BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
Philippe Parola slaps a 40-pound slab of raw fish onto his cutting board, then brandishes a small saw to begin the fillet.
Part of state prison used for immigration crackdown
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
For Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is “legendary.”
“This is a facility that’s notorious,” she said, as she stood beside Gov Jeff Landry to unveil the “Louisiana Lockup” for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detainees in a disused wing of the prison that was once used to punish misbehaving inmates with solitary confinement.
“That’s a message that these individuals that are going to be here that are illegal criminals need to understand,” Noem continued. “If you come into this country and you victimize someone, if you take away their child forever, if you traffic drugs and kill our next generation of Americans, and if you traffic our children and men and women, absolutely there’s consequences. You’re going to end up here.” That message ought to convince people to self-deport, Noem said.
As part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to detain and deport immigrants in record numbers, officials have established a series of high-profile detention centers across the country From “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida swamps to the “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska, they have advertised the facilities as tools to
ä See ANGOLA, page 4A
“This is the very first time in this country that we’re going to be cooking this fish,” said Parola, pointing to the massive black carp, caught two days before in Simmesport. “No one else has the balls to go out there and do it.”
As the fish begins to sizzle on the grill, his French accent thickens with urgency as he explains a grim reality: The black carp is the latest spe-
The chef, environmental advocate and showman is holding court on a backyard patio in Baton Rouge, where discussion of nature’s delicate balance flows as freely as the wine provided to his 20 or so guests, many of whom came unaware of what was on the menu.
cies of Asian carp to spread through Louisiana’s major river systems, inundating the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, Red and Ouachita rivers, along with their tributaries. It joins the bighead, grass and silver carp the last notorious for transforming rivers into minefields, with entire schools leaping from the water when startled, sometimes injuring unsuspecting boaters.
ä See FISH, page 3A
Officials, supporters pay tribute at service in Arizona
BY JONATHAN J COOPER,
EUGENE GARCIA, AAMER
MADHANI and MEG KINNARD
Press
GLENDALE,Ariz. — President Donald Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives
gathered Sunday evening to honor the slain conservative political activist whose work they say they must now advance. The memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration
BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer
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 Kirk
ä See KIRK, page 5A
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
U.S. lawmakers push for dialogue in China visit
BANGKOK A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers pushed for more military-to-military dialogue in a meeting Sunday with China’s Premier Li Qiang, a rare congressional visit since the U.S.China relations soured.
The last trip by a group of senators was in 2023, and Sunday’s delegation was the first from the House of Representatives to visit Beijing since 2019.
Li welcomed the delegates led by Rep. Adam Smith and called it an “icebreaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries.”
“It is important for our two countries to have more exchanges and cooperation. This is not only good for our two countries but also of great significance to the world,” Li said.
Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said both sides were in agreement on the overarching aim of the visit.
“Certainly trade and economy is on the top of the list (but also) we’re very focused on our military-to-military conversations,” he said in opening remarks. “As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m deeply concerned that our two militaries don’t communicate more.” The delegation also included Michael Baumgartner, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Ro Khanna and Chrissy Houlahan, both Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers are in China until Thursday
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.”
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 Pales-
tinian 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.
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 President Donald Trump at the
White House said he would 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.
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-
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
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 DeCesare Jr., 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
An American
Cross
outside a hotel that is acting as a
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.
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.
Helping Parola that evening were Dennis Riecke, aretired biologist from the Mississippi Department of 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 1970stoclean aquaculture and wastewater treatment ponds. Ponds tend to flood, he said, and after the fishescapedinto the MississippiRiver Basin, the population exploded. Afemale silver carp can lay up to 5million eggs ayear,and devour up to 40% of their body weight in aday,mostly plankton from the base of the food chain, which throwsthe entire ecosystem out of balance.
“Tounderstand what this fish does, it’sfrightening,” Johnson added. “Wecould 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 detectnew populations of Asian carp before they get out of control, offering apeek 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 areason to go after them.
“Anything that can help to remove those fish outofthe water,that’sawin,” Parola said.“But Itruly believe that the fishermen are the only oneswho arephysically going to put the net out.”
Algorithms vs.Asian carp
As the carp population metastasizesthrough the Mississippi River’s main arteries —including the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas river systems —statesare spending millions to contain its spread. In Illinois, theU.S Army Corps of Engineers hasbegun work on a$1.15 billion project to block the fishfrom reaching the Great Lakes, where they could endanger the region’s$7billion fishing industry
Yetprecise 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. Adecade-old surveyfound that14% of juvenile fish in Louisiana’smajor river systems were Asian carp, while in some regions of the Midwest they now account for more than 90% of ariver’sbiomass. 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 amicroscope, counting body segments of acarp larva often smaller than the size of apinkie nail.
“Identifyingcarp larvae is avery time-consuming process that drives people nuts,” he said.
In search of new methods, Bourgeois partnered with the Informatics Research In-
stitute at UL to developuserfriendly software capable of detecting carplarvae almost in real time.
Peyton Leathem-Boe, an AI researcher at theinstitute, built the model by feeding it more than 4,000 images of carp larvae. The system, aform of neural network specialized in image recognition, was already pretrained on millions of otherimages. Leathem-Boethen adaptedit to the carp problem.
“I took that model andsaid, ‘OK, you have some general knowledge of theworld. Now here’saspecific problem I want you to learn,’”Leathem-Boesaid.
Theapproach, known as transfer learning, has gained momentum in thepast decade thanks toadvances in deep learning— abranch of AI that uses layered networksand massive data sets to extract increasinglycomplex patterns.
HenryChu,the institute’s executivedirector,compared the process to how human vision works.Basic informationgathering, he said, dependsonlower layers of thenetwork trained on millions of parameters, much like the cells closest to theretina. Higher-order recognition— suchasidentifying differentfish larvae —are added later, just as the brain’scortexrefines signals fromthe eye
“You cantrainthose lowerlevelcellson almost anything —trees, flowers, animals,people. It’sprobably better if it’snot limited to fish images,” Chusaid. “The 4,000 carp images wereused at amuchhigherlevel.”
Leathem-Boe’sbeta-stage model is 97% accurate. Using abasic microscope camera, scientists can capture images of carp larvae and uploadthemto a desktop application,which classifies thesample. She stressed the system still requires expert oversight to catch errors or potentialAIhallucinations.
“Our current levelofreasoning in AI is not sufficient Idesign it to alwayshave human oversight because Iknowthere is agap we haven’tquite figuredout,” shesaid Bourgeois sees the tech-
nology’smostimmediate impact in states like Oklahoma, where carp populations haven’tyet reached self-sustaining levels.Monitoringthose watersrequires painstakingly examining thousands of larval samples, he said.
“The biggest thingininvasive species is early detection and rapid response.If you can detect it early and act, it costs alot less,” Bourgeois said.
In Louisiana, he envisions the software being usedto 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 fishthrough tubes over dams and other barriers, by automatically identifying species as they pass.Beyond fish, similar toolscould also acceleratethe study of other lifethatisnotoriously difficult to monitor,like insects, or open up entire new avenues of ecological research.
KellyRobinson, amarine biologistonthe UL research team,imagines asystem 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,” Robinsonsaid. “Questions about the broader food web, or howenvironmental factors change species competition.”
Thecasefor eating carp
While Bourgeois looks to harness newtechnology,he acknowledgesthat without aviable market forcarp, their numbers will only keep rising. In Louisiana, carp sell forless than 20 cents apound —barely enough to cover the icefor thefew fishermenwho bother to haul them in (between400,000 and 500,000 pounds are harvesteda year in Louisiana).
Other states like Illinois and Arkansas have offered subsidies to prop up demand, which Bourgeois doubtsisa
sustainable long-termgoal.
“Noone’sfiguredout one solution,but the endgoal is to removemore,” Bourgeois said. “If youmake ‘em worth something,people will fish for them.”
Carp are showing promise as apotential feed sourcefor catfishand crawfish, he said, and could alsobeusedinfertilizer, pet food and even skin products. Butone of the biggest hurdles to making carp marketable lies in its anatomy.The fish contain large free-floating bones, making themdifficult to process, and less appealing for average Americanconsumers,who prefer boneless fillets. Grind-
ing them down into fish balls or cakes might be more palatable, but it requires expensive machinery to remove thebones.That, in turn, requiresinvestment in fish processing plants —a far less sexy use of taxpayers dollars than,say,anew Hyundai factory,said Riecke, the Mississippi biologist.
“Wehaveaneed to get these species out of the environment, andyet we don’t have consumeracceptance, we don’thavefunding, we don’thaveinfrastructure,” Riecke said.
For Parola, the answer has always been to put carp on the plate. By the 1990s —just over adecade after moving from France to Louisiana and establishing himself as a well-known chef —hebegan building areputationasthe godfather of invasive-species dining, promoting dishes like lionfish meunière, wild boar with berry sauce and ragondin (nutria) àl’Orange.
Among allthose experiments, carp remains his obsession, though one that is an uphill battle in Louisiana.
“Let’sface reality,welike fish from salt water.Carp— nobody wantstoeat carp,” he said. “But it’sabsolutely an incredible fish. …This is aresource that is untapped.”
And while Louisiana culture is steeped in fishing for many of the species now threatened by carp, including largemouth bass andcrappie,the issue often gets overshadowed in a
state facing more existential environmental crises. Meanwhile, Parola’sefforts to rebrand the fish and outsourceprocessing 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.Johnsonsayshehas fed the meat —which is high in proteinand omega-3fatty acids—toa fewbrave LSU football players. “There’s nothing wrong with this fish. What’s wrong withthisfish is it’s carp and Americans don’tlike carp,” Johnsonsaid. “Whenyou look at aworld facing rising costs andfoodshortages. Idon’t understand why we don’tlook at stuff like this.”
At his Baton Rouge demonstration, Parola served up a river monster worthy of seconds. The dish had alight, not too fishy,almost aneutral, tofu-like flavor that soaked up his marinade of French dressing,brown sugar and alittlebit of Slap Ya Mama seasoning. While AI may help slow carp’sadvance in U.S. rivers, providing incentivestofish them seemstoremainthe main answer. Goodrecipes andFrench flair mighthelp tip that scale.
EmailAidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com.
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BY KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press
BEIRUT
An Israeli drone strikein
southern Lebanon killed five people Sunday,including threechildren, Lebanon’sHealth Ministry said. ParliamentSpeaker Nabih Berri said four of the killed, the three childrenaswellastheir father, held U.S. citizenship.
Twoothers were wounded,including the mother in the family.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment. Since aceasefire agreement was reached in November to end Israel’smonthslong war with the
Continued from page1A
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 being held there. Those crimes included rape, homicide and sexual abuse of children, according to the list.
Despite assurancesthat theLouisiana Lockup would congregate immigrants convicted of such crimes, the decision to open the facility at Angola has drawn both skepticismand horrorfrom immigration advocates, who noted that many of those sent to AlligatorAlcatraz did not have violent criminal records.
Angola sits on aformer slave plantation. It became infamous in the 1900sas 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 tasks such as cotton picking, sometimes in the brutal Louisiana heat.
“Angola is the largest maximum security prison in the country,with 18,000 acres, borderedbythe Mississippi River,swamps filled with alligators andforests filled with bears,” Landry said. “Nobodyreally wants to leave the place.”
Advocatesraise concerns Critics worrythat, after the initial media splash,immigrants without criminal records will end up at the detention facility
“Wesaw it happen in Florida,” said Homero López, referring to Alligator Alcatraz. Trump officials described that detention center as a harsh placeappropriate for holding the “worst of the worst.”
