The Advocate 09-11-2025

Conservative activist fatally shot in Utah

Governor: Charlie Kirk’s death a ‘political assassination’

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

OREM,Utah Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.

“This is a dark day for our state It’s a tragic day for our nation,” said Utah Gov Spencer Cox. “I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.”

No one was in custody late Wednesday, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the situation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity Authorities had earlier provided evolving information on the status of the manhunt, with FBI Director Kash Patel initially saying on social media that a “subject” had been taken into custody only to later say that the person had been released after being questioned. Authorities did not identify the person who had been in custody, a motive or any criminal charge

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Law enforcement members tape off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at Utah Valley University

Saints set to sign new Superdome lease

Long-term deal could keep team in New Orleans for at least another decade

BY JEFF DUNCAN, ANTHONY McAULEY and TYLER BRIDGES Staff writers

The New Orleans Saints and Gov Jeff Landry’s team are closing in on a new longterm lease of the Caesars Superdome that aims to keep the franchise rooted in New Orleans for at least another decade

The deal, which three sources familiar with the talks said could be announced as soon as next week, culminates more than a year of grueling, often contentious negotiations between the Saints and the Louisiana

Stadium and Exposition District, the board that oversees the state-owned Superdome. Neither the Saints nor the district, known as the Superdome Commission, have announced specifics publicly But the sources close to the negotiations said the agreement calls for a 10-year lease followed by four five-year extensions, with the Saints retaining the right to exercise each extension. If all the extensions are agreed on, it would run through 2055. The deal adds a new provision — absent from the Saints’ current lease — requiring arbitration and potential “equitable damages,” measures designed to discourage any future owner from moving the team out of New Orleans. The exact amount of that relocation penalty hasn’t been finalized, but the sources said it could reach $250 million.

The deal also involves other key provisions, which could be modified as the sides hash out final details. Among them: the Saints’ share of revenues from stadium concessions on game days; terms of the state lease for offices at Benson Tower; and other future revenue streams and costs.

The two sides have wanted to sign the lease by Sept. 17 because that’s the day an NFL owners subcommittee on special events will meet to begin considering who will host Super Bowls beyond 2028. After receiving broad acclaim for hosting the game in February, New Orleans hopes to be invited to bid on the 2031 Super Bowl. But it can do so only if the Saints have a signed lease agreement in effect for the year of the game, according to league policy

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Temps in Gulf reach record highs

Milestone comes at peak of 2025 hurricane season

BY JULIA GUILBEAU Staff writer

It’s been a quiet few weeks in the tropics, but weather experts are warning that record-high temperatures in the Gulf will require continued vigilance from Louisiana residents in the coming months. Though the Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, peak season is considered to be between mid-August and mid-October a time when the Gulf of Mexico reaches its warmest temperatures and the winds that break up cyclones are at their lowest.

The Gulf’s ocean heat content, a measure of surface temperatures combined with the temperatures of deeper waters, is at an all-time high, according to Brian McNoldy, a climate researcher at the University of Miami.

Though hot waters alone don’t create hurricanes, they are a main source of fuel for rapidly intensifying hurricanes, allowing them to strengthen and become more resilient against factors that break up storms, like wind shear

The ocean’s heat content in the Gulf has surged in the past two to three weeks after remaining fairly average for much of this hurricane season, according to McNoldy Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf are hovering around 87 degrees Fahrenheit, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, about two degrees higher than average for this time of year Near the Louisiana coast they are around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Coastal Data Information Program.

Landry scolds Cassidy on COVID vaccine

Senator suggested ways to circumvent new hurdles

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Gov Jeff Landry took exception to U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s suggestion that the state surgeon general could easily get around recent federal hurdles for people trying to access the COVID vaccine.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr last week proposed new restrictions for administering the COVID vaccine, which many pharmacies have interpreted as requiring prescriptions.

Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, recommended state Surgeon General Ralph Abraham write a “blanket prescription” that would allow drugstores to handle the inoculations as they did in the past.

ä See GULF, page 4A Landry Cassidy

Landry, a Republican, wrote on X: “The last time I checked you have a prescription pad, why don’t you just leave a prescription for the dangerous Covid shot at your district office and anyone can swing by and get one! I am sure big pharma would love you for that one!”

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THE DESERET NEWS PHOTOS By TESS CROWLEy

Charlie Kirk hands out hats Wednesday at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed shortly after

BRIEFS

3 critically wounded in shooting at Colo. school

DENVER Three teens were critically wounded Wednesday in a shooting at a high school in the foothills of suburban Denver, including the suspected shooter, authorities said The shooting was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Evergreen about 30 miles west of Denver, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said It is not clear what led up to the shooting or how the suspected shooter, believed to be a student at the school, was shot. None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting is believed to have fired any shots, Kelley said The shooting happened on school grounds, but it wasn’t immediately known whether it was inside the school building, she said. All three teens taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, were shot, CEO Kevin Cullinan said. The high school with more than 900 students is largely surrounded by forest It is about a mile from the center of Evergreen, which has a population of 9,300 people.

Senate GOP stops effort for Epstein files’ release

WASHINGTON In a close vote, Senate Republicans defeated an effort Wednesday by Democrats to insert language into Congress’ annual defense authorization bill that would have forced the public release of case files on the sex trafficking investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate voted 51-49 to dismiss the changes to the bill, with Republican Sens Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky joining with all Democrats in opposition.

For months, Democrats have clamored for the release of what’s become known as the Epstein files, looking for practically every opportunity to force Republicans to either join their push for disclosure or publicly oppose a cause that many in the Republican base support. President Donald Trump as he was running for president signaled that he was open to releasing a full accounting of the case, but is now trying to dismiss the push as a “Democrat hoax.”

“I ask my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, why won’t you vote yes?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a floor speech Wednesday Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said earlier this week that the Justice Department “has already released tons of files” on Epstein.

Meanwhile, a separate effort to force a vote on a similar bill in the House inched ahead.

Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son on leave after crash

Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son was temporarily relieved of his law enforcement duties after he was involved in a high-speed chase that killed a teenage boy in Alabama over the weekend Priceville police officer Garry Chapman was put on administrative leave Sunday, one day after the deadly two-vehicle crash in Hartselle, Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin told AL.com. He will remain sidelined pending the outcome of an investigation, as is standard procedure for any officers involved in a major incident.

Tristan Hollis, 17, was killed from the injuries he sustained in the crash, which also left five others injured. Police said it occurred Saturday around 8:30 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 36 and U.S. 31, after Chapman attempted to initiate a traffic stop with a suspected drunk driver, identified as Archie Hale. Instead of pulling over though, Hale attempted to flee, sparking a chase. It came to an end only after Hale’s vehicle slammed into Hollis’ minivan Six people — including Hollis, Hale, Hale’s passenger and three other boys also in the minivan — were all rushed to the hospital, where Hollis died a short time later, WHNT reported The rest of their conditions were not provided.

Trump Fed Board nominee advances

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, setting up a likely approval by the full Senate, which would make Miran the third Trump appointee to the seven-member board.

The White House has pushed for an expedited Senate approval of Miran, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace former Fed governor Adriana Kugler. Kugler stepped down Aug. 1. Miran would, if approved, simply finish her term, which expires in January

Miran may be approved by the full Senate in time for the Fed’s meeting next week, when it is widely expected to reduce its key short-term interest rate. The committee voted to approve Miran on partisan lines, 13-11, with all Democrats voting against confirmation.

Miran’s nomination has raised concerns about the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics,

particularly since he said during a hearing last week that he would keep his job as head of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers while on the Fed’s board, a historically unusual arrangement. Presidents have nominated members of their staffs to the Fed’s board before, but the nominees have always given up their White House jobs.

Miran said he would step down from his White House position if he is chosen for a longer term. Yet he can remain on the board after Kugler’s term ends in January, if no replacement is named.

The jockeying around the Fed is occurring as the economy is entering an uncertain and difficult period Inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target, though it hasn’t risen as much as many economists feared when Trump first imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports. The Fed

typically would raise borrowing costs, or at least keep them elevated, to combat worsening inflation.

At the same time, hiring has weakened considerably and the unemployment rate rose last month to a still-low 4.3%. The central bank often takes the opposite approach when unemployment rises and cuts rates, to spur more borrowing, spending, and growth.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled late last month that the Fed may focus more on risks to the job market in the coming months, which makes rate cuts more likely Trump appeals ruling on Cook

The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed a ruling blocking him from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board.

The notice of appeal came hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House has insisted Trump, a Republican, has the right to fire Cook over over allegations raised by one of his appointees that she commit-

Protests turn new French PM’s first day into chaos

Protesters block roads, set fires across France

BY JOHN LEICESTER, JEFFREY SCHAEFFER and THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press

PARIS A day of anti-government action across France on Wednesday saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.

The nationwide “Block Everything” campaign presented a challenge to President Emmanuel Macron and turned Sébastien Lecornu’s first day as prime minister into a baptism of fire.

Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the protests still managed to paralyze parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country

The deployment of 80,000 police officers broke up barricades and dragged hundreds of protesters into custody yet flashpoints multiplied In Rennes, a bus was torched In the southwest, electrical cables were severed, halting train services and snarling traffic.

By evening Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said nearly 200,000 people had taken to the streets nationwide, while the CGT union, one of France’s largest labor confederations, claimed closer to 250,000.

His ministry reported more than 450 arrests, hundreds held in custody, over a dozen officers injured, and more than 800 protest actions from rallies to street fires across the country Retailleau called the day “a defeat for those who wanted to block the country.” Yet the government’s own tally told a different story

The “Bloquons Tout,” or “Block Everything,” protests did not match the scale of France’s 2018 yellow vest revolt, but still underscored the cycle of unrest that has dogged Macron’s presidency: mass deployments, bursts of violence, and repeated clashes between the government and the streets.

After his reelection in 2022, Macron faced firestorms of anger over unpopular pension reforms and nationwide unrest and rioting in 2023 after the deadly police shooting of a teenager on Paris’ outskirts.

Still, demonstrations and sporadic clashes with riot police in Paris and elsewhere Wednesday added to a sense of crisis that has again gripped France following its latest government collapse on Monday, when Prime Minister François

Bayrou lost a parliamentary confidence vote.

The protests immediately presented a challenge to Bayrou’s replacement, Lecornu, installed Wednesday

Groups of protesters who repeatedly tried to block Paris’ beltway during the morning rush hour were dispersed by police using tear gas. Elsewhere in the capital, protesters piled up trash cans and hurled objects at police officers. Firefighters were called out to a fire in a restaurant in the downtown Châtelet neighborhood, where thousands of protesters gathered peacefully Road blockades, traffic slowdowns and other protests were widely spread — from the southern port city of Marseille to Lille and Caen in the north, and Nantes and Rennes in the west to Grenoble and Lyon in the southeast. Authorities reported demonstrations in small towns, too.

Afternoon gatherings of thousands of people in central Paris were peaceful and good-humored, with placards taking aim at Macron and his new prime minister “Lecornu, you’re not welcome,” read a placard brandished by a group of graphic design students

“One prime minister has just been ousted and straight away we get another from the right,” said student Baptiste Sagot, 21. “They’re trying to make working people, young students, retirees — all people in difficulty — bear all the effort instead of taxing wealth.”

France’s prolonged cycle of political instability, with Macron’s minority governments lurching from crisis to crisis, has fueled widespread discontent.

“Block Everything” gathered momentum over the summer on social media and encrypted chats, including on Telegram. Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russianborn founder now under investigation in France for alleged criminal activity on the messaging app, said he is “proud” the platform was used to organize antiMacron rallies.

The movement’s call for a day of blockades, strikes, boycotts, demonstrations and other acts of protest came as Bayrou was preparing to cut public spending by $51 billion to rein in France’s growing deficit and trillions in debts. He also proposed the elimination of two public holidays from the country’s annual calendar which proved wildly unpopular Lecornu, who previously served as defense minister, now inherits the task of addressing France’s budget difficulties, facing the same political instability and widespread hostility to Macron that contributed to Bayrou’s undoing.

ted mortgage fraud related to two properties she bought before she joined the Fed.

The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority has allowed Trump to fire several board members of other independent agencies but has suggested that power has limitations at the Federal Reserve. Cook’s lawyers have argued that firing her was unlawful because presidents can only fire Fed governors for cause, which has typically meant poor job performance or misconduct The judge found the president’s removal power is limited to actions taken during a governor’s time in office.

Cook is accused of saying that both her properties, in Michigan and Georgia, were primary residences, which could have resulted in lower down payments and mortgage rates. Her lawsuit denied the allegations without providing details. Her attorneys said she should have gotten a chance to respond to them before getting fired. Cook is set to participate in next week’s Fed meeting.

Judge blocks cutoff of some social services

BY MAKIYA SEMINERA Associated Press

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Trump administration restrictions on services for immigrants in the country illegally, including the federal preschool program Head Start, health clinics and adult education.

The order from the judge in U.S District Court in Rhode Island applies to 20 states and the District of Columbia, whose attorneys general, all Democrats, sued the administration. It puts the administration’s reinterpretation of a Clinton-era federal policy on hold while the case is decided.

Under the proposed changes, some community-level programs would be reclassified as federal public benefits, making them inaccessible to people without legal status. Individual public benefits, such as food stamps and college financial aid, have been largely unavailable to people in the country without legal status.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, who was appointed by Trump in 2019, said in her order that the policy rollout was “rushed” in a way that would worsen the impact for people cut off from community services and those tasked with verifying eligibility

“The Government argues that it has somehow interpreted this statute incorrectly for the nearly thirty years that it has been the law,” McElroy wrote. “In its view, everyone has misunderstood it from the start — at least until last month, when the right way to read it became clear to the Government. The Court is skeptical of that.” Messages seeking comment were left with the departments of health and human services, education, labor and justice, which each were named as defendants.

The states’ lawsuit argued the government failed to follow the rulemaking process and did not provide the required notice on conditions placed on federal funds.

Miran

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By THIBAULT CAMUS

Riot police officers take position in front of a burning restaurant during the ‘Block Everything’ protest movement in Paris on Wednesday.

NATO jets shoot down Russian drones in Poland

BY CLAUDIA CIOBANU, ILLIA NOVIKOV and RAFAL NIEDZIELSKI Associated Press

WOHYN, Poland Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland in what European officials described Wednesday as a deliberate provocation, causing NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down. A NATO spokesman said it was the first time the alliance confronted a potential threat in its airspace.

The incursion, which occurred during a wave of strikes by the Kremlin on Ukraine, and the NATO response swiftly raised fears that the war could spill over — a fear that has been growing in Europe as Russia steps up its attacks and peace efforts go nowhere.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it did not target Poland, while Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, said it tracked some drones that “lost their course” because they were jammed.

However, several European leaders said they believed the incursion amounted to an intentional expansion of Russia’s assault against Ukraine.

“Russia’s war is escalating, not ending,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels. “What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer,” and it should result in stronger sanctions.

Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.

Poland said some of the drones came from Belarus, where Russian and Belarusian troops have begun gathering for war games

at a site in Wohyn, Poland, on Wednesday.

scheduled to start Friday

It was not immediately clear how many drones were involved

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament 19 violations were recorded over seven hours, but he said information was still being gathered. Polish authorities said nine crash sites were found, with some of them hundreds of kilometers from the border

“There are definitely no grounds to suspect that this was a course correction mistake or the like,”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament. “These drones were very clearly put on this course deliberately.”

Dutch fighter jets came to Po-

land’s aid and intercepted some drones. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski later thanked the Dutch government “for the magnificent performance of Dutch pilots in neutralizing” the drones.

Drones reported from Belarus

Tusk told parliament that the first violation came at approximately 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and the last around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday Earlier, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that more than 10 objects crossed into Polish airspace.

“What is new, in the worst sense of the word, is the direction from which the drones came. This is the first time in this war that they did not come from Ukraine as a result of errors or minor Russian provocations. For the first time, a significant portion of the drones came directly from Belarus,” Tusk said in parliament.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its overnight strikes targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in the western regions of the country — which border Poland — with no planned targets on Polish

territory

In an unusual message of outreach, the ministry said it was ready to hold consultations with Poland’s Defense Ministry Belarusian Maj. Gen. Pavel Muraveiko, the chief of the country’s general staff and first deputy defense minister, appeared to try to put some distance between his country and the incursion.

In an online statement, he said that as Russia and Ukraine traded drone strikes overnight, Belarusian air defense forces tracked “drones that lost their course” after they were jammed, adding that Belarusian forces warned their Polish and Lithuanian counterparts about “unidentified aircraft” approaching their territory

A house was hit in the village of Wyryki in the Lublin region near the Ukrainian border, Mayor Bernard Blaszczuk told the TVP Info

television news channel. The roof was severely damaged.

NATO members vow support NATO air defenses supported Poland in what spokesman Col. Martin O’Donnell called “the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace.” That included the Dutch F-35 fighter jets that intercepted drones, according to Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans.

The alliance “is committed to defending every kilometer of NATO territory, including our airspace,” O’Donnell said.

Tusk told parliament that consultations took place under Article 4 of the NATO treaty — a clause that allows countries to call for urgent discussions with their allies. The consultations happened Wednesday at a previously planned meeting. They do not automatically lead to any action under Article 5, which is NATO’s collective security guarantee.

Russian attacks hit Ukraine

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 415 strike and decoy drones, as well as 42 cruise missiles and one ballistic missile overnight. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted or jammed 386 drones and 27 cruise missiles, according to the report.

One person was killed and at least five wounded, while several homes and businesses were damaged, according to local officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in its morning report Wednesday that it had destroyed 122 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions overnight, including over the illegally annexed Crimea and areas of the Black Sea.

Trump offers ambiguous initial response to drone incursion

BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered an ambiguous initial response to Russia’s drone incursion into Poland’s airspace, a provocative act by Moscow that has put the United States’ NATO allies in Europe on edge.

“What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late Wednesday morning, nearly a half-day after Poland announced that several Russian drones entered its territory over the course of many hours and were shot down with help from NATO allies. White House officials did not immediately respond to queries about Trump’s cryptic comments about the incursion. It was the first time the transatlantic alliance has confronted a potential threat in its airspace, scrambling jets to shoot the Russian drones out of the sky

But Trump’s comment stood in sharp contrast to the strong condemnation by several European leaders and was notably less robust than that of his ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker “We stand by our @NATO Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Whitaker posted on X. Trump spoke Wednesday with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was at the White House last week for talks in which the two leaders discussed expanding the U.S. military presence in Poland. Following the call, Nawrocki posted on X that the conversation ”confirmed the unity of our alliance.”

Fla. court strikes down open-carry ban

BY ROMY ELLENBOGEN

Tampa Bay Times (TNS)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is a step closer to allowing the open carry of firearms in public.

On Wednesday, the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the state’s open carry ban is unconstitutional, saying that it conflicts with the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms.

The ruling isn’t final until the 15-day window for a rehearing has run out. But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier will not seek a rehearing or ask the Florida Supreme Court for review, meaning the court’s decision will likely stand. On social media, Uthmeier said he fully supported the ruling.

The open carry case originated from the 2022 arrest of Stanley McDaniels in Escambia County McDaniels, before the arrest, had livestreamed himself with a visible holstered pistol and a copy of the U.S. Constitution in downtown Pensacola.

The state appeals court said that under the U.S. Supreme Court’s new framework for evaluating restrictions on the Second Amendment, Florida’s ban didn’t pass muster.

The Florida Supreme Court in 2017 upheld Florida’s open carry ban but the 1st District

appeals court said a 2022 U.S Supreme Court case takes precedence. That case, referred to as the Bruen decision, says that laws restricting the Second Amendment must be rooted in historic gun regulation.

“No historical tradition supports Florida’s Open Carry Ban,” the court wrote in its opinion. “To the contrary, history confirms that the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly.”

Florida is one of four states — alongside Illinois, Connecticut, and California — that ban open carry in nearly all circumstances for all kinds of firearms, according to Everytown for Gun Safety Florida’s ban has been in effect since 1987.

“This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians,” Uthmeier said.

“As we’ve all witnessed over the last few days, our God-given right to self-defense is indispensable.”

Along with pushing the Legislature to pass open carry Gov Ron DeSantis has also said he wants to repeal some Florida gun restrictions passed after the massacre at a Parkland high school in 2017.

That includes the red flag law, which allows courts to temporarily disarm people at risk of harming themselves or others, and a restriction that stops people younger than 21 from buying long guns.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Police and military police secure parts of a damaged unidentified aerial vehicle shot down by Polish authorities

But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”

A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away

The Associated Press was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” the person asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.”

The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out. The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away

The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great,

SAINTS

Continued from page 1A

The new agreement will end a negotiation that began shortly after Landry took office in January 2024. Saints officials negotiated a similar lease extension with officials from the administration of Gov. John Bel Edwards but didn’t reach a long-term agreement before his term ended.

“We remain optimistic that a final agreement will be reached soon and look forward to announcing it at the appropriate time,” Greg Bensel, a spokesperson for the Saints, said in a text. “Until then, negotiations with the State remain ongoing, and it would be premature to comment on specific deal points.” Superdome Commission officials also declined to comment on the deal talks.

Shane Guidry, a businessman who is a close adviser to Landry, declined to comment on specifics but said agreement on lease terms is near “We’re at the finish line,” he said. “We want to get it done for the Saints, the taxpayers, the state of Louisiana, the NFL, everybody.”

A closely watched deal

The Superdome lease is always closely watched by business and civic leaders, but for Saints fans the real question is what it means for the team’s long-term future in New Orleans. Th is r ou n d of talks carries added weight: Because the lease could run through 2055, it will likely be in place past Gayle Benson’s lifetime — the trigger for an NFL rule that will require the team to be sold to a new owner. Landry’s negotiating team has sought to bolster the state’s legal position in keeping the Saints here for the foreseeable future, the sources said.

