The Acadiana Advocate 09-22-2025 by The Advocate

THENEXTWAVEOF CONSERVATION

of carp before theyget out of control, offering apeek into the nextwaveofconservation.

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Philippe Parola slaps a40-pound slab of raw fish onto his cutting board, then brandishes asmall saw to begin the ﬁllet.

The chef, environmental advocate and showmanisholding courton abackyard patio in Baton Rouge, where discussion of nature’sdelicate balance ﬂows as freely as the wine provided to his 20 or so guests, many of whom cameunaware of whatwas on themenu.

“This is the veryﬁrst time in this country that we’re going to be cooking this ﬁsh,”said Parola, pointing to themassive black carp, caught two days beforeinSimmesport. “Noone else has the balls to go out there and do it.”

As the ﬁsh begins to sizzleonthe grill, his French accent thickens with urgencyasheexplains agrim reality: The blackcarpisthe latest species of Asian carp to spread through Louisiana’smajor river systems,

BY JONATHAN J. COOPER,

GARCIA, AAMER

andMEG KINNARD Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. President Donald Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a“great American hero” and “martyr” for freedomasheand otherpromi-

nent conservatives gathered Sunday evening to honor the slain conservative political activistwhose work they say they must nowadvance.

The memorialservicefor Kirk,whom Trump credits with playinga pivotal role in his2024 election victory,drew tens of thousands of mourners, includingVice President JD Vance,other senior administration officials and young conservatives shapedbythe 31-year-old ﬁrebrand.

“He’samartyr now for

Officials, supporters pay tributeat service in Arizona ä See KIRK, page 3A

inundatingthe Mississippi, Atchafalaya, Red and Ouachita rivers, along withtheir tributaries. It joins thebighead, grass and silver carp the last notorious for transforming rivers into minefields, with entire schools leaping from the water when startled, sometimesinjuring unsuspecting boaters.

Helping Parola thatevening were Dennis Riecke, aretired biologist from theMississippi Department of

See FISH, page 5A

President Donald Trump embraces Erika Kirk at a memorial for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Sunday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN LOCHER

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

The pending changes in ownership at two Lafayette television stations will likely change the landscape for broadcastjournalism acrossAcadiana and couldevenresultinthe twomerging news staffs

GrayMedia, amajor player in the broadcast journalism industry that has stations in everyLouisiana market exceptLafayette, has deals in place to acquire KATC from E.W. Scripps Co.and KADN/KLAF fromAllenMedia Broadcasting in what wouldbecome afull-power duopoly for the Atlanta-based broadcasting company Both deals are pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission, which could come by the end of the year But until then those involved are wondering what will happen once each deal gets an expected approval. Station ofﬁcials are not speculating and aGray spokesperson said it’stoo early to say,but analysts who follow the industry say alikely result will be job losses and possibly one newsteam.

Hank Price, nowacolumnist after 30 yearsinthe industry in administrative positions, said thesesituationsoften follow asimilarplaybook:The two

ä See TV, page 4A

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

For Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is “legendary.”

“This is afacility that’snotorious,” she said, as she stood beside Gov.Jeff Landry to unveil the “Louisiana Lockup” forU.S. Immigrations and CustomsEnforcement detainees in adisusedwing of theprison that was once used to punish misbehaving inmates with solitary conﬁnement.

“That’samessage that these individualsthatare going to be here thatare illegal criminals need to understand,” Noem continued. “Ifyou come into this country and you victimize someone, if you take away their child forever, if you trafﬁc drugs andkill ournext generation of

See ANGOLA, page 3A

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

Chef Philippe Parola, left,talks about thebighead carp as Dennis Riecke looks on in Baton RougeonSept.10. Louisiana scientists are developing artificial intelligence recognition software that can help biologistsdetect new populations

Trump: Murdochs, Dell could join TikTok deal

President Donald Trump said prominent billionaires — including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech founder Michael Dell — could be part of a deal in which the U.S. will take control of the social video platform TikTok.

Trump namedropped the 94-year-old Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp, as part of a group of possible participants in a deal during an interview recorded Friday and aired Sunday on Fox News.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others Really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said “And they’re also American patriots, you know they love this country I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

Trump’s disclosure of the potential involvement of the Murdochs and Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, is the latest twist in a fast-moving potential deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S.

Trump also said Sunday that tech giant Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison was part of the same group. His involvement had been previously disclosed. On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security and that Americans will control six of the seven seats for a planned board.

Much is still unknown about the actual deal in the works.

Trump discussed the TikTok deal with China’s Xi Jinping in a lengthy phone call on Friday Cyberattack disrupts more flights in Europe

BRUSSELS Fallout from a cyberattack that disrupted checkin systems at several European airports extended into a second full day on Sunday, as passengers faced dozens of canceled and delayed ﬂights — and the impact poised to worsen for at least one major airport.

Brussels Airport, seemingly the hardest hit, said it asked airlines to cancel nearly 140 departing ﬂights scheduled for Monday because a U.S.-based software system provider “is not yet able to deliver a new secure version of the check-in system.” The airport said 25 outbound ﬂights were canceled on Saturday and 50 on Sunday

Starting late Friday, airports in Berlin, Brussels and London were hit by disruptions to electronic systems that snarled up check-in and sent airline staffers trying options like handwriting boarding passes or using backup laptops. Many other European airports were unaffected.

The cyberattack affected software of Collins Aerospace, whose systems help passengers check in, print boarding passes and bag tags, and dispatch their luggage. The U.S.-based company on Saturday cited a “cyber-related disruption” to its software at “select” airports in Europe

It was not immediately clear who might be behind the cyberattack, but experts said it could turn out to be hackers, criminal organizations or state actors.

Taliban rejects Trump’s bid to retake air base

JALALABAD, Afghanistan The Taliban government on Sunday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to retake Bagram Air Base, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left the sprawling military facility in the Taliban’s hands.

Trump on Saturday renewed his call to reestablish a U.S presence at Bagram, even saying “we’re talking now to Afghanistan” about the matter

He did not offer further details about the purported conversations. Asked by a reporter if he’d consider deploying U.S troops to take the base Trump demurred.

“We won’t talk about that,” Trump said. “We want it back, and we want it back right away If they don’t do it, you’re going to ﬁnd out what I’m going to do.”

On Sunday, chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected Trump’s assertions and urged the U.S. to adopt a policy of “realism and rationality.”

U.K., Australia, Canada recognize Palestinian state

BY PAN PYLAS Associated Press

LONDON The U.K., Australia and Canada formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday, prompting an angry response from Israel, which ruled out the prospect.

The coordinated initiative from the three Commonwealth nations and longtime allies reﬂects growing outrage at Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the steps taken by the Israeli government to thwart efforts to create a Palestinian state, including by the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who has faced pressure to take a harder line on Israel within his own governing Labour Party over the deteriorating situation in Gaza, said the U.K.’s move is intended “to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis.”

He insisted it wasn’t a reward for Hamas, which was behind the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which the militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 others.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly as prime minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognizes the state of Palestine,” Starmer said in a video message. “We recognized the state of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognize a Palestinian state also.”

The moves by the three countries prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that the establishment of a Palestinian state “will not happen” while Hamas urged the international community to isolate Israel.

Later on Sunday, Portugal said it was recognizing a Palestinian state as well.

The British announcement was widely anticipated after Starmer said in July that the U.K. would recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agreed to a ceaseﬁre in Gaza, allowed the United Nations to bring in aid and took other steps toward long-term peace.

More countries are expected to join the list recognizing a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week, including France, which, like the U.K., is one of the ﬁve permanent members of the Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the three countries for proffering a “prize” to Hamas.

“It will not happen,” he said. “A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”

Netanyahu, who is set to give a speech to the General Assembly on Friday before heading to see U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, said he would

Ukrainian, Russian

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod border region killed two civilians while Russian shelling of eastern Ukraine left a man dead, ofﬁcials said Sunday Vyacheslav Gladkov the governor of Belgorod, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that a woman was killed when shelling struck a private home in the border town of Shebekino, while a man died in a drone strike on the village of Rakitnoe.

The Belgorod region, which bor-

N.H.

announce Israel’s response after the trip.

Netanyahu has threatened to take unilateral steps, including the possibility of annexing parts of the West Bank, in response to world leaders’ recognition of a Palestinian state. Such a move would clear the way for Israel to deepen its control over the territory and escalate tensions with the international community

Hamas hailed the decision, calling it a “rightful outcome of our people’s struggle, steadfastness, and sacriﬁces on the path to liberation and return.” The Islamic militant group, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, called on the world to isolate Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in towns and cities in the West Bank, said the U.K. announcement is an important step toward achieving a “just and lasting peace in the region based on the two-state solution,” the ofﬁcial Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

attacks kill 3 civilians

ders Ukraine, has faced frequent cross-border attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In Ukraine, a man was killed and residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged by Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, Serhii Horbunov, head of the city’s military administration, said Sunday The latest round of attacks came after Russia launched a largescale missile and drone attack targeting regions across Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least three

people and wounding dozens. Russia launched 619 drones and missiles during the attack, Ukraine’s air force said.

Also on Saturday, Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest after three Russian ﬁghter aircraft entered its airspace without permission Friday and stayed there for 12 minutes, the Foreign Ministry said. It happened just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over Poland and heightened fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over

AG: Patrons at restaurant shooting halted worse tragedy

1 killed, 2 hurt; suspect in custody

BY MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

NASHUA, N.H. — Patrons at a restaurant acted quickly and selflessly to stop a gunman who opened ﬁre while a wedding was taking place at a New Hampshire country club, averting a worse tragedy, authorities said Sunday

One person was killed and two others were wounded by gunﬁre Saturday night before a suspect was taken into custody in a nearby neighborhood not long after the shooting, authorities said.

The gunﬁre killed Robert Steven DeCesare, 59, at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke. They said the suspect was Hunter Nadeau, 23, of Nashua, and that he had been arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder for knowingly shooting DeCesare.

Nadeau was a former employee of the club, Formella said, adding that

ASSOCIATED

An American Red Cross Disaster Relief van is parked outside a hotel that is acting as a reunification center after a shooting Saturday at a country club in Nashua, New Hampshire, that left one person dead.

Nadeau made a number of statements during the shooting and appeared to be attempting to cause chaos in the moment as opposed to showing a hate-based motivation. Witnesses reported that Nadeau said “Free Palestine” during the confusion. Some witnesses said someone struck Nadeau with a chair in an attempt to subdue him. Formella cited “selﬂess acts of courage by the patrons in the restaurant who put aside care for their own safety and worked to intervene and stop the shooter.”

The shooting happened adjacent to a wedding that was taking place at the club. Wedding DJ Michael

Homewood credited the chair strike with preventing an even worse shooting.

“He hit him over the head with a chair, and he probably saved a bunch of lives just doing that,” Homewood told WCVBTV Investigators were working to determine a motive, Formella said. Police did not immediately respond to a question about whether Nadeau is represented by an attorney and attempts to reach family members of Nadeau were not immediately successful. Authorities said there is no known connection between Nadeau and DeCesare.

Officials: Israeli strikes kill over 40 in Gaza

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

CAIRO Israeli strikes in Gaza City and at a refugee camp killed more than 40 people, including 19 women and children, health ofﬁcials said Sunday Health ofﬁcials at Shifa Hospital, where most of the bodies were brought, said the dead included 14 people killed in a strike late Saturday which hit a residential block in the southern side of the city Health staff said a nurse who worked at the hospital was among the dead, along with his wife and three children.

Another strike that targeted a group of people in front of a clinic in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least eight Palestinians, according to the Al-Awda Hospital. The dead include four children and two women, the hospital said. Another 22 people were wounded, it said.

Israel did not comment on the strikes.

The latest Israeli military operation, which began this week further escalates a conﬂict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushes any ceaseﬁre further out of reach. The Israeli military, which has told Palestinians to leave, hasn’t given a timeline for the offensive, but there were indications it could take months. Israel says the operation is meant to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages and surrendering. Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, peace activists in Israel have hailed the planned recognition of a Palestinian state On Sunday, a group of more than 60 Jewish and Arab organizations representing about 1,000 activists, including some veteran organizations promoting peace and coexistence, known as It’s Time Coalition, called for an end to the war the release of the hostages and the recognition of a Palestinian state.

“We refuse to live forever by the sword. The U.N. decision offers a historic opportunity to move from a death trap to life, from an endless messianic war to a future of security and freedom for both peoples,” said the coalition in a statement. On Saturday night, tens of thousands of people in Israel protested, calling for an end to the war and a hostage deal.

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Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza Strip on Saturday along the coastal road near Wadi, Gaza.

PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CASEy

America’sfreedom,” Trump said in his tribute. “I knowI speak for everyone here today when Isay that none of us will ever forget Charlie. And neither now will history.”

Speakers highlighted Kirk’sprofound faithand his strong belief that young conservatives need to get married, build familiesand pass on their values to keep building their movement. They also repeatedly told conservative activists, sometimes in confrontational tones, that the best way to honor Kirk was doubling downonhis mission to move American politics further to the right

“For Charlie, we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United StatesofAmerica and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees,” Vance said. “My friends, for Charlie, we mustremember that he is ahero to the United States of America. And he is amartyr for the Christian faith.”

Kirk’sassassination at a Sept. 10 appearance on a Utah college campus has become asingular moment for the modern-dayconservative movement. It also has set off aﬁerce debate about violence, decencyand free speech in an era of deep po-

ANGOLA

Continued from page1A

Americans, and if you trafﬁc our childrenand men and women, absolutely there’s consequences. You’re going to end up here.”

That message oughtto convince people to self-deport, Noem said.

As part of President Donald Trump’scampaign to detain and deport immigrants in recordnumbers,ofﬁcials have established aseries of high-profile detention centers across the country.

From “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida swampsto the “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska, they have advertised the facilitiesastools to remove who they say are the “worst of the worst.”

Shortly after opening the Louisiana Lockup, formally called Camp 57, the Department of Homeland Security released alist of 51 immigrants it said had committed heinous crimesand were beingheld there. Those crimes includedrape, homicide and sexual abuse of children,according to the list.

Despite assurancesthat the Louisiana Lockup would congregate immigrants convicted of such crimes, the decision to open the facility at Angola has drawn both skepticism and horrorfrom immigration advocates, who notedthat many of those sent to AlligatorAlcatraz did not have violent criminal records.

Angola sits on aformer slave plantation. It became infamous in the 1900s as one of America’sbloodiest prisons. In 1951,31inmates slashed their Achilles tendons to protest conditions there.

Over the past few decades, stateofﬁcialshavetried to soften that notoriety,emphasizing efforts to rehabilitate prisoners

But the facility still draws scrutiny, not least because its mostly-Black inmate population is put to work on the “farm line” for as little as2 cents an hour,performing

litical division. The shootinghas stirred fear among some Americans that Trump is trying to harness outrage over the killing as justiﬁcation to suppress the voices ofhis criticsand political opponents.

High security at stadium

Those closetoKirk prayed andthe floors shook from the bass of Christian rock bands as thehome of the NFL’sArizonaCardinals took on thefeel of amegachurch service.

“Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus,” said the Rev.Rob McCoy, Kirk’s pastor People began liningupbefore dawn to secure aspot insideState Farm Stadium west of Phoenix, where Kirk’sTurning Point organization is based. Security was tight, similar to the Super Bowl or otherhigh-profile event. The speakers delivered their tributes from behind bulletproof glass.

The 63,400-seat stadium quickly filled with people dressed in red, white and blue,asorganizers suggested.

Kirk’s widow,Erika, in herown address said in the midst of her grief she was ﬁnding comfort that her husband left this worldwithout regrets. She alsosaid she forgives the man who is charged with killing him.

“My husband, Charlie,he wanted to save youngmen,

taskssuch as cotton picking, sometimes in thebrutal Louisianaheat.

“Angola is the largest maximum securityprison in the country,with 18,000 acres, bordered by the Mississippi River,swampsﬁlled with alligators andforests filled withbears,” Landry said. “Nobody reallywants to leave the place.”

Advocatesraise concerns

Criticsworry that, after theinitial media splash, immigrants without criminal recordswill end up at the detention facility

“Wesaw it happen in Florida,” said HomeroLópez,referringto Alligator Alcatraz.

Trump ofﬁcials described that detentioncenterasa harshplaceappropriatefor holding the“worst of the worst.”

But the Miami Heraldreported that over 250 detainees had no criminal convictionsorpending charges in theUnited States. They only hadimmigration violations, the report found.

Lópezdirects Immigration Servicesand LegalAdvocacy inNew Orleans and is aformer immigration judge whowas ﬁred after Trump took ofﬁce this year

Critics also say the messaging from Trump and his allies perpetuates the stereotype that immigrants tend to be violent, when statistics show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than American-born citizens.

“It’strying to feed intothat, thatimmigrantsare by deﬁnition criminals and rapists andmurderers,” said Bill Quigley, theformer director of theLaw Clinic and the Gillis Long PovertyLaw Center at LoyolaUniversity NewOrleans. “I think it’spart of the propaganda,it’spart of the attempt to justify the arrest and wholesaledisappearance of immigrants.

Nora Ahmed, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, said holding ICE detainees at Angola wrongly “promotesa narrative that immigration proceedingsare criminal proceedings, or that immi-

just like the one who took his life,” saidErika Kirk, who is taking over as Turning Point’sleader.She added,“I forgive him.”

Trump has blamed the “radical left”for Charlie Kirk’sdeath and threatened to go afterliberal organizations anddonorsorothers whohefeels aremaligning or celebrating his death.

Dozens of people, from journalists to teachers to lateshow host JimmyKimmel, have faced suspensionsorlosttheir jobsas prominent conservative activists and administration officialstarget comments about Charlie Kirk that they deem offensive or celebratory.The retaliationhas in turn ignited adebateover theFirst Amendment as the Republican administration

gration detention can be used as criminal punishment.”

Immigration proceedings are civil proceedings. ICE often picks people up after they have servedtheir criminal sentences, she said.

Still, Camp 57 hasdrawn praisefrom Republicanofﬁcials. In an op-ed in the Washington Times,U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge, said the facilitywould promote public safety.

“The recent opening of the ‘Louisiana Lockup’ at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in the town of Angola demonstratesthe key role our state is playinginfacilitating the president’sMakeAmerica Safe Again agenda,” she wrote.

What’s next forCamp57

Twoweeks ago, at the facility’sopening, Landry said Camp 57 would hold around 200 people by mid-September and ultimately be able to accommodate some 400 detainees.

But ofﬁcials have provided little information since then Aspokespersonfor Landry did not answer questions abouthow manypeople are now at the facility. The Department of Homeland Securityalso did not answer an inquiry aboutwhether there were newdetaineesand what their crimes were.

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety andCorrections referred questions to ICE, which is under the Department of Homeland Security

Officials have said ICE contractorswould run Camp 57.Theyhavenot identiﬁed the contractors, but LaSalle Corrections, aprivate prison company that runs multiple ICE detention centers in Louisiana, recently posted openings for jobs in Angola.

