The Advocate 11-17-2025

‘Everything under the sun’

Massive $4.9M Pointe Coupee cleanup project will improve drainage of bayous

BY HALEY MILLER

Staff writer

In Pointe Coupee Parish, Bayou Grosse Tete is the cleanest it’s been in decades.

On a tour of the bayou in earlier this month, the operations manager for the parish’s multimillion-dollar drainage improvement project maneuvered a mud boat through the shallow water of the bayou, pointing out the banks now cleared of obstructions like trees and storm debris.

Maintenance on this waterway and Bayou Cholpe is expected to improve drainage for two-thirds of the parish, which, thanks to the proximity of the Atchafalaya Basin and the Mississippi River, is prone to flooding, Parish President Major Thibaut said.

“We’re surrounded by levees,” Thibaut said. “Our drainage system has to work.”

Pointe Coupee Parish relies on the canals for drainage after significant rain events and day-to-day water level fluctuations. Over decades, trash, vegetation, logs and even animal carcasses have accumulated in the bayous, decreasing their water storage capacity

In August, the parish began the massive cleanup endeavor, financed

ABOVE: Cameron Daigle, operations manager with Curranco, explains the different kinds of litter dumped in the river during a tour of the Bayou Grosse Tete drainage cleanup on Tuesday.

LEFT: A tire is seen in the river during a tour of the Bayou Grosse Tete drainage cleanup.

Parish faces painful times after Thrive’s failure

‘Challenging’ campaign didn’t get base turnout Edwards needed

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

After it was apparent Saturday night that voters had rejected all three of his “Thrive” measures, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards addressed a crowd of supporters at a watch party with a mostly hopeful message.

“I am looking forward to what we’re going to do to get Baton Rouge on the track that it needs to be on,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but I’m up for it, I’m built for it and I’m excited about it.”

But after he finished making remarks, some of his city-parish employees slipped outside to wipe away tears. They knew their jobs were now in jeopardy Cuts and layoffs were already expected, but after Thrive failed Saturday night, the reality — and the severity of the parish budget problem sharpened considerably Despite support for Thrive among political players — nearly all Metro Council members endorsed it, as did both the parish Democratic and Republican parties and the mayors of Central, Zachary and St. George — Edwards and his team struggled to clearly

THRIVE, page 5A

Jim Bernhard, executive who changed Louisiana’s business landscape, dies at 71

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL and TYLER BRIDGES Staff writers

Jim Bernhard, a Baton Rouge-based business executive and civic leader who created and grew some of the most successful companies to come out of Louisiana, died Sunday after a brief illness, his family confirmed. He was 71.

Bernhard

During a career that spanned more than four decades, Bernhard was perhaps best known for founding and growing The Shaw Group from a pipe fabrication company into a publicly traded, industrial services powerhouse with a global footprint and a spot on the Fortune 500 list.

After selling the company in 2013, he founded Bernhard Capital Partners, a private equity firm that is

Businessman known for philanthropy across state ä See BERNHARD, page 4A

CORPORATEPARTNER GUEST

CELESTE JEFFERSON

Shell Corporation

Inaugural Jaguars Uncaged Building Beyond theBluff Mentor

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Cameron Daigle, left and Jake Morrento start the motor on a boat and maneuver it around before a tour of the Bayou Grosse Tete drainage cleanup in Pointe Coupee on Tuesday.

Iran says it is no longer enriching uranium

TEHRAN,Iran Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program.

Answering a question from an Associated Press journalist visiting Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered the most direct response yet from the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program following Israel and the United States’ bombing of its enrichment sites in June during a 12-day war

“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Araghchi said. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked.”

Asked what it would take for Iran to continue negotiations with the U.S. and others, Araghchi said Iran’s message on its nuclear program remains “clear.”

“Iran’s right for enrichment, for peaceful use of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is undeniable,” the foreign minister continued. “We have this right, and we continue to exercise that, and we hope that the international community, including the United States, recognize our rights and understand that this is an inalienable right of Iran And we would never give up our rights.”

Flood risk lingers after Calif. atmospheric river

LOS ANGELES A powerful atmospheric river had mostly moved through California after causing at least six deaths and dousing much of the state, but lingering thunderstorms brought the risk of mudslides in areas of Los Angeles County that were recently ravaged by wildfire.

Flood advisories remained in place through Sunday afternoon for Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, where localized showers were still possible after heavy downpours on Friday and Saturday

“Due to the abundant rainfall the past couple of days, it will not take as much rainfall to cause additional flooding/rockslide conditions,” the National Weather Service said in a Sunday update.

Authorities on Sunday were still searching for a 5-year-old girl who was swept into the ocean by 15-foot waves at a state beach in Monterey County on Friday

The girl’s father, 39-year-old Yuji Hu, of Calgary, Alberta, was killed while trying to save his daughter, sheriff’s officials said. In Sutter County north of Sacramento, a 71-year-old man died Friday after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Off the coast of San Diego, a wooden boat believed to have been ferrying migrants toward the U.S. from Mexico capsized in stormy seas, leaving at least four people dead and four hospitalized, the Coast Guard said Saturday

Hundreds of sheep head through German city

BERLIN Pedestrians in the GermancityofNurembergmadeway for hundreds of bleating sheep on Sunday as a flock of the animals was herded through downtown on its way to its winter quarters.

Curious bystanders, cellphones in hand to capture the sight, lined the streets as the roughly 600 animals in shepherd Thomas Gackstatter’s flock hurried past in what has become a popular annual spectacle.

The sheep were on their way to winter pastures west of Nuremberg from the city, where Gackstatter’s sheep and other herds are used in various meadows over the summer to keep the grass neat.

It’s a trip of just over 6 miles, which takes the flock through the central market square, the Hauptmarkt, German news agency dpa reported. Gackstatter says that, as far as he knows, Nuremberg is the only place in Germany where sheep cross the central square.

Ahead of their passage, city authorities asked people to keep the route clear and keep dogs away from the sheep. Drones weren’t allowed.

Border Patrol touts N.C. arrests

Charlotte leaders object to DHS

actions

BY SOPHIA TAREEN, BRIAN WITTE and MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

A top Border Patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.

The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates.

Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, took to social media to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs “criminal illegal aliens,” meaning people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records That included one of a man with an alleged history of drunk driving convictions.

“We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Char-

lotte so he can’t continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,” Bovino wrote on X.

The effort was dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web” as a play on the title of a famous children’s book that isn’t about North Carolina.

The flurry of activity prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and what agents’ tactics — criticized elsewhere as aggressive and racist — would look like in North Carolina. On Saturday, at least one U.S. citizen said he was thrown to the ground and briefly detained.

At Camino, a nonprofit

group that offers services to Latino communities, some said they were too afraid to leave their homes to attend school, medical appointments or work. A dental clinic the group runs had nine cancellations on Friday, spokesperson Paola Garcia said.

“Latinos love this country They came here to escape socialism and communism, and they’re hard workers and people of faith,” Garcia said. “They love their family, and it’s just so sad to see that this community now has this target on their back.”

Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered lawsuits over the use of force, including widespread deployment of chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both cities

accused agents of inflaming community tensions.

Federal agents fatally shot one suburban Chicago man during a traffic stop.

Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their tactics appropriate for growing threats on agents.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, did not respond to inquiries about the Charlotte arrests. Bovino’s spokesman did not return a request for comment Sunday Elsewhere, DHS has not offered many details about its arrests. In the Chicago area, the agency only provided names and details on a handful of its more than 3,000 arrests in the region

from September to last week. U.S. citizens were detained during several operations. Dozens of protesters were arrested. By Sunday reports of CBP activity around Charlotte were “overwhelming” and difficult to quantify, Greg Asciutto, executive director of the community development group CharlotteEast, said in an email.

“The past two hours we’ve received countless reports of CBP activity at churches, apartment complexes and a hardware store,” he said.

City Council memberelect JD Mazuera Arias said federal agents appeared to be focused on churches and apartment buildings.

“Houses of worship. I mean, that’s just awful,” he said. “These are sanctuaries for people who are looking for hope and faith in dark times like these and who no longer can feel safe because of the gross violation of people’s right to worship.”

Two people were arrested during a small protest Sunday outside a DHS office in Charlotte and taken to a local FBI office, said Xavier T. de Janon, an attorney who was representing them. He said it remained unclear what charges they faced.

DHS said it was focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.

Netanyahu says there can be no Palestinian state

U.N. to vote on resolution that leaves door open to statehood

BY MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press

TEL AVIV Israel Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state, a day before the U.N. Security Council plans to vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution on Gaza that leaves the door open to Palestinian independence

Netanyahu has long ruled out Palestinian independence, asserting that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders But as the U.S. attempts to push forward with its Gaza ceasefire proposal, he faces heavy international pressure to show flexibility.

The Security Council is expected to vote on a U.S. proposal for a U.N. mandate that would establish an international stabilization force in Gaza despite opposition from Russia, China and some Arab countries.

The U.S., under pressure from countries expected to contribute troops to the force, revised the resolution with stronger language about Palestinian self-determination. It now

says that President Donald Trump’s plan may create a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood A rival Russian proposal uses even stronger language in favor of Palestinian statehood.

The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict for the long term.

Netanyahu’s hard-line governing partners have urged him to take a tough

Zelenskyy: Ukraine working on prisoner exchange with Russia

BY SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations

“We are counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.” Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges. He said the parties

agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow did not immediately comment.

The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic.

Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalize procedural and organizational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home — at the family table and next to their relatives.” In other developments energy infrastructure

was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.

Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.

Russia fired a total of 176 drones and one missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralized 139 drones.

stand on the calls for Palestinian independence. Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s opposition to a Palestinian state has “not changed one bit.”

The Israeli leader added that he has been staving off any advances toward a Palestinian state for decades, and is not threatened by external or internal pressure. “I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone,” he said.

That pressure increased during the war in Gaza. In September, after the U.K.,

Australia and Canada formally recognized a Palestinian state, Netanyahu blasted the countries for proffering a “prize” to Hamas.

Netanyahu also noted Sunday that Trump’s plan calls for Gaza to be demilitarized and Hamas to be disarmed. “Either this will happen the easy way, or it will happen the hard way,” he said. Meanwhile, Israel’s military said its troops on Sunday killed someone who crossed into territory they control in northern Gaza and “posed an immediate threat to them.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIK VERDUZCO

People protest against federal immigration enforcement Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

Palestinians grab sacks of flour from a moving truck carrying World Food Programme aid as it drives Saturday through Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Lawmaker: Epstein files bill may get GOP support

Massie says many House Republicans will back measure

BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON Lawmakers

seeking to force the release of files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are predicting a big win in the House this week with a “deluge of Republicans” voting for their bill and bucking the GOP leadership and President Donald Trump, who for months have disparaged their effort.

The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison.

Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted.

“There could be 100 or more” votes from Republicans, said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., among the lawmakers discussing the legislation on Sunday news show appearances. “I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote.”

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a

R-Ky., speaks on Sept.

introduced the discharge petition

will get ‘100 or more’ Republican votes

discharge petition in July to force a vote on their bill. That is a rarely successful tool that allows a majority of members to bypass House leadership and force a floor vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, had panned the discharge petition effort and sent members home early for their August recess when the GOP’s legislative agenda was upended in the clamoring for an Epstein vote.

Democrats also contend the seating of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was stalled to delay her becoming the 218th member to sign the petition and gain the threshold needed to force a vote. She became the 218th signature

moments after taking the oath of office last week.

Massie said Johnson, Trump and others who have been critical of his efforts would be “taking a big loss this week.”

“I’m not tired of winning yet, but we are winning,” Massie said.

Johnson seems to expect the House will decisively back the Epstein bill.

“We’ll just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide,” adding that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been releasing “far more information than the discharge petition, their little gambit.”

The vote comes at a time when new documents are raising fresh questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president Johnson said Trump “has nothing to hide from this.”

“They’re doing this to go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not,” Johnson said.

Trump’s association with Epstein is well-established and the president’s name was

included in records that his own Justice Department released in February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in information from the sex-trafficking investigation

Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise. Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, also had many prominent acquaintances in political and celebrity circles besides Trump.

Khanna voiced more modest expectations on the vote count than Massie. Still, Khanna said he was hoping for 40 or more Republicans to join the effort.

“I don’t even know how involved Trump was,” Khanna said “There are a lot of other people involved who have to be held accountable.”

Khanna also asked Trump to meet with those who were abused. Some will be at the Capitol on Tuesday for a news conference, he said.

Massie said Republican lawmakers who fear losing Trump’s endorsement because of how they vote will have a mark on their record, if they vote “no,” that could hurt their political prospects in the long term.

“The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency,” Massie said. On the Republican side,

three Republicans joined with Massie in signing the discharge petition: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Trump publicly called it quits with Greene last week and said he would endorse a challenger against her in 2026 “if the right person runs.” Greene attributed the fallout with Trump as “unfortunately, it has all come down to the Epstein files.” She said the country deserves transparency on the issue and that Trump’s criticism of her is confusing because the women she has talked to say he did nothing wrong. “I have no idea what’s in the files. I can’t even guess. But that is the questions everyone is asking, is, why fight this so hard?” Greene said. Even if the bill passes the House, there is no guarantee that Senate Republicans will go along. Massie said he just hopes Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., “will do the right thing.”

“The pressure is going to be there if we get a big vote in the House,” Massie said, who thinks “we could have a deluge of Republicans.”

Massie appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson was on “Fox News Sunday,” Khanna spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Greene was interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

BY RIO YAMAT and JOSH FUNK Associated Press

The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it is lifting all restrictions on commercial flights that were imposed at 40 major airports during the country’s longest government shutdown. Airlines could resume their regular flight schedules beginning 5 a.m. Monday, the agency said.

The announcement was made in a joint statement by

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

Citing safety concerns as staffing shortages grew at air traffic control facilities during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to limit traffic in the skies. It had been in place since Nov 7, affecting thousands of flights across the country

Impacted airports included large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The flight cuts started at

4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvements in air traffic controller staffing since the record 43-day shutdown ended.

The FAA statement said an FAA safety team recommended the order be rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”

The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of

Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artifacts from its vast ethnographic collection to Indigenous peoples from Canada, as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture in the Americas.

noncompliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order The agency is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.

Cancellations hit their highest point Nov 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in parts of the country But conditions began to improve throughout the week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.

The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Duffy has said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.

The artifacts are expected to land in Montreal on Dec. 6 and be taken first to the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, which will arrange for them to be “reunited with their originating communities,” said Pomeline Martinoski, director of communications for the Canadian bishops conference.

For a century, the items were part of the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic col-

Pope Leo XIV gave the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said it would return the items to Indigenous communities “as soon as possible.” A joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church described the pieces as a “gift” and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.

lection, known today as the Anima Mundi museum. The collection has been a source of controversy for the Vatican amid the broader museum debate over the restitution of cultural goods taken from Indigenous peoples during colonial periods.

Most of the items in the Vatican collection were sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition in the Vatican gardens.

The Vatican insists the items were “gifts” to Pope Pius XI, who wanted to celebrate the church’s global reach, its missionaries and the lives of the Indigenous peoples they evangelized.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

Rep. Thomas Massie,

17 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Massie, who

to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, predicts the measure

in the House.

BY BEN FINLEY and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. President Donald Trumpsaid Sunday that the U.S. “may be havingsome discussions” with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro,apotential diplomatic avenue as the U.S. further builds up its military presence near the South Americancountry with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier

Trump didn’toffer details about thepossible discussions with Maduro, but he said “Venezuela would like to talk.”

The development comes as the Trumpadministration has carried out aseries of militarystrikes against vessels suspectedoftransporting drugs. Thearrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships, announced by theNavyina statement, marks amajor moment in what the administrationinsists is acounterdrug operation but has been seen as an escalatingpressure tactic against Maduro.

When asked Sunday what he meant when he said Maduro wants to talk, Trump simply said: “What does it mean? Youtell me, Idon’t

BERNHARD

Continued from page1A

nowone of the largest in the Gulf South with more than $5.5 billion in assets under management and 21 companies across the country in the energyservices, industrial and utilities sector

Along the way,Bernhard played aprominentrole in state Democratic Party politics, engagedinsouth Louisiana civic and charitable causes, and was involvedin the lives of his five children and grandchildren.

“Weare heartbroken by the unexpected passing of Jim Bernhard,” saidJeff Jenkins, who co-founded Bernhard Capital Partners and worked with Bernhard for 27 years.

“Jim changed the business landscape of Louisiana like no one else. He created jobs, built companiesand opened doors for families across our state in waysthat will be felt for generations.” Jenkins added: “He was also one of the most generous people Ihave ever known,always helping others, without any desirefor attention or recognition.”

Gov.Jeff Landry remembered Bernhard as one of Louisiana’s“most dynamic and visionary business leaders.”

“His hard work built companies that created jobs, strengthened our economy, and showcased the very best of Louisiana,” Landry said in astatement. “Louisiana has lost agiant,but Iknowhis legacy will endure for generations.”

‘Tough to sell’

James Mitchell Bernhard Jr.was born April 9, 1954, in Baton Rouge but raisedin

know.”

“I’ll talk to anybody,” he addeda fewmomentslater. “We’ll seewhat happens.”

Venezuela’sgovernment didn’t immediatelyreplytoarequestfor comment

TheFord roundsoff the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the “Operation Southern Spear” mission includes nearly a dozenNavy ships and about 12,000 sailorsand Marines

Thecarrier’s arrival cameasthe military announcedits latest deadly strike on asmall boat it claims was engaged in ferrying illegal drugs.The military’sSouthernCommand postedavideo on X on Sunday showing the boat being blown up, anattack it said took place Saturday in international watersofthe eastern Pacific Oceanand killed three men. The military didnot immediately respond to arequestfor more information.

