The Times-Picayune 10-23-2025 by The Advocate

NewOrleans explores loansfor payrollissues

FEMA funding delays complicate city finances

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

New Orleans ofﬁcialsare considering extreme measures toensurenearly 5,000cityemployeesare paid through the rest of the year,after realizing that delays in federal grant payments are threatening the city’scash ﬂow

The City Council on Thursday is expected to vote on ameasure requesting the state Bond Commission approve $125 million in short-term revenue bonds, otherwise known as payday loans for strappedcity governments. But it’snot clear ifthe revenuebonds can be approved and obtainedbefore

Franklin Avenue

BaptistChurch leader to retire

Pastor Fred LuterJr. taps son as successoratmegachurch

BY DESIREESTENNETT

After 39 years leadingFranklin Avenue Baptist Church, oneofthe largest megachurches in the New Orleans area, Pastor Fred Luter Jr.announced Sunday that he plans to retire next fall. In his place, he has asked the church to consider voting in his son Fred “Chip” Luter III as its nextleader

“Who would have thought that ayoungstreet preacher from the Lower 9th Ward would be elected by the 65members of the Franklin Avenue BaptistMission Church back in September of 1986 as pastor,” Fred Luter, 69,saidtohis congregation. “Then

ä See PASTOR, page 5A

NewOrleans CityCouncil member at-largeand Mayor-elect Helena Moreno listens to adiscussionduring Wednesday’smeeting

cash runsout. It couldbemonthsbefore the city sees any proceeds from revenue bonds.

City ofﬁcials did not clearly say how muchcashthe city hason-hand, and howmanyweeksofpayrollitcan cover, during an emergency 90-minute council meeting on Wednesday. ChiefAdmin-

istrative OfficerJoe Threat indicated thatpayroll problems could arise next month “In thelastprojection Igot on Mondayfrom (the Finance Department), it lookedlike we might be good forthis month, but next month we would have some problems, andthat’swhy were looking foranopportunity to go and look for gap financing to take us into thefirst year,” Threat toldcouncilmembers.

Anotherpossibility is tapping a$38 million savingsfundthat is locked away for emergencies andrequires atwothirds council votetodraw from, according to the city charter.Thatwould only cover roughly amonth of payroll expenses, however,and would leavethe city dangerously exposed in the event of any other emergencies.

Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, council vice president, said after themeeting

ä See PAYROLL, page 4A

Lawmakers hope for speedy session

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The wayRepublicans tell it, the special session that begins Thursday afternoon is not complicated and, ideally,itwon’tlast very long.

“Everybody wants to just get in and get out,” said Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter,R-Port Allen, who will be carrying legislation thatislikely to be the sole focus at the Capitol.

“I think we’ll be done by Nov.1.”

The plan? Push Louisiana’snew closed primaryelections in April back one month and hold theminMay instead, to buy timefor apotential SupremeCourt decision that could allowLouisiana to draw anew congressional election map

“Everybody wants to justget in and getout. Ithink we’ll be done by Nov.1.”

SEN. CALEB KLEINPETER R-Port Allen

The session will be “pretty straightforward,” said Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, who is spearheading the effort in the House.

“We’re just looking to push the election dates back 30 days,” he said.

The plan mayappear simple,but the reason forthe change —and whatcould happen next —isanything but.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week heard arguments in amajor voting rights case stemming fromLouisiana. The justices’ eventual ruling could lead to major changes to the Voting Rights Act, aCivil Rights Movement era law aimed at increasing Black political representation. It could also alter how race can be used as afactor when drawing voting maps. Louisiana’s congressionalmap is the crux of the Supreme Court case. The state has four majority-White districts that elected White Republican representatives, and two majority-Black districts

ä See SESSION, page 4A

Bond vote setfor shutteredmedical center

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

The long-blighted Lindy Boggs Medical Center near BayouSt. John—shuttered sinceitﬂoodedduringHurricane Katrina—could finally see new life. But its future depends on how New Orleans voters decide on a set of bond propositions on Nov. 15.

Developers Bill Hoffman and Paul Flower,who have owned the 13-acre property since 2021, say the longdelayed demolition andredevelopment of the former Mercy Hospital site will moveforward only if voters approve a$500 million bond salethatwouldhelpfund citywide infrastructure and

economicdevelopment projects. Hoffmansaid the site, still referred to as “Mercy”by the development team, is included in two of the three propositions on theNovember ballot. If approved, the fundswould help covertwo major early costs: demolishing the decaying hospital complex and buildinga massive underground stormwater retention system designed to alleviate ﬂooding in surrounding neighborhoods. “Weare listedinProp3 for infrastructure dollars to help defraythe costof the water retention system, which will ultimately be owned by the city,” Hoffman said. “And we’re listed in Prop 2for economic development dollars to helpdefray the cost of taking down the hospital buildings.” No specific amounts for the project are listed,

ä See VOTE, page 4A

Fred Luter Jr

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

The former LindyBoggs Medical Center has been closed since it flooded during Hurricane Katrina.

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIA GERMER

Chief AdministrativeOfficer JoeThreat answers questions about the city’s financial issues during an emergency City Council meeting in theCity Council Chambers on Wednesday.

Hegseth changes policy on congressional contact

WASHINGTON Leaders at the Pentagonhave signiﬁcantly altered how military ofﬁcials will speak with Congress aftera pair of new memos issued last week

In an Oct. 15 memo, Defense Secretary PeteHegseth andhis deputy,Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagonofﬁcials —including the chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff—toobtain permission from the department’smain legislative affairs ofﬁce before they have any communication with Capitol Hill.

The memo was issued the same day the vast majority of Pentagonreporters exited thebuilding rather than agree to the Defense Department’snew restrictions on their work, and it appears to be part of abroader effort by Hegseth to exert tighter control over what the department communicates to the outside world.

According to the memo, acopy of which was authenticated bya Pentagon ofﬁcial, “unauthorized engagements with Congress by (Pentagon) personnel acting in their ofﬁcial capacity,nomatter how well-intentioned, may undermine Department-wide priorities critical to achieving our legislative objectives.”

Sean Parnell, the top Pentagon spokesman, called the move a “pragmatic step” that’spart of an effort “to improve accuracy and responsiveness in communicating with the Congress to facilitateincreasedtransparency.”

Previously,individual agencies and military branches within the Pentagonwere able to manage their own communicationswith Congress

Asecond memo,issued Oct. 17, directed a“working group to further deﬁne the guidance on legislative engagements.”

The memos were ﬁrstreported by thewebsite Breaking Defense.

UofVa. strikes dealto pause DOJinvestigations

WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesdayannounced an agreementwiththe University of Virginia topause Trump administration civil rights investigations

The Charlottesvillecampus became atarget of President Donald Trump’sadministration in April when the Justice Department began reviewing the university’sadmissions andﬁnancial aid processes. Ofﬁcials accused its president of failing to end diversity,equity andinclusionpracticesTrumphas called unlawful.

The mounting pressure prompted James Ryan to announce his resignation as university president in June, saying thestakes were too high for others on campus if he opted to “ﬁght the federal government in order to save my job.”

Under the agreement, the university will abide by department guidance for not engagingin“unlawfulracial discrimination” and will provide relevant information and data to the department on aquarterly basis through 2028, the department said.

Scotland wants$35M for Trump, Vance visits

Scotland’sfinancesecretary is asking the United Kingdom for a$35 million reimbursement following visits from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Secretary Shona Robison said in aletter that Scotland incurred “substantialoperationaland financial burdens” that impacted public services as aresultof those visits. That included the deployment of 4,000 total officerswhenTrump visitedthe country in July,followed by Vance’sstay in August, according to theIndependent. Trump spent four days in Aberdeenshireand Ayrshire,where he ownsgolfcourses.Vance spent nearly thesame amount of time in Ayrshire and golfedon the president’sgreens atTrump Turnberry.The visits reportedly cost roughly $26.7 million and $8 million, respectively The U.K. said Trump and Vance’svisits didn’tconstitute “UKGovernmentbusiness,” which puts Scotland on the hook for security expenses Scotland contends thevisits were “diplomaticallysignificant” and require compensation.

Orderbarring GuardinIll.extended

BY JASON MEISNER ChicagoTribune (TNS)

CHICAGO Afederal judge in Chicagoon Wednesday indefinitely extended her restraining order barringPresidentDonaldTrump from deploying NationalGuard troopstoIllinoisasboth sides await aU.S. Supreme Courtruling that could upend the case.

At astatushearing beforeU.S District Judge April Perry,lawyers forthe Trumpadministration said they were asking to extend the restraining order,whichtechnically expires Thursday, until there’s aﬁnal judgment on the merits of the case, which could takemonths

But thatextension comes with a caveat:The Supreme Court could decide anyday to grant Trump’s request to stay Perry’sorder, which would effectively allow the president to deploy troops as he pleases while the case is appealed.

Christopher Wells,alawyer for theIllinois attorney general’sofﬁce,said his teamagreed to the

indefinite extension, but wanted to makeitclear on the record that it was Trump’slawyers who proposed it, saying they were “very concerned about possible gamesmanship in other courtsand how what’s happening here is going to be portrayed.”

In the event the Supreme Court ruling “altersthe statusquo,” Wells said, thestate will be seeking eitheranexpedited injunction hearing or aquick trial on the merits, either of whichcould happen as soon as next month and would involve livewitnesses testifying in court.

Perry agreed and said her order extending the restraining order would be entered Thursday. She also ordered both sidestoconfer within 10 days and come back with aplan for expedited discovery Department of Justice attorney JodyLowensteintold thejudge the same legalteam defending this case has atrial over similar issues starting in Oregonnext week, so any scheduling conflicts would

have to be worked out.

Perry’stemporary restraining order barring National Guard troop deployment in Illinois was issued Oct. 9.

In itsﬁling last week asking the Supreme Court to issue astay on Perry’s order,the Trumpadministrationcalled it part of a“disturbing andrecurring pattern” that“improperly impingesonthe President’sauthority and needlessly endangers federal personnel and property.”

It asked that Trumpbeallowed to deploy some 700 troops in Illinois —300 from the Illinois National Guard andanother 400 federalized outofTexas earlier this month.

In the 46-page response, the state said it would be inappropriate for thehigh court to get involved at this stage in theproceedings, where adistrictcourt’sdecision hasyet to be decided on appeal.

The ﬁling also saidlawyers for Trump offered“no meaningful response” to the factual basis for Perry’sOct. 9temporary restrain-

More than 40 killed when multiple vehicles collide

BY RODNEYMUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda Twobusesand two other vehicles crashed early Wednesday on ahighway in western Uganda, killing at least 46 people, police said, in one of the worst motoraccidentsinthe East African country in recent years.

Police initially gave thedeath toll as 63 in astatement senttoreporters, but later revised itto 46, saying in another statement that some peoplefound unconscious at the crash scene were actually still alive. “At the time of the crash, several victims were found unconscious, andsome may havebeen mistakenly included in the initial fatalitycount,” the statementsaid

Several others were injuredinthe crash that happened after midnight local time on the highway to Gulu, amajor city in northern Uganda.

Twobus drivers goinginopposite directions attempted to overtakeother vehicles andcollided near thetown of Kiryandongo, according to police.

“Inthe process, both buses metheadon during the overtaking maneuvers,” the police statement said.

Fatal road crashes arecommon in

Ugandaand elsewhere in EastAfrica, where roads are often narrow.Police usually blame such accidentsonspeeding drivers. In August, abus carrying mourners back home from afuneral in southwestern Kenya overturned and plunged into aditch, killing at least 25 people and injuring several others

The deathtoll in the latestcrash in Uganda is uncommonly high, saidIrene Nakasiita, aRed Cross spokeswoman who described victimsleft bleeding with brokenlimbs. She said the imagesfrom the scene were too gruesometoshare.

“The magnitude of this incident is so big,”Nakasiita said.

While accident victims can expectto gethelp from onlookersand other ﬁrst responderswho rush to crash sites, “at night even bystanders are notthere,” she said.

Most of theinjured peopleare receiving treatment at agovernment hospital nearby

In Uganda,5,144peoplewerekilledin road crashes in 2024. Thatnumberrose from 4,806 in 2023 and 4,534 in 2022, according to ofﬁcial police ﬁgures, which show aworrisome rise in the total number of those killed or injured in road crashes in recent years.

MaineSenatecandidate says tattoo with Nazi symbol hasbeencovered

BYKIMBERLEE KRUESI and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

PORTLAND,Maine His U.S. Senate campaign under ﬁre, MaineDemocrat Graham Platner said Wednesdaythatatattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reﬂect an imagewidelyrecognized as a Nazi symbol. The first-time political candidatesaidhegot the skull and crossbones tattooin2007, when he wasin his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during anight of drinking while he was on leaveinCroatia, he said,addinghewas unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police. Platner, in anAssoci-

ated Press interview, said that while hiscampaign initially said he would remove thetattoo, he chose to cover it up with another tattoodue to the limited options where he lives in rural Maine.“Going to a tattoo removal place is going to takeawhile,” he said. “I wanted thisthing off my body.”

The initial tattoo image resembled aspeciﬁc symbol of Hitler’sparamilitarySchutzstaffel,or SS, which was responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe duringWorld WarII. Platner didn’t offerdetails about the new tattoo, but offered to send theAPaphotolater Wednesday Theoysterfarmer is

mountinga progressive campaign against Republican Susan Collins.

Platner said he had never been questioned about the tattoo’sconnections to Nazi symbols in the 20 years he has had it Questions about the tattoo comeafter therecent discovery of Platner’snow-deleted online statements that included dismissing military sexualassaults, questioning Black patrons’ gratuity habits and criticizing policeofficers andrural Americans. Platner has apologizedfor those comments, saying they were madeafter he left the Army in 2012, when he was struggling withposttraumatic stress disorder and depression.

ing order,adding that declarations submitted by aseries of immigration ofﬁcialsoutlining purported violence against agents and outof-control protests simply did not hold water

“In fact, applicants do not even attempt to rebut that much of the activity the declarants complained aboutwas constitutionally protected,” the state response stated.

The SupremeCourt ﬁght is playing out on an unusually fast track, with Trumpappealing just aday after the7th U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals declined to grant astay to Perry’sorder, ruling herﬁndings werenot “clearlyerroneous and that “the facts do not justify” Trump’sactions in Illinois.

Thethree-judge appellate panel unanimously agreedwith Perry that,even giving thepresident “great deference” whenitcomes to his power to call up the military,there wasnoevidencethat he needed troops to help enforce immigration law or quell any kind of organized rebellion.

BY DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON North Koreanhackers have pilfered billions of dollars by breaking into cryptocurrency exchangesand creating fake identities to getremote tech jobs at foreign companies, according to an international report on North Korea’scyber capabilities. Ofﬁcials in Pyongyang orchestratedthe clandestine work to financeresearch and developmentofnuclear arms, the authors of the 138-page report found. The reviewwas publishedby theMultilateralSanctions Monitoring Team, agroup that includes the U.S. and 10 allies and was set up last year to observeNorth Korea’scompliancewith U.N. sanctions.

North Koreaalso has used cryptocurrency to laundermoney andmake military purchases to evadeinternational sanctions tied to itsnuclear program, the report said. It detailed howhackers

workingfor NorthKorea have targeted foreign businesses andorganizations with malware designedto disrupt networks and steal sensitive data.

Unlike China, Russia and Iran, North Korea has focused much of itscyber capabilities to fund its government, using cyberattacks andfake workers to steal and defraud companiesand organizations elsewhere in the world.

Aided in part by allies in Russia and China, North Korea’scyber actions have “been directly linked to the destruction of physical computer equipment, endangerment of human lives, private citizens’ loss of assets and property,and fundingfor the DPRK’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction andballistic missile programs,” thereport said. Earlier this year,hackers linkedtoNorth Koreacarried out one of the largest crypto heists ever,stealing $1.5 billionworth of ethereum from Bybit.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HAKIIM WAMPAMBA Wreckage of abus involved in acollision that left several peopledeadnear Kiryandongoonthe highway from the Ugandan capital of Kampala to the city of Gulu in northernUganda is seen Wednesday.

GOPmoderates pressleaders on taxcredits

BY SANDHYARAMAN and JESSIE HELLMANN CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON Thirteenmoderate House Republicans are urging party leadership to ﬁnd apath toward extending enhanced expiring health care tax credits once the government reopens.

“Let us be clear: significant reformsare neededto make these credits more ﬁscally responsible and ensure they are going to the Americans who need them most,” the Republican group wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson R-Benton, on Tuesday.“Our Conference and President Trump have been clear that we will not take healthcare away from families who depend on it. This is our opportunitytodemonstrate that commitment through action.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Fromleft,Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich.; Speakerofthe House MikeJohnson, R-Benton; Rep. Michael Simpson, R-Idaho; and House Majority Leader SteveScalise, R-Jefferson, hold anewsconference Wednesdayatthe Capitol in Washington during Day22ofthe governmentshutdown.

The enhanced credits, which expire Dec. 31, are at the center of the government shutdown —Democratsare demanding they be extended before they vote to reopen the government, while Republicansare refusing to negotiate until the government reopens. Three weeks into theshut-

down, bothparties appear dug in.

Millions of Americans who rely on the marketplace insurancesubsidieslive in red states, and their premiums are settoskyrocket

The tax creditswere ﬁrst enacted in the 2010 health care law.In2021, thethenDemocratic-controlledCongress lifted incomecaps on thetax credits and made the financial assistance more generous.

While many Republicans blame that lawfor rising healthinsurance costs, others are ﬂoatingchanges to the tax credits they say are needed if they’re to agree to extend them. That includes reinstating income limits on the credits, capping eligibility to current recipients, tacking on minimum premiums for all income levels and restricting marketplace plans from covering certain services.

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., one of the letter’ssignatories, has positioned herself

as ﬁnding amiddle ground on theissue andisthe lead Republican on abill to extend the enhanced tax credits for one year without any changes to its structure.

During atown hall event last week, Kiggans responded to aconstituentquestion about whatwould happen after one year.She said that is still unclear

“I wish Ihad afull-ﬂedged deﬁned answer Icould give you. Idon’thavethe actual plan in place,”Kiggans said in an audio recording reviewed by CQ RollCall. “But Iknowthatnothing here in Washington happens fast and that this is avery complicated issue.”

“And if we don’tsit down and start talking about it, it’s not going to end well,” Kiggans continued. “Wecan’t do nothing aboutthese tax credits thatexpire at the end of December.Weneed to do something.”

Open enrollmentbegins Nov.1for states that use the healthcare.gov marketplace.

Insurers have saidthe enhanced taxcredits can still be extended after that date, although it wouldbemore of aliftfor them.

Vice President JD Vance and Johnson have both signaled that Republicans have an alternate health plan.

“Wedohaveaplan, actually,” Vance said on Newsmax last week. Those plans have mostly revolvedaround health savings accounts, association health plans and price transparency

“We’ve got pages and pages and pages of ideas on how to reform health care. You can’trip Obamacare out at the roots. It’stoo deeply ingrained now,”Johnson said last weekonCNBC.

President Donald Trump, who had lunch with Senate Republicansatthe White House Tuesday,showed no interest in negotiating with Democrats about the health care tax credits until the shutdown is over.“We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs,” Trumpsaid.

BY GARYD.ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. North Caro-

lina’sRepublican legislative leaders completed their remappingofthe state’sU.S House districts on Wednesday,intent on picking up one more seat for President Donald Trump’spush to retain GOP controlofCongress in next year’smidterm elections.

The boundaries approved by the state House aim to thwart the reelection of Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, an African American who currently represents more than 20 northeastern counties in what’sbeen the

state’sonlyswing seat.The state Senate alreadyapproved the plan in asimilar party-line vote Tuesday Republicans hold majorities in bothGeneral Assembly chambers, and DemocraticGov.Josh Steincannot veto redistricting maps understate law. So theGOP’s lines can now be implemented unlessanticipated litigation by Democrats or voting rightsadvocatesstops them. Candidate ﬁling for 2026 is scheduled to begin Dec. 1. Republican lawmakers made crystal clear that their proposed changes answer Trump’s call for GOP-led states to secure more seats forthe partynationwide, so

that Congress can continue advancing his agenda. Democratshave responded with rival moves in blue states. Apresident’sparty historically loses seats in midterm elections, andDemocrats currentlyneed just three more seatstoflip House control.

“The newcongressional map improves Republican political strengthineastern North Carolina and will bring in an additional Republican seat to North Carolina’scongressional delegation,” GOP Rep. Brenden Jones said during adebate thatRepublicans cut off after about an hour Black Democratic state

Rep. Gloristine Brown accused mapmakers of purposefully diluting Black votes in her region.

“You are silencing Black voices and are going against the will of your constituents,” saidBrown. “North Carolinaisatestingground for thenew era of Jim Crow laws.”

By exchanging several counties in Davis’current district withanother coastal district, Republicans have calculated based on election data thatthey can increase their dominance from holding 10 of thestate’s14House seatsto11, in astate where Trumpgot 51% of thepopular vote in 2024 and state-

wide elections are often close.

Davis is one of North Carolina’s three Black representatives. Mapcriticsargue this latest GOP mapshould be challengedasanillegal racial gerrymander in adistrict that has included several majority Black counties, electing African Americans to theU.S.House continuously since 1992.

“It is morally reprehensibleand legallyindefensible —and it will be challenged in court,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who heads the national Democratic Party’sredistricting efforts, said in anewsrelease.

Republicans countered that theredrawing was based not on race but on gainingpolitical advantage, an allowable aim basedon recent federal and state court decisions. Based on recent arguments before the U.S. SupremeCourtina Louisiana redistricting case, the Democrats may lose this line of attack.

Amajority of justices appears willing to neuter akey feature of the Voting Rights Act that has protected political boundaries created to help Black and Latino residents elect favored candidates, who have tended to be Democrats.

Ore. senatorspeaksfor more than 22 hourstoprotest Trump

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrats seized the Senate floor on Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump’spresidency amid the government shutdown and push for Republicansto negotiate with them on expiring health subsidies.

Merkley spoke for more than 22 hours, pausingfor lengthy questions from other Democratic senators. His speech wasone of the

longest inSenate history, justshort of asimilarspeech in April by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.Booker,who was also protestingTrump, broke the recordwitha speech that lasted longer than 25 hours, surpassing a 1957 speech by Sen. Strom Thurmond of SouthCarolina ﬁlibusteringthe advance of theCivil Rights Act Authoritarianism is not aroundthe corner,Merkley said as he wrappeduphis speech around 4p.m.CT, “it is here right now.” The senator’stalk-a-thon

came as Democratshave forced the government shutdown over their demands to extendgovernmenthealth care subsidies, and as Republicans have refused to negotiate over the expiring tax creditsuntil Democratsvote to reopen the government.

Democrats have voted12 times to keep it closed mostrecently Wednesday evening —and thetwo sides have made little progress toward aresolution.

Merkleysaidduring his speech that Republicans were the ones shutting down

U.S. government hits $38T in debt

BYFATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON In the midst of afederal government shutdown, the U.S. government’sgross national debt surpassed $38trillion Wednesday,arecord number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’sbalance sheet

It’salso the fastest accumulation of atrillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic —the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year. The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logsthe nation’sdaily finances. Kent Smetters of theUni-

versity of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model,who served in President George W. Bush’sTreasury Department, told The Associated Press that agrowing debt load over time leads ultimatelytohigherinflation,eroding Americans’ purchasing power

The Government Accountability Ofﬁce outlines some of theimpacts ofrising governmentdebtonAmericans —including higherborrowingcosts forthings like mortgages and cars, lower wages from businesses having less money available to invest,and more expensive goods andservices.

“I think alot of people want to know that their kids and grandkids are going to be in good, decent shape in

the future —that they will be able to afford ahouse,” Smetters said. “That additionalinﬂationcompounds” and erodes consumers’ purchasing power,hesaid.

The Trump administration saysits policies are helping to slow government spending and will shrink the nation’smassive deficit. A newanalysis by Treasury Departmentofﬁcialsstates that from April to September,the cumulative deficit totaled $468 billion.

The Joint Economic Committee estimates that thetotal national debt hasgrown by $69,713.82 per second for thepast year

The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillioninJuly 2024 and $36 trillion in November 2024.

the government “to continue thestrategyofslashing Americans’ healthcare” after passing cutstoMedicaid andother programs over the summer

He used several hours of his speech to describe what he said were Trump’sauthoritarian moves, including attacks on the press and policies thatDemocratssay are enriching billionaires at the

expense of regular people. He said that Trump’splan is to replace agovernment “by and for the people with agovernment by and forthe powerful.”

Merkley also broke his own personal record for afloor speech,whichwas more than 15 hoursin2017toprotest

Trump’sthen-nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.Atthe time, it was the Senate’seighth-longest floor speech. Like Booker,Merkley’s speech was notafilibuster which is meanttohalt or delay the advance of aspecific piece of legislation. By holding thefloor open allnight, Merkleyforced Senate floor staff, security and other support workers whoare currently unpaid to workovertimehours.

she is not in favor of using the fund. Revenue bonds, which Moreno’s administration would need to pay off within a year, are not ideal either she said, but probably the best option at the moment

“It’s going to be very challenging and difﬁcult to create a more efﬁcient government,” Moreno said. The federal grants the city is waiting on are from a $2 billion Federal Emergency Management Agency award for road repairs after Hurricane Katrina, though it’s not clear why the city needs that money to make payroll. FEMA grants are typically paid as reimbursements, forcing the city to front the cost of projects and get repaid later But Threat said city officials negotiated an advance payment system for the roads projects, meaning the payments should theoretically be used for work that hasn’t been paid for yet.

Threat declined to answer a question about using advance grant payments for payroll after the meeting. Council member Joe Giarrusso said the city appears to be using the FEMA advances for general operations and then paying for the roadwork through other means.

City Hall is in a cash crisis after burning through nearly $200 million in reserve funds this year, thanks in part to the city’s failure to budget for overtime. That decision, which hasn’t been explained, has contributed to a $160 million deficit that officials are dealing with as they finalize next year’s budget.

The cash crunch took on new urgency on Tuesday, after Giarrusso and Moreno announced that Threat had notiﬁed them of

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according to Hoffman. “Those will be determined later by the City Council and administration,” he said. The proposed underground retention system would hold up to 2.7 million gallons of stormwater enough, Hoffman said, to lower flood levels by as much as 6 inches in the surrounding Mid-City area. Designed in coordination with the city’s Office of Resilience and the Sewerage & Water Board, the system would be fully underground except for its intake and outflow drains and would ultimately be city-owned, possibly through a long-term lease.

City ofﬁcials have also linked the project’s progress to the upcoming bond election. In an email to MidCity residents, Elizabeth Holman, land-use adviser to District B City Council member Lesli Harris, described the proposed redevelopment as a $100 million-plus mixeduse project that would include housing, retail, office space and public open-space amenities. While no specific line-item amounts have been allocated to individual projects Holman said discussions with Woodward Design + Build — Flower’s development company — have focused on using bond resources to support both the on-site drainage system and “gap funding” for the mixed-use portion of the project.

“The discussions that we’ve had with Woodward would allocate bond resources to support both the drainage and resilience work that

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that elected Black Democrats.

A group of White voters has asked the Supreme Court to declare the map unconstitutional, arguing that race should not be used as a factor to draw district lines. If the justices agree with that viewpoint, it could create an opportunity to draw a new congressional map with only one majority-Black district — or none at all

But it is difﬁcult to predict when the nation’s highest court will issue an opinion and what exactly the decision will say Republicans in the state Legislature say pushing back the April primary will buy lawmakers extra time to make changes before next year’s elections, should a Supreme Court ruling come down this year

“We’re hoping that the Supreme Court comes back with a ruling before Christmas,” Kleinpeter said.

“The whole country is waiting on this case. And when the Supreme Court decides to rule on this case, it’s gonna affect everybody in the rest of the country.”

Beaullieu said some attorneys involved in the case believe “there’s

an immediate payroll problem. At the Wednesday meeting, ofﬁcials attributed the payroll crisis to the FEMA failing to deliver $120 million in expected grant payments, but they gave different reasons for why the money is being withheld.

The idea is to take out the shortterm loans that could be paid back once the expected grant funding comes through next year But that will depend on FEMA’s extension of a deadline that, until recently, seemed like a sure bet.

The grant money is part of a $2 billion award after Hurricane

Katrina for road projects. The deadline for spending that money has been extended multiple times, most recently in August. Threat said the city has been seeking another extension for the last projects, but the request is held up by the three-week-old government shutdown.

Intergovernmental Relations Director Art Walton gave a different reason: He said President Donald Trump’s administration is punishing New Orleans because it is considered a “sanctuary” city that is obstructing federal immigration enforcement.

The former Lindy Boggs Medical

redeveloped if voters approve a bond sale.

would take place on-site, which would have significant benefits for the drainage of the surrounding Mid-City neighborhood (holding an estimated 2.7 million gallons of stormwater on-site), as well as gap funding for the mixed-use portion of the project,” Holman wrote. Holman added that the developers have already filed for a demolition permit, though the actual teardown will likely not occur until early next year, once financing is more firmly in place. “They are continuing to push the project forward by refining their plans, financing, and undertaking other due diligence,” she said.

The Lindy Boggs redevelopment is part of a broader vision for the area. Hoffman and Flower are co-

a very big chance” the high court will rule before Jan. 1.

“It allows us to have any kind of ﬂexibility needed to make adjustments based on their ruling,” he said Republicans are looking for extra time because voting preparations begin months in advance, and courts in legal disputes have been wary of changes as an election date draws closer More time leading up to the primary could give the Legislature a better chance at changing Louisiana’s congressional map.

Right now closed party primaries for major races like U.S. House and Senate and some municipal primary races are set for April 18. A subsequent election is scheduled on May 30 for municipal general races and, if needed, a runoff for the closed party primary contests.

Those elections would be pushed back to May 16 and June 27, according to legislation ﬁled Wednesday Instead of mid-January qualifying for the races would happen Feb. 11-13.

Lawmakers are implementing that plan using two separate bills: One contains races for elected ofﬁce, and another bill contains pro-

ordinating with entrepreneur Sidney Torres IV who owns roughly 6 acres of adjacent land along the Laﬁtte Greenway, to create a new “Lafitte Market” a high-end “lifestyle center” of shops, restaurants, apartments and leisure amenities modeled on Malibu Country Mart in California. Torres has drafted designs for his portion of the site, and together the two projects could draw around $160 million in combined investment over the next several years. The Lindy Boggs mixed-use development would be integrated into Torres’ plan, creating a connected corridor of retail and public spaces along the Greenway For two decades, a string of developers have tried and failed to resurrect

posed constitutional amendments, of which there are ﬁve scheduled for a vote in April.

Kleinpeter said putting the constitutional amendments in a separate bill appears to be “the safest thing to do” should someone ﬁle a lawsuit over the ballot propositions.

Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2 are scheduled for a public hearing in committee at 3 p.m. Thursday

Kleinpeter said he expects his bill will pass the Senate on Saturday and be taken up in a House committee Monday

Both Kleinpeter and Beaullieu said that to speed up debate, they plan to run an identical set of bills in the Senate and the House at the same time.

The session should be focused exclusively on the proposal to change the spring election dates, the bill sponsors said.

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, echoed that sentiment: “All we’re doing is moving dates.”

Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature and are likely to face little friction in achieving their goal.

But not everyone is on board with the plan.

“I’m certainly opposed to it,”

“This is an arduous situation One because of the shutdown. Two — and I hate to mention this — because of the (Trump) administration’s positions,” Walton told the council.

New Orleans is on a federal list of sanctuary jurisdictions, although the city’s homeland security director, Collin Arnold, said this week he’s not aware of any formal guidance from the Trump administration spelling out the reasons.