Scott Sutterﬁeld, an executivefor theﬁrm,did not answer inquiries

Camp 57 is located in a wing of Angola formerly known as “Camp J,” which once held prisonersinsolitary confinement.Criminal justice advocates have panned the facility

Ofﬁcials closed thewing in

promises retributionagainst those whoair what areseen as disparaging remarks in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.

Somespeakersatthe memorial said he was battling evil and referred often to a vague “they” as the enemy Others were blunt.

“You have no ideathe dragonyou have awakened, youhave no idea howdetermined we will be to save this civilization,tosavethe West, to save this republic,” said White House deputychief of staff Stephen Miller Charlie Kirk was aprovocateurwho at times made statementsthat some called racist,misogynistic, antiimmigrant and transphobic. That has drawn backlash from conservatives who viewthe criticism as cher-

2018, citing safety concerns.

State ofﬁcials saythe facility was renovated before Camp 57 opened, andthatthe cells now have air conditioning. Whoisbeing held?

According to the Department of Homeland Security,ofthe ﬁrst 51 Louisiana Lockup detainees, 26 had homicide convictions,eight had rape convictionsand 17 had been convicted of sexoffenses against children.

While some offenses are more recent, others date as far back as 1981: Raymundo Poey-Marrero,ofCuba, has ahomicide convictionfrom that year,accordingtothe Ofﬁce of the State Attorney for the 5th Judicial District of Florida.

Poey-Marrero also has apending battery charge against himfromJuly,court recordsfrom Marion County, Florida, show Another detainee, Yamil Ballate-Martinez, also of Cuba, has two 2009 convic-

Kirk wipes tears as she prepares to speak at a memorial for her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at State Farm Stadiumin Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA

ry-picking afew select moments to insult the legacy of someone they seeasaninspirational conservative leader A22-year-old Utahman, TylerRobinson, hasbeen charged withkillingCharlie Kirk and facesthe death penalty if convictedofthe mostserious charges. Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but prosecutors sayRobinson wrote in atext to his partnerfollowing the shooting that he “had enough” of Charlie Kirk’shatred.

Kirk’s legacy of influence

Turning Point, the group Charlie Kirkfounded to mobilize youngChristian conservatives, became a multimillion-dollar operation under his leadership with enormous reach.

tions forthe possessionand transmission of child pornography, accordingtothe Florida sex offender registry

In onecase, the Department of Homeland Security said adetainee was a convicted murderer when court records show ahomicide charge against him was dropped.

Eddy Lopez-Jemot, of Cuba,was chargedwith homicide in 2021 but never convicted.Instead,under a plea agreement, he agreed to acceptanarson conviction,according to court records from Monroe County, Florida. The Department of HomelandSecurity,which did not answer questions about the discrepancy,said he wasaconvicted murderer

Lopez-Jemot’s conviction was connected to the death of Mary Bonneville, a70-year-old womanwho was found dead with knife wounds to herneck in a burnedhome in KeyLargo

“Charlie’shaving some serious heavenly FOMO right now,” Tyler Bower,Turning Point’s chiefoperating ofﬁcer,said, likeningthe momenttobringing “theHoly Spirit into aTrump rally.” The crowdwas atestament to the massive inﬂuencehe accumulated in conservative America with his ability to mobilize young people.

Charlie Kirk wasa MAGA celebrity with aloyal followingthat turned out to support or argue with him as he traveled thecountry for the events like the one at Utah Valley University,where he was shot. he grew theorganization, in large part, through the force of his personality and debating chops.

“He slayed ignorance,” said Director of National Intelligence TulsiGabbard “He cut through lies. He wokepeople’sminds, inspired people’shearts and impartedwisdomevery day.”

Speaker after speaker,including DefenseSecretary Pete Hegsethand Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressedtheir awe at Charlie Kirk’sability to go into what many conservatives saw as thelion’sden to make the conservative case: college campuses.

“Why don’tyou start somewhere easier,”Rubio joked when he first heardabout Charlie Kirk years ago. “Like, for example, communist Cuba?”

in 2017, local media outlets reported. After Lopez-Jemot’scriminal case was resolved, his defense attorney, Philip Massa,saidhewas shocked to learn ICE picked Jemot up andtook him to Alligator Alcatraz, wherehewas held before being moved to Camp57. Lopez-Jemot had been in thecountry forawhile, Massa said, and Alligator Alcatraz “doesn’tconjure up Eddy Jemot. It conjures up someonewho snuckacross the border during the Biden administration and is agang member.”

Massa did not know of anyprior homicideconvictionsagainst Lopez-Jemot, he said.

Monroe County court records showLopez-Jemot hasaconviction foraggravated assault with adeadly weaponin2017. He pleaded no contest to the charge but was adjudicated guilty under aplea agreement.

LafayetteTVoverthe last 70 years

stations consolidate around the strongest station, and some jobs are lost. Many of these scenarios are playingout across the country as stationspress on despite shrinking revenue streams and viewers’ preference for streaming.

“They turn them into one news staff in one building and everything operates out of one building,” Price said. “This is not just Gray The same newscast runs on every stationwith the same anchors and the same reporters. This is what they have to do, because if they don’tcut expenses,they’re not going to be able stay in business.”

AGray spokesperson, however,deﬂected any discussion about merging the two stations and said any discussion on the topicis premature. Gray,whosestations across Louisiana are among the most-watched for news programming, indicated the company will meet with the stations’ employees after the deals get FCC approval.

News programmingat KATC has historically trailed KLFY in the ratings with KADN adistant third, but thelandscapehas changedinrecent months Yetifthe deals are approved and the news staffs merge, it could give the two stations enough combined ﬁrepower to overtake KFLY.

Gray officials visited KATC last month, spokesman Kevin Latek said. “The people who live in Lafayette know what works best in Lafayette,” Latek said. “All those plans can’t happen until we talk to the people who actually work there. Iwould say at avery high level we expect to be hiring and investing in both theseoperations pretty quickly.”

Not much is known about the pending deals, KATC generalmanager Sean Trcalek said. Details should shake out once the deals are ﬁnal.

But longtime KATC meteorologist Rob Perillo lauded the news on social media after his station’sdeal was announced in July.Being owned by Gray,hewrote, would mean “moreresources, more coverage and more newscastsfor Acadiana.”

Source:Newspaper archives

Localmarketshifting

Long known as the home of “The Jerry Springer Show” and “The Simpsons,” KADNfor years was an afterthought as asourcefor local news. Jim Parker,hired in late2022asnewsdirector after years in the industry, took to changing that.

Abouta year later he and KADN made abig splash when it broughtinlongtime KATC anchors Marcelle Fontenotand JimHummel weeks after theyleft KATC in September2023. The two left,sources said, after KATC droppedits news anchors on its evening broadcasts and offered new positions to Fontenotand Hummel. As aresult, KATC’sviewership plungedinthe months

after,according to Nielsen dataobtained by The AcadianaAdvocate. KADN’s ratings rose once Fontenot andHummelfirst appeared on air in January2024, and nearly every month between May and Octoberits 10 p.m. broadcast was either first or second of the three stations Parker credited the move to officials with AllenMedia, whosupplied the funding for thehires. The hires also helpedthe KADN’sNews 15 earnBest Small Market Newscastinthe state for a second straight year and get recognized for the state’s Best Investigative Reporting by the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. Butasquickly as it shot up, KADN dropped after the stationannounced staffing

Jim Parker,

swap involving stations in mid-major markets.

Now,KATCisset to joina companythathas adominant presence in Louisiana.

“We’vealways thought it was agood station,” he said. “Wethink thestationsdo better when they’re part of a group that can cover theentire state. Lafayette has been the missing piecefor us for many years now.”

noted theindustry continues to battle headwinds of declining revenue, streaming services and other issues. For years stations werepaid by the networks to carry national programming, but nowstations arebeing asked to pay the networks, he said. According to asurvey of nearly 2,000 stationsby Syracuse University’sNewhouseSchool of Public Communications, 49.7% reported they were showing aproﬁt, the lowest since 2010 and down from 60.7% in 2020. Stationsinsmaller markets reporting abigger drop than those in larger markets.

cuts, including its “Good Day Acadiana” staff in October andmore in January.Some of those staffershavesince been rehired.

“(CEO) Byron Allen, Iwas on acall with him where he said, ‘Look, Iwant all my stations to be No. 1,’”said Parker,now thestation’sgeneral manager.“There’slot of places wherethat wouldn’t have happened. Say what you want about Allen, but just look at theresults.They gave us thefreedom and the support.”

Despiteits cuts, KATC was aproperty Gray Media has had itseye on for years andmademultiple attempts to buy the station, Lateksaid. The previousoffersnever made sense to Scripps until the two sidesworked out the

KLFY,meanwhile,has mostly kept the top spot in the ratings for its 6p.m and 10 p.m. broadcasts, data shows. Thatstation,too,has had changes. LongtimeanchorsDarla Montgomery retiredafter 33 yearsand DalfredJones left after a10year stay

“It’sa toughmarketand it’sacompetitive market,” Parker said.“Allofthe stations have made cuts.None of the stations in this market look likethey did when Iarrived three years ago. And the product content-wise, it’s different.”

Whyisthishappening?

At the Allen Media Groupowned KIMT in Mason City, Iowa,budgetcutshit thestation so hard that its10p.m newscast one recent Friday night wasdone by only two people in theentire building.

RickGevers, who now writes aweeklynewsletter on the industry after four decades in the business,

“The sixo’clocknewsused to be sort of appointment viewing,” Gevers said. “Now if youmissit, no bigdeal Youcan go to the website and pick out what stories youwant. Because you’re not watching thenewscast they can’tsell ads at the same rate that they used to before there wasawebsite to check.” Gray Media,henoted, would be agood company to get scooped up by,hesaid, even if it means job losses and merged operations. Grayhas abig commitment to investigative reporting and aminimum wage for employees of $18 an hour The moves hinge on FCC approval of the duopoly and loosening federal guidelines of local ownership rules to make it happen. The FCC is becoming more lenient on duopoly rulesinsmaller markets, said TomPoehler, currentvicepresident of TV with Delta Media who held administrative positions at both KADN and KATC. Theduopoly issuehas ahistory in Lafayette. In 2016,Nexstar Media Group was forced to sellKADN andKLAF when it bought KLFY after the FCC ruled the Lafayette market was not large enough foraduopoly “Nexstar and Gray,these arebig, big companies with atremendous amount of assets and resources, and they can compete against allthe big tech companies out therenow,” Poehlersaid. “It’sjust going to be up to theFCC to make adecision on awaiver whether or not they want to allowthis to happeninLafayette. Ithink they will (approve it), but that’spurely speculation.”

Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

Staffgraphic by DANSWENSON

Israeli drone strike kills 5, including 3 children, in Lebanon

BY KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press

BEIRUT

— An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed ﬁve people

Sunday including three children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed, the three children as well as their father, held U.S. citizenship.

Two others were wounded, including the mother in the family.

Ofﬁcials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment.

Since a ceasefire agreement was reached in November to end Israel’s monthslong war with the

FISH

Continued from page 1A

Wildlife and Fisheries, and Michael Johnson, head chef for LSU athletics. Riecke explains how Asian carp were ﬁrst imported to the U.S. in the 1970s to clean aquaculture and wastewater treatment ponds. Ponds tend to ﬂood, he said, and after the fish escaped into the Mississippi River Basin, the population exploded. A female silver carp can lay up to 5 million eggs a year, and devour up to 40% of their body weight in a day, mostly plankton from the base of the food chain, which throws the entire ecosystem out of balance.

“To understand what this ﬁsh does, it’s frightening,” Johnson added “We could be the proactive ones about trying to do something about this.”

One promising weapon in the ﬁght against Asian carp is artiﬁcial intelligence. For the past year, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and researchers at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette have been developing AI recognition software that can help biologists detect new populations of Asian carp before they get out of control, offering a peek into the next wave of conservation.

Even with the new technology though, the state’s strategy remains the same as it has always been: Give ﬁshermen a reason to go after them.

“Anything that can help to remove those ﬁsh out of the water, that’s a win,” Parola said. “But I truly believe that the fishermen are the only ones who are physically going to put the net out.”

Algorithms vs. Asian carp

As the carp population metastasizes through the Mississippi River’s main arteries — including the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas river systems — states are spending millions to contain its spread. In Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun work on a $1.15 billion project to block the ﬁsh from reaching the Great Lakes, where they could endanger the region’s $7 billion ﬁshing industry

Yet precise data on the impact of the four species, plus their population, migration patterns and breeding habits remain sparse, as much of the tedious tracking and analysis falls on under-resourced state environmental agencies. A decade-old survey found that 14% of juvenile ﬁsh in Louisiana’s major river systems were Asian carp, while in some regions of the Midwest they now account for more than 90% of a river’s biomass Mostly, though, the impact is more felt than measured

“Our options are limited to assessing where they are, then doing studies to ﬁgure out what impact they are having,” Riecke said.

Robert Bourgeois, Wildlife and Fisheries aquatic invasive species coordinator, said identifying new populations often involves graduate students spending hours staring through a microscope, counting body segments of a carp larva often smaller than the size of a pinkie nail.

“Identifying carp larvae is a very time-consuming process that drives people nuts,” he said.

In search of new methods, Bourgeois partnered with

Hezbollah militant group, Israel has continued to strike southern and eastern Lebanon almost daily

The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant, and that he “operated from within a civilian population.” It acknowledged that civilians were killed and that it was reviewing the incident.

“The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and will continue to act to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel,” the statement said.

Israel frequently says it is targeting Hezbollah militants or infrastructure in the tiny country’s battered southern region. Hezbollah has only claimed ﬁring across the

border once since the ceaseﬁre but Israel says the militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities.

Lebanese ofﬁcials have warned that the ongoing strikes risk the country’s recent efforts to disarm the group and could destabilize the country Hezbollah has maintained that it no longer has a military presence south of the Litani River, and has refused to speak of disarmament without Israel stopping its attacks and withdrawing from southern Lebanese territory

President Joseph Aoun, who earlier landed in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, condemned the strike and called on the international community

“We

have a need to get these species out of the environment, and yet we don’t have consumer acceptance, we don’t have funding, we don’t have infrastructure.”

DENNIS RIECKE, a retired biologist from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

the Informatics Research Institute at UL to develop user-friendly software capable of detecting carp larvae almost in real time.

Peyton Leathem-Boe, an AI researcher at the institute, built the model by feeding it more than 4,000 images of carp larvae. The system, a form of neural network specialized in image recognition, was already pretrained on millions of other images. Leathem-Boe then adapted it to the carp problem.

“I took that model and said, ‘OK, you have some general knowledge of the world. Now here’s a speciﬁc problem I want you to learn,’” Leathem-Boe said.

The approach, known as transfer learning, has gained momentum in the past decade thanks to advances in deep learning — a branch of AI that uses layered networks and massive data sets to extract increasingly complex patterns.

Henry Chu, the institute’s executive director, compared the process to how human vision works. Basic information gathering, he said, depends on lower layers of the network trained on millions of parameters, much like the cells closest to the retina. Higher-order recognition such as identifying different ﬁsh larvae — are added later, just as the brain’s cortex reﬁnes signals from the eye.

“You can train those lowerlevel cells on almost anything — trees, ﬂowers, animals, people. It’s probably better if it’s not limited to ﬁsh images,” Chu said “The 4,000 carp images were used at a much higher level.”

Leathem-Boe’s beta-stage model is 97% accurate. Using a basic microscope camera, scientists can capture images of carp larvae and upload them to a desktop application, which classiﬁes the sample. She stressed the system still requires expert oversight to catch errors or potential AI hallucinations.

“Our current level of reasoning in AI is not sufﬁcient. I design it to always have human oversight because I know there is a gap we haven’t quite figured out,” she said.

Bourgeois sees the technology’s most immediate impact in states like Oklahoma, where carp populations haven’t yet reached self-sustaining levels. Monitoring those waters requires

painstakingly examining thousands of larval samples, he said.

“The biggest thing in invasive species is early detection and rapid response. If you can detect it early and act, it costs a lot less,” Bourgeois said.

In Louisiana, he envisions the software being used to pinpoint breeding grounds

“The one thing we don’t know is where they’re breeding,” he said. “If you can locate the breeding aggregations, you can target them for mass removal.”

Bourgeois said the technology could one day be paired with existing systems that shoot fish through tubes over dams and other barriers, by automatically identifying species as they pass. Beyond fish, similar tools could also accelerate the study of other life that is notoriously difficult to monitor, like insects, or open up entire new avenues of ecological research.

Kelly Robinson, a marine biologist on the UL research team, imagines a system in which cameras towed behind boats capture continuous images of freshwater life, while onboard AI sorts and classiﬁes species in real time.

“By accelerating this tedious part of science, it allows us to start asking more advanced questions,” Robinson said “Questions about the broader food web, or how environmental factors change species competition.”

The case for eating carp

While Bourgeois looks to harness new technology, he acknowledges that without a viable market for carp, their numbers will only keep rising. In Louisiana, carp sell for less than 20 cents a pound barely enough to cover the ice for the few ﬁshermen who bother to haul them in (between 400,000 and 500,000 pounds are harvested a year in Louisiana) Other states like Illinois and Arkansas have offered subsidies to prop up demand, which Bourgeois doubts is a sustainable long-term goal.

“No one’s ﬁgured out one solution, but the end goal is to remove more,” Bourgeois said. “If you make ‘em worth something, people will ﬁsh for them.”

Carp are showing promise as a potential feed source for catfish and crawfish, he said, and could also be used in fertilizer, pet food and even skin products. But one of the biggest hurdles to making carp marketable lies in its anatomy The fish contain large free-floating bones, making them difficult to process, and less appealing for average American consumers, who prefer boneless fillets Grinding them down into fish balls or cakes might be more palatable, but it requires expensive machinery to remove the bones. That, in turn, requires investment in fish processing plants — a

to pressure Israel to stop Aoun, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah.

“There is no peace above the blood of our children,” said Aoun in a statement from his ofﬁce.

The monthslong war between Hezbollah and Israel killed some 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced residents across southern and eastern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Salam called the attack a “message of intimidation targeting our people returning to their villages in the south.”

Hezbollah ofﬁcials say the ongoing strikes justify their refusal to

give up their arms, and claim that the ceaseﬁre agreement and monitoring mechanism with the United States, France, and United Nations peacekeeping forces is ineffective.

“They have proven once again that resorting to ofﬁcial protection under international auspices has not provided them with security and stability,” said Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah.

Under the Washington-brokered ceaseﬁre, both the militant Hezbollah group and Israel were supposed to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other Israeli forces have continue to occupy ﬁve Lebanese hilltop points by the border

far less sexy use of taxpayers dollars than, say, a new Hyundai factory, said Riecke, the Mississippi biologist.

