The Acadiana Advocate 08-07-2025 by The Advocate

COMING INTO FRAME

ABOVE: Construction is underway Wednesday on the new Our Lady of Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. According to the church, construction is estimated to be completed in February LEFT: Workers get a lift.

Judge delays redistricting hearing for La. maps

Supreme Court to weigh key question

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A key evidentiary hearing in a federal case that sought to get Louisiana’s legislative maps for state House and Senate seats redrawn was teed up for later this month.

But, citing an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling that is poised to answer a key question in Louisiana’s voting laws, state leaders asked that the redistricting efforts be put on hold.

During a hearing inside the U.S. Middle District of Louisiana Courthouse on Wednesday, a federal judge wanted to know why.

Shelly Dick, the Middle District’s chief judge, agreed to postpone the Aug. 25 hearing and stayed the

case after listening to arguments from the state agencies’ legal team and voting rights attorneys that have challenged voting precincts for the state’s Legislature.

“Judge Dick’s decision preserves judicial resources and saves the taxpayers money,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement following the ruling “It makes no sense to conduct a remedy hearing when the Supreme Court could change the legal landscape.”

Plaintiffs in the case alleged district maps drawn up for the state House and Senate seats in February 2022 illegally diluted the strength and power of the Black vote, either by packing high concentrations of African American voters into single districts or splintering them into divided voting districts across the state.

A new voting map for state House and Senate seats would need to be submitted by Jan. 1, 2027, in order for elections officials to make changes in time for the October 2027 legislative and gubernatorial primaries, a Secretary of State’s Office commissioner said. ä See MAPS, page 3A

Lafayette campaign manager fights back on arrest

Eddie Lau wants evidence tossed in election case

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

Chun Ping “Eddie” Lau, the Lafayette campaign manager who was arrested in March, is seeking to toss out evidence in the case accusing him of knowingly spreading false political information, with his attorney saying the law used to arrest him is unconstitutional.

Attorney Barry Sallinger, who represents Lau, ﬁled a motion in the 15th Judicial District Court last month to quash the search warrant, suppress all evidence obtained from it and return electronics seized from Lau’s home and ofﬁce.

Police arrested Lau on March 13 on one count of spreading knowingly false political information, a felony, after a complaint about him circulating false text messages in a legislative campaign. He was released from the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center the same day on a $2,500 bond. “His reputation is currently mortgaged — severely handicapped — because of the pending charges,” Sallinger said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, and illegally so, in my opinion.” Sallinger argued in court filings that the warrant and police investigation are based on a state law that was ruled unconstitutional more than 37 years ago, and the evidence would be inadmissible in court. A motions hearing set for Wednesday before District Judge Michele Billeaud was rescheduled because the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office was not notified of the court date.

ä See CAMPAIGN, page 3A

Rule to cut cost of prison calls delayed

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana prisons and the phone companies they contract with have gotten a reprieve from slashing the cost of calls to inmates after the Federal Communications Commission postponed a rule it issued last year to require the price cuts. It’s at least a temporary win for state leaders and law enforcement ofﬁcials who argued the FCC overstepped its authority and did not base the rule on proper evidence. The lower rates could also create budgetary challenges for the state and sheriffs, as correctional facilities typically receive a commission off the rates prison phone companies charge earlier this year, the state said the lower rates were expected to leave a $4 million hole in the corrections budget. But the decision to halt the lower rates upset some members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, who believed the current rates are extortionate. And criminal justice advocates have argued phone calls are key to rehabilitation, as they allow inmates to stay in touch with their communities and loved ones.

ä See CALLS, page 3A

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Astronaut who was stuck on space station retires

CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. One of NASA’s two previously stuck astronauts has retired from the space agency less than five months after his unexpectedly long spaceflight came to an end NASA announced Butch Wilmore’s departure on Wednesday Wilmore and Suni Williams launched last summer as test pilots on Boeing’s first astronaut flight What should have been a weeklong trip to the International Space Station turned into a stay of more than nine months because of Boeing’s malfunctioning Starliner Starliner came back empty, and Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth in March with SpaceX.

Wilmore, 62, had already retired from the Navy Williams, 59, also a retired Navy captain, is still with NASA.

Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Wilmore logged 464 days in orbit over three missions. His ﬁnal spaceﬂight made up nearly two-thirds of that total: 286 days. Musk voted least liked public figure in poll

A Gallup poll ranking more than a dozen public figures in terms of popularity found that Elon Musk has the highest unfavorable rating while Pope Leo XIV is loved by many

The survey was based on telephone interviews with roughly 1,000 adults July 7-21, during which they were asked about 14 of the most reported-on people alive.

The first American pope scored a 57% favorability rating to only 11% unfavorable. Nearly a third of respondents said they no opinion on the pontiff.

While Musk recorded a 33% favorability to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu‘s 29% the lowest score in the poll — Musk’s 61% unfavorable rating topped Netanyahu’s 52% negative ranking, making the Tesla founder the least popular of anyone in the poll

The lowest favorability rating went to U.S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was liked by only 26% of respondents. Only 38% of those surveyed had an unfavorable opinion of him and nearly the same number had no thoughts one way or the other President Donald Trump had a 41% favorable rating to a 57% unfavorable mark with 16% or respondents giving no opinion Autobahn motorist hits 199 mph, fined $1,000

BERLIN A motorist was clocked driving at more than 199 mph on the Autobahn west of Berlin, a record high at more than 124 mph above the speed limit, German police said The speedster, who was not identiﬁed, was caught while racing along the A2 highway near Burg on July 28.

The driver was handed a ﬁne of $1,043, stripped of two points from his driver’s license and banned from driving for three months, the Magdeburg police ofﬁce said Tuesday

Germany’s Autobahn motorways have captured fascination and interest around the world for their lack of speeding limits

Limitless speeds aren’t universal on the Autobahn, though, as parts of the motorway are subject to speed limits. The section of the motorway where the record-breaking driver was caught has a limit of 74.5 mph.

5 soldiers shot at Ga. Army base

BY RUSS BYNUM and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press

FORT STEWART,Ga.— A sergeant shot

five soldiers Wednesday at one the country’s largest Army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops, forcing a brief lockdown, ofﬁcials said.

Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but officials said the shooter was Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, who used a personal handgun, not a military firearm.

Radford opened fire where he worked but officials wouldn’t speculate about a motive, authorities said.

The injured soldiers are stable and expected to recover, said Brig Gen. John Lubas The soldiers who tackled Radford helped ensure his arrest, said Lubas, who commands

the 3rd Infantry Division. “These soldiers, without a doubt, prevented further casualties or wounded,” he said.

This latest act of violence on a U.S. military installation sites that are supposed to be among the most secure in the country — again raised concerns about safety and security within the armed forces’ own walls.

The Army said it’s investigating the shooting. There were still many unanswered questions, including the scope of the injuries and the shooter’s motive.

The injured were taken to the hospital and three underwent surgery, ofﬁcials said.

Army records released to The Associated Press show that Rad-

ford enlisted in January 2018. He worked as a supply sergeant and has not been deployed.

Radford faced an Aug. 20 hearing in Hinesville, a small town near the base, on accusations of driving under the inﬂuence and running a red light just after 1 a.m. on May 18, according to a citation and court ﬁling. He was given a blood test and freed on a $1,818 bond, the documents said.

Attorney Sneh Patel is representing Radford in the trafﬁc case but not the shooting as of Wednesday, he said in an email. He cited attorney-client privilege in declining to comment about any his conversations with Radford.

Law enforcement was sent to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team complex shortly before 11 a.m. The shooter was arrested at 11:35 a.m., ofﬁcials said. The lockdown lasted about an

Poll: 35%

BY BRENDAN RASCIUS Miami Herald (TNS)

American public opinion toward the atomic bombing of Japan has changed signiﬁcantly over time.

The latest poll from the Pew Research Center reveals that less than half of Americans currently view the bombings as justiﬁed, marking a notable drop from earlier years.

The survey was conducted ahead of the 80th anniversary of the bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two nuclear blasts killed around 200,000 people, many of whom were children, and left survivors with debilitating side effects, including higher rates of cancer and chronic illness.

The attacks which took place on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945 — were quickly followed by Japan’s surrender to the U.S., which brought an end to World War II.

They also signaled the dawn of the nuclear age, sparking a worldwide arms race that has led at least nine countries to develop atomic arsenals.

In the recent Pew survey, 35% of respondents said the bombings were justiﬁed, while a slightly smaller share, 31%, said they were not justiﬁed. An additional 33% said they were not sure.

The results appear to follow a trend of declining support for the nuclear attacks.

In 1945 — in the immediate aftermath of the bombings — a Gallup poll found the vast majority of Americans, 85%, approved of the U.S. decision to drop the newly invented weapons on Japanese cities.

Many years later, in 1990, another Gallup survey revealed that a much smaller

share of respondents, 53%, approved of the attacks. In four subsequent Gallup surveys conducted between 1991 and 2005, approval ﬂuctuated between 53% and 59%.

In 2015 — on the 70th anniversary of the bombings a Pew poll found 56% of Americans believed the attack was justiﬁed, while 34% said it was not. However, this survey did not include a “not sure” option, unlike the most recent one.

The latest survey which sampled 5,044 U.S. adults June 2-8 — also revealed noticeable differences in views based on gender, partisanship and generational lines.

For example, 51% of men said the bombings were justiﬁed, while just 20% of women said the same.

Similarly 51% of Republicans and those who lean Republican said the attacks were justiﬁed, while just 23% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning respondents said the same.

Older Americans were also more likely than their younger counterparts to approve of the U.S. bombings. Nearly half of those 65 and older, 48%, said they were justiﬁed, while just 27% of 18- to 29-year-olds agreed.

The poll — which has a margin of error of 1.6 percentage points — also asked respondents whether they believe the development of nuclear weapons has made the world more or less safe.

The vast majority, 69%, said the creation of atomic weapons has made the world less safe. Just 10% said it’s made the global community more safe, and 21% said they were not sure.

When asked if nuclear weapons made the U.S. in speciﬁc safer, 47% said no and 26% said yes.

Man charged with hate crimes after museum shooting

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum has been indicted on federal hate crimes charges, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday

The indictment, ﬁled in federal court in Washington, charges Elias Rodriguez with nine counts, including a hate crime resulting in death The indictment also includes notice of special ﬁndings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty Elias Rodriguez is accused of gunning down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the museum in May He was heard

shouting “Free Palestine” as he was led away after his arrest He told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” federal authorities have said.

Rodriguez had previously been charged with murder of foreign ofﬁcials and other crimes, and the hate crimes charges were added after prosecutors brought the case to a grand jury It means prosecutors will be tasked with proving Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism when he opened ﬁre on Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple who were about to become engaged

Prosecutors have described the killing as calculated and planned, saying Rodriguez ﬂew to the Washington region from Chicago ahead of the Capital Jewish Museum event with a handgun in his checked luggage. He purchased a ticket for the event about three hours

before it started, authorities have said in court papers. Witnesses described him pacing outside before approaching a group of four people and opening fire. Surveillance video showed Rodriguez advancing closer to Lischinsky and Milgrim as they fell to the ground, leaning over them and firing additional shots. He appeared to reload before jogging off, officials have said.

After the shooting, authorities say Rodriguez went inside the museum and stated that he “did it.”

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” he spontaneously said, according to court documents. He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty Air Force member who set himself on ﬁre outside the Israeli Embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr.”

hour After it was lifted, cars began to move through the normal security checkpoint at the main gate.

The Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team was created in 2016 when the service added more than 200 vehicles to an infantry unit of roughly 4,200 soldiers. Also known as the “Spartan Brigade,” the Army has called the unit its “most modern land ﬁghting force.”

Located about 40 miles southwest of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River by land area. It’s home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and family members. President Donald Trump called the shooter a “horrible person” in comments to reporters at the White House. The FBI was at the fort to help investigate, said Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

Top player in Minn. fraud scheme gets 28-year sentence

BY SARAH NELSON Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

MINNEAPOLIS A man portrayed by prosecutors as one of the pinnacle players in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud investigation received a nearly threedecade federal prison sentence Wednesday

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Abdiaziz Farah, 36, to a 28year prison term during a hearing in a Minneapolis federal courtroom after a jury convicted him last year of 23 counts on a variety of offenses, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery

“You’ve shown utter and ﬂagrant disregard for the laws of the United States,” Brasel said to Farah after handing down the sentence, calling his actions motivated by “pure, unmitigated greed.”

Through his restaurant Empire Cuisine and afﬁliated sites, Farah and his co-conspirators claimed to feed 18 million kids at various food sites and submitted $49 million in re-

imbursements Farah enrolled the Shakopee-based restaurant in the federal child nutrition program in April 2020, making him one of the earliest participants in the plot. The only other defendants in the same echelon as Farah, acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson described in court, are the fraud’s ringleaders, Aimee Bock and Salim Said. Jurors found both guilty this spring in the $250 million scheme. Farah personally pocketed $8 million of the proceeds, which he used to buy a number of luxury items including a Tesla, Porsche and real estate in Kenya. Farah was also previously accused to trying to ﬂee to Kenya and found guilty of attempting to obtain a passport by falsely claiming his was lost. Instead, federal agents had seized the document during search warrants carried out early in the investigation. Farah pleaded guilty in June to helping orchestrate the attempted bribery of a juror during his own trial last year in an aim for an acquittal. He awaits sentencing in the separate case.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Demonstrators chant Tuesday during a peace gathering outside the Consulate General of Japan in New york.

Radford

CAMPAIGN

Continued from page 1A

No formal charges have been filed by state prosecutors in the case. Deputies with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce and the AG’s ofﬁce seized computers, tablets, cellphones and other devices that could be used to send emails or access Facebook from Lau’s home and business, according to a March 12 search warrant signed

MAPS

Continued from page 1A

The plaintiffs sued Louisiana’s secretary of state and asked a judge to order election ofﬁcials to redraw the maps in a way that added more majority-Black voting precincts. Dick ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor in February 2024, determining there was a likelihood for all of their claims against the state. She agreed the redistricting plan for House and Senate unlawfully diluted Black voting strength and violated Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The judge enjoined the maps originally carved out during the 2022 special session and gave state leaders a “reasonable period of time” to redraw them. She ordered the Aug. 25 remedial hearing for state election ofﬁcials to unveil their proposed new voting maps. But the Attorney General’s Office sought a stay in the case as the state holds its breath for a muchanticipated U.S. Supreme Court opinion in the Louisiana v. Callais redistricting case. The high court is expected to give lower courts in Louisiana guidance on whether creating majority-Black voting districts to satisfy section 2 of the Voting Rights Act violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by feeding into racial gerrymandering.

Supreme Court justices heard arguments in the Callais case in January But in a June order, the court said it plans to revisit the case during its next term, which begins Oct. 6 and runs through June 25, 2026.

“That’s the question the court is struggling with here: Is there a clear yield sign from the United States Supreme Court in this case?

It’s a very difﬁcult and nuanced question,” Dick said Wednesday in granting the state’s request for a stay Plaintiff attorneys worried that waiting for the Supreme Court would delay the redrawn maps, and they wouldn’t be changed in time for the 2027 legislative elections.

“If we wait until August 2026 to get a remedial map, then we are being put in a position where there will be no remedial map for the October 2027 election,” said Sarah Brannon, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation. “That means our clients will have to have another election again with a map that this court found to be unlawful.”

by 15th JDC Judge Andre Doguet.

Among the electronics seized were an iPhone owned by Lau’s wife and a computer owned by Lau’s business client, who is not named in court ﬁlings.

“Numerous requests to the LPSO for the return of devices owned by others proved fruitless,” Sallinger wrote in a July 14 motion.

Lau was arrested under a state law that hasn’t been invoked in decades and that the Louisiana Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional in 1989. The Louisiana Legislature amended the law in

The judge determined the case involving the House and Senate voting maps is too closely intertwined with other Louisiana redistricting cases to proceed with the evidentiary hearing this month. She agreed with the state’s assessment that there is a “substantial likelihood that there’s going to be a change in the game” after the Supreme Court delivers its opinion. “It could not be more clear that the United States Supreme Court intends to address the interplay between Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment,” Dick said. Wednesday’s ruling came on the 60-year anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark piece of federal legislation that outlawed racial discrimination in America’s state, local and national elections. On Monday another federal district judge in Baton Rouge cited the pending Callais decision in putting proceedings on hold in a separate redistricting challenge to the 19th Judicial District Court’s new voting lines.

The Callais case is an outgrowth of a 2022 redistricting challenge that claimed the state’s district map for U.S. congressional seats unduly discriminated against Black voters. Dick presided over that case, which included many of the same reform groups and individual voters as plaintiffs. She enjoined election officials from using the congressional map adopted in 2022. It eventually led to Senate Bill 8 during a January 2024 special session, which carved out a congressional map with two majorityBlack districts. A group of voters subsequently challenged Senate Bill 8 in the Callais case, which was filed in Louisiana’s Western District federal court last year The Callais plaintiffs accused the state of unconstitutional gerrymandering by creating two majority-Black congressional districts. They claimed election officials “engaged in explicit, racial segregation of voters” and “intentional discrimination of voters based on race” and said the shifts violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. In rehearing the pivotal case, Supreme Court justices will provide guidance to lower courts for navigating competing demands of the Voting Rights Act and equal protection clause in redistricting cases. Phil Strach, a North Carolina attorney arguing on the state’s behalf, foresaw a

2022 to expand the list of methods by which someone is prohibited from sharing false political information, adding the word “digital” to the statute. The section of the law Lau is accused of violating is “incompatible with basic guarantees under the federal and state constitutions,” the Louisiana Supreme Court wrote in its 1989 ruling. The high court heard the case after two people were arrested for sharing false information during a race for state representative in the New Orleans area.

number of potential rulings by the Supreme Court and urged Dick to show judicial restraint by issuing a stay order

“I think that there are possible outcomes that could completely undo what the court does this month,” he said during Wednesday’s hearing.