Walton said the city’s lobbyists are working to get it removed from the list.

One possible reason is Orleans

the hulking, grafﬁti-covered shell of the hospital building — even as nearby projects like Lumina Condominiums, American Can Apartments and Torres’ own Wrong Iron bar have ﬂourished.

Flower and Hoffman, who acquired the site in 2021 from the late developer Joe Jaeger, are the latest to take up the challenge. While their initial plan for an assisted-living facility failed, they say conditions finally may be right for a new development. Better financing prospects, a planned extension of the Lafitte Greenway, and growing residential and commercial activity nearby all point to a renewed window of opportunity

Another recent sign of momentum is the planned permanent farmers market directly across Bayou St. John from the Lindy Boggs site, on the property of a former auto repair shop. Announced earlier this year, the market would add to the growing cluster of food, recreation and community amenities in the neighborhood — reinforcing the area’s potential as a new urban hub connecting Mid-City and the Bayou St. John corridor

“It’s not just about redeveloping Mercy,” Hoffman said. “It’s also about improving resilience and helping drive investment around Bayou St. John and the Laﬁtte Greenway.”

If voters approve the bond package, the city would issue bonds purchased by investors, effectively borrowing the funds needed for public and economic development projects. The borrowed money, plus interest, would be repaid over time using an existing 14.5-mill property tax dedicated to bond re-

said Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, who chairs the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus and led an unsuccessful legal ﬁght seeking to force Attorney General Liz Murrill to defend the current congressional map.

Jordan said the idea underpinning the delayed election is to create the opportunity to redraw the congressional map with one or two fewer majority-Black districts and to ultimately dilute the voting strength of minorities in Louisiana.

“Any move is a move toward diluting minority voting strength,” he said of the special session.

The districts of U.S. Reps. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, and Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, would be most vulnerable if the Legislature does eventually get the chance to redraw Louisiana’s congressional map.

Carter contends that Louisiana’s current map is “consistent with the demographics of the state.”

“I’d remind our colleagues that these were maps that were drawn and passed by them, and I’d encourage them to hold the line and to maintain these two seats that are demonstrative of the demographic shifts in the state of Louisiana,” he said. But Carter said his primary

Parish Sheriff’s Office policies barring execution of Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrants and investigation of jail inmates’ immigration status. Those policies are required under a 2013 federal consent decree, but they conflict with a state law passed last year requiring cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office sued the Sheriff’s Office over the policies in February

Email Ben Myers at bmyers@ theadvocate.com.

payment — meaning no new taxes would be imposed.

Together, the three propositions would authorize up to $500 million for citywide priorities. They include $45 million for affordable housing projects, both new construction and renovations, and about $50 million for stormwater management and drainage improvements, such as a planned stormwater park in Lakeview and underground retention systems like the one proposed for Mercy

The bulk of the money, over $400 million, would go for infrastructure and public safety projects, including a new New Orleans Police Department evidence storage facility to replace the deteriorating current site.

Miles Trapolin, a lawyer and one of the Mid-City neighborhood activists who have long advocated for remediation of Lindy Boggs, said he hopes that Harris and other politicians campaign for the funding.

“If it were me, I would shout from the rooftop about this to get people out to vote for the bond issue and have that building torn down,” he said.

If the measures fail, the Lindy Boggs site could remain in limbo — as it has since 2005, when the hospital was inundated by ﬂoodwaters and abandoned.

“We’re ready to move forward,” Hoffman said. “But we can’t take the next steps until the funding framework is in place. That’s why this bond vote is so critical — not just for Mercy, but for the city as a whole.”

Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

concern is about the broader implications of the Supreme Court’s decision.

“I’m more concerned about the overall picture of not just Louisiana, but the entire country,” he said. “The Voting Rights Act that was passed in 1965 was needed then, and it’s needed today.”

Both congressmen say the special session is premature, given the difﬁculty of predicting how the Supreme Court will act.

“The Legislature’s putting the cart before the horse, but the Legislature has the right to do what it’s planning on doing,” Fields said.

Sarah Brannon, an ACLU attorney on the legal team that represented a group of Black litigants involved in the Louisiana case, said the chances the Supreme Court upholds the current congressional map “are small.”

“That means that (Senate Bill 8) probably is not going to survive this U.S. Supreme Court proceeding, that they are going to strike it down,” Brannon said, referring to the bill containing the current map.

But Brannon said it is “not at all clear” what they will decide, and when they will issue an opinion.

“It’s a total unknown as to what they will do,” she said.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Center will be demolished and

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The New Orleans City Council holds an emergency meeting to discuss financial issues on Wednesday.

U.S. announcesnew sanctionsonRussia

Twooil companies targeted over refusal to end‘senselesswar’

BY SUSIE BLANN and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Treasury Secre-

tary Scott Bessent announced new sanctions Wednesday against Russia’stwo biggest oil companies and blasted Moscow’srefusal to end its “senseless war” as U.S.-led efforts to endthe warﬂoundered and the Ukrainian president sought more foreign military help.

The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as dozens of subsidiaries, followedmonths of bipartisan pressure on President Donald Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceaseﬁre,” Bessent said in astatement.Given Russian President VladimirPutin’s “refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’stwo largest oil companies thatfund the Kremlin’swar machine.”

Bessent said the Treasury Department was prepared to take further action if necessary to support Trump’seffort to end the war.

“Weencourage our alliestojoin us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

Bessent made the comments as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in Washingtonfor talks with Trump. The military alliance has been coordinatingdeliveries of weapons to Ukraine,many of them purchased from the United States by Canada and European countries.

The announcement came after Russian drones and missiles blasted sitesacrossUkraine,killing at least six people, including awoman and her two young daughters.

The attack came in waves from Tuesday night into Wednesdayand targeted at least eight Ukrainian

PASTOR

Continued from page1A

that young preacher,who had never pastored before, would lead Franklin Avenue to be …one of the largest churches in the state of Louisiana.”

In nearly four decades, Fred Luter has presided over thousands of christenings, baptisms and weddings, helpedtorebuild both the churchand the surrounding community after Hurricane Katrina, and rebounded after the “difﬁcult, tough timesofCOVID-19,” he said.

“Considering such an incredible past, it is now time to focus on the future of our congregation,” he said in a tearful speech surrounded by his wife and children.

“With that said, it is with an extremely heavy heart that Iannounce my retirement as senior pastorofFranklin Avenue Baptist Church, effective next year.”

Amid gasps of surprise from the congregation and applause for his time at the helm of the church, Fred Luter called for aspecial meeting to be held on Nov.3 for church members to vote on whether his son, who al-

cities, as well asa villageinthe regionof the capital, Kyiv,where astrikeset ﬁre to ahouse in which the mother and her 6-month-old and 12-year-old daughters were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said.

At least 29 people, including ﬁve children, were wounded in Kyiv, which appeared to be the main target, authorities said.

Russian drones also hit akindergarten in Kharkiv,Ukraine’ssecond-largest city,later Wednesday when children were in the building, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. One person was killed and sixwere hurt, but no children were physically harmed, hesaid.

UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy said many of the children wereinshock.Hesaid the attack targeted 10 separate regions: Kyiv,Odesa, Chernihiv,Dnipropetrovsk,Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia,Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy andSumy

ready serves as senior associate pastor,should be the next leader of the church.

ChipLuter did not comment during thebrief announcement, but stood with ahandonhis father’sshoulder during theheartfelt speech.

TheLuters declinedto be interviewed until after church members have an opportunityto vote on his transitionplan. Butthe requestthatChipLuterlead the church nextwas met with cheers.

Later in theservice, Fred Luter said his decisionto step down was madeto ensure that thefuture of the church wouldbeinthe hands of someone that loved it as much as he did, rather than have “some hireling to come along who doesn’tcare anythingabout this church. The congregation cheered and applauded again as he repeated hisrequestthat they support his son in the role.

Dawn Hebert, president of theEast New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission representing several neighborhoodassociations, has known Fred Luter since they were both students at Xavier University

Though she is not amember, many of the residents

Russia ﬁred405 strike anddecoy drones and 28 missiles, mainly targeting Kyiv,Ukraine’sair force said.

Trump’sefforts to endthe war that started withRussia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago have failed to gain traction. Trump has repeatedly expressedfrustration with Putin’srefusal to budge from his conditions fora settlement after Ukraine offered aceaseﬁre and direct peace talks.

Trump said Tuesday that his plan for aswift meeting with Putin was on hold because he didn’twantit to be a“wasteoftime.”European leaders accused Putin of stalling. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump’sproposal to freeze the conflictwhere it stands on the frontline “was agood compromise” —astep that could pave the way for negotiations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said theplanned summit

Hebert represents attend the church. She said Fred Luter’sinfluencehas stretched well beyond the church walls in the original St. Roch location. In 2002, the churchopeneda satellite location in the East, where manymembers already lived.

After Katrina’sdiaspora, he traveled to Baton Rouge andHouston for services. Andafter thestorm, the church moved its main campus to theEast.

“New Orleans East was very happywhenhis congregation decided to move the church,” shesaid.“That really improvedthe area where the church was built, and it was encouraging to see something new coming that area. …Hewas very committed to thecommunity.

Longtime church memberand membershippastor Johnell Thomas wasamong the original 65 members whovoted Fred Luter in as pastor 39 years ago. He said though Fred Luter had never led acongregation before, the membersfound him relatable and easy to talk to at atime when manypastors seemed unapproachable.

“Nobody knew what to expect,” Thomas said. “We were hoping thatthe Lord

requires careful preparation, suggesting thatlaying the groundwork could be protracted. “Noone wants to waste time: neitherPresident Trump nor President Putin,” he said.

In what appeared to be apublic reminder of Russian atomic arsenals, Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’sstrategic nuclear forces.

Zelenskyyurged theEuropean Union,the UnitedStates and the Group of Seven industrialized nations to forceRussia to thenegotiating table. Pressure can be applied on Moscow “only through sanctions, long-range (missile)capabilities and coordinated diplomacy among all our partners,” he said.

More internationaleconomic sanctions on Russia arelikely to be discussed Thursday at an EU summitinBrussels. On Friday, ameeting of theCoalition of the Willing —agroup of 35 countries thatsupportUkraine —istotake

would bless thechurch to grow,but we hadnoideait would growtothe magnitude of today Even withoutknowing what wouldcome, Thomas

place in London. Zelenskyy credited Trump’sremarks that he was considering supplying Tomahawk missilesto Ukraine for Putin’swillingness to meet.The American president later said he was wary of tapping into the U.S. supply of Tomahawks over concerns about available stocks. Russia has not madesigniﬁcant progressonthe battleﬁeld, where awar of attrition has taken a high tollonRussianinfantry and Ukraine is short of manpower, military analysts say.Both sides have invested in long-range strike capabilities to hit rear areas.

TheUkrainian army’sgeneral staffsaid its forces struck achemical plant Tuesdaynight in Russia’s Bryansk region using Britishmade air-launched Storm Shadow missiles. The plant is an important part of the Russian military and industrial complex, producing gunpowder,explosives, missile fuel and ammunition, it said.

Russianofficialsinthe region confirmedanattack butdid not mention the plant.

Ukraine also claimed overnight strikes on the Saransk mechanical plant in Mordovia, Russia, which produces components forammunition and mines, and the Makhachkala oil reﬁnery in the Dagestan republic of Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 33 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including the area around St.Petersburg. Eight airports temporarily suspended ﬂights because of the attacks. In other developments, Zelenskyy arrived Wednesday in Oslo, Norway,and after that flew to Stockholm,where he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen ﬁghter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine hasalreadyreceived American-made F-16s and French Mirages.

said the church members who voted him in could see hissincerityand hisheart forthe church. “It’sastruggle to see the change taking place,” Thom-

as said. “But people are not going to workall their lives. He’sbeencommittedand faithful. We knowall of us are going to retire one day.” Still, “it’ssurreal,” he said.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Stocks and gold sink; meme stocks swerve

NEW YORK U.S. stocksand the price of gold fell on Wednesday, as momentum on Wall Street reverses.

The S&P 500 sank 0.5%, though it’sstill within 1% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 334 points, or 0.7%, from its record set the day before, while the Nasdaq compositefell 0.9%.

Netﬂix helped drag the market lower after delivering a weaker profit for the latest quarterthan analysts expected. The pressure is on the video streamer and on companies broadly to deliver solid growth in proﬁts. That would counter criticism that their stock prices shot toohigh following a35% romp for the S&P 500 from a low in April.

Netflix’sstock came into the day withajump of 39.3%for theyearsofar,morethandouble theS&P 500’sgain, before it dropped 10.1% on Wednesday AT&T fell 1.9% after deliveringaprofit that onlymatched analysts’expectations, while Texas Instruments sank 5.6% after its profit fell just short of forecasts.

On thewinning side of Wall Street wasIntuitive Surgical, which sellsrobotic-assisted surgical systems. It jumped 13.9%after reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Boston Scientiﬁc climbed 4% after likewisetopping analysts’proﬁt expectations.

Capital One Financialrose 1.5%, and Western Alliance Bancorp climbed3.2% following theirown profit updates thatbeat analysts’ expectations.

Walmartpauses offers on H-1B visa prospects

Walmart Inc. has paused offers to candidates requiring H-1Bvisas, people familiar with the matter said, the latest example of how the Trump administration’s$100,000 visa fees aredisrupting workforces.

The current guideline primarily impacts Walmart’s corporate employees, said the people, who asked not tobe identifieddiscussing private information.

The Trump administration last monthslapped a$100,000 fee on new H-1B applications in abid to overhaul the visa programand curb overuse. The movehas reverberated across technology and otherindustries that employ thousands of such visa holders.

Walmart is the largestuser of H-1B visasamongmajor retail chains,employing an estimated 2,390 H-1B visa holders, accordingtogovernment data. That represents asmall fraction of itstotalU.S. workforce of about 1.6 million. While it’samong major employers of H-1B recipients, it’s dwarfed by Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Meta PlatformsInc. and other tech giants thatrelymoreheavily on thegroup.

Meta cutting 600 AI jobs but hiringfor lab MENLO PARK,Calif. Meta Platforms is cutting roughly 600 artificial intelligence jobseven as it continues to hire more workers for its superintelligencelab, the companyconfirmed on Wednesday Axios first reported the cuts, which will affect Meta’s FundamentalAIResearch, or FAIR unit, as well as productrelated AI and AI infrastructure units Meta has taken adifferent approach to AI than manyof its rivals, releasing its flagship Llama system for free asan open-source productthat enables people to use and modify some of its key components. Metasays more than abillion people use its AI products each month,but it’salso widely seen as laggingbehind competitors such as OpenAI and Googlein encouraging consumer use of large language models, also known as LLMs.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

Reddit sues AI entities over‘scraping’

Perplexity andothers stoleusercomments, companysays

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technologywriter

Socialmedia platform Reddit sued theartificial intelligence company Perplexity AI andthree other entitiesonWednesday,alleging their involvement in an “industrial-scale,unlawful” economyto “scrape” the commentsofmillions of Reddit users for commercial gain.

Reddit’slawsuit in aNew York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity,maker of an AI chatbot and “answer engine” that competes withGoogle,ChatGPTand others in online search.

Alsonamed inthe lawsuit are

Lithuanian data-scraping company

Oxylabs UAB, aweb domain called AWMProxy that Reddit describes as a“former Russian botnet,” andTexas-based startup SerpApi, which lists Perplexity as acustomer on itswebsite.

It’s the second suchlawsuit from Reddit sinceitsued another major AI company,Anthropic, in June.

But thelawsuit ﬁled Wednesday is different in the way that it confrontsnot just an AI company but thelesser-known services theAI industry relies on to acquire online writings needed to trainAIchatbots.

“Scrapers bypass technological protections to steal data, then sell it to clients hungry for training material.Reddit is aprime target because it’sone of the largestand most dynamiccollections of human conversation ever created,” said Ben Lee, Reddit’schieflegal

ofﬁcer,inastatement Wednesday

The lawsuit accusesthe companies of unfair competition and unjust enrichment and alleges that some of them violated U.S. copyright laws.

Perplexity said it hasnot yetreceived the lawsuit but “will always ﬁght vigorously for users’ rights to freely and fairly access public knowledge.”

SerpApi’scustomersuccess director,Ryan Schafer,said in an email: “Westrongly disagree with Reddit’sallegationsand intendto vigorously defend ourselvesin court.”

Oxylabssaidina statement it was “shocked anddisappointed” and “will not hesitate to defend itself againstthese allegations.”

AWMProxy could not immediately be reached for comment.

Scrapingfor publicly available online data is acommonpractice

usedbybusinessesand researchers but Reddit compares the companies it is suing to “would-be bank robbers” whocan’tget into the bank vault, so they break into the armored truck instead.The lawsuit alleges they are evading Reddit’s own anti-scraping measures while also “circumventing Google’s controlsand scraping Reddit content directlyfromGoogle’ssearchengine results.” Along withdigitizedbooksand newsarticles, websites such as Wikipedia andRedditare deep troves of written materials that can helpteach an AI assistantthe patterns of human language.

Reddit has previously entered licensing agreements with Google, OpenAI andother companies that arepayingtobeable to traintheir AI systems on the public commentary of Reddit’smore than 100 million daily users.

USDA to reopen 2,100offices to help farmersaccess$3billion in aid

Twopaidworkers will be available, despite government shutdown

BY JOSH FUNK Associated Press

The Agriculture Departmentwill reopen about 2,100 county ofﬁces all across thecountry Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmersand ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existingprograms.

TheUSDAsaideachFarmServiceAgency ofﬁce will have two workers whowillbepaid even though thegovernmentremainsshut down. Theseofﬁces help farmersapply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and other programs. Thousands of other federal employees like air trafficcontrollers are working without pay during theshutdown.

AUSDA spokesperson said this move reﬂects President Donald Trump’scommitment to helping farmers and ranchers, who are traditionally someofhis strongest supporters. Recently,some of them have been unhappy with Trump’slatest moves although hissupport remains strong across rural America.

Just this week, ranchers were unhappy with Trump’sidea to import morebeef from Argentina becausethat could hurttheir profits, andearlier this month soybean farmers complained that a$20 billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeanstoChina. Farmers are also still waiting on details ofan aidpackageTrump promised to helpthemsurvive his trade war withChina,but that aid has been put on hold because of theshutdown “President Trump will notlet theradical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country,”the USDA spokesmansaid.

AWhite House ofﬁcial said the administration is using funds from theCommodity Credit Corporation, aUSDAagencythat addresses agricultural prices.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because theadministration’splans were not yet publicized.

Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Iowa Sen. ChuckGrassley and North Dakota Sen. JohnHoevenalong with farm groupslike the National Corn Growers Association andIllinois Soybean Association praised the move while Democratsaccused the administration of using farmersaspoliticalpawns in theshutdownﬁght. Both parties have been unable to reach an agreement to fundthe government and end the shutdown

The Agriculture Departmentwill reopen about 2,100 offices acrossthe countryThursday despite the ongoing governmentshutdown to helpfarmers and ranchers getaccessto$3 billionofaid from existingprograms.

that began Oct. 1.

Thune said reopening these ofﬁces,like he has been urging theadministration to do, will give farmers access to critical services in the midst of harvest season.

“Like manyhardworking Americans, producers in SouthDakota and across the country— who work tirelessly to provide highqualityfood for our nation —are being hurt by SenateDemocrats’ reckless government shutdown,” Thune said.

Kenneth Hartman Jr., whoischairman of theCornGrowersAssociation, said this is acrucialtime because farmers aregetting ready to place orders for next year’s seed

Plant-basedmeatcompany’s

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

Beyond Meat’ssharesbriefly sizzled Wednesday before heading back down again. Theplant-based meatcompany’s shares more than doubled early Wednesdaybeforeclosing at $3.58 per share,which was down 1%.

Still, it was asurprising comeback for astock that was trading at an all-timelow of 50 centsper share late last week. Investors cheeredBeyond Meat’s announcement Tuesday that it’s increasingthe availabil-

ityofsomeofits products at U.S Walmart stores. Beyond Meat said that its chickenpieces, Korean BBQ-stylesteak and burger sixpacks will nowbeeasier to ﬁndin morethan 2,000 Walmart stores. Beyond Meat also launched a direct-to-consumer website this week,whichwill try to build buzz by offering limitedreleasesofnew products. But perhaps the biggest driver of interest in Beyond Meat is RoundhillInvestments, whichadded Beyond Meat to its Meme Stock ETF,orexchange-traded fund, on Monday.The fund consists solely

and fertilizer right now as well as settling up with the bankersfor this year’s operating loans. And farmers aregrappling with soaring costs.

“Because of the inﬂation factor,the farm economyisreallyinacriticalsituation here So anything that the farmers can get when it comes to support from the farm programs from thefarmbilloflastyear,weneedtoget that open and get that money out to them,” said Hartman, who is in the middle of harvesting his crop near Waterloo, Illinois.

The House Agriculture Committee Democrats said on Xthat this showsthatTrump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “could have supported farmers all along, but youchose nottobecause you’d rather use farmers’ pain to score cheap political points while increasing thecost of living forordinary Americans by making food and health care moreexpensive.”

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who is the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, said the administration should have done this sooner to ensure that farmers can get the help they need.

“I am glad the administration is ﬁnally doing right by America’sfarmers by partially opening FSAofﬁces,though Iquestionwhy the administration waited so long and made this decision only after putting farmers through three weeks of uncertainty,” Craig said.

of meme stocks, which are stocks that gain popularity and trading volumebased on social media hype rather than acompany’sﬁnancial performance. Investors have been sporadically turning to meme stocksthroughout2025 in an effort to ﬁnd bargains amid averypricey stock market. The stocks are often the target of “short sellers,” or investorsbetting against the stock. Beyond Meat was the darling of theplant-basedmeat industry when it went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2019. But in recentyears theElSegun-

do,California-basedcompanyhas been strugglingwithweakdemand for its burgers, sausages, tenders andotherproducts. Beyond Meat’s net revenue was down 15% in the ﬁrst six months of this year Beyond Meat’sstock price cratered last weekafter the company announced the expiration of lockup restrictions on

‘President Trumpwill not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underwayacrossthe country,’a USDA spokesman said.

U.S. strikesalleged drug-carryingboatinPacific

BY KONSTANTINTOROPIN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The U.S. military launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carryingvessel, killing two people in thewaters of the eastern Paciﬁc Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday,marking an expansionofthe Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafﬁcking in South America.

The attack Tuesday night was a departure from the seven previous U.S. strikesthat hadtargeted vessels in the Caribbean.Hegseth said on social media that thelatest strike killed two people, bringing the death toll to at least 34 from at-

tacksthat began last month

Thestrike representsanexpansion of the military’stargeting area as well as ashift to thewaters off SouthAmerica where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.

Hegseth’spost also draws adirect comparison between the war on terrorismthat the U.S. declared after theSept. 11, 2001, attacks andthe Trump administration’s crackdown

“Just as Al Qaeda waged war on ourhomeland,these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,”Hegseth said, adding “there will be no refuge or forgiveness —onlyjustice.”

RepublicanPresidentDonald

Trumphas justified the strikesby asserting thatthe United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” withdrug cartels and proclaiming thecriminal organizations unlawful combatants,relying on the same legalauthority used by President GeorgeW.Bush’sadministration when it declared a war on terrorism. In abrief video Hegseth posted Wednesday, asmall boat,halffilled with brown packages, is seen movingalong thewater.Several seconds intothe video, theboat explodesand is seen floating motionless on the water in flames.

The U.S. militaryhas built up an unusually large forceinthe Caribbean Sea and the watersoff

the coast of Venezuela since this summer,raising speculation that Trumpcould try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

In hisposts on the strikes, Trump hasrepeatedly argued that illegal narcotics and the drug fentanyl carried by the vessels have been poisoning Americans.

While the bulk of American overdose deaths arefromfentanyl, the drug is transported by land from Mexico. Venezuela is amajor drug transit zone, but the eastern Paciﬁc Ocean,not theCaribbean,isthe primaryareafor smuggling cocaine.

Colombiaand Peru, countries with coastlinesonthe easternPa-

cific, are the world’stop cocaine producers. Wedged between them is Ecuador,whose world-class ports and myriadmaritimeshipping containers filledwithbananas have become the perfect vehicle fordrugtraffickers to move their product.

The administration has sidestepped prosecuting anyofthe occupants of thealleged drugrunningvessels afterreturning twosurvivorsofanearlier strike to theirhome countries of Ecuador and Colombia.

Ecuadorian officialslater said they released the man that was returned, saying that they had no evidence he committed acrimein their country

ACLU callsfor removing pregnant womenfromdetention

BY SARA CLINE and VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press

BATONROUGE Womentaken into custody by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in aletter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to stop holdingexpectant mothers in federal detention facilities.

Theletter to U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of abroader campaigninrecent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they sayisthe mistreatment of pregnant detainees.

The Department of Homeland Securityhas defended itscare, saying pregnant detaineesget reg-

ular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritionalsupport and accommodations “aligned with community standardsofcare.”

In addition, Homeland Security Department AssistantSecretary

TriciaMcLaughlin saidinawritten statementWednesday that such detentionsare “rare” and involve “elevated oversight and review.”

Theagency didn’t provide ﬁgures on thenumber of pregnant women in detention,anumber Democrats have sought for months.

The letter sent by theAmerican Civil Liberties Union cites accounts from pregnant womenwho saythey were shackled whilebeing transported, placed in solitaryconﬁnement formultiple days and given insufﬁcient food and water while detained in Louisianaand Georgia.

The ACLU said that over the past ﬁve months it has met withmore than adozen females who were pregnant while in ICE custody including some who had amiscarriagewhiledetained.The women reported “gravely troubling experiences,” the letter states, including lack of translation during medical encountersand medical neglect

In an interview with The Associated Press, one of the women said shewas kept in handcuffs while beingtransported to Louisiana— ajourney that lasted ﬁve hours and spanned two plane rides.The woman,who hassincebeen released from custody and given birth, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing retaliation during her ongoing case.

An ofﬁcer told her he considered

takingoff the handcuffs but worried she wouldescape. “How am I going to escape if I’m pregnant?”

thewoman said she responded.

She said she felt as if she’d been kidnapped and experienced dizziness, nausea andvaginal bleeding. During her time in detention, she said pregnant women werenot offered special diets and described thefood as horrible.She alleged that detainees had to “beg” forwater and toilet paper

“Proper care for pregnancy is a basic human right, regardless of whether you are incarcerated or not andregardless of your immigration status,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, aCalifornia Democrat. She signedontoaDemocratic Women’sCaucus letter to DHS ofﬁcials in July sharing concerns

about the “treatment of women” and demanding answers —including howmanyhavegivenbirth while detained.

ICEguidelinesalready saythat agents “should notdetain, arrest, or take into custody foranadministrative violation of the immigration laws” people “known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing,” based on apolicy sent to the AP by DHS. But the document does state that such people may be detained and held in custody under “exceptional circumstances” or if their release is prohibited by law

Thepolicy also prohibits using restraints on pregnant detainees but here too there are exceptions —including if there is aserious threat that the detainee will hurt herself or others.

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

National Guard troops could be deployed to New Orleans before the end of November in keeping with Gov.Jeff Landry’srequest for federalintervention to address crime, Landry and New Orleans Police DepartmentSuperintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. Landry hopes to have troops on the ground ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, he told WVUE television this week.Kirkpatrick said she expects troopstoarrivein New Orleansaheadofthe Bayou Classic football game, which will be held Nov.29at the Caesars Superdome. The troops could remain in the city through Mardi Gras, she said Tuesday to CBS News.A spokesperson forthe NOPD did not respond to arequest for comment on Wednesday. Their commentsgavea clearerpicture of what the proposed mobilizationwould look like in New Orleans, even as aspokesperson for the National Guard cautioned Wednesday that funding from the federal government —which Landry requestedinSeptember —has not been approved.

“I think everyone’spreparing and planning but we have no timeline on the activation yet,” said Lt. Col. Noel Collins, of the Louisiana National Guard.

Aspokesperson for Landry also said Wednesday

that the request —which would see 1,000 troops sent to cities across thestate is still pending official approval. Thegovernor could deploy thesoldiers himself, butheneeds the Trumpadministration’s signoff to get federal funding The proposed mobilization comes as part of President Donald Trump’scontroversialpush to deploy theNational Guard in cities across thecountry to crack down on crime, immigration and protests. The administration has ordered troops to Chicago, Washington,Los Angeles and Portland in recent months, despitepushback by stateand local leaders.

Landry hasrequested that the federal governmentpay for 1,000 troopstobesent to New Orleans and other cit-

ies across the state. In his interview with WVUE lastweek,Landry gave aclearer picture of his goal for the deployment, singlingout the French Quarter as atarget.

“You would seeNational Guardtroops smiling, being able to help us secure theQuarter again, giving the New Orleans Police Department the relief thatthey need,” Landry told thetelevision station. He has also cited crime in Baton Rouge andShreveport, andhas said the National Guard’spresence could help make the Bayou Classic and Mardi Gras safer Kirkpatrick saidthe NOPD wouldseek to work collaboratively with the National Guard. “I have onemission and

thatmission is to keep this city as safe as possible and Iwill work with all of our federal partners,” Kirkpatrick told WVUE.Kirkpatrick metwith Louisiana National Guard ofﬁcials this month ahead of thepossible deployment.“We’regoing to have National Guard,we’ve had National Guard, we’ve alwayshad avery good relationship with National Guard.”

But, according to CBS News, Kirkpatricksaidshe didn’tbelieve troops should be deployed to New Orleans outside of assisting with a major event.

“Weare peacemakers andsoldiers aretrainedto engage in enemycombat,” KirkpatricktoldCBS. “Our community is notour enemy,but they are here to help support us in law enforcement functions for speciﬁc results.”

Staff writer Meghan Friedmann contributed to this report.

Email SophieKasakove at sophie.kasakove@ theadvocate.com.

Two killed in morning Algiers shooting

BY MARCO CARTOLANO and KASEY BUBNASH Staff writers

Ann Place and Copernicus Street, according to police.

The girl died at the scene and the man was taken to a hospital, where he died, according to police. A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said she noticed a man standing near the corner of Americus Street and Jo Ann as she was leaving to get her kids to school. The 16-year-old girl was walking to a school bus when the man pulled a gun out of a book bag and shot her, the neighbor said. Then he turned the gun on himself and ﬁred, she said. The neighbor said her own daughter attended Walter L. Cohen High School with the girl, who she described as a “sweet” kid. Neighbor Bijan Williams said she was getting her kids ready for school, loading

16-year-old girl shot near bus stop A 16-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man were killed in a shooting in the

SUGAR RUSH

Derel Wilson, left, and Jarmal Spencer, employees of Café Du Monde, deliver thousands of pounds of powdered sugar to the coffee stand’s City Park location in New Orleans. The sugar fuels the café’s world-famous beignets that are a tradition dating back to 1862 when Café Du Monde ﬁrst opened in the French Market. From its original stall near Jackson Square to its newer outposts across the city, the powdered-sugar-dusted beignet has remained a beloved New Orleans icon for more than 160 years.

Fire damages

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

BY MARCO CARTOLANO and KASEY BUBNASH Staff writers

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Senate committeequestions Louisianacourt picks

Nominees discuss judicial experience, fairness

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Twonominees for the Louisiana federal bench, includingstate Supreme Court Justice Will Crain, testiﬁed Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on why they should be conﬁrmedtolifetime appointments.

In addition to Crain, who was nominated to sit in the Eastern District headquarteredinNew Orleans, former acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, Alexander C. VanHook, was questioned by senators to become afederal judge in the districtthat sits in Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria.