“We have a need to get these species out of the environment, and yet we don’t have consumer acceptance, we don’t have funding, we don’t have infrastructure,” Riecke said.

For Parola, the answer has always been to put carp on the plate By the 1990s — just over a decade after moving from France to Louisiana and establishing himself as a well-known chef — he began building a reputation as the godfather of invasive-species dining,

promoting dishes like lionﬁsh meunière, wild boar with berry sauce and ragondin (nutria) à l’Orange. Among all those experiments, carp remains his obsession, though one that is an uphill battle in Louisiana.

“Let’s face reality, we like ﬁsh from salt water Carp — nobody wants to eat carp,” he said. “But it’s absolutely an incredible ﬁsh. This is a resource that is untapped.”

And while Louisiana culture is steeped in fishing for many of the species now threatened by carp, including largemouth bass and crappie, the issue often gets overshadowed in a state facing more existen-

tial environmental crises.

Meanwhile, Parola’s efforts to rebrand the ﬁsh and outsource processing to Vietnam have stumbled, but the self-described hardhead refuses to quit. He is now partnering with sustainable ﬁsh-protein companies and teaming up with his former protégé Michael Johnson to continue educating the public. Johnson says he has fed the meat which is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids — to a few brave LSU football players.

“There’s nothing wrong with this ﬁsh. What’s wrong with this ﬁsh is it’s carp and Americans don’t like carp,” Johnson said “When you look at a world facing rising costs and food shortages. I don’t understand why we don’t look at stuff like this.” At his Baton Rouge demonstration, Parola served up a river monster worthy of seconds. The dish had a light, not too fishy, almost a neutral, tofu-like flavor that soaked up his marinade of French dressing, brown sugar and a little bit of Slap Ya Mama seasoning.

While AI may help slow carp’s advance in U.S. rivers, providing incentives to ﬁsh them seems to remain the main answer Good recipes and French ﬂair might help tip that scale.

STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK

Aidan McCahill tries a fish taco made by chef Philippe Parola with black carp on Sept. 10

Chef Philippe Parola checks on a slab fillet of black carp on the grill in Baton Rouge on Sept. 10.

GrandIsleoysters gain traction

Seafoodfarming operationset to double in size

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Fivemonths afterJefferson Parish ofﬁcials launchedaneffort to supportthe oyster industry on Grand Isle, the seafood farming operation on thebarrier island is set to double in size, and

Regulators order fixesfor waste runoff

Inspectors say seepage flowed into swamp

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

In south Louisiana, Atlantic Alumina operatesthe nation’sonlyremaining bauxite ore reﬁnery —a process that creates ﬁeldsfull ofa byproduct called “red mud.”

Now,state environmental regulators have issued orders and threatened ﬁnes against thecompany,claiming the levees and other systems built to contain the waste haveallowed smelly,bright orange runoff to ﬂow intoa nearby swamp. The massive operation in St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes, foundedinthe late1950s by Kaiser Aluminum, extracts alumina from red earth mined in Jamaica. Alumina is used by smelters elsewhere to make aluminum.

Hundreds of acresofred mud— which is contaminated with trace amounts of naturallyoccurring heavy metals and slightly radioactive elements —stretch out on the facility’slands nearGramercy and the Veterans MemorialBridge. Seen from the air,watery surfaces dot the growing mounds of waste.

Generatedatarateof1to11/2 pounds for every pound of alumina made, red mud has proved hard to reuse and is contained in the growing impoundments just south of the swamps along Airline Highway

But over 11 months between late 2024 and mid-2025, state inspectors reported aseries of breakdowns in that containment system, known as red mud “ponds” or “lakes,” according to hundreds of pages of state reports andphotographs.

Atlantic Alumina says it has been trying to makerepairs and hasstopped the seepage. Butthe Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued a24page compliance order against the company

Leveling around 70 violations, the order threatens ﬁnes and issues directives to ﬁx the problems. About two-thirds of the alleged violations involve self-reported water quality problems related to the plant, including high levels of fecalmatter and caustics. But the remainder revolve primarily around allegedbreakdownsinthe containment system.

Inspectors found erosion channels as deepas10feetinthe earthen levees that hold back the waste. Other sections were bare of protective grassor, conversely, too overgrown, which is aproblemfor spotting erosion, inspectors said. Inspectors alsofound seepages from the levees funneling down theerosion channels and, in some cases, ﬂowing into the Blind River Swamp north of the company’s land. Those liquids had abright redororange color,apotent caustic smell and ahighly alkaline quality ranging from toothpasteto ammonia, inspectors said. Foliage in ditches impacted by the seepage

cage-grown Louisiana oysters are starting to gain traction in restaurantsacrossthe South.

TheGrand Isle Port Commission will be opening asecond zone for oyster farming at the end of the year,which will increase the area dedicated to the industryfrom13acres to 27

acres, the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission saidThursday.Someofthe farmerscurrently leasing the existing acreagewill have more waterfor theirbusinesses, while some new farmers will join the cohort.

The expansion is asign thatthe environmentally adapted meth-

od of rearingoysters is gaining regional traction, according to farmers andthoseinthe food industry.

The farm-grown oysters, known as “Grand Isle Jewels,” were offered Thursday at restaurants in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish as part of OysterNight, an eventstarted by the nonproﬁt ChefsBrigadetoshowcasethe Gulf Coast oyster industry

Both traditional wild oysters andspecialty farmedoysters were availablefrom70restaurants participating in the daylong event.

“I’d say it’seven exceeded where we thought thiswould go,” said Jerry Bologna, thepresident of JEDCO, which spearheaded the “jewel” branding. The new

ä See OYSTER, page 4B

Good eats

ABOVE: Sidney Chenierstirsa potofseafood andokra gumbo during the fourthannual Okra,Music& Arts Festival on Sundayat Heymann Park in Lafayette. The freefestival celebrated okra,astaple of Creole and Cajun cuisine, through food, musicand education

LEFT: Vanda Mitchell, left, samples the seafood andokra dish prepared by Kathy Bienvenu.

BY STEPHENMARCANTEL Staff writer

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidyannounced Louisiana will receive $11.8million in federalfunding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’sFederal Aviation Administration

The Lafayette Airport Commission wasgranted $6.6 million to fund theshifting of an airline taxiway to meet current standards, according to an announcement from Cassidy’s ofﬁce. “Airportsare critical to Louisiana’s economy,commerce, and tourism,”

said Cassidy. “Wesecured this fundingtomakeour airports safer, more modern, and ready to meet future demands.”

In 2014, LafayetteParish voters approveda 1-centsales taxtoreplace theairport’saging 60,000-square-foot terminal. The tax, atemporary onethatran from April 1toNov.30, 2015, generated $33 million to help fund the project alongwith state and federal dollars. The airportopened with four gates in early 2021 butopeneda ﬁfth one Lafayetteairport secures $6.6Mfor taxiwaywork

OneAcadiana launches election site

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

On eA cad ia na ha s launched its 2025 Elections Hub, afree online resource to helpvoters navigate the fall election season. The site, oneacadiana. com/elections, includes key election dates, aballot guide and anew videoseries, “1A Ballot Brieﬁngs.” Voters in LafayetteParish will decide on two local millage renewals Oct. 11 one for the Lafayette Parish school systemand the

other for the Bayou Vermilion District. The Bayou Vermilion District, whose operations include keeping the river clean and running Vermilionville, is in the process of creating anew master plan focused on its original mission: water quality State legislation that created the district put the focus on improving the water quality of the Vermilion River.The board has decided to return its focus to

STAFFPHOTOSByBRAD BOWIE

Whywould N.O. turn downhelp from National Guard?

Muchhas been said about sending National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to patrol the streets and decrease the crime rate. District leaders have said that crime is decreasing so the National Guard was not needed, butPresident Donald Trump made acomparison about crime when he said the murder rate in D.C. is higher than Bogota, Colombia and Mexico City Let’scheck the numbers. Asimple search on the internet revealed that Bogota recorded 15 homicides per100,000 in 2024. MexicoCity recorded 26.6 per 100,000 in 2022 Washington, D.C., in 2024 had 27.3 per 100,000. The president’s statement is correct and nota lie as suggested by Will Suttonina Sunday column New Orleans has done extraordinary policing during major public events like the SuperBowl by using state police and federal law enforcement personnel to assist the understaffed policeforce. Help from outside sourcesisnot unusual andevery citizenshould be concerned about the levelof crime in their city and accept help to make improvements. We should never considerthe numbers presented above to be acceptable. There are large cities that are consistently below 10 homicides per 100,000 residents.For example,one such city is Austin, Texas, which had ahomicide rate of 6.7 per 100,000 in 2023.

BRIAN ALMON Metairie

YOUR VIEWS

Members of the LSU Tigers football team carrythe

theArkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 11,2017, in

NewSEC schedule might complicate things forLSU

With theSEC moving to anine-game schedule andgiving each team three permanent opponents,I rarely hear Arkansas mentioned among fans as one of the three SEC teams they predict LSUwill play annually However,whether LSUprefers it or not,I see it as aguarantee Arkansas will be one of the permanent opponents for LSU. The last week of theregular season cannot be an SEC rotational game for LSU. Why? Because every other SEC team (except Oklahoma) has an annual rivalry game scheduled to ﬁnish theseason

The SEC can’tleave this date open for LSU, as finding anonconference opponent to play onrivalryweek is quite difficult. Unless LSU wishes to renew its rivalrywith Tulane, then the SEC must provide LSUwith an annual opponent to finish theseason. But who? Oklahoma is available, but LSU would fightstrongly against selecting Oklahoma to occupyone of the three permanent opponentslots for the Tigers, as it will mean

sacriﬁcing an annual gameagainst one of LSU’sideal permanent opponents such as Ole Miss, Auburn, Alabama, Florida or A&M.These teams are not available for rivalry week, as Ole Miss plays Mississippi State, Auburn and Alabama play each other, Floridaplays FloridaState and A&M plays Texas. So, what is the solution? The onlyteam that makes sense to play LSUonrivalry week as one of the three permanent conference opponents is Arkansas. The Razorbacks can still play Missouri annually earlier in the season, and aMissouri-Oklahoma rivalry week gamemakes more sense for both of them anyway

In order to select three permanent opponentsfor LSU that have ahistory and provide an opponent for rivalry week, what option does theSEC have for LSU other than Arkansas?

DUSTIN HART Baton Rouge

Katrina anniversary coverage wasstellar

Suchwonderful facts,memories and tributes in the recall of Hurricane Katrina.

Thanks to all for reminding us of the tragedythat displaced many, called to arms numerous helpers both professional and everyday heroes and showed us that humanityinits manyforms continues to exist. And congratulations to the many whoreturned to the Lower 9th Ward to rebuild for reminding us what being a part ofaneighborhood really means.

Kudos to all.

YVONNE BAHRYCABALLERO Baton Rouge

People dance and march during the 20th anniversaryofHurricane Katrina Marchand Second-LineonAug.29inNew

Litigation against firms fordestroying coastjustified by science

Iwas amazed to read the recent op-ed by Steve Milloy,who criticized Louisiana forparticipating in litigation against oil corporations fordestroying the coastal zone. His website is called “JunkScience. com,” which accurately describes his column. Among other things, he declares that there is no reasonable science showing damage from oil and gas operations. He is wrong. Indeed, studies have shownthat the coastal zone was relatively stable, even after the levees werebuilt in the l930’s. When oil and gas operations began operating seriously in the l940’s, however,the zone started to collapse. The ﬁrst reason was the access canals, that tore up the wetlands surface like a power mower on steroids. The second wasthe extraction of ﬂuids below the marshes, which extracted astronomical amounts of gas and oil and morethan eight times that volumeofbrines. In fact, aclassic one-two punch, one to the chin and the other to the gut. The dual effects were catastrophic.

Louisiana began losing 35 square miles of wetlands ayear,and that would be doubled by the year 2050. The scientists behind these conclusions include Robert Morton from the U.S. Geological Survey and three celebrated Louisiana scientists, Eugene Turner and John Day of LSU, Walter Sikoura from Alabamaand the dean of them all, Sherwood Gagliano.

So muchfor Junk Science. The science behind oil and gas impacts on the coastal zone has been proven, both in theory,lab experience and on-side cause and effects measurements. If Milloy has any questions about these statements, Iinvite him to look at an article called “The Reckoning,” published in 2019.

OLIVER HOUCK emeritus professor DAVID BOIES chair in public interest law, Tulane University

Don’tpaint Planned Parenthood as all aboutwomen’s health

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

Regarding theAug. 25 letter by Morgan Landry ofPierre Partinvoking certain biblical passages to justify deportation policies: Those passages arebeing misused, and an important distinction is blurred. Romans2:13 does not speak of man’s laws for governing society, but of God’slaw giventogovern our relationship with Him To equate it with civil statutes is to miss Paul’s point.Likewise, Romans 13:1 is not ablank check for rulers. Taken literally,it would sanctify even tyrannical regimes. Paul’s counselwas to encourage order under Rome, not to baptize every regime. And Luke 20:25 remindsusthat Caesar has civil authority,but only God claimsour worship andultimate loyalty Unlawfulpresence is often acivil offense, not acrime. The Constitution guarantees due process to all everyone. Enforcement of deportation should be done justly.And beyond man’slaw stands the higher law of

love. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches that love of neighbor is paramount —not by citizenship or status, but by need. In theparable of the road to Emmaus, we see that Jesus’ presence becomes clear when we invite the stranger to share what we have; in thebreaking of bread, our eyes are opened. As Exodus tells us, we cannot see God’sface, but we can recognize when Hisglory has passed before us. We should not trytoclaim authority to settle every disputebyappealing to scriptural passages removed from their greater moraland historical context.Like the man once blind in John 9:25, one thing is clear to me. We becomePharisees ourselves when we use Scripture to twistGod’slaw into a tool for fear or exclusion. We are blind when we confuse man’slaw with God’s—but by Christ’smercy,wemay yet see.

BRIAN HANLEY Baton Rouge

I’d like to respond to letter writer Rosalind Hinton regarding her comments about the closure of Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana. She states that Planned Parenthood did not perform abortions in our state. That is true, but only due to state laws largely preventing it. Planned Parenthood did provide over $650,000 for travel expenses to facilitate abortion in other states. So, at their heart and with their government provided funding from our tax dollars, they certainly helped perform abortions. As aCatholic theologian, Hinton should be well versed in the Catholic Church doctrine as stated in our catechism regarding abortion, and I quote, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the ﬁrst moment of its existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of aperson among whichisthe inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” Here then, is the answer to her question, where is my church? It is standing on truth, against the tide of death. Won’tyou join Her?

SUSAN ROTOLO

Slidell

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

trophy into the locker room after defeating

Baton Rouge.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol Sept. 7on the grounds of the Washington Monument at the National Mall in Washington.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Orleans.

COMMENTARY

WINNER: KennyMathews, Mandeville

HERE COMES AUTUMN

Tasty! We received616 entries in this week’sCartoon Caption Contest. We gotabunch of nutty politicianjokes (go figure!)and ahilarious arrayofoff-the-wall approaches that were greatly appreciated.Food deliverygags were also plentiful, and our winner had aterrifictakeonthat! Great job,folks! As always, when we have duplicate entries, and we alwaysdo, we pick the earliest sent in. Well played, everyone. —Walt

JUNE DUCHMANN, METAIRIE: “He gets an unlimitedsupply from hiscousin in Washington, DC.

MARIANO HINOJOSA, BATONROUGE: “Thehomeowner found away to keep Fredout of the birdfeeder.”

JOHN WEGER, BATONROUGE: “I bet thedog left thenuts to slow Joedown.”

MICHAEL B. RIEMER, JEFFERSON: “He claimshe’sallergic to acorns!”

KIRBY JANE NAGLE, METAIRIE: “Steve hasmore waste than agovernment spending bill.”

JOHN HANLEY,BATON ROUGE: “He says he doesn’tlikethe unsaltedonesinthe trees.”

RAYLIGHTELL, METAIRIE: “Forget winter storagehe’sgoing forearly retirement.”

DARLIN BRADY-CARO, DESTREHAN: “He’slookingfor the pumpkin spice flavored one!”

DENNIE WILLIAMS,ALEXANDRIA: “Looks likeheisjust picking out the cashews to eat.

BRUCE TAMPLAIN, LAPLACE: “I wonderwhere he foundthat tree?”

JOHN ARCENEAUX, MANDEVILLE: “I told youweneeded to go to Buc-ee’s.”

MARTHA STARNES,KENNER: “Oh great… nowhe’sgoingto be starting afood blog!”

ASHLYN GRAVES,NEW ORLEANS: “Mixed nuts? With this heat those nuts are roasted.”

ERIN O’SULLIVAN FLEMING, RIVER RIDGE: “He’sbulking up fora one on one with the cat.

JAYDARDENNE,BATON ROUGE: “Heordered it from Amazon. It’scalled the Congressional Special.”

SAM JOHNSON, ZACHARY: “Don’ttell momma… she thinks Dad still climbs trees!!”

DANNIEP.GARRETT, III, BATONROUGE: “He must have bought those before the tariffs.

DONALD BOREY,GONZALES: “He doesn’tworry about winternow that he has Amazon homedelivery.”

JOHN E. GALLOWAY, KENNER: “He says acan of those goes perfectly with the daily news.

KEVINSTEEN, CORPUS CHRISTI,TX: “I thought he had a nut allergy!”

WENDYKING, NEWORLEANS: “I’ll have what he’shaving!”

P. GEARYVANCE, BATONROUGE: “I totally misunderstood that guy when he saidhewas goingtothe can…”

DAVIDD.DELGADO, NEWORLEANS: “I’m getting thirsty just lookingathim!”

PHILLIP T. GRIFFIN, NEWORLEANS: “We’ll know whose house to go to when the freeze comes.”

KERI ANNE STIEGLER, NEWORLEANS: “Guess who’sbeen pilferingpicnics in the park again.

STUART CLARK,LAFAYETTE: “Dang! Isaw it first but it looked likea ‘pop-upsnakeprank’ can.”

KathyHochul’schanging‘principles’

NewYork Gov.Kathy Hochul’s endorsement of Democrat SocialistZohran Mamdani for mayor of NewYork City,reminds me of an old Groucho Marx line: “Those are my principles and if you don’tlike them. well,Ihaveothers.”

Only last week, Hochul called on Mamdani to apologize to police for calling the New York Police Department “racist” and a“major threat to public safety.”Four days later she said while they still have theirdifferences,she is for him anyway. Whatthose “differences”are she did not say, but perhapsa reporter mightask her. Mamdani’smajor campaign theme hasbeen making New York City more “affordable.”The way to begin that process is by cutting taxes. The state income tax can run as high as 10.9% for high earners. On top ofthat, and of courseontop of federal incomes taxes, the city income tax is nearly 4% for those earning more than $50,000. Add to that other state and local taxesand the federal income tax. Does Hochul support tax cuts to help keeppeople in the state and city?Bloomberg reports “a net 30,000 New Yorkersﬂed the city for Florida’sPalm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in the ﬁve years through 2022, takingwiththemacombined$9.2billioninincome.” John F. Kennedy,who cuttaxes, would have troublemakingitin

today’sDemocratic (and socialist) party.Hochul also called herself “a staunch capitalist” before her endorsement of Mamdani. What do a capitalist and asocialist have in common?

to roam free.”Does Hochul disagree with his position?

