The Advocate 09-15-2025 by The Advocate

Still searching for signals

Joseph A. Giaime, right, observatory head of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Livingston, explains the science behind the catenary arch to his daughter Domenica on Saturday. Ten years after detecting the first gravitational wave — caused by a pair of black holes colliding — and hundreds of gravitational wave detections later LIGO is celebrating the anniversary of the historic event after a busy summer

Amid concerns over potential cuts, Livingston’s LIGO scientists mark 10th anniversary of monumental discovery

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD

Staff writer

A signal lasting less than a sec-

ond traveled about 1.3 billion light years before it reached an observatory deep in the piney woods of Livingston 10 years ago.

The brief signal — caused by a pair of black holes colliding was the ﬁrst gravitational waves ever detected, and it created a new way for scientists to look into the universe.

The Sept. 14, 2015, detection conﬁrmed a key prediction of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity earned the Nobel Prize in physics and kick-started a new era of astronomy

“Most of us had ﬁgured that with nature being perverse, that the first signal would be really hard to pull out of the noise. And then the signal came beautifully, beautifully clear,” said Joseph Giaime, head of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Livingston.

The observatory is one of two in the United States funded by the

ä See SIGNAL, page 4A

ABOVE: Gabriela Gonzàlez, LSU Boyd Professor of Physics, shows the crowd an image of LIGO’s initial gravitational wave detection in September 2015 during LIGO’s 10-year celebration on Saturday. LEFT: Bryce Laxen, 9, sticks his head in a live model tornado at LIGO in Livingston.

Audit: La. pregnancy centers lack oversight

Millions budgeted for services

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

The Louisiana legislative auditor recently found that the state’s effort to steer women toward childbirth instead of abortion has weak oversight, according to a report released this month. The Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative, created by lawmakers in 2024 and run through the Department of Children and Family Services, was meant to expand services for women facing unplanned pregnancies Lawmakers earmarked $4 million in state funds to pay nonproﬁt centers for speciﬁc services.

But less than a year later, auditors found that DCFS contracts don’t match state law in what they deﬁne as services eligible for state funding, centers were paid without proof of

ä See AUDIT, page 4A

New agency targets end of 2026 for completion

new transportation agency is quickly ramping up, and its ﬁrst major task is ﬁxing 62 small bridges scattered across rural parts of the state by the end of next year

the opening gambit for state lawmakers and Gov Jeff Landry as they seek to accomplish what they argue the state’s lumbering Department of Transportation and Development has for years failed to do — efficiently maintain thousands of miles of Louisiana roads and bridges. Legislators this spring announced they planned to take “extraordinary

Rita transformed southwest Louisiana’s response to disasters

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

Two decades after Hurricane Rita struck southwest Louisiana, one of its enduring impacts is how the region prepares for and responds to disasters, having paved the way for stricter building standards and more detailed evacuation and shelter planning.

The Category 3 hurricane’s storm surge ﬂooded

coastal parishes and its high winds uprooted trees, splintered utility poles and peeled roofs from homes in Lake Charles, Sulphur and Westlake

Just a few weeks before Rita made landfall, Hur-

ricane Katrina’s hit on the southeastern side of the state offered a warning for public ofﬁcials in southwest Louisiana, who started to worry that they would eventually face a

major storm. The concern quickly became a reality.

“That shocked us into awareness,” said Randy Roach, who was mayor of Lake Charles at the time.

“We knew what we were going to have to do. We just didn’t know we’d have to do it that quickly.”

Rita was the ﬁrst major storm to hit the region in nearly 50 years, often overshadowed in the collective memory by Ka-

trina. It challenged existing systems for preparing for and responding to disasters. But those changes better prepared both public ofﬁcials and residents when another major storm, Hurricane Laura, approached southwest Louisiana 15 years later

“We knew what to do as a team,” said Bryan

See RITA, page 6A

Water inundates Holly Beach in Lake Charles after Hurricane Rita tore through southwest Louisiana in September 2005.

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

PROVIDED PHOTO By CITy OF LAKE CHARLES

Judge extends measures for Guatemalan children

WASHINGTON A federal judge is temporarily keeping in place measures preventing the Trump administration from deporting Guatemalan migrant children in government custody

Judge Timothy J. Kelly’s decision Saturday keeps the government from removing Guatemalan children who came to the U.S. alone and are currently living in government shelters and foster care through Tuesday Kelly’s order said he needed a brief extension to continue to study the issue because up until a hearing on Wednesday the facts of the case were still changing. His decision comes after the government during that hearing backtracked on previous claims that the children’s parents requested them back.

The court decision stems from a Labor Day weekend operation when the Trump administration attempted to remove dozens of Guatemalan migrant children who had come to the U.S. alone and were living in U.S government shelters and foster care.

The government has said in court filings that it identified 457 children for possible removal to Guatemala although that list was eventually whittled down to 327. In the end, 76 got as far as boarding planes in El Paso and Harlingen, Texas, early morning on Aug. 31 and were set to depart to Guatemala in what the government described as a first phase Immigration and children’s advocates, who had been alerted of possible efforts to remove Guatemalan minors, immediately sued the Trump administration to prevent the children’s removal.

A federal judge in Washington granted advocates a 14-day temporary restraining order largely preventing the Trump administration from removing migrant children in its care except in limited circumstances where an immigration judge had already ordered their removal after reviewing their cases Kelly’s Saturday order extends that protection three more days.

Tornadoes hit homes in southeastern Utah

MONTICELLO,Utah Tornadoes destroyed several homes in southeastern Utah over the weekend, but authorities said there were no reports of people injured.

A storm produced two tornadoes in San Juan County in southeastern Utah over the span of an hour starting around 12:35 p.m. Saturday, according to meteorologist Kris Sanders with the National Weather Service’s ofﬁce in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The paths of the tornadoes that touched down near Montezuma Creek likely covered less than 10 miles, but the weather service hadn’t yet determined their exact tracks or wind speeds Sanders said by telephone.

Three homes in the area were demolished in the storm, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a social media post

No injuries were reported, but an unknown number of livestock and pets were reported missing, the Navajo Police Department said in a social media post. Images posted by the department showed the towering column of a tornado surrounded by dark clouds and also a ﬂattened home surrounded by debris. Tornadoes are pretty unusual in that part of Utah, Sanders said, noting that the weather service had only conﬁrmed two there since 1950.

Teen allegedly threatened to shoot up Minn. school

MINNEAPOLIS A 14-year-old student was arrested last week after he threatened to “shoot up” his school in northern Minnesota.

On Thursday, authorities were alerted by the Nevis Public School that a student had threatened to bring a gun to the school, according to a statement from Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes. Deputies learned that a boy told other students that he was going to “shoot up the school, shoot a particular student, and then shoot himself.”

The boy was arrested for making terroristic threats and was taken to the Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center in Bemidji.

Ukrainian drones hit Russian refinery

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian drones have struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, sparking a ﬁre, Russian ofﬁcials and Ukraine’s military said Sunday

The overnight strike on the Kirishi reﬁnery, in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, follows weeks of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure that Kyiv says fuels Moscow’s war effort

The facility, operated by Russian company Surgutneftegas, produces close to 355,000 barrels per day of crude, and is one of Russia’s top three by output.

More than three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones continue to be a key weapon for both sides. Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send ﬁghter jets to shoot them down and underlining longheld concerns that the fighting might spill over beyond Ukraine’s borders.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, explosions and a ﬁre were

reported at the Kirishi reﬁnery It posted a photo appearing to show a blaze and clouds of smoke against a night sky

Regional Gov Alexander Drozdenko said that three drones were downed overnight in the Kirishi area, with falling debris sparking a ﬁre at the facility He said that no one was injured, and the blaze was put out.

As of Sunday afternoon, Russian ofﬁcials offered no further comment on the consequences of the strike, and it wasn’t immediately possible to verify these. At least 80 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russia, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent Sea of Azov according to the Russian Defense Ministry Ukrainian drones previously targeted the Kirishi refinery in March, causing minor damage, according to social media posts published at the time by Drozdenko.

Russia remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter, but a seasonal rise in demand and sustained Ukrainian drone strikes have caused gasoline shortages in re-

cent weeks. Gas stations have run dry in some regions of the country, with motorists waiting in long lines and ofﬁcials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether

To try to ease the shortage, Russia has paused gasoline exports, with officials on Wednesday declaring a full ban until Sept. 30 and a partial ban affecting traders and intermediaries until Oct. 31.

Also in the Leningrad region a diesel locomotive was derailed during the night, local Gov Drozdenko said Sunday He said the incident occurred near Gatchina south of St. Petersburg. Russia’s No. 2 city, which was known as Leningrad during Soviet times, is surrounded by but not included in the region of the same name.

Drozdenko said the locomotive’s driver was trapped in his cabin, and later died of his injuries while being transported to a hospital. He added an ofﬁcial investigation would check for signs of sabotage.

Elsewhere, as some Russians headed to the polls to elect local governors and deputies on Sunday, the head of the Russia’s main

Pro-Palestinian protesters force early end to bike race

Spanish authorities say more than 100,000 people took part

BY TALES AZZONI Associated Press

MADRID Spanish authorities say more

than 100,000 people took part in the latest pro-Palestinian protests that interrupted the ﬁnal stage of the Spanish Vuelta and forced organizers to cut short the Grand Tour event on Sunday, capping a campaign of disruptions

The central government’s representative for the Madrid region said authorities estimated more than 100,000 people joined Sunday’s protests. The number could not be independently veriﬁed.

Visma-Lease a Bike rider Jonas Vingegaard was conﬁrmed as the overall winner of the three-week cycling race.

There were clashes between police and protesters near the route ﬁnale in Madrid. Some protesters carrying antiIsrael banners partly blocked the road and forced riders to stop.

There was no stage winner and the podium ceremony was called off because of security concerns. Organizers said the ﬁnal stage “ended early to ensure the safety of the riders.”

“Due to the protests in Madrid, the race ended earlier than planned and there will

be no podium ceremony,” race ofﬁcials said.

There were about 31 miles left on the 21st stage that was a mostly ceremonial ride into Madrid.

The protesters threw barriers onto the road on a ﬁnishing circuit in the Spanish capital. Riders had been expected to do nine laps on the circuit.

Several hundred protesters stayed on the road where the race was supposed to pass by Anti-Israel banners were also hung from nearby buildings. The protests continued well into the evening in Madrid, most of them peaceful.

Earlier protesters threw objects at police and ofﬁcers used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. Spanish media reported that authorities said 20 people were injured and at least two people were detained.

Protesters carrying Palestine flags jeered when the teams’ support cars passed by them along the route.

Police in riot gear had confronted protesters at different points along the route. More than 1,500 police ofﬁcers had been deployed ahead of the last stage.

There had been no major incidents as the riders set off on the 64.3-mile ﬁnal stage starting in nearby Alalpardo.

The Grand Tour event was largely disrupted by protesters against the presence of Israeli-owned team Premier Tech, which earlier in the race removed the team name from its uniforms.

Trump still trying to fire Cook

BY ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s administration renewed its request Sunday for a federal appeals court to let him ﬁre Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, a move the president is seeking ahead of the central bank’s vote on interest rates.

The Trump administration filed a response Sunday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing that Cook’s legal arguments for why she should stay on the job were meritless. Lawyers for Cook argued in a Saturday filing that the Trump administration has not shown sufficient cause to fire her, and stressed the risks to the economy and country if the president were allowed to fire a Fed governor without proper cause. Cook’s firing marks the first time in the central bank’s 112-year history that

a president has tried to ﬁre a governor

“The public and the executive share an interest in ensuring the integrity of the Federal Reserve,” Trump’s lawyers argued in Sunday’s ﬁling. “And that requires respecting the president’s statutory authority to remove governors ‘for cause’ when such cause arises.”

Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused Cook of signing separate documents in which she allegedly said that both the Atlanta property and a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also purchased in June 2021, were both “primary residences.” Pulte submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department which has opened an investigation.

Cook referred to the condominium as a “vacation home” in a loan estimate, a characterization that could undermine claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud.

electoral body told reporters that it and Russia’s electronic voting system were facing a large wave of cyberattacks.

Ella Pamfilova, of the Central Election Commission, said that “an unprecedented attack is underway” on its digital systems, but assured the public that it wouldn’t affect the outcome of the votes.

The commission’s website appeared to be down for much of Sunday, when 21 out of Russia’s more than 80 regions were set to elect new governors. Seats in nearly a dozen regional assemblies and various municipal bodies were also up for grabs.

But few expected a meaningful challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and its supporters, following a sweeping crackdown on dissent that came with Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Almost 100 denial-of-service attacks were recorded on Sunday on online resources linked to the elections, according to Alexander Izhko of Russia’s media and digital watchdog, Roskomnadzor

Qatar denounces Israel before major summit

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Qatar’s prime minister denounced Israel on Sunday as foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim nations met to discuss a possible uniﬁed response to Israel’s attack on Doha targeting the leadership of the militant group Hamas. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister made the comments before a meeting Monday of leaders from those nations.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar remained committed to working with Egypt and the United States to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip. However, he said that the Israeli strike that killed six people ﬁve members of Hamas and a local Qatari security force member — represented “an attack on the principle of mediation itself.”

“This attack can only be described as state terrorism, an approach pursued

by the current extremist Israeli government, which flouts international law,” the minister said. “The reckless and treacherous Israeli aggression was committed while the state of Qatar was hosting official and public negotiations, with the knowledge of the Israeli side itself, and with the aim of achieving a ceaseﬁre in Gaza.”

Sheikh Mohammed stressed the moment had come for consequences to Israel’s attacks in the wider Middle East. “It is time for the international community to stop applying double standards and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,” Sheikh Mohammed said in footage later released by Qatar’s government from the closed-door meeting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night again defended the strike.

“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” he posted on X.

“They blocked all ceaseﬁre attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANU FERNANDEZ

Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the 21st stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, on Sunday.

Governor:Motiveinshootingnot yetcertain

Suspectleanedtothe left politically, he says

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON— Familyand friends of the 22-year-old accused of fatally shooting conservativeactivist

Charlie Kirk described his politics as veering left in recentyearsas he spent large amountsoftime scrolling the “dark cornersofthe internet,” Utah Gov.Spencer Cox said Sunday Investigators were still piecing together information about the suspect, Tyler Robinson, and not yet ready to discuss apotentialmotive. But Cox notedthat Robinson, who is not cooperating with lawenforcement, disliked Kirk and may have been “radicalized” online.

“There clearly was aleftist ideology,”Cox said on NBC’s“Meet the Press,” citing interviews with Robinson’srelatives and acquaintances. “Friends have conﬁrmed that there waskindofthat deep,

dark internet, theReddit culture, andthese other dark places of the internet where this person was goingdeep.”

He pointed to references found engraved on theammunition used to kill Kirk, which included anti-fascist andmeme-culture language. Court records show that onebullet casing had themessage, “Hey,fascist! Catch!”

ARepublicanwho hascalled on allpartisans to tone down their rhetoricfollowing theattack, the governor added: “I really don’t have adog in this ﬁght. If this was aradicalized MAGA person, I’dbe saying that as well.”

Cox stressedonseveral Sunday morning news shows thatinvestigators are still trying to pin down amotive for the attack on Kirk, a father of two and Trumpconﬁdant who was killed Wednesday while on oneofhis signature college speaking tours at UtahValley University.The governor saidmore information may comeout once Robinson appears in court Tuesday.

Coxsaidthe suspect’spartner

partner,amale transitioning to female,” Cox said. “I can say that he has been incrediblycooperative, this partner has been very cooperative, had no idea that this was happening.”

Investigators have spoken to Robinson’srelativesand carried outasearchwarrant at his family’shome in Washington, 240 miles southwest of Utah Valley University,where the shooting took place.

State records showRobinson is registered to vote but not afﬁliated withapolitical party and is listed as inactive, meaning he did not vote in the twomost recent generalelections. His parentsare registered Republicans.

academic scholarship, according to avideo of himreading hisacceptance letter that wasposted to afamily member’s social media account.

was transgender,which somepoliticianshavepointed to as asign Robinson was targeting Kirk, the founder of Turning PointUSA,for his anti-trans views.But authoritieshavenot said whether it is relevantasthey investigate Robinson’smotive.

“The roommate was aromantic

Online activity by Robinson’s mother reﬂects an active family that traveledwidely.Inone photo, ayoung Robinson can be seen smiling as he grips thehandlesof a.50-caliber heavy machine gun outside amilitary facility

Ahigh school honorrollstudent who scored in the 99th percentile nationally on standardizedtests, he was admitted to Utah State University in 2021 on aprestigious

But he attended foronly one semester,according to the university.Heiscurrently enrolled as a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George. Meanwhile, Kirk wasmemorialized with candlelit vigils and other events Sunday At DreamCityChurchinPhoenix, where Kirk hosted one of his “Freedom Night in America” gatherings, attendees viewed clips of the conservativeactivist discussing his desire to be “remembered forcourage formyfaith.” During aquestion-and-answer session, achurch pastor,Angel Barnett, called on the crowd to honorKirk by carrying on his message.

“The left is nervous,” Barnett said. “Andthey’re concerned because they’ve lost control. Charlie startedthat, andwewill continue it.”

Expertssay blamegamecan lead to furtheractsofviolence

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

DENVER From the moment conservativeactivist and icon Charlie Kirkwas felled by an assassin’sbullet, partisans beganfightingover which side was to blame.

PresidentDonaldTrump became the most prominent to do so, tying theattackto “the radical left” before a suspect was even identiﬁed It was part of anew,grim tradition in apolarizedcountry —trying to pin immediate responsibility for an act of public violence on one of twopolitical sides. As the nation reels from awave of physical attacks against both Republicans and Democrats, experts warn that the rush to blame sometimes ambiguous and irrational acts on political movements could lead to more conﬂict

“What you’re seeing now is exactly how the spiralof violence occurs,” said Robert Pape, apolitical scientist and director of the ChicagoProject on Security and Threats at the University of Chicago On Friday,authoritiesannounced they had arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson

of Washington, Utah, in the shooting. He was not afﬁliated with any party and had notvoted inthe last two general elections. Even so, ofﬁcials said Robinson had recently grown more political and expressednegative views aboutKirk.

There was other initial evidence of Robinson’spotential inﬂuences. According to court papers, he carved taunting phrases into his ammunition —including one bullet casingmarkedwith “Hey,fascist! Catch!”— and others from theirony-laden worldofmemes andonline video games.

‘NihilisticViolent Extremism’ Expertssay political assassins don’talwaysfall into neatly sorted partisan categories. In somecases like that of Thomas Mathew Crooks, whoshot Trump at acampaignrally lastyear, there is little record of any political stances whatsoever TheFBI has said Crooks also had researched then-President JoeBiden as apossible attack target.

Bruce Hoffman, who studies terrorism at Georgetown University,noted that

the FBI hascreated anew category,Nihilistic Violent Extremism, to track the increasing number of attacks thatseemtohavenoclear political motivation

“Extremism is becoming asalad bowl of ideologies where you can pick whatever you want,” Hoffman said, adding that theincreasing number of lone wolf attacks means violenceisincreasinglyunmoored from organizations withclear political goals.

What’smore important thanthe attackers’ state of mind, expertsstressed, is thebroader political environment. The more heated the atmosphere,the more likely it’ll lead unstable people to commit violence.

“What they all shareisapolitical ecosystem that’svery permissiveabout violence towards political rivals,” Arie Perlinger, aprofessor of security studies at the University of MassachusettsLowell, said of recent perpetrators of political violence.

“Becausepoliticiansare incentivized to useextreme rhetoric and extreme language, thatleads to demonizationofpolitical rivals.”

Kilmeade apologizes forsayingmentally ill homelesspeopleshouldbeexecuted

BY DAVID BAUDER

AP media writer

Fox News Channel host

Brian Kilmeade apologized on Sunday for advocating for the execution of mentally ill homeless peoplein adiscussion on the network last week, saying his remark was “extremely callous.” Kilmeade’sinitial comment came on a“Fox &Friends” episode Wednesday and began getting widespread circulation online over the weekend. Kilmeade, ahostof the morning show,was talking with co-hosts Lawrence Jones and Ainsley Earhardt

aboutthe Aug. 22 stabbing murder of Iryna Zarutska on alight rail traininCharlotte, North Carolina. Ahomeless and mentally ill man, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrestedfor murder andthe case received extensive attention on Fox followingthe release of asecurity video of the stabbing. Jones wastalking on“Fox &Friends” onWednesday about public money spent on trying to help homeless peopleand suggested that those whodidn’taccept services offered to themshould be jailed.“Or involuntary lethal injection,orsome-

thing,” Kilmeade said. “Just kill ’em.” Earhardt interjected, “Why didithavetoget to this point?” Kilmeadereplied, “I will saythis, we’re not voting for the rightpeople.”

During an appearance on the “Fox &Friends” weekendshowSunday, Kilmeade said that “I wronglysaidthey should get lethal injection.I apologize for thatextremely callous remark.Iamobviously awarethat notall mentally ill, homeless people act as the perpetrator didinNorth Carolina and thatsomany homeless people deserve our empathyand compassion.”

Callsfor calm and‘war’

That certainly happened after the Kirk killing. The 31-year-old father of two young children was an icon on the new,populist right, especially among young conservatives, and akey ally of Trump. While some conservatives calledfor calm,others, such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones andpodcaster andformer Trumpadviser Steve Bannon, called for “war.”

