it is to win acertain number of tricks.(The exception is when playing in amatchpointed duplicate. Then the target for declarer might be to win an overtrick or two; for the defenders, perhaps to hold the contract to plus one. That is why pair eventsare so tough.)

In thesecolumns,werarely worry about overtricks —and thisdeal is no exception. How should East try to defeat threeno-trumpafterWestleadsafourthhighest diamond two?

Many players are under the influence of “return partner’s suit.” They would win the first trickwiththe diamond ace and lead back the diamond eight.Even if West were psychic, taking South’s queenwithhiskingandshiftingtoaclub, declarerwouldhaveninetricksviathree spades,fourhearts,onediamondandone club.

Amore thoughtful Eastwoulddosome analysis. What does West’sdiamond-two lead signify? That he has exactly four diamonds.So how many does South have?

Five —and it is rarely right forthe defenders to attack declarer’s longest suit.

Here, East should win with his ace, then switch to the club king. With this layout, the contract should now fail. Southwilltakethesecondclubandleada sneakydiamond jack, butWest cangrab that trick and lead hislastclub, giving the defenders two diamonds and three clubs.

Play by thought, not by rote. ©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 MARsHEs: MARSH-ez: Tracts of soft, wetland.

Average mark21words

Time limit 35 minutes

Can you find 29 or morewords in MARSHES?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —toMcAts

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

MEETING MINUTES

PUBLIC NOTICE Recquisition 11297679 NOTICE OF SALE OF ADJUDICATEDPROPERTY ABSPartnership THIS NOTICE BY PUBLICA‐TION IS NOTIFICATION THAT YOUR RIGHTS OR INTEREST IN THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY LOCATEDIN EAST BATONROUGE PARISH,LOUISIANA MAY BE TERMINATED BY OP‐ERATIONOFLAW IF YOU DO NOTTAKEFURTHER ACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW: Lot129, CedarMillRun Improvements thereon believed to bearonMu‐nicipalNo. () LoganDrive By virtue of theprovi‐sionsofLouisiana Re‐visedStatute 47:2201 et seq. andMetropolitan CouncilOrdinance num‐ber19559, theParishof East BatonRouge has been authorized to sell this property as adjudi‐catedproperty. Youhave been identified as a partywho mighthave a vested or contingent in‐terest in said property which wasassessedin thename(s) of ABSPart‐nershipand wasadjudi‐catedtothe Parish of East BatonRouge in the year of 2017 forunpaid taxesfor theyearof 2016. Thesalewilltake placeinaccordancewith theprovisionsofLAR.S 47:2201 et seq.Yourinter‐t i th t ill

PUBLIC NOTICE Recquisition 11297679 NOTICE OF SALE OF ADJUDICATED PROPERTY CLAIRCHENEVERT,JR. THIS NOTICE BY PUBLICA‐TION IS NOTIFICATION THAT YOUR RIGHTS OR INTEREST IN THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY LOCATEDIN EAST BATONROUGE PARISH,LOUISIANA MAY BE TERMINATED BY OP‐ERATIONOFLAW IF YOU DO NOTTAKEFURTHER ACTIONINACCORDANCE WITHLAW: LOT19+ SQUARE 39 BANK Improvements thereon believed to bear on Mu‐nicipalNo. () 71STAV‐ENUE By virtue of theprovi‐sionsofLouisiana Re‐visedStatute47:2201 et seq. andMetropolitan CouncilOrdinance num‐ber19564, theParishof East BatonRouge has been authorized to sell this property as adjudi‐catedproperty. Youhave been identified as a partywho mighthave a vested or contingent in‐terest in said property which wasassessedin thename(s) of CLAIRE CHENEVERTJR.,and was adjudicatedtothe Parish of East BatonRouge in the year of 1992 forun‐paid taxesfor theyearof 1991. Thesalewilltake placeinaccordancewith theprovisionsofLAR.S 47:2201 et seq. Your inter‐estinthe property will be terminated if you do t d th t

Regular Meeting of the WBR Parish School Board 06/18/2025 05:00 PM Multipurpose Building Cohn ElementarySchool 805N.14th Street Port Allen, LA 70767

Scan the above QR code with yourphone to view this meeting agenda on your phone. Attendees