“Well with all due respect, every single thing this court does has a chance of complete and utter obliteration in reversal. So that’s nothing new,” Dick responded.

“But why waste the court’s time,” Strach replied. “Why waste the state’s time?”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs worried that another delay would close the window on changing the state’s House and Senate voting maps in time for 2027.

Sherri Wharton Hadskey, a commissioner for the secretary of state, laid out a timeline for implementing a new voting map for 105 state House seats and 39 Senate seats. She said she would need the new legislative lines no later than Jan. 1, 2027, in order for elections ofﬁcials to proofread the maps, ensure voters are assigned to their correct districts in the system and mail out notices to millions of Louisiana voters alerting them to the shifts in time for the October 2027 legislative and gubernatorial primary

“Making certain that it is all correct. That is key,” Wharton Hadskey testiﬁed Wednesday Brannon said staying the matter for another several months won’t leave time for the appeals process to play out in time for implementation in 2027.

Dick said it would be a close timeline for the plaintiffs even if she denied the stay

“You have a very good chance of not making the 2027 election,” she told Brannon.

“We agree there’s a risk involved in all of this,” Brannon said. “We just don’t understand why we should contribute further delay to that risk.”

The plaintiffs’ lawyers expressed disappointment in the ruling following Wednesday’s hearing.

“For years, plaintiffs and Black Louisianans have waited to cast ballots under fair and equitable maps,” Brannon said in a statement. “This decision today adds to the ongoing delay of remedying this wrong. Plaintiffs will continue pushing forward to get a quick resolution of the case.”

Lau is well-known in political circles and has worked for a plethora of elected ofﬁcials, most of whom are Republicans with ties to Acadiana.

The state Senate race that led to his arrest pitted two Republicans, Brach Myers and Jesse Regan, against each other Lau worked for Regan’s campaign.

In the lead-up to the election, texts accused Myers of being aligned with Democratic voter groups that do not exist. They also showed fake images of Myers with high-proﬁle Democrats.

Continued from page 1A

The rule, which is now being reconsidered and won’t take effect until 2027, would have set a maximum rate of 6 cents per minute. That would have more than halved the rate at Louisiana state prisons, which as of February charged 14 cents a minute.

It is unclear whether Louisiana ever changed those rates in accordance with the rule, established through a 2024 FCC order The deadlines for implementing the new rule originally varied from between April of this year and April 2026, an FCC spokesperson said in a statement.

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections did not respond to questions.

“The suspension gives the FCC more time to reevaluate the 2024 (order) and hopefully come to a more reasoned decision regarding rate caps and safety and security features,” Lester Duhé, a spokesperson for Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, advocates of lower rates expressed disappointment and outrage that the FCC put the rule on hold.

Foster Campbell, a state public service commissioner who for years has advocated for lower rates, said phone companies profit off the backs of incarcerated people.

“It’s hogs at the trough, and they want every, every penny they can get,” he said.

Myers still won the February election and ﬁled a complaint with the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce the day after voters went to the polls. Even with a successful campaign behind him Myers said he had no intention of letting go of the issue.

“When people lose and they pursue this, it looks like they’re a sore loser When people win, they’re like ‘Oh, I won,’ and they don’t pursue it,” Myers said in an April interview “I’m maybe the one person who won and said, ‘I still want to make sure that this gets pushed.’”

“Greedy, greedy, greedy Unbelievably greedy.”

Campbell noted that inmates’ families typically end up paying the cost of the calls, adding that children should have the right to talk on the phone with their parents.

Why the FCC held off

In a June 30 announcement postponing the rule

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the rule, meant to ensure reasonable rates for prison phone calls, was having unintended consequences.

“A number of institutions” planned to limit access to communications services for incarcerated people as a result of the rule, he said.

And, he added, “there is concerning evidence that the 2024 decision does not allow providers and institutions to properly consider public safety and security interests when facilitating these services.”

Prison systems reported facing significant financial obstacles to implementing the new rule by the original deadlines, as implementation often involved contract negotiations with corrections agencies and restructuring providers’ systems, according to the FCC spokesperson.

Some have said it costs more to run communications systems for correctional facilities because of special technologies that help monitor calls there.

Challenges underway

A group of organizations has challenged the rate cap suspension, ﬁling an admin-

istrative appeal with the FCC last week.

The decision to postpone the rule was made by FCC staff, so the organizations must ﬁrst follow the agency’s administrative appeal process before it can take the issue to court, according to Andrew Schwartzman, senior counsel for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, one of the organizations appealing the decision.

“We’re challenging it because it’s an outrageous abuse of the FCC’s authority to put these rules on hold,” Schwartzman said. “It’s a cruel effort to take away the hard-won right to enable incarcerated people and their loved ones to communicate and to keep their families together.”

Meanwhile, a separate legal battle is underway in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering petitions from multiple states, phone companies and sheriffs to review the rule. In a statement, Aventiv Technologies said it challenged the rule in court to advocate “for a regulatory framework grounded in the operational realities of supporting facility safety and preserving communication access for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.”

Aventiv is the parent company of Securus Technologies, which contracts with Louisiana to provide prison communications services. Louisiana and the state’s sheriffs’ association are also among those petitioners.

Judgehears argumentsover‘AlligatorAlcatraz’

Detentioncenter violates environmental law, tribesays

BY DAVID FISCHER and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

MIAMI Afederal judge heard arguments Wednesday over whether to stop construction of an immigration detention center —built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” —because it didn’tfollowenvironmental laws.

Until the laws are followed, environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe said U.S. District JudgeKathleen Williams should issueapreliminary injunction to halt operations andfurther construction

The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars’ worth of environmental restoration

The lawsuit in Miami against federaland state authorities is one of two legal challenges to the South Flor-

ida detention center which wasbuilt more than amonth ago by the stateofFlorida on an isolated airstrip owned by Miami-Dade County. Asecond lawsuitbrought by civil rights groups says detainees’ constitutional rights are being violated

Federalagentsuse rental truckto raid L.A. Home Depot

BY NATHAN SOLIS, RACHEL URANGA andBRITTNY MEJIA Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOSANGELES After weeksof relative quiet, Border Patrol agents raided aHome Depot in Westlake on Wednesday as atop federal agentwarned, “We’re not leaving,” and postedimages of half adozen border agents running from aPenske truck through the parking lot. As many as 16 immigrants were reported rounded up and arrested in what U.S Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino called “Operation Trojan Horse.” The early-morningraids revived fearsofmorewidespread sweeps that organizers had hoped would ease with afederal judge’sorder,affirmed by a9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel, that immigration officials cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.

“For those who thought Immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again,” acting U.S. Attorney BillEssayli posted on X, shortly after the raid. “The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable and there arenosanctuariesfrom the reach of the federal government.”

Aday laborer said around 6:45 a.m. ayellow Penske truck pulled up to the laborers who had gathered in the parking lot. The drivertold them in Spanish he was looking for workers.

Several of the men gathered around the truck and

then someone, it was unclear who to him, rolled up the back of thetruck.Masked agents, one wearingacowboy hat, jumped outand started chasing people. Peoplescattered.

“This is theworst feeling ever,” saidthe day laborer, who has been going to the store to pickupwork for several years.

Video on socialmedia capturedthe moment theback of therentaltruck opened When Penske TruckRental was asked about it,theysaid they were lookingintoit.

“The company was not made aware that its trucks would beused in today’soperation and did not authorize this,” said Penskespokesman Randolph Ryerson. “Penske will reach out to DHS and reinforce its policy to avoidimproper use of its vehicles in the future.”

He added:“Penske strictly prohibits thetransportation of peopleinthe cargo area of its vehicles under anycircumstances.

On July 11,a federal judgetemporarily blocked federal agentsfromusing racial proﬁling to carry out indiscriminate arrests after the ACLU, Public Counsel, other groupsand privateattorneys sued over the practices saying that the region hadbeen “under siege.” Department of Justice attorneys arguedthe order hindersthem from carrying outfederal immigrationenforcement, but the 9thU.S Circuit Court of Appeals upheld theorder

Homeland Security removes agelimitsfor ICErecruits

BYREBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that it is removing age limits for new hires at the agency responsible for immigration enforcement, as it aims to expand hiring after amassive infusion of cash. The department said in a news releasethatitwould waive age limits for new applicants so “even more patriots will qualify to join ICE,” the agency responsible for ﬁnding,arresting, detaining and removing people who are in the U.S. illegally

The agency is at the center of the Trump administration’sefforts to carryout President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Earlier this summer Congresspassed aspending bill

that gives ICE money to hire 10,000 more staff.

Currently,ICE applicants must be 21 years oldand no older than 37 or 40, depending on what position they are applyingfor In an interview with “Fox &Friends,” HomelandSecurity SecretaryKristi Noem said applicantscould be as young as18.

“Wenolonger have acap on how old you can be or you can continue at age 18, signupfor ICEand join us andbeapartofit. We’ll get you trained andready to be equipped to go out on the streets and help protect families,”Noem said. The agency promotedthe age-limit changes on social media withenthusiastic tones, castingthe immigration-enforcement efforts as not onlypatriotic butalso epic andeven cinematic.

since they arebarred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and afederal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. Ahearing in that case is scheduled for Aug. 18.

The detention facility has

ignored areview process required by theNational Environmental PolicyAct, and the lawsuit was meant to assert thepublic’srights to makesure environmental harmdoesnot occur,Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Ev-

erglades, testified in court Wednesday

The new detention facility wouldlikelyleadtoanimmediate reduction in habitat for endangered Florida panthers and would likely increase the risk of panthers killing each otheror being hit by vehicles, Randy Kautz, awildlife ecologist and former Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission researcher, testiﬁed.

Kautz citedstudiesshowingpanthers generallystay at least 650 feet from areas withhumanactivityand 1,600 feet away from bright artificial lightsatnight, translating to about 2,000 acres of potentially lost habitat surrounding “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Florida Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who took aJuly 12 tourofthe facility with other state and federal lawmakers, in court describedanactive construction site with recentlyerectedtents,new asphalt and temporary lights. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie told members of thetourthatthe facility would be able to hold 4,000 detainees by the end of August andthe centerhad

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about 1,000 workers, some of whom lived at the facility andothers who commuted, said Eskamani. Under the 55-year-old federal environmental law,federal agencies should have examined how the detention center’sconstruction would impact theenvironment, identiﬁed waystominimize the impact and followed other procedural rules such as allowing public comment, according to the environmental groups and the tribe. It makes no difference that the detention center holding hundreds of detainees was built by the state of Florida since federalagencies have authority over immigration, the suit said. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last week askedWilliams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was ﬁledinthe wrong jurisdiction. Eventhough thepropertyisowned by Miami-Dade County,Florida’s southern districtisthe wrong venue forthe lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring CollierCounty, whichisinthe state’smiddle district, they said. Williamshad yet to rule on that argument.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ

Aprotester stands outside the migrant detention dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’atthe DadeCollier Training and Transition Facility,July 12 in Ochopee, Fla.

Trump-Putin meeting possible, official says

Presidents could meet next week to discuss war in Ukraine

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President

Donald Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the RussiaUkraine war a White House ofﬁcial said Wednesday

The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined.

The ofﬁcial was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

The White House said Trump was also open to a meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year It would be a significant milestone in the 3-year-old war, though there’s no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.

Trump, appearing before reporters later at the White House, didn’t answer questions about a potential location for a meeting but said “there’s a very good prospect that they will” meet

The president declined to predict how close he was to reaching a deal to end the ﬁghting, saying, “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”

Rubio lowers expectations

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was asked in an interview on Fox Business about a potential Trump-Putin meeting, said “a lot has

to happen before that can occur.”

Rubio said the U.S. would be having talks with its European allies and the Ukrainians over the next few days. He said Trump meeting directly with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would help close an agreement, but said, “We’ve got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing.”

“Today was a good day, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead,” he said. “There’s still many impediments to overcome.”

News of a potential meeting with Putin, which was first reported by The New York Times, came hours after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Putin in which “great progress was made.”

Zelenskyy has been willing to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conﬂict, but Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea.

Trump has met with Zelenskyy several times this year, including a contentious February meeting in Washington Though he has not yet met with Putin this year, Trump met with him five times during his ﬁrst term.

Trump said earlier Wednesday that he had updated America’s allies in Europe and that they would work toward an end to the war “in the days and weeks to come.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the “Russians had expressed their desire” to meet with Trump. The Kremlin has not yet commented on any potential meetings with Trump.

Witkoff met with Putin days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil.

The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said.

Putin’s foreign affairs

U.S. selling Russian superyacht

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The United States is auctioning off the $325 million yacht Amadea, its ﬁrst sale of a seized Russian luxury ship since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

The auction, which closes Sept 10, comes as President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. The U.S. has said it’s working with allies to put pressure on Russian oligarchs, some of whom are close to Putin and have had their yachts seized, to try to compel him to stop the war

The 348-foot-long yacht, seized three years ago and currently docked in San Diego, was custom built by the German company Lürssen in 2017. Designed by François Zuretti, the yacht features an interior with extensive marble work, eight state rooms, a beauty salon, a spa, a gym, a helipad a swimming pool and an elevator It accommodates 16 guests and 36 crew members.

Determining the real ownership of the Amadea has been an issue of contention be-

cause of an opaque trail of trusts and shell companies. The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and is owned by Millemarin Investments Ltd., also based in the Cayman Islands.

The U.S. contends that Suleiman Kerimov, an economist and former Russian politician, who was sanctioned by the U.S in 2018 for alleged money laundering, owns the yacht.

Eduard Khudainatov, a former chairman and chief executive of the state-controlled Russian oil and gas company Rosneft, who has not been sanctioned, claims to own it

U.S. prosecutors say Khudainatov is a straw owner of the yacht, intended to conceal the yacht’s true owner, Kerimov Litigation over the true ownership is ongoing.

The yacht has been virtually untouched since the National Maritime Services took custody of it in 2022. To submit a sealed bid on it, bidders must put in a 10 million euro deposit, the equivalent of roughly $11.6 million, to be considered.

Ford said Khudainatov would go after any proceeds from the sale of the yacht, estimated to be worth $325 million.

adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Witkoff had a “useful and constructive conversation” that focused on the Ukrainian crisis and, in a nod toward improving relations between Washington and Moscow, “prospects for possible development of strategic cooperation” between the United States and Russia.

Threat of U.S. sanctions

Earlier on Wednesday the same White House official said the U.S. was still expected to impose secondary sanctions against Russia on Friday after a 10-day deadline that Trump imposed is to expire. The White House has not yet released details about the sanctions.

Washington has threatened “severe tariffs” and other economic penalties if the killing doesn’t stop.

Trump also has threatened to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India He said Tuesday he hadn’t publicly committed to any particular tariff rate, and

indicated that his decision could depend on an outcome of the meeting with Putin.

Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia’s escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war The intensiﬁed attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relent.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening that he and Trump spoke on the phone after Witkoff met with Putin. He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation,” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow.”

“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the pressure on Moscow “is working,” without elaborating.

Zelenskyy stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement. Kyiv proposes that Ukraine and its allies soon “talk to determine our position, our common position, and our common view.”

The fighting grinds on Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forc-

es hit a recreational center in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional Gov Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombs.

“There is zero military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.

Russia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and facilities for heating and cooking gas, Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine makes preparations for winter Western analysts and Ukrainian ofﬁcials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukraine land.

A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last year’s push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major cities.

The situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defenses are not about to collapse, analysts say

By The Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip At least 38 Palestinians were killed overnight and into Wednesday in the Gaza Strip while seeking aid from United Nations convoys and sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, according to local health ofﬁcials. The Israeli military said it had ﬁred warning shots when crowds approached its forces Another 25 people, including several women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to local hospitals in Gaza. The latest deaths came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to announce further military action — and possibly plans for Israel to fully reoccupy Gaza. Experts say Israel’s ongoing military offensive and blockade are already pushing the territory of some 2 million Palestinians into famine. A new U.N. report said only 1.5% of Gaza’s cropland is accessible and undamaged.

Another escalation of the nearly 22-month war could put the lives of countless Palestinians and around 20 living Israeli hostages at risk, and would draw ﬁerce opposition both internationally and within Israel Netanyahu’s far-right coalition allies have long called for the war to be expanded, and for Israel to eventually take over Gaza, relocate much of its population and rebuild Jewish settlements there

Of the 38 Palestinians killed while seeking aid, at least 28 died in the Morag Corridor, an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where U.N convoys have been repeatedly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds in recent days, and where witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened ﬁre.

Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza.

GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites, and that the one in central Gaza was not open on Wednesday It said the violence may have been related to the chaos around U.N. convoys.

Israel facilitated the establishment of four GHF sites in May after blocking the entry of all food, medicine and other goods for 2½ months. Israeli and U.S ofﬁcials said a new system was needed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off humanitarian aid. This week, a group of U.N special rapporteurs and independent human rights experts called for the GHF to be disbanded, saying it is “an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law.” Dozens killed seeking aid in Gaza as Israel

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DANyLO ANTONIUK

People pray Wednesday as they mark the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine.