Sunday morning, theNavy said.

Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warshipsto“protect our nation’ssecurity and prosperityagainst narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.”

Adm. Alvin Holsey,the commander who oversees the Caribbeanand LatinAmerica, said in astatement that theAmerican forces “stand ready to combat the transnational threatsthat seek to destabilizeour region.”

Sinceearly September,such strikes by the U.S. in theCaribbean and eastern Pacific have now killed at least 83 people in 21 attacks.

The carrierstrike group, which includes squadronsoffighterjets andguided-missile destroyers, transitedthe Anegada Passage near theBritish Virgin Islands on

Lafayette, where his grandfather had started Bernhard Mechanical in 1919.Years later,the company would become one of Bernhard Capital’sportfolio assets. He graduated from LSU in 1976 with adegree in constructionmanagementand joined SunlandServices, a pipe fabrication company In 1987, he ventured outon his own, acquiring the assets of apipe fabrication company out of bankruptcy and founding TheShaw Group. Known for his tireless work ethic, he grew the company over the next 25 years into one of Louisiana’s largest and bestknown, taking it public in the early 2000s.

At the timeofits sale to CB&I in 2013, TheShaw Group had $5.9 billion in revenues and27,000 employees, including 4,000 in Louisiana.

The ShawGroup was one of Louisiana’sfew Fortune 500 companies at thetime— today it haseven fewer —and in the early 2000s, Bernhard built agleaming corporate headquarters tower on Essen Lane in Baton Rouge, visible from Interstate 10, which became apoint of pride for Baton Rouge and thestate.

During a2018 radiointerview on “Talk Louisiana,” host JimEngsterasked Bernhard whether it was tough for him to sell TheShaw Group, a company he started with two others and $50,000.

“In apublic arena, when someone offers you a75% premium over thevalue,you either sell thecompany to them or they get anew CEO,” he said. Nonetheless, headded, “It was tough to sell.”

As significant as TheShaw Groupwas forLouisiana’s economy and reputation,Bernhard’smore recentventure hasbeen equallyimportant. In 2013, hefounded Bernhard

Holsey,who will retire next month after just a year on the job, saidthe strike group’sdeployment is “a critical step in reinforcing ourresolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safetyofthe American Homeland.”

In Trinidadand Tobago, which is only 7miles from Venezuela at its closestpoint, government officials said troops have begun “training exercises” with the U.S.military that will run through much of the week.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobersdescribed the joint exercises as the second in lessthan a monthand said they areaimed at tackling violent crimeonthe island nation, which has become a

Capital Partners with Jenkins anda handful his former top executives from The Shaw Group. Thefirm beganwith asingle investment fund and four companiesfocusednarrowly on industrialservices.

In theyears since,Bernhard Capital has launched fouradditionalfunds that have raised$5.5 billionfrom large, institutional investors andcreated dozens of other companies, some of which it has since sold, in theenergy services, industrial, environmental services and utility sector

It currently has 21 companies under management and is the largest private equity firm between Houston and Atlanta. It has been listed amongthe largest private equityfirmsinthe world and hassomeofthe highest returnsinthe U.S

TimBarfield, whoworked underBernhard at The Shaw Group in theearly 2000s, remembered him as apowerful force in the lives of many business leaders today

“He providedopportunities to me and many others that changedthe trajectories of ourlives,” saidBarfield, who went on to headCSRS in BatonRouge. “He was so generous to our community and state. May he rest in peace.”

‘Louisiana committed’

While the owner of amajor business, Bernhardchaired Kathleen Blanco’sgubernatorial campaign in 2003 and became chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party in January 2005 while she was governor He resignednine months later after Hurricane Katrina devastated metro New Orleans.Shaw secured contractstobecomeanimportantplayer in therebuilding effort. Still, he remained an active

stopover point for drug shipments headed to Europe and North America. The prime ministerhas been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military strikes.

The exercises will include Marines from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit whohave been stationed aboardthe Navy ships thathave been looming off Venezuela’scoast for months Venezuela’sgovernment has described the training exercisesasan act of aggression. It had no immediatecomment Sundayonthe arrival of the aircraft carrier

Meanwhile, ArmySecretary Dan Driscollsaid Sunday that U.S. troops have been training in Panama, underscoring the administration’sincreasing focus on Latin America.

“We’re reactivating our jungle school in Panama. We would be ready to act on whatever” Trump andDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed, he told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The administration hasinsisted that thebuildup of American forces in the region is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it hasreleased no evidence to support itsassertions that those killed in the boats were “narcoterrorists.”

Trumphas indicated military action would expand beyond strikes by sea, saying the U.S. would “stop thedrugs coming in by land.”

On Friday,Trump was asked by

force in Louisiana Democratic politics and toyed withrunning for governor in 2015 and2019. He deferred to fellow Democrat John Bel Edwards, whowon both elections.

In a“Talk Louisiana” interviewin2018, Bernhard said people often asked him to run for governor,saying he was “the perfect candidate” because he had the abilityto fund the campaign himself. He didn’tdescribe his politicalapproachinpartisan terms. Instead, he said, “We need to work to solve problems, to solve issues. Let’s work together,compromise and move the ball forward.”

Bernhardsaid he had plenty of offerstoset up shopout-

reporters if he had made up his mind on what he intendedtodo aboutVenezuela.Hedid notoffer details but said, “I sort of have made up my mind.”

The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers to pressure and deter aggression by other nationsbecause theirwarplanes can strike targets deep inside another country.Some experts say the Ford is ill-suited to fighting cartels, but it could be an effective instrument of intimidation for Maduro in apush to get him to step down.

SecretaryofState MarcoRubio says the UnitedStates does not recognizeMaduro,who was widely accused of stealing last year’s election, as Venezuela’slegitimate leader.Rubio hascalledVenezuela’sgovernment a“transshipment organization” that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs. Rubio said in astatement released Sunday evening that the State Department intends to designate Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, aforeign terrorist organization. Rubio said the cartel is headed by Maduro and other high-ranking members of hisgovernment andisamong those “responsible forterrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the UnitedStates andEurope.”Whenthe designation takes effect on Nov.24, it will be a crime to provide “materialsupport” to the cartel or its members.

side of Baton Rouge but said he stayed because he loved the city and LSU, his alma mater He said his philosophy was “Baton Rouge proudand Louisiana committed.”

Philanthropy

Bernhard was knownfor his philanthropy across the state, though muchof it was behind the scenes.

Oneprominent exception wasThe Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge, a transformative project that helped revitalizethe state capital’s downtown two decades ago. The Shaw Group contributed $4 millionto help fund the building’sconstruction.

Bernhard is survived by his wife,DanaBernhard, andhis children, Benjamin Bernhard (Jenna), Michael Bernhard (Rachel), Patrick Bernhard (Amelie), Kathryn Gerry (John Gerry) and Tres Bernhard; andeight grandchildren, Ella Bernhard, James Michael Bernhard IV,Blake Bernhard,Violet Bernhard, Jack Gerry, Remi Gerry,Sloane Gerry and Ainsley Bernhard.

“Jim’sgreatest legacy is his love for Dana, his childrenand grandchildren,” Jenkins said. “Everything he built and gave came from adeep commitment to his family.Our thoughts and prayers are with them.” Arrangements are pending.

PROJECT

Continued from page 1A

through capital outlay funds from the Louisiana Legislature. The undertaking includes a 14.5-mile stretch of Bayou Grosse Tete and a 3.5-mile stretch of Bayou Cholpe. It’s expected to be completed in summer 2026.

Phase 2 of the project will focus on cleaning up Johnson Bayou. All told, maintenance on the waterways will cost $4.9 million.

“These drainage projects are probably, without a doubt, the most significant drainage projects that we have had in decades,” Thibaut said.

The firm working on the project, Dynamic Group based in Baton Rouge, uses construction equipment to clear the banks of vegetation and pick up hazardous obstructions like dead animal matter. They collect smaller floating trash in the boat. It’s an arduous process that can be quickly undone by people deciding to litter

over the side of the bridge, operations manager Cameron Daigle said as the boat narrowly avoided a deer carcass “They dump everything off the bridge,” Daigle said. “My

communicate to voters

what “Thrive” was or why it was important, political insiders said.

Among the voters who did understand it, some saw it as an attack on their beloved library system or an increase in taxes that didn’t address the parish’s real financial issues.

The margins were narrower than some expected, but Edwards — a coach at heart — knows a loss is a loss. And on Saturday night, all three of his Thrive propositions lost. Now, the library has no tax base to fund its operations in 2026. And Edwards is left to grapple with a major budget gap that is expected to require hundreds of layoffs.

‘The worst of all worlds’ Black voters had a relatively high turnout in early voting, and the numbers show they were largely against all three Thrive measures, said Baton Rouge-based political analyst John Couvillon.

“That vote only went about 35% for the tax proposal,” he said about early Black voters “That was kind of the challenge that the mayor-president had in getting the tax passed.”

For Thrive to have passed, Couvillon said he needed to avoid getting blown out among Black voters while also getting a respectable majority from both moderate and conservative White voters. None of those three things happened.

While the Metro Council is made up of seven White Republicans, only three of those districts — 3, 11 and 12, made up of majorityWhite areas of Highland Avenue, St. George and Gardere — voted to approve Thrive.

“In the conservative precincts that helped put Mayor-President Sid Ed-

wards over the top in the December runoff, he really needed a robust vote from those areas,” Couvillon said. “But he basically split the conservative vote 50-50 So, what you had happen was really the worst of all worlds for somebody trying to pass something like this.”

Edwards could not get robust turnout among his voter base, Couvillion said, and at the same time many of the precincts who voted against it did so by a 2 to 1 margin

In total, 53% of the parish voted against the rededication and renewal of the library system’s funding, 52% voted against Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control’s rededication and 51% voted against the Council on Aging’s Thrive proposition.

Mason Batts, executive director for Edwards’ office, said the close margin on the early vote gave him hope early in the evening. But from there, everything began to trend the other way

“Once I saw the traditional White precincts coming in at the same rate as traditional Black precincts, and the margins at which they were coming in at, I pretty much knew at that point that we weren’t going to be able to get there,” Batts said. “There was just an onslaught of Black votes against it.”

A tough message

Batts, who served as Edwards’ campaign manager in last year’s mayoral race, said there was an inherent difficulty in campaigning for Thrive.

“It was challenging simply because of the fact that it was complicated,” Batts said. “I’m not sure of the last time something of this magnitude has been tried in the city-parish.”

Though it was branded “Thrive,” those words never appeared on the ballot.

As Edwards’ team pushed to fill rooms and take the time to educate voters on what Thrive was, other

headlines may have presented setbacks that hindered their efforts.

“I think if the election were held three weeks ago, we probably would have won,” Batts said “Obviously, there was a myriad of factors that came down towards the final couple of weeks that just all came against us there at the end.”

On Oct. 28, text messages from Edwards surfaced that appeared to show him strategizing with a political consultant to delay efforts to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to Baton Rouge until after the Thrive election.

“I think you can make an argument that there were externalities that hurt it, such as the texts that got revealed, and talking about layoffs and all that,” Couvillon said. “That, to me, is the kind of thing that you do not want to have as background noise when you’re trying to pass something.”

But Couvillion also said Thrive supporters could have better communicated why to vote “yes.”

“I don’t think there was really adequate countermessaging to provide a rationale for why people should vote for it,” he said.

Some political insiders point to a small but telling detail that captured Thrive’s muddled messaging — and hinted at why one of Edwards’ first major initiatives never got off the ground.

A few weeks before election day, observant residents might have noticed some last-minute modifications to many of Edwards’ “Thrive” campaign signs throughout the city

A thin red strip was tacked onto them: “Vote ‘yes’ on all three propositions.”

Until that last-minute change, made close to the start of early voting, the signs had shown only platitudes: “Together we will Thrive. One vote, one voice, one team.”

Cameron Daigle, operations manager with Curranco, leans forward to try to get the boat unstuck from debris in shallow water during a tour of the Bayou Grosse Tete drainage cleanup in Pointe Coupee on Tuesday.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

will be working and stuff just starts coming down, deers and hogs and tires, everything under the sun.”

Rough weeks ahead

The 2026 budget Edwards presented to the Metro Council earlier this month came with 12% cuts to all city-parish departments except for police and fire. If approved, it would mean about 200 layoffs, along with the elimination of about 220 unfilled positions.

The tears at Edwards’ watch party Saturday night foreshadowed what’s ahead — on Monday, city-parish departments will be handed notices to begin assembling their layoff plans.

“We don’t intend to lay anyone off before the holidays, but notices will go out tomorrow,” Batts said Sunday. “They’ll begin talking to their employees who may be affected.”

If Thrive had passed, some of those job cuts might have been avoided, as it would have generated more than $20 million in additional annual revenue for

the city-parish general fund — which pays employee salaries.

“This is going to be a tough couple of weeks, and, really a couple of months,” Batts said. “As we go ahead with the layoff plan, we’ll need to be wrapped up with it by the end of the first quarter of next year That’s what we’re looking at right now.”

Mosquito Abatement and the Council on Aging were not up for tax renewals until next year but the library’s funding stops at the end of 2025.

Library officials said they plan to operate off their fund balance which sits around $100 million — in 2026 before going back to voters next year for a property tax to fund them in 2027.

District 12 council member Jen Racca said she expects 220 or more city-parish employees to lose their jobs in the coming weeks

Daigle said the maintenance in Pointe Coupee is only a “Band-Aid” unless bordering parishes also begin cleanup on their own waterways.

“If the next parish doesn’t want to keep going until the true outfall, which is the Atchafalaya, the problem is not solved,” Daigle said.

Phase two of the project will address this issue, Thibaut said, by partnering with the Upper Delta Soil & Water Conservation District to clear out canals in West Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes. Approval on that phase is pending an amended permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Thibaut.

“Anytime we can do anything to open up our waterways and allow water to travel faster, more efficient, smoother, it’s going to relieve some areas that have either flooded in the past or are susceptible to flooding if we get an unexpected huge rain event,” Thibaut said.

and months. While it is a tough reality, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising, she said. As last year’s cuts presented a partial fix to the lost tax revenue related to the city of St. George’s incorporation, this year’s cuts see it in full.

“We can’t all pretend like this came out of the blue and no one knew it was going to be happening,” Racca said. “This is not a surprise.”

Thrive might have eased that burden, she said, but now there’s nothing left to do but make some tough decisions.

“Thrive was the interim fix for us so we could work on bigger issues that we foresaw,” Racca said. “The interim fix is gone now. So we’re starting from scratch, and that’s where the cuts happen.”

Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

guys

Baby Closet opens for those in need

Donations sought for distribution

BY TORI BONIN LSU

Beyond the doors of the Jewel Newman Community Center is a closet with walls lined with shelves of baby formula, BandAids, thermometers, diapers, baby food, first aid kits, children’s Tylenol and more — all waiting to be packaged and distributed to families within the north Baton Rouge community

It is called the Baby Closet, an initiative of the community center Distributions are held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of each month.

To receive services, community members must go to the center at 2013 Central Road and fill out an application The community center then provides products tailored to each person’s needs

“The community center is for us, the community,” said Dina Johnson, the center’s executive director. “It’s a resource for anybody, for the food bank and baby closet.” Johnson said distributions from the Baby Closet are not based on income

“It’s based on if you have a child; let us help you give you a break financially,” she said.

Johnson and her team manage the closet and distributions They constantly reorganize and move products around to make room for donations, according to Johnson The Baby Closet supports more than 100 families, Johnson said, but the center hopes to grow that number with donations. The center recently expanded the closet’s hours from half to full days to make it more accessible to working parents.

“We are always open to any other donors that would love to collaborate with us or sponsors or anything of that nature that would also like to join in with us to help make it more bountiful and visible,” Johnson said. The closet has several types of formulas, including Enfamil EnfaCare, Nutricia Neocate, goat milk formula, plant-based formula and more. It has more than 50 cans of Similac Sensitive and more than 60 of Similac Advance. Johnson said, however, that the Baby Closet accepts far more than formula and disposable diapers. Almost anything that has to do with babies will be accepted, she said.

“We take thermometers, hygiene for babies, including nail clippers,” she noted “We just got some air freshener that we passed out, and we got some lotions for the babies in the last delivery from the food bank.” Also needed are baby clothes up to toddler size.

Johnson emphasized the financial impact the closet can have on families. One can of formula can cost up to $60, and families can receive up to a month’s supply This could save families up to $300 a month.

“What we want to do is ease that financial strain, because other things stem from relationships under financial strain. If we can keep them stabilized and get everybody in a comfortable place by helping them, the community will stabilize,” Johnson said.

This story was reported and written by a student with the support of the nonprofit Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T MacArthur foundations

METRO NEWS

Traffic all around

Optimism continues in UL president search

Committee names, meeting dates still unknown

BY MEGAN WYATT and ASHLEY WHITE Staff writers

After nearly three months with no public movement on finding a permanent president to lead the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the board that oversees the campus made some progress last week.

The University of Louisiana system board announced Thursday that its members would create a presidential search committee, though names of the committee members and meeting dates are still unknown.

Still, the board’s decision to hold a search led to some optimism from faculty and state lawmakers after initial reports that the board planned to forgo a search and install Vice President of Research Ramesh Kolluru as president without input from faculty students or others.