U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy,R-Madisonville chaired much of the hearing for Crain and Van Hook. He and Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, recommended candidates for President Donald Trump to nominate.

knowhim that well, but man, you know,he’salawyer’slawyer.’

“As ajurist, Justice Crain has presided over and authored hundreds of judicial opinions,” saidJudiciary Chair Sen. ChuckGrassley R-Iowa. “Mr. VanHook has extensive courtroom experience, litigating hundreds of cases and trying 18 cases to verdict beforeajury He also clearly has the experience to make aﬁne judge.”

VanHook, whohas been afederal prosecutor for more than two decades, said in his courtroom experience he has absorbed that good federal judges approach litigantswith fairness and dignity

“I look at judgment,” Kennedy said. “I try to pick lawyers that everyone in the communitywill look at and go, ‘Well, you know,Idon’t

Thepanel’squestioning focused on Crain, as Van Hook sat quietly beside him, and for the most part was relatively noncontroversial

Republican Sen. Ashley Moody,ofFlorida, asked how best to shore up trust in the judiciary

Crainanswered: “I’m a firm believer that oneof the ways thatwedothat is to fairly and impartially apply the rule of law. There should be some predictability.”

The only intense questioning camefromDemocraticSen. Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, whenshe challenged Crain about campaign contributions from litigantswith legal actions beforethe Louisiana Supreme Court. Unlike many states,

Louisiana elects its judges, but rules forbid judgesfromdirectly soliciting campaign contributions.

She noted that Crain appeared sympathetictooil and gas arguments as ajudge andthatthe Louisiana system gives the appearance of partiality

Crain agreed to the appearance but said he doesn’tknow who contributedtohis three judicial campaigns —that function was handled by aseparate committee —and that he alwaysacted impartially

“The rules that we put in place have triedtoinoculateourselves as much as possible,” he said

Kennedy reiterated the electoral processand prohibitionsinLouisiana’ssystemofchoosingjudges.

“Oneofmycolleagues suggested that you live in theleft front pocket of theoil industry,” Kennedy said Crain answered: “The only pocket Ilive in is the ruleoflaw.”

“That’scertainly been my experience,” Kennedy responded.

Craingrew up in Bogalusa and was an aide to legendary state Sen. B.B. “Sixty” Rayburn, D-Bogalusa, who was amajor force in Louisiana politicsinthe 1970s and1980s.

Craingraduated from LSUin 1983 with an accounting degree, then received hisjurisdoctorate in 1986 fromLSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center

He joined the law ﬁrm of Jones Fussell LLP, based in Covington, where he saidhelearned the importance of focusing on details during his 23 years as aprivate lawyer

In 2009, Crain was elected as judge in thenorthshore’s22nd Judicial District,thenwas elected to the state’s 1st Circuit CourtofAppeal, before running and winning aseat on theLouisiana Supreme Court in 2019.

VanHook received his undergraduate degree in 1993 from Centenary College in Shreveport. He got his law degreefromthe Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1997.

He clerked for 5thU.S.Circuit Court Appeals Chief Judge Henry A. Politz, who satinShreveport and was an appointeeofformer PresidentJimmy Carter.Van Hook then clerked forU.S. DistrictChief Judge TomStagg, anominee of former President Richard Nixon who also sat in Shreveport.

VanHook methis wife, Tricia, while clerking for Stagg, whose seat he will assumeifconﬁrmed, though it wasmostrecentlyheld by Judge Elizabeth Foote, who took senior status in 2022 andsat in Shreveport.

VanHookworkedfor ashort time in theexecutivecounsel’s office for Republican Gov.Mike Foster.For the past quarter century,hewas an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana focusing on public corruption, organized crime, drug enforcementprosecutions, money laundering, white-collar crimeand asset forfeitures.

VanHook wasmade the district’s chief federal lawenforcementofﬁcer as acting U.S. attorney in January

Trialin HamasattacktobeheldinLafayette

Federalcharges broughtagainst al-Muhtadi

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Afederal trial will be held in Lafayette for Mayhmoud al-Muhtadi, aresident of the city since June, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to falsifying avisa application and conspiring to supporta foreignterrorist organization, namely Hamas He is accused of being amember of aterrorist group and participating in the deadly Hamas-ledOct. 7, 2023, attack in Israelthat left over a1,000 people dead and sparkeda two-year conﬂict.

Al-Muhtadi was in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette on Wednesday afternoon before Magistrate JudgeCarol Whitehurst,

STRUCK

Continued from page1B

investigation suggest she might also have been struck earlier by another vehicle.

Neither the Coroner’sOfﬁce news release nor theearlierState Police newsrelease speculatedwhy Caraway,who was staying at ahotel in downtown New Orleans, might have been on thehighway near Slidell.

“That’sthe mystery here,”Tape said in an interview Wednesday “Whyisshe two-thirds of the way

SHOOTING

Continued from page1B

them into her car and tying her son’sshoes when she heard the shots ring out and awoman’s screams. Then she saw the girl lying in the street.

where he pleaded not guilty to two charges handed up Fridayafternoonbya grand jury

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Nickel said al-Muhtadiwill not be deported to Israel, although it is apossible penalty if he is found guilty

Nickelalso said al-Muhtadi’strial will take place in federalcourt in Lafayette.

If convicted, Whitehurst said, alMuhtadi could face consequences including up to lifeinprison, up to $250,000 in fines, supervised release for lifeand a$100 special assessmentfor thecharge of conspiringto provide material support to adesignated foreign terrorist organizationresulting in death.

She said for thesecond charge of visa fraud, al-Muhtadi could face up to 10 years in prison, up to $250,000 in ﬁnes,supervisedrelease for up to threeyearsand a$100 special assessment Al-Muhtadiwas ordered detained

across thebridge in St. Tammany Parish?”

Caraway waspronounced dead on thescene, State Police said. The State Police newsrelease did not indicate thatthe driver of the Mazda was citedfor any violations. State Policesaid routine toxicology samplesweretaken from the driver and Caraway for analysisaspart of the investigation.

The Coroner’sOfﬁce saidCarawaywould have turned 27 years old on Wednesday and that herfamilytold coroner’sinvestigators that theyhad paidfor hertotravel to New Orleans to seethe NBA Young-

until his trial.

U.S. District Judge David Joseph will schedule thetrialdate.

Federal officialsonWednesday filed amotion asking thecourtto designate Aleksandr Kurtov as the classifiedinformation security officer for this case per the Classified Information Procedures Act. They also requested seven alternate officers. They also filed amotionaskingJoseph to setapretrial conference as early as possible to discuss relevant legaland procedural frameworks aimed at protecting classified information relevant to thecase.

FBISupervisory SpecialAgent AlexandriaO’Donnell, in an affidavit released last week,provided details on prosecutors’ case against al-Muhtadi. Theaffidavit, she wrote, was basedonher personal knowledge,information fromother lawenforcementagents, location information, recorded telephone communications, email andsocial

boyconcert Monday night and celebrate her birthday. She hadplans to ﬂy backhomeonTuesdaymorning, Tape said.

Tape said herfamily told investigators that Caraway had traveled to New Orleans alone.

The Coroner’sOfﬁcenewsrelease said investigators hadrequested that the staff at the hotel where she was staying secure the room. The coroner’s news release said State Police investigators had indicated they would process the hotel room for any relevant evidence.

Tape saidCaraway’smother had received an alert from Caraway’s

media communications, numerous witness interviews andinformation provided by Israel.

Evidence, shewrote, showsalMuhtadi’sphone used acellphone tower located near Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel, “the location of ahorrifying massacre by Hamas and its supporters.”Officials said alMahtadi, whowas living in Gaza, heard about the attack, armed himself, gathered othersand crossed into Israel to assist Hamas. Al-Muhtadi is also accusedofproviding false information on his U.S. visa application, saying he hadno involvement with aparamilitary organization, connection to Hamas, military training or participation in aterroristattack.

He entered the U.S. in September 2024 through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where his photowas taken. He lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, fora time but wasliving in Lafayette and working at alocal restaurant by June

phone at 2:19 a.m. Tuesday, indicatingthatshe hadbeen in acrash Caraway’s mother had been calling area hospitals asking if they had receivedany accident victims when she was notiﬁedbyState Policeof herdaughter’s death, Tape said.

Tape also requested asexualassault nurse examiner to collect evidence from Caraway’sbody, the newsrelease said.

“We’re reaching outtothe press in caseanyoneknows anything,” the coroner said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact theCoroner’s Ofﬁce at (985) 781-1150.

“The scene wasjust— you wouldn’twant to see it,” Williams said. Williams and other neighbors said the man looked young, blendinginwith teenswaitingfor the bus. Doorbell camerafootageWilliams shared shows the man she identiﬁed as the shooterwearing abackpack and pacing outside her house for several minutes at 7:30 a.m., just before theshooting was reported. Investigators were on the scene until at least 10 a.m., gathered near ahouse at the intersection. They taped off aportion of the intersection and anearby lawn, placing several evidence markers inthe street. The Orleans Parish Coroner’sOfﬁce had not released the identities of the deadasof6:30 p.m. Wednesday Classes at Walter L. Cohen were canceled forthe day, according to an

Trump nominated VanHook to the federal bench soon after tapping Zachary A. Keller as U.S. attorney on Sept. 15.

After ﬁelding questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the twonomineeswereasked to respond to written questions by Oct. 29.The committeewill then vote on whethertorecommend that the full Senate vote to conﬁrm the nominees.

Theprocess is moving quickly for Crain and VanHook —Trump nominated them in late September —compared with Louisiana nominations earlier this year

Democratic senators hadopposed manyofthe candidates nominated for federal trial and appellate courts as too doctrinaire and held up the conﬁrmations of all the judicial candidates, including those fromLouisiana who nobody publicly criticized.

“Some of the nominees the Democrats were furious about. But these twoweren’tthatcontroversial,” said Carl Tobias, aUniversity of Richmond lawprofessor who follows judicial nominations.

Louisiana has four judicial nominations that are vacant —three in New Orleans, which is alot fora state, he added.

“I thought they got off easy.They didn’treally getthatmanydifficult questions,” Tobias said. “I don’tsee any red flags. Iwould expect they get confirmed this year.”

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.

Teenager arrested in Slidell shooting

Staff report

Slidell police say a16-year-old is in custody in adeadly shooting last week. Policesaidina Facebook post Tuesday evening that the juvenile, whom they did not name, turned himself in to authorities in Hancock County,Mississippi, on Monday night. Investigators had attempted to apprehend him earlier Monday at a residence in Mississippi but he was not there.

The juvenile will be returned to St. TammanyParish, where he faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to police. Policesaidthe shooting occurred the evening of Oct. 15 near Possum HollowPark. When police arrived, they found amale withmultiple gunshotwounds.Hewas later identified as Chance’lor Parker, 18, of Lacombe. Additionalchargesmay be forthcoming, police said Tuesday

Crain VanHook

STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Fire aboard bargein Harvey controlled

Staff report

Firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze aboard abarge docked in the industrial canal in Harvey on Wednesdaymorning, according to Jefferson Parish officials. The fire was reported to be under control as of 8:22 a.m., according to Assistant ChiefMichael McAuliffe with Harvey Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2. But Peters Road remainsclosed in the3400 block as crewscontinued to extinguish the fire. No injuries have been reported, though one firefighter was checked out by medical services on scene.

“He is OK,” McAuliffe

said. Thefirewas reported about drilling 3450 bargeh gallons board, dication nited, liffe About other neighboring ments respond assist. ters Road for at or two.

“We’re hot spot barge,” The notyet

Scot Piliéjoins WDSU weathe

Meteorologist

returnstofamiliar stationroots

every weekday in at other ed, he staff at himaw

BY JUSTIN MITCHELL Staff writer

ANew Orleans meteorologist who has gained notoriety as asocial media influencer has joined the WDSU-TV weather team as its newest meteorologist. Scot Pilié, who previously worked at WGNO and The Weather Channel in Atlanta,started at WDSU on Tuesday He’ll be workingon apart-time basis through December andcouldpossibly stay on longer Pilié began his career in meteorology in 2014asa weather intern for thenWDSU meteorologist Margaret Orr

“I actually cold-called with my résumé at the station,” Pilié, aNew Orleans native, said Tuesday.“Margaret called me herselfand gave me the opportunityto be her summer intern.

Pilié will be reporting the weather forecast at noon

“This full ci work at started over 10 Pilié’ Orleans weather and his Mount dining, ities arou Pilié creator yune earl umenting around 2025 M Youc Facebook, TikTok. EmailJ at justin. theadvocate.com

Continued from page1B

department spokesperson

Capt. Edwin Holmes.

Holmes said at least three structures were involved in theﬁre,including aday care on Franklin and an occupied Airbnb on Villere. Another house on Villere was also damaged, Holmes said. Four people who were renting theAirbnb escaped the ﬁre before the department arrived on scene, Holmes said. No injuries were reported.

Holmes said the fire was under controlby7:06a.m., but firefighters remained on scene at 7:40 a.m., working to douse the roof of the stillsmoldering Kids of Excellence day care center.The day care had yet to open for the day,but Holmes said the flames spread to the building’sattic, causing severe damage

It’sunclear where the ﬁre started, but Holmes said investigatorswill continue to assess thesituation throughout the day Reiko Peterson, 24, a neighbor rentinganapartment in the house next door to the Airbnb, said he awoke at 5a.m. to an orange glow in hisroomand immediately knew somethingwas wrong. “The reasonIwoke up is because Idon’thave any orange lights in my house,” he said. When he looked out awindow,hesaw his backyard engulfed in flames. Peterson said he grabbed his girlfriend and acoustic guitar and they rushed out of the house, banging on neighbors’ doors to warn them.

NewOrleans Area Deaths Obituaries

AcombJr.,Allen

Anderson, Diane

Bienemy, Kellen

Bishop Sr., Gregory

Carman Weigand, Sara

Chatelain, Brenda

Crosby Jr., Louis

Cubias,Felix

Dauzat,Terry

Dillon, Etta

Dorsey,Cynthia

Elliott, Eleanor

Fannaly,Joyce

GriffinSr.,Wilbert

Handrop, Roland

Hicks, Jacquelyn

Hinkel, Jacquelyn

Howard,Elsie

Jones,Arthur

Keller, Michael Kleamenakis,Nicholas

LeCoq, Mattie

Matthews, Cutnisha

Merrick,Bruce

Palm Jr., John

Rando, Felix

Smith,Calvin

Spiers,Jessie Turner,Odessa EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Palm Jr., John Leitz-Eagan

Dauzat,Terry

Richardson FH Turner,Odessa NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Howard,Elsie

LeCoq, Mattie Charbonnet

Dorsey,Cynthia

Standing his socks lost som ings in ablanke knit tha his son, still ha “In times personal thing’sg it’smusic,”

The rented at Hol Bassis 38, of up early smelling ing plastic. Theb their possessi Airbnb, “You kind of coming thinking stuff wi betterb guisher Despi ranwas playing plans to Email at marco. theadvocate.

Memorial serviceswill be held for AllenDouglas Acomb,Jr. on Friday, October24, 2025, at 3:00 PM in Martin &Castille's La Fleur de LisChapel of Lafayette. Doug, as he was affectionatelyknown, was 73 when he passedaway on October 20, 2025. The Acomb family will receive guests on Fridayin Martin &Castille,600 E. Farrel Rd Lafayette, La. 70508, from1:00 PM until time of the serviceat3:00 PM View theobituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com

Martin &CastilleSOUTHSIDE, 600 E. Farrel Road,Lafayette,Louisiana 70508, 337-984-2811

Anderson,Diane ElizabethSpies

Nicholas Davis Duplantis Madeline LockeAndrews, LiamRobertFielding, Julia Grace Fielding,Chloe Josephine Fielding,and nu‐merousgreat-grandchil‐dren. Forthe last four years,Diane livedatIn‐spiredLiving– Kenner.Her familywould like to extend their heartfeltgratitude to Executive Director Deeni Romeand herentirecaring and supportive staff at In‐spiredfor thelovingcare theyprovided. In her ﬁnal monthsand weeks, special thanksgotoAnneFavret, APRN, FNP-BC,ACHPN,and the Care Associates Hos‐piceteam— Valerie, Rachel, Koryn, andKristin fortheir exceptional compassionand support. A visitationtocelebrate Diane’s life will be held on Saturday, October25, 2025, from9:30AMto11:00 AM, Mass11:00 AM to 12:00PM followedbya receptionat Jacob Schoen &Son Fu‐neral Home,3827Canal Street,New Orleans, LA 70119. Intermentwillbe private.Her family ﬁnds comfort in knowingshe is reunitedwithBob and David andthather spirit willliveoninevery garden she tended,every song she dancedto, andevery heart she touched. “Weloveyou, Mom.Thank youfor al‐waysreminding us to stop and smellthe gardenias and to notice whenthe azaleas areblooming."

Bienemy, Kellen Micheal

Bishop Sr., Gregory

Matthews, Cutnisha DW Rhodes Crosby Jr., Louis

Dillon, Etta

Gertrude Geddes

Bishop Sr., Gregory Greenwood

Cubias,Felix

JacobSchoen

Anderson, Diane

Hinkel, Jacquelyn

Lake Lawn Metairie

Elliott, Eleanor

Fannaly,Joyce

River Parish

BardellMortuary

Smith,Calvin

West Bank

DavisMortuary

Keller, Michael

Mothe

Rando, Felix

Robinson FH

Bienemy, Kellen

GriffinSr.,Wilbert

Jones,Arthur

Merrick,Bruce

Spiers,Jessie

DianeElizabeth Spies Anderson, age82, passed awaypeacefully on the evening of October17, 2025. Dianewas born on Valentine’s Day1943, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to MurielStaatsSpies andIg‐natiusPaulSpies.She at‐tendedSt. Mary's Domini‐can High School andlater earnedher bachelor’s de‐greeineducation from LoyolaUniversity. Diane dedicated many yearsto teachinginthe Orleans ParishSchool System, where shetouched count‐lesslives throughher care and commitment to her students. Diane’s ﬁrstmar‐riage wastoDon Charles Philastre,withwhomshe had threechildren: Melanie,David andAshlie. Diane metthe love of her life, Robert (Bob)Davis An‐derson, in theearly 1980’s and they were marriedon October 10,1981. Through thismarriage, Dianelov‐ingly welcomed four bonus children—Jill,Joyce,Janel, and John Anderson—into her family.A long time memberofLakeForest GardenClub, Dianewas a giftedgardener. Shehad a remarkabletalentfor cre‐ating vibrant, beautiful landscapes. Hergardens wereher prideand joy, and she couldoften be found tending them with asmile In 1991, Dianeand Bobbuilt a lovely home in Slidell, Louisiana,where music ﬁlled theair anddancing in the kitchenwas acommon sight.She affectionately calledBob “Minnesota Stiff”while shewas LouisianaLoose,”a nick‐namethatnever failed to makethembothlaugh Bob lovedtoswaywith her.The couple also owned a home in Lutsen,Min‐nesota, where they spent manysummers andwin‐tersexploring theNorth Shore of Lake Superior Diane lovedhikingwith Bob andtheir children “hoppingrocks”across riversand streams, and collectingrockafter rock fromthe shoretobring backhomeand incorpo‐rateintoher gardens—a livingmap of theiradven‐tures together.Diane and Bob traveled extensively, creatingmemoriesall over the world. Dianeispre‐ceded in deathbyher beloved Boband herson David CharlesPhilastre.It isonlyknowing that they werethere to greetMom thatmakes herpassing morebearabletoher chil‐dren. Also precedingher wereher parentsMuriel StaatsSpies andIgnatius Spies;her grandmother Josephine Daylight Beaure‐gardStaats(“Mommie”) and hergrandfather Arthur Staats("Poppie")and her brother DavidPaulSpies She is survived by her daughters MelanieEliza‐beth(Paul)Harveyand AshlieElizabeth Philastre Meers;her bonus daugh‐tersJill MarieBrandell, Joyce MarieDuplantis, Janel Kay(Jay) Fielding; and herbonus sonJohn Robert(Karen) Anderson She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren OwenChristopher Ebeling, Sarah ElizabethHarvey, Ila Grace Meers, DiaElizabeth DaylightMeers,Christine Marie Constanza, Melissa Anne (Andy) Potter, Michael DavidBrandell, Nicholas DavisDuplantis,

KellenMicheal Bienemy, age 27,entered into eternal restonOctober 14,2025. Hewas born on October1, 1998, to Georgan(Keith) Es‐padronand Javara (Mon‐ica)Bienemy.Kellenac‐ceptedChristashis Lord and Savior andwas bap‐tized at CommunityChurch inCovington,Louisiana, under theleadershipofDr. A.NathanYoung.During his time at Community Church, Kellenserved faithfullyonthe parking team, in theyouth min‐istry,and assisted with the baptismal ministry.He never missed an opportu‐nitytostepupand help whereverthere wasa need.A proudFlorida Gator fan,Kellenloved en‐gaginginspiriteddebates withhis stepfather and siblingsabout histeam. His love forsportswas un‐matched,and he spent countless hoursenjoying games of allkinds.Hehad a specialpassion forsup‐porting hisyounger brother Ronald in hislove for football andcould often befound proudlyvolun‐teeringwiththe team as a memberofthe chaingang. Known forhis infectious smile andjoyfulspirit, Kellenbrought warmth and laughtertoevery spacehe entered.Hewas loving kindhearted,and deeply caringtowardeveryone around him. Kellenmade friends everywhere he wentand hada remark‐ableabilitytoconnect with peoplefromall walksof life. Kellenleavestocher‐ish hismemoryhis loving parents,Georgan (Keith) Espadronand Javara (Mon‐ica)Bienemy;his siblings DavionPhillips, Ronald En‐caladeJr.,Jabariand Najae Bienemy,Leriyah andLaila Ard;and hisgrandparents Georgiana Sylve, KeithEs‐padronSr.,Rudolph and Diane Bienemy, andCar‐olynCyprian.Heisalso survivedbyhis auntsand unclesGeorgette (Jarvis) Mackey, TiffanyPhillips, Dalon Bienemy, Norman Cyprian,and Jonathan Cyprian,along with ahost ofextendedfamilyand friends.Kellenshareda special bond with Ireiel Robertand wasthe proud Godfather of Taylee Hart who wasthe appleofhis eye andjoy of hisheart.He alsodeeply cherishedhis bestfriends—who were morelikebrothers—Dorron Sylve,HiltonSylve,Trey Ockman, Kejaun Turner, and Sage Johnson. He was precededindeath by his grandfather's Milton James Sylve andNormanCyprian Sr.,and hissisterOriana Big-O” Duplessis. Kellen’s lifewillbecelebratedby all who were blessedto knowhim.His light, laugh‐ter,and love will continue toshine brightly in the heartsofthose he touched.A Celebrationof Lifewillbeheldfor Kellen onSaturday, October25, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Greater MacedoniaBaptist ChurchinPortSulphur, Louisiana,withRev.Man‐drelR.Pansy Sr.ofﬁciating. Funeralserviceshavebeen entrusted to Robinson FamilyFuneralHome, 9611 Highway23, BelleChasse,

GregoryBishop, Sr., age 60was born on April17, 1965, aman whosepres‐encewas as warm and invitingasNew Orleans, madehis heavenly transi‐tiononThursday, October 9,2025. Gregory’searly years were steeped in the richculture andspirited community of NewOrleans east. He graduatedfrom MarionAbramsonHigh SchoolinNew Orleans east. He became amember ofBeautiful Zion Baptist ChurchinHouma,LA where he wasactiveinthe Pastor’sSupport andthe Couple’sMinistrywhere his faith became thecor‐nerstoneofhis life.Gre‐gory’szestfor life was matched by hislovefor musclecars, with apartic‐ularfondnessfor Cadillacs. Gregory Bishop,Sr. leaves tocherish hismemory, his lifepartner,SandraWilson; two sons,Gregory Robin‐son,and GregoryBishop, Jr.;three daughters, Shan‐drica Myers, Shamyra Robinson, andGloria Robinson; twostepchildren Chris andBrittanySims, and 17 grandchildren; two brothers, Willis Bishop,Jr. and HenryJackson ﬁve sisters,Deborah Bishop, PamelaBishop, Valerie Bishop, Betty Worthy (Jer‐maine), Betty Jackson (Richard) ,and ahostof nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, Willis Bishop,Sr. and Justine JacksonBishop; his maternalgrandmother Willie LeeJackson-Miller, and maternal grandpar‐entsEverette andEmma McClearyJackson.Rela‐tives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend the Visitation on Friday, October 24,2025at GertrudeGeddesWillis-Ter‐rebonne FuneralHome, 617 BondStreet,Houma,LA 70360 from 11:00a.m.until 1:00p.m.Followedbythe Celebration of Life Service onSaturday, October25, 2025atGuiding LightMis‐sionary BaptistChurch, 2012WashingtonAvenue, New Orleans, LA 70113 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation from 8:30a.m.until 10:00a.m Private Burial.You may signthe guestbookon www.gertrudegeddeswilli s.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralHome, Incin charge(504) 522-2525.

Carman Weigandpassed away on October5,2025, at theage of 82 in Kenner,LA. Linda workeddecades for accounting firms, Fred Krass &Associates,and Hienz& Macaluso.Linda graduated from John McDonough Senior High School. She enjoyed reading,swimming, gardening, andsports, especially herNew Orleans Saints. Sheissurvivedbyher loving children, Donna Egan Pechon(Jules), Dawn Egan,and Earl EEgan III (Cindy); grandchildren Jonathan Pechon,Kelsea Pechon Murphy, Tori Egan, Briana Egan Cuny,Earl (Beau) EEgan IV,Brooke Egan and Brody Egan,and 9great-grandchildren.She waspreceded in death by herparents, Earlene Cuccio Carman andJames Carman,and hergrandson, Brandon Egan Aservice to honor Linda'slifewillbeheldat OurLady of Divine ProvidenceChurch, 8617 W. MetairieAve Metairie, LA on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am followedby aMass at 10:00 am.

Acomb Jr., Allen Douglas

Carman Weigand, Sara Linda

SaraLinda

Chatelain, Brenda Ann

Brenda Ann Chatelain Funeral services celebrating the life of Mrs. Brenda Ann Chatelainwill be held on Friday, October 24th,2025 at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapel of Hixson Brothers Funeral Homes with Father Blake Deshautelle officiating. Interment will follow at St. Paul the Apostle Church Cemetery. Services are entrusted to Hixson Brothers Funeral Home.

Mrs. Chatelain, age 76, of Mansura, passed away on Friday, October 17th,2025 at St. Francis Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. She is preceded in death by her husbands, Wayne Dupuy and Eddie Andry; and parents, Charles and Lucille Guillory Chatelain; brothers, Michael Chatelainand Jimmy Chatelain; sisters, Deanne Beach and Karen Chatelain.

Those lefttocherish her memory include her sons, Nicholas Kidder of Grenda, Mississippi and Alexander Kidder of New Orleans, Louisiana; daughter, Heidi Kidder -Veron, New Orleans, Louisiana; brothers, Jerome Chatelainof Hessmer and Daniel Chatelain of New Orleans, one sister, Shiree Laborde of Mansura; and five grandchildren, Ally Broussard, Collin Veron, Dallton Veron, Colton Kidder and Declan Kidder.

Visitation willbeheld on Thursday, October 23rd,2025 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and willresume on Friday, October 24th,2025 at 8:00 a.m. until time of services in the Chapel of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Marksville.

