The Acadiana Advocate 09-29-2025

Taking shape

OurLadyofWisdom church on UL’s campus closinginon last year of construction

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

Anyone driving or walking through the University ofLouisiana at Lafayette’scampus on East St. Mary Street can see the progress that’sbeen made on the newbuilding forOur Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church. Ground broke on the church, being built across the street from its currentlocation,in November.Atthe end of July, crews started constructing the steelframework for the building. That framework is nearly done and the church is planning to celebrate with atopping-out ceremony,when the last steel beam is placed, on Oct.6

Watching the process hasbeen exciting forthe Rev. Patrick Broussard, the church’schaplain and pastor.He studiedcivil engineering before enteringthe priesthood and worshipped in Our Lady of Wisdom while aUL student

“I’m thrilled about everything. Every new piece of steel they placeshowsanotheraspect of the shapeand size,”he said. “I walk across thestreet at least once aday,usually more than that, to see what progress they’ve made. It’sfascinating to me.”

Once the last steel beam is placed,construction will be in the homestretch. The church will celebratethe laying of the cornerstone the week of Thanksgiving.Construction is set to be complete in about ayear

The old church will need to be deconsecrated andthe new building will need to be dedicated, which will likely happen between November 2026 and January 2027.

ä See CHURCH, page 4A

Officials saythe steel framework is nearly complete in the

newOur LadyofWisdom Church and Catholic

Louisiana at Lafayette campus.

“We’ve been at this since 2015. There have definitelybeen some moments in the campaign where we thought, ‘Well, it’ll neverhappen. When the steel came up, Iwas like,‘This is amazing.’ Youreally gettosee it takeshape.”

MARy HERNANDEZ, Our LadyofWisdom’sexecutivedirector of advancement

BY ALYSE PFEIL |Staff writer

Restoration of dignity

Hundreds of Native American remainspulled from La.gravesstill not returned to tribes

BY HALEYMILLER |Staff writer

In 1968, aLouisiana prison guard unearthed over 100 skeletons and sacred objectsata grave site in West Feliciana Parish, exposing them to the light for the first timeincenturies. He kept the items, preciouspieces of handmade Tunicapottery andtradedEuropean goods. Those could be sold.

He tossed the remains into the Mississippi River Out of 1.5 tons of recovered materials from the grave robbing, “the humanremains could fit into ashoebox,” said Earl Barbry Jr the historic preservation officer forthe Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana.“The guy that desecrated the graves really didn’tfind any monetary value, so he just discarded the remains.” There are more than 1,700 bodies and parts of bodies that,likethe Tunica-Biloxi’sancestors, were disturbed and disinterred by archaeologists, government officials and collectors in Louisiana across the 19th and 20th centuries. Many landed in the collections of universities, museumsand government agencies.

But over the past few decades, there has been growing recognition among archaeologists andthe public thathumanremains buried by tribes should not be artifacts or subjects of scientific study,and must be returned to their descendants. Theparadigm shift ledtothe Native American GravesProtection and Repatriation Act.

Tribal historicpreservation of

Jr.points to an artifact at the

Cultural and Educational Resources Center on Wednesday.

ä See REGULATE, page 4A

DIGNITY, page 5A STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

ficer EarlBarbry

Tunica-Biloxi

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

construction of the

Student Center on the University of

Taliban frees U.S. citizen from Afghan prison

ISLAMABAD The Taliban on Sunday freed a U.S. citizen from an Afghan prison, weeks after they said they had reached an agreement with U.S. envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations.

The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry Zia Ahmad Takal, identified the man as Amir Amiri. He did not say when Amiri was detained, why, or where.

An official with knowledge of the release said Amiri had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024 and was on his way back to the U.S. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details with the media.

Qatar facilitated Amiri’s release in the latest diplomatic achievement resulting from its security partnership with the U.S. that has secured the freedom of four other Americans from Taliban detention this year The energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula also helped in releasing a British couple who were imprisoned for months.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Amiri’s release, saying it marked the administration’s determination, reinforced by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad

Police: Shooting in N.C. was premeditated

SOUTHPORT, N.C. — A mass shooting that shattered the evening tranquility of a picturesque seaside town in North Carolina was a “highly premeditated” attack that left three people dead and five injured, police said Sunday. The suspect who allegedly carried out the attack on a waterfront bar was in custody Nigel Edge, 40, of Oak Island, is accused of opening fire Saturday night from a boat into a crowd gathered at the American Fish Company in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles south of Wilmington, Police Chief Todd Coring said.

At a news conference Sunday, Coring said the location was “targeted,” but he did not elaborate. Authorities said Edge piloted a small boat close to shore, which was lined with bars and restaurants, stopped briefly and fired. He then sped away Roughly half an hour after the shooting, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a person matching the suspect’s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police for questioning officials said.

Edge is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted firstdegree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He could face additional charges, Coring said.

Russian attack on Kyiv kills 4, wounds 10 KYIV, Ukraine — Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.

This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Ukraine’s capital left at least 21 people dead last month

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said that 10 others were wounded in the attack, which targeted civilian areas across the city A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.

2 dead in church shooting, fire

Police say suspect set building ablaze, was killed by officers

BY ISABELLA VOLMERT and COREY WILLIAMS

Associated Press

GRAND BLANCTOWNSHIP,Mich.— A gunman opened fire inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service and set the building ablaze, killing at least two people and injuring eight others before police shot him, authorities said. Hundreds of people were inside the church in Grand Blanc Township when a man rammed a four-door pickup with two American flags in the truck bed through the front door, then got out of the vehicle and started shooting, Police Chief William Renye told reporters. Investigators believe he “deliberately” set the building on fire, Renye said.

Officers responded to a 911 call and were at the church within 30 seconds, Renye said. After the suspect left the church, two officers pursued him and “engaged in gunfire,” the chief said. They killed the shooter about seven minutes later Flames and smoke could be seen pouring from the church for hours before the blaze was put out Renye identified the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from neighboring Burton. Reyne did not specify a motive at a news confer-

People gather Saturday at a reunification area at the Trillium Theater after authorities say a gunman opened fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Mich. Officials said at least two people were killed and eight others hurt.

ence on Sunday evening. Police cordoned off the street leading to the suspect’s home Renye said one of the wounded people was in critical condition and seven others were stable Earlier in the day, Renye had said authorities believed they would find more victims once they could sift through the wreckage and find where the fire was. Investigators were searching the suspect’s residence in nearby Burton. Authorities did not provide any

additional details about the suspect, including whether he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.

It was the latest of many shooting attacks on houses of worship in the U.S. over the past 20 years, including one in August that killed two children during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump said he was briefed on the shooting. In a social media post, he applauded the

FBI, who local authorities said are sending 100 agents to the area, for responding.

“PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote.

The church building, circled by a parking lot and a large lawn, is near residential areas and a Jehovah’s Witness church It is in Grand Blanc Township, a community of roughly 40,000 people outside Flint.

Brad Schneemann, whose home is about 400 yards from the church, told The Associated Press that he and his daughter heard “two rounds of four to five shots” about 10:30 a.m. “Then, we really didn’t hear anything for a while” before they left their home to see what was going on.

The impact spread quickly to neighboring communities, including the small city that shares a name with the township.

“Although we are two separate governmental units, we are a very cohesive community,” said city of Grand Blanc Mayor John Creasey “This sort of thing is painful for our entire community I’m struggling to digest all that has happened, and my heart goes out to all of the affected families.”

Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement that her heart was breaking for the community “Violence anywhere especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable,” she said.

Mo. governor signs Trump-backed redistricting plan

Map aims to help win another Republican U.S. House seat

BY DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov Mike Kehoe signed a new U.S. House map into law Sunday as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a narrow Republican majority in next year’s congressional election.

Kehoe’s signature puts the revised districts into state law with a goal of helping Republicans win one additional seat. But it may not be the final action. Opponents are pursuing a referendum petition that, if successful, would force a statewide vote on the new map.

They also have brought several lawsuits against it.

U.S. House districts were redrawn across the country after the 2020 census to account for population changes. But Missouri is the third state this year to try to redraw its districts for partisan advantage, a process known as gerrymandering.

Republican lawmakers in Texas passed a new U.S. House map last month aimed at helping their party win five additional seats. Democratic lawmakers in California countered with their own redistricting plan aimed at winning five more seats, though it still needs voter approval. Other states also are considering redistricting.

Each seat could be critical, because Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control of the House, which would allow them

Netanyahu: Israel, U.S. working on ceasefire plan

Gaza death toll tops 66,000

BY SAMY MAGDY, MELANIE LIDMAN and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press

TELAVIV,Israel — On the eve of meeting with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is working on a new ceasefire plan with the White House, but details are still being sorted out Netanyahu has come under heavy international pressure to end the war, especially during the ongoing offensive in Gaza City The death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 66,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday In Monday’s White House meeting, Trump is expected to share a new proposal for ending the conflict

“We’re working on it,” Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “It’s not been finalized yet, but we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually as we speak, and I hope we can — we can make it a go.”

Arab officials briefed on the plan say the 21-point proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not been formally announced.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, at-

to obstruct Trump’s agenda and launch investigations into him.

Trump is trying to stave off a historic trend in which the president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections.

Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats. The new map targets a seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by shaving off portions of his Kansas City district and stretching the rest of it into Republicanheavy rural areas. It reduces the number of Black and minority residents in Cleaver’s district, which he has represented for two decades after serving as Kansas City’s first Black mayor Cleaver has denounced the redistricting plan for using Kansas City’s Troost Avenue — a street that has long segregated Black and white residents as one of the di-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAF Dr Paul Ransom, of the British humanitarian medical NGO UK-Med, treats a patient Saturday at a hospital in Muwasi, near Khan younis, Gaza Strip.

tack triggered the war, is destroyed But he repeated an offer to allow Hamas operatives to leave Gaza as part of a deal ending the conflict

“If they finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out,” he said.

Trump has so far stood behind Israel. But the U.S. leader has shown signs of impatience lately, particularly after Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha Qatar earlier this month. Ceasefire talks have stalled since, despite growing international and domestic protests.

Key Western allies have joined a list of countries recognizing a Palestinian state over Israeli objections The European Union is considering sanctions and there are growing moves for a sports and cultural boycott against Israel.

A defiant Netanyahu told fellow world leaders Friday at the U.N. General Assembly that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza, where 48 hostages are still held captive, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive. Trump’s ceasefire proposal would include the release of all hostages within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, according to three Arab officials briefed on the plan. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, said the proposal is not final and changes are highly likely

viding lines for the new districts. Kehoe has defended the new map as a means of boosting Missouri’s “conservative, common-sense values” in the nation’s capital.

“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the congressional representation of states like New York, California, and Illinois. We believe this map best represents Missourians, and I appreciate the support and efforts of state legislators, our congressional delegation, and President Trump in getting this map to my desk,” Kehoe said in a statement. Kehoe signed the new law during an event that was closed to the public.

Opponents are gathering petition signatures seeking to force a statewide referendum on the new map.

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THE FLINT JOURNAL PHOTO By LUKAS KATILIUS

MICHIGAN

Shutdown standoff deepensahead of keymeeting

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN and MARYCLAREJALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON TopSenate

Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Majority Leader John Thune are digging in ahead of this week’s deadline to keep the government open, showing little evidence of budging even as both sides have agreed to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday

Republicans say Democrats need to help them pass asimple extension of government funding by Tuesday night to avoid ashutdown and they will not agree to negotiate until after it’sapproved.

Democrats say they want immediate talks on health care, and they are willing to shut down the government if they don’tget concessions.

Ashutdown is “totally up to the Democrats,” Thune, R-S.D.,said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The ball is in their court.”

Thune said. “There is abill sitting atthe desk in the Senate right now,wecould pickituptoday andpassit, that has been passedbythe House that will be signed into law by the president to keep thegovernment open.”

Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the same program that “it’s up to them”whether Republicanswill negotiate when thetwo sides meet at the White House on Monday.

“God forbid theRepublicans shut the government down,” Schumer said.“The American people will know it’sontheir back.”

The Senate standoff is just thelatest inannual disagreementsover funding, but hopes are dimming fora quick resolution. Democrats have suggested they are more willing than ever to allow ashutdownastheyface demands from their base voters to fight harder against Trump and the Republicanled Congress. Some even arguethat ashutdownmight notmake muchdifference becauseTrumphas slashed

so many government jobs already “We’re hearing from the American people thatthey need help on healthcare,” Schumer said. “And as for thesemassive layoffs, guess what? Simple, one-sentence answer:they’re doing it anyway.”

TheSenate is expected to vote on theHouse-passedbill to extend government funding on Tuesday,ahead of the 12:01 a.m. Wednesday deadlinetoavertashutdown. The billwould keep thegovernment open for another seven weekswhile Congress finishes its annual spending bills.

Republicans will likely need at leasteight Democrats to approvea short-term fix, as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is expected to vote againstit. Majority Republicans hold 53 seats and theyneed 60 votes to end afilibuster and pass the legislation.

Schumersaid Democrats need “a serious negotiation” at the White House meeting with Trumpand the four

work Sundaytorescue

TyphoonBualoi makes landfall in Vietnam

BY ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam Vietnam evacuated thousands of people from its central and northern provinces Sunday as Typhoon Bualoi racedtoward the country faster than expected and made landfall in the earlyhours of Monday

The storm came ashore in northern coastal province Ha Tinh and forecasters said it would move inland before weakening as it pushed northwest toward the hilly regionsofHaTinh and neighboring Nghe An. Bualoi has left at least 20 people dead in the central Philippines since Friday, mostly from drowningsand falling trees, and knocked out power in several towns

andcities, officials said. It forced about 23,000 families to evacuate to more than 1,400 emergency shelters. In Vietnam, thetyphoon was expected to bringwinds of upto83mph, storm surges of more than3.2 feetand heavy rains that could triggerflashfloods and landslides.

State mediareported that more than 347,000 families had lost power becauseof the storm.Strong gusts ripped off corrugated iron roofs along the highwayand toppled concrete pillars.In Phong Nha commune, about 28 milesfrom DongHoi, residents described “terrible gusts” of wind and poundingrain

“No one dares to go out,” said Le Hang,a resident told state media VNExpress.

Authorities grounded fishing boats in the northern and central regions and ordered evacuations. State media reported coastal cityDaNang plannedtorelocate more than210,000 people, while Hue to its north prepared to move more than 32,000 coastal residentstosafer ground.

The Civil Aviation Authority said operations were suspended at four coastal airports, including Danang International Airport, with several flightsrescheduled.

Heavy rains have drenched central provinces since Saturday night.In Hue, floods swamped lowlyingstreets, storms ripped off roofs and at least one personwas reported missingafter being sweptaway by floodwaters.

topcongressional leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries,DN.Y.,and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton. Trump lastweek abruptly canceled aplanned meeting with Democrats after “reviewing thedetails of the unseriousand ridiculous demands” of Democrats, Trump said on social media. Schumersaidthe resched-

uled White House meeting is “a good first step.”

“Now if thePresident at this meeting is going to rant and just yell at Democrats and talk about all his alleged grievances and say this, that and the other thing, we won’t get anything done. But my hope is it will be aserious negotiation,” Schumer said.

Ahead of the last potential government shutdown

in March, many Democrats calledonSchumer to resign afterheprovidedsupport for Republicans to keep the government open. Democrats now fear among other things, that Republicans will allow Affordable Care Act tax credits expire thathavemade health insurance moreaffordable formillionsofpeoplesince the COVID-19pandemic Informally known as Obamacare, tax credits for the expanded health coverage programwhichgotolowandmiddle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year and open enrollment starts in November. SomeRepublicans are open to extending the tax credits, but notwithout changes. Thune said Sunday that theprogramis“desperately in need of reform” and“is fraughtwithwaste, fraud, and abuse. There are so many people whodon’t even know they have coverage, because thepayments are made directly to the insurance company.”

Tropical StormImeldaforms

By The Associated Press

MIAMI Tropical Storm

Imelda formed Sunday and is expected to become ahurricane on aforecast track curving away from the U.S. East Coast early this week. The storm dumped rain and churnedupseas near the Bahamas and Cuba and even briefly prompted atropical storm watch on astretch of Florida’sAtlanticcoast. Meanwhile, Hurricane Humbertoweakened slightly but remained apowerful Category4 storm further out in the Atlantic, threatening Bermuda.The Bermuda Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions were possible on theisland nation within 48 hours.