The board instead named Kolluru as interim president while they said they will search for a permanent one.

Leah Orr president of the UL Faculty Senate and head of the English department, attended Thursday’s meeting and said she was glad to hear a search will happen. Still, she noted the lack of open discussion — the UL system board spent an hour in a closed-door executive session that they said was to “discuss personnel matters” under an agenda item related to the search.

“The Faculty Senate is really pleased to hear that there’s going to be a search and that it’s going to involve faculty,” she said. “We’re also really pleased to hear that the new interim president is prioritizing the academic program and the needs of faculty and students.”

State Sen. Brach Myers, RLafayette, also attended the Thursday meeting but arrived after the board entered into executive session to discuss the presidential search out of public view

“I was sort of surprised, like, ‘What’s going on?’” Myers said.

“I thought they were just starting late when I walked in.”

the process evolved.” When pressed on whether that meant the board’s previous plan was to make an appointment sans search, Kolluru deflected. Kolluru said he received a request Nov 10 from UL system President Rick Gallot to submit his materials for consideration for the position. When asked about that request, Gallot also deflected.

“I’m not able to speak about personnel matters like that,” Gallot said in an interview after the meeting. “I think the best evidence of the result occurred here in the open meeting (Thursday).”

During the meeting, board Chair Mark Romero said the board would confirm “a great group of community leaders and individuals that have a vested interest in seeing this university succeed.”

He offered no details on when that would be. A UL system spokesperson did not return a request for clarification before publication.

Myers studied business at UL, and his father Keith Myers, also sits on the board. The younger Myers said he believes the board made the right decision by announcing that a search committee would look for the university’s next president. As interim president, Kolluru replaces Jaimie Hebert, who took over as interim in August. Hebert moved into the role after the resignation this summer of longtime UL President Joseph Savoie.

Hebert asked the board Thursday to return to his position as provost and recommended that they move Kolluru into the interim role.

“I talked to Jaimie after, and I talked to Ramesh after,” Brach Myers said. “And I didn’t feel like there was any kind of tension or that Jaimie was coerced into that or anything. He seemed genuine.”

Beth Stauffer a member of the UL chapter of the American Association of University Professors, described the past week as “a bit like whiplash.”

She watched Thursday’s meeting of the UL system board online.

“We’re all pleased that there was not the appointment of a permanent president without a search,” she said. “That is an

outcome that we wanted to see, and now I think the goal will be to make sure that we see movement on a timeline, on a search committee, on a process being mapped out.”

Stauffer a biology professor, also helped draft the letter AAUP sent Nov 10 to the UL system board that demanded the formation of a presidential search committee, as required by the board’s own rules and bylaws. Although she said faculty members are still processing how everything unfolded this week, Stauffer expects the AAUP will meet in the coming week to discuss next steps.

“We were able to shine a light on what we were concerned about with the transparency and openness of the process,” Stauffer said. “So I think we will keep trying to shine that light and making sure that all of the parties who are more formally involved know that they have our support and that we want to definitely see movement on a fair, open search that’s not just kind of a rubber stamp of something that was already going to happen.”

Kolluru, for his part, promised transparency going forward and said in an interview after he was named interim president that he was “glad

State Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, also attended Thursday’s meeting A UL alumnus, he said he hopes the board eventually appoints a new president who is an innovator and thinker and who won’t lose sight of the history and culture of the university

“I’m pleased with where things are now with the board’s decision to have a search,” Boudreaux said.

“And I’m looking forward to more information on the timeline. I just think for the Acadiana area, this university is so important that we got to get it right. It’s imperative that we get it right, and we get the right person to lead this institution.”

Email Ashley White at ashley white@theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By TORI BONIN

Dina Johnson, executive director of the Jewel Newman Community Center in north Baton Rouge, organizes goods in the center’s Baby Closet, which distributes items to families with children who need assistance.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Vessels navigate the Mississippi River south of the Interstate 10 bridge recently in Baton Rouge.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Ramesh Kolluru, right, University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s vice president for research, innovation and economic development, shakes hands Thursday with interim President Jaimie Hebert before Kolluru was appointed interim president of the university during a special meeting of the UL System board at Abdalla Hall in Lafayette.

ESTEBAN FELIX

Chile’spresidential race headstorunoff

BY ISABEL DEBREand

NAYARA BATSCHKE Associated Press

SANTIAGO,Chile Chile is headed to atense presidential runoff afterafirstround vote Sunday set up a showdown between amember of the Communist Party and an ultraconservative veteran politician, sharply polarizing the country between the political left and right.

Jeannette Jara, 51, the communist former labor minister and candidate of Chile’scenter-left governing coalition, claimed more than 26% of valid ballots with over 80%ofthe vote counted, failing to pass the 50% threshold to secure victory in the first round.

“This is agreat country,” she said from her campaign headquarters in Santiago, Chile’scapital.“I want to give everyone who voted for me awarm hug.”

José Antonio Kast, 59, ahard-right former lawmaker and devout Catholic opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion, captured more than24% of the vote, underscoring the resilience of his law-andorder platform as asurge in organized crime rattles one of Latin America’ssafest nations and foments anti-migrant sentiment among Chileans.

Kast had atougher message for the countryafter learning he would advance to the runoff.

“What we need to avoid is the continuation of avery bad government,” he said, thanking Evelyn Matthei, Chile’scenter-right establishmentcandidate who landed in adisappointing fifth place, for throwing her support behind him.

“Wemay havehad our differences …but those differences are nothing compared to what we see before us,” he said.

An admirer of President Donald Trump and Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, Kast has vowed to deport tens of thousands of undocumentedmigrants and constructhundreds of kilometers of ditches, barriers and walls along Chile’s northern border with Bolivia to prevent people from

crossing,particularlyfrom crisis-stricken Venezuela.

“Wewantchange,and that change today is about security,” José Hernández, the60-year-old owner of an agricultural company said after casting his ballot for Kast. “This stageofmylife should be about enjoyment. ButI’m home by 9p.m. because of fear.”

Although voters gave Jara an edge on Sunday Kast will benefit in the second round from alarge shareofvotes thatwent to three eliminated rightwing challengers who campaigned aggressively on theneed to tackle illegal immigration.

Center-rightcandidate Franco Parisi, aneconomist with alarge social media following, surprised punditsbyfinishing third. Some observers said that couldreflect howChile’s first-ever presidentialelection with mandatory voting and automaticregistration added millions of apathetic citizens to the voting rolls.

JohannesKaiser,aformer YouTube provocateur elected as aradical libertarian lawmaker in 2021, camein fourth Chile’s constitutiondoes not allow reelection to consecutiveterms, so left-wing President Gabriel Boric, whose presidency endsin March, is notstanding.

Like her opponents,Jara has called insecurity atop priority,promoting plans to deport foreigners convicted of drug trafficking, boost security alongChile’s borders andtacklemoney laundering.

“On the question of more jails, more punishments, more imprisonment, closingborders, restricting migrants, there is no debate anymore between the right andleft,” said Lucía Dammert, apolitical scientist and Boric’sfirst chief of staff. “But it’sanissue that always enhancesthe right, everywhere in Latin America.”

The race now goes to a second roundonDec. 14 andanalysts believe the starkly opposedJaraand Kast will tack to the middle ground in order to broaden their appeal.

Rhodes scholarship winnersannounced

ByThe Associated Press

Five students at U.S. military academies and three each from Yale University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the 32 American winners named Sunday as 2026 Rhodes scholars. The group includes students focused on housing, health outcomes, sustainability andprison re-entry programs. They include:

n Alice L. Hall, of Philadelphia, avarsity basketball player at MIT who also serves as student body president. Hall, who has collaborated with awomen’scollective in Ghanaon sustainability tools, plans to study engineering.

Funerals Today

Sibley,Donna Immaculate ConceptionCatholic Church,DenhamSprings at 10:30am. Obituaries

Barrett, June Corbin

June Corbin Barrett peacefullypassedawayon Thursday,November13, 2025, in BatonRouge, Louisiana,atthe ageof94. She wasbornonTuesday, June 10, 1931, in Poncha‐toula,Louisiana,tothe late MaryEva Lindelland the lateCliftonBurgess Corbin June wasa specialperson who broughtjoy to every‐one shemet.Her smilewas infectious, andshe hada way of making people feel welcomedand caredfor Nomatterwhere shewent, June’s kindness and warmthmadepeoplelove her,and shealwaysre‐turnedthatlove. Shehad a natural abilitytomakeoth‐ers feel comfortableand valued. June will be deeply missedbyall who hadthe privilege of knowingher.In 1950, June graduatedfrom the Mather School of Nurs‐ing andspent 72 yearsasa RegisteredNurse.For 43 of those years, sheworkedas a surgical nurse at Baton Rouge Generaland then withthe honorofhelping toopenand organize it by its founders, Woman’sHos‐pital.For 10 years, shewas a nurse at theSoutheast‐ern LouisianaUniversityIn‐firmary. Herlongcareer touched so many lives, and she wasloved andre‐spected by allwho worked withher andwerecared for by her. June lovedtrav‐elinginthe US andthe world.She traveled with familyand friendsatany opportunity shehad.June issurvivedbyher daugh‐ter,Kim Justice(Harold “Buddy”);grandchildren, TiffanyBarrett Nester Emily MarieBarrett, Evan Michael EllisBarrett, and Kevin RoaneJustice;four great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Kari Bar‐rett; nephew,Jerry C. Blan‐chard (Cindy), andmany other lovedniecesand nephews.She waspre‐ceded in deathbyher par‐ents; husband,LionelEllis Barrett; son, KeithEllis Bar‐rett; sister,Leila Corbin Walker; aunt,Gloria"Tib" Durbin; infantsister, Bob‐bie DeeCorbin; nephew, Robert(Bobby) Blanchard, Sr.,and otherveryspecial relatives.Relatives and friends areinvited to at‐tendthe Visitation at Harry McKneely& SonFuneral Home- Ponchatoula, 100 W.MagnoliaSt.,Poncha‐toula,Louisiana 70454, on Tuesday,November18, 2025, at 9:30 am,until the FuneralService at 11:00 am. Intermentwillfollowin SandHillCemetery, Pon‐chatoula, Louisiana. Arrangementshavebeen entrusted to Harry McK‐neely& SonFuneralHome and CrematoryofHam‐mond andPonchatoula

Mumphrey, Faye Mary Achee

Faye Mary Achee

Visitation willbeon

Monday, November 17, 2025, at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East,11000 Florida Blvd, from 5pmuntil 8pm Visitation willresume on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at ImmaculateConception CatholicChurch, 865 Hatchell Ln, Denham Springs, LA,from 11am untilMass of Christian Burial at 1pm. CommittalwillfollowatGreenoaks Memorial Park

Stafford, Huey Dalton

Huey, age89, went to his heavenly home on Thursday, November 13, 2025. He acceptedChrist as achildand dedicatedhis life to being astudent of The Word of God and a faithful teacher of the Scriptures. He was aDeaconand Sunday School Teacher at Northside Baptist Church and Amite Baptist Church in Denham Springs, LA. Huey was a nativeofthe townofLivingston, in Livingston Parish, and along-time resident of Denham Springs, LA.Huey was a graduateofDoyleHigh School and upon graduation he joinedthe Air Force.Upon completionof boot camp, Huey married theloveofhis life,Ida Mae Hutchinson, (his pumpkin head), and they livedand lovedtogether for69½ years. He went on to serve 4years with a1-yeardeployment to Korea. Huey was an activeparticipant in his community,serving on theUnitedWay Council forLivingston Parish, servingasthe vice-president of theLivingston Parish EconomicCouncilfor development,and laterasthe President forthe council. He also served as thePresident of theDenham SpringsChamber of Commerce. Huey worked his way up throughthe ranks of Gulf States Utilitiesand retired as thesuperintendent of theDenham Springsoffice with 35 years of service. Huey was afaithful husband and dad who lovedtofish, go to his camp,and spend time with his kids,grandkids,and greatgrandkids.Huey lovedbeing with family and friends, laughing and enjoying time together. Huey was always considering others and howhe couldbless them. He was always slowtospeak and considered howhis actions wouldaffect others. Huey was devout in his Chirstianbeliefs, studied, and taught theGospel of Jesus Christ.Nothing was

more importantthanhis obedience to hisSavior Jesus Christ

Huey is survived by his sons, Larry Stafford (Annette),and Blaine Stafford (Tedra); sister,Yvonne Stafford Addison; sister-inlaw,Judy Salassi Stafford; grandchildren, Jerica Stafford Baker (Derek), Joshua D. Stafford (Amanda), and Nathanael Stafford; great-grandchildren,Huey Leon Baker, Elaina FaithBaker, and MyaIsabelle Baker.

Huey is preceded in death by his loving wife of 69 years, Ida MaeHutchinson Stafford; parents Solonand Gladys McDonald Stafford; grandparents, Ode andSally Stafford and Charles andAllie McDonald;brothers, CarlStafford, andLonnieStafford; and sisters, Evelyn Stafford Cambre, Edna Stafford Cambre.

In lieu of flowersthe familyhas asked that donations be made to Blood RiverBaptist Church

Relativesand friends of thefamilyare invited to attend thevisitation at Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home at 12012 Hwy 190 W. Hammond,LA70401 on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Visitation will continue on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. untilthe funeral service at 1:00 p.m. Pastor Blaine Stafford will officiate with interment to follow in Blood RiverBaptist Church Cemetery Condolencesand other information may be found at

n Anirvin Puttur,ofGilbert,Arizona, asenior at the U.S. Air ForceAcademy who serves as an instructor pilotand flight commander. Puttur,who is studying aeronautical engineering and applied mathematics,alsohas a deep interest in linguistics and is proficient in four languages. The students will attend the University of Oxfordas part of theRhodes scholar program, which awards more than 100scholarships worldwide each year for students to pursuetwo to three yearsofgraduate studies

Named after British imperialist and benefactor Cecil John Rhodes, the scholarship was established at Oxford in 1903. The program hasmore than 8,000 alumni, many of whom have pursuedcareers in government,education, thearts andsocialjustice.

n Sydney E. Barta, of Arlington, Virginia, aParalympian andmember of the track team at Stanford University,who studies bioengineering and sings in the Stanford acappella group “Counterpoint.” Barta plans to study musculoskeletal sciences.

Mumphrey of Denham Springs, Louisiana, passed away peacefully with her family by her sideon November 13, 2025. She was born September 28, 1931, in Smoke Bend Louisiana.

Faye was alovingand devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in DenhamSprings. As amilitary wife, she supported her family through many moves and challenges, laterdedicating over 20 years as afoster grandparent, touching countless liveswithher kindness and generosity.

Sheissurvivedbyher children: Wayne (Marilyn), Craig (Marion), Lolette Knox(Perry), ColetteBals (Tony), Jeffrey (Beth), Serena Chaboude (Magnus), and Rachel Fussell;19 grandchildren; 25 greatgrandchildren; 3greatgreat-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Faye was preceded in death by her belovedhusband of 56 years, SFC Joseph Mumphrey; and her daughter, Geralyn Dean.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

Aworker carries away avoting booth Sundayafter polls closed duringgeneral elections in Santiago, Chile.

THEADVOCATE.COM/opinions

Mamdani’swin in NyChas very limited relevance forLa.

Ifound Will Sutton’sanalysis of why Louisiana is not readyfor ademocratic socialist missed something rather crucial about Zohran Mamdani’svictory in New York. The election dynamics of the New York City mayoral race were aperfect storm. Mamdani was running against aRepublican, anonstarter for manyNew Yorkers, and Andrew Cuomo, a former governor who resigned amid asexual harassmentscandal. All against the backdrop of an incumbent mayor whohad to drop out of the race due toacorruption scandal with the Turkish government and asecondcorrupt deal with adespised president to avoid prosecutionfor thefirst. In New York, both the liberal and moderateprogressive factions have shownvoters that they are not responsibleenough to hold power.The only option left was an untested, yet unblemished, young socialist. The takeaway from the New York mayoral election should be that character and public trust still matter Perhaps Iam naive, butIdonot think such an “electoral strategy” will be effective outside of New York City,oreven outside of this particular New York City election. New Orleans’ moderateprogressives have not yet disqualified themselves like the other candidates in the New York City race.Additionally,the fact that a Democratic socialistdid not run, andthe democratic socialists of NewOrleans did not endorse a candidateinthe city’smayoral race, suggests somethingabout thepopularity of socialism in deep-blue New Orleans Thus, it is not just Louisiana that is not interested in aMamdani-style candidate; Louisiana Democrats, at least the New Orleanian variety,are not interested either

EVAN YOUNG Gonzales

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

AREWELCOME.HEREARE

Howtomakevotingbetter, from avoter’s perspective

Hooray for Lt. Gov.Billy Nungesser’sOct

24 Op-Ed piece presenting astoutdefense of open primaries. Open primaries allow the voters to choose theirrepresentatives, rather than having political parties limit those choices. Closed primaries are devices politiciansuse when they are nervous about their election legitimacy; their desire to serve eclipses thevoters’ right to choose. There is currently agerrymandering arms race between the states. Gerrymandering is self-serving politicians’ way of putting a thumb onthe scale to tilt elections in their favor.Ihave some suggestions for what would befair to all parties.

First, redistricting should be done only once, andthen within the two-year period immediately following the national census every 10 years.

Second, redistricting should be accomplished by an independent non-political committeeusing appropriate tools to take into accountpopulation composition, including minority representation, compactness of boundaries and urbanand rural differences,

as examples. Since there are thousands of ways to redistrict, thecommittee would choose the one that best fits. The Legislature’sfunction would be to debate the plan and, unless there is asizable supermajority to reject, theplan is ratified.

