The Acadiana Advocate 08-19-2025

Audit: Spoil bank project illegal

Guillory, administration violated federal, state laws, investigators say

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

An investigative report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office into the removal in 2022 of a spoil bank on the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish concludes former Lafayette City-Parish President Josh Guillory and his administration likely violated state and federal laws and Lafayette’s Home Rule Charter, including public bid laws.

“The evidence supports a consistent pattern,” the auditor’s report states “LCG deliberately structured ‘Apollo’ (the spoil bank project’s codename) to proceed as quickly and quietly as possible, minimizing opportunities for regulatory review or legal challenge, even when it meant disregarding federal law.”

The report and its findings have been sent to District Attorney

Don Landry, of the 15th Judicial District in Lafayette, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District in Lafayette.

The legislative auditor’s report recommends changes that Lafayette Consolidated Government should make to avoid a repeat of the alleged violations, although Guillory is no longer in office.

In February 2022, under the Guillory administration, LCG removed a spoil bank on the St. Mar-

tin Parish side of the Vermilion River allegedly for flood protection purposes without permission from St. Martin Parish officials the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a landowner Six weeks after awarding a $390,050 as-needed excavation contract to Rigid Constructors in December 2021, LCG amended the contract for Rigid to perform the $3.7 million spoil bank project without seeking new bids. The

Trump says he’s arranging Putin, Zelenskyy meeting

President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval

President discusses war with Ukrainian leader, top European officials

BY SYLVIE CORBET, SAMYA KULLAB and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Monday he has begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a pathway to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The president made the announcement shortly after speaking by phone with Putin on Monday even as he hosted

Zelenskyy and top European leaders to discuss his push to end the brutal war

“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump said in a social media post soon after his meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders ended. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has

been going on for almost four years.”

It was not clear if Putin has fully signed on to such talks.

Russia state news agency Tass cited Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov saying Putin and Trump “spoke in favor” of continuing direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Ushakov said they also discussed “the idea of raising the level of the direct Russian-Ukrainian

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La. National Guard heading to D.C.

Governor says about 135 soldiers to assist in federal effort

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN

Staff writer

Louisiana is sending about 135 members of its National Guard to Washington D.C. joining five other red states that have pledged

hundreds of troops to assist with President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown there. Altogether, the states could more than double Trump’s initial deployment of 800 District of Columbia National Guard members to the city, potentially adding more than 1,100 more troops. Gov Jeff Landry announced Monday that Louisiana would take part in the effort. “We are a nation of law and

order Our capital is a reflection of our nation’s respect, beauty, and standards,” Landry said in a statement on the social media app X

“We cannot allow our cities to be overcome by violence and lawlessness. I am proud to support this mission to return safety and sanity to Washington DC and cities all across our country, including right here in Louisiana.”

ä See GUARD, page 4A

amendment was signed three days before the work began and after some equipment had already been mobilized, which constituted about $1.8 million of the contract, the report states.

“Our investigative audit determined that LCG executed this project without securing the required legal authority,

Judge tosses lawsuit over blocking on social media

Residents sued La. senator over abortion tweets

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a Louisiana state senator by two residents who claimed she violated their First Amendment rights when she blocked them on the social media platform X, after one made an insulting and vulgar post over abortion laws, and another disagreed with a plan to start the school day with the Lord’s Prayer New Orleans resident Maya Detiege sued state Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, a Democrat from Monroe, in February 2023, arguing that a post she made was protected political speech and that the senator’s social media account was a public forum subject to First Amendment protection, according to the lawsuit. In blocking users from her account, when the platform was still named Twitter, over a policy disagreement, JacksonAndrews violated Detiege’s constitutional right to free speech, the plaintiff argued. Jackson-Andrews, however said in court filings that her social media posts didn’t count as official government activity — a view that U.S District Judge Donald Walter agreed with. Walter said the plaintiffs had not proven Jackson-Andrews “had actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf,” and thus didn’t have the right to sue over constitutional rights violations.

The plaintiffs plan to appeal the decision, said Bruce Hamilton, a professor with the Tulane University Law School

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James Maseno, of Grandlel, Md., right, takes a selfie with a District of Columbia Army National Guard staff sergeant outside the Union Station in Washington on

Guillory

JacksonAndrews

Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANUEL BALCE CENETA

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

Office at the White House on Monday

Judge blocks FTC’s Media Matters probe

WASHINGTON A federal judge has issued an injunction preventing the Trump administration’s Federal Trade Commission from investigating Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog group that had alleged the spread of hate speech on X since Elon Musk acquired the social media platform.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L Sooknanan ruled Friday that the FTC’s probe of Media Matters, “purportedly to investigate an advertiser boycott concerning social media platforms,” represents a clear violation of the group’s freedom of speech.

“It should alarm all Americans when the government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate,” Sooknanan wrote.

Even before the FTC got involved, Media Matters has been defending itself against a lawsuit by Musk following the organization’s November 2023 story that, following Musk’s purchase of the social media site once known as Twitter, antisemitic posts and other offensive content were appearing next to advertisements there.

Sooknanan said the injunction halting any FTC probe was merited because Media Matters is likely to succeed on its claim that the FTC is being used to retaliate against it for a critical article on a Trump supporter

2 officers killed in Utah shooting, authorities say

Two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call were shot and killed in Utah and a man was taken into custody after bystanders persuaded him to drop the gun, authorities said Monday

The officers were identified as Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada, of the Tremonton Garland Police Department.

A sheriff’s deputy and a police dog also were shot and wounded in their car as they arrived to help at a neighborhood in Tremonton on Sunday night. The deputy from Box Elder County was released from the hospital Monday and the dog was hospitalized in fair condition, police said.

“These officers are definitely heroes,” Police Chief Chad Reyes in neighboring Brigham City said at a news conference Monday morning.

When police respond to domestic disturbance calls, “we really don’t know what we’re walking into,” he said. “And they are one of the most dangerous events that we can be dispatched on.” Police received multiple 911 hang-up calls from a home in the city A single officer from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department arrived first and was speaking to someone at the home when the man came out with a gun, police said in a news release. Reyes said he believed the man lived at the house Hong Kong activists granted asylum

TAIPEI,Taiwan A Hong Kong prodemocracy activist and a former lawmaker who are wanted by the city’s authorities have been granted asylum in Great Britain and Australia, respectively Tony Chung, an activist who was imprisoned under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, and Ted Hui, a former lawmaker who was facing trial for his role in anti-government protests in 2019, both announced over the weekend that they have received asylum in the countries where they now live.

They are among dozens of activists on the run from Hong Kong authorities. Civil liberties in the city have been greatly eroded since Beijing in 2020 imposed a national security law essentially criminalizing dissent in the former British colony Both Beijing and Hong Kong have hailed the security law as bringing stability to the financial hub. Hui, who fled Hong Kong in December 2020, is part of a group of overseas activists who are targeted by police bounties of up to $127,800. The former lawmaker is now working as a lawyer in Adelaide. He announced on Facebook on Saturday that he and his family have been granted protection visas.

DAGGA

Hamas accepts Arab ceasefire proposal

Palestinian death toll passes 62,000 in Gaza

BY VICTORIA EASTWOOD, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN

Associated Press

RAFAH, Egypt Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as Israel indicated its positions haven’t changed, while Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations that Washington has mediated as well. “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,” he posted on social media.

Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.

Plans to expand the offensive, in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are “exerting extensive efforts” to revive a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining 50 hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

Abdelatty told The Associated Press they are inviting U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to join the ceasefire talks.

Abdelatty spoke to journalists during a visit to Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began.

Texas declares its measles outbreak over

BY DEVI SHASTRI AP health writer

The Texas measles outbreak that sickened 762 people since late January is over, state health officials said Monday

It’s been more than 42 days since the last new case was confirmed, meeting the threshold public health officials use to declare measles outbreaks over The last person to have an outbreak-related case got a rash on July 1, according to state data.

Two unvaccinated Texas children died of the virus earlier this year and 100 people were hospitalized throughout the outbreak, which spread to 37 counties. The outbreak and was linked to outbreaks in Canada and Mexico and other U.S. states.

The U.S. is having its worst year for measles in more than three decades, as childhood vaccination rates against the virus decline and more parents claim exemptions from school requirements. The U.S has confirmed 1,356 cases as of Aug. 5, according U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The nation’s third measles death was unvaccinated adult in New Mexico who died in March.

West Texas was the nation’s measles epicenter for months. The virus started spreading there in close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite communities in Gaines County

Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. Abdelatty said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AP that the militant group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating.

An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israel’s pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks.

Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egypt State Information Service, told the AP that Egypt and Qatar have sent the Hamasaccepted proposal to Israel.

An Israeli official said Israel’s positions, including on the release of all hostages, had not changed from previous rounds of talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Netanyahu said in a video addressing the Israeli public that reports of Hamas’ acceptance of the proposal showed that it is “under massive pressure.”

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians in the attack that ignited the war Around 20 of the hostages still in Gaza are believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.

Vials of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine are displayed in February in Lubbock, Texas. Texas said Monday its measles outbreak has ended.

Even with that outbreak over, Texas will likely see more cases as the virus spreads worldwide, officials said.

At least 19 U.S. states have had measles outbreaks this year Across the border in Chihuahua, Mexico, an outbreak that started with a child who visited Gaines County has ballooned to 3,854 cases and 13 deaths. Another in Ontario, Canada, started in October, sickening 2,362 so far and killing one. And 1,762 have been sickened in Alberta, Canada.

Before the outbreak, most Texas doctors had never seen a measles case because of how uncommon it has become said Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Jennifer Shuford. She credited testing, vaccination, monitoring and education with helping to end the outbreak.

“I want to highlight the tireless work of the public health professionals across the state who contributed to the containment of one of the most contagious viruses,” Shuford said in a statement.

Erin forces evacuations in North Carolina

Hurricane expected to stay offshore

BY BEN FINLEY and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

Hurricane Erin forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the monster storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday

Evacuations were ordered on a couple of barrier islands along the Carolina shore as authorities warned the storm could churn up dangerous rip currents and swamp roads with waves of 15 feet Tropical storm and surge watches were issued Monday for much of the Outer Banks.

Tourists and residents waited for hours in a line of cars at Ocracoke Island’s ferry dock — the only way to leave other than by plane.

“We definitely thought twice,” said Seth Brotherton, of Catfish, North Carolina, whose weeklong fishing trip ended after two days. “But they said ‘mandatory’ and that pretty much means, ‘get out of here.’”

Forecasters are confident that Erin will turn north and away from the eastern U.S., but it’s still expected to whip up wild waves and tropical force winds along the coastal islands, Dave Roberts of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The storm intensified to a Category 4 with 140 mph maximum sustained winds Monday while it pelted the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeast Bahamas, according to the center Government officials in the Turks and Caicos Islands said all services were suspended on three of its islands and ordered residents there to stay home. Some ports also closed.

By late Monday after-

noon, the storm was about 700 miles southwest of Bermuda and about 815 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras. On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday The evacuations that began Monday on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke came at the height of tourist season on the thin stretch of lowlying barrier islands that jut into the Atlantic Ocean and are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges.

A year ago, Hurricane Ernesto stayed hundreds of miles offshore yet still produced high surf and swells that caused coastal damage. This time there are concerns that several days of heavy surf, high winds and waves could wash out parts of the main highway, the National Weather Service said. Some routes could be impassible for several days, authorities warned. This is the first time Ocracoke has been evacuated since Hurricane Dorian struck in 2019, leaving behind the most damage in the island’s recorded history Tommy Hutcherson, who owns the community’s only grocery store, said the island has mostly bounced back. He’s optimistic this storm won’t be as destructive. “But you just never know I felt the same way about Dorian and we really got smacked,” he said. Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly Erin, the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, reached a dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 160 mph winds before weakening. It is expected to remain a large hurricane into midweek.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM

Smoke rises Monday after an Israeli airstrike in Khan younis in the Gaza Strip

Texas Democrats end walkout over redistricting

California prepares to retaliate

BY BILL BARROW, TRAN NGUYEN and FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas Texas

Democrats ended a twoweek walkout Monday that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts as part of a national partisan brawl over President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps to his advantage. Their return to Texas — where state police will escort the lawmakers to ensure they don’t leave again — puts the Republican-run Legislature in position to satisfy Trump’s demands as California Democrats advance new congressional boundaries in retaliation.

The tit-for-tat puts the nation’s two most populous states at the center of an expanding fight over control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections The battle has rallied Democrats nationally following infighting and frustrations among the party’s voters since Republicans took total control of the federal government in January

Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers left for Illinois and elsewhere on Aug 3 to deny their Republican colleagues the attendance necessary to vote on redrawn maps intended to send five more Texas Republicans to Washington. They declared victory Friday, after Texas Republicans adjourned their first special session and Democrats nationally rallied in opposition to Trump’s maneuvering. They pointed specifically to California’s proposal intended to increase Democrats’ U.S. House advantage by five seats, effectively neutralizing potential Republican gains in Texas

Many absent Democrats left Chicago early Monday and landed hours later at a private airfield in Austin, where several boarded a charter bus to the Capitol.

Cheering supporters greeted them inside. And for the first time since Trump’s redistricting push accelerated into a national issue, the Texas House floor was near capacity when lawmakers briefly convened Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows did not mention redistricting on the floor but promised swift action on the Legislature’s agenda.

“The majority has the right to prevail. The minority has the right to be heard,” the speaker said. “We are done waiting.”

Burrows previously issued civil arrest warrants for absent lawmakers under House rules, and his office said Texas Department of Public Safety officers will now follow them around the clock to ensure their continued presence. Democrats declared victory while acknowledging

Republicans can move forward with redrawn districts.

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” House Minority Leader Gene Wu said in a written statement.

Wu said Democrats would challenge the new designs in court. Republicans now hold 25 of Texas’ 38 U.S House seats.

Lawmakers did not take up any bills Monday and were not scheduled to return until Wednesday

Trump has pressured other Republican-run states to consider redistricting, as well, while Democratic governors in multiple statehouses have indicated they would follow California’s lead in response. Democratic California Gov Gavin Newsom has said his state will hold a Nov 4 special referendum on the redrawn districts.

The president wants to shore up Republicans’ nar-

2 gunmen among 3 killed in N.Y. bar shooting, police say

2 other shooters still at large

BY BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI

and JULIE WALKER Associated Press

NEW YORK Two of the three people killed in a bar shooting in the New York City borough of Brooklyn were among the four shooters who opened fire inside the building, the city’s police commissioner said Monday Jamel Childs, 35, and Marvin St. Louis, 19, both of Brooklyn, were seen on surveillance video arguing in the Taste of the City Lounge in Crown Heights shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. About 10 minutes later

St. Louis approached Childs and opened fire, and Childs and two other men fired back.

Both Childs and St Louis were shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at a hospital a short time after the shooting. The third man killed, 27-year-old city resident Amadou Diallo, was pronounced dead at the scene Authorities said Diallo appears to have been an innocent bystander

Two other men who also opened fire in the bar remained at large Monday, Tisch said, but she did not disclose further details about them. A possible motive for the shooting remains under investigation, but authorities have said it appears to be gang-related.

Tisch said Monday that Childs had a lengthy police record and is listed in a police database as a member of Folk Nation, which she described as a “violent gang” that “terrorizes Brooklyn” and is responsible for six shootings this year She said three people who survived the shooting also have ties to that gang, but St. Louis had no “relevant criminal history.”

Fourteen people were shot overall in the incident, but none of the survivors’ injuries are believed to be life-threatening, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday Investigators found at least 42 shell casings from 9 mm and .45-caliber weapons and a firearm in a nearby street following the shooting.

Judge weighs detainees’ legal rights at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida

BY DAVID FISCHER and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

MIAMI — A federal judge on Monday considered whether detainees at a temporary immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades have been denied their legal rights. In the second of two lawsuits challenging practices at the facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” civil rights attorneys sought a preliminary injunction to ensure that detainees at the facility have confidential access to their lawyers, which they say hasn’t happened. Florida officials dispute that claim.

The civil rights attorneys also wanted U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz to identify an immigration court that has jurisdiction over

the detention center so that petitions can be filed for the detainees’ bond or release. The attorneys say that hearings for their cases have been routinely canceled in federal Florida immigration courts by judges who say they don’t have jurisdiction over the detainees held in the Everglades. At the start of Monday’s hearing, government attorneys said they would designate the immigration court at the Krome North Service Processing Center in the Miami area as having jurisdiction over the detention center in the Everglades in an effort to address some of the civil rights attorneys’ constitutional concerns The judge told the government attorneys that he didn’t expect them to change that designation without good reason.