About 4p.m., Imelda was about 55 milessouth-southwest of the northwest Ba-

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK New York City

MayorEric Adams ended his struggling reelection campaign Sunday,anacknowledgment that he was no longeracredible contender after ayear of scandal and political turmoil.

In avideoreleased on social media, Adams spoke proudly of his tenure as mayor.But he said his nowdismissedfederal corruption case left voters wary of him, and“constantmedia speculation”about his future made it impossible to raise enough money to run aserious campaign.

“Despite all we’ve achieved, Icannot continue my reelection campaign,”

hamas and about 355miles southeast of Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Imelda was headed north at 9mph, bearing top sustained winds of 40 mph. The hurricanecenter said the storm wasexpected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamasthrough Sunday nightand then spin east-northeastawayfrom the southeastern U.S. by midweek.

Atropical storm watch for the east coast of Florida from the Palm BeachMartin County Line to the Flagler-Volusia County Line was discontinuedSunday afternoon. Butthe hurricane center urged people on the southeastU.S.coasttomonitor Imelda’sprogress.

South Carolina Gov.Henry McMasteralso urged

vigilance, althoughcoastal Georgetown County said it wasreturning to normal operations becauseofan improving forecast for that area.

“Whatwelearn every time is we neverknow where they are going to go,” McMaster said at a news conference to discuss emergency preparations.

“This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious.”

The South Carolina governor added that Imelda could bring high winds, heavy rain, and flooding to his state, andauthorities there were prepositioning search and rescue crewsoverthe weekend. In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Steindeclared astate of emergency even before Tropical Storm Imelda formed.

he said. Adams did not endorse anyofthe remaining candidates in the race, but he warned of “insidious forces” using local government to “advancedivisive agendas.”

“Thatisnot change,that is chaos,” Adamssaid. “Instead, IurgeNew Yorkers to chooseleadersnot by whattheypromise, butby what they have delivered.”

Adams’ capitulation could potentially provide alift to thecampaign of former Gov.Andrew Cuomo, afellowcentrist who portrayed himself as the only candidate able to beat the Democratic Party’snominee, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

It is unclear,though, whetherenoughAdams supporters will shift their allegiances to Cuomo to makeadifference. Mamdani, 33, would be thecity’syoungest and most liberal mayor in generations if elected. He beat Cuomodecisively in the Democratic primary by campaigningonapromise try to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s mostexpensive cities. In astatement afterAdams’ announcement, Mamdani took aimatCuomo, whoistrying to make a political comeback after resigning the governor’s office after being accused of sexualharassment by multiple women

Trumptospeak at meetingoftop military leaders, AP source says

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will speak at a hastily called meeting of top military leaders on Tuesday, according to aWhite House official.

Hundreds of generalsand admirals— seniorcommand-

ers of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers —havebeen summoned by Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth from alloverthe world to theMarineCorps base in Quantico, Virginia, with little notice

The White House official was not authorized to discuss the president’splans before

apublicannouncementabout his attendance and spokeon condition of anonymity

Trumptold NBC News in an interview Sunday that theywould be “talking about how well we’re doing militarily,talking aboutbeingin great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things.” News about the meeting

broke Thursday, andnoreasonwas initially provided for the unusualgathering.

Trump didn’tseem to know about it when first asked by reporters during an OvalOffice appearance.

“I’ll be there if they want me, but why is it such abig deal?” Trump said.

The official said thepresi-

dent’s participation wasnot part of the original plan for the meeting but that he decided that he wantedtogo.

Trump’sparticipation in the meeting raises the likelihood of apoliticized event in front of anonpartisan audience of military leaders. For example, he deliveredcampaignstyleremarkstouniformed personnel at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in June, attacking hisDemocratic predecessor,Joe Biden. The Republican president is also expanding his use of the military in American cities, arguingthatit’snecessaryto fight crime in places where Democratic leaders are failing to ensure public safety

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOByJOSE LUIS MAGANA

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D flanked by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. speaks Sept. 19 during anewsconferenceonCapitol Hill in Washington.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By TRINHQUOC DUNG

People

fishermen on astranded fishing boat duetoTyphoon Bualoi in Quang Tri, Vietnam

Being so close to moving into the new church is “surreal” for Mary Hernandez, Our Lady of Wisdom’s executive director of advancement.

“We’ve been at this since 2015,” she said. “There have definitely been some moments in the campaign where we thought, ‘Well, it’ll never happen.’

“When the steel came up, I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ You really get to see it take shape.”

The new church was designed with the ministry in mind, Hernandez said. It will be able to fit about 600 people. The current church seats about 200.

It’ll have a smaller adoration chapel that’ll be open 24 hours a day to registered adorners. A lecture hall will be able to seat about 130 people and can be used by teachers or visiting speakers. A library will house faith-inspired literature of all disciplines. The space will also have four dedicated Bible study rooms and three flex rooms. A grand hall will be the centerpiece for conferences, wedding receptions and speakers who draw large crowds. The church will also have its cafe, where students and staff meet in a less formal setting to study or relax.

The larger facility means students will have more space to propose new programming or outreach events, Broussard said.

“There are times when students say, ‘Father, we should do this,’ or ‘Can we do this?’ ” he said. “I have to say, ‘We don’t have the space.’ (The new building) means we’ll be able to give them a little more free rein with the creative things they want to do.”

REGULATE

Continued from page 1A

against CVS for alleged unfair trade practices; and continuing to explore more stringent regulations

Landry has continued to publicly criticize PBMs as “corporate profiteers” who game the system, saying the acronym stands for “profiteering big money.”

Major PBMs, on the other hand, say they go to bat for consumers and use their market power to fight Big Pharma for better drug prices and easier access to health care. Pharmacy benefit managers administer prescription drug benefits on behalf of employers and health insurers, effectively acting as middlemen between drug manufacturers health plan sponsors and pharmacies.

Moving into the new church will be a bittersweet moment for the Our Lady of Wisdom community, Her-

and give the majority of it to a Louisiana-based company called Liviniti.

Next year, Liviniti will handle PBM services for the vast majority of the state’s health plan members, while SilverScript, a subsidiary of CVS, will do that work for certain retirees who make up just one-fifth of the group

The value of the Liviniti contract, including the cost of members’ prescription drugs, is $749 million, and Louisiana is expected to pay $24 million in fees to the PBM for the work it does next year

The value of the SilverScript contract is $399 million, and Louisiana is expected to pay the company $8 million in fees.

nandez said. The current building was constructed in 1942 and has been a pillar for many students. But the church needs a large space to accommodate its growing population.

“(Students) just can’t wait. It’s really precious to see them be as excited as we are,” she said. “For our

seniors, they’re bummed because they’re like, ‘I was hoping I could get in before I graduate. But I’m so glad the students after us will have it.’”

They negotiate drug prices, help determine which drugs are covered by an insurance plan, and reimburse pharmacies for dispensing drugs.

But health giants that own PBMs — like CVS, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna — have come under fire for vertical integration, or owning multiple parts of the health care supply chain

That often includes owning a health insurer, pharmacy benefit manager and pharmacy In some cases, it also includes owning drug manufacturers, wholesalers and health care providers.

Landry has been steadfast in his position that PBMs are to blame for high drug prices In June, he called on Louisiana legislators to follow Arkansas’ lead in banning PBM ownership of pharmacies. While they didn’t go that far lawmakers opted instead to call for a study of vertical integration.

“PBMs have become problematic because they operate with little transparency, driving up costs for patients while protecting their own profits,” said Kate Kelly the governor’s spokesperson.

Last year, lawmakers approved a one-year contract with CVS Caremark to provide PBM services during 2025 for the roughly 200,000 people on the state’s health insurance plan.

But this month, lawmakers changed course, voting to split that work up for 2026

An earlier version of the contract had already gone out for bid in spring, but Landry’s administration canceled the request for proposals amid the furor over vertical integration during the legislative session

“At the time, we visited with the governor,” Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras told lawmakers this month. “In agreement with the governor, we rescinded that RFP.”

The state rebid the contract this summer, leading to the new arrangement with Liviniti and SilverScript

“We want to be clear about that, that these are nonvertically integrated PBMs that we talked with,” Barras said.

State Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, a staunch critic of major PBMs and ally of Louisiana’s independent pharmacists, said the independents were “very happy” with the new deal.

Randal Johnson, a lobbyist for the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association, said the group strongly opposed the CVS Caremark contract because it wasn’t good public policy He said the CVS contract directed patients toward CVS pharmacies

“We believe that the patient should have access to their choice of pharmacy and that pharmacies should be reimbursed to cover their cost of acquiring and dispensing a drug,” Johnson said.

Asked about the state’s new PBM contract, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault said, “We’re pleased to continue to partner with the State of Louisiana to support their retirees and their

families.”

Less than two weeks after the legislative session ended, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill took CVS to court, bringing three separate lawsuits against the company, all of which are ongoing. In one, Murrill accused the company of illegally misusing customer data for the political text messages it sent out amid the policy fight at the Legislature.

CVS has said that the text messages it sent “were consistent with the law.”

In two other lawsuits, Murrill accused CVS of using its vertically integrated design “to manipulate prices, restrict competition, and channel profits internally, all while operating behind a veil of contractual and financial opacity.”

CVS violated the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by distorting the drug market and driving up costs and by under-reimbursing independent pharmacists, the lawsuits allege.

The latter two cases were moved this summer from state court to federal court in the Western District of Louisiana.

Thibault said CVS’s vertically integrated model brings value to patients, positively impacts patient health and provides better access and affordability

“By combining health care delivery, pharmacy, health care benefits and pharmacy benefit management, we make it easier for people to have what they want the most: a connected care experience,” Thibault said.

Louisiana’s PBM Monitoring Advisory Council, which was originally set up in 2019, met recently for the first time since it was restructured in the spring.

The chairman, state Sen. Adam Bass, R-Bossier City, said the primary goal of the council is to make sure prescription drugs are affordable.

Historically, information related to PBMs has been “opaque,” Bass said. “We’re trying to get more transparency around how things are done and why things are done the way they’re done.”

At the invitation of Bass and Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein, the panel heard testimony from Alex Oshmyansky, a radiologist and co-founder of the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company — and a vocal critic of PBMs. His company started as a

While construction is in the homestretch, so too is the church’s capital campaign to raise funds for the new building. The budget for the new facility, including design, construction and furnishings, is $35 million.

drug manufacturer and won the financial backing of billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. It’s been expanding into other parts of the pharmaceutical supply chain, including wholesale, insurance benefits management, and mail-order pharmacy The company makes public the cost it pays for drugs and its price markup.

“We’re basically a middleman in another form,” Oshmyansky said in an interview “We’re just a more honest one, basically, where we reveal all the costs.”

Talking to the council, Oshmyansky blasted PBMs, accusing them of using a variety of scams to artificially inflate drug prices.

“You have a very high list price. The list price is public. The real price is hidden. And the game is to arbitrage the delta as much as possible by whatever mechanism,” he said.

He argued vertical integration in the pharmaceutical industry is fomenting new “scams” and “shell games” to hide where the money is flowing.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a trade association that lobbies for the country’s largest PBMs, disputed those claims.

“The fact is that drug companies are solely responsible for setting and increas-

About $29.5 million has been raised so far

“We are so blessed People are so excited about this and it’s been phenomenal,” Hernandez said. “We’re inviting everyone to chip in, to give what they can and meet with us about all the ways they can support the project.” To follow along with the construction project or learn more about donating to the capital campaign, visit ourladyofwisdom.org.

Email Ashley White at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

ing drug prices, while PBMs lower drug costs for Louisiana patients by taking on Big Pharma,” Greg Lopes, a PCMA spokesperson, said in a statement. The Legislature this spring passed a PBM reform bill that restricts how the intermediaries can generate profits, requires disclosure of more information about how PBMs set prices and make money, increases the state’s regulatory powers, and improves drug reimbursement rates for smaller independent pharmacies.

Bass said the PBM council is now convening a variety of players involved in the prescription drug industry and gathering information to help it evaluate next steps.

“We’re just trying to get the necessary data for any legislation that may be plausible in the future,” he said. “Once we have more data and more information from everybody involved, we’ll be able to make a more informed decision.”

Lopes said, “PBMs stand ready to work with Gov Landry and Louisiana’s legislators on policy solutions to lower drug costs.”

“We welcome the opportunity to provide policymakers with the truth on how prescription drug costs can become unaffordable,” he added.

But Lopes warned that in

the face of any legislation that would force pharmacies to close, “PBMs must stand on the side of patients and America’s veterans who depend on access to local pharmacies home delivery programs, and the specialty pharmacies that help treat patients with serious health conditions.” He was referring to Landry’s failed push at the Legislature for a ban on PBM vertical integration, the spark that ignited controversy at the Capitol this spring.

Landry didn’t respond to questions about whether he would still like to ban that practice or what PBM legislation he would like lawmakers to consider moving forward.

Cloud, the state senator, said she had hoped to pass the vertical integration ban.

“I still see a PBM that owns a pharmacy as like a fox owning a hen house,” she said. “It just seems like such a conflict interest and a breeding ground for nefarious action that’s not in the best interest of patients.”

“We didn’t get that piece across the board, and we may go back and revisit it,” she said. “We’ll know a whole lot more moving into spring session.”

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

Landry

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Construction continues on the new Our Lady of Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s campus on Sept 16.

BY LAURA UNGAR AP science writer

An Indiana woman with an autistic son says President Donald Trump was blaming moms when he made unfounded claims that taking Tylenol while pregnant causes autism.

A Kentucky woman diagnosed with the condition as an adult thought Trump was villainizing autism by describing it as a “horrible, horrible crisis.”

A Massachusetts man whose twin boys have profound autism found the Republican president’s words hopeful because it was the first time the father had seen autism discussed at the highest levels of government. Recent comments about autism

DIGNITY

Continued from page 1A

“There is this belief among some archaeologists in the past, especially, that was like, ‘It was a property law,’” said Karla Oesch, collections manager at the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

“But tribal members think of it like a human rights law When you’re excavating these materials, it’s not items. That’s an individual.”

In 1990, Congress passed NAGPRA, thanks in no small part to the Tunica-Biloxi, who in the 1980s fought in Louisiana courts for the possession of the “grave goods” dug up in West Feliciana.

Their legal victory provided precedent for the sweeping law, which formally protected remains and funerary objects of Indigenous peoples and mandated institutions return them to lineal descendants and tribes.

But nearly 35 years into NAGPRA — a process at one time expected to take only 10 years repatriation is far from complete and riddled with inefficiencies.

Hundreds of skeletons and fragments of skeletons dug up in Louisiana remain in the stewardship of universities, museums and other agencies as limited funding, confusion over the law and at times reluctance to relinquish remains all slow progress.

Even measuring the law’s success has proved imperfect. Several institutions with Louisiana remains said the federal databases meant to keep track of their holdings don’t accurately reflect their status.

For many tribes, completion of NAGPRA is a matter of urgency Repatriation is one step toward restoration of the dignity that was defiled.

“It’s a sorrow in that it was taken out of the ground,” Barbry said, “but relief that it’s come back to be housed here and taken care of and honored.”

‘Knocking over the crosses’ Under NAGPRA, human remains encompass everything from a single tooth to an entire skeleton, as well as preserved soft tissues. Lin-

by the Republican president and others in his administration are rippling through the United States, stirring up a wide range of views and feelings among autistic people and their families Some welcome the renewed focus and pledges of research money for the complex developmental condition Others are outraged by what they consider the blaming, shaming and spreading claims not grounded in science.

Last week, Trump repeatedly warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol, known by the generic name acetaminophen, and he fueled discredited claims about autism and vaccines. Some studies have raised the possibility that taking acetaminophen in pregnancy might be associated with a risk of autism. Many others, however,

have not found a connection and no causal link has been proved.

Meantime, scientists stress that concerns that vaccines could be linked to autism have been long debunked. A fraudulent study claiming a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was later retracted by the journal that published it Science has shown autism is mostly rooted in genetics.

Dr Noa Sterling, an OB-GYN, said Trump’s comments, particularly about Tylenol, touched a nerve for many parents of young autistic children.

“There’s this kind of narrative that you have to be careful of absolutely everything you do in pregnancy, and if you eat the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, you’re going to irreparably harm your

baby,” she said. “So the Tylenol just plays directly into this fear that, ‘I’ve taken something that has caused this condition in my child.’”