WilliamF. Buckley would recognize CharlieKirkas akindred spirit

NEW HAVEN, Conn. On atranquil, sun-dappled afternoon here, the day before the killing of Charlie Kirk on auniversity campus morethan 2,000 miles west, Yale University hosted aceremony at which the U.S. Postal Service unveiled acommemorative stamphonoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of aYale man in whose large footsteps Kirk had walked. William F. Buckley Jr., whodied in 2008 at age 82, would have recognized the 31-year-old Kirk as akindred spirit.

The poet Robert Frost wrote of his “lover’squarrel with the world.” Buckley burst upon the national scene in 1951, at age 25, by announcing such aquarrel with his alma mater.Itwas heatedly explained in his ﬁrst book, “God and Man at Yale.” Looking back, this volumewas an early spark that lit the fuse that led to the explosion that has blown universities into the maelstrom of today’scontentiousness.

Kirk was called “divisive.” So was Socrates, whoalso paid with his life forthe offense of being too argumentative, corrupting young Athenians by encouraging independent thinking. Seven decades ago, Buckley,the foremost maker of the postwar conservative movement, wasnot often somberly denounced as divisive. His immunity was primarily because conservatism then wasoften regarded condescendingly as aharmless eccentricity —naughty but unserious.

By founding National Review magazine in 1955, and by his tireless traveling to small and soon not-so-small gatherings on campuses and in communities, Buckley madehistory: Without National Review,Barry Goldwater would not have been the Republicans’ 1964 presidential nominee. Without Goldwater,Ronald Reagan’snomination would have been less likely Kirk was killed at the beginning of what wasto have been aBuckley-like tour of political evangelism among the unconverted: college students. He also wasprobably killed because, unlike Buckley when he was 31 in 1956, Kirk wasadvocating apowerful and ascendant politics.

When Goldwater,anArizona businessman, decided at age 40 in 1949 to run forthe Phoenix City Council, he said of politics, “Itain’tfor life, and it may be fun.” In 1949, Yale was incubating Buckley as an undergraduate who, like Kirk, had atalent formaking politics fun. It ought to be such. It ﬂows from what makes us human. Today,onboth sides of the barricades, politics is practiced with asnarl. It makes people cranky, permeates everything, and in twomonths, will spoil innumerable Thanksgiving dinners. Why then must we have politics?

Because we are what Aristotle said makehumans distinctive creatures: Like Buckley and Kirk, we all are language users. Trout get along swimmingly without politics. Ants and beavers collaborate building anthills and dams, and bees in apiaries have hierarchies (queens and drones), but we do not speak of the “politics” of ants, beavers and bees.

Only humans have politics, fortwo reasons: We are opinionated, and we are egotistical. We think our opinions are preferable to others’ opinions. Hence the primary purpose and challenge of politics is to keep the peace among such creatures living together

The leading candidate for mayorhas also made antisemitic comments. In an op-ed forthe American Enterprise Institute, Samuel J. Abrams, a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, writes: “Mamdani hasrefused to explicitly condemn theslogan ‘Globalize theIntifada,’ which hasbeen widely understood as acall to violence against Jews.His defenders insist it’sasymbolic plea for Palestinianrights.But nuance offerslittle comfort when thephrase gloriﬁes violent uprisings andisroutinely chanted alongsidecalls for Israel’sdestruction.” Amazingly it appears amajority of the largest population of Jews in the U.S.are preparedtovote for him. What is Hochul’sview of Mamdani’s antisemitic statements?

Hochul has said she and Mamdani agree that children should be able to “grow up in safe neighborhoods.”

How does that align with Mamdani’s past statements about defunding the police andsoft on crime positions?

According to theNew York Post, Mamdani’sendorsement of astate parolereform law would allow “85% of ex-conswho commit new crimes

Mamdani also wantsthe citytocreate anetwork of grocery stores to provide “affordable food.” That was tried in Kansas City where last month acity-owned grocery store was forced to close due to high expenses and reduced revenue. The city had poured $29 million intothe store. You might thinkHochul and Mamdani could learn alesson from this failed socialist experiment,but ideologies are hard to break even when there are examples that prove them wrong.

If Mamdani wins, as appears likely, theDemocratic Party will own him and be forced to defend his socialist ideology.That might work for many young people who have been indoctrinated in someoftheir public schools and universities with anti-capitalist and other views contrary to America’shistory,but it is unlikely to work for theparty between the coasts. In what will likely be seen as an “and you, Brutus” stab in the back, Mamdani has refused to endorse Hochul’sreelection.

LastNovember’selection should have sent amessage to Democrats. For Hochul and others that message appears to have been forgotten. At least she has principles, whatever they might be.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

Many visionary nuisances think that keeping the peace is acontemptibly modest, even banal purpose forpolitics. They believe that social peace —living together congenially —isnot merely overrated, it is evidence of bad character: too little passion forperfecting the world. Sacriﬁcing social peace is, they think, an inevitable price worth paying forapolitics with properly elevated ambitions, including the suppression of those whose opinions and egotism are impediments to politically driven progress.

Addressing what he called, with notable understatement, “mydissatisﬁed fellow-countrymen,” Lincoln said in his ﬁrst inaugural: “Weare not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” When he spoke, seven states had voted to secede. The nation was fractured by disagreement about the right of somehuman beings to own other human beings. Today,American politics is embittered by many disagreements, but not even all of them cumulatively begin to justifythe insanely disproportionate furies that so manypeople on both sides of the metaphoric barricades relish feeling. Perhaps they feel important, even to themselves, only when cloaked in the derivative importance that comes from immersion in apocalyptic politics. Politics too grand to settle formerely keeping the peace that gives congeniality achance.

Kirk, like Buckley,was ateacher unconﬁned to a classroom. Anyone is such whoargues foraliving —who by welcoming interlocutors pays them the compliment of acknowledging the kinship of all serious users of language. It is horriﬁc that nowadays this can be fatal.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

Cal Thomas

George Will

Free N.O. light, artfestivalcanceled

BYDOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Gallier Hall will notbe splashed with afantastical, custom-ﬁt video projection this November,and apsychedelic silent disco will not transpire in the Piazza d’Italia.

OYSTER

Continued from page1B

farminggrounds already havea waitinglist, he said.

All of the oystershells from OysterNight will be repurposed through the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’soyster shell recyclingprogram, returned to thewaterto build reefs that help protect against erosion. In February,anearlier versionofthe culinary event yielded around seven tons of oyster shellsfrom 50 restaurants. “This is agreatway to talkabout what canbe donethat’suseful,”said Kimberly DavisReyher, the executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. “Everybody likes oysters.

WASTE

Continued from page 1B

wasdeadorshowedsignsof distress, inspectors added. State regulators alleged Atlantic Alumina, also known as Atalco, failed to report problems to them in atimely fashion, to log many days of its own monitoring of the containment leveesand to inspect the most active pond.

Atalco “failed to conduct adequate inspections as necessary to detect evidence of deterioration of the dike and levees, overtopping, malfunctions,and/ or improper operation of permitted” red mud lakes, aDEQ compliance order says. In aresponse to DEQ, Atalcoofficialssaid they had already ﬁxed or were in the process of ﬁxing alleged containment failures when theorderwas issued Aug. 22.

ELECTION

Continued from page1B

that mission. The guide outlinesthe two millage renewals, explaining what a“yes” vote and a “no” vote would mean for each.

One Acadiana is also introducing avideo series designed to give voters

LUNA Fête, the glowing, glitteringlight festival that has taken place each year since 2014, hasbeen canceledin2025. According to ArtsNew Orleanspresident and CEO Joycelyn Reynolds, the 2024event was abig success, drawingapproximate-

Everybody likes oyster reefs protecting us from hurricanes.”

Wild oysters harvested from the seabed still make up the vast majority produced in Louisianawaters, but the specialty farmed productshavegained popularity aroundNew Orleans at local restaurants, food pop-ups and at the New Orleans Jazz &HeritageFestival. Comparedtowild oysters, cage-grown oysters tend to be smaller and more uniformly shaped. Thecages canbemoved around, which can protect theoysters from predators andnatural disasters

Oystersalsoprovideenvironmental beneﬁts, such as cleaning pollutants from the water Grand Isle boasted a thriving wild oysterindustry for more than a

Theresponse includes photographs of formerly eroded levee banks being patchedupand previously silted-incontainmentditches cleared out to helpprevent runoff from escaping.

Asked for acomment on the order,Atalcoofﬁcials provided acopy of that response along with abrief statement last week.

JohnHabisreitinger presidentofAtalco, said the repairs have stopped the seepage of liquids from red mud ponds. Company ofﬁcials have also met with DEQseveral times about the inspection ﬁndings and thecompliance order,he added.

“While Atalco does not fully concur with every characterization in theDepartment’sﬁndings —particularly the classiﬁcation of seepage liquid as solid waste —wetakethese matters very seriously and are activelyworking to address theconditions outlinedin the Order,” Habisreitinger

an in-depthlook at ballot items. Episodes forthe Oct 11 electioninclude interviews with thesuperintendent ofthe schoolsystem and the executive directorofthe Bayou Vermilion District.

Earlyvoting is Sept.27 through Oct. 4. To ﬁnda pollinglocation,visit sos.la.gov

Email Adam Daigleat adaigle@theadvocate com.

ly 40,000 spectators who strolled through an array of glowinghigh-tech displays along Lafayette Street in theCBD.

Theupcomingfestwould have cost approximately $500,000, Reynolds said. And the money didn’tmaterialize.

Forreasonsnot entirely clear,Reynolds said, cor-

century,but by the 1990s, achanging seaﬂoor habitat and poor economicsled to decline. In 2021, Hurricane Idascoured thelast remainingoysterhabitat around the island. Since then,Jefferson Parish hassought to help restore the industry through the “jewel” rebrand andstate funding.

A$250,000 contribution from the Jefferson Parish Council and Louisiana SeaGrant,the stateprogram of afederal coastal network, will be used to help fund an oyster processing facilityonGrand Isle

“We’llbeabletopullup to the dock,hook themup to apressure washer,wash them, bagthem, tagthem, put them in your cooler and go from there,” said farmer Nathan Herring while shucking oysters at

said.

DEQ saysthe liquid seeping from thelevees is solid waste that is beingillegally discharged.

The redmud runoff was cited by aSoutheastern Louisiana University researcher as apotential source of heavy metals and other pollutants in Lake Maurepas.The published study said leaks from Atalco may be reaching BlindRiver andcontributing thelake pollution.

Atalco has rejected that suggestion

The researcher,analytical chemistFereshteh Emami, had proposed more intensive study to trace the pollutionsources but was removed from her role on theSLU team in July.University correspondence indicates thedecision wasn’t relatedtoher ﬁndings,but Emami’slawyer has questioned thestated reasons for her removal.

Atalco has facedother complaintsand govern-

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poratesponsorship was lower than expected.But thedeath blow was the loss of an $80,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts In 2024, Arts New Orleans had received an ofﬁcial letterannouncing that the organization would receive themoney to help cover the cost of producing LUNA

Deanie’s Seafood in Metairie, oneofthe restaurants participating in thecitywide event.

Thenascent Grand Isle industryisalso seeing growth on the distribution side. Three monthsago, Inland Foods,adistributor, begancollaborating with the farmers who runLittle Moon Oysters in Grand Isle.The companybrings seafood,meats andother products to buyers across the Southeast.

“We’regoing to be a vessel to help them grow across the country,” said JustinJones,general manager at Inland, which is basedinAtlanta.

August Mchugh, one of the two LittleMoon employees, said thefounder of the oyster operation is directly selling their products to restaurants in Houston and Austin, Texas.

ment action in recent years

During the Bidenadministration,the plantwas under regular scrutiny by workplace safety regulators andassessed several millionsofdollars in ﬁnes. Among the safety problems, four workers were injured, and one contractor was killed in 2024.

ResidentsinGramercy andacross the river have also routinely complained about red and white dust blowing from the complex.

Atalco officials have argued thatthey have faced unfair criticism from environmental groups.

In June,Atalco ofﬁcials announced they installed newfilter presses to squeeze out much of the waternormallysenttothe red mud ponds, allowing more efﬁcient wastestorage.

Atalco has alsocontinued to explore ways to reuse

Fête. But with the arrival of the Trumpadministration in 2025, thegrant was rescinded.

Reynoldssaid theArts NewOrleans staff and board of directors discussed presentinga smaller fest or seeking asuggested donation for entry,but rejected those plans.

Instead,the management of the organizationdecided to postpone the next LUNA Fête until November 2026. The 2024 freefestivalwas “the best we’d ever done,” Reynolds said, and “keeping it at that levelwas important.”

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate. com.

thered mud safely.Company officials have told state regulatorsthey don’t plan to close the ponds until 2046 but will need to build anew pond before then. They also said shipping red mud off-siteisn’t feasible.

Atalco emphasizes its operation, which makes nearly 40% of the nation’s alumina, is anational security assetunder threat and has alleged that Chinese companies areengaged in state-sponsored efforts to undercut alumina prices

In July,Atalco officials said the U.S. Export-ImportBank, an independent armofthe federal government that helpsexporters, has shown interest in financinga$450 million expansion.

DavidJ.Mitchellcan be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

AIRPORT

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just over ayear later,the first time in Lafayette airport history to have a five-gate terminal in operation. It also has room fortwo more gatestothe south.

Thefunding comes through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the AirportInfrastructure Grant program The remaining funds willbeusedfor safety upgrades, runway and taxiwayimprovements, and terminal modernization projects at other airports in BatonRouge,New Orleans, Oakdale, Rayville, Reserve and Shreveport.

Email StephenMarcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTOBySOPHIA GERMER Nathan Herring,ofBright Side Oyster Co., sifts oysters at his nurseryinGrand IsleonMay 16. The area’sfarming zone is set to doubleinsize.

SP TS

LEGION OF GLOOM

Tory Hortonreturns apunt for atouchdown

remainwinless entering Week 4.

Everything that couldgowrong for Saints didinblowout loss to Seattle

BY LUKEJOHNSON Staff writer

SEATTLE The living embodiment of Murphy’sLaw took theﬁeldinNew Orleans Saints uniforms Sunday.

Theﬁrst10minutes of theSaints’ 44-13 loss to theSeattle Seahawks were adisasterreel, with thefailures growing progressively,maddeningly more egregious

Consider all that happened as the Seahawks raced out to a21-0 lead:

n On their opening defensive possession, the Saints werepoisedtoget off the ﬁeld afterdeﬂecting aSam Darnold pass at thelineon thirdand-8.But, after the play, defensive lineman Bryan Bresee was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness after head-buttinga Seattleplayer. Darnold rolled to his left and hit

JaxonSmith-Njigbafor a12-yard touchdown on thenext play

n TheSaintstook overand, facing afourth-and-1,they lineduptorun thetush pushfor the secondtime this season.Also,for the second timethis season, the play was negated before it could start because of afalse start penalty.Saints punterKai Kroeger then trotted on the ﬁeld and boomed a61-yard punt …which Tory Horton returned95yards untouchedfor a touchdown.

n Thepenalties came back to hauntNew Orleansonthe ensuing possession. Twofalse starts andan offensive holdingpenalty forced them into athird-and-21 situation, which the Saints could not convert. Kroeger came back ontothe ﬁeldand

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Wheels fall offfor first-year coach Moore, Saints in embarrassing loss

SEATTLE The honeymoon forKellenMoore ofﬁcially ended in the ﬁrst quarter of his thirdgameas New OrleansSaints head coach.

Somewhere between Tory Horton’s91-yard punt return for atouchdown, the blocked punt that set up another Seahawks TD and an embarrassing three-penalties-infour-plays sequence, the bloom was removed from theproverbial rose. Whatever patience, understanding and empathy Saints fans had for Moore in his debut season in New Orleansvaporized during one of the mostembarrassing losses in Saints franchise history As theugly 44-13 beatdown played out and the deﬁcitclimbed

to historic levels, from 21-0 after one quarter to 38-3 at halftime, the reality of what lies ahead began to sink in: The Saints aren’t nearly as close as they led us to believe, and along, frustrating season is upon us. “Wedid not play up to our standard at all today,” Moore said. “It’sonme.” Yes, it is. Moore has mostly been given afree pass so far, but that won’t be the case after Sunday.The Saints’ eternally optimistic 37-year-old head coach spent mostofthe afternoon pacing the sideline and casting long stares at the scoreboard and his call sheet. Neither provided an answer or solution.

See DUNCAN, page 4C

Jeff Duncan

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLINDSEy WASSON

Seattle Seahawkswide receiver

during the first half against theSaintsonSunday in Seattle. The Saints lost 44-13 to

4a.m.Chengdu-ATP

RyderCup noteasytowin on road

Europe haswon on U.S. soil just four times

BY DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. Rory McIlroy,

who became only the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam of majors by winning theMasters, now faces another tall order

McIlroy has been saying for the past few years that winning the Ryder Cup on the road is the biggest accomplishment in golf He would know.McIlroy was on thelastwinning roadteamin this passionate competition. That was 13 years ago and required so much to go right on the ﬁnal day that it became known as the“Miracle at Medinah.”

“Weweren’tsupposed towin in ‘12,” McIlroy once said. “Even since then, the home team has won, each time pretty convincingly.”

The Americans were coming off arecord rout over Europein2021 —19-9 —when they went to Marco Simone in Italy with hopes of ending 30 years without aroad victory Europe swept the opening session and sailed to aﬁve-point win.

After Europe’swin at Medinah, thehometeam haswon by the following margins: ﬁve points in Scotland, six points in Minnesota, seven points in France, 10 points in Wisconsin and then last time in Rome.

Europe returns Luke Donald as captain and 11 of the players who won in Rome. Nowitfaces abig, loud crowd at Bethpage Black when the matches start Friday The course will be groomed to favor an American style of golf. That led Donald to say winning aRyder Cup in New York “is adifferent animal.”

But the Europeans have doneit before—four times in the past 40 years.Here’s how theydid it

MuirfieldVillage,

1987

Europe was coming off its ﬁrst Ryder Cupvictory since1957, facing an American team with Jack Nicklaus as the captain on theMuirﬁeldVillage course he built.

Amongthe three captain’spicks for Europewas Jose Maria Olazabal,the perfect partner forSeve Ballesteros. They went 3-1 in team play as Europe,behind a4-0 session in Friday fourballs, and built aﬁve-point lead going into Sunday singles.