Benson has vowed to keep the team in New Orleans while she is the owner And in a series of 2021 interviews to discuss the Saints succession plans, Dennis Lauscha, the Saints’ president and the executor of the Benson estate, committed to keeping the Saints in New Orleans He has also said the terms of this lease negotiation would be crucial to keeping a future owner here. But it remains unclear whether the new deal will have strong enough language to prevent the team from being

and even Legendary.”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were canceled until further notice. Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus. Armed officers walked around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the shooter

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognized a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “The American Comeback Tour,” had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy He wrote, “What’s going on in

moved by the team’s next owner beyond those 10 years.

Lauscha has been the lead negotiator for the Saints, facing off with Rob Vosbein, appointed by Landry to serve as the Superdome Commission’s chair. Vosbein is a private attorney for Guidry Also negotiating for the state has been Shawn Bridgewater-Normand, a lawyer and the wife of radio host Newell Normand

The Superdome Commission is expected to formally approve the deal, which will replace the current agreement that consists of a 15-year lease followed by a fiveyear extension that ends in 2030.

Aim to avoid relocation

The price of professional sports teams has risen dramatically in recent years, making ownership the domain of multibillionaires.

Forbes valued the Saints at $5.3 billion in its annual analysis of NFL franchises, a 20% increase from a year ago.

Lawyers and executives with experience in stadium lease negotiations in other NFL markets said that any lease deal would likely require ironclad legal terms and financial penalties after 10 years to make it difficult for a future owner to move the Saints.

The new lease would require a new owner who moves the team to pay state taxpayers as much as $250 million to cover most of the $300 million that the state owes in bonds for the recent Superdome renovation, said the people close to the negotiations That penalty steps down sharply after the first 10 years.

Marc Poloncarz, who has negotiated two lease extensions with the Buffalo Bills as the Erie County executive, said a more important question is whether the new lease includes language that would allow the state to go to court in New Orleans to prevent a new owner from moving the team.

“Unless there’s some clause that allows the community and the state to keep the team there, they could be gone after 10 years,” Poloncarz said.

In 2021, Benson said her instructions to Lauscha are clear when it comes to new ownership.

“That’s going to be one of our stipulations when we sell the team — that it stays here,” said Benson at the time “Dennis won’t sell it to another person that wants to take it away.”

While negotiators aren’t yet publicly outlining the terms of the new lease, two recent stadium deals offer some comparative terms.

In 2023, the Buffalo Bills signed a 30-year lease with language that

VACCINE

Continued from page 1A

As state attorney general and governor, Landry has opposed federal policies regarding the use of the COVID vaccines.

He led efforts by other Republican-run states to set aside mandates that health care workers get vaccinated.

Shortly after becoming governor, Landry signed a law banning state officials from promoting use of the COVID vaccine.

“True conservatives should empower patients,” Cassidy said Wednesday in reply to Landry’s social media post. “Big government liberals make it harder for them to take action Get big government out of a patient’s life.”

he needs to investigate further

But he and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and also a doctor, led Republicans during a hearing last week asking Kennedy sharp questions about the government’s new vaccination policies.

Kennedy answered critics at a Senate Finance Committee by calling the senators liars and accusing them of being in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies.

A conservative Republican, Landry has made hostile comments to and about Cassidy before.

Utah?”

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Democratic California Gov Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

“The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends,” said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year

discourages a new owner from moving the team. A year later, the Jacksonville Jaguars also signed a 30-year deal with similar terms.

Nellie Drew, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law who has studied the leases of the Bills and other teams, said cities and states often seek clauses in the leases that would make it harder for teams to relocate.

One defense is a legal term known as “equitable relief,” which allows the government to file suit to block the team from leaving. The Bills agreed to allow this type of lawsuit in the lease and to have the lawsuit be heard in a local or federal court in the Buffalo area.

“There is no way any judge in western New York is going to let the Bills walk,” Drew said.

If a judge did allow the team to leave, the lease requires the Bills to pay back taxpayers the full $850 million they spent to build a new stadium if the departure takes place within the first 14 years of the lease signing. In future years, the amount the new owner would have to pay taxpayers would drop by 6.25% per year By year 30, that amount would reach zero.

In the Saints’ case, taxpayers spent about $380 million to pay for the most recent renovation of the Superdome, while the Saints ponied up an additional $180 million.

The financial penalty in the new lease of up to $250 million for relocating the Saints would probably not be a deterrent for a new owner given the vast sums required now to purchase a team, industry experts said. But it’s a significant change from the current lease, which did not have a similar financial penalty That lease took effect in 2010. The deal included an $85 million stadium upgrade that gave the Saints more ways to make money off games in the Superdome while capping direct subsidies to the team at $6 million a year It also transferred naming rights at the stadium to the team, which the Saints have since sold to Mercedes-Benz and Caesars for millions of dollars annually

In lieu of constructing a new stadium, which can cost billions of dollars, the sides have continued to pour money into upgrading the Superdome, which opened in 1975 and is the fifth oldest stadium in the NFL. The state completed a $560 million renovation of the facility in 2024, in time to host Super Bowl LIX this year It was the stadium’s eighth Super Bowl, the most of any venue in NFL history

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

Cassidy is a physician and strong supporter of vaccinations for 30 years before being elected to Congress. He has questioned some of the vaccination policy stances Kennedy has taken.

In speaking to Louisiana reporters over the phone Tuesday, Cassidy noted that the state surgeon general had written a blanket prescription for Narcan, the brand name for naloxone which is used to stop an opioid overdose

“We can have a debate back and forth about the COVID vaccine,” Cassidy said.

“We’re inconveniencing patients. We’re driving up the cost for a patient. I’m a doctor I want to make it as least expensive and as easy for the patient to get. So, if there’s a blanket prescription written out of state government to every pharmacy then why not do that?”

He pointed out that the COVID vaccine was tested and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine also has been the target of much skepticism by the far right.

Abraham and the Louisiana Department of Health did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

More than any other senator, Cassidy is responsible for Kennedy a well-known vaccine skeptic, winning confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy promised to involve the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee, which Cassidy chairs, in decisions he makes.

Since then, Kennedy has laid off thousands of agency employees, proposed cutting the agency’s budget, pulled funding for further vaccination research using its most promising platform forced a civilian panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy to resign, and fired the director of the CDC less than a month after she was confirmed.

Democrats and health associations have called for Kennedy’s resignation.

Cassidy won’t go that far saying

GULF

Continued from page 1A

Farther south, near Florida, it is 2 degrees warmer.

The reason for the sharp increase in temperatures isn’t clear-cut, but a lack of storms and cloudiness has likely allowed the undisturbed waters to get hotter and hotter, McNoldy said.

Another factor in the Gulf is also adding to the risk for an intensifying storm.

The Loop Current — super warm water that flows between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula — has recently shifted, creating a separate “eddy,” or pool of warm water that breaks off from the current, observed Nan Walker a professor at LSU’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences.

The eddy’s location puts the western and central Gulf more at risk for generating a major storm.

“The picture is not good,” Walker said.

One positive, Walker said, is that the hottest waters aren’t currently located right along the Gulf coastline, leaving less fuel for a potential hurricane approaching landfall. And, the more cool fronts the area sees, like the one that passed through South Louisiana on Monday, the better

A mostly quiet start

So far, this hurricane season is tracking just behind normal, according to NOAA climate scientist Matthew Rosencrans. The Atlantic basin has seen six named storms, just less than half of the 13 to 18 named storms the NOAA predicted at the beginning of the season.

One of those storms, Hurricane Erin, developed into a major hurricane, setting records as one of the most rapidly intensifying

Cassidy is running for a third six-year term in 2026 and faces opposition from Louisiana Republicans who are still angry about his vote to convict President Donald Trump in 2021 of impeachment charges stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by MAGA supporters seeking to disrupt certification that Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.

Landry reportedly has spoken to U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, about challenging Cassidy She said recently that she is more interested in representing the 5th Congressional District.

But Cassidy has drawn three conservative opponents, including state Treasurer John Fleming, R-Minden; state Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia; and Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, R-Metairie

Cassidy’s team has argued he is in a strong position to win, pointing to strong fundraising numbers. He has raised $9.2 million for the campaign, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. They have also rolled out endorsements, including those of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Tim Scott, chair of the Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the primary fundraising arm to help GOP Senate campaigns.

Miguez has raised $1.8 million. Skrmetta and Fleming are wealthy enough to fund their campaigns out of pocket. Fleming, for instance, has raised $384,618 but has spent well over $2 million already and still has more than $2 million in reserves, according to the FEC. Skrmetta hasn’t been in the contest long enough to file with the FEC.

Many political observers see Cassidy in a precarious position.

“If, eight months before primary election day, an incumbent U.S. senator has several credible opponents, no endorsements from the president and governor of his own party and no poll showing him trouncing those opponents in a runoff, he’s in deep trouble,” Bob Mann, a former LSU professor and former staffer to U.S. Sen. Russell Long and Gov. Kathleen Blanco, wrote in his blog Wednesday

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

storms on record despite not making landfall along the continental U.S.

But much of the season has remained quiet, and hurricane center forecasters are predicting no tropical activity for the next seven days.

That lull in activity could quickly change in the next few weeks, however, as a climate pattern known as the Madden-Julian oscillation shifts from increased activity in the Pacific to increased activity in the Atlantic, Rosencrans said. La Niña could also return toward the end of the season, according to Rosencranz, and the weather pattern is known to promote the formation and intensification of Atlantic hurricanes. Novembers where La Niña is active typically have four times more tropical activity than a normal year, he said. Late-season storms possible Rosencranz emphasized that the second half of the hurricane season regularly has more activity, and we typically see 60% of named storms during this time period.

The Gulf, especially, can be very active, McNoldy said.

“Not all years have a peak at the same time,” he said. “This year is certainly going to be a year where we aren’t at the peak.”

Prime time for tropical waves moving off the coast of Africa generally peaks mid-August to mid-October, but by early to midOctober, waves in the Gulf and the Caribbean grow more active.

Regardless of the quiet few months the tropics have seen, things could shift quickly at any time.

“Things can turn around, and when they do turn around, we could get into a burst of activity,” McNoldy said.

Email Julia Guilbeau at jguilbeau@theadvocate.com.

Benson

THE DESERET NEWS PHOTO By TESS CROWLEy

The crowd reacts Wednesday after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and cofounder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, is shot at Utah Valley University

Trump’s emergency order for D.C. hits limit

But 13 bills about D.C. control are in House committee

BY GARY FIELDS and LEAH ASKARINAM Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s emergency order over the nation’s capital, which federalized its police force and launched a surge of law enforcement into the city, was set to expire overnight Wednesday after Congress failed to extend it.

But the clash between Republicans and the heavily Democratic district over its autonomy was only set to intensify, with a House committee beginning to debate 13 bills that would wrest away even more of the city’s control if approved.

up to the federal takeover Congress, satisfied by the steps that Bowser has taken to ensure that the cooperation with the city and its police force will continue, decided not to extend the emergency, returning the police to district control.

But Bowser must now pivot to a Congress that has jurisdiction over the city The next order of business is a series of proposals that were to be debated on Wednesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Thirteen of the bills call for repealing or changing D.C. laws. Some provisions in play would remove the position of the district’s elected attorney general, who recently asked a judge to intervene in the takeover

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said the order expires at midnight. The National Guard and some other federal agencies will continue their deployment, and at least some National Guard troops from outside the District of Columbia will remain in the nation’s capital at least through the end of November at the request of the Trump administration.

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

Ohio Gov Mike DeWine said in a statement that he had approved a request from the Secretary of the Army for 150 military police to carry out patrols in Washington through Nov 30. For the last 30 days, the

city’s local Metropolitan Police Department has been under the control of the president for use in what he described as a crime-fighting initiative.

Local police joined hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and agents on sweeps and roundups and other police opera-

tions. About 2,000 members of the National Guard from D.C. as well as seven states were also part of the surge of law enforcement.

Crime has dropped during the surge, according to figures from the White House and the local police department, but data also showed crime was falling in the lead-

Others would allow the president to appoint someone to the position.

There is also a move to lower the age of trying juveniles to 14 from 16 for certain crimes, and one to change the bail system and remove methods the council can use to extend emergency bills.

Even if the bills pass the committee and House, the

question is whether they can get through the filibusterproof Senate D.C. activists have already begun lobbying Senate Democrats. Bowser urged the leaders of the House Oversight Committee to reject those proposals. She argued that a bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Gosar, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, would “make the District less efficient, competitive, and responsive.” She said she looks forward to working with the committee to build a “productive partnership” that “respects the will of D.C. residents and honors the principles of home rule.” Republican Rep. Ron Estes and several Republican colleagues said they want their constituents to feel safe visiting the capital, and noted the recent murder of an intern who worked in Estes’ office. “We want to make sure that we have a capital that Americans are proud of,” Estes said. Bowser has said repeatedly that statehood, a nonstarter for Republicans in Congress, is the only solution.

WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Kamala Harris says it was “recklessness” for Democrats to leave it to President Joe Biden to decide whether to continue seeking another term last year, but she defends his ability to do the job, according to an excerpt of her new book. Harris, in an excerpt of “107 Days” published Wednesday in The Atlantic, writes that as questions swirled about whether the then-81-year-old Biden should seek reelection, she and others left the decision to him and first lady Jill Biden. “Was it grace, or was it reckless-

ness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” Harris said.

The remarks are the first time

Harris has been publicly critical of Biden’s decision to run again an ill-fated decision that saw him drop out in July 2024 after a disastrous debate performance, leaving her to head up the Democratic ticket and ultimately lose to Republican Donald Trump.

“The stakes were simply too high,” Harris writes in the book.

“This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

Biden’s of f ice did not immediately have a comment Wednesday

Throughout the campaign and in its wake, Harris had avoided much criticism of the president she served beside and defended him amid questions about his mental acuity

In the book excerpt, Harris continues to defend Biden’s ability to do the job but describes him in 2024 and especially at the time of his “debate debacle” as “tired.”

“On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best. But at 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles,” Harris writes.

“I don’t think it’s any surprise that the debate debacle happened

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right after two back-to-back trips to Europe and a flight to the West Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser. I don’t believe it was incapacity.”

She adds that if she believed Biden were incapacitated, she would have said so out of loyalty to the country Harris also blames those close to Biden for unflattering media coverage throughout the time she served as vice president and throwing her under the bus to boost Biden’s public standing.

She writes about receiving a high level of scrutiny as the first female vice president but says “when the stories were unfair or inaccurate, the president’s inner circle seemed fine with it. Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked

down a little bit more.” Harris writes that she often learned that Biden’s staff was “adding fuel to negative narratives” that surrounded her, such as stories about her vice presidential office being in disarray and having high turnover

The former vice president also accuses Biden’s staff of being afraid of her upstaging him, describing a speech she gave in Selma, Alabama, in March of last year in which she called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and more humanitarian aid to be delivered to people there.

“It went viral, and the West Wing was displeased,” Harris says, “I was castigated for, apparently, delivering it too well.”

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Musk loses crown as world’s richest to Ellison

NEW YORK Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday, according to wealth tracker Bloomberg, as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading.

A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who became the world’s richest for the first time four years ago. Stock in one of Musk’s biggest holdings, Tesla, has been moving in the opposite direction of Oracle’s, dropping 14% so far this year as of Tuesday

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle powered by multibillion-dollar orders from customers as the artificial-intelligence race heats up.

Labor Department watchdog to audit data

WASHINGTON A government watchdog says it will review how a Labor Department agency compiles and reports some of the nation’s highest profile economic data, just two days after the agency made a sharp downward revision in its estimate of the number of jobs.

A spokesperson for the department’s Office of the Inspector General said Wednesday that it is launching a review of “the challenges that Bureau of Labor Statistics encounters collecting and reporting closely watched economic data.”

The audit will focus on the agency’s reports on inflation and employment, a Wednesday letter to BLS acting commissioner William Wiatrowski said. Both reports are considered definitive measures of those two key aspects of the U.S. economy On Tuesday, the BLS released annual revisions to its employment figures that showed there were 911,000 fewer jobs created in the year ending in March 2025, a deep reduction that suggested the job market was much weaker in 2024 and earlier this year than previously thought. The initial data is compiled based on surveys of about 120,000 companies, and the revisions are then made based on actual job rolls employers then submit quarterly to state unemployment tax offices.

RaceTrac to acquire Potbelly for $566M Sandwich maker Potbelly is being acquired by the gas station and convenience store chain RaceTrac for $566 million.

Potbelly, which was founded in Chicago in 1977, has 445 restaurants across the U.S. The company said the deal with RaceTrac will help it reach its goal of quadrupling in size to 2,000 locations. Potbelly stores are both company- and franchise-owned.

In 2021, Restaurant Brands International — which also owns Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons bought Firehouse Subs for $1 billion. Two years later, the private equity firm Roark Capital snapped up Subway for nearly $10 billion.

Potbelly focused on a multiyear transformation plan coming out of the pandemic. The chain introduced new menu items, including a steak sandwich. It also increased its digital and delivery sales, redesigned stores and grew by attracting new franchisees RaceTrac was founded in 1934 and is family owned. The Atlanta company operates more than 800 locations in 14 states.

RaceTrac said it will acquire all of Potbelly’s shares for $17.12 each in cash.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter

U.S.

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

BUSINESS

NEW YORK Wall Street inched to more records on Wednesday following a surprisingly encouraging report on inflation and a stunning forecast for growth from Oracle because of the artificial-intelligence boom.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and set an all-time high for a second straight day The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 220 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1% after both likewise set records the day before.

Stocks have hit records in large part because Wall Street is expecting the economy to pull off a delicate balancing act: slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to

cut interest rates, but not so much that it causes a recession, all while inflation remains under control

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index which captures inflation in the supply chain before it hits consumers — showed that wholesale inflation decelerated in August after advancing 0.7% in July. Wholesale services prices fell 0.2% from July on smaller profit margins at retailers and wholesalers, which might be a sign that those companies are absorbing the cost of President Donald Trump’s sweeping taxes — tariffs — on imports.

Compared with a year earlier, producer prices rose 2.6%.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices also fell 0.1% from July and were up 2.8% from a year earlier.

A potentially more important report is coming Thursday, which will show how bad inflation has been for U.S. households, but Wednesday’s update “essentially rolled out the red carpet for a Fed rate cut next week,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley Traders were already convinced the Fed will deliver its first cut to interest rates of the year at its next meeting, but they need inflation data until then to be mild enough not to derail those expectations. That’s because cuts to interest rates can push inflation higher, along with giving the economy a kickstart, and hot inflation readings could tie the Fed’s hands. On Wall Street, tech stocks led the way after Oracle said AI-related

demand is set to send its revenue surging. CEO Safra Catz said Oracle signed four multi-billion dollar contracts during its latest quarter, and it expects cloud infrastructure revenue to jump 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year After that, it expects such revenue to soar to $144 billion in just four years. Oracle stock leaped 35.9% for its best day since 1992, even though it also reported results for

Drug advertising crackdown faces hurdles

Pushback expected over Trump’s directive

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and other administration officials are vowing a crackdown on deceptive drug ads, but the effort is likely to face multiple headwinds, including pushback from industry and layoffs among regulators tasked with leading the effort.

President Donald Trump signed a memo Tuesday that directs the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies to step up enforcement against ubiquitous prescription drug ads on TV, websites and social media.

The industry’s multibillion-dollar marketing efforts have long been a target for Kennedy, who previously suggested banning all pharmaceutical ads from TV That step would have almost certainly been struck down by federal judges, who have long accepted advertising as a First Amendmentprotected form of speech.

Instead, Trump’s directive tells the FDA to use current laws to ensure “transparency and accuracy” in all ads.

But the FDA has long struggled to defend its actions against drug promotions in court And reworking some of its key regulations — including those governing TV advertising — could take years.

More warnings after years of setbacks

The FDA kicked off its effort Tuesday evening saying it was issuing “thousands” of warnings to drugmakers over inaccurate or misleading ads. But rather than individual notices citing specific violations, the FDA shared a generic letter that it sent to drugmakers, instructing them to bring “all promotional communications into compliance.”

The form letter is different from typical FDA warning letters, which usually cite specific issues with company advertisements that run afoul of FDA rules and lay the groundwork for future legal action.

The FDA’s press release noted that such warnings have fallen dramatically in recent years, with only one issued in 2023 and none in 2024.

Former FDA officials say that reflects two trends. First, the drug industry has abandoned many of the most egregious tactics deployed in the early 2000s, including the use of distracting sounds and visuals that often drew attention away from drug warn-

ings and side effect information.

Additionally the FDA has repeatedly settled legal cases challenging its authority to police drug promotions. The agency often declines to pursue such cases due to the risks of losing in court, which could create legal precedent eroding its power

Looking ahead, recent Trump administration job cuts have slashed staffing in the FDA’s drug advertising division, which handles warning letters.

Plan to curb TV ads could take time

One major proposal by the administration involves reversing a nearly 30-year-old FDA rule. Until the late 1990s, TV drug advertisements were impractical and prohibitively expensive because FDA regulations required drugmakers to list each medication’s risks and side effects.

A 1997 shift allowed companies to briefly summarize that information and point viewers to more complete information on websites, in print ads or elsewhere The FDA said this week it will begin the process to eliminate that practice, calling it a “loophole” used to “conceal critical safety risks.”

But the FDA rulemaking process usually takes years — sometimes more than a decade — with multiple opportunities for public comment and revision.

For example, new guidelines finalized last

year that require clearer and simpler language in drug ads took more than 15 years to develop and implement.

For its part, the industry maintains that TV ads are a way to educate and empower consumers.

“Truthful and nonmisleading DTC advertising is protected under the First Amendment and has documented evidence of advancing patient awareness and engagement,” PhRMA, the industry’s leading trade group, said in a statement Wednesday

Promoters may be beyond FDA’s reach FDA Commissioner Marty Makary also suggested his agency will be more aggressive about policing ads on social media platforms like Instagram, where drugmakers often partner with patient influencers or doctors.

The agency has long struggled to oversee those promotions, because FDA advertising rules only apply to drug companies.

