When the privateplane carrying Lane Kiffin landedSundaynight, it pulled into ahangar outofsight from asmall crowdoffans who had gathered in the misty cold. They peered througha chain-link fence, trying to see thenew LSU head coach. Kiffin was greeted insideby school officials, then hegot into a car along with hisfamilyand the coaches he broughtwithhim from Ole Miss.
Escorted by police, four black Chevrolet Suburbans pulled out of the hangar to bringhim to the LSU football operationsbuilding. There was no sign of Kiffinhimself as the fans chanted “LSU” until he rolled down his window.Withhis agent Jimmy Sexton on the phone,Kiffin pumped his fist andgavea thumbs up,drawing aloud cheer
“We’re never losing again,” one man declared.
“He’sgoing to win five championships,” yelled another
That’sright —the Lane Kiffin era has begun at LSU.
LSU finalized the hire Sunday, ä See LANE, page 6A
ä Scott Rabalais: TheLane Kiffin experience is at LSU,and it will be like nothing before. Page 1C
ä Kiffinappears to be bringing at least five Ole Miss coachesand staff members with him. Page 1C
BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer
NATCHEZ Natchez Mayor Patsy Ward Hoover weeds as shewalks, plucking errant grass from flower beds beside city buildings,in the city parkand alongher property, just down the road.
“Got ’em,” she said, clad in cowboy boots and agold cross, holding up abit of crabgrasswitha grin.
Ward Hoover had been on her knees, weeding around the flowers beneathacitysign, when a state senator pulled up in 2023 with some news: Her tiny village, which for years had struggled with amold, rat and asbestos-infested
LSULANDS LANE
City Hall, had won $250,000 for a newbuilding. It would be small, just 1,400 square feet. It would be temporary. But to Ward Hoover,alongtime activist and local politician, it represented anew era for Natchez, one she’dbeen fightingfor via months of daily calls to lawmakers, to the governor,toanyonewho would listen.
“I refused to let it go,” Ward Hoover,73, said as shestood last month beside the fresh building, framed by rose bushes. It was hoursbefore the villagewas set to host its National Night Out. Sinceshe started in 2022 as mayor of the lesser-known Natchez, apoor, close-knit communityin Natchitoches Parish,Ward Hoover has made beautya priority. That’s meant planting, clearing and erect-
PatsyWardHoover fighting ‘for another generation’ ä See MAYOR, page 4A
BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
Avast sugar cane field
STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER NatchezMayor PatsyWard Hooverstreams the National Night Out Against Crime partyonFacebooktoget
STAFFPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Indonesians hunt for food, water after floods
MEDAN, Indonesia Some residents of the flood-hit Indonesian island of Sumatra have resorted to stealing food and water to survive, authorities said Sunday, while Sri Lankan officials said deaths from floods and mudslides in that island nation have risen to 193.
The floods, which hit Indonesia nearly a week ago, have killed 442 people — with the number expected to rise as more bodies are recovered and displaced 290,700 people as nearly 3,000 houses damaged, including 827 that were flattened or swept out by floods.
The deluges triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut off parts of the island, and downed communication lines, prompting officials and limited communities using Starlink satellite internet for relief operations.
Another 402 people are missing in Indonesia’s three provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
The challenging weather conditions and the lack of heavy equipment also hampered rescue efforts. Aid has been slow to reach the hardest-hit city of Sibolga and Central Tapanuli district in North Sumatra.
Videos on social media showed people scrambling past crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and gas. Some waded through waistdeep floodwaters to reach damaged convenience stores
The spokesperson for the police, Ferry Walintukan, said they received reports of people breaking into shops on Saturday evening, and that regional police had been deployed to restore order Death toll in Hong Kong apartment blaze at 146 HONG KONG The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex blaze rose to 146 on Sunday as investigators discovered more bodies in the burned-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history
The Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, said the officer in charge, Cheng Kachun. The buildings remain structurally sound, but the search has been slow, he told reporters, still wearing his white coveralls with his hard hat and respiratory mask at his side. “It is so dark inside, and because of the low light, it is very difficult to do the work, especially in places away from the windows.”
Lost Rubens painting sells for $2.7M
VERSAILLES, France A long-lost painting by Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens, which was hidden for more than four centuries, sold at $2.7 million at an auction Sunday in Versailles. The painting was recently found in a private townhouse in Paris. It depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was part of a French collection and was initially thought to be from one of the many Rubens workshops that existed at the time The artwork was rarely valued at more than $11,500.
“I immediately had a hunch about this painting, and I did everything I could to try to have it authenticated,” auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat told The Associated Press. “And finally, we managed to have it authenticated by the Rubenianum, which is the Rubens committee in Antwerp.” Nils Büttner, an expert known for his research on Rubens, explained before the auction that the master often painted crucifictions but rarely depicted “the crucified Christ as a dead body on the cross.” The Osenat auction house said the painting’s authenticity and provenance were confirmed after scientific analysis.
Rubio: U.S.-Ukraine talks productive
Official says much work remains on deal to end war with Russia
BY JOSH BOAK and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — U.S. and Ukrai-
nian officials completed roughly four hours of talks Sunday aimed at finding an endgame to the war between Russia and Ukraine, just days before a U.S. envoy is due in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters afterward that the session with the Ukrainian team in Florida was productive but work remains in the search for a peace deal.
“It’s not just about the terms that ends fighting,” Rubio said. “It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity I think we built on that today, but there’s more work to be done.”