To extend online condolences to the Chatelain family, please visit us online at www.hixsonbrothers.com

LouisCrosbyJr.,affec‐tionately knownasJunior, was born in NewOrleans Louisiana on May21, 1938 tothe union of thelate Louis Crosby Sr.and Orelia Cassimere Crosby.For 48 years,hewas thedevoted husband of Jeanette B. Crosby. Louiswas blessed withthree daughters Raquell C. Ross (Wallace), ToyaM.Crosby, and Javonna C. Mercadel (Nick). Louisgraduated fromJosephS.Clark High School in 1956 andlater at‐tendedDelgado Commu‐nityCollege,where he studied HVAC andRefriger‐ation.InOctober of 1961 heproudly answered the calltoserve hiscountry by joining theUnitedStates Army, wherehewas a memberofthe 1st Platoon, BlueDevils, 3rdTraining Battalion.After completing his tour of duty,hebecame a transitoperatorfor NOPSI/RegionalTransit Au‐thority forover25years Heworkeddiligently throughouthis life,includ‐ing time spentatBud’s Florist,where hiscreativity and eyefor detail were un‐deniablequalities that also reﬂectedhis deep love for photography andthe game ofchess. Louiswas bap‐tized at ayoung ageat BranchBellBaptist Church under theleadershipof Rev.R.K.WatsonJr. His faith remained thecorner‐stone of hislife. Over the years,heservedfaithfully atBranchBellasa choir member, Deacon,Sunday School,and Vacation Bible School teacher. AfterHurri‐caneKatrina,Louis relo‐cated to Geismar, LA with his wife Jeanette,and madethe city theirhome for thelast20years.They joinedFirst PilgrimCalvary MissionaryBaptist Church where he served as aDea‐con,VacationBible School teacher,leaderinthe Chil‐dren’sministryand taught Men’s Fellowship.Louis en‐joyed sharingwisdom, pa‐tience, andhis love for God’s word.OnSunday, October 12,2025,atthe age of87, Louistransitionedto his eternalresting place. Louis waspreceded in deathbyhis parents, Louis

death by his parents Louis Crosby Sr.and Orelia Cas‐simereCrosby; threesis‐ters, ShirleyCrosby, Rose MaryKitchen,and Orelia (DeeDee)Armstrong;and one granddaughter, Lana Shea. Louisleavestocher‐ish hismemory, his beloved wife,Jeanette B. Crosby; hisdaughters, Raquell C. Ross (Wallace), ToyaM.Crosby, and Javonna C. Mercadel (Nick); twobrothers, Allen James Crosby and AlvinJ Crosby(Adline); twosis‐ters, CarolynWilliamsand Betty Francis; twosistersin-love,LoisB.Williams and GwendolynBrown and one brother-in-loveBurnell Williams;fourgrandchil‐dren, Jha’da,Joshua,Tre’, and Zoë; twoGodchildren DeniseArmstrong James and Courtney L. Francis; hostofnieces, nephews, cousins,relatives,and friends.Louis will be re‐memberedfor hisgentle spirit, quickwit,sharp mind, andunwavering de‐votiontohis faithand fam‐ily.His life wasa testament toquiet strength,compas‐sion, anda heartfor ser‐vice. He wasa mentor to manywhose liveshe touched —alwayswilling toshare hisknowledge or learn somethingnew Whetherhealready knew the answer,neededtograb a book,orhop on Google Louis always founda way. Hewillbedeeplymissed, yet hisloveand legacy will liveoninall who knew him.Relatives andfriends are invitedtojoinusincel‐ebratingLouis’lifeatFirst Pilgrim CalvaryMissionary Baptist Church locatedat 11453 LA-73, Geismar, LA 70734 on Saturday,October 25, 2025. Dr.MarlonD.Hen‐derson, Sr.ofﬁciating. Visi‐tationisfrom10:00 a.m. until servicetimeat11:00 a.m.Interment andrepast are on site.Celebration servicesentrusted to D.W. RhodesFuneralHome, 3933 WashingtonAve.New Or‐leans,LA70125.Please visit www.rhodesfuneral. com to sign theguestbook

Felix Ovidio Cubias,a lu‐minaryinthe realms of journalismand political advocacy, passedaway peacefullyonOctober 18, 2025, in LaPlace, Louisiana. BornonFebruary21, 1933 inCuyamel,Honduras, Felix's life journeyof92 years wasmarkedbya re‐lentlesspursuit of truth and justice, which left an indelible mark on the heartsand mindsofthose hetouched.Felix's legacy iscarried forwardbyhis devoted wife of 50 years, GladysA.Cubias, andtheir lovingchildren, Maria YamilethPalacios, Junior Gerardo Palacios,Gigi Baker (Carl),Felix Ovidio CubiasJr. (Traci), and Edgardo Antonio(Tato)Cu‐bias. Hislifewas further enriched by thejoy brought by hisgrandchil‐dren, Enrique, Javier,Lil‐ianaDantin, Ethan, Easten Cubias, andOliviaBaker His passingwas preceded bythatofhis parents, An‐tonio Cubias Lopezand GracieladeCubias, as well ashis ﬁve siblings,leaving behinda family grateful for his wisdom andwarmth. Felix's professional life was as vibrantand impact‐ful as hispersonalone.For overtwo decades, he servedasthe Director of the JambalayaNewsnews‐paper in NewOrleans,be‐cominga steadfastvoice withinthe community. His exceptional contributions tojournalismwererecog‐nized whenhewas hon‐oredwiththe prestigious JuanRamón Molina Presi‐dential Awardin2025. Fur‐thermore, on May25, 2009 HonduranJournalistDay, Felix wascelebratedby President Jose Manuel Ze‐layaRosales forhis out‐standingefforts on behalf ofthe Honduran diaspora inthe United States Aleaderamong hispeers, Felix held thepresidencyof the Hispanic Associationof Journalists,Writers,and BroadcastersinLouisiana (AHPELLA)and wasa proud member of the Union of Artistsand Writ‐ers of Honduras (UAEH) and theNationalAssocia‐tionofHispanicJournalists based in Washington,D.C His dedication to thecraft led himtoestablish APENH,the Associationof NationalJournalists and Writers of Honduras.Felix's voice resonatedbeyond the pagesofnewspapers. Heauthoredseveral no‐table books, including Grains of Motivation (1973),"VentanadePapel" (2013),"DemocracyReality

& Lymphoma Society or to

(2013) Democracy Reality or Formalism" (2019),and "Real Socialism" (2016).His tenureasa columnistfor the Diario Tiempo spanned 33years,and he held direc‐torialpositions at "ElVo‐cerodelaComunidad" and the weekly VozLimeña, which he founded.His edu‐cationatthe School of JournalisminMoscowin 1977laidthe groundwork for acareerthatwould see him become astaunch ad‐vocatefor human rights From1982to83, he wasthe President of theHuman RightsCommittee in San Pedro Sula,Honduras (CODEH).A manofprinci‐ple,Felix wasnamed Fa‐voriteSon of thecityof Lima, Honduras,inJuly 2005, atestament to his commitmenttohis home‐land. Felix'spolitical in‐volvement wassigniﬁcant, havingbeena member of the LiberalParty until June 28, 2009, before becoming a coordinatorofthe Na‐tionalPopular Resistance Front (FNRP) in NewOr‐leans anda member of the Freedom andRefoundation Party:LIBRE.His intelli‐gence andthoughtfulness werethe hallmarksofhis political andprofessional endeavors,earning himre‐spect andadmirationfrom all quarters.Felix Ovidio Cubias'slifewas atesta‐menttothe powerof words andthe importance ofstandingupfor one's beliefs.Heleavesbehinda legacyofintegrity,com‐passion,and unwavering dedicationtohis commu‐nityand family.His mem‐ory will continue to inspire futuregenerations to pur‐sue truthand justicewith the same fervor that he did.Felix's life wasa bea‐con of hope anda re‐minderofthe impact one individualcan have on the world.Hewas an avid ﬁsh‐erman who found true joy wheneverhewas outon the water. Relativesand friends areinvited to visit Greenwood FuneralHome, 5200Canal Blvd NewOr‐leans,LA70124,onFriday, October 24,2025, starting at11:00 AM.A Celebration ofLifewillfollowthe visi‐tationat1:00PM. We also inviteyou to shareyour thoughts, fond memories, and condolencesonlineat www.greenwoodfh.com Your shared memories will helpuscelebrate Felix’s lifeand keep hismemory alive

Dillon,EttaDean

With sadnessweshare the passingofEttaDean Dillon, on October9,2025. Pleasevisit www.rhodesf uneral.comtoviewservice information,signonline guestbook,sendﬂowers and sharecondolences

Dorsey,Cynthia GayleQuillens

St.Michael SpecialSchool inNew Orleans, LA motiveparts and hardware in Triumphand, after hurricane Camille,Belle Chasse, retiringlateinlifeto Covington Eleanor waspredeceased by Frank,her husband of 58 years; herparents, George and Simica; and herbrother,George L. Pivach Jr.She is survived by hersons, William Christopher(Donna) and Frank Wall, Jr.; granddaughters, RebeccaA.E Smith (Robert)and Jennifer E. Brindler (Kristopher); great-grandsons, Theodoreand Julian Smith andRowan andRhys Fulks; sister,Magdalene Perino;sister-in-law, Frances Pivach;and a large number of nieces, nephews, grandniecesand grandnephews. Funeral serviceswillbe held at Holy Name of Jesus Churchat6367 St.Charles Ave., NewOrleans,on Friday, October 24, with visitation at 12:00 p.m. and Mass at 1:00. Interment will follow at Metairie Cemetery.Inlieuofflowers, donations may be made to Holy Name of Jesus Church

CynthiaGayle Quillens

the first trip, Joyce broke herhip coming downfrom King Ludwig's Castle, Neuschwanstein Servicesfor Joycewill be held on Friday, October 24, 2025, at Lake Lawn MetairieFuneral Home at 5100 PontchartrainBlvd, NewOrleans.A visitation will be held from12:302:00 pm. Theservice will then be held in the chapel at 2:00 P.M., immediately followed by interment in MetairieCemetery

Grifﬁn

Terry Joseph Dauzat en‐tered into eternalreston Sunday, October19, 2025 atthe ageof85. He was bornonSeptember 2, 1940 inHessmer,LA. He andhis familymoved to NewOr‐leans whenhewas 15 years old. Terry graduated fromWarrenEastonHigh School where he wasa memberofthe football team. Everyone who knew Terry lovedbeing around him.Hewas always thelife ofthe partyand hadthe mostamazing storiesto share.Hewas an avid sportsfan.Heloved the New York Yankeesand the New OrleansPelicans; but weall know theway he loved theNew Orleans Saints. Terry jokingly said one of thebestdaysofhis life, besideshis wedding day andthe birthofhis daughterand grandchil‐dren, waswhenthe Saints won theSuperbowl.Terry retired from United Parcel Service (UPS)in2005after 30years of service. He was a parishionerofSt. Philip NeriCatholicChurch in Metairie, LA.Terry waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, LanonJ.Dauzatand Ola MayeauxDauzat; his sister, JuanitaDauzatLemoine;and hisbrother, RonaldDauzat. He is sur‐vived by hislovingwifeof 61years,Alice H. Dauzat; his daughter,Tracy DauzatRolfes(Mark); twogrand‐children, FaithMarie Rolfes and MatthewMarkRolfes; his brothers,Tubin Dauzat (Joyce) andSylmanDauzat (Viola);and severalnieces and nephews. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attend aMassofChristian BurialatLeitz-Eagan Fu‐neral Home,4747Veterans MemorialBlvd.,Metairie, LAonSaturday, October 25, 2025, at 1:00 PM.Visita‐tionwillbeheldatthe fu‐neral home from 11:00AM until 1:00 PM.Interment willfollowinGardenof MemoriesCemetery. In lieu of ﬂowers, please make donations to theLeukemia &LymphomaSociety or to

Dorsey, age75, peacefully transitionedintothe arms ofJesus on Monday,Octo‐ber 6, 2025 at herhomein Houston,TX. Sheisa na‐tiveofNew Orleansand a residentofHouston,TX, since HurricaneKatrina Cynthia is agraduateof JosephS.Clark Senior High School,Class of 1968. She alsoattended Louisiana State University,which preparedher foranaccom‐plished career,ultimately retiringashuman re‐sources director forChar‐ity Hospital.Those preced‐ing herindeath include her belovedhusband DwightDorsey; parents, Ethel Robinson Quillens Jimmieand Lethia Quillens; brothers, JimmieQuillens LionelRandolph, Clifford, Rolandand Ronald Quil‐lens; grandchildren, Jordan Arthur andKinsliAria. She leavestocherish lasting memories, loving children, Arthur Lewis, Jr.(LosAnge‐les,CA) andAvery Lewis (Houston, TX); precious grandson, Kade Edison Lewis-Boyd(Houston, TX); devoted sistersBrenda Allen (Pittsburg,CA),Linda Quillens Baptiste (Gerard) (Marietta,GA),Kathleen Quillens (Humble, TX), JacquelineQuillens (Pitts‐burg, CA), CarolynQuillens (Pittsburg, CA), andJoyce‐lyn Quillens Graham (Jacob) (Princeton,TX); sisters-in-lawReginaQuil‐lens(Columbia,SC),Carrie Lewis Thomas (Detroit,MI) and TammyQuillens(Pitts‐burg, CA); cherishedsurro‐gatedaughters,Katrell Quillens (Humble, TX)and JeannineTaylor(NewOr‐leans,LA);beloved andfa‐voriteGodchildren,aswell asa host of nieces, nephews,cousins and friends,too numerous to name. Relativesand friends;Pastor, ofﬁcers and membersofBeacon Light InternationalBaptist Cathedral,South Union (Houston, TX)and Zion MissionaryBaptist Churches(Roswell, GA), Asia Nazareneand Pentecost Baptist Churches,aswell asall neighboringcongre‐gations areinvited to at‐tendthe funeral. ACele‐bration servicehonoring the life andlegacyofthe lateCynthia GayleQuillens DorseywillbeheldatBea‐con LightInternational Baptist Cathedral, 1937 MirabeauAvenue,New Or‐leans,LA70122,onFriday, October 24,2025at10am, BishopDarrylS.Brister,Of‐ﬁciating. IntermentProvi‐dence Cemetery.Visitation 9 am in thechurch.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581 4411.

EleanorPivach Elliott passed peacefullyfrom this life on October 19, 2025, at theage of 91. Born in NewOrleans on April1, 1934, she was thethirdof threechildrenofthe late GeorgePivach and Simica Sumich Pivach. After attending UrsulineAcademy and Dominican HighSchool and College, she met Frank WallElliott.Afterardent pursuitbyFrank, they fell in love,married, and started abusiness selling auto-

Ms. Joyce E. Fannaly, age98years, passedaway on October16, 2025. Anative of Ponchatoula, LA, anda residentofRiver Ridge,LA, she was the daughterofthe lateJohnJ Fannaly, II and Josie Yochim Fannaly Freeman, and thesister of John J. Fannaly, III.Ms. Fannalyis preceded in death by her belovedfriend, Carolyn S. Perseveaux. Sheissurvived by many friends and relatives, too numerous to mention Once in aWhileaFriend is Found Who's aFriendRight from TheStart, Once in aWhilea Friendship is Made That Really Warms theHeart, Once in aWhilea Friendship is Formed To Last aLifetime Through. It Really doesHappen, just Once in aWhile It HappenedToMe AndYou Joyce wasblessed with aloving, long-time companion in Carolyn Togethertheycelebrated 68 years of friendship, love, andlaughter. Joyce was amember of four clubs: the Little Gourmets, the Gourmets, theHydePosse, andthe MamouRiding Club. She enjoyed cooking andloved gardening Joyce wasa very warm person, withananalytical andamiable personality. Shestrivedfor perfection, be it in cooking, decorating herhome, or always doing herchores in advance.Her amiable sidewas obvious in that she lovedher family, friends andpets, especiallyher cats, JerryAtric andEbony.

We calledher "Miss Corporal WorksofMercy, because she visited the sickand buriedthe dead. Shetook care of friends whohad cancer andwas in charge of buryingthree of herdear friends after HurricaneKatrina. In 2017, Carolyn gave Joyce a90th BirthdayParty at theRoseGarden,invitingthe members of the four clubstheybelonged to. Seventy-five members were invited, seventy-eight came,according to the door count!

Joyce was lovedat Jones &Laughlin,Thomson -Haywardand Dixie Beer, serving as theirPayroll Clerk andPension Coordinator.She also workedfor the I.R.S.atthe Cotton Exchange at the foot of Canal Street Joyce andCarolyn really enjoyed travelingtogether andsailed away on 67 cruises, (number 68 was cancelled duetoCOVID19). Theysailed across the PacificfromOahu,Hawaii to Ensenada, Mexico on theInauguralRCL ship, Splendorofthe Seas and sailed across theAtlantic from England to NewYork on theInauguralCunard Ship, Queen MaryII. They sailed through thePanama Canal. They also lovedtakingfully escortedbus trips through Italy, France, Spain,Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Alaska, and Hawaii.Theytook two trips to Germany, because on

WilbertTimothy Griffin Sr.,departedthislifeon Saturday, October18, 2025 atUniversityMedical Cen‐ter in NewOrleans LA.He was 66 yearsold anda na‐tiveofDavantLA.,and a residentofSt. Bernard, LA Son of thelateAugustand Shirley RileyGriffin. Father ofTennilliaG.Demolle, WilbertJr. andKendall Grif‐finand Aurillia Lumar. De‐voted husbandofthe late LisaWilliamsonGriffin. Step-father of Kevin Williamson.Brother of She‐lia G. Thomas (Allen),Mar‐garet G. Duplessis, Eric F. Griffin(Joann),and thelate Anthony,Rev.Augustand MervinJ.Griffin. Brotherin law of ArdtriaGriffin. NephewofAndrewGriffin and Ella MaeRiley. Mr.Grif‐finisalsosurvivedby16 grandchildren,30great grandchildren,several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relativesand de‐voted friends. Relatives and friendsofthe family, priestand parishioners of St. Thomas andAssump‐tionCatholicChurch, all surroundingchurchesand LoftonSecurity, areinvited toattendthe funeralser‐viceonSaturday, October 25, 2025 at St.Thomas Catholic Church 17605 Hwy 15, Point-Ala-Hache LA.The visitationwillbegin at 9AM followedbyan11AMmass. FatherSampson Abdulai willofficiateand entomb‐mentwillfollowinGriffin CemeteryinPhoenix LA Funeralplanningentrusted toRobinsonFamilyFuneral Home(504)208-2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

Roland DerekHandrop passedawaypeacefullyat homeonOctober 21,2025, atthe ageof89. Roland was preceded in deathby his belovedwife, CarolBur‐gettHandrop;his son David DerekHandrop;and infantdaughter, Ellen Diane Handrop. He is sur‐vived by hisdevoted daughter, Lori Handrop Mendoza ,and son-in-law Richard Mendoza; hischer‐ished grandchildren, Taylor Mendoza Alphonso (Micah),Mason Mendoza, Mikah Mendozaand MacKenzie Mendoza; and one greatgranddaughter Novah Alphonso andmany niecesand nephews. He is alsosurvivedbyhis cousin, Gary Boutwell (Glenn),who waslikea younger brothertohim.A Veteran of theUnited StatesArmy, Roland servedhis countrywith honor andintegrity.Fol‐lowinghis military service, heenjoyed alongand dis‐tinguishedcareer as alab‐oratory analystatKaiser Aluminum, laterknown as CalcinerIndustries, from which he retiredin2002. Rolandwas aman of steadfastChristian faith and wasa committed memberofseveral Baptist congregations throughout his life.Hefaithfullyserved asa deacon,youth leader and on numerous commit‐tees at FirstBaptist Church ofArabi untilhurricane Ka‐trina.Hecontinued hisde‐votiontothe church by serving at Woodland Park Baptist Church as adeacon andlater joined Trinity

Sr., Wilbert Timothy

Fannaly, Joyce E.

Cubias,Felix Ovidio

Crosby Jr., Louis

Dauzat,Terry Joseph

Handrop, Roland Derek

Elliott, Eleanor Pivach

and later joined Trinity BaptistChurch wherehe was acurrent member Outside of hisprofessional and spiritualcommit‐ments,Rolandfound great joy in spending time with family. He particularly en‐joyed thetravels,experi‐encingthrillrides,riding everythinghis grandchil‐drenasked himwhether it was go-carts, roller coast‐ers or waterslides.Healso enjoyed playinggolf, shootingpool andwas known forenthusiastic participation in ping-pong matches.But aboveall,he willberememberedfor the unwavering values he lived byand passeddowntohis childrenand grandchildren - faith, integrity, kindness and humility.Roland’s legacyisone of service, devotionand love forhis family, church andcommu‐nity. Family andfriends will bereceivedatHarry McK‐neely& SonFuneralHome, 2000 N. MorrisonBlvd, Hammond,Louisiana 70401 onSaturday, October25, 2025from9:30amuntil the FuneralService begins at 11:00 am.Interment will followatGreenlawn Ceme‐teryinHammond, Louisiana.Arrangements havebeen entrustedto Harry McKneely& SonFu‐neral Home andCrematory ofHammond andPoncha‐toula.Anon-lineguest book is availableatwww harrymckneely.com

Marie Hicks passed away on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at the age of 77. Beloved daughterof the late Enos S. Hicks Jr and Learline Hicks. Mother of Chelsea H. Smith. Sister of the late Norbert Parker, Ronald Hicks, Enos S. Hicks III, Sarahlilly Hicks, Donnell Hicks, Anthony Hicks, the late Adolph Hicks, Adries Jordan,and Dalton Hicks Grandmother of Mackenzie Smith and Melvin Smith Jr. Relatives, friends of the family, and coworkers are invitedtoattend the funeral services at 11AM on Friday, October 24, 2025,at St. Maria Goretti Church, 7300 Crowder Blvd., NOLA 70127. Visitation begins at 10AM. Services entrusted to Professional Funeral Services.

Hinkel,Jacquelyn AnnMiller

JacquelynAnn Miller

Hinkelage 85 enteredinto eternal rest on Monday, October 20,2025. Beloved wifeofthe late David Henry Hinkel.Daughterof the late AlvinLouis Miller and Rosemary Dorothy MooreMiller.Survivedby her twodaughters Lauren Faust (Doug) andLisa Mipro (Darrell),fourgrand‐childrenMorganFaust Subervielle (Matt),Brady Faust,BaileyMipro and Bryce Miproalong with nu‐merouscousins,a niece and nephew.Graduateof Francis T. Nicholls High School andattended LSUNO subsequently retir‐ing from theLouisiana Co‐operative Extension Ser‐vice. Onecould always ﬁnd her whetherrainorshine onNapoleonAvenue cele‐brating MardiGras, attend‐ing localplays,playing slots at thecasino, listen‐ing to musicand traveling along theGulfCoast Jackieenjoyed allthatlife had to offer, treasuring her timewithfamilyand friends themost. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attend aFuneralService on FridayOctober 24th at 12pminthe Chapel of Jacob Schoen &Son Fu‐neral Home,3827Canal Street,New Orleans, LA 70119. Visitation will begin at10am. Agrave side ser‐vicewillfollowatSt. Roch #1Cemetery. Family and friends mayexpress their condolences online at www.schoencanalstreet com. Arrangements by Jacob Schoen &Son Fu‐neral Home

ElsieE.Howardpassed awayonOctober 15,2025 atthe ageof74yrs old Elise E. Howard is survived byher loving anddevoted husband Joseph Howard Sr.;her belovedchildren: Sonya Stewart(Brian),An‐gelaOwens (Ebony)and JosephJr.;grandchildren: Kordell Howard,Brandon Cameron,Ja’lynHoward, Braelynn Sennett, Noah Owens,RyanOwens.Also survivedbythree step‐daughters Shawanda Howard, LaQuinta Jones, NikitaLampton,seven step grandchildren,two sisters, Gwendolyn E. Smith and MaryJaneE.Thomas, three brothers: LouisW.Ellis Jr (Delores),Darnell W. Ellis, and Troy Ellis. Twogodchil‐dren, John A. Taylor,Ster‐lingSmith,and ahostof nieces, nephews, family and friends. Preceded in death by herparents:Louis Ellis Sr.and ElsieS.Ellis; sister, BarbaraAnn Taylor; brothers, DarrellEllis and RodneyEllis; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Edward HowardSr. andDorthy Howard. Family andfriends are invitedtoattend the Celebration of Life Service onFriday, October24, 2025 for 10:00a.m.atCorpus Christi Catholic Church 2022St. BernardAve., New Orleans,LA70116.Visita‐tionwillbegin at 9:00 a.m. Fr. John Odeyemi, ofﬁciat‐ing.Interment is private. Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. DonavinD Boydand Linear Brooks BoydOwners/FuneralDi‐rectors

Arthur Joseph "Fish" Jones transitioned peace‐fully into eternallifeon Tuesday October14, 2025 atVillaFeliciana Nursing HomeinJackson LA.He was 66 yearsold anda na‐tiveand lifelong resident of PortSulphur LA.Beloved son of DorisAnn Williams Mackeyand thelateAlbert Jones Sr.Brother of Albert Jones Jr.(Debbie), Randy Williams Sr.(Cynthia), Perry JonesSr. (Lachella), Clyde JonesSr. (Tammy), ZenaJones,Aaron Jones (Cassandra),Colleen Barthelemy(Keith) andthe lateAlfredWilliams, DeniseGanierand JayAr‐doin. Grandson of thelate Allen and Margaret Williams andthe late Richard andAlexandrine Jones.Devoted friend of Keith Turner,Germaine Reagan, Milton Antoine and Kirk Ingraham NephewofAgnes Encalade and Lois Tate.Great nephewofEunice Williams. Fishisalsosurvivedby several nieces,nephews, cousins,other relatives and friends. Fish waspre‐viously employed at Eddie's Oyster Housein PortSulphur andwas well known as the"community roustabout" who wasal‐wayswilling to lend a help‐ing hand to hisneighbors and hiscommunity in any way possible, no matter how bigorsmall task.Rel‐ativesand friendsofthe familyare invitedtoattend the funeralservice on Fri‐day October24, 2025 at St Patrick Catholic Church lo‐cated at 28698 LA-23, Port Sulphur LA.70083.The visi‐tationwillbegin at 9AM followedbyan11AMmass. FatherLawrencewillofﬁci‐ate andinterment will fol‐low in Barthelemy Ceme‐teryinDiamond LA.Fu‐neral planning entrustedto RobinsonFamilyFuneral Home(504) 208-2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneral.com.

MichaelJosephKeller entered eternalrestat WestJefferson Medical CenteronThursday,Octo‐ber 9, 2025, at theage of 63 Hewas anativeofNew Or‐leans,LAand aresidentof Harvey, LA.“Bucket”, as he was affectionately known byfamilyand friendswas employedasa cement fin‐isher in theconstruction industry. Devotedfriendof Julie Jackson. Bonusfather ofEulaJackson,TinyJack‐son,and Shamar Jackson. Beloved sonofBarbara C. Kellerand thelateVictor Keller. BrotherofRickey, Benjamin, Paul (Linda), Wayne,and Judy Keller, and Sarah(Hillery) Addi‐son.Uncle of thelateRico Keller, Sr.and Allana K. Green.Great uncle of the lateLanae Bibbins. Brother inlaw of thelatePaula C. Coleman.Michael is also survivedby5 grandchil‐dren, anda host of nieces, nephews,cousins,other relatives andfriends.Rela‐tives andfriends of the family, also pastors, of‐fices, andmembers of Macedonia BaptistChurch priestand parishionerofSt Josephthe Worker Catholic Church,and neighboring churches areinvited to at‐tendthe CelebrationofLife atDavis Mortuary Service 6820WestbankExpressway Marrero,LAonFriday, Oc‐tober 24,2025, at 10:00a.m PastorAlbertMickel, offici‐ating.Visitationwillbegin at8:30amuntil service timeatthe abovenamed parlor. Interment: Wood‐lawnParkMemorialCeme‐tery-Westwego, LA.Toview and sign theguestbook pleasegotowww.davismo rtuaryservice.com.Face Masks AreRecommended

Kleamenakis, Nicholas A. Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 60: Services were recently held for Brother NicholasA Kleamenakis, Sr. at Holy TrinityGreek Orthodox Cathedral,New Orleans, LA.Byorder of JacobR Newton, President

Attest: Ronald R. Rosser, Business Manager

MattieBanks LeCoq passedawayonOctober 13, 2025, at theage of 96 Ms. LeCoqissurvivedby7 childrenCynthia Nicholas, Norma Jean Dixon, Jennifer Garrett,Linda,ErnestJr., Monica, andLloyd LeCoq (Troylynne). 24 grandchil‐dren, 43 greatgrandchil‐dren, and28great-great grandchildren.Also, sur‐vived by ahostofother rel‐ativesand friends. Pro‐ceededindeath by her parents EmmitBanks and Odelia Williams,latehus‐bandErnestLeCoq Sr., daughterVeronicaLeCoq adopted sonRonaldJones, and late brotherLloyd and WilmaBrown. Family and friends invitedtoattend the CelebrationofLifeSer‐viceonSaturday, October 25, 2025, for10:00 a.m. at GentillyBaptist Church, 5141FranklinAve.New Or‐leans,LA70122.Visitation willbegin at 9:00 a.m. Pas‐tor Jerome N. Terry,ofﬁci‐ating.Interment will follow atProvidenceMemorial Park, 8200 AirlineHwy Guestbook Online:www anewtraditionbegins.com (504) 282 0600 D i D

anewtraditionbegins com (504)282-0600. DonavinD Boydand Linear Brooks BoydOwners/FuneralDi‐rectors

Cutnisha "Nene" "Cut" Phoo-Phoo” MarieWin‐fieldMatthews, entered intoeternal rest at herres‐idenceonTuesday,Octo‐ber 7, 2025, at thetender age of 31.She wasa native ofNew Orleans, LA anda residentofCovington,LA. Cutnishawas aproud graduateofWarrenEaston HighSchool where sheex‐celledacademically. She wentontoreceive aBach‐elorofArtsDegreefrom SoutheasternLouisiana University. As Cutnisha was an avid learner, she was currentlyenrolledin the Radiology Technician Program at DelgadoCom‐munity College. Cutnisha was employed by theUS PostalService forover8 years.Cutnishaloved the Lord, oursavior, Jesus Christand faithfully at‐tendedCommunity Church inCovington,LAunder the leadershipofPastorDr. Nathan"Pastor Nate Young.She dedicatedher lifetothe Lord andwas baptizedonJuly27, 2025 She trulywas alight to anyonewho wasfortunate enoughtobewelcomed intoher innercircle. Daughterofthe late Kinate Matthewsand thelate Roger"Cutno" Winfield, Jr Granddaughter of Regina Matthewsand thelate McKinleyJones,Brenda Price,Roger"Jim" Winfield, Sr. andLaurent "Buford" Price.SisterofFredria Matthews, FrederickGreen Jr.,JackWeber,Irionne Dickerson andTahgmah Barthelemy. In addition to her father sheisalsopre‐ceded in deathbystep-fa‐ther, FrederickGreen,Sr., beloved uncle,McKinley Matthewsand cousin,Ron‐nie Carter.She is survived byher belovedfur baby Clover, aunts, Temekea Matthews, Rhonda (Clyde) Franklinand Roslyn Cole; uncles, Lawrence,Bryant (Jeneice),Demond(Fel‐isha),Barry,Kerry (Mi‐haela), Tyrone Cole,Triston Walkerand Ernest Franklin and ahostofnieces, nephews,cousins,other relatives andfriends.Rela‐tives,friends,coworkers of the US Postal Service, classmates, congregants ofCommunity Church and other neighboring churches areinvited to at‐tenda CelebrationService honoringthe life of Cut‐nisha "Nene" "Cut"Win‐fieldMatthewsatMount Kingdom MissionaryBap‐tistChurch,3756LouisaSt. NOLA70117 on Saturday, October 25,2025at10am. Visitationat8 am.Inter‐mentProvidenceCeme‐tery, Metairie,LA. Please signthe online guestbook atwww.charbonnetfuner alhome.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion, Directors (504) 581-4411

BruceEvanMerrick en‐teredeternal life on Tues‐

Park Memorial Cemetery andMausoleum (504)362-3091

tered eternal life on Tues day, October14, 2025 at Ochsner MedicalCenter Westbank, he was70years old.Bruce wasbornon July, 10,1955tothe late An‐drewMerrick Jr.and the lateAudreyTaylor. He was the father of BruceEvan Neal(Irelle Scott),Brooke SentrellBrown andCourt‐ney Mallard. Grandfather ofSe'majNeal, BruceEvan NealJr.,Bryan Barakatand Aiden Barakat. Brucewas the brotherofMerlisha, Karry Sr.(Deborah),Iris Rachel", andJimmy Mer‐rick, Melinda Franklin (Har‐landSr.), PeggyGarrett and thelateJohn"Magoo Merrick (Sharmaine), and Andrew"Black" Merrick (Denise). GodfatherofNar‐shain Taylor.Bruce is also survivedhis aunts, nieces, nephews,cousins,other relatives anddevoted friends.Bruce's family truly appreciate the prayers,support andlove theyhavereceivedduring thisdifﬁcult time.Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattendthe funeralservice on Satur‐day,October 25,2025at RobinsonFamilyFuneral Home9611LA-23,Belle ChasseLA. 70037.The visi‐tationwillbegin at 1PM followedbya 2PMservice Rev.TheodoreTurnerof the Mt.Olive Missionary Baptist Church of BoothvilleLA. will ofﬁciate. Intermentwillbeprivate Funeralplanningentrusted toRobinsonFamilyFuneral Home(504)208-2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

John Frederik Palm,Jr., 80, of Nine Mile Point, LA passedawaypeacefullyon October 17,2025, sur‐rounded by hislovingfam‐ily.Hewas thelovinghus‐bandofLoretta Sampey Palm, devotedfathertohis three sons John Frederik PalmIII (Annette), Michael EveralPalm(Mandy),and DanielJosephPalm(Katie), and hisfavoriteroleas proud GrandpatoJ.P., Lily, Elise,Daphne, Michael, Re‐becca,and Anna.Hecher‐ished everymomentwith themand foundhis great‐est joyinspendingtime withhis family. John is pre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐entsand sisters, John F. Palm, Sr., BridgetWhorms, Barbara Palm Vignes and RuthPalmBacino. Born September 13,1945, in Brooklyn, NewYork, John moved to NewOrleans withhis familyasa young child,where he would spend therestofhis life enriching thecommunity heloved.Hegraduated fromCor Jesu High School and went on to earn a BachelorofScience in Biol‐ogy from theUniversityof SouthernMississippi.John was agiftedmusician, per‐forming alongside renownedartists in New Orleans.Heenjoyed per‐forming with TheKings‐men, RavinMads, andThe i i i f

men Ravin Mads and The Squires. Hispassion for music wasmatched by his dedicationtopublicser‐vice. He served hiscommu‐nityfor 40 yearsasa crimi‐nalistfor theCityofNew Orleans,28years as a memberofthe NewOr‐leans Police Department followedby12moreyears asa civilian.In1984, he re‐ceiveda commendation fromthe NOPD forExem‐plary Performanceand DedicationtoDutyfor sav‐ing thelifeofaKennerpo‐liceofﬁcer. John will be missedbyall who knew him butfondlyremem‐bered forhis warmth,his unwaveringcommitment, his deep love of others and thememorieshe sharedwithall whoknew him.A celebrationoflife willbeheldatGardenof MemoriesFuneralHomein Metairie, LA on Saturday October 25,2025, with visi‐tationfrom9:00a.m to 11:30 a.m. anda mass to followat11:30 a.m. To offer the familyonlinecondo‐lences, send ﬂowers, or plant atreeinmemoryof JohnFrederikPalmJr., pleasevisit www.gardeno fmemoriesmetairie.com

husband, father, grandfather, brother,and friend,passed awayatthe ageof74on October 13,2025, in New Orleans,Louisiana.sur‐rounded by hisbeloved wife, KathrynMireRando and theirfourchildren, Amy,Brian,Laura,and MaryClaire. Born on June 11, 1951, in NewOrleans, Louisiana,Philwas raised inMarrero,where he would go on to buildhis lifeand raisehis family. He graduated from Arch‐bishopShawHighSchool in1969and earned aBach‐elorofScience in Microbi‐ology from theUniversity ofSouthwesternLA(now known as theUniversityof Louisiana at Lafayette). Phildedicated 17 yearsof his professional life as a Lab Technician at AMAX NickelRefinery,followed bya fulfillingcareer at Chevron OakPoint untilhis retirementin2014. Hislove ofprecise measurements and attentiontodetail shinedthrough so many aspects of hislife, beyond his career.Known affec‐tionately as "Phil,"hewas a manofdeep calmness and selflessness. He had anextraordinary talent for makingeveryonefeel wel‐comed andappreciated; Philnever meta stranger His wrysense of humorre‐mainedbrightevenamid his struggleswithillness, demonstrating hisremark‐ableresilience.Inhis ear‐lieryears,Philwas an avid runner, embracingthe challenge of marathons and numerous races, which complemented his lovefor swimming andbik‐ing. Thesepassionsnot l h d hi h i

Howard,Elsie E.