Voting Members

Mrs. Hayley Clouatre, BoardMember

Mr.Ronald LeBlanc, BoardMember

Ms. Sonceria Evans, BoardMember

Ms. Chareeka Grace, BoardMember

Mr.Matthew Daigrepont, BoardMember

Mr.Michael Maranto, BoardMember

Mrs. Teri Bergeron, BoardMember

Non-Voting Members Jessica Blanchard, ExecutiveSecretary Jared Gibbs, Supervisor of Business

Dr.Chandler Smith, Superintendent

1. Call to Order The chairmancalled the meeting to order

2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was ledbyMr. Leblanc

3. Roll Call Jessica Blanchardconducted aroll call The following boardmembers were present:

•Mrs. Hayley Clouatre, BoardMember

•Mr. Ronald LeBlanc, BoardMember

•Ms. Sonceria Evans, BoardMember

•Ms. Chareeka Grace, BoardMember

•Mr. Matthew Daigrepont,BoardMember

•Mr. Michael Maranto, BoardMember

•Mrs. Teri Bergeron, BoardMember Aquorum was made The following boardmemberswereabsent: Mr.Burke Fiscus, BoardMember Dr. AtleyWalker,Sr. Vice President

Mr.G.AldenChustz, BoardPresident

4. Approval of Minutes

Be it Resolved, That the approvalof the minutes of the Special Board Meeting on May 13, 2025 and the RegularBoardMeeting held on May 21,2025 be approved as presented.

The Chairman declared the floor openfor public comment. Motion made by: Mr.MatthewDaigrepont Motionseconded by: Mrs. Hayley Clouatre

Voting: Mrs. Hayley Clouatre-Yes

Mr.Ronald LeBlanc -Yes

Ms.Sonceria Evans -Yes

Ms.Chareeka Grace -Absent

Mr.Matthew Daigrepont -Yes

Mr.Michael Maranto -Yes Mrs.Teri Bergeron -Yes

8. Presentation of Consent Agenda

1. Consideration of request forapproval of the monthly expenditures and financial reportsfor April 2025 (JaredGibbs)

2. Discussion of retention and recruitment (Barbara Burke and Jared Gibbs)

3. Consideration of Requestfor Musco LED lighting forPAHS and BHS (Dr.Chandler

PUBLIC NOTICE

GREATERBATON ROUGE PORT COMMISSION Commission Meeting 5:00 p.m. Thursday,June 26, 2025

TheGreater BatonRouge Port Commissionmet in regularsession at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday,June 26, 2025 at theMaritime Security Operations Cen‐termeetingroom in West BatonRouge Parish Louisiana.

Followingthe Call to Orderand thePledgeof Allegiance,the roll was called PRESENT

Mr.JohnnyB.Bradberry

Ms.Rebecca A. Cunard

Mr.BradJ.Daigle Mr.Michael D. DeLaune

Mr.Shelton C. Dixon

Ms.BrendaR.Hurst Mr.TroyS.LeBoeuf Mr.Wally McMakin Ms.LynnRobertson Ms.LynnelB.Ruckert Mr.Bobby Watts ABSENT Mr.Ted H. Glaser Mr.Bob Kelly Mr.TravisM.Medine Mr.Keith E. Morris Mr.JesselM.Ourso,III Mr.DonaldM.Schexnay‐der

ing chairperson may also allow further comments from thepublicasand when each agenda item is considered during the meetingprocess.

Therewerenopublic comments. Agenda Item 5- Approval of minutesofaCommis‐sion meetingheldon Thursday,May 22, 2025. On amotionbyMr. Troy LeBoeuf, seconded by Ms.BrendaHurst,the minuteswereunani‐mously approved

Agenda Item 6- Monthly EngineeringReport Mr.Cortney Whitepre‐sented themonthly engi‐neeringreport, as out‐linedindocumentation presentedtoall Board members. Agenda Item 7- Financial Report Ms.Katie LeBlancpre‐sented themonthly fi‐nancialreport. No action wasrequired.

Agenda Item 8- Other matters

Therewerenoother mat‐ters broughtbeforethe Commission meeting.