But the Miami Herald reported that over 250 detain-
Hezbollah militantgroup, Israel has continued to strike southern and eastern Lebanon almost daily
The Israeli militarysaid it was targeting aHezbollah militant, and that he “operated from within acivilian population.” Itacknowledged that civilians were killed andthatit was reviewing the incident.
“The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terroristorganization and will continue to act to remove any threat posedtothe State of Israel,” the statement said.
Israel frequently says it is targetingHezbollah militants or infrastructure in the tiny country’sbattered southern region. Hezbollah hasonly claimedfiring across the
borderoncesincethe ceasefire, but Israel says themilitantgroupistrying to rebuild its capabilities. Lebaneseofficials have warned thatthe ongoing strikes risk the country’srecent efforts to disarm the group andcould destabilize the country.Hezbollah has maintained that it no longerhas amilitarypresence south of theLitani River,and has refused to speak of disarmament withoutIsraelstopping its attacks and withdrawing fromsouthern Lebanese territory
President Joseph Aoun, who earlier landedinNew York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, condemned the strike andcalled on the international community
ees had no criminal convictions or pendingcharges in the United States. They only had immigration violations, the report found.
López directs Immigration Services andLegal Advocacy in New Orleans and is a former immigration judge who was fired after Trump took office this year
Criticsalso say the messaging from Trump and his allies perpetuates the stereotype that immigrantstend to be violent, when statistics show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than American-born citizens.
“It’strying to feed into that, that immigrants are by definitioncriminals and rapists and murderers,” said Bill Quigley, theformerdirector of the Law Clinic and the Gillis LongPoverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans. “I thinkit’s part of the propaganda, it’s part of the attempttojustify the arrest and wholesale disappearance of immigrants.”
Nora Ahmed, legaldirector of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, said holding ICE detainees at Angolawrongly “promotes anarrativethat immigration proceedings are criminal proceedings, or that immigration detention can be used as criminal punishment.”
Immigration proceedings are civil proceedings. ICE oftenpicks peopleupafter they have served their criminalsentences, she said.
Still, Camp 57 hasdrawn praise from Republican officials. In an op-ed in the
Washington Times, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge, said the facility would promote public safety
“The recent opening of the ‘Louisiana Lockup’ at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in the town of Angola demonstrates the key roleour state is playing in facilitatingthe 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
to pressure Israel to stop. Aoun alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, endorsed an agreement last month that would gradually disarm Hezbollah.
“Thereisnopeace above the blood of our children,” said Aoun in astatement from his office.
The monthslong war between Hezbollahand Israel killed some 4,000 peopleinLebanon and displaced residents across southern and eastern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Salamcalledthe attack a“message of intimidation targeting ourpeople returning to their villages in the south.”
Hezbollah officials saythe ongoing strikesjustify their refusal to
give up their arms, and claim that the ceasefire agreement and monitoring mechanism with the United States, France, andUnited Nations peacekeeping forces is ineffective.
“Theyhaveproven once again that resorting to official protection underinternationalauspiceshas notprovidedthemwithsecurity andstability,” said Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah.
Under the Washington-brokered ceasefire, both the militant Hezbollah group and Israel were supposed to withdrawtheir forcesfrom southern Lebanon and halt strikes against each other.Israeli forces have continue to occupy five Lebanese hilltop points by the border
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, right, follows personnel to the interior of Camp
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 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 Depart-
ment of HomelandSecurity,ofthe first 51 Louisiana Lockup detainees, 26 had homicide convictions, eight had rape convictions and 17 had been convicted of sex offensesagainst children. While someoffensesare morerecent, othersdate as farback as 1981: Raymundo Poey-Marrero, of Cuba, has ahomicide conviction from that year,according to the Office of the State Attorney forthe 5th Judicial District of Florida Poey-Marrero also has apending battery charge against him from July,court records fromMarionCounty, Florida,show Another detainee, Yamil Ballate-Martinez, also of Cuba,has two 2009 convictions forthe possessionand transmission of child pornography, accordingtothe Florida sex offender registry In one case, the Department of HomelandSecurity saida detainee 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 acceptanarsonconviction, according to court records fromMonroeCounty,
Florida.The Department of Homeland Security,which did notanswerquestions about the discrepancy,said he was aconvicted murderer Lopez-Jemot’sconviction was connected to the death of Mary Bonneville, a70-yearold woman who was found dead with knife wounds to herneck in aburnedhome in Key Largo in 2017, local media outlets reported. After Lopez-Jemot’scriminalcase wasresolved, his defense attorney,Philip Massa,saidhewas shocked to learn ICE picked Jemot up and took himtoAlligator Alcatraz, where he was held before being moved to Camp 57. Lopez-Jemothad been in the country forawhile, Massa said, and Alligator Alcatraz “doesn’tconjure up Eddy Jemot. It conjures up someone who snuck across the border during theBiden administration and is agang member.” Massa did not know of any priorhomicideconvictions against Lopez-Jemot,hesaid. Monroe County courtrecords showLopez-Jemot has aconviction for aggravated assault with adeadly weapon in 2017. He pleaded no contest to the charge but was adjudicated guilty under aplea agreement.
Others wereblunt.
officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-oldfirebrand.
“He’sa martyr now for America’sfreedom,” Trump said in his tribute. “I know I speak for everyonehere today when Isay that none of us will ever forget Charlie. And neither now will history.”
Speakers highlighted Kirk’sprofound faith and his strong belief that young conservatives need to get married, build families and 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 down on his 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 Statesof America and defendingthe truththanitistodie on our knees,” Vance said. “My friends, for Charlie, we must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is amartyr for the Christian faith.” Kirk’s assassination at a Sept. 10 appearance on a
Continued from page1A
slightly radioactive elements —stretch out on the facility’slands near Gramercy andthe Veterans Memorial Bridge. Seen from the air,watery surfaces dot the growing mounds of waste.
Generatedatarateof
1to11/2 poundsfor every pound of alumina made, redmud hasprovedhard to reuse and is containedin the growingimpoundments just south of the swamps along Airline Highway But over 11 months between late 2024 and mid2025, state inspectors reported aseries of breakdowns in that containment system,known as redmud “ponds” or “lakes,” according to hundreds of pages of state reports and photographs.
Atlantic Alumina says it has been trying to make repairs and has stopped the seepage. But the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued a24-page complianceorder against thecompany
Leveling around 70 violations, the order threatens fines and issues directives to fix the problems.
Abouttwo-thirdsofthe alleged violations involve self-reported water quality problems related to the plant, including high levels of fecal matter and caustics. But the remainder revolve primarily around alleged breakdowns in the containment system.
Inspectors found erosion channels as deep as 10 feet in the earthen levees that
Utah college campus has become asingular moment for the modern-day conservativemovement. It also has set off afierce debate about violence, decency and free speech inanera of deep political division.
The shootinghas stirred fear among some Americans that Trump is trying to harness outrage over the killing as justification to suppress the voices of his critics and political opponents.
High security at stadium
Those closeto Kirkprayed andthe floors shook from the bass of Christian rock bands as the homeofthe NFL’sArizona Cardinals 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’s Turning Pointorganization is based. Security was tight, similar to the Super Bowl or other high-profile event. The speakers delivered their tributes from behind bulletproof glass.
The 63,400-seat stadium quickly filled with people dressed in red,whiteand blue,asorganizers suggested.
Kirk’s widow,Erika, in
hold backthe waste. Other sections were bare of protectivegrass or,conversely, tooovergrown, whichisa problem for spottingerosion, inspectors said.
Inspectors also found seepages from thelevees funneling down theerosion channels and, in some cases, flowing into the Blind River Swampnorth of the company’s land. Those liquids hada bright redororange color,apotent caustic smell and ahighly alkaline quality ranging from toothpaste to ammonia, inspectors said. Foliageinditches impacted by theseepage was dead or showed signs of 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 levees andtoinspect the most active pond.
Atalco failedtoconduct adequateinspections as necessary to detect evidence of deterioration of thedikeand levees, overtopping, malfunctions, and/ or improperoperation of permitted” red mudlakes, aDEQ compliance order says In aresponse to DEQ, Atalco officials said they hadalready fixed or were in the process of fixing allegedcontainment failures when theorder wasissued Aug. 22.
Theresponse includes photographs of formerly eroded levee banksbeing patched up and previously silted-in containmentditches cleared out to help preventrunoff from escaping. Askedfor acomment on
herown addresssaidinthe midst of her grief shewas finding comfort that herhusband left this world without regrets. She also said she forgives theman whois charged with killing him.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, justlikethe onewho took his life,” saidErika Kirk, who is taking over as Turning Point’sleader.She added,“I forgive him.”
Trump hasblamed the “radical left” for Charlie Kirk’sdeath and threatened to go after liberal organizations and donors or others whohefeels aremaligning or celebrating his death. Dozens of people, from
theorder, Atalco officials provideda copyofthatresponse alongwith abrief statement last week
John Habisreitinger president of Atalco, said the repairs have stopped the seepage of liquids from red mud ponds. Company officialshavealso met with DEQseveral timesabout theinspectionfindings and the complianceorder,he added.
“While Atalco does not fully concur with every characterization in the Department’sfindings —particularly the classification of seepage liquid as solid waste —wetakethese mattersvery seriously and are actively working to address theconditions outlinedin the Order,”Habisreitinger said.
DEQsaysthe liquid seeping from thelevees is solid waste that is being illegally discharged.
Thered mudrunoffwas cited by aSoutheastern Louisiana University researcher as apotential source of heavymetalsand other pollutantsinLake Maurepas. The published study said leaksfrom Atalco may be reaching Blind Riverand contributing the lake pollution.
Atalco has rejected that suggestion.
The researcher,analytical chemist Fereshteh Emami,had proposedmore intensive study to trace the pollution sourcesbut was removed from herroleon theSLU team in July.University correspondence indicates thedecision wasn’t related to her findings, but Emami’s lawyer hasquestioned thestated reasons for herremoval
journaliststoteachersto lateshow host JimmyKimmel, have faced suspensions or lost their jobs as prominent conservative activists and administration officialstarget comments about Charlie Kirk that they deem offensive or celebratory. The retaliation has in turn ignited adebate over theFirst Amendment as the Republican administration promises retributionagainst those whoair what areseen as disparaging remarksin the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
Somespeakers at the memorial said he was battling evil and referred often to a vague “they” as the enemy
Atalco has faced other complaints andgovernment action in recentyears. During theBiden administration, the plant was underregular scrutiny by workplace safety regulators andassessedseveral millionsofdollars in fines
Among the safety problems, four workers were injured, andone contractor was killedin2024.
ResidentsinGramercy andacrossthe riverhave also routinely complained aboutred and whitedust blowingfrom the complex. Atalco officialshaveargued thatthey have faced
“You have no ideathe dragonyou have awakened, youhave no idea howdeterminedwewill be to save this civilization, to save the West, to save this republic,”said White House deputy chief of staffStephen Miller Charlie Kirk was aprovocateur whoattimesmade statements that some called racist, misogynistic,antiimmigrantand transphobic That has drawn backlash fromconservativeswho viewthe criticismascherry-picking afew select moments to insult the legacy of someone they seeasaninspirational conservative leader A22-year-old Utah man, TylerRobinson, hasbeen charged withkillingCharlieKirkand facesthe death penalty if convictedofthe most seriouscharges.Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but prosecutors say Robinson wrote in atext to his partnerfollowing theshootingthathe“hadenough” of Charlie Kirk’shatred.
Kirk’s legacy of influence Turning Point, the group Charlie Kirkfoundedto mobilize young Christian conservatives, became a multimillion-dollar operation under his leadership with enormous reach.
“Charlie’shavingsomeserious heavenly FOMO right
unfair criticism from environmental groups. In June, Atalco officialsannounced they installednew filter presses to squeeze outmuch of the water normally sent to the redmud ponds, allowing more efficient wastestorage.