In aspeech on the House floor on Thursday,Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said Kirk’s“deathwas not an isolated tragedy.Itispart of a disturbing trend in political violence in our country,encouraged by the radical left and ampliﬁed by acorrupt media that hasgone from being fake to totally evil.”

Many prominent Democratsissued statements

urging calmonbothsides. Among themwereCalifornia Gov.Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose husband was gravely injuredbya hammer-wielding attacker

HouseSpeakerMike Johnson, R-Benton, also called for lowering the temperature across the board.

Trump: ‘Radicalsonthe left’

Still, the mostprominent practitioner of polarizedattacksremains Trump. Friday morning, shortly after announcing thearrest on Fox News,hesaid “the radicals on the right oftentimes areradical becausethey don’twant to see crime. The radicalsonthe left are the problem.”

TheAnti-Defamation League found that from 2022 through2024, allof the61political killings in the U.S. were committed by

right-wing extremists. That changed on the ﬁrst day of 2025, whena Texasman ﬂying the flag of the Islamic State group killed 14 people by driving his truck through acrowded NewOrleans street before being fatally shot by police. Hoffmansaid that in modern history,the right has been responsible for more political attacks on people than the left. He said that’s because left-wing radicals aremorelikely to target property rather than people, andbecause theextreme rightboasts organizations such as militias. He addedthatafter Trump pardoned morethan 1,500 people convicted of crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021,attack on the U.S. Capitol, “there’s abeliefincertain quarters that, if you engage in violence, the slate can be wiped clean.”

AP PHOTO By WADE PAyNE

Atribute to Charlie Kirk is shown on the Jumbotron before a NASCARCup Series auto race SaturdayinBristol, Tenn.

National Science Foundation with its counterpart, LIGO Hanford, in Washington state.

Ten years and hundreds of gravitational wave detections later LIGO is celebrating the anniversary of the historic event after a busy summer

Since May, scientists have been bracing for potential budget cuts after the Trump administration proposed slashing more than half of the foundation’s upcoming ﬁscal year budget. If the cuts are approved, a LIGO observatory could shut down.

The observatory also announced the discovery of the most massive black hole merger ever detected.

More recently, LIGO had its sharpest detection yet that proved one of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking’s theories to be correct.

A black hole hunting machine

Since the historic discovery in 2015, LIGO detectors have logged more than 300 gravitational wave events from black hole collisions.

This number has far surpassed scientists’ expectations from 10 years ago.

LIGO is able to detect so many events because the observatories are consistently improving and upgrading their gravitational wave detectors. Typically, the detectors run for a few years, then shut down for a few years for improvements. LIGO Livingston has plans to shut down for upgrades in November

However there is a number it is hoping to increase. So far, LIGO has only detected at least two binary neutron star mergers.

Gabriela González, LSU professor and also the spokesperson for the international LIGO Scientiﬁc

Collaboration during the 2015 breakthrough, said these mergers are rarer than originally expected.

This cosmic event occurs when

AUDIT

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what services they provided, and performance data stopped coming in once centers hit their yearly caps for payment.

“Appropriate oversight is important because Louisiana pregnancy centers are not established by law as regulated health care facilities subject to licensing statutes and compliance with federal and state regulations for the health care services many provide,” the report from Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack stated.

As of June, 12 of the state’s 38 centers held contracts with the department to participate in the program. Each was eligible to receive up to $100,800 annually, paid on a fee-for-service basis at a rate of up to $300 per client per month.

Nearly all reached their funding caps by midsummer, with the department paying out about $1.17 million. The Legislature had allocated $4 million for the ﬁrst year, leaving $2.8 million unused.

Lawmakers have since cut the pregnancy center general fund budget by more than half, to $1.74 million in the coming ﬁscal year DCFS plans to backﬁll with $2.26

two neutron stars, which are remnants of collapsed massive stars, collide and produce a powerful explosion. They are detected by

million in federal welfare dollars through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. At the same time, the agency intends to more than double the cap on payments per center, to almost $250,000.

Health services

State law limits funding to four categories of services: counseling, referrals, classes and items such as diapers and car seats. Most centers offer other services, some of which are considered health care services. All 12 offered ultrasounds; nearly half prescribed medication or provided screenings for sexually transmitted infections.

Pregnancy centers in Louisiana are not licensed as medical providers and, unlike some states such as Connecticut, Illinois and Colorado, do not have to disclose that status to clients.

Their growth has coincided with the closure of Planned Parenthood’s New Orleans clinic this month, which did not provide abortions but was a licensed center that provided medical services.

Without regulation, there are no state requirements that ultrasounds or other services be conducted and interpreted by a professional.

The centers are not subject to patient privacy laws like HIPAA or data conﬁdentiality agreements.

“Because pregnancy centers are not regulated, clients do not have the ability to ﬁle a complaint

gravitational waves as well.

“That’s why we keep working on increasing the sensitivity of the detectors, because we want

against a provider or pregnancy center if an adverse event takes place,” the report stated.

Erica Inzina, policy director for Louisiana Right to Life, said it was misleading to suggest centers operate outside proper safeguards because the employees who work there are subject to the licensing requirements of their profession.

Louisiana Right to Life has consistently supported legislation that funds and promotes pregnancy resource centers.

While some centers reported having a physician on staff (nine of 12 said they had a licensed physician connected to the center), there is no state requirement that ultrasounds be performed or interpreted by qualiﬁed medical professionals.

Abortion rights activists have long criticized pregnancy centers.

In a 2022 report, the abortion rights group Lift Louisiana said the centers provide little to no medical care, operate without oversight and spread medically inaccurate information, such as suggesting abortion is more dangerous than giving birth, or causes breast cancer or infertility, claims which are not backed by data.

“It is irresponsible and insulting that our legislators are choosing to spend millions of state funds paying unregulated pregnancy centers instead of investing in legitimate public health interventions,” said Alex Moody, staff attorney for Lift Louisiana.

Moody pointed out that last year

to see if we can see more of those neutron stars,” she said. González also said by building better and longer detectors, scientists could see systems farther away, and ultimately, more star mergers.

Funding up in the air

The fate of LIGO funding for the next ﬁscal year might be decided in the next few weeks, as the upcoming federal ﬁscal year for the U.S. government begins Oct. 1.

In May, the Trump administration announced a proposed federal budget request for 2026 that would cut $5.2 billion, or 57%, of the foundation’s $9 billion annual budget.

Under the proposed federal budget, only one LIGO observatory would operate with a reduced level of spending for LIGO technology development in the 2026 ﬁscal year, according to the budget proposal.

a pregnancy center in New Iberia released the full names, last menstrual period and due date of 13 clients without their permission.

“Because they are not a licensed and regulated health care provider, they have faced no consequences,” Moody said.

The audit suggested that Louisiana lawmakers consider prohibiting a center from advertising itself as a health care facility or requiring licensure for centers that provide health care. Alabama, Massachusetts and California have pregnancy centers licensed through the state health department. Hawaii requires the centers to comply with HIPAA.

Data collection

DCFS contracts showed that they allowed billing for categories not included in state law, such as nursing services. The contracts also did not deﬁne other services, instead grouping them in categories such as “programmatic data.”

The agency also did not make the pregnancy centers show what speciﬁc services were provided or show proof of that service. Centers were simply paid $300 for each client they reported, no matter what was provided.

The department’s contracts require centers to submit monthly reports showing how many clients received counseling, referrals or classes. Yet once centers reached their annual caps, the agency stopped collecting data.

A U.S. House subcommittee in July proposed a budget that would cut only 23%, about $2 billion, from the foundation. A U.S. Senate subcommittee proposed a budget that would cut only $16 million from the science organization.

González, along with 2,000 other top scientists in the country, recently signed an open letter to Congress warning it about the damage budget cuts could do to the nation.

González said she felt prompted to do so because she believes LIGO and other projects sometimes aren’t talked about enough.

“I think that when people read about science, they always think it’s happening somewhere else. This is happening in Louisiana. We have a detector that is discovering black holes in Louisiana,” she said.

Giaime does not know when a budget will be passed and said the scientists are nervously waiting to see what happens.

“LIGO will be an extremely different place, and many aspects of our program will be on life support,” he said about possible large budget cuts.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.

DCFS told auditors it will begin enforcing those rules. Supporters of the centers said it was a matter of wording.

“On the surface it may look like they are not in alignment, but in reality the services that can be billed for are indeed subcategories of one or all the eligible services,” Inzina said in an email.

Future general contractor

Under the law, DCFS must eventually hand administration of the program to a single nonproﬁt “general contractor,” which would subcontract with pregnancy centers statewide. That change isn’t expected until 2027.

Auditors warned that outsourcing could eat into funds for services, since the contractor will be entitled to an administrative fee. They pointed out that the law doesn’t cap what they can charge. Florida’s contractor charges 8.3%, while Oklahoma’s receives a 20% administrative fee.

Louisiana Right to Life said the report highlighted a need for the general contractor, “despite the auditor’s suggestion to the contrary,” because a contractor would address most of their concerns.

In a written response, the department agreed with all audit recommendations. The agency said new oversight policies will take effect next year

Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate.com.

Abigail Laxen, 11, looks at her reflection in a wall of soap film for bubble blowing

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

During a

Pope honors 21st-century martyrs

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV on

Sunday honored hundreds of Christians who have been killed for their faith in the 21st century, praising their courage and lamenting that their numbers were growing in many parts of the world

The Vatican has been documenting these Christian martyrs, not as part of its saint-making process but to merely collect and remember their stories. Their numbers include cases of Christians being killed by Islamic militants, mafia groups or Amazonian ranchers upset at their defense of the rainforest and poor Leo presided over a Holy Year evening prayer service to honor them, inviting Orthodox patriarchs and Christian ministers from over 30 Christian denominations. It was part of the Vatican’s ongoing effort to underline what it calls the indiscriminate “ecumenism of blood” that unites Christians who are persecuted and killed for their faith, regardless of their particular denomination.

“Many brothers and sisters, even today, carry the same cross as our Lord on account of their witness to the faith in difficult situations and hostile contexts,” Leo said. “Like him, they are persecuted, condemned and killed.”

The service, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, came 25 years after St. John Paul II presided over a 2000 Jubilee commemoration of new martyrs held at the Colosseum. Leo cited a few examples

churches and Christian communions Sunday in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

of martyrdom since then, including Sister Dorothy Stang, an American nun who spent three decades trying to preserve the Amazon rainforest and defend the rights of poor settlers who confronted powerful ranchers seeking their lands. She was gunned down in 2005 in a hit ordered by ranchers.

“When those who were about to kill her asked her for a weapon, she showed them her Bible and replied, ‘This is my only weapon,’” Leo said.

Leo lamented that despite the end of the “great dictatorships of the 1900s,” when Christians were persecuted in parts of Europe, Christians were still being killed and in some places, in even greater numbers than before A Vatican study commission created in 2023 has

documented more than 1,500 cases of martyrs since 2000, including the 21 Coptic Orthodox workers beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in 2015. The commission has also documented stories of Christians killed by criminal organizations or imply because their presence and defense of Christian principles was bothersome, said Andrea Riccardi, vice president of the commission.

At a briefing last week, Riccardi said the complete list of names wouldn’t be released now because of ongoing security concerns in parts of the world. But he provided the breakdown of the martyrs the commission had added onto its list:

n 643 in sub-Saharan Africa, most killed in Islamic militant attacks.

n 357 in Asia and Oceania, including the victims of the Eastern Sunday 2019 suicide bomb attacks on three churches in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

n 304 in the Americas, including missionaries and activists targeted for defending the Amazon.

n 277 in the Middle East and North Africa, many of whom were Christians of other, non-Catholic denominations.

n 43 in Europe, but Riccardi noted that among those killed elsewhere there were 110 Europeans, mostly missionary priests and nuns. Riccardi stressed that its work was completely separate from the process of beatiﬁcation and canonization, which also considers martyrs for possible sainthood.

Leo XIV marvels at his ‘huge learning curve’ as he turns 70

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV marveled at the “huge learning curve” he has taken on as pontiff and likened some aspects of the job to jumping “in on the deep end of the pool very quickly,” in excerpts of an interview released Sunday on his 70th birthday

The pope also lamented widening income gaps between the working class and CEOs, recalling the recent news that Elon Musk could be in line to become the world’s first trillionaire. “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” Leo said in the comments, the pope’s ﬁrst interview as history’s ﬁrst American pope.

The comments came just a day after Musk’s brother’s company, Nova Sky Stories, staged a light show over the Vatican featuring 3,000 drones depicting images from the Sistine Chapel and even Pope Francis’ face.

The interview was conducted this summer by Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen for her forthcoming biography of Leo.

Excerpts were published Sunday on Allen’s Catholic news site Crux, and in the El Comercio daily of Peru.

In the excerpts, Leo spoke about feeling both American and Peruvian, given his dual citizenship and 20 years of missionary experience in Peru. He

said that experience gave him great appreciation of the Latin American church and Pope Francis’ ministry as history’s ﬁrst South American pope.

Asked whether he would root for the U.S. or Peru in a future World Cup, Leo drew parallels to his childhood in Chicago and the value of not shutting down opponents.

“Even at home, I grew up a White Sox fan, but my mother was a Cubs fan, so you couldn’t be one of those fans that shut out the other side,” he said. “We learned, even in sports, to have an open, dialogical, friendly and not angry competitive stance on things like that, because we might not have gotten dinner had we been!” Francis promoted Leo to a top job at the Vatican in 2023, making clear he viewed him as a potential successor Nevertheless Leo said he wasn’t fully prepared for the job.

“There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said, adding that he had found his footing as pastor, but that the challenge was the job as world leader

“On that one I had to jump in on the deep end of the pool very quickly,” he said.

The interview was released Sunday as Leo marked his 70th birthday, which was celebrated at the Vatican during his traditional noon blessing.

Suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up celebrates his 70th birthday

BY SOPHIA TAREEN

Associated Press

CHICAGO The Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up marked his 70th birthday Sunday with gospel music and a balloon release outside his boyhood home.

The village purchased the house in July in hopes of boosting tourism and claiming a piece of papal history of the ﬁrst American pope.

WhenhewaselectedinMay at age 69, he was the youngest pope since 1978, when Karol

A small crowd attended the festivities outside the modest brick house in Dolton, where the former Robert Prevost grew up after he was born in 1955 in Chicago, about 20 miles away. “It’s a good time for the community to come together,” said Village President Jason House. “It shows that great people come out of the village of Dolton.”

Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II at age 58. Leo’s birthday was celebrated at the Vatican during his traditional noon blessing, where he saw “Happy birthday” banners, in English, Italian and Spanish and balloons held up by those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. In Illinois photographs of him as a child and as pope were displayed outside the three-bedroom house in the suburb south of Chicago.

Once a town of a few thousand where most residents were White Dolton is now a community of roughly 20,000 where most residents are Black.

Attendees prayed for the pope’s health and leadership. There was an a cappella rendition of the gospel hit “Break Every Chain,” along with the Stevie Wonder ver-

sion of “Happy Birthday.” Silver balloons in the shape of stars were released into the sky “We hope people feel welcome,” House said.

BY FRANCOIS DE BEAUPUY

(TNS)

Bloomberg News

France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu dropped an unpopular proposal by his predecessor to cut two public holidays, while warning that the government will need to find other ways to trim its budget deficit. Lecornu, appointed by President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to replace Francois Bayrou who was ousted earlier this week after losing a confidence vote in parliament, faces the daunting task of convincing a fragmented lower house to restore public finances.

Fitch Ratings downgraded

the credit rating of France’s sovereign debt to A+ from AA- on Friday evening, a sign that the upheaval of repeated government collapse has locked the country into an enduring battle to contain a swelling debt burden “I hear what our citizens say: they want work to pay,” Lecornu said in an interview with La Depeche newspaper published Saturday “Dropping the suppression of holidays will require to ﬁnd other sources of funding.” Bayrou had proposed $52 billion of spending cuts and tax hikes that would narrow France’s 2026 deﬁcit to 4.6% of economic output from an expected 5.4% this year As

part of the plan he floated a proposal to cut two public holidays as a way to boost the nation’s competitiveness.

The country must keep reducing its public deficit, Lecornu told the newspaper Both those who claim that the International Monetary Fund is “at the doors” of France’s Finance Ministry, and those who claim that the situation can be left as such are lying, he said.

Lawmakers have shown little willingness for compromise. Many are calling for a repeat of the snap legislative elections in 2024 that split parliament into three opposing blocs incapable of agreeing on ﬁnancial bills.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GREGORIO BORGIA

Pope Leo XIV presides over a commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century with representatives of other

measures” to prove transportation infrastructure projects can be done quickly, effectively and safely With Landry’s backing, they created the new Ofﬁce of Louisiana Highway Construction, an entity independent of the DOTD designed to more swiftly fix minor thoroughfares that don’t involve federal money.

The bridges including several in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas — are relatively small: Most are between 25 and 150 feet in length, less than 30 feet wide, and cross ditches, canals, creeks and bayous.

Project costs for most of the structures, the majority of which will be torn out and replaced, are estimated by the highway ofﬁce to be between $1 million and $3 million apiece.

But getting that work done can be game-changing for commuters, farmers, businesses and heavy industry state leaders say

“In some parts of this state, we’ve had bridges that have been out for years,” said state Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, a Republican from Cameron Parish who chairs the House transportation committee and led the overhaul effort.

That can mean commute times measured in hours rather than minutes, he said.

“The alternate route for some of these bridges in all parts of the state could be an hour. And in my part of the state, it’s three hours,”

RITA

Continued from page 1A

Beam who was the assistant parish administrator during Rita, then administrator during Laura. “We didn’t have that in 2005. There’s no substitute for experience.”

Early Katrina lessons

Katrina’s devastation a few weeks ahead of Rita also prompted some early lessons. While former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was widely criticized for how long he took to issue a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Katrina southwest Louisiana ofﬁcials were quicker to issue them ahead of Rita. And residents took them seriously: most ﬂed.

Those who evacuated for the storm said they were anxious to return — and assess the damage — after Rita. But ofﬁcials urged them to stay away while they worked to clear roadways and bring critical infrastructure back online

Local leaders implemented a “look and leave” policy to allow residents to assess damage to property But residents couldn’t stay for long — it would take weeks to restore electricity, water, sewage and even health care services to the community

“The hurricane was a ‘wow’ moment,” said Westlake Mayor Hal McMillin, who was Calcasieu Parish president when Rita hit. “The devastation after was huge.”

The 2005 storm prompted local leaders, first responders and nonprofits to better coordinate preparation, recovery and communication efforts during major weather events. They created a new group to make unified decisions as they planned for and responded to disasters. In the wake of Rita, elected officials also created evacuation plans for those who otherwise might not be able to leave They included transportation plans for those without personal vehicles and shel-

Bourriaque said. Archie Chaisson III, the former Lafourche Parish president and a former city of Thibodaux public works director appointed by Landry to lead the new ofﬁce, said a typical DOTD project for just one bridge could take two years.

“We’re trying compress 62 of ’em into 15 months. So it’s a very aggressive schedule,” Chaisson said.

“It’s a quick solution to a longstanding problem,” said state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, who owns a logging company in northern Louisiana McFarland, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said that if the strategy works, it could serve as a model.

“If successful, I can see signiﬁcantly more opportunities for investment,” he said.

The plan

Bridges deteriorate over time, losing structural strength. Sometimes officials must limit the weight that can be carried across a bridge or simply close it to all trafﬁc Both can lead to long and costly detours, especially for commercial and industrial carriers.

“In north Louisiana, much like in the swamps of south Louisiana, you have a lot of bridges,” McFarland said. “A lot of these are the only way people, especially in rural communities, have to get back and forth for everything from work to school to health care.”

The Legislature this year decided to withdraw $100 million stored in a state savings account and put it toward the bridge program.

The DOTD compiled a list of 62 bridges using factors such as condition and feasibility of a quick turnaround. Forty-seven of the selected crossings are designated as being in poor condition.

“In most cases it’s a complete removal of the old bridge and a complete construction of a new bridge,” Chaisson said.

Construction on most projects will take 60 to 90 days, he said.

“A lot of these are not complicated bridges,” Chaisson said. “Most of them are no more than 100 foot long by 30-foot wide, what I would call more of a local, rural bridge It’s not like we’re trying to build a new Mississippi River bridge.”

Chaisson said he hopes to have an initial set of several bridges demolished before the end of October with construction launching in December or January — and all 62 bridges complete and “100% done” by the end of 2026.

The bridges are grouped geographically into eight project bundles, with eight engineering ﬁrms each handling a bundle and, eventually “a whole host of contractors” selected for the construction work.

The engineering ﬁrms selected are Crescent Engineering & Mapping; Forte & Tablada; GIS Engineering; Huval & Associates; Lazenby & Associates; Linfield, Hunter & Junius; T. Baker Smith and Volkert.

Within the next 30 days, once the design ﬁrms have some initial project data, the state plans to start engaging contractors, Chaisson said.

The idea is to get contractors in

ter plans for family pets. And they also implemented digital mapping technology for debris clearing.

After lengthy power outages during Rita, Calcasieu Parish also bought backup generators for water plants, lift stations and more.

The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce purchased its own gas pumps, water tanks and other supplies to last for a few weeks.

The parish also adopted contracts after Rita that put companies on standby to start work immediately after future storms. Those advanced contracts called for local entities to receive reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency

“It gets extremely detailed,” Beam said “I’m very proud of us doing everything to get reimbursed because not everybody did.”