Keller, MichaelJoseph

Matthews, Cutnisha MarieWinﬁeld

Rando, Felix Dominick 'Phil'

Felix "Phil" Dominick Rando,cherished

Hicks, Jacquelyn Marie

Jacquelyn

Palm Jr., John Frederik

Jones, Arthur Joseph 'Fish'

LeCoq, Mattie Banks

See more DEATHS page

Merrick, BruceEvan

The federal civil rights consent decreethathas governed the New Orleans PoliceDepartment since the days of Mitch Landrieuand Barack Obama is not over,but the end appears to be near That’s partly due to changing politicaltimes, but much more so to NOPD’s demonstrable and, we hope, sustainable— progress in moving towardmoreconstitutionaland professional practices across the board.

Procedurally,here’swhere things stand. The Cantrell administration, the Trump administration and state ofﬁcials led by Gov.JeffLandry and Attorney General Liz Murrill all say the department has reached compliance with the 492-point plan and should be freedfromfederal oversight.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, who has overseenthe consent decree’s implementation for 12 years, said she would agree to end the arrangement if an appeals court sends the case back her way, whichappears likely

This marks achange from herrulinginJanuary,when she rejected the city’srequesttoend the consent decree, and insteadapproved atwoyear sustainment plan requiring the department to complete alist of remaining tasks

We supported that plan, as did Helena Moreno, theCity Council vice presidentwho is nowNew Orleans’ mayor-elect. But like Morgan, we recognize that the political winds have shifted andthat the Department of Justice isnolongersupportiveofthese sorts of interventions in local police departments.

So, although we hope the department willcontinue to focus on the areas Morgan identiﬁed that could still use improvement, we congratulate ofﬁcials for coming so far in changing the department’sculture.

Indeed, we see several reasons why now is a good time to move on from federal oversight

One is that the cost of oversight that Mayor LaToya Cantrell has long complained about roughly $11 million annually atﬁrst, less as the yearswentonand the citymoved toward compliance —isespecially burdensome now,with the city facinga severe budgetshortfall

Evenmorepersuasive is that things at the NOPD are, inarguably,going well.

Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrickgetsmuch credit for focusing scarce resources on areasof need,for improvingmorale and for keeping the department on the path to compliance

Moreover,the change in administration should notupend that progress; Moreno hasnot made an announcement about police leadership in her incoming administration, but shesaid duringthe campaign that she hoped Kirkpatrickwould stay, and Kirkpatrick has indicated that she would. So we’d like to take this opportunity to applaud the progress that has occurred undertwo mayoral administrations and that is poisedtocontinue into athird.

And even without federaloversight, we urge city ofﬁcials to continue to followthe spirit of the consent decree’srequirements, thosethathave beenachieved and those where, arguably,the department stillfalls short

That has always been thebestpossible outcome of this venture. We’re encouraged that it appears likely to come to pass

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

What are theparties arguing about in Washington?

n Premiumassistance: At thetime of COVID, Congress enacted atax credit for people who have their insurance through theAffordable Care Act. To attract enough votes, this tax credit was limited to three years and will expire on Dec. 1. There is general agreementthat if thetax credit expires, those individuals will ﬁnd their premiumstoincrease substantially,causing manyofthem to go without any health insurance. The Democrats want to enact alaw making the tax credit permanent. The Democrats attempted to enact such aprovision numerous times prior,but Republicans did not agree.

n Provisionsinthe BigBeautiful Bill: While very complex, theBBB changes the rules regarding the eligibilityofpeople on Medicaid/Medicare. Someofthe rules.

While theDemocrats tried to eliminatethese provisions in theBBB, the Republicans included them. Andhere is the rub.

The Democrats insist that the premium assistance be made permanent and theprovisions in theBBB that affect Medicaid and Medicare be eliminated.

The Republicans insist that they are willing to negotiate the premium assistance and the elimination of the Medicaid and Medicare limitations but will not do so while the shutdown continues.

The Democrats simply do not trust theRepublicans to negotiate in good faith if there is no pressure exerted by theshutdown. Iwould propose that the Democrats agree to open up thegovernment for a three-week period. During that period, since thegovernmentwill be open, the Republicans would be pressured to negotiateingood faith. If an agreement is not reached, the government will be shut down again. If aside does not negotiateingood faith, that side will own the shutdown with its attendant political costs.

PAUL BARRON NewOrleans

Pell Grantexpansion will buildhealthcareworkforce

Educational opportunities sometimes don’talign with our nation’s workforce needs —especially in healthcare. In addition to ashortage of nurses and doctors, there are also gaps in theallied health workforce that are essential to high-qualitypatientcare and system efﬁciency

That’swhy I’mencouraged by Congress’ recent expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to include skills-based credentialing programs, which include certiﬁcation programs for patient care technicians, EKG technicians, phlebotomytechnicians and more. The traditional federal Pell Grant helps low-incomestudentsafford tuition at colleges and universities, but

The opening sentence in an article published Sept.27states,“Trump’s unprecedented retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies reached new heights…” Perceived? New heights? Not even close. For eight years, theAmerican people have watched Russiagate, two impeachments, four civil business trials,

this expanded workforce program would extend eligibility to people with ahigh school diploma or aGED to enroll in high-quality, short-term training certiﬁcation programs. These grants help learners from allwalks of life gain critical skills for starting acareer in these desperately needed roles, without incurring debt.

Iwant to thank Sen. Bill Cassidy for his leadership and steadfast support for workforce Pell expansion. This investmentwill help build amore skilled and resilient health care workforce, one allied health career credential at atime.

CLAIRE JECKLIN

CEO, TheNew Orleans Career Center

araid on aformer president’shome and numerous associates indicted on very ﬂimsy charges.Unprecedented?

The Associated Press journalist lives in an echo chamber.His choice of words speaks volumes to obtuseness and bias.

JOHN S. WHITE Harahan

Iwas dismayed thenewspaper publishedWade Perrin’sletter on Oct. 2, titled “Democrats can’tdistance themselvesfrom consequences of hateful rhetoric.” Publishing aletter characterizing an entire political party as “evil andgodless” is irresponsible The handful of people who celebrate such violenceare indeed evil, but they do notrepresentthe entire Democratic Party.This extreme, hateful rhetoric comes from fringe elements, notthe parties. Iknowmost Republicansreject thenotion that allDemocrats are evil. Crucially,the people of Louisiana knowbetter than to followthe hateful cues of distanttalking heads. In our communities, standing side-by-side on theparaderoute at MardiGras, tailgating before aSaintsgame, or pitching in to help aneighborafter a hurricane, we treat each other with respect. Ihave morefaith in theinherentdecency of ourneighbors across Jefferson Parish andNew Orleansto prioritize human connection over political animosity

As alifelong Democrat who publicly condemned this violence, Iwantto emphasize that while Ivehemently disagreed withCharlie Kirk’spolitics, disagreement is notadeath sentence, andviolence hasabsolutelynoplace in ourdemocracy.Wordsand arguments are thebattleﬁeldofdemocracy,not bullets andbloodshed For thesakeofour state andshared civic health,the newspaperand allof us,have amoral obligation to promote civilityand decency,not divisionand hatred.Let us committoapoliticsthat persuades, not destroys.

BARRYS.RANSHI Democratic State Central Committee representative, District79B

Callaisplaintiffsshow exactlywhy race matters

Using race, speciﬁcally and laughably,the self-described “non-Black” plaintiffs in the Callais case argued before the Supreme Court clearly care only about their race. Our country,always struggling for equal opportunity,now has astate attorney general ﬁghting against that very ideal when it applies to any group except “non-Black” people. Righting awrong is never wrong, especially when the wrong hasbeen written into laws and practiced for many decades. MARK GONZALEZ NewOrleans

Trumpis wrongtodeployNationalGuard

President Donald Trump is wrong to deploythe National Guard in Chicago

That’swhat nine retired national military chiefs, including twowithmajor Louisiana connections andRepublican pedigrees, told the SupremeCourt on Monday They are correct.

Thirty years ago,indeed 15 years ago, almost every conservativeorRepublican in America would have agreedwith the military chiefs and disagreed with the president trying to use the troops that way.Now that Trump is calling the shots, though, the Republican hierarchyhas abandoned itsvalues in favor of vassalage to its White House lord

surrection or awidespread violation of civil rights. By mostrational standards,those circumstances do not applyinChicago or other cities to which Trumpissending Guard troops to counteract ordinary crime and potential protests,rather than against armed insurrection or in response to anatural or accidental disaster

Quin Hillyer

The chiefs are all either former secretaries of the Army and Navy or retired four-star admirals andgenerals. They include Sean O’Keefe, scion of a century-long Louisiana political dynasty,who headedthe Navy andNASAand served as apopular chancellor of LSU; and Thad Allen, the national Coast Guard Commandant who earned praise for his handling of the aftermaths of both Hurricane Katrina andthe BP oil spill. Both were appointees of Republican presidents.

The chiefs this week jointly ﬁled a friend-of-the-court brief askingthe Supreme Court to keep in place atemporary blockage of Trump’sdeployment of the Guard. They made rather cursory,but still apt, legal argumentsthat Trump is violating the long-standing Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibitsusing national military personnel for domestic law enforcement. They made much more comprehensive, and quite instructive, arguments for why the principles of Posse Comitatus are wise and why ignoringitis dangerous.

Posse Comitatus applies against domestic military use withoutagovernor’s request except in very narrow circumstances, such as an armed in-

WHO-DAT CANDY

Traditionally,conservatives, becauseoftheir antipathy to centralized federal power and their libertarian instincts on gunownership, have been theones mostsupportive of the Posse Comitatus Act. During the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, conservatives saw Posse Comitatus as akey bulwark against government abuse. They especially feared that aliberal president would use the military to force “progressive” social nostrumsdown their throats.

Note that they didn’tsay their support for Posse Comitatus depended on thenature of the president’sintentions: They said therule against domestic use of themilitary stemmed from fundamentalprinciples all presidentsshould obey Those supposedly fundamental principles, alas, seem to disappear when the target of the troops is the woke Left rather than the traditionalist Right. Apparently,their objections weren’treally principlesatall, but merely tactics.

In contrast, true conservatives continuetobelieve theprinciples should still apply and that the law as written should not so readily bow to apresident’s desires.

Apart from all that, though, the brief ﬁledbyO’Keefe, Allen and their compatriots explains quitecogently why PosseComitatus, in very practical terms, is important. They say using troops for domestic law enforcement is dangerous forthe citizenryand, crucially,bad for the armed services themselves.

On thelatter point, thechiefs write that Trump’suse of the military this way “diverts them from their primary mission, which is totrain and to be ready toﬁght and win the nation’swars and protect communities after disasters. Accordingly,such assignments come at the expense of local, state, and national safety,aswell as troop morale.”

On theformer point, they write that “active-duty National Guard personnel are neither intended nor speciﬁcally trained to conduct domestic law enforcement operations.” They then provide several strong examples of how that lack of training “poses adanger to thesafety of the troops and the public.” These dangers arise because of differing standards for use of force, along with unfamiliarity with de-escalation techniques and the proper ways of “conducting criminal investigations.”

O’Keefe, Allen and theother chiefs also sayTrumpisusing thetroops in ways that risk “the politicization of the military,”while also potentially putting themilitary on the wrong side of basic constitutional rights. For example, Trumpspeciﬁcally ordered federalization of the National Guard not in response to any speciﬁc violence, but “where protests against [Federal]functions[were] occurring or are likely to occur.”

As thechiefs note, protestsalone “are constitutionally protected speech deserving of the highest protection,not intimidation by the military.”

Again, for decades these are theargumentsconservatives have made. The arguments are well rooted in American law and tradition. Today’sRepublicans are wrong to support Trumpwhen he tramples these principles with his show of militarized might not against foreign enemies, but against American citizens.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

OK, folks. Here’saslightly differentcreativecaption challenge. Instead of filling in awordballoon, this time come up with thefunniest SLOGAN for this candy barto describe howyou feel aboutthe Saintsseason so far. Remember to keep your slogans shortsotheycan fitinto the area designated on the wrapper.(Roughly15-20 words will work). Be witty,funny,crazy, absurdorsnarky —just try to keep it clean.There’snolimit on the numberofentries. The winningpunchlineslogan will be lettered ontothe candy wrapper andrun on Monday in our print editionsand online. In addition,the winner willreceivea signed printof the cartoon along with acool winner’s T-shirt! Some honorable mentions will alsobelisted. To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com. Don’t forget! Allentries must include your name, home address andphone number.Cell numbers arebest. The deadline is Thursdayatmidnight. Goodluck. —Walt

Thetravestybehindrare-earths mining

In the 1960s, the conservativeintellectual James Burnham wroteabook arguing that the decline of Western civilization was aself-imposed choice. The volume, famously called “Suicide of the West,” desperatelyneedstobe updated with an epilogue about theU.S. dependence on China forthe mining andprocessing of rare earths, which ranks as one of themost fantastically stupid and selfdamaging strategicmisstepsof our time. China is exploiting its advantage in trade talks withthe U.S., restricting the supply of rare earths to gain leverage. Afocus of President Donald Trump’sjust-concluded meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forging an agreement to jointly invest in criticalminerals projects. There has to be more where that comes from. TheU.S must push on all fronts to address a truly dangerous strategic vulnerability These materials arecrucial for the manufacture of cars, smartphones, drones, medical devices and, most importantly,high-tech weapons. Something like 800 pounds of rare earths go into making an F-35. Between 2019 and 2022,the Government Accountability Ofﬁce notes, the U.S. imported more than 95% of the rare earths we consumed, overwhelmingly from China.

of amilitary conﬂict (theoccasional presidential ribbing about annexation aside). Instead, of course, China is an adversary bent on surpassing theUnited States as aglobal power and is the country we are mostly likely to ﬁght against in apotentially ruinous war In the1930s, Imperial Japan imported 80% of its oil from the United Statesatthe sametime it was, insanely,onacollision course with theUnited States. We are repeating this dynamic, except —for no good reason —inthe role of resource-starved Japan.

It’salittle like King Harold requiring the goodwill of Normandytosupply his men with shields in 1066, or Lord Nelson needing French materials to build his shipsofthe line in 1798. It wasn’t so long ago, back in 1991, that the United States was thebiggest supplier of rare earths. Then, China undertook aconcerted, very successful effort to steal themining and processingofrare earths out from under us. As areport in The Wall Street Journal relates, it restricted foreign involvement in mining in China. It handed out tax rebates to goose production. It bought akey U.S. rare-earths business andshipped its equipment to China. In due time, it squeezed out theU.S. rareearths industry and has maneuvered to maintain its dominance since.

credit, is doing now

According to Secretary of Treasury ScottBessent, theadministration will establish aprice ﬂoor for the rareearths industry.The defense departmenthas taken an equity stake in our largest rare-earths miner,with more such moves anticipated.Public-private cooperation of the sort that characterized Trump’sOperation Warp Speed is necessary,aswell as the relaxation of permittingand environmental restrictions.

It will takeusyears to make up lost ground, but withenough resources and staying power,this is asolvable problem. Friendly countries have ample supplies of rare earths. It is the processing, over which China has anearmonopoly,that is trickier;itrequires specialized know-how,and it takes considerable time to build facilities. Still, we aren’ttalking about atechnical or logistical challenge on par with, say, theManhattan Project.

Federal judiciary nominee drawsﬁre, deservedly so

President Donald Trump’slatest federal nominee,Louisiana Supreme Court Associate JusticeWill Crain, demonstrates his administration’scontinuing effort reshape more of the judiciary in its image Trump nominated Crain on Mondaytobeafederal judge basedinNew Orleans. His nomination went before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesdaymorning, just two days later.

It’d be one thing if we had such areliance on Norway or Canada, allied nations with which we have noprospect

It’sbeen industrial policy as highly consequential geo-politics. There is no alternativebut answering in kind, which the Trump administration, to its

Of all the elements of our post-Cold Warvacation from history,when defense spending, geography and supply chains weren’tconsidered so important anymore, the outsourcing of the rareearths industry to China was the most improvident. If nothing else, China’sbrandishing of its rare-earths weapon in the ﬁght over trade is acautionary signal for what might come during amore momentousconﬂict. We can’tsay we weren’twarned.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry

This is notnormal. Usually,it takesweeksbefore anominee hasa judiciary committee hearing. Thenittakes more time before acommitteevote. Then, if approved by the committee, it takesmoretime before the full Senate considers the nomination.

Why is the president rushing this nomination through?

There arethreevacancies on the federal benchinthe Eastern DistrictofLouisiana. If the U.S. Senate conﬁrms Crain’snomination, he would ﬁll oneofthem.

There’s reason to believe he would become oneofthe most conservative judges on the federal bench. Based on his record of his past rulings, thatconcerns anumber of court watchers.

In onecase, Louisiana’sSupreme Court vacated alife sentence because of ineffective counsel, whenitfound thatthe attorneyfailed to provide mitigating evidence. Crain said so what, issuing adissent.

The nation’sSupreme Court decidedthat unanimous jury verdicts arerequiredunder the Sixth andFourteenth amendments, and the state Supreme Court hadtoconsiderwhether thatdecisionappliedretroactively.Our court decideditdid not, andCrain agreed with the decision.

Igive Crain props for voting with the Louisiana Supreme Court majority to create asecond, majority-Black Supreme Court district. But Iamconcernedabout him sitting in a lifetime judicialjob.

Sen. ChuckGrassley, R-Iowa,chairs the judiciarycommittee.Among the other senators in the Republicanmajority is our own Sen. John Kennedy Ididn’texpect Kennedy and his colleagues to press hard on the Crain nomination. Iexpected themtotoss softballs and questions thatanticipate challenges to his conservative judicialrecord. That’swhat they did. Some Democratic senators brought the ﬁre, raising speciﬁc questions about Crain’sjudicial actions andhis cozyrelationship with gasand oil companies.

WilliamC.Snowden, alaw professorat the Loyola University NewOrleans College of Law, told me that there is adeep concern aboutelevating Crain to alifetime federal judicialrole“because of his record on the bench” andbecause he hasfrequently mixed his “personalbeliefs andvalues” with the law. In asocial media post attributed to the president, Trump said Crain “has proven he has the Wisdomand Courage requiredtoput our Constitution, FIRST.Now,morethan ever,we need Judgeswho will hold violent criminals accountable,enforce the Rule of Law,and protect ourInalienable rights.”

SnowdensaidTrump’s“glowing endorsement” is obviously intended “to upset the people theywanttoupset,” those who work for amoreeven-handed and just judicial system.

Christine ChenZinner,the federal research andadvocacy director with the Alliance for Justice, said sincemostcases don’tmakeitto the U.S. Supreme Court, it’simportant which federal justices aredeciding the cases the high court doesn’thear.The Alliance is interestedin“fair-minded” federal judges, not those with “extreme views” like Crain.

Like Chenand Snowden, I’m hoping the judiciarycommittee,and the entire Senate if the nomination moves thatfar,seriously consider the impact of having someone like Crain on the federal bench.

Canthe Crain nomination be stopped?

“I don’tthink so,” Snowden said with asigh, notinthis political environment. Still, sometimeswedon’texpect to win ﬁghts thatshould be waged, but it’simportant to bring to light issues that the masses should careabout, so awinning ﬁght canbefought later.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate. com.

Will Sutton

Rich Lowry

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

ing These passions not only showcasedhis physi‐cal andmentalstrength but also hiszestfor life Following retirement,Phil loved travelingwith Kathryn andtheir family and found greatpeace in tending to hisgarden, cre‐ating calmingspaces for himself andloved ones Cookingfor hisfamily brought himsomuchjoy Makingmeals to order, cateringtoall around him. Above allelse, Phil loved spendingtimewithhis ﬁve grandchildren—ColeAn‐thony,AmélieThérèse, Jean-Felix,OliviaGrace, and Gabriella Elizabeth. Phil’sfaith andcommit‐menttohis community wereprofound.He and Kathryn were devoted parishionersofSt. Joseph the Worker Church for36 years,where he gener‐ously volunteeredhis time invarious ministries.Re‐cently, he washonored to becommissionedasanAs‐sociate of theCongrega‐tionofSt. Joseph,along‐sidehis belovedwife. Phil was also therecipient of The OrderofSt. Louis, rec‐ognizinghis outstanding service anddedication. He leavesbehinda legacy of compassionand kindness, deeplymissedbyhis lov‐ing family. Phil is survived byhis belovedwifeof52 years,Kathryn,and their fourchildren: AmyBil‐leaudeaux andher hus‐band, Jean-Luc Bil‐leaudeaux;Brian Dominick Rando;Laura Apriland her husband,Robert"Bobby" April, III; andMaryClaire Rando.Hewas aproud grandfather to Cole Rando, Amélie Billeaudeaux,JeanFelix Billeaudeaux,Olivia April, andGabriella April. Philwillbemissedbyhis brother,DominickRando, Jr. andwifeCatherine Rando,and sister,Mar‐garet Hunt andhusband GaryHunt,aswellasmany nieces, nephews, cousins, and friendswhose liveshe touched.Philwas pre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, thelateDominick VincentRando,Sr. and Santa MarieTuminello Rando,and hisGodchild and Nephew,DominickAn‐thony Rando. Visitation willbeheldonOctober 24, 2025,from9:00AMto11:00 AM, with aRosaryat10:00 AM, at St.Josephthe WorkerCatholicChurch in Marrero,followedbya Massfrom11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.Following the Mass, Phil will be laid to restatWestlawnMemorial ParkinTerrytown at 12:30 PM. As we remember Felix "Phil" Dominick Rando, f d hi

DEATHS continued from Phil Dominick Rando, maywecarry forwardhis legacyoffaith,strength, laughter, andrelentless kindness. Hismemorywill forever remain aguiding light in thelives of allwho werefortunate enough to knowhim.Thank youto the team of Leukemia Doc‐torsand Nurses at MD An‐derson, under thedirection ofDr. Courtney DiNardo. Along with theStemCell TransplantTeamofDoc‐torsand Nurses at Houston Methodist,under thedirec‐tionofDr. RammurtiKam‐ble.Pleasevisit Mothefu‐nerals.comtoviewand signthe online guestbook.

Calvin BernardSmith,a formerUSArmy82ndAir‐borne paratrooper,Mil‐waukeeBrewerbaseball player, businessman, anda juvenileofficerwas born in Ponchatoula,Louisiana on September 4, 1937 to the lateEugeneand Fannie Smith.Hegraduatefrom Ponchatoula High School and attended Southern Universitywhere he began shaping thediscipline and determination that would define hislife’sjourney Fromthe battlefieldtothe baseball field, from family devotion to community service,Calvinlived alife ofhumility, perseverance and purpose. He was unitedinmarriagetothe LateCreolaCrockettSmith ofTenaha, TX in 1958, and together Godblessedthem witha beautifulfamilyin faith,love, andloyalty Fromtheir union came four devoted sons;Calvin, Der‐ick,Gordieand Eldrege Smith.Heattended Prevail‐ing FaithBible Church of Lutcher,Louisiana under the leadership of Pastor Kathleen Leeand overseer Dr. CharlesBrown. Calvin was preceded in deathby his parents, Eugene and FannieSmith,his wife Cre‐ola Crockett Smith, his grandsonChanceSmith, andhis siblings Alma l b l d i

and his siblings Alma Royal, Isabel Sanders, Vi‐vianKinchen,Shirley Carter, DorothyGordon, Li‐onelSmith,LeonSmith, and SanfordSmith.He leavestocherish hismem‐ories to hisfourdevoted sonsCalvinSmith,Jr. of Los Angeles, CA,DerickC Smith (Sherone)ofPaulina LA, Lt.Col.GordieA.Smith (Kay) of McDonough, GA and EldregeSmith of New York, NY;his granddaugh‐tersKiley P. SmithofAu‐gusta,GAand Dr.Derrian Smith Poche’(Anthony)of Houston,TXand onegreatgranddaughter LainaM Smith of Jacksonville,FL, and onegranddaughter-inlaw LaAiaSmith also of Jacksonville, FL.Relatives friends of thefamilyand staff of ChateauSt. James Rehabilitation& Retire‐mentCenterare invitedto attend thefuneral service onFriday, October24, 2025 atthe IsraeliteBaptist Church,2192Alexander St., Lutcher,Louisiana at 11:00 a.m.Viewing will be held from9:00a.m.-11:00 a.m. PastorKevin Frederick, of‐ﬁciating. Finalcareand professionalservicesen‐trusted to Bardell’sMortu‐ary,3856LA44, Mt.Airy, Louisiana70051.

Jessie John Spiers,38, a residentofMarrero,LA, passedintoeternal rest in the housethathehelped makeintoa home,onMon‐day October13, 2025. He was an avid ﬁshermanwho isnow castinghis line into thatbig ﬁshingholeinthe sky,where he hasjoined his dadand brother. Jess loved allthingsoutdoors and lovedspendinghis freetimeinhis boat “Skedaddle.”His charis‐matic personalityand beautiful smilewillbe missedbyall who knew him.Jesswas adevoted and loving father to his babygirls,Chloe andPais‐ley,who he spoiledevery chancehegot.Cherished son of Lisa Borras andthe lateKenneth Spiers,Jr. Adoredbrother of Lacey Gerdes(Shane),Stacie Spiersand thelateKen Spiers III. He left behind h b h f hi lif

remain

bringing

Humidity will hardly be noticeable. Rain chances will remain at zero today, and we are not expecting anyrain untilSaturday.Storms will returnSunday.

Spiers III He left behind thebestcatch of hislife, Christy Morvantand his bonus daughter,Baileigh. Uncle Jess to Lily,Mia and Dylan.Precededindeath byhis grandparents Johnnyand EarlineBorras and Kennethand Ruth Spiers. Allwho knew Jessie, knew they hada friend. He wasa caring and kindsouland will be deeplymissed. Family and friends areinvited to at‐tendthe visitation on Sat‐urday,October 25,2025 from11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.atSaintsCommunity Church 2001 Transcon‐tential,Metairie, LA.Words ofremembrance andmem‐ories will be shared at 12:00 p.m. Funeralplanning entrusted to Robinson FamilyFuneralHome9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse LA 70037. (504)208-2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com.

Mrs. Odessa Turner,belovedmother, grand‐mother, sister,and friend entered into eternalrest surrounded by family and loved ones on Monday,Oc‐tober 20,2025. Shewas precededindeath by her devoted husband,Roland Hayes Turner,Sr.;her par‐ents, Ernestineand Peter Anderson, Sr.; herchildren, Jeffrey Turner,Sr.,Roland HayesTurner, Jr andDeb‐h h i

Hayes Turner, Jr , and Deb orah Turner;her sisters Theresa Victor andDoris McMillan; andher broth‐ers,UrisAnderson, Joseph Anderson, andPeter An‐derson, Jr.She leaves to cherish herpreciousmem‐ory hersister, Ernestine Ridgley;her brother, AustinAnderson; andfour lovingsons: Raphael Turner, Jonathan Turner Sr.,Ron Turner,and ReubenTurnerSr. (Shineta).Her legacy con‐tinuesthrough herten grandchildren:Jonalyn TurnerNewman, Jeffrey Turner, Jr.(Elizabeth) Latasha (Randell),JoniquecaTurner, Jonathan Turner, Jr., LaManda Turner, Reuben Turner,Jr. De’MonEley, Desire’ Williams,and Demson Williams III; onedaughterin-law, Gail AnnTolliver Turner; alongwitha host ofgreat-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, anddear friends whowillforever re‐memberher kindness strength, andfaith.Mrs Turner’s life wasone of

Turner s life was one of love,service,and devotion toher familyand theLord. Her gentle spirit andunwa‐veringfaith touchedevery lifeshe encountered. Rela‐tives andfriendofthe fam‐ily areinvited to attend the funeralservice on Friday, October 24,2025at 10:00am at Mt.MoriahBap‐tistChurch, 2407 Louisa St New Orleans, LA 70117 Rev.Cyril R. Grayson, Sr Pastorofﬁciating. Visita‐tionwillbegin at 9:00am Interment: Providence MemorialParkCemetery, Metairie, LA 70003 RichardsonFuneralHome ofJefferson,River Ridge, LAinchargeofarrange‐ments.www.richardsonf uneralhomeofjefferson com

Smith, Calvin Bernard

Turner,Odessa

Spiers,JessieJohn

LSU receivers dropping toomany passes

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

LSU’slast chance to steal awin from Vanderbilt fizzled out when its offense couldn’tconvert amanageable third down late in the fourth quarter.

ä Texas A&M at

TheTigers needed 8yards.Though Garrett Nussmeier faced pressure from the right side, he managed to ﬁrea pass to an open receiver Barion Brown had the separation. He just needed to adjust to aslightly underthrown ball and make the catch for whatshould have been a10-yard gain.

But the pass ﬂew through his hands and bounced off of the turfinstead, forcing LSU to punt. It was the Tigers’ second and ﬁnal drop of the day.Theiroffense never gotthe ball back.

“When you look at the body ofwork,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said,“it hasn’tbeen a group that has been sloppy and dropping

See LSU, page 3C

Tulane’s record belies production thus far

BYGUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Owner of agreat record despite having modest statistics across the board, Tulane is using its second mini-bye in three games to self-reﬂect before astretch run thatwill determine the legitimacy of its league championship and College Football Playoff aspirations. Aweek ahead of atrip to Texas-San Antonio (3-4, 1-2American Conference) offensive coordinatorJoe Craddock and defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato addressed theunderlyingconcerns that can make or break the Green Wave (6-1, 3-0) after back-to-backfourthquarter rallies to beat East Carolina and Army at home. The offense ranks 10th out of 14 American teams in scoring and eighthinyards, and rushing and passing efﬁciency.The Wave is seventh in third-downconversionpercentage and last in touchdowns per red-zone possession (14 of 30)

Those arenot championship-caliber numbers,but they have notburnedTulaneyet Craddock knowsthe Wave has tofinish drives better to get where it wants to go, and

See TULANE, page 3C

SPORTS

ABIT SHORT

WednesdayinMemphis,

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

MEMPHIS,Tenn. If Joe Dumars wanted to seethe toughness andgritfromthe NewOrleans Pelicans thathe promised, he saw it in theseason opener But the victoryhewants to seewill have to wait for another day

The new-look Pelicansshowed plenty of fight in Wednesday night’s game againstthe Memphis Grizzlies, but it wasn’tquiteenough.