Atalco has also continued to explore waystoreuse thered mudsafely. Company officialshavetold state regulators they don’t plan to close the ponds until 2046 but will need to build anew pond before then. Theyalso said shipping red mud off-site isn’tfeasible.
now,” Tyler Bower,Turning Point’s chiefoperating officer,said, likening the 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 was aMAGA celebrity with aloyal following that 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 the organization, 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 imparted wisdom every day.”
Speaker after speaker,including DefenseSecretary Pete Hegseth andSecretary 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?”
Atalco emphasizes its operation, which makes nearly40% of the nation’s alumina, is anational securityassetunderthreat and hasallegedthatChinese companies areengaged in state-sponsoredefforts to undercut alumina prices. In July,Atalco officials said the U.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent arm of the federal government that helps exporters, has shown interest in financing a$450 millionexpansion.
David J. Mitchell canbe reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com
Authorities with the St. George Fire Department are investigating the cause of a fire that left a family of four without a home early Sunday morning.
CRIME BLOTTER staff reports
Firefighters arrived on the scene at 3:44 a.m., according to the Fire Department. The house — damaged beyond repair — was located on Country Meadow Avenue. Flames caused damage to two of the adjacent properties, officials said No one was injured in the fire Its cause is still unknown. Two seriously injured in boating accident in WBR
Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are investigating a boating accident in a West Baton Rouge Parish bayou that left two passengers seriously injured Saturday night, one of whom was ejected from the boat, according to a release from the department. Agents responded to the scene around 8:40 p.m. Saturday in Choctaw Bayou. A single, 17-foot boat with two people on board had hit an object about three quarters of a mile from the marina where they had launched from, causing one of the boaters to be ejected from the vessel, the release said. The occupant who was ejected was airlifted to a hospital, while the other boater was transported to a hospital in an ambulance, the release added. Both suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash. No other information was immediately available about the nature of the crash.
Seafood farming operation set to double in size
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
Five months after Jefferson Parish officials launched an effort to support the oyster industry on Grand Isle, the seafood farming operation on the barrier island is set to double in size, and cage-grown Louisiana oysters are starting to gain traction in restaurants across the South.
The Grand Isle Port Commission will be opening a second zone for oyster farming at the end of the year which will increase the area dedicated to the industry from 13 acres to 27 acres, the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission said Thursday. Some of the farmers currently leasing the existing acreage will have more water for their businesses, while some new farmers will join the cohort.
The expansion is a sign that the environmentally adapted method of rearing oysters is gaining regional traction, according to farmers and those in the 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 event started by the nonprofit Chefs Brigade to showcase the Gulf Coast oyster industry
Both traditional wild oysters and specialty farmed oysters were available from 70 restaurants participating in the daylong event
“I’d say it’s even exceeded where we thought this would go,” said Jerry Bologna, the president of JEDCO, which spearheaded the “jewel” branding. The new farming grounds already have a waiting list, he
LEFT: Flynn splashes through the water while wearing his sunglasses at the End of Summer Pool Pawty at Liberty Lagoon on Sunday in Baton Rouge.
BOTTOM LEFT: Piper and Archer enjoy the water with Haylee Fairchild.
BELOW: A little dog wears a life vest with a decorative dorsal fin to swim in the deep water
said. All of the oyster shells from OysterNight will be repurposed through the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s oyster shell recycling program, returned to the water to build reefs that help protect against erosion. In February, an earlier version of the culinary event yielded around seven tons of oyster shells from 50 restaurants. “This is a great way to talk about what can be done that’s useful,” said Kimberly Davis Reyher, the executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. “Everybody likes oysters. Everybody likes oyster reefs protecting us from hurricanes.”
Wild oysters harvested from the seabed still make up the vast majority produced in Louisiana waters, but the specialty farmed
products have gained popularity around New Orleans at local restaurants, food pop-ups and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Compared to wild oysters, cage-grown oysters tend to be smaller and more uniformly shaped. The cages can be moved around, which can protect the oysters from predators and natural disasters. Oysters also provide environmental benefits, such as cleaning pollutants from the water Grand Isle boasted a thriving wild oyster industry for more than a century, but by the 1990s, a changing seafloor habitat and poor economics led to decline. In 2021, Hurricane Ida scoured the last remaining oyster habitat around the island. Since then, Jefferson Parish has sought to help restore the indus-
try through the “jewel” rebrand and state funding.
A $250,000 contribution from the Jefferson Parish Council and Louisiana Sea Grant, the state program of a federal coastal network, will be used to help fund an oyster processing facility on Grand Isle.
“We’ll be able to pull up to the dock, hook them up to a pressure washer, wash them, bag them, tag them, put them in your cooler and go from there,” said farmer Nathan Herring while shucking oysters at Deanie’s Seafood in Metairie, one of the restaurants participating in the citywide event. The nascent Grand Isle industry is also seeing growth on the distribution side. Three months ago, Inland Foods, a distributor, began collaborating with the farmers who run Little Moon Oysters in Grand Isle. The company brings seafood, meats and other products to buyers across the Southeast.
“We’re going to be a vessel to help them grow across the country,” said Justin Jones, general manager at Inland, which is based in Atlanta.
August Mchugh, one of the two Little Moon employees, said the founder of the oyster operation is directly selling their products to restaurants in Houston and Austin, Texas.
By The Associated Press
BRUSSELS— Fallout from a cyberattack that disrupted check-in systems at several European airports extended into asecond full day on Sunday,aspassengers 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 aU.S.-based software system provider “is notyet able to deliver anew 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 hitbydisruptionstoelectronic 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 thecyberattack, butexperts said it could turn out to be hackers, criminal organizations or state actors.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation European Union,said that aviation
DPAPHOTO By CARSTEN KOALL
People walk Saturdaynear check-in counters at aterminal at Berlin’sBrandenburg airportinSchönefeld,Germany, after acyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems disrupted airtrafficatseveral major European airports.
safety andair traffic control were unaffected. There was no indication of awidespread or severe attack, while theorigin of theincident remained under investigation, it added.
While departure boards for London’sHeathrow and Berlin’sBrandenburg airports were showing signs of smoother arrivals and departures on Sunday,Brussels Airport was still facing considerableissues
RTXCorp., theparent company of Collins Aerospace, didnot immediately respond to two emails Sundayseeking comment
On Saturday,the aviation and defense technology companysaid in astatement that it was working to resolvethe issue:“The impact is limitedtoelectronic customer check-in and baggage drop and canbemitigated with manualcheck-in operations.”
BrusselsAirport saidit nonetheless was able to maintain85% of scheduleddeparturesoverthe
weekend thanks to the deployment of extra staff by airport partners “and the fact that self bagdrop and online check-in are still operational.”
The cyberattack affected only computer systems at check-in desks,not self-service kiosks, airport spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli said,and teamswereturning to alternative backup systems and pulling out laptop computers to help cope withthe impact
Theairportsadvised passengers to check the status of their flights beforetraveling to the airports,and using alternative check-in methods.
“Work continues to resolve and recover from Friday’soutage of aCollins Aerospace airline system thatimpacted check-in,” a Heathrowstatement said “Weapologize to those who have faced delays, but by working together with airlines,the vastmajorityof flightshavecontinuedto operate.”
Fazende,Bettie
BluffCreek BaptistChurch in Clintonat11a.m Guerin Jr.,Albert St.AugustineCatholic Church in New Roads, LAat 11am
Obituaries
Floyd Sr., Charles L.
Funerals Today wife,mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, MarySusan “Sue”Coletti Landry, who passedaway peacefully into thearmsof her Heavenly Father on Sunday, September14, 2025, at 9:45 am,atthe age of88. Surrounded by her lovingfamily, sheleftthis world as shelived in it –withgrace andanunwa‐veringtrust in God’sdivine plan. Shewas born on De‐cember12, 1936, to Salva‐tore“Sam” Coletti and Agnes FerachiColetti.At birth,she weighedonly two anda half pounds. Her survivalwas amiracle that reflectedthe courageand determination shecarried throughouther life.Sue was awoman whose life was atestament to the power of faith andthe beautyofa heartdevoted toGod.She wasbornand raisedinPlaquemine. Sue was blessedtoshare her lifewithtwo loving hus‐bands,Dudley, for50years and laterA.J.for 9years She wasa dedicatedstay athomemothertoher 3 children. As agrand‐mother, shebrought warmthand joyintoevery room sheentered,her gen‐tle spirit lighting up the lives of hergrandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sue wasa devout Catholic and livedher life guided by her faith,prayerand devo‐tiontoGod.After thepass‐ing of herson anda reli‐gious pilgrimage to Medju‐gorje,she found comfortin recognizingGod’s signs around her, especially her connectionwiththe num‐ber “7”throughouther life which inspired genera‐tions.She beganher morn‐ingswithspecial prayers, sayingthe rosary and watchingthe mass on her favoritereligious program Sue found joyinthe simple blessings of life –spending timewithher family, cook‐ing mealsthatbrought everyonetothe table, shopping, travelingand dancing on Sunday after‐noons. Herhomewas a place of comfortand laughter– always open to anyoneinneedofa listen‐ing earora warm hug. Sue had agiftfor making peo‐ple feel seen,heard and loved.She wasthe heartof her family– awoman of great strength,wisdom, patience, endlesskindness and unconditionallove. Al‐thoughweare heartbro‐ken,weare grateful forthe years we were blessedto share with her. Herlegacy oflovewillliveoninthe morals, values and Catholic faith sheinstilled and lovingly passeddown toher children,grandchil‐drenand great-grandchil‐dren. Visitation will be held at St.Johnthe Evangelist
By The Associated Press
DAMASCUS,Syria Syrian
President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in NewYorkonSunday to take part in the U.N. General Assembly,the first president of Syria to do so in nearly six decades.
The last time aSyrian head of state attended the General Assembly was in 1967. That was before the 50-year ruleofthe Assad family dynasty,whichcame to an end in Decemberwhen then-President Bashar Assad was ousted in alightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa. Assad’s fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war Since then, al-Sharaa has sought to restoreties with Arab countries and the West, where officials were initially wary of hispast ties withthe al-Qaida militant group. The rebel group he formerly led, HayatTahrir al-Sham, was previously designated by the United States as aterrorist group.
Sinceassumingpower,alSharaahas preached coexistence and soughttoreassure Syria’sminority communities, but thecountry’s fragile recovery hasbeen threatened by outbreaks of sectarian violence. Fighters affiliated with the new government werealso accusedof killing hundreds of civiliansfromthe Druzeand Alawite religious minorities Along with his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly,al-Sharaa is likely to use his visit to push for further sanctions relieffor Syria as it attempts to rebuild its war-battered economy and infrastructure.
U.S. PresidentDonald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that he would lift decades of sanctions imposed on Syria under the Assads’ rule.
He followed through by ordering alarge swathe of sanctions lifted or waived. However,the most stringent sanctions were imposed by
Congress under theCaesar Syria CivilianProtection Actpassedin2019 and will require acongressional vote to permanently remove them.
Another topic that will loom large during alSharaa’svisit is his country’srelations with U.S. ally Israel. Since Assad’sfall, Israel has been suspicious of al-Sharaa’sgovernment and hasseized aformerlyU.N.patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian militarysites.
Negotiations have been underwayfor asecurity deal that al-Sharaa has said he hopeswill bring about awithdrawal of Israeli forces andreturn to a 1974 disengagement agreement. While al-Sharaa said lastweekthatadealcould be reached in amatter of days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in remarks Sunday appeared to downplay theodds of a breakthrough.