The American rallycame up short, particularly on the 18th hole. Ballesteros closed it outbybeatingCurtisStrange fora 15-13 victory,the ﬁrst time theAmericans lost on home soil since the matches began in 1927.

Noteworthy: This was thelast Ryder Cup in which the Americans didnot havecaptain’spicks.

OakHill, 1995

American dominance appeared to be restored with wins at Kiawah Island in 1991 andatThe Belfry in 1993. And thenCorey Pavin chipped in on the 18thfor afourballs victory Saturday evening at Oak Hill for a9-7 lead that looked insurmountable given the U.S. edge in singles. An aging European team —this was the last playing appearance by Ballesteros —dominated the 18th hole, as it had done in its previous road victory Nick Faldo got up-and-down for par from 93 yards away on the18th to rally for a1-up win over Strange, who bogeyed thelastthree holes. Philip Walton clinched it for Europe in a141/2-131/2 victory

Noteworthy: Phil Mickelson went 3-0 in his Ryder Cup debut.Itwas theﬁrst of his record 12 consecutiveappearances.

WNBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

OaklandHills,2004

Europe recorded its largest margin of victory in the RyderCup, 181/2-91/2,and yet this Ryder Cup will be bestremembered for U.S. captain Hal Sutton pairing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for the ﬁrst time. They lost the opening match to Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie. Suttonsent themout again and they lost to Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke.

Europe alreadyhad afive-point lead after the first day and won four of thefive sessions with Bernhard Langer at thehelm Trailing 11-5going into Sunday Sutton decided to send out his players in the ordertheymadethe team. By the fifth of 12 matches, Europe had securedthe cup.

Noteworthy: For the ﬁrst time since 1981, Europe had no major champions on itsteam.

Medinah,

2012

TheAmericans were poised to take an 11-5 lead into singles when Ian Poulter finished with ﬁve straight birdies to carry him and McIlroy to astunning point in theﬁnal fourballs match. The momentumwas enormous.

The Americansstill had afourpoint lead.McIlroy forgot Chicago was in the Central timezone andnearlymissed his teetime, arriving at Medinahwith10minutes to spare. And then the Europeans staged thegreatest comeback by aroad team in Ryder Cup history

Their top five players in the lineup won, none bigger than Justin Rosemaking birdie on the last two holes to beat Mickelson. Martin Kaymer madea6-foot par putt to beat Steve Stricker.The cup in Europe’shands, Tiger Woods conceded ashort par putt to Francesco Molinari fora141/2-131/2 victory

Noteworthy: European captain Olazabal hadanimage of Ballesteros sewn into the sleeves of his team’s Sundayshirts. It was the ﬁrst Ryder Cup since Ballesteros died from abrain tumorinMay 2011.

Mitchell scores 34 points as Fever upsets Aces

By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS Kelsey Mitchell

scored aplayoff-career high 34 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Las Vegas Aces89-73 on Sunday in Game 1ofthe best-of-ﬁve semiﬁnal series.

After seeing itsdouble-digit lead shrink to three points with 2:51 left in the third, the Fever closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to extendits advantageto14 points, seizing control of the game and never looking back.

Mitchell scored 17 points in the first half, setting the tone for theFever’soffense.The veteran guard, whofinished the regular season ranked thirdinscoring with 20.2 points per game, shot 12 of 23 (52.2%) from thefloor,including4of6from 3-point range for the game.

OdysseySims had17points, while NatashaHoward finished with adouble-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).

The Feverﬁnished the game hitting 50% from theﬂoor (34 of 68), while the Acesshot just 29 of 71 (40.8%).

Aces star A’ja Wilsonﬁnished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson shot just 27.3% (6 of 22) from the ﬁeld. JackieYoung led the Aces with 19 points, while Dana Evans came off the bench toscore 14 points and Chelsea Gray chipped in with13.

LYNX 82, MERCURY69: In Minneapolis,Courtney Williamsscored a game-high 23 points, Kayla McBride scored 21, and Napheesa Collieradded 18 points and nine reboundsasthe top-seededMinnesota Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1ofthe semiﬁ-

nal series.

TheLynx trailed by as manyas nine and faced aseven-point deﬁcit at halftime. As Phoenix threatened to even thegame down the stretch, Williams and McBride kept making big shots to keep the Mercury at bay. McBride drilled a shot from deep to put theLynx up 73-67 with under four minutes to play,and Minnesotanever looked back.

Game 2isTuesday in Minneapolis before the teams head to Phoenix for Game3onFriday Kahleah Copperled Phoenix with 22 points and Alyssa Thomas had18. Mercury leading scorer Satou Sabally (16.3 ppg) was held to just 10 points. Collier had 10 first-quarter pointsand scored eight in the third as theLynx evened thegame at 59 heading to theﬁnal quarter

AP PHOTO By CANDICE WARD

Aces center A’ja Wilson looksto shoot overFever forward Makayla Timpson, left, on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Stormannounces Quinn will not returnascoach

The SeattleStorm announced on Sunday that Noelle Quinn will not return as coach, days after the franchise lost in the ﬁrst round of the WNBA playoffs

The Storm lost in Game 3toLas Vegas on Thursday after finishing seventh in the standings in the regular season. Quinn was the only Black female head coach in the WNBA this season.Teresa Weatherspoon (Chicago)and Tanisha Wright (Atlanta) were both ﬁred at theend of the 2024 season.

She started her Storm career as aplayer in 2013and continued her tenure from 2016-2018, including being part of the 2018 WNBA championship team. Quinn ﬁnished with the secondmostwinsofany coach in Seattle franchise history,ending her tenure with a97-89 record.

Aces star Wilsonearns historic fourth MVP award Las VegasAces starA’jaWilson is in aclass by herself, winning the WNBA MVP for an unprecedented fourth time.

She won the award last season as the unanimous choice and also in 2020 and 2022. Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson all won the award three times. Wilsonand formerHouston Comets star Cynthia Cooper were theonly ones to winthe award unanimously

The 29-year-old Wilson again led the league in scoring (23.4 points per game) as well as blocked shots (2.3)and helped the Aces wintheir last 16 regular-season games, earning the No. 2seed in the playoffs.For the second consecutive season, Wilson averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2assists, 2 blocks and asteal per game.

Italyrouts U.S. to retain Billie Jean King Cup

SHENZHEN, China Jasmine Paolini beat Jessica Pegula on the fourth match point as defending champion Italy won the Billie Jean King Cup with acomprehensive victory over the United States on Sunday Italywon both singlestiesin straight sets, meaning there was no need foradecisive doubles match. The No. 8-ranked Paolini beat seventh-ranked Pegula 6-4, 6-2 after No.91Elisabetta Cocciaretto won 6-4, 6-4 against Emma Navarro, breaking herserve three times. Italy was contesting its third straight ﬁnal and clinched its sixth title. The Americans’ previous ﬁnal came in 2018.

Hall of Fame goaltender, ex-FlyerParent dies at 80

PHILADELPHIA Bernie Parent, the Hall of Famer considered one of the great goalies of alltime who anchored the netfor thePhiladelphia Flyers’ only two StanleyCup championships in the1970sduring their Broad Street Bullies heyday has died. He was80.

Parent diedovernight in hissleep, formerteammateJoe Watsonsaid. Watson, astar defenseman on theStanleyCup teams, said by phone that he saw Parent and other former Flyers players at a function Fridaynight in Delaware.

“Bernie wasinsuch pain, he could hardly walk,” Watson said, citing Parent’sbad back.

Parent’ssteel-eyed stare through hisold-school hockey masklanded him on the cover of Time magazine in 1975 when the Flyers reigned as one of the marquee teams in sports.

BYEDDIE PELLS Associated Press

TOKYO— Former LSU standout

Sha’Carri Richardsonsavedthe day in her relay, and Noah Lyles and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone put exclamation points on theirs. Thebestinthe U.S. splashed through the rainy relays Sunday in Tokyo to capture threegold medals and close out world championships on anight when track also bid ahug-ﬁlled farewell toJamaica’s sprint legend, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“I felt like Iran with my heart because of the ladies I’m standingwith,” Richardson said,asshe celebrated her first gold medal of achampionshipsthat was far from perfect. “I feel really good. It came back. I’mready to startall over again.” It has been atough, injurytainted year for Richardson, who ﬁnished ﬁfth last weekend in the women’s100. Even so, she ran the

anchor leg for the 4x100 relay same place she’sbeen for goldmedal performances thepast two years —and shedidn’tdisappoint. But unlike last year at theOlympics,when shegavethe side-eye

to the opponentsshe passed, then stompedher

baton from Kayla White. It took a few steps for her to build alead of herown, and she held off Jonielle Smith down the stretchand leaned in for the win in 41.75 seconds. It wasa .04-second margin, and the difference might have been aslight hiccup in an exchange between Jamaican twins Tiaand Tina Clayton. The U.S. had none of those problems. Afull-circlemoment

In acouple of near-perfect moments, it was Richardson’scomebackthat turned Melissa Jefferson-Wooden,who ran the lead leg, into the first three-time sprint winneratworlds —100, 200 and relay —since Fraser-Pryce did it in 2013. It also left the Jamaican they call the“Mommy Rocket”with silver,the same color she wonin her debut at worlds, back in 2007 in Osaka when she was 20 and earned aspot on the foursome that ran thequalifying round.

Popstar Styles runs Berlin Marathon in under 3hours

BERLIN English singer and songwriter Harry Styles ran the Berlin Marathon in under three hours on Sunday Organizers confirmed to news agency dpa that Styles took part. Local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel was the ﬁrst to report his participation.

The 31-year-old former member of the One Direction boy band was amongsome 55,000 runners taking part in the race on what is widely regarded as the fastest marathon track in the world.

Styles —reportedly using the pseudonym Sted Sarandos and wearinga headband andsunglasses —completed the route in 2hours, 59 minutes, 13 seconds. A sub-3 hour marathon is acoveted mark for many marathon runners.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Ireland golfer Philip Walton, right, is huggedbyEuropean team captain Bernard Gallacher moments after Walton clinched aRyder Cupvictory forEurope on Sept. 24, 1995, in Rochester,N.y

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Bealeshows improvement butother areasfalterfor UL

YSPILANTI, Mich. Go ﬁgure.

As unproductive as UL’s passing game has been through three games,the Ragin’ Cajunsenjoy asigniﬁcant upgrade in that area —and still lose 34-31 to Eastern MichiganonSaturday

The painful ironycertainly wasn’tlost on coach Michael Desormeaux

“It was good to see that part of the game look alot better,” Desormeaux said. “Certainly to see some of those guys make some big plays. That’scertainly apositive, but it just wasn’tfrequently enough, Iguess, as an offense to be able to continuetotack on points.”

Yes, the Cajuns really needed the winSaturday and it didn’t happen. But there is ﬁnally something in the passing game to build on after three very worrisome contests in that area.

For Desormeaux, it started with quarterback Daniel Beale. One week after playing amajor role in UL’s 2-of-14 passing performance for 4yards, the redshirt freshman was 20-of-33passing for222 yards.

“He was alot more calm today,” Desormeaux said. “He just operated better.Hestood in the pocket. Ithought he moved the pocket reallywell and kept his eyes down ﬁeld. He was aggressive when it was time to be aggressive.

“He handled the game really well and the execution in it.”

Yes, Beale technically threw two interceptions and it could have been athird one if not for aroughing the passer ﬂag on the Eagles.

But Desormeaux isn’tpinning either interception on Beale.

“The slant, I’m not going to put that on him,” Desormeaux said. “That’sone we’ve got to win man to man on aroute.

“The second one was abusted route. It’ssupposed to be aﬂat route, so he’strying to throw it away to him, where it’s going to be athrowaway,aknockdown and we drifted behind the defender.You can’tdothat.”

Another good sign for thepassing game was the big plays turned in by transfer receiver Shelton Sampson.The entire team came into the season thoroughly convinced the LSU transfer was going to be one of the top receivers in the Sun Belt.

Before Saturday’sgame, there was no sign of that player

Yes, he could have hauled in a touchdown pass in awastedopportunity just before the half. Beale orchestrated his ﬁrst successful two-minute drive,reaching the EMU 27. He threwtothe end zone on second and thirddown to no avail, and then Tony Sterner missed the 44-yard ﬁeld goal Obviously,getting points there could have been handy at the end,

but after that, Sampson bounced back.

Theroughingthe passer call was quickly followed by a44-yard completion to Sampson, who ﬁnished the game withthree receptionsfor 87 yards.

“Look, there are no moral victoriesand we know that,” Desormeaux said. “But there’sa lot of things that happened today that are going to be good for us in thelongrun

“Without adoubt, Shelton stepping up and playing —bouncing back from the one that he droppedisthe biggestthing. You worry about thepsyche of kids when things happen. Do you go in thetank?Doyou keep working?”

Desormeaux continued to insist Sampsondoes itinpractice and hopefully Saturday’scatches turn hisgame performance around.

Eastern Michigan’sdefenseentered the game last nationally with 291rushing yards agame. The Cajuns ran it well —214 yards at 6.7 acarry —but didn’tapproach 300 like in the McNeese win.

“In the second half, they made some adjustments with their safeties and getting their safeties in the ﬁts,” Desormeaux said. “And in the ﬁrst half, we were making them miss.

“In the second half, we weren’t able to makeamiss. So the runs weren’t going for as big. It was still efﬁcient runs, but it wasn’tas bigachunks.”

With the passing game at least adequate andsometimes better, it might be even more alarming that thedefense struggled for the second straight week.

Amore aggressive approach didlead to Courtline Flowers returninganinterception 35 yards fora touchdown in the

second half, and the defense did force along missed ﬁeld goal after Beale’ssecond interception threatened toend it.

“Yeah, there was alittle bit of an effort (at halftime) to, ‘Hey let’sput somemore guys in the box and let’s go be aggressive here,’” Desormeaux said. “And our defense obviously gets apicksix, which is huge.”

Butstill, UL’s defense gave up acritical 26-yard completion on third-and-15 in thethird quarter and a36-yard gain on third-and-11 in the ﬁrst half —both to Nick Devereaux —not to mention the 27-yarder on third-and-4 to set up thegame-winning ﬁeld goal.

The Eagles ran for 183 yards after only having 396 over their ﬁrst three games.

The defensive line got beat up pretty badly alot of the game. In other words, there’snow alot moretoworry about than just the passing gamewith Sun Belt Conference play opening on Saturday at OurLady of Lourdes Stadium.

“I thinkwe’ve madealot of improvement in alot of areas today,but certainly it’s not good enough,” Desormeaux said. “We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas, keep gettingbetter.”

Even worse was the10penalties for 85 yards —many of which just killed potential scoring drives for theCajuns.

“Good teamsdon’tshoot yourselves in thefoot when you have achance to go driving and score pointsand score touchdowns,” Desormeaux said. “Good teams play consistently on defense and tackle consistently all thetime. Good teams don’tscrew things up on special teams.”

Through four games, the1-3 Cajuns certainly don’tyet qualify

Miamijumps LSU, Penn StatetoNo. 2 behind Ohio State

BY ERIC OLSON AP collegefootball writer

Miami jumpedLSU andPenn State into the No. 2spot behind Ohio State in The Associated Press college footballpollonSunday while Oklahomaclimbedinto thetop 10 forthe ﬁrst timeintwo yearsand Indiana and Texas Tech made big moves after lopsided wins over Top25opponents. The Hurricanes have beaten two ranked opponents, and they turned in another complete performance in a19-point homewin over Florida to earn their highest ranking since 2017.

PennState, which had been No 2since the preseason, was idle and slipped to No. 3. LSU fell one spot to No. 4after an easywin over Southeastern Louisiana of thesecond-tier Football Championship Subdivision. No. 5Georgia andNo. 6Oregon held their positions and were followed by No. 7Oklahoma, which beat previously rankedAuburnat homeand returned to the top 10 for the first time sinceitstarted 7-0in 2023. Florida State, Texas A&M and Texas round outthe top 10. Ohio State hadanopendate and received 52 of 66 first-place votes from the media panel. Miamigot seven first-place votes,fourmore than aweek ago. Penn State had five first-place votes andOregon andOklahoma each receivedone Indiana had played one of the softest schedulesinthe country through three games before raisingeyebrows with its 63-7 hammering of then-No. 9Illinois. The Hoosiers madethe biggest move up, climbing eight spots to No. 11. Texas Tech gota five-rungpromotion to No. 12 forits 24-point winatUtah. The Red Raiders won easily despite playing backup quarterback Will Hammond most of the second half in place of an injured Behren Morton.

In andout

No. 24 TCU beat SMU to go 3-0 and earn itsfirstregular-season ranking sinceitwas afixture in thetop 10 thesecond half of the 2022 season.The Horned Frogs, beaten 65-7 by Georgia in the national title gamethat season, were No. 17 in the2023 preseason poll and hadn’tbeen back since. No. 25 BYU,which finished last season No.13, picked up aroad win at East Carolina and is ranked for the first time this season. Utah (16) and Auburn (22) dropped out.

Poll points

n Oklahoma is the lowestranked team to receive afirstplacevote in aregular season sincethen-No. 7Washington got

one on Sept. 24, 2023.

n Illinois’ 56-point loss at Indiana wasthe mostlopsidedin Bret Bielema’sﬁve seasons and causedthe Illini to tumble from No.9toNo. 23.

n The last time Miami was rankedashigh wasinback-toback polls in November 2017, whenMark Richt’sHurricanes were9-0 and 10-0. That team lost three straight to end the season. n Texas Tech has its highest ranking sinceKliff Kingsbury’s ﬁrst team was No.10following a 7-0 start in 2013.

Conference call

SEC (10) —Nos. 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20. Big Ten(7) —Nos.1,3,6,11, 19, 21, 23. Big 12 (4) —Nos. 12, 14, 24, 25. ACC (3) —Nos. 2, 8, 16. Independent (1) —No. 22. Ranked vs.ranked No. 4LSU at No.13Mississippi: They’ve split thelastfourmeetings. Garrett Nussmeier dealt the Rebels acrushing overtime loss last year,throwingthe tying touchdown with 27 seconds left in regulation. No.6 OregonatNo. 3Penn State: It’sarematch of last year’sBig Tenchampionship game, a45-37 Oregon win that made theDucks 13-0 and the No. 1seed in the College Football Playoff. Ducks have beaten four overmatched opponents by an average of 41.5 points per game. Penn State’sschedule has been even easier No. 17 AlabamaatNo. 5Georgia: Crimson Tide has won nine of 10 meetings since2008. The loss was the 2021 season’s national championship game.Bulldogs have won 33 straight at home, the nation’slongest active streak.

BYREED DARCEY Staff writer

Twoweeks. Twoimportant LSU players ﬂagged for targeting and disqualiﬁed from agame —all for lowering the crown of their helmets into routine tackles. Against Florida, it was star linebacker Whit Weeks. Against Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday,it was reserveoffensive lineman DJ Chester.Both plays frustratedBrian Kelly,the fourth-year Tigers coach who doesn’twant to see players thrown out of games when they’re involved in garden-variety tackles with helmet-to-helmet contact.