Social media influencers who are paid to endorse or promote products are supposed to clearly disclose that relationship. But that requirement is overseen by the Federal Trade Commission.

And in some cases, influencers aren’t being paid by anyone: They promote products in hopes of landing future endorsement deals.

Amazon’s Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP technology writer

Amazon’s Zoox on Wednesday launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas, offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle that operates without a steering wheel.

The Las Vegas debut of Zoox’s long-planned ride-hailing service reflects Amazon-owned robotaxi maker’s confidence in the safety of its boxy vehicles after two years of testing them in the city

The robotaxis initially were only available to employees in Las Vegas before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now, anyone with the Zoox app will be able to request a ride to five designated locations, including Resorts World, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New York hotel. The longest

distance the Zoox robotaxis will travel is about three miles while carrying up to four passengers. All rides will be provided for free for at least the first few months to help promote the existence of the service in the perennially popular travel destination. Once it begins charging for rides in Las Vegas, Zoox says its prices will be comparable to traditional taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Amazon, currently worth $2.5 trillion, bought Zoox for $1.2 billion five years ago as part of its efforts to establish a foothold in other fields of technology

The Las Vegas market marks Zoox’s first step in its attempt to catch up with robotaxi leader Waymo, a Google spinoff that offers that already provides driverless rides in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin, Texas (where

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ANDREW HARNIK President Donald Trump signed a memo Tuesday that directs the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies to step up enforcement against ubiquitous prescription drug ads on TV, websites and social media.

Thousands flood Mo. Capitol to protest maps

BY KACEN BAYLESS

The Kansas City Star (TNS)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The massive crowd first gathered on the front steps of the Missouri Capitol.

One by one, they entered the domed building where state laws are made, holding signs and hurling chants. They traveled from Kansas City, St. Louis and across rural Missouri. Thousands of people descended on Jefferson City on Wednesday to protest Republican Gov Mike Kehoe’s special session that would gerrymander Missouri’s congressional map and overhaul the state’s initiative petition process.

“NO RIGGED MAPS,” said one sign.

“LET EVERY VOTE COUNT,” said another Swarms of people, including union workers, activists and residents, held one of the largest rallies inside the Capitol rotunda in recent years. They roamed the halls of the building and packed into the gallery overlooking the Missouri Senate.

The protest came a day after the Missouri House approved the proposals in party-line votes Senate Republicans are hoping to pass both by the end of this week,

but Senate Democrats will likely attempt to halt them through a prolonged filibuster Kehoe’s special session call came under pressure

from President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican states to redraw their U.S. House maps to ensure Republican control of Congress.

Trump has ordered Republican senators to fall in line and pass it with no changes. “I will be watching closely,” the Republican president posted on social media.

The effort has thrust Missouri into a national redistricting fight spearheaded by Trump’s administration.

Missouri and other Republican-led states, such as Texas, are redrawing their maps to ensure GOP control of Congress at the behest of Trump. In Missouri, the goal is to make it easier for a Republican to win Democratic

U.S Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District.

Trump made that effort explicitly clear, saying the new map would give Missourians “the opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican in the 2026 Midterm Elections.”

“The Missouri Senate must pass this Map now, AS IS, to deliver a gigantic Victory for Republicans in the ‘Show Me State,’ and across the Country,” the post said.

Trump’s post undercut arguments from Missouri Republicans that the mid-

decade redistricting effort was for reasons other than appeasing the president. Protest attendee Jim Edson emphasized that Kansas Citians would be sharing the congressional districts and representatives as people living in rural parts of central, northern and southern Missouri.

Those residents have different needs than people in Kansas City He worries about how a change in congressional leadership would affect the city’s priorities and federal funding.

“We have nothing in common with a lot of the folks south of Kansas City,” Edson said.

“The rules are being changed and nobody gave permission for them to be changed,” said Floyd Bell, a St Louis-based union president.

Roughly two hours after the protest began, the Republican-controlled Missouri Senate charged forward and gaveled into session, intent on redrawing the map and overhauling the petition process.

BY JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press

HOUSTON — A professor at Texas A&M University was fired and others were removed from their positions after a video surfaced in which a student confronted the instructor over her teaching of issues related to gender identity in a class on children’s literature.

The firing of Melissa McCoul, who had been a senior lecturer in the English department, came after political pressure from Republican lawmakers, including Gov Greg Abbott, who had called for her termination.

The incident prompted Glenn Hegar, the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, to order an audit of courses at all 12 schools in the system.

“It is unacceptable for A&M System faculty to push a personal political agenda,” Hegar said in a statement on Monday “We have been tasked with training the next generation of teachers and child care professionals. That responsibility should prioritize protecting children not engaging in indoctrination.”

Texas A&M University Presi-

dent Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement Tuesday he directed the campus provost to fire McCoul after learning the instructor had continued teaching content in a course on children’s literature “that did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum

for the course.”

Welsh said the issue had been raised earlier this summer and he had “made it clear to our academic leadership that course content must match catalog descriptions for each and every one of our course sections.” Welsh said he learned on Monday that this was not taking place.

“This isn’t about academic freedom; it’s about academic responsibility,” Welsh said.

Welsh also ordered the removal of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English department from their administrative positions.

The actions by Texas A&M were criticized by faculty and writers’ groups.

“We are witnessing the death of academic freedom in Texas, the remaking of universities as tools

of authoritarianism that suppress free thought,” Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, said in a statement.

The controversy began on Monday after Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison posted a video, audio recordings and other materials on a thread on the social media site X. Harrison called for the professor and Welsh to be fired for “DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination.”

In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children’s literature class. The student and professor are not shown and it’s unclear when the video was taken.

“This also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people’s religious beliefs. And so I am not going to participate

in this because it’s not legal and I don’t want to promote something that is against our president’s laws as well as against my religious beliefs,” the student could be heard saying in the video.

“If you are uncomfortable in this class you do have the right to leave. What we are doing is not illegal,” the professor said. In her back-and-forth with the professor, the student mentioned an executive order that President Donald Trump signed earlier this year in which he said “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”

A new Texas law took effect on Sept. 1 that forbids Texas K-12 schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity The new law does not apply to universities and other institutions of higher education.

KANSAS CITy STAR PHOTO By TAMMy LJUNGBLAD

People gather at the Missouri Statehouse in Jefferson City on Wednesday to protest the Legislature’s efforts to change the state’s congressional district maps. The proposed change would divide Kansas City into districts that would include vast rural areas of the state.

Volunteers

prep

millions of meals for New Yorkers for anniversary of 9/11

BY PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

NEW YORK When longtime friends David Paine and Jay Winuk set out to encourage people to take part in volunteer and service projects on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, their goal was simple: to turn a day of unimaginable tragedy into a day for doing good.

Now, as the nation prepares to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11, that lofty mission has evolved into a national day of service where people across the country participate in projects that honor the nearly 3,000 dead.

The nationwide effort kicked off Wednesday as thousands of volunteers began assembling packaged meals for needy New Yorkers in a festive atmosphere aboard the USS Intrepid Teams of volunteers filled small plastic bags with various ingredients for making a kind of jambalaya, including uncooked rice, dehydrated vegetables, lentils, salt and other seasonings, as a DJ blasted upbeat tunes from

the wing of an aircraft carrier-turned-museum.

“The vision was to create a ritual,” said Winuk, co-founder and executive vice president of 9/11 Day, the nonprofit organizing the event. “We couldn’t know that it would continue to resonate with people more than two decades later.”

The two-day event, which runs through Thursday, aims to package more than 2 million meals for local food banks. It is among 25 largescale volunteer service projects being organized in some two dozen cities across the country

Overall, 9/11 Day estimates some 30 million Americans will participate in some form with the day of service, which Congress enshrined into law in 2009.

Beside meal packing, volunteers will be taking part in food and clothing drives park and neighborhood cleanups, blood banks and other community events, the organization says Even smaller acts of kindness count, like greeting strangers on the street or holding the door for someone.

“It’s really just meant to be a day when we remember and rekindle the way we all felt and the way that we all behaved in the immediate aftermath of the attack,” said Paine, who co-founded 9/11 Day and serves as its president. “When we weren’t red states or blue states We were just human beings wanting to help one another.”

Winuk says it’s been “gratifying” to see Americans embrace the call to service and good deeds. His brother, Glenn Winuk, died on Sept. 11 while serving as volunteer firefighter and EMT

“Glenn would have been first in line for this kind of thing. He lived his life and died in service to other people,” he said. The call seems to be resonating in particular with the some 100 million younger Americans born after the 2001 attacks, Paine added.

“The amazing thing about 9/11 was that it brought our country together in a way that we had never experienced before, and I think there’s a longing for that sense of unity again,” he said.

BY MORIAH BALINGIT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON Labor unions representing millions of educators and school employees are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over its immigration crackdown, saying arrests near school campuses are terrorizing children and their teachers, leading some students to drop out.

At the start of Trump’s second term, his Republican administration said it would allow immigration arrests at schools — long considered off limits. That violated the law, argues the lawsuit from the two largest U.S. teacher unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which represent more than 4 million school employees nationwide.

Also joining the lawsuit are educators from an Oregon preschool where masked agents broke a car window and dragged a student’s father from his car shortly after the child had been dropped off. The arrival of police prompted the school to go into a lockdown, with teachers playing music so students couldn’t hear the commotion outside.

The educators are joining a lawsuit filed in April by an Oregon farmworker union and a group of churches, challenging the Trump administration’s decision to open houses of worship to immigration enforcement as well. The amended lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Eugene, Oregon.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said immigration officers use discretion when making arrests at schools or churches.

“Officers would need secondary supervisor approval before any action can be taken in locations such as a church or a school,” McLaughlin said. “We expect these to be extremely rare.”

‘Sensitive locations’ memo

For nearly three decades, immigration agents were instructed to steer clear of “sensitive locations” like schools, hospitals and places of worship, except under extraordinary circumstances. Homeland Security, according to a 2021 memo, could “accomplish (its) enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals’ access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship.”

A day after Trump took office, the department rescinded the memo and instead urged agents to use “common sense” when operating near schools and churches. In a

statement, officials outlined their reasoning behind the move: “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”

The lawsuit describes several instances of masked agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement making arrests in and around school and church grounds. In Los Angeles, masked border patrol officers descended on a car parked next to a high school and ordered a 15-year-old boy with disabilities out at gunpoint while searching for a man with gang ties. They handcuffed him and only released him when they discovered they had the wrong person.

Student attendance fell

In the months following Trump’s inauguration, some school districts reported lower attendance as immigrant families kept their children home or, in some cases, left the country In California’s Central Valley, immigration raids in January and February coincided with a 22% spike in student absences compared with the previous two school years, according to a study from Stanford University economist Thomas Dee and Big Local News. The lawsuit includes testimonials from unnamed teachers who report seeing increased anxiety and decreased participation and attendance from students who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants.

High school teachers in Pennsylvania and Virginia said some students stopped showing up in the spring, fearful they would be arrested on campus. A speech pathologist at a California elementary school said immigrant parents were reluctant to sign up their children for special education services because it would mean giving more information to the school.

“America’s classrooms must be safe and welcoming places of learning and discovery,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT Becky Pringle, president of the NEA, said the Trump administration is creating fear and chaos and “our students, schools, and communities are paying the price.”

Lawyers argue Trump’s decision to open up churches to immigration enforcement violates the First Amendment rights of parishioners because it makes them too fearful to attend church. Rescinding the sensitive-locations memo, the lawsuit says, violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which bars agencies from implementing policies that are “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Volunteers work during the ‘NyC Meal Pack For 9/11 Day’ at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New york on Wednesday.

Trial begins in livestreamed fatal stabbing

BR man accused of abducting, torturing woman

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Testimony began Wednesday in the murder trial of a Baton Rouge man who admittedly beat, strangled, tortured and abducted a woman before stabbing her to death on Instagram Live as doz-

ens of viewers watched on social media. Earl Lee Johnson Jr. sat between his two attorneys and listened as Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings described the “horrendous” elements of his crime in graphic detail while standing in front of jurors inside a packed

courtroom at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. According to Cummings, Johnson admitted to police that he stabbed 34-year-old Janice David inside his white BMW while parked outside a South Sherwood Forest Boulevard office complex the afternoon of April 18, 2022.

Johnson filmed himself stabbing the bloodied, battered woman as he spoke to her and viewers on the social media platform. Cummings said Johnson also used a tire iron to beat David and tied her hands with jumper cables, stripping her nearly nude after she tried to escape the vehicle following a dayslong drug binge. Johnson, 39, pleaded not guilty to his charges by reason of insanity, and his attorneys intend to argue that he can’t be held liable for the killing because he could not distinguish between right and wrong at the time.

Rob Ray, one of Johnson’s assistant public defenders, acknowledged that evidence will show the defendant killed Janice. But he told jurors there was more to the

By

LSU Veterinary School wildlife medicine resident Dr. Zoey Lex, left, takes vitals on a barred owl held by fourth-year veterinary school student Katie Black at the Wildlife Hospital at LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge on Thursday

DA could seek death in rape case

Murrill says she will challenge Supreme Court if necessary

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

East Baton Rouge District At-

torney Hillar Moore is considering pursuing the death penalty against a man accused of raping a 4-year-old girl.

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the Eighth Amendment barred states from

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber wants college students to know that life is “Better in BTR.” Launched last

imposing the pu ni sh me nt when the rape didn’t result, or wasn’t intended to result, in a child’s death But Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Tuesday she would fully support Moore if he pursues the death penalty against Anthony James Jelks Jr. and is prepared to challenge the high court’s earlier ruling. Jelks, 25, turned himself in

to Baton Rouge Police on Monday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of firstdegree rape of a victim younger than 13. On Aug. 5, the victim’s guardian brought the child to a local hospital after discovering redness and irritation around the child’s genitals while bathing her The girl told her guardian

that Jelks who had a previous history of indecent behavior with juveniles — had sexually assaulted her, according to a warrant for his arrest. The guardian told police she had allowed the victim to stay at Jelks’ residence on the night of Aug. 1. The girl tested positive for chlamydia after being examined by a nurse. The guardian told police she had also contracted chlamydia from Jelks several years ago, the warrant states.

STAFF PHOTO

HILARy SCHEINUK

Moore Murrill

Cantrell pleads not guilty to corruption charges

Appearance marks first time a N.O mayor has had to answer criminal allegations in office

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Mayor LaToya Cantrell appeared in federal court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to a host of corruption charges, setting up a monthslong court battle that’s poised to overshadow her final months as New Orleans’ top official.

Wearing a royal blue dress affixed with a gold bird-shaped pin, Cantrell stood silently before federal Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby as a prosecutor listed the 11 criminal counts she now faces, including wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to a federal grand jury

Cantrell made eye contact with the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, as he read the maximum penalties she faces if convicted of those crimes: dozens of years of prison time and thousands of dollars in fines Federal sentencing guidelines suggest she

Walker man

will face more lenient penalties if convicted.

The charges stem from an Aug. 15 grand jury indictment in which prosecutors accused the mayor and her police bodyguard of spending more than $70,000 in taxpayer dollars on leisurely trips to Scotland, Martha’s Vineyard and Napa Valley Cantrell and the officer, Jeffrey Vappie, then schemed to cover up signs of an illicit affair they were pursuing, including by lying to FBI agents and the grand jury and deleting evidence, prosecutors say In court, Cantrell spoke only to acknowledge that she understood the penalties she faces and to answer when Roby asked how she wished to plead.

“Your honor, I plead not guilty,” Cantrell said.

Just an hour earlier, she walked into the Hale Boggs Federal Build-

to be castrated, jailed for 99 years after child sex abuse conviction

A 67-year-old Walker man was sentenced Wednesday to 99 years in prison and physical castration after being convicted of sexually abusing a child for nearly two years.

Marc Rager Sr., 67, pleaded guilty to 120 combined counts of aggravated crimes against nature, second-degree rape and felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

and bank fraud all related to a scheme that appears to have started in the spring.

Webb’s arrest records show that on May 5, several members of Neighbors FCU Credit Union began contacting credit union staff about receiving text messages, asking if they had performed a transaction for various amounts.

ing surrounded by several security guards, her attorney and the administration’s communications director, Terry Davis Neither Cantrell nor Davis took questions from reporters before the proceedings. Afterward, Cantrell exited the building through a side door on Camp Street and entered a vehicle as Davis again rebuffed a reporter’s questions. Cantrell’s lawyer, Eddie Castaing, declined to comment. The mayor’s plea marked a long-anticipated outcome of a sweeping criminal probe of her affairs tracing at least to 2022. Legal and political observers have predicted that the mayor, a onetime community organizer known for taking fiery stands against her foes, would fight any charges that resulted from that investigation.

Roby set Cantrell’s trial for Nov 17. A pretrial court appearance is scheduled for Oct 13.

The mayor will remain free while she awaits trial as long as she com-

plies with check-ins by federal probation officers, hands over her passport and does not obtain new travel documents, Roby said. Her travel is restricted to the U.S., and she must receive court approval to exit the country

Cantrell’s frequent trips to conferences and forums outside New Orleans had fueled criticism during her second term, even before several of those trips became the bedrock of the criminal case against her

The mayor is also barred from contacting Vappie without a judge’s approval. She must report any contact she has with law enforcement to probation officers.

Cantrell, who is term-limited and set to leave office in January, returned to work following her indictment last month. She has not directly acknowledged the charges in public and her office has repeatedly declined to comment on the case.

The contents of the indictment represent a relatively narrow prong of the yearslong federal investigation into Cantrell’s actions. FBI agents and prosecutors

at turns focused on her campaign spending, as well as bribes she allegedly accepted from a private electrical inspector, Randy Farrell. Farrell was indicted last year in connection with allegedly funneling game tickets, a meal and an iPhone to Cantrell through an associate in a bid to persuade her to fire a high-ranking city permitting official. He pleaded not guilty and is headed to trial. Cantrell has not been charged in that scheme. Signs that Cantrell’s alleged relationship with Vappie might expose the mayor to criminal charges crystallized last summer in an eight-count indictment of the nowretired New Orleans Police Department veteran, accusing him of wire fraud and false statements. It took prosecutors more than a year to charge the mayor via a superseding indictment they secured as part of their ongoing prosecution of Vappie.

As she launches her battle against the federal charges, veterans of the trial bar predict Cantrell has room to successfully argue her innocence before a jury

Guidry to take stand in bribery scheme

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Dusty Guidry, the man at the center of several bribery and kickback schemes in Louisiana, including the Lafayette District Attorney’s Office, is scheduled to testify Thursday morning in the trial of Lafayette Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes. Haynes’ trial started Monday in U.S. District Court in Lafayette. He is charged with six federal felony counts including bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction of justice.

Detectives with the Walker Police Department began an investigation into Rager in 2024 after receiving allegations that he had been sexually abusing a girl younger than 13

As a condition of the defendant’s plea, Assistant District Attorney Greg Stahlnecker Jr asked that Rager be ordered to be physically castrated.

“This plea was taken after consideration for the victim,” Stahlnecker said. “She will never be able to get back what Mr. Rager took from her; however, with this plea, she can begin the road to recovery without having to go through a trial and relive the nearly two years of abuse that she suffered from the defendant.”

Stahlnecker said the crimes detailed in the case were “heinous acts committed by a monster,” and the 99-year sentence all but ensures Rager will remain behind bars for the rest of his life.

BR woman accused in credit union fraud

A Baton Rouge woman has been accused of defrauding members of a local credit union out of more than $100,000, then sending the money to accounts at the same bank before attempting to launder it through L’Auberge Casino.

Ashana K. Webb, 27, was arrested Wednesday for one count each of theft over $25,000, illegal transmission of monetary funds

FOCUS

Continued from page 1B CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

The chamber established a goal in its five-year plan to grow the number of young professionals ages 25 to 44 years old in the nine-parish region. At the time of its launch in 2022, 57,187 people — more than 3,000 in the 25- to 34-year-old age range — moved out of the Baton Rouge area. That year, 53,836 people moved into the region.

Melancon said the number of young professionals in the area is “growing slowly” but is difficult to track at the moment since the population data for the past year the campaign has been active is not yet available.

A visual identity

The campaign’s new focus on retention launched in February Its signature BTR logo, based on the city’s airport code, has also taken a new form. Melancon used to live in Richmond, Virginia and was inspired by its RVA logo, an opensource graphic seen on stickers, hats and customized to different visual identities. The open-source BTR logo can be outfitted in different colors and company branding

When members replied “no,” they received a call from someone claiming to be a member of the credit union’s fraud department.

The fraudster then asked members for logins to their online banking accounts, after which members were told they wouldn’t have access to their accounts for 48 hours while the transactions were investigated. When members checked their accounts days later, they discovered most of their money was gone, records show Investigators with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office learned that on May 2, Webb opened two banking accounts at Neighbors FCU, which was corroborated with video surveillance that matched Webb’s driver’s license.

Records show that when the bank’s real fraud department began investigating, it learned that a day after Webb opened her accounts, deposits of $2,000, $3,000 and $5,000 flowed into one of her accounts, records say Those funds were quickly transferred to newly opened accounts at L’Auberge Casino On May 4, surveillance footage captured a casino employee handing cash to Webb.

In total, the credit union is reporting that $158,440 was stolen from accounts as part of a broader scheme that involved multiple accounts and a team of fraudsters. However Webb is being charged with stealing $106,000 associated with a single account.

Investigators also noted that Webb used a false address and phone number when opening her accounts.

so users can express ownership of their community, Melancon said.

The swirly thread in the campaign’s branding represents a tie between Baton Rouge-area residents.

Melancon said professionals in the region tend to work in silos and draw boundaries at parish lines, but the walls must come down to attract and retain talent.

“We have been very intentional about breaking down those silos and intentionally pulling the thread that binds us together so that we can start to work together in new ways,” she said.

The chamber also revamped the campaign’s website earlier this year, featuring additional resources on where to live, work, spend free time, learn and network in Baton Rouge.