Charles L. Floyd,Sr.,age 95, died September 18, 2025 in Allen, TX. He was born on December 17, 1929, in St.Augustine,FLtoLeslie F. and Genevieve Paris Floyd,the first of five children. He graduated from FloridaStateUniversity where he met and married Myrna Barbara "Bobby" Jones. Both weremembers of theFSU Flying High Circus and he was also chosen forthe 1950 All-American Volleyball2nd team. He and Bobby settled in BatonRouge in 1964 where he had alongcareer in finance and banking. There they raised four children and liveduntil her passing in 1993. After moving to the Dallas area in 1994, he met and married Mary Martin andthey became real estate agentsinPlano, TX for tenyears until her death He was preceded in death by his parents, asister,his first wife Bobby, hissecond wife Mary, and asonin-law,Lee Jones. He is survivedbyhis children, Barbara Lee Jonesof Springdale, AR,Myrna Rabalais(Brad)ofZachary, LA,Patti Brooks (Greg) of Kentwood, LA,Charles L. Floyd,Jr. (Yvette) of Oakland,CAand adearand loving companion, Peggy McCoy of Allen, TX. He is also survivedbyhis grandchildren, JenniferYoho (Mark) of Baton Rouge, LA, CharlyLeger(Tori) of Springdale, AR,EricRabalais(Angie)ofCentral,LA, Amanda Brunson(Josh) of Zachary, LA,Tyler Brooks (Kimmy) of Harvey, LA,and KatiTrepagnier(Travis) of LaPlace,LA. He also leaves behind 3sisters, 16 greatgrandchildren, and 3greatgreat-grandchildren. He donated his bodytothe WilledBodyProgram at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Aprivate family memorial willbeheldata laterdate. He never managed to purchase that winning lotteryticket, buthe had alongand happy life and will be missed
Landry,MarySusan Coletti
Catholic Church,Plaquem‐ine on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from 9amuntil MassofChristian Burial at 11amcelebratedbyFather Jason Palermo. Interment willfollowatGrace Memo‐rialPark, Plaquemine.Sue issurvivedbyher loving family, husband,Alvin A.J.”Dugas,Jr.;daughters Susan Landry Jacksonand Sandy Landry Rome (Clarence); daughter-inlaw,RosemaryLandryLan‐glois; five grandchildren, Kirsten JacksonClebert (Corey),KynleeJackson Cunningham(Rocky),Lan‐don Landry (Caci),Korey Rome(Megan),and Alex Rome(Brenden);ten greatgrandchildren,Cullen, Cooperand Colette Cle‐bert, Claire,EllaGrace and HarrisCunningham, Annie Beth, Levi andLukeLandry; and Kolt Rome;numerous niecesand nephews. Pre‐ceded in deathbyher hus‐band, Dudley “T-Dud Landry; son, Ronald “Coop” Landry; grandson,Brendon Landry; parents, Salvatore and AgnesFerachi Coletti; maternalgrandparents, Josephand Lucy Leggio Ferachi;paternalgrandpar‐ents, Joseph andSusie Im‐bornne Coletti,Jr.;baby sister, Tina AgnesColetti; aunt andgodmother,Tina Ferachi Loyacano;and uncle andgodfather,Vin‐centFerachi.Pallbearers willbeClarenceRome, LandonLandry, Korey Rome, Cullen Clebert, CooperClebert andHarris Cunningham. Honorary pallbearers will be Corey Clebert andRocky Cun‐ningham,Jr. Specialthanks toDr. J. DavidWest, his nurses, TrudyPorcheand ChavezFord, hercare‐givers, Suzette Engolio Wallace andTrudy Badeaux,and allofthe staff at ComfortCareHos‐pice. Please sharesympa‐thies,condolences,and memoriesonlineatwww wilbertservices.com
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
the LSU Tigers
on Nov. 11,2017,
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
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
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, nottobaptizeevery regime. And Luke 20:25remindsusthat 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
WINNER: KennyMathews, Mandeville
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.”
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?
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 cityto create anetwork of grocery stores to provide “affordable food.” That wastried in Kansas City wherelast month acity-owned grocery store was forced to close due to high expenses and reduced revenue. The city had poured $29 million intothe store. Youmight think Hochul 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.
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SundayinSeattle.
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
SEATTLE The living embodiment of Murphy’sLaw took thefieldinNew Orleans Saints uniforms Sunday. There was essentially nothing good to take away from the Saints’ 44-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but the first 10 minutes were adisaster reel, with the failures growingprogressively,maddeningly more egregious
“We’ve got to do agreat job of studying this,” said head coach Kellen Moore. “There’sno‘throwthis film away and justmove on.’ This is,100%, we have to evaluate every little item that happened today and get better from it.”
Consider all that happened as the Seahawks raced out to a21-0 lead:
n On theiropening defensive possession, the Saints werepoised to get offthe field after deflecting aSam Darnold pass at the line on thirdand-8. But, afterthe play, defensive lineman Bryan Bresee was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness after head-buttinga Seattleplayer. On the next play,Darnold rolled to his leftand hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a12-yard touchdown.
n TheSaintstookoverand, facing afourth-and-1, they lineduptorun the tushpush forthe second time this season. Also,for the second time this season, theplay was negated ä See SAINTS, page 4B
Moore’shoneymoon is over as wheels fall offfor Saints in Seattle
SEATTLE The honeymoonfor Kellen Moore officially ended in thefirst quarter of his third game as New Orleans Saints head coach Somewhere between Tory Horton’s95-yard punt return for atouchdown,the blocked punt that set up another Seahawks’ TD and an embarrassing three-penalties-in-four-plays sequence on offense, the bloom was removed from the proverbial 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 the ugly 44-13 beatdown played out and the deficit climbed 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’tnearly as close as they led us to believe, and along, frustrating season is upon us.
Jeff Duncan
“Wedid not play up to our standard at all today,” Moore said. “It’sonme.” Yes, it is. Moore has mostly been given afree pass in his nascent tenure in NewOrleans, but that won’tbethe case after Sunday The Saints’ eternally optimistic
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 requiredso much to go right on the final day that it became known as the“Miracle at Medinah.”
“Weweren’tsupposed to win 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 woninRome. Now it faces 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,
Europe was coming off its first Ryder Cup victory since 1957, facing an American team with Jack Nicklaus as the captain on theMuirfieldVillage course he built
Among the three captain’spicks for Europe was 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 Americanrallycame up short, particularly on the 18th hole. Ballesteros closed it outbybeatingCurtisStrange fora15-13 victory,the first time the Americans lost on homesoil since the matches began in 1927.
Noteworthy: This was thelastRyder 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.
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 DarrenClarke.
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 abraintumorinMay 2011.
By The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS Kelsey Mitchell scored aplayoff-career high 34 points and the Indiana Feverbeat 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 controlofthe 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 the floor,including 4of6from 3-point range for the game.
OdysseySims had17points, while NatashaHoward finished with adouble-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
TheFever finished the game hitting50% 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 Williams scored a game-high 23 points, Kayla McBride scored 21, and Napheesa Collieradded 18 points and nine reboundsasthe top-seededMinnesotaLynxdefeated thePhoenix 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
TheSeattleStorm 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 wonthe 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 wellasblocked 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 herservethree times. Italy was contesting its third straight final and clinched itssixth title. The Americans’ previous final came in 2018.
Hall of Fame goaltender, ex-Flyer Parent 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 was 80.
Parentdiedovernight 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 was in such 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, as she celebrated her first gold medal of achampionships thatwas 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 finishedfifth last weekend in the women’s100. Even so, sheran the
relay same place she’sbeen for goldmedal performances the past two years —and shedidn’tdisappoint. But unlike last year at theOlympics, whenshe gave the side-eye
to the opponentsshe passed, then stompedher foot foremphasisat
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, whoran 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 was20and 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.
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 series.
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.
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 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.
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
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 over-
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.
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 Sunday 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.
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.
49ERS 16, CARDINALS 15: In Santa Clara, California, The San Francisco 49ers had lost another star to
an injury, given up a fourth-quarter lead on a safety and were relying on a backup quarterback and a brand new kicker to maintain their perfect start to the season. Mac Jones and Eddy Pineiro delivered.
Jones calmly moved San Francisco down the field in the closing minutes to set up Pineiro’s 35-yard field goal on the final play that gave the 49ers a 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday
BUCCANEERS 29, JETS 27: In Tampa Florida, Baker Mayfield led the Buccaneers to another thrilling finish, ensuring Tampa Bay’s best start in 20 years.
Chase McLaughlin kicked a 36yard field goal as time expired and the undefeated Bucs rallied Sunday for a 29-27 victory over the New York Jets and the team’s first 3-0 start since 2005.
Mayfield, who has resurrected his career since signing with Tampa Bay to compete for Tom Brady’s old job two years ago, has produced the decisive points in the final minute of each of the come-from-behind victories for the four-time defending NFC South champions.
STEELERS 21, PATRIOTS 14: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead 17-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 2:16 left, and Pittsburgh beat New England. Rodgers passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell ran for a 1-yard TD and the Steelers’ defense forced five turnovers to help Pittsburgh (2-1) win at New England for the first time since 2008. The Steelers had lost four since then in Foxborough, including the AFC championship game in the 2016 season.
BEARS31,COWBOYS14: In Chicago, Ben Johnson had just presented game balls to Caleb Williams and Tremaine Edmunds in a raucous locker room. There was one more to give. Williams tossed the ball to Johnson and the players mobbed their coach.
Williams tied a career high with four touchdown passes and Chicago gave Johnson his first win as an NFL head coach by beating the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday
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.
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.
time 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 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.”
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
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.
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 2-00, 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.
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
hurt us. We’ve got to find a way to clean that up.”
Everything that happened after that opening salvo was just a runof-the-mill beatdown.
before it could start because of a false start penalty Saints punter Kai Kroeger then trotted on the field and boomed a 61-yard punt which Tory Horton returned 95 yards untouched for a touchdown
n The penalties came back to haunt New Orleans on the ensuing possession. Two false starts and an offensive holding penalty forced them into a third-and-21 situation, which the Saints could not convert. Kroeger came back onto the field and 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
By the time the game ended, the Saints had been penalized 11 times, not including two that were declined. Seven of them were of the pre-snap variety Four of them
gifted Seattle a first down.
“It’s self-inflicted wounds, man,” said defensive end Cam Jordan.
“We’re not a good enough team to overcome those right now, and at this point in time, it clearly shows every game. These penalties have
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 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 for 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 Smith-Njigba 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.
Jordan said the film review of the blowout would begin on the long journey back to New Orleans. “This is something that has to
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
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-
be immediately broken down, because there is clearly something glaring,” Jordan said. 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. With two starting offensive line-
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.
men out because of injury, the Saints could not get anything going on the ground despite stubbornly committing to it. New Orleans managed a meager 2.9 yards per carry against Seattle, with none of their 27 runs gaining more than 8 yards.
“We’ve just got to be better,” Rattler said. “We’ve
Whatadisaster.That could apply to the Saints’ entire performance Sunday. But for now, let’sjust focus on the special teams, whichhad about as rough agameasa team canhave. Having apunt returned for aTDand havingapunt blocked in the same game is hard. Doing both in the first quarterseems almost impossible. Butthat’swhat theSaintsdid tobury themselves in adeep hole.That wasn’tall.Theyalso gave up a60-yard kickoff returninthe second quarterthat set up another touchdown. Oh,and BlakeGrupe misseda field goal in the first half.The five-hour flight back home had to feel even longer for special-teams coordinator Phil Galiano.