But before delving into the core issues of the detainees’ rights, Ruiz wanted to hear about whether the lawsuit was filed in the proper jurisdiction in Miami. The state and federal government defendants have argued that even though the isolated airstrip where the facility was built is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s southern district is the wrong venue since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state’s middle district.

The hearing ended without the judge making an immediate ruling. Ruiz suggested that the case against the federal defendants might be appropriate for the southern district, but the case against the state defendants might be better in the middle district.

row House majority and avoid a repeat of the midterms during his first presidency After gaining House control in 2018, Democrats used their majority to stymie his agenda and twice impeach him.

On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing district lines puts Democrats within three seats of a majority Of the 435 total House seats, only several dozen districts are competitive. So even slight changes in a few states could affect which party wins control.

Redistricting typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade after the census. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among those that empower independent commissions with the task, giving Newsom an additional hurdle.

Democratic legislators introduced new California maps Monday It was the first official move toward the fall referendum asking voters to override the independent commission’s

work after the 2020 census. The proposed boundaries would replace current ones through 2030. Democrats said they will return the mapmaking power to the commission after that.

State Republicans promised lawsuits over the Democrats’ move.

Democrats hold 43 out of California’s 52 U.S. House seats. The proposal would try to expand that advantage by targeting battleground districts in Northern California, San Diego and Orange counties, and the Central Valley Some Democratic incumbents also would benefit from added left-leaning voters in their districts.

“We didn’t choose this fight, we don’t want this fight, but with our democracy on the line, we cannot run away from this fight,” said Democrat Marc Berman, a California Assembly member who previously chaired the elections committee.

Republicans expressed opposition in terms that echoed Democrats in Austin, with both minority caucuses accusing the majority

of abusing power

Sacramento Republicans said they will introduce legislation advocating for independent redistricting commissions in all states.

“This fight is not a Republican fight, a Democrat fight, a Green Party fight,” said state Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares. “This is about the voice of the people.”

Texas Republican Gov Greg Abbott launched the expanding battle when he heeded Trump’s wishes and added redistricting to an initial special session agenda that included a number of issues, most notably a package responding to devastating floods that killed more than 130 people last month. Abbott has blamed Democrats’ absence for delaying action on those measures. Democrats have answered that Abbott is responsible because he insisted on effectively linking the hyperpartisan matter to the nonpartisan flood relief.

Abbott, Burrows and other Republicans tried various threats and legal maneuvers to pressure Democrats’ return, including the governor arguing that Texas judges should remove absent lawmakers from office.

As long as they were out of state, lawmakers were beyond the reach of the civil arrest warrants that Burrows issued. The Democrats who returned Monday did so without being detained by law enforcement However, plainclothes officers escorted them from the Texas House after Monday’s session, the first visible step of the planned monitoring.

The lawmakers who left face fines of up to $500 for each legislative day they missed. Burrows has insisted Democratic lawmakers also will pick up the tab for state troopers and others who attempted to corral them during the walkout. Barrow reported from Atlanta. Nguyen reported from Sacramento, California.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIC GAy

With some members absent, Texas lawmakers gather Monday for a special session with a quorum on Monday in Austin, Texas.

land rights, or permits — raising significant legal, regulatory, and intergovernmental concerns,” the report states.

“Specifically,” the report continues, “LCG expended public funds outside of its jurisdiction without a joint service agreement or cooperative endeavor agreement, as required by its Home Rule Charter and Louisiana law; performed work on land that LCG did not fully own, without documented consent from a known co-owner; failed to obtain a local permit from St. Martin Parish Government; withdrew its federal permit application from USACE but proceeded with the project regardless.”

LCG may have obstructed a navigable waterway in possible violation of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, the report states, and may have performed work within wetlands without a permit from the Corps as required by the federal Clean Water Act.

Former City-Parish Attorney

Greg Logan countered that the spoil bank project was within the scope of the original Rigid bid.

The auditor’s report quotes a public bid law attorney hired by LCG who said the work was outside the scope of the original contract, which was for excavation work throughout Lafayette city and parish, not in another parish

In addition, the scope of the spoil

TRUMP

Continued from page 1A

negotiations.”

Earlier Trump said during talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders that a potential ceasefire and who gets Ukrainian territory seized by Russia should be hashed out during a face-to-face meeting between the warring countries’ two leaders.

Monday’s talks at the White House came days after Trump hosted Putin for a summit at a U.S. military base in Alaska in which he tilted toward Putin’s demands that Ukraine make concessions over land seized by Russia, which now controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory

“We’re going to let the president go over and talk to the president and we’ll see how that works out,” Trump said during his meeting with Zelenskyy and the European leaders.

Trump also announced he would back European security guarantees for Ukraine as he met with Zelenskyy and the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as the president of the European Commission and the head of NATO.

Trump stopped short of committing U.S. troops to a collective effort to bolster Ukraine’s security He said instead that there would be a “NATO-like” security presence and that all those details would be hashed out with EU leaders.

“They want to give protection and they feel very strongly about it and we’ll help them out with that,” Trump said. “I think its very important to get the deal done.”

Speaking Monday before the White House meetings took place, Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the idea of a possible NATO peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Such a scenario could lead to further escalation and “unpredictable conse-

GUARD

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Trump, who has also taken over Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, says the crackdown is necessary to get crime under control in the nation’s capital. Critics argue the move is an unnecessary, authoritarian escalation and that Trump’s portrait of rampant crime doesn’t match re-

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First Amendment Clinic who is representing the plaintiffs.

“We respectfully disagree with the judge’s interpretation of state authority in this case, Hamilton said. “Senator Jackson was clearly using and continues to use her social media platform to speak in furtherance of her official responsibilities.”

“X is the modern public square

— our elected officials should not be allowed to block users from viewing and interacting with their social media accounts because

bank project was outside the original excavation contract because it required additional equipment and the removal of a spoil bank in St. Martin Parish and construction of an engineered levee in Lafayette Parish, the report states.

The Guillory administration, the auditor continues, alleges the work was done under an emergency procurements clause, but LCG declared a weather emergency nine months prior, in May 2021.

LCG violated its Home Rule Charter and state law by spending tax dollars on a project in another parish without an agreement with that parish, even if the project benefited Lafayette Parish residents, the report states.

Lafayette also erred, the auditor writes, by not obtaining permission from a one-third owner of the St. Martin Parish property

LCG purchased land from two of the three owners, but apparently did not approach the third owner before removing the spoil bank, allowing the river to flood the property

The two-thirds purchase of the property that LCG bought was dated the day the spoil bank removal started, Feb 21, 2022, the report alleges. Sale documents weren’t filed with the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court’s Office until March 9, 2022.

The property owner sued LCG, which settled the lawsuit under the current administration, paying about three times the property’s fair market value, the report states.

Logan and the public works di-

rector both denied giving the spoil bank project the go-ahead, laying the blame on the former chief of staff, Michael Hicks, who had been on the job only seven weeks and told investigators he was still learning the names of people in the administration and was not in a position to lead a multimilliondollar project designed before he was hired.

Hicks, the report states, said Guillory code-named the spoil bank removal project Apollo and said it was very secretive because Guillory was afraid St Martin Parish officials would find out and file an injunction to stop the work.

He allegedly provided emails, copied in the auditor’s report, showing approval from Guillory and Logan to proceed with the spoil bank removal.

Logan, the report alleges, tried to remove himself from the decision to proceed by claiming the email, time-stamped 5:01 p.m., means it was “after hours” and too late for him to act.

The secrecy about the project “reinforces the conclusion that LCG acted with the intent to avoid public scrutiny and regulatory intervention,” the auditor wrote. Lafayette violated a St. Martin Parish ordinance, the auditor alleges, that requires a permit to conduct levee work. Lafayette did not obtain such a permit. Logan, the report alleges, said the ordinance was unconstitutional even though no court had declared it so.

LCG had applied for a Corps permit for the project to discharge fill

or dredged material into wetlands or waters, the audit states. Officials withdrew the application and the Corps noted a permit would be required for the project.

Then-Public Works Director Chad Nepveaux told investigators that when Guillory realized the Corps permit would be denied, he decided to buy the property in St. Martin Parish and instructed the contractor that all work was to be done in upland areas so as not to impact navigable waters or wetlands.

Months later, the report states, a Corps inspector found evidence that equipment had been driven into wetlands and debris from dredging appeared to have been released into wetlands, despite efforts to prevent it.

LCG’s handling of the project “reflects a breakdown in regulatory compliance, internal oversight, and respect for intergovernmental coordination. LCG’s knowingly assumption of legal risk, followed by its decision to pay significantly above market value for the land where the spoil bank was originally located, underscores serious deficiencies in public accountability, legal judgment, and financial stewardship,” the report concludes.

The Legislative Auditor’s Office recommends that LCG:

n Implement jurisdictional review procedures.

n Mandate permit compliance documentation.

n Strengthen property acquisition controls.

n Enforce intergovernmental

quences,” ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned. Trump’s engagement with Zelenskyy had a strikingly different feel to their last Oval Office meeting in February. It was a disastrous moment that led to Trump abruptly ending talks with the Ukrainian delegation, and temporarily pausing some aid for Kyiv, after he and Vice President JD Vance complained that Zelenskyy had shown insufficient gratitude for U.S. military assistance.

At the start of Monday’s meeting, Zelenskyy presented a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenska, for Trump’s wife, Melania. Trump had hand-delivered a letter to Putin from the U.S first lady urging him to consider the children impacted by the conflict and bring an end to the brutal 31/2 year war Zelenskyy faced criticism dur-

ality According to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime hit a 30-year low in D.C. last year

The Louisiana troops planned to leave within 24 hours, Lt. Col. Noel Collins, public affairs officer for the Louisiana National Guard, said Monday evening. They are being sent in response to a request from the White House, she added.

The move makes Louisiana the sixth state to add troops to Trump’s efforts in D.C. Over the weekend, West Virginia said it would deploy

they express critical or dissenting points of view,” he added. Jackson-Andrews on Monday said she is “thanking God” for the ruling that an “elected official’s personal account cannot be subjected to vile and racist statements.”

Detiege’s June 24, 2022, post came the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and a federal right to abortion. She was responding to a post from Jackson-Andrews noting that Roe v. Wade had been overturned and calling for support of “women and children from womb to tomb.” Jackson-Andrews opposes abortion and that year sponsored

ing his February meeting from a conservative journalist for appearing in the Oval Office in a long-sleeve T-shirt. This time he appeared in a dark jacket and buttoned shirt.

Zelenskyy has said his typically less formal attire since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 is to show solidarity with Ukrainian soldiers.

Monday’s hastily assembled meeting came after Trump met Friday with Putin. After that meeting, Trump said the onus is now on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions of land that he said could end the war “We’ll see in a certain period of time, not very far from now, a week or two weeks, we’re going to know whether or not we’re going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue,” Trump

300-500 troops; Ohio said it was sending 150; and South Carolina said it was sending 200.

And on Monday, Mississippi and Tennessee joined that list, pledging 200 and 160 troops, respectively

Trump’s executive order launching the D.C. crackdown declared a “crime emergency” in the city

“The White House is in charge. The Military and our Great Police will liberate this City scrape away the filth, and make it safe,

a bill making changes to Louisiana’s abortion trigger law, which immediately banned abortion when the Supreme Court overturned Roe. One of the social media posts central to the case came from Detiege. It said: “I say this with all disrespect: burn in hell. You don’t care about women You don’t care about pregnant people. You don’t care about children. You don’t care about education. I do not respect all black women. Some of you b***** are very dumb.”

Another plaintiff, Ponchatoula resident Dayne Sherman, joined the lawsuit several months after it was originally filed. JacksonAndrews blocked him from her

agreement protocols.

n Establish legal risk review process.

n Conduct staff training on legal boundaries.

Three pages of the report are dedicated to countering attacks by Guillory in his 25-page response to the investigative audit findings in which he alleges political bias, misconduct and weaponization of oversight, calling the auditor “a hitman for the elite.”

Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack wrote that Guillory calls the position “political prostitution” and tries to link it to former Govs Huey Long and Earl Long. The two left office before the Legislative Auditor’s Office was created in 1964.

The former mayor-president, he continued presents ordinary professional interactions as evidence of misconduct on the part of the legislator auditor, calling into question the reliability of Guillory’s response to the audit findings.

Guillory, Waguespack wrote, declined the legislator auditor’s offer to be interviewed in conjunction with the investigation. Guillory responded to a follow-up text message seeking an interview by writing, “I have been asked to turn my attention to what I consider are false, unbased claims and allegations wafted for political purposes.”

The Legislator Auditor Office’s findings and responses from Guillory, Logan and current LCG officials can be found at https://lla. la.gov/reports/audit-reports.

ing fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

Zelenskyy responded with his own post late Sunday, saying, “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.” He said “peace must be lasting,” not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago and “Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.”

Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump’s team claims the Russian leader is open to Western allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack.

European leaders suggested forging a temporary ceasefire is not off the table. Following his meeting with Putin on Friday, Trump dropped his demand for an immediate ceasefire and said he would look to secure a final peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine a sudden shift to a position favored by Putin.

said. The European leaders were left out of Trump’s summit with Putin. They want to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow Many arrived at the White House with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine’s interests a rare show of diplomatic force.

Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Trump suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote Sunday night on social media. “Remember how it started No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot be-

clean, habitable and beautiful once more,” Trump wrote on social media the day after he issued the order In a news conference Monday D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged the notion that Trump’s takeover was really about violent crime.

“Nobody is against focusing on driving down any level of violence,” she said. “If this is really about immigration enforcement, I think the administration should make that plain.”

account in 2013 after a disagreement over the legality of a bill she sponsored that year to allow public schools to start the day with the Lord’s Prayer, according to court filings.

At the start of Monday’s meeting, the German and French leaders praised Trump for opening a path to peace, but they urged the U.S. president to push Russia for a ceasefire.

“I would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Trump, for his part, reiterated that a broader, war-ending peace agreement between the two countries is “very attainable,” but “all of us would obviously prefer the immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.”

The other European leaders in attendance were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The White House has ordered D.C. police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officers, though such cooperation would violate local laws.

“We don’t have any authority over the D.C. guard or any other guards, but I think it kind of makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime,” Bowser said when asked about other states sending troops to the city The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, whose office helped represent Jackson-Andrews in the case, celebrated the outcome, saying in a statement, “The First Amendment did not prohibit Sen. Jackson from blocking vile, personal racist attacks on her social media pages. Walter, a federal judge in the Western District of Louisiana nominated by President Ronald Reagan, in his ruling cited a 2024 U.S Supreme Court decision in the case Lindke v. Freed That case dealt with a similar issue with a city manager in Michigan who posted personal and work-related information on a social media account and blocked a user who was critical of the city’s pandemic response.

In Lindke, the high court held that a public official’s social media activity is considered official state government action if that official had “actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf” and then “purported to exercise that authority when he spoke on social media,” Walter explained in his ruling. Walter said the Louisiana plaintiffs failed to meet the bar set out in that case.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO ByALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and European leaders at the White House on Monday as other U.S officials look on in the background.

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street holds as it nears record heights

Wall Street held near its record heights Monday, ahead of a week likely to be dominated by updates from the head of the Federal Reserve and from some of the biggest U.S. retailers. The S&P 500 barely budged and fell by less than 0.1%, coming off its first loss after setting an all-time high in three consecutive days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 33 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1%.

Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States rose 3.7% after the Danish company said U.S. regulators approved its Wegovy drug as part of a treatment for a liver disease found in many overweight and obese people.

Soho House, a membership club with locations around the world, jumped 14.9% after announcing a deal where an investor group led by hotel-operator MCR would pay $9 in cash for its shares. Several of the country’s largest retailers, meanwhile, were mixed ahead of their profit reports that are scheduled for later in the week. Home Depot, which will report on Tuesday, slipped 1.2%.

Target rose 1.9% ahead of its report Wednesday, and Walmart added 0.7% before its report Thursday

They, along with companies like Estee Lauder and Ross Stores, could offer a look at how different types of U.S. households are holding up when the job market seems to have morphed into one where relatively few workers are getting fired but also hired.

Judges say digital ad tax violates free speech

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s

first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising violated the Constitution, a federal appeals court says, because blocking Big Tech from telling customers about the tax violates the companies’ right to free speech

Supporters say Maryland needed to overhaul its tax methods in response to significant changes in how businesses advertise. The tax focuses on large companies that make money advertising on the internet such as Meta, Google and Amazon, who say they’re being unfairly targeted

The ongoing legal fight is being watched by other states that are considering taxes for online ads. Maryland estimated the tax could raise about $250 million a year to help pay for a sweeping K-12 education measure Maryland’s law says the companies must not only pay the tax but avoid telling customers how it affects pricing, with no line items, surcharges or fees, the appeals court said Friday in siding with trade associations fighting the tax.