Third, if theopen primary does not have an outright majority winner,voting would proceed to arunoff election amongthe top four candidates.

The runoff result would be determined by ranked choice tabulation, winnowing down theworst performers until amajority winnerisdecided. This would encourage candidates toreach out to voters whoare not part of their true believer group.

The foregoing approach seems fair to all parties, especially the electorate, and guides thefinal result towards consensus. The current system tends towards political self-serving, polarization and extremes. The Legislature should give this thoughtful consideration.

LYNN

PYKE NewOrleans

If Congress doesn’tact on health care subsidies, livescould be lost

If Congress doesn’tact now to continue the ACA Marketplace health care subsidies, millions of Americans —including thousands here in Louisiana —will lose their health insurance. Speaker Mike Johnson must call on House memberstodotheir jobsand protect the health of the people they serve. This is not about politics —it’sabout life anddeath,about families and about basic humandecency

We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Surely we can ensure that all our neighbors have access to health care. Iknow from personal experience howdevastating serious illness can be —and how lifesaving insurance can makeall the difference between treatment and tragedy

This affects all of us —our families, our friends, our communities. Only billionaires will be untouched.

LSUneeds fans who will be true through dark times

As an LSU alumnus and fan, I remember studying Thomas Paine when he penned “The American Crisis” in December 1776. The upstart Americans were losing on battlefields and economic times were hard on the home front. Paine’spamphlet called out the “sunshine patriots,” who were supportive in the good times but quickly turned negative and condemned Continental Army leaders, soldiers and “freedom’s cause” in the bad times. It’seasy to tear down; it’shard to build up. The armchair critics who unceasingly criticize LSU football coaches and players are “sunshine fans.” No athletic team wins every game. Coaches and players can’t walk on water.The Continental Army,despite “sunshine patriots,” weathered the worst of times and eventually won anational championship called America. Championships honor the resilient spirit that has the will to see it through. “Sunshine fans” should look in the mirrorand ask if they’ve won at everything they’ve done. If the answer is “yes,” then they’ve lived aboring life.

GEORGE MIKELL Charleston, South Carolina

Changesin Pell grants will help build health care workforce

Educational opportunities sometimes don’talign with our nation’s workforce needs, especially in health care. In addition to ashortage of nurses and doctors, there are also gaps in the allied health workforce that are essential to high-quality patient care and system efficiency

TO SEND US ALETTER, SCAN HERE

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

Let’sbeclear: Immigrants are not eligiblefor Marketplace insurance. That’s a harmful myth. This program helps working Americans—people who don’tget coverage through their jobs—afford health insurance for themselves and their families. We’retalking about people who have small companies, farmers, ranchers, etc. Without it, medical costs will skyrocket for everyone, emergency rooms will overflow and lives will be lost.

It’stime to stand up and demandthat our leaders act. Call, write, post andspeak up —because health care is ahuman right, and our nation must do better

Prayersfor health and well-being for Louisiana and our nation —that ourleaders will do their jobs with wisdom and compassion, working for thecommon good of all people.

MOLLYPHILLIPS Sunshine

Likeevery president,Donald Trumpwill be off the stage. If my senator or congressman were aDemocrat instead of aRepublican, Iwould write this sameletter The Republican Party needs to evolve into being more about building than destroying. Andthe Democratic Party needs to get more interested in what we can do next than preserving the status quo that’sbeing smashed to pieces.

This is what we need in our political leadership. It’suptothe people todemand this of our political leaders and to hold them accountable.

Republicans and Democrats need to learn from Trump’sdestructiveness and move forward tocontinue our journey to, as the founders said, “toform amore perfect union.”

PHILIP FRADY NewOrleans

That’swhy I’mencouraged by Congress’ recent expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to include skillsbased credentialing programs, which include certification programsfor patient care technicians, EKGtechnicians, phlebotomytechnicians and more.

The traditional federal Pell Grant helps low-incomestudents afford tuition at colleges and universities, but 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 all walks of lifegain critical skills forstarting acareer in these desperately needed roles, without incurring debt.

Iwant to thank U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy forhis leadership and steadfast support forworkforce Pell expansion. This investment will help build amore skilled and resilient health care workforce —one allied health career credential at atime.

CLAIRE JACKLIN CEO,The

NewOrleans Career Center

STAFF FILEPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

TURKEY DAY

Folks all overthe countryare opening up their homes to friends andrelatives for Thanksgiving.Looks likethis Louisiana family hasaspecial guest dropping in for the big feast— and he looks hungry!

So, what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtellme. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeepitclean.There’snolimit on the number of entries

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon andrun on Monday, Nov. 24 in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receivea signed print of the cartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Somehonorable mentions will also be listed.

To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com DON’T FORGET!All entries mustinclude your name, home address and phone number. Cell numbers are best.

The deadline for all entries is midnight on Thursday, Nov. 20. HappyThanksgiving,everyone!— Walt

No historical eventbenefited world more than theRevolutionary War

History’sgears are lubricated by gore. Witness America’sRevolutionaryWar,whose continuing reverberationshave done more to improve the course of human eventsthan any other event in history

The war was fueled by crystallineideas couched in elegant prose authored by members of theColonial upper crust.But from 1777 on, most bleeding was done by “the poorest of the poor —jobless laborers and landless tenants, second and third sons without hope of an inheritance, debtors and British deserters, indentured servantsand apprentices, felons hoping towin pardons.”

Thecolonies’ 24 weekly newspapers agitated America’sunusually literatepopulation, as did Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” Washington, called to the colors after 16 years away from military matters, traveled with books on logistics,fortifications and artillery

so long before caving?

The government shutdownlasted 40 days before Senate Democrats abandoned the filibuster that closed offices, leftworkers without paychecks, threatened supplemental food benefits formillions, saw the beginning of agradual shutdownofthe commercial aviation system and much more. The question is: Why did those Democrats hold out forsolong? Why did they stubbornly play alosing hand even as millions of Americans suffered?

Carolina was back in thesecession business.

So says anew telling of America’s origin story,which is atapestry of suffering, viciousness, selflessness and nobility.Insix two-hour episodes on PBS, “TheAmerican Revolution” immerses viewers in an often bewildering, sometimes dismaying, but ultimately exhilarating documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. It is atutorial that teaches an appreciation of contingency: Things couldhaveturned out very differently than they did. And of pre-modernity: George Washington’sarmy wasthreatened by Britain’s, but more so by smallpox, which killed 100,000 Americans, soldiers and others, during the seven war years.

The war was, from Lexington Green to Yorktown, always acivil war(Washington: “A Brother’s Sword has been sheathed in aBrother’sbreast”), with approximately one-third of the population Loyalists (about 50,000 fought for the king), one-third Patriots, and one-third just wanting the war to go elsewhere. Benjamin Franklin’sson was a Loyalist. In some battles, almost everyone on the battlefield was an American

ThePatriots dragged 64 tons of artillery 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga across the Berkshire mountains to Boston, the documentary reports. Fighting against an empire, the motivated Patriots had an empire in their heads —the Ohio Valleyand beyond. TheContinental Congress called it the Continental Army for areason.

This is why the most tragic people swept intothe tornado of war were the150,000 Native Americans. They werecertain tolose everything including their land —nomatter which side won the war.Their westward trek of tears began before the warended. Pressured by Congress, in May 1779 Washington ordered “the totaldestruction and devastationof[Native American] settlements.… It will be essential to ruin their crops now in theground and prevent their planting more.”

Five thousand Black men and many Native Americans served in Continental Armyunitsmore integrated than U.S. forces would be until the late 1940s.

Amongthe war’stroubling paradoxes is this:

Thefinalfight for America’sfreedomtosecede from theBritish Empire was won in roughly 100 battles in SouthCarolinathat produced almost one-fifth of all thewar’sbattle deaths. Thatstate’svictorious militias had been created before the war as precautions against slave rebellions.And eight decades later,South

The fate of acontinent was determined by mostly brief and smallbattles. The largestwas the last, Yorktown,withnearly 20,000 American and French troops and 9,000 British engaged. Americans killed: 389. At Lexington: eight.Bunker Hill: 115. At Monmouth, the lastmajor battle in theNorth: 362. (On the first day of the Battleofthe Somme, July 1, 1916, almost 20,000 British soldiers were killed.)

In the20th century,the fates of other continents were shapedbythe material and moral resources our Revolution unleashed. AEuropean general aiding the Patriots discovered the secret of America’ssuccess, its inveterate individualism. To aEuropean friend he wrote: “You say to your soldier,‘Do this,’ and he does it; but [here] Iamobliged to say,‘This is thereason why you ought to do that,’ and then he does it.”

Andalways,more gore. In the middle of an operation to amputate (withoutanesthesia) asoldier’sleg, a cannonball removed the other

In his preface to thefilm’scompanion book, Burnssays Americans today are detached from the war’s “sometimes difficult truths.” There is,however,“comfort in complication,” when “thedistractions” of myths and nostalgia arereplaced notby“unforgiving revisionism” but by unblinking comprehension of thealways winding, often violent, course of human events. Consider this documentarythe unofficial beginning of our 250th birthday party.Given today’s pandemic of crankiness, the party might trundle downhill from here. Butfor sixnights, theview from thehilltop is riveting.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

The short answer: because Obamacare was at stake. The Affordable Care Act is the Democratic Party’s premier policy achievement of the last half-century,and it is gradually sinking beneath rising costs, making “affordable” health coverage increasingly unaffordable. Without moretaxpayer-paid subsidies forrecipients, fewer and fewerpeople will be able to purchase coverage that Democrats once promised would be within everyone’sreach. So manyDemocrats have invested so much of their political identity on health care, and on their health care achievement —remember that Obamacare passed the Senate in 2010 without asingle Republican vote —that the prospect of its failure is unthinkable forthe Democratic Party

This is what happened. Back in 2010, Obamacare was acompromise between those Democrats who wanted to create anational single-payer health care system andthose who wanted amore market-based arrangement.But all Democrats agreed that the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which established taxpayer-paid subsidies with which millions of Americans could purchase health coverage, was the beginning of aprogram that would grow in the years to come.

The problem was, since Republicans unanimously opposed the system,any expansion of Obamacare or significant increase in its funding would have to come when Democrats controlled the House, Senate and White House. That timedid not come until early 2021, when President Joe Biden took office with aDemocratic House and Senate. Together, they immediately passed aset of new subsidies on top of the subsidies that already existed in the Affordable Care Act law

Democrats characterized their long-desired additional subsidies as an “emergency” measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. They would only last one year,expiring in 2022. But then, in 2022, Democrats renewed the additional subsidies —again, as an “emergency” measure —and extended them for three years, until Dec.31, 2025. In the meantime, Obamacare premium costs have gone up and up —anestimated 30% this year alone. So this was the situation Democrats faced: Even if the “emergency” subsidies were extended, millions of people would face big premium increases. And if the “emergency” subsidies were allowed to expire —and remember,in2022, every single Democrat in the Senate voted forthe subsidies to expire on Dec.31, 2025 —then people whopurchased coverage through Obamacare would face skyrocketing costs. By the way, the Biden administration declared the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023. Democrats extended the “emergency” additional subsidies until Dec. 31, 2025. Now,there is simply no “emergency” rationale for extending the additional subsidies.

But there is apolitical rationale, which is that the cost of Obamacare —contrary to Democrats’ predictions —isrising dramatically.Doing nothing —that is, not pumping moretaxpayer-paid subsidies into the system —could risk fewer and fewer Americans being able to afford health coverage through Obamacare.

So Democrats decided to block funding of the entire government unless Republicans would agree to extend the additional “emergency” subsidies. Republicans, whoproposed to keep the governmentfunded first and then discuss any Democratic Obamacare proposal, said no. The House GOP passed astraight, no-tricks government funding proposal. Senate Democrats used the filibuster to block it for40days, until the pain of the governmentshutdownproved too much for afew Democratic senators.

The big picture of what is happening is the failure of the Affordable Care Act. Indeed, someDemocrats have admitted that the reason they shut down the government was to hold out formore “emergency” subsidy money because the ACA has failed to makehealth coverage affordable. “I owe you an answer on whyitisI’m standing here today,asking to extend something that wastemporary,” Democratic Sen. Peter Welch said on the floor of the Senate afew days ago. “Wedid fail to bring downthe cost of health care.”

For Senate Democrats, the only waytodeal with that failure wastodemand moretaxpayer-paid premium subsidies to keep Obamacare afloat. Now, their shutdownhas failed, and they will no doubt search forother ways to pumpmoney into their struggling health care program Byron York is on X, @Bryon York

George Will

Byron York

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LSUlooks to keep hotstreak rollingvs. Tulane

Tigers on thehunttomatch arecordfromtitle team

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

When LSU women’sbasketball finds itself in the early stages of blowout wins overmidmajor opponents,coach Kim Mulkey triesto find small sources of motivation for herteam Otherwise,thosegames could begin to feel atad monotonous. Mulkey doesn’t want theTigers to look at the score and losetheir focus. She wants to see sharp possessions throughout the contest instead, especially on the defensive end of thefloor

ä LSU at Tulane 6P.M.

“Just challengethem throughout agamelike this,” Mulkey said on Wednesday after a58-point winover Charlotte. “Give themlittle goals in the timeout. Give them little things to try to accomplish That’swhat you try to do.”

Here’ssomething Mulkey can pull out of her back pocket if LSU takes alargelead over Tulane in Fogelman Arena(6p.m., ESPNU) on Monday: Because the No. 5Tigers (4-0)havescoredatleast 100points in each of their first four games, they can now match astreak that only one SEC team has ever built beforeiftheyhit the century mark again in their matchup with theGreen Wave (2-1).

That group, coincidentally,isalso an LSU squad. The Tigers notched at least 100 points in each of their first five games of their national championship 2022-2023 campaign. According to Basketball Referencedata, no other SEC team has ever hit that mark in that many consecutivecontests—at any pointofa season. But this LSU team, Mulkey’sfifth,has a chance.

ä See LSU, page 5B

Pelicans,Saintsowner Benson discusses plight of herteams,including jobstability of Loomis

STATEOFTHE FRANCHISES

Editor’snote: This interview took place on Thursday,prior to the New Orleans Pelicans’ firing of coach Willie Green. NewOrleans Saints andPelicansowner Gayle Benson conducted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan on Thursday During arare and wide-ranging30-minute discussion,Benson wascandidand forthcomingabout a variety of topics. Here’sthe detailed conversation:

The Saints and Pelicans are both offtohistarts. Howwould you assess their seasons so far?

Above: Super Gayle Benso happy. Ia would exp disappoint over thel Saints wa with the e for cham That is o changed and it is There i leagues and oppo cap, and setting t neverth is to hir give the to win accoun our go Pelica

n: Iamobviously not m disappointed, andI ct ourfanstoalso be ed. Whatweestablished st two decades withthe awinning organization pectation to compete ionships every year rgoal,and that hasnot hatiswhatIexpect, hatour fans expect. thereality that both ave rules to create parity tunity, such as the salary certainly understand recap and rebuilding, but s, Iwant to win. My role ebest people Ican and he resources they need salsomyjob to hold them able if we are not meeting .Myexpectations for the re thesame.

How disappointed are you with the Saints’ season?

GB: I’m very disappointed, as everybody is. Butwe’re in arebuilding mode. (General manager) Mickey (Loomis) said this from the very

beginning of the season. But, look, I understand how fans feel. Ireally do. And Ifeel bad forthe fans, but we told everybody in the beginning, this wasgonna be atough year,and it has been atough year.They just need to be patient. And Iknow it’shard to ask them to be patient, but all of us are disappointed.

Imean, the whole office over here is disappointed. But we can’tjust jump ship just because we’re having ahorrible season. It doesn’twork that way.We’re gonna have good times. We’re gonna have bad times. And I’m hoping fans will understand. But they need to know that I’m very upset and very disappointed, probably more so than them. Because I’m taking the brunt of this. But Istill want them to know that Ireally care, and I’m doing everything Ican. Imean, I’m giving them (the teams) every resource. Iput all that money into the

cheer during agamebetween the NewOrleans Saints and Tampa BayBuccaneers on Oct.26atthe Caesars STAFF PHOTO By DOUG MacCASH

Wilson’s first winasLSU’s interimcoach

WILSON ALEXANDER

Four days before his first win as LSU’s interim coach, Frank Wilson spoke at afuneral. He had never done that before, butthis was for Shan P. Williams, alongtime administrator in theNew Orleanspublicschool system. Wilson dabbed his eyes. His voice cracked as he talked about the roleWilliams played in his life. Williams gave him achance to be ahigh school head coachwhen he was 26 years old. Wilson called him his mentor.He never made aprofessional decisionwithout talking to him.

“I wanted him to go into thatstadiumwith me,” Wilson said. “He will. He’ll look down. He’ll smile. Smilebig.”

When LSU beat Arkansas 23-22 on Saturdayafternoon, the first thing Wilson did was point to the skyabove Tiger Stadium. Players dousedhim in Powerade, andstaff members hugged him. His voice caught when asked what thewin meant to him in atelevisedinterview,and he simply said, “Everything.”

Afew minutes later,Wilson spent aminutehugginghis family beforehewentto the locker room. During his postgame news conference, sophomore running back Caden

Durham walked in to hug him

“He’sbeen working so hard for thepast fewweeks to get his first W,”Durham said.

“It felt like agood team win, andmylovefor

meant‘everything’

coachFrank,I wassohappy.I hadtocongratulatehim in adifferent way.