2
FLAGS GALORE
Simply put, the Saints aren’t good enough to beat most teams.To getawin,theywill have to playacleangame.Threegamesinto the season, and it’scleartheycan’tdothat yet. Penalties haunted theSaints again, just liketheydid in Week 1.TheSaints committed 11 penalties against Seattle, including eight in the firsthalf. BryanBresee’sunnecessary roughness penalty for head-butting aplayerafter athird-down stop extended aSeattle drive, leadingtoa TD.The Saints also had afalse startona fourth-down attempt and ended up having to punt.That punt was returnedfor aTD. Cleaning up the penalties shouldbepriority No. 1for Kellen Moore if he wants to gethis first win anytime soon.
3
I’LL BE DARN(OLD)
TheSaints defense was supposed to at least make them competitiveinmost games. In the first twogames, the defense made somekey stops late to givethe offense achance.That wasn’t the case this time as the Saints gave up themost first-halfpoints in franchise history(38).yeah, some of that wasdue to poor special-teams play, butthe defense had itsstruggles,too. It gave up 320 yards. Forthe second straight week,the Saints madeanaveragequarterback look great. Last week,it was Mac Jones of the 49ers.This time it was Sam Darnold (14-18 for218 yards, twoTDs), whodidn’t have to play the fourth quarter.Things getmuchtougher nextweek in Buffalo when the Saints face Josh Allen,last season’sMVP
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
SEATTLE As he wasdragged to the ground, Justin Reid‘s helmet cameflying off. And then came thepain
Teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry reflexively kicked his leg, making direct contact with the New Orleans Saints safety’shead.
“It feels like Igot hit in the face,” Reid said. “Literally and figuratively. Reid couldn’thave said it any better.When the safety got hurt in Sunday’sbrutal 44-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Saints (0-3)weredown by two touchdowns and about to trail by athird —with still four-plus minutes remaining in the first quarter.It was appropriate that the blow was the result of friendly fire —the Saintshad been kicking themselves all day. All that was missing was ayellow flag, and the play wouldhave beena perfect encapsulation of the Saints season.
TheSaintsare an undisciplinedmess after three games. No team has been penalized more than coach Kellen Moore’sclub to start the year,although the 0-3 Tennessee Titans have taken as many penalties as the blackand gold: 31.New Orleans’ problems were obvious in the first two weeks, butthe issue came to the forefront in its worst loss of the season. But penalties are only oneaspect of the Saints’ lack of discipline. It also occurs in other glaring areas, such as the missed open-field tackles that lead to a 95-yard punt return touchdown or the inability to start fast on offense.
“Wegotta be more prepared,” Moore said. “It starts with me.” Moorewouldn’tbethe first coach to harp on the details, only to be perplexed come gametime when thesame mistakes are repeated. Dennis Allen and Darren Rizzi, the last men to coach the Saints, each vowed that the Saints would fix what was needed.Moreoften than not, those issues failed to get corrected.
To startthisseason, theSaintsare committing penalties at ahigher rate than last year’ssquad. And it’snot for alackofemphasis. Moore had referees for almost every training camp practice, including when the team spent nine days in California. Then, when the Saints committed 13 penalties in Week 1, Moore brought alocal crew back to pay close attention.
Reid said the Saints wouldn’tpoint fingers and place the blame on any in-
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLINDSEy WASSON
during the first half of agame against the
dividual. And that reasoning is sound —because theSaints are committing penaltiesinall threephasesofthe game. Of their 31 penalties, 14 belong to the offense, 11 to thedefense and six tothe special teams. Theyaren’tjust onetype of penalty, either.The Saints, for instance, have 15 pre-snap penalties —but forevery frustrating false start, there’sadisappointing illegal shift to come with it The most costly,however,have come on defense.The unit has allowed five penalties on third down,leading to points—two touchdowns and two field goals —onfourofthem.
Against Seattle, IsaiahStalbird made aterrificpassbreakup on Cooper Kupp —only for Bryan Bresee to getcalled for unnecessary roughness on third down. With anew setofdowns,the Seahawks immediatelyscored on a 12-yard pass to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njiba.
“We’re not agood enough team to overcome those right now, and at this pointintime, it clearly showsevery game,” defensive endCam Jordan
said, later adding, “Westart doing some positive on offense —penalty Youstart doing some positive on defense —penalty.”
Mooresaid he would study how the Saints’ preparation can improve. Though it’s far too earlytojudge the trajectory of the first-year coach’s career,New Orleans’sloppy start does create questions about some of his approach. Take, for instance, New Orleans’ use of the tush push, theplay made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints have attempted theshort-yardage sneak twice this season, but each time, afalse start negated the play and forced New Orleanstopunt Throughout training camp, the Saints didnot practice thepush in front of reporters, and Moore was always coyabout whether his team would attempttorun it after spending last year in Philadelphia. But he andothers would often note thatto execute that playsuccessfully,itrequireda significant commitmentto home in on thedetails.
Perhaps Moore wanted to keep the play asurprise for opponentscome the regular season, andperhapsincamp, he had the team work on the push in walkthrough settings when the media was not allowed. That does happen in the NFL.
Butit’sfairtowonderifthe Saints would have avoided the falsestarts if they had drilled it over and over at live speed in practice.
“It just starts in practice, man we’ve got to be cleaner,” wide receiver Chris Olavesaid, speaking generally andnot specifically aboutthe tush push. “Be moretechnical.Like Isaid, just practice at ahigher level.”
Standing at the lectern, Moore avoided using the cliché of tossing out a game like this. In fact,the 37-year-old went the opposite route. He vowed to evaluate “every little item” so he and the Saints could learn from the loss.
“You got to eliminate all the silly things,” he said.
Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com
madeitfeel longer
37-year-oldhead coach spentmost of the afternoon pacing the sideline and casting long stares at thescoreboard and his call sheet. Neither provided an answer or solution. Everything that could gowrong did during one of the worstquarters of Saints football in recent memory
The Saints were whistled forsix penalties in the first 10 minutes,including one stretch on the team’ssecondoffensive serieswhentheycommittedthree infractions in fourplays. There was a95-yard punt fora touchdown, in which Horton raced untouched through alane wider than Puget Sound in the Saints’ coverage unit en route to recording thelongest punt return score in Seahawks franchise history
There was ablocked punt by an unblocked D’Anthony Bell thatset up another touchdown.
And there was a60-yard kickoff return by Dareke Young toset upanother score.
Meanwhile, the Saints offense was holding, false-starting and liningup wrong, just as it had in previousoutings.
“Wejust have to be more dialed in,” Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “It’sthe details, the details, the details.” It’sone thing to lose to amore tal-
ented andexperienced team, which theSeahawksclearly were at almost every position.But it’s another thing to go down the way the Saints did, in aflurry of mistakes and self-inflicted wounds. That’sthe sign of abad team, an undisciplined and poorly coached one.
Until Sunday,the Saintshad largely accounted themselves well in defeat They were competitive in close losses to the Cardinals and 49ers.
But therewas nothing competitive abouttheir effort on Sunday.This was atotal team failure, aCat 5failure of execution and effort. The Saints trailed from start to finish for the secondconsecutive game this season and have now led foronly four minutes total so far this season. They committed 11 penalties for 77 yards, including five pre-snap infractions on offense. On defense, they missed tackles, blewassignmentsand committed personal foul infractions. And they hemorrhaged specialteams mistakes, including another missed field goal by BlakeGrupe.
“We’vegot to play better in all three phases,” Moore said. “This is apowerful learning experience for us. We’ll see how we respond.”
Only three games into his debut season, Moore now has amassive challenge on his hands as he tries to right the ship and instill confidence in the locker room. Up next is adaunting trip to Buffalo, where theSaints will face theundefeated Bills at High-
Unfortunately,there have been manylong flights homefrom the Emerald City forthe Saints over the years.
This is where the Saints’ 2010 and 2013 seasons ended with playoff losses to the Seahawks, including the infamous Beast Quake gamein20102011.
This wasalso where the Saints were taken to the woodshed on awet, frigid Monday night in 2013. In that one, the Seahawks similarly raced to acommanding first-quarter lead (17-0) on their waytoalopsided 34-7 rout. If that weren’tbad enough, the Saints’ charter plane experienced acrack in the cabin window of the cockpit, making the long flight homeeven longer as the team was forced to deplane in the weehours of Tuesday morning and spend an extra night in Seattle.
markStadium, where they have won 12 consecutive games dating to 2023.
“We’ve got to get this as far behind us as possible,” veteran defensive end Cam Jordan said. “We’re already at a point in theseason where we have to be as critical as possible.”
Jordan said he and the other team captains planned to start addressing theissues on the charter flight home. It was already going to be along flight.The dispiriting setback only
For the Saints, there weren’tany flight issues to overcome on this visit to Seattle. All their problemswere on the field, where the wheels unexpectedly came off just three games into their season. It all madefor along, embarrassing afternoon forthe Saints. As they trudged off the field with one of their mostlopsided losses in the last quarter century,asnarky Seahawks fantrolled them with asign from the front row above their exit tunnel: “Hey,Saints, Amazon’shiring.”
Email JeffDuncanat jduncan@theadvocate.com.
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,itwas reserve offensive lineman DJ Chester. Bothplays frustrated Brian Kelly,the fourthyear Tigers coach who doesn’t want to see players thrown out of games when they’re involved in garden-variety tackleswith helmet-to-helmet contact.
“I don’tknow what to sayanymore,” Kelly said on Saturday In thewaningsecondsofthe third quarter of their56-10 win over theLions,the No.3Tigers (4-0) lined up for a59-yard field goal with a42-7 lead. Damian Ramos left the kick 10 yards short of the uprights, giving Southeastern achance to return the kick from the goalline.
Then things got weird.Chester LSU’ssixth offensive lineman, was flagged for targeting after he tried to make atackle at midfield, then disqualified after avideo review confirmedthat hehad lowered the crownofhis helmet into Da’Shun Hugley —the Lion receiver who fielded the kick and returned it 47 yards.
The SEC Network broadcast captured Kelly yellingatofficials
after the play
“It’sanoffensive lineman who we don’twork any time with tackling,” Kelly said. “And it’sarunner, andhemightnot have had the best form onthe play, but he wasn’t looking to target or knock somebody outofthe game.Hewas trying to hold on for dear life.”
Now Chester must serveasuspension for the first half of LSU’s Week 5road matchup with No. 13
OleMiss(4-0) Whyisthata meaningful development? Because theTigers started the second half withChester playing righttackle in place of Weston Davis, the redshirt freshman who struggled at times through his firstfour starts of the season.
Weeks found himself in asimilar situation in Week 3. Only he was flagged for targeting on Florida’sfirst drive of thegame. Becausehis penalty occurred in the first half ofthat matchup, he didn’thavetomiss any action of LSU’ssubsequent contestagainst Southeastern. Chesterwasn’tasfortunate.
“I mean, thatwas afootball play thatIfeellike I’ve made countless times in my life,”Weekssaidon Saturday
“I spendmywhole life preparing to play this game, and Ionly get 12 opportunities. And Ispend every single dayofmylife, what time Iwake up, everything Ieat —nomatter what I’m doing, it’s preparing to get 12 opportunities
to play,and youonly get eight of them in Death Valley.Agoldoutatnight? Like, those are the gamesI dreamed of playing in as akid. So, when Iget kickedout after three plays, it’s frustrating.”
KellysaidonMondaythat he’s been “very vocal”about the NCAA’s targeting rules. He’d support aproposal, he said,to splitthe penalty into twodifferentcalls— onethatcarries only a15-yard penaltyfor routine hits with helmet-to-helmet contact and another that comes with an ejection for more reckless, dangerous plays
“A guy sat outa game,” Kelly said, “and Idon’t know howto coach him differently.Idon’t knowwhat to tell him to do differently.And you’re gonna throw him out of the game. That makes no sense to me.”
Kelly also said that some folks would object to changing the targeting rules becauseitcould lead to an uptick in head injuries, but he called thatpoint “aneasy way out of this conversation.”