MSNBC network to be renamed MS NOW

Changing its mind about keeping its name, the MSNBC news network said Monday it will become My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW for short, as part of its corporate divorce from NBC.

The TV network, which appeals to liberal audiences with a stable of personalities including Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Nicole Wallace, has been building its own separate news division from NBC News. It will also remove NBC’s peacock symbol from its logo as part of the change, which will take effect later this year

The name change was ordered by NBC Universal, which last November spun off cable networks USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, Oxygen and the Golf Channel into its own company, called Versant. None of the other networks are changing their name.

It runs second in cable news ratings to Fox News Channel with personalities like Rachel Maddow Nicole Wallace and Ari Melber

Newsmax to pay $67M in lawsuit

Defamation case filed over election claims

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

DENVER The conservative network Newsmax will pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, according to docu-

ments filed Monday

The settlement comes after Fox News Channel paid $787.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit in 2023 and Newsmax paid what court papers describe as $40 million to settle a libel lawsuit from a different voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, which also was a target of pro-Trump conspiracy theories on the network.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had ruled earlier that Newsmax did indeed defame

Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems by airing false information about the company and its equipment. But Davis left it to a jury to eventually decide whether that was done with malice, and, if so, how much Dominion deserved from Newsmax in damages. Newsmax and Dominion reached the settlement before the trial could take place. The settlement was disclosed by Newsmax in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission. It said the deal was reached Friday “Newsmax believed it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020,” the company said in a statement. “We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism.”

A spokesperson for Dominion said the company was pleased to have settled the lawsuit.

AN EV U-TURN

Republicans want to strip billions in federal funding for U.S. Postal Service

BY SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press

WASHINGTON A year after being lauded for its plan to replace thousands of aging, gaspowered mail trucks with a mostly electric fleet, the U.S. Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding

In June, the Senate parliamentarian blocked a Republican proposal in a major tax-and-spending bill to sell off the agency’s new electric vehicles and infrastructure and revoke remaining federal money But efforts to halt the fleet’s shift to clean energy continue in the name of cost savings.

Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, said canceling the program now would have the opposite effect, squandering millions of dollars.

“I think it would be shortsighted for Congress to now suddenly decide they’re going to try to go backwards and take the money away for the EVs or stop that process because that’s just going to be a bunch of money on infrastructure that’s been wasted,” he said

Beyond that, many in the scientific community fear the government could pass on an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming when ur-

BY ALBEE ZHANG Associated Press

WASHINGTON American lawmak-

ers are using a trip to South Korea and Japan to explore how the United States can tap those allies’ shipbuilding expertise and capacity to help boost its own capabilities, which are dwarfed by those of China.

Sens Tammy Duckworth, DIll., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., were in Seoul on Sunday before traveling to Japan, planning to meet top shipbuilders from the world’s second- and third-largest shipbuilding

gent action is needed.

A 2022 University of Michigan study found the new electric postal vehicles could cut total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 million tons over the predicted, cumulative 20year lifetime of the trucks. That’s a fraction of the more than 6,000 million metric tons emitted annually in the United States, said professor Gregory A Keoleian, co-director of the university’s Center for Sustainable Systems. But he said the push toward electric vehicles is critical and needs to accelerate, given the intensifying impacts of climate change.

“We’re already falling short of goals for reducing emissions,” Keoleian said. “We’ve been making progress, but the actions being taken or proposed will really reverse decarbonization progress that has been made to date.”

Many GOP lawmakers share President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Biden-era green energy push and say the Postal Service should stick to delivering mail.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said “it didn’t make sense for the Postal Service to invest so heavily in an all-electric force.” She said she will pursue legislation to rescind what is left of the $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act allocated to help cover the $10 billion cost of new postal vehicles.

Ernst has called the EV initiative a “boondoggle” and “a textbook example of waste,” citing delays, high costs and concerns over cold-weather performance.

“You always evaluate the programs, see if they are working. But the rate at which the company that’s providing those vehicles is

able to produce them, they are so far behind schedule, they will never be able to fulfill that contract,” Ernst said during a recent appearance at the Iowa State Fair, referring to Wisconsinbased Oshkosh Defense.

“For now,” she added, “gas-powered vehicles — use some ethanol in them — I think is wonderful.”

Corn-based ethanol is a boon to Iowa’s farmers, but the effort to reverse course has other Republican support. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, a co-sponsor of the rollback effort, has said the EV order should be canceled because the project “has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks and skyrocketing costs.”

The Postal Service maintains that the production delay of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles was “very modest” and not unexpected.

“The production quantity ramp-up was planned for and intended to be very gradual in the early months to allow time for potential modest production or supplier issues to be successfully resolved,” spokesperson Kim Frum said.

The independent, self-funded federal agency, which is paid for mostly by postage and product sales, is in the middle of a $40 billion, 10-year modernization and financial stabilization plan.

The EV effort had the full backing of Democratic President Joe Biden, who pledged to move toward an all-electric federal fleet of car and trucks.

countries. The senators want to examine the possibilities of forming joint ventures to construct and repair noncombatant vessels for the U.S. Navy in the Indo-Pacific and bring investments to American shipyards.

“We already have fewer capacity now than we did during Operation Iraqi Freedom” in 2003, Duckworth said. “We have to rebuild the capacity At the same time, what capacity we have is aging and breaking down and taking longer and more expensive to fix.”

Their trip comes as President Donald Trump demands a plan to revive U.S. shipyards and engage foreign partners. The Pentagon is seeking $47 billion for shipbuilding in its annual

budget. The urgency stems from the fact that Washington severely lags behind China in building naval ships, a situation raising alarms among policymakers who worry the maritime balance of power could shift to China, now the world’s No. 1 shipbuilder Duckworth, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she hopes the trip could lead to joint ventures among the U.S military, American companies and foreign partners to build auxiliary vessels for the Navy and small boats for the Army Another possibility is repairing U.S. ships in the Indo-Pacific region.

The discussions, she said, will focus on auxiliary vessels, which are noncombatant ships such as fueling and cargo vessels that support naval and military operations. The Navy’s auxiliary fleet is aging and insufficient in numbers, she said.

The U.S. commercial shipbuilding accounted for 0.1% of global capacity in 2024, while China produced 53%, followed by South Korea and Japan, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A Navy review from April 2024 found that many of its major shipbuilding programs were one year to three years behind schedule.

“If we have to bring ships all the way back to the United States to wait two years to be fixed, that doesn’t help the situation,” Duckworth said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SUSAN HAIGH

U.S Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding, which would go toward the zero-emission electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles used in its fleet.

‘Ketamine Queen’ to plead guilty in Perry case

Woman

accused of selling fatal dose to actor

BY ANDREW DALTON Associated Press

LOS ANGELES A woman known as the “Ketamine Queen,” charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty Monday Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the “Friends” star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, avoiding a trial that had been planned for September

criminal charges including providing the ketamine that led to Perry’s death. In a brief statement, Sangha’s lawyer Mark Geragos said only “She’s taking responsibility for her actions.”

people had been charged in Perry’s Oct. 28, 2023 death after a sweeping investigation.

She agreed in a signed statement filed in court to plead guilty to five federal

Prosecutors had cast Sangha, a 42-year-old citizen of the U.S. and the U.K., as a prolific drug dealer who was known to her customers as the “Ketamine Queen,” using the term often in news releases and court documents. She agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

The final plea deal came a year after federal prosecutors announced that five

Sangha admitted in the agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, hours before he died from an overdose in 2019. McLaury had no relationship to Perry Prosecutors will drop three other counts related to the distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine that was unrelated to the Perry case.

Sangha will officially change her plea to guilty at an upcoming hearing, where sentencing will be scheduled, prosecutors said. She could get up to 45 years in prison. The judge is not bound to follow any terms of the plea agreement, but prosecutors said in the document that they will ask for

Bolivia’s presidential election heads to runoff

BY ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press

LA PAZ, Bolivia Bolivia’s presidential vote is headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday’s election ended over two decades of ruling party dominance in the Andean nation.

A centrist lawmaker from a prominent political family, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, and a rightwing former president, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, will face off in October after a first round of voting knocked out candidates allied with the nation’s long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party Paz, a former mayor campaigned with the slogan “Capitalism for all” — rejecting the statist policies of MAS while pitching a more inclusive approach to rescuing Bolivia from its worst economic crisis in four decades. He has promised to lower tariffs, reduce taxes and make small loans more accessible for entrepreneurs.

“Bolivia is looking for change, looking for renewal,” Paz told The Associated Press after his win. “The vast majority of people have expressed that desire for renewal — merchants, the self-employed, transport workers, the great majority of this country.”

Paz had been trailing in opinion polls for weeks. But he gained unexpected traction as he teamed up with Edman Lara, a social media savvy ex-police captain with evangelical backing who was fired for denouncing corruption in the security services.

“We did not invest millions, we invested in the people’s trust,” Lara told local media on Monday, seeking to portray his ticket as a humble alternative to that of the wealthy right-wingers who poured exorbitant sums into

campaigning. “ While others spent fortunes on posters and TV spots, we trusted in the strength of the citizens and a message of unity.”

Paz secured a lead over Quiroga with over 32% of the votes cast Quiroga received just over 26%. Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff.

Bolivia holds the presidential runoff — its first since its 1982 return to democracy on Oct. 19.

“Now, the ball is in the hands of the Bolivian people,” said leftist President Luis Arce, who will leave office following plummeting approval ratings reflecting popular frustration with his government’s mismanagement of the economy “Democracy has triumphed!”

The results delivered a blow to Bolivia’s hegemonic MAS party, which has governed almost uninterrupted since its founder, charismatic ex-President Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the “pink tide” of leaders who swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s.

Bolivia faces a return to belt-tightening. After years of alignment with world pow-

ers like China and Russia, it seems set to reconcile with the United States.

The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished sixth with 3.2% of the vote.

A candidate considered to be the party’s best hope, 36-year-old Senate president Andrónico Rodríguez, captured 8% of the vote.

During his almost 14 years in power, Morales expanded the rights of the country’s Indigenous majority defended coca growers against U.S.-backed eradication programs and poured natural gas profits into social programs.

But the maverick leader’s increasingly high-handed attempts to prolong his presidency — along with allegations of sexual relations with underage girls — soured public opinion against him Discontent turned into outrage as Bolivia’s once-stable economy imploded under Morales’ protégé-turnedrival, President Arce.

Annual inflation rate has soared from 2% less than two years ago to 25% as of last month. A scarcity of fuel has paralyzed the country A shortage of U.S. dollars needed to pay for essential imports like wheat has crippled the economy

less than the maximum. She and Dr Salvador Plasencia, who pleaded guilty last month, had been the primary targets of the investigation. Three other defendants — Dr Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming — pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia.

Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by Iwamasa, his assistant The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

Sangha presented a posh lifestyle on Instagram, with photos of herself with the rich and famous in cities around the globe. Prosecutors said she privately presented herself as a dealer who sold to the same kind of high-class customers.

Perry had been using ketamine through his regular doctor as a legal, but offlabel, treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry 54, sought more ketamine than his doctor would give him. He began getting it from Plasencia about a month before his death, then started getting still more from Sangha about two weeks before his death, prosecutors said.

Perry and Iwamasa found Sangha through Perry’s friend Fleming. In their plea agreements, both men described the subsequent deals in detail.

Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying Sangha’s ketamine was “unmarked but it’s amazing,” according to court documents. Fleming texted Iwamasa that she only deals “with high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she’d

lose her business.” With the two men acting as middlemen, Perry bought large amounts of ketamine from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash four days before his death. That purchase included the doses that killed Perry, prosecutors said. On the day of Perry’s death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they had sent each other, according to her indictment.

Her home in North Hollywood, California, was raided in March 2024 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who found large amounts of methamphetamines and ketamine, according to an affidavit from an agent She has been held in federal custody for about a year None of the defendants have yet been sentenced.

BY RIAZ KHAN Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan

Anguished Pakistanis searched remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll reached 277 on Monday, while one official replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere.

A changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan’s river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden heavy rains.

More than 150 people were still missing in the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday’s flash floods. Villagers have said there had been no warning

broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas.

The government has said the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed.

Emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said three bodies were found on Monday. The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.

On Sunday, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said many deaths could have been avoided if residents had not built homes along waterways. He said the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in

rebuilding homes. Residents said they were not living near streams, yet the flood swept through their homes. In Buner’s Malak Pur village, Ikram Ullah, aged 55, said people’s ancestral homes were destroyed even though they were not near the stream, which emerged in the area because of the flood. He said large boulders rolled down from mountains with the flood.

Pakistan has seen higherthan-normal monsoon rains since June 26 that have killed at least 645 people across the country, with 400 deaths in the northwest. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an alert for further flooding after new rains began Sunday in many parts of the country

Perry

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JUAN KARITA

Voters check electoral rolls Sunday during general elections in Jesus de Machaca, Bolivia.

Trumpvowstochangehow electionsare run

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI and ALISWENSON Associated Press

in Portland, Ore Constitution doesn’t give himthatpower

President Donald Trump on Monday vowed more changes tothe way elections are conducted in the U.S., but based on the Constitution there is little to nothinghecan do on his own. Relying on false informationand conspiracy theories that he’sregularly used to explainawayhis 2020 election loss,Trump pledged on his social media site thathewould do away with both mail voting which remains popular and is used by about one-third of all voters and voting machines —someform of which are used in almostall of the country’sthousands of election jurisdictions. These are the same systems that enabled Trump to win the 2024 election and Republicans to gain control of Congress.

Trump’spost marks an escalation even in his normally overheated election rhetoric. He issueda wideranging executive order earlier this year that, among otherchanges, would haverequired documented proof-of-citizenship before registeringtovote. His Monday post promised another election executive order to “helpbring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm elections.”

The same post also pushedfalsehoods about voting. He claimed the U.S. is the only countrytouse mail voting, when it’sactually used by dozens, including Germany,Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Similar complaints to Trump’s, when airedonconservativenetworks such as Newsmaxand Fox News, have led to multimillion-

dollar defamation settlements, including one announced Monday because they arefull of false informationand the outlets have not been able to present any evidence to support them.

Trump’spostcameafterthe presidenttoldFox News that Russian President Vladimir Putin,intheir Friday meetinginAlaska, echoed his grievances about mail voting and the 2020 election. Trump continued his attack on mail voting and voting machines in the OvalOffice on Monday,during ameeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Theannouncementsignals yet another way that Trump intends to stack the cards inhis favor in the 2026 midterm elections, after he already has directed his attorney generaltoinvestigateaDemocratic fundraisingplatformand urged states to redraw their congressionaldistricts to help the GOP maintain its majority in the House of Representatives Here’sabreakdown of Trump’s

latest election post and why Congress is the one entitythat can implement national election rules. Trump for years haspromoted false information about voting, and Monday was no exception. He claimed there is “MASSIVE FRAUD” due to mail voting, when in fact voting fraud in theU.S. is rare.Asanexample, an Associated Pressreview after the 2020 election found fewer than 475 cases of potential fraudinthe sixbattleground states where he disputedhis loss, far too few to tipthat election to Trump.

Washingtonand Oregon, which conduct elections entirely by mail, have sued to challenge Trump’s earlier executive order —which sought to require that allballots must be received by Election Day andnot just postmarked by then. The states argue that the president hasnosuchauthority,and they are seeking adeclaration from a federal judge in Seattlethat their postmark deadlines do not conflict withfederal law setting the dateof

U.S. elections.

Trump also alleged that voting machines are more expensive than “Watermark Paper.” That’salittleusedsystem that hasgainedfavor and investments among somevoting conspiracy theorists who believe it would help prevent fraudulent ballots frombeing introduced into the vote count. Watermarks would not provide away to count ballots, so they would not on their ownreplace vote tabulatingmachines

While some jurisdictions still have votersuse electronic ballotmarking devices to cast their votes, thevast majority of votersinthe U.S.alreadyvote on paperballots, creating an auditable record of votesthat provides an extra safeguard for election security

In his post, Trump also claimed that states “are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes” and must do what the federal government“as representedbythe President of the UnitedStates” tells them to do.

Election lawyers said that’sa misrepresentation of theU.S.Constitution. It also flies in the face of what hadbeena coreRepublican Party value of prioritizing states’ rights.

Unlike in mostcountries, electionsinthe U.S. arerun by the states. But it gets morecomplicated —each state then allows smaller jurisdictions, such as counties, cities or townships, to run their own elections.Election officials estimate there are as manyas10,000 different election jurisdictions across the country

Afrequent complaint of Trump andother election conspiracy theorists is that theU.S.doesn’t run itselection like France, which hand counts presidential ballots

andusually hasa national result on electionnight. But that’sbecause France is only running that single election,and everyjurisdiction hasthe same ballot with no other races.