The win was one of Wilson’sgreatest professional accomplishments. He’sa New Orleans native who started his career as a high school coach and worked his way up thecollege ranks,eventuallybecoming the head coach at UTSA and McNeese State.

Wilson has always understood what LSU meanswithin the state. He returned forhis second stint withthe Tigers as oneofBrian Kelly’s first hires. WhenKelly was fired Oct. 26, LSU picked Wilson to lead the team through theend of the season

“He had the mindset of being thehead coach already,” sixth-year defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory said. “It wassecond nature to him. With the preparation we had last

ä See WILSON, page 3B

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints owner Gayle Benson waves to fans before the startofa game against the Tampa BayBuccaneers on Oct. 26 at the Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSUinterimcoachFrank Wilson talks with the team before takingthe field against Arkansas on Saturday at TigerStadium.

McIlroy loses playoff but wins Race to Dubai

By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy’s banner year in golf ended with fitting drama Sunday when he eagled the last hole in regulation to force a playoff but lost out to Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the season-closing World Tour Championship for a third time.

The consolation for McIlroy? A fourth straight Race to Dubai title — crowning him as the year’s No. 1 player on the European tour to add to his wins at the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, The Players Championship and his home Irish Open. McIlroy also helped Team Europe win an away Ryder Cup.

All of his big individual victories came in playoffs but a final one proved just beyond the Northern Irishman, though, after he hit his drive into a creek on the first playoff hole – No. 18 – and made bogey. Fitzpatrick chipped to 3 feet and rolled in a par putt to win the title again at Jumeirah Golf Estates, after 2016 and 2020.

“You never like to see the way it ends, but obviously delighted,” Fitzpatrick said after sealing his first win in two years

McIlroy generated the biggest roar of the day when he poured in a 15-footer for eagle on No 18 to complete a round of 5-under 67 and join Fitzpatrick (66) on 18-under par for the week. He also eagled the last hole at the Irish Open in September to force a playoff before going on to beat Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren at The K Club

“In typical Rory fashion, he did it again,” said Fitzpatrick, who watched it unfold while sitting in the scorer’s hut. He met McIlroy outside, shaking his hand and giving his Ryder Cup teammate a hug. They did so again after the playoff which finished with both of them as winners.

Chasing Monty

For McIlroy, it’s a seventh Race to Dubai title, putting him one clear of the late Seve Ballesteros and one behind Colin Montgomerie’s record haul.

“I didn’t get this far in my dreams, so it’s very cool,” said McIlroy, who revealed that he spoke to Ballesteros’ wife, Carmen, before his round on Sunday “It seems within touching distance now,” he added about catching Montgomerie “I’d love to be the winningest European in terms of Order of Merits and season-

hole to force a playoff with

final round of World Tour Championship on Sunday in Dubai, United

long races. You know, I’ve probably got a few more good years left in me, and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him.”

Wild finish

Nine players either led or held a share of the lead across a wild few hours at the Earth course that culminated in Fitzpatrick making three birdies in his final five holes to overtake McIlroy and overhaul a slew of Europe’s other stars, including Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg.

A birdie putt from 6 feet at No. 18 took Fitzpatrick a stroke clear of Fleetwood (67), Åberg (66) and Laurie Canter (67) and two ahead of McIlroy who was waiting in the 18th fairway knowing he now needed to make eagle.

He hit a fairway wood from around 230 yards to the right of the pin, got a good read from play-

ing partner Rasmus NeergaardPetersen, who was a few feet further away, and drained the putt.

Neergaard-Petersen (68) made birdie to join the group on 17 under in a tie for third.

Season turnaround

Fitzpatrick, the U.S Open champion in 2022, started the season slowly but finished it strong, getting into the Ryder Cup team on the back of top-10 finishes at the British Masters in August and the European Masters and BMW PGA Championship in September He then won 21/2 points from his four matches at Bethpage Black.

“To turn it around in the summer like I did and have a Ryder Cup like I did, feel like it’s hard to top, given everything,” Fitzpatrick said.

“But the way that I played today, I feel like I really didn’t hit one

bad shot all day I’m so proud of myself, the effort that everyone puts in behind the scenes. Yeah, what a feeling.”

PGA Tour cards

Marco Penge might not have chased down McIlroy in the Race to Dubai standings this week but he was still smiling after his round of 67.

It completed a breakthrough year that has seen him take one of the PGA Tour cards on offer for the top 10 players in the Race to Dubai standings who are not otherwise exempt. The other nine players wound up being Canter, Kristoffer Reitan, Adrien Saddier Alex Noren, John Parry, Li Haotong, Keita Nakajima, Jordan Smith and Neergaard-Petersen. They will be dual members of the two established tours.

Sweden’s Grant breezes to win at The Annika

BY DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press

BELLEAIR, Fla Linn Grant of Sweden had so much control of her game that she played 52 holes consecutive holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on the final hole Sunday when it no longer mattered. She closed with a 5-under 65 for a three-shot victory over Jennifer Kupcho in The Annika.

It was Grant’s second LPGA title, and the second time she received a trophy from Swedish great and tournament host Annika Sorenstam. Grant won the Scandinavian Mixed in Sweden when Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson were co-hosts.

“You made this course look easy It’s not easy,” Sorenstam told her on the 18th green. It must have felt that way to Grant, who was never under much stress. She finished at 19-under 261 and had a chance to set the tournament record until a bogey on the final hole, her first one since her opening hole Friday

“There are weeks where everyone feels like their game is really good and there could potentially be a win. It’s just really nice to like see it go all the way and to really walk off 18 and be able to pat yourself on the shoulder and feel like I actually did it this week,” Grant said. She is the first Swedish winner of the tournament that began in 2020, even more meaningful to Grant because she remembers going to clinics Sorenstam held in Sweden when she was a girl and

recalls watching Sorenstam hit wedges to someone catching them with a baseball glove.

“I started doing that with my dad, so thanks for that,” Grant told Sorenstam Kupcho birdied the first hole to tie for the lead, but only briefly Grant birdied the next hole and never trailed again. The Swede had to make a 15-foot birdie putt to stay one ahead through five holes, and then she seized control on the par-3 ninth.

Kupcho made her second bogey of the front nine, and Grant rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt to extend the lead to three shots. No one got any closer the rest of the way Kupcho also closed with a 65.

“I’m glad she was playing well because I think that really

pushed me to play better,” Grant said “And overall, I just had the thought of whoever wins is going to have a really good job.”

Gaby Lopez of Mexico birdied four of her last six holes for a 65 to finish third. Brooke Matthews also came away a winner in two respects. She made a hole-in-one with a 9-iron from 140 yards on the 12th hole to win a two-year lease on a Lamborghini Huracán. Two holes later, Matthews chipped in for eagle, and all those great shots mattered.

It added to a 65 — a card that included scores of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 — to tie for ninth, giving her enough points to move into the top 60 of the Race to the CME Globe. That qualifies her for next week’s

Jets CB critically wounded in Manhattan shooting

New York Jets cornerback and special teams standout Kris Boyd was critically injured in a shooting in midtown Manhattan early Sunday, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ office.

The shooting happened just after 2 a.m. outside a business on West 38th Street near 7th Avenue, according to the New York Police Department. A 29-year-old man was shot in the abdomen, police said The man was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition. There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing. Adams’ office said the man shot was Boyd.

Boyd hasn’t played this season after going on the season-ending injured reserve list on Aug. 18 with a shoulder injury that required surgery to repair

Sinner defeats Alcaraz to retain ATP Finals title

TURIN, Italy — The final installment of the “Sincaraz” rivalry for 2025 went to Jannik Sinner

The second-ranked Sinner beat top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (4), 7-5 for the ATP Finals trophy on Sunday in the sixth meeting this year between the two players who are dominating men’s tennis.

Sinner defended the title before his home Italian fans for only his second victory over Alcaraz this year after also beating the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final.

“It was an incredible season,” Sinner said. “To finish it this way, before my Italian fans, is very special for me.”

Alcaraz had already secured the year-ending No. 1 ranking and was contesting his first final at the event for the year’s top eight players.

Schenk wins first PGA Tour title in his 243rd attempt

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda Adam Schenk finally won when he least expected it, closing with an evenpar 71 in raging wind Sunday to hold on for a one-shot victory in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in his 243rd start on the PGA Tour

Schenk was two tournaments away from having to return to Qschool at No. 134 in the FedEx Cup. Then he handled some of the toughest conditions he ever faced, making one birdie and four crucial par saves in gusts that topped 30 mph.

The last one was as difficult as any His approach to the par-4 18th at Port Royal went just over the green as Schenk clung to a one-shot lead. He gave that winning putt a light touch, relieved when it found the center of the cup to hold off Chandler Phillip, who also shot 71.

NFL’s Goodell says league plans to return to Spain

MADRID — NFL commissioner

season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where the winner gets $4 million.

“It was wild,” Matthews said. “All week I was like, ‘I want to win the Lamborghini.’ Just saw it bounce. I still can’t believe it. I blacked out I can’t wait to watch it on film because I still can’t really remember it.”

Nataliya Guseva had her own big moment. She holed out with a gap wedge from 109 yards on the final hole for birdie she had to lay up out of a fairway bunker — giving her a 68 that moved the Russian into the top 60.

Lucy Li also advances to next week down the coast in Naples

Her birdie on the final hole gave her a 66 and moved her up 13 spots to No. 58. Grant was running out of time to extend her streak of winning each year somewhere in the world dating to 2020, when she was still an amateur and won twice on the Nordic Golf League. She has won titles on the LPGA, Ladies European Tour, LET Access Series, Ladies Sunshine Tour, Nordic Golf League and even the European Tour, which co-sanctioned the Scandinavian Mixed.

“My dad is a man of good words,” she said. “When he looked at someone else’s career he always said, ‘If you have a win every year, that’s pretty solid.’ I guess that’s what it is.”

Defending champion Nelly Korda, a three-time winner at Pelican Golf Club, started six shots behind and couldn’t keep pace with Grant. She closed with a 69 and tied for 15th.

Roger Goodell praised this year’s international series and said Sunday that the league plans to return to Spain and will continue to study other possible markets.

Goodell spoke before the Washington Commanders faced the Miami Dolphins at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the seventh — and final — international game of the season, the most ever in one year for the NFL as it continues to expand globally

“We will be back, we are excited,” Goodell told Spanish media. “This has been a great opportunity for us. We always wait until we get through the games, but we want to be back here in Madrid (and) Spain. I think this is a great market for us.”

American Conference’s Sullivan dies at age 54

IRVING, Texas Chuck Sullivan, assistant commissioner and primary spokesman for the American Conference, has died after a long illness. He was 54. The conference announced Sunday that Sullivan died of melanoma Saturday night.

Sullivan joined the Big East as director of communications in 2007 and continued in that role when the football members of that conference broke off to form the American in 2013. He was promoted to assistant commissioner for communications in 2015.

“We are heartbroken at the loss of our friend and colleague Chuck Sullivan,” American Commissioner Tim Pernetti said. “He will be truly missed and forever part of the American Conference family.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALTAF QADRI

Rory McIlroy reacts after putting for eagle on the 18th

Matt Fitzpatrick during the

Arab Emirates.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By WILLIE J ALLEN JR.

Linn Grant, left, and Annika Sorenstam hold the championship trophy after Grant’s win on the final day of The Annika on Sunday in Belleair, Fla.

Georgia defensivelineman Christen Miller,left, and linebacker Gabe Harris, center,smile after defeating Texas on SaturdayinAthens, Ga.The Bulldogs movedupone spot in the AP Top25poll this week

Georgiaup to No.4inAP poll;TulanerankedNo. 24

BY ERIC OLSON Associated Press

Georgia moved up one spot to

No. 4inThe Associated Press poll

Sunday,Oklahoma returned to the top 10 and North Texas, ranked for the first time since 1959, is among three Group of Fiveteams in the Top25.

Ohio State, Indianaand Texas

A&M were the top three teams for the fifth straight week. Georgia earned its highest ranking since the first week of September,and Mississippi was back in thetop five after spending three weeks there at midseason.

Oregon and Texas Tech were tied for No. 6, and Oklahoma rose three spots to No. 8following its win at Alabama.

Notre Dame remained No. 9after a22-point win at Pittsburgh, and Alabama dropped six spots to No. 10 after the Soonersendedits eight-game win streak.

Ohio State, which rolled past UCLA to improve to 10-0 forthe fourth time in seven seasons, received 57 of 66 first-place votes

Texas A&M, whose comeback from a27-point deficit to beat South Carolina was itslargest ever,got one first-place vote, three less than lastweek

Georgia’s35-10 win overTexas was its sixth straight andsecond over atop-10 opponent. Mississippi, which lost at Georgiaamonth ago, defeated Florida andismore than 100 points behind the Bulldogs at No. 5.

TheGroup of Five hadn’thad three teams in the Top25since four appearedinlast season’sfinal poll.

The Sun Belt Conference’s James Madison blew out Appala-

WILSON

Continued from page1B

week versus this week, it shows you why he’sagood coach. We really,trulygoout there and play forhim, and we love him.”

After he was named interim coach, Wilson tried to get in touch with hismentor. Williamsmade him the head coach at O.P.Walker High in 2000, taking achanceon someone who didn’tbelievein himself yet. Williams “saw something in me no one elsesaw,” Wilson said.

“Boy,you’re special,” Wilson recalled Williams telling him. They went to state championship games in the Superdome together,and Williams remained aclose friend ever since. They talked all the time. Wilson said all he ever wanted was Williams’ approval.

But Wilson couldn’tget in touch with him afterbeing named the interim coach. Finally,hereached out to Williams’ daughter.Williams was in the hospital, in and out of consciousness

“Does he know?”Wilsonasked her. “Does he know what’shappening?”

“Heknows,” Wilson recalled her saying.

“What did he say?”

“‘Wedid it.’” Wilson never got achance to talk to him againbeforeWilliams, 77, died the night ofNov 1, aweek before Wilson coached his first game as LSU’sinterim coach against Alabama. On Tuesday morning, Wilson attended the funeral in New Orleans.

“I stood in thefront of the room,

chian Stateand moved up three spotstoNo. 21. North Texas is nextatNo. 22. TheMean Green of the American Conference clobberedUAB 53-24 on the road and have matched its beststartinprogramhistory

The last time UNTwas 9-1 wasin1959, when theteam then known asthe Eagles was ranked two straight weeks in November, reaching No. 16. That team lost to New Mexico Stateinthe Sun Bowl to finish 9-2

This year’s UNTteamisinthe thick of the race for the Group of Five’sautomatic CFP bid.

In andout

n No. 22 NorthTexas’ first appearance in the poll in 66 years ends the longest drought by a Bowl Subdivision team.

n No. 23 Missouri returnedafter aone-weekabsence following

awin over Mississippi State in which AhmadHardy becamethe first player since 2022 torush for 300 yards.

n No. 24 Tulane has won two straight since losing toUTSA and is rankedfor thefirst time this season.

n No. 25 Houston,fifth among teamsalso receiving votes last week and idle, was ranked for one week in October Poll points

n Voters did what theCFP selection committee did last week, jumping Miami over Georgia Tech to make the Hurricanes the highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team.Miamieasily beat North Carolina State and moved up twospots to No. 14. Georgia Tech, which needed afield goal in thefinal seconds to edge one-win Boston College,slippeda spot to No. 15.

n No. 13 Utah hasoutscored threeopponents by acombined 153-49 since losingatBYU andhas its highest ranking of theseason.

n No. 17 Texastook thebiggest plunge, dropping seven spots. Ranked vs.ranked

n No. 16 Southern California (8-2, 6-1 BigTen,No. 17 CFP) at No.6Oregon(9-1, 6-1, No.8CFP): Thewinnerstrengthens itsposition for aCFP at-large bid and keeps alive slim hopes of sneaking into the BigTen championship game.

n No. 23 Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) at No. 8Oklahoma(8-2, 4-2, No. 11 CFP): TheSooners didwonders for their playoff resume by knocking off Alabama on the road and now go for afifth win over a Top25opponent

LSUinterim coach Frank Wilson talks withrunning back CadenDurham duringthe second quarter of agameagainst Arkansas on Saturdayat TigerStadium.Wilson became the first Black coach to win afootball game at LSU.

and IsaidIspeak in front of peopleevery day of my life routinely, without issue,” Wilson recalled Saturday afternoon. “It became very difficult because those words that shesaid meantsomuch.”

With the win against Arkansas, Wilson becamethe firstBlack head coach to win agame in LSU footballhistory.Offensive line coach Brad Daviswas the team’s first Black head coachwhenhe served as the interiminthe 2022 Texas Bowl.

“I recognize, Iacknowledge those whohave knocked on the door and hoped for opportunities as African-American coaches for many years,” Wilson said. “I stand on the shoulders of those men who are giants. I’m very fortunate, I’m very proud, I’m very humble, to be in aposition to be abletohelp

this team earn victory.” Wilson has threemoregames as the interimhead coach.LSU finishes the regular season against Western Kentucky and Oklahoma beforeplaying abowl game. His future after that is uncertainin themidst of acoaching change, though Wilson hasoften shown his value as arecruiter with deep New Orleansconnections. After thegame, Wilson thought of Williams. “For himand forsomanyothers, we did this,” Wilson said. “I carry that with abadge of honor We did this. My only resentment is that he’snot heretoenjoy it with me.”