“I just don’tknowwhy we can’t figure thisout,” Kelly said. “We can’tdoitright now.Iget it. But at the end of the year,this has got to be addressed.”
Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter
BY ALANIS THAMES Associated Press
MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. TheFlorida Gators shuffled into the visitor’s locker roomatHard Rock Stadium, mostly quiet, some with their heads bowed.
Running back Jadan Baugh,who scored Florida’s onlytouchdown, pausedbefore entering thelocker room and shook his head, still absorbingthe sting of Saturday’s26-7 loss to No. 4Miami —a game in which theGatorsstruggledoffensivelyand failed to capitalize on an uneven offensive performance by the Hurricanes.
The scene seemed to encapsulate what has been adreadfulseason for Florida, which is off to its worst start (1-3) in 39 years despite atalented roster that manypicked to be aformidable competitor this season in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators have hardly looked the part in the first four gamesof the season, which have featured a rout of Long Island University, a collapse against South Floridaina game they were heavily favored, and road losses to No. 3LSU and Miami.
“We’ve got work to do,” said embattled Florida coach Billy Napier, whose record with the Gators fell to 20-22.
Florida had its fewest totalyards in agame —141 —inmore than 25 years, and has scored justthree touchdowns in the past threeoutings..
“We’ve got an obligation to (im-
capped it off with a2-yard rushing touchdown.
Lagway,Florida’ssophomore quarterback who was 6-1 as a starter in 2024, was 12 of 23 for only 61 yards andnotouchdown passes.
“It’svery frustrating,”Lagway said. “We’ve got to clean alot of things up. That’snowhere near thebrandoffootball wen want to play.”
Lagway added that improvement starts with him. He admitted Saturday wasn’this best performance,notingthathejusttook what the defense gave himand only managed the game.
prove)not onlyfor ourfansand our alumni,” Napier added, “but for the players in that locker room.”
Floridapunted on seven of 11 drives on Saturday,including the first six of the game. The Gators failed to convert athird down in 13 attemptswhile allowingthe Hurricanes to convert 50% of theirs. And eventhoughthe Gators defense kept them in striking distance —they sacked Miami quarterback Carson Beck four times, and it was aone-possessiongame entering the fourth —therewas little execution on offense.
Florida’sonlyscoringdrive came onthe first possession of the third quarter,when quarterback D.J. Lagway extended the drive with afourth-down run and Baugh
“I’m going to demand greatness from everybody,” Lagway said. “We’re donewiththe playing around stuff. It’stimetoget serious.And it starts with me.I’vegot to setthe tempo. Iset the tone —in practice, in meetings,everywhere. So Iknowfor afact that it’sgoing to change becauseitstarts withme.”
Napier pointed to the injuries that sidelined Lagway for much of theoffseason as areason that his quarterback hasn’tquite found a rhythm yet this season. He missed thespring withashoulder injury and was sidelined again during fall camp because of acalf strain.
Still, Lagway’steammates expressed their confidence that he can lead aturnaround.
“I’ve got 150% trust in DJ,” said defensive back Devin Moore.
“I’ve seen all the things behind the scenes that he does. Andit’snot just on him. It’s on otherleaders on theteam.”
Through four weeks, it has become increasingly difficult to figure outwhat to do with Florida State in my AP Top25poll. The answer seemseasy on the surface. The Seminoles beat my preseason No.5team (Alabama) at home before scoring dominant wins over two overmatched foes. It’sthe résuméofa top-10 team if you strictly rank them by that metric. Butthe AP poll isn’taranking of the 25 best résumés; it’sapecking order of the 25 best teams. And though it’sobvious to see that Florida State belongs in that top 25, it’s hard to place the Seminoles ahead of some other clubs that have been tested moreoften and came into the season as amore proven commodity Auburn, Notre Dame and Tennessee have played more difficult schedules. Despite all three teamshaving at least one loss, they were all by razor-thin margins andagainst clubs that are ahead of Alabamainmy rankings.
Auburn deserved to at least go to overtime with Oklahoma on the road this weekend. Notre Dame lost by acombined four pointstotwo top-6 teamsinmy rankings. Tennessee wasafield goal away from beating my No. 3team. Tennessee andAuburn are also theowners of good-looking wins over Baylor and Syracuse, respectively.All three teamshave proven on multiple occasions that they’re atop-15 caliber team. Florida State, meanwhile, hasn’tbeen challenged since the Alabama game. We knowmoreabout Auburn, Notre Dame andTennessee through four weeks than we do about Florida State. The Seminoles were also nowhere near my top25heading into the season, as opposedtoAuburn, Notre Dame andTennessee, three teams thatwereatleast close to cracking my preseason top-25 poll andhaveproven they deserve to move up in the rankings (or, in Notre Dame’s case, not move them down as much).
Next weekend’smatchup against asolid Virginia team will tell us moreabout Florida State. Adominant road victory over theCavaliers would be moreevidence suggesting the Seminoles’ win over Alabamawasn’tafluke.
My AP poll afterWeek4
1. Penn State, 2. Miami, 3. Georgia, 4. Ohio State, 5. Oregon, 6. Texas A&M, 7. Oklahoma, 8. LSU, 9. Texas, 10. Indiana, 11.
Texas Tech, 12. Tennessee, 13. Notre Dame,14. Auburn, 15. Michigan, 16. Florida State, 17. Alabama, 18. Ole Miss, 19. Missouri, 20. Vanderbilt, 21. TCU, 22. Georgia Tech, 23. USC, 24. Arizona State, 25. Iowa State. Just missed: Illinois, Nebraska, Washington, Kansas
RankingMichigan
In my mind, there was no case forMichigan to be ahead of Auburn this week. Auburn arguably should have beaten OU on the road, while Michigan was easily defeated by the Sooners in Norman in Week 2. Auburn also has astronger winthan Michigan, taking down Baylor by 14 on the road, while the Wolverines’ victory over Nebraska in Lincoln this weekend was only by three.
But whyput Michigan ahead of FSU? The Seminoles’ win over Alabamaismuch more impressive than anything Michigan has done, and Florida State, unlike the Wolverines, hasn’t lost agame.
The difference lies in the gap between these teams heading into the season. That margin was quite large, and despite the Alabamawin, Istill haven’t seen enough from the Seminoles to put them ahead of aMichigan team that’sflawed but just earned aquality winover agood Huskers team on the road.
Ihave abetter feel forMichigan through four weeks. And when in doubt, I’mvoting forthe team that’sfaced the tougher schedule and has come out on the other side of it still looking like agood team.
Othernotes
Clearly,Indiana’s63-10 shellacking over Illinois —myNo. 11 team last week—demonstrates that Ishould’ve had morefaith in the Hoosiers this season. Fernando Mendoza might be the best quarterback in the country As aformer Pac-12 reporter,I can guarantee you that earning awin in Salt Lake City is no easy feat. So credit to Texas Tech for pulling away from Utah on Saturday.The Utes passing game was almost nonexistent, but that’snot an easy team to put up 34 points or dominate both lines of scrimmageagainst. The money Texas Tech spent this offseason clearly paid off. If Will Hammondremains at quarterback —the offense looked much better once he entered forthe injured Behren Morton —then Texas Tech should be considered the favorite to win the Big 12.
Email Koki RileyatKoki Riley@theadvocate.com.
the Sooners is aproblem
TheSoutheastern Conference will reveal the annual opponents foreach team and the conference schedules for 2026-29 at 6p.m Tuesday witha grand extravaganza on the SEC Network and ESPN2. It’sthe perfect time …the perfect time for me to try to embarrass myself and predict who those annual opponents will be for all 16 SEC teams. Not 2025 Saints level of embarrassment, mind you. I’ll actually getafew of these picks right. But taking astab at what the SEC will decide is fraught with journalistic peril. Remember,these are just predictions, educatedguesses,not actual fact. So don’tblame me when your prop bet goes pffft! Here we go n LSU’spredicted annual opponents: Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Arkansas The reasons behind the picks: Ole Miss, which, of course, LSU plays this weekend, is as traditional arival as the Tigers have. For historical reasons, this one makes huge sense. For geographical reasons and a long-term rivalry in and out of the SEC, we think LSU will get Texas A&M, as well. Why Arkansas and not Alabama, Florida or even Mississippi State? The main reason is the finalweekofthe season. LSU does not have arival whodoes not have abigger rival, who they traditionally play around Thanks-
JOHNSON
STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL
LSU quarterbackGarrett Nussmeier looks to makea pass in the second quarter against Ole Miss on Oct. 12 at TigerStadium. LSUwon 29-26 in overtime.
giving weekend. Texas A&M and Texasare back togethernow.Alabama hasAuburn. OleMiss has MississippiState. Florida goes out of conference to playFlorida State, and South Carolina does thesametoplay Clemson (good forthe Gamecocks). Arkansas, which LSU played every year to end the season from 1992-2013 (when Texas A&M joinedthe SEC that changed) makes sense to be thatteam forthe Tigers again.The annual Battle for the Boot lives on.
n Alabama:Auburn,Tennessee, Mississippi State TheIron Bowl, of course, is a
BY AVERYOSEN Associated Press
KANSAS CITY,Mo. The Toronto Blue Jays became the first AmericanLeagueteam to secure aspot in the postseason on Sunday with an 8-5 win overthe Kansas City Royals.
The AL-best and AL East-leading Blue Jays locked up aplayoff spot with aweek remaining in the regularseasonafter aless-than-stellar start of 16-20 in early Mayand trailing by as many as eight games in the division in late May.
“I remember back whenwewere in Tampa in May,weweren’tplaying very well and we got swept there,”BlueJays manager John Schneider said. “I think these guys did agreat job of rallying around each other,but the turningpoint wasreally when we cameout of Tampa and went into the Texas series.” This is Toronto’sthird playoff berth in four years and fourth in six seasons. They missedthe postseason in 2021 and 2024. Playoff success has been elusivefor the BlueJays, whohaven’t won apostseason game since2016. And,unlike the past three trips,they hope this year they won’thavetoplay in the AL wild-card round as they try to win their first division title since 2015 as they close out the regular season with asix-game homestand against Boston and Tampa Bay
“You could feel it with thisgroup in spring training,” Schneider said. “I know that sounds really
cliche, but when you get agroup of men that are committedtothe same goal,you can do things like this.”
TheBlueJays’ 90-66 recordis tops in the AL and they lead their division by 21/2 gamesoverthe NewYorkYankees.IfToronto winsthe AL East and hasone of thetwo best recordsinthe league, it will advance to the AL Divisional Series, which starts October 4. The last time Torontomade it that far was nine years ago.
“I’m just so happy forthem,” Schneider said.“It’shard at this levelfor everyone to put their egos asideand to play for one another.It’ssocool to see these guys completely happy for one another when they get the job done no matter who it is. This is the most fulfilling team I’ve ever been apartof with different characters, different skillsets, guys coming together for one common goal whichiswhat’s important now.This is something youalwayscelebrate.”
TheBlue Jays are trying to win their first World Seriessince 1993.
“Today we go back to the postseason, but thejourney is not over yet,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr.said.
“Westill want to win the division over the next six games. Since spring training, everyone has beentogether and whenyou see ateam likethat you start believing.”