SPUTNIK KREMLIN POOL PHOTO By GAVRIIL GRIGOROV Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff shake hands during their meeting Wednesday at the Kremlin in Moscow.

By The Associated Press

SANTAMARIA, Calif. Rising temperatures on Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made incrementalprogress against amassive wildfire in central California that injured fourpeople as it became the biggest blaze in the state so far this year More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forestare threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126-square-mile Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state’slargest ﬁre of 2025. Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain willbe dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s on Wednesday and above 100 on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with theSanta Barbara CountyFire Department.

Massivecentral California wildfire keepsgrowing

“Wehave hotweather, and we have low relative humidity,”Safechuck said Wednesday. “So we expect extreme firebehavior.”

Luckily,winds are expected to remainrelatively calm, he said. Wildfire risk will be elevated through the week-

end across muchofinland California as the heat wave intensifies. Thesouthern part of thestate hasseen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it “ripe to burn,” theNational Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in astatement. Triple-digit temperatures are forecast for the Sacramento Valley Adozen majorblazesare burningstatewide,and officials warn the threat will only grow in August and September,typically the mostdangerous months for wildfires. Across the Sierra and northern partsofCalifornia, months of little to no rain are “pushing conditions toward criticallevels faster than usual,”accordingtoa wildfire forecast by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

“InSouthernCalifornia, the threat is driven by persistent drought, high grass loads, and weakening coastal moisture,” Cal Fire said. More than 2,200 person-

Mich.representatives demand Canada containfires

BY MELISSA NANN BURKE and CAROL THOMPSON

The Detroit News (TNS)

WASHINGTON The sevenMichigan Republicans in the state’scongressional delegation issued ajointstatement Wednesday blaming Canada for wildfires whose smoke caused air-quality issues across the state in recent weeks, asking the Canadian government to “take immediate and decisive actiontocontain these fires and prevent future wildfires.”

“Instead of enjoying family vacations at Michigan’s beautiful lakes and campgrounds, for the third summer in arow, Michiganders are forced to breathe hazardousair as aresultofCanada’sfailure to prevent and control wildﬁres. This recurring crisis is putting public health at risk —especially for seniors, pregnant women, children,and thosewithrespiratory conditions,” the lawmakers said “This cannot continueasanannual threat to our communities.”

The statement follows alettertothe Canadian prime minister sent by U.S. Rep. John James on the same issuelast week, “to expressthe outrageofour constituents” about the third summer

of smoke and pollutionfromCanadian wildﬁres.

James, who is running forgovernor, noted that 69 million Midwest residents were under airqualityalerts —a ﬁgure larger thanthe population of Canada andsaidthe situationis“actively damaging the U.S.-Canada relationship.”

This week, forecasters had extended a statewide air qualityadvisory,anticipating that smokefrom thewildﬁres would linger over the state and causeunhealthy levels of particle pollution. At times,air quality could be bad enough that it would be unhealthyfor everyone and not just sensitivegroups,according to Michigan Department of Environment,Great Lakesand Energy meteorologists.

The Canadian Embassy didn’timmediately comment on the Michigan lawmakers’ remarksWednesday WabKinew,the premier of theprovince of Manitoba, where wildﬁres killed twoin May, blasteda similar letter sent by six membersofCongressfromMinnesota and Wisconsin last month,claiming that the lawmakers were “tryingtotrivialize and make hay out of awildﬁre season where we’ve lostlives in our province.” Climate change is fueling the Cana-

dianwildﬁres, said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environmentand Sustainabilityatthe University of Michigan.Burning fossil fuelsand loading greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is warmingthe planet, which allows the atmosphere to hold moremoisture. That causes moreextreme droughtsand more extreme rainstorms, Overpeck said. Although it’sharder to prevent ﬁres in awarming world, it’s reasonable for U.S. lawmakers to ask Canada to do more to managethem,Overpeck said. Butasthe Trump administration aims to end the federal government’sabilitytoregulate greenhouse gasemissions, Overpeck said it is also reasonablefor Canadians to complain about theU.S.dismantling its climate policies.

“They’re probably not happy the U.S. is pulling back on our fighting of climate change, which they know in Canada pretty clearlyisthe real problem. They are fighting climate change much more fiercelythanwenow are,” Overpeck said.

“When we tell Canada ‘do moretoﬁght your ﬁres,’itwould be reasonable for them to say ‘do more to fight climate change, because climatechange is the big problem,’”Overpeck added.

nelare battling the Gifford Fire, whichgrew out of at least four smallerfires that eruptedFridayalong State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, acity of about 110,000 people. Thecauses of the fires are under investigation. Flames are racing through avast, mostlyunpopulated regionthat includes forestland,ranches, largecanyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries. The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect muchofsouthwest California. Officialsreported four injuries, including afirefighter who wastreated for dehydration. Over the weekend, amotorist washospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames. Andtwo contractemployees assistingfirefighterswere also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.

BY SYLVIE CORBETand HERNAN MUNOZ Associated Press

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, France France’s biggest wildfire in yearswas spreading quickly Wednesday in aMediterranean region near Spain after leaving one person dead and several injured, authorities said. The fire burned an area larger than Paris, and the military wascalled in to help. French PrimeMinister François Bayrou deplored a“disaster on an unprecedented scale” in the region. Over 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battledthe blazethatbroke outTuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, arural, wooded area that is hometowineries. The fire, which has burned 39,500 acres, remained “very active” on Wednesday and continued to progress as night fell, the local administration said. The weather was hot, dry and windy,making it difficult forfirefighters to contain the blaze. Villagers sought to help douse the flames or save their homesand small businesses, and described their alarm at the fire’sspeed. Ash filled the air and coated windows and cars, and several roads were closed around the region.

“The sky wasblue, and then less than an hour later the sky was orange,” said Andy Pickup of SaintLaurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. France’s

PRESS PHOTO By NOAH BERGER

Rejected renewals will return to ballot

Officials to try again on property taxes

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Two existing Lafayette Parish property taxes that voters rejected in March will be back on the ballot Nov 15.

The taxes were on the March 29 ballot with four statewide constitutional amendments that were soundly rejected by voters.

Lafayette ofﬁcials, who did lit-

tle to publicize the two local tax renewals, believe being on the same ballot with the constitutional amendments led to the defeat of the local renewals, as voters may have voted no on everything on that ballot.

This time, Mayor-President Monique Boulet has said, Lafayette Consolidated Government ofﬁcials will do more to inform voters of the election and the need to renew

the property taxes. The ﬁrst is a 4.47-mill property tax for construction, improvement and maintenance of roads and bridges in the parish. It is expected to generate about $12.7 million a year

The tax was authorized at 4.17 mills. Because of reappraisals, it is currently levied at 4.47 mills, which is allowed by law If not renewed, the tax will expire at the end of 2026. The second tax on the ballot is a renewal and rededication of a pub-

lic health millage Boulet and the Parish Council are asking voters to add drainage as a use for the existing tax. Boulet said Tuesday it would allow surpluses from those tax revenues to be used for drainage. The 3.81-mill property tax, which generates about $10.8 million a year, expires at the end of 2025. Like the roads and bridges tax, this one is being levied .25 mills higher than the 3.56 mills in the voter authorization because of reappraisals.

Keeping up with constituents

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

Louisiana Democratic Congressman Cleo Fields on Wednesday held a town hall meeting in Eunice. Among other topics, Fields expressed concerns about the Texas governor’s plan to redraw congressional districts, potentially giving Republicans ﬁve additional seats in the upcoming midterm elections.

The tax is used for constructing, improving, maintaining, operating and supporting public facilities and programs in the parish based on this allocation: n 1.24 mills for drainage n .422 mills for ﬁre protection n .078 mills for roads and bridges n 2.07 mills for public

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

Funeral set for Hartie Spence

Lafayette businessman killed in Utah glider crash

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

Funeral

The family Hartie Spence Jr will receive visi tors from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Lafay ette. There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.

Spence, president of ASH Industries in Lafayette, was piloting the glider and was found dead at the crash scene, officials said. Officials with the Morgan County Fire Department said the glider crashed into Mahogany Mountain on private land above Bohmann Ranch around 2 p.m. Friday His identity was confirmed Monday on social media. The crash, which occurred at 7,000 feet, also sparked a wildfire,

ä See SPENCE, page 4B

Coffeeweed to shutter its doors on Saturday

Amid a ‘bittersweet goodbye,’ owner says all is for sale

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

The owner of Coffeeweed Cottage, Denise Champagne-McClure, announced the shop’s ofﬁcial closing date will be Saturday And everything in the shop is for sale. Champagne-McClure said if anyone is interested in purchasing an item, they can call and leave a name and number and someone will return the call with pricing.

“It’s a bittersweet goodbye, and we want to thank every one of you who has supported us,” Champagne-McClure said. “From loyal customers to our beautiful community — you’ve made this journey unforgettable.” In October 2022, ChampagneMcClure purchased the former Sid’s Auto Repair shop, and nine months later, her business

Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, answers questions at his town hall on Wednesday.

PHOTOS By ROByN MAy

Constituent Richard Lucito asks Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, about the lack of access to mental health care in Louisiana at the town hall in Eunice on Wednesday. The town hall was open to the public.

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

Fallingbirth rates, outmigration painttroubling picture forLa.

Troubling demographic data is nothingnew for Louisiana.

But apair of recent stories paints avivid picture, not just of our losses, but whoisgaining from them.

In the ﬁrst, reporter Emily Woodruff found that Louisiana has seen asteep dropinbirth rates over the last decade-plus. Speciﬁcally, Louisiana had almost 11,000 fewer birthsin 2024 than it did in 2013, adrop from more than 63,000 to just over 52,000, or 17%, according to preliminary data from the National Centerfor Health Statistics and the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention.

The speed of the decline has increasedinrecent years, the data showed

The problem can be partially traced to areduction in the number of women aged15-44 who live in Louisiana. There were roughly 29,000 fewer women in that age group in 2023 than therewereadecade prior,Woodruff’s analysis found.

And even though Louisianamaintains arelatively high fertility rate —women here are more likely to have children thanwomen in other parts of the country —thathas also been droppingprecipitously.Inraw numbers, for every1,000 women, there are about 60 births in Louisiana. That’shigher than the national averageof54.5, but still 10% lower than it wasa decade earlier

There are, of course, anumberofreasons for the reductions in fertility: higher costs for housing and child care, economic uncertainties and evolving attitudes toward childbearing and parenting. And among Louisianans who want to raisefamilies, otherstates offer the tempting luresthatcomewith amore vibranteconomy.

“Thenumber one reason people movelong distances is for job opportunities,” oneexpert told Woodruff.

Per census data, about 129,000 more people leftthe state than moved in between 2020 and 2024. Alarge number of those were likely people in their 20s and 30s, in their prime familystarting years, expertssaid

Thosewho move often head west to Texas, the second story showed.Using data aboutoneway rentals for the ﬁrst seven months of the year,the moving company U-Haul notedthat Louisiana is among the top ﬁve origin statesfor people headedtoHouston,Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

None of this should be asurprise.Louisiana’s population uptick lastyear —largely duetothe way international immigrantswere counted did little to mask that thestate is on theverge of what is atroubling demographic precipice. The problem is especially worrisome giventhe large gains being experienced by otherSun Belt states, including Texas. These stories highlight thedepth andtrajectory of what is awell-known problem. There are solutions, but they won’t be easy,and they should be multipronged: an improved business climate should come alongwithupgrading “quality-of-life” issues that make places attractive to families. Otherwise, Louisiana will continuetolose, and other states, like Texas will gain.

LETTERSTOTHE

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,

The Oct. 1dissolution of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission Boardand the transfer of its responsibilities to the Department of Energy and Natural Resources marks asigniﬁcant and necessary step forward for the managementofLouisiana’swater resources.

For 51 years, oversight of one of the capital area’smost critical natural assets—groundwater was entrusted to avolunteer commission. While themembers of the commission should be commended for their service, the reality is that most were not engineers, hydrogeologistsorscientists trained in water resource management. Louisiana’saquifers, especially those serving our growing population and industries, demand stewardship grounded in science, dataand longtermplanning. With this transition, groundwater management will now rest in thehands of professional public servants—accountable to all the people of Louisiana —who are better equipped to make informed decisions based on objective analysis and best practices. This is not only

amodernization of how we govern, but also astrong commitment to transparency and public trust.

Equally important, the law transferring authority makes clear that public water supply is thehighest and best use of our groundwater resources.

As scientists continue to assess how much water is truly available for all users, this guiding principle will be crucial. Water forhomes, hospitals, schools and businesses must be prioritized over less essential or inefﬁcient uses. This change is not just administrative —itisfoundational. It acknowledges that sustainable water managementrequires professional oversight, clear priorities and a science-based approach. Louisiana’s future depends on it.

Special thanks are due to Gov Jeff Landry,Secretary Tyler Gray of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources and Sen. Bob Hensgens, chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, fortheir leadership in advancing this critical legislation.

PATRICK KERR president, Baton RougeWater Company

This Fourth of July weekend, my family of five set out foranaffordable vacation, hoping to create lasting memories. Instead, we wereensnared by aspeed trap in Cheneyville, asmall towninRapides Parish. After stopping to eat in Bunkie, we continued through Cheneyville, where the speed limit abruptly dropped from 55 mphto35mph with minimal signage. Before Icould adjust, an officer issued asteep fine, directing me to the town’smayor’scourt —a system that feels morelike arevenue schemethan apursuit of justice. This experience highlights abroader issue: Small Louisiana towns like Cheneyville rely on speed traps to sustain their budgets, targeting travelers with sudden speed limit changes and opaque mayor’scourts. These courts, where mayors act as judge and jury,often lack impartiality and accountability,leaving drivers with little recourse. If atown’s survival depends on such predatory practices, perhaps it’stimetoquestion whether it should remain incorporated at all. Unincorporation could shiftgovernance to parishes, ensuring fairer oversight and reducing reliance on exploitative fines. Iurge lawmakers to act. Ban mayor’s courts, mandate clear speed limit signage and require transparent municipal budgets. Louisiana’sroads should be safe, not profitable. Iencourage readers to share their stories and demand reform to end speed traps and mayor’scourts.

BRANDON BERNOS Hammond

What?Wait, in atop-of-the-fold article in the newspaper,welearn that the Baton Rouge hospital, Our Ladyofthe Lake, has been in talks to pay as much as $50 million for naming rightstothe proposed LSU arena.

If ahospital had $50 million in surplus funds, one would thinkthat themoney would be used for health care. Iinterpret theproposal to be that the money will be paid to theOak View Group, afor-proﬁt privatebusiness. It will not even go to LSU, another area nonproﬁt organization. Surely this cannot be allowed to takeplace. There are far too manyhealth care needs in the area that should claim priority over those funds, rather than have them handed over to an out-of-state entity.The proposed building will not even be owned by LSUorthe stateofLoui-

siana. Oak View Group will own it. LSU will pay rent for its use for basketball and gymnastics events. Until every sickand needy person in our area is receiving complete healthcare free of charge, the hospital’ssurplus funds shouldbeused for health care.

Fifty million dollars should afford avery nice hospitalinanarea thatislacking adequate health care facilities. It could provide housing forthose in poverty or who are living on the streets. It could increase the number of mental healthand substance abuse facilities so that all those people could get free care. Drive anywhere in the greater Baton Rouge area, you will ﬁnd thousands of ways to spend $50 million, and not one of them would be foranathletic arena.

BILL BOZZELLE Baton Rouge

I’ve subscribed to The State Times/ Morning Advocate for50years. Most younger people don’tknow that there used to be twopapers per day.Maybe it’s something to do with age, but Inoticed how vicious the newscycle is. Iwill always subscribe to the paper,but in the future, I’mnot going to read anything but the Sports and Living sections. These political factions are not going to dampen my day unless there is something good or meaningful to say.Have we turned into anation of hate, or is goodness not forprint anymore?

STEPHENPOL Baton Rouge

Howa jazz second-line

ledto JamesCarville

To ask what jazz funerals havein common withfamed political consultant James Carville soundslikethe set-up for some mordantwitticism, butit’snot. This very month the answer,the connection, isLouisiana-based journalist/author/ documentarian Jason Berry In that connection, moreover, we can celebrate some of Louisiana’swonderful uniqueness. This is abig month for Berry, whose work for decades has spanned groundbreaking researchoncivil rights andonthe Catholic Church’schild-abuse scandal, but who has been known longest as a nuanced chronicler of Louisiana’smusic and culture.This month, in ahomestate culmination of a20-year labor Louisiana Public Broadcasting (Aug 20) and WYES-TV in New Orleans (Aug. 26, Aug. 30 and Sept.16) will air Berry’sdocumentary,“City of AMillion Dreams: Parading for TheDead In NewOrleans.” Within aweek of that announcement came ofﬁcial notice that Berryhas inked adealtowrite an authorized biography of Carville,the outspoken Democratic campaign ace.

anyoneelse is capable of understanding exactly who Iam—inways that I’mnot sure that I can explain sometimes.”

Noting that he already has published memoirs andbeen the subject of two major documentaries, Carville said this bookisdifferent: “I do think it’s not goingtobethe standard political biography.” Then, speciﬁcally referencing Berry’snew documentaryand other work with admiration, he said Berry “knows the musical stuff, he knows the history and all theCatholic stuff. and how much civil rights and race has shaped my life.”