“I don’tknow what to say anymore,”Kelly said on Saturday In the waningseconds of the third quarter of their 56-10 win overthe Lions,the No.3Tigers (4-0) lined up for a59-yard field goal with a42-7 lead. Damian Ramosleft the kick 10 yards short of the uprights,giving Southeastern achance to return the kick from the goal line Then things got weird. Chester, LSU’ssixth offensive lineman, was flaggedfor targeting after he tried to make atackle at midfield, then disqualifiedafter avideo review

conﬁrmed that he had lowered the crown of his helmet into Da’Shun Hugley —the Lion receiver who ﬁelded the kick and returned it 47 yards.

The SEC Network broadcast capturedKelly yelling at ofﬁcials after theplay

“It’s an offensive linemanwho we don’twork any time with tackling,” Kelly said. “And it’sarunner, and he might nothave had the best form on theplay,but he wasn’t looking to target or knock somebody outof the game. He was tryingtohold on fordear life.”

Now Chester must serve asuspensionfor the firsthalf of LSU’s Week 5roadmatchup with No.13 Ole Miss (4-0). Whyisthat ameaningful development?Because the Tigers started thesecond half with Chester playing right tackle in place of Weston Davis, the redshirt freshman who struggled at times through his first four starts of theseason Weeksfoundhimself in asimilar situationinWeek 3. Only he was flaggedfor targeting on Florida’s first drive of the game. Becausehis penalty occurred in the first half of that matchup, he didn’thave to miss anyaction of LSU’ssubsequent contestagainst Southeastern Chester wasn’tasfortunate.

“I mean, that was afootball play that Ifeel likeI’vemade countless times in my life,”Weeks said on Saturday.

“I spend my whole life preparing to playthisgame,and Ionly get12opportunities.And Ispend

everysingleday of my life,what time Iwake up, everything Ieat —nomatter what I’m doing, it’s preparing to get 12 opportunities to play, andyou only geteight of theminDeath Valley.Agold-out at night?Like, thoseare the gamesI dreamed of playing in as akid. So, when Iget kickedout after three

plays, it’s frustrating.” Kelly saidonMondaythat he’sbeen “very vocal” about the NCAA’s targeting rules. He’d support aproposal,hesaid, to split the penalty into two different calls onethatcarries only a15-yard penalty for routine hitswith helmetto-helmet contact and another that

“A

comes with an ejection formore reckless, dangerous plays.

“A guy satout agame,”Kelly said, “and Idon’tknow how to coach him differently.I don’tknow what to tell him to do differently.And you’re gonnathrow him outofthe game. That makes no sense to me.” Kelly also said thatsome folks would object to changing thetargeting rulesbecauseitcouldlead to an uptick in head injuries, but he calledthat point“an easyway out of this conversation.”

“I just don’tknow whywecan’t figure this out,” Kelly said. “We can’tdoitright now.I get it. But at the endofthe year,this hasgot to be addressed.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU coach Brian Kelly reacts to acall in the second halfofagame against SoutheasternonSaturday at TigerStadium.

Kevin Foote

PROVIDED PHOTOSByULATHLETICS/BENJAMIN R. MASSEy

UL quarterbackDaniel Beale looks to make apass during agame against EasternMichigan on Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in ypsilanti, Mich

SEAHAWKS 44, SAINTS 13

Special teams is a disaster in Seattle

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

RUSHING—New Orleans, Kamara 18-42, Miller 7-27, Rattler 2-10. Seattle, Walker 16-38, Holani 10-27, Wright 5-20, Milroe 1-3, Lock 1-(minus 1). PASSING—New Orleans, Rattler 28-39-1-218, Shough 0-2-0-0. Seattle, Darnold 14-18-0-218, Lock 2-3-0-15.

RECEIVING—New Orleans, Olave 10-57, Johnson 6-51, Shaheed 4-42, Cooks 3-24, Stoll 2-21, Miller 2-9, Kamara 1-14. Seattle, SmithNjigba 5-96, Horton 3-32, Kupp 2-31, Holani 2-15, Barner 1-23, Saubert 1-12, Walker 1-12, Young 1-12. PUNT RETURNS—New Orleans, Shaheed 1-40. Seattle, Horton 3-114. KICKOFF RETURNS—New Orleans, Miller 8-182. Seattle, Young 2-92.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—New Orleans, Werner 7-6-0, Reid 4-0-0, Davis 2-9-0, Jordan

2-2-0, Rumph 2-2-0, Sanker 2-1-0, Bullard 2-0-

0, Taylor 2-0-0, Yiadom 2-0-0, Shepherd 1-4-0, Howden 1-2-0, Granderson 1-1-0, McKinstry 1-0-0, Riley 1-0-0, Bresee 0-4-0, Burgess 0-10. Seattle, Jobe 9-2-0, Okada 7-2-.5, Woolen

5-0-0, E.Jones 3-4-0 Knight 3-2-0, Morris

3-1-0, Bryant 3-0-0 Williams 2-2-.5, Kendrick

2-2-0, Murphy 2-1-1, Thomas 2-1-0, Lawrence

2-0-0, Hall 1-1-0, Bell 1-0-0, Je.Reed 1-0-0, Ja.Reed 0-2-0. INTERCEPTIONS—New Orleans, None. Seattle, Kendrick 1-0. MISSED FIELD GOALS—New Orleans, Grupe

52. OFFICIALS—Referee Alex Moore, Ump Terry Killens, HL Dana McKenzie, LJ Tom Eaton, FJ Mearl Robinson, SJ Anthony Jeffries, BJ Terrence Miles, Replay Tyler Cerimeli.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

had no chance of getting his punt off.

D’Anthony Bell, whom the Seahawks elevated off the practice squad, came unblocked off the edge and blocked the kick Seattle running back Kenneth Walker plunged into the end zone from 3 yards out two plays later

Everything that happened after that was just a run-of-the-mill

SEATTLE The New Orleans Saints spent the summer evaluating a close-knit punting battle. They might spend next week evaluating whether they need a new punter Kai Kroeger and the Saints’ special teams had a disaster of a performance in Sunday’s 44-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Saints not only allowed a 95-yard punt return touchdown, but they also proceeded to follow that up by having the Seahawks block a punt that was recovered at the 11-yard line. The back-to-back sequence put the game into blowout territory with less than ﬁve minutes remaining in the ﬁrst quarter The Saints’ problems, of course, extended beyond Kroeger It’s not the punter’s fault that no one brought Tory Horton down on his long return, or that the offensive line allowed pressure in the lead-up to his blocked punt. But after a strong debut in Week 1, the rookie has been shaky over the last two games. His meltdown Sunday saw Horton record the longest punt return touchdown in Seahawks history

Before Sunday, according to Pro Football Reference, there

beatdown.

By the time they went to the locker room at halftime, the Saints trailed 38-6. It was the most points they’ve allowed in the ﬁrst half in franchise history

After two competitive games to start the season, the Saints very much looked the part of a team that will be in the running for the No 1 overall pick in next year’s draft on a hapless afternoon in the Emerald City Defensively, New Orleans had no answer for the Seahawks’ passing

Seahawks franchise history. There was a blocked punt by an unblocked D’Anthony Bell that set up another touchdown

Everything that could go wrong did during one of the worst quarters of football in recent memory

The Saints were whistled for six penalties in the ﬁrst 10 minutes, including one stretch on the team’s second offensive series when they committed three infractions in four plays

There was a 95-yard punt for a touchdown, in which Tory Horton was untouched en route to recording the longest punt return score in

And there was a 60-yard kickoff return by Dareke Young to set up another score.

“It’s tough when you look up and blink and it’s 21-0,” Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler said.

It’s one thing to lose to a more talented and experienced team, which the Seahawks clearly were at almost every position

But it’s another thing to go down the way the Saints did in this one.

had only been three other times in NFL history when a team scored a 90-plus yard punt return and blocked an opposing punt with the last instance coming in 1976. Coincidentally, it happened twice Sunday: The Washington Commanders did the same against the Las Vegas Raiders.

New Orleans’ special teams saw major upheaval over the offseason. While coach Kellen Moore opted to promote Phil Galiano to special teams coordinator, the Saints saw longtime special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi depart to Denver after the interim coach did not get New Orleans’ top job. Galiano ran the unit’s special teams last season after coach Dennis Allen was ﬁred, but Rizzi still had a hand in that operation.

The Saints also made a controversial decision to cut special teams ace J.T. Gray just before the season. Moore said the Saints needed the roster ﬂexibility and that it was a tough choice. But the move meant that New Orleans parted ways with a three-time AllPro on special teams. Against the Seahawks, New Orleans’ special teams issues also extended to the kicking game. Blake Grupe missed a 52-yarder making it three straight weeks with a missed kick.

Last Thursday, Galiano said he

game. By the time the first half was over Sam Darnold had completed 10 of his 11 pass attempts for 169 yards and two touchdowns, with a perfect 158.3 rating. He finished 14 for 18 for 218 yards before giving way to backup Drew Lock early in the fourth quarter Seattle only ran 20 offensive plays in the first half, and yet SmithNjigba nearly had 100 yards receiving before the break. At one point, the Seattle star hauled in a 45-yarder down the middle of the field between three Saints defenders.

Until Sunday, the Saints had largely accounted themselves well in defeat. They were competitive in close losses to the Cardinals and 49ers. But there was nothing competitive about their effort on Sunday This was a total team failure, a Cat 5 failure of execution and effort. The Saints trailed from start to ﬁnish for the second consecutive game this season and have now led for only four minutes total so far this season. They committed 11 penalties for 77 yards, including ﬁve pre-snap infractions on offense.

went up to Grupe following his second miss and said, “Do me a favor: Don’t do that again.”

Grupe did it again.

Shough appearance

With the game well out of reach, Tyler Shough made his NFL debut.

The Saints’ rookie quarterback entered Sunday’s contest with 3:31 left, replacing starter Spencer Rattler Shough took the field for just one series, failing to complete a pass on his two attempts. Though the Saints trailed by a big deﬁcit for most of the game, Moore pulled Rattler much later than Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald sat his starter Backup Drew Lock replaced Sam Darnold near the start of the fourth quarter, with the Seahawks ahead 44-13.

Rattler went 28 of 39 for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Shorthanded lineup

Klint Kubiak had to call plays for the New Orleans Saints last year when injuries decimated the lineup.

Now, with the Seahawks, perhaps Kubiak was relieved he didn’t have to do the same this week.

The Saints were shorthanded along the offensive line and at wide receiver Sunday Right tack-

Offensively, New Orleans continued a concerning trend where it could not generate any explosive offensive plays. The Saints did not manage a gain of 20 or more yards until the final play of the third quarter when Spencer Rattler hit tight end Juwan Johnson for a gain of 21. Through three games, the Saints now have just one play from scrimmage that gained more than 25 yards. Without two starting offensive linemen, the Saints could not get anything going on the ground de-

On defense, they missed tackles, blew assignments and committed personal foul infractions. And they hemorrhaged special teams mistakes, including another missed ﬁeld goal by Blake Grupe.

“We’ve got to play better in all three phases,” Moore said. “This is a powerful learning experience for us. We’ll see how we respond.” Moore now has an even bigger challenge on his hands as he tries to right the ship just here games into his debut season. He faces a crisis of conﬁdence in the locker room after the lopsided defeat. And there’s

le Taliese Fuaga missed the contest with knee and back injuries, while guard Trevor Penning was technically available but did not make his season debut after missing more than a month with turf toe.

The Saints started undrafted guard Torricelli Simpkins at left guard and Asim Richards at right tackle instead. Dillion Radunz, who started the ﬁrst two games, also did not make the trip out west because of a toe injury

At wide receiver, the Saints were down Devaughn Vele (hip) and Trey Palmer (hamstring). The injuries saw the Saints sign wideout Kevin Austin to the roster on Saturday from the practice squad and also give MasonTipton several snaps after he didn’t log an offensive snap in the ﬁrst two games.

Concussion tests

Two members of the Saints starting secondary went down with injury on the same play in the ﬁrst half.

Kool-Aid McKinstry and Justin Reid were both evaluated for a concussion after a Cooper Kupp catch near the goal line in the ﬁrst quarter, but both were eventually cleared to return.

Reid appeared to take a shot to the face, and when he returned to the ﬁeld, he did so with a protective visor on his helmet.

spite stubbornly committing to it New Orleans managed a meager 2.9 yards per carry, with none of their 27 runs gaining more than 8 yards. The special-teams units were a hot mess. Not only did the Saints yield a punt return touchdown and a blocked punt, but they also allowed a 60-yard kick return and had their own blocked kick wiped off the board because of a penalty New Orleans is 0-3 for the ﬁrst time since 2016 and will face the Buffalo Bills, one of the NFL’s best teams, next week on the road.

little reason to believe things will turn around anytime soon. The Saints have to travel to Buffalo next week, where they will face the undefeated Bills at Highmark Stadium, where they have won 13 consecutive games. “We’ve got to get this as far behind us as possible,” Cam Jordan said. “We’re already at a point in the season where we have to be as critical as possible.”

The Emerald City has not been kind to the Saints. This is where the Saints lost the Beastquake playoff game in 2010-2011. Sunday’s outcome was

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHEN BRASHEAR

Saints kicker Blake Grupe kicks a field goal during the first half of New Orleans’ game against the Seahawks on Sunday in Seattle.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

NFL ROUNDUP

Mariota, Commanders offense run past Raiders

The Associated Press

LANDOVER, Md. — A reconfigured Commanders offense nearly half the starters were different from a game ago, including quarterback Marcus Mariota filling in for an injured Jayden Daniels produced 201 yards on the ground, 174 in the ﬁrst half alone, and Washington beat the Las Vegas Raiders 41-24 on Sunday In his ﬁrst NFL start since 2022 with Atlanta, Mariota went 15 for 21 for 206 yards with a late touchdown through the air, and ran six times for 40 yards, including a 2-yard TD on the game’s opening possession. Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oregon, also lost a fumble on a run.

In addition to Mariota’s 43-yard scoring pass to Luke McCaffrey with a little more than two minutes left, Washington (2-1) got touchdowns via a 60-yard run by Jeremy McNichols, a 1-yard plunge by rookie seventh-round draft pick Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt that was set up by Mariota’s 56-yard throw to Terry McLaurin and a 90yard punt return by rookie fourthround selection Jaylin Lane. McNichols never had a run or reception that gained more than 28 yards in his eight NFL seasons before Sunday; his play was the longest rushing TD for Washington since Adrian Peterson scored from 90 yards out against Philadelphia in 2018.

Lane’s return, meanwhile, tied for the longest punt score in franchise history and was the first for Washington since Jamison Crowder brought one back in 2016.

Daniels sat out with an injured left knee, the first game he’s missed since entering the NFL; he got hurt in Washington’s 27-18 loss at Green Bay on Sept. 11.

Starting running back Austin Ekeler was lost for the season in that game with a torn Achilles tendon, and receiver Noah Brown picked up groin and knee issues that held him out Sunday Plus, guards Nick Allegretti and Brandon Coleman were both benched against the Raiders (1-2) replaced by Andrew Wylie and Chris Paul, with Trent Scott often checking in as a sixth offensive lineman.

Washington’s 174 yards on the ground in the ﬁrst half were the most for the team since gaining that same number against Tampa Bay in 2010.

Chris Rodriguez started at running back after being inactive the ﬁrst two weeks, and he ran on four of Washington’s first five plays, gaining 25 yards, most by going to the left side behind tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Washington’s defense still hasn’t produced a turnover this season, but it did deliver ﬁve sacks of Geno Smith, including two by Bobby Wagner and one by Von Miller

Dorrance Armstrong became the third player in club history with at least one in each of a season’s initial three games.

Smith was 19 for 29 for 289 yards and three scoring passes — all three to Tre Tucker who caught eight throws for 145 yards. Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, started the day with 5 yards through ﬁve carries, but he ﬁnished with 63 yards on 17 runs.

JAGUARS 17, TEXANS 10: In Jacksonville, Florida, Trevor Lawrence found Brian Thomas Jr. for a 46yard gain, Travis Etienne scored on the next play and the Jacksonville Jaguars held on to beat the Houston Texans on Sunday It was Jacksonville’s first win over the Texans at home since 2017 Houston had won 12 of the previous 14 in the AFC South se-

ries.

This one was decided on the ﬁnal two drives.

The Jaguars (2-1) got a huge play from Lawrence to Thomas, a connection that has been mostly missing all season, and then the Texans (0-3) seemingly let Etienne score from 10 yards out with 1:48 remaining.

C.J. Stroud drove Houston into striking distance in the waning seconds, but Josh Hines-Allen tipped his pass and Antonio Johnson intercepted the wobbler to seal the victory The Texans can point to Nico Collins’ fumble as the turning point. Tyson Campbell knocked the ball out and it bounced into Devin Lloyd’s hands. It got Jacksonville headed in the right direction after a sluggish performance.

COLTS 41, TITANS 20: In Nashville, Tennessee, Jonathan Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts continued their best start since 2009 by beating the hapless Tennessee Titans Sunday

The Colts are now 3-0 and off to their best start since 2009 when Peyton Manning led them to the AFC championship.

Kenny Moore put the Colts ahead to stay on the third offensive play of the game He picked off rookie Cam Ward and went 32 yards for the pick-6.

Tyquan Lewis had two of the

Ravens have been stellar in prime time, but Detroit can handle spotlight

BY NOAH TRISTER AP sportswriter

BALTIMORE Lamar Jackson’s experience with “Monday Night Football” growing up sounds pretty relatable.

“My mom used to make me go to sleep because I had school,” the star quarterback said.

If parents nowadays are any more lenient, their kids should be in for quite a treat this Monday, when Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens host the Detroit Lions. It’s a matchup of two of the league’s most entertaining offenses and Jackson tends to play his best in this particular showcase game. In nine starts on Monday night, he’s thrown 22 touchdown passes and no interceptions while producing a passer rating of 124.3.

“Probably that extra rest day I’d say that. Extra ﬁlm,” Jackson explained. “Get a good feel for who we are playing against and go from there.”

For a team that gets criticized for not advancing far enough in the postseason, the Ravens have been pretty darn good in certain spotlight games in the regular season. Under coach John Harbaugh, they’re 22-3 in prime-time home games, with Jackson producing a 10-1 mark. The Ravens have won ﬁve straight Monday night games

Last season, Baltimore won road Monday night games against the Buccaneers and Chargers The Ravens haven’t lost on Monday night since Las Vegas beat them in overtime to start the 2021 season. The most recent time they lost a night home game with Jackson in the lineup was against Kansas City back in 2020

Although they’ve played their share of prime-time home games and games on Monday night, Baltimore (1-1) hasn’t hosted a Monday night game since Oct. 11 2021 when Jackson rallied the Ravens

to two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions in the ﬁnal 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to force overtime against Indianapolis. Baltimore ultimately won 31-25, and Jackson ﬁnished with a couple of career highs that still stand 37 completions for 442 yards.