Melancon said the website will be updated soon to reflect the campaign’s goal of becoming a platform to share investments and actions in process to improve the city, like the proposed new LSU arena and the redevelopment of the Raising Cane’s River Center

“We’re at an inflection point,” she said. “We’ve been building so much in Baton Rouge.”

Company collaborations

Since its launch, Better in BTR has partnered with about 20 com-

The charges center around a scheme with Guidry when both

CASE

Continued from page 1B

A forensic interview with the victim was conducted at the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center On an anatomical model, the victim circled the lower abdomen, vaginal area and inner thighs as to where Jelks had touched her Jelks remained at-large for four days before turning himself in Monday.

Moore said he has yet to review the case in depth, but would consider bringing the case before a grand jury for a first-degree rape indictment

“If the facts present itself that it is right for me to charge for first-degree rape and possibly seek the death penalty,” he said.

Louisiana state statute allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for first-degree rape, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2008 has precedence.

The case stemmed from the conviction of Patrick Kennedy, a Harvey man who was found guilty of raping an 8-year-old relative. Kennedy’s team appealed, but the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, reasoning that because five other states allowed the death penalty for child rapists, there was a na-

panies to market the campaign. The campaign also has a promotional video that can be customized for a specific company for a small fee, which is reinvested back into the campaign.

Businesses can pay $500 for three Better in BTR logos in their company colors, social media takeovers on the campaign accounts at $2,000 for one day and $4,000 for a week, $1,000 for a dedicated episode on the Patty-G Show podcast, $2,500 for a bespoke recruiting video and $3,500 for a Better in BTR billboard. Companies can also install Better in BTR window art, according to the campaign’s “how to” guide. Better in BTR was funded by $955,000 in COVID relief funds and Melancon said the pivot to cater toward local talent expended the money It is now using funds from BRAC investors and in-kind media support, she said.

Some businesses have taken charge and produced their own BTR content. Capitol Park Museum made BTR bookmarks, and Baton Rouge Coca-Cola hosted a BTR experience raffle, said Morgan Almeida, BRAC’s senior vice president of marketing.

“People are starting to feel like they can own it,” she said. Bengals and Bandits and Sweet

men worked in the pretrial diversion program in 15th Judicial District Attorney Don Landry’s office in Lafayette. The men would steer defendants into the pretrial diversion program, then to certain vendors who provided classes and therapy, which the defendants paid for Haynes and Guidry had agreements with a few vendors who provided kickbacks from the defendants who paid to enroll in their classes. Guidry pleaded guilty to three federal charges in April 2023 in the scheme, as well as a kickback scheme in the Louisiana Depart-

tional consensus supporting the punishment — a critical point in Eighth Amendment cases In its 5-4 decision, the high court reversed the ruling, finding the death penalty for child rape to be cruel and unusual punishment, and determined that five states did not amount to a national consensus Murrill signaled she was prepared to litigate Moore’s potential decision to seek the death penalty for Jelks by taking the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Life in prison is inadequate for cases like this,” she said in a statement “I’ll do everything within my power to support the District Attorney in the case and obtain justice for this little girl whose innocence was stolen by this vile act, including seeking reversal of United States Supreme Court precedent blocking the death penalty for rape of a child.”

Since the Kennedy decision, four states — Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho have passed legislation authorizing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the sexual battery or rape of children. Those laws remain unenforceable unless the U.S. Supreme Court, currently made up of a 6-3 conservative majority, reverses its decision.

“It is no secret she believes child rapists deserve the death penalty and would love an at-

Baton Rouge each have collaborated with the campaign to produce Better in BTR decals, pins, hats and T-shirts. Women’s Hospital gave babies born on Feb. 25 (225 Day) a “Better in BTR” beanie.

The ‘competitive advantage’

Jeremy Beyt started his creative agency Hatchit, which later merged with Big Fish Presentations to form ThreeSixtyEight, in Baton Rouge a few years after graduating from LSU. He said since Louisiana has a lower cost of living, companies have lower overhead costs and can offer their services to out-of-state clients at a lower fee than competitors. His company has served as a “connector” between out-of-state clients and local businesses.

“You don’t have to move to the big city to get the opportunity,” said Beyt CEO of ThreeSixtyEight. “In fact, by staying here, you might have a greater one.”

He said Baton Rouge has an abundance of talent and some of his best staff are homegrown.

ThreeSixtyEight was the architect of the Better in BTR campaign’s first iteration, and Beyt said the company was interested in the project because it was an opportunity to “enrich” the community

ment of Wildlife and Fisheries Office involving former department Secretary Jack Montoucet, who also was indicted but has not gone to trial. It is believed Guidry’s sentencing has been delayed to secure his cooperation in the case against Haynes.

During testimony Wednesday morning, FBI supervising agent Doug Herman said Haynes knew in January and February 2022 when he picked up two $10,000 checks from a vendor with the District Attorney’s office that the FBI was investigating. Haynes never cashed or deposited the checks, Herman said.

tempt to overturn previous SCOTUS precedent,” a spokesperson for Murrill’s office wrote.

Last week, Murrill’s office filed a motion that seeks to uproot another landmark Supreme Court ruling, which declared the death penalty for juvenile offenders unconstitutional. That case centers around a killing that occurred over 30 years ago.

In deciding how to prosecute Jelks’ case, Moore says he would review harm done to the child, DNA evidence and statements from the child, witnesses and Jelks himself. He added Jelks’ criminal history would also play a role. Jelks had previously been investigated for indecent behavior with a juvenile in November 2022 for allegedly attempting to solicit lewd photos from a 9-year-old girl using Instagram messages. He also has been arrested multiple times for domestic-abuse child endangerment in the past, as well as possession of a firearm by a felon and resisting an officer, records show

Jelks was on parole after serving six months in jail for pleading guilty to battery of a dating partner and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle when he was accused of child rape.

Email Aidan McCahill at aidan. mccahill@theadvocate.com.

Beyt considered leaving Baton Rouge after college. With interests in technology, he was drawn to the major markets like the Bay Area, but after reflecting on his family’s contributions to Louisiana, he decided to apply his talents to his home state. He said local students are not connected to Baton Rouge and as a result, are not aware of the opportunities in the region.

The out-migration of young professionals is largely a narrative issue, he said.

“People have to believe that the future here will be better than the present, and if people aren’t believing that, then the narrative is going to stay negative and create that vicious cycle that we’ve been in for so long,” he said.

Cantrell

9595 FloridaBoulevard, at 10 a.m.

Rushing, Gerald WilbertFuneralHomeat11:30am.

Obituaries

Alexander, Gloria V.

Gloria V. Alexander passed away peacefully on May 30, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, at the ageof 90. Anative of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,and a long-time resident of Los Angeles, CA. She was educated in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and graduated from CapitalHigh School in 1953. Gloria went on to earn her Bachelor of Education from Southern University and her Master's DegreeinEducation from Pepperdine University. She served as adevoted educator in the Compton Unified School District. Gloria leaves to cherish her memory her beloved nieces, Sharee Alexander of Los Angeles,CA, and Dr. NancyAlexander of Oklahoma City, OK; nephews, Lester Alexander and Sean AlexanderofSacramento, CA; and dear cousins Joyce Metevia, Leonard Davis, Clandia Ann Hawkins, Peggy Ann Reed, and Erma Stewart, allofBaton Rouge, LA. She is alsosurvived by ahost of greatgreat-nieces and nephews, and close friends who loved her deeply. She is preceded in death by her parents, Preston Sr. and Mary Cotton Alexander; and her brothers,Preston Jr., Clifton, Felton, and Harold Alexander. Graveside Services will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. at Heavenly Gates Cemetery of Baton Rouge located at 10633Veterans Memorial Blvd. Father Thomas Clark will officiate.

Joseph Craig "Pecan" Burks, passed away at the age of 68. Anative of Brusly, LA, and alongtime resident of Baker, LA. He proudly worked for over 30 years at DSM Copolymer. Joseph is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Sarah Burks; two daughters, Krishun (Ben) Radford and Nancy Burks; three sons, Johnathan Burks, Jordan Burks, and Brandon Caine; one brother, Charles (Gail) Burks; and three cherished grandchildren, Ben Radford, III, Ethan Burks, and Bralyn Caine Visitation will be held on Friday, September 12, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Hall's Celebration Center 9348 Scenic Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA. Visitation will resume on Saturday, September 13, 2025, at Shady Grove First Missionary Baptist Church, 16443 Plank Rd., Baker, LA, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, with Funeral Services immediately following.Pastor Kenneth Chandlerwill officiate. Joseph will be laidto restatSouthern Memorial Gardens. Services entrusted to Hall Davisand Son Funeral Services. www.halldavisandson.com

ClaiborneDomino affectionately known as "Duke and "Teddy" entered eternalrestonSeptember 1, 2025athis residence. He leaves to cherish his memories,one son; Cleon JeromeDomino,Baton Rouge, LA; threesisters, Willie MaeWhite, Liza Adams,Baton Rouge,LA and Florence Finely, Paloalpo,CA; one godchild, CassandraSmith,Baton Rouge, LA; ahost of nieces, nephews, otherrelatives and friends.

VisitationFriday September 12, 2025, 9:00 am until religious service at 10:00am, Hall'sCelebration Center,9348Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge, LA Interment Mount Zion River Lake Cemetery, Oscar. LA. Service Entrustedto Hall Davisand Son.www.ha lldavisandson.com

ChesterJ.Hawkins passedawayonSunday, August31, 2025, at hisresi‐dence in Lafayette,LA. He was 66,a native of Thibo‐daux, LA.VisitationonFri‐day,September 12, 2025, at Morning Star Baptist Church,101 BruleRd.,Thi‐bodaux, LA from 9:00 am to religious services at 11:00 am. Intermentprivate ArrangementsbyWilliams & Southall FuneralHome, 1204 ClevelandSt.,Thibo‐daux, LA 70301. To sign the guest book or offercondo‐lences, visitour websiteat www.williamsandsouthall funeralhome.com.

Jackson, DorothyElaine

Dorothy ElaineJackson was bornMarch17, 1933 to Solomon and Lula Fields JacksoninNew Roads, Louisiana.She departed this life September4,2025 at hergrandson's home in BatonRouge, Louisiana

Dorothy accepted Christ and was baptized April 8, 1945 by the late Reverend W.L. Washington at the GreaterSt. PeterBaptist Church, New Roads, Louisiana.She also served underthe following Pastors, the late Reverend Moses J. Haynes, Reverend Norwood T. Calvin and Reverend Carl D. Terrance, Sr.

Shemoved to Shreveport to live with her daughterand joinedthe Mount CanaanBaptistChurch, under the late Dr. Harry Blake andthe present Pastor, ReverendGreg L.Oliver. Shewas activeinministry work at both of the churches.

Dorothy always had a deep thirst forcontinuous learning. After graduating from New Roads High School, she enrolled at SouthernUniversityand A&M College, becoming the first in her family to attend and graduate from college.Overthe course of her academic journey, Dorothy earneda Bachelor of Sciencedegree, aMaster'sdegree, and an additional 30-hour certification. Shefirmly believed that everyone should pursue education or training beyond high school. Because

of herinfluence, all of her siblings' childrenwent on to obtainhighereducation or technical training Dorothywas trulythe catalyst forthis remarkable milestoneinher family

Dorothy beganand ended her educational career at Batchelor High School with 32 years of service She taught for thefirst 10 years and was thecounselor for theremaining 22 years. Yes, she always talked about herHomeroom Class of 1965. Dorothymaintained membershipinher professional organizations and thevarious conferences and conventions during her tenure with thePointeParish School System. During her retirementshe became a member of theNational AssociationofUniversity Women -Shreveport Branch.

Dorothywas preceded in death by her father, Solomon Jackson, Sr her mother, LulaFields Jackson; brothers, Andrew, Solomon, Jr George, Sr Morris, Leroyand RooseveltJackson; sisters,LeolaJ.Martin and LulaJ Terrance; and aGodson, Roosevelt Martin.

Dorothy leavestocherish her memories:a daughter, her Pride and Joy, Rosalyn Fay J. Holt, her precious jewels, her grandchildren, TreyVon, Trennecia, and Trenton and wife Damaris; threeGodchildren, Shirley Rodney LoEtta Houston, who providedspecial assistance whenever there was a need, Mintarsha Martin, and her chosen godson, Anthony Martin; aloving and loyalnephew, Andrew Martin;and ahost of other loving and considerate nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

CelebrationofLife Ser-

vice

Greater St. Peter Baptist Church 913 Singletary Street, NewRoads, LA 70760 September 11, 2025 1:00 p.m.

Viewing prior to service 11:00 a.m. -12:45 p.m.

Oudkirk, Robert Wayne Robert passedaway August 29, 2025 in Zachary, LA.Hewas born September22, 1953 in FortHood, TX and moved to Louisiana around theage of 12. He graduated fromCentral Privatein1972 and began working at Crown Zellerbach thesame year, retiring after 41 years and many name changes to the mill.Hewas aman of integrity, responsibility, and resilience. He was steadfast in allaspectsofhis life.Heloved classic cars...looking at them, restoring them, collecting them, butmostly working on them. He was adedicated and loving son, brother, and father. He was most proud of his grandchildren and was thebest Pawpaw Robert. He is survived by his father James Oudkirk, sisterKathy Withycombe, daughter LaTrelleCart, grandchildrenJoseph, Georgia, and Jack Cart great-grandsonLee Cart and hisnieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his mother Rosemary Oudkirk,sister Janet Newburn, brother DaleOudkirk and son-inlawJoeyCart.A memorial willbeheldSaturday, September 13, 2025 at 11am at theSlaughter United Methodist Church in Slaughter, LA to rememberand celebratehis life

Planchard,Dr. Jerome A.

Dr. Jerome Adrian Planchard,Jr, anative of New Orleans and aresident of Baton Rouge, LA,passed away on Thursday, September 4, 2025 at the ageof88. After receiving his PhDfrom Tulane UniversityinChemical Engineering, he worked as a professorofchemical engineering at LSU. After teaching,hehad alongcareer as achemical engineerand biostatistician for pharmaceutical companies in Cincinnati,Ohio. He was aproud member of Community Bible Church. He lovedhistory,tennis, chess, and reading. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nora Ray, themother of David, Robert,and Steven; hiswife of 32 years, JoAnn Planchard; son, Robert Planchard; parents, Jerome Adrian Planchard, Sr.,and Clara McFaull Planchard;daugh-

ter-in-law, MargotPlanchard;and sister-in-law, Nancy Planchard. He is survived by his children, David Planchard(Lori)of Baton Rouge,LAand Steven PlanchardofNew York, NY;grandchildren, Natalie Miller(Ryan), Dr. KylePlanchard(Blaire), Sean Planchard, Dr. Ry Planchard,and Kipp Planchard; great-grandchildren,Nathanial Miller, Gabriel Miller, Hannah Beth Miller, Elisha Miller, Charlotte Planchard,Grace Planchard, and Ellie Planchard; his brother, Dr. Thomas Planchard (Irene) of Shreveport,LA; his wife of 10 years, Geralyn Umbaugh, and her daughter, Sheri.Visitation willbe held at Resthaven Funeral Home,11817 Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge, LA 70816, on Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until FuneralService at 11:00 a.m. Interment willfollow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory. The Family would like to give special thanks to thestaff of Lake SherwoodVillage,Audubon Healthcare Services, and Audubon Hospice. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal notetothe familyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com.

OliverSimsRobinsonIII died peacefullyathis residence in Baton Rougeon August 31, 2025. ThoughborninVicksburg,Miss.,Oliverwas a nativeofIssaquena County. Sevengenerationsof his family were raised in Issaquena County. He was resident firstborn fora great-great grandmother, twogreat-grandmothers, twograndmothers. His family moved to New Roads, LA,where he attendedSt. Joseph's Acade-

my then graduated from Poydras High School and LSU. Oliver's onenod to organization washis life as a tenth-generation member of theEpiscopal Church He preferredgroupswith no bylaws, no dues, andno mandatory meetings, such as the East Maniacs,The French Quarter'sObituary Cocktail, and hiscousins' Societyfor the Preservation andEncouragementof Jose Cuervo Drinking.Other than hisMilitary service duringthe Korean War his entire career waswith The Louisiana Department of EmploymentSecurity, whereheservedfor hisfinalfifteenyearsasthe Director of Researchand Statistics. Oliver wasprecededin death by his wife of 60 years, Marilyn Gray Robinson; hisparents,Mary Jane AlfordRobinsonand Oliver Robinson,Jr., andone brother, Charles Edward "Ted" Robinson.Heissurvived by twosons, Mark AlfordRobinson(Kyra) and John Gray Robinson (Deborah); twograndchildren Trev Gray Robinson and Marcus EmileRobinson; a brotherFloyd Alford"Al" Robinson of Houstonas well as numerousnieces, nephews, and cousins. Memorial Serviceswill be September 13th 10:30am St.Margaret's Episcopal Church,Baton Rouge La.

Gerald Palmer Rushing passedawaypeacefully on Monday, September8, 2025, at theage of 89. He was aresidentofPlaquem‐ine anda native of White Castle, LA.Geraldwas aUS ArmyVeteran anda retired oil fieldworker. Visitation willbeheldatWilbert Fu‐neral Home,Plaquemine onThursday, September 11, 2025, from 9:30am until servicesat11:30am,con‐ductedbyChaplainGracie RobinsonwithHospice of Baton Rouge, MilitaryHon‐ors to follow.A private familyentombmentwill follow at GraceMemorial

Park,Plaquemine. Gerald is survivedbyhis son, Mur‐ray Rushingand wife Pamela; grandchildren, Stanton Rushing, Hannah Williams,Karli Rushing Stevens andhusband Rusty,and Kiefer Rushing; great-grandchildren,Ayden and Adalyn Scott, Annalise Graham, andJohnStevens; sister, DorothyRushing; numerousniecesand nephews.Precededin death by hisdaughter, Peggy Rushing; greatgranddaughter,Sophia Grace Scott; parents, Wal‐ter andIda LewisRushing; and siblings,Wilma,Mil‐dred, Essie, Walter,Jr. Marvin, James, Stanley, Carol,Carolyn,and Jeanne Gerald, an avid outdoors‐man,cherished turkey hunting, fishing, andhunt‐ing.Growing up,hewas mesmerizedbyhis father who worked forShell Oil, clearingtimberwithan oxenteamtoconstruct a roadway foroil equipment. Thisexperienceignited a lifelongpassion forthe oil field, alegacyhefollowed inthe footstepsofhis fa‐therand severalbrothers. Special thanks to Hospice ofBaton Rouge, especially his nurseHolli Delapasse Pleaseshare memories on‐lineatwww.wilbertserv ices.com.

Domino, Claiborne

Rushing, Gerald Palmer

Robinson, OliverSims

Hawkins, ChesterJ

Burks, Joseph Craig 'Pecan'

Editor’snote:Versions of thiseditorialhave been published on previous9/11 anniversaries.

When terrorists attacked America on Sept.11, 2001, theworld was avery different place. With the end of Cold Warand the fall of the Soviet Union,the country had seen aperiodofrelative peace and prosperity as the world’s only remaining superpower

But new threats were bubbling beneath the surface, and on that fateful TuesdayinSeptember they would burstinto full view,altering our sense of what national security means for decades to come.

Just as the work day wasbeginning,America and the worldwatched with horror as apassengerjet flew into the NorthTower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Surely,itmust be some terrible accident, many thought at that moment. But the reality of the situation wouldsoon become clear when, 16 minutes later,another airliner flew intothe South Tower of the landmark office complex.

At 9:37 a.m.EST,ahijacked airliner flew into the western façade of the Pentagon.A half-hour later, after aheroic revolt bypassengers, four hijackers flew United Airlines Flight 93 into a field in Pennsylvania.

Time seemed compressed forusthen. Events flowed together into an emotional stormthatis vividly rememberedbyeveryone who felt the attack on America on Sept.11, 2001. They say that time heals all wounds. That’s not true for the thousands of familiessuffering from the loss of loved ones, includingyoung adultswho have grown up without aparent or a sibling.

With the killing of Osama bin Laden and several of his leading co-conspirators, some measureofjusticewas metedout for 9/11. Tragically,for the good people of Afghanistan, ourefforts failed to preventthat countryfrom backslidingintothe handsofthe Talibanand becoming aharbor for terrorists.

Each year,aswemove further from the events of 9/11, it becomes even more important that we stop and reflect on that day.Nations must have long memories,not justoflossbut also of the incredible fortitudeand courage of ourpeopleinthe aftermathoftragedy.When NewYorkers were wounded andhurting, aid and sympathy poured in from all parts of the country.Welet the world know thatthese United States were standing strongand standing together

We also ought to remember how the world ralliedaroundusand against thehatefulideology of terrorists who, then as now,seek to sowdivision amongthe communityof freenations.We value the alliesthat have stood with us throughout history,not because we alwaysagree, but becausewhen it matters, they are there. And in an increasingly unstable world, it’s good to know we don’thave to goitalone.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Oneyear ago, the East Baton Rouge ParishSchool Board ended a grueling superintendent search that left theboard and community divided. In theend, they chose Superintendent LaMont Cole —a decision many hoped would mark afresh start.

Twelve months later,that freshstart is beginning to takehold.

Cole has proven to be asteady, innovative leader,unafraid to think boldly about the future of Baton Rouge schools. His pilot program adjusting start times —moving elementary schools to 8a.m. and high schools to 8:50 a.m. —reflects his willingnesstoprioritizestudent well-being and academic success. Under his leadership, thedistrict has alsoexpanded early childhood opportunities by opening two new learning centersand ensuring every school now has afull-time nurse, along with greater mental health support. Looking to the2025-2026 school year,safety is set to improve

Istandinsupport of the Northlake Homeless Coalition’sCornerstone Project.

Iwas moved to write this letter after arecent prayer walk around the old BaymontInn. Iwas thrilled to see that about two dozen people from all around Hammond participated in the prayer meeting. Irecently moved to Hammondand have already noticed that the city has asignificant number of homeless people, indicating that shelter is badly needed.