Berry said that in conversations throughthe years with Carville, he felt the same connection.

maybe lenses, through which tosee thehistory of New Orleans and its race relations. Traditional jazz clarinetist Dr.Michael White, who two days ago kicked off this newspaper’sseries of Katrina-related essays, is acentral focus of Berry’sdocumentary When it was first released, Ireviewed “CityofaMillion Dreams”with great enthusiasm: “Hurricane Katrina blows through thefilm with tremendous emotional force. Without an obvious, driving, central narrative, sometimes the film doesn’tseem to be going anywhere in particular (although it is), but even when it spins off as if to mimic the improvisational style of jazz, itsvisual and auditory richness keeps the viewer enthralled.”

Many things are wrong with the Florida migrant detention center ofﬁcially named “Alligator Alcatraz,” but least of these are the gators and pythons that populate the environmentally sensitive Everglades, where the prison is located.

What the Trump administration has created with the facility’scontroversial placement is an unsanitary,mosquito-plagued gulag where caged menessentially serve as research subjects for psychological experiments. The proposition presumably being tested is that menimprisoned in crowded, deprived circumstances eventually (how long?) will become deranged and violent, necessitating their deportation.

One auteur,for what seem to be two very different subjects.

As Carville explains, hiswillingness to work with Berry on thebook —Berry’s idea, and on which Berry has full editorial control, Carville none —has almost everything to do withBerry’s recordonLouisiana cultural topics such as that in the jazz funeral documentary

For the new “James Carville has Something to Say,” Carville said he agreed to cooperate because “so much of who Iamorwas shaped bycultural, familial, religious (background, and) Ithink Jason understands that better than anyone else. (and)more than

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

“Think of 1960, James is 14 and he’s from Carville, Louisiana, and he would go into Baton Rouge to CYO dances listening to Irma Thomas and Ernie K-Doe andArt and Aaron Neville Black and other [cultures’] musicians on thestagejust as the civil rights battles were exploding on television news,” Berry said. “You have thecultural crossroads of Louisiana: Youhave race and you have music, and Ithink in avery real sense James… carried that crossroadswith him.”

Yep, this certainly doesn’tsound like a“standard political biography.”

Meanwhile, Berry’sdocumentary airs this month. More than 15 years in the making andthen released to ﬁlm festivals in 2021 when COVID restrictions still were depressing turnout, “City of aMillion Dreams”isnow used as course material at universities includingTulane,Loyola, Georgetown and Berkeley.But it never has been on TV in Berry’shomestate.

Theﬁlm usesjazz funerals and HurricaneKatrina as dual motifs,or

It’sscorching hot outside and this lovable poochis having ablast cooling down butitlooks likethe cool catsinthe air conditioning have athing ortwo to say about all this. So, what’sgoing oninthis cartoon? you tell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy, absurd or snarky— just trytokeep it clean.There’snolimit on the number of entries.Thewinning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runMonday.Inaddition, thewinner will receivea signed print of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Honorablementions will also be listed.To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@ theadvocate.com. Allentries mustinclude your name, home address and phonenumber. Cell numbers are best.Thedeadline is midnight on Thursday. Have fun with this one, everyone!— Walt

Similarly,it’ssafe to say that alarge part of what has madeCarville not just asuccessful political guru but also a unique celebrityisthat he, too, always seemstospeak improvisationally, authentically,with no ﬁlters. And although Carville and Berry —both oldstyle political liberals (but not modern hard leftists) —advocatepolicies far from my conservative political tastes, Ishare withthem the sense that deep cultural ties ultimately should unite us as Americansand certainly as Louisianans.

Either way,everyone should watch “CityofaMillion Dreams”onlocal public TV stations this month. As my earlier review said, you’ll see “such a sense of the exotic as to be deliciously disorienting.

It’snot too much of astretch to wonder if Berry’sbiography of Carville, when it comes out in two years, will likewise carry asense of theexotic and also asense of wisdom that comes from aculture of resilience and joy Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

It’sbeing describedbythe mediaas an “autopsy,” an examination byDemocrats as to why they lost thelast presidential election and acongressional majority.According to TheNew York Times, the autopsy will notinclude Joe Biden’s decision to seek asecondterm, or Kamala Harris’ poor performance in seeking the presidency when Biden dropped out. Biden and Harris were only the faces of the obstacles Democrats face. Their real problems go much deeper

transgenderism, gender-afﬁrming surgery, same-sexmarriage,abortion, opposing school choice, and ahostof other secular-progressive policieswill only repeat their recent defeatsshould they continue running on and defending those policies in coming elections

Let’sturn to adeﬁnition of autopsy: “a surgical procedure that consists of athoroughexamination of acorpsebydissection to determine the cause, mode, andmannerofdeath.”

By choosing such aword,the media and their fellow Democrats appear to believe the party —atleast this party as currently constituted —isdead. Since the secular left doesn’tbelieve in aresurrection, what are they to do to win sufﬁcient credibility to retakethe presidency and acongressional majority?

To paraphrase an old Elvis Presley song in adifferent context, Democrats are“Caught in atrap.Theycan’t walk out.” The party of higher taxes, neverending entitlements, open borders,misspending, big government, regulations, biological males in women’ssports,

published.

are

Their only hope is to ditch the entire social agenda and get backtowhere the party used to be on theeconomy,jobs and arigorous foreign policy that keeps our enemies under control. See JFK.

That’sunlikely to happen, becausethe future of the party appears to have been seized by radicals like Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democrat candidate for mayor, and Minneapolis Democrat Mayor JacobFreywho is seeking reelection.AWallStreet Journal editorial describesFrey as “Mamdani II” and reports he was “snubbed at arecent Democratic convention, whose delegates instead endorsed Omar Fateh a35-year-old socialist state senator.”

That’sjust another step in the left direction, something like renominating Kamala Harris for president and expecting adifferent result.

SummarizingFateh’splatform, the Journal editorial says: “Fateh is proposing rent control andmore public housing, includingwith funding from ‘a dedicated levy’. (codefor higher taxes)

“He says Minneapolis shouldn’tbea ‘playground for developers.’ Hisstance on the homeless is to promise ‘a compassionateapproach to encampments,’ including saying he’ll work to ‘ensure that residents have access to lifesaving infrastructure like hand-washing stations, portable bathrooms, running water,safe needle disposal programs, and storage for personal belongings.”’ Oh,and then Fateh is trotting out the tired Democrat line that the wealthy are not paying their “fair share” in taxes. There may not be enough room in Floridafor all thepeople who want to join New Yorkers leaving for climes that practice what used to be called common sense. It doesn’tappear Democratshave learned anything from voters. The only way they can hope to makeacomeback —ifthey choose not todrop their social agenda —istotry to cover up past and current positions that have turned off red state voters. Given all the video, audio and print that has recorded those positions and radical statements, astealth approach is unlikely to work. After an autopsy,the body is usually buried. SomeRepublicans are pondering whether to create athird party. That won’tbenecessary if Democrats continue to promote dead ideas.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com

The desired effect has been to terrorize migrants who have entered the country illegally or, in many cases, have overstayed their visa —amisdemeanor.Some unknown number of undocumented migrants not yet in detention have begun self-deporting. At least 11 people have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since January

Though the White House under President Donald Trump might see self-deportation as the hoped-for result of magnifying migrants’ fears with the threat of hellholes such as Alligator Alcatraz, the greater andmore loathsome consequence is the dehumanization of those people, mostly brown-skinned, most of whomrisked life and limb to seek work and a better life.

This is not to excuse breaking U.S. laws to gain entry,but to point out that the Trump administration —namely Stephen Miller,the president’stop adviser on immigration policy —seems to be trying to change the way Americans see immigrants —not as human beings but as animals deserving less consideration than lab rats.

The center,hastily constructed on an airstrip in the middle of the Everglades, has no infrastructure for human needs, such as bathrooms and sewage disposal. Each cage housing 32 men contains three exposed toilets (no privacy), and sewage is removed from the area by the truckload. Recently,about 600 menare incarcerated, but the facility has capacity for 3,000 and room to expand.

Around the White House, this is no doubt a chuckle aminute. Nobody loves anickname more than Trump: Remember “Little Marco” Rubio, now his secretary of state? “Alligator Alcatraz” keeps everyone mindful of the lurking presence of gators, whichare unlikely to enter the compound, and pythons, whichdon’tespecially enjoy the company of humans. It’smeant to terrify

If the prison staff are safe from wildlife, then the prisoners are, too —unless they attempt to escape, whichwould probably get themshotbefore any gator opened its triple-liddedeye. Trump’sclaim, meanwhile, that the detainees are “some of the most vicious people on the planet” is in fact not so. More than athird of those at Alligator Alcatraz (I can’tbelieve we’re forced to use this phrase) have immigration violations but no criminal convictions or charges in the United States, according to the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, whichobtained alist of more than 700 people either imprisoned or scheduled to be sent to the Florida facility “Some are asylum seekers. Others arrivedunder humanitarian parole, or thought they were here with permission awaiting the result of ongoing legal cases,” the Miami Herald’seditorial board wrote, contrary to Trump’scharacterization (“menacing migrants”).

Even if all of them were felons (they are not), all people in the United States have aconstitutional right to be treated humanely,ifnot for their sake, then for the country’sown selfrespect and sense of decency.Americanshistorically have subscribed to laws createdtoprotect, among other rights, human dignity

At Alligator Alcatraz, menhave complainedof infrequent showers and poor hygiene. Lights remain on throughout the night, resulting in sleep deprivation. Overcrowding leads to anxiety and depression.

If these menwere puppies, there would be riots. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, who shot and killed herown “untrainable” 14-month-old hunting dog Cricket, recently said that U.S. Immigration andCustoms Enforcement detained a“cannibal” who “started to eat himself” on an airplane.

On Trump’srecent visit to the East Coast version of Alcatraz, as he put it, he told reporters that the government would be teaching detainees how to run from an alligator.Wearing ared cap, this time emblazoned with “Gulf of America,”he moved his hands in the fashion of an alligator’s tail and said: “Don’trun in astraight line.Run like this. And you know what? Your chancesgo up about 1%.”

What ahoot, that guy Oneneedn’tbeamigrantsympathizer or an environmentalisttoﬁnd this situation insupportable, especially at acost of $450 million ayear.This president is so incapable of empathy, anew word is needed to describe him. Perhaps “Trumptilian.”

Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@ washpost.com

Quin Hillyer

Cal Thomas

Kathleen Parker

AG:Court record debacleis‘unacceptable’

Staffhas been searching landfill formissing files

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

After videosurfaced online this week of Orleans Parishcriminal court staff searching alandﬁllfor records tossed out by city workers, stateand local ofﬁcials are speaking out.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill tooktosocial media platform X on Wednesday an d commented on videosof Clerk Darren Lombard and others rummaging through mounds of trash and debris at the Gentilly Landﬁll.

“This is unacceptable. I have questions. I’mgoing to ask the Clerk for an explanation of how this happened and just what records were dumped,” she wrote.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration released a statement Wednesday, saying only that the city “has reached out to theClerk’s Ofﬁce and the Department of Public Works is currently working with the Clerk’sOfﬁce to resolve this issue.”

When asked for comment, only one mayoral candidate for the Oct. 11 election weighed in —District E

COFFEEWEED

Continued from page 1B

CoffeeweedCottage opened in the space on May 15. The coffee shop also offers books, plants and home decor such as mugs, vases, candles andpots, many of whichare available to purchase on its website.The concept grew out of her initial idea of ashowroomwith coffee.

In late May,nearly two weeks after the cafe’ssecondanniversary,Champagne-McClure made an announcement that the businesswas going up for sale.

In July,she said it was still open and was hoping abuyer would offer to purchase the business and keep it open. Shesaidthe business was no longer sustainable for her to operate as a single mother with no backers —just her dream, with a boostfrom her life savings.

“Hopefullywe’re just selling and not closing,” Champagne-McClure said.

The buyer nevermaterialized.

“A special thank you to my staff who have stood by

SPENCE

Continued from page1B

which required multiple agencies to contain The cause of the crashis under investigation. The FAAand NTSB are investigating the crash, and state ﬁre authorities are investigating the blaze.

Spence was born in Shreveport and graduated as valedictorian of Airline

SCHOOL

Continued from page1B

The 39,000-square-foot building, located along La. 82, sits on nearly 5acres in theheart of Vermilion Parish. The Olympic-sized swimming pool, stage and cafeteria all remain on the property,reminiscent of days before Hurricane Rita and the subsequent closure of the school.

Despite thedestruction in the surrounding community following the 2005 hurricane, the school building never ﬂooded and survived

councilmember andmayoral candidateOliver Thomas.

“Hopefully,this will foster bettercommunication to ensure that this doesn’thappen again,” he said Retired OrleansCriminal DistrictCourt JudgeArthur Hunter,who is alsorunning for mayor this year,said he wasaware of thesituation, butdid not comment further.Mayoral candidates Royce Duplessis and City Council Vice PresidentHelena Morenodid not respond to requests for comment. Hundreds ofcourt ﬁles in

the city’scustody were relocated last week from containersand ofﬁce trailers to aPublicWorks yard at the direction of New Orleans Public Works Department Director RickHathaway, Lombardsaid Tuesday “I’m highly upset about it,” Lombard said of the incident he called a“catastrophic failure.”

Afterhelearned thatat leastone containerhad been thrown away,along with other debris,his staff began searching thelandﬁll Tuesday

By Tuesday afternoon Lombard said they hadrecovered most of thefiles, but it’sunclear howmany are stilllost. At the Public Works site where theywere held, “documents were strewn acrossthe yard, caught in the wind and scattered beyond thesecured perimeter,”Lombard said.

Thefiles contain sensitive information related to criminal cases dating back decades.Among them are closed capital cases involving murder and aggravated rape. The impact of missing courtrecordscould prove detrimental to the legal process. The Louisiana SupremeCourt has previously removeda Baton Rouge judge from office for her handling of lost records.

Between 1996 and2002, the ofﬁce of former Baton Rouge criminal district Judge SharonHunterlost recordsof11trials, including four homicides and an attempted murder.Appeals courts ordered nine new trials and anew sentencing hearing.

Oneman won anew trial on chargesofkilling his 6-month-old daughterafter records pertinent to the case, suchashis testimony and the baby’saunt,who witnessed the killing, vanished.

Aspokespersonfor Lombard’soffice saidon Wednesday that his office was still sorting through the recovered records todeterminewhat was missing.

Denise Champagne-McClure, the owner

is closing its doors on Saturday.

me until thevery end,” she said Wednesday.“If you’re hiring, please consider these amazing, talented and incrediblyhospitable

humans.”

Theshopisat410 Poydras St. in Lafayette.Hours of operation are from 7a.m. to 6p.m. through Friday,and

8a.m. to 5p.m. on Saturday

Email Ja’koriMadison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Langlois, Dwayne R.

DwayneRaymond

Langlois, 64. Visitation will be observedatFountain Memorial FuneralHome in Lafayette, LA on Friday, August 8, 2025, from 9:00 am untilthe Catholic Funeral Service at 11:00 am. Online obituaryand guest book may be viewed at www.fountainmemorialf uneralhome.com. Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery,1010 Pandora St.337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.

LeBouef, Kathleen

KathleenBudd LeBouef October7,1949 -August 4, 2025

KathleenBuddLeBouef passedawaypeacefullyat herresidence, surrounded by love,onAugust 4, 2025. Shewas 75 years old. Born on October 7, 1949, in Opelousas,Louisiana, Kathleenwas thebeloved daughterofthe late Charles J. "Buddy" Budd Jr.and Virginia Latour Budd.A proudgraduate of theAcademy of the Immaculate Conception, Kathleenwas honored by herpeersas"Miss Darling," andcrowned as Homecoming Queen.She wasalso oneofthe spirited "Yammettes," traveling across theregion to promote theYambilee Festival and theyam industry that herhometownsoproudly celebrated. Kathleenwentonto Northwestern State University, whereshe earned both accoladesand adegree—serving as both "Ladyofthe Bracelet"and Northwestern's Homecoming Queen before graduating in 1972 with a bachelor'sdegree.Her career as alicensed clinical social workerwas marked by compassion and advocacy,focusingfirst on substance abuse counseling from 1972-1983, then expandingintoprivatepractice untilher retirement in 2004. Awoman of deep conviction and compassion Kathleenconsidered one of herproudest moments to be marching in Washington, D.C. in 1976, carryingthe bannerfor the Equal Rights Amendment; andone of herproudest accomplishments was playing arole in openinga

Obituaries battered women's shelter in Lafayette several decades ago—efforts that reflected herlifelongdedication to justice, dignity, andcarefor others. Her greatest pride and purest joy, however,camelater in herrole as "Amie"toher grandchildren, whowere theabsolute lights of her life. In 1983, Kathleen married thelove of herlife, Dr Corbett J. LeBouef. Their 35 -year marriagewas oneof deep affection,joy,and shared purpose untilhis passing in 2018. Kathleen'sintellect was matchedonlybyher wit—both sharp, quick, and impossible to ignore.She possessed afiercelyindependentspirit anda deep well of compassion.Her life wasa beautifulblend of strength and tenderness, and herlegacywill continue to inspire all who knew her. Kathleenispreceded in death by herparents, Buddyand Virginia Budd, herbrother,Charles Joseph "CJ"BuddIII,and herhusband, Dr.Corbett J. LeBouef. Left to cherish hermemoryare hergrandchildren, TJ, Tate, andJenna Teicher, Corbett J. "Chip"LeBouef IV (Elizabeth), Leah LeBouefServat(Ryan), Donald Oliver (Paige), and DanielleOliver Albares (Paul); herdaughter Vanessa Kaposta; hersonin-law TimothyTeicher; herstepchildrenCorbett J. "Cobb" LeBouefIII (Stephanie), Lisa LeBouef Oliver (Tim); andher greatgrandchildren, Corbett, Samuel andHarrison LeBouef, Nancy-Graceand John-Ryan Servat, Hazel Oliver andPaulAlbares. Sheisalso survivedbya host of dearlyloved cousins, many cherished friends andher favorite companionofall,her sweet pup, Ben Kathleen'slifewillbe honored at afuneral mass, beginningwith aRosary, on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 12:00 noon, at St Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville. In lieu of flowers, the familykindly requests that donationsbemade in Kathleen'smemory to the Dr.Corbett LeBouef EndowmentatHospice of Acadiana, 2600 Johnston Street,Suite200, Lafayette, LA 70503. Phone: (337) 232-1234 hospiceofacadiana.com

High School in BossierCity, accordingtohis obituary

He founded ASH Industries, acompany thatmakes customized injectionmolds, in Lafayette in 1991 with his wife, Kim.Startingwith a single injection moldingmachine, ASH hasgrown into a company of 100employees, accordingtohis obituary “When he couldpull himself away from hisprofessional work, he enjoyed nothing more than being in God’ssplendoroutdoors,”

without damage. But enrollmenthad been declining.Prior toHurricane Rita,only 57 students were enrolled at the K-12 school, builtinthe early 1960s. After thestorm, the decision was made to close the school and students moved to neighboring schools. In 2008, thebuilding was purchased by John Properties LLC.The building has beenusedasa gathering space, huntinglodgeand placetostay for people visiting Pecan Island. Jaimie Hebert, interim UL president, in Juneexpressed enthusiasmfor

his obituary reads. “Whether it was off-roading in parks across theUS, ﬂying through mountain ranges or practical self-defense and shooting coursesinthe beautifuldeserts of Arizona, Hartie never stopped doing what he loved.”