The Dumars’era started the sameway the David Grifﬁn era ended —with aloss. This one, much like manyofthe ones in last year’sdis-

mal season,was theresult of the Pelicansbeing unable to ﬁnish what they started. The Pelicans completelycollapsed in the third quarter, then scrappedbackintoitbeforelosing128-122 to the Grizzlies.

The Pelicans wereoutscored 41-22 in the third quarter before making it agame in the fourth. But the Grizzlies, who swept the Pelicans last season, continued their dominance.

Pelicans coach Willie Green spoke earlier in the week about how the Grizzlieswould be agood test for his team “Memphishistorically hasbeen apretty good team the

ä See PELICANS, page 6C

Runningbacktosee more playingtimefollowing theloss of Miller to an ACLinjury

BY MATTHEWPARAS Staff writer

Throughout theyear,Devin Neal will take what he calls a“phonecleanse.”

The rookie running back for the NewOrleansSaints gets off socialmedia.Hewon’t answer his phone unless it’s an emergency, or his parentsand coaches are trying to reach him. He’ll avoid the deviceasmuch as possible to help clear his mind.

But after the biggest play of his young career,Nealjust so happened nottobe participating in one of these cleanses. Andeven if he hadbeen, the near-constant buzz from his device would have been too hard to ignore anyway

“It was alot of people,man,” Neal said.

The people in his life wanted to talk about the block. In Sunday’sloss to the Chicago Bears, Neal stoodonthe right side of quarterback Spencer Rattler when he noticed an unblocked JaquanBrisker ﬂying in off ablitz. In asplit second, Neal

ä Bucs at Saints 3:05 P.M. SUNDAy,FOX

turned to lower his body and boom!The 22-year-old collided with the Bears safety to push him offcourse, allowing Rattler to step into the pocket and avoid the hit.

“He’sone of the smarter guys —rookiewise, running back-wise —that I’ve been around,” Rattler said of Neal. “He’sreally intelligent.”

“That’smyresponsibility, especially in that protection,” Nealsaid.

Neal’sresponsibilitieswill increase after lastweekend. The Saints lostbackuprunning back Kendre Miller to aseason-ending ACL injury,which puts Neal next in line to see playing time behind Alvin Kamara Nealsaidhe’sready forthe moment. Though he wasn’tdrafted until the sixth round in April, Nealhad aproductive college career.Hebecame Kansas’ all-time leading rusher in part because he was the ﬁrst Jayhawk to rush formore than 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.

The Saints liked Neal forhis blocking, buttheyliked what he candoasa runner,too.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU wide receiver Aaron Anderson tries to grab the ball after it was tipped in the first quarter of agame against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 6atTiger Stadium.

running back Devin Nealispushed out of boundsbyDenverBroncos safety Sam Franklin during apreseason game on Aug. 23. Nealwill takeonabigger role after teammate Kendre Miller suffered a season-ending injury Sunday

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByBRANDON DILL

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson handles the ballinthe first half of aseason-opening game against the Memphis Grizzlies on

Tenn.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

6:30 p.m. South Alabama at Georgia St. ESPN2

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

6p.m. WesternMichiganatMichigan BTN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER

5p.m.Florida State at Virginia ACC

7p.m. Notre Dame at Virginia Tech ACC GOLF

6:30a.m. DP WorldTour:The GenesisGolf

COLLEGEFOOTBALL

Unsung heroes contributing for No.3Aggies

BY KRISTIE RIEKEN AP sportswriter

COLLEGE STATION, Texas When redshirt freshman Ashton Bethel-Roman led No.3Texas A&M in receivinglast weekend, itwas a breakout performancethatillustrated the depth of the Aggies.

As Texas A&M preparestovisit No. 20 LSU (5-2) on Saturday,the Aggies know thatthe contributions of role players will be important as they chase theirﬁrst national title since 1939.

“Wegot abunch of guys on offense that could do anything with theball on any given day,” receiver Terry Bussey said. “Everybody is just ready to step upwhentheir number is called.”

Bethel-Roman had catches in just three games this season with 86 yardsreceiving before Saturday’sperformance in which he had 83 yards receiving and his ﬁrsttouchdown of theyear.His work helped the Aggies to a4542 win at Arkansas that improved their record to 7-0 for the ﬁrsttimesince1994.

He said waiting for his turn was abit tough, buthewas glad toﬁnally contribute in abig way “It feels great because everyone in that lockerroom over there candoanything,” he said. “That’swhat we cameheretodo, play football at ahighlevel. So,atﬁrstitcan get a little frustrating, but it’spart of the game. It’s ateam sport. When our number’scalled,we just play up to our standard.”

Coach MikeElkosaid hespoke to his team about the importance of thiskindofattitude after Saturday’sgame and againinateam meetingthisweek.

“When you talk about whata championship program looks like,that’s what it lookslike,” he said.

“It looks like abunch of guys bought into being ready whenit’stime.”

Elkomust remind his players of this concept often, especially on offense where they’re always approaching him to tellhim they’re not getting the ball enough.

He shared what he tells thoseplayers.

“There’sgoing to come atimewhere when thegame’sonthe line, the ball’sgoing to come to you, and your challenge is you have to be ready to make that play,”hesaid. “I don’t know when it’sgoing to be.Idon’t know how it’s going to happen, but you havetobeready to make that play,because inevitably that play might be the differencebetween us winning and losing, and might be the difference betweenusgoing to the playoffs or not. That’s what football is.”

And it isn’tjust younger players on the team that fit into the role player mold.Sixthyearsenior running back EJ Smith, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, also came up big for the Aggies on Saturdayin the first game since former Istrouma High star Le’Veon Moss suffered an ankle injury that has himout indefinitely Smith had seven carries for 52 yards both season-highs —againstArkansas. After theRazorbacks cut the lead to threepoints early in the fourth quarter, Smith’s2-yard run on fourth and 1kept adrive alive that led to TexasA&M’sfinaltouchdown thatsecured the win.

“E.J. Smith’s not having all ofthe limelight he dreamed of having going into hissenior year I’m sure,” Elkosaid.“I’msurehewishes he was the feature back carrying the ball 20 times agame. But …here it is, fourth and 1at Arkansas, in our ownterritory,and he’s gotto convert, and that’sachampionshipplay.That play and that player will have as much to do with our success as anyone.”

Elko values playerslike that just as much as the stars of his team. He said the unselﬁshness on his team has helped propel the Aggies to their undefeated start. And as Texas A&M heads to Baton Rouge on Saturday for thesecond of three straight road games and tries to win in Louisiana for theﬁrst time since 1994, Elko expects these unsung heroes to continue to help.

4p.m. PGATour:Bank of Utah Golf

9p.m. LPGA Tour:Hanwha International Golf HORSE RACING Noon America’sDay at the Races FS2 NBA

6:40 p.m. Oklahoma City at Indiana ESPN

9:05 p.m. Denver at Golden State ESPN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

7p.m. Jennings at Notre Dame Cox4 NFL

7:15 p.m.Minnesota at L.A. Chargers PRIME MEN’S SOCCER

11:40 a.m.Aston Villa at Go Ahead Eagles CBSSN

2p.m.Porto at Nottingham Forest CBSSN WOMEN’S SOCCER

6p.m.Friendly: U.S. vs.Portugal

8:30 p.m.Basel-ATP,Vienna-ATP

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

John Curtis quarterback LondonPadgett follows hisblockersagainst

sophomore,Padgett has rushed for 474 yards and passedfor 423

Earlysuccess

Five area QBsmakingnoise in their firstyearasstarters

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

Playing quarterback can be atoughadjustment for aﬁrst-year starter,but some New Orleans area prep football players have adapted to theposition quickly

Toparea programs John Curtis, Newman and Shaw all had to replace senior signal callers butare having success nonetheless.

Below are ﬁve ﬁrst-year starting quarterbacks who are performing well.

DorrienDunham(Kennedy, Jr.)

First-team all-district quarterback Amyne Darensbourg is now at Grambling, giving former backup Dunham ashot to take over

Dunham hasanswered the call in apassheavy offense, completing 77 of 133 passes for 1,086 yards and 15 touchdowns withseven interceptions through seven games. He’s excelled at spreading the ball around to some talented targetsasthree receivers have more than 200 yards receiving.

Dunham has also shownhecan run with365 yards on 31 carries. Kennedy (4-3) has won its past three games while averaging nearly 40 pointsinthat span.

Da’JohnHoward(Salmen,Jr.)

After starting at safetyasasophomore, Howard has delivered morethan 1,000 yards passing since movingtoquarterback.

Howard has completed 58 of 100 passes for 1,103 yards and nine touchdowns withfour interceptions. He also keeps opposing defenses honest with hisrunning ability— 72 carries for 606 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Salmen (4-3) appearstobeaplayoff contender.Howard passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’sdistrict win over Fontainebleau

London Padgett(John Curtis,So.)

Since winning the startingjob,Padgett has excelled in leadingthe Patriots’ veer offense to a6-0 start.

Adual-threat athlete, Padgett has completed26of42passesfor 423 yards andfour touchdowns with one interception. While he’s thrown well when needed, Padgett has piled up 474 yards rushing on 66 carries andﬁve TDsinCurtis’ run-ﬁrst offense. He displayed hisspeed on arun of 88 yards.

Padgett completed 9of12passesfor 169 yards and atouchdown and added 58 yards rushing on 12 carries with another score in a recent 38-24 win over Brother Martin as Curtis improved to 4-0 in Catholic League play

Salmen’sDa’John Howard has passed for more than 1,000 yards sincemakingthe move from safety to quarterback thisseason.

Jake Randle (Newman, Sr.)

ATulanecommitment set to play running back in college, Randle made the switch to quarterback before thestart of the season after previous starter Eli Friendgraduated and signed with Princeton.

Randle hasheld his own, completing 49 of 70 passes for 698 yards and eight touchdowns with threeinterceptions. Hisrunning ability is evident in the fact he has 515 yards rushing on 70 carries and sixtouchdowns with along run of 68 yards.

Newman (3-2) is on athree-gamewin streak after falling to St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy to open the season.

AllenShaw(Shaw,Jr.)

Nicknamed “Red,” Shawwas tabbedasthe starter after Mason Wilson, now playing collegefootball, led theteam to the DivisionII select statechampionship.

Aconverteddefensive back who’salso a basketball player,Shaw has completed31of 62 passesfor 584 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. He’s also carried62 times for 212 yards and twotouchdowns with along of 48 yards.

TheEagles(5-2) are riding afour-game win streak. Shaw sparkled in Week 6against reigning Division III nonselect state champion St. James, scoring apair touchdowns in a24-20 win.

WEEK 8SCHEDULE

Commanders’ Daniels out; veteran Mariota to start WASHINGTON Quarterback JaydenDaniels will miss the Washington Commanders’ game at the Kansas City Chiefs because of an injuredright hamstring and Marcus Mariota will start in his place, aperson with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday Washington (3-4) has lost two games in arow heading into the contest at Kansas City (4-3). Daniels, aformer LSU star,had an MRI exam aday after leaving in the third quarter of Washington’s44-22 loss at the NFC EastrivalDallasCowboys on Sunday. He grabbedatthe back of his right legwhile limpingoff theﬁeldafter getting sacked and fumbling. Daniels,the AP NFL Offensive Rookieofthe Year last season, alreadyhas missedtwo games this season because of an injury to his left knee, on which he’sbeen wearing abrace.

NCAA to allow college athletes to bet on pros

The NCAA approveda rule change on Wednesday that will allow athletes and athletic departmentstaffmembers to bet on professional sports.

Twoweeks after the Division Icabinet approved the change, Division II and III management councils signed off on it, allowing the newrule to go into effect Nov.1

This doesn’tchange the NCAA rule forbidding athletes frombetting on college sports. The NCAA also prohibits sharing information aboutcollege competitionswith bettors.

The institution also doesn’tacceptadvertising or sponsorships of NCAA championships by betting sites.

Florida baseballcoach O’Sullivan taking leave

Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivanwill takea leave of absence to address personal matters effectiveimmediately,the school said Wednesday Associate head coach ChuckJeroloman will take over O’Sullivan’s dutiesonaninterim basis.

O’Sullivan is theprogram’salltime wins leader with a756-371 (.671) record in 18 seasons. He has led the Gators to 17 NCAA regionals, nine College World Series appearances, six Southeastern Conference championships and the 2017 national title. In August, theNCAADivisionI Baseball Committee issued apublic reprimand to O’Sullivan for aggressive behaviorand profanity-laced language directed at site administratorsfor the regional in Conway, South Carolina, in June.

Water-deprived

PGA Tour stop in Maui canceled

ThePGA Tour is canceling its season opener at TheSentry instead of finding areplacement course for water-deprivedKapaluaonMaui, the firsttimea tournament has been canceled sincethe COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Sony Open in Honolulu will be the ﬁrst tournament of 2026 on Jan. 15-18, the latest start to ayear since the PGATour wasformed in 1969.

Thetour and Wisconsin-based Sentry Insurance had contemplated other courses to stage the $20 million signature event for PGA Tour winners andthose fromthe top 50 in the FedEx Cup. Instead, they chose not to play it at all.

NFL analystSanchez’s trial date setfor Dec. 11

INDIANAPOLIS An Indianapolis judgeonWednesday confirmed Dec. 11 as the trial date for Fox Sports analyst and former NFL player Mark Sanchez,who’s chargedwithattacking and seriously injuring atruck driver outside ahotelinwhatprosecutors say was adispute over aparkingplace. Thepretrialconferencelasted only about 21/2 minutes. Sanchez, who wasmore seriously hurt in the confrontation, was not required to be present and did not enter aplea. Most of those dates were set earlier,but they’re all subject to change. DeLaney said Sanchez’s recovery process is ongoing and mayimpact the schedule. Prosecutors expressed doubt afterward that Dec. 11 is arealistic trial date. Defense attorneys left without taking questions from reporters.

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER

Brother Martin on Friday. A

more in the Patriots’ 6-0start.

PHOTO By HERB GOMEZ

HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By

LSU forward Kate Koval takes part in a drill during practice on Sept 23 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Koval’s numbers show she was, on a per-rebound basis, one of the country’s best freshman glass-cleaners last season.

LSU women search for rebounders to ﬁll major voids

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Together, Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow are responsible for more than a third of all the rebounds the LSU women’s basketball team has grabbed across the last three seasons They’re two of the most proﬁcient glass-cleaners in the history of women’s college basketball. But both have moved on to the WNBA in consecutive seasons, and the No. 5 Tigers must begin their 2025-26 campaign — starting at 7 p.m. Thursday with an exhibition game against Mississippi College (SEC Network+) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center — without one player (or two) who can gobble up most of the boards.

“So, let’s do it collectively,” coach Kim Mulkey said. Reese ﬁnished both of her seasons at LSU with one of the two highest rebounding averages among Division I players. Morrow pulled down 1,714 career boards — the third-most in NCAA Division I history and more than 300 more than any other player grabbed from 2022-25.

With their help, LSU finished each of the last three years with one of the ﬁve highest rebounding averages in the nation. The boards that the Tigers grab on the defensive end tee up their dangerous transition offense, and the ones they pull off the offensive glass give them the extra possessions they use to win in the margins of close games. Can the Tigers rebound well enough without Morrow? The task will fall on a frontcourt comprised entirely of newcomers. LSU signed Notre Dame transfer center Kate Koval, East Carolina transfer forward Amiya Joyner and three freshman forwards — Grace Knox, ZaKiyah Johnson and Meghan Yarnevich. Both Knox and Johnson joined the Tigers as one of the 15 most highly rated recruits in their class. Johnson is ofﬁcially listed as a guard, but she’s beginning

TULANE

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he is altering his approach as a result. After waiting until the lighter Wednesday and Thursday workouts to rep red-zone situations, he plans to mix in that stuff during the heavier Monday and Tuesday practices.

“We’ve had crucial missed assignments down there that cost us, so we have to be a lot cleaner,” Craddock said. “When we’re in the red zone, we have to cross the goal line.” He feels most of the other issues already have been ﬁxed. After completing only 55.4% of his passes through ﬁve games, lateJuly arrival Jake Retzlaff is 48 of 65 (73.8%) for 608 yards in October Part of the progression is his increased comfort with receivers he did not meet until just before the start of training camp, but the rest was on him.

“He was throwing Nolan Ryan fastballs at them when he didn’t need to,” Craddock said. “Now you see Jake making catchable

Kelly says cornerback Stamps no longer on team

BY KOKI RILEY and REED DARCEY Staff writers

LSU junior cornerback Ashton

Stamps “is no longer on the roster,” coach Brian Kelly said during his weekly teleconference on Wednesday

Stamps, who started every game for the Tigers at cornerback last season, plans on sitting out the rest of this year and eventually enter the transfer portal, according to On3 Sports.

Stamps has played only 18 snaps this season after playing more than 700 last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He did not travel with the team to Nashville Tennessee, last weekend to face Vanderbilt.

Along with Stamps, fifth-year senior safety Jardin Gilbert also didn’t join the team on its trip to Vanderbilt. Gilbert has played only 48 snaps this season, per PFF

“We’re trying to protect them. Both of them,” Kelly said Monday “They both have played in three games. So if we can, in fact, protect their year, we would try to. This would be a week where they could play their fourth game and still maintain eligibility.”

“(Weeks) has been doing some additional treatments,” Kelly said, “and he’s feeling better but we won’t know on him until later in the week.”

ä Mississippi College at LSU

7 P.M.THURSDAy, SECN+

her career in the post.

Most of the group is unproven. Last season, Koval and Joyner combined to average 14.3 rebounds per game — only slightly more than the number Morrow grabbed per game by herself (13.5).

“I’m excited about our post play,” Mulkey said “We have ﬁve players that have never put on an LSU uniform It’s fun to watch them battle every day.”

Joyner, a senior with a career 9.6 rpg average, is LSU’s most experienced frontcourt player As a sophomore, she grabbed 10 boards per game — the top rebounding average in the American Conference that season.

Koval, a 6-foot-5 sophomore and former ﬁve-star recruit, started the ﬁrst 10 games of her freshman season, then saw her playing time take a dip once the Irish brought star Maddy Westbeld back from an injury She averaged only 3.1 rebounds per game from that point of the year forward, but she was logging an average of only 13 minutes each night. A closer look at Koval’s numbers shows that she was, on a per-rebound basis, one of the country’s best freshman glasscleaners.

According to Bart Torvik data, only five high-major freshmen grabbed offensive boards at a higher rate than Koval, and just eight pulled down defensive rebounds at a more productive clip.

Koval needs to post similar numbers in a larger role to help the Tigers make up for the loss of Morrow — an important job for a team with national title aspirations.

“When the lights come on, and we start playing games,” Mulkey said, “it will be real interesting to see who goes and gets those rebounds It may be more of a collective effort than just one player.”

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

throws he wasn’t doing earlier in the year Him understanding he needs to take a little off has deﬁnitely helped.”

Tulane’s streaky defense is fourth in the league in points allowed but in the bottom half of every other major statistical category The Wave shut out South Alabama for more than 45 minutes in between allowing two early touchdowns and two late touchdowns, gave up touchdowns at the end of the ﬁrst half and the start of the second half to Duke while otherwise handling Darian Mensah, and surrendered back-to-back touchdowns to East Carolina in the third quarter after shutting out the Pirates for the ﬁrst half.

Gasparato pointed to shoddy tackling after an outstanding opening performance against Northwestern as the primary culprit.

“After that game, it shifted and we started missing arm tackles,” he said. “The last three weeks, starting with the Tulsa game, we put a huge emphasis on taking extra steps, getting shoulders on people and gang tackling. It started to show with fewer missed tackles and fewer yards after contact. You

Stamps had 43 tackles and nine pass breakups last season. He led the defense in total snaps played while allowing 33 receptions for 476 yards and three touchdowns.

Injury updates

Kelly also said Wednesday that one of LSU’s injured defensive starters was limited in practice on Tuesday, while another has yet to shed a walking boot.

Defensive tackle Bernard Gooden (collarbone) took on some individual work and team reps, Kelly said. But linebacker Whit Weeks (ankle) is “still non-weight bearing,” and the Tigers plan to keep him in a boot for “another couple days” before they decide whether he can return to the ﬁeld Saturday against No 3 Texas A&M (6:30 p.m., ABC).

LSU

Continued from page 1C

the football and has caused us to come up short against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.

“But having said that, it’s certainly something that we want to be ﬂawless at.”

LSU could move the ball last season. It ﬁnished 2024 ranked 25th among FBS teams in total offense (432 yards per game) and 35th in yards per play (6.19).

But the No. 20 Tigers (5-2) have taken a sizable step backward.

They will enter their matchup with No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC) ranked 83rd in total offense (367) and 64th in yards per play (5.79). They’re not turning red-zone trips into touchdowns. They’re not running the ball efﬁciently They’re not completing enough passes downﬁeld, and, crucially, they’re dropping too many passes.

OnlyoneSECteamhasmoredrops this season than LSU, according to Pro Football Focus data, and just two havedroppedahigherpercentageof their offense’s pass attempts.

In 2024, LSU receivers dropped just 4.3% (23) of the offense’s 534

On Wednesday’s SEC availability report, Gooden was listed as questionable and Weeks was listed as doubtful. Both Gooden and Weeks missed LSU’s previous game, a loss to No. 10 Vanderbilt. Gooden bruised his collarbone in a Week 7 matchup with South Carolina, and Weeks suffered a bone bruise in his ankle late in the Tigers’ Sept. 27 loss to No. 8 Ole Miss.

Last week, LSU listed Gooden as doubtful to play against Vanderbilt in its ﬁrst two availability reports before ruling him out of action on Friday Weeks, an All-SEC junior, was listed as questionable, then ruled out shortly before kickoff.

LSU also faced the Commodores without rotational edge rusher Jimari Butler, a Nebraska transfer who injured his ankle against South Carolina Butler was listed as probable on Wednesday’s report. Gooden, a ﬁfth-year senior from

total passes. Through the ﬁrst seven games of 2025, the Tigers have 16 drops on their 245 pass attempts a rate of 6.5%.

That number might be low, according to ESPN data. Early in LSU’s loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, wide receiver Zavion Thomas let one of Nussmeier’s throws slip through his hands, prompting the game’s ABC broadcast to say the Tigers receivers had dropped 17 passes this season a total that was tied for the eighth-most in the country

Had Thomas secured that catch, LSU would have picked up at least 6 yards on the 10th play of its ﬁrst drive a second and 13 from Vanderbilt’s 31-yard line. Instead, on third down, Nussmeier burned a timeout before ﬁring incomplete to covered tight end Trey’Dez Green from a collapsing pocket.

LSU settled for a 48-yard ﬁeld goal on fourth down.

The drop was a miscue, made more costly because the Tigers possessed the ball for only 23 minutes of game time.

“And that’s what this game came down to,” Kelly said Monday “I mentioned it many times It’s like playing a triple-option team. You don’t get many possessions. We had ﬁve possessions going into the

get what you emphasize.” Down both starting linebackers against Army, Gasparato liked what he saw from Chris Rodgers, whose 10th tackle of the day was a third-down stop of quarterback Cale Hellums for a three-and-out that led to Tulane’s tiebreaking touchdown in the final minute. His development will make the

defense better when Sam Howard returns from a leg injury in November By then, the Wave’s stats might begin to match its standing near the top of the American.

“This team expects to win no matter what the score is,” Gasparato said. “Nobody panics. Those guys have a belief and they know

South Florida, plays an average of 37 snaps per game on the LSU defensive interior according to Pro Football Focus. This season, he’s been credited with 13 pressures, which were tied for the most among SEC defensive tackles prior to Week 8. Weeks has recorded 29 tackles this season, which rank sixth among LSU defenders. He also sat out almost the entirety of the Tigers’ Sept. 13 win over Florida after he was ﬂagged for targeting on the ﬁrst series of the game. LSU-Vanderbilt ratings draw ESPN said Wednesday that an average of 5.9 million viewers tuned in to see LSU lose to Vanderbilt last Saturday on ABC. The audience size, the network said, peaked at 7.9 million viewers, making it the third most-watched Week 8 college football game that was shown on an ESPN network. Ole Miss-Georgia drew an average of 9.8 million viewers, while Tennessee-Alabama received an average of 8.0 million viewers.

fourth quarter, and so when you have limited possessions, those errors are magniﬁed by 10.”

Nine LSU receivers have dropped a pass this season, per PFF Four have multiple drops, including Brown, tight end Bauer Sharp and wide receiver Aaron Anderson with three apiece. Those mistakes, if repeated, once again can have an outsized effect on LSU’s chances of winning. Only 15 FBS teams have a greater time-of-possession average than Texas A&M, which possesses the ball for more than 32 minutes per game and rushes for nearly 200 yards per game. Quarterback Marcel Reed is one of six SEC quarterbacks with more than 200 yards rushing on the season, and he ran for three touchdowns last year in the Aggies’ home win over LSU.

“Those kids catch the ball every day — in the morning, afternoon at practice,” Kelly said. “We want to be better in everything we do, whether it’s a drop here or there or not playing with low pads or tackling. I think those are all the fundamentals that we go to work on every single day, including catching the football.”

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

what the outcome is going to be.

They ﬁnd a way, but we have to continue to grow We’re not pretty yet, but once we are, we have a chance to be good.”

That mindset is indicative of the entire team. Tulane has put itself in a solid position even though Retzlaff is only the seventh-most efﬁcient quarterback in the American and no Wave running back or receiver ranks among the top 20 in yards.

The Wave’s lone active defensive player among the league’s top 25 in tackles is safety Jack Tchienchou, who ranks 12th.

“We have not played a complete game yet,” said wide receiver Bryce Bohanon, whose fourthdown touchdown catch tied Army with 1:54 left. “We are lucky enough to be able to say we’re 6-1, and we haven’t played our best ball. Once we start playing the brand of ball we’re used to, it’s going to be something special.” Tchienchou agreed.

“We beat Army on a last-second play,” he said. “That’s not what we envisioned. We still have some things to clean up, but at the end of the day, I wholeheartedly believe the best is yet to come.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Tulane offensive coordinator Joe Craddock gives instructions to the team during practice on March 21 at yulman Stadium.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

South Carolina wide receiver Jared Brown makes a catch against LSU cornerback Ashton Stamps in the first quarter of their game on Sept. 14, 2024, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Olave among key players to miss practice

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Three key New Orleans Saints players did not participate in Wednesday’s practice ahead of the team’s Week 8 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle), defensive back Alontae Taylor (personal) and defensive end Chase Young (illness) were all absent from practice Another starter, tight end Juwan Johnson, was limited with a neck injury and wore a red noncontact jersey

Olave briefly left last week’s game against the Chicago Bears, but he never went to the blue injury tent on the sideline and later re-entered the game. He’s coming off his best performance of the season, catching ﬁve passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Alvin Kamara (ankle) also was a limited participant in practice. Kamara suffered his ankle injury in the Saints’ win against the New York Giants and has now appeared on the injury report for three consecutive weeks

Defensive tackle John Ridgeway (shoulder) was a full participant in practice, and coach Kellen Moore said he will be added to the active roster this week. Ridgeway opened the season on injured reserve, and Wednesday was the deadline for the Saints to activate him.

On the Buccaneers’ side, a whopping 11 players did not participate in practice, though Wednesday was just a walk-through after Tampa Bay played Monday night against the Detroit Lions.

Among the nonparticipants for the Buccaneers were star rookie

receiver Emeka Egbuka (hamstring), wide receiver Chris Godwin (ﬁbula), running back Bucky Irving (foot/ shoulder), pass rusher Haason Reddick (ankle/knee), safety Antoine Winfield (toe) and linebacker Lavonte David (knee/rib).

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that both Irving and Godwin would not play against the Saints.

Brees advances Saints legend Drew Brees is one step closer to being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his ﬁrst

year of eligibility.

Brees was one of 52 modernera players to advance to the next round of the Hall of Fame’s voting process. He is one of eight players to advance this far in his ﬁrst year of eligibility, joining Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Jason Witten, Frank Gore, LeSean McCoy, Greg Olsen and Maurkice Pouncey

Of the group, Brees certainly has the best shot at earning a gold jacket in his ﬁrst opportunity

Only Tom Brady threw for more yards or touchdowns than Brees, who ﬁnished his career with 80,358

Payton clariﬁes postgame comments were about QB Dart, not Wilson

BY ARNIE STAPLETON

AP pro football writer

DENVER Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton insists his recent comments were a shout-out to Jaxson Dart, not a shot at Russell Wilson.

Payton said after Denver’s historic 33-32 comeback win on Sunday that the Giants “found a little spark with” Dart, who became the starter, and hinted that part of a conversation he had with New York owner John Mara included wanting to face Wilson instead Wilson ﬁred back Tuesday, calling Payton — for whom he played one ill-fated season in 2023 — “classless” and taking a swipe at Payton for the New Orleans Saints’ “Bounty Gate” scandal in 2009-11.

On Wednesday, Payton said it was all a misunderstanding.

“Look, the euphoria, the way that game unfolded, that was strictly about Dart,” Payton said of his postgame comments. “That was in no way shape or form anything that was directed at Russ. And I might be able to see how he might perceive that” it was. “But, coming off that win and watching how he (Dart) played, yeah, that wasn’t any intention at all.” Wilson lost his starting job to Dart after an 0-3 start, and Payton said after the game, “I was talk-

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

“Great vision, good cut,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “He’s got a good balance to him. He just had a good feel for the run game.” To this point, Neal’s workload had been relatively limited. Any chance he had in pushing for more playing time was derailed in training camp when a hamstring injury sidelined him for two weeks By the time he returned, Miller had solidiﬁed the No. 2 job. But Neal said even when he was injured, he was still prepared. He sat in meetings and learned the playbook. From a physical standpoint Neal said he wasn’t too hampered by the injury upon his return. He felt winded in his preseason debut, he said, but then felt “perfectly ﬁne” after that From there, Neal was part of a numbers crunch. He played seven offensive snaps in New Orleans’ opener but was a healthy scratch over the next four games

He got back in the lineup to play special teams in a Week 6 loss to the New England Patriots and then played again the following week against the Bears.

ing to John Mara not too long ago and I said, ‘We were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game.’ “

Many, including Wilson, saw that as a shot at the backup quarterback, who was benched by Payton for the final two games of the 2023 season in Denver

“Classless… but not surprised….” Wilson said on X, formerly Twitter. “Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media.” Wilson’s own jab at Payton referenced the “Bounty Gate” scandal with the Saints. The NFL in 2012 found the team was rewarding players for hits on opponents with intent to injure, and Payton was suspended for a year Wilson joined the Broncos via trade from Seattle in 2022 and signed a ﬁve-year, $245 million extension. They went 4-11 in his first season before Denver hired Payton, who was returning to coaching following a stint in broadcasting. Payton benched Wilson for the ﬁnal two games of the 2023 season.

Wilson was released to put an end to the ugly breakup between a veteran coach and player who had each won the Super Bowl separately Wilson’s release saddled the Broncos with an NFL-record $85 million dead cap charge which was spread out over last year ($53 million) and this season ($32 million).

Wilson spent last season with Pittsburgh but was injured when the Steelers beat the Broncos 13-6 behind Justin Fields in Week 2.

The Broncos replaced Wilson with Jarrett Stidham, then drafted Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft

On Sunday, Nix became the ﬁrst quarterback in the league’s 104year history to run and throw for multiple touchdowns in a fourth quarter

Payton drew a penalty for running onto the field in the final minute Sunday when a flag came flying in on Riley Moss’ breakup of a pass to Beaux Collins near the goal line. That moved the ball from the 2 to the 1, and Dart scored on a keeper with 37 seconds left Kicker Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point of the game, leaving the Giants ahead 32-30 and providing the opening for Nix to move the Broncos into field goal range in just 35 seconds for Wil Lutz’s game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired.