Still, the response to Rita came under ﬁre by some at the time, who criticized FEMA’s lack of focus on southwest Louisiana while they spent time in New Orleans after Katrina and Houston before Rita.

State lawmakers and congressional leaders also said at the time that the state and federal response to both storms was too slow

‘Response . quite different’

Reeling from Rita, Calcasieu Parish received $30 million from FEMA for hazard mitigation. They’d spent nearly all of it by the

on the front end and let them work with the engineers, he said.

“You can drive down some cost, reduce the risk of change orders and cost overruns, and you can speed that construction timeline up,” he added.

He acknowledged the accelerated approach is novel in some respects: “We’re kind of charting our own path,” he said.

Why move so quickly?

The bridge initiative was originally set up under the DOTD, but Landry recently decided to transfer it to the new highway construction ofﬁce.

“By shifting the bridge bundling program to the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction, we’re finally cutting through red tape and getting our roads and bridges fixed faster than ever before,” Landry said. “We are finally delivering real results for the people of Louisiana.”

When the Legislature established the ofﬁce earlier this year, it granted the new agency emergency procurement powers for six months, through Jan. 1.

That means there’s a short window during which the highway ofﬁce is exempt from the standard bidding process and from adhering to the timelines and procedures for state contracts typically required under the public bid law

Chaisson said the emergency procurement authority and the fact that his ofﬁce is housed outside the DOTD allows him to move quickly Lawmakers could extend the emergency authorization, he noted.

“We have the ability to pick a con-

time Category 4 Hurricane Laura struck in 2020.

“I thought for so long we were about to move on from this,” said Jennifer Cobian, the parish’s grants director “And then we got it on an even bigger scale,” she added, referencing Laura’s blow to the region.

“But we were better prepared, as the local government, to manage the disaster recovery programs because we had so much experience.”

Calcasieu Parish received five times as much money for hazard mitigation, $150 million, after Laura compared with Rita. It has funneled 75% toward drainage improvement projects, which its past strategic plans had already outlined as a priority. The parish is using the remaining 25% to purchase properties in high-risk areas and to elevate structures above the base ﬂood elevation.

Those buyouts and elevations have been slowly underway since 2005. The parish completed 44 buyouts and elevated 59 homes with FEMA grant funds from 2005 to 2021. Since then, the parish has completed 46 more buyouts and 95 additional elevations.

Nonproﬁt leaders also say Hurricane Rita changed their approach to major weather events.

The United Way of Southwest Louisiana had no formal disaster response plan during Rita. By the time Laura struck, the organization

had a disaster plan, clear roles for staff and a better system for managing donations and volunteers.

“Our response was quite different,” said Denise Durel, the nonproﬁt’s president and CEO, about Laura. “All of our team evacuated, and within hours of the storm, there were two of us en route back to Lake Charles.”

Volunteers were called back into action soon again after Laura when another storm, Category 2 Hurricane Delta, struck southwest Louisiana just six weeks later. The lower-grade storm turned roadside debris from Laura into projectiles while rainwater poured into blue tarped roofs.

It wasn’t the end of the region’s weather-related troubles. A freeze in February 2021 strained the storm-ravaged water system, and a ﬂood in May 2021 washed away much of the community’s progress.

Building higher, ‘better’

Louisiana adopted a uniform residential building code after Katrina and Rita, which has been updated over the last two decades to better protect new homes against high winds and heavy rains.

In Lake Charles, many of the homes and businesses that took on severe damage from Laura were older and had been built to less strict standards, according to City Administrator John Cardone.

tractor, pick an engineer, and speed that process up,” he said. “We don’t have to necessarily play by the same rule book as DOTD does.” DOTD likely would not have been able to award the design contracts until the end of the year, Chaisson said. “We did that in a couple of days.”

Chaisson said his ofﬁce selected engineering ﬁrms with experience working on DOTD projects and will do the same with choosing contractors.

While oversight of the bridge program is now under the highway construction ofﬁce, the state’s two transportation agencies are collaborating on it That’s in part because some of the structures are on federal routes, which are managed by the DOTD, and others are on nonfederal routes, which are now managed by the highway construction ofﬁce.

DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet said the partnership allows Louisiana to “maximize” the new ofﬁce’s emergency procurement authority.

“You’ve got that workﬂow there so you can help repair rehab and replace these bridges to get them back open to fully loaded trafﬁc,” he said.

Chaisson said the approach is intended to achieve both speed and quality

“The governor gave me a lot of latitude to be able to do some things,” he said. “We’re trying to push the envelope a little bit and get some things done.”

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

Lake Charles requires the public to build one foot higher than the base ﬂood elevation level required by the state, and the city usually opts for even higher elevations for its own facilities. The city’s new ﬁre safety complex will be two feet higher than the required elevation.

“We’re building higher, and we’re building better,” Cardone said. “We want our assets and our citizens’ assets to be more sustainable to these events.”

After both Rita and Laura Lake Charles leaders say they also focused on improving quality of life when rebuilding, such as developing the lakefront boardwalk, designing the downtown streetscape and building inclusive playgrounds and recreation centers.

Rachel Judson, a Lake Charles native working toward a master’s degree in landscape architecture, said local and state leaders need to get creative when it comes to building codes, coastal resilience and public infrastructure.

Incentivizing residents and business owners to build to better standards is one way to do that. Louisiana’s fortiﬁed roof program gives grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners to upgrade their roofs, though the demand for the grants so far has far outpaced the money the state has available.

The Judson family was among those who entered the state lottery for fortiﬁed roof grants. They didn’t get one, but still decided to upgrade to a fortiﬁed roof to better prepare for the next storm.

“Our community, as strong as we are is really tired of having to be resilient all the time,” Judson said. “And everyone always says, ‘Oh, you’re so resilient. You’re so strong. Can’t break our Cajun spirit.’

“But we are tired,” she added. “I would like to see us moving forward by being creative and willing to not do things the way that we’ve been doing them.”

Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@ theadvocate.com.

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METRO NEWS

CRUISE RIDE

Road map takes the

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

There’s a new road map in car-crazy

St. Tammany Parish that looks a good bit more accurate than anything Waze or Google has produced.

Conceived by Lt. Carli Messina of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce, the map shows the parish’s busiest thoroughfares — while offering some rather insightful commentary along the way U.S. 190 in Lacombe? “One slow driver = 47 angry drivers.”

The roads in the northern part of the parish? “Waze not gonna work.”

The Madisonville bridge? “Where patience goes to die.”

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway? “45 minutes of questioning life choices.”

Actually, the questioning life choices reference shows up twice on the map. It appears again on the stretch of U.S. 190 north of Interstate 12 heading to Covington.

And it’s not wrong in either case.

Messina, who works in the sheriff’s Public Affairs Division, said the map came to her, ﬁttingly, as she sat in heavy trafﬁc.

“Forty-ﬁve minutes from Mandeville to Covington? I feel it in my soul,” Messina laughed.

In addition to dealing with media requests, the Public Affairs Division runs a

humorous route

popular Facebook page that has grown to 182,000 followers. Between ofﬁcial news releases announcing arrests or other law enforcement activities, the page is often populated with humorous, sometimes snarky, musings about Tammany roads and drivers.

Noting the appearance of a rare earlySeptember cool front, one recent post said, “The temperature dropped this morning from 99 to 65 like it saw a state trooper Still not an excuse to not use your blinker.”

In a parish well-known for its trafﬁc snarls, it’s little surprise that Messina’s road map has been a hit on social media.

The post on the Sheriff’s Office page had gotten 5,700 likes and more than 500 comments by Wednesday

“It’s precious and I truly enjoyed the humor,” one commenter said.

“It’s the 45 minutes of questioning life choices for me!!!!” another said, adding a laughing emoji.

Messina said she loves reading the comments. “People thought it was funny They said, ‘This is dead on.’”

Messina said she’s experienced just about everything she tossed onto the map, including the note at the I-10/I59/I-12 interchange in Slidell that says, “30 minutes from Buc-ee’s,” with an arrow pointing to Mississippi.

“Had to add that,” she said. “I adore Buc-ee’s.”

PHOTO PROVIDED By ST TAMMANy PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE

A member of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office recently created a humorous new road map.

BR police seek shooting suspect

Baton Rouge police are looking for the suspect in a fatal shooting Saturday evening on Sycamore Street, according to a release from the department.

CRIME

BLOTTER staff reports

Around 7:45 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a call about a shooting at 4600 Sycamore St. in north Baton Rouge. The release states 27-year-old Jaray Washington was found with gunshot wounds and taken to a hospital, where he died from the injuries. Detectives believe Washington’s death resulted from him trying to intervene in an argument.

Homicide detectives allege Trevionte Dequone Simpson, 28, was responsible for the shooting. Simpson is still at large. Baton Rouge police are urging anyone with knowledge about Simpson’s whereabouts to call 911 or contact Crime Stoppers at (225) 3447867.

Police continue probe of shooting on LSU campus

Baton Rouge police on Sunday were still investigating a shooting outside LSU’s Law Center on Saturday night, according to a release from the department.

Ofﬁcers responded to a call about a shooting outside the Law Center around 8:10 p.m. Saturday, and found a vehicle with a damaged front windshield along with multiple shell casings, according to the release. LSU police, who initially investigated the incident, told the Baton Rouge Police Department that a group of males had been involved in a fight at the location. LSU police said they detained and released two people, according to the release.

Early reports indicated that two people might have been wounded and taken to a hospital. However, the release states Baton Rouge police detectives who visited the hospital could not ﬁnd any victims, while calls to other local hospitals revealed no one had been transported or treated in relation to the shooting.

Police are urging anyone with information on the incident to contact Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.

Longtime environmental journalist wins advocacy award

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Longtime

Times-Picayune

environmental journalist

Mark Schleifstein is being recognized with a prestigious lifetime achievement award for his work shining a light on Louisiana coastal issues

Schleifstein, who retired from the newspaper at the end of 2024, is being granted the award by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the state’s oldest coastal advocacy group. The organization highlighted Schleifstein’s work over the decades as vital in drawing attention to the state’s coastal crisis, among other environmental issues.

Longtime Times-Picayune environmental journalist Mark Schleifstein is being recognized with a prestigious lifetime achievement award for his work shining a light on Louisiana coastal issues.

destruction caused by Formosan termites in New Orleans.

He has also shared in Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath as well as for the paper’s 1996 series ”Oceans of Trouble,” which explored the perilous state of the world’s ﬁsheries.

In addition to his own work, Schleifstein has dedicated himself to mentoring younger journalists, including through active involvement in a range of journalism organizations. Since the start of the year, he has served as a Walton Family Foundation environmental reporting fellow

Predicting Katrina

A 2002 series he co-authored, “Washing Away,” identiﬁed problems with the New Orleans area’s levee system three years before Hurricane Katrina and was eventually viewed as having predicted many of the effects of the devastating storm. That series also addressed the problem of coastal land loss and its role in storm surge.

In addition, Schleifstein played a key role in the newspaper’s coverage of Katrina itself while also losing his Lakeview home to the ﬂood, like so many other New Orleanians. His house took on 15 feet of water

versial $3 billion project that drew strong opposition from commercial ﬁshers and others, he said.

Schleifstein heralded for drawing attention to coastal issues LOTTERY SATURDAY, SEPT 13, 2025

“For more than four decades, Mark has been the voice helping Louisiana make sense of the challenges and possibilities for our coast,” Kim Reyher, CRCL executive director, said in a statement last week. “He has helped us all recognize and understand our coastal land loss crisis. His work has placed restoration at the center of our state’s story — and his legacy will endure for generations.”

Louisiana has lost around 2,000 square miles of land over the last century, roughly the size of Delaware The levees holding the Mississippi River in place set the problem

in motion, but oil and gas activity and saltwater intrusion due to the digging of shipping channels have played important roles. Sea level rise due to climate change is projected to greatly worsen the problem in the future. Schleifstein, 74, has been at the forefront of reporting on those issues since joining the newspaper in 1984. He has been viewed for years as the dean of the state’s environmental journalists, consistently breaking stories and writing in-depth pieces exploring Louisiana’s myriad coastal challenges. He has won a long list of local, state and national prizes, including from the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Academy of Sciences, on topics ranging from coastal erosion to industrial pollution and the

He called the award an acknowledgement of both his work and that of organizations such as CRCL “to start restoring land loss in south Louisiana and to tie that restoration process to better protection from hurricane storm surges.”

Schleifstein recalled the gradual understanding among the wider public of the importance of coastal land loss and its effects on storm surge. He has worked on at least three separate projects over the years highlighting the problem, in addition to his sustained, day-to-day coverage. Those projects have included a 2007 series he co-authored, titled “Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast,” which won the John B. Oakes Prize for Environmental Reporting from Columbia University

In 2006, he co-authored with John McQuaid the book “Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms.”

‘An opportunity’

Schleifstein said he hoped state leaders consider innovative ways to combine wetlands restoration projects with hurricane protection measures as Louisiana looks for practical and affordable methods to address its vulnerabilities. He noted the importance of building stronger protection to guard against larger storms, particularly in an era of intensifying hurricanes. One way would be combining levee improvements with wetlands restoration, which would work together to block storm surge. The state should look at such innovative approaches in the wake of the canceled Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the contro-

“The state actually has an opportunity to do something different, but it’s going to have to work to do it,” said Schleifstein, a father of two and grandfather of four Gordon Russell, the paper’s former managing editor for investigations who is now with The Boston Globe, wrote in nominating him for the award that “without his reporting at The TimesPicayune and The Advocate, it’s hard to imagine where coastal preservation and restoration would rank among Louisiana’s problems.”

Schleifstein and other CRCL award recipients will be honored Nov. 13 at SoLou restaurant in Baton Rouge. Tickets can be purchased online.

The other awardees in recognition of coastal stewardship include:

n Dr Jelagat Cheruiyot, a Tulane professor who has inspired hundreds of students to work in coastal restoration and has spearheaded several restoration and stormwater management projects.

n New Orleans high school Brother Martin, whose students participate in an interdisciplinary lesson on coastal issues that has included logging more than a thousand volunteer hours working on CRCL’s restoration projects.

n Sandy Nguyen, the executive director of Coastal Communities Consulting, who for more than two decades

has provided technical assistance, business support and capacity building to commercial fishers, shrimpers and oyster harvesters in southeast Louisiana.

n Anne Milling, who founded Women of the Storm, a nonpartisan, nonpolitical alliance that drew attention to the needs of a post-Katrina New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and to coastal restoration more broadly n Theresa Schmidt, who retired this year after 47 years as a journalist at KPLC in Lake Charles. Her work has included reporting on the region’s coastal and ecosystem issues.

n Dominique Seibert, the Louisiana SeaGrant agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes who works to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education and outreach programs.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

A pontoon boat maneuvers recently up the Amite River near La. 16 in French Settlement.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOSByKAMILZIHNIOGLU

This photo takenSept.18, 2019, in Bayeux, Normandy, France, shows the 11th-centuryBayeux Tapestrychronicling the

Historical treasure on themove

BY NICOLAS GARRIGA and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

BAYEUX, France For centuries, the storytelling masterpiecehas been asource of wonder and fascination.

In vivid and gruesome detail, the 230-foot embroidered cloth recounts how aﬁerce duke fromFrance conquered England in 1066, reshaping British and European history

The Bayeux Tapestry, with itsscenesofswordwielding knightsinferociouscombat and King Harold of England’sfamous death, piercedbyan arrow to an eye, has since the 11th century served as asobering parable of military might, vengeance, betrayal and the complexity of Anglo-Frenchrelations, longseeped with blood and rivalry butalsoaffection and cooperation.

Now,the medieval forerunner of today’scomic strips, commissioned as propaganda for the Normandy duke William known as “the Conqueror” after he took the English throne from Harold, is being readied for anew narrative mission.

WarmingChannel ties

Next year,the fragile artistic and historictreasure will be gingerly transported from its museum in Bayeux,Normandy,tostar in ablockbuster exhibition in London’sBritish Museum, from September 2026 to July 2027.

Its ﬁrst U.K. outing in almost 1,000 years will testify to the warming latest chapter in ties across the English Channel that chilled with the U.K.’sacrimoni-

This photoshows adetail of the 11th-centuryBayeux

ousdeparture from the European Union in 2020. The loan was announced in July, when French President Emmanuel Macron became theﬁrst EU head of stateto payastate visittothe U.K. since Brexit.

Bayeux Museum curator Antoine Verney says the cross-Channel trip will be a homecomingof sorts forthe tapestry,becausehistorians widelybelieve thatitwas embroidered in England, usingwoolen threads on linen canvas, and because William’s victoryatthe Battle of Hastings was such amajor junctureinEnglish history,seared into the U.K.’s collectiveconsciousness.

“Forthe British, the date —the only date —thatall of them knowis1066,” Verney said in an interviewwith The Associated Press.

Atripnot withoutrisks

Moving an artwork so unwieldy —madefrom nine pieces of linenfabric stitchedtogether and showing626 characters, 37 buildings, 41ships and202 horses and mules in atotal of 58 scenes —isfurther

complicated by its great age and the wear and tear of time.

“There is always arisk. Thegoalisfor thoserisks to be as carefully calculated as possible,”said Verney, thecurator

Believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo, Williamthe Conqueror’shalf-brother,todecorate anew cathedral in Bayeux in 1077, the treasure is thoughttohaveremained there,mostly storedina wooden chest andalmost unknown,for sevencenturies, surviving theFrench Revolution, ﬁres and other perils.

Since then,only twice is the embroidery known to have been exhibited outside of the Normandy city Napoleon Bonaparte had it shownoff in Paris’ Louvre Museum from late 1803 to early 1804. During World WarII, it was displayed againinthe Louvre in late 1944, after Allied forces that had landed in Normandy on D-Day,June 6, of that year hadfoughtonwardto Paris and liberated it.

The work, seen by more

than 15 million visitors in its Bayeux museum since 1983, “has theuniquecharacteristic of being both monumental and very fragile,” Verneysaid. “The textileﬁbers are 900years old. So they have naturally degradedsimply due to age. Butatthe same time, this is awork that has already traveled extensively and been handled agreat deal.”

Arenovated museum

During the treasure’sstay in theU.K., its museum in Bayeux will be getting a major facelift costing tens of millions of dollars. The doors closed to visitors Sept. 1, withreopening planned for October 2027, when the embroidery will be rehoused in anew building, encased on an inclined 70-meter-long table that Verney saidwill totally transform theviewing experience.

How, exactly, the treasure will be transported to the U.K. isn’tyet clear

“The studiesrequired to allowits transfer to London and itsexhibition at the BritishMuseum are not ﬁnished, are under discussion, and are being carried out between the two governments,” Verney said.

But he expressedconfidencethatitwillbeinsafe hands.

“How can one imagine, in my view,that theBritish Museum would risk damaging, throughthe exhibition, thiswork that is amajor element of ashared heritage?” he asked. “I don’tbelieve that the British could take risks that would endanger this major element of art history andofworld heritage.”

Possible hint of ancientlifefound on Mars

BYMARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in adry river channel that may hold potentialsigns of ancient microscopic life, scientists reported Wednesday

They stressed that in-depth analysis is needed of the sample gathered there by Perseverance —ideallyin labs on Earth —before reaching any conclusions.

While acknowledging thelatest analysis “certainly is not the ﬁnal answer,”NASA’s science mission chief Nicky Fox said it’s“the closest we’ve actually come to discoveringancient life on Mars.”

Roaming Mars since 2021, the rover cannot directly detectlife, past or present. Instead, it carries adrill to penetrate rocks and tubes tohold the samples gathered from places judged most suitable for hostinglife billions of years ago. The samples are awaiting retrieval to Earth —anambitious plan that’sonhold as NASA seeks cheaper,quicker options.

Calling it an “exciting discovery,” apair of scientists whowere not involved in the study —SETIInstitute’s Janice Bishop and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’sMario Parente —were quick to point out that non-biological processes could be responsible.

“That’spartofthe reason why we can’tgosofar as to say,‘A-ha, this is proof positive of life,”’ lead researcher Joel Hurowitz of StonyBrook Uni-

This imageshows leopard spots on areddish rock nicknamed ‘Cheyava Falls’ in Mars’ Jezero Crater discovered by NASA’sPerseverance roverin2024.

versity told The Associated Press. “All wecan say is oneofthe possible explanationsismicrobial life,but there couldbeotherways to make this set of features that we see.”

Eitherway,Hurowitz saidit’sthe best,most compelling candidate yet in therover’ssearch forpotential signs of long-ago life. It wasthe 25th samplegathered;the tally is nowupto 30. Theﬁndings appeared in the journal Nature

“It would be amazing to be able to demonstrateconclusively that these featureswereformedbysomething that was alive on another planet billions of years ago, right?” Hurowitz said. But even if that’snot thecase, it’s “a valuablelesson in allofthe ways that nature canconspire to fool us.” Collected lastsummer,the sample is fromreddish,clay-rich mudstones

in Neretva Vallis, ariver channel that once carried water intoJezero Crater This outcrop of sedimentary rock, known as the Bright Angel formation,was surveyed by Perseverance’s science instruments beforethe drill came out.