Spence is survived by his mother, Nona Louise Frye Spence; sister,Catherine Louise Spence Sokora and husband Thomas Joseph Sokora; brother,James StephenSpenceand wife Mon-

the transformation of the former school into aﬁeld station.

“Wewill probably keep asigniﬁcant portion of the lodging there at thehigh school primarilytohouse researchers, visiting researchers who want to come in from around the world,”hestated. Hebert, anative of VermilionParish, is particularly excited about the research opportunities it will afford, noting that it aligns with ongoing efforts related to coastal erosion. “This is justa great opportunityfor us right in themix of coastal erosionresearch,which

ica Cecilia Guerra Gomez Spence. He is also survived by his wife, KimberlyDavidson Spence; and children Rebekah Lynne Spence, Arthur Hartie Spence IIIand wife Anna Blake Spence, Tanner Girard Spence and wife Meredith Avery Spence, Hyder Travis Spence and wife Anna Katherine Spence.

Email Kristin Askelson at kaskelson@theadvocate. com.

we’re very interestedindoing,” he said.

Email StephenMarcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY TUESDAY,AUG. 5, 2025 PICK 3: 3-6-9 PICK 4: 7-2-5-2 PICK 5: 3-5-6-1-9 MEGA MILLIONS: 12-27-42-59-65

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRADKEMP

of Coffeeweed Cottage, has announced the shop

PHOTO PROVIDEDByDARREN LOMBARD Orleans ParishClerkofCourtDarren Lombard and staff searchfor official records in alandfill on Tuesday

Murrill

SPORTS

Roster forecast

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The ﬁrst leg of training camp for the Saints is done.

The Saints will traveltoCaliforniafor thenext part of campWednesday and will be out west until Aug. 15. The team will train once again at UC Irvine, with its Sunday preseason opener against theLos Angeles Chargers on deck.

With 11 practices inthe books, and a shift out west coming,let’stake amoment to map out a53-man roster now that we

have plenty of information available Quarterback(3)

SpencerRattler,Tyler Shough andJakeHaener: All three quarterbacks areinthe mixfor thestarting job, with Rattler having the strongest camp of the trio. Each onehas proven worthy of aroster spot.

Runningback(4)

Alvin Kamara,Clyde Edwards-Helaire,DevinNeal, Velus Jones: No,Kendre Miller isn’tonthis list.Asofnow,the third-year running back hasbeentoo inconsistent through

nine practices andhe’sbeen outshone by several other backs. Maybe the Saints retain him because of hisoverall talent, but at this point, it should no longer be considered asurprise if New Orleans endsup moving on Running back has also been acompetitive positionbattlefor New Orleans, and Joneshas done anicejob of creating an opportunity.Hehas home-run caliber speed —and theSaints could use more of that. He also provides special teams

BY TERESAM.WALKER AP pro football writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Impressive and fantastic are acouple of the words that have been used to describeTennessee quarterback Cam Ward as the No. 1-overall pickinApril’sdraft takes over as thestarter for afranchise that won just three games last season. Yes, the preseason means many rookies will be surrounded by the hype that made them top draft picks, even if somemight be tagged already as potential bustssoon to be forgotten. Ward isn’tthe only one being watched closely to see how his ﬁrst NFL season turns out. Travis Hunter will have to

showhereally can play wide receiver andcornerback in the NFL, just like he did in winning the Heisman TrophyatColorado.The Las VegasRaiderscertainly hope AshtonJeanty runs through defenses like he did at BoiseState.

Abdul Carter won’thave to carry theNew York Giants’ pass rush by himself. Then there’sShedeur Sanders, who was projected to be aﬁrstround selection but who wasn’t taken until thefifth round by Cleveland. After his draft slide, everybody will be monitoring what Sandersdoesall season long. Here’sa closer look at some

Junior slated to start at critical OL spot

BY KEVINFOOTE Staff writer

Bryant Williams isn’tfooling

himself

He knows what UL’s coaching staff and fans are expecting out of him this season.

The 6-foot-7, 329-pound offensivetackle played in 12 games last season and started three.

It’stimefor himtobeananchoratleft tackle for theRagin’ Cajuns and he knows it.

“I’ve heard alot about hyping the offseasonfor me and theexpectations formetogointothe season,” Williams said. “I got to go into this year just with all the

conﬁdence and,you know,being able to haveareally,really big year.”

As last season progressed, Williams shifted from the right side to the left, depending on health and availability

“Conﬁdence-wise, it was what

Ineeded to grow,” Williams said.

“As the season grew,I started getting moreconﬁdence, switchingalmost every other game.”

Plans are forWilliams to start at left tacklethisseason, buthe’s prepared for whatever is asked of him.

“It wasn’tasdifﬁcult as Iwas thinking it was going to be. It wasn’ttough,but it was kind of uncomfortable sometimes Mainly being (at left tackle) this season is going to help me alot.

The LSU Tigers have reached the quarter pole of preparations fortheir blockbuster Aug. 30 season opener at Clemson, scheduled to go through their seventh day of practice on Wednesday (no media access). For some reason, college football has never had ahigh school jamboree-like exhibition game, and certainly no slate of preseason games like the Saints will embark on Sunday against the Chargers. The task is to figure out how to be the best you can be foranabrupt opening test. In LSU’s case, atest to see if the Tigers have what it takes to beat afellow top-10 opponent on the road and snap an interminable five-gamelosing skid in openers. How ready does LSU look to do that at this point? Not at all ready,but the Tigers don’thave to be. They have to build to apoint, not be there the first weekofAugust.

“These are the days Ineed to develop our football team,” coach Brian Kelly said after Tuesday’spractice. There are any number of things to say about the Tigers at this point of preseason camp. Here are ﬁve observations about what’sgoing on at LSU on the ﬁeld:

Nuss on point

It maybeunfair to quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to makethis kind of comparison, but it certainly is backed up by someimpressive evidence: right from the ﬁrst practice, he has reminded me of Joe Burrow in August 2019. Nussmeier has been pinpoint accurate mostofthe time, and perhaps just as importantly has looked to have great chemistry with his squadron of receivers.

Not every momenthas been perfect. Kelly described Monday how Nussmeier got “baited” into throwing an interception to Harold Perkins when the latter drifted back into coverage. And he wasbent awkwardly as he wentdown under pass rush Tuesday (a no-no, even in full contact drills) in aswallow-the-whistle momentfor everyone concerned with LSU football. Nussmeier immediately got up and was ﬁne, but it served as areminder that in 2025 the Tigers will go as faras No. 13’sright arm will take them

Backupsneed work

That’sbecause backup quarterbacks Michael VanBuren (a transfer from Mississippi State) and Colin Hurley need work. Both have been highly hit and miss in their drills in practice, though VanBuren, particularly,shows good running ability.Maybe LSU could scrape out awin should Nussmeier get hurt at somepoint with VanBuren or Hurley in the right circumstances, but it looks like abig if right now

Like oldtimes

Speaking of blasts from the past, Perkins has showninpractice the “See ball, crush ball carrier” Perkins he was as afreshman in 2022. Playing LSU’s Star position (a hybrid between safety and linebacker), one play he’sastanding rush end, another he’sdropping into coverage, yet another he’smaking atackle in intermediate space at the boundary After amostly ineffective 2023 and amostly injured 2024, Iwant to see Perkins be the disruptive, playmaking force he once wasinareal game.

That’saway’soff, of course, but the good newsishehas showngreat change of direction and speed in his ﬁrst action of any kind after tearing his ACL 11 months ago against UCLA. He’sdeﬁnitely looked moreeffective than linebacker Whit Weeks, whostill appears to be ramping up from the broken ankle he suffered in December in the Texas Bowl.

Allabout theO-line

At this point, it certainly appears

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saintsrunning backKendre Miller carries the ball during training

in Metairie. Miller’s inconsistent playduring training camp couldput his roster spot in jeopardy.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward looks to passduring practice atthe team’straining camp on July30 in Nashville, Tenn.

Scott Rabalais

LSU’s SEC schedule now set

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

The Southeastern Conference

released the dates for LSU men’s basketball’s conference schedule on Wednesday Conference play begins Jan. 3 and concludes March 7, which will be referred to as “Rivalry Saturday.” This will be a day when several traditional league rivalries compete, including LSU-Texas A&M.

The SEC Tournament will be March 11-15 in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena. LSU went 14-18 overall and 3-15 in the SEC last season. Its three victories came against Arkansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina. It won those games by four, three and 14 points.

The Tigers didn’t beat any team in the top nine of the SEC standings and two of their wins were against teams with the four worst conference records.

LSU has announced two nonconference games so far It will play one contest at Boston College in December and a neutralsite game against Drake in November in the Emerald Coast Classic basketball tournament.

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate com

LSU MEN’S SCHEDULE

LSU women’s schedule has another homecoming

Tigers will play near Morrow’s Ga. hometown

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball team has played a nonconference game in Angel Reese’s hometown Baltimore, Aneesah Morrow’s hometown Chicago and Mikaylah Williams’ hometown Bossier City Now the Tigers are set for a trip to Flau’jae Johnson’s old stomping grounds.

On Nov 9, LSU will face Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Georgia — a city that sits just more than 50 miles west of Johnson’s hometown Savannah The game is one of 13 nonconference contests on the Tigers’ 2025-2026 schedule, the entirety of which was revealed on Tuesday

The marquee matchup on LSU’s nonconference slate this season is an ACC/SEC challenge game against Duke at Duke That game is set for Dec. 4.

Once the calendar ﬂips to 2026, the Tigers will play 16 games against all 15 of its Southeastern Conference opponents. This year, their annual home-andhome matchup is with Texas, last season’s league runner-up.

Reigning league champion

South Carolina is set to visit the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Johnson, an All-American and projected first-round WNBA draft pick, could’ve declared for the 2025 WNBA draft, but decided instead to return to LSU for her senior season.

She’s now the only scholarship player left from the team that won the program’s ﬁrst national championship in 2023.

As a junior, Johnson scored a career-high 18.6 points per game while shooting 47% from the ﬁeld and 38% from 3-point range.

She also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night.

U.S. Open singles gets record $5 million in ’25 Prize money at the U.S. Open will rise to nearly $85 million across all competitions this year including a record $5 million each to the women’s and men’s singles champions, and total player compensation is jumping 20% to $90 million, the most in tennis history Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff and 2024 U.S. Open champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner were among 20 players who sent a letter to four Grand Slam events in March seeking more prize money The U.S. Tennis Association announced the payouts Wednesday for the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, which begins with the new mixed doubles event and its $1 million top check on Aug. 19-20. Singles competition starts on a Sunday — Aug. 24 — as those brackets expand from 14 days to 15.

Tennis player Svitolina faces online hate post-loss

Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots. Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarterﬁnals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday night, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram.

One abuser hoped that Russia “kills all you (expletive) Ukrainians.”

The abuse was directed at her while other racial slurs also targeted her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monﬁls, who is Black.

Pawol becomes MLB’s first female umpire Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to umpire in Major League Baseball when she works games this weekend between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves on Sunday Pawol, a 48-year-old from New Jersey, worked spring training games in 2024 and this year She will become the ﬁfth umpire to debut this year

MLB’s move comes 28 years after the gender barrier for game officials was broken in the NBA, 10 years after the NFL hired its first full-time woman official and three years after the men’s soccer World Cup employed a female referee. Pawol in 2024 became the first woman to umpire big league spring training games since Ria Cortesio in 2007.

Gurriel makes history, crushing 103.9 mph pitch

By The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Scottie Schefﬂer

returned home from his British Open victory, made a few brief appearances in New York and used the claret jug to get 15-month-old son Bennett into the men’s grill at Royal Oaks in Dallas He is rested. The key for Schefﬂer, regardless of the tournament, is to be ready But this is the time of the year, even with $15 million at stake, not to be grinding on the range.

“At this point in the year, that extra practice is maybe only going to be draining for me a little bit, and that’s something that I’ve learned to manage as my career has gone on,” Schefﬂer said Wednesday after his pro-am round in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The tournament at TPC Southwind is the start of three straight FedEx Cup playoff events that culminate with the FedEx Cup title to whoever wins the Tour Championship. In a revamped postseason, the $25 million to the winner has been split up into three parts. Schefﬂer already picked up $10 million for leading the FedEx Cup in the regular season (along with $8 million from the Comcast Business Top 10 bonus program).

The FedEx Cup leader after the BMW Championship next week gets $5 million, and the winner of the Tour Championship all 30 players start from scratch this time gets $10 million.

The TPC Southwind is where

Schefﬂer last missed a cut in 2022

(when the postseason was for the top 125 players, not the top 70).

This year he comes to the postseason off a double major season — the PGA Championship and the British Open — and has ﬁnished in the top 10 in his last 11 tournaments dating to March.

It’s safe to say his game is in reasonably good shape. Now it’s about conserving energy for August stops in Memphis, Baltimore and Atlanta.

“I would say my prep week last week deﬁnitely looked a bit different than it would have looked before the Scottish Open (in July) and deﬁnitely looked a little bit different than it would have looked if you go back to the beginning of the year when I was coming off injury,” he said.

“So making sure I’m rested, ready to play,” he said. “My game is in a good spot, and I feel like some extra practice at this point in the year can almost be detrimental in terms of just physical and mental fatigue.”

Schefﬂer stopped in New York for a brief appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show and to attend the Happy Gilmore 2 premier A lot of time included that silver claret jug he picked up from a dominant victory at Royal Portrush.

“We had a party two weeks ago at home with some of our friends, and everybody got to drink out of it. It was a lot of fun,” Schefﬂer said.

He also has brought golf’s oldest trophy to his home course at Royal Oaks — Justin Leonard brought the claret jug to the course when he won the Open in 1997 and there was one time he went with

just his son. “He whacked some golf balls around, and we hung out for a bit,” Schefﬂer said “I took him to the 19th hole with me, and I got some pretty funny pictures with Bennett sitting in the 19th hole at the men’s only grill where you’ve got to be I think you’ve got to be 19 to get in there, but I ﬁgured if we bring

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel crushed a 103.9 mph fastball from San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller into the left-field seats for a two-run homer in the eighth inning, tying the game at 5-all. It was the fastest pitch hit for a homer since MLB started pitch tracking in 2008. It was part of a two-homer night for Gurriel. The veteran also hit a two-run shot in the first inning. The hard-throwing Miller was acquired from the Athletics at last week’s trade deadline. He routinely throws over 100 mph and hit 104.2 mph with his hardest pitch on Tuesday night. The Padres won the game 10-5 in 11 innings.

Browns rookie Sanders to start in preseason opener

Rookie Shedeur Sanders will start Cleveland’s preseason opener Friday night against the Carolina Panthers.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Tyler Huntley, who signed with team earlier this week, is also expected to play if he can get up to speed with the playbook. Joe Flacco, Cleveland’s projected starting quarterback this season, is healthy but will not play Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel will sit out while rehabbing from injuries. However, the Browns communications staff conﬁrmed later that Sanders will start.

The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Sanders fell to the fifth round of the NFL draft after winning the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award. Sanders remains fourth on the Browns’ depth chart.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Flau’Jae Johnson celebrates following the win over San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament on March 22 at the PMAC.

SAINTS

value as a gunner, which gives him the edge over undrafted free agent Marcus Yarns and others. Neal’s multi-week hamstring injury could affect his spot, but that’s not an automatic disqualiﬁcation.