Toronto snapped afour-game losing streak with Sunday’swin, and after the game popped Champagne in the visitor’sclubhouse in Kansas City
biggie, one of the nation’sbiggest annual grudge matches Bama-Tennessee isn’tfar behind. Idon’tthink theSEC will want to give theCrimson Tide athird heavyweight like LSUdespite the great TV ratings of this matchup. Bama and State (83 miles) are the closest geographically of any SEC schools, so this is agood alternative.
n Arkansas: LSU, Missouri, Texas A&M The Razorbacks get theseasonending game with theTigers back that they have craved since it went away and will be happy to boot Missouri from that schedule
spot,thoughthey would still play There’snolove lost between Arkansas andTexas A&M, apretty special rivalry going wayback to theold Southwest Conference.
n Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss Auburn-Alabama is anobrainer.SoisGeorgia, preserving the South’soldest football rivalry Ole Miss is anod to these old SEC West Hugh Freeze employers.
n Florida: Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt Florida-Georgia is almost as much of anobrainer as the Iron Bowl. South Carolina is an old SECEast rival, and Vanderbilt, well, Vandy is better than Floridaright now.So, this is atough draw.
n Georgia: Florida, Auburn, SouthCarolina Reverse engineer Florida’sannualopponents and you pretty much have the Bulldogs’ trio. This potentially could be three of thetoughest annuals forany SEC team, though not at the moment.
n Kentucky: Tennessee, Vanderbilt,South Carolina Tennessee andVandy are traditional rivals forthe SEC’ssecondmostnorthern outpost.
n OleMiss: LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn The Rebels’ annual foes, including, of course, in-state Egg Bowl rival State, is about as old school as the new SEC scheduling will get
n Mississippi State: Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma State-Ole Miss is the SEC’smost unheralded rivalry.Alabama again is anext-door neighbor OU? Well, finding athird team for
n Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas No matter how you figure it, Mizzou doesn’tfeel like an SEC team.Best to keep things geographic with old Big 12 and regional rivals.
n Oklahoma: Texas, Mississippi State, Missouri
The Red River Rivalry (OUTexas) does fit in wellwith the classic SEC clashes. Mizzou is a border skirmish, and State fills out the dance card.
n South Carolina: Georgia, Florida, Kentucky South Carolina and Texas A&M have been forced to play each other every year since 2014 forno good reason. Time to stop that.
n Tennessee: Alabama, Kentucky,Vanderbilt Tennessee-Bamadeserves to be preserved, despite the fact it was the reason forconvoluted SEC scheduling in the divisional days. In-state Vandy and UK also mean something to the Volunteers.
n Texas: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri Iwanted to give the Longhorns an annual gamewith Arkansas but just couldn’tswing it. This scheduling stuff is hard.
n TexasA&M:LSU, Texas, Arkansas
The Aggies are surrounded by annual rivals they love to hate. As it should be.
n Vanderbilt:Tennessee, Kentucky,Florida
When all this new schedule talk started, the joke was how some lucky school would get the Commodores forall three annual rivalry games. Notany more.
BY ERIC OLSON AP collegefootball writer
Miamijumped LSU and Penn State into theNo. 2spot behind Ohio State in The Associated Presscollege football poll on Sunday while Oklahoma climbed into thetop 10 for the first time in two years and Indiana and Texas Tech madebig moves after lopsided wins over Top25opponents.
The Hurricanes have beaten tworanked opponents, and they turnedinanother completeperformance in a19-point home win over Florida to earn their highest ranking since 2017.
Penn State, which had been No. 2since the preseason, was idle andslipped to No.3.LSU fell one spot to No.4after an easywin over Southeastern Louisiana of the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision.
No. 5Georgia andNo. 6Oregon held their positionsand were followed by No. 7Oklahoma, which beat previously rankedAuburn at home and returned to the top 10 for thefirst time since it started 7-0 in 2023. Florida State,Texas A&M andTexas round outthe top 10.
Ohio State had an open date and received 52 of 66 first-place votes from themedia panel. Miami got sevenfirst-place votes, fourmore than aweek ago. Penn State had five first-place votesand Oregon andOklahoma each received one.
Indiana had played one of the softest schedules in thecountry
throughthree games before raising eyebrows with its 63-7 hammering of then-No. 9Illinois. The Hoosiers made the biggest move up,climbing eight spots to No. 11. TexasTech gotafive-rung promotion to No.12for its 24-point winatUtah. The Red Raiders won easily despite playing backup quarterback Will Hammond most of the secondhalfinplace of an injuredBehren Morton.
In andout
No. 24 TCU beat SMU to go 3-0 and earn itsfirst regular-season ranking since it wasafixture in
the top 10 the second half of the 2022 season.The HornedFrogs, beaten 65-7 by Georgia in the national title game that season, were No. 17 in the2023 preseason poll and hadn’tbeen back since. No.25BYU, whichfinished last season No.13, picked up aroad win at East Carolina and is ranked for the first time this season. Utah (16) andAuburn (22) dropped out.
Poll points
n Oklahoma is the lowest-ranked team to receive afirst-place vote in aregular season since then-No. 7Washington got one on Sept. 24, 2023.
n Illinois’ 56-point loss at Indiana was the most lopsided in Bret Bielema’sfive seasons and caused theIllini to tumble from No. 9to No. 23.
n The last time Miamiwas ranked as high wasinback-toback polls in November 2017, when MarkRicht’s Hurricanes were 9-0 and 10-0. That team lost three straight to end the season. n Texas Tech has its highest ranking since Kliff Kingsbury’s first team wasNo. 10 following 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,
By The Associated Press
LOUDON, N.H. In arace 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 lapsinhis No. 12 Mustang, includingthe final 39, butstillhad to fend offa furiouschargeby runner-up Josh Berry,who closed withina fewcar lengths with 10 laps left before overdriving acorner
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 Idrove,” the Team Penske driver said. “I wastrying to kind of bide my stuff and pullJosh alittle bit, then he really started coming. It was all Icould do to hold him off, trying new lanes. That was good and clean racing. IappreciateJoshfor not throwing me the bumper when he could have.
“What acool day,what acool weekend. Super fast car.Really have beenstrongthrough the playoffs. It’sgreat to get awin in thefirst race of the round.”
Blaney,who is trying to reach the Championship4 season finale for the thirdconsecutive year, became the first drivertoadvanceintoone ofthe eight available spots in thethird round of theCup playoffs.
Berry,whose No. 21 Wood Brothers RacingFord hasa competitive alliance with Penske, overcame aspinonthe 82nd lap andrebounded from hisfirstround eliminationafter finishing last ineach 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 agreat job there. Iwas honestly surprised Iwas able to keep him honest at the end.
“Just ashame to finishsecond, but after the last couple of weeks, it feelsgood. This is definitely what we’re capable of, and hope-
fully we can keep it going.”
The Fords backed up their impressive performances in qualifying Saturday when Penske star Joey Logano won the pole position to cap asweep of the top three starting spots withBlaneyand
Berry.The same trio led 273of 301 laps Sunday.
William Byron was the highest-finishing Chevroletdriver in third.
“It was agood dayoverall,” said Byron, whoisthe highest-ranked
driverbehind Blaneyinthe playoff standings withtwo races left in thesecond round. “Penskeguys were superfast. Ifeltlike they were in anotherzip code.” Logano took fourth after leading arace-high 147 laps in the No. 22 Ford.The Middletown, Connecticut, native started from the pole for the first time at New Hampshire, whichheconsiders his home track
“(Blaney)was wicked fastin practice, andheshowed that again in the race,” Logano said. “Weobviouslygot aton of pointstoday,so we did what we needed to do, but I’d rather win. That’sjust the greed in me,especially when it’shome.”
After qualifying 27th,lastamong the12playoff drivers, Chase Elliott raced to afifth-place finish. ChristopherBelltook sixthas thetop finishingToyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, which went undefeated in the first round of the playoffs.
Kyle Larson tookseventh, and Ross Chastain was ninth as playoff drivers took eight of the top 10 spots on the 1.058-mile oval.
29 N.Y. Jets at Miami, 6:15 p.m. Cincinnati at Denver, 7:15 p.m. Pro basketball
WNBA Playoffs (x-ifnecessary) First Round (Best-of-3) Minnesota 2, Golden State 0 Sunday’s game: Minnesota 101, Golden
State72
Wednesday’s game: Minnesota 75,Golden State74
Las Vegas 2, Seattle 1
Sunday’sgame: Las Vegas102, Seattle77
Tuesday’s game: Seattle86, Las Vegas 83
Thursday’s game: Las Vegas 74, Seattle73 Indiana 2, Atlanta 1
Sunday’s game: Atlanta 80, Indiana 68
Tuesday’s game: Indiana77, Atlanta 60
Thursday’s game: Indiana 87 Atlanta 85
Phoenix 2,New York 1
Sunday’s game: New York 76, Phoenix69 (OT)
Wednesday’s game: Phoenix 86, New York 60
Friday’s game: Phoenix79, New York 73
Semifinals
(Best-of-5) Minnesota 1, Phoenix 0
Sunday’s game: Minnesota 82. Phoenix69
Tuesday’s game: PhoenixatMinnesota,
6:30p.m. (ESPN)
Friday’s game: Minnesota at Phoenix, TBD (ESPN2) x-Sunday, Sept. 28:Minnesota at Phoenix, TBD(ESPN2) x-Tuesday, Sept. 30: Phoenix at Minnesota, TBD(TBD) Indiana 1, Las Vegas 0
Sunday’sgame: Indiana 89, LasVegas 73
Tuesday’s game: IndianaatLas Vegas
8:30p.m. (ESPN) Friday, Sept. 26: Las Vegas at Indiana, TBD (ESPN2) x-Sunday, Sept. 28: Las Vegas at Indiana, TBD(TBD) x-Tuesday, Sept. 30: Indian at Las Vegas, TBD(TBD)
Grambling St. 31, East TexasA&M 28 Harvard 59, Stetson 7 Jacksonville St. 45, Murray St. 10 James Madison 31, Liberty 13 Kennesaw St. 28, Arkansas St. 21 LSU 56, Southeastern 10 Louisiana Tech 30, Southern Miss. 20 Louisville 40, Bowling Green 17 Marshall42, Middle Tennessee 28 Memphis32, Arkansas 31 Mercer 38,The Citadel 0 Miami 26,Florida 7 Mississippi 45, Tulane 10 Mississippi St. 38, N. Illinois10 Morehead St. 45, Kentucky Christian28 NC Central 62, NC A&T 20 Presbyterian 76, BluefieldSouth 3 Richmond38, VMI 14 SacredHeart 31, Norfolk St. 28 South Florida 63, SC State 14 Syracuse34, Clemson 21 Tennessee 56, UAB24 UCF34, North Carolina9 Vanderbilt 70, GeorgiaSt. 21 Virginia 48, Stanford20 Virginia Tech 38, Wofford6 W. Carolina 50, Samford35 W. Kentucky 31, Nevada 16 West Georgia 33, E. Kentucky 12 William &Mary 34, Charleston Southern 7 MIDWEST Akron 51, Duquesne7 Cent. Michigan49, Wagner10 E. Michigan 34, UL 31 Illinois St. 38, North Alabama36, 2OT Indiana 63, Illinois 10 Kansas 41, West Virginia10 Lindenwood (Mo.) 30, StonyBrook 27 Maryland 27, Wisconsin 10 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27 Missouri29, South Carolina20 MissouriSt. 42, UT Martin 10 North Dakota 58, Valparaiso 7 NotreDame 56, Purdue 30 Ohio 52, Gardner-Webb 35 S. Illinois59, SE Missouri 31 South Dakota 42, Drake21 UNLV41, Miami (Ohio) 38 W. Michigan 14, Toledo 13 SOUTHWEST Abilene Christian 45, Austin Peay 31 Arizona St. 27, Baylor24 Louisiana-Monroe 31, UTEP 25 N. Colorado 26, Houston Christian 23, OT Oklahoma
Brandon Nakashima (4), United States,def. Marcos Giron, United States,6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3). LorenzoMusetti (1), Italy, def. Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia, 6-3, 6-3. AlexanderShevchenko, Russia,def.Taro Daniel, Japan, 7-6(2),3-6,6-2 Men’s doubles Semifinals RobinHaase, Netherlands,and Constantin Frantzen,Germany, def. Diego Hidalgo, Ecuador, and PatrikTrhac,UnitedStates 6-2, 6-4.