Alongwith organic carbon,abuilding block of life, Hurowitz and his team found minuscule specks, dubbed poppy seeds and leopard spots, that were enriched with ironphosphate and iron sulfide.OnEarth, these chemical compounds are thebyproducts when microorganisms chomp down on organic matter

“There is no evidence of microbes on Mars today,but if anyhad been present on ancient Mars, they too mighthave reduced sulfate minerals to form sulﬁdes in suchalake at Jezero Crater,”Bishop and Parente wrote in an accompanying editorial.

There’snoevidenceofpresent-day life on Mars,but NASA over thedecades has sent spacecraft to Mars in searchofpastwatery environments that might have supportedlifeway back when.

When Perseverance launched in 2020, NASAexpectedthe samples back on Earthbythe early 2030s.But that date slipped into the 2040s as costs swelled to $11 billion, stalling theretrieval effort.

Until the samples are transported off of Marsbyrobotic spacecraft or astronauts, scientists will have to rely on Earthly stand-ins and lab experimentstoevaluate the feasibility of ancient Martianlife, according to Hurowitz.

FuneralsToday

Babin, Barbara St.GeorgeCatholic Church,7808 St George Drive, at 10:30 a.m.

Guidry,Roland

St.John theBaptistCatholic Church in Brusly at 11:30am. Patterson, Martin Immaculate ConceptionCatholic Church,865 Hatchell Lane in Denham Springs,atnoon. Whittle,Mary FirstBaptistChurch of Zacharyat11 a.m.

Obituaries

Luquette,Jeffery Paul

We celebrate andmourn thetragicsuddenpassing of JefferyPaulLuquette age 59, in Ascension Parish on September 6, 2025. Since young adulthood, he worked daily to improve himselfand hadreached a pinnacleinlife he never thought possible. He was born in LutcherLouisiana in 1965 and attended Lutcher High School.Jeff resided in Saint Amant, Louisiana.Heenjoyed workinginIndustrialtrade areas andwas employed with TurnerIndustries. Jeff lovedspendingtimewith family and friends, filling up stomachswithgood food andmaking others laugh. Jeff is survivedby hisloving wife,his Queen, Julie Lea Luquette;his adoringmother, Kathryn Luquette;his belovedfather,Carlton Luquette and hiswife,Wanda Luquette; sister, Veronica Molley; and brother,Keith Luquette;Veronica'shusband, DavidMolleyand theirsons, Jeremy and JonathanMolley; Jeremy's wife,Renee Molleyand theirchildren, Williamand Charlie; Keith'swife Jamie Luquette;aswellasnumerous cousins, aunts, anduncles. He is preceded in death by grandparents, FerenceLuquette,Inez Luquette,APVeron, Rita Veron, Sandra "Boope" Derks; Jeff's first wife, Sherry Luquette;and nephew Jonathan'swife, Haley Molley. Visitation will takeplace at Resthaven Funeral Home on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, beginningat9:00 AM until aCelebrationofLife at 11:00 AM.Inlieuofflowersplease send donations to St Jude Children's HospitalinMemphisTennessee.Finally,remember himasa Princeofa Man,a name giventohim by his mother-in-law Ruby Lea, who wasa discerning character.Family and friends maysignthe online guestbook or leave apersonal notetothe family at www.resthavenbatonroug e.com.

Osterberger, Linda LeeCatalino

With deep love andgrat‐itude,wecelebrate thelife ofLinda LeeCatalinoOs‐terberger, adevoted wife,

mother,grandmother, friend, andfaithfulservant ofthe Lord,who passed awayonSeptember 11, 2025 at herhome, Windy Hill, surrounded by her familyand theangelsthat havebeen carrying her through life.At69years young,she marchedright onuptosee herfamilyin heaven. Born on February 16, 1956 in BatonRouge,LA, Linda liveda life marked by unwavering faith,uncondi‐tionallove, andtirelessde‐termination.Her greatest joy washer belovedfamily especially her five beau‐tiful granddaughters whomshe cherishedabove all else.She poured herself intothe livesofthose she loved,alwaysputting oth‐ers before herself, and never hesitating to give her time,her care,and her heart.Linda wasa woman ofstrengthand persever‐ance, neverbacking down inthe faceofchallenges. Her determinationcarried her throughlife’strials, and hersteadfastspiritin‐spiredeveryonewho knew her.Morethananything, she livedout herfaith daily,reflecting Christ’s loveinthe wayshe served and sacrificedfor others She leaves behind herde‐voted husbandof51years and love of herlife, Albert W.(Al)Osterberger;her children, Dawn Miley (Bodie),JenniferTerre‐bonne (Johnny) andChris Osterberger;one sister JaniceBroderick (Dennis), Blythewood, SC;one brother-in-law, Donald Os‐terberger (Danniele), Temecula, CA;numerous nieces, nephewsand cousins;and hermostpre‐cious grandchildren, Eliza‐bethAnneLogan, Bryleigh June Osterberger, Lillian Terrebonne,Stella Cate Miley andVirginiaAnne Miley.She also leaves a legacyoflove, faith,and selflessnessthatwilllive onineachofthem. Lindais precededindeath by her parents,FernandoR.and Anne PatinCatalino; herinlaws, JamesSheldon Oster‐berger, Virginia Wilcox Os‐terberger Lathropand Frank PrattLathrop;one sister, Anna Rose Kershaw; and onebrother-in-law, Dr James SheldonOster‐berger, Jr.A servicecele‐brating herlifewillbeheld atOur Lady of Mount CarmelCatholicChurch,St. Francisville, LA on Tuesday, September 16, with visita‐tionat9:00amuntil funeral Massat11:00 am,within‐terment to follow at Grace Cemetery. Pallbearerswill beDonaldOsterberger, Bodie Miley, Dennis Brod‐erick,Kevin Kratzer, Casey Kratzer andLealon Castello.Friends andloved onesare invitedtogather, share memories,and honor thebeautiful life she lived.Thank youfor every call, message, visit, note and meal that wasre‐ceivedduringher illness. Her friendsmadeher smile while keepingthe prayers going.Inlieuof flowers, Linda requests donations bemadetothe religious education programatthe church of your choice.She believed“allchildrenneed toknowJesus lovesthem.” The familywould like to extenda specialthank you toDr. TimLindsey,Dr. John Godke,Dr. MichaelCastine, Dr. DivyangMehta andThe Hospice of BatonRouge for all theircareand support. Thoughour hearts are heavy with loss, we rejoice knowing sheisatpeace in the presence of herSavior, reunitedwithloved ones who have gonebeforeher Her love,determination and devotion will forever remaininthe hearts of those shetouched.Share sympathies, memories and condolencesatwww CharletFuneralHome.com.

Howtoplace an Obituary Notice Howtoplace aMemorialAd

EMAIL: obits@theadvocate.com OR CALL FORMOREINFORMATION: 225-388-0289

Tapestrychronicling the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

PHOTO PROVIDED By NASA

AMBERAlerts merely patch abroken system

When avulnerable, missing child is found deceased, thegrief is overwhelming, and the search for someone —orsome system to blame is immediate. Into this void, politiciansand well-meaning parents step. Before knowing all the factsand without consulting with experts, they push for new “stronger” laws or demand changestoalert systems. These premature interventions make for powerful optics but are child protection theater Politicians may present themselves to parents as protectors by championing more expansive alerting systems after tragedies. These gestures soothe public fear butare fueledbymyths about alerteffectivenessand fail to address the realities of complex missing child investigations. This is public safety by shortcut —and the consequences are serious. The real work of protecting missing children requires consistent investment in investigative resources, training, technical expertise and staffing. It means weighing risk factors, adhering to alert criteria and ensuring enough officers are available to process the flood of calls once an alert is issued. The truth is, not all tragedies are preventable. Competent law enforcement and alert activations cannot always overcome tragicaccidents or an abductor’sdecision to harm achild. What improves outcomes is disciplined, behind-the-scenes work —quiet and unglamorous butfar more effective than reactive gestures. Alert systems are crafted for specific purposes. Expanding themreflexively under political pressure undermines effectiveness and makes alerts vulnerable to abuse. Broader criteriaand faster alerts may look likesolutions, but likeacar alarm that sounds too often, overuse leads to alert fatigue. In rare cases, alerts can even escalate danger for the children they aim to save.

Restraint is not indifference —itisprotection. The best way to honor childrenlosttotragedy is through missing childpolicies grounded in data, expertise and sound principles —not symbolic measures born of grief.

STACEY PEARSON founder,The Pelican Project

WWIIera veterans and survivors sit in front during the Dr.Hal Baumgarten D-Day CommemorationCeremonyand Museum’s25thanniversarycelebration at the National WWII Museum in NewOrleans on June 6.

We aresquandering thelegacy left by braveWWIIveterans

The National WWII Museum is achronicle of America’s ﬁght againstfascism. It tells astory of courage and tenacity in theface of unspeakable brutality and aggression. It is the storyofAmerican citizens coming togetherasanation to opposeand defeat the authoritarianaspirationsofMussolini, Hitler andHirohito. And why did thepeople of America do this? Whydid they sacriﬁce everything for this cause? Because they knew that fascism was wrong,thatitwas adagger to the heart of freedom. Because they knew that fascism meantslavery and worse It is perhaps just as well thatthe World War

II generation is mostly gone. For theywould likely be appalled at the eagernesswith which their descendants the beneﬁciaries of their sacriﬁce— have turnedaway from the democracy they fought so hard to preserve and instead have gleefully embraced existence under the fascist thumbofadim-witted martinet. Theywould be dismayed at the breakneck speed at which 250 yearsofAmerican progress has beenreversed, rocketing the country backward into anew Stone Age. Were theyalive today,they would just die

Funding forlevee inspectionsshould be easy fordelegationtoget behind

In light of thedeathand devastation of Katrina, one might think that inspecting the levees around New Orleanswould be a priority.One might think1,392 lost souls, some ﬂoating face down in 10 feet of water, others sucking for air in an attic or dying in awheelchair on Interstate10without medicine,might attract the attention of politicians. However,itseems Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and our two senators, one of whom is in the election cycle next year,could not care less when it comes to funding the inspection of ourlevees. As pointed out by thenewspaper,levee inspection was funded at $1.3 million in 2023, but virtually cut in half to $691,000 in 2025. Many cliches come to mind: Pay me now or payme later.Penny-wise and pound-foolish. Youget what you pay for.But I’ve comeup with my own —that seemsjust plain stupid. Afew years after Katrina, Iworked for the

one-time acting chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water.Wespent hours in conference committee negotiating withSen. Mary Landrieu over funding to rebuild thelevees. She was tenacious and dogged in insisting on asizable part of the eventual $14.5 billion to rebuild thelevees. Butnow we can’tﬁnd $609,000?

My point is, there were serious politicians who cared about the people of New Orleans. Then. Butnone now

We have agovernor who only uses New Orleansasa prop to prove he’s meaner and crazier than the governor of Florida. And, thespeaker,majority leader and both senatorsonly care about New Orleans when their true “Lord and Savior” Donald Trumpgives his permission. In thewords of Randy Newman,“They’re tryin’ to washusaway!”

RICHARD PATRICK NewOrleans

Biden’sCHIPS Actbenefited La.companies

The semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology is using Baton Rouge-based MMR Group in an expansion project. An article Aug. 17 mentions government subsidies for critical technology as spurring the expansion.

We should be appreciative of the Biden administration. In 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act. The legislation directs hundreds of billions of dollars toward supercharging domestic production of advanced technologies such as semiconductors, also known as microchips or chips. Since its passage, private ﬁrms have announced nearly $400 billion in additional investments in chips and other electronics.

The CHIPS Act details are inspiring. The beneﬁts are wide-ranging, including boosting manufacturing and the supply chain, research for better chips and other electronics, defense uses and training the workforce.

KAREN GRADY NewOrleans

Our daily news can be depressing and vile. It seems as if controversy has taken on alife of its own. Few would have ever imagined that something as benign as alibrary or its board could stoke such issues. My example wasjust that and not intended to elicit controversy Much-needed relief was found on Aug. 24’sSports page in an article by Jeff Duncan, “Manning Made.” No matter what your team or school loyalty,the message was uplifting and positive: class, dignity,leadership and family Arch Manning’sspecial relationship with his grandfather,Archie, deﬁnes simplicity,honor and lowkey dignity.Asort of respecting yourself before expecting others to respect you. Yougotta smile at Arch’snickname for his grandfather,“Red.” Simple, straightforward and Manning all the way through.

Column on immigrant workersafter Katrina wasbeautiful tribute

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone 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 ALETTER, SCAN HERE

Trump’ssuccess makesitharderfor

Whether you love him or hatehim, President Donald Trumpisonapath to make midterm election victories for theDemocrats very difﬁcult. As of this date, the economy is doing very well. The stock market is at an all-time high. The president is doing everything he can to stop foreign wars and negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine. The southern border is now secure, thetariffs don’tseem to be harming anything to date andmost people seem to be supportive of stopping crime in their communities, regardless of what the solution actually entails. If this kind of success holds up until the time of themidterms, and if Trumpcontinueshis pragmatic approach of addressing problems andsucceeding in ﬁxing them, it would behard to imagine that the majority of the people in the United States would

Democrats

votefor aCongress that might impede such progress. Meanwhile, theDemocrats have done very little to deﬁne real leaders in their party. Andinstead of turning to amore moderate tone in their platforms, they’re doing thereverse. They are actively supporting a moreradical approach. Does the public want men competing in women’ssports? Is themajority in favor of children undergoing gender-afﬁrming care without the consent of their parents?

Iwouldn’tthink so, but then, Idon’thave my thumbonthe pulse of what’shappening in America right now.For the record, Iama registered Democrat,but admittedly,I have lost faith in thedecisions of theDemocratic Party

PHILIP CANGELOSI Baton Rouge

Even though the world is on ﬁre, the quietly brilliant columnbyErrol Laborde, “Hurricane Katrina and the workforce that saved New Orleans,” touched our souls and lifted shared memories to the surface regarding our Katrina rebuilding process. We might still be living in the Katrina trailer in our driveway if it wasn’t for the skills of the immigrant workers who were responsible for turning the wreck of our home into abeautiful residence again.

Unlike the American workers of the A+ rated Louisiana contractor we hired, they always arrived on timeand needed no special incentives; they completed their projects on time and as promised. Despite the disparaging remarks that I heard from someinour community about these workers, the immigrant men and women we were privileged to have workinour homewere the best among us.

TERRYVERIGAN, KATHY J. HIGGINS Metairie

TOMLEWIS Baton Rouge

MICHAEL RUSSO Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

COMMENTARY

HERE COMES AUTUMN

It certainly doesn’t feel likefallisaround thecorner,but it actually startsnext Monday.These squirrels aregetting ajumponnut-gathering season and one hascomeupwith anew approach.

So,what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries

Thewinningpunchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runon Monday, Sept. 22 in our printeditions and online. In addition, the winner will receiveasigned print of thecartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt!

Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

To enter,email your entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com.

DON’T FORGET! All entries must includeyourname, homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline for all entries is midnightonThursday, Sept. 18

Gather your punchlines and send them in to win!

Good luck— Walt

Thegirlonthe traindeservesjustice

Killing science costslives

Donald Trumphas embraced the slogan MAHA —Make America Healthy Again but his policies are doing exactly the opposite. Fears are growing in the medical world that his war on science and research will make America sicker,not stronger

Trump’slatest target is the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, the nation’spremier public health agency.Heﬁred the director,Dr. Susan Monarez, because she wouldn’t endorse the anti-science, anti-vaccine obsessions of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services. Four other senior ofﬁcials then quit in protest. Kennedy is considered a quack by serious researchers whoagree that vaccines are a safe, even miraculous, advance.

“The World Health Organization, an agency with someof the mostprominent medical experts around the globe, recently noted that over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives and reduced the infant deaths by 40%,” Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote in The NewYork Times

Dr.Fiona Havers, aleading vaccine researcher wholeft the CDClast spring, told the Times that if the Trump/ Kennedy crusade against immunizations isn’tthwarted, “a lot of Americans are going to die as aresult of vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The clash over vaccines is part of amuch larger campaign Trumpand Kennedy are conducting against health care providers and researchers. As nine former CDCchiefs wrote in the Times:“Mr.Kennedy has ﬁred thousands of federal health workers and severely weakened programsdesigned to protect Americans from cancer,heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury,violence and more. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the United States in ageneration, he’sfocused on unproven treatments while downplaying vaccines. He canceled investments in promising medical research that will leave us illprepared forfuture health emergencies.”

Shefled Ukraine for fear she might be killedinthe war with Russia and came to America, whereshe thought shemight be safe. She was wrong. Iryna Zarutska, 23, was sitting alone on atrain in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, when asecurity camera showed aman getting up from his seat behind her and stabbing her to death. Thesuspect, Decarlos Brown, then walked up the aisle withblood dripping from the knife onto the floor of the train car The incident occurred Aug. 22, but has only caught the public’sattention recently after the train company released avideo of the attack. Brown is acareer criminal who belongs in prison. He had been identified in 14 previous cases in Mecklenburg County and sentenced to just sixyears in prison on various countsthat included robbery with adangerous weapon, larceny and breaking and entering. He has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing of Zarutska. Themayor of Charlotte, Viola Lyles, aDemocrat, called Zarutska’sdeath “a senseless and tragic loss” and then made apitch to her legislature for money to hire more police officers. Howabout getting rid of cash bail, liberal judges and district attorneys who appear to care more for thecriminal than they do innocent citizens? When we tolerate crime (look at the videos of looting at stores across the country while security guards watch and do nothing) the more of it we will get. This is why, since President Donald Trump deployed National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., “violent crime is down byalmost half when compared to the same 19 days in 2024,” according to aCBS News analysis of crime data. When people planningtoperform criminal acts think they might get caughtand punished, then atough-oncrime approach is one way tokeep our streets safe. Keeping dangerous career criminals behindbars in order to protect thepublicwhich isone of the reasons we have prisons.

Mayor Lyles also calledonthe media

not to show the video. No, that video should be repeatedly shown —and it has been on Fox News, as well as made part of Republican campaign commercials for the next two electionstodemonstratehow Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies lead to such tragedies. Speaking on religious freedom at The Museum of the Bible in Washington, Trump said of thestabbing, along with undocumented immigrants with criminalrecords he has ordered deported: “These are evil people. We have to be able tohandle that and if we don’t handle that we don’thave acountry.”

He is right

Since the president spoke at the Museum of the Bible, someoneshould have given him this most appropriate verse from Ecclesiastes 8:11: “When the sentence for acrime is not quickly

carried out, people’shearts are ﬁlled with schemes to do wrong.” Exactly! To put it in away even the secular mind can understand: When we tolerate evil and refuse to sufﬁciently standagainstitwithswift and certain punishment,weare bound to get more of it. Butwhen we standagainstit, using not only thepolice, the courts and prisons,but teaching right from wrong in our homes and schools as we once did, we aremore likely to get better results. Unfortunately,wehave abandoned standards that were once taught and, yes, imposed on the young and we are now reaping thewhirlwind. The stabbing deathofthat girlonthe train is just thelatest example.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

These actions have caused serious, selfinflicted wounds to vital government services. “I never have seen an instance of an advanced, affluent country with among the finest scientific resources and leaders in the world be under assault, not from small pockets of the public or people whohave unusual beliefs, but from the government itself,” Allan M. Brandt, apublic health historian at Harvard University,said in The Washington Post. “This has just been radically unprecedented.”

The ﬁring of Monarez, whoheld the post for only amonth, mirrors awide-ranging purge of other government ofﬁcials whodare to state facts that challenge Trump’smaniacal and misguided worldview

Twoimportant forces that restrained Trump during his ﬁrst term are now largely gone: Seasoned professionals willing to tell Trump no have been replaced by bootlicking loyalists whoalways say yes, and Congressional Republicans have, with fewexceptions, embraced the president’sholy waragainst his critics.

The vaccine controversy is avivid example of the administration’sruthless determination to root out those “nonpolitical” experts throughout the government. In June, Kennedy ﬁred all 17 members of acritical committee that advises the CDConhow to employ immunizations. Their recommendations are then adopted by manydoctors, school systems, health insurers and others.

“Mr.Kennedy went on to nameeight new (committee) members, at least half of whom appear to share his antipathy to vaccines,” reported the Times.“Twohave testiﬁed against vaccine makers in trials.”

This panel is due to meet again later this month, and Monarez says she wasfired because she would not promise to accept the recommendations of acadre openly committed to anti-vaccine policies. As her lawyers stated, she “refused to rubber-stampunscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.”

“Itisabout the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts and the dangerous politicization of science,” they wrote.

The situation is so perilous that Sen. Bill Cassidy,a Louisiana Republican and physician whoonce helped establish clinics to vaccinate schoolchildren, has warned that any recommendations madebythe new panel “should be rejected as lacking legitimacy.”

Trumprecently said that as president, he has “the right to do anything Iwant to do” to protect the nation’ssecurity and safety.But his reckless rejection of medical research is putting that safety at great risk. Killing science costs lives.

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

SCREEN GRAB FROM VIDEO

Iryna Zarutska, bottom right, is seen just before she was fatally stabbed on a commuter train on Aug. 22

Steve Roberts

Cal Thomas

‘Hacks’and

BY ANDREW DALTON Associated

Press

LOS ANGELES— Seth Rogen won for both his acting and directing on “The Studio,” and Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman took trophies for “Severance,” kicking off the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night

“I could not wrap my head around this happening,” said Rogen when he won his ﬁrst, forbestactor in acomedy series. “I’ve never won anything in my life.”