Dani Derner, who has a 4-year-old autistic son, said it is “really disappointing” that women are being blamed.

“I personally did not take Tylenol during my pregnancy,” said Derner, of Dripping Springs, Texas. But, she said, “some women might not have a choice.”

Some women said the blaming was reminiscent of the disproven mid-20th century theory that emotionally cold “refrigerator mothers” caused autism.

“When I heard that he said acetaminophen was the cause, I was a little scared and a little sad because as a mom of a child with autism, I

eal descendants, Indigenous nations and Native Hawaiian organizations are entitled to request the remains.

Though human remains are a major focus of NAGPRA, the law also mandates the return of certain cultural objects that have been excavated, such as funerary items tied to a tribe’s death rites. Around 17% of these have not been made eligible for return, according to national NAGPRA data.

“I was a guide in a museum for years,” Barbry said. “I would explain to school groups, the equivalent would be someone running into, if you’re Catholic, a Catholic cemetery, knocking over the crosses, popping open the caskets and just taking the jewelry, the clothing, what-

ever mementos buried with your relatives, and coming back, putting it on the shelf for the public to view.”

Longer than estimated

In early discussions around NAGPRA, the Congressional Budget Office estimated how long it might take for the country’s institutions to repatriate the remains of tribal ancestors and cultural items.

Maybe 10 years, they thought, according to a Senate Committee of Indian Affairs oversight hearing in February 2022.

Instead, nearly 35 years have elapsed, and around 42% of the remains identified are still pending, per the most recent data released by the National Park Service. While large and well-fund-

ed institutions regularly employ NAGPRA coordinators, smaller organizations — as well as those who do not prioritize repatriation efforts — may not. That leaves existing employees, who often have other job responsibilities, stretched thin.

“The idea of, first of all, going through an entire facility’s worth of stuff, was very daunting,” Oesch said.

“For some places, it’s a lack of priority and also a lack of funding for it.”

Two cases of lack of funding can be found in northeast Louisiana, where one station archaeologist is responsible for NAGPRA for both the University of Louisiana at Monroe and the Poverty Point World Heritage Site.

According to National Park Service inventories, remains representing at least 125 peo-

felt like maybe I was being blamed for that,” said Rachel Deaton, of Fishers, Indiana, who has a 22-yearold autistic son. “We really don’t know what causes autism.”

Kelly Sue Milano, of Fullerton, California, who has an autistic son, added: “A lot of responsibility and at times criticism is placed on mothers, I think, in a really unbalanced and unfair way.”

Some autistic people recoiled at the notion that autism is something to cure.

“It is part of who we are,” said Dani Bowman, CEO of DaniMation Entertainment and a cast member of “Love on the Spectrum.” “My mom never took Tylenol while she was pregnant with me or my sister My dad has autism. My sister has autism. I have autism.”

ple from Louisiana are held between the two collections.

Diana Greenlee handles repatriation for both institutions, despite not receiving dedicated funding toward NAGPRA, she said.

She works with a volunteer bioarchaeologist to try to determine the origin of the remains, which were mostly obtained in the 1970s, and consult with tribes about return.

“I suppose that having a dedicated person would be great, but the finances are just not there,” Greenlee said.

A misleading picture

Further complicating NAGPRA is out-of-date federal data, those familiar with the law said.

Several institutions contacted for this story said the federal database does not accurately reflect how many remains they still hold and what efforts they’ve made to return them.

According to National Park Service inventories, the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticut, holds remains from Louisiana representing at least 110 people.

But a Yale spokesperson said that number is wrong.

“While previous NAGPRA reports and databases indicate that the Peabody has over 100 ancestors from Louisiana within its care, these numbers are incorrect due to an error made in the 1970s,” a statement from the museum said. “The museum has one third of that within its stewardship.”

The same apparent inconsistencies with NAGPRA numbers exist in Louisiana institutions.

The federal inventories show the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism has remains of at least 20 people in its stewardship. Oesch said the true number is closer to 130.

She said changes to NAGPRA that took effect in 2024, which imposed stricter deadlines, eliminated the “culturally unidentifiable” category for human remains and required greater reliance on tribal knowledge in the repatriation process. That means the databases will need time to “catch up” with shifting numbers.

“2024 is what really closed that loophole of being able to say stuff was culturally unidentifiable, which is why now we have to give an affiliation to this stuff, which has to come after the consultation,” Oesch said about the department’s current collections. “We’ve consulted on all of this material.”

The National Park Service, which oversees NAGPRA, declined an interview In response to an email asking about the discrepancies between institutional and federal tallies, the public affairs office said the numbers are updated “in real time” as institutions report new data. Bittersweet homecoming On a recent morning in September, Barbry passed shelves of repatriated tribal objects in a walk-in cold storage vault, kept at a safe and dehumidified 65 degrees. The items, some predating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, show the tribe’s educational approach as they continue to receive repatriated materials. Visitors to the Tunica-Biloxi Cultural and Educational Resources Center can view through panes of glass the rows of delicate pottery and tools, even gun barrels, sitting inside the storage room. “At the time, there was some discussion of how to best preserve and respect the artifacts,” Barbry said. “In some cases, it was like, do we reinter? Or do you hold out to educate?”

The Tunica-Biloxi set their sights on improving awareness of the issue of grave desecration, as well as promoting their tribal history They operate a museum and hold school tours, bringing kids behind the scenes of their state-of-the-art preservation lab that processes the objects of the West Feliciana grave site. They monitor the Federal Register for any notices about new remains or artifacts discovered in the collections of museums and universities.

They choose to rebury their human remains in a private ceremony, laying the ancestors to rest without further disturbance.

Email Haley Miller at haley.miller@theadvocate. com.

An artifact in the preservation laboratory is seen on Wednesday at the Tunica-Biloxi Cultural and Educational Resources Center

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS Gift shop manager Melissa Sampson-Barbin is reflected through a model of a Native American burial where the body is surrounded by a person’s most beloved belongings at the Tunica-Biloxi Cultural and Educational Resources Center

Various pottery and other artifacts are preserved in a storage room at the Tunica-Biloxi Cultural and Educational Resources Center

Longtime state senator dies at 84

Louis Lambert helped draft current state constitution

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Louis Lambert, who had a long and productive career in the state Senate and the Public Service Commission during the heyday of populist Democrats in Louisiana but who fell achingly short in the 1979 governor’s race, losing by only a handful of votes, died Saturday, according to the Rev Rodney Wood, a family friend.

Lambert died in Sorrento of liver cancer at age 84 after surviving three previous bouts of cancer

“I’m a fighter,” he said weeks earlier “I’m a strong Roman Catholic. I put my faith in Christ.” From 1972 to 2004, except for two years, Lambert served in either the Senate or on the Public Service Commission, and he served as one of the delegates who in 1973 drafted the current state constitution.

Lambert became a household figure in Louisiana during the 1979 governor’s race, coming up short in a race won by David Treen, a Republican. Years later, Lambert described the narrow defeat as “traumatic.”

“I owned a Ford tractor,” he said. “For a couple of months, I bush hogged to get it out of my head. I had a big pasture in Prairieville.”

Lambert wanted to run for governor again, but his path was blocked in the three succeeding elections by the presence of the preeminent populist Democrat of his era: four-term Gov Edwin Edwards.

“(Lambert) was a man of conviction,” said Marty Chabert, Lambert’s seatmate in the state Senate who also served with him on the LSU Board of Supervisors. “He worried about every bill, and he worried about his people.”

Lambert grew up in Sorrento in Ascension Parish. His father ran a five-and-dime corner store, allowing customers who couldn’t pay the full amount at the time of purchase to settle up at the end of the month when they received their paychecks or welfare checks.

Lambert had the best grades in his high school civics class and was rewarded by becoming a page at the State Capitol for three weeks. He rode a Greyhound bus to and from Baton Rouge each day

Lambert enjoyed the work and political atmosphere so much that he wrote his congressman to ask for an appointment as a page in Congress. When the call came, Lambert was told he had to be in Washington, D.C., the next day

His parents hurriedly bought him a suit or two in Geismar and took him to the airport for his first plane ride.

In Washington, Lambert lived in a dormlike setting with the other pages while they completed their high school studies. Then-Sen. John F. Kennedy was the commencement speaker at his 1958 graduation Then-Vice President Richard Nixon handed out the diplomas. Lambert remained for a time in Washington with a job provided by then-Sen. Allen Ellender, of Louisiana. He operated a senators-only elevator at the Capitol. On his first day, though, still getting the hang of the old-fashioned equipment, he accidentally closed the door on Ellender “It scared him, but it scared me more than him,” Lambert remembered.

Back home, Lambert attended LSU and was accepted into the university’s law school. But he couldn’t afford to go. Instead, he taught school and drove a bus while he attended Loyola Law School in New Orleans at night

While working as an attorney in Ascension Parish, Lambert was elected to the state Senate in 1972, as a delegate to the constitutional convention a year later and to the Public Service Commission in 1974. Over the next several years, Lambert made a name opposing rate increases proposed by electricity companies and by raising concerns about the safety of nuclear power In 1979, Lambert ran for governor, attempting to achieve the same feat as Huey Long, Jimmie Davis and John McKeithen, who had used the PSC as a launching pad for the Governor’s Mansion. Lambert joined a competitive field seeking to replace the popular Edwards, who was completing his second term as governor and couldn’t run for reelection.

Besides Lambert, the major Democrats were: Lt. Gov Jimmy Fitzmorris, Secretary of State Paul Hardy, Speaker of the House Bubba Henry and state Sen. Edgar Mouton of Lafayette. Treen,

band

Lafayette.

SONG & DANCE

Audience members play with a large inflatable soccer ball.

Festivalgoes dance to the music of Keith Frank and

BELOW: Frank gets the crowd ready for

Festivalgoers Chelsea Ellison, left, and Tyler Wilson dance to the music of Que Beleza.

Lafayette native leaves ‘Golden Bachelor’

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

An interior designer from Lafayette went on TV looking for love, but her time on ABC’s “Golden Bachelor” has come to an end. Tracy Thompson was not given a rose on the premiere episode of the second season and was sent home. Mel Owens, a former NFL player from California, was the lead this season and is hoping to find love later in life. The “Golden Bachelor” began with 23 women ranging in age from 58 to 77, who all hoped to accept the final rose and an engagement ring from Owens. Owens is originally from Detroit and went to the University of Michigan. He was the ninth overall pick in the 1981 NFL draft for the Los Angeles Rams and moved to Orange County to pursue a career in law and raise a family The first two episodes aired on ABC on Wednesday, which meant two rose ceremonies with several women eliminated immediately Thompson was one of the six women sent home at the first rose ceremony Thompson, a Lafayette native, lives in Houston and works as a self-employed designer She welcomed a granddaughter earlier this year Thompson took to Facebook on Thursday morning to share a few photos from her short lived experience stating, “What a night! This is just the beginning.”

PROVIDED PHOTO By TRACy THOMPSON’S FACEBOOK Tracy Thompson meets ‘Golden Bachelor’ Mel Owens, a former NFL player from Orange County looking for love, in the Season Two premiere of the show.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

The

Que Beleza plays during Downtown Rising at Parc International on Sunday in

The show featured assorted bands, including Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band with headliner The Wailers.

LEFT:

the Soileau Zydeco Band.

his performance.

We need a ‘Jaws’ for climate change

Fifty years ago,Iwent to see the movie “Jaws.” It was terrifying. That summer,Iwent with my family to Destin, Florida, forour vacation. To my parents’ dismay, Iwouldn’tgoanywhere near the water,beitalake, abayou or even aswimming pool. Come to think of it, no one did. We were allconvinced agreat whiteshark waslurking in the shallows. Steven Spielberg had createdthe ultimate bogeyman. Today,our state (and theworld) is facing an existential threat, one far more ominous than amarauding, toothy fish. Our coastline is disappearing at an alarming rate. Soon, the waters from the Gulf will be lapping at the levees surrounding our sinking city. In comparison, the folks from Amity Island had it good. They also had asinglevillain (accompanied by achilling score) to rally against. Meanwhile, we have amenagerie of suspects. They include fossilfuels, levees and canals, natural subsidence, invasive species, deforestation, short-sighted politicians (“Drill baby,drill!”) and bovine flatulence. Solutions are far more complicated as well.Wecan’t just stay out of the water or shoot ascuba tank from the bow of asinking boat. We are addictedtoproducts made from oil, windmills kill birds, the “undeveloped” world wants to develop, changeishard and even New Orleans’ finest chefs can’tconvince people to eat nutria. In 2006, Al Gore tried to convince us of an “inconvenient truth.”Today, Greta Thunberg and Sir David Attenboroughare speaking out to unite different generations. But we still haven’t foundour own,much-needed Jaws.

FOLWELL DUNBAR NewOrleans

Let’smaketraffic violations apriority

Whatever happened to thegood old days when ayellow traffic light meant slow down, not speed up? Ithink the traffic cameras really taught us to be more aware. I noticedthat red light running was occurring less. What is wrong with fining drivers for traffic violations? There certainly aren’t enough cops to do the job

ELIZABETH MILES NewOrleans

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

AREWELCOME.HEREARE

YOUR VIEWS

Conditions at ICEcenters have been well documented

While Iapplaud letter writer EarlPratz’s interest inconditions in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prisons, he is wrong to suggest that the people detained there have access to adequatefood, medical care and legal materials, and that they are only held there for short periods of time. Hisinformation appears to come from brief toursofthree of the nine ICE prisons in Louisiana. Thesetours are conducted by theforprofit contractors who runthe prisons for the federal government. They present a rosy picture, but what really goes on inside is very different. In 2024, the ACLU published areport on Louisiana ICE detention centers based on dozens of on-site visitsover atwo-year period (2022-2024), involving individual and group interviews and areview of available documentation of abuses at these facilities. It concluded that these prisons systematically deny people’sbasic rights, including minimally nutritious food, potable drinking water,basic hygiene supplies,language access, access to legal materials, protection

from extreme temperatures and outdoor time. It documented physical, verbal and sexual abuseand abuse of solitary confinement. Detainees were often denied or were given ineffective medical care.

Theseconditions have probably gotten worse since thereport was written. It dealt with conditions that existed before the currentadministration dismantled the limited oversight of existing and newfacilities, by closing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, the Office for Civil Rightsand Civil Libertiesand the Immigration Detention Ombudsman. Mostpeople in these facilities(except Alexandria, where people are held just prior to deportation)languish there for months. People should seek out and listentothe stories of people who have beenheld in immigration detention and to others who have visited detainees and spent time helping them.

Thesedetention centers are unnecessary, cruel and astainonour country NELL HAHN Lafayette

AI provides opportunity, butalsorisks

Artificial intelligence is driving an economic revolution acrossthe country, and Louisiana is no exception

Over thenext six months, AI adoption in our state is projected to rise by 6%, signaling amajor shift across industries. From individuals usingAIathometosmall businesses streamlining operations and large corporations investing in research, this technology is reshaping how we work and compete.

Landry, Trumphave putfocus on public safety,and it’s working

Once again, it seemslike all eyes across the country are on the Crescent City Gov. Jeff Landry’saggressive stance against crime in NewOrleans has thus farbeen adefining feature of his administration, and I applaud the governor forthe progress that he’sbeen able to makein just afew short years. As recently as 2022, New Orleans witnessed an astonishing 265 murders, the highest since the chaos following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and 2006. Landry waselected in part because of his promise to combat this surge of violence, and since his victory, Louisiana has passed into law numerous criminal justice reforms. The results are evident: New Orleans is on pace forits lowest murder rate since the 1960s, with a 29% drop in overall crime through mid-2025 and historic declines in violent incidents. However,the city still ranks among the mostdangerous in the United States, with persistent issues like aggravated assaults and aviolent crime rate farexceeding the national average. President Donald Trump’srecent suggestion to deploy the National Guard or other federal forces to New Orleans, not unlike his deployment of the National Guard into Washington, D.C., is sorely needed in New Orleans.

Landry has welcomed this support, emphasizing his commitment to reducing crime statewide, with an emphasis on New Orleans. A partnership between state and federal law enforcement will accelerate our progress toward apermanent decrease in violent crime in the Big Easy

The governor’scritics may decry this as overreach, but with crime still much too high, decisive action is needed. Landry and President Donald Trumpare prioritizing the safety of this great city over politics. Let’srally behind them to reclaim our streets.