Auto racing
NASCAR CupSeries Mobil 1301 results
Sunday At New HampshireMotor Speedway Loudon, N.H. Laplength: 1.06 miles (Start positioninparentheses) 1. (2)RyanBlaney,Ford, 301 laps,57points 2. (3)JoshBerry,Ford, 301, 43. 3. (5)WilliamByron, Chevrolet,301, 50. 4. (1)JoeyLogano, Ford,301, 52. 5. (27) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 301, 36. 6. (19) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 301, 36. 7. (16) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 301, 44. 8. (11) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet,301, 30. 9. (8)RossChastain, Chevrolet, 301, 28. 10. (18) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 301, 29. 11. (6)Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 301, 38. 12. (9)Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 301, 28. 13. (28) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet,301, 24. 14. (23) Ryan Preece, Ford,301, 23. 15. (7)Alex Bowman, Chevrolet,301, 25. 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. 20. (12) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 301, 17. 21. (4)Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 301, 18. 22. (25) RileyHerbst, Toyota, 301, 15. 23. (17) Brad Keselowski, Ford,301, 14. 24. (31) Cole Custer, Ford,301, 13. 25. (34) R. StenhouseJr, Chevrolet, 300, 12. 26. (14) BubbaWallace, Toyota, 300, 11. 27. (20) Zane Smith, Ford,300, 10. 28. (26) Erik Jones, Toyota, 300, 9. 29. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet,300, 8. 30. (24) Kyle Busch,Chevrolet, 297, 7. 31. (35) Cody Ware,Ford, 296, 6. 32. (10) S. VanGisbergen, Chevrolet, 250, 9. 33. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet,207, 4. Race statistics Average Speed of RaceWinner: 101.692 mph. TimeofRace: 3hours,7minutes, 53 seconds. MarginofVictory: .937 seconds Caution Flags:8for 45 laps Lead Changes: 14 among 7drivers. LapLeaders:J.Logano 0-52; R.Blaney 53-113; C.Ware 114; C.Briscoe 115-133; K.Larson 134-137; J.Logano 138-188; C.Ware 189; J.Logano 190-227; R.Blaney228-231; 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, 4timesfor 147 laps; R.Blaney,4timesfor 116 laps;C.Briscoe 1time for 19 laps;J.Berry,2times for 10 laps;K.Larson, 1time for 4laps;C.Elliott, 1 time for 3laps;C.Ware, 2times for 2laps Wins: D.Hamlin, 5; C.Bell, 4; S.VanGisbergen, 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 Top16inPoints: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; 11. J.Logano, 3007; 12. T.Reddick, 3006; 13. A.Bowman, 2056; 14. A.Dillon, 2052; 15. S.VanGisbergen, 2050; 16. J.Berry,2010. Transactions BASEBALL
BYHILLEL ITALIE
VERGARA,“America’sGot Talent” judge
BY JUDY BERGERON 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.
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.
n LightWire, LED dance troupe
n Chris Turner,improv rapper
n Jessica Sanchez, singer
n Leo High School Choir,22singers
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
Dear Doctors: Isuggest you talk about thebenefits of awholefood, plant-based diet forpeople with Type 2diabetes. The results aremarvelous, and Ithink the people with diabetes could be cured
Dear reader: Plant-based diets date back thousands of years. The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagorasisconsidered bymany to be the father of vegetarianism. Forhim, it was amoral and ethicaldecision. In the early 1800s, driven by social and cultural changes, the focus shifted to improved healthand well-being.Today, agrowing body of research links aplant-based diet to awide range of benefits. These include reduced inflammation, improved cardiovascular health, lower rates of heart disease, improved guthealth and lowerrates of
Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
certain cancers. And, as you’ve pointed out, improved blood sugarcontrol Forthose who aren’tfamiliar, Type 2diabetes is achronic and progressive condition. This condition first impairs the body’sresponse to insulin. Over time, the condition also affectsproduction of thehormonebythe pancreas. Thisleadstoelevated blood glucose levels. Elevated blood glucose cancauseserioushealth
problemsifleft 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 forType 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
Dear Miss Manners: I’m sure you are aware that grief is one of the toughest emotions to process. I therefore believe those grieving should be given a break and allowed to grieve in the manner that best suites them. What ahorrible burden it is on the grieving to have hanging over them the responsibility of responding to condolence letters if that is not what they feelwill help them process and heal.
Gentle reader: Sadly, you may get your wish andbe leftalone in your grief.
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.
By The Associated Press
to socialize again, these are qualities you will value.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
I’m 60, and lost both my mother and my husband in recent years. Each time, the last thing Iwanted to do was read other people’s ideas about my loved ones. The condolenceletters 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 be obligated to read it if I don’twant to. Yes, this is selfish, but losing my husband was the 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 selfishinthisinstance.
Thank you for listening.
Foryour sake, Miss Mannershopesnot Many people agree with you that it is cruel to expect thebereaved to acknowledge letters of sympathy, and youare notlikely to offendifyou delay doingso. Youcould even delegate the task of conveying your appreciation to someonewho offers to help Even if youfailtorespondinany way, people will understand. They will also understandthat you want to isolate yourself, andwith the best intentions, they will honor this and go on with their lives. Butcan you not envision atimewhen youwill crave friendship? When you will be especially comforted to be with people whocare about you and who knew andappreciated those whom you lost?
So please do notdismiss those who offered you sympathyashaving donethis only for their own benefit. What they have expressed to you, whether ornot you care to read it, is sympathy for you and sadness at the loss. When youare ready
Dear Miss Manners: My first grandchild will be arriving within amonth. Iamplanning to send out the same birthannouncement card that the baby’sparents are sending; minewill go to extended family members and some personal friends who would not otherwise know about the baby
What is theproper way to announce abirth without therecipients feeling like it’sa gift-grab?
Gentlereader: By all means, spread the news to those who will be glad to hear it Andnever mind that some people thinkothers only reproduce in order to solicit presents.
Nevertheless, Miss Manners is aware that formal announcements are more likely to induce the DoI-Owe-a-Present? panic than the simple spoken, or texted,communication of thenews.
Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick,1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Today is Monday, Sept.22, the 265th day of 2025. There are 100 days left in the year
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
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Soyinka, won the editor/publisher award. “Thepurposeoftheawards
president. In 1985, rock and country music artists participated in “Farm Aid,” aconcert staged in Champaign, Illinois, to help the nation’s farmers.
come clearer,Puerto Rican officials 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
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 be-
is to recognize literary excellence withoutlimitations or restrictions,” the foundation’sannouncementreads in part. “The award winners range from well-known and establishedwriters to underrecognizedauthors andfirst
works.There arenoquotas fordiversity; the winners list simply reflects it as anatural process.” Previous winners include bell hooks, Dave Eggers and the new poet laureate, Arthur Sze.
Dear Heloise: Ihouse-sitand clean for anumber of clients, and Iwanted to share some observations. The use of granite countertops in kitchens and bathrooms seems to be ahigh priority for homeowners today
Ifind that very busy patterns in granite make noticing spills and debris on countertops more difficult.
Ifind very dirty countertops in kitchens and bathrooms that, from first glance, appear fine, but after passing abare hand across the counter, you can feel the dried-on food and other spills all over. Also, don’tforgo other
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com. Choose
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n Sirca Marea,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
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more-helpful features when designing your kitchenin favorofgranite. Isee bare bones cabinetry without any helpfulstoragefeatures, and an extremely expensive countertop just isn’t really helpful. Just some thoughtsfrom a retired kitchen and bathdesigner,home remodeling specialist, andcontractor —Fran, via email Fran, from what I’ve been reading lately,I understand that granite countertops are waning in popularity.Inthe ’80s and ’90s, it was considered the best countertop on the market.However,main-
open from 8p.m. that day to 6a.m. the following morning to give everyone extra time to weigh inonwho deserves the grandprize themost,accordingtoanews release. On the 7p.m. resultsshow Wednesday,the winnerof “America’sGot Talent” Season 20 will be announced. The episodes can also be streamed on Peacock the following day “You might also see the return of some fan favorites forspecial performances,” the release also stated.
who can’tremember the same things you remember It takes alot of dedication. That doesn’tmean that they think any less of you They’re simply hurting for youand hurting for themselves.” In the long run, be gentle and patient with others and be especially the same with yourself
Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren
tenance became ahassle for many busy people, and as you’ve mentioned, they are hard to keep clean. A friend of mine has to position her eyes level with the countertop to see where shemissed aspot when cleaning her kitchen. There are manyother options such as manmade tops, wood withseveral layers of sealant, and even metal. So, when replacing acountertop or building anew home, my readers should always know there are anumber of counters to choose from that can last them for many years. —Heloise
Thewinnerreceives$1 million (before taxes, if taken as an annual payment of $25,000 for 40 years) or alump sum estimatedat $300,00-$350,000 (before taxes). They also have 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.
Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.”
She hosts“The Memory Whisperer.” Emailher at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't make a move or change athing if you feel something is notright. Direct yourenergy 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 alifestyleadjustment. Consider what sparks your interestand seewhat's available in your community.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.22) You'll need an outlettocalm your nerves. Look for acreativeway to take the edge off. Expanding your interests will tweak your imagination and encourageinnovative pursuits.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Homeis where the heartis, so do your best to make it as comfortable and convenient as possible. Keep track of your health and avoidhigh-risk environments.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Look for opportunities to expand your knowledge. Talk to experts, getuptodate with the latest technology and trends, and consider howyou can upgradeyour skills.
AQUARIUS (Jan.20-Feb. 19) Putmore time and energy intoyour investments. A change at home that lowers your overhead or adds to yourassetsisfavored. Don'tmake asnap decisionthatleads to regret.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Spend more time on personal and domestic improvements. Pay attention 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 lifeand spend time with loved onesor pursuing your passion. Channel your energytobenefit yourself instead of helping someone else getahead.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'tsubscribe 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 successand 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 andknowledge of what'spossible will give you the upper hand.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Live, love and learn. Conversationswillbeeye-opening if you askthe right questions.Don'tbrag or exaggerate, or you'll end up taking on more than you can handle.
Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothat each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases fromMonday to Sunday
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Robert G. Allen, aCanadian-American businessman who haswritten several personal-finance books, said, “Don’t let the opinions of the average mansway you. Dream,and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’relucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Paynoattention. He simply doesn’t understand.” Bridge players who are greedy rarely achieve wealth —theyusuallyend up complaining about bad luck.
In today’s deal,how should Southplan the play in fourhearts after West leads alow diamond?
Southwondered about aslam opposite an opening bid, butheknew hisside’s combined point-count was at most 29 (North’s two-heart raise indicating 12-14 points), which is insufficient for aslam unless there are distributional pluses shortages, or asidesuitthat can provide discards.
South has four possible losers: two spades, onediamond and one club. But he has10available winners: onespade, six hearts, one diamond and two clubs. It looks as though it cannot cost to take the diamond finesse at trick one. However, here East will winwith hiskingand shift to aspade, which is clearly marked giventhe dummy. Declarer can duck one round and takethe second spade, but when theclubfinesse fails, East will cash aspade for down one.
Southmust not be greedy. He should take the first trick with dummy’s ace, draw trumps and run theclubjack. Yes, thefinesse loses, but he has those 10 tricks. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.
By Andrews McMeel Syndication
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which createsadisguised word, phrase,name,place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four lettersbythe addition of “s,”
explicit words are not allowed.
or
toDAY’sWoRD 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 made us, andnot we ourselves; we are his people, andthe sheep of his pasture.”Psalms 100:3