Wide receiver (6)

Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks, Cedrick Wilson, Mason Tipton, Dante Pettis: Outside of Olave and Shaheed, this unit could use a boost Cooks has made an impact as a leader in the room, but he’s having a quiet camp from a production standpoint. His spot should still be safe. The last three spots are up for grabs, but of them, Tipton has been a training camp all-star for the second straight year That gives him an edge over 2024 fifth-rounder Bub Means, whose presence has hardly been felt in practice. Pencil in Pettis as this team’s punt returner, by the way

Offensive line (9)

Kelvin Banks, Trevor Penning Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Taliese Fuaga, Landon Young, Dillion Radunz, Will Clapp, Shane Lemieux:

The starters have been fine. It’s the depth that’s a concern. Clapp and third-stringer Kyle Hergel have had multiple bad snaps, and the issue doesn’t seem to be going away Young is back at swing tackle after mainly playing guard last year, but would he see the ﬁeld if an injury occurred to either Banks or Fuaga? The Saints have the option of inserting Radunz at guard and moving Penning back to tackle if need be, though we haven’t seen this combination in camp.

Tight end (3)

Juwan Johnson, Jack Stoll, Moliki Matavao: Coach Kellen Moore said Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau will travel to California with the Saints, but neither tight end has yet to practice as they recover from knee injuries. If either can be ready in time for the regular season, they’ll certainly be on this roster If neither is ready, they’ll open the year on Physically Unable to Perform list and have to miss at least four games. But we’re in wait-and-see mode, leaving only three tight ends for this projection

Edge rusher (4)

Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cam Jordan, Isaiah Foskey

Defensive tackle (6)

Bryan Bresee, Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd, Vernon Broughton, Khalen Saunders,JonahWilliams: Let’s start with Foskey Much of the same logic about

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave runs after a catch at the team’s practice facility in Metairie on Saturday.

Miller can be applied to Foskey, who has been invisible for much of camp But would the Saints really give up on both 2023 picks in one offseason? That’s tough to see, so for now, Foskey makes it — even if Chris Rumph and undrafted free agent Jasheen Davis have looked more impressive. The interior of the defensive line, meanwhile, remains just as crowded. Jonathan Bullard’s insertion in the group added another layer, but the veteran lately has appeared to work with the second and third string than the starters. There are still questions about whether the Saints keep both Shepherd and Saunders, but Shepherd’s presence with the starters has been noticeable of late and Saunders is probably needed to play nose tackle if Godchaux gets hurt.

Linebacker (5)

Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Danny Stutsman, Nephi Sewell, D’Marco Jackson: One of the more surprising elements of camp is how many first-team reps that Stutsman has gotten as a fourth-round pick. Managing Davis’ workload factors into that, but the rookie’s opportunities are also reﬂective of how quickly he’s gotten himself up to speed. As for the last two spots, Sewell and Jackson appear to be ahead of the rest of the group, including second-year linebacker Jaylan Ford.

Cornerback (4)

Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor, Isaac Yiadom, Quincy Riley

Safety (6)

Justin Reid, Julian Blackmon, Jordan Howden, Jonas Sanker, Terrell Burgess, J.T Gray: Only four cornerbacks may appear light, but realize that Burgess can be the backup nickel in the event Taylor has to miss time. Burgess has had a solid camp and he even rotated in with the ﬁrst team during Sunday’s long scrimmage. That gives him a narrow edge over Ugo Amadi, who also has been used in several spots.

Specialists (3)

Blake Grupe, Zach Wood and Kai Kroeger: Given how the quarterbacks are listed, it was mildly surprising the Saints didn’t do the same bit with their three-man punting battle. The situation became murkier Wednesday when the Saints waived incumbent Matthew Hayball, who was listed as the starter That leaves James Burnip and Kai Kroeger to battle for the job.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Continued from page 1C

“But if there was ever a time (right tackle) George (Jackson) were to go down and they need somebody else to go in to pull down the right side, I would be willing to switch back to right. That’s how comfortable I am right now.” Coach Michael Desormeaux sees a player ready for the challenge.

“It’s time to turn the page,” he said.

“There’s there’s no plan B Like, you got to go and do it, and Bryant has really embraced it He played really well for us last year when he played. The big thing is everyone’s got different things to work on.” For Williams, it’s all about the consistency of his stance. He spent time during the offseason in Frisco, Texas, focusing on adjusting his stance to steady his overall performance under guru Duke Manyweather

“I had a wide stance last year, not the stance that you would want to have,” Williams said. “We went over some stuff and he said the main thing is the stance. I fixed that, and I feel like, you know, now this year, it’s like kind of different for me with the stance It’s like, not being as wide, not trying to, you know, overstep things.” Desormeaux said other technical aspects are important as well for Williams.

“The key to winning in the

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

LSU’s coaches have locked in on the following starting lineup with the offensive line: Tyree Adams at left tackle, former center DJ Chester at left guard, Virginia Tech transfer Braelin Moore at center, Josh Thompson at right guard and Weston Davis at right tackle. Obviously this could change and the Tigers do have three to four other players who they could throw into the starting ﬁve. But barring injury this looks like the unit. How has this group looked? There’s room for improvement, for sure. Running backs have

ROOKIES

Continued from page 1C

of the NFL rookies to watch this season:

Cam Ward

The Titans tried to temper expectations for the rookie during the offseason. They embraced giving him as much work as possible and listed him as the starter to start the preseason with Will Levis’ decision to have seasonending shoulder surgery Ward has shown the ability to adapt quickly after playing at three different colleges. He set a Division I record with 158 touchdown passes in his career He threw for 18,184 yards during his college career while running for 473 yards and 20 more TDs. He became an AP All-American at Miami.

Titans coach Brian Callahan, who worked with Joe Burrow as a rookie in Cincinnati as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator, has studied how other top picks fared in their rookie seasons at quarterback, hoping to help Ward avoid missteps.

found some holes and the protection of Nussmeier has been mostly good, but with four new starters the cohesiveness is clearly not there yet. There is still time for that, but LSU had better be up to the task. Clemson throws a pair of preseason All-ACC defensive lineman at LSU in end TJ Parker and tackle Peter Woods. It isn’t overstating things to say LSU’s season rests on how well the offensive line plays. Quarterback and skill positions will be potent. Defense is deeper and appears to be improved. If the line can open holes for runners and protect Nussmeier, the Tigers can be a CFP contender If not, another 8-4 season is not out of the question.

Punting needs to improve

After ranking a wobbly 109th in net punting in 2024 (36.6 yards per kick), the Tigers said goodbye to Peyton Todd and brought in transfer Grant Chadwick from Middle Tennessee. He had a net punting average of 40.8 yards per kick at MTSU, 29th nationally Chadwick’s kicks we’ve seen (admittedly a small sample size)

trenches at the point of attack hands win. As much length as he has, just continue to improve on all those things. The fun thing about Bryant is he really wants to get better So we’re talking to him every day “Hey hand placement,’ and ‘start in a low stance.’ — every time.”

The other boost Wiliams said will help him is the challenge his own defense gave him in the spring.

“And you know, got kind of knocked down a little bit going against guys like (Jordan Lawson) and Cam Whitfield. They’re going to help me a lot with my new stance.

“I’m going to be facing a lot of good pass rushers this year at Missouri, Marshall and JMU, but I feel like those guys (Lawson, Whitﬁeld) are the best in the Sun Belt. I’m really excited to have battles with them throughout camp.”

Part of the moving around last season was playing alongside veteran guard Kaden Moreau, who is expected to play near him at left guard.

“With Kaden, we both got here in 2022 and we’ve grown as friends and teammates,” Williams said “We had a really good spring together We’re very talkative when there like games, blitzes from the outside. We have good communication.

“Kaden’s a veteran like me. He knows everything, so moving is easier for him too.”

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com

“There’s really no stone unturned when it comes to getting a rookie quarterback ready,” Callahan said. “And there’s nowhere I won’t look for potential edges or advice or anything like that. So it’s been a fun process for sure.”

Travis Hunter

Yes, Jacksonville plans to give the man they traded up to select at No 2 overall a chance to play both offense and defense in the NFL. The Jaguars have Hunter listed as a starting wide receiver and a backup cornerback to start the preseason.

Hunter is getting plenty of work with the offense, where the Jaguars want Hunter to help receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Jacksonville also is making sure Hunter gets practice time on defense. Hunter did join Charles Woodson (1997) as the only fulltime defensive players to win the Heisman Trophy The Jags have packages for the rookie to contribute defensively.

“He’s still learning,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said.

Ashton Jeanty

The Raiders ﬁnished last in the NFL in 2024 by managing just 79.8 yards rushing per game. That’s why they selected Jeanty at No. 6 overall and made him the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley was taken No. 2 overall in 2018 by the Giants. Jeanty’s production easily won over the Raiders, overcoming concerns about his size at 5-foot8 and 208 pounds. Jeanty led the nation by rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 TDs last season, averaging 7.0 yards on 374 carries.

He just missed Barry Sanders’ college record set in 1988 by 27 yards and ﬁnished second to Hunter in the Heisman voting. Now Jeanty just has to prove he can help the Raiders run in the AFC West.

Abdul Carter Unlike Ward, who got Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon’s permission to wear his No. 1, Carter was sacked by Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor in his quest to wear No. 56 even though he came to the Giants after 12 sacks at Penn State and after leading the nation with 23 1/2

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Running backs coach Frank Wilson talks with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, center, and running back Caden Durham during Tuesday’s practice.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOHN LOCHER Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty participates during a practice on June 4 in Henderson, Nev.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter makes a reception during the team’s rookie minicamp on May 10 in Jacksonville, Fla.

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN MCCUSKER

Date Opponent

PREP FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

CECILIA

7Open

Home games in caps

PAST FIVE YEARS

2024: 12-3 (state champions)

2023: 12-2(staterunner-up)

2022: 8-4

2021: 10-3

2020: 7-2

PROJECTEDSTARTERS

Offense

WR Jermaine Davis (5-7, 175,Sr.)*

WR Jayden Lewis (6-4, 185, Sr.)

WR MalikeJoseph (5-10, 175,Sr.)

OT EthanJournet (6-2, 295, Jr.)*

OG JabarikSebille (5-10, 210,Sr.)

CJames Deluna (5-8, 180, So.)

OG Davion Charles (5’6, 185, Jr)

OT Jacob Briscoe (5-8, 195,Sr.)

QB Collin Dore (5-6, 185, Sr.)

RB Deondre Briscoe (6-0, 175, Jr.)

RB Braylon Calais (6-4, 195, Jr.)* Defense

DE Jace Knott (5-7, 175, Sr.)*

DE Eli Williams (5-8, 185, Sr.)

NG Kennan Batiste (6-0, 200, Jr.)*

LB Conner Helaire (6-3, 200,Sr.)*

LB Colton Faulk (5-9, 185, Sr.)*

LB Braylon Jones (6-2, 210,Sr.)*

LB Brandon Lejeune (5-8, 175,Jr.)

CB Dakelian Chevalier (6-0,175,Sr.)

CB DakoreyLiving (6-1, 185, Jr.)

SS DemarcusBabineaux (5-9, 175,Jr.)*

SS Franky Frank (5-10, 175,Jr.)*

*Returning starter

COACHES

Head coach: Cody Champagne, first year Assistant coaches: Matthew Autrey(OL),Alphonso Williams (WR), KalebCarter (WR), Jason Faulk (DC), Logan Duplechien (DL), Cade Poirier(DB).

Cecilia defensivestandouts include,

Keenan

Braylon

What we know

Cecilia’s strength —atleast early on —will be its defense where it returns six starters. In addition to those returnees headlined by inside linebacker BraylonJones and safety

Franky Frank,the Bulldogs also have several underclassmenwho received playingtime for last season’sDivisionIInonselect state championshipteam

“Wehavealot of those guysthat played last year that were sophomores and some were juniors,”said first-year coachCody Champagne, whoreplaced DennisSkains. “So,those guysare coming back.

Champagne saidplayingexperience and familiarity with the defensivescheme is paramount for the Bulldogs thisyear.

“This is alot of our players’ third year in thekindofdefense we have been playing,” Champagnesaid.“The system we play, alot of the kids have been playing in it since they were freshmen.Theyare getting really good at what we do.”

While the Bulldogs lost talented players likeall-everything quarterback Diesel Solari, athleteEllis Stewartand defensiveback

Brent Gordon, nowatUL, wholed the team in tackles and interceptions, Champagnes said thecupboard isn’tbare.

“Offensively,westill have someskilled guys whoplayedlast year that are goingtobe back,”hesaid.“Wehavesomedynamic guys on thatside of the ball that have alot of experience.

“But if we’retalking about overall team

strength, Ithink defense is goingtobea big strengthfor us —especially earlyinthe season. What we don’tknow

With game-changers likeSolari and Stewart gone and onlyfour returning starters back on offense, will the Bulldogs be able to replicate the explosiveness they’verecently displayed?

The Bulldogs have weapons in do-itallathlete BraylonCalais, whowill play quarterbackand running back, quarterback Collin Dore and receiver Jermaine Davis. Whether it is the running game or the passing game,the Bulldogs will have to developanoffensive linethat has only one returning starter —right tackle Ethan Journet.

“Thebig question mark for us offensive-wise is that we have one returning O-lineman,” Champagne said.“We’re working on that group gelling and that could takealittle while.”

And while theyneed timetocome together, Champagne saidhelikes the guys vying for starting jobs along the offensive front “Jabarik (Sebille) playedsome keyroles for us last year,” Champagne said.“So, technically youcouldsay youhavetwo linemen.But you have some young guysstepping in at center JamesDeluna, whoI think is going to be really good.

Howwesee it

Offensive lineplaywill decide howgood the Bulldogs are.Iftheyare able to rebuild the offensive line, there is no reason theBulldogs can’tbeaplayoff contender EricNarcisse

SCOREBOARD

AmericanLeague leaders BATTING Judge, New York, .339; Peña, Houston, .322; Aranda, TampaBay 316; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, .312;Kirk, Toronto, .305; Bichette, Toronto, .301; M.Garcia, Kansas City 300;V.Guerrero,Toronto, .296; J.Ramírez, Cleveland, .296; Springer,Toronto, .291. RUNS Judge, New York, 90;V.Guerrero Toronto, 79; Raleigh, Seattle, 73;J.Ramírez, Cleveland, 73; Ju.Rodríguez,Seattle, 72; Rooker,Athletics,72; Witt, Kansas City,70; Buxton, Minnesota, 68;Neto, LosAngeles 68; Springer, Toronto, 66 RBIS Raleigh, Seattle, 88;Judge, New York, 85; Ward,Los Angeles, 84; Greene, Detroit, 84; Bichette, Toronto, 78; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 76; Story,Boston, 72;Pasquantino, Kansas City,67; Adell, LosAngeles,66; Bellinger, New York, 66; Perez, Kansas City, 66; Y.Díaz, TampaBay,66; Rooker,Athletics, 66 HITS Bichette, Toronto, 145; Judge, New York, 130; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 128;Witt, Kansas City,128;M.Garcia, Kansas City,125; J.Ramírez, Cleveland, 124; Rooker,Athletics, 123; Y.Díaz, TampaBay,122; Kwan, Cleveland, 122; Ja.Duran, Boston, 120. DOUBLES Witt, Kansas City, 37;Bichette, Toronto, 34; Ja.Duran, Boston, 31;M.Garcia, Kansas City,29; Perez, Kansas City,28; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 26;Rooker,Athletics, 26; Barger,Toronto, 25;Goldschmidt, New York, 25; Henderson, Baltimore, 25;India, Kansas City,25; M.Vargas, Chicago, 25; Ward,Los Angeles, 25. TRIPLES Ja.Duran, Boston, 12;McKinstry, Detroit, 8; Bellinger,New York, 5; M.Garcia, Kansas City,5;Buxton, Minnesota, 4; Henderson, Baltimore, 4; Isbel,Kansas City,4; Volpe, New York, 4; Witt, Kansas City,4;11 tied at 3. HOME RUNS Raleigh, Seattle, 42;Judge, New York, 37; Caminero, TampaBay,30; Ward,Los Angeles, 26; Greene, Detroit, 26; Torkelson, Detroit, 24;Kurtz,Athletics, 23; Buxton, Minnesota, 23;Adell, LosAngeles, 23; J.Ramírez, Cleveland, 23;Rooker,Athletics, 23. STOLEN BASES Caballero, New York, 35; J.Ramírez, Cleveland, 32;Simpson, Tampa Bay, 32; Robert, Chicago, 29;Witt, Kansas City,29; Arozarena, Seattle, 21; Neto, LosAngeles, 21; Ju.Rodríguez,Seattle, 21;M.Garcia, Kansas City,20; J.Domínguez,New York, 19; Story,Boston, 19. PITCHING Crochet, Boston, 13-4; Fried, New York, 12-4; Skubal,Detroit, 11-3; Valdez, Houston, 11-5;Bassitt, Toronto, 11-5; Rodón, New York, 11-7; Eovaldi, Texas, 10-3; deGrom, Texas, 10-4; Mize, Detroit, 10-4; Ryan, Minnesota, 10-5. ERA Skubal, Detroit, 2.17; Crochet, Boston, 2.25; H.Brown, Houston, 2.47; Bubic,Kansas City,2.55; Fried, New York, 2.78; deGrom, Texas, 2.80; Ryan, Minnesota, 2.83; Valdez, Houston, 2.83; Woo, Seattle, 3.02; Bello, Boston, 3.03. STRIKEOUTS Crochet, Boston, 183; Skubal, Detroit, 181; Rodón, New York, 159; H.Brown, Houston, 155; Flaherty,Detroit, 147; Valdez, Houston, 144; Ryan, Minnesota, 141; Kikuchi, LosAngeles,139;Woo, Seattle, 136; Gausman, Toronto, 135;deGrom, Texas, 135. National League Leaders BATTING F.Freeman, LosAngeles, .307; Machado, San Diego, .302; Frelick, Milwaukee, .296; Arraez, San Diego, .294; Stowers

BRAYLON CALAIS

RB,6-4, 195, JR.