RAYGRIFFIN

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. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

Recognizing this potential, Louisianain February launched a$50 million initiative focused on AI research and development. This investmentisattracting new businesses,creating jobs and fueling growth. With technology already contributing $6 billion to Louisiana’s economy,that number will only grow. For the state’snearly 500,000 small businesses, access to AI is agame changer —helpingthem improve efficiency,expand andcompete.

But America’srole as the world’sinnovation leader is not guaranteed. Foreigncompetitors, most notably China, are pouring trillions into research and infrastructure to seize the lead in AI, semiconductors, and quantumcomputing.

After reading his opinion, Imust thank Riley Hagan III. Igraduated from Louisiana Tech in 1975. The four years Iattended Tech, our football team was 44-4. Only losing four games in four years was quite phenomenal. Let’snot forget the women’sbasketball

If we saddle our innovators with one-sizefits-all restrictions or anti-innovation mandates, we risk stifling the very ecosystem that defines American competitiveness. Instead, policymakers should advance balanced policies that accelerate innovation. That meansstrengthening domestic chip manufacturing, supporting STEM education, and encouraging partnerships between small businesses, research institutionsand the privatesector Public-privatecollaborations, like the one here in Louisiana, show how government and industry can work together to create opportunitywhile protecting our technological edge. If Beijing’smodel of surveillance and censorship shapes thefuture of AI, we risk embedding authoritarian standards into the digital infrastructure of the21st century Congress must act now to protect innovation, empower America’ssmall businesses and ensure our nation, not China, sets the rules of thedigital age.

REP. MICHAEL MELERINE state representative, District6 Shreveport

team while Iwas there and after.After graduating and living in New Orleans forthe past 50 years, there has been very little ever written about Louisiana Tech sports.

Getting COVIDvaccine harderthankstoGOP nannystate

My wife and Iare in our 80s and vulnerable to the COVIDvirus. We have been attempting, unsuccessfully,for almost two weeks to obtain aprescription from our Ochsner primary care physician to enable us to get vaccinated. Iamsure this has been due to the confusion created by our insightful governor and the Republicans in Congress and the White House. The supposedly “small government” Republicans apparently think it is “small government” to control individuals’ access to necessary health care. Gov. Jeff Landry has every right to refuse to be vaccinated, but he has no business interfering in my ability to tend to my and my wife’shealth.

FRED SCHWAB NewOrleans

STAFF FILEPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

enter the front entrance to the ICE detention center in Jena in April.

CREEPYCALLERS

With Halloween justa fewweeks away,did youeverwonder what these creepycharacters do therest of theyear?

So, what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty, funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeepitclean.There’sno limit on the number of entries.

Thewinning punchline will be lettered into theword balloon andrun on Monday,Oct. 6inour print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive asignedprint of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorablementions will also be listed.

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

DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, home address and phonenumber.Cell numbersare best.

Thedeadline forall entriesismidnight,Thursday, Oct.2

Send in your punchline treatsand win!

Good luck! Walt

Will theN.Y.mayor’s race spoil otherDemocraticvictories?

What would you do if your primary care doctor said you were in perfect health but hadjust canceled annual tests including bloodwork, an EKG, X-rays and even the biopsy aconcerned oncologist had ordered?

You’d change doctors, of course, and quickly Unfortunately,wemust wait three years to change the person in charge of the nation’senvironmental health —President Donald Trump —even though he’s been guilty of malpractice since reclaiming the presidency in January

Isay that because Trump has been canceling research programs at federal agencies needed to monitor the nation’senvironmentalhealth and provide needed regulations. These are the medical checkups the nation has long relied on to keep you and your children safe from a growing list of environmental risks, from toxic cancer-causing pollution to the rising impacts of climate change.

Trump’sattacks began in July when his EPA director,Lee Zeldin, announced he wasdisbanding that agency’sOffice of Research and Development and laying off as many as 1,000 chemists, biologists and other researchers. That office does the independent research that uncovers threats to human health andprovides the legal justification for environmentalregulations. Under Trump’sEPA reorganization, research will nowbedirected by different offices led by political appointees who decide whatcan be investigated and how

According to Zeldin, this new EPAwill adhere to the long-held desire by many industries that their profits and the nation’seconomy should have equal status with pollution control in deciding environmental regulations. He will oversee “commonsense policies supporting clean air,land, and water for all Americans while unleashing American energy,revitalizing domestic manufacturing, cutting the cost of living for families, and growing innovationand entrepreneurialism.”

As just one example of the philosophy in action, federal officials have not made public the list of hazardous materials present at Smitty’s, apetroleum products plant in Tangipahoa that caught fire last month, citing aconcern over revealing “confidential business information.”

But Trump wasjust getting warmedupand quickly turned his attention to eviscerating climate research —knowledge critical to coastal areas struggling to adapt to rapidly rising sea levels, such as south Louisiana.

Four upcoming elections are worth watching. The first is the mayoral primary in New Orleans on Oct.11. Then, on Nov.4,voters will go tothe polls in New York City,Virginia and New Jersey.Each race has itsown mix of implications. The New Orleans election is more of alocal personality contest thana national partyorideological battle. But voters in New York City and New Orleans have something in common:They’re less enthused about their mayoral electionchoices than getting rid of unpopular incumbents.Mayors Eric Adams and LaToya Cantrell have terrible job ratings, and most voters can’twait for them topack their bags.

Topcandidates in New Orleans are state Sen. Royce Duplessis, at-large City Council member Helena Moreno andDistrict ECity Council member Oliver Thomas. All Democrats. One wild card is Republican Frank Janusa. As aconservative alternative, he could do better than expected, although Republican voter registration is less than 10% and few thinkhecan win. Moreno maintains awide lead and is running the best campaign. Her opponents have to take votes from her while they move votes to themselves, a tricky and expensive maneuver

Thebig question is whether Moreno canwin without arunoff.

The answer is yes, she can; polls now have her at 50% or higher.But we still don’tknow what happens in the final days. Will voter turnout play an unforeseen role? Will somebody surge, or fumble, at theend?

New York’smayoral election is ademolition derby,much more tempestuous than the New Orleans race. State legislator Zohran Mamdani is theDemocratic nominee and general election front-runner.His opponentsinclude a former New York governor,Andrew Cuomo, andthe current mayor,Adams. If this was acontest for Most Controversial,itwould be athree-way tie. Adamsisrunning as an independent; his Democratic basecracked up when he played footsy with the Trump administration on immigration and his federal criminal indictment was dropped. Cuomo, wholost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, is running on the “Fight and Deliver” party line. Republican nominee CurtisSilwa leads the anti-crime group Guardian Angels. TheSuffolk Universitypoll puts Mamdani ahead with 45%, followed by Cuomo (25%), Silwa (9%)and Adams (8%). An independent,Jim Walden, has 4%.

Cuomo badly wanted Silwa, Adams and Waldentodrop out, hoping to unify the anti-Mamdanivote. Butthat hasn’t happened.

Mamdani has been endorsed by powerful Democrats, from New York Gov Kathy Hochul, VermontSen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Kamala Harris to Massachusetts Sen. ElizabethWarren, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezCortez and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Some of Mamdani’sendorsements, however,have been shotgun weddings. More than afew Democrats fear his victory will harden national perceptions of theirparty as too far left. They’re alsoworried about his anti-

Israel views.It’swhy Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, have yet to endorse.

Voters in Virginia and New Jersey, two Democraticleaning states, will elect governors. Virginia now has aRepublican governor and New Jersey had an unexpectedly close gubernatorial election four yearsago. In Virginia, thelatest polls show Democratic U.S. Rep.Abigail Spanberger leading Republican Lt. Gov.Winsome Earle-Sears. In New Jersey,Democratic U.S. Rep.Mikie Sherrill is running ahead of Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Winning bothgubernatorial races ordinarily would be abright featherin theDemocratic cap. Butthe New York City election, on thesame day,may blot it Mamdani struck achordbyfocusing on affordability.But skeptics see the issueasafoundational effort to redistributewealth with more government, more bureaucracy,more spending and more taxes. That’swhy Mamdani’s brand of “democratic socialism” is seen by some as being alittletoo close to communism. Democratic candidates in Senateraces next year —especially in Georgia, Michigan, Maine, Ohio and North Carolina —don’tneed that millstonetocarry If Mamdani wins, Republicans will have theperfect foil, aposter boy for progressive governance. Andthat may have national consequences beyond this fall’selections.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

To that end, Trump’sEPA is preparing to rescind the agency’s2009 finding that six greenhouse gas emissions, including carbondioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride are harmful to human health. That finding, which survived court challenges, provided the authority for awhole range of air pollution regulations as well as grants for industries to begin shifting to renewable energy.Byeliminating that scientific finding, Trump can put an end to most of the progress the nation hasmade to reduce emissions —something critical if we have any chance of slowing the sealevel rise threatening to swallow our sinking coastal zone. Incredibly,EPA staffers told The New York Times“climate regulations are whatpose the true threat to public health and welfare, because they increase the price of new vehicles and leave fewer choices for car buyers.”

Trump continued his waronclimate research by:

n Ordering the end of more than 100 climate studies.

n Telling NASA to end programs using satellites to measure carbon dioxide.

n Stripping previous National Climate Assessments from the NASA website.These reports are required by Congress to be presented every four to five years, but the Trump administration has been ignoring many rules.

n Removing years of climate research from government websites, sending scientists around the world rushing to download andsave reports and data.

Trump’sadministration and his congressional allies are actually celebrating whatcriticsare calling a“waronscience,” painting researchers as left-leaning environmentalists looking for ways to stifle industry.But this is much worse It is an unprecedented warnot just on science, but the facts that science producesand that ademocracy needs to gained consensus for important decisions.

It’saclassic tactic by authoritarians and dictators to silence any critics by controlling the flow of facts.

By canceling the research, he can tell us our environmental health is fine and we’re facing no threats, even that regulations are the problem, not the solution.

And he has made sure we won’thave the facts to disagree.

Bob Marshall, aPulitzer Prize-winning Louisiana environmental journalist, can be reached at bmarshallenviro@gmail.com

Bob Marshall

Ron Faucheux

Schoolssee growing interest in Turning Pointchapters

Butsomeparents areskeptical of message

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

In the days since conservative activist Charlie Kirk’sdeath, Evonne Heredia said she has been “drinking from afire hose.” Twomonthsago, Heredia, 31, moved from Texas to the Bywater neighborhood of NewOrleans. Aformer staffer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the first Trump administration, Heredia had most recently been working as afitness and running coach, when shesaw ajob open forthe “Bayou field representative” for Turning Point USA’s “Club America,” the high school wing of Charlie Kirk’sconservative political group.

Her first day was on Sept 8, two days before Kirk was shot to death at arally in Utah. Afew weeks later,Heredia wasone of ahandfulof speakersatachurch event Thursday in PearlRiver to commemorate the assassinated activist. The event was organized by Levi Gregory,a15-year-old homeschooled student who had admired Kirk since he was around 10. The Pearl River gathering came amid agrowing push across Louisiana and the U.S. to start TPUSA ClubAmerica chapters at high schools. Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters recently announced there would be aTurning Point USA Club America chapter in every high school in that state. The U.S. Department of Education also recently announced apartnership with Turning Point USA.

Since Kirk’sassassination, Heredia said she has received over1,000 inquiries from amix of parents and students interested in starting Club America chapters at schools in the group’sBayou region, which includes Louisiana and southern Mississippi. In Louisiana, she’sreceived inquiries from schools from Lafayette to Hammond.

Contestedviews

Club America, though nonpartisan, has “conservative” and “godly values” andseeks to “empower young students to be educated on free markets, embrace freedom and limited government,” Heredia said. She emphasized that being aChristian or aRepublican is not arequirement.

During meetings,they discuss politics, current events or topics like the U.S. Constitution, she said Still, the growing fervor around Club America has garnered some controversy.Kirk has been criticized for his views on topics including gender andrace, such as calling Martin Luther King Jr.“awful” or the Civil Rights Act a“mistake.”

Some of this pushback came from parents in St Tammany Parish, wherea majority of voters went for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

“I feellike it is pushing our education in an ideological direction rather than keepingitneutral and creating critical thinkers,” said Lauren Menn, the mother of a15-year-old at MandevilleHigh School. Menn and some other parents saidininterviews they wereworried about what Turning Point USA’s presence on campuses might meanfor their kids. She said she recently met with agroup of other progressive parents to discuss theirresponse.

Mel Manuel, who founded Queer Northshore, an LGBTQ+ group based in St. Tammany,and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives against

SENATOR

Continuedfrom page1B

RepublicanSteve Scalise, the House majority leader in 2024, said they have no problem with conservative or liberalgroupsinSt. Tammany schools. But Manuel, the parent of aninthgrader at Mandeville HighSchool, calledTurning Point USA “indoctrination” and said some of Kirk’s views were “hate speech.”

“It’sahateful ideology and it doesn’tbelong in a public school,” theysaid.

‘The same thingI believe’

Gregory,the teen whoorganized the church event in PearlRiver,foundeda Turning Point USA Club America chapter for homeschool kids overthe summerand was planning to attendKirk’scollege event at LSU in October.Now,in the wake of Kirk’sdeath, Gregory has the goal of formingaClubAmerica at everyhighschool in St. Tammany Parish.

Gregorytoldthe crowd on Thursday that his heart broke forKirk’schildren, as hehas grown upwithout afather.Gregory’s dad, Jason Seals, aSlidell police officer,died in amotorcycle crashwhile escorting a funeral procession in 2018

Other speakers focused on identity,faithand politics.

St.TammanyParish Council memberDavid Couglepraised Kirkasa relatable “average Midwestern guy” who rose “to superstardom.”

“A lot of us said,‘He believed the same thingI believe,’”Cougle said Austin Lind, aregional coordinator for Turning Point USA Faith, the group’s faith division, described some of the factors that led him to become amissionary inthe U.S., including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado and the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. “I realized that this nation was sickand we need achange,”hesaid.

St.TammanyRepublicans

The St. Tammany Republican Parish Executive Committee agreed Tuesday to put $2,000 toward sponsoring local Turning PointUSA chapters andaffiliates, accordingto RPEC member Josh Allison, who also said an anonymous donor has agreed to match the contribution Currently,Heredia said there arearound five chartered Club Americachapters in Louisiana, including multiple on the northshore, but she expects that number to grow.Turning Point USA’s process of approving aclub is also different from the school’s, aprocess that canvarybyregionand type, Herediasaid

Since Kirk’s death, students have expressedinterest to principalsatDavid Thibodaux Stem Magnet Academyand Southside High School inLafayette, accordingtoTracy Wirtz,a spokespersonfor Lafayette public schools. Aspokesperson for Jefferson Parish publicschools,Kaela Lewis,said there areno high schoolsthatcurrently have chapters. Efforts to contact aSt. Tammany Parish school district spokesperson were not successful

Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@theadvocate. com.

LOTTERY

amember of Congress, was leading aRepublican Party effort trying to reverse decades of Democraticcontrol Lambert, 38, was an energetic candidate, flying around the state on asmall plane owned by afriend, shaking hands andgiving stump speeches at every stop

On electionnight, completebut unofficial returns showed that Treen led with 21.6% of the vote, followed by Fitzmorriswith 20.6% andLambert 20.5%. Only 1,149votesseparatedthe latter twomen out of 1.36 million votes cast

Three dayslater,after the voting machines had been opened for amore exact tally,the official returns showed that Lambert had edged pastFitzmorris by 2,500 votes and was slated to face Treen in the runoff sixweekslater.Fitzmorris sued to overturn theresult, sayingvoting irregularities hadput Lambert in second place. Butathree-day trial affirmed the vote.

Lambertreturnedtothe campaign trail, butTreen won asqueakerby8,500 votes and becamethe first Republican governor since thepost-Civil WarReconstruction Era.

Later,Lambert blamed his defeat on two factors.

Onewas that Fitzmorris, Hardy,Henryand Mouton all endorsed Treen —and went on to get high-profile jobs in theTreen administration,Lambert noted.

He also noted that Edwards saidhis wife, Elaine, plannedtovote forTreen, andwhile the outgoing governor gave an endorsement forLambert,itwas so tepid that Lambert’smedia consultant, RoyFletcher,said they had to patch together Edwards’ comments to produce acampaign ad.