Aballot in the U.S. might contain dozens of races, from president on downtocity council and including state and local ballot measures.

The Constitution makes the statesthe entitiesthat determine the “time, place and manner” of elections, but does allow Congress to “make”or“alter” rules for federal elections.

Congress can change the way states run congressional and presidential elections but has no say in the way astate runs its own elections. The president is not mentioned at all in the Constitution’s list of entities withpowersover elections.

“The president hasvery limited to zero authority over things related to the conduct of elections,” saidRickHasen, an election law professor at theUniversityofCalifornia, Los Angeles.

Parts of Trump’searlierexecutive order on elections were swiftly blocked by the courts, on the groundsthatCongress, and not the president, sets federal election rules.

It’s unclear what Trumpplans to do now,but the only path to change federal election rules is through Congress.

Although Republicans control Congress, it’sunclear that even his party would wanttoeliminate voting machines nationwide, possibly delaying vote talliesintheir own races by weeks or months. Even if they did, legislation would likely be unable to pass because Democratscould filibusteritinthe U.S. Senate.

20 states,D.C.sueDOJ to stop immigrationrequirementsonvictimfunds

Acoalitionofattorneys general

20 states and Washington,

judgeto stop the U.S. Department of Justice from withholding federalfunds earmarked for crime victims if states don’tcooperate with the Trump administration’simmigra-

tion enforcement efforts. Thelawsuit filed Monday in RhodeIsland federalcourt seeksto block the JusticeDepartment from enforcingconditions that would cut funding to astate or subgrantee if it refusestohonor civil immigration enforcementrequests, deniesU.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officersaccesstofacilities or fails to provideadvance

authority The lawsuit alsoargues that the requirementsare not permitted or outlinedinthe Victims of Crime Act, known as VOCA, and would in-

terfere with policies created to ensure victimsand witnesses report crimes without fearofdeportation. “These people did not ask for this status as acrime victim. They don’t breakdown neatly across partisan lines,but they share one common trait, which is that they’ve suffered an unimaginable trauma,” New Jersey AttorneyGeneral Matthew J. Platkin said during avideo news conference Monday, calling the administration’sthreattowithhold funds “the most heinous act” he’s seen in politics. Thefederal conditions were placed on VOCA funding, which providesmore than abilliondollars annually to states for victims compensation programsand grants that fund victims assistance organizations. VOCA fundingcomesentirely from fines and penalties in federal court cases, notfrom tax dollars.

Lafayette appoints interim fire chief

Search on for full-time replacement

Staff report

Lafayette Consolidated Government has appointed an interim fire chief to replace longtime chief Robert Benoit and is seeking qualified applicants for a permanent replacement.

Lafayette Parish MayorPresident Monique Boulet appointed Deputy Fire Chief John Bourgeois II interim chief until the new permanent chief is selected, Jamie Boudreaux, chief communications officer,

said Monday in a news release. Benoit retired Friday after 32 years as fire chief and 46 years with the Lafayette Fire Department He was expected to report to work Monday to a new job as fire liaison supervisor with Acadian Ambulance. LCG officials expect to recruit among local, regional and national fire service organizations and associations to gather a strong pool of candidates.

The city is seeking an ac-

Vinton man arrested in crane joyride

Key fob led troopers to suspect

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

A 37-year-old Vinton man allegedly hijacked a crane sitting in a work zone on Interstate 10 and triggered multiple car crashes early Saturday morning. He left the key fob for his own truck in the crane’s operator cab, leading police to him, according to a news release from Louisiana State Police Troop D. Matthew Vincent, 37, was arrested and booked on multiple counts after State Police were called to investigate reports of vehicles hitting a construction crane on I-10 near La. 108 at 5:30 a.m. Saturday The crane was positioned in the median with its cables hanging over I-10, which struck a passing vehicle. Three additional crashes followed the initial impact, causing two reported injuries, major damage to the crane, and significant property damage, as well as prolonged closure of the interstate. During the investigation, troop-

ä See CRANE, page 4B

Amtrak’s Mardi Gras service has left the station

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

John Hilbert stood by the railroad tracks at the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi station on a sweltering Gulf Coast morning, waiting He was part of a small crowd of residents, travelers, tourism officials and city leaders gathered Monday to welcome the first passengers rolling in from New Orleans on Amtrak’s newest rail line. And though surrounded by official boosters of the region, Hilbert, who was meeting his friend, made as good of a pitch as anyone for what the new service could bring.

“I think (the Amtrak train) is going to expose people throughout the country to how beautiful it is, the Gulf Coast,” he said “There’s the gambling, there’s the beaches,

ä See AMTRAK, page 4B

complished and respected leader with elevated fire service experience, proven operational and administrative expertise and a demonstrated commitment to public safety and community trust, Boudreaux wrote.

The fire chief serves as the primary leader of the department, overseeing fire protection, prevention and emergency rescue services for the city of Lafayette.

The department, founded

in 1907, protects more than 135,000 residents across 54 square miles and has a Class 2 fire protection rating. Lafayette Fire Department operates 14 stations with 288 personnel across six divisions. Applications must be received by noon Oct. 3 to take a written exam to establish an eligibility list in accordance with the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Law and the rules of the Lafayette Civil Service Board. Applications for the test may be obtained from Mary Francis in the Fire and

Police Civil Service office, 705 W. University Ave. or ose.state.la.us.

To qualify, applicants must:

n Be a U.S. citizen with no felony convictions.

n Hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, fire science, fire administration or a related field and possess at least 10 years of progressively responsible fire service experience, including a minimum of three years in an administrative or supervisory role.

Qualified applications may submit a résumé, cover letter and professional references to applicant@ lafayettela.gov with “Lafayette Fire Chief” in the subject line. The position pays from $140,000 to $144,000 a year

n Or hold an associate degree in fire science, fire administration or a related fire management curriculum with the same experience requirements as above. n Meet and maintain any medical and physical fitness standards as required by the appointing authority

FRESH NEW LOOK

TOP: University of Louisiana at Lafayette football players sit in club seats looking out at the field during their first look at the new Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium on Saturday RIGHT: Players look at some of the graphics installed on the walls.

LEFT: UL players walk through the concourse during their tour

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Sickle cell disease breakthrough provides hope

Earlier this month, we learned 22-year-old Daniel Cressy would be the first person in Louisiana to receive agene therapy that promises to provide what patients and their families have long dreamed of —a cure for sickle cell disease.

Cressy’sjourney,asdocumented by reporter Emily Woodruff,isthe fruit of decades of research that will benefit thousands.

In Louisiana, there is ahigh prevalence of the disease per capita, and it disproportionately affects Blacks.

The life-changing nature of this breakthroughisevident when you know alittleabout the disease and patients like Cressy who have lived with it since birth. Sickle cell disease gets its name from agenetic mutationthat causes redblood cells, which are normally round, to be shapedlike acrescent, or sickle. As these mutated cells move through vessels, theycan become stuck, causing episodes of debilitating pain. For patients, this can mean weeks of not being to work, attend school or perform the essentialfunctions of life.

It can mean they have togive up on their dreams.Cressy,who aspires to become alicensed pilot, was denied medical clearance by theFederal Aviation Administration due to his sickle cell disease. He’shoping that will change after he completes the gene therapy It’snoeasy road. Just gettingthe green light to receive the therapy took 18 months. Then, there are potential risks and side effectsto confront. The therapy itself requires blood transfusions, stem cell collections and chemotherapy over several months.

Cressy is undergoing the process at Manning Family Children’s, and Woodruff’s reporting put aspotlight on the incredible teamwork of the medical staff there. After Cressy’s stem cells were collected, they were set to be shipped off to Scotland, where, in aprocess that seems like science fiction, scientistswill be able to edit his genes to address the mutation. The idea is that when the edited cells are returned to his body,they will help rebuild healthycells. We must not overlook that robust federal funding for basic scienceresearch is why we seebreakthroughs like this. NIH-funded studies of the human genome led tothe development of CRISPR, the gene-editing technology used here. While cuts to the National Institutes of Healthmay savemoney in the short run, improving lives like Cressy’sinthe long run is worth far more. And lastly,wemust face the tremendous cost of this therapy,morethan $1 million for a single patient, not counting hospital stays and other costs. Louisiana is lined up toget up to support from anew federal program called the Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model to help Medicaid patients get these therapies. With roughly 3,000 Medicaid patientsinthe state who have sickle cell disease, clearly, more will need to be done. But for now,weare glad to see patients like Cressy and theirloved ones finally have areason tohope.

Proposal to bancoyote rehabignores real issue

Regarding theWildlife and Fisheriesproposaltostopcoyoterehab, the reason this issue has come about is the result of obscene andwasteful human behaviors thathave and aredestroying the environment We depend on nature. Nature doesn’t depend on humans. Naturewould be morestable if humans could become awareofour place in ahealthy environment.Humans seesuccess in pouring asphalt and concrete as far as we can. We arerunning animals and insects out of their natural environment.Wehave created and worsenedflooding. Louisiana continues to be astate saturatedwithcarcinogens in our water air and soil. We have become aviolent culturenot seen in other animals.I have never thought that humans are the

In response to Michael Barone’s piece on July 29 regarding thehistorical relationships between sitting and former presidents, his primary objective seems to be to put Barack Obama on alevel with Donald Trump in their respective approaches to guiding the nationthrough the constitutional change of presidential administrations.

In this attempt,heconflates the effortsoffederal intelligence agencies working to find out if and how aforeign government triedtoinfluence our national elections with the completely separate actions of Hillary Clinton’s election campaign, writing as if they wereall acombined effort.

The Steele dossier was apiece of opposition research conducted by a presidential campaign; it was not the product of federal agencies working

mostintelligent or spiritual beings. The rehabilitation of coyotes and othercreatures is essentialtomaintain ahealthy and stable ecosystem Hopefully,teacherswill use the coyote rehabcontroversy to create ateaching opportunity about respect for the environment.Ifkids don’tknow whatis in the environment,how will they know if it’smissing? Kids won’tunderstand the important role of all living things animals and plants— in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Why should they be concerned if theynolonger exist? We are the problem, not thecoyotes.Maybe arehab program needs to be developed for humans

GINGERFORD Baton Rouge

at the direction of the president. The agencies did find, however, that Russia tried, illegally,toinfluence our election —veryimportant information, Iwould contend, for our nationtounderstand and react to,nomatter who the intended beneficiary. Comparing the legitimate work of the agencies thatare charged with keeping our country safe and free with Trump’sefforts to try to retain power after clearly losing the 2020 election is insulting and does adisservice to the newspaper’sreaders.

While this may seem like aminor example of the current trend in historical revisionism,itiscritical to our country’sfuture that we call out every example as we worktoreverse that trend.

PATFORBES Baton Rouge

Johnsonadjourning Houseearly was misuse of power

DOGE should fire Speaker Mike Johnson for waste, fraud and abuse. Waste, because he single-handedly wasted taxpayers’ money by giving 435 members of Congress aday off simply because he didn’twant to do his job as Speaker of the House and provide oversight of the government. Fraud, because he did this just to benefit President Donald Trump, and not for the betterment of the United States. Abuse, because he had the power to adjourn the House of Representatives and used it strictly for political reasons, and not for the betterment of the United States. These are facts which cannot be denied.

Trumpwouldn’thave hadtoempower ICEif laws hadbeenenforced

When we see all of the ICEissues and blameour current administration forchaos, manydonot realize the real issue. What caused ICEto do what they are doing? When the past administration didn’tsecure the border and spent billions on illegal immigrants, the only right thing to do is reverse this situation. So those that blamePresident Donald Trumpfor the push to get the illegal immigrants out of the country should focus on the real cause. President Joe Biden ignored the lawsof our country.Trumpisenforcing them.AmIwrong?

RHETT BOURGEOIS Gonzales

GREG TENHUNDFELD Baton Rouge LETTERSTOTHE

HERE AREOUR

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

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

Monument belongsinArlington cemetery

Iwas happy to hear thenews that DefenseSecretaryPete Hegsethisreturning the iconic Reconciliation Monument to Arlington National Cemetery

It was wrong to takeitdown in the first place, particularly since it is agrave marker in acemetery. Sculptor Moses Ezekiel, themonument’screator,was buried at itsbasein1921. The sacred remains of several other men arealso present. It should never have been disturbed.

It is shameful that any member of Congress or leader in government approved this desecration, especially conservatives and Southerners,who

ought to know better.The monument was dedicated in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson, who called it agreat “emblem of areunited people.” North and South alike wereoverjoyed to officially lay down arms against each other and commence anew era of goodwill. This development marks aturning point in theU.S. We are finished being tolerant of this wanton destruction of our history and shared memory.We seek the restoration of all historic symbols and monuments in our country and will not rest until this is achieved.

LESLIE ALEXANDER Lafayette

Lotterydoesn’t need to advertise

Can someone explain why the Louisiana Lottery is allowed advertise? It seems to me that the folks that want lottery tickets already know that tickets are available and will figure out if anew “game” is available. Advertising is expensive so that’s alot of money that could be going to the things that the lottery is supposed to support like education or maybe teachers pay

JACK MORGAN Baton Rouge

Arewe beginningto fiximmigration?

It’s with some discomfort that I consider the possibility that President Donald Trump’sradical immigration agenda will lead to better immigration policies. The discomfortcomes from the cruelty involved: the roughing up of good people who’ve been quietly working, the celebrations of brutal incarceration, the racially tinged rhetoric. Hope comes in the form of changed perspective. Outside of agriculture, the existence of an illegalworkforce is no longer openly tolerated.

The chaos at the border is stopped. And aresultinglabor shortage may force leaders to adopt arational immigration program that legally admits theworkers we need. Such changeswould include legalizing the status of many otherwise law-abiding migrants now working without papers. Politicians from both parties have fordecades blocked reform. We can start with George W. Bush, who subscribed to aRepublican cheap-labor agenda. (A supportive cry from The Wall Street Journal was “Let there be open borders!”)

In 2004, Bush called for atemporary worker program that would “match willing foreign workers with willing employerswhen no Americans can be found to fill the job.” Little mention wasmade about what those willing employers were willing topay their workers.

In 2013, serious immigration reform cleared the Senate in abipartisan vote. It offered apathway to citizenship for

11 million undocumented immigrants, while requiring employers to check a national database for the right of new hires to work in this country.Itwas known as E-Verify Thepresident at the timewas Barack Obama. He pursued a muscular deportation program thatremoved illegal immigrant criminals. Obama clearly wanted to reassure the public that the bill wouldn’tbejustanother amnestywithout beefed-up enforcement. House Republicans brushed off the new policy while members of Obama’sown party condemned him as “deporter in chief.”

Joe Biden seemed blind to theawful situationonthe border.Itwas political malpractice to believe that thesight of caravans of migrants charging overthe border wouldn’talarmthe American public. Never mind the need for labor.Toward the end of his term, Biden recognized the political damage the chaos was doing his party and fixed the problem. Calm came over the border before Trumpbecame president again, but it was too late for Bidentoget the credit he could have claimed.

Butsolving that problem without serious immigration reform has created new problems. For one thing, many undocumented workers pay into aSocial Security system that will not provide them benefits. These contributions boost the program’strust fund by billions of dollarsayear,accordingtoestimates, extending the fund’s

solvency Trump’saggressive deportation campaign has already resulted in a labor shortage andhurtconsumer spending, according to the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Immigrants’ spending power in 2023 is believed to have approached $300 billion. Then there’sinflation. The construction workforce is heavily made up of immigrants, many undocumented. Losing these workers will hit thesupply of housing, already too expensive for many Americans. That could cut economic growth by 0.4%.

Donald Trump could continue his campaign to replace solid government statistics with phony economic numbersmore to his liking. Butthere’sno hiding thecost of things from ordinary Americans. Who knows?Trump might force acceptance of higher immigration numbers. Recenthistory suggests that he still exerts mind control over many Republicans who formerly stood in theway of legally admitting more immigrants, let alonefixing thestatusof theundocumented. Addthe tradewar to areduced workforce and you have higher inflation flashing in neon. Trump was happy to employ undocumented workers at his various businesses, so he maybeopen to letting some currently illegal workersstay.After all, he’sfull of surprises.

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

“There was astory about awoman who had been asked to christen aPortland yard ship but arrived too late; it had already been launched. ‘Just keep standing there, ma’am,’ she was told, ‘there’ll be another along in aminute.’” —Arthur Herman, “Freedom’sForge.”

Whenyouronlytool is ahammer, psychiatrist Abraham Maslow famously observed, all problems begin to looklike nails.