“We’ve done pretty well on the road on Monday night,” Harbaugh said. “The home games, you have your crowd. That’s really what it boils down to. You have your crowd, and I hope they’re out there. I expect them to be out there like they always are and be really into it, be loud and really make it tough.”

The Lions (1-1) enter this matchup at Baltimore with a three-game winning streak in Monday night games. They played two of them last season — a sign of how much more of a draw they’d become under coach Dan Campbell. Detroit beat Seattle 42-29 last September, and the Lions went on the road and beat San Francisco 40-34 on Dec. 30.

Jared Goff completed all 18 of his pass attempts in the Monday night game against the Seahawks

He’s 7-2 as a starter on Monday night with a passer rating of 105.6.

One of Goff’s ﬁrst Monday night

Colts’ four sacks in a game they outgained Tennessee 145-34 and led 17-3 after the ﬁrst quarter in a game Indy controlled throughout.

Daniel Jones now has as many victories this season as he had in his last 16 starts over two seasons with the New York Giants Jones also has yet to have a pass intercepted as he threw for 228 yards and a touchdown to Michael Pittman.

The Titans (0-3) have lost nine straight going back to last season. They played without three starters, including right tackle JC Latham and right guard Kevin Zeitler

BROWNS 13, PACKERS 10: In Cleveland, Andre Szmyt kicked a 55yard field goal as time expired and the Cleveland Browns rallied from a 10-0 deﬁcit with under four minutes left to beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday

The Browns (1-2) snapped an eight-game losing streak dating to last season when it appeared for much of the game they might be shut out. But the defense kept them in it with four sacks and came up with the key turnover which resulted in it being tied. Green Bay (2-1) appeared as if it might win with a last-minute field goal when it drove to the Browns 25, but Shelby Harris blocked a 43yard field goal attempt by Brandon McManus and Greg Newsome II recovered at the 47. Cleveland took over and went 16 yards in five plays. Joe Flacco had an 8-yard completion on thirdand-2 to get the ball to the Packers 35. Flacco then spiked the ball, bringing Szmyt on with 2 seconds remaining.

It was redemption for the rookie kicker who missed an extra point and ﬁeld goal in a 17-16 loss to Cincinnati in Week 1.

Flacco was 21 of 36 for 142 yards and rookie Quinshon Judkins had 94 yards on 18 carries, including his ﬁrst NFL touchdown to tie it at 10 with 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter

VIKINGS 48,BENGALS 10: In Minneapolis, Isaiah Rodgers helped make Carson Wentz’s debut at quarterback for Minnesota a rousing success, setting a Vikings record with two defensive touchdowns and forcing three of Cincinnati’s ﬁve turnovers in a 48-10 romp on Sun-

day for the worst loss in Bengals history

Jordan Mason rushed for 116 yards and two scores on just 16 attempts, Will Reichard made a 62-yard field goal the longest in Vikings history — as the first half ended and Wentz threw for two touchdowns over three quarters before yielding the mop-up work to rookie Max Brosmer Jake Browning was picked off twice in a rough start for the Bengals (2-1), who lost three of their five fumbles and missed Joe Burrow more than ever in their first game since their franchise quarterback had toe surgery that will sideline him for at least three months.

Wentz hit Josh Oliver and T.J. Hockenson for scores and went 14 for 20 for 173 yards without a turnover for the Vikings (2-1), who posted their most lopsided victory since 1998 and their highest score since 2015.

EAGLES 33, RAMS 26: In Philadelphia, Jordan Davis blocked a field-goal attempt by the Rams’ Joshua Karty on the ﬁnal play of the game and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown — the Eagles’ second blocked kick of the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia an exhilarating win over Los Angeles on Sunday

The Rams (2-1) led 26-21 midway through the fourth when Jalen Carter blocked Karty’s 36-yard try, and Jalen Hurts then led the Super Bowl champion Eagles (30) on a 17-play, 91-yard drive for the go-ahead score. That left 1:48 on the clock for Matthew Stafford, who led the Rams into position for Karty’s 44-yard attempt with 3 seconds left.

Davis instead wedged his way through, knocked the ball down, scooped it and rumbled to the end zone, where he was mobbed by his teammates as fans at the Linc erupted in celebration of the Eagles’ 12th straight home victory Philadelphia slogged through a listless ﬁrst half and trailed 26-7 in the third quarter after Stafford’s second TD pass of the game. Karty had already kicked four ﬁeld goals for the Rams, who lost a tight NFC divisional-round playoff game to the Eagles last season.

starts was an epic 2018 matchup between his Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Goff threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams outlasted Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 54-51. Goff says playing on Monday night is still special.

“We’ll be the only thing on TV and on the road in a raucous environment, against a team that’s got the history they got,” he said. “It’ll be fun.”

The previous time Detroit faced Baltimore was in 2023. That was a home game for the Ravens — although not at night — and they scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and won 38-6. Baltimore was up 28-0 before the Lions managed a ﬁrst down.

“I want to see us improve on the road against a really good opponent,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of things I feel like are similar between us. It’s not a mirror image necessarily but yet, the principles I feel like are very much alike. And so, you want to see us go in there and really improve under that environment against that team. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Panthers dominate Falcons for

ﬁrst win of the season

BY STEVE REED AP sportswriter

CHARLOTTE, N.C Bryce Young ran for a touchdown, Chau SmithWade returned an interception 11 yards for a score and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald made three field goals and the Carolina Panthers routed the Atlanta Falcons 30-0 on Sunday for their first win of the season. Young was 16 of 24 for 121 yards, but played mistake free after turning the ball over five times in the previous two games.

Smith-Wade’s third-quarter pick-6 highlighted a dominant performance for defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit as the Panthers (1-2) intercepted Michael Penix Jr twice, forced three turnovers and limited the Falcons to 5 of 16 conversions on third and fourth downs for their ﬁrst shutout since Nov 22, 2020.

“When you score in every phase, you give yourself a great chance to win,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said.

The Panthers’ shutout came despite playing without injured defensive end Turk Wharton and outside linebacker Pat Jones, two of the team’s biggest free agency pickups in the offseason.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for coming out of camp,” Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown said “I feel like this is how we executed during (training) camp, the physicality we had during camp. So to be able to come out here and put it on display and get the result we did today, we’re happy about it.” Outside of Bijan Robinson, who combined for 111 yards from scrimmage — 72 on the ground and 39 through the air the Falcons (1-2) got little production from their offense.

Penix looked tentative and was ineffective from the start, ﬁnishing 18 of 36 for 172 yards before getting benched in the fourth

quarter for Kirk Cousins with the Falcons trailing 27-0.

After the game, coach Raheem Morris squashed any talk of making a change at quarterback saying Penix will remain the starter “Game was out of hand. Move on and take some guys out of harm’s way,” Morris said. It was a promising performance for Carolina, which started the past three seasons 0-2 under Young. Unlike the previous two games, the Panthers avoided falling into an early deﬁcit.

Playing at home for the first time this season, the Panthers scored on their first possession on a 4-yard scamper from Young around left end. It was Young’s third touchdown on the ground against the Falcons in the past two meetings. Fitzgerald made a 57-yard field goal to make it 10-0 at the half.

“We put an emphasis on having the urgency to start fast,” Young said. “The defense getting a stop right off the bat and the offense going down and getting a score, I think that was big.”

The Falcons had their chances, but Carolina’s defense thwarted every opportunity, even when returner Trevor Etienne fumbled a punt at the Carolina 33. Parker Romo, who replaced Younghoe Koo last week and went 5-for-5 on ﬁeld goals in his debut, missed from 49 and 55 yards in the ﬁrst quarter

“We had two misses, so obviously you have to evaluate those things when we move on and figure out what we’ve got going on,” Morris said “Wecan’thavethosemoments.”

With the Falcons struggling to get much going, Penix looked to throw a pass down to Robinson in the third quarter, but Smith-Wade stepped in front of Robinson and hauled in the interception and raced to the end zone Mike Jackson could have had another pick-6 later in the quarter but was tripped up by Penix after a 54-yard return.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota scores a touchdown as Raiders linebacker Germaine Pratt defends during their game on Sunday in Landover, Md.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NICK WASS

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson passes against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of a game on Sept. 14 in Baltimore.

Blaney opens 2nd round of playoffs with win

By The Associated Press

LOUDON, N.H.

— In a race in which Fords were fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Ryan Blaney barely was best in class for the second-round opener of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The 2023 Cup champion led 116 laps in his No. 12 Mustang, including the ﬁnal 39, but still had to fend off a furious charge by runner-up Josh Berry who closed within a few car lengths with 10 laps left before overdriving a corner Blaney pulled away to win by 0.937 seconds Sunday in his third victory of the season and 16th of his career

“That was probably the hardest 20 laps that I drove,” the Team Penske driver said. “I was trying to kind of bide my stuff and pull Josh a little bit, then he really started coming. It was all I could do to hold him off, trying new lanes. That was good and clean racing. I appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have.

“What a cool day what a cool weekend. Super fast car Really have been strong through the playoffs. It’s great to get a win in the ﬁrst race of the round.”

Blaney who is trying to reach the Championship 4 season ﬁnale for the third consecutive year, became the ﬁrst driver to advance into one of the eight available spots in the third round of the Cup playoffs.

Berry, whose No 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford has a competitive alliance with Penske, overcame a spin on the 82nd lap and rebounded from his first-round elimination after finishing last in each of the first three races in the playoffs.

“It was definitely an awesome day,” said Berry who led 10 laps. “Hats off to Ryan at the end. All our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. I was honestly surprised I was able to keep him honest at the end.

“Just a shame to ﬁnish second, but after the last couple of weeks, it feels good. This is deﬁnitely what we’re capable of, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

The Fords backed up their impressive performances in quali-

SCOREBOARD

Sunday’s game: Las Vegas 102, Seattle 77

Tuesday’s game: Seattle 86, Las Vegas 83

Thursday’s game: Las Vegas 74, Seattle 73 Indiana 2, Atlanta 1

Sunday’s game: Atlanta 80, Indiana 68

Tuesday’s game: Indiana 77, Atlanta 60

Thursday’s game: Indiana 87 Atlanta 85

Phoenix 2, New York 1

Sunday’s game: New York 76, Phoenix 69 (OT) Wednesday’sgame: Phoenix 86, New York 60 Friday’s game: Phoenix 79, New York 73

Semiﬁnals

(Best-of-5) Minnesota 1, Phoenix 0

Sunday’s game: Minnesota 82. Phoenix 69

Tuesday’s game: Phoenix at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN) Friday’s game: Minnesota at Phoenix, TBD (ESPN2)

x-Sunday,

Indiana St. 20 Montana St. 17, Mercyhurst 0 N. Arizona 31, Incarnate Word 23 Oregon 41, Oregon St. 7 Sacramento St. 45, Cent. Arkansas 16 San Diego St. 34, California 0 San Jose St. 31, Idaho 28 Southern Cal 45, Michigan St. 31 Texas Tech 34, Utah 10 UC Davis 50, S. Utah 34 UTSA 17, Colorado St. 16 Utah St. 48, McNeese St. 7 Utah Tech 20, N. Iowa 9 Washington 59, Washington St. 24 Weber St. 38, Butler 24 OTHER UT Rio Grande Valley 61, Texas Wesleyan 13 No. 3 LSU 56, Southeastern 10 Late Saturday Southeastern 0 0 7 3 — 10 LSU 7 28 7 14 56 First Quarter LSU—Nussmeier 1 run (Ramos kick), 5:08. Second Quarter LSU—Ju.Johnson 2 run (Ramos kick), 13:11.

LSU—Ju.Johnson 10 run (Ramos kick), 8:34.

LSU—Ba.Brown 17 pass from Nussmeier (Ramos kick), 2:07.

LSU—Z.Thomas 9 pass from Nussmeier (Ramos kick), :15.

Third Quarter

LSU—Sharp 23 pass from Nussmeier (Ramos kick), 9:31. SE—D.Jackson 14 pass from Camp (Rodriguez kick), 6:09. Fourth Quarter LSU—Van Buren 1 run (Ramos kick), 13:57. LSU—Parker 27 pass from Van Buren (Ramos kick), 8:07. SE—FG Rodriguez 37, 2:23. SE LSU First downs 10 30

Total Net Yards 203 530 Rushes-yards 27-87 35-135 Passing 116 395 Punt Returns 0-0 3-49 Kickoff Returns 1-21 3-58

Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 11-21-0 35-43-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 4-15 2-20 Punts 6-41.833 2-49.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-60 7-50

Time of Possession 25:27 34:33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Southeastern, Smith 2-40, Lowe 6-20, B.Hayes 2-15, Henry 5-12, Jackson 3-3, Prejean 1-1, Graham 1-1, (Team) 2-(minus 2), Camp 5-(minus 3). LSU, Johnson 8-43, Berry 7-28, Durham 7-17, Van Buren 4-16, Nussmeier 5-10, Ba.Brown 1-9, Z.Thomas 1-6, K.Jackson 2-6. PASSING—Southeastern, Camp 8-13-0-87, Lowe 3-8-0-29. LSU, Nussmeier 25-31-0-273, Van Buren 10-12-0-122.

RECEIVING—Southeastern, Jackson 3-36, J.Williams 2-34, Domingeaux 2-16, Besh 1-14, Prejean 1-6, Goodly 1-5, B.Hayes 1-5. LSU, Sharp 5-73, Ba.Brown 5-54, Parker 4-52, A.Anderson 3-46, K.Jackson 3-23, Durham 3-7, D.Green 2-40, Z.Thomas 2-26, Watkins 2-21, Hilton 2-19, N.Anderson 2-18, Johnson 1-14, Wright 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None. Pro tennis ATP World Tour Chengdu Open results Sunday At Chengdu Center Chengdu, China Purse: $1,190,210 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Men’s singles Quarterﬁnals Alejandro Tabilo, Chile, def. Christopher O’Connell, Australia, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Brandon Nakashima (4), United States, def.

fying Saturday when Penske star Joey Logano won the pole position to cap a sweep of the top three starting spots with Blaney and Berry The same trio led 273 of 301 laps Sunday

William Byron was the highestﬁnishing Chevrolet driver in third.

“It was a good day overall,” said Byron, who is the highest-ranked driver behind Blaney in the playoff standings with two races left in the second round. “Penske guys were super fast I felt like they were in another zip code.”

Logano took fourth after leading a race-high 147 laps in the No. 22 Ford. The Middletown, Connecticut, native started from the pole for the first time at New Hampshire, which he considers his home track.

“(Blaney) was wicked fast in practice, and he showed that again in the race,” Logano said. “We obviously got a ton of points today so we did what we needed to do, but I’d rather win. That’s just the greed in me, especially when it’s home.” After qualifying 27th, last among the 12 playoff drivers, Chase Elliott raced to a ﬁfth-place ﬁnish.

Christopher Bell took sixth as the top ﬁnishing Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which went undefeated in the ﬁrst round of the playoffs.

Kyle Larson took seventh, and Ross Chastain was ninth as playoff drivers took eight of the top 10 spots on the 1.058-mile oval.

Marcos Giron, United States, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3). Lorenzo Musetti (1), Italy, def. Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia, 6-3, 6-3. Alexander Shevchenko, Russia, def. Taro Daniel, Japan, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2. Men’s

16. (33) Noah Gragson, Ford, 301, 21. 17. (22) Austin Cindric, Ford, 301, 20. 18. (15) Chris Buescher, Ford, 301, 19. 19. (36) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 301, 18.

S. Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 250, 9. 33. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 207, 4. 34. (29) J. H. Nemechek, Toyota, accident, 146, 3. 35. (13) Ty Gibbs, Toyota,

seconds.

8 for 45 laps.

drivers.

C.Ware

J.Logano 0-52; R.Blaney

C.Briscoe

K.Larson 134-137; J.Logano 138-188; C.Ware 189; J.Logano 190-227; R.Blaney 228-231; J.Logano 232-237; J.Berry 238-240; C.Elliott 241-243; R.Blaney 244-255; J.Berry 256-262; R.Blaney 263-301 Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led Laps Led): J.Logano, 4 times for 147 laps; R.Blaney, 4 times for 116 laps; C.Briscoe, 1 time for 19 laps; J.Berry, 2 times for 10 laps; K.Larson, 1 time for 4 laps; C.Elliott, 1 time for 3 laps; C.Ware, 2 times for 2 laps. Wins: D.Hamlin, 5; C.Bell, 4; S.Van Gisbergen, 4; K.Larson, 3; W.Byron, 2; R.Blaney, 2; C.Briscoe, 2; C.Elliott, 1; B.Wallace, 1; A.Cindric, 1; R.Chastain, 1; J.Logano, 1; A.Dillon, 1; J.Berry, 1. Top 16 in Points: 1. D.Hamlin, 3034; 2. K.Larson, 3032; 3. W.Byron, 3032; 4. C.Bell, 3028; 5. R.Blaney, 3027; 6. C.Briscoe, 3018; 7. C.Elliott, 3013; 8. B.Wallace, 3009; 9. A.Cindric, 3008; 10. R.Chastain, 3007;

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

Ryan Blaney celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday in Loudon, N.H.

“Jourdan,I don’tknowwhat it is about you, your voice, your hair, Imean, your eyes,the songs thatyou pick,everything,it’slikeit’sbeautiful, it’ssoemotional.”

SOFIA VERGARA,“America’sGot Talent” judge

ENDOF THELINE

LOUISIANA’SJOURDAN BLUE MAKESIT TO ‘AMERICA’S GOTTALENT’ FINALS

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Afterlast week’s “America’sGot Talent” performance that brought the audience to its feet, New Orleans street performer Jourdan Blue is headed to the show’s20th-season finale.

ä Watch avideo of Blue’s performance GO TO THEADVOCATE. COM.

Blue and hisnine fellow “AGT” ﬁnalists received the good news on Wednesday night’s episode, where host TerryCrews revealed the resultsofAmerica’svote. Although the audience appeared to love Blue’svocal interpretation of “Stargazing” by British singer-songwriter Myles Smith, comments from the judges were mixed “Jourdan, Idon’tknow what it is about you, your voice, your hair,I mean, your eyes, the songs thatyou pick, everything, it’s like it’s beautiful, it’ssoemotional,”judge and actressSoﬁa Vergara began. “You were amazingtonight.

Recording artist MelBadded, “I want you to giveusthat grit again.

There’s something about you. You’re really sincere, you’re a really nice person, you deserve abreak,” Cowell said.“Theonly thingI do feel is Ithink you’re playing it safe rightnow.And I stillthink America will vote you through. My suggestion is, if you makethe ﬁnal, do something unexpected. Seriously,just do it.”

Judge and comedian HowieMandel, who awarded Bluehis “golden buzzer” (allowing him to skip the nextphase of thecompetition) afterhis audition,still hadnothing but praise for the 24-year-old singer

“I think you played it pitch perfect,” he said. “I love what you did. …There’snobetter singer in this competition.”