Lambert later saidEdwards also worked quietly behind thescenes to boost

Treen.

“Everyone in politics knewhewas trying to get Treen in so he could run against himfouryears later,” Lambert said.

Edwardscrushed Treen in 1983, quipping during the race that the onlyway he could lose was if he was caught in bed witha dead girloralive boy Lambert returned to practicing law and serving on the PSC. Completing 18 yearsinoffice, he didn’t runfor reelection in 1992.

“He was apioneer on oversight of utility companies,” Fletcher said “Truly, he made adifference on the PSC with this fight.”

Diagnosedwithtesticular cancer in 1992, Lambert ironically turned to Edwardstogive him astate job with healthbenefits. Edwards gave himajob in the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. In 1994, Lambert was

elected againtothe state Senate andserved until 2004, when he resigned to be appointedbythen-Gov. Mike Foster to the LSU BoardofSupervisors, a plum perk.

“Louis was ateam player for theFoster administration,” said Jay Dardenne, then aRepublican senator from Baton Rouge. Lambert servedasthe Senate pro tem —aprestigious but ceremonial position —during Foster’s second term.

Lambertwould later say his proudest accomplishment as asenator was sponsoring legislationto create the River Parishes Community College

He ran afinal campaign in 2008 whenhelosta race to be district attorney of Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes.

Lambert wasinducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame with six oth-

ersin2024.

State Sen. Eddie Lambert, R-Prairieville, and Lambert were first cousins; their fathers werebrothers.

Lambert leaves behind his wife, Mary,and three children, Jessica,Michael andJohn. Funeral plans are incomplete

Looking back,Lambert said he relishedhis political career despitethe bumpsand bruises he receivedalong the way

“Politicsisa rough business,” he said. “You have to be abletotake punchesand land afew.”

Email TylerBridges at tbridges@theadvocate. com.

27,

STAFFFILE PHOTO

Louis Lambert, running for Louisiana governor in 1979, speakstoconstituents in Lafayette. The longtime political figure in the state died Saturday at age84.

LOFAN EFFORT

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.— Kellen Moore pacedthe sideline, foldedhis play sheet and grabbed atablet to tryand see what went wrong. For most of the afternoon,the New Orleans Saints coach’steam hung tough aweek aftergetting blown out. But in theheat of Sunday’sgame againstthe Buffalo Bills, Mooredid not seem interested in moral victories. He wanted an actual win, and aturnoverondowns late in the fourth quarter made that increasingly more difficult. And Moore did not get his wish. Facing one of the bestteams in the NFL, the Saints lost 31-19 as New Orleans fell to 0-4 on theseason. TheSaints ultimatelycouldn’tslow

down Bills quarterback Josh Allen enough, with the reigning MVP completing 72.7% of his passesfor 209 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 48 yards on four attempts (before three late kneeldowns). New Orleansquarterback Spencer Rattler,bycontrast, made plays withhis legs (sixcarries,49 yards),but his arm was held in check as hethrew for only 126 yards on 18of-27 passing.

“While there are positiveswithin this,the ultimategoal has yet to be achieved in agame,”Moore said “And so we’restrivingfor that and we didn’tget there.”

That ultimate goal, of course, is to win.

Butthe Saints’ responseinBuffalo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y —You knew it.

The oddsmakers in Vegas knew it. Everybody not wearing aNew OrleansSaints uniform Sunday knew it

The Saints’ chances of walking out of Highmark Stadium withawin against one of the best teams in theNFL, led byone of the league’sbest players, were much closer to “none” than to “slim.” Yes, theSaints played well for themost part. They didn’tembarrass themselves like they did seven days ago in Seattle, when it looked like the wheels of the Kellen Moore era had already completely fallen off.

The Saints’ effort in this loss to theBuffalo Bills was much better

than that one. But as Saints defensive end Cam Jordan reminded us after the game, there are no moral victories in the NFL. The only thing that matters is what the scoreboard says. This timeitread “Bills 31, Saints 19,” which looked and sounded and felt so much better than the 44-13 beatdownagainst the Seahawks. “Isthis considered bouncing back?” Jordan asked rhetorically.“Losing is not bouncing back. At the end of the day,it’sthe samefeeling. We’ve got to find away to get in the ‘W’ column.” The Saints haven’tbeen in that

Oregon moves to No. 2 behind Ohio

BY ERIC OLSON AP college football writer

Oregon moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, Mississippi earned its highest ranking since 2015, Alabama jumped back into the top 10 and Virginia was in the Top 25 for the first time in six years in the wake of a volatile weekend in which four top-10 teams lost Ohio State won at Washington and remains No. 1 for the fifth straight week. The Buckeyes received 46 first-place votes, six fewer than a week ago, and their 37-point lead over Oregon is the closest margin between the top two teams since the preseason poll in mid-August Oregon’s two-overtime win at Penn State earned the Ducks 16 first-place votes, 15 more than last week, and gave them their highest ranking since they were No. 1 for two months last year Miami, which had an open date, slipped one spot to No. 3 and was followed by Mississippi and idle Oklahoma. The No. 4 Rebels got a nine-rung promotion for beating LSU and have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 in late September 2015. LSU fell to No 13,

Oregon running back Jordon Davison celebrates a touchdown with tight end Kenyon Sadiq against Penn State during the fourth quarter of their game on Saturday in State College Pa

swapping places with Mississippi. Texas A&M, Penn State, Indiana, Texas and Alabama round out the top 10. Alabama, which had been out of the top 10 since losing its opener against Florida State by two touchdowns, has won three straight after beating Georgia for the 10th

time in 11 meetings and ending the Bulldogs’ 33-game home win streak. No. 12 Georgia has its lowest ranking since it was No. 12 on Dec 6, 2020. It’s just the second poll the Bulldogs have been out of the top 10 since 2021. The losses by Penn State, LSU and Georgia marked the first

time since 2016 that three top-five teams lost the same week in the regular season. Florida State’s loss at Virginia was the latest development in anup-and-down season for the Seminoles. They went from unranked to No. 14 for beating ‘Bama, were in the top 10 for three weeks and plunged 10 spots to No. 18 this week.

LSU offense’s issues at forefront during bye week

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Garrett Nussmeier didn’t see his left tackle get beat. But he certainly felt it once he was drilled, then sandwiched between an Ole Miss rusher and his own right tackle.

The quarterback that emerged from that hit which foiled the first drive of LSU’s 24-19 loss to the No. 4 Rebels on Saturday — didn’t look like the one who dealt the No. 13 Tigers a sharp win over Southeastern Louisiana the week prior Some of his passes fluttered. Others sailed. Too many floated into double or triple coverage down the field, away from open receivers underneath.

One of those passes turned into an interception, Nussmeier’s third of the season.

“I’m going to bang my head on the wall about it for a while,” he said. Once again, Nussmeier’s health is a question for LSU. But it’s far from the only one — the Tigers now have a number of offensive problems to address in the open date between their loss to Ole Miss and their Oct. 11 home game against South Carolina The win over Florida exposed those concerns, and the loss to the Rebels strengthened them.

Just how many of LSU’s issues are fixable? And is Nussmeier’s torso injury one of them?

“Look, all I can tell you is he’s healthy,” coach Brian Kelly said on Saturday “And again, I think he would tell you just like Tyree Adams would tell you, just like Chris Hilton would tell you, Bauer Sharp would tell you — we need

to play better and more consistent on the offensive side of the ball.”

Last season, LSU fielded the SEC’s seventh-best scoring offense. The Tigers could’ve been more productive on that side of the ball, except they never found a way to unlock a dependable rushing attack, they didn’t turn enough red-zone trips into touchdowns, and Nussmeier threw too many interceptions — 12, to be exact. Only three FBS passers tossed more.

But LSU could at least lean on an efficient passing attack last year Its offense converted third downs at the sixth-highest rate in the country, and by the end of the season, Nussmeier had completed 58 passes of more than 20 yards. That total was the 10th highest in the nation.

The difference now? The Tigers have many of the same offensive problems they had in 2024, and Nussmeier isn’t throwing well enough to mask them.

The second-year starter is both attempting and completing fewer passes of at least 20 yards than he did last season, according to Pro Football Focus, even though the rate at which he’s faced pressure on his dropbacks has dipped from 28% to 21%. Through five games, Nussmeier has thrown more passes behind the line of scrimmage (40) than he has between 10 and 19 yards downfield (35).

The LSU offense has shrunk, which has hurt its ability to sustain drives. In games against Clemson, Florida and Ole Miss, the Tigers picked up only 10 of the 36 third downs (28%) they faced.

“We’ve been a really good thirddown team,” Kelly said. “We have to be better on third down. And that’s not just Garrett. We’ve got

to get open Our coaches (have) got to get our guys in a position where they can make some plays.”

There’s an urgency to improve.

LSU has six SEC opponents left on its schedule, and four of those foes are ranked. Three of the four No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 10 Alabama — slotted in ahead of the Tigers in the latest AP Poll.

The Crimson Tide has one of the nation’s 30 best scoring defenses, and the Sooners have one of its five best scoring defenses LSU has to play both of those teams on the road, and it can’t afford to drop both games. A third loss would likely bump the Tigers

off the College Football Playoff bubble.

So it’s important that LSU uses the first of its two bye weeks to find answers on offense. Will the time off help the Tigers or hurt them?

“I think it can go either way,” Nussmeier said. “I think you’ll tell the makeup of our team from it. I think if we choose to go down and feel sorry for ourselves, we won’t finish where we want to.

“I think that if we do what I believe we will do and work harder at it and come at this bye week with an opportunity to try to fix what we’re struggling (with), I think it’ll help us.”

Elliott steals Kansas Speedway race in wild OT

BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Chase Elliott somehow stole Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, where he drove from eighth to the checkered flag during a two-lap overtime sprint to earn a spot in the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs It was a wild ending to a race that probably should have been won by Denny Hamlin, who dominated and led 159 laps until a slew of late issues denied him his chance at career win No. 60 for Joe Gibbs Racing. The race had a slew of late cautions Hamlin dropped from the lead to seventh on a slow pit stop — that put Bubba Wallace in position to win the race. A red-flag stoppage for Zane Smith flipping his car set up the final overtime restart and Wallace was holding tight in a door-to-door battle with Christopher Bell for the victory Then Hamlin came from nowhere

to catch Wallace, who drives for the team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan and Wallace scraped the wall as he tried to hold off his boss. That’s when Elliott suddenly entered the frame and smashed Hamlin in the door to get past him for his second win of the season. Elliott joins Ryan Blaney as the two drivers locked into the third round of the playoffs The field will be cut from 12 drivers to eight after next week’s race in Concord, North Carolina. Hamlin finished second, his JGR teammates Bell and Chase Briscoe were third and fourth and Wallace wound up fifth. Elliott, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was the only non-Toyota driver in the top five. Reddick races Tyler Reddick raced Sunday and finished seventh, hours after his wife disclosed on social media their newborn son has been ailing for several months.

Ohtani hits 55th homer of season, breaks own record

SEATTLE Shohei Ohtani set a career high with his 55th home run of the season Sunday breaking his own franchise record for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The two-way superstar hit a 412foot solo shot to center field off Seattle Mariners left-hander Gabe Speier, boosting Los Angeles’ lead to 5-0 in the seventh inning.

Ohtani had 54 home runs last season, his first with the Dodgers. His most in six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels was 46 in 2021.

The Dodgers did not have a 50-homer season before Ohtani reached the mark last season.

The 31-year-old Ohtani has 102 RBIs, reaching 100 for the third time. On the mound, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts following his return from elbow surgery

DC Grantham fired amid Oklahoma St. shake-up

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State fired first-year defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and replaced him with quality control staff member Clint Bowen on Sunday, five days after head coach Mike Gundy was let go. The school announced Grantham’s dismissal a day after a 45-27 home loss to Baylor in which the Cowboys surrendered 612 total yards. Gundy hired Grantham away from the New Orleans Saints last December Grantham had been the Saints’ defensive line coach for two years and previously was a defensive coordinator in the NFL, Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Cowboys rank last in the Big 12 Conference and 130th in the nation in total defense.

Gauff holds off Fernandez to advance at China Open

BEIJING French Open winner

Coco Gauff was forced to go the distance against Leylah Fernandez before closing out a tight three-setter 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 on Sunday to advance to the third round at the China Open. The defending champion and a firm crowd favorite in Beijing overcame a second-set stumble and then struggled to serve out the match in the third, before breaking Fernandez in the 12th game of the deciding set to clinch it.

Gauff will next face No. 16 Belinda Bencic or Australian Priscilla Hon.

In earlier matches Sunday, Eva Lys beat No. 10 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and American McCartney Kessler was leading Barbora Krejcikova 1-6, 7-5, 3-0 when the Czech player retired from the match.

Guardians’ Fry recovering from hit-by-pitch to face

David Fry was lucky to be walking around the Cleveland Guardians clubhouse Sunday before a game against the Texas Rangers.

Fry was walking around joking with teammates five days after being hit in the face on a 99 mph fastball from Detroit’s Tarik Skubal during the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game. The 29-year-old designated hitter and catcher squared around to try to bunt when the pitch struck him in the face.

Fry’s face is still swollen and there are stitches in his nose. He will have a follow-up appointment on Thursday, but is not expected to need surgery

“The ball started cutting in on me and got me pretty good at a moment where it’s just so fast that there’s no way to get out of the way,” Fry said.

Alcaraz advances to Japan Open semifinal

Carlos Alcaraz comfortably defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Japan Open with his 65th match win of the season to equal his personal-best tally in a single season, according to the ATP Tour “It’s great to go through, to play another semifinal,” the 22-year-old Alcaraz said. “It’s special because it’s the first time I am playing here in Japan and here in Tokyo, so to reach the semifinals in my first appearance is something great.” Now 50-3 since April, Alcaraz will next face Casper Ruud, the fourth-seeded Norwegian who defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BARRy REEGER

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By COLIN E. BRALEy

head toward the first turn at the start of a NASCAR Cup Series

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier looks downfield from the pocket in the first quarter of the game against Ole Miss on Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.

UL 54, MARSHALL 51

THREE AND OUT: KEVIN FOOTE’S TOP TAKEAWAyS AFTER UL’S BIG COMEBACK VICTORy OVER MARSHALL

LUNCH FOR THE AGES

1

There’s just something magical about a great comeback, and especially when it involves a backup quarterback waving the wand. He had played earlier in the game, but Lunch Winfield took over with 6:55 left in the third quarter down 34-17, and led the Cajuns on six consecutive scoring drives.The final one came on a 10-yard touchdown run in double overtime to complete the comeback. No one was surprised by Winfield rushing for 129 yards and three scores, but he also hit some big passes. None were bigger than a 16-yarder to Charles Robertson on third-and-13 to extend the gametying drive late in regulation.

PENALTY FREE

2

One of the reasons the Cajuns lost at Eastern Michigan was getting 10 penalties for 85 yards. UL was only flagged for one penalty for five yards — running into the kicker infraction in the second overtime. That’s a remarkable turnaround. Certainly getting just one flag raised some eyebrows in Marshall’s camp, but that means having the discipline to get zero pre-snap penalties, no late hits and no composure flags. On the flip side, Marshall was flagged for 12 penalties for 102 yards. That included multiple roughing the passer flags that helped extend UL drives.

FIND A WAY

3

Folks, this was not a good matchup for UL Sure, the Cajuns were desperate for a win, but Marshall was only giving up 102.5 yards rushing per game. The Herd was also allowing 256 yards passing, but would UL’s passing offense be good enough to take advantage of that? For most of the game, it wasn’t. Then Winfield entered the picture. The running game prospered despite a beat-up offensive line with 264 yards on the ground. The defense made some big plays when needed, but there’s still plenty of work to do. Marshall posted 27 first downs and 503 yards total.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL quarterback Lunch Winfield, left, celebrates with teammates after his five-touchdown performance off the bench led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a memorable 54-51 double overtime win over Marshall on Saturday.

Against the odds

Quarterback Winfield lifts UL to 2OT victory over Marshall

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

When quarterback Lunch Win-

field got the nod from UL’s coaching staff to try to salvage something out of a 34-17 deficit with 6:55 left in the third quarter Saturday, the redshirt sophomore certainly had the odds stacked against him. Not long ago UL led by a touchdown but suddenly everything felt hopeless.