Agenda Item 9- Adjourn‐ment

On amotionbyMr. Shel‐tonDixon,secondedby Mr.JohnnyBradberry themeetingadjourned

Secretary: TroyS LeBoeuf

President: Lynn Robert‐son

Date approved:July24, 2025 151633-JUL30-1T $58.78

PUBLIC NOTICE Public Hearings will be held at ZacharyCityHall 4700 Main St.during a regularmeetingofthe Planning andZoning Commission meetingMonday,August04, 2025 –6:00pmand theCity Councilmeeting- Tues‐day– August 26, 20256:30 pm forthe purpose indicated: Rezoning —3850 Old BakerRoad Neighborhood Commer‐

9.

The Chairman declared the flooropen for publiccomment.

Motion made by: Mr.Matthew Daigrepont

Motion seconded by: Mr.Michael Maranto

Voting: Unanimously Approved

10. End of Consent Agenda

1. Adoption of the Millage Ratesfor the 2025 TaxYear

Mr.Gibbs went over the attachment,which is the Millage Rates for the 2025 tax year

The chairman declared the flooropen for publiccomment.

That the boardadopts the Millage Rates for the2025 TaxYear

Motion made by: Mr.Michael Maranto

Motion seconded by: Mr.Matthew Daigrepont

Voting: Unanimously Approved

2. The Reading of aNotice of Consideration of ActionRegarding Ad Valorem Taxes for the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board. The Reading of aNotice of Consideration of Action Regarding Ad ValoremTaxes for the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board

The chairman declared the flooropen for publiccomment. Information Item,Noaction needed

11. OrganizationItems Committee Meeting: Tuesday,July8,2025

Regular BoardMeeting: Wednesday,July16, 2025

12. Any other business unanimously approvedbythe boardfor consideration

13. Adjourn

That the Regular School BoardMeeting be adjourned

Motion made by: Mrs.Teri Bergeron

Voting: Unanimously Approved

MEETING MINUTES Scanthe

on your phone.

Finance CommitteeMeeting 06/10/2025 05:00 PM West Baton Rouge Parish School Board Office 3761 RosedaleRoad Port Allen, LA 70767

Please silenceall cellphones Attendance

Voting Members

Mr.Burke Fiscus, BoardMember

Mrs. Hayley Clouatre,BoardMember

Mr.Ronald LeBlanc, BoardMember

Mr.Matthew Daigrepont, BoardMember

Mr.Michael Maranto, BoardMember

Mr.Alden Chustz,President

Non-Voting Members Jessica Blanchard, Executive Secretary

Dr.Chandler Smith, Superintendent Jared Gibbs, Supervisor of Business

1. Call Meeting to Order The Chairmancalled themeeting to order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

Mr.Daigrepont led us in ThePledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call Jessica Blanchardconducted arollcall The following boardmember werepresent:

•Mr. Burke Fiscus, BoardMember

•Mrs. HayleyClouatre, BoardMember

•Mr. Ronald LeBlanc, BoardMember

•Mr. Matthew Daigrepont,Board Member

•Mr. Michael Maranto, BoardMember

•Mr. Alden Chustz,President

Aquorum was made

The following boardmembers wereabsent:

Dr.Atley Walker Sr,Vice President

Ms.SonceriaEvans, BoardMember

Ms.Chareeka Grace, BoardMember

Mrs.Teri Bergeron, BoardMember

(OCM)has received the followingapplication(s) fora CoastalUse Permit (CUP)inaccordancewith theState andLocal CoastalResources Man‐agementAct of 1978, as amended, (La. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and the rulesand regulationsof theCoastal Resources Program.Applications forthe proposedwork maybeinspected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, BatonRouge,LAor on theOCM webpageat: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ index.cfm?md=pagebui lder&tmp=home& pid=591.Copiesmay be obtained upon payment of cost of copying. Writ‐tencomments, including suggestionsfor modifi‐cationsorobjectionsto theproposedworkand statingthe reasons thereof, arebeing so‐licited from thepublic. Comments must be re‐ceived within 25 days of thedateofpublication of this notice.Comments should be uploaded to ourelectronicrecord, but maybemailedor emailedtothe desig‐natedOCM Reviewer.All commentsmustcontain theappropriateapplica‐tion numberand the commenter's full name andcontact information. Anypersonmay request, in writing, within the comment period speci‐fied in this notice,that a StateorFederal public hearingbeheldtocon‐siderthisapplication. Re‐quests forpublichear‐ings shallstate,withpar‐ticularity,the reasonsfor holdinga public hearing andmustcontain the name andcontact infor‐mation of therequester Beloware thereferenced application(s): **OCM;P.O.Box 44487, BatonRouge LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-4515; Email: selena brown@la.gov;OCM Re‐viewer:SelenaBrown; CUPNUMBER: P20250479 Name:AbbevilleHarbor &TerminalDistrictc/o Primeaux,Soirez, Touchet& Associates P.O. BOX579 ABBEVILLE, LA 70511 Attn:Brian Primeaux Location:Ver‐milion Parish,LA; Lat. 2947-4N,Long. 92-9-12W; Section90, T14S-R3E;In‐tracoastal City,70510 De‐scription: Performmain‐tenancedredging and t t i t

4. Agenda

tenance dredging and constructnew piersat theIntracoastalCity Boat LaunchFacility. Ap‐prox.8,500 cy will be dredgedand placed on twonearbyspoil areas. ************OCM; P. O. Box44487, BatonRouge LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-7941; Email: sarah.robert@la.gov; OCMReviewer: Sarah Robert; CUPNUMBER: P20250503 Name: Palumbo, Vincent519 LOREAUVILLERDNEW IBERIA,LA70563 Attn: VincentPalumbo Loca‐tion:Saint Mary Parish LA;Lat.29-43-11N,Long. -91-52-9W;Sec.20, T15SR6E; 103Poverty Row, CypremortPoint,Jack Terrebonne Canal, 70538 Description:Proposed

1. Receive and review Head StartDirectors MonthlyReport. (Crystal Leon) Theboard members reviewedthe report attached.

Thechairman declaredthe floor open forpublic comment

InformationalItem, No action taken

2. AddAgenda item Amotion wasmade to addDSBus Donation to theAgenda

Thechairman declaredthe floor open forpublic comment

That theboard approvesaddingDSBus Donation to theagenda

Motion made by: Mr.AldenChustz

Motion secondedby: Mrs. Hayley Clouatre

Voting: Unanimously Approved

3. DS Bus Donation (Dr. ChandlerSmith) $7500Donation check.

Thechairman declaredthe floor open forpublic comment InformationalItem, No action Necessary

4. Considerationofrequest for approval of the monthly expendituresand financial reports forApril 2025 (Jared Gibbs) Jaredwent overeachreportattached.

Thechairman declaredthe floor open forpublic comment

Consideration of request to approve theApril 2025 monthly expenditures and financialreports.

Motion made by: Mr.AldenChustz

Motion secondedby: Mr.MatthewDaigrepont

Voting: Unanimously Approved

5. Discussion of retention and recruitment (BarbaraBurke and JaredGibbs) Dr.Smith went overthe use of theEFID funds to recruitnew personnel andretaincurrent employees.

We aretrying to remain competitive with thesurrounding districts. Theoption Mr.Gibss suggested.

The$1200 option supplement stipend at thebeginningofthe year. Start advertisingnow.For active employees

That thechairmandeclaredthe floor openfor public comment

That theboard approves the$1200 Retention andrecruitment Stipend

Motion made by: Mr.Burke Fiscus

Motion secondedby: Mrs. Hayley Clouatre Voting: Unanimously Approved

6. Consideration of Request for Musco LED lighting for PAHS and BHS(Dr.ChandlerSmith)

Athletic stadiumateachhigh school needstobereplaced.Touse ourmaintenance funds to upgrade both lights at Its $250,000 at both high schools.

Keeps everythingonstate contract.

Musco is already used in thedistrict

Grant money you areabletoget reimbursed from energy

Thechairman declaredthe floor openfor public comment.

That theboardapproves Musco LEDlightingfor PAHS andBHS.

Motion made by: Mr.Burke Fiscus

Motion secondedby: Mr.MatthewDaigrepont

Voting: Unanimously Approved

5. Adjourn That theFinance committee is adjourned.

Motion made by: Mr.AldenChustz

Motion secondedby: Mr.Burke Fiscus

Voting: Unanimously Approved