There are two main reasons why I support this ministry.

First,research has shown that temporary shelters are themost effective approach to remediating homelessness.

For many, homelessness is atemporary problem brought on by loss of ajob, illness, domestic violence or natural disaster such as flood or fire. Ashelter gives astable address to people who are looking for ajob, and theHomeless Coalition will provide

through aschool resourceofficer at every middle and high school, expanded weapon-detection technology and exploration of newdoorbarricading systems.

Cole is alsoaddressing teacher recruitment and retention with a creative proposal to convert aclosed school into affordable housing with on-site child care for educators.

In April, he launchedthe Superintendent’s Society, bringing together civic and business leaders to expand career and technical education opportunities for students.

His“Dare to Be GREAT” plan lays out avision for Globally Ready Students, Excellent Environments and adistrict that rises to a“B” rating in thestate accountability system. This is thekind of forward momentumBaton Rouge needs.

The challenges ahead arereal, but theonly way to meet themis together We cannot afford to slip back into thedivision and paralysis of 2024. United, we can keep building the schools our studentsdeserve.

TERRENCE LOCKETT executivedirector,Democrats for Education ReformLouisiana

job search assistance. Families are kept together,and peopleare kept off thestreets. Panhandling can be kept to aminimum when people have a place to go for help. Second, it’s called for in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Jesus told his followers that providing food and shelter forthose who have none is at the top of the list of thingsthat please God. Micah urged theJews to “Do justice, give mercy and walk humbly….”Inatimewhen Christianity has been co-opted by sometosupport atyrannical government, theNorthlake region has an opportunitytoemerge as ashining example of Christian love.

Finally,Iwant to speak directly to thetwo or three people or groups who are standing in the wayofthe ministry.Isay,“Shame on you.” Who cares whether the roadispublic or private?

BOBBI HILL Hammond

I’mconfused by the coverage of the LSU vs. Louisiana Tech football game. Reading the sports page, it seemsyour reporters believed that Tech couldn’t score against LSU because of the Tigers’ great defense, while also maintaining that the Tigers couldn’tscore against the Bulldogs because of LSU’s sloppy offense. Holding those positions simultaneously is something of a logical inconsistency and might not be telling the whole story Is it not possible that the Bulldogs also have agood defense? Is it not possible that Louisiana Tech, with asmall fraction of LSU’senrollment and practically none of its NIL dollars, nevertheless can put agood football team on the field? Ateam that perhaps forgot its role, which waspresumably to come to Baton Rouge, get pummeled, collect its check, and go home?

The writers said that the result of the gamewas never in doubt. Idon’t think those in attendance at Tiger Stadium would agree, at least through the first half.The newspaper also reported earlier last weekthat LSU would not start its first-string quarterback. Not only was that not the case, but the Bulldogs also forced the Tigers to give an all-out effort forfour quarters simply to winthe game, not to mention failing to cover the spread by alarge margin.

Iexpect The Advocate’ssports section to be LSU-centric. But it is also aLouisiana paper,and Tech is also a Louisiana school. Iwould have liked to have seen at least apositive mention of the effort and relative success of the Bulldogs against overwhelming resources and in ahostile venue. RILEY HAGAN III St. George

For TomLehrer on the date of his passing, July 26: When you were alive

Youbrought much joy to The adolescent self of me Comedy,satire Skewering awider world For everyone to see.

SYDNEYWOLF NewOrleans

PresidentTrump rampingup deportations amid debate

When you thinkabout thecurrent political fightover immigration enforcement, start with this: There are millions of people, at least 15 million and perhaps as many as 20 million, who are in the United States illegally.Millions of them are new arrivals with no claim to stay in the U.S., having arrived in the mass border incursion of the Biden years. Many should be deported.But in our system, it is very hard to deport millions of people. It is easier to get them to deport themselves. In the 2020 election, Democratic primary candidates vied with each other over who could offer the most openborders policy

The winner,Joe Biden,went on to the White House and presided over theinflux of millions of illegal border crossers. The Biden border catastrophewas one reason Donald Trump wonin2024. And now,President Donald Trump is making good on his campaignpromise to ramp up deportations. It is controversial, to say the least Andithas fired up adebateover whether “illegally” really means “illegally,” or whether those who crossed into the United States in defiance of its laws should be allowed to stay with few, if any,consequences. In short, should the United States enforce its immigration law,ornot?

It’snot clear precisely how much Biden increased the number of people who are in the country illegally.On the low end, there’sthis, from Pew Research: “The number of unauthorizedimmigrants in the United States reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023after two consecutive years of record growth The increase of 3.5 million in two years is the biggest on record.” Of course, in 2023, there was still nearly two more years of the border rush to go, so the actual number is definitely higher.Onthe high end, there could be 20 million people in the country illegally

During the campaign, while Trump repeatedly promised “mass deportations,” he focused on deporting illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes beyond illegally entering theUnited States —the so-called “worst first” strategy.Inoffice, the Trump administration hascertainly done alot of that.

But the Trump team is also staging high-profile enforcement operations at

worksites likely to have alot of illegal immigrant workers. Some of them haveadditional criminal records, but othersdonot What is the thinking behind that? It is thathigh-profile immigration actions have effects far beyond any specificbusiness targeted on any specific day. During the transition, Art Arthur,a former immigration judge who is now with the Centerfor Immigration Studies, explained thework involved in deporting even asingle person.That person would be placed in removal proceedings beforeanimmigration judge. “Some of them have made asylumclaims,” Arthur said. “Some didn’t make any claim at all. Some of them may have come many yearsago, and they’ve been sitting on the docket for decades.” Arthur saidthe U.S. has the resources to removeabout 400,000 people per year —maybe 600,000 if officials are given more money and staff.

Butlast month came reports that 1.6 millionpeople who were in the U.S. illegally left the country between January and July.“This is likely due to increased out-migration in response to stepped-up enforcement,” noted CIS.Somany of them left —aprocess that likely continues today.Itturns out the“mass deportations” that Trump promised in the 2024 campaign are

happening —except they are in fact mass self-deportations. If theBiden yearsproved anything, it is that there have to be consequences for entering the United States illegally.Ifthereare no consequences, the flow of illegal crossers will get bigger and bigger and bigger.Asfor the disruption in thelives of those illegal immigrantswho choosetoleave, first, they did enter the U.S. illegally,and second, many of thosetargeted in the Trump enforcement haven’tbeen in thecountry for very long. Pew noted that “a record number of unauthorized immigrantshave been in theU.S. fora relatively short time due to therapid growthinthe overall unauthorized population since 2021.” Thoseleaving becauseofthe raids arelikely to include many who have thefewest ties to theUnited States Meanwhile, thepolitical battle over Trump’spolicy rages on. Many Democrats have pledged to resist Trump’s enforcement of immigration law Some have tried to blur thedistinction between legal andillegal immigration, as if all have theright to stay in the United States, in hopes of turning public opinion againstTrump’s actions. ButTrump has thelaw on his side.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York. Email him at byronyork@yorkcomm. com.

“Most of those trampledsitesonthoseplaces-you-must-golists also depend on tourismfor jobs and revenues.”

My sister andher guy just returned from Portugal after their second big travel ventureofthe year.I asked, naturally,“How was it?” She said, “Awful.” They were crammed in Porto alongside a zillion other tourists. Acrush of bodies and long lines under a brutal sun. The experience left themwith acase of hodophobia, the fear of travel. (Hodos is Greek for “journey ”) They vow to stick closer to home.

When the Irish comedian Graham Linehan arrived at London Heathrow Airport this past weekend, he wasgreeted by five armed British police officers who arrested him for —get this three rude tweets.

away from the hottest spots —Portugal has been playing up cities outside Lisbon, such as Porto. As one might guessfrom my sister’s recent trip, Portohas been overrun by theTikTok mobs

Overtourism is aplague for destinations as diverse as Barcelona and the Galapagos Islands. Thelocals are finding their leisurely village ways —amain attraction for the human tsunamis —ruined by tourists grabbing cafe chairs and swarming vendors selling ice cream and T-shirts. Visitors wanting an authentic interaction with the culture find themselves chewed up in the tourism maw Is there away to restore the thrill of new places?

That would be hard withtheir sightlines taken up by Instagrammers looking to fill their feeds in front of picturesque fountains.

Can anything be done about this?

Most of those trampled sites on those places-you-must-go listsalso depend on tourism for jobs and revenues. As one partial solution, some of the targeted countries have put in place or upped their tourism taxes. Some have tried to steer the hordes

Perhaps we should start mocking those lists or at least stop giving them credence. One of my feeds turned up “Bucket List Journey” offering “My Top100 FavoriteExperiences” (Really,MyTop 100 Selfies). Each features the influencer,highly styled in hiking boots, awork shirtand a tousledblondish mane. Her No. 2adventure, “Swim in theJellyfish Lake in Palau,” hasher underwater in atiny bikini, jellyfish floating all around. Andofcourse, sheurges readers, “Visit My Shop!” with ahandy link. Celebritiesalsocan’tstop themselves from mugging for thecameras in places they have no ties to. Singer Katy Perry was videoed cavorting in abikini smack on top of environmentally fragile and protected dunes on the SpanishislandofIbiza. She’salso seen on the back of amotorcycle zipping through avillage. Herproduction company apparently forgot to ask the local governmentfor permission to shoot Jeff Bezos and his bride fancied theycould take over Venice for their recent wedding party.Already overwhelmed by tourists, Venice didn’t care tobeexpropriated by an Ameri-

can multi-billionaire as background for his grotesque wedding show (Localsdemonstrated against it as an affront to La Serenissima.)

The Englishvillage of Bourton-onthe-Water is plagued by what it calls “TikTok tourists.” Called theVenice of theCotswolds, thevillage is plagued by crowds using theriver and itspicturesque bridges solely for content creation. These visitors show scant interestinthe heritage or natural environment

“They arethe ultimate hit-and-run tourist,” alocal official complained to theBBC

Perhaps there’salong-shot solution in turning some of the social media hams off from these phony “experiences.”

You’d hatetostart charging people for simply walkingvillage streets. Rome has made it illegal to sitonthe SpanishStepsorwade in the Trevi Fountain. (Exhibitionists are especially keen on recreating AnitaEkberg’s wet romp in “La Dolce Vita.”)

Some enterprising soul can set up astudio withstagesets for Machu Picchu or Portofino. They can put big turtles on rocksresembling the Galapagos coastline. Then content creators have one-stop traveling for their scenery and can leave the real places alone. Just athought Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop.

Or,asLinehan wrote on his Substack, “I wasarrested at an airport like aterrorist, locked in acell like acriminal, taken to hospital because the stress nearly killed me,and banned from speaking online —all because Imade jokes that upset some psychotic crossdressers.”

Whether or not you find his words offensive, it’shard to disagree with Harry Potterauthor J.K. Rowling, who tweeted, “This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.”

Surely,many Americans reading this must be thinking this was some terrible mistake. Aoneoff, as the British might say Actually not. It’smore like standard operating procedure.

This seems to be the animating purpose of whatThe NewYork Times’ Ross Douthatcalls the “managerial multiculturalism” of law enforcement and civil service, especially in Britain, but also in muchofEurope as well.

Case in point: the official response to displays all over England of the red-on-white perpendicular St. George’sCross flag —one of the three crosses that joined together form the United Kingdom’sfamiliar Union Jack. People have also been painting the St. George’sCross on roundabouts and sewer covers —and local officials have been painting them over and removing flags from lamp posts.

These are obviously protests against the heavy immigration that has increased the UK’sforeignborn population from 6% in 1990 to 17% in 2024. This process was encouraged surreptitiously by Tony Blair’sNew Labour government (19972007) and whenboth local authorities andnational media downplayed the revelations, by a local Labour MP in 2003 and an investigating academic in 2014, of Pakistani-immigrant grooming gangs making sex slaves of teenage girls in working-class Yorkshire towns. The obvious motive of this widespreadcover-up was fearof anti-Asian prejudice.

Gaining control over immigration wasone reason for the unexpected success of the Brexit referendum to leave the European Union in 2016. But the Conservative party’spost-Brexit immigration law was poorly drafted and resultedin raising net immigration, mostly from South Asia and Africa, from under 400,000 to over 800,000. The Labour government, elected in December 2024, makes the point that the current immigration level was “a political choice that was never put before the British people.” Yetithasn’tsubmittednew legislation and has made statements suggesting it regards immigration criticsas bigots.

In response to the raising of St. George’sCross flags over muchofBritain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer tweeted, “I’m proud of our flag as a patriotic symbol of our nation, like lots of people I’ve proudly got one up at home.” But he felt obliged to add another sentence: “Using our flag to divide devalues it.”

The result has been arejection of Britain’stwo major parties, whichdate back more than acentury: the Conservatives to 1846, Labour to 1900. Similarly,inEurope, so-called populist parties lead in polls —orare already,asinItaly,Netherlands and Finland, in government. Despite a court decree ordering its leader,Marine Le Pen, off the ballot, the Rally National leads in France In Germany,the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has edged ahead of the governing Christian Democrats.

Established parties have not allowed Reform, RN or AfD in their coalitions. In cooperation with the established press, they have suppressed news of crimes and terrorist attacks by Muslim immigrants. In Germany’sregional election, non-AfD parties have agreed to say nothing disparaging about immigrants and “negative social developments such as unemployment or threats to domestic security.”

They act as if there’sreason to believe that populist parties are equivalent to Hitler’sNazis. But limiting immigration of people with fardifferent cultural traditions, which in some cases reject cultural tolerance and the rule of law,does not weigh the same in moral scales as rounding up and murdering 6million Jews. Banning biological menfrom competing in women’ssports is not akin to rounding up and murdering hundreds of thousands of homosexuals and Roma.

“I believe deeply that there is no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions andthe conscience that guide your very own people,” Vice President JD Vance told ashocked audience at the Munich Security Conference last February

“You cannot win ademocratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail —whether that’sthe leader of the opposition, a humble Christian praying in her own home, or a journalist trying to report the news,” Vance continued. Or,ashemight have added if gifted with foresight, an Irish comedian given to firing off rude tweets.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Awoman is detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents outsideaHomeDepot in Los Angeles last month.

Michael Barone

Froma Harrop

Byron York

Baton RougeWeather

SUIT

Continued from page1B

in Tangipahoa in an attempt to secure paymentfor thepurportedly unpaid bill.

ASmitty’sattorney says,however,that the bill was too high and under negotiation when the suit was filed by surprise.

In the lawsuit, US Fire alleges Tangipahoa Parish fire officialsand later,one or morerepresentatives of Smitty’sasked US Fire for help fighting the blaze.USFire officials reached adeal with Smitty’spresident less than an hour afterthe fire started at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 22. The suit claims US Fire’swork “significantly reduced the duration and extent of the fire at Smitty’s,” preventing injury and further damage to Smitty’s, its inventories and surrounding affiliated businesses, suchasCam2 International and Big 4Trucking.

The massive fire burnedat least one parish fire truck, caused the spillofmillions of gallons of unknown chemicals into the Tangipahoa River and surrounding properties and sent alarge, black plume over arural corner of the parish, droppingsoot on residents andrequiring a1-mile evacuation zone.

The EPAhas said sootwas reported 15 miles away from Smitty’s.

Filed Aug. 29, the lawsuit is one of at least 17 brought in the Tangipahoa courthouse in Amiteagainst

TRIAL

Continued from page1B

story than that.

“You have to start from the beginning,” he said. “You have to go through the whole book to understand thisstory.That’s whywe have things like not guilty by reason of insanity in the law.” Cummings began chippingaway at the defendant’s insanity claim as she walked jurors throughhis alleged rampageinher opening statement.

“Heshows youthroughout this case that he absolutely understands the difference between right and wrong,” she said. “He understood it in this video. He just wants to do wrong.” Johnsonoriginallywas indicted on counts of first-degree murder,

Smitty’sSupply burns on Aug. 22 before the fire wascontained.A private firefighting companysaysitsteppedintothe breachlast month when flames engulfed the Tangipahoa Parish oil and lubricants plant, butnow can’t getthe companytopay its $6.16 millionbill.

Smitty’s. Most are seeking class action status for fire-related damage. ‘Knewthe risks’

Others areunique. On Tuesday, rancher Ronnie Polezceksued Smitty’s over the allegedimpact emissionsand oilfrom the fire have hadonhis cattleand property.

That suit,which isn’tseeking class action status, allegesone of the cows had astillborn calf shortly after the explosion and that Polezcekwas forced to move his cows after his home, pond, hay, pasture and cattle had been coated with soot andoily residue.

In addition to transportation costs, the rancher’ssuit is seeking

second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justiceinahomicide investigation, unlawful posting of criminal activity fornotoriety and publicity,aggravated flight from an officer,and theft of amotor vehicle. Thestate dismissed all charges exceptthe murder indictment on Monday Attorneysspent thenexttwo days selectingajury composed of nine womenand five men.Ifthe panel finds Johnson guilty,hewill be imprisoned the rest of hislife viaamandatory sentence. According to prosecutors, Johnsonwas trying to raise money forthe funeralofa friend who had recently died. He told police he fronted David $5,000 worth of drugs and sheused theminside his BMW.Cummings toldjurors the womanagreed to payhim back with her income tax returns. But Johnsonbecameenraged when

damages tohis cattle and property, which is 3miles northeast of Roseland, and accuses Smitty’s of negligence, nuisance and trespass.

“Smitty’sknewthe risksofits operationsyet repeatedly failed to comply with themost basic safety and environmental standards,” said LaCrisha McAllister of Singleton Schreiber, the firm representing Polezcek. “This explosion was not an accident; it was the foreseeable resultofyearsofnegligence, and the surrounding communityisnow left to deal withthe fallout.”

The suit detailed environmental violations and finesthe company stacked up from theEPA and state. It points outthatSmitty’sstored

she tried to escape the car at some point before paying for thedrugs she had used.

Prosecutorssaid David cried out for help and accused Johnson of trying to rape her as he pulled her back into the vehicle. He tied her hands and left the busy gas station parking lottheywere sitting in, relocating to the parking lot of an office complex in the 3600 block of South Sherwood Forest Boulevard. By the time Johnsonhit the record button to start thelive feed, David was bloodyand cryingas Johnson taunted her and promised to kill her on camera. Medical examiners said David suffered 32 stab wounds,mostly in the face andhead,according to prosecutors. Cummings said Johnson then set his car ablaze with the victim still inside. Detectives concluded David was still alive when shesufferedburn wounds because

millions of gallons of petroleumbased products and chemical additives that, when burned, produced toxichazardous organiccompounds, heavymetals, dioxins and fine particulates.

The EPAhas said its air and soot testingshows neitherthe emissions nor thematerial posed an immediate risk to the public; environmentalgroups have questioned this testing, however

Smitty’sdid notimmediatelyrespond to arequest forcomment Wednesday on the rancher’ssuit.

‘Grossly overcharged’

US Fire’sbreach of contract and private works suit, whichisalso not aclass-action suit, is the first related to the unpaid costs associated withthe fire response.

Late last month, EPAofficials reported that the company was having “solvency” issues. EPAis leadingthe response andusing Superfund dollars to pay for the work, though Smitty’sisthe potentially responsible party

An attorney for Smitty’ssaid on Wednesday that the company’sability to pay isn’tthe problem.

“This surprise legal filing by US Fire Pump Company only comes after Smitty’sSupplyexpressed their concern to this company about being grossly overchargedfor the services US Fire provided,” David R. Sherman, attorney for Smitty’s anda lawyer at Chehardy,Sherman and Williams, said in astatement.

“This is about acompany poten-

she inhaled smoke during the car fire. Meanwhile, as local authorities tried to find and locate the attacker and victiminthe alarming livestream,Johnson fled into an adjacent neighborhood and broke into aresidential storage shed, where he swiped and guzzled a bottle of liquor

Cummings saidJohnson then stoleacar andbegan driving through the neighborhood, crashing into several vehiclesand running others off the road. By the timehewas apprehended and taken to the hospital, he wasnude and intoxicated, Cummings alleged. Butshe told jurors he got drunk, by hisown admission, after committing the homicide and said state prosecutors plan to refute any notionsofinsanity Ray argued that despitethe graphic Instagram Live video and

tially choosing to take advantage of the situationthatSmitty’sand Tangipahoa Parish were in during the immediate response to this incident.”

An attorney for US Fire didn’timmediately return requests for comment Wednesday According to the suit, the company brought in 30 employees, multiple waterpumps,a hose truck, excavators, 10 two-tonresponse vehicles, drones for thermal imaging andproductmeasurement,monitoring trailers, two foam monitoringtrailers, 8miles of various kinds of hoses and other equipment. The companyalso suppliedfire suppression foam, the suit alleges. US Fire directed those sources afterChadTate, the president of Smitty’s,cut adealfor help at 1:44 p.m. Aug. 22. Tate signed awork order and verbally instructed US Fire, the lawsuit alleges, to respond and “use its specializedequipment, expertise andmanpower to contain andput out the fire at Smitty’sRoseland facility.”

With the lien filed against Smitty’s properties, US Fire also supplied a copy of awork order dated Aug. 22 and signed by Tate. Portions of the orderare redacted andthe space in the work order to describe what US Fire wassupposedtodowas left blank. In addition to payment of the bill, US Fire is seeking contractual interest on the unpaid bill, attorney’s fees and court costs.

Johnson’svideotaped confessions afterward, he could nothave an intent to kill —acritical component of proving adefendant guilty of murder —because he hadnocapacity to decipherbetween right and wrong. “I need you to pay attention,” he urgedthe jury.“Sometimes you know it’s not sane. Youknow people are self-medicating and trying to get their minds right.” Cummings argued that Johnson admitted his intenttokill during the livestream and told jurors to consider the evidence in the case.