Marshall had just scored 24 unanswered points in less than a quarter and was dancing all over Cajun Field much like it did in the Sun Belt championship game last December

Fans were filing out of Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium and nightmare thoughts of 2-10 and 1-11 were being discussed.

“It was kind of slipping away a little bit,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said of the decision to insert Winfield. “That was the time to try to do it. I thought maybe it was too late even when I did it.” What almost no one considered in that moment was that Winfield didn’t have as high a mountain to climb as most unproven thirdstring quarterbacks would in that scenario. For one, he’s 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds and can run. Secondly, Winfield was already a rock star inside UL’s locker room. He was already his teammates’ biggest fan and the feeling was mutual.

“He’s an incredible dude,” junior safety Collin Jacob said of Winfield. “He’s energetic, always positive. He’s never down, never negative. He’s always uplifting when he’s around the players and the coaches.”

After his first career touchdown run on a 6-yard Wildcat plunge to give UL a 17-10 lead with 1:43 left in the first half, Winfield was highfiving every teammate he could find.

“He’s an incredible dude. He’s energetic, always positive. He’s never down, never negative. He’s always uplifting when he’s around the players and the coaches.”

COLLIN JACOB, UL safety on Lunch Winfield

“That’s just me, man,” Winfield said. “Every team needs that guy who’s going to pick everybody up. I don’t want to see anyone’s head down I want everybody in their heart to believe I said it every day, ‘Same goal, same vision.’”

An upbeat guy with a great attitude, that’s Winfield.

UL’s fan base is about to learn what his teammates already know the Cajuns have their own Jameis Winston right here in Lafayette. I love Jameis Winston,” Winfield said with a laugh when asked about the comparison. “I wish to meet him one day I need to meet him one day That’s a good one. That was a good one.”

The offense’s first eight possessions of the game produced three three-and-outs, two touchdowns, a field goal and two interceptions.

Once Winfield took over UL scored on six straight possessions to end the game with five touchdowns. Winfield capped off the night with a 10-yard touchdown run in the second overtime.

“I was waiting,” Winfield said “Coach Des called my name and said, ‘You ready? You’re going in.’ I rallied up the boys. I told them, ‘17 points ain’t nothing.’

There’s about seven minutes left and I was like, ‘The second half just started. If we’re going to win this game, we’ve got to fight.’ That was all it was and everybody believed.”

The former state championship quarterback from Lutcher finished the game rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and was also 7-of-13 passing for 125 yards and two scores. He connected with Charles Rob-

ertson for a 45-yard score with 4:27 left to cut Marshall’s lead to 34-27. Earlier in the drive, he hit Robertson for 16 on a third-and-13 to keep UL’s hopes alive.

“Walking from the Eastern Michigan game last week to the bus, Charles and I were talking,” Winfield said. “I told him, ‘Bro, your time is coming — just be ready.’ I knew he was coming. I tell him every day.”

Then Winfield hit Dale Martin in the right corner of the end zone on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to force overtime.

“I said it from the beginning that I didn’t feel like he was just a Wildcat option,” Desormeaux said.

UL’s coaching staff had seen flashes of what fans saw Saturday night during scrimmages. The missing link was seeing enough consistency in practice to trust Winfield as a starting quarterback.

“The struggle that I’ve had is, every time we scrimmage, he shows up and plays really well in scrimmages,” Desormeaux said “It’s just trying to figure out how to make practice cleaner and things like that, but what we did tonight, I think, speaks for itself.”

Winfield is apparently one of those unique athletes who shine brightest when the lights are on.

Much like recent UL Hall of Fame kicker Brett Baer, who regularly missed field goals in practice. During games, he was the most accurate kicker ever

“Every day is a game day,” Winfield said of his practice approach.

UL 54, Marshall 51, 2OT Marshall31417773—51 UL31432176—54 First Quarter MRSH—FG L.Quinn 53, 9:52. UL FG Sterner 26, 6:46. Second Quarter MRSH—Allen 9 run (L.Quinn kick), 10:51. UL Perry 19 run (Sterner kick), 6:41. UL Winfield 6 run (Sterner kick), 1:43.

MRSH—Lacey 32 pass from Del Rio-Wilson (L.Quinn kick), :23. Third Quarter

MRSH—Allen 68 run (L.Quinn kick), 14:20. MRSH—Hutson 46 interception return (L.Quinn kick), 11:11.

MRSH—FG L.Quinn 30, 6:55. UL FG Sterner 35, 1:32. Fourth Quarter UL Winfield 2 run (Sterner kick), 10:16. UL Robertson 45 pass from Winfield (Sterner kick), 4:27. MRSH—Lacey 27 pass from Del Rio-Wilson (L.Quinn kick), 1:01. UL D.Martin 24 pass from Winfield (Sterner kick), :16. First Overtime UL Perry 25 run (Sterner kick), :00.

MRSH—Norton 3 pass from Del Rio-Wilson (L.Quinn kick), :00. Second Overtime

MRSH—FG L.Quinn 46, :00. UL Winfield 10 run, :00. A—20,125. MRSHUL First downs 27 29

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Bringing up Dale Martin’s gametying touchdown catch that forced overtime in UL’s 54-51 double overtime win over Marshall on Saturday also forced UL coach Michael Desormeaux to pause to maintain his composure. When Desormeaux first became the head coach four years ago, Martin was a walk-on quarterback from North Vermilion just hoping to get a chance.

“We had seven quarterbacks, and he wasn’t going to get reps, and we asked him to move to receiver,” Desormeaux said. “It felt like maybe that was where he could help us. From the day he moved there, he worked his tail off in everything he does. He’s a great teammate. He shows up every day, takes every rep you ask him to take — doesn’t matter what it is.”

After the injuries to receivers

Shelton Sampson and Robert Williams, the staff asked Martin to move to a different receiver slot this past week in practice.

“We really just kind of moved him to X as a depth piece, and all week at practice, he just kept making plays. He kept catching the ball, so I told him, ‘You’re going to start on Saturday.’”

Martin’s first catch in the win was an 11-yard grab from Daniel Beale to ignite UL’s first touchdown drive.

The big one, though, came from Lunch Winfield — a 24-yard scoring strike with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

“My goodness, I mean, he played really well. Made the game-tying catch down there in the end zone,” Desormeaux said.

“There are just guys like that, who are what this thing is built on. You talk about culture, and you talk about team and it still matters; you have people like him. It’s just a testament to that, and then when he got his moment, he made it count.”

In addition to Martin, former St. Thomas More wide receiver Landon Strother collected three catches for 27 yards and replaced Williams as the punt returner

It was Strother’s leaping 10yard catch that ignited UL’s first touchdown drive in the second quarter

Jacob’s big shot

Pulling starting quarterback Daniel Beale for Lunch Winfield down 34-17 midway through the third quarter wasn’t the only tough decision Desormeaux was forced to make Saturday He also decided to replace senior team leader Tyree Skipper in favor of redshirt junior Collin Jacob from Loreauville.

“Yes, Skip is fine,” Desormeaux said. “We just didn’t feel like he was playing great. He’s owned it, you know what I mean? He’s good and he’s going to be fine. He’ll be better from it.”

The best part of the tough decision for Desormeaux was that Jacob responded in a big way with the game of his life, collecting 14 tackles, a half a sack and four stops behind the line.

“It’s a great feeling,” Jacob said. “I waited for my opportunity and when my opportunity came, I took advantage of it. That’s the way I tell myself, because you don’t know when you’re going to get another opportunity.”

Tamarez 1-11, B.Turner 1-3. UL, Strother 3-27, Robertson 2-61, Martin 2-35, T.Miller 2-18, Perry 2-18, Davis 1-16, Dennis 1-16, Chappell 1-6. MISSED FIELD GOALS—Marshall, L.Quinn 52, L.Quinn 50.

“I put myself in game day situations. If it’s third-and-long, I’ve got to get it. I’ve been trying to do that all year, but things happen. It’s practice.” Midway through the third quarter Saturday night, it wasn’t practice for Winfield. It was a daunting hole, one so deep it seemed the Cajuns wouldn’t be able to climb out of it.

The biggest of all plays for Jacob was a sack with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter to force a punt and set up one of Winfield’s touchdown drives. Desormeaux wasn’t surprised Jacob was ready when called upon.

Until “Lunch Time” came in to save the day

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

“He’s another guy that all he does is work, and all he does is go out there and try to do his job for our football team,” Desormeaux said. “Tonight, he got an opportunity to go play, and he played really well. He was prepared, played fast, he played physical and he played really smart.”

BILLS31, SAINTS 19

BY THENUMBERS

Sanker showsplaymakingability

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

ORCHARD PARK,NY— BuffaloBills

Josh Allen pass.

RUSHING—New Orleans, Kamara15-70, Miller 11-65, Rattler6-49, Shaheed 2-5. Buffalo, Cook 22-117, Allen 7-45, R.Davis 1-3, Ty.Johnson 1-0, Moore 1-0. PASSING—New Orleans, Rattler 18-27-0-126, Olave 0-1-1-0. Buffalo, Allen 16-22-1-209.

RECEIVING—New Orleans, Shaheed 4-47, Kamara4-2,Johnson3-28, Cooks 3-22, Olave 3-20, Stoll 1-7. Buffalo, Shakir 5-69, Coleman 3-45, Cook3-18, Palmer 2-25,Kincaid 1-28, Hawes1-15, Samuel 1-9.

PUNT RETURNS—New Orleans, Shaheed

1-10. Buffalo, Shakir1-6.

KICKOFF RETURNS—New Orleans, Jones

5-134. Buffalo, Samuel 3-82, Ty.Johnson 1-13.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—New Orleans, McKinstry 7-0-0, Davis 5-2-0, Granderson

5-0-1, Sanker 4-1-0, Jordan 4-0-1,Riley 4-0-0, Taylor 3-1-0, Werner 3-0-0, Bresee 2-1-1, Shepherd1-2-0, Yiadom 1-2-0, Reid 1-0-0, Boyd 0-1-0, Godchaux 0-1-0. Buffalo, White

7-0-0, Bernard4-2-0,Bishop 4-1-0,Benford

4-0-0, Ta.Johnson 4-0-0,Williams 3-3-0, Strong 3-0-0,Rapp 2-1-0, Rousseau 2-1-0, Walker 2-1-0,Epenesa 2-0-1, Thompson

2-0-0, Bosa 1-2-1, D.Jones 1-2-1, Phillips 1-10, Andreessen1-0-0, Lewis 1-0-0, Sanders 0-1-0. INTERCEPTIONS—New Orleans, Sanker 1-0. Buffalo, Bishop 1-4. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

OFFICIALS—Referee Land Clark, Ump Mark Pellis, HL TomStephan, LJ Jeff Hutcheon FJ Jabir Walker,SJDominique Pender, BJ Courtney Brown, ReplayGerald Frye

SAINTS

was still significant in the big picture. Thiswas aSaintsteamthat, just aweek ago, looked unprepared, undisciplined and unfocused inSeattle.ToMoore, it was important to see players stick together in atime of challenging circumstances. But the response was also important for Moore: This week represented the clearest test yet of his coaching tenure. He tookthe blamefor what happened against the Seahawks, and even though first-year coaches are generally awardedpatience, it was important to establish thatMoore could be an effective leader and rally his team.

TheSaints’preparation —and effort —said alot aboutthe way Moore goes about thejob. The 37-year-oldisthe first to admit he’snot ascreamer —but there are other ways to get the most out of ateam. To start the week, Moore gathered the team’sleadership council —a committee comprising of 12 or so players that thecoach meets with when needed. And the Seahawks’ drubbing warranted ameeting. Tackle Taliese Fuaga, one of the

receiver Khalil Shakir hauled in a screen pass, spun out of atackle attemptfrom New OrleansSaints linebacker Demario Davis,and only had one mantobeat to theend zone. Saintsrookie safety JonasSanker did not anticipatethe angle at which Shakir would spin out of Davis’ tackle attempt, and Sanker did not make the play. Shakirran through Sanker’sarms andoutraced the Saints defense to the endzonefor a43-yard touchdown on theBills’ opening drive.

It was atough start to the day for New Orleans, but things got better— and therest of the game may have suggested the Saints have found animpact player in Sanker.

The Saints selected Sanker with thesecondoftwo third-round picks in this year’s NFL draft. He was not supposedtoplaythis big of arole this early,but aseasonendinginjuryto Julian Blackmon forced him into the starting lineup.

Sunday was Sanker’sthird start, and probably his best: He recorded five tackles, broke up three passes and becamethe first player this season to intercepta

leaders in the group, said Moore sought feedback and fosters a player-led culture, one that demands accountability. That’swhy in one of the practices this week, it was Fuaga who got animated after afalse start penalty.

“Atfirst,itwas like, ‘Eh,it’sall right,’ but then Iyelled,” Fuagasaid.

“...

“I’m not the biggest yeller,but if Ihave to be, Ihave to be.” After averaging 10.3 penalties per game through the first three outings, theSaintscommitted only fourpenalties against theBills. In some ways, they were still costly.A roughing-the-kicker penalty in the fourth quarter,for instance, sealed Buffalo’s win.But theSaints showed noticeable improvement when it mattered, andonly one of the four flags was on theoffense.

Theinterception came at abig time, with the Saints trailing 14-7 and Buffalo backed up deep in its own territory.Allentried heaving apass deep downfield to Keon Coleman —and likely would’ve connected had it not been for Sanker, who closed agap in aremarkably short amount of timetobeat Coleman to theball.

“It was awesome,” Saintscoach KellenMoore said. “Jonas is aplayer that we thinkveryhighly of. He played in some really contested situations, battled,playing against someofthe (NFL’s)premier players.”

Ruiz injured

Just when the Saints finally got their regular startingfive on the field at offensive line, another one went down withaninjury before the team even gottothe halftime break.

Right guard Cesar Ruiz was blocking downfield lateinthe second quarterwhenquarterback Spencer Rattler rolled into the back of his legs after getting tackled on ascramble. Ruiz collapsed to the turf at HighmarkStadium,and theSaints medical staff quickly went out to the field to check on him Ruiz gingerly walked off the field and eventually took the in-

league’sworstrushingdefenses and that his offense could benefit from abetter rungame. Andso, the Saints adjustedbyrelying on under-center formations and looks from the pistol. The change worked —and it was amainreason theSaints were even in Sunday’sgame at all.

ERIK MCCOy,

How theSaints attacked the Bills also said somethingabout Moore.

Despitebeing ashotgun-heavy pass team to start theseason,the coach pivoted. He rightfully recognized that the Bills had one of the

Ne wO rl ea ns rushedfor aseasonhigh 189 yards on 34 carries.The duo of Alvin Kamara and KendreMiller took advantage of the cleared lanes ahead of them, with the latterrushing for an 18-yardtouchdown on New Orleans’ opening drive.Italso helpedthatfor the first time thisseason, the Saintshad their normaloffensive line, as guard Trevor Penning returned from amonthlong absence due to atoe injury. Thegameplan prevented the game from becoming atrack meet, especially when the Bills scored two touchdowns —first a43-yard, catch-and-run from Khalil Shakir and thena1-yard rush from James Cook —with relative ease.

jury cart to thelocker room at the halftime break. Officially,hewas declared questionabletoreturn, butRuiznever returned to the contest. After the game, he greeted his teammates at theentrancetothe locker room with aprotective boot on his foot.

Moore did nothaveanupdate on Ruiz’s injury after the game.

Undrafted rookie Torricelli Simpkins took Ruiz’sspot in the lineup at right guard. Lastweek,Simpkins started forthe Saints at left guard in place of the injured Trevor Penning,who made his season debut Sunday in Buffalo.

Switching from left to right is nota big deal forSimpkins, who was used to doing his pass sets to either side alreadyafter playing center in college. But the first few weeks have taught him avaluable lesson.

“My roleistobeready when somebody goes down,” Simpkins said. “When my number is called, Ihave to be ready, and these last two weeks have shownthat you have to be prepared to go in.”

Milestones

With asack of Allen in the second quarter,Saints defensive end Cam Jordan addeda couple of new milestones to his career highlight list.