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Near loss forTexas A&Mcreates shakeup atop Riley’sAPpoll

Despitethere being ahandful of major results, Ididn’tmake too many drastic changes to my AP Top25poll this week. Georgia taking down Texas with ease shouldn’tbeamajor surprise. Nor should Iowa’s cross-country loss to Southern Cal. Even Alabama’sdefeat to Oklahoma wasn’tshocking, givenhow the Sooners’ strong defense could exploit the Tide’s one-dimensional attack. However,Istill made another shakeup at No. 1togoalong with more changes at the bottom of the poll. Here’swhere Ilanded with my AP Top25poll after Week 12 of the college football season.

My AP Top25pollafter Week 12

1. Indiana, 2. Texas A&M, 3. Ohio State, 4. Georgia, 5. Texas Tech,6.Ole Miss, 7. Oklahoma, 8. Alabama, 9. Notre Dame, 10. Oregon, 11. BYU, 12. Utah, 13. Southern Cal, 14. Miami, 15. Texas, 16. Vanderbilt, 17. Michigan, 18. Tennessee, 19. Illinois, 20. Missouri, 21. Georgia Tech, 22. Virginia, 23. Iowa, 24. Louisville, 25. Washington Just missed: Houston, Arizona State, Arizona, James Madison

Anew No.1 (again)

Iflip-flopped Texas A&M and Indiana again this week after the Aggies needed to score 28 unanswered points in the second half to beat lowly South Carolina at home and the Hoosiers easily took down Wisconsin in Bloomington.

Themargins between Texas A&M, Indiana and Ohio State are razor thin. The Buckeyes have only played in one close game all year.The Aggies beat Notre Dame on the road and have acouple of dominant road victories. Indiana’swin at Oregon was arguably the most impressive win of the year,and the Hoosiers have routinely destroyed their Big Tenfoes.

Iwouldn’thave aproblem with any of these teams being No. 1. But Ilanded on Indiana as my No. 1this week because it has amuchstronger win than anything Ohio State has done and hasbeen moredominant against its middle-of-the-road schedule than Texas A&M, especially after the Aggies barely beat South Carolina.

Themargin between Texas

A&M and Ohio State also shrank this week because the South Carolinaresult, but the Aggies still have the best win when comparing the two sides. The Buckeyes’ seven-point victory over Texas is notable but doesn’t hold thesame weight as the Notre Dame win.

WhereAlabama landed andwhy

Alabama’sloss to Oklahoma exposed afew of the Crimson Tide’s flaws, particularly on offense. But Istill like the Tide’s

body of work better than Notre Dame’s.

Yes, Alabama’sloss to Florida State is muchworse than anything Notre Dame has done this season, but Alabama still holds four wins over top-20 teamsin my poll, including avictory on the road over No. 4Georgia. The Irish’sbest win is over my No. 13 team,and it’stheir only ranked win.

Due to the Alabama loss, Georgia and Texas Tech simply slid up aspot, but Idid some more juggling after that. Ilanded on Ole Miss at No. 6and Oklahoma at No. 7inlarge part due to the Rebels’ win over the Sooners back in Week 9. Ole Miss doesn’t own many impressive wins besides that one, but the difference between its resume and Oklahoma’swasn’tenough to overcome that result.

Oklahoma holds an extra loss and still has areally shaky offense. The Rebels in my book are the more well-rounded team, which is what we saw in that Week 9result.

Othernotes

Figuring out the bottom of my poll seems to be an adventure every week. Ifeel good about every team from 21 on up being worthy of cracking my rankings, but after that things got really murky Virginia’snice win over Duke on the road got it back in my poll, despite the Cavaliers losing to Wake Forest last weekend. Virginia’slone ranked victory is over asuddenly struggling Louisville team, but it’shard to leave a9-2 team out of the poll at this point.

Iowa has four losses, but three of them came against USC on the road, Indiana and Oregon by acombined 12 points. The Hawkeyes passing attack is almost nonexistent and they lack asignature win, but being one of two teams to lose to my No 1team by single digits should count for something.

Louisville nearly fell out of my poll entirely after falling to Clemson at home on Friday.For now,its wins over Miami, James Madison and Pittsburgh (all top30ish caliber teams) are keeping them in.

Washington took the last spot over Houston because the Huskies beat Illinois. Both teams hold abad loss (Houston lost to West Virginia at home and Washington dropped aroad game to Wisconsin), but Washington is the only one among them to have beaten aranked team in my poll.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By COLINHUBBARD

Koki Riley

PRO FOOTBALL

Dolphins beat Commanders in OT in Spain

By The Associated Press

MADRID Jack Jones had a fitting celebration after his overtime interception in the first NFL regularseason game in Spain.

The Miami Dolphins cornerback ran toward the sideline and stretched his arms wide after a twisting jump in front of his teammates. Jones was imitating Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer great who used to celebrate like that at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he played for Real Madrid

“I had to bring that out,” he said. “I was talking to my friend and I’m like, ‘When I make a play, be ready for that celebration.’” Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first offensive play of overtime and Riley Patterson kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 16-13 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Jones cut in front of Commanders tight end Zach Ertz and came away with the ball.

“They covered our first couple of options well,” Mariota said. “I tried to get back side to Zach. Guy undercut it and made a play Unfortunate there, and give credit to him. He made a good play.”

Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said Jones told him moments earlier that he was going to come up with the interception, making “that moment a lot cooler.

“His exact words: Y’all stop the run. He’s going to throw me the ball, because he can’t throw,” Brooks said.

The Commanders (3-8) had a chance to win and end a five-game losing streak with 15 seconds left in regulation, but Matt Gay’s 56yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. Gay, who said ahead of the game he was thrilled to have the chance to play at the Bernabeu, missed two of his four field goal attempts.

PACKERS 27, GIANTS 20: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love took a big hit to his left shoulder and jogged inside for further evaluation.

Love returned from the injury to throw two touchdown passes, Malik Willis had one of his own while filling in and the Packers ended their skid by defeating the New York Giants.

With Jameis Winston making his first start in 11 months and Mike Kafka debuting as interim coach after the firing of Brian Daboll, the

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.y

PHOTO

CAROLyN KASTER

Giants (2-9) lost their fifth game in a row despite two touchdown runs from Devin Singletary and a QB sneak touchdown by Winston.

TEXANS 16, TITANS 13: In Nashville, Tennessee, the Houston Texans keep digging early holes for themselves. With Davis Mills filling in while C.J. Stroud is in the concussion protocol, they’ve put together back-to-back comeback victories.

Mills threw for 274 yards and a touchdown, Matthew Wright kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired, and the Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 16-13 on Sunday to sweep the season series with their AFC South rivals.

Led by their backup quarterback, the Texans (5-5) reached 500 for the first time this season with their third win in four games. They also won their fifth straight over the Titans in Nashville despite playing without Stroud, safety Jalen Pitre and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.

PANTHERS 30, FALCONS 27: In Atlanta, Bryce Young threw for 448 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 28-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Carolina Panthers to a win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Young’s 54-yard pass to Tommy Tremble set up the winning kick for Carolina (6-5), which completed its sweep of reeling NFC South rival Atlanta.

Young completed 31 of 45 passes despite being escorted to the locker

Allen outduels Mayfield

as Bills beat Buccaneers

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Josh Allen

wasn’t in an I-told-you-so mood after he threw three touchdown passes and ran for three scores. Following a few clunkers, the Buffalo Bills’ star quarterback led his team to a season high in points in Sunday’s 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and afterward, Allen refused to fall into the trap of riding emotional peaks and valleys.

“Starting off 4-0 and we’re the best team in the world. And we lose two in a row and now we’re the worst team in the world,” Allen said “We don’t want to ride that. We want to stay here, stay consistent.” Either way, Allen brought the Bills’ offense out of a monthlong slump, overcame what he called a “boneheaded” interception on his second snap, and added another extraordinary stat line to a career full of them. Allen became the first NFL’s first player with two games of three TDs passing and rushing. He did it last year in a 44-42 loss at the Los Angeles Rams. He also upped his career total to 290 touchdowns, the most by a quarterback before turning 30 — passing Peyton Manning’s 288 The reigning MVP did it this time with a retooled receiving group

that featured Gabe Davis and Mecole Hardman making their season debuts. And Allen outdueled fellow 2018 first-round draft pick Baker Mayfield in a back-andforth game that featured nine lead changes

“I think at the end of the first quarter, just the way how things were going, I’m just knowing that we’re gonna have to put our hard hats on and go to work,” Allen said.

“And I thought we made some plays today.”

A week after Buffalo was blanked through three quarters of a 30-13 loss at Miami, Allen came out firing, even with wind gusts of up to 30 mph off nearby Lake Erie. His three TD passes went for 25 yards or longer including a perfectly placed 43yard deep ball that Tyrell Shavers hauled in while tumbling into the end zone And the dual-threat quarterback used his legs to score three times. The last was a 9-yard run in which Buffalo’s offensive linemen shoved him the final 2 yards to seal the victory with 2:35 remaining.

“High-level competition, two great quarterbacks, two great teams,” coach Sean McDermott said.

“Fun, yeah. My heart could have used a little bit different type of game,” he added. “This win right here showed me how tough we are.”

room late in the first quarter with a right ankle injury He missed only one snap.

BEARS 19, VIKINGS 17: In Minneapolis, Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kickoff return in the final minute set up Cairo Santos for his fourth field goal of the game, a 48-yarder as time expired that gave the Chicago Bears a victory after the Minnesota Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left. Over their seven wins, the Bears (7-3) are a stunning plus-20 in that column. Not coincidentally they’re 3-0 in games decided by two points or fewer and 5-1 when the margin is five or less.

After J.J. McCarthy ended another erratic performance with five straight completions that culminated with a 15-yard scoring strike to Jordan Addison, Duvernay delivered the clutch response after the Bears blew the 13-point lead they took into the fourth quarter

JAGUARS 35,CHARGERS 6: In Jacksonville, Florida, the Jaguars bounced back from the worst collapse in franchise history by thumping the Los Angeles Chargers behind rushing touchdowns from Travis Etienne, Trevor Lawrence and rookie Bhaysul Tuten.

Coming off a 36-29 debacle at Houston during which they blew a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars (6-4) showed no lingering effects from the crushing setback against a division rival.

Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers were a complete no-show finishing with 135 yards and just eight first downs.

STEELERS 34, BENGALS 12: In Pittsburgh, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the second half in the locker room dealing with an aching left wrist. And still the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way, and steadied their season in the process. Mason Rudolph guided a pair of long scoring drives after replacing the injured Rodgers, and the Steelers surged past the Cincinnati Bengals 34-12 on Sunday to remain atop the AFC North while also playing without safety Jalen Ramsey, who was thrown out for throwing a punch at Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Joe Flacco’s run of inspired play came to an abrupt end. The 40-yearold, who had not looked his age since taking over for an injured Joe Burrow and ineffective Jake Browning, delivered his worst performance since joining Cincinnati (3-7) last month. Flacco completed 23 of 40 passes for 199 yards with a touchdown and Kyle Dugger’s interception.

49ERS 41,CARDINALS 22: In Glendale, Arizona, Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes in his return from a toe injury, Christian McCaffrey had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score, and the San Francisco 49ers beat the sloppy

Arizona Cardinals.

McCaffrey extended his NFL record with his 17th career game with at least one running touchdown and a touchdown catch. Purdy completed 19 of 26 passes for 200 yards. Arizona’s Jacoby Brissett started his fifth straight game for the injured Kyler Murray and completed 47 of 57 passes for 452 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The 47 completions set an NFL record in the regular season. RAMS 21,SEAHAWKS 19: In Inglewood, California, Kamren Kinchens had two of the Rams’ four interceptions, Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and Los Angeles hung on to beat the Seattle Seahawks for its fifth consecutive victory

Jason Myers was short on a 61yard field goal attempt as time expired, allowing the Rams (8-2) to survive the Seahawks’ furious late rally

RAVENS 23, BROWNS 16: In Cleveland, Ohio, tight end Mark Andrews ran 35 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:31 remaining, and the Baltimore Ravens rallied for a victory over the Cleveland Browns to spoil Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut. On fourth-and-inches at the Browns 35, Baltimore (5-5) looked like it was going to run a tush push with Andrews lined up under center. Instead of going up the middle, Andrews ran left. Fullback Patrick Ricard got a kick-out block on Browns safety Grant Delpit, and Andrews was untouched as he scampered to the end zone for his first career rushing touchdown. The Ravens have won four straight since their nightmarish 1-5 start.

BRONCOS 22, CHIEFS 19: In Denver, Wil Lutz kicked five field goals, including a 35-yard game-winner as time expired, pushing Denver past Kansas City for its eighth straight victory

The Broncos (9-2) all but buried the Chiefs (5-5) in the AFC West, which Kansas City has won ever year since 2016. Chiefs coach Andy Reid fell to 27-5 following a bye week, counting the playoffs and his time with Philadelphia.

Bo Nix set up the game-winning kick with a 32-yard pass to Troy Franklin that got Denver to the Kansas City 15 with under a minute remaining.

Raiders’ offense struggles under Kelly amid injuries and setbacks

BY MARK ANDERSON AP sportswriter

HENDERSON, Nev This wasn’t the kind of production expected out of the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense when they gave Chip Kelly $6 million to run it. But the offensive coordinator also likely didn’t expect to try to piece together a unit beset by injuries.

So even though the offensive numbers are far from pretty, how much of that falls on Kelly is difficult to tell.

For his part, Kelly isn’t making excuses for an offense that through 10 weeks ranked 30th in total yards (272.2 average), 29th in rushing (87.4), 27th in passing (185.2) and 31st in scoring (15.4).

“It’s just the NFL,” Kelly said. “I think everybody understands that. I don’t think there’s anybody in the league right now that hasn’t lost players that were starters for them. That’s just the nature of the game we play, and you have to be able to adjust and adapt. Your depth is going to get tested at all times, so you just have to adjust to it. You don’t sit there and say, ‘Boy, I wish we had him.’ ”

One of Pete Carroll’s first acts upon becoming Las Vegas’ coach in January was to hire Kelly, who had just been the offensive coordinator for Ohio State’s national championship team His reported $6 million contract is the highest for an NFL OC.

So much was expected from Kelly to improve an offense that also ranked toward the bottom in multiple categories last season.

ä Cowboys at Raiders, 7:15 P.M.MONDAy ESPN

Not expected? A knee injury to tight end Brock Bowers limited him in three games and took him out of three others, and offensive linemen Kolton Miller and Jackson Powers-Johnson landed on injured reserve with ankle injuries.

The Raiders also had higher hopes for veteran quarterback Geno Smith, but his 12 interceptions entering the weekend were second only to Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa.

“I’ve got to cut it loose,” Smith said. “Just don’t think too much. Just go out there and cut it loose, play your game. Protect the football, first and foremost. The last eight games of the season, I want to be the best in the league in terms of protecting the football.”

Las Vegas also hasn’t been able to get its running game going despite taking Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty with the sixth pick in this year’s draft. Much of Jeanty’s struggles trace back to the Raiders failing to adequately address their offensive line issues in the offseason.

So there is much working against Kelly that is largely out of his control and he can only do so much with what he’s given. But it’s also difficult to find much evidence in which he elevated the offense.

“He’s working hard at it, and he’s working with the guys he’s got and trying to make the very most of it,” Carroll said.

Perhaps Monday night’s home game against Dallas will be an opportunity for Kelly to get the offense going in the right direction The Cowboys allow 30.8 points per game, next to last in

the league.

But help is on the way The Cowboys traded for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson, capturing the Raiders’ attention that this might not be the easy-to-attack Dallas “D” other teams have taken advantage of this season.

Dallas likely will focus its attention on Bowers and put the onus on a Raiders receiving group weakened by the trade of Jakobi Meyers just before the deadline. In the Raiders’ first game without Meyers, they had trouble getting anything going in a 10-7 loss at Denver on Nov 6.

“There’s a difference in terms of who you have out wide,” Kelly said. “Obviously, in the offensive line, there’s been some shuffling going on because you lost Kolton and then you lost JPJ, so just moving those guys around. I think our guys that have stepped up have done a nice job, but that’s an ongoing process, and that’s what happens in this league.”

It can be an unforgiving league. The Raiders stand at 2-7, but special teams blunders cost them three legitimate chances at victories, which resulted in the firing of coordinator Tom McMahon on Nov 7.

A much more effective offense, however, also changes the narrative of this season.

No matter how the Raiders got to this point, it caught Carroll by surprise.

“How do I handle it? Not very well,” Carroll said. “It’s been crappy, and this is not what I expected to happen. I didn’t feel that we would be this far behind the start of the season. We’re just trying to keep driving the messages home and trying to get better each week and do some things that we can build from.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DOUG BENC

Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson is congratulated after kicking the winning field goal in overtime against the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Madrid, Spain.

Kelly

The Tigers scored 108 points on 53% shooting in their seasonopening rout of Houston Christian, and they still haven’t cooled off. Their offensive numbers, in fact, have only improved since then.

LSU has scored at least 115 points seven times in program history Three of those outings have come in just the past 10 days in drummings of Southeastern Louisiana, Georgia Southern and Charlotte.