That nugget of wisdomcomes to mind as President Donald Trump implements his federal takeover of the District of Columbia’spolice force and the deployment of 800 National Guard, abig hammer against local crime problems in acity he described as “overrun by violentgangs, blood thirstycriminals, roving mobs of youth, drugged out maniacsand homelesspeople.”

Sayingthe troops will be armed and have the ability to conduct arrestsif needed,Trump promised to “have the crime situation solved in D.C.very soon.”

And that’sjust the beginning, he says, of awave of similar moves that he wants to implement in Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Oakland and other cities, in accordance withhis long-running war on urban crime.

“It has become one of themost dangerous cities anywhere in the World. It will soon be one of the safest!!!” Trump said of the nation’scapital in a recent Truth Social post, pledging action that will “essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.” Yet, not surprisingly,local reaction to this bizarre project has been mixed in the federal city.While the early days of the action were mostly peaceful, one Justice Department employee wasarrested for allegedly throwing asandwich at afederal law enforcement officer Sunday evening. Not nice.

According to the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’sOffice, theman who “forcefully threw” the wrapped hoagie at aCustoms and Border Protectionofficer was himself a(now ex-) employee of the U.S. Department of Justice, Sean Charles Dunn, 37. Dunn allegedly threw the sandwich after pointing his finger at the officer and shouting, “F*** you! Youf****** fascists! Why are you here?Idon’twant you in my city!” He was charged with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and employees of the United States.” After being taken to the cop shop, according to the DOJ, Dunn admitted: “I did it. Ithrew asandwich.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi wasn’t goingtoput up with such nonsense. “If you touch any law enforcement officer,wewill come after you,” Bondi posted on XThursday “This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for

seven months as we work to refocus DOJ.”

Thoseofusoutside the MAGA movement might question how much of adisturbance of thepeace sandwich-throwing will cause.

ButTrump’scrackdown apparently was born on the heels of amore serious crime, an attempted carjacking.

Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, 19, rose to prominence as afeisty member of ElonMusk’sDepartment of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was put to work slashing the size of the federal bureaucracy after Trump came into office.

Coristine wasattacked andbloodiedinWashington’sLogan Circle neighborhood by agroupofteenagers trying to carjack him and afemale companion early in the morning on August 3. A15-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy were taken to juvenile detention, accused of the assault which, not surprisingly,outraged Trump, who said on Aug. 5, “somebody from DOGE was very badly hurtlast night.” He also shared aphotoofabloodied Coristine on TruthSocial, adding, “If D.C.doesn’tget its act together,and quickly,wewill have no choice but to take Federal control of the City.”

As apast victim of street crime myself, my sympathies go out to Coristine. I’m glad that acouple of suspects

were caught, and Ihope they are handled fairly

Butlocking up acouple of teens is only asmall partofthe larger longterm andshort-term challenges posed by problems as complex as big city crime. Idon’tbelieve in “coddling criminals,” as some conservatives might say.But Idobelieve in effective law enforcement and sensible crime prevention that can bring and maintain thesafe streets we all should be seeking. As agroupofprominent Washington religious leaderssaid in their joint criticism of Trump’sdrastictakeover of the District’spolice force, his typically hyperbolic rhetoric —calling thecity“overrun by violent gangs, blood thirsty criminals, roving mobs of youth, drugged out maniacs and homelesspeople” —could only make bad mattersworse in thefight against crime. As ajoint statementbyawideranging group of regional religious leadersput it,the offenses are serious but won’tbehelped by themilitary, “political theater” or fear-based governance.

No, when your only tool in fighting violence inflames moredivisions,you only invite more problems.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47 page@gmail.com

In February 1900, a20-year-old immigrant from Denmark arrived in New York, destitute of everything except his ambition to build bicycles. In Linz, Austria, that day,the son of Alois and Klara Hitler was 10. He became an aspiring but untalented artist who would find another career The immigrant and the Austrian never met, but their lives intersected in away pertinent to today U.S. military aid for Ukraine has been inhibited by this: Our nation, whichfaces global challenges from two near-peer adversaries, has chosen to nothave an adequate defense industrial base.

It was similarly unprepared in the late 1930s Then it chose to be as serious as the darkening world was. In his exhilarating 2012 book,historian Herman, now at the Hudson Institute, tells how the nation magnificently marshaled its talents for making things and saved civilization. By 1937, the Danish immigrant, WilliamKnudsen, had risen from the factory floortothe apex of the automobile industry as GeneralMotors’ president. On May 28, 1940, as France was falling, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called: “I want youtowork on some production matters.” That bland job description disguised Knudsen’s task of turning the Army,then barely larger than that of the Netherlands, and the rest of the U.S. military from asmall, somnolent andtechnologically stagnant force into an emanationof U.S. industrial might.

When, in 1940, FDR vowed productionof 50,000 planes ayear (the Army Air Corps then had about 1,700, most of them small and old), Hitler scoffed: “What is America but beauty queens, millionaires, stupid records, and Hollywood.” “He was,” Herman writes, “about to find out.” By 1945, American white-collar business executives and engineers, and properly valorized blue-collar workers, had produced two-thirds of all the Allies’ war matériel: 86,000 tanks, 2.5 milliontrucks, 286,000 planes, 8,800 naval vessels, 5,600 merchant ships, 434 million tons of steel, 2.6 millionmachine guns, 41 billionrounds of ammunition, etc. Working at frenziedpaces, often in hastily improvised workplaces with dangerous equipment and red-hot rivets, Herman writes, “workers in war-related industries in 1942-43 died or were injured in numbers twenty times greater than the American servicemen killed or wounded during those same years.” In 1939, the U.S. steel industry had its lowest capacity in 20 years, and the shipbuilding industry wasproducing four vessels amonth. But in late 1939, awoman who hadlived in Pittsburgh for most of adecade saw smoke billowing from nearby hills. She called the police, who said: “That’snofire lady.Them’sthe mills.” The giant was awakening.

With the indefatigable Knudsen setting the tone and pace, in mere months, U.S. industrialists planted shipyards and steel mills on mudflats and empty fields. In four years, the Richmond yard near San Francisco launched 747 prefabricated ships.

Herman says this was the fruit of “spontaneous order”: “It was the most powerful and flexible system of wartime production ever devised, because in the end no one devised it.” This “industrial exuberance” sprang from the nimble adaptability of America’smarket economy Today,Vladimir Putin’saggression against Ukraine is rousing European nations fromtheir military slumbers. For example, Germany now has the world’sfourth-biggest defense budget and has loosened debt restraints for defense spending to become kriegstüchtig —war-ready, in the defense minister’sterminology

The United States is not ready.The Economist reports, “At current rates of procurement, it will take seven years to bring America’sammunition stocks back to where they were before military aid to Ukraine began.” In aWashingtonthink tank’s2023 wargamesimulating aconflict with China over Taiwan, the U.S. inventory of longrange missileswas exhausted in threeweeks. The Economist also reports that in 2022, just after Russia attacked Ukraine,Poland ordered “a big batch” of U.S. Abrams tanks from the Joint Systems Manufacturing CenterinOhio, whichsince 1942 has been the main U.S. factory for armored vehicles. America no longer makes completely new Abrams tanks. Instead, the JSMC “refurbishes stripped-back hulls and turrets from old models, whichare kept in storage in Alabama.” Refitting one tank takes about two years. Poland has yet to receive most of the Abrams tanks it ordered three years ago. Poland needs tanks. The United States needs a new Knudsen.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO ByALEX BRANDON A firstsergeant with the District of Columbia National Guard watches as activists protest President Donald Trump’sfederal takeoverofpolicing of the District of Columbia on SaturdayinWashington.

Froma Harrop

Clarence Page

George Will

Kenner residents want say in airport expansion

Flap over meeting raises frustrations

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

As officials at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport begin planning for a second terminal with 15 additional gates and a new parking garage, Kenner residents and elected officials are calling for better communication and more transparency about the expansion.

Concerns surfaced after the airport hosted a meeting Aug. 12 to solicit public input on the expansion plans but didn’t provide what some residents say was sufficient notice of the gathering, which was held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the first week of school in Jefferson Parish.

Only a dozen or so attendees showed up, according to those who were present Public agencies are required to provide at least 24 hours notice before a public meeting. Airport spokesperson Erin Burns said the meeting was, in fact, advertised in “Nola.com and Louisiana Weekly in print and

Continued from page 1B

there’s the environment, there’s the shopping.”

After dignitaries and members of the media gathered Saturday at the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal for speeches and a celebratory inaugural ride, Monday marked the official start of regular service on the Amtrak’s Mardi Gras line. A train full of passengers departed New Orleans at 7:35 a.m. for stops in along the Mississippi Coast in Bay St Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula before reaching the line’s terminus in Mobile. Each paid $15, the one-way fare for the trip. The line won’t carry the masses of commuters that

online for one week before the meeting.”

“The public notice was also placed in the public notice section of the airport website and a press release was distributed the day before the event,” Burns added

But those who say they typically get emails notifying them about airport meetings didn’t receive anything last week and didn’t know to check the airport website or legal notices section in the publications.

“It’s the lack of transparency,” said Richard Brown, president of Citizens for a Better Kenner, who usually gets email notices about airport meetings but did not. “It’s like they’re acting in secrecy.”

Not the first time

The flap over the meeting taps into long-simmering frustrations about the airport that periodically bubble up when those who live near it and those who represent them feel like they don’t know what’s going on at the facility Those frustrations are rooted, in part, in the governance structure of the facility, which is located in Kenner, owned by

use Amtrak’s popular trains between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., each day: The inaugural ride carried 29 travelers on two regular passenger train cars and third car split between a cafe and business class. But it was still a hot ticket, at least on the first day The service was completely booked

The trip marked the return of service to the region for the first time since before Hurricane Katrina. Reviving the line took $278 million and decades of work from political leaders and civic boosters who argued for the importance of connecting the Gulf Coast cities. From its name to its decor, the service aimed to celebrate the region’s arts and culture. In the Bay St. Louis station, mannequins donned Mardi Gras krewe costumes

New Orleans and overseen by a nine-member board appointed by the New Orleans mayor

Earlier this summer Jefferson Parish Council members sought greater control over the airport after an engineer’s report blamed flooding in Kenner after Hurricane Francine last year on the failure of three airport pumps a charge airport officials denied.

In February, a report on subsidence at the airport raised questions about the extent of the repairs needed and how much taxpayers might have to pay for them.

And for years, elected officials in Kenner and Jefferson Parish have been questioning why the $1.3 billion airport terminal, which opened in 2019, was completed years before the access roads around it, though state transportation officials, not the airport, were responsible for the timing of the road projects

“Obviously, they are the largest business in Jefferson Parish and we want them to be successful,” said Jefferson Parish Council member Arita Bohannan, who represents the district that includes the airport and

adorned with sequins and feathered headdresses near a papier-mâché cutout of Pete Fountain playing clarinet. Upstairs, a museum is devoted to the work of Bay St. Louis folk artist Alice Moseley

McKenzey Northington, the executive director of Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau, said she expects the service to draw more visitors to the Mississippi Coast because of its accessibility across multiple cities.

“Being able to showcase the people and businesses that make us us, I think, is really important,” said Northington, describing Bay St. Louis as “an artist community.”

The service also comes amid a broader renewal in the waterfront city especially in its Depot District,

A Vinton man is accused of hijacking a crane and causing wrecks on Interstate 10 near the Louisiana-Texas state line.

CRANE

Continued from page 1B

ers learned there was no construction work in progress during the time of the incident and that the crane was not being operated by construction personnel

Detectives with the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations Sulphur Field Office found a key fob for a Dodge Ram pickup inside the then-empty crane. They later found the truck in a field south of the interstate near the crash site Troopers identified Vincent as the truck’s owner and also found him nearby Vincent had allegedly driven his pickup into a field off La. 108 near I-10 and got stuck there. Then, he abandoned his truck, crossed

the interstate, unlawfully entered the crane, and manipulated the crane boom over the westbound lanes of I-10, leading to the crashes. Vincent was booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center, charged with one count each of simple burglary aggravated obstruction of a highway, criminal mischief and pedestrian on the interstate. He was also charged with two counts of negligent injuring and five counts of hit and run driving.

Detectives from the Louisiana State Police are still investigating the incident and are looking into the possibility of an accomplice.

As of Monday morning Louisiana State Police Troop C Trooper Henry Perez said there was no additional information

Anyone who may have been in the area before this

fielded dozens of calls about the Aug. 12 meeting from angry constituents “But their drainage, sewerage and traffic issues are all things that have to be addressed.”

“Hopefully, this as an opportunity to address them. But it will take better communication,” she added.

Airport officials say they’re not operating in secret but that any expansion is still early in a multistep process

The Federal Aviation Administration recommends that airports do a new master plan every seven to 10 years to assess their facilities, set new goals and make sure they can meet future demand while balancing community impacts.

The local airport is nearing the end of its most recent master planning process, which began two years ago. Consultants have determined that if current growth projections hold, the airport will run out of capacity by 2031.

Between 2022-2025, annual passenger counts at the airport increased from 5.9 million to 6.6 million. At that rate, the airport will reach the limit of its existing capacity — 9.7 million

a thoroughfare that was ravaged by Katrina but has since been revitalized with new developments, including restaurants, fitness centers and vacation rentals.

Bay St. Louis has long been a favorite weekend getaway for New Orleanians and others from across south Louisiana, but Erin Bugbee — who took the train from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis, where she owns property — has noticed an influx of visitors in the last few years.

“The Depot District has really grown so much in the last decade, so there’s a lot of commerce down here

emplanements — by 2031.

To meet those needs, the airport will need to add a second terminal with 15 more gates, an additional 31,000 square feet of ticket lobby space, 53,000 square feet of security checkpoint space and 78,000 square feet of baggage claim area, airport officials said in a presentation last month to the New Orleans City Council transportation committee.

The master plan, when completed later this year, will include conceptual plans for the expansion, a projected timeline based on passenger volume and estimated price tag to help inform a funding strategy But details of the project and a true budget wouldn’t come until construction documents are finalized sometime in the future.

Praise from travelers

Local frustrations aside, the airport has been a success by most measures, winning high marks from travelers on customer satisfaction surveys and raves from travel magazines.

State Rep. Joe Stagni, a Republican whose Kenner district includes the air-

now It’s just a fun place to come on the weekend and get out of the city,” said Bugbee, wearing a bluestriped railroad cap and Mardi Gras beads.

port, said no one has voiced opposition to an airport expansion. But he said it’s important the public be given every opportunity to participate in the planning process, especially in the early stages.

“The master planning process is important and calls for public input,” said Stagni, who did not know about Tuesday’s meeting until just hours before. “It’s difficult to have public input if the public doesn’t have opportunity to be involved.”

Airport officials say they have heard the frustrations and have scheduled a second public meeting.

“Although the recommended procedures were followed, the airport acknowledges the feedback received from the community and is actively working to ensure even more robust outreach to reach more community members,” Burns said. The meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at Susan Park Gymnasium in Kenner

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

For the new service, Amtrak is projecting ridership of 70,000 in the first year Travel time between New Orleans and Bay St. Louis was expected to be about an hour and a half before the train continued on to Mobile The inaugural trip ended up facing a delay due to freight traffic and pulled in to Bay St. Louis a little before 10 a.m. But the riders were all smiles anyway as people waiting along the platform waved to greet them. Once the train stopped, passengers wearing purple, green and gold poured out of the exit, including Shar Mansukhani, Hilbert’s friend who traveled from New Orleans to see him. Mansukhani described the train’s atmosphere as “enthusiastic,” noting how the nostalgic form of transportation sparked camaraderie among the travelers and offered views of the coast. The station emptied within minutes and the train headed on its way to Mobile Email Poet Wolfe at poet. wolfe@theadvocate.com.

incident and observed suspicious activity is urged to contact State Police detectives. People can anonymously report information through the State Police’s online reporting system by visiting lsp.org and clicking on “Report Suspicious or Criminal Activity,” or calling the State Police Fusion Center Hotline at (800) 4348007.

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

LOTTERY SUNDAY,AUG. 17, 2025

PICK 3: 1-9-7

PICK

PHOTO PROVIDED By LOUISIANA STATE POLICE

Getting offensive

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

It’s hard to know what to expect from the LSU offense this year

There are plenty of reasons for optimism. One of the top quarterbacks in the country with Garrett Nussmeier A promising running back. Talent and depth at wide receiver and tight end. Take coach Brian Kelly at his word, and the remade offensive line will be good.

But the offense has looked inconsistent in preseason practices While that could mean something about the defense, it has fed offensive concerns. Will the offensive line really hold up? Can the running game be more productive? How much will Nussmeier improve in his second year as a starter? Does LSU have a gamechanger on the outside?