But to upset an elite team like Buffalo, the Saints couldn’tafford to leavethe door open. And too often,they didjust that. Take alook at how the Saints defendedAllen. Forthe first time this season, theSaints picked offthe quarterback when rookie Jonas Sanker came flyingfor the interception. ButNew Orleans punted on thefollowing possession, and Allen would not make the same mistakeagain. Late, when the Saints needed astop, Allenstuck thedagger with apivotal two-play sequence: He rushed for27yards, making several defenders miss, andthenthrewa28-yard touchdown to tight end Dalton Kincaid. TheSaints, by contrast,missed their chances to swing thegame. With 8:56 left, Rattler’sgo-ahead touchdown to wide receiver BrandinCooks wasreversed whenofficials determined the pass hit the ground before the catch.And the Saints squandered atwo-possessionstretch near the end of the first half and into the third quarter

At the 5-yard line before the half, theSaints attempted to execute the Philly Special, atrick play that involves awide receiver throwing to the quarterback on areverse. But Buffalo read the route perfectly andsafetyColeBishopintercepted

The sack wasthe 124th of Jordan’scareer,moving him into sole possession of 20th place on the NFL’s all-timerecord books. Allen, who was namedthe Most Valuable Player in theNFL last year,also became aunique trivia answer: He was the 50th NFL quarterback Jordan has sacked in his career AndJordanwas joinedbya teammate in afairly exclusive club Sunday,with Davis becoming the ninth active NFLplayer to start his 200th game. Of the active players with 200 career starts, Davis and Jordan are the only teammates. Davis became the110th NFL player ever to hit that number Odds andends

Safety Justin Reid and defensive back Alontae Taylor (shoulder) were both checkedout in thebluemedical tent on the Saints sideline Sunday,but both returned to finish the game …Wide receiver Devaughn Vele (hip) was active forSunday’s game butdid notplaymuch. Moore said someofthat had to do with the Saints’ tempo offense approach …Rookie corner Quincy Riley entered thegame in thefirst half andappeared to play themajorityofthe defensivesnaps.Moore said that was by design and not as aresponse to anybody’splay

wide receiver Chris Olave. Then to start the third, the Saints went three-and-out. Twochances to take the lead, zero points. The trick play,inparticular,may open Moore up to criticism. Why even botherwith the call in that spot? When asked, the coach said the Bills gave the “right look” and he felt good about the play Nitpicking individual play calls, however,matters little in the largercontext. The Saints’ season will largely be judgedonwhether Mooreisthe right coach forthe team in thelongterm. And on a day when his team was 141/2-point underdogs, Moore managed to ease whatever concerns emerged from the weekprior

“He’s big on theneutral mindset, trying to take the emotion out of things andjust state the facts, centerErik McCoysaid. “And the facts were that last weekwedidn’t play wellenough to even makeita remotely close game, and that we need to improve.”

And Moore’smindset after Sunday’sloss?

“The resultsaren’tthere right now,but keep trusting the process and they will come,” McCoy said. Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJEFFREy T. BARNES

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is stopped near the goal line by NewOrleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker in the first halfofagame on SundayinOrchard Park, N.y.

THAT’S MUCH BETTER

1

Aloss is aloss,but in the hyper-competitive NFL, that’sasclose to amoral victory as you’re going to see.After an embarrassingeffortinSeattle last week, the Saints ranthe ball extremely well and put ascare intothe Super Bowl favorites. Fora moment, it evenlooked likethe Saintshad takenafourthquarter lead on aSpencerRattler to Brandin Cooks touchdown pass, but the play was overturned,and Josh Allen took overfrom there. Still, it’s clear this Saintsteam is still fighting for KellenMoore and that betterdaysmay be ahead.

BILLS31, SAINTS 19

RATTLING ON

2

Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler is now0-10 as astarter in the NFL. He threwfor only125 yards Sunday, but he also ran fora career-high 49 yards and kept the NewOrleans offense in the game against adifficult opponent.As the losses mount, do the Saints stick with Rattler for their two-game homestand against the Giants and Patriots, or do they turntorookie Tyler Shough? My vote is to stick with Rattler,atleast fornow.He’seliminatedmanyofthe mistakes in hisgame,and he deservesmore chances to getthat elusivevictory

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT

3

Containing Allen and the Bills is nevereasy,and the first twoBuffalo drives confirmed that.Both were easy touchdowns.Afterward,however, the Saints’ defense showeda lot of growth, sacking Allen three times and forcing theBills’ firstturnoverofthe year That was an interception fromrookie safety Jonas Sanker, whoisturninginto akey playeralready.Therewere mistakes —missed tackles, abrutal dropped interception from Pete Werner and along Allen scramble in the fourth quarter— but again, this is thetype of fight youwant to see fromBrandon Staley’sdefense

MISSEDOPPORTUNITY

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

N.Y.—

ORCHARD

the tunnel from the room where Kellen Moore addressed agroup of reporters, theBuffalo Bills were celebrating their fourth consecutive win to start the 2025 regular season, whilethe New Orleans Saints rookie head coach spent another Sunday searching for the right words.

The Saints have been right therein three of their four losses, and yet they have not found away to get the job done. Or,asMooreput it, “the ultimate goal has yet to be achieved.

The reasons have been varied. There have been penalties. There has been poor execution in critical situations. And, of course,there was that blowout loss in Seattle that happened last week, where everything went wrong. Sunday against Buffalo, it was missed opportunities. Believe it or not, aSaintsteamthatmanyhad pegged as oneofthe worst in theNFL coming into the season was hanging tough on the road against aBuffalo team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

They were soclose,afact thatmatters littleinthe NFL, where themargins are often paper-thin. Moore effectively capturedthe separator between the haves and the have-nots that was on display Sunday in Highmark Stadium: “Wedidn’tmake enough plays when it mattered most, and theymade some plays,” Moore said.

Moore had his own hand in that.

The Saints will have plenty of moments to choose from in Sunday’sloss that could have changed their fortunes Thejust off-target pass to Brandin Cooks in the end zone thatfellincomplete; letting Josh Allen get loose for a27-yard scamper to effectively put the game away late on third down; watching adefensive stopturn to dust becauseofa penalty —this week being aroughing-the-kicker penalty after forcing apunt. But the most egregious missed opportunity the Saints had came in the second quarterwhen the plucky Saints found themselves with achance to take the lead just before halftime. It wasan especially prime opportunity because New Orleans wasset toreceivethe opening kickofthe second half.And it’sespecially memorable because of howthe Saints let it slip out of their hands.

New Orleans seized somemomentum when it sacked Bills MVP quarterback Josh Allenontwo consecutive plays, pushing theBills’ punting unit back to itsown 7-yardline. TheSaintsbegan their ensuing drive already inside Buffaloterritory with achancetoerase a 14-10 deficit. But after acouple of big Rattler runs pushed theSaintsinside theBuffalo 5, theSaints made the curious decision to take the ball out of his hands. On third-and-goal, New Orleans called its version of thefamed “Philly Special” play the Eagles used to win a SuperBowl. The Saints versionfeatured areverse to Chris Olave, who would then throw the ball to Rattler in the end zone. They got the look they wanted from Buffalo, Mooresaid. They had practiced the play for weeks and came away pleased with theoperation. Even

after the game, some had no issue with idea behind the play in that moment

“I love the play call,” center Erik McCoy said. “I do. It’sfrustrating.”

Frustrating because theplay did not work out as intended. Olave, who had never thrown apassina gamesetting —neither as apro nor as acollegian at Ohio State —got rid of the ball as soon as he sawaninklingofpressure, floating it towarda well-covered Rattler near thegoal line.

Bills safety Cole Bishoppicked off the pass and ended the scoring threat

The deficit remained at four “It was what it was,” Rattler said. “It was atough play.Chris isn’taquarterback,and Idon’t putthe blame on him.”

Later,Rattler added: “I trustKellen to call the right play. We hadthe right look, and the play looked great the last twoweeks we reppedit. Iwas ready to catch it in the end zone. Itrust what

Kellen’scalling.”

Facing asimilar situation later in the game, the Saints reversed the roles and Rattler fired a3-yard touchdown to Olave.

The game did not comedown to a single playordecision, but aseriesof them that moreoften tilted in the Bills’ favor —which could also be said about the losses to the Cardinals and 49ers earlier this season.

The Saints areclose. Nowthey’ve gottofigureout how to turn closeinto something that matters.

“We’re in it. It’svery frustrating for allofour guys to feel like you’re that close,” Mooresaid. “You’vegot to feel the taste of it,feel the taste of executing in those critical situations and… find waystowin one of these.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Bryan Breseeblocked afield goal to preserve avictoryagainst theNew York Giants. The Saints, 0-4 this season, have now losteightgames in arow.The only team with alonger losing streak is the Tennessee Titans, who lost their 10th straight game Sunday. The Saints’ 0-4 start shouldn’treally come as asurprise

Once they couldn’tclose the deal on their first two gamesinthe Superdome against the ArizonaCardinals and the San Francisco 49ers,in fact, an 0-4 start seemed inevitable. When the NFL released theschedule in May,most of us marked these back-to-back trips to the West Coast and then theEast Coast as losses Now things getabit more urgent. The Saints return home Sunday to host the Giantsand theNew England Patriots. The playingfield should be more eveninthat one. That wasn’tthe case Sunday.The Bills (4-0) are one of the eliteteams in the NFL. They will be one of thelast teams standing in the AFC comeplayoff time in January.They looked the part Sunday,scoring on their first two drives and looking like they were well on their way to covering the 161/2-point spread the Vegas oddsmakers set initially

TheSaints, like they have done in three of their first fourgames, hung around andmadeitrespectable. A14-10 halftime deficit almost felt likeawin.The biggest missed opportunity came at theend of the first half,whenthe Saintstried a trick play that saw receiver Chris Olaveattempt apass to quarterback Spencer Rattler.The pass was picked off,robbing the Saints of taking some momentum going into the half. “I love the play call,” center Erik McCoysaid.“Ido. It’s frustrating.

Guy made agreat play.But it would have been nice to come out with seven (points) right there.” Hindsight is 20/20. If the play worked and the Saints had won, it would have been thebiggest play call in Moore’syoung head coaching career.But it didn’tand instead became thelatest missed opportunity for the Saints. Truthbetold, it probably wouldn’t have mattered Buffalo rarely loses in its own stadium.The Bills’quarterback, last year’s MVPJosh Allen,doesn’tlet them.

Sunday wasBuffalo’s14th straight winatHighmark Stadium

The Saints, meanwhile, are still looking to get winNo. 1for Moore and Rattler,who’snow 0-10 as astarter There weresome signs of improvementonSunday.The Saints, who came into the gametied forthe league lead in penalties, committed just four Kicker Blake Grupe madeboth his field goals, including aseason-best 54-yarder.The Saints ran the ball better than they have all season.

It wasn’tenough.

“Either way it goes, I’mnot in a great mood,” McCoy said. “A blowout loss or aregular loss, it still counts as aloss in the loss column.” Still, Alvin Kamarasays the Saints are “trending up.”

We’ll findout if that’strue next week when the Giants come to New Orleans. The Saints desperately need to winthat one forfans to start believing again.

Sunday felt like astep in the right direction, despite what the scoreboard said.

“While there are positives in this, the ultimate goal has yet to be achieved in games,” Moore said. “So we are striving forthat and we need to get there.” Indeed, they do. And it needs to start next weekin the Dome.

Email RodWalkerat rwalker@theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SUE OGROCKI Saints coachKellen Moore walks on the sideline in the second half of agame against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.y.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJEFFREy T. BARNES

Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop intercepts apass intended for Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler on atrick play during the first half of their game Sunday in Orchard Park, N.y.

Team Europe wins the Ryder Cup

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

FARMINGDALE,N.Y Team Europe is taking the Ryder Cup back across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the Americans to search for answers in what is becoming a lopsided series.

Shane Lowry added his name to Irish lore in the Ryder Cup with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday that assured Europe of retaining the cup. Tyrrell Hatton halved his match to make Europe an outright winner for the 11th time in the last 15 matches.

Luke Donald became the first European captain to win back to back in the Ryder Cup since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987. He had 11 of the same 12 players who won big in Rome two years ago. Even more impressive was doing it on U.S. soil — at Bethpage Black, no less with hostile fans that were loud and vulgar and relentless.

The final score tally — Europe

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

Europe’s Shane Lowry celebrates after making the winning putt on the 18th hole on the Bethpage Black course at the Ryder Cup tournament on Sunday in Farmingdale, N.y.

15, United States 13 was the only real surprise. The Americans at least showed a pulse and made their opponents sweat more than anyone imagined, storming back from the largest

NFL ROUNDUP

Sunday deficit ever against Europe. There was a moment where a comeback actually looked possible. Cameron Young and Justin Thomas won matches on the 18th hole. Bryson DeChambeau charged from 5 down to earn a halve. Scottie Scheffler avoided getting blanked by winning his heavyweight match against Rory McIlroy Lowry who contended with the worst of the New York crowds all week, had the last word. He birdied three of the last four holes, and his final putt will put him alongside other Irishmen who have produced Ryder Cup heroics — Graeme McDowell at Celtic Manor in 2010, Darren Clarke and his emotional week at The K Club, Paul McGinley at The Belfry in 2002. Russell Henley had a 1-up lead and twice had 10-foot birdie putts on the closing holes. He left both of them short. The last one set the stage for Lowry, who made the putt and set off a wild celebration

as thousands of fans streamed through the exits.

Lowry said to his caddie walking up the 18th, “I have a chance to do the coolest thing in my life.” And he did just that.

The Americans tied a Ryder Cup record by winning 8 1/2 points from the 12 singles matches. They needed 10 points.

The Americans still have a 2716-2 lead in the series that date to 1927, but the modern Ryder Cup didn’t start until 1979 when continental Europe was invited to the party Since then, Europe has captured the cup 13 out of 19 times.

McIlroy had said winning a road Ryder Cup was among the biggest accomplishments in golf. It’s just not all that unusual. Europe has won five of the last 10 away from home.

Europe’s best players starred at Bethpage Black even as New York fans hurled abuse, building a record seven-point lead going into the 12 singles matches.

Steelers hold on for win over Vikings in Ireland

By The Associated Press

DUBLIN Even though he’s relatively new to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers fully understands the Rooney family’s connections to the Emerald Isle.

They didn’t want to disappoint Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland’s first regularseason NFL game. Kenneth Gainwell did his part by running for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-21 victory at Croke Park, and Rodgers connected with DK Metcalf on an 80-yard touchdown.

And the Steelers held on to improve to 3-1 going into their bye week.

“There were a lot of us that wanted to win a little bit more for the family, knowing how much affection they have for this area,” Rodgers said. The Steelers’ victory gave quarterback Rodgers his first international win and capped a Rooney family homecoming in front of a

decidedly pro-Steelers crowd of 74,512.

GIANTS 21, CHARGERS 18: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jaxson Dart threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in an impressive NFL starting debut, leading the Giants past the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers.

Giants wide receiver and former LSU standout Malik Nabers was carted off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury Coach Brian Daboll didn’t have an immediate update after the game.

FALCONS 34, COMMANDERS 27: In Atlanta, Michael Penix Jr led Atlanta’s win over the short-handed Washington Commanders. He threw for a career-high 313 yards, completing 20 of 26 passes with two touchdowns and one interception, and directed the Falcons to a season-high 435 yards of offense after they were shut out by the Panthers.

Drake London had his best game of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown less

than a week after the Falcons fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.

TEXANS 26, TITANS 0: In Houston, the Texans’ defense got its first shutout in almost 15 years and the offense did the rest against the Tennessee Titans to give Houston their first win of the season.

Rookie Woody Marks had a touchdown reception and ran for another score in the 26-0 victory

C.J. Stroud threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Sunday to put the game away and match their TD total in the previous three games combined.

EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 25: In Tampa Bay, Florida, Saquon Barkley scored on a fake tush push, Jalen Hurts threw one of his two touchdown passes on another variation of the play, and another specialteams score helped the Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their 20th victory in 21 games.

Chase McLaughlin’s 65-yard field goal for Tampa Bay on the final

play of the first half was the longest in NFL history in an outdoor stadium.

PATRIOTS 42, PANTHERS 13: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a win over the Panthers.

TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.

LIONS 34, BROWNS 10: In Detroit, Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St Brown, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for another score and the Lions beat the Cleveland Browns.

Goff was 16 of 27 for 168 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to St Brown late in the first half and an 8-yard toss to him in the fourth quarter, giving the All-Pro receiver six TD receptions in the

SCOREBOARD

last three games.