Calais is an absolute playmakerwho wants the football in his hands with the game on the line.A gamechanger and withhis great combination of size,speed and vision, the junior is a threat to score everytime he touchesthe ball.

JERMAINEDAVIS

WR,5-7, 175, SR

Davis, whohas playedsince his sophomore season, is primedfor abreakout season. Equippedwith great hands, Davisiselusiveand has proventobeagreat route runner. He has the speed to takethe top offthe defense and is more than capable of making plays in traffic.

JAYDEN LEWIS

WR,6-4, 185, SR

Lewis is one of the most improvedplayers on the Bulldogs’ team.Hehas abig bodyand has improvedhis ability to getoff the line of scrimmage.Heruns well and because of his size is able to win those 50-50 balls down the field.

BRAYLON JONES

LB,6-2, 210, SR. Jones, arguably the toughest playeronthe team, is the force of the Bulldogs’ defense. He has good sideline-to-sideline speed, is astrong tacklerand has a nose for finding the ball.

FRANKYFRANK

DB,5-10, 175, JR. Frank, whostarredat cornerback last year,will move to safetythis season. Frank is aconfident defender whohas the ability to come up and make tacklesagainst the runand the speed and ball skills to force turnovers in coverage.

Miami 293; Hoerner, Chicago, .292; Naylor, Seattle, .292; Edwards, Miami, .291; K.Marte, Arizona, .287; T.Turner, Philadelphia,.284. RUNS Ohtani, LosAngeles, 106; E.DeLa Cruz,Cincinnati,80; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 79; Tatis, SanDiego, 79; J.Soto, New York, 78; Tucker,Chicago, 75; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 74; Lindor, NewYork, 74; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 73; Carroll, Arizona 71; Chourio, Milwaukee, 71. RBIS Schwarber, Philadelphia, 94; Alonso, New York, 91; E.Suárez, Seattle, 87; Suzuki, Chicago, 84;Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 78; Perdomo, Arizona, 75; Ohtani,Los Angeles, 75; Yelich, Milwaukee, 74; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati,73; Machado, SanDiego, 72. HITS Machado, San Diego, 133; T.Turner, Philadelphia,132; Arraez, San Diego, 129; Chourio, Milwaukee, 123; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati,123; Hoerner, Chicago, 122; Ohtani, LosAngeles,122; Ramos, SanFrancisco 120; F.Freeman, LosAngeles, 118; CrowArmstrong, Chicago, 115; Donovan, St.Louis, 115; Pages,Los Angeles, 115; Perdomo, Arizona, 115. DOUBLES Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 31; Chourio, Milwaukee, 29; Wills.Contreras, St. Louis,29; F.Freeman, LosAngeles,29; Machado, San Diego, 29; Alonso, New York, 27; J.Lee, San Francisco,27; Olson, Atlanta, 27; Abrams, Washington, 25; Harper, Philadelphia, 25; Suzuki, Chicago, 25. TRIPLES Carroll, Arizona, 14; J.Lee, San Francisco,9;Ohtani,Los Angeles, 7; Harris, Atlanta, 6; Moniak,Colorado, 6; J.Beck, Colorado, 5; 12 tied at 4. HOME RUNS Schwarber, Philadelphia, 40; Ohtani, LosAngeles, 39; E.Suárez, Seattle, 36; Suzuki, Chicago, 27; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 27;J.Soto, NewYork,26; Stowers Miami,25; Alonso, New York,25; Wood, Washington, 24; Goodman, Colorado, 22; Carroll, Arizona, 22. STOLEN BASES— On.Cruz, Pittsburgh, 34; E.De La Cruz,Cincinnati,30; CrowArmstrong, Chicago, 29; V.Scott, St.Louis, 29; Abrams, Washington, 26; T.Turner, Philadelphia, 25; Tucker,Chicago, 23; Tatis, San Diego, 22; Turang, Milwaukee, 20; Hoerner, Chicago, 19 PITCHING F.Peralta,Milwaukee, 13-5; Priester,Milwaukee, 11-2; Pivetta,San Diego, 11-3; Boyd,Chicago, 11-4; Pfaadt, Arizona, 11-7; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia, 10-3; Gray,St. Louis, 10-5; Luzardo, Philadelphia, 10-5; Yamamoto, LosAngeles, 10-7; Webb, San Francisco, 10-8. ERA Skenes, Pittsburgh, 2.02; Abbott, Cincinnati,2.34; Boyd,Chicago, 2.34; C.Sánchez, Philadelphia,2.40; Yamamoto, LosAngeles 2.51; Wheeler, Philadelphia, 2.64; Pivetta, San Diego, 2.73; Ray, San Francisco,2.85; Peterson, New York,2.98; F.Peralta, Milwaukee, 3.03. STRIKEOUTS Wheeler, Philadelphia,182; Webb, San Francisco,165; Cease,San Diego, 162; Skenes, Pittsburgh, 154; Gore, Washington, 148; Ray, San Francisco,148; Luzardo, Philadelphia,147; C.Sánchez,Philadelphia, 145; Gray,St. Louis, 141; F.Peralta,Milwaukee, 141. Tennis

ATPWorld Tour National Bank Open At SobeysStadium; Toronto Purse: $9,193,540 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Men’sdoubles Semiﬁnals Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury (6), Britain

EricNarcisse

Davis

Lewis

Calais

STAFF PHOTO By ERIC NARCISSE

standing from left, Conner Helaire, Colton Faulk,

Jones and

Batiste. Kneeling from left are Franky Frank and JaceKnott.

Jones

Frank

Potato salad recipe perfect forpicnics

BY BETH DOOLEY

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Potato salad, asignature summer dish, is defined byits maker My grandmother’ssalad was substantially swathed in mayo, while aGerman aunt crowned hers with crisped bacon and plenty of dill. My neighbor tosses in olives, tomatoes and peppers for an Italian twist It’sone of the easiest dishes to make, but success depends on afew basic tenets —starting with the right potato. Choose small, firm, waxy potatoes —fingerling, Yukon gold, Yellow Finn or any of those mixed baby potatoes. These all hold theirshape when cooked. Avoid russet potatoes; they’re toofloury and fall apart. Cut the potatoes to the same size in halves or quarters before cooking to be sure they’re done at the same time

Cook the potatoes in boiling water that is as salty as thesea. This ensures the potatoesabsorb the salt early on so you’re not oversalting after they’re done. Don’tcrowd the pot,they need room to bubble away Watch the pot! Start checking after about 10 minutes. The potatoes should be tender, but not too soft and mushy.Insert aknife into the center; if the potato slips off, it’sdone. Drain the potatoes right away,transfer to abowl and, while they’re still hot, sprinkle with the vinegar you’re using in thedressing. This ensures they’ll absorb that snap and zing that gives the salad alift Oncethe potatoes have cooled abit, dress them witha heavy hand. They take in ﬂavors quickly and can become bland. Toss in the other vegetables and herbs after thepotatoes have cooled, so the crisp additions stay crisp. Be sure to tastebefore serving, adding in vinegar,salt and pepper and red pepper ﬂakes as needed. Make the salad early in the day,then enjoy aslice of summer.

Picnic-Perfect

Potato Salad

Serves6to8.Recipe is from Beth Dooley.This light, bright salad reliesonasharp vinaigrette for zing and olives for vigor.Noworries about mayonnaise sitting out in the sun. Make it in the morning so the ﬂavors have achance to marry, and pile on the herbs

2pounds new or waxy potatoes, sliced to be the same size

Salt for the water

¼cup white wine vinegar, divided

1teaspoon Dijon mustard

½cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼cup thinly sliced green onions, white and light green parts

¼cup pitted, sliced green olives

¼cup sliced cherry tomatoes

¼cup diced red or orangebell peppers

½cup fresh spinach, torn

¼cup chopped basil

2tablespoons chopped parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Pinch red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Put the potatoes into apot andadd enough water to cover by 2inches; add plenty of salt. (It should taste briny as thesea.)

2. Set over high heat, bringto aboil, reduce the heat to asimmer andcook until the potatoes are just tender,about 10 minutes. Drain and turn into abowl. Toss the hot potatoes with about 1tablespoon of the vinegar.

3. In asmall bowl, whisk together the remaining vinegar, mustard and oil. When the potatoeshavecooled to roomtemperature,toss in the vinaigrette, then the onions, olives,tomatoes, peppers, spinach, basil and parsley.Season to taste with salt, pepper and red pepper ﬂakes.

4. Allowthe ﬂavors to marry foratleast an hour before serving. Youcan make this ahead, cover and refrigerate overnight, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.

This summer,both of my collegeaged kids moved home. In the time that they were away,Ihad forgottenhow often they eat!

Both my son and my daughter have becomeconﬁdent home cooks and make manyoftheir own meals. But the other day,they wanted tomake a meal to bring to apotluck dinner party. They asked my advice for arecipe that was both inexpensive and tasty enough to share with acrowd.

Isuggested our favorite enchilada recipe. We have madethis enchilada recipe for years, and now my children have added it to their repertoire. The recipe is great to share withcollege students because it fits into tighter budgets and schedules Thedish can feed acrowd or fill a refrigerator with delicious leftovers. Plus, young adultsgain confidence and

Easy SalsaVerde Enchiladas areperfect foraparty or no-brainer weeknightmeal ä See ENCHILADAS, page 6C

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 8. Recipe by Liz Faul.

2cups shredded chicken (from one rotisserie chicken)

1can of black beans, drained (optional)

2jars of salsa verde ¼cup fresh lime juice (4 limes juiced)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Remove themeatfroma rotisseriechickenand cutthe chicken into bite-sizedpieces Setaside in abowl to be used in theenchiladas.

3. Open acan of black beans, drain thecan into acolander and rinse with water.Pourdrained beans into the bowl with the chicken. Mix the beans and chicken together

4. Place alargepan over low heat, pour two cansofsalsa verde sauce, chickenbroth,lime juice, sliced green onions andchopped fresh cilantro.Heat on mediumlowheat, stirfor 5minutes, and turn off the heat

5. Next, pour approximately ½ cup of warmed salsa verde sauceinto the bowl of chicken andbeans. Stir sauce to coat chicken and bean mix. Leave the rest of the salsa mix in the pan.

½cup chicken broth

6green oniontopschopped ¼cup choppedfresh cilantro ½cup sour cream

8(8-10 inch) flourtortillas or corn tortillas

2cups shreddedMonterey Jack cheese or shredded Mexican cheese mix

6. In alarge glass baking dish, place some of the salsa mix to coat the bottom of the dish. Then add about ½ cup of the chicken and bean mixture to each of the tortillasand roll themup. Place tortillas rolled with chicken and beans in the prepared dish.

7. Add the sour cream to the remaining salsa mix in the pan. Stir the sour cream into the salsa mix until smooth.Pourthe creamy salsa mix over the prepared chickenand beantortillas in the baking dish. Topthe dish with the shredded cheese. Cover the dish with tin foil.

8. Placethe baking dishinto the oven and bake at 400 Ffor about20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is completely meltedand slightly browned. If you like the cheese to be golden brown, removethe tin foil for the last 5 minutes.

Garlic shrimp an iconic restaurant dish forthe home

Gambasal Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp), RECIPE 6C

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service(TNS)

Liz Faul

PHOTO

LIZ FAUL

TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday,Aug.7, the 219th day of 2025. There are 146 days left in the year

Todayinhistory On Aug. 7, 1974, French high wire artist Philippe Petit performed an unapproved tightrope walk betweenthe two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, over 1,300 feet above the ground; the event was chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary“Man on Wire.”

Also on this date:

In 1789, the U.S. Department of Warwas established by Congress

In 1942, U.S. and other allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the ﬁrst major allied offensive in the Paciﬁc during World WarII.

In 1960, Côte d’Ivoire gained independence from France.

In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

In 1971, the Apollo 15 moon mission ended successfully as its command module splashed down in the Paciﬁc Ocean.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared the Love

Canal environmentaldisaster in Niagara Falls, N.Y a federal health emergency; it would later top theinitial list of Superfund cleanup sites. In 1989, aplane carrying U.S. Rep.Mickey Leland, DTexas, and15others disappearedoverEthiopia. (The wreckageofthe plane was foundsix days later; there were no survivors.)

In 1990, President George H.W.Bush ordered U.S troops andwarplanes to Saudi Arabiatoguard the oil-rich desert kingdom against apossible invasion by Iraq.

In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S.embassiesinKenya and Tanzaniakilled 224 people, including 12 Americans. In 2007, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the ﬁfthinning of agame against the Washington Nationals, who won, 8-6. In 2012, to avoid apossibledeath penalty,Jared Lee Loughner agreed to spend therest of his life in prison, acceptingthat he went on adeadly shootingrampage at an Arizonapolitical gatheringin2011 that left six peopledead and 13 injured, includingU.S. Rep.Gabby Giffords.

In 2015, Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was spared thedeathpenalty in favor of life in prison after ajury in Centennial failed to agree on whether he should be executed for his attack on apacked movie premiere that left 12 people dead.

Today’sBirthdays: Singer Lana Cantrell is 82. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is 81. Actor John Glover is 81. Actor David Rasche is 81. Former diplomat, talk show host and activist Alan Keyes is 75. Country singer Rodney Crowell is 75. Actor Caroline Aaron is 73. Comedian Alexei Sayle is 73. Actor Wayne Knight is 70. Rock singer Bruce Dickinson is 67. Actor David Duchovny is 65. Actor Delane Matthews is 64. Actor Harold Perrineau is 62. Jazz musician Marcus Roberts is 62. Country singer Raul Malo is 60. Actor David Mann is 59. Actor Charlotte Lewis is 58. Actor Sydney Penny is 54. Actor Greg Serano is 53. Actor Michael Shannon is 51. Actor Charlize Theron is 50. Rock musician Barry Kerch is 49. Actor Eric Johnson is 46. Actor Randy Wayne is 44. Actor-writer Brit Marling is 43. NHL center Sidney Crosby is 38. MLB All-Star Mike Trout is 34. Actor Liam James is 29.

Guacamole

Serves 4-6. This recipe was shared with me bymyfriend, Casey Palascak, and based on theguacamole from apopular restaurant calledRosaMexicano.

3tablespoons finely chopped white onion (divided)

2tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (divided)

2teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño

1teaspoon salt

4small ripe (but not too soft)

avocados (peeled and cut into large pieces)

3tablespoons finely diced tomato

Abag of corntortilla chips for dipping

NOTE: If you have amolca-

ENCHILADAS

Continued from page5C

independencewhen they learn to cook ameal for themselves. Cooking at home is not only essential forphysical health, but it can alsoboost mental health by reducing stress and increasing self-esteem. Choosing easy, semi-home-made recipes is agood place to start on a path to cooking conﬁdently

This enchilada recipe uses the meat from arotisserie chicken, acouple of jars of salsa verde —a green salsa made from tomatillo and green peppers —and pre-packaged grated Mexican cheese. However, the dish is easy to tailor to your tastebuds by leaving out the meat entirelyand

jete,ora mortar andpestle, use it to make thepaste and fresh guacamole.

1. Make apaste: In awide bowl, add one tablespoon of finelychopped onion, one tablespoon of the freshly chopped cilantro, two tablespoonsjalapeñoand the salt. Use afork to mash the salt into theonions,herbsand pepper to form apaste.

2. Addpeeled and cut avocado into thebowlontop of

using beans andrice inside thetortilla. Youcan also substitute the salsa verde for red enchiladasauce, and ﬂourtortillas can be substituted for the traditional corn ones. Make it yourown —you can’t go wrong with beans or meat wrapped in atortilla covered with salsa and cheese. These salsa verde enchiladasare tangyand delicious on their own,but an array of sides likeguacamole or freshly sliced mango complements thedish.This week,anold friend, Casey Palascak, who now lives in California, stayed at our housefor afew nights,and shetold us about her favorite guacamolerecipe that shemakes for her guests. She recalled theﬁrst time she had it at arestaurant called Rosa Mexicanoin

Sister-in-lawstrikes back

Dear Annie: Inever thought that Iwould be writing a complaint to one of these columns, but here it goes. Imarried my husband 12 years ago, and Iwas excited because that meant (well, Ithought) that Iwould be gettingseven sisters. My husband is the only boy among seven girls. Well, his youngest sister has an attitude as thick as molasses. Ihave tried throughout the14 years Ihave known her to get her to likeme, but she will only talk to me when she wantsto, and she gets away with everything. Acouple of years ago, my family andIwere at afamily dinner,and she was there. Everything was going well; some of thesisters (including her) were in thefamily room, and we were all talking, having apleasant conversation. Things changed when an accident Icaused occurred.

the paste.Gentlyfoldthe saltyonionpasteintothe avocado.

3. Add the remaining ingredients on top of the avocado: twotablespoons chopped onion, one tablespoon freshcilantroand three tablespoons of ﬁnely diced tomato. Gently stir the guacamole.Serve it in the mixing bowl or mortar/ molcajete. Best usedasa dip with corn tortilla chips.