The Tigers have picked up four wins by an average margin of 62 points. They’re also shooting an efficient 56% from the field and a blistering 48% from 3-point range. Tulane has already hung with an

SCOREBOARD

Pelicans fall to Warriors

68, Utah Tech 62

State 64, Presbyterian 62

state scores, schedule

game No games scheduled

games

79, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 50

49, Tarleton State 47 Arizona 85, Grambling 64

game LSU at Tulane, 6 p.m. National scores EAST Brown 56, UMBC 54 Buffalo 67, Fordham 59 Cornell 62, Canisius 50 Dartmouth 65, Siena 55 Drexel 66, Loyola (MD) 57 Lafayette 69, St. Francis (PA) 55 Marist 78, Holy Cross 77, OT Maryland 84, Princeton 68 Navy 69, Florida 54 New Hampshire 76, New England College 29 Penn State 89, Saint Joseph’s 77 Rutgers 59, Fairleigh Dickinson 49 Scranton 69, Pittsburgh 63 Syracuse 78, Wagner 29 Towson 65, Coppin State 54 UConn 100, Ohio State 68 SOUTH Appalachian State 77, Wofford 50 Austin Peay 77, Indiana State 73 Davidson 82, Iona 52 Duke 71, Liberty 57 Eastern Kentucky 57, North Dakota 46 Gardner-Webb 55, Hampton 35 Georgia 76, Jacksonville State

SEC team this season. On Nov 6, when it lost at home to Missouri, the Green Wave held the Tigers to 77 points on 39% shooting.

But LSU is on a different level And it usually rolls past its nonconference opponents.

Since the 2021-2022 season, Mulkey’s first in Baton Rouge, no Division I team has more 100-point games than the Tigers (25), according to Basketball Reference data. Texas is the second SEC program on that list, and it’s hit the century mark only 13 times across those five seasons.

“We can score the ball,” Mulkey said. “We can score the ball at all positions.”

This LSU team has a few things in common with the one that took home the 2023 national title. That group, for instance, had nine newcomers. This one has eight. Both teams — through the first four games of their respective seasons — were also scoring at least 110 points per game and winning by an average margin of at least 60 points. The 2025

The LSU reserves scored an average of only 16 points per game across the past three seasons, years in which the Tigers ranked 229th, 283rd and 94th among Division I teams in bench points per contest.

This season, LSU’s bench is chipping in 57 points per game — the most in the country

“I’ve been doing this almost 40 years,” Mulkey said. “I can’t

STAFF

PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson checks out of the game in front of coach

Kim Mulkey during a game against Charlotte on Wednesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Superdome. I’m getting ready to put more money into the Smoothie King Center,along with Champions Square. I’ve been talking with the governor (Jeff Landry) on a regular basis. We’ve got alot going on. And it’sall for the benefitof the fans.

Fans have expressed their discontentto us via emails, text messages and letters to the editor.How aware are you and other team officials of the fans’ displeasure?

GB: Iamabsolutely aware. Iam not an absentee owner who flies in just for games. Iaminthe office andamout in the community every day.Italk to fans, partners and our staff every day.Wediscuss and hear their frustrations regarding the performances of bothteams every day.Noone is very happy with either team’s performance now,especially me. With that said, Iamconfident both teams are heading in the right direction, specifically the acquisition and developmentof our young players that are playing and starting for both teams. They will be our core for years to come. But again, Iunderstand the frustration and anxietyof patience. Ibelieve in the plan and vision as we develop bothteams in getting our younger players that we have drafted on thefield andonthe court now

Do you receive letters and messagesfrom fans?

GB: Yes. All the time. And they’re very upset. And I’m very upset, butIcan’tdoany more than I’m doing.I’m not gonna fight anybody.These people that workfor me, Irespect them. They work very hard. Youdon’t thinkMickey Loomis is losing sleep at night over all of this? He is. It’shard. It’s not an easy job. It’snot like he’s sitting on his butt, not worrying about things.

Manyfans have lost confidence inthe leadership of Saints GM Mickey Loomis, pointing to the club’slack of success without head coach Sean Payton. How do you respond to that?

GB: It may not be what the fans want to hear,but as far as firing Mickey Loomis, that’sridiculous. (He) does agreat job. Mickey’s been one of the top NFL general managers. He’sagreat guy.He’s got abunch of rookies.He’sgot anew coach who just was in the Super Bowl. Imean, what else can Ido?

How would you answer his critics,who say he is not held accountablebyyou and president Dennis Lauscha?

GB: It is important to note that both (Pelicans executive vice president) Joe Dumars and Mickey Loomis report only to me, no one else in the building. Iam in the office every day speaking withthem.Iaminthe lockerroom after every game, win or lose, and available to them to provide whatever support they needtobe successful.

It is incorrect to assume that Mickey Loomis is not held accountable. Iagree with everyone, including Mickey,that we do not have the record that we want. However,Idosee ateam that is building for the future. While Iamnot nuanced in the details of specific football moves, Iamaware of what I see on the field. Our (first-year head) coach, Kellen Moore, has the makeup to be avery special coach, and Iamexcited about having him. Iamalso very excited about our young players and the way they have played this year It also appears we may have found ayoung quarterback in Tyler Shough, who has the potential to start for us for many years. Iwas so proud to see Tyler do well, and Isharedthat with him after the (Carolina) game. He’sdoing agreat job. I really like that young man. So, from what Ican see frommy seat, is ayoung team thatis headed in the right direction.

Many fans believe Mickey Loomis is part of the problem ratherthan partofthe solution. Explainwhy you have confidence in his work as GM.

GB: This offseason, Mickey managed the retirement of Derek Carr, saving us $30 million in cap space. He also traded defensive tackleKhalen Saunders to the Jaguars for our current starting veteran center,Luke Fortner,who has played apivotal role in theabsence of Erik McCoyfollowing his season-ending injury. Iam told that Saunders was just released by theJaguars. We currently hold seven draft choices for the 2026 NFL Draft, all of which will help us continue building this young roster As our fansknow well, Mickey also oversaw two of the greatest drafts in league history in 2006 and2017, not to mention leading the charge duringone of the most challenging situations for the greatest free-agent signing in professional sports, Drew Brees. Mickey is one of the longesttenured and most respected general managers in theNFL. In 2006, he was the lone voice in our building tohireSean Payton. When Iam asked tohold Mickey Loomis accountable, Ido. Not every decision works out, they never do; that is why Iamsharing with youthe body of work thatMickeyhas contributed to making our team so successful over the years. Iholdhim in high esteem, and Iam very pleased with what he has accomplished, acquired and is building.

Given the historically slow starts this season and the recentstruggles of both clubs to makethe playoffs,why should fans have confidence in the management and direction of the organization?

GB: LikeI stated, there is the reality that both leagues have rules to create parity and opportunity Fortunately,those rules in both leagues allow for quicker turnaroundsthan they used to if you make theright decisions. My role is to hire thebest people Ican and givethem theresources they needtowin. Ihave committed millions to state-of-the-art practice facilities and hiring coaches andsupport staffs forthese teams. Ialso take great pride in not meddling in the day-to-day operations, lettingour football and basketballpeople do their jobs. And yes, it is also my job to hold them accountable if we are not meeting our goals.Away from the fieldand court,it is also my job to make sure our business operationsare providingthe best product for ourfans in their game-day experience. Icommitted $180 million to the renovation of the Caesars Superdome.Those are direct improvementsfor our fans that we know and hear are well received. As I stated publicly,when we signed thelong-term statelease, Imade

STAFF FILEPHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD

Pelicans executivevice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars speaks during anews conference on Sept.22atthe team’spractice facility in Metairie. Team ownerGayle Bensonsays she is available to provide whatever supportnecessary for herteams to be successful.

it very clear that my next major prioritywas to renovate the Smoothie King Center and bring Champions Square up to alevel that is the best in theNBA. Ihave already started speaking with Governor Landry about this plan. While there are still some fanfacing issues at both theCaesars Superdomeand Smoothie King Center,such as concessions, we continue to work with ASMon correcting these so that our fans have thebest experience possible.

Where do things stand on negotiations with the state on along-termlease at the SmoothieKing Center?

GB: The other night Iwas at an event where the governor was being honored with theBoy Scouts at the World WarIIMuseum,and he pulled me aside and said, ‘We are going to get together,and we’re going to get this next deal done.’ Isaid, ‘OK. Igot it.’ So we are going to address this. Timing is everything. Youjust can’tjump from one project to thenext that quickly.We’re talking about alot of money,and we’re talking about alot of planning. We’ve been planning this for along time. We’ve been working on the Superdome(lease agreement) for along time. We finally got that settled and now we’re going to workonthe arena, and it’s going to be just thegovernor and I. Idon’twant anybody else in theroom. Andthe governor and Iboth agree on that. Youknow, when you get too manypeople involved, it becomes abig mess. The governor and Iknow what we need to do. Andthat’s what we’re going to do.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis speaks during anews conferenceonJuly 22 at the team’sheadquarters in Metairie. Team owner GayleBenson says Loomis has been ‘one of the top NFLgeneral managers’ and is here to stayand oversee the team’s rebuild.

Is there anyupdate on where things stand on New Orleans and the 2031 Super Bowl?Haveyou met with (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell yetonthat?

GB: Imeetwith Roger on aregular basis on different issues. He and Iweretexting this morning. We aregoing to find out about the Super Bowl in acouple of months, probably acouple of (NFL) meetings from now.Our league meeting is in May(to discuss future Super Bowls). They like to (decide on) Super Bowls four years out. I think they’re going to let us bid, even though we’re coming in late. All of the owners wanttocome to New Orleans. As you know,in New Orleans, we can’thave the Super Bowl every year because of all the events that we have coming here. But the 2031 game is where we wanttobe.

Do you think it’sstill apossibility forthe city? Even after missing the original deadlinetosubmit ourintent to host that year?

GB: Oh,yeah, sure. We still have achance. But Ican’tpromise that because Idon’thave acrystal ball. Iwish Idid, but Idon’t. OK,I can’tsay the (NFL’s Super Bowl) committee’sgoing to definitely votefor New Orleans. Ican’tsay that. ButIcan say that all the owners and Roger and his whole team want to come back here. But we don’thave that in writing.

Is it your understanding that the league willwork with New Orleans, giventhe complicationswehavehere in certain years with Mardi Gras and major conventions?

GB: Oh,they are. And they will. We do havethe best city forthe Super Bowl. There’sonly three or four cities that really can handle

(the Super Bowl), and they’re going to work with us. They want to come back. Let’shope it happens. The governor and Iare going to go back to meet with Roger in January.Hesaid he would be glad to meet with the governor,but he said, Ican’tgive him any more information than I’mgiving you. It’s done by committee. I’mpart of it. We’re still in the early stages of choosing (the Super Bowls) that farout. He said, ‘We’re going to get there, and as soon as we do, you’re going to be the first one (in line).’ Right now we can’t.

So you’re saying the ship hasn’tsailedon New Orleans getting the 2031 Super Bowl?

GB: No,ithasn’tsailed. And people need to calm downabout that. They need to give me some breathing room so Ican get stuff done.

It wasrecently indicatedthat some aspects of the succession plan forthe franchiseshavechanged in recent years. If so, is there anything you’d like the public to know about those changes?

GB: There have been no substantive changes to the succession plan. It remains that when Idie, both teamswill be sold to the highest bidder and those proceeds will be used 100% to improve this community.I did authorize achange that we will have agroup of committed individuals administer the proceeds of the sale upon my death, rather than have one individual handle making those decisions. Finally Iwant to reiterate and makethis abundantly clear,I am not selling these teams.

Is there anything else you’dliketoadd?

GB: Yes. Let me be clear about this: The teamsare not forsale. That’sincapital letters. Iwant everybody to know the teamsare not forsale. Iget tired of people asking me (if they’re forsale). I’mgoing to turn 79 in January, but I’mpretty healthy.I hear that people want to talk to me about buying the team.I’m like, well, that’sawaste of my time. That’s not going to happen. And people need to calm downabout the team moving.

And finally,I just wanteveryone to know that I’mdoing everything that Ican, other than throwing the ball and catching it and getting the ball in the hoop. I can’tdoany morethan I’mdoing. I’mgiving them (the teams) the money.I’ve done everything Ican to help these guys. After every game, winorlose, both teams, I’m in that locker room.When they come in from the field or off the court, I’mhugging every one of them,win or lose. Ican’tdoany morethan let them know I’msupporting them.I don’tknow what else Ican do.

Email JeffDuncan at jduncan@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

TheNew Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers warmupbefore agameonFridayatthe SmoothieKingCenter

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

ALZHEIMER’SQ&A

Take personal approach to dealingwith FTDapathy in patients

How can apathybemanaged inanindividual with frontotemporal dementia?

Frontotemporal dementia or frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) refers to arange of disorders that impact the brain’s frontal lobes (regions behind forehead) or its temporallobes (regions behind ears). These areasofthe brain arecommonly associated with personality, behavior and language.

Apathy in FTD is one of the most challenging aspects of the disorder for caregivers and health careprofessionals to manage. FTDaffects the individual enjoying everyday activities, participating in social events, performing household tasks and even personal hygiene and self-care. Managing apathy in those with FTD should be individually tailored and effective interventions and environmental strategies should be delivered and promoted with understanding and patience.

Caregivers canassist in the journey of FTD by learning all about the disease-related changes in the brain that are affecting their loved ones. Gettingeducated about FTD and its processes can help to maintain the caregiver’sempathetic connection to the individual and thus, reduce anger and frustration in the relationship of both parties.

The individual with FTD feels apathetic most days, withno motivationand/or the ability to initiate anything. The needs and interests of the individual with FTD should be assessed and in that way,amore personcentered approach can be maintained. What motivates him or her? What brings joy? What music could be played? Cover all the individual’sbiography,including spiritual, emotional, physical,nutritional, intellectual and social interests. Develop activitiesbased on this biography and adaptthem accordingly as abilities change duringthe progression of the disorder

Eliminatingthe need to make decisions and having a planned structure are helpful and necessary ways to manage and reduce apathy.Individuals withFTD require alot of time to process information and instructions, so it is important not to rush communications or the prescribed activity. Externalcuing may be necessary to start an activity and keep the individual engaged Reliance just on verbal cuing will be less effective as FTD progresses, so caregivers may need to take more direct action or mimicthe action they want their loved ones to perform. Incorporate acustomized music playlist for the individual and promote physical activity like walking or dancing. Repetitive activities also work well, such as folding laundry,asthese are consistent with some of thebehavioral symptoms associated with FTD. Additionally,multisensoryactivities may overwhelm the individual, so these need to be introduced one sense at atime as to not distract the individual or cause him or her to lose interest. Overall, any

FURRY FRIENDS?

Even if you’re notnutsabout squirrels, remember they do help ourecosystems, supportplant growth

BY COLETTE DEAN

Contributing writer

It’s easy to have alove-hateopinion of squirrels.

These furry scamps are theclowns of our natural world and aside from entertaining antics, have alot to offer in ourmodern urban andsuburban settings. Squirrels benefit ecosystems by actingasseed dispersers, which helps plants and expand forests. They also aerate soiland spread fungal spores, which supports plant growth.

But the mischievousmammals also raid bird feeders, chew andgnaw through just about anything, anddart out in front of cars.

Dr.Jim LaCour, instructor for the LSUSchool of Animal Sciences, said Louisianaishome to three types of native squirrels, including asubspecies: the gray,fox and flying squirrels.

Eastern graysquirrels are themost common and recognizable with gray fur,white belliesand bushy tails.A Southerngray subspecies is darker in

Agroup of squirrels is also called ascurry.

color and found in southern parishes.

Three subspecies of fox squirrels can vary in color from black to redand are less common. One subspecies in western Louisiana is the largest, lighter in coloring and with alarge skull.

Flying squirrelsare small, nocturnaland have skinflapsbetween their

front andback legs whichallowthem to glide.This mimics flying, hence the name. Not easily seen in the dark, LaCour says you can hear their highpitched squeaking noisescoming from the treetops.

MidCityMerchants lightupBRnight

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Community,twinkle lights, original art and good vibes.It’s Baton Rouge’sfavorite fall night of the year— MidCity Merchants’ White Light Night along Government Street. The 28th annual White Light Night, alargeopen-house style market eventfeaturing art, live music, food and shopping, will be 6p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday,Nov 21. Thevibrantevent transforms MidCity into alively celebration that supports Baton Rouge’screativecorridor Mid City Merchants,a nonprofit 501(c)(3)organization, was founded in 1991 to encourage artists,local art

Wroten said. Mid City Merchants have 44 merchants participating, and even moreven-

FILE PHOTOByPATRICK DENNIS

Shoppers make their wayalong rows of artbooths on Government Street during last year’sWhite Light Night.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByLESLIE WESTBROOK

STAFFFILE

PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING

Blisters requiregentle, patientcare

Dear Doctors: Idoalot of hiking and camping,and when there is terrain that is rough, alot of times

I’ll get ablister.How do you take care of that —are you supposed to pop it and drain it, or do you justcover it up? I’ve heard it’s easyfor ablister to get infected, and Iwant to avoid that.