What we do know at this point is who likely will be on the field Aug 30 in the season opener against Clemson. After 16 practices, here is a projection of the offensive depth chart.

Quarterback

Starter: Garrett Nussmeier (R-Sr.)

Backup: Michael Van Buren (Soph.)

Also: Colin Hurley (R-Fr.)

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staffwriter

Nussmeier has played well during the preseason. He has not put the ball in harm’s way as much as he did going into his first year as a starter He also has scrambled at times, showing he may have addressed two of the things he needed to work on the most.

He even practiced Monday without a brace on his left knee for the first time since Kelly said he aggravated a preexisting case of patellar tendinitis on Aug. 6. With Nussmeier cemented as the starter, LSU has given Van Buren and Hurley time with the second-team offense Van Buren, who started eight games last season for Mississippi State, has been inconsistent as he learns a new offense, but he shows flashes of talent. It’s unclear whether he will have to miss any games with an injury to his throwing hand suffered Saturday in LSU’s scrimmage.

Running back

Starter: Caden Durham (Soph.)

Backups: Kaleb Jackson (Jr.) and Harlem Berry (Fr.)

Also: Ju’Juan Johnson (Soph.) and JT Lindsey (Fr.)

The New Orleans Saints had a glut of interior defensive linemen. The Jacksonville Jaguars had one too many interior offensive linemen. So the teams made a trade.

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Throughout

of the starters usually have remained the same for the past two weeks. But Monday morning, freshman Carius Curne took reps at right tackle for the first time during a practice that was open to the media. Curne, a top-100 recruit in the 2025 class, has spent most of the preseason as the second-team left tackle.

LSU opened the first 15 minutes of practice Monday Curne went with the starting offense as it worked through plays on air, and redshirt freshman Weston Davis was the backup right tackle. Davis has been the starting right tackle throughout the preseason. Davis, a four-star recruit in the 2024 class from Texas, played in four games last season with no starts. He later replaced Curne during a run-blocking drill Monday Curne has impressed teammates throughout offseason training. He’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds. “The strongest freshman I have ever seen,” redshirt sophomore left tackle Tyree Adams said. “The strongest, the

ä Broncos at Saints, NOONSATURDAy KATC

Sunday’s swap of Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders for Jaguars center Luke Fortner boiled down to the simple premise that both players were on the outside looking in for their former teams ahead of roster cutdowns, and both the Saints and Jaguars had needs where their new acq ui sition could help. It just happened to be a nice coincidence that the two teams played each other in Sunday’s 17-17 preseason tie. The Saints wanted a veteran center after Will Clapp went down with a season-ending foot injury The Jaguars sought a veteran defensive lineman with Arik Armstead and former LSU defensive tackle

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Saints center Erik McCoy, left, and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders push against each other during 2024 training camp in Irvine, Calif. Saunders was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU offensive lineman Braelin Moore, left, blocks offensive lineman Carius Curne during

facility Curne ran

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton, right, celebrates with wide receiver Aaron Anderson after scoring against the Oklahoma Sooners on Nov. 30 at Tiger Stadium Both receivers are expected to start when the 2025 season kicks off.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier watches a drill during preseason practice at the LSU indoor practice facility Friday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks, left, pressures Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold in the second half of the Tigers’ win over the Sooners on Nov 30 at Tiger Stadium.

Brewers bring to mind streaky 1987 team

BY NOAH TRISTER Associated Press

The Milwaukee Brewers have been the talk of baseball because of their recent 14-game winning streak. That run also gives us a chance to appreciate a particularly unusual big league season — the Brewers’ super streaky run through 1987.

It was those ’87 Brewers who won their first 13 games of the season, triggering the same free burger promotion by a local chain that went into effect when this year’s streak hit 12 That 13-0 start which included Juan Nieves throwing the first no-hitter in team history in win No 9 stood as the franchise’s longest winning streak in a season until this year’s Brewers surpassed it Saturday Milwaukee was 20-3 in 1987 before crashing back to earth with alarming quickness. May had

barely begun when the team lost 12 in a row The Brewers snuck in another losing streak of six games before the month was over — only to follow with an immediate sixgame winning streak.

It wasn’t just team streaks that made that season notable in Milwaukee. Hall of Famer Paul Molitor produced a 39-game hitting streak that year, a run that hasn’t been matched since. By the time the season was over Milwaukee was 91-71, finishing third in the AL East in an era when you had to win your division to make the playoffs.

With Molitor and Robin Yount leading the way plus a few terrific seasons on the mound by Teddy Higuera — the Brewers of the 1980s never totally lived up to their potential after winning the American League pennant in 1982 In 1983, they went 8775, which was good for only fifth place in their seven-team division.

Nowadays Milwaukee is in the

NL Central and 87 wins is often good enough for at least a wild card. Of course, this year’s team can set its sights much higher. Even after their winning streak was snapped Sunday, the Brewers are 33 games over .500. They need to go just 19-20 the rest of the way to set a franchise record with 97 victories.

Trivia time

The final out of Nieves’ no-hitter came on a spectacular play involving a pair of Hall of Famers. Who were they?

Line of the week

In just his second week in the big leagues, Miami’s Jakob Marsee matched a franchise record with seven RBIs in a 13-4 rout of Cleveland on Wednesday night. Marsee hit a three-run homer, a two-run homer and a two-run double.

Marsee, who made his debut Aug. 1, has 12 extra-base hits in

his first 53 at-bats. Comeback of the week Arizona was down by two with two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth a 1.1% win probability, according to Baseball Savant. James McCann hit a solo homer, and after a hit batter and a walk, Ketel Marte’s three-run homer lifted the Diamondbacks to a 6-4 win over Texas on Wednesday That was the second straight day Marte put his team ahead with a ninth-inning homer Honorable mention: Milwaukee’s 13th straight win came Friday night, when the Brewers trailed Cincinnati 8-1 after two innings. They had it tied by the end of the fourth and eventually won 10-8.

Trivia answer

Baltimore’s Eddie Murray hit a fly ball to right-center field, and Yount saved the no-hitter with a diving catch for the final out.

Mariners catcher Raleigh closes in on Perez’s record

All-Star nears record of 48 homers in a season by a catcher

BY DAN GELSTON Associated Press

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa Cal Raleigh

autographed a toilet seat for one fan, along with the scores of baseballs and other paraphernalia “The Big Dumper” signed for shrieking Little Leaguers.

Raleigh gave the kids a real treat hours later

The Seattle Mariners slugger socked his 47th homer of the season on Sunday to boost his major league lead and put him within striking distance of the season homer record for catchers set by Kansas City’s Salvador Perez.

“He continues to swing a really hot bat,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.” Raleigh’s two-run shot in the seventh inning sent hundreds of Little Leaguers from around the globe cheering in delight to see one of the brightest stars in the MLB Little League Classic go deep. It didn’t help the Mariners much in defeat. The New York Mets beat the Mariners 7-3 and won the last two games of the three-game set.

The Mariners are still in the

thick of the AL wild-card race and hope to gain ground when they head Monday to Philadelphia for the start of a three-game series.

Raleigh could make catching history in Philly. Perez hit 48 homers for the Royals in 2021.

“I think it’s been an incredible season for him,” Wilson said.

“But I think we knew what’s in there. He’s done a great job of bringing it out.” Raleigh put more than his prodigious power on display in the

home of youth baseball’s biggest weeks of the summer Raleigh’s chest protector featured a baseball card design of Mariners players and coaches from when they were kids. He breezed through the pregame clubhouse in a “Little Dumper” T-shirt gifted by some of the Little Leaguers.

“You grow up wanting to come here as a kid. Get to do it as an adult now,” Raleigh told MLB Network before the game. “It’s really fun. Excited to meet the kids and hang out.”

Pelicans add seven-year veteran forward to roster

The New Orleans Pelicans are adding a small forward to their roster The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with Jalen McDaniels, according to a report by ESPN. McDaniels is entering his seventh NBA season after being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He is the older brother of Jaden McDaniels, a key player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jalen McDaniels played his first 3½ seasons with the Hornets before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in his fourth season. He signed with the Toronto Raptors the next season. Last season, he signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards. He is averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in his career

Ex-Tiger Jefferson returns to practice with Vikings

EAGAN,Minn.— Justin Jefferson has rejoined the Minnesota Vikings for practice, after a mild strain of his left hamstring kept him sidelined for 3½ weeks.

Jefferson was on the field for the light session on Monday, the latest ramp-up of his activity since he suffered the injury on July 24. Because Jefferson missed seven games with a more severe strain of his right hamstring during the 2023 season and considering his importance to the team, the Vikings have been extra cautious with his recovery Coach Kevin O’Connell said he didn’t believe Jefferson would have to adjust his routine moving forward, however, as he takes part in “bits and pieces” of practices this week and next.

Four-time Pro Bowl CB Howard signs with Colts INDIANAPOLIS New Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo already has a sense of what four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard brings to his injury-depleted secondary — even at age 32, even after a year out of football. The Colts signed the two-time league interceptions champion Monday, giving Howard a chance to restart his career 18 months after being cut by the Miami Dolphins. “Last year, with the Bengals, we worked him out back in December, so we’ve seen him move a little bit and he looks good,” Anarumo said. “I just feel good about the athlete he is. Maybe you could look at it as his legs got a year off to rest. But one thing I know is his ball skills and those things, they don’t go away with time. And he still has those.”

Auburn to formally retire QB Newton’s No. 2 jersey

Raleigh’s power was always evident. He hit 27 homers in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 34 last season. Now he’s on pace to easily top 50 homers and maybe more. There are only five other players in big league history who have hit at least 40 homers while primarily playing catcher: Perez, Johnny Bench (twice), Roy Campanella, Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza (twice). Bench, Campanella and Piazza are Hall of Famers.

“He’s a guy that we knew all along coming up in the minor leagues that he had a pretty high ceiling,” Wilson said. “What he does behind the plate and what he does now at the plate has been unbelievable. He’s carried the weight of both of those things and has done it very well.”

A first-time All-Star at age 28, Raleigh burst through on the national scene when he won the All-Star Home Run Derby. He became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr

Raleigh’s homer Sunday also gave him 102 RBIs this season.

He’s the first catcher to record back-to-back 100 RBI seasons since Piazza and the first American League catcher to reach that feat since Thurman Munson. Even more milestones await. Maybe even a playoff berth.

“He’s just become a better hitter,” Wilson said.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn will retire 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton’s No. 2 jersey this fall, making him the fourth player in program history to receive the honor The ceremony will take place during Auburn’s home game against rival Georgia on Oct. 11. Newton will join Pat Sullivan (No. 7), Bo Jackson (No. 34) and Terry Beasley (No. 88) as former Tigers football players whose numbers are formally retired The jerseys of Sullivan and Beasley were retired following Sullivan’s 1971 Heisman Trophy season, and Jackson’s number was retired as part of Auburn’s football centennial celebration in 1992. No one has worn No. 2 at Auburn since Newton and the Tigers beat Oregon in the Bowl Championship Series national title game for the 2010 season.

Alcaraz wins Cincinnati Open after Sinner retires CINCINNATI — Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open title in a little more than 20 minutes on Monday after top-ranked Jannik Sinner was forced to retire because of illness during the first set. Meeting in the final for the fourth time this year and first since Wimbledon, Sinner fell behind 5-0 in the first set with nine unforced errors. He was seen with an icepack on his head during a break and retired after playing just 22 minutes. Sinner, who turned 24 on Saturday, was on a 12-match winning streak and had won 26 straight matches on hard courts. He was bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back men’s Cincinnati Open titles since Roger Federer in 2014 and ’15.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GRACE BRADLEy

Brewers designated hitter William Contreras celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Reds on Sunday in Cincinnati. The Reds won 3-2, in 10 innings, ending Milwaukee’s franchise-record streak of 14 straight wins.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby, left, gets a visit from catcher Cal Raleigh, center and pitching coach Pete Woodworth during the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday

AP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

First-team offense

Cade Klubnik, Clemson

STM volleyball seeks 5th title in a row

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

No matter the amount of talent or how much turnover the roster endures, the expectation for the St. Thomas More volleyball team remains the same every year — compete for a state championship.

“That’s the expectation,” Cougars coach Jessica Burke said. “I believe we can no matter who the crew is I’m a perpetual optimist, so no matter what I believe we got this.”

Considering the Cougars have won the Division II state championship each of the past four years, there’s no reason for Burke to think otherwise But winning a fifth consecutive state title could be the biggest challenge of all after reflecting on how much the roster has changed for the Cougars.

The Cougars lost six starters, two of whom were four-year starters at setter in Rhyan Miciotto — the 2024 Louisiana Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year and Emma Broussard.

“We definitely had some big losses, especially leadership wise,” Burke said. “Losing both of our setters who have been starting on varsity since they were freshmen is a big deal.”

Burke believes the Cougars will be in good hands at the posi-

PRESEASON

Continued from page 1C

Nussmeier was named secondteam quarterback behind only his first week counterpart in Clemson quarterback Cade Klubniak, who was the overwhelming first choice after throwing for 3,639 yards with 39 touchdowns and just six interceptions last season.

Texas and Penn State, the top two teams in the AP Top 25 poll, each had three players selected for the first team.

No. 1 Texas had one player from each level of its defense on the first team: edge rusher Colin Simmons, linebacker Anthony Hill and safety Michael Taaffe. No. 2 Penn State’s picks were running back Nicholas Singleton, offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane and defensive lineman Zane Durant.

No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 Alabama and Pittsburgh each had two players on the first team

The Southeastern Conference had 12 players on the 27-man first team determined by media members on the AP Top 25 voting panel. The Big Ten had seven players, the ACC four and the Big 12 two. Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Florida center Jake Slaughter are returning first-team AP AllAmericans Downs, whose late interception against Texas helped wrap up a College Football Playoff semifinal win for eventual champion Ohio State, starred as a freshman at Alabama two years ago and established himself as the nation’s top safety in his first season with the Buckeyes. He’s a projected topthree pick in the 2026 NFL Draft Downs was joined on the preseason-All-America first team by Buckeyes receiver Jeremiah Smith. Slaughter, a leading candidate for the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center, played 800 snaps in his breakout season for the Gators. He allowed just one sack and was among the highestrated run and pass blockers in the country, according to Pro Football Focus.

Former Tulane running back Makhi Hughes, who transferred to Oregon in the offseason, made the second-team offense. The AP All-America team for this season will be released in December It will mark the 100th anniversary of the first team published in 1925.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

keep at the position. Of those on the roster, defensive end Bryan Bresee, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and defensive end Nathan Shepherd have emerged as clear starters in the team’s base 3-4 defense. None of the three played Sunday when the Saints rested their defensive starters, an indication they appear to have locked down their spots. Behind them, third-rounder Vernon Broughton is steadily in the rotation. Jonah Williams and Jonathan Bullard have familiarity with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, but is that enough for both

ing pains. There always are, but I believe they’ll be ready to go.”

The Cougars do have three returning starters in libero Eleanor Guidry middle hitter Marvel Potier and right outside hitter Marissa Billedeaux.

Burke has lofty expectations for both Potier and Billedeaux.

“Marvel definitely can have a breakout year for us,” Burke said.

“She has led the team in blocks and attack percentage the last two years. Marissa is a phenomenal hitter, and she is very smart.”

But if the Cougars are going to get where they ultimately hope, passing is going to be a key factor

“We lost Ella Broussard, who flew under the radar But she was a phenomenal passer,” Burke said. “We know our offense is great, defense is great and serving is going to be great. But passing is going to be a focal point for us.”

While many will focus on the fact the Cougars are seeking to extend their title streak, Burke admits it isn’t anything she or her players talk about.

OFFENSE

Continued from page 1C

Durham could have an All-SEC season if he gets enough blocking, but there are concerns behind him. Jackson needs to play better than he did as a sophomore, and Berry has to be ready to contribute as a freshman. With Lindsey indefinitely suspended, LSU is so thin that Johnson had to play running back again after moving to quarterback in the offseason. Durham could get a large workload.

Wide receiver

Starters: Chris Hilton (R-Sr.), Zavion Thomas (Sr.) and Aaron Anderson (R-Jr.)

Rotation: Nic Anderson (R-Soph.), Barion Brown (Sr.) and Kyle Parker (R-Soph.)

Also: Destyn Hill (R-Soph.), Jelani Watkins (R-Fr.), Kylan Billiot (R-Fr.), Phillip Wright (Fr.) and TaRon Francis (Fr.)

A clear WR1 has not emerged this year and that may be fine because LSU has two full rotations that it trusts. Kelly described Hilton and Brown as “1A and 1B” in the vertical passing game. Aaron Anderson and Parker will play in the slot. Thomas, who has taken handoffs, can be used in multiple ways. And Nic Anderson is 6-foot4 with a wide catch radius, making him an ideal target on third down. Nussmeier has a lot of options.