But as this is atalent contest, Blue will be going up against not only singing actsfor the “America’sGot Talent” top prize this week. Here arethe rest of theﬁnalists:

When we ﬁrst saw you, you left everythingthere on that stage. Ithink you’re still holding back alittle bit, and why? This is your stage, and you’ve got this.”

Judge Simon Cowell agreed.

“From theminute we ﬁrst saw you, we really,well still, love you.

BY HILLELITALIE

Everett Reid

n LightWire, LED dance troupe

n Chris Turner,improv rapper

n Jessica Sanchez, singer

n Leo High School Choir,22singers

ä See BLUE, page 8C

Be gentle and patientwhen tellingfriends, family about diagnosis

HowdoI tell my familyabout my Alzheimer’sdiagnosis?

It is difﬁcult to discern when or how to reveal your diagnosis to close family members. It might be helpful to write your thoughts on paper before meeting with anyone. When you are emotionally ready,set aside an appropriate time and a place to meet in private so you and your family members can speak and respond freely.Let your family know in advance that you have something important to discuss with them

Letting them know about your diagnosis is an important part of coping with the diagnosis. Youwill wantyour family to know so that they can support and assist you as you navigate the journey.Bewell informed about the disease so that you can explain it thoroughly to your family.Have educational materials or tips sheets available to share with them

The morethey know and learn about Alzheimer’s, the morecomfortable they may feel around you. Be open and honest and allow them to be the samewithout judgement and give them timetoreact and process what you are telling them.The uncertainty of the disease makes it difﬁcult to predict how anyone will respond, so patience and understanding should guide the conversations.

Most likely after being told of your diagnosis, family members will have manyquestions and have concerns about how they should act around you. Though relationships may change as the disease progresses, you will wantto focus on the positive and assure them of your wishes and desires. Begin somedialogue about your preferences forfuture healthcare needs and about establishing legal safeguards like durable powers of attorney and other imminent ﬁnancial decisions. When conversations get heavy or anxieties reach apeak, or if you get overwhelmed, makesure that everyone takes abreak and perhaps consider convening at alater time so everyone can absorb all the discussions that have transpired.

Once your diagnosis is disclosed, your family members and then your friends face the harsh reality that accompanies Alzheimer’sdisease. Realize that those close to you might not have the reaction you had hoped fororthe support you want, but you cannot control how they react. Many people are uncomfortable with the disease, fear it, and don’treally know how to handle it.

Author Carol Bradley Bursack, founder of Minding Our Elders Caregiver Support, notes that “people begin to stay away,not because they’re bad people. It takes avery strong person to continue to keep visiting someone whomay get so they don’tremember

NewOrleans singer Jourdan Blue performs in the semifinals on NBC’s‘America’sGot Talent’last week

Louisiana contestant Jourdan Blue, right, talks with‘America’sGot Talent’ host TerryCrews.

Plant-forwarddietcan help controlblood glucose

Dear Doctors: Isuggest you talk aboutthe beneﬁts of awholefood, plant-based diet for people with Type 2diabetes. The results are marvelous, and Ithink the peoplewith diabetes could be cured.

Dear reader: Plant-based diets date back thousands of years. The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is considered by many to be the father of vegetarianism. For him, it was amoral and ethical decision. In the early 1800s, driven by social and cultural changes, the focus shifted to improvedhealth and well-being.Today,agrowing body of research links aplant-based diet to awide rangeofbeneﬁts. These include reducedinﬂammation, improved cardiovascular health, lower rates of heart disease, improved gut health and lower rates of

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

certain cancers. And, as you’ve pointed out,improved blood sugar control.

Forthose who aren’tfamiliar, Type 2diabetes is achronic and progressive condition. This condition ﬁrst impairs the body’s response to insulin. Over time, thecondition also affects production of the hormone by the pancreas. This leads to elevated blood glucose levels. Elevated blood glucose can cause serious

healthproblemsifleft untreated. It can cause nerve damage, kidney disease, impaired vision, tissue damage, heart disease and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Currently,there is no cure for Type 2diabetes. Even if it can’tbecured, it can be successfully managed. Aplant-based or even plant-forward —diet can play akey role. Studies have found that aplantbased diet can have dual beneﬁts. For people living withType 2 diabetes, it can greatly improve blood sugar control. It’s alsobeen found that aplant-based diet can signiﬁcantly reduce therisk of developing thedisease. Astudy of 113,000 adults in Great Britain analyzed their health data. The study found that people with diets highest in fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes and grains lowered

FILM LEGEND

Remember Robert Redfordwithsomeofhis best films

BY LINDSEY BAHR AP film writer

When you’re alargerthan-life, generationspanning star like Robert Redford, the hard truth is that every movie is notable in some way.Hewas iconic in his own time, whether in front of the camera, or behind it. And in his lifetime, so many of his films transcended their original reviewstofind passionate fanbases: Just ask older millennials about the 1992 hacker movie “Sneakers” or the “Sex and the City” generation about “The Way We Were.” Redford died Sept. 16 at 89, leaving behind an arsenal of great roles that he owned, whether he was playing aquiet CIA agent acon man, abaseball player,agrizzled mariner, an ambitious journalist, or acharming WASP in love. Youcould make afeast out of his Sydney Pollack collaborations alone, staring with “Jeremiah Johnson” (streaming on Tubi), a classic that also took on asurprising afterlife as ameme that became so popular,youngergenerations didn’tevenrealizeit was Redford behind that beard. His very last role came this year,acameo in “Dark Winds,” the AMC show about Navajo police officers he produced. This is alist of some of Redford’smost memorable performances, but don’t forget about the films he directed, too: among them are the all-timers “Ordinary People” (streaming on MGM+), which won him the best director Oscar, and “Quiz Show” (rent on Apple TV+), which got him another nod.

‘Barefootinthe Park (1967)

Redford and Jane Fonda play apassionate but mismatched newlywed couple whose relationship is tested by their walk-up New York apartment in this Neil Simon comedy.Reprising the role he’d played on Broadway,Redford is the uptight, conservative foil to her more free-spirited character and they’re both stunningly beautiful and fun to watch. Fonda told The Guardian in 2015 that she was “always in love withRobert Redford.” He later responded that he wasn’taware. The two alsoappeared together in “The Chase” (1966), “The Electric Horseman” (1979) and “Our Souls at Night” (2017).

WHERE TO WATCH: Stream on Kanopy; rent on several services, including Prime Video

‘Butch Cassidyand the Sundance Kid’ (1969)

Redford met Paul Newman on “Butch Cassidy,” George Roy Hill andWilliam Goldman’sWestern buddy ﬁlm about outlaws on the run. It was the start of alifelong friendship, but it almost didn’thappen,

NBC FILE PHOTO

Dustin Hoffman, left, and RobertRedford star as Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the twoWashington Post reporterswho uncovered the Watergate Scandal, in ‘All the President’sMen.’

since the studio wanteda starlike Steve McQueen or MarlonBrando instead of Redford.

“I was not aname equal to Paul’s. Iwas just sort of moving up atthat time,” he told theAP in 2015. “There was abig argument that wentonfor monthsand months. They said it hadto be astar.(Newman)said, ‘Well,Iwanttowork with an actor,’ because Paulrespected acting. Had it not beenfor Paul,Iwould not have gotten that break.”

WHERETOWATCH: Renton several services, including Prime Video

‘Downhill Racer’ (1969)

Aﬁlm that’sasstylishas it is compelling, Redford plays an ambitious and smug downhill skier out for Olympicgold in this Michael Ritchie ﬁlm. Roger Ebert, in his review, wrote that it is “aportrait of aman that is socomplete, and so tragic, that ‘Downhill Racer’ becomes the best movie ever made about sports without really being about sports at all.”

WHERETOWATCH: Stream on Kanopy or FuboTV;renton Prime Video

‘The Sting’ (1973)

After the success of “Butch Cassidy,” “The Sting,” another Hill ﬁlm, fell into place more easily Redford and Newman play grifters in 1936 Chicago who ﬂeece Robert Shaw’s rich mobster in this memorable caper that wentonto win best picture.

“What was interesting was the switcheroo,” Redford told theAP. “Paul had playedthese iconic, quiet, still characters in thepast, and that’s notwhatPaulis. He was achatty,nervous guy who wasalways bitinghis ﬁngernails. …He loved to have fun and play games.”

WHERETOWATCH: Stream on Spectrum;rent on several services, including Apple TV+

‘The WayWeWere’ (1973)

Ah Hubbell, that beautiful, carefree WASP who falls in lovewith Barbra Streisand’s ﬁercelyopinionated Katie. The making of thePollack ﬁlm, from ascriptstandpoint, was fraught and theoriginal writer Arthur Laurents

their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 25%. Aseparate review of morethan 60 studies and research papers on the possible benefitsofa plant-based diet corroborated these findings. Eating aplant-based or plantforward diet involves mealsand snacks that contain agenerous amount of fiber.Fiber is acrucial nutrient that is notably scarce in the modern American diet. A high-fiber diet slowsdown how thebody breaks downglucose and absorbs it. This can lead to improved insulin response. Subbing out processed foods for fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, grains and legumes reduces simple carbsand added sugars that can contribute to insulin resistance andpoor blood glucose control. Aplant-based diet also lowers systemic inflammation,

improving overall health outcomes. Like we said, Type 2diabetes cannot be cured. But forsome people, adopting aplant-based or plant-forward diet can lessen or even eliminate the reliance on medications. However,it’simportant to remember that diabetes is asilent disease. If you wantto adopt aplant-based diet, work closely with your doctor as you track the resulting blood glucose response. Never change, reduce or eliminate medications without medical guidance.

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.

Arecondolencesa burden?

Dear Miss Manners: I’m sure you are awarethat grief is one of the toughest emotionstoprocess.I therefore believe those grieving should be given a break and allowed to grieve in themanner that best suites them. What ahorrible burden it is on the grieving to have hanging over them theresponsibility of responding to condolence lettersifthat is not what they feel will help them process and heal.

was never quite happy with how it turned out. But this romantic drama with that memorable song has endured over the generations(it was even areference in apivotal “Sex and theCity” episode).

WHERE TO WATCH: Rent on various services including Fandango

‘Three Days of the Condor’(1975)

Redford teamed with Pollack again for this paranoid thriller about aquiet CIA codebreaker who returns from lunch only to discover his co-workers have all been murdered.

The ﬁlm sends him on the run from thebosses involved in this vast conspiracy,and ahit man played by Max von Sydow

WHERE TO WATCH: Stream on MGM+

‘All thePresident’s Men’ (1976)

To Redford, thehistory of this ﬁlm was more interesting than the project itself. He started obsessing over the Watergate saga during awhistle-stop tourfor “The Candidate,” also agreat and prophetic Redford ﬁlm, when he overheard some journalists gossiping about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and becamefascinated by thejournalists covering the story,Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

“I wanted toknow who these guys were, who created all this disturbance,” Redford told theAP.

WHERE TO WATCH: Rent on several services, including Prime Video

‘The Natural’ (1984)

This is one of those ﬁlms that might not be many critics’ favorite, but its cultural impact almost negates that. Redford played baseball player Roy Hobbs in Barry Levinson’s adaptation of Bernard Malamud’snovel about an upand-coming talent whose career is derailed after gettingshot,but who gets another chance at greatness 16 years later

WHERE TO WATCH: Rent on several services, including Prime Video

be obligated to read it if I don’twant to. Yes, this is selﬁsh, but losing my husband wasthe hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. It should be up to me how,and with whom, Ishare those feelings. Iget to be selfish in this instance. Thank you forlistening.

Gentle reader: Sadly, you may get your wish and be leftalone in your grief.For your sake, Miss Manners hopes not.

I’m 60, and lost both my mother andmyhusband in recent years. Each time, thelast thing Iwanted to do was read other people’s ideas about my loved ones. The condolence letters sat in astack,unopened, for over ayear and were then tossed. Idon’tregret it. If it helped others process their grief by writing the letter,ﬁne, but Ishouldn’t

Many people agree with you that it is cruel to expect the bereaved to acknowledge letters of sympathy, and you are not likely to offend if you delay doing so. Youcould even delegate the task of conveying your appreciation to someone who offers to help.

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday,Sept. 22, the265th day of 2025. There are 100 days left in theyear Todayinhistory:

On Sept.22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation,declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states should be freed as of Jan. 1, 1863, if the states did not end the ﬁghting and rejoin theUnion.

Also on this date:

In 1957, Haitian women were allowed to votefor theﬁrst time, 153 years after Haiti became an independent country; François Duvalier was elected president

BLUE

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n SircaMarea,trapeze duo

n Micah Palace, rapper n Mama Duke, rapper n Team Recycled, dance team

n Steve Ray Ladson, singer-songwriter The 10 hopefuls will perform one last time for America’svote on the 8p.m. Tuesday episode. Voting will be

AWARDS

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Soyinka, won the editor/publisher award. “The purpose of the awards

DIAGNOSIS

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Even if you fail to respond in any way, people will understand. They will also understand that you want to isolate yourself, and with the best intentions, they will honor this and go on with their lives. But can you not envision atimewhen you will crave friendship? When you will be especially comforted to be with people whocare about you and whoknew and appreciated those whom you lost? So please do not dismiss those whooffered you sympathy as having done this only fortheir own beneﬁt. What they have expressed to you, whether or not you care to read it, is sympathy foryou and sadness at the loss. When you are ready to socialize again, these are qualities you will value.

TODAYINHISTORY

In 1985, rock and country music artists participated in “Farm Aid,” aconcert staged in Champaign, Illinois, to help the nation’s farmers.

In 1993, 47 people were killed when an Amtrak passenger train derailed and plunged off abridge into Big Bayou Canot near Mobile, Alabama.

In 2014, the United States and ﬁve Arab nations launched airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria, sending waves of planes and Tomahawk cruise missiles against an array of targets.

In 2017, as the scale of the damage from Hurricane Maria started to become clearer,Puerto Rican of-

open from 8p.m. that day to 6a.m.the following morning to give everyone extra time to weigh in on whodeserves the grand prize the most, according to anews release. On the 7p.m.results show Wednesday,the winnerof “America’sGot Talent” Season 20 will be announced. The episodes can also be streamed on Peacock thefollowing day. “You might also see the return of somefan favorites forspecial performances,” the release also stated.

is to recognize literary excellence without limitations or restrictions,”the foundation’sannouncement reads in part. “The award winners range from well-known and established writers to underrecognized authors and ﬁrst

who can’tremember the samethings you remember It takes alot of dedication. That doesn’tmean that they think any less of you. They’re simply hurting for you and hurting for themselves.”

In thelongrun, be gentle and patient with others and be especially the same with yourself

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners. com; to heremail, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

ﬁcials said they could not contact morethan half of the communities in the U.S. territory,where all power had been knocked out to the island’s3.4 million people. Today’sbirthdays: Singerchoreographer-actor Toni Basil is 82. Musician King Sunny Adé is 79. Football Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael is 76. Rock singer David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) is 74. Actor Shari Belafonte is 71. Singer Debby Boone is 69. Country singer June Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 69. Singer NickCave is 68. Singer Andrea Bocelli is 67. Singer-musician Joan Jett is 67. Actor Scott Baio is 65. Actor Bonnie Hunt is 64. Actor Mireille Enos is 50.

The winner receives $1 million (before taxes, if taken as an annualpayment of $25,000 for 40 years) or alump sum estimated at $300,00-$350,000 (before taxes). Theyalsohave the opportunity to headline a show in Las Vegas. For moreinformation, visit https://www.nbc.com/ americas-got-talent. Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

works. There are no quotas fordiversity;the winners list simply reﬂects it as anatural process.” Previous winners include bell hooks, Dave Eggers and the new poet laureate, Arthur Sze.

Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” Shehosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email herat thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't make a move or change athingifyou feel something is not right. Direct your energy toward self-improvement, rather than trying to change others or attempting the impossible.

LIBRA(Sept. 23-Oct.23) Research is the best place to start when you want to make alifestyle adjustment. Consider what sparks your interest and see what's available in your community.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You'll need an outlet to calm your nerves. Look for acreative waytotake the edge off. Expanding your interests will tweak your imagination andencourage innovative pursuits.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Home is where the heart is, so do your best to make it as comfortable and convenient as possible. Keep track of your health and avoid high-risk environments.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look for opportunities to expand your knowledge. Talk to experts, get up to date with the latest technology and trends, and consider how you can upgrade your skills.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put more time and energy into your investments. A change at homethat lowers your overhead or adds to your assets is favored. Don't make asnap decision that leads to regret.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Spend more timeonpersonal anddomestic improvements. Payattention to meaningful relationships and consider how to nur-

ture them and ensure you are working toward similar goals.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Simplify your life and spend time with loved ones or pursuing your passion. Channel your energy to benefit yourself instead of helping someone else get ahead. Discipline, asolid plan and open discussions will pay off.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your energy where it counts. Refuse to let anyone redirect your activities or take advantage of you. Engage in physical activities that promote strength, stamina and self-confidence.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Think big, but don't subscribe to something you cannot afford or that you don't have the time to pursue. Balance, integrity and fair play will be the pathway to success and peace of mind.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Take time to breathe, rethink your next move and adjust plans that are far-fetched or too expensive. Moving forward with restraint, common sense and knowledge of what's possible will give you the upper hand.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Live, love and learn. Conversationswillbeeye-opening if you ask the right questions. Don't brag or exaggerate, or you'll end up taking on more than you can handle.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are createdfrom quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands foranother.

TODAy'S CLUE: MEQUALS U

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

RobertG.Allen, aCanadian-American businessman who has written several personal-finance books, said, “Don’t let theopinions of theaverage mansway you. Dream, and he thinks you’recrazy Succeed,and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention.Hesimply doesn’t understand.”

Bridge playerswho are greedy rarely achieve wealth —theyusuallyend up complaining about bad luck.

In today’s deal, how should South plan the play in four heartsafterWest leads alow diamond?

South wondered aboutaslam opposite an opening bid, but he knew hisside’s combined point-count was at most29 (North’s two-heartraise indicating 12-14 points), which is insufficient foraslam unlessthereare distributional pluses shortages, or asidesuitthat can provide discards.

South has four possible losers: two spades, one diamond andone club. But he has 10 available winners: onespade, sixhearts, one diamond and two clubs. It looks as though it cannot cost to take the diamond finesse at trick one. However, here East will win with hiskingand shift to aspade, which is clearly marked given thedummy. Declarer can duck one round and take the second spade, but when the club finessefails, East will cash aspade for downone.

wuzzles

McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”

toDAY’s WoRD cEMEtERY: SEM-eh-ter-ee: Aburial ground.

Average mark 12 words Time

sAtuRDAY’s WoRD —EPonYMous

today’s thought “Know you that the Lord he is God: it is he that has madeus, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalms 100:3

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C. PiCKles