Rogen shared the directing Emmy with his longtime collaborator and “Studio”cocreator Evan Goldberg. After abig performanceat last weekend’sCreative Arts Emmys and the two wins, “The Studio” tied arecord of 11 Emmysfor acomedy in aseason, setby“TheBear” last year

Lower won best actress in adrama for “Severance” and Tillman won best supporting actor in adrama. It wasthe ﬁrst careerEmmy for each.

“My first acting coach was tough, y’all,” Tillman, wearing an all-white tuxedo, said from the stage. “But all great mothers are.” He looked out to his mother in the audience and told her,“Youwere there for me where no one else was, and no one else would show up.”

His win had been widely expected but Lower’swas a surprise in acategory where Kathy Bates was considered aheavy favorite, for “Matlock.”

Jean Smart wonbest actress in acomedy for “Hacks” for the fourth time, at 73 extending her own record for the oldest woman ever to win the category Her castmate and constant scene partner Hannah Einbinder,who had alsobeen nominated forall four seasons but unlike Smart had never won, took best supporting actress in acomedy She said she had become committed to abit where“it was cooler to lose.”

“But thisiscool too!” she shouted, then ended her speech by cursing theU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and saying “Free Palestine!”

Katherine LaNasa won best supportingactressina drama for the “The Pitt,” a surprise in acategory where most expectedone of the three nominees from “The WhiteLotus” to win.

“I am so proud and honored,” LaNasa, looking emotional and shocked, said.

Jeff Hiller won best supporting actor in acomedy for “Somebody Somewhere” over Ike Barinholtz of “The Studio” and others.

Stephen Colbert was the first person to take the stagetopresent theaward during the CBS telecastat thePeacock Theater in Los Angeles despitethe recent controversial cancellation of his show by the network. He was greeted by arousing and lengthy standing ovation.

“While Ihaveyourattention, is anyone hiring?” Colbert said.

Host Nate Bargatze delivered his opening monologue only after thefirst award was handed out.

The show opened with a sketch where“Saturday Night Live” stars Mikey Day, Bowen Yang andJames Austin JohnsonjoinedBargatze, who played television inventorPhilo T. Farnsworth opining on what the future of TV will be like.

“Wecreate aworldwhere thefinestartists craft storiesofstaggering beauty thatmillions of people will watch on their phones while they’re sitting on the toilet,” Bargatze said.

Bargatze, a46-year-old stand-up comicfromTennesseeknown for his friendly style,was not atypical host Bargatze-as-Farnsworth mentions that there will be aBlack Entertainment Television.When askedifthere will be anetwork for White people,hereplied, “Why CBS of course.”

SPORTS

WOE-AND-2

Saints quarterbackSpencer Rattler ispressured by SanFrancisco 49ersdefensiveend

Superdome.The Saintslost their second game of the season.

Saints fumble away opportunityat comeback in loss to SanFrancisco

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Here Spencer Rattler was again

For the second straight week, the New Orleans Saints quarterback was given the ball withachance to leadagame-winning drive. But this time,Rattlerfound himself having to shout louder than usual.Withchants of “DE-FENSE”carrying throughout the stadium, Rattler didn’thave to quite go to asilentcount, buthehad to raise his voice so his teammates could hear the play call.

But Sunday wasn’taroad game for the Saints. The stands at the Caesars Superdome justlooked and sounded that way with the overwhelming number of fans cheering

for the SanFrancisco 49ers.

“They traveled well,” Rattler said. Maybe the noise wasn’tthe ultimate reason that Rattler andthe offense couldn’t rally in Sunday’s2621 loss to theSan Francisco49ers, but make no mistake, it was afactor throughout the game. Plenty of peoplecheered,for instance, when Rattler fumbled thegame away on a fourth-down strip-sack thatclinched the win for San Francisco.

The consensus coming into the season was that the Saintswere in store for along year Twoweeks in,thatlooks to be painfully true. Yes, the Saints (0-2) fought down to thewire in back-to-back games —a

ä See SAINTS, page 4B

Twogames into season,things alreadylookbleak forNew Orleans

Brace yourself, Saints fans. A long season awaits.

Youknew it was going to be bad. In fact, some of you even went so far as to welcome the rebuilding campaign. But nowthatit’shere, the grimreality of ahopelessly forlorn season is starting to set in We’reonly two games into the2025 season, and it already feels like things are slipping away The Saints’ 26-21 loss to theSan Francisco 49ers dropped them to a0-2 start for the ﬁrst time in eight years. Call it what you want. Overreaction.Hyperbole. Premature panic. Another word is perhaps moreap-

propriate: reality Sunday’ssetback followed an alltoo-familiar script.

The sameculprits conspired to undermine the Saints’ chances of winning. Penalties. Dropped passes. Missed tackles and missed ﬁeld goals. It washard to watch. Other than acouple of nifty pass completions from Spencer Rattler to Rashid Shaheed and Juwan Johnson, there wasn’tmuch to write homeabout.

The Saints never led and allowed backup quarterback Mac Jones to pass for279 yards and three touchdowns. Admirably,they fought until

ä See DUNCAN, page 5B

Duncan

STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

during the second half of their game

Caesars

WNBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

Collier, Lynx rout Valkyries

By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Napheesa Col-

lier scored 20 points to lead ﬁve players in double ﬁgures and the Minnesota Lynx breezed to a 10172 victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round WNBA series.

Collier hit 7 of 11 shots with a 3-pointer and all ﬁve of her free throws, adding six rebounds.

Natisha Hiedeman made two 3-pointers and scored 18 for the Lynx, while Kayla McBride added 17. Jessica Shepard had 12 points and eight rebounds and Courtney Williams pitched in with 11 points and four steals.

Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini both scored 14 to lead Golden State. Burton added seven assists and three steals but also had seven of the Valkyries’ 16 turnovers. Janelle Salaün had 13 points and eight rebounds and Temi Fágbénlé scored 12 before fouling out.

Burton hit two 3-pointers for Golden State in an 11-4 run to start the game and the Valkyries led 2821 after one quarter

McBride had two baskets in a 12-3 run to begin the second period and Minnesota moved in front 33-31. McBride had 14 points by halftime and Collier scored 11 for a 47-39 lead.

Alanna Smith hit a 3-pointer with 8:47 left in the third quarter

for a 52-42 advantage and Minnesota led by double digits the rest of the way

DiJonai Carrington sank two 3-pointers and Williams hit one in the ﬁnal 70 seconds as the Lynx took a 79-58 lead into the ﬁnal period

The Valkyries are still looking for their ﬁrst win over the Lynx in their ﬁrst year in the league after losing all four regular-season matchups three by double digits.

Minnesota’s 34-10 record led the league. Golden State will host Game 2 on Wednesday

DREAM 80, FEVER 68: In College Park, Georgia, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard scored 20 points apiece to help the Atlanta Dream beat the Indiana Fever in Game 1 of the best-of-three ﬁrst-round playoff series.

Naz Hillmon, who was the AP Sixth Person of the Year, added 16 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Dream. Atlanta can advance to the semiﬁnals with a win in Game 2 on Tuesday in Indianapolis. Brionna Jones made a tiebreaking layup and Gray hit a pull-up

jumper before Howard hit a 3-pointer that gave Atlanta a 47-40 lead almost four minutes into the second half and the Fever trailed the rest of the way

Kelsey Mitchell led No. 7 seed Indiana with 27 points. Odyssey Sims scored 10 points and Aliyah Boston grabbed 12 rebounds to go with eight points and five assists. The Fever were missing Caitlin Clark, who is sidelined for the playoffs with a groin injury she suffered in the middle of July LIBERTY 76,MERCURY 69: In Phoenix, Natasha Cloud scored 23 points, Breanna Stewart added 18 before hurting her knee in overtime and the New York Liberty beat the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round playoff series. New York will advance to the semifinals with a win in Game 2 on Wednesday in New York. Stewart fell to the ground and grabbed at her left knee after making a layup with 3:01 to play in overtime. She stayed in the game and missed the free throw, trying to play through the injury She left the game about a minute later and didn’t return.

New York coach Sandy Brondello had no update on Stewart’s injury after the game.

Kahleah Copper led the Mercury with 15 points and Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. DeWanna Bonner added 12 points.

JGR emerges as Cup championship favorite

BY NATE RYAN Associated Press

Whether it’s winning three Super Bowls or ﬁve NASCAR Cup Series championships, Joe Gibbs knows how to guide his teams to success through internal turmoil. So when Christopher Bell angrily called out his No 20 crew last week for questionable strategy during a 24-race winless streak, Gibbs let the emotions run their course rather than step in to defuse the tension.

“I’ve been on the sideline and heard some outbursts,” Gibbs said. “We’ve had some outbursts in our competition meetings in racing I’ve learned when you’re around sports, and things don’t go your way that’s going to happen every now and then.

“I let them handle it. I really do.”

With his fourth victory this season, Bell reafﬁrmed Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway that that’s a winning philosophy for Joe Gibbs Racing, which completed a ﬁrst-round sweep of the

Christopher Bell, center celebrates winning the Bass Pro

Race on Saturday in Bristol, Tenn.

NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at the Tennessee short track. Bell, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe have won three consecutive races to stamp the team as the championship favorite. JGR’s

four Toyotas led a combined 757 of 1,107 laps in the ﬁrst round of the playoffs, which were cut from 16 to 12 drivers at Bristol with seven races and three rounds left.

“We’ve got fast cars right now,”

Gibbs said. “I think it just says a lot for the way we feel back at the race shop. It’s a big deal all the way across the board for us. It really means a lot.”

His hands-off approach won Cup titles with hot-tempered Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Bell is mild-mannered by comparison, so he made headlines with a vulgarity-ﬁlled tirade on his team radio for losing “with the best car every week” after a seventh place at World Wide Technology Raceway.

He had only praise Saturday for his team and crew chief Adam Stevens, who deftly managed Bell’s pace and tactics over 500 hazardous laps at Bristol as many teams struggled with excessive tire wear on the 0.533-mile oval. Charging from fourth to ﬁrst on a late restart, Bell led the ﬁnal four laps and held off Brad Keselowski for his 13th career victory “Winning fixes everything, that’s for sure,” Bell said. “It’s a huge morale boost for the team and myself as a driver.”

Jefferson-Wooden wins gold in women’s 100m sprint

Seville of Jamaica wins men’s 100 at world championships

BY EDDIE PELLS Associated Press

TOKYO Usain Bolt went crazy up in a luxury box.

Down below, sprinters in his country’s familiar colors — black, green and, of course, gold — were wreaking havoc on the track. It was a good night for the United States, too, as the sport’s past and the future collided in backto-back 100-meter ﬁnals at world championships on a steamy Sunday in Tokyo. Jamaica’s Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson sent Bolt into celebration mode by combining for a 1-2 ﬁnish in the men’s 100-meter sprint, while defending champion Noah Lyles took bronze. Moments earlier, America’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden had romped to a win in a women’s sprint that featured a newcomer silver medalist in Jamaica’s Tina Clayton, a fond farewell for the is-

U.S.

land country’s Shelly-Ann FraserPryce, who finished sixth, and a fifth-place finish from former LSU star Sha’Carri Richardson, who never found her stride this year

right away She got about a step ahead of Olympic champion Julien Alfred in the lane next to her then kept expanding her lead and ran hard through the line when she could have coasted.

She ﬁnished in 10.61, breaking Richardson’s 2-year-old worldchampionship mark by .04. Her margin of .15 seconds over Clayton was a blowout the same gap Alfred, the Olympic champion who ﬁnished third this time, beat Richardson by in Paris last year

“This year was about accepting that I wanted to be a better athlete and putting in the work to do so,” Jefferson-Wooden said.

Another American success story came in the long-jump pit, where Tara Davis-Woodhall took care of yet another piece of unfinished business, adding the long jump world championship to the Olympic title she won last year

Scheffler warms up for Ryder Cup with sixth win

NAPA, Calif. — Scottie Scheffler wanted to stay sharp ahead of the Ryder Cup, and the world’s No. 1 player looked every bit of that Sunday, closing with a 5-under 67 to win the Procore Championship for his sixth PGA Tour win of the year

Scheffler made up a two-shot deficit on Ryder Cup teammate Ben Griffin, who was poised to force a playoff until he three-putted the par-5 18th from 60 feet for par to finish one behind.

Griffin, who started the final round with three straight birdies, shot a 70.

It was his 19th career victory on the PGA Tour, and now he heads to match play in the Ryder Cup against Europe, which has had the upper hand in these matches the past three decades.

Hull wins LPGA event as Thai star four-putts No. 18

MAINEVILLE, Ohio Charley Hull took advantage of top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul’s final-hole putting meltdown Sunday to win the Kroger Queen City Championship. Thitikul a stroke ahead after Hull bogeyed the par-4 17th — four-putted the par-5 18th from about 50 feet, missing a 5-footer and a 3-foot comebacker Hull twoputted from about 30 feet, making a 2-footer for the victory Fighting ankle and back issues, Hull closed with a 4-under 68 to ﬁnish at 20-under 268 at TPC River’s Bend. The 29-year-old English player won her third LPGA Tour title and ﬁrst since 2022. She also has four victories on the Ladies European Tour Lottie Woad of England was third at 18 under after a 66.

Goosen wins fourth PGA Tour Champions title SIOUX FALLS S.D. Retief Goosen won the Sanford International on Sunday for his fourth career PGA Tour Champions victory closing with a 3-under 67 for a two-stroke margin over Bo Van Pelt. Goosen finished at 13-under 197 at Minnehaha Country Club The 56-year-old South African star the 2001 and 2004 U.S Open champion — won for the first time since The Galleri Classic in March 2024. Van Pelt finished with a 68. Ernie Els (73) and Darren Clarke (68) tied for third at 8 under Charles Schwab Cup leader Miguel Angel Jimenez was 7 under after a 71.

Steve Stricker was unable to defend his title as he recovers from back surgery He hopes to return to the PGA Tour Champions in December

Hatton, former world boxing champ, dies at 46

MANCHESTER, England Ricky Hatton, the former boxing world champion who rose to become one of the most popular ﬁghters in the sport, has died. He was 46. Hatton was found dead at his home in Greater Manchester, Britain’s Press Association reported Sunday Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious. Friends of Hatton were quick to pay tribute Sunday morning. “Today we lost not only one of Britain’s greatest boxers, but a friend, a mentor, a warrior, Ricky Hatton,” former world champion, Amir Khan, posted on X. Hatton won world titles at lightwelterweight and welterweight and at the height of his career shared the ring with the best boxers of his generation, including Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Bradshaw’s filly wins big at Pocahontas Stakes

LOUISVILLE, Ky Four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw is a winner again.

“It’s a changing of the guard, in a sense,” Jefferson-Wooden said. “You’re going to see some new faces and things like that. It’s great competition.” Seville won the men’s race in a career-best 9.77 seconds fulﬁlling the promise he’s shown since he made his Olympic debut in this stadium four years ago, but didn’t get out of the semiﬁnals.

The victory in Tokyo comes two years after a second-place ﬁnish at worlds left her disappointed and sparked her to rededicate herself to the sport.

The 24-year-old Jefferson-Wooden turned her race into a laugher

Also in the ﬁeld, America’s Valarie Allman captured gold in the discus throw to round out her set of gold-silver-bronze from worlds. She also has two Olympic titles.

A 2-year-old filly co-owned by the 77-year-old Fox NFL Sunday analyst won the $251,250 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs on Saturday Taken by the Wind earned 10 qualifying points for next year’s $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks and set up a potential start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Oct. 31 at Del Mar The filly purchased for $20,000, improved to 2-0 and earned $136,710 for the Grade 3 victory “I’m on cloud nine,” said Bradshaw, who co-owns the filly trained by

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ

Valkyries forward Janelle Salaun, left, shoots over Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, right, in Game 1 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By WADE PAyNE

Shops Night

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden smiles after winning the women’s 100-meter finals at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday in Tokyo.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Aubrey hits 64-yard FG, OT game winner

By The Associated Press

ARLINGTON Texas Brandon Aubrey

kicked a 46-yard ﬁeld goal on the ﬁnal play of overtime after a tying 64-yarder to end regulation, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 40-37 in a thrilling duel between star quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson on Sunday

The Cowboys extended their winning streak against the NFC East rivals to nine games — the longest active streak in the NFL among division opponents and Prescott beat the Giants for the 14th consecutive time since losing both starts against them as a rookie in 2016.

Overtime was on the verge of going scoreless after the teams combined for ﬁve go-ahead TDs in the ﬁnal 12 minutes of the fourth quarter

That included a go-ahead TD apiece for Prescott and Wilson in the final minute before Prescott got the Cowboys just far enough for Aubrey’s tying kick on the last play of regulation.

Wilson, who threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns, connected with Malik Nabors on a 48-yard TD for a 37-34 New York lead with 25 seconds remaining after Prescott threw a 6-yarder to George Pickens with 52 seconds to go.

The Giants just needed a field goal to win when Wilson threw an ill-advised deep ball with pressure, and Donovan Wilson intercepted at the Dallas 30 with 2 minutes left in OT Prescott put Aubrey in chip-shot range with a 14-yard scramble.

LIONS 52, BEARS 21: In Detroit, Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and matched a career high with five touchdown passes, including a career-high three scores to Amon-Ra St. Brown, to help the Detroit bounce back with a win over Chicago.

The Lions (1-1) dropped the opener at Green Bay and responded as they have consistently under coach Dan Campbell, avoiding consecutive losses in the regular season over the last 2 1/2 years.

the start. With the Bills (2-0) leading 10-0, Allen left late in the ﬁrst quarter after getting hit in the face when he scrambled and was stopped for no gain. Micheal Clemons appeared to get a hand under the quarterback’s facemask.

PATRIOTS 33, DOLPHINS 27: In Miami Gardens, Florida, Drake Maye threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, Antonio Gibson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score, and New England beat Miami for Mike Vrabel’s ﬁrst win as the Patriots’ coach.

Maye completed 19 of 23 passes for 230 yards. He had an 8-yard TD pass to former Dolphin Mack Hollins and a 16-yard scoring toss to Kayshon Boutte.

ing, but the Eagles (2-0) defense stepped up, carrying them to their seventh straight win and 17th in a span of 18 games They held Chiefs to 294 yards, stopped them once on fourth down and came away with the only turnover at a pivotal point in the game.

The Eagles have now won three in a row over Kansas City. The Chiefs had won the four matchups before that.

COLTS 29, BRONCOS 28: In Indianapolis Spencer Shrader made a 45yard ﬁeld goal with no time left after the Broncos were penalized for leverage on his missed 60yard try, and Indianapolis beat Denver for their first 2-0 start since 2009.

The Bears (0-2) turned the ball over twice in the ﬁrst half, leading to a 28-14 deﬁcit that was too large to overcome in coach Ben Johnson’s return to the city where he became an offensive coordinator and one of the NFL’s top coaching candidates.

SEAHAWKS 31, STEELERS 17: In Pittsburgh, George Holani pounced on a live ball in the end zone for an improbable touchdown, and Seattle took advantage of sloppy play by Pittsburgh to pull off a surprise victory

The Seahawks had taken a 3-point lead early in the fourth quarter on Jason Myers’ 54-yard ﬁeld goal when the ensuing kickoff bounced over the hands of Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson and into the end zone.

While Johnson turned his back and walked toward the bench, Holani raced to the end zone and fell on the ball just before it rolled out of bounds to give the Seahawks (11) a 24-14 lead. That was enough on a day Aaron Rodgers and the rest of Pittsburgh’s offense delivered a dud in the Steelers’ home opener

RAVENS 41, BROWNS 17: In Balti-

more, Lamar Jackson threw four touchdown passes and Baltimore’s defense harassed Joe Flacco throughout his return to Charm City as the Ravens dispatched Cleveland.

After holding Cincinnati to 141 yards in a one-point loss to the Bengals last week, the Cleveland defense limited Derrick Henry to just 24 yards on 11 rushing attempts and forced the Ravens to work.

But the Browns (0-2) were mostly inept on offense. Flacco, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Ravens playing his ﬁrst game in Baltimore as an opposing player, went 25 for 45 for 199 yards and a touchdown, with an interception and a lost fumble.

BILLS 30, JETS 10: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Josh Allen shook off a bloody nose that sidelined him for two plays, James Cook ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Buffalo cruised to a victory over New York. Buffalo, coming off a 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore, needed no late rally in this one as the Bills (2-0) shut down Justin Fields and the Jets’ offense from

Browning relieves injured Burrow as Bengals win

BY JOE REEDY Associated Press

CINCINNATI Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals turned a nightmarish ﬁrst half including an injury to Joe Burrow — into a dream ﬁnish.

Browning relieved Burrow and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 18 seconds remaining to give the Bengals a 3127 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday and their ﬁrst 2-0 start since 2018.

Burrow suffered a left toe injury in the ﬁrst half and did not return He left the locker room on crutches and with a boot on his foot

The former LSU standout is dealing with a turf toe injury that could require surgery sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday night. Images of the injury to Burrow’s left toe, which he suffered in the second quarter of Sunday’s 31-27 home win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, are being sent to noted foot specialist Dr Robert Anderson to be reviewed, sources told Schefter If surgery is deemed necessary, it is expected to sideline Burrow for approximately three months.