Washington, D.C. Because of the short ingredient list, Palascak enjoyed theguacamole made tableside. With this fun food storyin mind, we took turns chopping awhiteonion (which made our eyes tear up), jalapeño pepper,cilantro and salt. Our tearsturned to laughter as we poured acouple of glasses of cold rosé and talked about old times In minutes,wemade a bowl of fresh guacamole in atraditional molcajete and gobbled down this delicious dip withtortilla chips. It was so good that we immediately made asecond bowl and ate it, too. Apro-tip is to cut extra onion, cilantro and jalapeño and save them in a Tupperware in therefrigerator so they can be ready to add to the avocado for the inevitable next batch you’ll want to make.

sister-in-lawdoesn’tallow anyone to kiss herchild. Well, whenitwas time for my family to leave, I gotuptograbthe stuff thatwehad brought, andwithouteventhinking, Ikissedher daughteronthe head She thensmacked me acrossthe face andyelledatme, saying thatnobody kissesher.I haven’t been to afamily gathering with her there since, for I’m afraid thatshe is going to run acrossthe room andslapmeagain. His othersiblings kept making excusesthatshe was pregnant andwas having acomplicatedpregnancy Every time I’minthe same room with her,my anxiety goes through the roof.Ihavebeen through counseling, andevenmy counselorsaystostay away Well, Ihad lunch with one of his other sisters, and the topic came up. She said that Ican’trun away from it forever and that I

have to face my fears. Do I have to face my fears? Or can Istay away as long as I want, even if it is until I’m old and dead? —Confusedin South Dakota Dear Confused: Her protective instincts (no doubt intensiﬁed by her pregnancy) don’texcuse what she did. Slapping someone is assault, and it crosses a very clear line. Your anxiety around her makes perfect sense, and you’re not “running away” by protecting yourself and choosing to limit contact. In fact, distancing yourself is ahealthy boundary and perfectly acceptable option. That said, if part of you is wondering whether aconversation could help clear the air,that might be worth exploring —but only on your terms. If there’shope formutual respect moving forward, it could make family reunions awhole lot easier

Sendyour questions forAnnie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

This Cruella de Vilofa

Son’sbehaviorcutstripshort

DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband and Irecently planned aweekend trip out of town, and we arranged for our children to stay withtheir aunt, my husband’ssister,while we were away.Wethought everything was going well until, halfway through our trip,wereceived a call from her saying that one of our kids had started acting out. She told us that she doesn’ttolerate that kind of behavior in her home and insisted that we come pick him up immediately.I was shocked and honestly upset.Iunderstand that our son can be ahandful at times.He’sgoing through abit of arebellious phase, but Ifeel like she overreacted. We trusted her to

help us out, and instead of trying to manage the situation or even calling us for advice on how to calm him down, she madeus cut our trip short and madeusfeel like we were being irresponsible parents forgoing away in the ﬁrst place. Nowthere’stension between us, and I don’tknow how to approach this. Am Iwrong forfeeling like she could have handled things differently?

—Not Helpful

DEAR NOTHELPFUL: Didyou inform your sister-in-law of your son’srecent behavioral shifts? It sounds like you knew that he could be difﬁcult, but you may not have communicated that clearly to her.Sure, she could have tried harder to

care foryour children and give you and your husband amuch-needed respite. It also sounds like you could have communicated more speciﬁcally about your children’sneeds and idiosyncrasies. Both of you could have done better.Tomend the situation, speak to her and admit that you could have been morecommunicative about your son’s potential challenges so that she would have been better prepared. Tell her you wish she hadn’tgiven up so quickly as you really needed sometimeaway Acknowledge that you both could have handled the situation differently.Ask for forgiveness and moveon. Sendquestions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com.

Reusinggreetingcards

Dear Heloise: LikeCarolyn, in Dayton, Ohio, Ialso like to reuse items. Iuse the back of greeting cards for lists and notes. They are pretty and easy to ﬁnd in your purse. (I know,I know,this is what phones are for, but are they ever handy? Mine are always in another room.) —BonnieWaterhouse, in Burbank, California Shredded paper

fornotes

Dear Heloise: Ihave asuggestion for M.K. and Judy A., who each commented recently on what todo with shredded paper.They mentioned puttingitout on recycling day (which is not

always accepted), using it in gardens mixed with soil or compost, using it to pack fragile items, or putting it in the trash. My wife and I found that we can take it to our local animal shelter They appreciate it and use it in the bottom of the cages that they house their animals in. I’m sure that any other animal shelter would welcome it, too. —Jim D.,inTiffin, Ohio Silencingunwantedcalls

Dear Heloise: I’ve set up my smartphone so that if Iget aphone call that isn’tin my contacts, Iget asilent notiﬁcation of the call, but it doesn’tring. If it is someone important, they can leave message. —Bob via email

Theeyeshaveit

Dear Heloise: Here’show Imake atravel eye/sleep mask: Ifold afacial tissue in quarters lengthwise and crease. Then Idaub aﬁngerprint-sized pat of hand lotion on my temples. Next, I“glue” the tissue across the bridge of my nose and over my eyes, then secure it to my head. My friends may laugh at me, but this keeps the light out. Plus, it’ssoft and comfortable! —Helen M., in Illinois Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Gambas al Ajillo (GarlicShrimp)

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

¾pound shelledshrimp

1tablespoon olive oil

4garlic cloves, crushed

Several drops hot pepper sauce

½cup drysherry or white wine

1teaspoon cornstarch

2tablespoons parsley

Saltand freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in askillet over medium heat.Add garlic and saute until garlic starts to turn golden, not brown.

2. Add shrimpand saute forabout 1to2minutes.

3. Mix 1tablespoon sherry withthe cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the remaining sherry and hot pepper sauce to taste to the skillet and toss well.

4. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring liquid with the shrimp to asimmerfor several seconds to thicken the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and salt and pepper to taste. 5. Divide in half and place on twodinnerplateswith the rice. Serve immediately NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 308 calories (22 percent from fat), 7.7 gfat (1.2 g saturated, 3.4 gmonounsaturated), 276 mg cholesterol, 34.8 gprotein, 10.3 gcarbohydrates, 0.3 gﬁber,222 mg sodium

YellowRice

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

Annie Lane DEAR ANNIE

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

Hints from Heloise

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Refuse to let your emotions filter into yourfinancial or professional decisions. Focus on what youknow and presentyourself and your ideas withfinesse. Work to make positive change.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Focusonmoneymaking projects. Network andengage in conversationsthat allow youtomarket your attributes and express your desires. Someone will show interest in how you live and who youare.

LIBRA(sept.23-oct. 23) Don't underestimatewhat thepeople around youare capable of.Anin-depth account will be difficult for others to deny. Stick to facts;embellishment will come back to haunt you.

sCoRPIo (oct.24-nov. 22) Follow your heart, say little anddowhat pleases you. Choose to educate yourself instead of trying to redirect others. Reconnecting with someone will impact your vision.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Make home andprospects your focalpoint. Utilizing your skills and timeeffectively will help youimproveyoursituation at a price you can afford. Negotiating on your own behalf will payoff.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Be open to suggestions, but don't immediately adopt what otherswant. Don't waste your time arguing whenyou know what's best for you.Align yourself with people who share your values.

AQuARIus(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your energy to good use.Refuse to let anxiety

build or stop youfrom reaching your fullpotential. Avoidpeople whobring youdown,confuse youorcost you.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Jumping to conclusions will cause problems. Do your research, prepare your questions andtalk to thepowers thatbetohelp point youinthe right direction

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Share your thoughtsopenly. Themore youstew over endless possibilities, theless you achieve. Proactivity will help you win favorsand establish yourself as the goto person.

tAuRus (April 20-May20) What youdo will have agreater impact on others than whatyou say. Focusing on your endgameand distancing yourself from people who provoke youand waste your timewill soothe your soul.

GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Up your game andrevise howyou use your skills to suitcurrent needs. Awholehearted approach to change will be likeabreath of fresh air, giving youthe momentum to capture positive attention

CAnCER(June 21-July 22) Refuse to let your emotionsmakeyou look bador give someone the chance to take advantage of you. Theprogress you make workingonpersonal growth will be consequential.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotationsbyfamous people, past and present. Each letter in thecipher stands for another.

toDAy'sCLuE: CEQuALsu

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe AndGrIMM

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Thatwell-known humorist A.N. Onymous said, “Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretchingthe truth, bending over backward, lying down on thejob, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck.”

One of those words is relevant to this deal. West leads the diamondking against four hearts. How should South plan the play?

AfterWestopened oneno-trump, showing15-17 points, South andNorth pushed into game.

South faces apotential loser in each suit. But since only 15 high-card points aremissing, he knowsthatWesthas them all.

South wins the first trick and plays a heart to his ace. If both opponents followsuit, another heart lead would endplayWest. He could cashthe diamond queen, but then would have to sacrifice atrick whatever he did.Here, though, West takes the second heart, cashes the diamond queen, and exits safely withhis last trump, East discarding diamonds. Southwins in his handand playsa club to dummy’sking. West takes the next club and leads his last club. How can South avoid aspade loser?

Westisknowntohavethequeen.Buthe will not have adoubleton —why not? Because if East had fivespades, he wouldhave run fromone no-trump into two spades. South must try abackward finesse. He ruffs the third club and leads his spade jack,running it if West does not cover. Or,ifWestdoes cover, declarerwins with dummy’s king, then plays aspade to his eight, hoping thatEast has the 10. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

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

toDAy’sWoRD ALLEGED: uh-LEJ’D: Accused but notproven or convicted.

Averagemark 14 words

Timelimit 30 minutes

Canyou find23ormorewords in ALLEGED?

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street closes higher with Apple rally

NEW YORK A rally for Apple led Wall Street higher on Wednesday as U.S. stocks reclaimed more of their sharp losses from last week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2%. Apple alone accounted for more than a third of the S&P 500’s gain. It rose 5.1% ahead of a White House event where it was expected to announced an increase to its U.S. investments of an additional $100 billion over the next four years. Trading elsewhere on Wall Street was mixed following a jumble of proﬁt reports. McDonald’s and Shopify rose following their latest updates, while Super Micro Computer tumbled after its earnings and revenue came in below analysts’ expectations.

McDonald’s climbed 3% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Offerings tied to the “Minecraft” movie proved to be a hit for the restaurant chain.

Shopify jumped 22% after the company, which helps businesses sell on the internet, said it made more in revenue last quarter than expected.

They helped offset an 18.3% slump for Super Micro Computer, which gave back some of the huge gains the server maker has made recently Super Micro came into the day with a nearly 88% gain for its stock so far this year, but it reported weaker proﬁt and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

WhatsApp takes down 6.8M accounts

NEW YORK WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were “linked to criminal scam centers” targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said this week. The account deletions, which Meta said took place over the ﬁrst six months of the year, arrive as part of wider company efforts to crack down on scams.

In a Tuesday announcement, Meta said it was also rolling new tools on WhatsApp to help people spot scams

Meta noted that “some of the most proliﬁc” sources of scams are criminal scam centers, which often span from forced labor operated by organized crime — and warned that such efforts often target people on many platforms at once, in attempts to evade detection.

That means that a scam campaign may start with messages over text or a dating app, for example and then move to social media and payment platforms, the California-based company said.

Former X CEO to lead weight-loss company

Linda Yaccarino, the former X CEO who left the social media company last month in the wake of yet another Elon Musk controversy, has been named the top executive at health company eMed. eMed Population Health provides support for patients on GLP-1 medications, such as Wegovy and Ozempic, that treat diabetes and obesity

“Our mission is revolutionizing how people receive safe, effective care for chronic condition management through GLP-1 therapies, while building the programs and technologies needed to sustain lasting health outcomes,” Yaccarino wrote in a post on Tuesday In a statement, eMed said Yaccarino’s experience would be “instrumental” as the company looks to expand its services to accommodate more “national and global employer and government partnerships.” Yaccarino left X in July after two years as CEO, a day after the company’s AI chatbot Grok declared itself “MechaHitler” and repeatedly sexually harassed Yaccarino. It’s unclear if her exit was directly connected to Grok’s outbursts but the company later apologized, blaming a system update.

Claire’s files for Chapter 11

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK Mall-based teen accessories retailer Claire’s, known for helping to usher in millions of teens into an important rite of passage ear piercing but now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Claire’s Holdings LLC and certain of its U.S and Gibraltar-based

subsidiaries — collectively Claire’s U.S., the operator of Claire’s and Icing stores across the United States, made the ﬁling in the U.S Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Wednesday. That marked the second time since 2018 and for a similar reason: high debt load and the shift among teens heading online away from physical stores.

Claire’s Chapter 11 ﬁling follows the bankruptcies of other teen retailers including Forever 21, which filed in March for bankruptcy protection for a second time and eventually closed down its U.S. business as trafﬁc in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from

online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensiﬁes.

Claire’s, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and founded in 1974, said that its stores in North America will remain open and will continue to serve customers, while it explores all strategic alternatives. Claire’s operates more than 2,750 Claire’s stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 Icing stores in North America.

In a court filing, Claire’s said its assets and liabilities range between $1 billion and $10 billion.

“This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,” Chris Cramer,

CEO of Claire’s, said in a news release issued Wednesday “Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders.”

Like many retailers, Claire’s was also struggling with higher costs tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, analysts said. Cramer said that the company remains in “active discussions” with potential strategic and ﬁnancial partners.

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Apple CEO Tim Cook joined President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to announce a commitment by the tech company to increase its investment in U.S. manufacturing by an additional $100 billion over the next four years.

“This is a signiﬁcant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,” Trump said at the press conference. “Today’s announcement is one of the largest commitments in what has become among the greatest investment booms in our nation’s history.”

As part of the Apple announcement, the investments will be about bringing more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the United States as part of an initiative called the American Manufacturing Program, but it is not a full commitment to build its popular iPhone device domestically

“This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components — semiconductor chips included — that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we’re grateful to the President for his support,” Cook said in a statement announcing the investment.

During the ceremony Trump also said that he will impose a 100% tariff on computer chips, likely raising the cost of electronics, autos, household appliances and other goods deemed essential for the digital age.

“We’ll be putting a tariff on of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors,” Trump said. “But if you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge.”

The Republican president said

companies that make computer chips in the U.S. would be spared the import tax. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of computer chips increased the price of autos and contributed to an overall uptick in inﬂation.

The new manufacturing partners include Corning, Coherent, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments and Broadcom among others.

Apple had previously said it intended to invest $500 billion domestically, a ﬁgure it will now increase to $600 billion. Trump in recent months has criticized the tech company and Cook for efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid the tariffs his Republican administration had planned for China.

While in Qatar earlier this year, Trump said there was “a little problem” with the Cupertino, California, company and recalled a conversation with Cook in which he said he told the CEO, “I don’t want you building

in India.”

India has incurred Trump’s wrath, as the president signed an order Wednesday to put an additional 25% tariff on the world’s most populous country for its use of Russian oil.

The new import taxes to be imposed in 21 days could put the combined tariffs on Indian goods at 50%.

Apple’s new pledge comes just a few weeks after it forged a $500 million deal with MP Materials, which runs the only rare earths producer in the country That agreement will enable MP Materials to expand a factory in Texas to use recycled materials to produce magnets that make iPhones vibrate.

Speaking on a recent investors call, Cook emphasized that “there’s a load of different things done in the United States.” As examples, he cited some of the iPhone components made in the U.S. such as the device’s glass display and module for

identifying people’s faces and then indicated the company was gearing to expand its productions of other components in its home country

“We’re doing more in this country, and that’s on top of having roughly 19 billion chips coming out of the U.S. now, and we will do more,” Cook told analysts last week, without elaborating.

News of Apple’s latest investment in the U.S. caused the company’s stock price to surge by 5% in Wednesday’s midday trading. That gain reﬂects investors’ relief that Cook “is extending an olive branch” to the Trump administration, said Nancy Tengler CEO of money manager Laffer Tengler Investments, which owns Apple stock.

Despite Wednesday’s upturn, Apple’s shares are still down by 15% this year a reversal of fortune that has also been driven by the company’s botched start in the pivotal field of artificial intelligence.

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN Associated Press

Disney’s profit and revenue climbed in its ﬁscal third quarter as the entertainment company continued to add subscribers to its streaming service and see strength at its domestic theme parks. It also raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast on Wednesday and announced a deal with WWE that will see the sports entertainment company’s premium live events, like WrestleMania, streamed by ESPN The Walt Disney Co. earned $5.26 billion, or $2.92 per share, for the three months ended June 28. A year earlier it earned $2.62 billion, or $1.43 per share. Excluding certain items, earnings were $1.61 per share. This easily beat the $1.46 per share analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were looking for Revenue for the Burbank, California, company totaled $23.65 billion, falling slightly short of Wall Street’s estimate of $23.68 billion. Disney subsidiary ESPN struck a rights agreement with TKO Group’s WWE to become the exclusive U.S. domestic streamer of the sports entertainment company’s premium live events starting next year Aside from gaining access to WrestleMania, ESPN will also air marquee events such as the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal said that it’s a ﬁve-year deal worth more than $1.6 billion. The wrestling events will be available on ESPN’s new streaming service, which is set to launch next month for $29.99 per month, with select ESPN cable channels also airing them.

revenue potential,” Mike Proulx, Forrester vice president, research director, said in an emailed statement.

“Sports is the big headline coming out of Disney’s latest earnings report, and for good reason. Live sports programming (like WWE Premium Live Events) amasses captive audiences that advertisers crave, and Disney is prioritizing programming with the highest ad

Revenue for Disney Entertainment, which includes the company’s movie studios and streaming service, edged up 1%, while revenue for the Experiences division, its parks, increased 8%. Disney’s direct-to-consumer business, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, posted quarterly operating income of $346 million compared with a loss of $19 million a year ago. Revenue climbed 6%. Total paid subscribers for Disney+