“Weall jumptoconclusions that somebody must be crazy to do something so horrendous to another human being,” she said. “But Iask you to pay close attention to all the details and stick to the law.” Email Matt Bruceatmatt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

Ozone

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Southern playerstake ownership, supportQB

BY TOYLOYBROWN III

Staff writer

Four turnovers were at the crux ofSouthern’s30-7 loss to Alabama State on Saturday

The players’ dejection was palpable after the game. Coach Terrence Graves said their frustration, as wellashis own,was understandable Southern (1-2) wanted togoundefeatedat home. Instead, it spiraled after itsbrief third-quarter lead in theA.W.Mumford Stadiumopener

“We’re disappointed, but at the end of the day, we’re gonna bounce back,” Graves said. “Like Itold them (Monday) night.Isaid, ‘In life, you’re gonna face adversity.You got one of twochoices, eitheryou gonnaput your head down andwallow and feel sorry for yourself or you’re gonna gotoworkand you’re gonna fight to recover.’ And that’s what we do here, and that’swhat Iloveabout my guys.”

Redshirt defensive tackleZak Yassine said adefensive players-only meetingwas held Monday Even though the offense struggledsignificantly Saturday, the defense wanted to ensure no one allowed shortcomings outof its control to stop the unit from playing to its potential.

“Wewantedtoget themessage across that, you know,wegot along season ahead of us, don’tgive up, (don’t) throwinthe towel or call it quits,” Yassine said. “Wegot a lot to look forwardto, alot of ball to play.”

ä See SOUTHERN, page 4C

It’salways hot in Gainesville, Florida, but I’ve been told the weather was unusually stifling during Saturday’sFlorida-South Florida game.

Maybe it’s just Florida in September Or maybe it’s theheat radiating off of Billy Napier

The fourth-year Floridacoach pulled his jobout of the fire last year when his Gators ended the season with afour-game winning streak, starting witha27-16 victory over LSUinThe Swampand ending with a33-8 Gasparilla Bowl rompover Tulane.

Despite aseason-opening 55-0 romp over rent-a-win Long Island University(who knew LIU even had afootball team?), Napier finds himself back in the frying pan after Saturday’s18-16 home loss to South Florida. Maybe thatlosswon’tturn out to look as badasitdoes now.USF has beaten two rankedteams to start the sea-

son (No. 25 Boise State as well) and now shapes up as aprime contender for the Group of Five’sCFP berth. But Florida was an 181/2-point favorite in that game, ranked 13th, and according to Napier,has the best roster of his four-year tenure with an uber-talented quarterback and an established culture. It sounds alot like what Brian Kelly has been saying about his LSU program.Strikingly so. The major difference is Kelly is now 31-11 at LSU while Napier is 20-20 at Florida. And BK isn’ttrying to pull his team out of the ditch after aloss to big underdog Louisiana Tech but instead making acourse correction after asluggish 23-7 victory Kelly and Napier have been linked because their hirings came during the samecycle. Kelly piled up more wins than any coach in Notre Dame history (officially

See RABALAIS, page 4C

Fuaga: ‘I know Ican play waybetter’

Saints OT discussesknee injury, Sunday status

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Taliese Fuaga wanted to giveit one more series. Just before halftime of Sunday’sloss to the Arizona Cardinals, thepaininthe New Orleans Saints tackle’skneehad become “really sharp.” Butrather thansit,the 23-year-old reiterated to teamofficialsthat he planned to at least testitout after the break. And then they’d decide from there Fuaga played another 18 snaps —the entire third quarter—beforethe pain became unbearable.

“I had to pull it,” Fuagasaid. “For sure. I got to be out there, but man, it’salong season ahead.” Fuaga watched the rest of the gamefrom the end of the bench. Days later,he’sstill managing the knee injurythat also caused him to miss Wednesday’spractice.

In aconversation with the Times-Picayune, Fuaga said he’sdealing withaninflamed patellar tendon —the sameissue that sidelined him for afew days near the end of August. He aggravated the injury further,hesaid, when he fell on the ground sometime in the second quarter

ä 49ers at Saints NOON SUNDAy,FOX

againstthe Cardinals. Despite theinjury,Fuaga said he’s optimistic he’ll play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. He said he expects to practice Thursday “I’m goingtobegoodthisweek,” Fuaga said.“Just making sureI’m good, making sure …nothing’sinflamed or anything.Justmaking sure it’scalmed down.” Before exiting, Sunday’sperformance hardly was Fuaga’s finest. After playing left tackle as a rookie,the Saints this offseason moved Fuaga back to right tackle —his natural position. But the23-year-old struggled.According to Pro Football Focus, thelineman allowed four pressures, one of whichresultedin asack on quarterback Spencer Rattler Fuaga admittedhewas “in my own head.” Fuaga said at first, he didn’tnotice he hadaggravated his kneebecause of the adrenalinepumping during live action. But once Fuaga got back to thesideline after a drive,the pain started tokick in. That not only affected Fuaga physically

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

report The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame announced Wednesday eight inductees for the Louisiana

LSHOF

Scott Rabalais

Florida coach Billy Napier calls atimeout duringthe second half against Long Island on Aug. 30 in Gainesville, Fla Napier findshimself back in the hot seat after Saturday’sloss to South Florida AP PHOTO

Taliese Fuaga STAFF FILE PHOTOBy DAVID GRUNFELD

PHOTO By CHRIS TODD

McCoy

2:05 p.m. CRAFTSMAN Truck: Practice FS2

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4:30 p.m. ARCA Menards: 200 FS1

7p.m.CRAFTSMAN Truck: UNOH 200 FS1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

6p.m. FortValleySt. at Clark Atlanta ESPN2

6:30 p.m. NC State at Wake ForestESPN WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER

5p.m.Stanford at ClemsonACCN

5p.m. Maryland at Penn St. BTN

5p.m. Arkansas at Florida SECN

7p.m. Minnesota at Nebraska BTN

7p.m. South Carolina at Alabama SECN

9p.m. Washington at Southern Cal BTN GOLF

Noon LPGA: QueenCity Golf

3p.m. KornFerry:Open Golf

5p.m. PGA: Procore ChampionshipGolf MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

6p.m. Kansas City at Cleveland Fox

8:30 p.m.L.A.Angels at Seattle MLBN NFL

7:15 p.m.Washington at Green BayPRIME MEN’S SOCCER

7p.m.ForgeFCatValour FC FS2 TENNIS

1p.m.Guadalajara &Sao Paulo Tennis WNBA

7p.m.Golden State at MinnesotaNBATV

9p.m.Las VegasatLos AngelesNBATV

Parsonsreveres Commanders coachQuinn

Packerspassrusher to face former boss

BY STEVE MEGARGEE

AP sportswriter

GREEN BAY,Wis. Green Bay Packers defensiveend Micah Parsons remains grateful to Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn, even though they’re no longer together in Dallas.

Quinn was the Dallas defensive coordinator duringParsons’ first threeseasonswiththe Cowboys. They became NFC East rivals last year when Washington hired Quinn.

They’re no longer in the same division, but they’re still facing off in the second week of the season on Thursday,when Quinn’s Commanders head to Lambeau FieldtotakeonParsons’Packers

“It’sjust like afather figure, uncle, however you wantto put it,” Parsons said. “That’smyguy andwe’re going to go forever We’re in this for the long run and maybe our journeys might cross again one day.”

Their paths crossThursday, though perhapsnot in theway Quinn would have preferred. Quinn knows all toowell how Parsons’ presence can be adream foradefensivecoordinator and anightmare for an opposing offense.

“I was surprised that he was traded, and Ihad an absolute blast coaching him,” Quinn said.

“Hebrings out the mad scientist in you to see: ‘All right,what if he was here and how would youfeature him?And what about over here?’”

Parsons is listed as questionable for Thursday’sgame as he dealswith aback issue. He also was listed as questionable before Sunday’sgame and went on to play slightly less than half the Packers’ defensive snaps.

This game could come down to howwell Parsons and therest of the Packers defenders handle Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who led Washington to an NFC championship game appearance as arookie last season.

Daniels threw for 233 yards and atouchdown while also rushing for 68 yards in Washington’s21-6 season-opening victory over the New York Giants.

Parsons played less than half of Green Bay’ssnaps as he recovers

from aback issue, yet he still had oneofthe Packers’ foursacksin their 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions.

Parsons wasmaking his Packers debut Sunday,just over a week afterGreen Bay acquired him from Dallas and made him thehighest-paid non-quarterback in league history.While withDallas last season,Parsons totaled 41/2 sacks in theCowboys’two matchups with Washington.

“You don’tlet game-wreckers wreckthe game,” Danielssaid.

“You have to keep an eye on him.

…Hegot paid alot of money fora reason. He is averygood player.”

Quinn-LaFleurconnection

Parsons isn’tthe only member of the Packers withties to Quinn.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur was aquarterbacks coach on Quinn’sAtlanta staff from 201516 and helped the Falcons reach the SuperBowl.

“I’m prettycertain Iwouldn’t be standing hereright now if it weren’t for beingwithDQfor those twoyears in Atlanta,” LaFleur said.

“Itjust changed my whole mindset in regardstohow much funyou can have within thebuild-

ä Commanders at Packers. 7:15 P.M.THURSDAy,PRIME

ing yet still get down to business.”

QBsfeelingOK

Packers quarterback Jordan Lovehas said he’sfeeling no limitations after undergoing surgery on his left (non-throwing) thumb last month,and he backed that up by going 16 of 22 for188 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Lions.

Although Daniels appeared on Washington’sinjuryreportwith awrist issue, he practiced this week, saying he had “zero concerns” about it.

Parsons’ fantasyplayer

Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper seems readytotake the next step after delivering aproductive rookie season. The 2024 second-round draft pick collected acareer-high12tackles against the Lions.That didn’tsurprise Parsons, who noted that he drafted Cooperinhis fantasyfootball league, whichincludesindividual defensive players.

“They saw me pick up Coop, and they were like, ‘What do you

know? Parsons said. “Because I’m watching practice and I’m seeing everything we’ve got dialed in and whatwe’re putting in, and so Istarted him, andhegoes off and gets me 36 points.”

Commanders’productiverookie JacoryCroskey-Merritt wasn’t drafteduntilthe seventh round after acollege career that includedstops at Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona. But the rookie runningbackhas wasted no time making an impact. Croskey-Merritt rushed for 82 yardsand atouchdown on 10 carries Sunday “You couldfeel he wasreally prepared, really readyand it wasn’ttoo big,” Quinn said. “That was really cool to see.”

Protecting Love

While Parsons’ pursuit of Daniels will get much of the pregame attention, thePackers’ abilityto give Loveenough time to throw also is critical.Sunday marked thefourthtime in Green Bay’s last sevenregular-season games that the Packers didn’tallowa sack. Green Bay’soffensive line could be at less than full strength Thursday

Jets coachGlenn says no messageafter WR cut

BY DENNISWASZAK JR. AP pro football writer

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.— Xavier Gipson is out of ajob after acostly fumble in the New York Jets’ season-opening loss to Pittsburgh. Coach Aaron Glenn confirmed that the team released the wide receiver,but he insisted Wednesday he wasn’ttryingtosend amessage about accountability —something he has preachedsince being hired in January —bycuttingGipson after one game.

“I want it to be known that decisions that are made are not rash decisions,” Glenn said. “And they’re never based off one incident. So, Iwill keep it at that. Xavier’sareally good player and he’sgoing to play in this league. “But Ifelt it was time for us to move on in another direction.”

Gipson, in histhirdseasonwith the Jets, was returning akickoff in place of the injured Kene Nwangwu on Sunday when hehad the momentum-changing mistake in New York’s34-32 loss. After the Steelers scored to make it atwopoint game early in thefourth quarter,Gipson fumbled on the ensuing kickoff. Pittsburgh recovered and the Steelers took the lead two plays later on Aaron Rodgers’ second TD throw in a50-second span. Gipson continued to return kicks after the gaffe,whichwas the first turnover of the game.But afterward, Glenn bemoaned the

team’sturnovers anddeclared:

“You will not be on the field with this team if you’regoing to cause us to lose games,ifyou’re going to cause issues likethat.”

He backedthatupWednesday by cuttingGipson, although he reiterated that the decision wasn’t based on that play alone. Gipson has 10 fumbles in 35 career games.

“We’re trying to get the best players on this team that can play arole,”Glenn said. “At this point, Ijustfeltweneededto have achangeatthat spot.It’snot just that as far as accountability. There’saccountability in everything that we do. So, Idon’twant to piniton, ‘OK, he fumbledthe ball, OK, he’s getting (cut).’

“Nah, that’snot it. There’sa number ofthings that ledupto this.”

Nwangwu injured ahamstring early in the game, so Gipson who was New York’s primary punt returner —stepped in on the kickoff return unit. Glenn said Wednesday the injury was still being evaluatedand Nwangwu didn’tpractice. If Nwangwu is forced to miss time, the Jets have afew options, includingIsaiah Williams,who wassignedWednesdayoff Cincinnati’spractice squad. Isaiah Davis, rookie Arian Smithand practice squad members Jamaal Pritchettand Keilan Robinson, who was signed Tuesday,could also be in the mix to return kick-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByADAMHUNGER

Xavier Gipson, right, of the Newyork jets fumbles akickoff returnafter PittsburghSteelers running back Kenneth Gainwellslappedthe ball out of his handsonSunday in East Rutherford,N.J

offs. Williamsand Pritchett also could be optionstoreplace Gipson as the primary punt returner Glenn hasfamiliaritywith Williams, who wassignedbyDetroit —where Glenn was the defensive coordinator —last year as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois. He played in two games for the Lions beforebeing waivedand claimed by theBengals.

Gipsonwas signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Stephen F. Austin. He won a rosterspotintraining camp that

summer and returned apunt 65 yards for the winning touchdown in overtime to beat Buffalo in the seasonopenerthat year —the gameduringwhich Rodgers went down with atorn Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut forNew York. The 24-year-old Gipsonhad 27 catches for 268 yards and atouchdown with theJets, alongwith73 yards rushing and aTDonnine carries. He averaged 8.9 yards on punt returns and 26 yards on kickoffs.

Astros place PGarcia on 15-dayIL, recall Hernandez

The Houston Astros placed Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list Wednesday aday after the righthanderexited astartatToronto in thesecond inning because of a sore elbow

AL West-leading Houston also recalledright-hander Nick Hernandez from Triple-A Sugar Land. Garcia gestured to his elbow and motioned to the dugout after throwing an 88 mphpitchtoErnieClement in Tuesday’s 4-3loss. It wasGarcia’s27thpitch of the game.

The Venezuelanpitcherand 2022 World Series champion was making his secondstart of 2025 after sitting out over two years after Tommy John surgery Garcia is 29-19 with a3.53 ERA in 71 games across five big league seasons, all with Houston.

Rizzo to retire with Cubs, become team ambassador

Anthony Rizzo will officially retire as amemberofthe Chicago Cubs on Saturday and will join the organization as team ambassador

The 36-year-old Rizzo spent 10 of his 14 major league seasons with Chicago. The infielderhit .272 with 242 homeruns and 784 RBIsfor the Cubs and helped them winthe World Series in 2016.

Rizzo was athree-time All-Star, four-timeGold Glove winner,onetime Platinum Glove winner and one-timeSilver Slugger award winner forthe Cubs.

He played his rookie season with the SanDiego Padresand spent his finalseasonswith the New York Yankees. He completes his major league career with 1,644 hits, 303 home runs and965 RBIs in 1,727 games played.

Ravens QB Jackson says sorryafter shovingafan

Lamar Jackson apologizedtothe fan he exchanged shoves with during Baltimore’sloss at Buffalo last weekend.

Several Ravens were celebrating behind the corner of the end zone after atouchdown.

Afan reached out and gave receiverDeAndre Hopkins alittle shove to the helmet, thendid the sametoJackson, whopushed him back with twohands to the chest.

“My apologies to him,” Jackson said. “Just chill next time. Youcan talk trash and stuff,but keep your hands to yourself.”

The fanwas ejected by stadium security and has been banned from all NFLgames and events. Coach JohnHarbaugh defended Jacksonearlier this week,saying he had spoken to Jackson about it.

Packers receiverWatson signs contractextension

Green Bay Packers wide receiver ChristianWatsonhas signeda contract extension as he continues his recovery from atorn anterior cruciate ligament that is delaying the start of his season.

The Packers announced the signing Wednesday.Termsweren’t disclosed, but ESPN reported that Watson agreed to aone-year, $13.25 million extension on adeal that would run through 2026. Watson is beginning this season on the physically unable to perform list, which meanshemust missatleast the Packers’ first four games. He tore the ACL in his right knee during the Packers’ 2024 regular-season finale. Watson had 29 catches for 620 yards andtwo touchdowns last year while playing in 15 games.

Four arrested in shooting of FSU linebacker Pritchard

Four people have been arrested in connectiontothe shooting of Florida State linebacker Ethan Pritchard, Florida Department of Law Enforcement commissioner Mark Glass said Wednesday Glass said Pritchard was dropping off family members, an aunt and achild, when he was ambushed outside an apartmentlastmonth and shot in the back of the head on Aug. 31.Pritchard,a 6-foot-2, 224-pound freshmanfromSanford, remains in critical but stable condition at TallahasseeMemorialHospital. GadsdenCounty sheriff Morris Young said authorities believe Pritchard’sshooting was acase of mistaken identity Jayden Bodison, Caron Miller, GermanyAtkins and an unnamed minorhave been arrested in connection with the shooting.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE ROEMER

Green BayPackers defensiveend Micah Parsons celebrates after agame against the DetroitLions on Sunday in Green Bay, Wis.

Purdy a ‘long shot’ to play vs. Saints

BY MATTHEW PARAS and LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

The New Orleans Saints could be catching a break when the San Francisco 49ers come to town.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is a “long shot” to play Sunday with a toe injury and could be out multiple weeks, coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday If Purdy is unable to play, then backup Mac Jones would be in line to start.

Notebook

“Brock’s a phenomenal quarterback in this league and when he’s rolling, they’re really hard to defend,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said “And so structural ly , they’ll still have a lot of advantages and a lot of opportunities within that system (without Purdy). The capacity and the different things they can do is still not going to be limited.”

Shanahan told Bay Area reporters that Purdy’s toe injury occurred in the second quarter of the team’s 17-13 season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks

Purdy, who is 24-13 as a starter in four seasons, is also dealing with a shoulder injury that isn’t considered as severe as the quarterback’s toe injury The 49ers made the Super Bowl with Purdy in his second season and gave the 25-year-old a five-year, $265 million contract extension in the offseason.

Sunday would mark Jones’ first start with the 49ers after joining San Francisco in March.

The Saints were extremely successful when they last faced off against Jones in 2023. That day

Jones — then a member of the New England Patriots — went 12of-22 passing for 110 yards and two interceptions before he was benched in a 34-0 shutout.

Jones spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, starting seven games with a 2-5 record.

“He throws a really accurate ball,” Moore said of Jones. “He’s got tremendous timing. I think he’s a really good quarterback in this league, and I think sometimes guys go to a couple of different teams as their careers go, and he’s still had plenty of success in this league. He’ll be a really talented quarterback out there still, no matter what the circumstance is.”

Injury report

The Saints had four players listed as DNPs on the injury report

Wednesday including one who is having season-ending surgery

Moore said safety Julian Blackmon is having surgery after suffering a serious shoulder injury in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals

Blackmon reportedly suffered a torn labrum, an injury that bothered him throughout last season as well In addition to Blackmon not practicing, tackle Taliese Fuaga (knee), guard Trevor Penning (toe) and pass rusher Chase Young (calf) were also absent.

Neither Penning nor Young played over the weekend.

Fuaga got hurt and sat the entire fourth quarter of the loss.

Running back Velus Jones (knee) and long snapper Zach Wood (elbow) were listed as limited. Safety Jordan Howden was a full participant with an oblique injury

a ‘long shot’ to play Sunday against

With Blackmon sidelined, Moore indicated rookie Jonas Sanker likely would start in his place.

Transactions

The last member of the Saints 2025 draft class cleared waivers and made it back to the practice squad.

Expectations still high despite Raiders RB Jeanty’s struggles

BY MARK ANDERSON

AP sportswriter

HENDERSON,Nev Few rook-

ies face higher expectations than Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, and there was great anticipation about his NFL debut on Sunday

Then it actually happened and Jeanty rushed for just 38 yards on 19 carries in Las Vegas’ 20-13 victory over New England. Not the kind of numbers he produced last season at Boise State when Jeanty led the nation with 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns to become the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy

Also not the kind of numbers expected of the sixth pick in the draft, but it wasn’t all Jeanty’s fault. He had little help from his offensive line, and Jeanty gained 44 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. Coach Pete Carroll said Jeanty and the line will need time to establish chemistry to help him break through the initial defense to get to the second level where he can roam in the open field.

“That takes some time, and the guys haven’t played very much together in real games,” Carroll said. “The

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

but also mentally

“I got to play way better,” Fuaga said. “I know I can play way better.” The Saints need it. Beyond investing a first-round pick on him last year, New Orleans already was shorthanded on the offensive line with left guard Trevor Penning having been sidelined over the last month with turf toe Penning, too, missed Wednesday’s practice. The Saints saw last year how devastating several injuries upfront can be, and they obviously want to avoid a repeat scenario. But Fuaga said he’s committed to addressing the issue. He said he has to figure out a “new routine” for managing the injury, similar to how he spent most of his rookie season rehabbing a back injury that occurred in training camp

(preseason) games helped us some, the practice against the Niners helped us some, but these games will help us get better.” Carroll said much of the blame for Jeanty’s slow start also goes on the back himself.

“He was jacked up and he would tell you, I would think, that he wished he would have been a little more patient on some reads and things like that,” Carroll said. “He didn’t look like that in preseason. This game, being called on to (carry) the ball 19 times, it was a little bit different for him He’ll play way better He’ll see things more clearly.”