Dear Reader: Ablister is afluidfilled sac that forms within the outermostlayers of the skin. It can be caused by burns,frostbite, sunburn, disease,allergic reaction and, as you have experienced, repeated rubbing.Known as frictionblisters, theseare by far the most common form of this type of skin injury.They occur when shifting pressure gradually forces apart the top layers of the

MERCHANTS

Continued from page1C

pop-up spaces. For the music lovers, multiple performance spots will feature local bands and musiciansthroughout the night.For the foodies, Mid City’srestaurants and vendors will serve festive eats and drinks

Theevent is free andfamilyfriendly.Free parking will be available in surrounding lots, and attendees are encouraged tocarpool, bike, walk or use ride-share services when possible. Consult the event map ahead of timeto plan for the evening. Merchants for White Light Night include thefollowing:

n Arnold and Associates Interiors

n Barracuda Taco Stand

n Baton Rouge Music Studios LLC

n Body Images Tattoo

n Brasserie Byronz

n Calandro’sSupermarket

n Cannatella Grocery

n David Vincent’sMartial Arts &Fitness

n Electric Pickle

n Elizabethan Gallery

n FamilyandYouthServiceCenter

n Fleurty GirlBaton Rouge

n Focus &Flow,LLC

n Frameworks Gallery

n Giraphic Prints

n JCW Creative

n K&B Event Rentals

n La Carreta Mid City

n Local Pop-Up Market

n Mid City Beer Garden

n Miller &HilgendorfAttorneys

n MIMOSA Handcrafted

n MJ’sCafe

n Parish Pets

n Pelican to Mars

n Rad Dad Alternative

n Ragusa’sAutomotive

n Red Stick Reads

n Shop House

n Sonic Drive-In

n Soul Roots, LLC

n SPI Mini Mart

n St. Lillian Academy

n Steven Brooksher Insurance andFinancial Services

n Superior Bar &Grill

n The Emporium Signature Spa

n The Modern Munchkin Co.

n The Pink Elephant Antiques

n The Red Shoes

n Time Warp Boutique

n Tipton Associates

n Verde Beauty

n Vonnieab Respite Inc.

n Wooden Haven Furniture Co. Stroll down Government and peruse the vendors for holiday gifts, personal discoveriesand agood time.

ALZHEIMER’S

Continued from page1C

engagement with the individual with FTD should be enjoyable, non-threatening and purposefulto generate motivation and to garner more enthusiasm, pleasure and to maintain aquality of life.

Many caregivers feel guilty about “not doing enough” for their loved ones which adds undue stress. Joining asupport group specifically for FTD caregivers can help caregivers express their feelings, in addition to learning more ways and suggestionsto manage apathy in their loved ones. Contact the Association for FrontotemporalDegeneration (www.theaftd.org or (866) 5077222) for more information and resources.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of“What My GrandchildrenTaught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@gmail. com.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

skin. The fluid thatseepsinto and fills the spacebetween the two separated layers is part of the body’s healing process. The size and severity of ablister are influenced by severalfactors. These include the intensity of the pressure, its duration and the presence of moisture in the

affected area. The architecture of thefoot plays aroleaswell. Navigating rough terrain creates something known as shear force, atype of pressure that gradually nudgesapart the topmost layers of skin. If your feet are sweating, or if youget them wet, the skin absorbs that moisture. This, in turn, causes the skin to swell. It becomes more fragile,less elastic and more vulnerable to the lateral stressors we mentioned earlier.

Whencaring for ablister, resist the urge to popit. Youwantto keep it intact. The fluid inside is amix of plasma,serum, proteins, electrolytesand immune cells, andeach hasaspecific role in the healing process. The skin serves

as abuilt-in bandage, protecting the exposed tissues from infection.Start by washing your hands. Then, carefully clean the surface of the blister.Gently pat it dry —never rub —and protect the area with anonstick bandage that won’tdamage the fragile skin. Change the bandage every day—more often if it gets dirty or becomes wet. If its size or location maycause it to burst on its own, or if the internalpressure is causing pain, it can be necessary to drain a blister. When you do so, you are exposing an open wound, which raises the risk of infection. That makes cleanliness imperative. Wash your hands, clean the skin andpat it dry.Use asharp, steril-

ized needle to pierce one or two holes at the blister’sedge. Use a gauze pad to apply gentle pressure until most of the fluid is gone. Don’tdrain it completely, and never remove the top layer of skin. Keepthe blister covered with aclean dressing and protect the area frompressure or friction until healing is complete. If you see signs of infection —redness, warmth, swelling or discharge please seek medical care.

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

SU to screen filmonBrice UnionTaylor

Documentarytells storyofsuccess as football player, athletic director

Staff report

Ascreeningofthe documentary “All American: The Brice Story” will take place at 10 a.m. Monday atSouthernUniversity’s Allan Hall, Room 313, in Baton Rouge

Thefilm’ssubject is Brice Union Taylor,University of Southern California’sfirst AllAmerican football player and also served as head football coach and athletic director at Southern University where he led theteam to its first undefeated season and laid the foundationfor the Bayou Classic rivalry

The documentary “tells the powerful truestory of Taylor,a

FRIENDS

Continued from page 1C

Squirrels arenot endangered but the status of asubspecies, Sciurus niger bachmani or Bachman’sfox squirrel,isofconcern.

“Wedohave them on the LSU campus,” LaCour says. Squirrel tails are fun to watch, actinglike signal flags. For instance, tail-shaking behavior is typical when asquirrel is alarmed by the approach of apersonor other dangerousanimal. The tails alsowarmtheminfrigid weather as they keep thetaillying flat along theirback, providinginsulation. On an icy or rainy day,the tip of the tail canact as an umbrella they hold over their head.

One of asquirrel’s mostimportant tools is its impressivenutcracking, seed-grinding teeth. Two pairs of sharp incisors protrude from thefront andcontinuously grow, whichiswhy theycontinue to gnaw on hard materials to keep teeth amanageable length.

“They are notorious for chewingwires, wood and fence ties,” LaCour says Fox and gray squirrels breed at 1yearofage during two distinct breeding periods: mid-December to earlyJanuary and againinJune Squirrelsprefer to nestintree cavities comprised of sticks anddry leaves,orifit’sconvenient,they may find aspottonest in your attic. Having asquirrel make ahome in your homeiswhat usually triggers hostility from humans. “Atticsare very attractive to a squirrel wanting to find awarm, dry place to live,” LaCoursays. TimothyBrowning is alicensed

man whoovercameboth racial barriers and physical disability —having been born withoutaleft hand —tobecomea collegiate football legend andanenduring symbol of perseverance,” anews release states

“It’sdeeplymeaningfulto bring Brice Taylor’s story home to Southern University,where his leadership andvisionshaped generations of athletes. His life reminds us that determination faithand excellence can transcendany obstacle,” saidProducer JeremySadowski.

Taylor also:

n Helped set aworld recordin track as partofUSC’s 440 relay team in 1925

n Became the first Black high school head football coach in Los Angeles at Jefferson High School

n Earned adoctorateintheology,and

n Ministered for more than 40 years at Los Angeles’ First AME Church.

nuisance wildlife control operator whowill occasionally get calls from homeowners needing assistance in evicting squirrels.

“The firstthing Idoisfind the accesspoints in thehouse.Usually,there is ahole somewhere nearthe soffit,eaves or gutters and once that is sealed,ittakes care of theproblem,” he advises.

The LouisianaDepartment of Wildlifeand Fisheries website has alistbyparish of licensed operatorsfor nuisance animals.

For do-it-yourself folks, LaCour suggests checking outthe municode.com websitetosee what is legal to do in your parish regardingtrapping, releasing or hunting them.

Cody Cedotal, LDWF small game and wildturkeymanager, sayssquirrelsare not allowed to be released on publiclands and permissionmust be givenfrom landownersbeforetrappingand

relocatingthem on private lands.

LaCour warns, “I don’tencourage putting out poison, as this does harmtootheranimals that prey on squirrels,” he said. Squirrels’ natural predators are numerous, including bobcats, foxes, coyotes, snakes, owls, largehawks andcats And don’tforget thegloves LaCour also encourages wearing thick gloves as protection from very sharpclaws andteethiftrapping is aconsideration.

If youfind keeping squirrels away fromyour bird feeders challenging, try using the “five, seven, nine” rule to guide feeder placement: n Five feet is the minimal height from theground you wanttohang your feeder n Space it 7feet away from launching points such as trees, fences or decks.

n Positionyour feeder 9feet away from tree limbsorother features fromabove to keep squir-

rels from dropping downonto the feeder

Weight-sensitive feeders and baffles installed on posts undera bird feeder can also act as adeterrent for keeping squirrels away

There are numerous sources online that offer hacks for containing or deterring squirrels from becoming pests.

Onething is universal: Battling backyard squirrels takespatience, Browning can attest.

“I try all kinds of ways to outsmart them andthentheyoutsmart me. So far, Ithink we’re even,” Browning concedes.

This columnisprovidedbythe Louisiana MasterNaturalists of Greater Baton Rouge, which seekstoadvanceawareness, understandingand stewardship of thenatural environment. For more information, email info@ lmngbr.org.

By The Associated Press

TodayisMonday, Nov.17, the 321st day of 2025.There are 44 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Nov.17, 1968, the last minutes ofatense NFL matchup on NBC between theNew York Jets and theOakland Raiderswere preemptedbythe children’sfilm “Heidi.” The network received thousandsofcalls from angry viewers and formally apologized.

Also on thisdate: In 1800, Congress held its first session in the partially completedU.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

In 1869, theSuez Canal opened in Egypt. In 1973, President Richard Nixon told agathering of Associated Press managing editors at atelevised news conference in Orlando, Florida: “People have got to know whether or not their president is acrook. Well, I’m not acrook.” In 1989, an estimated 10,00015,000 Czechoslovakian students demonstrated in Prague against Communist rule; hundreds of thousands joined the protests in thefollowing days. Dubbed the “Velvet Revolution” for its nonviolent nature, theprotests led to theresignation of the Communist

Party’s leadership on Nov.28that year In 1997, 62 people, mostof them foreign tourists, were killed when militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor,Egypt; the attackers were killed by police. In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger,the Austrian-born actor who had become oneofAmerica’s biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s, wassworninasthe 38th governor of California.

In 2020, President Donald Trumpfired the nation’stop election security official, Christopher Krebs, whohad refuted Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of elec-

toral fraud and vouched forthe integrity of the vote.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Brice Taylor was an All-Americanfootball player at the University of SouthernCalifornia

Today’sBirthdays: Film director Martin Scorsese is 83. Actormodel Lauren Hutton is 82. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 81. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim is 81. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels is 81. Basketball Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes is 80. Film director Roland Joffe is 80. Actor Stephen Root is 74. TV hostentertainer RuPaul is 65. Actor Dylan Walsh is 62. TV host-model Daisy Fuentes is 59. R&B singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 58. Actor Rachel McAdamsis47.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByHILARy SCHEINUK

An Easterngraysquirrel munches on afrench fryfresh from atrash canonthe LSU ParadeGrounds.

SCORPIO(Oct. 24-Nov.22) Diversify and see whathappens. Taking the road less traveled will be eye-opening. You are overdue for achangethatstimulates your mind and encouragesgreater confidence.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Adjust your living quarters to suityourneeds. It's time to broadenyourawareness regarding money andhealth issues to ensure youmake the headway necessary to sustain your momentum. Embrace change.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put your energy where it brings the highest return. Discipline, hard work and creative input will raise eyebrows and encourage others to take note of what you are doing.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.19) Putmore thought into how you can outdo anyone trying to compete withyou. Preparation is vital, along with executing your skills with precision andpassion.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) It's what you do that counts. Don't waste timeforcing your wants on others.Instead, takethe initiative to moveforward, and let your achievements speak for themselves.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Useyour imagination andrethink your next professional or financialmove. Stayahead engage in what's coming down the pipeline and learn how you can market your skills to ensure you flourish.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Refuse to let emotions stand between you and what

you want. An innovative and dedicated approach to your next move will pave theway to greater opportunities.

GEMINI(May 21-June 20) Speak up, ask questionsand dedicate time andingenuity to fine-tuning how you move forward. Change can offer opportunities thatgive you aunique view of what's possible.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Take the initiativetoparticipate in something that interestsyou. Anew look will be upliftingand encourage you to make the first move whenyou encountersomeone intriguing.

LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) Think matters through beforemaking changes or a move that can disrupt your household. Address emotional issues directly, and you'llgaininsight into what's possible.

VIRGO(Aug.23-Sept. 22) Do what comes naturally and what youdobest, andsuccesswill be yours. Display your skills physicallyand give others achance to see firsthand thepotential of what you have to offer.

LIBRA(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Simplify your life. Take amoment to rearrange your daytoensure youaddress what'sessentialtoyou andyourfuture.Target your goal and focus on results.

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

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Wilson Mizner said, “Life’s atough proposition,and the first hundred years are the hardest.”

At the bridge table,for most players the first trick is the hardest.They do not give it nearlyenough thought Today’s deal, for example, would defeat most players —although, to be honest,many wouldstill make the contract courtesy of amisdefense by East Southisinthreeno-trump. West leads his fourth-highestspade and East puts up the nine. What should happen?

IagreewithNorth’snotusingStayman with 4-3-3-3 distribution and honorsin every suit.

Southstartswith eight top tricks: two spades (given the opening lead), four diamonds and twoclubs. In addition, two more tricks can be established in hearts.

Itlookssoeasytowinthefirsttrickand play aheart. However,Eastcan take that trick andreturn his second spade. This establishes his partner’s suit,while West still has the heart king as an entry.South loses three spades and twohearts.

Abetter line for declarer is to cross to dummywithadiamondattricktwo,then to play aheart.

But if East is knowledgeable, he will take the trick and lead back his remaining spade. (Remember, if you have only one card left in partner’s suit and it is onelead from being established, do your utmost to winthe next defensive trick,

wuzzles

trying to save your partner’sentryfor use once his suit is ready to run.)

So, what is the solution? South must duck the first trick. Yes, East will lead the spade six, but declarer still getstwo spade tricks,and when East is in withhis heartace,hewillnothaveaspadeleft.(If East had athird spade, Southwould lose only two spades and twohearts.) ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Wordsthat acquire four letters by theadditionof“s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” maynot be used. 4. Proper nouns,

words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare notallowed.

toDAY’s WoRD uncoILs: un-KOYLS: Unwinds.

Average mark 12 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find17ormorewordsinUNCOILS?

sAtuRDAY’s WoRD —GREAtLY

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

g der,atPublicAuction WITH Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff East BatonRouge Parish ADVERTISED DATE October17, 2025 November 17, 2025 $242.34

record in theoffice of the clerkand recorder for said parish andstate as Lot214, said subdivision, said lothavingsuch measurements anddi‐mensions andbeing sub‐ject to such servitudes as shownonthe said map. Together with all thebuildings andim‐provements thereon, and allthe rights,ways, privi‐leges, servitudes,appur‐tenances andadvan‐tagesthereuntobelong‐ing, or in anywiseapper‐taining TERMSOFSALE: Cash to

JOHNNY MOSE

GANAKA JOHNNY M. MORGAN AKAJOHNNY

MORGAN AKA

o'clock a.m. on November 19, 2025, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www. bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: BRENDA MOR‐RISCHATMENTA/K/A BRENDA M. CHATMAN A/K/ABRENDACHATMAN A/K/ABRENDACHATMAN LAMB A/K/ABRENDAC LAMB A/K/ABRENDA LAMB

Acertain lotorparcelof ground,togetherwithall thebuildings andim‐provements thereon, sit‐uatedinthe Parish of East BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, in that sub‐division,known as Mick‐ensPlace Subdivision, Second Filing,and being more particularly de‐scribedaslot number onehundred thirty nine (139).Saidpropertysub‐ject to thosemeasure‐mentsand dimensions as on file andofrecordin theoffice of theclerk andrecorderofEast BatonRouge Parish, Louisiana.

MANAKA CLOISCOLE‐MAN Onecertain lotorparcel of ground,together with allthe buildingsand im‐provements thereon, and allofthe rights,ways, privileges, servitudes appurtenancesand ad‐vantages thereuntobe‐longingorinanywise ap‐pertaining,situatedin theParishofEastBaton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, in that subdi‐vision known as South Hillsand beingdesig‐natedonthe official plan of said subdivisionpre‐paredbyDaleHodges,

SHERIFF'SSALE

TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐

BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorablecourt aforesaid,inthe above entitled andnumbered cause, dated, July 31, 2025 andtomedirected, Idid seizeand will,be‐ginningat10:00 o'clock a.m. on November 19, 2025, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: JOHNNY MOSE MORGAN AKA JOHNNY M. MORGAN AKA JOHNNY MORGAN AND THEUNOPENEDSUCCES‐SION OF ANDUNKNOWN HEIRSOFDELONEMOR‐GANAKA DELONE MOR‐GAN Onecertain lotorparcel of ground,situatedinthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in that subdivisionthereof knownasMonticello, FirstFiling, andbeing more particularly de‐scribedaccording to the official mapofsaidsub‐division,on file andof

Suit No:(17) 766221 US BANK TRUSTNA‐TIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOTINITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUTSOLELYAS OWNERTRUSTEE FOR RCF2 ACQUISITIONTRUST vs ALBERTAPIERRE WASHINGTON BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above entitled andnumbered cause, dated, August 11, 2025 andtomedirected, Idid seizeand will,be‐ginningat10:00 o'clock a.m. on November 19, 2025, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: ALBERTA PIERRE WASHINGTON ONE(1) CERTAINLOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND,to‐

SHERIFF'SSALE Suit No:(17) 766295 NEWREZ

), said SouthHills,saidlot beingsituatedatthe in‐tersection of Village Park DriveandRickwood Drive andmeasuring seventyfive (75')feet frontonVil‐lage Park Driveby a depthofone hundred thirty-five

PUBLIC NOTICE 19THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF EAST BATONROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA PROBATENO. 114918 SUCCESSIONSOF CHARLIE JUDSON,JR. & SUSIEP.JUDSON NOTICE OF APPLICATIONFOR AUTHORITYTOSELL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY AT PRIVATESALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that theCo-Ad‐ministrators of theSuc‐cessionofCHARLIE JUD‐SON, JR andSUSIE P. JUD‐SON, haspetitionedthe Courtfor authoritytosell allofthissuccession’s right, title, andinterestin andtothe followingde‐scribedpropertyatpri‐vate sale forthe priceof $25,000.00 cash,payable

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