Saints running back Devin Neal warms up before a preseason game against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 23 at the Caesars Superdome.

In Chicago, Neal again played seven offensive snaps. He needed only one to make an impact. On his block of Brisker, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the play was that it came from an unscouted look. The Bears ran that type of Brisker blitz for the ﬁrst time to try and catch New Orleans off guard, but Neal processed the sequence fast enough to make the adjustment. “That showed up in the college ﬁlm from Devin, which was a little

bit of an impressive aspect (of his game),” Moore said. “His ability to protect, we felt like that would give him a head start compared to a lot of guys coming from college, where protection necessarily isn’t part of their tools.” That head start has put Neal in a position in which the Saints now are counting on him, but Neal said he’s more than prepared for his opportunity He just might have to turn his phone off ﬁrst.

Mayfield: ‘I hate the Saints’ In Week 18 last season, the last time the Saints and Buccaneers played, Tampa Bay called a pass play in the closing seconds of a 2719 win in order to push receiver Mike Evans to his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season. The play was not without some minor controversy, as the Buccaneers were in position to kneel out the clock. Earlier this summer, during an appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was asked whether he regretted anything about the play

“I hate the Saints. Absolutely not, no,” Mayﬁeld said. “We were making the playoffs. It’s a situation where you take a knee, go to the playoffs. But we decided to throw it on ﬁrst and 10 just to get Mike the 1,000 yards.”

Asked about that comment by Tampa Bay media corps this week, Mayﬁeld doubled down, suggesting the Saints played dirty against the Buccaneers.

yards passing and 571 touchdowns.

Brees has four of the top eight individual seasons by passing yards in NFL history, was the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV and led the Saints to a 142-86 record in his 15 years as the franchise quarterback.

Brees is not the only player with Saints or New Orleans connections on the list. Former All-Pro guard and current member of the Saints coaching staff Jahri Evans also made the cut, as did former New Orleans players Lorenzo Neal and Olin Kreutz and New Orleans native Reggie Wayne

“It hasn’t exactly been clean play from their part when we play them,” Mayﬁeld said. “It’s a physical game, it is what it is. You expect it, division rival. Not much else to say besides the fact that I don’t like them.”

Mayfield has produced at an MVP level for Tampa Bay this season, throwing for 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions while leading the Buccaneers to a 5-2 record. He’s had the Saints’ number since signing with the Buccaneers before the 2023 season going 3-1 against them.

Reeling

Vikings,

Chargers try to ﬁx woes in short order

BY DAN GREENSPAN Associated Press

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It’s not just the short week that has the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings feeling lousy going into their Thursday night showdown, but it certainly starts there.

“It’s a physical grind. It’s a mental grind,” Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz said of the quick turnaround. “I don’t think anybody goes from playing one game on Sunday to Thursday and actually feels good. It’s just, ‘How good can you get yourself feeling?’ ” Whoever comes out on top in a showdown of staggered underachievers should be feeling a lot better going into the weekend.

The Chargers (4-3) have lost three of their past four games, in part because of an injury-riddled offensive line The Vikings (33) have dropped as many games through seven weeks as they did during the entire 2024 regular season, with iffy quarterback play and health looming large.

For Wentz, he has even less time to get his injured left non-throwing shoulder back into game shape. He was hurt in a Week 5 win vs. Cleveland but was able to manage it in a 28-22 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, throwing for 313 yards with two interceptions as the Vikings continued to alternate between victories and defeats.

“I’ve been really encouraged by how fast he turned over and really didn’t have any more setbacks or anything other than the normal soreness after a physical game like that,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said of Wentz, who will make his ﬁfth consecutive start as J.J. McCarthy didn’t have enough time this week to fully overcome the ankle injury that has kept him sidelined.

The Chargers will hope to get left tackle Joe Alt back after he missed the past three games with a sprained ankle. Right tackle Trey Pipkins (knee) could also return from a two-game absence, with coach Jim Harbaugh char-

ä Vikings at Chargers, 7:15 P.M.THURSDAy PRIME

acterizing the availability of both blockers as a “day-of-game decision.”

The presence of one or both tackles would significantly boost the chances of keeping quarterback Justin Herbert upright and opening holes in the run game for an offense that has been scrambling for cohesion.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said the swift turnaround from the Bolts’ 38-24 loss to Indianapolis means they’re planning as if both tackles will not play.

“The game was over, what, somewhere around 4 (p.m. Sunday). By 5:30, you know deep into studying that Philadelphia-Minnesota game and burning the midnight oil,” Roman said. “Not a lot of time, got to get a lot of things compressed into one week, from one week into three days basically.”

The Vikings allowed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to post the ﬁrst perfect passer rating of his career last week, thanks in part to a handful of huge gains behind shrewd play calls and star players that caught the Vikings in tough spots at bad times. Hurts had ﬁve completions greater than 25 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. Finding ways to get former LSU star Justin Jefferson the ball through constant double teams is a weekly challenge for O’Connell and the Vikings, but Wentz has done an effective job of spreading the ball around in his four starts — particularly with developing a rhythm with Jordan Addison. He has been targeted 26 times in the three games since he returned from a suspension, with a careerhigh nine catches for 128 yards last week against the Eagles.

“Chemistry is easy when you’re open by 5 or 10 yards,” Wentz said. “I’ve developed a ton of conﬁdence in him and his ability to get in and out of breaks and put a lot of stress on those DBs.”

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave fails to catch the ball as New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones defends during a game at the Caesars Superdome on Oct. 12.

AP PHOTO By GREGORy BULL

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is tackled by Indianapolis Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu, left, and defensive tackle Grover Stewart on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif

Payton

Wilson

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts celebrates in the dugout after scoring against the Milwaukee Brewers during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Friday in Los Angeles If the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, it would be their third title in six years.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By ASHLEy LANDIS

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Deﬁning greatness

Baseball could be in the midst of a Dodgers dynasty

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

TORONTO Baseball could be in the midst of a Dodgers dynasty, a much-debated word reserved for teams achieving sweeping success.

By beating Toronto in the World Series that starts Friday night, Los Angeles would capture its third title in six years.

“Just winning one is hard,” Dodgers ﬁrst baseman Freddie Freeman said. “If you can get three in a matter of ﬁve, six years, I guess you could say it is one. But I think it’s the sustained winning that the Dodgers have done for so long and then obviously to cement it with some championships, I think, yeah, I guess you can call this if we do it a modern-day dynasty.”

Baseball has no widely accepted deﬁnition.

Most give pantheon status to the 1949-53 New York Yankees (ﬁve straight titles), the 1936-39 Yankees (four), the 1972-74 Oakland Athletics (three) and the 1998-2000 Yankees (three)

— the last team to win consecutive championships. The Dodgers are the first reigning champion to reach the World Series since the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies.

“If I was broadcasting, I would not refer to them as a dynasty,” Emmy-winning commentator Bob Costas said.

“You can compare them to the Braves who won 14 divisions in a row but got to the World Series five times and lost it four of those ﬁve times.”

Yet he is willing to consider using the word because times have changed. The Dodgers have won 12 of the past 13 NL West titles and

had 106 victories the year they ﬁnished second.

“There has to be lines of demarcation once you go to wild cards and then especially once you expand the playoffs as they’ve now been expanded,” Costas said.

“If you’re thinking about going to the postseason and obviously having a chance to win World Series year after year, I guess that would kind of qualify as some type of dynasty, but I don’t know what it takes to call it that,” he said.

Mookie Betts, who has been with the Dodgers since 2020, said he’s more concerned about preparing for games than contemplating the team’s historical place.

“If you’re thinking about going to the postseason and obviously having a chance to win World Serieses year after year, I guess that would kind of qualify as some type of dynasty but I don’t know what it takes to call it that,” he said.

Since the expansion era started, the only consecu-

tive titles have been won by the 1961-62 Yankees, the mid-70s A’s, the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, the 197778 Yankees the 1992-93 Toronto Blue Jays and the latecentury Yankees.

Earlier back-to-back titles also were won by the 190708 Chicago Cubs, 1910-11 Philadelphia A’s, 1915-16 Red Sox, 1921-22 New York Giants, 1927-28 Yankees and 1929-30 A’s.

John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s ofﬁcial historian, said he thinks sustained success is sufﬁcient to earn the dynasty honorific, even if every year didn’t result in a title.

“I think a dynasty is today deﬁned by consecutive pennants or division titles won, not by World Series championships,” he wrote in an email.

“So I think the Atlanta Braves of recent years, the Detroit Tigers of 1907-09, or the Giants of 1911-1913, are in. Three straight (World Series) appearances, rather than three straight titles, does it for me.”

Springer’s drive had huge impact

Toronto DH’s homer one of biggest plays in non-World Series game

BY NOAH TRISTER AP baseball writer

George Springer seized a spot in Toronto Blue Jays history when he hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning that sent his team to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the AL championship series Springer’s drive to left ﬁeld Monday night didn’t have quite the same impact as Joe Carter’s homer that gave Toronto the World Series in 1993, or even Dave Winfield’s extra-inning double that helped the Blue Jays edge Atlanta for the 1992 title. But for a hit that occurred outside the World Series, Springer’s was awfully impactful. A stat called championship win probability added (cWPA) — published by Baseball Reference — measures how much a particular play increased or decreased a team’s chance of winning that year’s World Series. That’s based on when it occurred in the game and when that game occurred in the overall context of the season Springer’s homer increased Toronto’s chance of winning the World Series by 19.73%. It ranks as one of the 10 biggest non-World Series plays since 1903 Here’s the full list: No. 10

Chris Chambliss’ solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Yankees a 7-6 win over Kansas City in Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS (cWPA of 18.77%)

The LCS was best-of-five before 1985, so this homer by Chambliss was a walk-off in a winner-take-all game It also touched off a complete mob scene as fans invaded the field at Yankee Stadium. Baseball Reference’s cWPA data has Chambliss’ drive just ahead of a similar homer by Aaron Boone of the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS 27 years later

No. 9

Cecil Cooper’s two-run single in the seventh that put the Milwaukee Brewers up 4-3 against the California Angels in Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS. (19.66%)

That 4-3 lead held up to give Milwaukee the pennant in a series California led 2-0 at one point The Angels also blew a 3-1 lead in the 1986 ALCS.

No. 8

Springer’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead over Seattle in Game 7 of the 2025 ALCS. (19.73%)

Like Cooper’s hit, Springer’s drive turned a deﬁcit into a lead in the seventh inning of a winner-take-all LCS game. Give Springer extra points for erasing a multirun deﬁcit.

No. 7

Manny Trillo’s two-run triple with two outs in the top of the eighth, which gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 7-5 lead against the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS. (19.79%)

This two-run lead actually didn’t hold up. Houston tied the game, but the Phillies did eventually win 8-7 in 10. So those two runs were huge.

No. 6

Jack Clark’s three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-5 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game

6 of the 1985 NLCS. (19.83%)

The Dodgers pitched to Clark with ﬁrst base open and he made them pay

This is the only play on this list that wasn’t in a winner-take-all game, but it sent the Cardinals to the World Series when they were one out from a Game 7.

No. 5

Yadier Molina’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth that gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead over the New York Mets in Game

7 of the 2006 NLCS. (20.71%)

After a spectacular catch by New York’s Endy Chavez at the wall in left ﬁeld earlier in the game, Molina sent this ball well past it. The Cardinals

Giants hire Vols’ Vitello as manager

BY JANIE McCAULEY AP baseball writer

The San Francisco Giants hired Tennessee Volunteers coach Tony Vitello as manager for his ﬁrst pro coaching job.

San Francisco announced the move Wednesday an unprecedented gamble by president of baseball operations Buster Posey on a coach with no pro experience. The 47-year-old Vitello is making the jump after spending his entire career at the collegiate level.

“Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative and most respected coaches in college baseball today,” Posey said “Throughout our search, Tony’s leadership, competitiveness and commitment to developing players stood out.”

Posey said the Giants look forward to the energy and direction Vitello brings with his passion for baseball aligning with the club’s values.

“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity,” Vitello said in the Giants’ announcement.

“I’m excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can’t wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants’ faithful proud.”

Vitello has guided the Volunteers to regular success in the Southeastern Conference since being hired in June 2017. That included leading the program to its ﬁrst NCAA title last year to go with six regional appearances, five NCAA super regional berths and three College World Series trips.

ter two years, and Posey quickly ruled out beloved longtime Giants skipper Bruce Bochy as an option to replace him once Bochy parted ways with Texas following a three-year managerial stint. The Giants finished 8181 for one more victory than in Melvin’s ﬁrst year. They haven’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under then-skipper Gabe Kapler San Francisco is getting a colorful and brash manager in Vitello. The NCAA suspended Vitello twice during his Tennessee tenure, ﬁrst for spending too much time arguing a call in 2018. During that two-game suspension, he raised money for charity with a pizza and lemonade stand while the Vols played. Chest-bumping an umpire in 2022 led to a fourgame suspension, and Vitello spent that time working with a Tennessee fraternity offering a chest bump to anyone donating $2 to the Wounded Warriors Project.

held off a New York rally in the bottom of the inning to win the pennant

No. 4

Rick Monday’s solo homer in the top of the ninth that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead over the Montreal Expos in Game 5 of the 1981 NLCS. (21.18%)

This homer — hit with two outs — ranks slightly ahead of Molina’s oneout drive. Both provided the game’s ﬁnal scoring.

No. 3

Johnny Bench’s solo homer in the bottom of the ninth for the Cincinnati Reds that tied Game 5 of the 1972 NLCS against Pittsburgh at 3. (22.52%)

The Pirates were three outs from the World Series, but those never came. Bench led off with this opposite-ﬁeld drive, and Cincinnati would score the pennant-winning run on a wild pitch later that inning.

No. 2

Bobby Thomson’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth that gave the New York Giants a 5-4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 3 of a tiebreaker series for the National League pennant in 1951. (35.56%)

Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round The World” wasn’t technically a postseason play because tiebreaker playoffs have been considered part of the regular season. Still, this was a winner-takeall game for a World Series berth, and Thomson’s team went from being down two runs to winning in one legendary swing.

No. 1

Francisco Cabrera’s two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Atlanta Braves a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. (36.84%)

Cabrera remains one of baseball’s unlikeliest heroes, having had only 11 plate appearances during the 1992 regular season. He ranks just ahead of Thomson. Although Thomson’s hit erased a bigger deﬁcit, Cabrera’s came with two outs while Thomson’s came with only one.

He has had 10 players from Tennessee selected in the ﬁrst round and 52 Vols overall in MLB’s amateur draft. That includes Giants outﬁelder Drew Gilbert. Seeking a new voice and direction after the Giants missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year, Posey said he wouldn’t rule out anyone in his search for someone with what he called an “obsessive” work ethic and attention to detail.

Posey had also considered his former backup catcher Nick Hundley, who has been working as a special assistant to Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young. Instead, Posey is taking a route once tapped by the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys with Miami Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson in 1989. That worked out with Johnson winning two Super Bowl trophies in 1992 and 1993 in a Hall of Fame career Posey is striving for stability at manager after so much turnover for the franchise in recent years, including Posey taking over as President of Baseball Operations last fall when Farhan Zaidi was ﬁred. The Giants dismissed manager Bob Melvin af-

Vitello isn’t a stranger to Northern California. In 2002, he was associate head coach of the Salinas Packers in the California Collegiate League. The team went 50-14 and reached the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas. He played three seasons at Missouri as an inﬁelder and began his coaching career there before stints at TCU and Arkansas, the last where he was hitting coach. A native of St. Louis, Vitello went 341–131 at Tennessee. In his second season in 2019, he led the Vols to their first NCAA berth since 2005. Vitello then led the Vols to their first national title in baseball, winning the 2024 College World Series.

Tennessee has reached the College World Series three times with Vitello. He has two Southeastern Conference regular-season titles and a pair of SEC Tournament titles, the last in 2024 Tennessee is finishing up an expansion and renovation of the baseball stadium to meet interest in the program. Vitello was earning $3 million a year and signed a ﬁve-year extension in 2024 that includes a $3 million buyout.

The Tennessee athletic director Danny White congratulated Vitello on the job and said university ofﬁcials are focused on players and the coaching staff in an “evolving process” while they ﬁnalize the next steps. “We are committed to continuously investing in the program at a championship level across all areas,” White said. “Furthermore, the upcoming $109 million renovation of Lindsey Nelson Stadium will transform it into one of the premier baseball venues.”

Cutcook time, notﬂavor, by using handytip

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

Ilike teriyaki pork, but it usually needs time for the meat tomarinate in the sauce. Using astore-bought teriyaki sauceand this easycooking method,I was able to have this meal ready in less than 10 minutes.

The steamed Chinese noodles are partially cooked and take only aminute to cook in boiling water.They areavailable in most supermarkets. If difﬁcult to ﬁnd, use any type of thin pastaand follow package cooking instructions.

Teriyaki GlazedPork Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1. Cutporktenderloin into ½-inchslices andpress them to about ¼ inch thickwith theﬂat side of aspatula.

2. Heat amedium-sizenonstick skillet overmedium-high heat andspray with vegetable oil spray

3. Add pork and saute2minutes per side. Add the teriyaki sauce and snow peas to the skillet. Mix well. Continue to cook,spooningthe sauce over pork slices as they cook. Ameat thermometer should read 145 F. 4. Divide in half and place ontwo dinner plates. Sprinkle sliced scallions and sesame seeds on top.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 275calories (27 percent from fat), 8.2 gfat (1.7 gsaturated, 3.6 gmonounsaturated), 108 mg cholesterol, 39.4 gprotein, 9.9 gcarbohydrates, 2.4 gﬁber,416 mg sodium.

Chinese Noodles

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

¼pound fresh or steamed Chinese noodles

2teaspoons sesame oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1, Fillamedium-size pot three quarters full of water and bring to aboil over high heat.

2. Add noodles to boilingwater.Cook1 minute or accordingtopackageinstructions.

3. Drain, return to pot and add oil and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Divide in half and place on the dinner plates with the pork.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 251calories (19 percent from fat), 5.4 gfat (0.8 gsaturated, 1.9 gmonounsaturated), no cholesterol, 7.4 gprotein, 42.6 gcarbohydrates, 1.8gﬁber,3mgsodium.

Baconmakes everything better,even this sandwich

BY BETH DOOLEY

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

LIVING

Recipe, Bacon, Brie and Pear Baguette Sandwich 2D

The classic BLTisasourceofdelight, comfort and sustenance. Thecombination of sweet-tart tomato, crisp-rich bacon, crunchy lettuce and lushmayo defines agreat sandwich with universal appeal. The BLTwas the first meal Ilearned to make formyself with my cousin Jack after surfing at the New Jersey shore. Sometimesinour fierce, sunburned hungers,

ä See BACON, page 2D

Ithought that it would be fun to mix it up at thetable alittle bit. We still want easy dishes, but there is no reason not to also make them innovative and tasty Familiar doesn’thave to be boring.

Sweet potatoes are delicious and nutritious. An elegant and easy dish to makewith regular potatoes is Sweet Potatoes Anna. Ithought that such a simple preparation would allow the sweet potato ﬂavor to shine through. It is also avisually lovely dish. Give it atry now.You may like it enough to serve it as the traditional sweet potatocontribution to your Thanksgiving table. Frittedda is one of my

ä See BRIGHT, page 2D

thingiscompletelydistributed throughout the mixture.Add this mixture to the wet ingredients 1 3 at atime, being careful to fully incorporate thedry ingredients. Do not overmix. This step can be done by hand.

5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate foratleast an hour

6. Useacookie scoop to scoop out dough. Roll each cookie ball in the sugar on the plate and then placethe ball on asiliconemat on acookiesheet.Theyshould be 2-3 inches apart. Place the cookie sheet into the preheated oven. Cook for12minutes. The cookies should be golden on the edges. Remove from the oven andallowtorest for5 minutes. Then remove them from the silicone mat with aspatula and allow to cool on awire rack.

7. If you have many pans to bake, be sure to place the waiting dough back into the refrigerator while cookies are baking.

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Teriyaki Glazed Pork with Chinese Noodles

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Lemon cookies

Sweet Potatoes Anna, Sicilian Frittedda

Therecan only be one‘Nonna’ around

Dear Miss Manners: My ex-husband and Ihave been divorcedfor over 20 years. We see each other at familyfunctions and are very cordial and polite with each other,as is his girlfriend, who also attends these events. Neither of us has remarried. He has been in arelationship with this female for many years, but they don’tlive together When our sons had their ﬁrst babies, my ex wantedthe family to refer to his girlfriend as Nonna (“grandmother”). Our sons

By The Associated Press

Todayinhistory:

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

immediately shut that idea down, stating that their children already have agrandmother,and thatthey would refer to the girlfriend by her ﬁrst name. This was out of respect for me, and also to avoid confusing the children. Butrecently,while visiting oneofmysons, my daughter-in-law and Iwere having aconversation about my 9-year-old grandson. She was relaying something that my grandson had said about hisgrandfather’sgirlfriend, and referred to heras“Nonna.”

TODAYINHISTORY

the country,ending theuprising on Nov.4

Immediately,Iasked, “Is he referring to her as Nonna now?” He never had before, nor had anyone else in thefamily.She replied, “Yes.” Iimmediately said that Iwas not comfortable withthat, and that it really bothered me. The girlfriend can be thesubstitute Nonna after Idie (which I’m not planning on doing anytimesoon). Am Iwrong in feeling that my grandchildren already have a grandmother,and that the title should not be shared withtheir grandfather’sgirlfriend?

Gentlereader: How you feel about

it is not Miss Manners’ department. Nor is basic biology,though she cannot help noticing that even if you were not divorced, your grandchildren would have had to grapple with the“confusion” of having two grandmothers, assuming their mothers’ mothers were still alive. Etiquette can comment on some of the terms being used (or misused).Your ex-husband and his girlfriend are outside of normal usage in applying “grandmother” to anonresident nonrelative just as you are outside of normal usage in applying “cordial” to a

relationship with someone you refer to as “this female.”

Had your ex remarried, his then-wifecould have claim to the title of grandmother.But even without that, you have no right to dictate what the grandchildren call anyone other than yourself

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

Today is Thursday,Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2025. There are 69 days left in the year

On Oct. 23, 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in asuicide truck-bombing at theU.S.Marine Corps barracks at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, while anear-simultaneousattack on French barracks in Beirut killed 58 paratroopers.

Also on this date:

In 1915, an estimated 25,000 women marched on FifthAvenue in NewYorkCity in support of women’ssuffrage.

In 1942, during World WarII, Britain launched amajor offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt, resultinginan Allied forces victory In 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf began; the largestnaval battle of World WarIIresulted in amajor Allied victory against Japanese forces, paving theway for the retaking of the Philippines.

In 1956, astudent-sparked revolt against Hungary’sCommunist rule began; as the revolution spread, Soviet forces entered

In 1987, the U.S.Senate rejected theSupreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork, 58-42. In 1989, 23 people were killed in an explosionataPhillips Petroleum chemical complex in Pasadena,Texas In 1995,a Houston jury convicted Yolanda Saldivarofmurdering Tejano singing star Selena; Saldivarwas sentencedtolife in prison with the possibilityofparoleand remains in prison.

In 2001, Applereleased the iPod. An estimated 450 million iPod devicesweresold before the line was discontinuedin2022. Today’sbirthdays: Film director Philip Kaufman is 89. Advocate and humanitarian Graça Machel is 80. Filmdirector Ang Lee is 71. Jazz singer Dianne Reeves is 69. Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 69. Activist and philanthropist Martin Luther King IIIis68. Author and commentator Michael Eric Dyson is 67. Film directorSam Raimi is 66. Comedic musician “Weird Al” Yankovicis66. Rock musician Robert Trujillo (Metallica) is 61. Racing driver and paracyclist Alex Zanardi is 59. CNN medical reporter Dr.Sanjay Gupta is 56.

Bacon, Brie and Pear Baguette Sandwich Serves 4to6.Recipe is from BethDooley.The baguette makesa sturdybasefor these rich, ﬂavorful ingredients; toastedsourdough sliceswillalsoworkwell. We’ve added asmear of orange marmaladefor sweettang,but that’soptional. Slice thesandwich intohalves or quarters for appetizers. They’ll hold up for aday when made ahead andcovered.

1(18-inch to 24-inch) baguette,sliced on the diagonal 1to2tablespoons orangemarmalade, optional 4to6ounces brie cheese, slicedthin 1large pear,peeled, cored and sliced thin 8slices cooked bacon (see Cooking Tip)

1. Toast the baguetteslices. Spread each slice withthe marmalade.

2. On half of the baguette slices,arrange the brie on one of the sides spread with marmalade, then placethe slicedpearonthe brie, and place the bacon on top of thebrie. 3. Place theremaining baguette slices, marmalade side down, on topofthe bacon. Cut and serve. COOKINGTIP: The best way to cook baconisinthe oven(lessspatter and cleanup). Preheat the oven to 400 Fand line abakingsheet with enough aluminum foilto hangoverthe sides of thepan Arrangethe baconslices over the aluminum foil sothey do not touch. Bake until crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the sheet panand using tongs, lift thebacon to set on apaper-towel lined plate to drain

BACON

Continued from page1D

we’d swap out the bacon for potato chips. We’d slice thick our grandmother’sgarden tomatoes, add iceberg lettuce, and spread Hellman’s on puffywhite bread, then chase it all down with a frosty bottle of Coke. Now that we’re past tomato season, the quest is on for a sandwich withautumn appeal. Start with great bread with slices you’d like to enjoy on their own. Toasting can improvethe ﬂavor and texture if it’sindanger of becoming soggy.Choose ingredients with contrasting textures and tastes. How about sharp cheddar cheese, bacon and snappy apples griddled to agolden fare-thee-well? Or funkybrie,

bacon and mellow sweet pear on atoasted baguette?

Thethrough line for any great sandwich is bacon —savory and chewy with just enough crunch. Come winter,I’ll lean into slices of cooked beets and bacon with aswipeofchevre on multigrain bread or slices of roast butternut squash andbacon with adrizzle of hot honey on rye. Alittle well-cooked bacon does awholelot of good.Look for bacon with fat evenly distributed through eachstrip. Thick slices hold up to cooking and won’tcrumble as youbuild the sandwich. Among the different cookingmethods, Iprefer sheetpanbaking for easy cleanup, especially when multiple slices are involved (see thecooking tip above). Salty andsucculent, bacon is the secret to the perfect handheldmeal.

Serves 4to6

3to4medium sweet potatoes

1cup buttermilk

1stick butter,melted

Saltand pepper to taste

½cup grated Parmesan cheese or 4 ounces goat cheese

1. Butter atart pan that is 9inches across with aremovable bottom. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

2. Slice the sweet potatoes into circles on amandolin. (If you do nothaveamandolin,you can cut the sweet potatoes into very thin slices or use apotato peeler to cut

Serves 4to6

¼cup extravirgin olive oil

4or5scallions, chopped, white and green parts

5clovesgarlic, minced

8ounces frozen or fresh shelledpeas (defrosted and drained)

8ounces frozen or fresh babyfavabeans (or babylimas, defrosted and drained)

12-16 ounces frozen artichokehearts or bottoms (defrosted and drained)

Fennel fronds (ordillormint), roughly chopped to make1cup (you can use a combination)

Saltand pepper

Zest of 2lemons

Juice of 2lemons

2tablespoons applecider vinegar

1⁄8 cup chopped capers for garnish

1. Addthe olive oil to the pan and heat over medium until it shimmers. Add thescallions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for4 minutes. Add the peas,fava beans and artichokes. Cook for 10 minutes

BRIGHT

Continuedfrom page1D

favorite Sicilian dishes, and there are certainly Sicilian inﬂuences everywhere in New Orleans. The salad is traditionally made in the springtimewhen fresh baby fava beans are available. Butartichokes, beans and peas freeze very well, without aloss of texture. So Isuggest that you use frozen vegetables tomake a frittedda that will wake up your taste buds, at the sametime as it is easy to prepare. My mother used to makeitfor me, starting withraw artichokes as aspecial treat when Iwas

SweetPotatoes Anna

thin slices.Try to make theslices uniform.(Ijust wash my sweet potatoes. Youmay decide to peel them. That is up to you.)

3. As you accumulate apile of potato slices, toss them in abowl with thebuttermilk. Keep slicinguntil you have sliced all the sweet potatoes. (Ifyou feel that you need more buttermilk, addsometothe bowl.)

4. Take the prepared pan and placethe ﬁrst sliceasclose to the edge of the pan as possible, laying it ﬂat. Overlap the slices into concentric circles from the outside to the center.You may need to place asliceinthe middle of the pan.

Sicilian

With apastry brush, brush butter on the slices. Sprinkle lightly with saltand pepper. Continue to layer the potatoes this way until all the potato slices are used. (Ifyou have too many slices for the pan, you’ll ﬁnd that they makeexcellent fried potato chips.)

5. Sprinkle the top of the dish with Parmesan cheese or break up the goat cheese into half-inch pieces and dot the top with them

6. Bake for 30 minutes. If the cheeseisnot browned, add5 minutes and keep checking until the top is slightly crisp and the cheese is browned.

2. Add half of theherbs, salt, pepper and zest and stir.Add the lemonjuice.Cook for5 minutes. Addthe apple cider vinegar.Cook for3 minutes moreoruntil the liquidisalmost evaporated. Stir to

growing up. This dish reminds me of her,but without the hard work. Youcan choose to use frozen artichoke hearts or bottoms. Just makesure that you defrost and drain theartichoke before you cook it. It is agood idea to defrost and drain the peas and the baby favas, too. If you cannot find either fresh or frozen favas, baby limas make agood substitute. Use good olive oil, not just any vegetable oil. This dish can elevate thewhole table. These lemon cookies are very lemony.That flavor is intensified by juice and zest. Even if you aren’thungry anymore, the intense flavor of lemon is awelcome freshness at the end of a meal.

keep from sticking. Serveasaside dish garnished with the remaining fresh, chopped herbs and capers. This dish is particularly delicious served tossed into pearl couscous.

Besides dessert, these cookies makeagreat snack. Keepthem in an airtight container,but don’t expect they will last long. They are good to add to apacked school lunch or forasnack with acup of coffee at work. Youcan vary them by using limes or oranges instead. Ireally like them with blood oranges. Let me know how they turn out. Ilove to hear from you.

Liz Williams is founderofthe Southern Food &Beverage Museum in NewOrleans. Listen to “Tip of theTongue,”Liz’s podcastabout food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts.Email Liz at lizwillia@ gmail.com.

DREAMSTME/TNS PHOTO

Strips of crispybaconsizzle on acast-iron skillet

Frittedda

LIBRA (sept.23-oct. 23) Pay attention to domesticissues and make changes to offsetany negativity you face at home. Learnfrompastmistakes and turna wrong into aright. Honesty is the way to victory andnew beginnings.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Give alittle, take alittle,and watch yourlife turn into amasterpiece. Don't deny yourself stardom when it's your turn to shine. Take achanceonyourself, instead of buying into someone else'sdreams, hopesand wishes.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Achange of heartcan alter your perspective regarding shared expenses or how you earn your living. Listen attentively, and you'll gain insight into how to handle matters.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take bettercare of yourself physically. Pace yourselfand avoid excess. The help youoffer others must notbeexcessive and shouldget you something in return. Take yourtime; apremature decision will fall short.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep your thoughts and intentions to yourself. Someone will pry into your life, background or qualifications. It's best to isolate yourselfifyou want to get things done

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Takethe initiative andmakeplans to socialize, participate and learn all youcan.Put your best foot forward, learn as you go and make things happen. Invest timeand moneyinyourself and your future.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) The help you offerothers will position you for advancement. Dealing with legal, institutional or secret matters will put your mind at easeand bring you one step closer to your goal.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Abig move will lead to achange in directionora chance to try something new and exciting. It's up to you to seek out opportunities andpursue the goals thatexcite youthe most GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Turn your ideas into something tangible. Join interest groups, and you'll connect with someonewho can help youexpandyour dreams. Let your charm lead the way. cAncER (June21-July 22) Apply for anew position. Diversify how you utilize your skills, experience andknowledge,and you will discover new opportunities thatcan help youmakemore money LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Takegreater interest in what's going on behind closed doors. Pay attention to domestic issues andpartnerships. Makeyourway forward with loveand compassion VIRGo(Aug. 23-sept. 22) It's all in how youapproachothers. Communication is the key to getting things done on time andperfectly.Resolveand establish financial matters, contractsand investments.