Jeanty put together a promising training camp and even was featured in the passing game. That wasn’t the case against the Patriots when he caught two passes for 2 yards. Even if this wasn’t the kind of first game that Jeanty hoped for, it wasn’t a wasted performance either

He produced his first touchdown on a play that was reminiscent of his Boise State days when last season he gained 1,970 yards after contact. Jeanty busted his way into the end zone

“This year, (I’ve) just got to have a routine for my knees. Obviously, a routine I’m probably going to keep for the rest of my career, just to make sure I never have these problems again.”

TALIESE FUAGA, Saints offensive tackle, on preventing injuries

on a 3-yard run in the third quarter to put the Raiders ahead for good at 14-10.

“A lot of emotions,” Jeanty said of scoring. “But staying level-headed.”

He also came through when the Raiders were trying to expand their seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter Las Vegas faced third and 1 at its 21-yard line, and a three-and-out likely would have given the Patriots excellent field position and a chance to tie the game. Jeanty took the handoff and ran off right guard for a 4-yard gain. The Raiders wound up moving into field goal range to make it a twopossession lead that proved invaluable later when the Patriots tried to rally

The Raiders also put the ball in Jeanty’s hands when taking possession with 4:48 left, giving him five carries in six plays.

He lost 5 yards, but Las Vegas — thanks mostly to a 36-yard pass from Geno Smith to Dont’e Thornton — ran three minutes off the clock.

“Tough running by Ashton,” Smith said. “It’s hard to do that in a four-minute situation when the whole stadium knows we’re running the ball.”

stay on top of it.”

As a franchise, the Saints know that reality better than most. Just last week, former left tackle Terron Armstead said he needs a knee replacement at age 34. Armstead revealed he was told that news in Week 1 of last season but he still managed to play 15 games for the Miami Dolphins. Armstead, who retired this offseason, dealt with knee problems for the majority of his 12-year career, including his nine with the Saints.

The Saints waived Fadil Diggs earlier this week after signing him to the active roster prior to the season opener Diggs gave the Saints an additional pass rusher to help make up for the loss of Young, who missed the game with a calf injury Diggs played seven defen-

sive snaps and four special teams snaps against Arizona.

The Saints selected him with the 254th overall pick in the seventh round this year To make room for Diggs on the practice squad, New Orleans waived quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who had rejoined the team earlier this week.

Tailgateofthe Week:985ersbring family flavor to LSUgamedays

By Amanda McElfresh| amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

Fewtraditionscapture thespiritofLouisianaquite like tailgating on LSUgamedays. Even beforesunrise,the airaroundTiger Stadium fillswiththe aromas of Cajun delicacies.Friends andstrangers clad in theirbestpurpleand goldgreet one anotherwithcheersof“GeauxTigers” throughout theday.For many,tailgating is just as importantasthe game itself –a time to reconnect, celebrateteampride and welcomenew fans into theTiger family BradleyFergusonand KennyNichols were readytogoahead of LSU’s2025home opener againstLouisiana Tech.Ferguson shared more abouttheir setupand tradition What’s thenameofyourkrewe?

Fridays. We’regetting things setupon Saturday mornings at 5:30 am

What do youenjoy themostabout tailgating?

With ourdaughters graduating from LSU, it hasmeant alot as afamilytradition for allofus. My daughter graduatedin2019 but shehas season ticketsnow andgoes to everygame, so it reallyisa family event. This year,itwas greattobeout theresince we hadwon thefirstgameofthe season at Clemson.Itmadetheatmosphereevenbetter. What is your favoritetailgatememory? Winningbestfoodtailgatein2019. What makesfor aperfect tailgate?

“This year, (I’ve) just got to have a routine for my knees,” Fuaga said. “Obviously, a routine I’m probably going to keep for the rest of my career, just to make sure I never have these problems again

“We have to kick, we have to run, all based off the knee for (the) O-line. O-line(men) always have knee injuries, so I’ve got to

Longtime Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who missed the entire 2024 season, also retired in the offseason because of a chronic knee injury “Those guys, they’re ballers,” Fuaga said. “But I know they had knee problems also. I don’t want to be kind of that guy to go through that kind of stuff.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate. com

The985ers.Wenamedourselvesafterour area code sincewe’re from theNorthshore. Howmanypeople areusually at your tailgate?

10 to 20

Howlonghaveyou been tailgating at LSU games?

Abouteight years. We usuallydoafew home gamesa year now. Howdoyou preparefor aSaturdaytailgate?

It’s aweekofprepjust to geteverything readyand loaded.Weusually getthere on

Having alot of family andfriends around to sharethe experience.Wejustenjoy the energy andatmosphere. It’s agoodcrowd to hang outwith.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN FROSCHAUER

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Seattle. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Purdy is

the Saints.

Transfers shining all across SEC

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Penn State transfer Beau Pribula dropped back to throw, slung a pass to former Mississippi State wide receiver

Kevin Coleman Jr and watched him prance into the end zone for a touchdown all to the delight of Missouri fans. Especially given it came in a victory over hated rival Kansas.

Pribula wound up 30 of 39 for 343 yards and three touchdowns in the 42-31 victory on Saturday Coleman had 10 catches for 126 yards and that touchdown. Oh, and running back Ahmad Hardy — formerly of Louisiana-Monroe

— added 112 yards rushing and a touchdown of his own in the latest impressive performance by coach Eli Drinkwitz’s cast of transfer additions.

“He stayed poised, he stayed calm — that’s the captain on our team,” Coleman said of Pribula, the biggest name of the bunch. “That’s the one we look up to as a team to count on. And when you see that guy staying calm, we’ve got no worries.”

It may as well have been the Senior Bowl or the East-West Shrine Game, the way all those players from disparate schools came together on Saturday But in truth, it was just another day in college football where, like most leagues, high-profile transfers are helping teams such as Missouri thrive even after losing many key players to graduation and the draft

Pribula is currently second in the SEC in passing to Oklahoma’s John Mateer, who arrived in Norman after three years at Washington State, and immediately injected some firepower into defensiveminded coach Brent Venables’ offense.

Joey Aguilar has Tennessee off to a flying start after arriving from Appalachian State; he has thrown for 535 yards and five scores without an interception in his first two games. Over at Auburn, ex-Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold completed nearly 78% of his

SOUTHERN

Continued from page 1C

The discontent that could have bubbled over came after the defense held Alabama State to six points in the first half. When the Hornets played at UAB, an FBS school, they scored 42 points, including 21 in the first half. Southern senior defensive end Ckelby Givens had two sacks and three tackles for loss. Junior defensive end Jerome Wallace had nine tackles and a forced fumble. Graduate student safety Horacio Johnson also had nine tackles and a third-down pass breakup

The Jaguars contained dualthreat quarterback Andrew Body to 16 yards on seven carries. In the week before, he had 16 attempts for 119 yards and a touchdown

The first half was an example of what the defense is capable of providing.

“I think we flew around and had fun,” Yassine said. “That was that Dog Day D that we’ve been trying to get back to, and I think that first half really proved to us that we can get it done.”

The Southern offense opened the third quarter with a 10-play

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

113) while Napier left UL after four seasons with the best winning percentage (.769) of anyone to coach there more than one season. By every indication LSU did not seriously consider Napier who was hired by Florida two days before LSU announced Kelly’s arrival on Dec. 1, 2021. Napier didn’t fit the splash hire that has become LSU athletic director Scott Woodward’s trademark. There also was the impression LSU never would hire a UL coach no matter how much he won.

The Gators have had their moments under Napier — Florida’s wins last season over LSU and Tulane are exhibits A and B — but they’ve also had plenty of blunders. Not just a player running the wrong route resulting in an interception or a blown coverage.

We’re talking about the Gators offense and field goal unit being on the field at the same time in a 2023 game against Arkansas, leading to a penalty, missed

passes with three touchdowns and no picks in wins over Baylor and Ball State.

Those are just the transfer quarterbacks, too.

There are a bunch of new arrivals playing big roles at other positions already this season.

Hardy is the SEC’s second-leading rusher behind Kewan Lacy, who transferred from Missouri. Lacy had 28 carries for Mississippi and gained 138 yards in a 30-23 win over Kentucky in its conference opener; he is averaging 4.9 yards per carry Not a bad average. But consider Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr., who is averaging more than 10 yards on his first 18 attempts in helping the Razorbacks to a 2-0 start. He was at Buffalo two years ago and New

drive that went 69 yards and finished with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cam Jefferson, giving the Jaguars a 7-6 advantage with 10:31 remaining in the quarter

The defense then allowed a 47yard rushing touchdown on the third play of next drive to make the score 13-7 at the 8:57 mark.

Southern then lost back-to-back fumbles, gifting 10 more points to Alabama State.

Yassine said the team has to get better when “things don’t go our way.” He also said tackling better and overall discipline are other areas that need growth.

The players most vocal in the defense’s meeting were veterans such as Givens, Wallace, redshirt senior linebacker Mike Jones and graduate student safety Zay Franks (a Southern Miss transfer).

Players understand that Graves needs to make changes after the loss He said that personnel changes on defense are on the table.

The biggest shift was making quarterbacks coach Fred McNair the new play-caller and co-offensive coordinator, along with Mark Frederick. Southern also will give playing time to junior transfer quarterback Ashton Strother,

Eight of Florida’s 10 opponents are ranked. Five of them — LSU, Miami, Georgia, Texas and Florida State — are in the AP top 10. One of the two unranked foes is Mississippi State, which just upset No. 12 Arizona State.

field goal and eventual overtime loss to the Razorbacks. Or the time earlier that season against Utah when two Gators wore the same number on the field at the same time, a penalty that led to a Utes’ first down and eventual touchdown. Florida perennially has been mistake-prone under Napier, and lately his utilization of quarterback DJ Lagway in his offensive system has come under heightened scrutiny for its predictable play calling. The Gators’ remaining schedule is something that would make the Buffalo Bills say, “Wait, this is too much.” Eight of Florida’s 10 opponents are ranked Five of them —

Mexico State last year

Dante Dowdell of Kentucky is likewise on his third team in three years, after spending a season each at Oregon and Nebraska. He has run for 185 yards and a touchdown through his first two games with the Wildcats. The SEC’s leading wide receiver, Harrison Wallace III of Ole Miss, spent last season at Penn State. Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver has 13 catches for 236 yards and three scores, one year after catching just 17 for 368 yards at Mississippi State. In fact, the SEC’s top seven wide receivers in yardage through Week 2 began their careers at another school.

When you combine a top QB transfer with marquee running backs and wide receivers — just

Southern linebacker Mike Jones reacts after making a stop during a spring game on April 12 at A.W Mumford Stadium. Jones was one of several veterans to speak up during a defensive players-only meeting

who hasn’t thrown a pass yet this season. One thing not changing is that Cam’Ron McCoy will start at quarterback against Fresno State. He has taken the majority of the

like Drinkwitz has done at Missouri this season the result is predictable. The Tigers rolled through Central Arkansas to begin the season, then took care of Kansas in an emotionally charged rivalry game to break into the AP Top 25 this week.

Forget about rebuilding in the wake of quarterback Brady Cook’s graduation and wide receiver Luther Burden III’s entry in the NFL draft Not these days. Just like other schools, the Tigers simply used the transfer portal to reload.

“Obviously, Kevin Coleman made some big-time catches and continually does that. But, you know, no panic. I think Beau is really cool, calm, collected,” Drinkwitz said after the win over Kansas, and ahead of Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette.

snaps this season, and despite an up-and-down first three games, he still has the faith of his teammates after losing two fumbles and throwing two interceptions.

Jefferson said Saturday that his faith never will waver in McCoy

“I’m a receiver, that’s my quarterback,” Jefferson said. “I’mma always be with him, ride or die, no matter what his performance is. He could throw five interceptions, I’mma still be with my guy.”

Running back Barry Remo said that after Monday’s practice, the offense remains confident in his ability “Cam McCoy is a great quarterback,” Remo said. “We all going to be behind him. We all believe him, and we’re going to fix our ball security issue this whole week. You know, we practice it every day So, just those mistakes, just coming from him, like we know they can all happen to all of us. So just being behind him and just supporting him, we’re gonna be all fine.”

Belief in each other will be a prerequisite when Southern plays Fresno State, its only FBS opponent of the season, at 9 p.m. Saturday in Fresno, California.

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com.

C Moore, TE Green uncertain to play vs. Gators

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

LSU listed center Braelin Moore and tight end Trey’Dez Green as questionable to play Saturday against Florida on its first availability report of the week.

Moore injured his ankle on the first offensive snap of the No. 3 Tigers’ Week 2 win over Louisiana Tech. Multiple reports said Sunday that he had suffered a highankle sprain, but Kelly indicated on Monday that MRI imaging had shown a less severe ankle injury Moore practiced on Tuesday, Kelly said.

Green suffered a sprained MCL against the Bulldogs when a defender rolled onto his right leg during a play in the fourth quarter

He sat the rest of the game, then walked off the field on crutches with a brace on his injured knee.

Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed Sunday that the injury was expected to sideline Green for multiple weeks, though Kelly did not rule the sophomore tight end out of the game against the Gators when he updated his status Monday

“Those are injuries that you can come back from,” Kelly said, “and rather quickly.”

Moore, a Virginia Tech transfer, was named the SEC’s offensive lineman of the week after LSU beat No. 12 Clemson on the road in Week 1. DJ Chester the redshirt sophomore who started 12 games at center last season — snapped for quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in Moore’s place against Louisiana Tech. On 49 pass-blocking reps, according to Pro Football Focus, he did not allow a single pressure.

“To have a guy like (Chester) is invaluable, right?” Kelly said. “He didn’t take a ton of snaps the last couple of weeks at center We had him out at left tackle. He’s played guard. He’s so valuable, and he went in there and he did a heck of a job.”

Green is one of Nussmeier’s favorite red-zone targets. In the win over Clemson, the pair connected on an 8-yard score that put LSU ahead 17-10.

If Green misses time, then tight ends Bauer Sharp and Donovan Green would step into larger roles. Sharp, an Oklahoma transfer, played 21 more snaps than Trey’Dez Green against Clemson Donovan Green is a redshirt junior who transferred to LSU from Texas A&M in the offseason.

LSU also listed wide receiver Destyn Hill (fractured hand) as questionable while ruling out freshman defensive tackle Zion Williams.

Star Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks (lower leg) was not listed on Florida’s availability report, which means he will make his season debut Saturday in Tiger Stadium. Last year in the Gators’ win over LSU, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound lineman recorded a sack and a forced fumble. Wilson Alexander contributed to this report.

manent president to sign off on Napier’s fate. Before we conclude, let us say one thing in Napier’s defense: Maybe the problem is Florida

probably

none

LSU, Miami, Georgia, Texas and Florida State — are in the AP top 10. One of the two unranked foes is Mississippi State, which just upset No. 12 Arizona State. Florida boosters reportedly had put together the money required to pay Napier’s then-$26 million buyout early last season. Napier held

on and turned the 2024 campaign around. But it’s hard to see a path through this remaining gauntlet for Napier to survive this time.

That said, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin stuck with Napier much longer than it seemed realistically possible last season, and Florida is still without a per-

them lasted more than four seasons in The Swamp. Combined, from 2011-24, they have led the Gators to zero SEC championships, just four 10-plus win seasons and five losing campaigns. There is no reason why Florida shouldn’t perennially be among the top tier of SEC programs. It has money, is an excellent school academically and most importantly sits in the middle of one of the most talent-rich football states in America. Ultimately, Florida’s struggles may be an indictment of both Napier and the school. There’s one big difference: The school isn’t going anywhere. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Florida coach Billy Napier, left, speaks with LSU coach Brian Kelly before kickoff on Nov. 16 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LIZ RyMAREV

Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula runs with the ball for a touchdown against Central Arkansas in Columbia Mo., on Aug. 28.

The NBAopened an investigation last week intowhether a$28 millionendorsement

Angeles Clippers forward KawhiLeonard and sustainability

that filedfor bankruptcy

this

Silver:NBA won’trushto judgmentinLeonard probe

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

NEW YORK The NBA will not rush to any judgment in its probe of whether abusiness relationship betweenKawhi Leonardand aCalifornia company was legitimateor merely away for the LosAngeles Clippers to circumvent salary-cap rules, commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday Silver spoke after aboard of governorsmeetinginNew York —one that Clippers owner SteveBallmer attended —and said the league will wait to see the reportfrom the outside firm it has hired to run its investigationbefore takingthe next steps.

“We’re constantly learning in the league office and again, I’m reserving judgment because Idon’tknow the facts here,” Silver said. “I don’t know what Kawhi was paid. Idon’t know what he did or didn’tdo. We’ll leave all that for the investigation.”

The NBA opened its investigation last week into whether a$28 millionendorsement contract between Leonard and sustainability

services companyAspiration Fund Adviser,LLC —one that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year broke league rules, followingareport by journalist Pablo Torre.

TheClippershavestrongly denied that any rules were brokenand said they welcomed the league’sinvestigation.

“I think as amatter of fundamental fairness,I would be reluctant to act ifthere was amere appearanceofimpropriety,” Silver said

“I thinkthe goal of afull investigation is to find if there really was impropriety. Iwould want anybody elsein the situation that Mr Ballmer is in now or Kawhi Leonard for that matter,tobetreated thesame way Iwould wanttobe treated if peoplewere making allegations against me.”

Ballmer made a$50 million investment in Aspiration, and the companyand the team announced a$300 million partnership in September 2021. That was about a monthafter Leonard signed afouryear, $176 million extension with the Clippers.

The team ended its relationship

with Aspirationafter twoyears, saying thecontract was in default.

Aspiration’sco-founder,Joseph Sanberg,agreed to pleadguilty last month after facing federal charges of wire fraud. Prosecutors saidhedefrauded investorsand lenders out of $248 million, adding that“Aspiration’s financial statements were inaccurate and reflected much higher revenue than the company in fact received.”

“I’m abig believerindue processand fairness and you need to nowlet theinvestigation run its course,” Silver said, adding that he has“very broad powers” when determining penalties if wrongdoing was found.

The league —which previously looked into claims that Leonard’s representatives asked for certain things thatwould be considered cap circumventions when he was a free agentseveral years ago— can issue stiffpenalties if cap rules are found to have been broken by a team, including a fine of up to $7.5 million, thevoiding of contracts and the forfeiture of future draft picks.

RyderCup captainDonaldhoping organizers readyfor Trump’spresence

By The Associated Press

VIRGINIA WATER, England European captain Luke Donald is relaxed about the prospectofPresident Donald Trump attendingthe upcoming Ryder Cup andsaidhe hopes there isn’tarepeat of the delays at the U.S. Open tennis tournament caused by his presence.

Trump, agolf fanatic, hassaid he will be at Bethpage BlackinNew York on Sept. 26, for the start of three-day matches between the United States and Europe.

“I guess he will want to be onthe first tee,” Donald said Wednesday “Again, we understand that he’s comingand both teams will be

ready for that.” Trump attended the men’s final at the U.S. Open between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Sundayand extra security caused by his visit led to long linesand ahalfhour delay to the start of play

at anews conference at theBMW

PGAChampionship at Wentworth

St.Michael sharp in sweeping past visiting Lakeshore

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributingwriter

First-year St.Michael volleyball coach Latashia Wise-Jacksonwasn’tsure what herteam’s hitting percentage was following a3-0 winoverLakeshore on Wednesday evening, but she knew onething —itwas good.

The numbers were so good that theWarriors didn’thave ahitting error until the second set. By that time they werewell on their way to uppingtheir record to 8-0. The finalset scores were 25-9, 25-15 and 25-12 at the St. Michael gym

In all, St. Michael recorded 40 kills with onlyseven errors, good for a.702 hitting percentage.

“I know (the hitting percentage) was good,” Wise-Jackson said. “We’vealso been doing areally good job of serving the ball and putting pressure on theopponent right out of the gate. Then we’ve done agreat job of getting into our offense.”

The Warriors servedup12 aces, four in each set. Individually,Bella Bravata led the offense with 13 kills, andhad help from SkylarTowner with10kills and Bella LeBlanc with seven.

Libero AvaRodriguehelped set thetone defensively and gave credit to senior Abby Guidry,who came off the bench to score three kills in the third set.

“We’vebeen happy withour performance since the beginning of theseason,” Rodrigue said. “Everybody is showing up when they need to. Abby did that forus

tonight.”

Lakeshore (1-5), aDivision II semifinalist last season, had its moments but wasn’tconsistent enough to challenge for any of the set wins. SofiaMiranda and Ella Olagueshad sevenkills apiece while Gabby Gex added 10 digs forthe Titans.

“We’re on the other side of the spectrum (than St. Michael). We graduated 11 seniors last year,” Lakeshore coach Darren Loup said. “I don’tbelieve in running fromgames like this. If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best. (St. Michael) is the best team we’ve played so far.

The first setwas closeinthe early going. Gabby Lightfoot’s kill hadLakeshore within9-7 before St. Michael pulledaway winning 16 of the next 18 points to post a25-9 win. Towner sparked theclosing run withfourkills and ablock.

Lakeshore trailed15-11 in the secondset, butgot no closer. Bravata had three kills as the Warriors ran off six consecutive points. Kills from Guidry and Bravata accounted for the last twopoints in a25-15 set win. The third set followed asimilar pattern. Leading 10-9, St.Michael won eight of nine points to take a commanding lead, and wentonto take the match with a25-15 win.

“Thisisa very talented,seasoned team that had no seniors last year,” Wise-Jacksonsaid. “We’ve been playing with intense chemistry since week one. That’s always good to see.”

WNBA All-Star in a15-season pro career that included WNBA Finals MVP honors as she ledthe Minnesota Lynx to league crowns in 2015 and 2017. Fowles was chosen as one of the WNBA’s Top25Players of AllTimein2021,andsheenteredtheNaismith MemorialBasketball Hall of Fame last weekend and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June.