Tight end

Starter: Bauer Sharp (R-Sr.) or Trey’Dez Green (Soph.)

Backup: Donovan Green (R-Jr.)

Also: JD LaFleur (Fr.) With Sharp and Trey’Dez

FRESHMAN

Continued from page 1C

fastest. He’s been great. His development is going through the roof, and I feel like the sky’s the limit for him, and he can literally play all over the field.”

The rest of the offensive line was largely the same with Adams, center Braelin Moore and right guard Josh Thompson. Redshirt sophomore Paul Mubenga played left guard as the competition con-

to make the roster? Of those two, Williams appears to have gotten more consistent playing time, but it’s been Bullard who has gotten occasional reps with the first team. If all three backups make it, that already gives the team six interior defensive linemen and that’s before including a backup nose tackle. Who would fill in if Godchaux went down? Before Sunday’s trade, that appeared to be Saunders. Now? Khristian Boyd made a strong impression in the first preseason game when he sacked Chargers quarterback Taylor Heinicke for a near safety John Ridgeway is also a big, stout human whom the Saints were willing to trade a draft pick for last year It seems unrealistic to think the Saints will keep seven interior

tion with senior Audrey Wheeler and sophomore Clare Thomson stepping into those shoes.

“Audrey already has a good connection after playing club with our hitters,” Burke said.

“Clare spent the last club sea-

son with me so she could learn the nuances to be able to run our dynamic offense. She’ll be ready to go, she just needs to get comfortable with the team.

“I’m confident in both of them. There are going to be some grow-

“I don’t like talking about streaks,” Burke said. “We don’t talk about it. We don’t need to worry about what we won last year or the year before. This year’s team, this year’s legacy is what we’re about to write.”

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

Green, LSU finally may be able to use 12 personnel. Sharp is the more consistent blocker of the two and has reliable hands. Green is a mismatch in the passing game, especially in the red zone. He also is a willing blocker, but he needs to continue to develop that part of his game. At 6-7, he can have trouble getting leverage.

Left tackle

Starter: Tyree Adams (R-Soph.)

Backup: Carius Curne (Fr.)

After waiting for the past two years behind Will Campbell, Adams will become a full-time starter No one has challenged him for the job during the offseason. Curne has been the second-team left tackle for most of preseason practice.

Left guard

Starter: DJ Chester (R-Soph.)

Backup: Paul Mubenga (R-Soph.)

Chester and Mubenga continue to compete for the starting role,

tinued between him and redshirt

sophomore DJ Chester, who was the backup center Monday Monday’s practice was the first since LSU scrimmaged Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. The Tigers wore shoulder pads and helmets, so it was not a full-contact day Linebackers Harold Perkins and Whit Weeks did not practice. Weeks watched from the side with his helmet on while Perkins was not on the field.

Weeks also did not practice Friday. He suffered an ankle injury

defensive linemen — even if New Orleans keeps only four edge rushers. In the last 10 years, the Saints never have kept more than 10 defensive linemen on their initial 53man roster

Though the Saints have a lot of sorting out to do before active rosters must be cut to 53 on Aug. 26, Saunders no longer was in the team’s plans. Saunders, who took a pay cut earlier this offseason, was an awkward fit in the new system. Staley had the 29-year-old playing nose tackle, but Saunders lacked the bullish size needed to plug holes against the run. The coaching staff knew this well before Sunday’s trade, which is why one of the Saints’ first moves of free agency was to trade for Godchaux — a

and Mubenga took first-team reps during a brief media-viewing period Monday morning. Chester has more experience, so we’ll give him the nod for now. This could change before the season opener as the battle continues over the next two weeks. Redshirt freshman Coen Echols is also in the mix.

Center

Starter: Braelin Moore (R-Jr.)

Backup: Chester Though Chester pushed for the job in spring practice, Moore quickly established himself as the starter in preseason camp. Kelly has been impressed by him, even saying last week he thinks the offensive line will play well in part because Moore “sets up the rest of the group for success.” Chester, the center last season, is the backup.

Right guard

Starter: Josh Thompson (R-Sr.)

Backup: Coen Echols (R-Fr.)

in the Tigers’ bowl game that required surgery, and Kelly said LSU did not want him to practice five days in a row until game week. Weeks was expected to practice fully during the scrimmage.

Backup quarterback Michael Van Buren did not participate. He mimicked drills from behind the quarterbacks, but he did not throw Some of the fingers on Van Buren’s throwing hand were taped together

Meanwhile, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier did not wear a

6-foot-3, 330-pound run-stuffer In Jacksonville, Saunders might fit in better under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. Despite his shortcomings against the run, Saunders was a reliable rotation player over four years for the Kansas City Chiefs. He started a good chunk of his two seasons in New Orleans. The Saunders trade also affects the offensive line depth. Fortner, a 2022 third-round pick out of Kentucky, started every game for Jacksonville during his first two seasons. Although he was relegated to a backup role in 2024, the Saints saw how important having a viable backup center could be when Erik McCoy missed most of last season because of injuries. Fortner’s acquisition creates an

There has not been much competition at right guard, and now Thompson is in line to start. Though he was inconsistent in preseason camp, Thompson started 21 games over the past two years at Northwestern He was credited with only two sacks allowed, both of which happened during the 2023 season.

Right tackle

Starter: Weston Davis (R-Fr.)

Backup: Curne OR Ory Williams (R-Fr.)

Things got interesting Monday when Curne got reps with the first-team offense. It was the first time that reporters had seen Curne, a top-100 recruit, play right tackle this preseason. Still, Davis is the more likely option after practicing with the starters most of the offseason. After appearing in four games last year, he would make his first career start

brace or sleeve on his left knee, which he had done since he aggravated a preexisting case of patellar tendinitis Aug. 6. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Shone Washington, redshirt freshman cornerback Wallace Foster, freshman running back JT Lindsey and freshman offensive lineman Solomon Thomas also did not practice. Lindsey is suspended, and Thomas has a foot injury

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

interesting wrinkle for undrafted lineman Torricelli Simpkins. He seemed to really thrive when moved from guard to center, but does Fortner’s presence move Simpkins back to guard? That remains to be seen. Simpkins also could be the second-team guard and third-team center Either way, Simpkins has impressed the Saints — with coach Kellen Moore saying the rookie’s aggressive play style is all the team could want. Still, teams are always searching for offensive line help. And the Saints’ depth upfront has been a giant question mark. Fortner might not be a total solution, but he could provide help. It was a trade that made sense for the Saints.

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIEWESTBROOK

St. Thomas More hitter Marvel Potier right, who has led the Cougars in blocks and attack percentage each of the past two years, is one of three returning starters for the four-time reigning Division II state champions.

Date

Oct. 24

Oct. 31

PAST FIVE YEARS

2024: 2-7

2023: 4-8

2022: 7-5

2021: 11-3

2020: 8-3

PROJECTED STARTERS

Offense

WR Kervin Fontenette, 5-10 ,160 Sr *

WR Jamion James, 5-8, 155, So.*

WR Jakorey Blanchard, 6-5, 170, Sr.

TE Zyrian Johnson, 6-1, 200, Sr.*

OL Torian Hebert, 5-10, 230, Sr.

OL Bobby Harris, 6-2, 280, Sr.*

OL Sam Coleman, 6-0, 250, Jr.*

OL Eli LeBlanc, 5-9, 195, Fr.

OL Ja’Tyran Boudreaux, 6-0, 250, Sr

QB Khyrie Francisco, 6-1, 215, Sr.*

RB Shannon St. Julien, 5-8, 155, Sr.

Defense

DE Christian Cleary, 6-0, 215, Sr.*

DL Ja’Tyran Boudreaux, 6-0, 250, Sr.*

DL Torian Hebert, 5-10, 230, Sr.

LB Kohen Clues, 6-1, 210, Sr.*

LB Payton Nelson, 5-8, 150, Sr.*

LB Davian Frank, 5-9, 180, So.

CB Kylun Skipper, 5-8, 160, Sr.*

CB Kristian Batiste, 5-10, 160, Sr.

FS Myles Martin, 5-9, 155, So.

SS Colton Bonin, 5-9, 160, Sr.*

SS Darrell Harris, 5-10, 165, So. *RETURNING STARTERS

COACHES

Head coach: Garrett Kreamer

Assistant coaches: Chris Bland (DC),Taylor Latiolais (OL), Jordan Guidry (DL), Canaan Leon (WR),Trey Benjamin (RB),Trae Williams (LB), Kyle Poirier (DB), Mike Kreamer (DL).

PREP FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

St. Martinville

What we know

First-year coach Garrett Kreamer will make good use of quarterback Khyrie Francisco.

At Lafayette High, Kreamer found a groove with 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback Kevon’te Landry.

He’ll do the same with Francisco, another wellbuilt, dual-threat QB who looks every bit of his listed 6-1, 215-pound frame. Early last season, Francisco was lost to injury and the Tigers lost six of their first seven games.

“Khyrie is 100% healthy,” Kreamer said. “He had a great summer and fall camp. We’re expecting big things. He’ll have to be a leader, a captain. We have to keep him upright and healthy.”

As usual the Tigers boast a strong receiving corps. Cullen Charles and Harvey Broussard are current college players who played receiver at St. Martinville.

This season, the unit includes veteran Kervin Fontenette, blazing fast sophomore Jameon James, senior two-way stars Zyrian Johnson and Kylun Skipper, and 6-5 Jakorey Blanchard, who could develop into an X-factor

“We’ll run a no-huddle spread offense,” Kreamer said. “We’ll run some zone power and counters in the ground game. We’re going to throw the vertical pass and quick screens.”

The Tigers are also known for churning out great running backs, from Steven Blanco (UL) to 2,000-yard rusher Travien Benjamin and all the way back to Martell Narcisse. The running load this season will go to 5-8 senior Shannon St. Julien.

“He’s a back who can do multiple things,” Kreamer said. “He can run between the tackles, pass protect, has good speed and can break one

What we don’t know

Kreamer mentioned depth in the trenches as a concern. He has four experienced offensive linemen returning and two on the defensive front.

“Just that depth is always a concern with the big bodies,” said Kreamer, who hopes to add at least two more linemen to the active roster by the season opener “We do have a couple guys with some beef.”

The secondary has three new starters, and two are sophomores.

How we see it

There are intriguing storylines, as Kreamer will face his old school, Lafayette High, in Week 2.

The Class 3A Tigers again play a brutal nondistrict schedule that includes games against reigning Division II nonselect champ Cecilia, recent Class 4A champion Westgate, a second Class 5A foe in Woodlawn-BR and Parkview Baptist (five state titles since 2001).

“The boys have been working hard, learning the schemes and taking things one day at a time,” Kreamer said “I’m really proud of the progress. We’ll keep building one day at a time. It will be fun to play in the scrimmage against someone else (opponent will be Lafayette Christian).”

Kreamer whose departure from Lafayette High was surprising to many, inherits a program that went to its first semifinal in 19 years (lost to Union Parish) in 2021 and achieved a perfect regular season in 2018 as a Class 4A program.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity Like I said, I love the purple and gold. I want us to be successful. At the end of the day, I just want these kids to have the best opportunity to play high school football, become young men in the process and be prepared for life when they leave us.”

Mike Coppage

Kohen Clues

LB 6-1, 210, Sr.

A middle linebacker who is getting college attention with a couple of scholarship offers, Clues will be responsible for calling signals. He had over 100 tackles last year, has 4.6 speed, bench presses 300 and could play some tight end. Kreamer said he’ll have to be in a lot of plays for the team to succeed.

Kylun Skipper

DB 5-8, 160, Sr.

A three-year starter at cornerback, the senior is also projected to be among the top three receiving threats. The Skipper-led secondary was impressive in summer 7-on-7 action.

Kervin Fontenette

WR 5-10, 160, Sr. Fontenette has been a productive starter for three years, catching a touchdown pass against Class 5A Southside in the 2023 jamboree. He’s another basketball standout that drew praise from Kreamer for accountability.

Khyrie Francisco

QB 6-1, 215, Sr. Francisco is such a good athlete, he started at strong safety as a sophomore for a team that lost by two points to Jennings in the playoffs. Last year, he returned a kick for a score against Lafayette High.

Zyrian Johnson

TE 6-1, 200, Sr. Opposing linebackers will have a difficult time matching up with Johnson, a first team all-district player who will also take snaps at linebacker In eight games, he posted 65 tackles (15 TFL) and forced three fumbles.“He’s a tough kid with the speed to stretch the field,” Kreamer said.“He also plays nasty at linebacker.”

Clues

PHOTO By MIKE COPPAGE

The St Martinville defensive leaders include, from back left, Ja’Tyran Boudreaux, Christian Cleary, Zyrian Johnson and Kohen Clues; from front left, Shannon St. Julien, Colton Bonin, Payton Nelson and Kylun Skipper

Skipper

Fontenette

Francisco

Johnson

Kreamer

Okra

is easy to grow, butthe harvesting’s tricky

Okra holds aspecial place in the hearts of many Louisianans. For some, it’sanessential ingredient in gumbo, and for others, it’s amust-grow crop in the summer vegetable garden. It’snowonder why —okrais tasty and nutritious. It’seasy to grow and prolific, even in intense heat.

“It is very tolerantofour hot summers,” said Clark Robertson, an LSU AgCenter horticulture agent in Livingston Parish. “It does well from June all the way up to frost.”

Most folks in Louisiana plant okra in AprilorMay and harvest the fuzzy,green pods throughout the summer and early fall.

But you can plant okra all the way through early August —so, if you hurry,you still have time to get acrop in the ground. It takes about 60 days after planting for okra to form pods, and you want to reach this milestone before our first frost, which often comes sometime in November.

If you already have okra in your garden and want to extend the life of these plants, you can cut them back to knee height in the next few weeks, then fertilize with alightapplicationofnitrogen or avegetable garden blend. This will rejuvenate the plants, encouraging them to keep producing pods into the fall.

LSUAGCENTERPHOTO

By OLIVIA McCLURE

Carefully monitor the size of developing okra pods. If you leave them on plants too long, they’ll become too tough to eat

Okra is amuch lower-maintenance crop than many vegetables, with few disease and insect problems. It is efficient at pulling the nutrients it needs from the soil, so it typically doesn’t need as much fertilizer as heavy feeders like tomatoes, eggplants andpeppers. An applicationof complete fertilizer at planting followed by alight application before plants begin production is plenty,Robertson said.

“In fact, too much nitrogen will cause it to do more vegetativegrowth and less fruit production,” he said. Check your garden daily for harvestable pods. They grow quickly,sothey can go from being tender to too tough and woody almost overnight. Use asharp knife or prunersto cut pods from plants.

“Harvest early and harvest often,” Robertson said. “You don’twant your pods to gettoo long.” The ideal pod size varies by variety.Some gardenerslike to harvest okra on the small side just to be safe. To tell whether apod is stilledible, squeeze it gently “If it’snot giving, it’sgetting too tough,” Robertson said In that case,you can leave the pod on the plant. Allow it to turn brown and dry completely,then cut it off and break it open. You’ll have seeds to plant another okra cropnext year

Just don’tleave behind too many mature pods.

“One or two pods is fine, but if you leave too many,itwill decrease production,” Robertson said.

left, givesguidance

BREAKING THEMOLD

Potteryistakingoff,withthe hobbyhelping to providea creative outlet,community

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

AT15 years old, Tina Uffordset hands on clay during ahighschool art class, and she knew instinctively that she wanted to keep doing it for therest of her life.

“These things (pottery and yoga) that aresoold thatI’ve probably done them before in otherlifetimes. Ididn’thave to seek it out. Ididn’thavetofindit; it found me,” Ufford said.“The makingof things, especially things that are gonna possibly outlive you, is just such adeep need.”

Ufford practiced her craft, and when shewas 25, shemoved to Baton Rouge to be close to family Back then, shesaid, LSU’sceramics department (andthe College of Art and Design in general) desperately needed repairand renovations, and therewasn’treally a waytomake aliving working full time in ceramicsinBatonRouge

Chelsie Gibson works withclayon her potterywheel during ameeting of the advanced potteryclass at BellyFire Studios in Baton Rouge

Instantcommunity

Thecollege has since renovated the building, and theceramics scene has flourished through the investment of artists, hobbyists and customers alike.

For Ufford and many others, ceramics is about community Like many hobbies, it’sa way for newcomers tothe city to find their people. Once one finds aplace to do it, there’saninstant community

This hasn’talways been the case in Baton Rouge. Before LSU’srenovation (completed in 2023), there was alot of turnover.Ceramics

artists would comeintotownfor the ceramics program at LSU, or because their spouse got ajob in town, but after about three years, Ufford said, they’d leave.