“It’s a touch of gray on the day Won the game, very happy for that but I’m sure people are concerned,” center Ted Karras said. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he didn’t have an update on Burrow’s injury

“Resilient group that found a way It feels like that’s what this year is turning into already,” Taylor said. “You know just a group that believes in each other and never ﬂinches, even when things are difﬁcult.” Browning threw three interceptions, but also accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). Cincinnati scored on four of the eight drives he led, none more important than the last The Bengals took over at their own 8 with 3:42 remaining after the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence couldn’t connect with Brian Thomas Jr on fourth-and-5 Browning directed

a 15-play, 92-yard drive on which he completed 9 of 12 passes for 65 yards, including a 13-yard ﬂare to running back Chase Brown on fourth-and-3 at the 15.

Cincinnati also benefited from a pass-interference penalty on Jacksonville two-way rookie Travis Hunter on a fourth-down play at the Bengals 33. The call moved the ball to the Jaguars 42 with 1:49 remaining.

“I had thrown three picks, and somehow we had a chance to win the game,” said Browning, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards

“I can’t be afraid of the fourth in that situation. The defense did a good job forcing a turnover on downs, so I had to be delusional and aggressive, because the moment called for it.”

On the sneak, Karras and Browning said they knew the Jaguars were trying to go low, which created the opportunity for him to lunge over the goal line.

Burrow was 7 of 13 for 76 yards and a touchdown before the injury

The sixth-year quarterback left after he was sacked by Arik Armstead with 9:02 remaining in the

second quarter It was the Jaguars’ second sack of Burrow

“You think you’re on the sideline then you’re thrown in. That creates an emotional jump. You try to ride that wave and operate,” Browning said.

The Bengals trailed 17-10 at halftime.

“We found ourselves in an offensive nightmare. I credit everyone for digging ourselves and not just folding in because that could have easily happened,” Karras said.

Browning’s best throw was a 42yard touchdown to Tee Higgins in the fourth quarter that made it 24-24. On third-and-5, Higgins got separation from Tyson Campbell and caught the ball at the Jacksonville 16. Campbell and teammate Andrew Wingard ran into each other at the 11, allowing Higgins to waltz into the end zone.

The Jaguars converted only one of their three interceptions into a touchdown.

First-year coach Liam Coen said of his late fourth-down decision: “That’s a 100 percent a ‘Go.’”

The Dolphins took a 27-23 lead midway through the fourth when Malik Washington returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. Before Miami fans were even done celebrating the play, Gibson took the ensuing kickoff to the house to give the Patriots a three-point lead.

RAMS 33, TITANS 19: In Nashville, Tennessee, Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns and Los Angeles spoiled rookie Cam Ward’s NFL home opener, scoring 20 straight points to beat Tennessee.

Wide receiver Puka Nacua also ran 45 yards for a touchdown Davante Adams had 106 yards receiving and a touchdown catch. Joshua Karty also kicked two ﬁeld goals.

The Rams (2-0) sacked the No. 1 overall draft pick ﬁve times. Linebacker Byron Young had two, and he also stripped Ward of the ball at the Titans 21 on his second sack.

EAGLES 20, CHIEFS 17: In Kansas City Missouri, Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley had touchdown runs, and Andrew Mukuba came up with a big fourth-quarter interception of Patrick Mahomes, helping Philadelphia over Kansas City in a rematch of a Super Bowl that Philadelphia won in a rout. Hurts threw for just 101 yards and Barkley was held to 88 rush-

Trailing by two with 3:15 left, the Colts played conservatively on their final drive, with Jonathan Taylor running the ball seven times and Daniel Jones throwing only one pass. Those plays netted 26 yards and set up Shrader’s attempt from the Colts logo at midﬁeld that missed short and right.

But Dondrea Tillman was flagged for leverage — using a teammate to vault himself into the air to try to block the kick. The 15-yard personal-foul penalty put Indy well within Shrader’s range, and he easily converted his ﬁfth ﬁeld goal of the game.

CARDINALS 27, PANTHERS 22: In Glendale, Arizona, Josh Sweat had a strip-sack that led to an early defensive touchdown, Calais Campbell had a sack with 26 seconds left in the game to turn back a frantic Carolina rally and Arizona beat the Panthers. Carolina trailed 27-3 with 9:23 left in the third quarter, but Bryce Young threw three touchdown passes in the second half to lead a comeback attempt. The third touchdown, a 1-yard throw to Hunter Renfrow, cut the margin to 27-22 with 1:58 left.

The Panthers then converted the onside kick, getting the ball at midﬁeld and setting up a ﬁnal offensive drive. Young was sacked on fourth down by the 39-year-old Campbell to end the threat.

Tampa Bay’s Evans cherishes potential last game at NRG Stadium

BY KRISTIE RIEKEN AP sportswriter

HOUSTON Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans is always thrilled to play in Houston since NRG Stadium is just an hour from where he grew up in Galveston, Texas.

The star receiver in his 12th NFL season expects Monday night’s trip to face the Houston Texans to mean a little more than past visits considering it could be his last time to play there.

“It might be,” Evans said.

“Even if I played another three or four years, when is the next time we go back? This might be my last time. So, I’ve got a lot of people coming to this game for that sole reason.”

Evans, who also played collegiately in the state at Texas A&M, is hoping this visit goes better than Tampa Bay’s previous trip to Houston in 2023 when C.J. Stroud’s career-high ﬁve touchdown passes allowed the Texans to rally for a 39-37 win in the ﬁnal minute.

Evans said that loss “broke our heart” and he hopes the Buccaneers can get some payback Monday Leading that charge with him will be fellow Texan Baker Mayfield, who is from Austin. The quarterback is also looking forward to the trip to his home state and hopes to grab something from his favorite Texas-based burger chain while he’s in town.

“It’s always awesome,” he said. “It’s always awesome to get Whataburger after the game as well. That’s a really big plus. But yeah, it’s always good to go back to Texas, knowing that there’s a lot of people there to support. We have a bunch of guys that have roots there as well. So, it’s a good time.”

ä Buccaneers at Texans. 6 P.M. MONDAy,ABC, ESPN

Tampa Bay will try to improve to 2-0 after rallying for a 23-20 win over Atlanta in the opener last week. The Texans are looking for their ﬁrst win after falling to the Rams 14-9 last week after a late fumble.

Houston coach DeMeco Ryans knows his team will have its hands full dealing with Mayﬁeld and Tampa Bay’s passing game Monday night.

“Baker Mayﬁeld, he’s playing the best he’s played in his career,” Ryans said. “(Coach) Todd (Bowles) has done a really nice job of working with Baker The passing game they were top ﬁve in pretty much all the major offensive categories last year It shows. They have weapons at receiver Mike Evans has done it for a long time, continues to shine.”

And the Texans understand how potent rookie first-round pick Emeka Egbuka can be, too after he scored two touchdowns, including the game winner in his debut last week.

“Egbuka, has done a really nice job making some explosive plays,” Ryans said. “He showed up big time for them in their game versus Atlanta. Baker, he does a really nice job of just moving around, scrambling in the pocket, keeping plays alive. You see toughness, you see grittiness from Baker, which allows their passing game to thrive.” Evans had ﬁve receptions for 51 yards in the opener. The Buccaneers would love to get him the ball more, but Bowles understands that if teams key on him then other receivers will have a chance to shine as Egbuka did last week.

“He’s a big focus of our offense,” Bowles said. “Obviously, he’s a focus for defenses when they play us so he’s going to command two or three guys sometimes. So, that opens up the run game, it opens up the other receivers, the tight ends, it helps the quarterback get his read a lot quicker Mike does a lot of things even when he’s not getting the ball.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott gives place kicker Brandon Aubrey a kiss on the head after the team’s overtime win in agame against the New york Giants on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF DEAN

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning right, is hugged by tight end Noah Fant after Browning’s rushing touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in Cincinnati

49ERS 26 SAINTS 21

Kamara’s fumble shifts momentum

San Francisco quickly capitalized on turnover

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints’ first turnover of the year could not have come at a more inopportune time.

PASSING—San Francisco, Jones 26-39-0-279. New Orleans, Rattler 25-34-0-206.

RECEIVING—San Francisco, McCaffrey

6-52, Jennings 5-89, Pearsall 4-56, Tonges

4-31, Bourne 3-32, Farrell 2-15, Juszczyk 1-5, B.Robinson 1-(minus 1). New Orleans, Olave

6-53, Kamara 6-21, Johnson 5-49, Shaheed 4-52, Cooks 2-26, Vele 1-3, Miller 1-2. PUNT RETURNS—San Francisco, Moore 1-1. New Orleans, Shaheed 2-23. KICKOFF RETURNS—San Francisco, Guerendo

2-47. New Orleans, Miller 3-82.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—San Francisco, Warner 8-2-0, Winters 6-2-0, Green 5-0-0, Stout 4-1-1, M.Williams 4-1-0, Bosa 3-6-1, Huff 3-1-1, Lenoir 3-1-0, Sigle 2-3-0, Pinnock 2-2-0, Davis 1-1-0, Gross-Matos 1-1-0, Lucas 1-0-0, Okuayinonu 1-0-0, Collins 0-2-0, Elliott

0-2-0. New Orleans, Davis 5-6-0, Sanker 5-3-0, Granderson 5-2-2, Yiadom 5-2-0, Reid 5-0-0, Werner 5-0-0, Taylor 3-3-0, Rumph 2-0-1, Shepherd 1-1-0, Godchaux 1-0-0, Jordan 1-00, McKinstry 1-0-0, Broughton 0-3-0.

INTERCEPTIONS—San Francisco, None. New Orleans, None. MISSED FIELD GOALS—New Orleans, Grupe

40. OFFICIALS—Referee Shawn Smith, Ump Tra Blake, HL Jay Bilbo, LJ Jeff Seeman, FJ Dyrol Prioleau, SJ Boris Cheek, BJ Dino Paganelli, Replay Mike Wimmer.

Trailing 19-14 in the third quarter, the Saints were driving into San Francisco 49ers territory with an opportunity to take the lead Quarterback Spencer Rattler found Alvin Kamara open in the ﬂat but put the ball just a little behind the running back

Kamara hauled the pass in, but he couldn’t do it cleanly, pinning the ball on his shoulder pads. As he was being taken to the ground, San Francisco’s All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner stormed in and punched the ball out of Kamara’s hands.

Referees initially ruled Kamara was down by contact, but after a replay review they determined that while he maintained possession long enough for it to be considered a catch, he lost control before his knee hit the ground.

“The main component that they were discussing is if it was a catch or no catch,” said Saints coach Kellen Moore. “There’s enough action in there. I haven’t seen it. I just saw the TV perspective of it from the big screen. Obviously he had kind of controlled it with his hand. Once that happened, it became a catch, and there was a fumble.”

Kamara fumbled the ball at the 49ers’ 29-yard line and Warner recovered it at the 32.

San Francisco took possession of the ball and went on a sevenplay, 68-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones to Jauan Jennings on third and 11 to push the 49ers lead to 26-14.

Missed opportunity

After missing one ﬁeld goal in the entirety of training camp and preseason Saints kicker Blake Grupe has now missed two in as many regular-season games.

Quarterback Rattler and Rashid Shaheed connected on a 39-yard

pass on the third play of the game, a deep shot that pushed the Saints to the San Francisco 26-yard line.

The next three plays gained just 4 yards, setting Grupe up for a 40yard ﬁeld goal to give the Saints an early 3-0 lead. But the ball took a hard right turn after it left Grupe’s foot and sailed wide of the uprights.

Last week, Grupe missed a 38-yarder to the left of the uprights — a miss he took the blame for after rushing his process when the play clock was winding down. He is now 1-for-3 on ﬁeld goals this season.

“Blake’s got too much good going on,” Moore said. “He’s just got to get better and clean it up.” Flight plans

Looking ahead to the Saints’ Week 3 road matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the team will depart a few days early for the Paciﬁc Northwest.

The Saints will take a team charter to Seattle after Thursday’s practice, then conduct their Friday session at the Uni-

versity of Washington’s campus. This isn’t particularly new: New Orleans also practiced at Husky Stadium in 2019, spending the entire week there after a road matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Moore said there are a couple of advantages to getting out there early beyond getting the players acclimated to the Paciﬁc time zone.

“We’ve been here for close to a month now, so with the long travel up there, we felt like it would be a good opportunity for our team to spend some extra time together,” Moore said.

Odds and ends

Cam Jordan played in his 228th game as a member of the Saints Sunday, tying him with Drew Brees for the most appearances all time in a Saints uniform Michael “Beer Man” Lewis joined the team on the sideline as the Legend of the Game, and Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson was in attendance for the game as well Linebackers Demario Davis and Pete Werner led the pregame Who Dat chant.

sign that coach Kellen Moore is doing all that he can to keep his team competitive. But what does it say that so many Saints season-ticket holders appeared to sell their seats this early into the season? And more troubling for New Orleans, the product on the ﬁeld couldn’t even beat a team missing its usual starting quarterback.

Mac Jones was not supposed to look like Brock Purdy, who’s reportedly out 2-5 weeks with turf toe. But the 49ers backup carved the Saints’ secondary, throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-39 passing. Over the last few months, the Saints have made plenty of moves to indicate they’re on board for a rebuild Just a day earlier, New Orleans traded a late-round pick swap for an injured wide receiver who won’t suit up in 2025. Teams competing for the now don’t make that type of move. Still, rebuilding a franchise takes time — and pain. And to start the season, the punches have come early “Our guys are competing,” Moore said. “It hurts when you lose games like this. That’s how it’s supposed to feel. There are no feelgood moments out of this.” It can be natural in games like this particularly in the ﬁrst year of a new coach, to focus on the

positives. Rattler, for the second straight week, not only staved off calls for the Saints to turn to rookie Tyler Shough, but the quarterback is processing the defense fast enough to give his team a chance. Against the 49ers, Rattler made more of an effort to push the ball down the field — and his aggression paid off. His first pass was a 39-yard completion to Rashid Shaheed, and his first touchdown was an 18-yard strike to Juwan Johnson.

Rattler, who went 25 of 34 for 207 yards and three touchdowns, was the main reason the Saints had a chance. The second-year quarterback helped New Orleans overcome a sluggish ﬁrst half with a much more efﬁcient second half. Rattler kept numerous drives alive with sharp throws and impressive scrambles such as when he used a quarterback keeper to pick up fourth-and-1 on a third-quarter drive that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown to Shaheed.

But the Saints can’t ignore the negatives, which have outweighed any silver linings of the ﬁrst two weeks

Late in the fourth quarter, the Saints had two drives to potentially steal the game away from San Francisco. But each time, pressure from San Francisco’s defensive line wrecked any chance of a comeback

First, on third-and-6 with 3:50 left, All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa overpowered rookie Kelvin Banks to crumple Rattler Then, on fourth-and-2 with 1:03 left, Bryce

Huff quickly beat Taliese Fuaga to strip Rattler of the football, leading to a 49ers recovery

“Really, we couldn’t even get the play started,” Moore said. The fumble, Rattler’s sixth in nine career games, was the play that sealed New Orleans’ loss. The Saints’ biggest problems, though, came well before that. Before their first touchdown to cut San

Francisco’s lead to 9-7, the Saints’ first four possessions resulted in a 40-yard field goal and three punts. Rattler missed an easy-looking, wide-open touchdown to Chris Olave on the first drive, too.

There was no more inexplicable problem than Jones. Too often on Sunday, the 27-year-old resembled the intriguing prospect that was drafted 15th overall in 2021 rath-

er than the bust who flamed out of New England, struggled as a backup in Jacksonville and landed with San Francisco as a reclamation project.

Jones was the quarterback responsible for the Saints’ last shutout in 2023, when he played so poorly the Patriots benched him en route to a 34-0 loss. But on Sunday, Jones executed all the hallmarks of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He thrived on rollouts, was accurate on quick throws and even made plays with his feet.

“He did a hell of a job,” Shanahan said.

Jones created separation in pivotal moments, keeping the Saints at bay Just before halftime, the fourth-year signal-caller hit seven of his nine passes and found running back Christian McCaffrey for a 7-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 16-7 lead.

Then, in what proved to be the deciding score, Jones helped the 49ers take advantage of a rare Alvin Kamara fumble by hitting Jauan Jennings on a 42-yard touchdown across the middle of the ﬁeld — on third-and-11, no less.

The Saints, even with another scored touchdown, couldn’t close the gap. And now, with road trips to face the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills on deck, who knows when their ﬁrst win will ﬁnally come.

“We have to grow from this,” Moore said.

Email Matthew

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints tight end Juwan Johnson catches the ball for a touchdown in front of San Francisco 49ers safety Marques Sigle in the ﬁrst half of their game on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara fumbles the ball as San Francisco 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown defends during the second half of their game Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

49ERS26, SAINTS

THREEAND OUT: RODWALKER’STOP THREETAKEAWAyS FROM SAINTS LOSS TO 49ERS

DEFENSIVEWOES

1

If youhad told me before the game that aMac Jones-led offense would hang 26 points on this Saints defense, Iwould have said “no way.”The bread and butter of these Saints is supposed to be their defense.With the 49ers missing both starting quarterback Brock Purdyand tight end GeorgeKittle, this was agame where the defense could perhapsfeast. The Saints’ Dletting the 49ers respond to atouchdown in the secondquarter was akiller.The third-down defense wasn’t good, either (the 49ers converted on 8 of 15).The defense boweduplate to givethe offense achance, but asking the Saints to score more than 26 points isa tallask.

DUNCAN

Continued from page1B

the end, but overall,their effortswerefutile —and not nearly enough to overcome their lack of talent, experience and execution.

“You have to play cleaner football,” Moore said. “You have to clean your own house in all three phases. We have to do more of what winning football teams do.”

The Saints have now lost ﬁve consecutive home games dating back to last season. Theyhaven’twon in New Orleans since Week 11 of last year on Nov.11, 2024.

No wonder so many Saints fans elected to skip the game and sell their tickets on the secondary market. The lower bowlof the Superdome had anoticeable scarlet red hue to it Sunday as Niners fans took overthe stadiumdown the stretch. Week 2might seem early to be throwing in the towel, but Saints fans are understandably trying to secure areturn on their investment where they can.

“There’spain with losing another (close) one,” Moore said. “It hurts when you lose games like this, and that’show it’ssupposed to feel. There’snofeel-good moments out this.”

Sunday’sloss should serve as awake-up call for anyone who might have deluded themselves into believing Mooreand Rattler might defy preseason predictions andambush the league the way Sean Payton and Drew Brees did in 2006. Back-to-back home lossestothe Cardinals and 49ers —two winnable games againstbeatable and vulnerable opponents —only conﬁrmed the dire forecasts from experts across the league. The Saints look like ateam that’salong way away from beingcompetitive

“I feel like we took astep(in theright direction),” Moore said. “We’ve just got to play at ahigher level.”

Such aprospect seems dubious at this point. The Saints have lost 14 of their last 17 games overall and 15 of their last 20 one-score games. That’snot bad luck. That’swhat stock analystscall amarket indicator

And with adaunting two-game road trip on deck, there is little reason to believe things will turn around in the weeks ahead. The Saints must ﬂy from one corner of the country to the other while playing in two of the most hostile environments in the league. Seattle and Buffalo are acombined 3-1 and look like bona ﬁde playoff contenders.

An 0-4 start doesn’tjust seem possible. It seems likely

“I wouldn’tsay the vibes are down at all,” Rattler said.“All these games come down to the little details. We’vegot to keep harping on those details. We’ve got alot ahead of us.”

That might not be agood thing the way the seasonhas started.

Normally,NFL seasonstend to ﬂy by Week 1kicks off, and you look up andit’s December.That doesn’tfeel likethe case this year If the ﬁrst two games are any indication, this season feels like aslog. Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@theadvocate.com.

RATTLER REVIEW

2

Spencer Rattler’sstartwasn’tgreat. He completed just one of his first sevenpass attempts. Included in that slowstartiswhat shouldhavebeen an easy touchdown to Chris Olave, but Rattler’spass was behind Olaveinthe endzone.But eventually Rattler gotgoing,completing 14 consecutive passes at one point. He also had acoupleofkey runs for firstdowns.yeah, he missedsomethrows along the way. Hisprogression, though, fromwhere he was as arookie to where he is now, is noticeable. He completed 25 of 34 passes for206 yards and 3touchdowns.The Saintscan win gameswith Rattler at quarterback, but theywill need to playmuchbetter in otherareas.

3

DOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE?

Remember when the Superdome was intimidating? It isn’t now, and it definitely wasn’t on Sunday.The place wasa seaof49ers red Whenthe 49ersscoredtheir firsttouchdown,you would have thought the Saints had scored based on howloud it was.The Saints have nowlost five straight homegames. The last time they lost five straight homegames was in 2005, which deserves an asterisk considering those gamesweren’t in the Dome.Thelast timetheylost five in arow in this building was at theend of the 1994 and beginning of the 1995 season.The twolossestostart this season came against twobeatable teams,especially sincethe 49erswerewithout Purdy.

‘GOT TO GET OFFTHE FIELD’

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

It was aone-score game earlyin the fourth quarter,and theNew Orleans Saints defense had aprime opportunity to give its offense ashotat ago-ahead drive.

And thenSan Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones stepped up into aclean pocket and threaded the needleinthe New Orleans Cover 2zone on third-and-11,dropping a pass behind the linebackers to Jauan Jennings, who took it to the house for a42-yard touchdown.