Horn was afour-time ProBowl receiver (2000-02, 2004) and fan favorite in sevenseasons (200006)with the New Orleans Saints during a12-year NFL career McClure,aBatonRougenativeand two-sport all-stater at Central High School,wasanAll-SoutheasternConferenceand All-American center for LSU before 14 NFL seasons with the AtlantaFalcons.Heearnedaplacein the Falcons Ring of Honor Williams, adefensivetackle from Wossman High School in his hometown of Monroe, reached three straight ProBowls (2006-08) while with the Minnesota Vikings in a14-season career that started

No announcement preceded Trump’sappearance at Flushing Meadows, so at least the PGA of America —the organizer of this year’sRyder Cup —has more of a head start

“The PGA of America is obviouslyorganizing this. There was some delays at the tennis —I think you’re probably all aware of that buthopefully they havelearntfrom that,” said Donald, who was speaking

with the Buffalo Bills. Lucroy starred for three years at catcher for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns and was a2007 third-round MLB Draft pick by Milwaukee, where he earned apair of National League All-StarGame appearances (2014, 2016) and was fourth invotingfor the 2014 NL MVP. Bradywon 402 games in 25 seasons of college basketball coaching at Samford, LSU and Arkansas State. He had 190 victories in 10

“It’s abig process, obviously,to getapresident to come to an event. There’sa lotofsecurity andeverything. It takes some work, I’m sure. The PGA of America’s job is to makesure it’s seamless, and he wants to be there to probably greet theplayers, andI think the crowd is probably going to be loud no matter what.”

During his first term as president, Trumpshowed up about an hour after the final match was underway Sundayatthe Presidents Cup in New Jersey in 2017. Trump later presented the trophy to the winning American squad.

seasonswith theTigers, including threeSEC regular-season championships (2000, 2005, 2006) and arun to the 2006 NCAAFinal Four That year’sMarch Madness also wasacareer highlight for Bossier City native McConathy,whose 14th-seeded Demons stunned No. 3seed andBig TenConference champion Iowa in one of three NCAAtourney trips (twowins) for Northwestern State. The former Louisiana Tech star guardwon a state-record 682 gamesasacollege coach in 16 seasons at Bossier Parish CommunityCollege and 23 at Northwestern State. Strother is the nation’ssecondwinningest high school girlsbasketball coach, retiring in 2023 with a1,235-395(.758) record that includes21trips to the state semifinals and11championship game appearances,collecting five LHSAA titles forFlorien High in southern Sabine Parish. The newclass will be enshrined June 25-27atthe Hall of Fame’s home in Natchitoches to culminate the67thinduction celebration Ticket

Volleyball

Brusly 3, Catholic-PC 0 Brusly 25 25 25 Catholic-Pointe Coupee182419 Leaders —CATHOLIC-POINTE COUPEE: Julianne Normand (5 kills, 8digs), Ella Doucet (7 digs,3kills, 4aces, 2blocks). BRUSLY: Sydney Veal-Harden(10 kills, 2blocks, 1 ace), C. Boudreaux (5 kills, 1ace,16assists), M. Jackson(5kills, 1ace,2blocks) Parkview Baptist 3, Central 1 Parkview 25 25 25 25 Central 19 22 27 13 Leaders —CENTRAL: AddisonGuy (14 kills, 2aces, 3digs, 1block); Lori Morris (8 kills, 1dig); Kynlee Rheams(2kills, 25 assists, 1ace,8digs). PARKVIEW BAPTIST: Rylan Varnado (19kills, 1assist,9digs, 2 blocks); Jana Thymes (14kills, 2assists, 4 aces, 2digs,5blocks); Olivia Kohn (3 kills, 18 assists, 1ace, 2digs, 2blocks) Port Allen 3, McKinley2 Port Allen 20 25 22 25 15 McKinley 25 12 25 23 12 Leaders —PORTALLEN: DwayniaLowery (13aces, 5kills), London Key(11 aces,12 kills), J’Myria Thompson (12aces, 7kills), Kaylee Moore(7aces, 20 assists) Records —1-3 University 3, Westminster-Lafayette 2 University 19 25 23 25 15 Westminster 25 17 25 22 10 Leaders —U-HIGH: Monet Temple (22kills, 13 digs,2aces),Juliane Arruda (8 kills, 12 assists, 7digs, 3aces, 3blocks), Riley Spencer (3 kills, 17 assists, 12 digs), Dayonna Womack (6 kills) Team records—U-High4-0

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL

contractbetween Los

services companyAspiration Fund Adviser,LLC one

earlier

year —broke league rules, followinga reportbyjournalist Pablo Torre.

Cutthe cook time, keep the flavorwith friedrice

BY

Enjoy this quick fried rice dinner

—ready in just 15 minutes, including prep time.Tomake stir-frying a breeze, arrange all your prepped ingredients on acutting board or plate in the order they’ll be used. That way, you won’tneed to refer back to the recipe once cooking begins. Iuse toasted sesame oil to add a subtle, nuttydepth of flavor.You can find it in the Asian foods section of most grocerystores. For thegreens, Ichose Chinese cabbage, also known as Napa cabbage, prized for its pale green, crisp, and tender leaves.

Beef Fried Rice

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer Makes 2servings.

1packagemicrowaveable brown rice to make1½-cups cooked rice

4teaspoonstoasted sesame oil, divided use

2tablespoons low-salt soysauce 1egg 2cups sliced onion

4medium garlic cloves, crushed 1cup frozen petite peas

8ounces grass fed tenderloin steak cut into ¼to½-inch cubes

7or8largeChinese cabbageleaves, sliced (about 2cups)

2teaspoons sugar Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6scallions, sliced

1. Make rice according to package instructions and measure 1½-cups. Reserve any remaining ricefor another meal. Set aside.

2. Mix soy sauce and 3teaspoons oil together in asmall bowl. Setaside.

3. Add the remaining 1teaspoon oil to awok or large skillet and heat on high. When oil is smoking, add egg and scramble well for 10 seconds. Immediately add therice and onion. Toss for 3minutes. Add garlic, peas andsteak. Toss 1minute. Add cabbage, sugar,salt and pepper to taste Toss all ingredients together

4. Move the ingredients to the sides of the wok or skillet leaving ahole in themiddle. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the hole.Move the ingredients to the hole and toss to cover them with the sauce. Add the scallions. Toss well, about 1minute. Divide in half and place on two dinner plates.

PER SERVING: 632calories (29% from fat), 20.7 gfat (5.8 gsaturated, 7.9 gmonounsaturated), 149 mg cholesterol, 39.3 gprotein, 76.3 gcarbohydrates, 13.0 g fiber,665 mg sodium

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Beef Fried Rice is readyinjust 15 minutes, including prep time.

FOOTBALL &FOOD

AsSeptember takes shape in the Crescent City,New Orleans transforms into avibrant celebration of sporting passion and culinary excellence. The sweltering summer heat begins its gradualretreat, andwithit comes theunmistakableelectricity of footballseason acrossall levels —professional andcollegiate —alongside the continued excellenceofone of America’s most distinctive food scenes.

While theSuperdomehosts our beloved Saints on Sundays, Saturdays in September belong to thecollegiate gridiron of Louisiana. Tulane University’sYulman Stadium comes alive witha sea of green and sky blue as the Green Wave takes the field. Meanwhile, just 80 miles north-

west in Baton Rouge, the purple and gold faithful of LSU create one of college football’smost intimidating environments in Death Valley.And in my family you can add the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to the mix. The intersection of football and New Orleans cuisine creates aunique cultural phenomenon. Portable crawfish boils, jambalaya pots large enough to feed small armies, and gumbo simmering since dawnbecome the centerpieces of gatherings under the oak trees. Here, recipes passed downthrough generations are shared alongside passionate debates about defensive strategies and quarterback performance.

BYLINDAGASSENHEIMER

News Service (TNS)

Savor the flavors of France with this classic Chicken Chasseur, also known as poulet chasseur. This French dish is celebratedfor its rich and aromatic sauce,made from ablend of mushrooms, shallots, tomatoes and asplash of wine While there are many variations, Conjure France with chickendish

ä See CHICKEN, page 2D

1. In

1pound

½tablespoon

1teaspoon

1teaspoon

2tablespoons

1tablespoon

1tablespoon

1tablespoon

pork belly so itdoesn’tburn.

4. Brush the pork belly slices with the reserved sauce from step 1.

5. Cut the fried pork belly slices intosticksusing acutting board and asharp knife.

6. Make the spicymayo: Combine mayonnaise and hot sauce in asmallbowl.

7. Warm up the rice and divide into bowls.

8. Arrange thepork belly,veggies, and herbs on top of rice, and serve the pork belly rice bowls immediately,with adrizzle of the spicy mayo.

Glazed Pork Belly Bowl

Kevin Belton

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars, 2D

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Don’toverthink replacingthe fence

Dear Miss Manners: My husband andIbought our currenthome about four years ago, although the house itself is about 20 years old. The backyard is surrounded by astandard woodenfence. The condition of the wood suggests the fence has been there nearly as long as the house, and we think it desperately needs to be replaced. Twoofour neighbors have fences that adjoin ours and which, based on condition, were builtaround the same time. Even though it’sour right to replaceour fence, do we owe any consideration to the neighbors? After all, our shiny new fence

By The Associated Press

will now be mixed with their well-worn ones surrounding their yards

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Idon’twant to imply that I’m asking their permission, because we intend to replace it regardless. But is it worth giving them a heads-up that we’re having thework done? Is there a way to suggest thepossibility of them also having their fences replaced without it sounding insulting?

Iassume that having theirs replaced at the same time, by the same company, might save a little money —asthe workers and materials will already be on site —but I’m notsure if this is worth bringing up. We havegood rela-

TODAYINHISTORY

MLB careerhits record with his 4,192ndhit.

Today is Thursday,Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2025.There are 111 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized control of four jetliners, sending two of the planes into New York’sWorld Trade Center,one into thePentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania. It remains the deadliest terrorattack in history

Also on this date:

In 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the firstU.S. Secretaryofthe Treasury

In 1814, an American fleet scored adecisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in theWar of 1812.

In 1936, Boulder Dam —later renamed the Hoover Dam began operation as President Franklin D. Rooseveltpressed abutton in Washington to signal the startup of the dam’s first hydroelectric generator In 1941, groundbreaking took place for the Pentagon.

In 1954, the Miss America pageant made its network TV debut on ABC.

In 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende died during a violent military coup led byGeneral Augusto Pinochet.

In 1985, Pete Roseofthe Cincinnati Reds broke Ty Cobb’s

In 2008, presidential candidates John McCain andBarack Obamaput aside politics as they visited groundzerotogether on the anniversary of 9/11 to honor its victims.

In 2012, amob armed with guns andgrenades launched a fiery nightlongattack on aU.S. diplomatic outpostand aCIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens andthreeother Americans.

In 2023, over 4,000 people died andthousands more were missing after heavy rain from Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused two damstocollapse, flooding thecity of Derna, Libya.

Today’sbirthdays: Composer Arvo Pärt is 90.Film director BrianDe Palma is 85. Singer-actor-dancer Lola Falana is 83. Musician MickeyHartis82. GuitaristLeo Kottkeis80. Actor Amy Madigan is 75. RockmusicianTommy Shaw(Styx) is 72.Sportscaster Lesley Visseris72. Actor Scott Patterson is 67. Actor/director Roxann Dawsonis67. Actor John Hawkes is 66. Actor Virginia Madsen is 64.Musician-composer Moby is 60. Singer Harry ConnickJr. is 58. Actor Taraji P. Henson is 55.Rapper Ludacris is 48. Football Hall of Famer Ed Reedis47. Country singer CharlesKelley(Lady A) is 44. Actor ElizabethHenstridge is 38. Actor TylerHoechlinis38.

Chicken Chasseur (Chicken with Mushroomsand Wine)

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer.Makes2 servings

1½ tablespoons olive oil, divideduse

¾pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs about ¼-½ inch thick

1cup sliced shallots

1cup sliced button mushrooms

½tablespoon flour

¼cup drywhite wine

¼cup fat-free, no-salt-added chicken broth

1tablespoon tomato paste

2tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1packagemicrowaveable brown rice to make1½-cups cooked rice

Heat ½tablespoon olive oilin alarge skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickenthighsand brown 3minutes.Add theshallots and continue to cook 2minutes stirring as they cook. Turn chicken over and add the mushrooms.Continue to cook, stirring for 3minutes.

Divide the chicken in half and remove thechicken to twodin-

CHICKEN

nerplates. Ameat thermometer should read 160 F. Cook aminute longer if needed. Addthe flour to the skillet and mix with the vegetables until dissolved, forafew seconds.Add the wine. Cook 1minute. Addbroth and tomatopaste. Stir all of the ingredients togetherand cook 1to 2minutesuntil sauce is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. While sauce cooks, add the rice to the microwave and cook following packagetiming. Measure 1½ cups and save any remaining rice for another meal.

Dividein half andadd to the plates withthe chicken. When the sauce is ready,spoon it over the chicken andsprinkleparsley on top

PER SERVING: 561 calories (30% fromfat), 18.6 gfat (2.7 gsaturated, 8.8 gmonounsaturated), 156 mg cholesterol, 40.4 gprotein, 50.7 gcarbohydrates, 3.3g fiber, 181 mg sodium.

tionships with all of the neighbors and don’twant to create animosity or awkwardness where there isn’tany

Gentlereader: When anyone wishes to express indignation about an unwelcome encroachment, the accepted metaphor is not, “Can you believe So-and-so was in my living room, uninvited, playing my piano?!”

The expression is, “Can you believe this was going on in my own backyard?!”

Miss Manners mentionsthis as areminder that if you want to maintain good relations withthe neighbors, you will absolutely have to be considerate, which means: giving notice of your plans; reassuring them that you

are available to handle any unintended inconveniences that result;taking “no” forananswer to any suggestion that they consider redoing their own —and spending less time thinking about what you have aright to do. Fortunately, it is possible to do all of this without putting the central question up fordebate. Tell them that you are planning to replace yourfence and say that, while you have no idea if they were planning to redo theirs, if they are, you would be happy to see if usingasingle contractor would be away foreveryone to save money Dear Miss Manners: Iwas working withanolder woman and we hit it off verywell. Her eyes were no-

ticeably red, and my ophthalmologist had suggested an over-thecounter product for me that works beautifully and is safe to use. Iwas tempted to tell her about it, but thought that it might be embarrassing forher if Imentioned her eyes. DidI do the right thing by being silent, or did Imiss an opportunity to do someone afavor?

Gentle reader: Yes. Possibly

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

Quellthe complaints abouttoo much zucchini with this recipe

BY BETH DOOLEY

TheMinnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Zucchiniisthe blessing and bane of agarden. In high season, my friend “gifts” boxes of her prodigious crop on her neighbors’ front steps and in the back seat of unlocked cars. What to do withall this bounty?

On its own, zucchini is arelatively humble ingredient that pales next to its summerpeers —those snappy cherry tomatoes, golden sweet corn, velvetyeggplant. But what zucchini lacks in pizazz, it can make up for in its flexibilityand adaptability. It adds moisture and flavor to muffins and teabreads,and is wonderful stirfried and sautéed. Becauseofits high water content, zucchini can get soggy if it’s undercooked; it is truly best when roasted just long enough to extract all the juices, thenturning golden, caramelized and crispinthe oven’sdry heat Zucchiniisasummer squash, a category that includes pattypan, scallop, crookneck and straightneck squash. All have amild flavor and can be used interchangeably.They’re also low calorie and rich in vitamins Cand B6, fiber and antioxidants. Youwant summer squashes when they’reyoung and small, not thesize of abaseball bat.Oversized zucchini and summer squash are woody and tasteless.

Roastingsummer squash is the best way toshowcase itslight, mild herbal flavors, as it develops a firm crust on the outside and turns creamywithin. The only trick is to slice them intouniform thickness (about 1/2 inch) so they roastevenly

Oven-roasted zucchini and squash are great withpasta, in a casserole topped withcheese or scattered on pizza. Served witha marinara sauce or ranch dressing

1cup salted butter,melted and cooled slightly

2largeeggs 2cup brown sugar,packed

1tablespoon vanilla extract

1cup creamypeanut butter

2½ cups all-purpose flour ½teaspoon baking powder

1¼ cup minipeanut butter M&Ms

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

1½ cup chocolate chips

1tablespoon butter DECORATION ½cup minipeanut butter M&Ms

1. Preheat ovento350 Fand spray a9x13 baking dish withnonstick spray 2. Add the flour,baking powder, and mini peanut butter M&Ms together in amixing bowl and whisk together

for dipping, it makes awonderful appetizer

Youmay feel overwhelmed with this bounty,but don’twish it (or summer) away Oven-Roasted Zucchini, Summer Squash and Cherry Tomato Pasta

Recipefrom Beth Dooley.Serves 4to6

1½ lb.zucchini and summersquash, trimmed and cut into ½-in. discs

1½ lb.cherry tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 oz. fusilli pasta, or anypreferred shape

¼cup shreddedParmesan cheese

Juice of ½fresh lemon

2tbsp. choppedbasil, plus leavesfor garnish

1. Line arimmed sheet pan with parchment and preheat it in the

oven to 400 F.

2. Toss the zucchini, summer squash andtomatoes withenough oiltogenerouslycoat. Spread out on the preheated roasting pan and season with salt and pepper.Roast until the tomatoes are blistered andsplit andthe zucchini and squash are golden andcrisped, about20minutes, occasionally turning and shaking the pan.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in rapidly boiling saltedwater until just tender,about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove about ½cup of the cooking water and set aside, then drain the pasta in acolander.Transfer the pasta to alarge bowl.

4. Toss the roasted vegetables in withthe pasta, addinga ¼cup of thereserved pasta water along withthe cheese. Taste,and if the pasta seemstoo dry add alittle morepasta water.Toss in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, adding moreolive oilas needed. Toss in the basil and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves and lemon wedges on the side.

3. In alarge mixing bowl whisk theslightly cooled butter and eggs together till smooth Addbrown sugar,and vanilla and whisk again till smooth Addthe peanut butter and whisk till smooth. 4. Addthe flour mixture and M&Msand mixwitha spoontill just combined. 5. Turn the batter out into the preparedbaking dish, smoothing

FOOTBALL

Continuedfrom

cool before making the top-

ping. 7. In the microwave in 20 second increments at 50% power,melt thechocolate chipsand butter together

8. Once melted, spread the chocolate on top of thebars andsprinkle with peanut butter M&Ms.

KevinBelton is resident chef of

of

Peanut ButterCookieBars

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Zucchini is asummer squash, acategorythat includes pattypan, scallop crookneck and straightneck squash.

VIRGo(Aug.23-sept.22) Your budget must be airtight if you want to avoid stress and setbacks. Trust yourself to helpprevent misinformation andmake informed decisions.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Observation alone won'toffer atrue adaptation of what's unfolding. Be cautious about sharing your plans or feelings prematurely. Apositive change is apparent, but it's up to youtoinitiatethe process.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Bend the rules alittle whendealing with emotional situations to avoid confrontations or interference. Have abackup plan ready and be prepared to offer acompromise

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put your physical ability to the test. Activities that challenge you to push your limits will also encourage you to align yourself with people who share asimilar mindset.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Investments look promising. Buying and selling, upgrades, and wheeling and dealing are all featured. Let go of the past and invest your energy in activities that make you feel good aboutyourself

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep the momentum flowing, andyou'll find asource of revenue that bridgesthe gap. Reach out to peoplewho can offer insight into your plans.

PIscEs (Feb.20-March 20) Hold off on initiatingachange until you have the facts, the energy to follow through and

the meanstoensure youreach your goal. Preparation is everything, so don't rush into something prematurely.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Explorethe possibilitiesthat existinyourhomeand community. Getting outand socializing, mixing business with pleasure and sharing your enthusiasmwill help you reach your objective.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Acquire additional skills andnetwork with those whocan help youconnect withthe right people andorganizations.Emotional interference is apparent if you aren't persistent andmeticulous.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Do something that you find mentally stimulating. Take responsibility for your life and prospects. Change begins with you, so stop waitingfor someone else to make the first move

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Promiseonly what youcan deliver.Sound andsimple ideas arethe answer andwill help you navigate your wayforward. Participating in physical fitness activities is in your best interest.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Let go of whatyou cannotchange.Expressing loveand kindness to the people youcherish will encourage better relationshipsand promote positive lifestyle habits.

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

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms arecreated from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipherstands for another. toDAy'scLuE:L EQuALs B

FAMILYCIrCUS

For better or For WorSe

peAnUtS

SALLYForth

beetLe bAILeY Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers Theobjectistoplace the numbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothat each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty levelofthe Sudoku increasesfrom Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Steve Coogan,anEnglishactor, writer and producer, said, “The trick is always to write in pairsbecause if at leasttwo people find it funny, you’ve immediately halved the odds of its not being funny.”

The trick is always to play bridge whether in pairs, teams or Chicago keepingthe odds in mind.Intoday’s deal, what is the right waytoplay the heart suitfor no losers?

In the auction, tournament playerssitting West would have responded three diamonds, pre-emptive, showing alot of diamonds and aweak hand. (With gameinvitational values and diamond support, West would have responded two hearts, acue-bid raise.) Then, North would not havebeenstrongenoughtoadvancewith three hearts, and it would have been dangerous for South to balance with atakeout double when he had only two spades. As it went, South made agame-try with three clubs,whichNorth rejected. She had good clubs, but did not like the rest of her hand.

South has fourtop losers: two spades and two diamonds. In isolation, the best playfornoheartloseristoleaddummy’s jack, planning to runthe eight on thesecond round,whichwould have worked. However, West led thediamond 10. East won with his ace and returnedthe suit. West won, shifted to thespade king, and playedanotherspade. East won and led a

thirdspade. If West had the heart sevendoubleton, declarer hadtoruffwithhis nine.

Butwiththis layout, he had to ruff with his five. Since Westcould hold two seven-doubletons andonly onefour-twodoubleton,Southruffedwithhisnineand went down one.

©2025 by NEA,Inc dist.ByAndrews

McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzleisaword riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters.2.Words

wuzzles

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato mallard