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE:B EQuALsF

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Sydney J. Harris, aformer journalist in Chicago, said, “Our dilemma is that we hate change and loveitatthe same time; what we really want is for things to remain thesame but get better.”

Youare often facedwith adilemma at thebridge table. Perhaps, shouldyou winthistrickorloseit?That’sonereason whyweloveandhatethisgame.Theway outofa dilemma, of course,istoanalyze logically. In this deal, South blasts into sixspades.AfterWestleadsthediamond king, whatshoulddeclarer do?

North’stwo-no-trump responseover West’s takeout double guaranteed four or more spades and at least game-invitational values: 10-plus support points and eight or fewerlosers. South’s sensible leap to the smallslam kept the defenders in the dark. Note thata clublead would have defeated six spades, and a slow,tortuousauction might have highlighted that.

South is faced with twolosers: one heartand oneclub. But he can gethome by putting the opponentwith the heart ace in adilemma. Which opponent will that be?

Based on thebidding, it is more likely to be West than East. Declarer must ruff the opening lead in his hand. Then he draws trumps and leads his heart five. What does West do?

If he wins with his ace, South has 12 tricksviasevenspades,threehearts,one diamondand oneclub.Alternatively, if Westplays low, declarer wins withdummy’s jack anddiscards hisheartkingon the diamond ace. Then he claims, concedingone cluband ruffing his other two clubs on the board.

Previous answers:

InstRuctIons:

toDAy’s WoRD LoBByInG: LOB-ee-ing: Conductingactivitiesaimedat influencing public officials

Averagemark 17 words

Timelimit 30 minutes

Can youfind27ormorewords in LOBBYING?

today’s thought

the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it:except theLord keep the city,the watchman wakesbut in vain.” Psalms 127:1

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Ponder

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from the letters in each row.add points of each word, usingscoring directions at right. Finally 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus “Blanks”used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

WiShinG Well

InstructIons: 1 -Eachrow and each column must containthe numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, calledcages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the numberinthe top-left corner. HErE is aplEasanT

the

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

comorvia telephoneat 337-237-2200.There will be no depositrequiredto receiveanelectronic copy of biddocuments PreBid Conference:A Pre BidConferencetodis‐cuss thescope of the projectand therequire‐mentsofthe Biddingand Contract

disregardall noncon‐forming, nonresponsive, unbalanced or condi‐tional Bids BiddingDocuments:The BiddingDocuments (Con‐tractDocuments,Speciﬁ‐cationsand Drawings) areavailable to Contrac‐tors whoare properly li‐censed in

don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss

boo carré

Visit the French Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m

Saturday for music, arts and crafts, readings, a spooky second-line and costume parade plus trick-or-treating — costumes encouraged. The Baby Dolls will demonstrate umbrella decorating, and the Krewe of Dolly will be reading and crafting. frenchmarket. org.

big book sale

The sale of more than 65,000 books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs and records (yes, records) at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner will beneﬁt the Jefferson Parish Library System. Items will be priced from 50 cents to $3. The event is from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday friendsofjeffersonlibrary.org.

play soiree

Inspired by Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” the Louisiana Children’s Museum in City Park becomes an enchanted spot Saturday for a fundraiser sponsored by Manning Family Children’s to support the museum’s mission of expanding access. The adults-only event at 8 p.m. at 15 Henry Thomas Drive features live music, signature cocktails, food and beverages from many of the area’s top culinarians and a ﬁne jewelry rafﬂe. Tickets start at $125. lcm.org.

glenn

miller

orchestra

Swing back in time to the Big Band era and enjoy the perennially popular tunes of World War II. Touring continuously since 1956, the 15-piece orchestra will perform songs like “String of Pearls,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and “Moonlight Serenade” starting at 7 p.m. Monday at Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie. Tickets start at $60. jeffersonpac.com.

ABOUT LAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each Thursday by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe should be directed to the editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Annette Sisco, asisco@theadvocate.com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Victor Andrews, Doug MacCash, Chelsea Shannon, Keith Spera, Orlando Hernandez Ying

reggae fest

The Jamaica Tourist Board is presenting three days of live reggae music, dancehall acts, food vendors, artisans and cultural exhibitions celebrating the heritage of the Caribbean nations at Congo Square in Armstrong Park. The fest is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday nolareggaefest.com.

GET LISTED IN LAGNIAPPE

Submit events to Lagniappe at least two weeks in advance by sending an email to events@theadvocate.com.

ON THE COVER

The annual Krewe of BOO! parade rolls Saturday through the French Quarter. Cover illustration by Doug MacCash. MacCash has details and other weekend events on Page 6.

food food food

Bywaterspotserving Cajun-stylespecials

Anew Cajun restaurant has opened in the Bywater,and its owner hopes that it will ﬁll the void leftby Rosalita’s, apopular taco shop that closed in 2024.

here with his boyfriend, Dillian Theriot

“They had lots of regulars,and there were alwayspeople eating in the backyard,” Frissons owner Beaux Church said. “And now …there’snot as many places around that area where you can go and eat and have an affordable meal.”

Frissons, 3304 St. Claude Ave., hopes to be achill place wherepeople can come, relax and enjoy boudin. The restaurant opened Sept. 26.

Since moving to New Orleans in 2011, Church has managed multiple businesses,including the Clover Grill, and startedorganizing the New Orleans Pride parade in 2021. He also fell in love

Theriot, aSt. Martin Parish native, introduced Church to boudin and other Cajundishes.

“When Imoved to New Orleans, Ithought thatCajun food was Popeyes,” Church said.

The twowould go on what Church calls “boudin trails,” sampling as much of the Louisiana delicacy as possible in the Breaux Bridge and Lafayette areas. When returning to New Orleans, he would have trouble ﬁnding good boudin thatwasn’t in ball form and contained liver.

began crafting gluten-free recipes that Church could still enjoy; many are based on Theriot’s family recipes.

FRISSONS

The twochose to nametheir restaurant after aword thatChurch picked up from Theriot and is deeply rooted in the couple’s boudin adventures.

3304 St. Claude Ave.

6:30 p.m.to 11 p.m.Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m Saturdayand 11:30 a.m. to 9p.m.Sunday

“I mean, you can go to grocery stores and buy things and go home and cook yourself, but there’snot alot of places thatyou can just go and get Cajun food,”Church said.

Then,whenChurch was diagnosed with asevere wheat allergy,the couple

Aplate specialatFrissons consists of pork boudin, potato salad, Brussels sprouts and corn cakes.

“Wewere having boudin at one place, and he goes, “Oh,this boudin’ssogood, it’s giving me the frissons.’I was like, ‘What does thatmean? What are you saying?’”Church recalled.

Now Church said he hopes to give visitors the frissons, a Cajun term meaning chills or goosebumps.

While traditional boudin, steamed or grilled, is the focal point of the menu, there are also sides like Cajun potatoes, rice dressing, gluten-free boudin balls and vegan boudin balls.

Andofcourse, when theweather drops, Church plans to have vegan gumbo

As it gets intoa rhythm, Frissonsis offering set plate meals.Each weekend features adifferentmeal,and therestaurantposts on Instagram aboutthe plate of theweek

“The people have been jokingly calling it Cajundisco because Ihavea fewdisco balls andcrazy neon lightsand pink ﬂamingos.Yes, I’mtrying to be alittle funky withit,” Church said.

Email Chelsea Shannon at cshannon@ theadvocate.com.

Sunday,November 2 | 12:00- 3:00 p.m.

omerollsomestrikes andshowcaseyour competitivesideinthe game parlor with deliciousbites andfoxycocktails whileyou enjoylivemusic from thePHUNKY MONKEYS.

Plus,Kinfolk BrassBandwillbring theenergywithalivelyNew Orleanssecond line,and youdon’t want to miss outonthe auction andraffle, offering fantastic itemsand experiences up forgrabs.Comerollwithusand make ameaningful impact in thefight againstParkinson’s disease!

Allnet funds raised from this eventwillgodirectly towardsthe MichaelJ.Fox Foundationfor Parkinson’s DiseaseResearch, of which100% is dedicated to medicaltherapies and research fora cure.

PROVIDED PHOTOByFRISSONS

Chelsea Shannon

stages stages stages

frights

Atrioof spooky productions usherinfall

The in lights

Rising again to celebrate the season of All Hallows, there’sablood-sucking ballet, atwist on EdgarAllan Poe’shomage to the ruby-colored amontillado and a“sweet transvestite” with apenchant for tinkering around thelaboratory

Fangsenpointe

Does Vlad the Impaler really dance?

turns in his role as the count plus acast of morethan twodozen full-time and trainee artists.

ä Forshows in production, visit nola.com.

In the New Orleans BalletTheatre’s production of “Dracula,” he doesindeed.

Back by popular demand after its 2024 debut, the Oliver Halkowichchoreographed story basedonBram Stoker’snovel will jeté onto stage at the OrpheumTheater for four performances starting Friday

Piercing into the vein of the classic story,the ballet is told from Jonathan Harker’spoint of view as he struggles with Dracula and hisown inner turmoil. Principal dancer Josh Reynolds re-

The ballet is considered appropriatefor mostages and costumes are encouraged.

The show is at 8p.m. Friday, Saturday and Oct. 30 andat 2p.m. Saturday at the 129 Roosevelt Wayauditorium. Tickets start at $51. Visit nobt.org.

When Robbie goes rogue

Revolt and revenge arethe themes of apair of radio-style productions plannedbythe Delgado Community College Theatre Program, tapping into historicalstories for amodern-day fright.

“R.U.R. —Rossum’sUniversal Robots” was penned in 1921 by Karel Capekbut takes (took)place in 2000 Mass-produced artiﬁcial humans are hailedashelpmates for people, but they eventually revolt and lead to the nearextinctionofhumans (duh).

And for astory about revenge,the theatricalcompany offersPoe’s“The CaskofAmontillado” about aman who is buried alive because of some slight to theother character.

Kris LaMortedirectsboth programs, with Marcus Mateo, Zoe Labit, Dawn Chelette, Gabrielle Delatte, Ronald Luebbe, Sophie Condon, Meghan McDermott as Nana and Mason Joiner.

The shows will run at 7:30 p.m. Thursdaythrough Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sundayatthe Timothy K. BakerTheatre in Building 1, 615 City ParkAve Ticketsare $12. Visit dcc.edu.

‘Overatthe Frankenstein place’ Cutting Edge Center for theArtsin

Four performances of ‘Dracula’ by NewOrleans

is set for the OrpheumTheater.

Slidell wantstoalleviate the anticipationofseeing “The Rocky Horror Show” withits 2025 iteration of the campy cult classic.

The 1973 musical, by RichardO’Brien (butlerRiff Raff in theoriginalstage showand movie) in an homage to lowbudget science-ﬁction movies, features ahaplesscouple (SusanSarandon and Barry Bostwick) who stumble onto a castle with an alien mad scientist (Tim Curry) creating amuscleman and celebrating agathering of “transexuals from Transylvania,” their home planet. But Cutting Edge has morphedand crafted the showwithunique twists each year,with this year’sversion being

Portrayingsound designers called Foleyartistsin DelgadoCommunity CollegeTheatre’sradiostyleproduction of ‘R.U.R. —Rossum’s Universal Robots’ are Dawn Chelette, from left, Gabrielle Delatte, Ronald Luebbe and Sophie Condon.

PROVIDED PHOTO

“Insane Asylum.” There, Riff Raff is the head nurse and Dr.Frank-N-Furter, asurgeon.

Taking roles in the show are Chris Grimwood, Ashley O’Neil, Sean Grifﬁn, Megan Augustine, Earl Poole, Angie Jackson, Adam Rohr,Chloe Hansen, Jeffery Mashlan, Michael Tanner,Jessica Guastella,Tricia Kutz and Elizabeth Wheat.

The show is at 8p.m.Friday and Saturday plus Halloween at 767 Robert Blvd. in Slidell. Tickets start at $35. Visit cuttingedgetheater.com.

EmailVictor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTOByJAMESSHAWPHOTOGRAPHy

Ballet Theatre

PROVIDED ILLUSTRATION

Sean Griffinand Megan Augustine play

Brad andJanet in ‘TheRocky Horror Show’ at Cutting EdgeCenter for the Arts in Slidell.

Victor Andrews

events events events

THEKREWE OF BOO! HALLOWEENPARADEHAUNTSNEW ORLEANS WITH FLOATS,DANCERS,ASPECIAL TRIBUTE

It will be like Mardi Grasfor ghouls, ghostsand monsters,asthe annual Krewe of BOO! parade creeps through the FrenchQuarteronSaturday

This year’sannual Halloween procession will include14horrifying ﬂoats, with costumed riders tossing beads, toys, candy andsnacks.

For New Orleanskids, the Krewe of BOO! parade is amiracle of efﬁciency Theyjust stand on the curb and thetrickor-treatingcomes to them.

For fans of New Orleans’ marvelous Mardi Gras dance troupesand marching clubs, The Krewe of BOO! parade is afeast. Expect 40 groups the Rolling Elvi, Muff-A-Lottas and Amelia EarHawts, to name afew —all trickedout in dreadful seasonal costumes. We locals sometimes take this sort of street theater for granted. Truth is, there are no Rolling Elvi, Muff-A-Lottas or Amelia EarHawts anyplace else.

Krewe of BOO! captain BrianKern said that this year’sparadewill include atribute to Sidney Smith, founder of the Haunted History Tours company,who died in September.Smith was amajor supporter of the parade, which —unlike traditional Carnival parades is paid for with corporate sponsorship.

The Halloween parade began in 2008 amid Hurricane Katrina recovery period. FounderBlaine Kern produced it until 2010, whenit was discontinued. His son Brian Kern resurrected theevent in 2013. It is now a centerpiece of New Orleans’ Halloween season, drawing thousands.

The 2025 parade willfollow thesameroute as in recentyears. At the witching hour —6:30 p.m.—the haunted procession will set out on Elysian Fields Avenueinthe Marigny, rollthroughthe French Quarter on

STAFF FILEPHOTOSBySCOTT THRELKELD

Members of DiscoAmigos march in the Krewe of BOO! parade.

Decatur and North Petersstreets, detourright on Canal Street to Burgundy Street and back beforecontinuing into the Warehouse District for afew blocks on Tchoupitoulas Street, concluding at AndrewHiggins Boulevard. The parade is only part of the Krewe of BOO!’sweekend plans.Pre-parade events begin Friday with aRoyal Luncheon, second-line parade and happy hour at Pat O’Brien’s, concluding with the Captain’sParty.Tohelp shake off the cobwebs,Saturday starts with the New Orleans Zombie Run through theWarehouse District, followed by VIP viewing parties for nonriders during the parade and apost-parade costume bash calledThe Monster Mash. Visit kreweofboo.com for moreinformation.

EmailDoug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate. com.

NIGHTTERRORS

Doug MacCash

AREA PUMPKINPATCHES

Pumpkin patches have been popping up all over forHalloween, which is speeding towardus faster than youcan say “Boo!”

Here’salistofplaces whereyou just might ﬁnd the perfect pumpkin:

THEBATTURE PUMPKINPATCH: 25 Walnut St., NewOrleans. 11 a.m. to 9p.m. daily.batture.com

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: 5401 S. Claiborne Ave., New Orleans. 3p.m. to 7p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8p.m. Saturdays and1 p.m. to 7p.m.Sundays. fpcno.org/pumpkin-patch.

ST.ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: 1031 S. Carrollton Ave.,New Orleans. 3p.m. to 7p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9a.m. to 7p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. standrewsnola.com.

ST.AUGUSTINE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: 3412 Haring Road,Metairie. 11 a.m. to 7p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9a.m. to 7p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. staugustinesmet.com.

ST.BERNARD PARISH CATHOLIC CHURCH: 2805 Bayou Road, Kenilworth. 4p.m. to 6p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6p.m. Sundays.Admission is $3. stbernard-stbla.com.

ST.MARTIN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH: 2216 Metairie Road, Metairie. 3:30 p.m. to 6p.m. Mondays through Fridays and11a.m. to 5p.m. Saturdays andSundays. stmepiscopal.com.

ST.PAUL’SEPISCOPAL SCHOOL: 6249 Canal Blvd.,New Orleans. 3:30 p.m. to 6p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 3p.m. to 6p.m. Fridays,10a.m. to 6p.m.Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5p.m. Sundays. stpauls-lakeview.org.

ST.MARK’S CHURCH: 3245 Manhattan Blvd.,Harvey.10a.m. to 6p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 6p.m. Sundays.stmarksharvey.com/ community.

WOODLAND CHURCH: 5824 BerkleyDrive,Algiers. 11 a.m. to 7p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9a.m. to 5p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31.

THEGREATPUMPKINPATCH: 3412 Haring Road, Metairie. 11 a.m. to 7p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9a.m. to 7p.m. Saturdays andSundays through Oct. 31.

FILE PHOTO By DAVID NORMAND Pumpkin patches are afamily tradition.

500 drones set for choreographed aerial show at UNO

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Gentilly will buzz with 500 colorful, choreographed drones on Saturday, when the DroneArt Show takes to the night sky outside the University of New Orleans’ Lakefront Arena.

Drone choreography is a hightech entertainment medium in which small lighted helicopters hover in carefully controlled formations to produce translucent images in the night sky The audience for Saturday’s show can expect soaring birds, ballerinas and geometric shapes to materialize before their eyes.

The synchronized robotic spectacle will be accompanied by a live string performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”

and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” The 45-minute program is touted as the longest drone performance.

Audience members may choose between two viewing options.

Seating is available, but guests are also welcome to bring blankets and pillows and recline in the grass for a “picnic” view of the aerial show.

The DroneArt Show starts at 7:30 p.m. on the Festival Grounds, 6801 Franklin Ave.; audience members are encouraged to arrive early to ﬁnd the best views. Tickets start at $62 with children under 3 admitted free. For information and tickets, visit the Fever website.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

ART BEAT In this series, Lagniappe presents works from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator

Indigenous Peruvians saw themselves in devotional sculpture of Christ

BY ORLANDO HERNANDEZ YING Contributing writer

This masterpiece of Peruvian viceregal painting was made in the late 17th or early 18th century in one of the Indigenous workshops that proliferated in Cusco after the Inca painters declared their independence from the European-led painters’ guild.

The composition mimics the illusionistic recessed space of an architectural niche ﬂanked by opulent curtains that open to reveal a miraculous devotional sculpture of Christ’s ﬁrst fall on his way to Calvary.

Commonly known to local Cusqueños as El Señor del Ca-

The DroneArt Show, a high-tech entertainment event featuring 500 hovering, lighted drones, is coming to New Orleans on Saturday.

bildo, the articulated sculpture is venerated as the tutelary protector of the city alongside Taytacha Temblores, or the Lord of the Earthquakes, a cruciﬁed Christ associated with Wiracocha, the Inca telluric creator god.

In this painting, the artist recreates the parishioners’ viewpoint at close range through an optical illusion — trompe l’oeil — achieved by means of the brocaded curtains that ﬂank the niche of the altar inviting the viewer to explore that perspectival space around the sculpture of Christ as it rests on the altar table covered by a white laced tablecloth, ornamented with silver candlesticks and ﬂower vases.

The realistic space of the altar table, the proximity to the image, and its profound gaze directly connect the viewer with Christ’s agony

The work is an attestation of the deep devotion felt by Indigenous Cusqueños toward a devotional image in which they saw themselves represented.

This painting is featured in the exhibition “Painting Inca Heaven: Hanaq Pachap,” on view in the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Great Hall.

Orlando Hernández Ying is Lapis Curator of the Arts of the Americas at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

PROVIDED

PHOTO By FEVER

PROVIDED PHOTO By NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART

An unidentified artist of the Cusco school created ‘Lord of the Fall,’ or ‘El Señor del Cabildo,’ in the late 17th century.

Channing Tatumathis best in quirky ‘Roofman’

BY KATIE WALSH Tribune News Service (TNS)

Review

There’sconsiderable throwback appeal to “Roofman,” aquirky dramedy based on an unbelievable true story that mines the same groove as ﬁlms like Richard Linklater’s “Bernie” (2011) and Steven Soderbergh’s“The Informant!”(2009),featuring alead character you just can’t help but root for,despite the bafﬂingly bad choices he makes along the way

But because this comedic crime caper is helmed and co-written by Derek Cianfrance, who is known for his melodramatic weepies “Blue Valentine,” “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “The Light Between Oceans,” the effect of “Roofman” is far more poignant and tender than wacky andwild; the material itself is mind-boggling enough.

Channing Tatum stars as Jeff Manchester,aka the Roofman, awell-meaning but savant-like career criminal who robbed upward of 45 McDonald’slocations in the late 1990s by tearing holes in the roofs. The ﬁlm follows his time living for months in aToys RUswhile on thelam in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, in 2004.

Apolitearmed robber?

Cianfrance doesn’thave to push the humor,which unfoldsorganically, due to Manchester’sreputation as an exceedingly nice and politearmed robber,aninexplicable blend of traits that happens to be the bullseye of Tatum’s skillset as aperformer

As Jeff, and later,going by his alias “John Zorn,” Tatum is both easy charmer when he needs to be and weirdo loner.There’sacertain warmth, goodness and gooﬁness to Tatum’spersona that he and Cianfrance put to use in their portrait of Jeff.

Despite his many,many crimes, we have to believe that he’sdoing this for good, if misguided, reasons and that he truly doesn’tintend to hurt anyone. That’sperfectly illustrated in the opening scene where he gives his coat to a McDonald’smanager (Tony Revolori) as he locks the staff in awalk-in freezer

But Cianfrance also brings his skill

‘ROOFMAN’

HHH

STARRING: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, BenMendelsohn, Juno Temple, LaKeithStanfield

DIRECTOR: DerekCianfrance

MPA RATING: R(for language, nudity and brief sexuality)

RUNNING TIME: 2:06

HOWTOWATCH: In theaters

Channing Tatum stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Roofman.’

TNS PHOTO By / PARAMOUNT PICTURES DAVI RUSSO

with drawing out deep emotion to bear on this story as well. In someone else’s hands, this ﬁlm might tip over into slapstick territory,but Cianfrance’s tonalrestraint and focus on Jeffrey’s innerturmoil —his desire to simply provide for afamily —makes “Roofman” afar more moving piece than expected.

Channing Tatumexcels

This is one of Tatum’s best and most lived-in performances to date, with Cianfrance making use of his natural appeal and physicality,but also pushing him into more complex emotional waters. He is especially potent opposite Kirsten Dunst, who plays Leigh, aToys RUsemployee withwhom Jeffrey strikes up arelationship after meeting at alocal church.

Separated from his own family and children, Jeffrey attempts to ﬁll the hole in his heart with Leigh and her

daughters, furnishing the girls with stolen giftswhile falling for the single mom. Dunst and Tatum are terriﬁc together,particularly in moments where things are left unsaid, unspoken confessions, apologies and forgiveness coursing between them.

Formuch of the ﬁlm,Tatum’s performance is purely physical, wordless, while Jeffrey is alone, avoice-over providing context and reﬂection. Slimmed down and lithe, Tatum’spanther-like physicality showcases Jeffrey’spreternatural ability to master his environment through keen observation and sheer determination. One scene where he has to make aquick escape while stark naked is absolutely astonishing.

“Roofman” is predominantly aonemanshowcase for the full range of Tatum’stalents, but the entire ensemble is crucial for any good caper.

Dunst’s prowess pushes his own performance, while PeterDinklage of-

fers levity as the stern store manager Mitch. Ben Mendelsohn steps into the role of Jeffand Leigh’schipper pastor, which requires enthusiastic hymnsinging. Mendelsohn tackles this with gusto alongside Uzo Aduba as his wife.

Lakeith Stanﬁeld plays Jeff’sone friend and conﬁdant, amilitary buddy, with Juno Temple as his girlfriend.

These actors color in the world around Jeff,providing examples of how easily he is able to inveigle trusting strangers with abit of smooth talk, slipping into normal society and evading capture.

But Stanﬁeld in particular also serves as amoral compass, or at least adose of commonsense, offering ballast to the proceedings.

It would otherwise be too easy to justify Jeff’s actions, not as good choices, but the choices made by aperson who desperately wants to do good, but can only achieve it in abad way.

music music music

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

JOHN LEGEND

THURSDAY,SAENGER THEATRE

It’s anotherjam-packedweek forlivemusic in NewOrleans, especially in theclubs.

Contemporary R&B/soulsinger andpianist John Legend released his debut album,“Get Lifted,” onDec. 28,2004,his 26th birthday.Powered by thehit single “Ordinary People” andextensive contributions from another new artist/producer named Kanye West,“Get Lifted” sold more than2million copies. It also launched amultiplatform career for Legend that has seen him win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award,and cultivateavery nice side gig as acoach on the NBC singing competition “The Voice.”

Legend’scurrent tour is acelebration of the 20thanniversary of “Get Lifted.” For the ﬁrst time, he’splaying every song from the album. The setlistalso includes other hits from his catalog as well as asampling of the music, especially Philly souland neo-soul,thatinﬂuencedhim. The “Get Lifted 20thAnniversary Tour” stops at the Saenger Theatre on Thursday.Tickets are available starting at $121.

OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS

THURSDAY

Modern jazz guitar maestro Stanley Jordan plays the ﬁrstoftwo consecutive nights at the New OrleansJazz &Blues Market on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard; ticketsstart at $25.

New Orleans-based saxophonist Brad Walker,who has backed everyone from Sturgill Simpsonto a who’s who of local artists, celebrates therelease of his ﬁfthalbum, “A Sliver of Catharsis,” withshows at 7:30p.m.and 9:30 p.m.atSnug Harbor Jazz Bistro ($30).

After Kyle Roussel’ssolo piano turnatthe Maple Leaf Bar,drummer JohnnyVidacovich is joined by saxophonist Tony Dagradi and bassist Grayson Brockamp ($15 advance, $20 at the door).

FRIDAY

Blues-based guitarist Corey Harris, whooverthe course of his globetrotting career has collaborated with the likesofB.B.King, TajMahal, the Dave Matthews Band, Wilco and many others, holds court with his band for the ﬁrst of two consecutive nights at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and9:30 p.m. ($45).

TheWalrus,the “New Orleans Beatles experience,” stages its“Paul-aPalooza” showatthe Broadside, performingBeatles and Wings songs by Paul McCartney for a“fraction of the cost” of tickets to seeMcCartney next weekatthe Smoothie King Center.“Paul-a-Palooza” tickets are $20. Longtime Roadmasters drummer Wayne Maureau powers his Vieuxdoo Nouveau projectatthe Maple Leaf at 8p.m. ($15 advance, $20 door). Later, at 11 p.m.,the Leaf hostsa release party for TheQuickening’s new album “MoisterThanAnOyster” ($15 advance,$20 door).

Guitarist StanleyJordan is back for his second night at the New Orleans Jazz &Blues Market in Central City. Rock ’N’ Bowl presents SignalsFrom MSY: The Rush Experience,aNew Orleansbased Rush tribute band ($17).

Tipitina’shosts “Gimme Gimme Disco,” adance party inspired by ABBA ($23).

SATURDAY

Jazz vocalist Morgan James brings her Soul Remains Tour to the New Orleans Jazz &Blues Market in Central City; tickets start at $25. Miss Erica Falls sings funky soul and R&B at the Maple Leaf at 8p.m. ($15 advance, $20 at the door). She’s followed by Deltaphonic at 11 p.m. ($20 advance, $25 door).

ZOSO: TheUltimate Led ZeppelinExperience hits the Broadside as part of the tribute band’s30th anniversary tour ($25).

Erica Falls

John Legend

music usisic c

SATURDAY (continued)

New Orleans progressiverock/fusion band Woodenhead celebrates its50thanniversary with afree show at Chickie WahWah startingat9 p.m. Trombonist Mark Mullins andthe BoneramaHorns will also join in.

The Soul Rebels headline Tipitina’s, with Kota Dosa opening at 9p.m.($25)

Following afree 5p.m.showatSnug Harbor by acoustic guitarist John Rankin, the Corey Harris Band returns for itssecond night,with shows at 7:30p.m.and 9:30 p.m. ($45).

Rockin’ Dopsie Jr brings his high-energy showtoRock ’N’ Bowl ($17).

SUNDAY

Trumpeter Wendell Brunious leads the New Orleans Allstars for afree “Nickel-ADance” afternoon show at Snug Harbor from 3p.m. to 6p.m.At7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor,keyboardist JonCleary teams upwithpercussionist Pedro Segundo for the“Kitchen SinkConcerts” series ($35)

MONDAY

Following aNew Orleans Film Festival screening of the LucindaWilliams

‘BOOKER &BEYOND’ featuring KYLE ROUSSEL

THURSDAY,MAPLE LEAF BAR

The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in the 9th Ward’sMusicians’ Village has partnered with the Maple Leaf Bar for asolo piano concert series called “Booker &Beyond —The Professor TimPianoSeries: CelebratingNew OrleansPiano Traditions.”

Named in honor of the late New Orleans pianolegendJames Booker, the series was made possible by a bequest from Tim“Professor Tim”

documentary “Finding Lucinda” at the Broad Theater,Chickie WahWah hosts an after-party at 8:30 p.m. with Loose Cattle,Andrew Duhon, Paul Sanchez,Anna Moss, ISMAY, Kristin Diable, Shawn Williams and Gina Leslie all playing Williams’ songs. Advance tickets start at $25.

TUESDAY

Pianist Jesse McBride leads abirthday tribute to the late New Orleanssaxophonist,producer,arranger and composerHaroldBattiste at 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($30).

SunnySweeney is at Chickie WahWah ($20 plus fees).

WEDNESDAY

On Public Radio Music Day, WWNO 89.9 FM hosts abeneﬁt concert at the Broadsidefrom 5p.m. to 7p.m. featuring Big Sam’sFunky Nation.Tickets are $25.

An up-and-coming singer-songwriter named Paul McCartney returns to the SmoothieKing Center as part of his “Got Back Tour.” At press time, a limited number of veriﬁed resale sidestage upper-level seatswere still available for less than $100. Tickets in the lower bowl, however,were in the $400 to $600 range.

Allspach, alifelong New Orleans music fan and Maple Leaf regular

The series consists of amonthly concert at the Ellis Marsalis Center and the rebranded weekly Thursday evening solo piano series at theMaple Leaf. This Thursday’sfeatured pianist at the Leaf is Kyle Roussel, amember of both thePreservation Hall Jazz Bandand the modern jazz ensemble the Headhunters. Roussel released his own ambitious album, “Church of New Orleans,” earlier this year.His solo set at the Maple Leaf kicks off at 6p.m. Admission is $10.

Guitarists Jimmy Robinson and Layla Musselwhite team up for afree5p.m.show at Snug Harbor.Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis &the Uptown Jazz Orchestra takeover Snug’s stage at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($45).

Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.