It wasthe lastand biggestblow the 49ers landed against the Saints defense on crucial third-down plays in the Saints’ 26-21 loss. At the point Jones and Jennings connected, San Francisco had converted eight of its 12 thirddowns.

Four of those conversions, including theJenningstouchdown, came when the 49ers faceda thirdand-10orlonger. That is coming on the heels of aperformance against theArizona CardinalsinWeek1 in which the Saints allowed Arizona to convert third downs of 10, 11 and 12 yards.

“Weare giving up waytoo much in that situation,” head coach Kellen Moore said.

“We’re doing such agreat job on ﬁrst andsecond(down), andweget into these third-and-8-pluses, and they’re ﬁnding these windows and completing throws,” linebacker Pete Werner said. “That’s unacceptable.”

The inability to getoff theﬁeldon third down was morepronounced in Sunday’sloss to SanFrancisco because of theplayoutcomes:Each of Jones’ threetouchdown passes came

when the 49erswereinthird down.

The first was athird-and-short where Jones kept the ball, rolledto his left and found an open Luke Farrell in the ﬂat. Farrell broke through apoorAlontae Taylortackleattempt for an 11-yard score.

With seconds remaining in the firsthalf, Jonesagain steppedup into aclean pocket andfound running back ChristianMcCaffrey on an out-breaking routefor a7-yard touchdown on third-and-6.

Thecommon threadonmost of the conversions seemed to be New Orleans’ difﬁculties generating pressure on Jones. Carl Granderson sacked him twice in theﬁrst half, and Chris Rumph showed great hustle on astrip sack that set up aSaints touchdown, but Jones otherwise had aclean pocket to operate inside for much of thegame.

“Wehavetobeable to affect the quarterback,” said defensive end Cam Jordan. “Weknew we had to gethim off thespot. He was able to …get the ball out as fastashe could.” Jones was a2022 ﬁrst-round pick of theNew England Patriots,but Sunday’sgame was his debut for the 49ers. He played becausethe usual starter,Brock Purdy,missedthe game with toe and shoulder injuries.

Before his arrivalinSan Francisco, Jones’ star had dimmed considerably sincehis strong rookie season. But against the Saints, Jones compiled a113.1 passer rating and carrieda 49ersoffense that managed just 77 yards on the ground.

“This is thepros, andit’sthe pros for areason,”linebacker Demario Davis said. “The guys who come off the benchare very good players;

they can gethot and do good things just like starters, and he did that today.”

New Orleans came intothe game ﬁguring theSan Franciscooffense wasnot going to change much despite the stylistic differences between Jonesand themoremobile Purdy.Thatmeanta lotofquick passes that attacked the middle of the ﬁeld.

After the game, Saints players saidthey saw what they figured they were going to see with Jones in the lineup, and they didn’tsee their failuresasa defensive game plan issue. Werner said he believed the Saintswereinthe right coverages to answerwhatSan Franciscowas doing, but the players didn’talways execute the coverages properly

“Wejust weren’tinthe right spots,” Werner said. “Wecould’ve anticipated alot better.I don’tthink it had anything to do with the game plan, the rush plan; Ithink that was all great. Ijust think we’ve got to do better.”

The Saints ultimately did get some third-downstops —Jones threw third-down incompletions to end consecutive drives in the fourth quarter,giving the Saints achance at twogo-ahead drives late in the game. But the damage had already been done.

“The NFL, morethan anything else,issituational football,” safety Justin Reid said. “Wegave ourselves phenomenal position, winning ﬁrst and second down. And it’sjust about winning third down. Gottoget off the ﬁeld.”

Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

STAFF

PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints widereceiver Chris Olave walks off the field after NewOrleans’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers Sundayatthe Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

San Francisco 49erswide receiver Jauan Jennings catches the ball over Saints linebackerPete Werner fora touchdownduring the second half of their game Sundayatthe Caesars Superdome.

center,walks the sidelinemoments after

ejected from the game for targeting againstFlorida in the first quarter on SaturdayatTiger Stadium.

Kellyfrustrated by targetingcall

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

When Brian Kelly wasasked about the targeting penalty that disqualiﬁed starlinebacker Whit Weeks from LSU’s20-10 win over Florida on Saturday,helet out an exasperated sigh.

Kelly understands whyofﬁcials made the call, he said.He just wishes ruleswould give defendersmore leeway when oneoftheir tackles meets the criteria for targeting,which carries an automatic ejection.

“I just have ahard timewiththis one,”Kelly said On Florida’sfirst drive, Weeks was trying to make atacklewhen he lowered the crown of his helmet and contacted the face mask of receiver Vernell Brown.After avideo review,officials confirmed thetargeting call they made on the field and disqualified Weeks,who watched the rest of the gamefrom the sideline. Brown also lowered his helmet as he braced for the hit.The two players’ heads then collided “I come at it from adifferent perspective,” Kelly said.“Ithink, when you become arunnerand you duck your head, that targeting is not whatwe’re looking for. This is not my call, but Ithink from anationalstandpoint, that’s the one areathat I’vealways had aproblem (with). When you become arunner,and you drop your head, then the crown is susceptible to hitting somebody as a runner.” When the call was made, Weeks was visibly upset. He removedhis helmet and stormed to the sideline. Kelly spoke to him afterward, not long before Florida settled for a 45-yard fieldgoal to cap its opening drive.

“I guess they watched it,” Kelly

said, “and he must have hit with the top of his head,the crown, and if you hitwiththe crown,then it meets targeting. So Iunderstand that.

“I just philosophically have a hard time,whena guybecomes arunner and he ducks his head, that’sadifﬁcult burden to put on atackler.”

LSU still played stout defense withoutWeeks.

The Tigers intercepted Gators quarterback DJ Lagway ﬁve times andsacked him three times. They also tallied ﬁve tackles for loss and four pass-breakups, while holdingFloridatoonly 79 netrushing yards

Theperformance was impressive,especially because LSU played most of the second half withoutits other starting linebacker,West Weeks —the older brother of Whit Weeks —who injured hiscalf halfway through the third quarter Whit Weeks, ateam captainand preseason ﬁrst-team All-SEC selection, has made seven tackles this season and totaled three quarterback hurries.

During abreakout sophomore year,Weeksrecorded ateam-high 125 tackles to ranksecond in the SEC. He returned to start thefirst twogamesafter recoveringfrom an ankleinjury in the TexasBowl that required surgery Weeks will not miss any additional game time because he was disqualified inthe firsthalf. Sophomore Davhon Keysplayed linebacker in hisplace for mostof thenight and finished with ateamhigh 14 tackles.

EmailReed Darcey at reed darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sportsupdates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

LSUoffense must improve before conference play starts

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

LSU keepswinning. Its defense is wreaking havoc. Yetthe tenor of coach BrianKelly’slast twopostgamenewsconferences hasn’t matchedthe positive results theTigers have found on theﬁeld.

Kelly chose nottohidehis frustration after LSU picked up alackluster win over Louisiana Tech in its home opener.Then —after the Tigers caught five interceptionsina20-10 winover Florida —the fourth-year LSU coach found himself in atesty exchange with areporter who made the ﬁrst question posed on Saturday one about the offense’s struggles.

“Thatfootballteamjustworked their tail off to get an SEC win,” Kelly said angrily,“and you want to know what’s wrong.”

What exactly is wrong withthe LSU offense,whichscored only 13 points against Florida?

The No. 3Tigers (3-0) went three-and-out ﬁve times on Saturday —and punted seven times.

Before CadenDurhambroke off a51-yard run on the last drive of thegame, their rushing attack had produced only 68 yards on 20 carries. They convertedonly four of the 14 third downs they faced. Garrett Nussmeier threw an interception that could’ve helped the Gators eat intoLSU’slead except quarterback DJ Lagway tossedhis fourth pick of thenight nine plays later

Thepoint is that the Tigers struggled on offense. For the second game in arow

The season is only three weeks old, and LSU has faced three tough defenses.

But the early returns on itsretooled offense are not promising. TheTigersare struggling to ﬁnd consistent, efﬁcient yardage on theground, and Nussmeier isn’t completing explosive passing plays —two of the same issues theybattledfor most of last season.

“The offense, they’re going to getitrolling,” edgerusher Jack Pyburn said. “They have every

single tool, every single keythat they need “But at the end of the day,we got their back. It doesn’tmatter what situationwe’rein. That’sour mentality.”

In 2024, LSU finished 14th among SEC teams in red-zone touchdown conversionpercentage (57%).Now,in2025, theTigers are 16th —because they’ve convertedonlyfive of their11 red-zone trips into touchdowns (40%).

LSUran foronly 116 yards per gamelast year —the lowest rate in the SEC.

Now it’srushing for111 yards per game —the second-lowest rateinthe SEC.

In 2024, the Tigers excelled on third down. Their 49% conversion rate —the sixth-highest mark amongFBS teams—led the SEC. This season, however,LSU has converted only 17 of its 41 thirddown tries (42%). Now,11ofits league foes are converting third downs at ahigher rate.

The Tigers aren’tcompleting chunk passing plays either.Ten SEC teamshave completed more passes of at least 10 yards than LSU this season,and 14 have morecompletions of at least 20 yards. Nussmeier has thrown threetouchdown passes and two interceptions, including the one that foiled the drive the Tigers could’ve used to seal the win andsalvage arough night of offense.

Kelly said that kind of turnover “can’thappen,” especially becauseLSU reached the red zone so infrequently against Florida.

“We’vetalked about it enough,” he said, “and I’m not gonna beat himuphere. He knows. We just gotta take care of the football, and the way we’re playing offensively, we have to be smart, right? And take what thedefense gives us.”

Kelly then pointedout that Nussmeier is playing behind a brand-new offensiveline. Four of the starters fromlast season’s unit moved on to theNFL, andthe ﬁfth(DJ Chester) is now working as LSU’ssixth offensive lineman.

Braelin Moore, the transfer center from VirginiaTech, played through an ankle sprain on Saturday as well, and he helped the Tigers improve in pass protection. Nussmeier was pressured on only three of his 28 dropbacks against Florida,according to Pro Football Focus. In Week 2against Louisiana Tech —agamethat LSU played without Moore —he waspressured 11 times.

“These guys are working hard to get better,” Kelly said. “I’m with them every single day,and Iwatch them, andthey’re gonna have to get better. There’sno doubt, butthey’re committed, and we’re gonna committothem and we’regonna keep working with them.”

There are some positive signs. Nussmeier,for instance,fought off aslow start on Saturday to complete 10 of 11 pass attempts across akey stretchofthe ﬁrst half. Then,late in thefourth, Durham’s51-yard carry allowed LSU to line up in victory formation.

That run wasthe Tigers’ third rush that picked up at least 30 yards. Only three SEC teams have more such carriesthisseason. And then there’sthe defense, theunitthatKelly preferredto discuss on Saturday.Because it shut down Florida, LSU has now allowed10points or fewerin three consecutive games for the ﬁrst timesince 2011.

Things havechanged quitea bit on that side of the ball over the last twoyears. Now the concerns lie elsewhere.

“I mean, you guys were here when we had aproliﬁc offense,” Kelly said.“That doesn’t work. Thatdoesn’twork. Youcan’toutscore people andbeachampionship team.You can build your offense around the defense if it’s that good. And that’swhat we’re going to do.

“We’re goingtoget better on offense —more efﬁcient. But at the endofthe day, we’renot going to put our defense in abad situation,and that’swhat we have to get better at.”

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier hands the ball off to running backJu’Juan Johnson in the second half of the Tigers’ 20-10 win over Florida on Saturday at TigerStadium.

PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

If one could ascribe atheme to my ballot, last week’s vote was about sample size.

Could one bad loss drop Florida and Alabama behind twoteams they were heads and shoulders above in my preseason rankings? Were two games enough to determine that Clemson has systemic issues on offense? Had Miami erased all of its potential question marks after one big win over Notre Dame?

Dear reader,I offer this question

to you: Are just one or two weeks of games enough to radically change your outlook on ateam?If your answer is yes, then youlikely thought my AP poll last week was the work of aschmuck.

It’strue that leaning on preseason outlooksfor the ﬁrst week or twoto astrong degree —atleastincomparison to my colleagues —may be ﬂawed. But the truth is, there’s no perfect way to devise an AP poll, especially early in the yearas teams try to discover themselves. Idon’tput together these rankings every week to convince any-

onethat my processisthe right one. All Iask is forpeopletogive me time and their respect as Iexplainmydecision-making with my ballot each week With that said,here’swhere I landed after awild Week 3.

My AP poll afterWeek3

1. Penn State, 2. Miami,3.Georgia, 4. Ohio State, 5. Oregon, 6. Texas A&M, 7. Oklahoma, 8. LSU, 9. Texas, 10. Notre Dame, 11. Illinois,12. Michigan, 13.Alabama,14. Florida State, 15. Auburn, 16. Tennessee, 17. TexasTech, 18. Georgia Tech,19. Vanderbilt, 20.Missouri, 21. Utah, 22. TCU,23. Iowa State, 24. ArizonaState,25. Tulane.

Just missed: Indiana, Southern Cal, Ole Miss, Nebraska.

Explaining Texas, LSUand OU Texasand LSU dropped this week because of their struggling offenses.Yes,LSU hasn’t losta game, and the Longhorns’ only defeat cametoOhio State on the road, but neitherteamdominated its weaker opponents to thedegree that atop-5 team should.

For LSU, its wins over Clemson and Florida have lost the luster theyhad headinginto the season.

The Tigers also had trouble putting up points against LouisianaTech. Meanwhile, Texas struggled to complete apass against UTEP on Saturday,asquarterback Arch Manning’splaythrough three games has left me worried about theLonghorns. Those unimpressive results, combined with another strong performance from Oklahoma convinced me that theSooners should slide up in my rankings.

Ilikehow Oklahomahas looked on both sidesofthe ball. Andeven if thevictory against Michigan was at home and against afreshman quarterback, theSooners dominated ateam thatisbetter thananyone Texas or LSU has beaten this season.

TheNotre Dame conundrum

Aparticular set of circumstances would’ve had to occur for me to place an 0-2 team in mytop 10, but this year Notre Dame has surprisingly met that criterion.

The Fighting Irish have lost to two top-10 teams in my poll by a combined four points.Ifacouple of playshad gone theirway,they’d probably be No. 1. I’mnot saying that NotreDame

is perfect, and it’sobviously important towin the games, but how you lose and who you lose to are also critical factors.

Othernotes

Miami shot up my poll again afterdominating South Florida this weekend. The Hurricanes offense hasbeen surprisingly excellent, andtheir performance on Saturday proved their big win over NotreDame wasn’taﬂuke.

Filling out the bottom eight of my poll was an adventure. South Carolina, Pittsburgh and South Florida joined Florida and Clemson as the five schoolsthat slid outside of my rankings; therefore, ﬁnding ﬁve suitable replacements for them was achallenge.

Theeasiest decisions Imade, however,wereranking Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.

Vanderbilt’s dominant showing against South Carolina on the road was impressive, even when factoring in quarterback LaNoris Sellers’ injury.The Commodores were winning before he got hurt.

Georgia Tech joined Vanderbilt in my poll after its big win over Clemson. TheYellow Jackets didn’t dominate theTigers

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSUlinebacker Whit Weeks,

being

STAFF

Koki Riley

FRESNO ST. 56, SOUTHERN 7

THREE AND OUT: TOyLOy BROWN III’S TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM SOUTHERN’S LOSS TO FRESNO STATE

TOO MANY PENALTIES

1 SOUTHERN FINDS NEW STARTING QB

Ashton Strother should be coach Terrence Graves’ new starting quarterback.After Cam’Ron McCoy continued to have trouble delivering the ball on time and relying too much on his legs, Strother was a breath of fresh air The junior transfer from Coahoma Community College was composed on his first drive and remained mostly accurate throughout.The lone touchdown drive Strother led was Southern’s most impressive of the season, especially given the opponent.

2

The way Southern opened the game was a warning of what would be an issue throughout.The Jaguars’ false start on the first play of the game was one of many penalties the team accrued.They finished with 11 penalties for 86 yards. Fresno State had 6 penalties for 51 yards.The talent discrepancy was the reason for the various mishaps, but it is still worrying that there were multiple holding calls and false starts from an experienced offensive line.

KICKING ISSUES

3

For the second straight game, Southern’s field goal unit had a kick blocked. Freshman kicker Nathan Zimmer is now 2 of 6 on field goals after his lone 42-yard attempt was blocked on Saturday. His kicks appear to be a bit lower than what is preferred At the same time, the protection could do a better job One thing that is for certain is that Southern needs to nip this in the bud. It can’t win close SWAC games with this problem.

Southern running back Trey Holly finds a hole during the Jaguars’ game against Fresno State

Fresno, Calif.

Southern dominated by Fresno State

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Southern didn’t care that it was a 35.5-point underdog to Fresno State. The Jaguars traveled to California for a game for the first time in 25 years, hoping to get their ﬁrst win against an FBS opponent. While they tried to put their best effort together, the Jaguars will still be searching for that milestone win. Southern was dominated by Fresno State, losing 56-7 Saturday at Valley Children’s Stadium in Fresno, California. Southern (1-3) is now 0-18 against FBS opponents, and Fresno State (3-1) has won 20 straight games against FCS teams.

“Guys played hard, executed, competed all way to the end,” coach Terrence Graves said. “We made some mistakes. The goal was to play a clean game. And you know, we didn’t play a clean game as we should.” While Southern, which is the first HBCU program to play at Fresno State’s home stadium, will not be pleased with the blowout loss, the defeat takes place in nonconference play As the second-year coach has said since his team’s season-opening loss to North Carolina Central, everything they want to accomplish is still possible. Southern was the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division champion last year Fresno State started with the ball and looked like it was going to have an unblemished game from its quarterback E.J. Warner, the son of NFL Hall of Famer

Fresno St. 56, Southern 7

Southern U 0 7 0 0 7 Fresno St. 14 21 7 14 56

First Quarter FRES—Duvall 25 pass from Warner (Lynch kick), 11:53. FRES—J.Brown 6 pass from Warner (Lynch kick), 2:54.

Second Quarter FRES—Luke 19 pass from Warner (Lynch kick), 10:58.

SOU—Holly 1 run (Zimmer kick), 5:41 FRES—Donelson 57 run (Lynch kick), 5:27

FRES—Anderson 22 pass from Warner (Lynch kick), :33.

Third Quarter

FRES—Luke 19 run (Lynch kick), 3:06 Fourth Quarter FRES—Arceneaux 3 run (Lynch kick), 10:37 FRES—Gilliam 5 run (Lynch kick), 4:58 A—37,210. SOUFRES First downs 7 31 Total Net Yards 142 507 Rushes-yards 27-11 41-225 Passing 131 282 Punt Returns 0-0 2-0 Kickoff Returns 3-61 1-18

Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 10-18-0 25-30-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 3-13 1-15 Punts 8-36.375 1-50.0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 12-91 6-50 Time of Possession 25:14 34:46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Southern, Gabriel 9-13, Holly 7-11, Smith 2-5, (Team) 1-(minus 1), McCoy 5-(minus 6), Strother 3-(minus 11). Fresno St., Donelson 9-90, Gilliam 9-53, Arceneaux 6-41, Luke 7-31, Rivers 1-6, Conklin 1-6, Ramirez 2-6, Warkentin 1-5, (Team) 3-(minus 3), Warner 2-(minus 10). PASSING—Southern, Strother 9-14-0-127, McCoy 1-4-0-4. Fresno St., Warner 20-24-0240, Conklin 5-6-0-42. RECEIVING—Southern, Ko.Brown 3-29, M.Jackson 2-55, Jefferson 2-14, D.Morris 1-19, Holly 1-14, Prince 1-0. Fresno St., Luke 7-79, Avit 4-33, J.Brown 3-36, Gilliam 2-24, Donelson 2-19, Farrar 2-18, McClain 2-12, Duvall 1-25, Anderson 1-22, Tarwater 1-14. MISSED FIELD GOALS—Southern, Zimmer 44.

Kurt Warner The Bulldog senior started hot, completing his first 10 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns His first incompletion came with 14 minutes left in the second quarter, during Fresno State’s first non-scoring drive. As sound as Fresno State looked,

Southern’s offense was the opposite early in co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair’s ﬁrst game as play-caller The offense beneﬁted from a pair of costly penalties from Fresno State. One of those mistakes was a personal foul on a tackle on quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy, who was hit above the shoulder pads by a defender while sliding on a 5-yard gain.

The hit was eerily similar to the one that resulted in Jalen Woods being placed in concussion protocol. Fortunately for Southern, McCoy quickly bounced up unharmed.

The junior Jackson State transfer made his third quarterback start of the season, but was unproductive in his three drives. He wasn’t able to ﬁnd a rhythm and consistently hit his receivers. His mobility which has been his most impressive skill, wasn’t as effective against the most talented defense he’ll see.

The Jaguars’ overall rushing attack was poor as it finished with 11 yards on 27 carries. Running back Mike Franklin never played.

“We decided to hold Mike out,” Graves said. “He had some bumps and bruises, but we wanted to get him ready for conference play.”

McCoy’s night ended with 10:58 remaining in the second period when quarterback Ashton Strother entered the game for the second time in his Jaguar career

The junior transfer from Coahoma Community College was the team’s biggest bright spot as he brought instant order to the offense.