JAGUARS 26, 49ERS 21: In Santa Clara, California, Parker Washington had Jacksonville’s first punt return touchdown in eight seasons and the Jaguars opportunistic defense delivered four more takeaways in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Former Niners star Arik Armstead’s strip-sack of Brock Purdy with less than three minutes to play sealed the win for the Jaguars (31).

CHIEFS 37, RAVENS 20: In Kansas City Missouri, Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while outdueling Lamar Jackson, who left in the second half with a right hamstring injury, and the Kansas City Chiefs routed the beat-up Baltimore Ravens. Xavier Worthy returned from a shoulder injury to catch five passes for 83 yards, igniting a Chiefs offense that had been struggling to find its footing without the speedster and his suspended teammate, Rashee Rice, early in the season.

States. Ben Griffin, United States, def. Rasmus Højgaard, Europe. Tyrrell Hatton, Europe, halved with Collin Morikawa, United States. Robert MacIntyre, Europe, halved with Sam Burns, United States. Viktor Hovland,

PROVIDED PHOTOSFROMBATON ROUGE BALLET THEATRE BatonRougeBallet

CHANGE IN MOTION

Ballet Theatrekicks offnew season with ‘Lagniappe’

Staff report

The Baton Rouge Ballet

Theatrewillkickoff its 2025-26 season with“Lagniappe,” at 7p.m. Oct. 2, in the Baton Rouge Magnet HighSchoolAuditorium, 2825 Government St.

This opener willbeanadded program to the theater’sseason, which usually consistsofthreeprograms, hence the title, “Lagniappe,” which is Cajun for “a little something extra.”

The showwill feature bothbeloved balletclassicsand company premieres of brand-new contemporary works choreographed by Joan Rodriguez Hernandez of Body Traffic andShannon Greyson, BatonRouge nativeand current instructor at USC’sGlorya Kaufman School of Dance in LosAngeles. “Lagniappe”will alsofeature Baton Rouge BalletTheatrealumna, Adrienne Simmons, asavery special guest artist. Simmonsspentmanyyears training with the Dancers’ Workshop and received manyprincipal roles

She continues to train, dance and performwithseveral companies in the New Orleans area while finishing her master’s degree last December Simmonswill be performing in aduetwithcompany member Ty’Juan Bovie, choreographed for them and performed in aCOVIDera virtual program. This is the first time excerptsfrom “Washington Square” will be seen live on stage.

She will alsoperform an excerpt from “New York Man,” a15-minute solo work she created andpremiered lastyear.The full piece is adance-centric multimedia performance that blends movement styles with documentary footage and audio.

7domains

of well-being a helpfulguide afterdementia diagnosis

Howcan Imaintain my sense of wellbeing aftermydiagnosis of dementia?

The definition of “well-being” includes the good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness and prosperity The notion of well-being is part of the missionand philosophy of The Eden Alternative, which asserts that no matter how old we are or whatchallenges we live with, life is about continuing to grow.The Eden Alternative identifies seven domains of well-being, whichis the focus of the book, “Dementia Beyond Disease,” written by Dr.AlPower.Inthis book, Power explains the importance of living the seven domains for an overall sense of well-being in life. These seven domains include identity,growth, meaning, connectedness, security autonomyand joy

One of the basic proponents of well-being is having and keeping that sense of identity; your personhood, that others understand and acknowledge you and preserve that which you are at all times. Youhave a history to preserve and to be respected and you should uphold it as such for as long as you can and let others know how important it is to you. Youneed to know that you are still valued and that your feelings matter Growth is another domain to well-being. Youare continually expanding and evolving, and you will continue to develop. As Power puts it in one of his presentations, “As long as you are breathing, growth is possible.” Make sure to continue to do meaningful activities in your lifeas“meaning” is another important domain. This meaning and purpose speaks to your personal history and values and what is significant and sacred to you in your life.

throughout herBaton Rouge Ballet career after which she received dual bachelor’sdegrees in theater and businessfrom theUniversity of New Orleans.

TheBaton Rouge Ballet Theatre, underthe direction of Rebecca Acosta andJonnaCox,isa nonprofit organization chartered in 1960 to promote andassistthe advancement of classical and contemporary dance by maintaining a performing company,presenting

See BALLET, page 8C Adrienne Simmons will be the guest performer in Baton RougeBallet Theatre’sproduction‘Lagniappe.’

Nick Saban’sformerBRmansion up forsale

Being in “relationships” is vital for people with dementia, for isolation may only accelerate the progression of the disease. Keep connected and engaged to those around you and embrace that belonging in your environment. The late Dr.Richard Taylor,who suffered from younger onset Alzheimer’s, was often perplexed at the exclusion by his close friends. After Taylor’sdiagnosis, one friend told him that he didn’tcall him anymore because he didn’tknow what to say.Dr. Taylor told his friend, “Just say ‘Hello.’”Itis so important to maintain those vital relationships and healthy social interactions.

Autonomy is acentral domain for well-being for it means having choice and control in your life. Make your financial and healthcare plans and desires known to others and be vigilant in your self-determination.

The seventh domain does not need an explanation, because it is “joy.”Everyone deserves great pleasure,contentment and happiness in their lifetime,and adiagnosis of dementia should notdiminish or erasethat.

Aperson’swell-being is affected by manydifferent

Skin conditionrequiresfurther exploration

Dear Doctors: For almost two months now,I’ve had bumpson the back,sides and crown of my head. They itch all the time —and even more when Iget hot.When Iscratch, Isee white or brown flakes. My dermatologistinsists it’sdermatitis. He has prescribed clobetasol and antihistamines, but they do nothing. Neither does UV light treatment. How can Iget the help Ineed?

Dear reader: Youhave our sympathy for the situation you have described. We see thisasa case of your symptoms being treated without aclear understanding of the root cause. This can result in delayed, incorrect or missed diagnoses. At best, you, the patient, continue dealing withuncomfortable symptoms. At worst, itcan

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

lead to serious health problems depending onthe root cause. Let’sbegin with dermatitis. Dermatitis is ageneral term for inflammation of the skin. It can happenwhen something causes theskin to rally the immune system.There are several possible causes of this response. It could be an irritant in the environment,anallergen or agenetic

difference that affects the skin’s response. Symptomsinclude itching, redness,rash, bumps, dry or scaly patches, and peeling or flaking skin. In moreserious cases, it can cause athickening of the skin. It can even trigger blisters. You’ve been asked to try treatments for several of these possible causes of dermatitis. Clobetasol is avery strong topical medication. It’soften prescribed for eczema, psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions. The UV light box can ease symptoms by slowing abnormal cell growth. This treatment can help in some types of plaque psoriasis. Antihistamines would help if your symptomswere from an allergy Since you have had no change in your symptomsintwo months,

Acongressman walks into acoffee shop

Dear Miss Manners: Iwas at acoffeehouse in my neighborhood on aSaturday morning when my congressional representative took aseat two tables over.Ihad seen him there before, but refrained from approaching him or speaking with him. Icould tell from his informal clothing that he was trying to fit in and not be noticed. But because he took aseat close by,Ithought Iwould try to say something about apolitical issue that’sbeen on my mind. He quickly cut me off, explaining that he was just there to eat something. I apologized and assured I would not bother him further

it seems it’stimetolook beyond these possible causes. Youdescribed alocalized condition,only in areas of hair growth. We wonder if your doctor has discussed the possibility of ascalpbased fungal infection, such as dandruff or folliculitis? In these instances, we would recommend that our own patients try using an antifungal shampoo. If that provides anyrelief from your symptoms, it would be agood starting point. This could lead to additionaltreatments, such as other topical or even oral antifungal medications. We weren’table to include a portion of your letter that mentioned you had askin biopsy that came back negative. We wonder if, rather than abiopsy,this was a

skin scraping for ringworm? If so, ringworm tests can produce false negatives. Aretest for ringworm using acombination of methods would be agood idea. Aretest should include apolymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. APCR test can detect fungal DNA. As we often tell our readers and our own patients, you can also always get asecond opinion. A different doctor may have wider experience with your condition and bring afresh approach.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday

Sept.29, the 272nd day of 2025. There are 93 days left in the year

Iwas so embarrassed that Ihaven’t returned to that coffeehouse. Idon’t want him to see me andthink that I’m stalking him. But I’ve been going to that coffeehouse for years, andhehas only recently started going there. Is it OK for me to return there? Gentle reader: He is not running for reelection,ishe? Actually,Miss Manners agrees that recognizable peopleshouldnot have to engage with strangers when they are off duty.A quickcompliment is usually appreciated,but you were proposingapolitical discussion. Nevertheless, it is an important part ofalegislator’s

job to listen to theviews of constituents. He was foolish, as well as rude, to dismiss you so curtly.He could have said, “I want to hear your views, but this is not the time or place to have adiscussion.” Then he could have suggested that you visit his office, writea letter or attend aforum. There is no reason for you to avoid the coffee shop. Perhaps it will present an opportunity for the politician to apologize to you. 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.

Protocol foreatingrefrozenmeats

Dear Heloise: Iread aletter in your column about eating chicken that was stored unwrapped. At the end of your answer,you said never to refreeze meats, fowl or seafood after they’ve been thawed out. I had abutcher tell me years ago that it was OK to do, and I’ve been doing it since then without aproblem. —Sharon

Todayinhistory: On Sept.29, 1954, Willie Mays of theNew York Giants made arunning, overthe-shoulder catch of a ball hit by VicWirtz of the Cleveland Indians in Game 1ofthe 1954 World Series; “The Catch” would become one of the most famous plays in baseball history

Also on this date:

In 1789, Congress officially established aregular army under theU.S. Constitution.

In 1938, British,French, German and Italian leaders concluded the Munich Agreement,which was aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’sSudetenland.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act creating the National Endowment for theHumanities and the National Endowment for theArts.

In 1982, Extra-Strength

Tylenol capsules laced with deadly cyanide claimed the first of seven victimsin the Chicago area; the case, which led to legislation and packaging improvements to deter product tampering, remains unsolved.

In 1988, the U.S. space shuttle program resumed after a32-month suspension following the 1986 Challenger disaster with the launch of Discovery, carrying acrew of five astronauts, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery’screw deployed asatellite and conducted science experiments before returning to Earth with alanding on Oct. 3atEdwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2005, John G. Roberts Jr.was sworn in as the nation’s17th chief justice after winning Senate confirmation.

In 2017, TomPrice resigned as President Donald Trump’ssecretary of Health and Human Services amid investigations into his use of costly charter flights forofficial travel at taxpayer expense.

In 2018, Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, agreed to pay atotal of $40 million to settle agovernment lawsuit alleging that Musk had duped investors with misleading statements about aproposed buyout of the company In 2021, ajudge in Los Angeles suspended Britney Spears’ father from the conservatorship that had controlled her lifeand money for13years, saying the arrangement reflected a“toxic environment.” Today’sbirthdays: Former NASA administrator and ex-Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is 83. ActorIan McShane is 83. JazzmusicianJean-Luc Ponty is 83. NobelPeace Prize laureateLech Walesa, formerpresident of Poland, is 82. RetiredTVjournalist andsportscasterBryant Gumbelis77. Olympic gold medal runnerSebastianCoe is 69. Rock musician Les Claypool is 62. ActorZachary Levi is 45. ActorChrissy Metz (TV:“This Is Us”) is 45. ActorKelly McCreary (TV:“Grey’sAnatomy”) is 44. Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnsonis40.

Hints from Heloise

G.,inTucson, Arizona Sharon, refreezing meat, poultryand seafood maynot kill you,but there will be some changes. If you have thawed out themeat in the refrigerator,it’susually safe enoughtoconsume. Butthe changes in the product will result in meat that is drier andtougher and has less flavor

Bacteria will also multiply.Refreezing meat does not kill bacteria; it only makes bacteria become dormant.Once the meat is thawed out again, the bacteria will get busy multiplying. So, it’s up to you whether you want toconsume foods that have been thawed out once, then refrozen. —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

SABAN

Continued from page7C

access to the main home, guest quarters and back acres. With six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, the main house features alimestone and iron staircase, woodflooring, intricate crown molding, chef’s kitchen, sunroom, game room and more. Additional featuresinclude awhole housegenerator workoutroom,guest quarters and three-car garage. Outside, there’sa covered entertaining pavilion, fullservice caterer’skitchen, lighted sports court, resortstyle pool and LSU-designed landscaping.

BALLET

Continued from page7C

ahigh-quality season, and providing dance education and community outreach. Tickets are $23 and can be purchased by visiting batonrougeballet.org/lagniappe/.

GUIDE

Continued from page7C

factors. Ourlife experiences and theenvironment have aprofoundeffect on making us who we are. Maintain theseven domains of well-beingand keep a gratitude journal in theprocess. It can giveyou asense

With a20% down payment, theestimated monthly payment is $27,396 per month with a30-year fixed loan. As of Sept.24, thehouse hasbeen on the marketfor 134 days. Visit realtor.comtosee the full listing.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

of stability and peace with your dementia diagnosis.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts“The Memory Whisperer.” Emailher at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

PHOTO FROM REALTOR.COM

The home at 6326 Highland Road features aresort-style pool.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct 23) Before you jump into something of interest, do your research. Taking a chance will ultimately prove to be a valuable learning experience. Keep your overhead low and your plans simple.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Arguing is a waste of time. Actions are the quintessential route to getting the results you want. Mix a little discipline with ingenuity, and something good will transpire.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) If you need change, think outside the box, and don't be afraid to do things differently. Learn how to accept the inevitable and protect what's important to you.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Look for opportunities; diversify and put your energy into getting ahead, prosperity and avoiding extravagance and temptation. It's up to you to control an outcome by paying attention.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Tidy up loose ends. Chat with a headhunter or agency that offers insight into what's available and how to tailor and market your skills to fit today's professional needs.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Pay attention, study trends and work to keep up with the times Enhance your skill set, refine your resume and position yourself to capitalize on opportunities that arise while networking.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Honesty is the best policy, especially when you are looking inward and need to give

yourself a reality check. Trust your instincts, believe in yourself and follow through with a positive attitude.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take advantage of any opportunity you get to deal with institutions or people in a position of power. Engage with others and share your message, and you can make a difference.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Change requires your input. Focus on what you want to modify with a "learn as you go" attitude as you connect with those who can guide you. Participation is in your best interest.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) It is best to do less but deliver more. The impression you leave will make a difference when you want something in return. Avoid hasty decisions or engaging in joint ventures.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) You have choices, and it's essential to look out for your welfare. Be kind to yourself; avoid self-criticism and reach for the stars. Choose peace and love over negativity.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Concentrate on health, diet and physical fitness. A positive change of attitude will stimulate your need to feel and do your best. Let positive actions lead the way.

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

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

FAMILY CIrCUS

ToDAy's cLuE: A EQuALs u

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

nea CroSSwordS

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s PuzzleAnswer

La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Jack Benny said, “It’snot so much knowingwhen to speak, as when to pause.”

At thebridge table, it’s oftennot so muchknowing when to play, as when to pause forthought.That applies in particularattrickone.Themorethinkingat trickone,thebetteryouwillplay,whether you are the declarerora defender In today’s deal, how should South play in five heartsafterWest leads the diamond king?

The bidding wasshort but exciting. East’s four-spade opening bid would have usually been based on an eightcard suit, but wasunderstandablesince he wasnonvulnerable. However,South had an easy five-heart overcall. West wondered about six diamonds,but knew it would be awild action. (Sixdiamonds doubledcanbedefeatedbyseventricks, minus 1,700.)

Now to thisdifficult declarer-play problem.Given the opening lead, South has only 10 toptricks: seven hearts, one diamond and two clubs.Yes,the club jack might drop singleton or doubleton butthatisunlikely.Andassumingitdoes notappear,howcandeclarerpossiblyget home? There is one chance: South must find West with theclub jack. And, even harder to realize, declarer must not win the first trick.

Let’s assumeWest continues withthe diamond queen. South ruffs in hishand, draws trumps,cashes theclub ace, and overtakes the club queen withdummy’s king. Then he continues withthe club 10, pitching aspade from his hand. West takes the trick, but mustgive the lead back to the dummy and allow declarer to discard hislasttwo spades ©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore

ToDAy’s

Average

Timelimit

Can

next day Johnsees Jesus coming to him, and said,

the LambofGod,which takes away the sin of the world.” John1:29

wuzzles

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

Shown is