“They bounced immediately as soon as they weredone with LSU,” she said. “There’snowhere to land. There’snowhere to put roots down andactually survive andthrive here.”

Ufford, now 50, credits her ability to make aliving in Baton Rouge to the fact that she also works in yoga and massage separate from her ceramics practice. Butthese days, themarket hasalso grown. Artists are able to sellatpop-upmarkets or events and connect with potential customers through social media. As art mediumsgo, clay is not as expensive as some,but there can be ahigh barrierfor entry due to the equipment required to fire and glaze the pottery. Local artsupply shops thatsellclay,like Southern Pottery, offer kiln space forrent, but having astudiowhere people can comeand try these things makes ahuge difference.

ä See POTTERY, page 6C

Youare exerting control over the claythrough precise movements, but it’s also an exercise of letting go of control. Becauseinthe earlystages —and even as you progress —the claykind of has amind of itsown.” DAVID ROLLINS,owner of

Freeform’s‘Love ThyNader’ stars MaryHolland Nader,GraceAnn Nader,Brooks Nader and Sarah Jane Nader

PHOTO By MARK SELIGER/DISNEy

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

There’sanew trailer for“Love Thy Nader,” adocuseries featuring Brooks Nader andher three sisters. The series will kick off withatwo-episode premiere at 9p.m. Aug. 26 on Freeform,and theentire season will stream Aug. 27 on Hulu. The four Baton Rougesisters —Brooks,MaryHolland, Grace Ann andSarah JaneNader,

daughters of Breaux and Holland Greene Nader —will be sharing their lives as the show chronicles theircareersand pursuitsof theirdreamsinthe glamorous world of fashion influencers in New York City “Growing up in such

BellyFire Studios

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

Instructor Ella King,from

to Salaam Khaled as Chelsie Gibson and Mandie Lucas work on their pieces during ameeting of the advanced potteryclass at BellyFireStudios in Baton Rouge.

Napkin rings:

Notfor guests

Dear Miss Manners: Iamplanning to invite my daughter’sin-laws to aformal dinner.Iplan to host it the way my late almost-aristocratic motherwould have done60years ago: with fine china,starchedlinens,goodsilver, flowers, the lot. Iampartly (well, mainly) motivated by a few snobbish remarks dropped by my daughter’sfather-in-law

Agingdoesn’t have to be so bad

The thing is, Iwas raised to roll up my napkin after dinner and put it in my napkin ring, with my name engraved on it, for later use. But Icannot remember for thelife of me whether guests should find anapkin ring providedifthey’re only staying for one meal. Gentle reader: If this gentleman is as pretentious as you say,he may well believe, as many now do,that silver napkinrings add aformal touch to atable. Andhe would be wrong. They do not belong at company meals.

groom’smom’s partner,then me. I’d never met thegent next to me (themom’spartner), so it felt awkward.But Imade the best of it and chatted him up —asking about his own children,asfolks usually enjoy talkingabout that. My partnerand his ex are polite andcordial to each other.They’ve been divorcedfor 20 years, and myunderstanding is that it was acrimonious, butthatthey eventually developed an uneasy truce. They shared custody of their children,who have long since been adults.

Dear Heloise: Ijust read ahint in your columnabout the advantages of using acane. My mental responsewas, “Yes,yes, yes.”And this is also why I am no longer coloring my hair and letting it grow out to its now natural color of white. Some things about aging aren’tsoterrible. I have been using acane for well over ayear and have also happily discovered its manygood “side effects.” —Mary Wolfson, in Huntington Beach, California Medicalattention fordogs

Your mother used the napkin ringstolighten the load of the laundress (who, for all Miss Manners knows, may have been your mother herself). The family used their napkins at more than one meal, so it wasnecessary to distinguish whose was whose. Youwouldn’twant to be stuck with your brother’snapkin after he wiped jam all over it.

Dear Miss Manners: At my partner’sson’swedding, the first row had names taped on the chairs for assigned seating. For thefirst rowonthe groom’sside,the first seat was for the groom’smother, followed by the groom’sfather (mypartner), their daughter, the

We had assumedwe’dsit togetherduring the ceremony,soit was abit of asurprise when the weddingplannertold us about the seating arrangementsabout half anhour prior. Of course, we just accepteditand made no protest. We hadnodesire to make waves at hisson’s wedding. WasIwrong in feeling uncomfortable with this assigned seatingsituation? Ihid my feelings andcertainly won’t voice any complaints after thefact.Just wanted areality check. Do you thinkmydiscomfort was understandable?

Gentle reader: Yes. Instead, you should feel proud of yourself for handling an awkward situation graciously

Send questions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www. missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO64106.

TODAYINHISTORY

oner exchange.)

Press

ByTheAssociated

Today is Tuesday,Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2025. There are 134 days left in the year

TodayinHistory

On Aug. 19, 2010,the last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years andfive months after aU.S.-led invasion markedthe beginning of the Iraq War.

Also on this date: In 1692, four men and one woman were hanged after being convicted of witchcraft at Salem in the Province of Massachusetts Bay; the story of one of the men, John Proctor,inspired ArthurMiller’splay “The Crucible.”

In 1807, Robert Fulton’sNorth River Steamboat arrivedin Albany, two days after leaving New York on its maiden voyage. In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the Warof1812, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides.”

In 1814, during the Warof 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, withthe objective of capturing Washington, D.C. In 1854, 31 U.S. soldiers were killed after one of the soldiers fatally shot Brule Lakota Chief Conquering Bear,sparking the FirstSioux War.

In 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted its first automobile race.

In 1934, German voters approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler In 1955, torrential rains caused by HurricaneDiane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S.,claiming some 200 lives.

In 1960, atribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage. (Although sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment,Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of apris-

NADERS

Continued from page5C

Audiences know Brooks Nader fromher prolific modelingcareer and the mostrecent season of “Dancing With The Stars.” Thisseries introduces Mary Holland, thesecond oldest, who worked at Deutsche Bank in New York; Grace Ann, the third sister, whowas valedictorianofher high school and earned her master’sin public health; and Sarah Jane,the

In 1980, 301 people aboard Saudia Flight 163 died as the jetlinermade afiery emergency return to the Riyadh airport.

In 2013, SouthAfrican sprinter Oscar Pistorius was indicted in Pretoria, SouthAfrica, on charges of murder andillegal possession of ammunition for the shooting deathofhis girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013; Pistorius maintained he’d mistakenher for an intruder.(Pistorius would be found guiltyof murder and sentenced to prison; he was released on parole in January 2024.)

Today’sbirthdays: Former tennis player &coach ReneeRichards is 91. Actor JillSt. Johnis85. AuthorJack Canfield is 81. Rock singerIan Gillan (Deep Purple) is 80. Former President Bill Clintonis 79.Actor Gerald McRaney is 78. Actor Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”) is 77. TipperGore, ex-wifeof former Vice President Al Gore, is 77. Rock bassist John Deacon (Queen) is 74. Actor-director Jonathan Frakes is 73.Political consultant Mary Matalin is 72.Actor Peter Gallagher is 70. Actor Adam Arkin is 69. Actor Martin Donovan is 68. Football Hall of Famer AnthonyMunoz is 67. Musician Ivan Neville is 66. FootballHall of Famer Morten Andersen is 65. Actor John Stamos is 62. Actor Kyra Sedgwick is 60. ActorKevin Dillon is 60. Country singer Lee AnnWomack is 58. Microsoft CEO SatyaNadella is 58. CountrysingerClayWalker is 56. RapperFat Joe is 55. Olympic goldmedal tennisplayer Mary Joe Fernandez is 54. Actor Erika Christensen is 43. Actor Melissa Fumero is 43. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is 40. Author Veronica Roth is 37. Rapper-TV personalityRomeo is 36. Actor Ethan Cutkosky (TV: “Shameless”) is26.

youngest,who works as thehead of nonprofitand talent partnershipsatInfluencer SocialResponsibility.Inaddition to their“day jobs,” all thesisters are successfulmodels. Theshow will focus on the Naders’success as they juggle the social scene of Manhattan’selite and theincreased attention on their romantic lives. Judging by the trailer,it’sgoing to be quitea journey

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

belly,seizures, aloss of consciousness, atemperature of over 104 degrees, or asignificant, sudden change in personality, you’ll need to get to the emergency veterinarian. Lots of conditions can be helped if an animal gets medical attention as soon as possible. —Heloise In hotwater

Dear Readers: How do you know if your dog is sick? They can’t exactly come up to you and tell you, right?Ifyou see any of the following general health changes, such as excessive thirst, constipation,weakness, arunny nose, or scratching,makeanappointment for acheckup. If your dog is experiencing poor appetite, no energy,constipation, panting, whimpering, vomiting or diarrhea, you should go to theveterinarian as soon as possible. If your dog has more acute, serious symptoms, such as abloated

Dear Heloise: My motherin-law asked me to send you this hint.She has enjoyed reading your column in the St. Louis PostDispatch foryears. Ifound the best solution foropening jars: Set thejar in the sink and run hot water on the lid foraminute or so. Then dry off the jar.Presto, it opens easily! Youmay also use a rubber disc to open the lid if you want to. —Ruth R., in O’Fallon, Missouri Weekendstudies

Dear Heloise: Igraduated college in May and took abit of time off, but now it’stimetoget serious. I’m using my weekends to learn ordinary household things that admittedly Ishould have known by this time, but hey,better late

than never! These things include laundry,organizing the kitchen, cleaning and decluttering the other roomsinthe house, yard work, organizing my personal finances, and maintaining my car

My dad taught me how to change atire and jump-start a car,and he even gave me atool kit to keep in the glove box! These lessons are as important to me as my college work. —Jeanette, in Arizona

GORP

Dear Heloise: Who remembers GORP? During our scouting days, it was“good ol’ raisins and peanuts,” but now it’smore! Oat, rice or bran cereal, dried fruits, candy-coated peanuts and chocolates, sunflower and other seeds —the possibilities are endless!

But there wasone rule in my family: No one was allowed to pull out all the candies, eat them, and leave the healthier components —ha! Quick, cheap, healthy and delicious snacks foreveryone! JenniferJ., in Houston

Sendahinttoheloise@heloise com.

POTTERY

Continuedfrom page5C

Enter David Rollins, who graduated in 2020 from LSU withplans to go to medical school but pursued entrepreneurship instead. Alittle over 2½ yearsago,hedecidedto buy what is nowBellyFire Studios, apottery studio on LeeDrive. Thesedays,artistsand hobbyists are finding places like BellyFire to paintpre-made pieces,practice their craft, attend abirthday party/date night or learnsomething new. It’sa place in Baton Rouge where people can try pottery

Thestudiooffersclassesevery day of the week, and the communityisgrowing. This summer,BellyFire even opened a24-hour studio space, Mid-City Mud, where artists can work independently on their own projects

At an advanced class on aThursday in mid-August, people filed in, someonebrought snacks, and after ademonstration, they got to work. Some followed thedemonstration andtried to makeapumpkin, otherstried their hand at throwing something different, but theyall chatted like friends.

Ceramics as expression Forsome, ceramics is aformof expression. Becky Gottsegen, afigurative ceramicartist, has sculpted portraits andpolitical figures. In recent years, she’sstartedsculpting busts of exonerated menshe got in touch with through the Innocence Project New Orleans, anonprofit which works to free innocent people sentenced to life in prison and those servingunjust sentences. Through her work,she’sgotten to knowsome of theexonerated men andtalk to them.

“Their stories areunbelievable,” she said.

She hopes that her work, now featuring busts of 23 men who have served acombined 644 years for crimes they didnot commit, will draw attention to other in-

nocent people serving time for crimes they did not commit. Their stories are also shared in brief on theproject’swebsite.

Ghada Henagan, whoisfrom Lebanon, came to Louisiana to visit her brother in 2006.Inthe middle of hertrip, Israel bombed theBeruit airport, the airport was closed, and she unexpectedly found herselfrelocating to the BayouState Now,her ceramic work represents memories of the homeshe leftbehind: thewheat her family used to grow,the chickens they had and thebike she used to love riding.

Nowadays, she’s even made a connectionbetween someofthose things andher second homein Louisiana. Back in Lebanon, pelicans were shot needlessly while hunting was unregulated. Here, it’sthe state bird.

“It(herwork) evolves with my surrounding, my stories, my memories, everything,” she said. Lettinggoofcontrol

Regardlessofthe form andfunctionofthe work, working with clay is personal. Pottery is afull body experience which also engages the mind and spirit, Rollins said. Several customers have comeinunder

the recommendation of apsychologist. There are many lessons that one can learn at the wheel that has nothing to do with pottery

“You are exerting control over theclaythrough precise movements, but it’salso an exercise of letting go of control,” he said. “Because in the early stages —and even as you progress —the clay kind of has amind of its own.” Ceramics isn’teasy.Inthe advanced class, people whoset out to make pumpkins leavethe class with abowl.Bowlsthenbecome plates,and sometimespeople leave the class without keeping any of their pieces. Even the most carefully crafted pieces crack in the heat of the kiln.

Butclayisforgiving. Before it’s fired, even the smallest pieces can be gathered, rehydrated and recycled —whether it’sshaved off ameticulously thrown piece, a failedpot or just apiece that isn’t quite what one wanted to make. Most of the time, the ugliest creationscan be redeemed.The artists say that working with clay is aboutaccepting this reality.It’snot too late to makesomething beautiful, you just have to be willing to squish it and start over

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Hints from Heloise

STAFFPHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

Glynn Grossworks withher clayonthe pottery wheel during ameeting of the advanced potteryclass at BellyFire Studios in Baton Rouge.

Tools hang on apegboard at BellyFireStudios.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Refuse to let change hurt you financially. Generosity is your downfall. Focus on learning and engaging in discussions that offer options and unique ways to do some good at a price you can afford.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Who you associate with matters. Engage in open conversations and connect with individuals who have something valuable to offer in return.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Put your emotions on the sidelines before you engage in a contentious discussion. Make honesty and equality a necessary part of all your business and personal relationships.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Explore, expand and extrapolate what's most likely to help you get ahead. Networking and reconnecting with allies, old friends or former partners will encourage closure and pave the way for new beginnings.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Don't feel you have to pay for others when saving for a rainy day will put your mind at ease. Speak up, be the one to make a difference and choose to live life your way.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Indecisiveness will play a role in how your day progresses. When in doubt, take a closer look at what others are choosing to do, and it will help you avoid making mistakes or missing out on opportunities.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Stop dreaming and start initiating your plans. A moneymaking idea will pay off if you put muscle into turning your ideas into a reality. Take control of negotiations.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Concentrate on what's best for you. Give others the same opportunity you want for yourself. Love, romance and the chance to build a life that brings you happiness are within reach.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take the creative path. Using your imagination will help you grow and nurture your desires. Too much, too fast will be your downfall. Slow down, wait and watch.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) It's what you do that makes a difference Talk is cheap, and misinformation will face opposition. Rethink your plans and follow your heart: Your life, your terms, your way.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Live, learn and replace what is no longer working for you. Act on what moves you visually, not on what others say or do. Work independently of those trying to upend your plans or control the outcome.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Honesty will be crucial if you want to make better choices. Protect against insult, injury and interference.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

cLuE: P EQuALs W

FAMILY CIrCUS

toDAy's

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

nea CroSSwordS

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

MarkTwainsaid,“Apersonwhowon’t readhasnoadvantageoveronewhocan’t read.”

Thatcanalsoapplytobridge.Theplayer who does not pay any attention to the opening lead has no advantage over the player whosees it but fails to work out what information it imparts. Sometimesdeclarer can work out what to do just by analyzing theopening lead.

In thisexample, how should South play in three no-trump after West leads afourth-highest spadefive?

Thisissurelythe most commontwobid auction. It is truethat on this deal, three no-trump can be defeated if West is inspired enough to lead aheart,and five diamondscan always be made with agood guessinthe trump suit. Butifyou trytoget to five of aminor withtwo balancedhandsoppositeeachother,youwill be abig loser in thelong run. Go for the nine-trick game unlessyou aresure it cannot make.

Southstartswith seven top tricks:two spades, two diamondsand three clubs. Andifthe diamonds run, there is an overtrick waitinginthe wings. But if the diamonds are 3-0, who has the tripleton?

Read West’slead. How many spades didhestart with? Since South can see the two,three and four,West must have

ledfromexactlyafour-card suit.And if he is void in diamonds,hemusthave at least five hearts or five clubs and surely wouldhave ledfromthat suit —length rules in no-trump. So only East can be voidindiamonds. Declarershouldtakethefirsttrickand cash the diamond ace.

©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore

today’s thought “you shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the oldman, and fear your God: Iamthe Lord.” Leviticus 19:32

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato mallard