Strother’s ﬁrst pass went for 23

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Southern’s Ashton Strother maneuvered to the right side out of the pocket, pump-faked a throw that made a defender ﬂy by and whipped the football on the money 28 yards to wide receiver Malachi Jackson. The Southern quarterback’s best throw didn’t look like that of a third-stringer The Coahoma Community College transfer certainly didn’t play like the fourth quarterback added to the roster less than a week before the season opener on Aug. 23. In a 56-7 loss to Fresno State, the only FBS foe Southern will face and its last nonconference game of the season, Strother had the best passing performance the team has had through four games.

“Thought he played well,” Southern coach Terrence Graves said. “Thought he came in, commanded the offense, thought he moved the team up and down the ﬁeld. So it was good to see him do something. Yeah, he missed some things, but all things considered, I thought he played well tonight.”

Strother, a junior, completed 9 of 14 passes for 127 yards on Saturday at Valley Children’s Stadium. His ﬁrst drive resulted in a 1-yard rushing touchdown as he led a nine-play drive for 75 yards. The overall performance is especially impressive due to the talent discrepancy in favor of Fresno State (3-1).

“It feels good, you know got kind of those first-game jitters out of the way,” Strother said about his first full opportunity “But now, we got to get back to Baton Rouge and protect home.” Even though Strother stepped on the field for the first time during the final drive of Southern’s 34-29 win over Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 30, he didn’t throw a single pass in his limited snaps. This game in Fresno was his true debut, and he was composed from the onset.

“That’s how you be ready,” said Southern nickelback Elijah West, who had a forced fumble. “That’s all I can say That’s how you be ready He got in, he made plays and moved the ball. So that’s kudos to him.”

yards to wide receiver Malachi Jackson for Southern’s first first down via non-penalty This was the first of six consecutive completions for the Memphis native. Southern’s new quarterback was timely with his passes outside the numbers and in the middle of the field.

Strother’s quick and accurate throws were the opposite of McCoy’s, and the Fresno State defense didn’t make a quick adjustment. Strother led the Jaguars on a nine-play touchdown drive for 75 yards. Running back Trey Holly punched in the 1-yard rushing touchdown for his team’s only score.

Southern’s offense wasn’t able to replicate that level of success for a complete drive for the remainder of the contest.

Defensively, the Jaguars had a couple of bright moments in a forced fumble on a sack by defensive end Ckelby Givens in the second quarter Nickelback Elijah West forced the team’s second fumble, which was recovered by defensive end Lance Joseph in the third quarter

“I just seen him get the ball,” West said, “so I knew I had to make a game-changing play And I just went to run through his body, and the ball came out.”

Outside of those moments, the Jaguars defense was outplayed, missing several tackles and not making the Bulldogs uncomfortable enough. Southern’s next game will be a SWAC Championship rematch against Jackson State at 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 at home.

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

The calmness he operated with in quick-game was a stark contrast to the run-pass option offense that starting dual-threat quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy was running in the first game with co-offensive coordinator Fred McNair as play-caller

The junior Jackson State transfer completed 1 of 4 passes for 4 yards in three drives. He also rushed ﬁve times for a loss of 6 yards.

Strother, who is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, said he was happy to join the Jaguars this offseason after he learned Graves wants his quarterback room to be competitive with multiple players vying to start. Strother credited his adaptation to the program to his teammates.

“Cam, J-Woods did a great job of welcoming me in, you know, teaching me the offense,” Strother said. “Everybody else just welcomed me in and, you know, prepared me for that moment, because, I mean, we’re a brotherhood. I mean, no matter who’s out there, we all want to win.”

What was most impressive was Strother’s decisiveness, barely hesitating to make the right read. That was evident with him completing his first six passes. His throws were toward the sidelines and in the middle of the field. His longest throw was the 28-yard dart to Jackson, who finished with two catches for 55 yards. He also threw passes for 19 yards and 18 yards to wide receivers Darren Morris and Kobe Brown, respectively Strother credited his targets for their hunger for the ball and catching skills.

“My receivers did a great job — D-Mo, Malachi, Cam Jefferson, they’re all great receivers,” he said. “It makes it a little bit easier on me when you have guys like that want the ball and want to be playmakers.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEVONE MOORE

on Saturday at Valley Children’s Stadium in

DIGITAL DISCIPLE

Awildlypopular

BY JESSIE WARDARSKI and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

Is lithium atreatment forAlzheimer’s disease?

Lithium is nature’slightest metal, enabling it to store energy at high density and discharge electrons rapidly.It powers our phones, laptops and electric vehicles. Probably less well-knownis that the original formulation of the softdrink 7UP contained lithium and wasmarketed under the nameBib-lable lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda. The lithium was removed in 1948 after the Food and Drug Administration banned the lithium citrate in softdrinks.

Another form of lithium, lithium carbonate, has been widely prescribed in the treatment of bipolar disorder in the United States, and wasﬁrst approved by the FDA in 1970. This form of lithium is believed to be a mood stabilizer and can also be prescribed for long-term treatment of depression.

The speciﬁc mechanism of lithium carbonate is not known, but it is believed to suppress stress in the brain and helps restore neuroplasticity —the brain’sability to change and adapt as we get older

CHICAGO At aCatholic school in PopeLeo XIV’shometown, fifth graders read comic books about Carlo Acutis’ lifetitled “Digital Disciple.”They draw pictures of what theteenageItalian computer whiz might have had as hiscellphone wallpaper.They discussthe miracles that allegedlyoccurred thanks to Acutis’ intercession In the lead-up toAcutis’ canonization on Sunday,it’sall Acutis, all the time atthe Blessed Carlo Acutis Parishand schoolinChicago. The parish was the ﬁrst in the United States to take its name from Acutis, who died in 2006atage 15 and is about to become history’s ﬁrst millennial saint. In recent years, Acutishas shot to nearrock star-like fame among many young Catholics, generating aglobalfollowing the likes of which the Catholic Church hasn’t seen in ages. Much of thatpopularity is thanks to aconcertedcampaign by the Vatican to givethe next generation of faithful arelatable, modern-day role model, an ordinary kid who used his technological talents to spread the faith.

alongside another popular Italian, Pier GiorgioFrassati, whoalso died young. Both ceremonies had been scheduledfor earlierthis year,but were postponedfollowing PopeFrancis’ deathinApril.

It was Francis who had fervently willedthe Acutis sainthood case forward, convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises andperils of the digital age.

Blessed Carlo Acutis keychains sit outsidethe sanctuaryofBlessed Carlo Acutis Parish during weekday Mass for the students of St. John Berchmans’ school in Chicago.

He’s notatoweringworld ﬁgure like Mother Teresa or St.John Paul II, butrathera “saint next door,” said the Rev. Ed Howe, thepastor at BlessedCarlo Acutis Parish in Chicago’sNorthwest Side.

“He’ssomeone who Ithink alot of young people today say,‘Icould be the saint next door,’”Howe said.

Pope LeoXIV’s firstcanonization Leo, aChicago native, will declareAcutisasaint on Sunday in his first canonization ceremony,

Acutis was precociouslysavvy with computers long before the social mediaera, reading college-level textbooks on programming and coding as ayoungsterand making websites that at thetime were the domain of professionals. But he limited himself to an hour of video games aweek, apparently deciding long before TikTok that human relationships were farmore importantthan virtual ones.

“Carlo was well awarethat the whole apparatus of communications, advertising and social networking can be usedtolull us, to make us addicted to consumerism andbuyingthe latest thingonthe market,”Francis wroteina2019

Louisiana

According to Mark Johnson, aWashington Post contributor, astudy written in NATURE recently found that the loss of lithium,anaturally occurring element in the brain, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease as well as apowerful driver of the disease. Alzheimer’sdisease affects morethan 7million Americans today

In the article, Johnson wrote that the study,led by Bruce A. Yankner,aprofessor of genetics and neurology at Harvard Medical School, found that lithium is important to the health of all the major types of brain cells in mice. Depletionof lithium in the brain also seems to be afactor in almost all of the major deterioration that occurs with Alzheimer’sdisease.

“Lithium hasbeen around for decades andwehavealot of evidencesupporting its use,” notesElizabeth Hoge,aprofessorofpsychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine

“It does help patients. We know thatitworks fromrandomized, controlledtrials.

Lithium had been reviewed previously as apotential Alzheimer’streatment and antiaging medication. A2017 study in Denmark found that the presence of lithium in drinking water might be linked to a lower incidence of dementia in the population.

Yankner becameinterested in the study of lithium after measuring the levels of 30 different metals in the brain and blood of people whowere 1) cognitively healthy,2)people in the very early stage of dementia, and 3) people with full-blownAlzheimer’sdisease. Only lithium,out of all the 30 metals measured, changed signiﬁcantly among the three groups. Additionally,Yankner found that small amounts of lithium wereable to reverse a

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOSByJESSIEWARDARSKI

StudentsofSt. John Berchmans’school walk past aphoto of Blessed Carlo Acutis,who will be canonized asaint by Pope Leo XIV,afterMassatBlessedCarlo Acutis Parish in Chicago.

Ultrasound mayhelpdiagnoseradialnerve compression

Dear Doctors: I’m having radial nerve problems whenever Iuse my triceps, like pushing thelawn mower,opening doors or pushing up from the recliner.It’smaking my thumb and pointer ﬁnger very weak. An ultrasounddidn’t show any nerve compression. If compression happens only when Iﬂex the muscle, does that mean it won’tshow on adiagnostic workup?

Dear reader: Theradial nerve weaves itsway from just below the armpit, through the elbow joint and down the length of the forearm.Itanimates the triceps, the muscle group at the back of the upperarm that engages during the pushing and pressing movements you have described Abranch of the radial nerve continues down through the wrist and into aportion of thehand.It

Dr.Elizabeth

Ko Dr.Eve Glazier

ASK THE DOCTORS

controls extension and flexion of thewrist, the thumb, the index andmiddle fingers,and theinner half of the ring finger.Italso provides sensation to the back of the hand and those fingers. Themeanderingpath of the radial nerve brings it close to bone, muscles andconnective tissue, makingitvulnerable to compression.This can occur from overuse, trauma, injury,repeated or sustained pressure, structural

anomalies and inﬂammatory conditions, suchasarthritis or diabetes. If thenerve is squeezed or trapped by thesurrounding tissues, thepressure can interfere with its ability to function.

The weakness in your thumb and index finger are consistent with radial nerve compression. Additional symptomscan include adull ache in the outer forearm, just below theelbow,and numbness, tingling or aburning sensation in the fingers theradial nerve serves. These may becomeworse at night. More severe compression can causeweakness in the wrist or fingers, and may make it difficult to grip objects, turn the palm upward or perform precision movement. Diagnosis begins with aphysical exam and apatient history,and may include imaging tests, includ-

SAINT

document. “Yet he knew how to use the new communications technology to transmit theGospel, to communicate values and beauty.”

Leo inherited the Acutis cause, but he too has pointed to technology —especially artificialintelligence—as one of the main challenges facing humanity Afast-tracktosainthood

Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London to awealthy butnot particularly observant Catholic family.They moved back to Milan soon after he wasbornand he enjoyed atypical, happy childhood, albeit marked by his increasingly intense religious devotion.

In October 2006,atage 15, he fell ill with what was quickly diagnosed as acute leukemia. Within days, he was dead. He was entombed in Assisi, which known for its association with another popular saint,St. Francis.

In aremarkably quick process, Acutis was beatiﬁed in 2020, and last year Francis approved the second miracle neededfor him to be made asaint.

In the years since his death, young Catholics have ﬂocked by the millions to Assisi, where through aglass-sided tomb they can see the young Acutis, dressed in jeans, Nike sneakers and asweatshirt,his hands clasped around arosary.Those who can’tmake it in person can watch the comings and goings on awebcam pointedathis tomb, alevel of internet accessibilitynot afforded even to popes buried in St. Peter’sBasilica.

Theordinary, extraordinary

For his admirers, Acutis was an ordinary kid who did extraordinary things, atypi-

LPB

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have supported us every step of the way,” said LPB President and CEO Clarence “C.C” Copeland. “Wecould not have reached this moment without the trust of Louisianans, the generosity of oursupporters and the countless stories that unite us.” Throughout the year,the network will offernew documentaries, specials and treasured programs from its archives, along with previews of future stories yet to be told.

cal Milan teen who went to school,played soccer and lovedanimals.But he also brought food to the poor,attendedMass daily and got hisless-than-devout parents backtochurch.

“When Ireadhis story for theﬁrsttime, it wasjustlike shocking to me,becausefrom avery earlyage, he was just really drawn to Jesus Christ and he would go to Mass all the time,” said Sona Harrison, an eighth grader at the St. John Berchmans’ school, which is part of the Acutis parish. “I feel like he’salot more relatable, and Idefinitely feel like I’m closerto God when Iread about him.”

Acutis earned the nickname “God’sInfluencer,” because he used technology to spread the faith. His most well-known tech legacy is the website he created about socalledEucharistic miracles, available in nearly 20 different languages. The site compilesinformation about the 196 seemingly inexplicable eventsoverthe history of the church relatedtothe Eucharist, which the faithful believe is the body of Christ. Acutis was known tospend hours in prayer before the Eucharisteach day,apractice known as Eucharistic adoration

“This was thefixedappointment ofhis day,”his mother,Antonia Salzano, saidina documentary that was airing Friday night at the U.S.seminary inRome. Appeal that serves church Kathleen Sprows Cummings, ahistoryprofessor at the UniversityofNotre Dame, said Acutis’enormous popularity was clearly the result of aconcerted church campaign,pushed strongly by his grief-stricken mother.But she said that is nothing new,and that in the 2,000-year historyofthe church,saints have very often been pushed ahead to

Among those shows will be anew documentary on LSU football legend Billy Cannon.

Additional new productionsinclude therecently launched college football series “Game Notes,” “Zydeco Soul,” “The ColfaxMassacre,”“CapturingAmerica: TheCarol HighsmithStory” and the upcoming travel series “LA64.” “‘LA64’ is our chance to share thebeauty,culture, and history of Louisiana, not onlywith our citizens but with audiences acrossthe nation,” said Linda Midgett, executiveproducer of con-

respond to aparticular need at aparticular time.

“It doesn’tdetract from the holiness of theperson being honoredtosay that thereare choices that are made” about which cases move forward, shesaidina phone interview

Sprows Cummings said that the Acutis phenomenoncaught on because he’s attractive to both young people and the institutional church, for using technology in apositive way to spread hisprofound beliefinEucharistic miracles at atime when manyCatholicsdon’t believe that Christistruly present in theEucharist

“Canonization is about marketing,” said Sprows Cummings, author of “A Saint of Our Own: Howthe Quest for aHoly Hero Helped Catholics become American.”

“Which stories are going to get told?Who is going to get remembered through this amazinglyefﬁcientway of rememberingholy people?”

Acutisand hisstory are ever-present hereatthe parish named for him.DuringMass this week before thecanonization, students processed into thechapel under an Acutis banner carrying things he might have carried: asoccer ball, laptop and knapsack.

Howe, theparish pastor and priest of the Congregation of the Resurrection, pulled items out of the knapsack to explain Acutis’story to the youngest studentsseated up front: Acan of food he might have given to ahomeless person, aset of rosary beads he might have prayed with.

The message landed.

“He fed thepoor,hecared for thepoor,” said 9-year-old David Cameron, who called Acutis “a great man.” Cameron, afan of Sonic,Minecraft and Halo, also found inspiration in Acutis’ love of video games —and awe at Acutis’restraint.

tentdevelopment at LPB.

In addition,aspart of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, LPB Education is creating “Louisiana’sHidden History: How Spanish LouisianaHelpedSecure America’s Freedom,” adigital series of curriculum-aligned resources that will debut on PBS LearningMedia in 2026. “Louisianaplayed apivotal role in the American Revolution, andthisproject ensures teachers,parents, and studentseverywhere will have theopportunityto learnaboutit,”saidNancy Tooraen, LPB education services director

ing the ultrasound you underwent. This technique involves adevice thatemits high-frequency sound waves that scatter as they enter the body.Asthey encounter solid tissue,the sound waves bounce, each at aunique frequency based on the type of tissue encountered. On their return journey,the highfrequency waves are converted into electrical impulses, then processed by acomputer and presentedasvisual images. Because the weakness in your thumband index ﬁnger occurs during movements that engage your triceps, ascan knownasdynamic ultrasoundcan be auseful diagnostic tool. Unlike regular ultrasound,which creates static images, this form of the scan allows clinicians to view their patient’sskeletal structures in motion.This, along with signiﬁcant

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Sept.15, the 258th day of 2025. There are 107 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Sept.15, 1963, four Black girls were killed when abomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street BaptistChurch in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in theblast.)

Also on this date: In 1835, Charles Darwin reached the Galápagos Islands aboard theHMS Beagle.

LITHIUM

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mouse model of Alzheimer’sdisease and restore brain function.

Yankner states that “things can change as you go from mice to humans,” and thus does not recom-

advances in image quality,have madedynamic ultrasound an important diagnostic tool formusculoskeletal injuries and nerve impingement or compression. If leftuntreated, the discomfort, weakness and limits to range of motion associated with radial nerve compression can worsen. If nerve damage occurs, they can even becomepermanent. We think it would be wise foryou to ask your doctor about adynamic ultrasound scan. If they are dismissive or resistant, don’thesitate to seek asecond opinion. Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

In 1935, the Nuremberg Lawswere enacted in Nazi Germany,depriving German Jews of their citizenship. In 1958, acommuter train headed forNew York City plunged into Newark Bay after missing astop signal and sliding off the open NewarkBay lift bridge, killing 48 people. In 1978, Muhammad Ali became the ﬁrst boxer to capture the heavyweight title three times, winning by unanimous decision in his rematch with Leon Spinks. In 2008, as aresult of the subprimemortgage crisis, Lehman Brothers ﬁled for

mendatthis timethat people diagnosed with the disease start taking lithium because its use forAlzheimer’sdisease has not been validated in affected people.

Lithium can be toxic if not used properly.Further the research is still in the early stages and it is unlikely that atreatment will be available in the near future.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

Continued from page1C

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JESSIE WARDARSKI

Alex Miller,a fifth-grade student at St. John Berchmans’ school in Chicago, draws apicture of Blessed Carlo Acutis, whowill be canonized asaint by Pope Leo XIV

VIRGO (Aug.23-Sept. 22) Plan withcare and responsibility. Establish abudget andexplore innovative ways to achieve your goals. The support youdrumup will encourage youtoclaim aposition that allows you to call the shots

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Slow down: take abreather and reconfigure your routine to suityourwell-being. Live lifeto accommodate what'simportant to you, and you will discover the happiness you deserve.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Volunteer and raise your qualifications to match your demands. It's time for afresh perspective and to shoot for the stars. Trust your instincts; be bold and act.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec.21) Be careful who you let influence you. The input youreceive from loved ones will be in your best interest. Listen andact accordingly to avoid poor choices

CAPRICORN(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put your head down, focus on what you must do and refuse to let anything get in your way. Yourreputation is at stake, so move forward with pride anddignity, andleave nothing to chance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Putmore energy into the things thatmakeyou happy. Set abudget thatcan sustainthe lifestyle youdesire. Time is precious, and being abletoaccommodate your dreams is the way forward.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Keep your money in asafeplace. People you encounter today will be eager to take

advantage of you, and otherswill inspire you to take control of your life and prospects.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Look at every angle and pushyourself above and beyond the call of duty, and what transpires will help you fulfill your goals. You can dream,but it's your actions that will make the difference.

TAURUS (April 20-May20) Tapinto your emotions and broaden your awareness regarding what'simportanttoyou. Dealingwithfriends, family andcolleagues can be overwhelming due to inconsistencies or inflated facts

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Do your best to keep up.Ask questions, show interest andmaintain good relationships. Being well connected help you succeed when opportunities arise.

CANCER(June 21-July 22) Set higher expectations and use your skills differently to suit each task you pursue. Ingenuity will get you where you want to go.Bebold;believeinyourself and your ability to thrive.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Make choices that alignwithhow youenvision your lifeunfolding. Incorporate alifestyle change that focuses on health and wellbeing. Take careofyourself instead of burning out.

Andrews McMeel Syndication

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Henny Youngman said, “I bet on a horse at 10 to one. It didn’t comeinuntil half-past five.”

Bridge defenders must time getting the tricks that they need to defeat the contract before the declarer has won the number that he requires. In this deal, thedefenders require five tricks to beat three spades. West leads the heart ace. Whatshould happen after that?

West doubled on thesecond round to show five hearts, four diamonds and extra values. (To bid three diamonds would have guaranteed afive-card suit.)

Northraisedspades to indicateapromising hand, but South had nothing to spare, and those three low heartswereawarning bell. Under the heart ace, Eastsignals with his 10, startinga high-low (echo) with a doubleton. Now West can seefour defensivetricksviathespadeaceandthreetop hearts, but where is thefifth winner?

Next, West should consider thehighcard points. After checking the dummy and his hand, he sees there are only 11 points missing. South must have most or all of themfor his advance at the twolevel, which Ithink should be forcing by an unpassed hand. If East and Westcannot get another side-suit trick, they must collect asecond trump trick.

West should cashthe heart king to con-

wuzzles

firm East’s doubleton, thenshift to his singleton club.

South will win in his hand and play a trump, but Westtakes the trickand continueswith his heart two,the lowestcard beingasuit-preferencesignal.Eastruffs and returns aclub, which Westruffs for down one.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle whichcreates 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 that acquire four letters by the

Average

Time

Canyou