President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin in Moscow in the next few days.
Rubio, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law represented the American side in the high-level talks, held at a sensitive time as Ukraine continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022 while dealing with a corruption scandal.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force
One that he was briefed by them and that “Ukraine’s got some difficult little problems,” referring to the corruption scandal, which he said was “not helpful.”
The president added that “there’s a good chance we can make a deal.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government has been roiled by fallout from a scandal over $100 million embezzled from the energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors, causing newfound domestic pressures for Zelenskyy Diplomats have focused on revisions to a proposed U.S.-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Wash-
ington and Moscow That plan has been criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands. As the meeting began Sunday, Rubio focused on reassuring Ukraine.
As the teams sat down at the Shell Bay Club, a golf and racket club developed by Witkoff in Hallandale Beach, Rubio said the goal goes beyond peace to “securing an end to the war that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity at real prosperity.”
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded to Rubio by expressing his country’s appreciation for U.S. efforts, a message geared toward Trump, who has at times claimed that Ukraine has not been sufficiently grateful for U.S assistance during the war
“U.S. is hearing us,” Umerov said before the meeting. “U.S. is supporting us U.S. is working beside us.”
Umerov who appeared with Rubio to deliver a brief statement to reporters after the talks, underscored Ukraine’s gratitude for U.S. support during nearly four-year war But he offered no hints about what, if any, progress was made during the talks.
Rubio said the talks were comprehensive and went beyond finding agreement on ending the fighting. Trump has repeatedly said that if Ukraine builds deeper commercial ties to the United States it can help deter Russian aggression in the future.
To that end, the U.S. and Ukraine this spring signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.
Among measures included in Trump’s draft peace proposal is the creation of a Ukraine Development Fund to invest in fast-growing industries, including technology, data centers and artificial intelligence. The proposal also calls for Washington to cooperate with Kyiv to jointly rebuild, develop, modernize and operate Ukraine’s natural gas infrastructure, including pipelines and storage facilities. Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war
Post-Thanksgiving travel snared in Chicago after winter storm
Flights canceled and delayed
By The Associated Press
Travelers at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday on Sunday were finding hundreds of flights delayed and canceled in Chicago following a winter storm in the Great Lakes region, while a wintry mix of rain and snow developed in the Northeast. In Wisconsin, utility crews worked to restore power to thousands of people, while the airport in Des Moines, Iowa, reopened on the critical travel day after a Delta Connection flight landing from Detroit slid off an icy runway No injuries were reported, and passengers were transported to the terminal by bus.
Hundreds of churches in western Michigan told worshippers to stay home or watch services online. Up to 12 inches of snow had fallen since Saturday in areas close to Lake Michigan.
On Saturday, 8.4 inches of snow fell at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, setting a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. That broke the previous record of 8 inches on Nov 6, 1951.
Over 270 flights into and out of O’Hare had been canceled by midafternoon, while over 1,200 had been delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware.
The Federal Aviation Administration said at one point on Sunday that departures to O’Hare were delayed on average by nearly an hour due to snow or ice, and that departures from the airport were delayed an average of 15 minutes.
Planes were being de-iced at several airports across the country on Sunday, including at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, according to the FAA.
On Sunday afternoon there were nearly 400 flights into and out of Detroit Metro Airport that were delayed and over 300 canceled, according to FlightAware.
In Wisconsin, We Energies reported more than 6,000 power outages, with more than half in Milwaukee and South Milwaukee. Mark Paladino said on Facebook that he was shoveling snow Sunday when his apartment complex lost power in Fredonia. Others said power lines were sagging under heavy, wet snow Elsewhere in Iowa, gusty winds Sunday were blowing snow back onto roads, extending hazardous travel conditions, the National Weather Service said.
“We did have areas of Iowa and Illinois that saw over one foot of snow,” including 15 inches in Fort Dodge, Iowa, said meteorologist Andrew Orrison.
He said snow in the Great Lakes region was tapering off, but a new storm was heading to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with up to a foot of snow by Tuesday
Suspect sought in Calif. shooting
Authorities say shooter killed 4, including 3 children
BY SOPHIE AUSTIN and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press
STOCKTON, Calif.
Authori-
ties in California appealed to the public for tips, even rumors, as they searched Sunday for a suspect in the killing of three children and an adult during a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in Stockton.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County sheriff’s office.
She said investigators believe it was a “targeted incident” at a banquet hall where 100 people or more had gathered Saturday night.
Brent said the deceased were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. Eleven people were also wounded. No one was in custody by Sunday afternoon, and she did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.
“If you have surveillance footage, if you’re a local business here, if you’re in the area, live in the area, or maybe you’ve heard rumors please contact the sheriff’s office,” Brent said. She said she could not release information about a motive or details about a suspect, noting that it might hinder the investigation.
“Finding the person or
persons who committed this crime is the No. 1 priority,” Brent said.
Faith leaders in Stockton were planning an afternoon vigil to honor the dead and pray for the wounded.
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m Saturday inside the hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses. Stockton is a city of 320,000 residents, about 40 miles south of Sacramento.
“This was a birthday party for a young child, and the fact that this happened is absolutely heartbreaking,” Brent told reporters.
District Attorney Ron Freitas urged the shooter to “turn yourself in immediately.”
Community leaders expressed anguish.
“This is Thanksgiving weekend. This is when families come together, celebrate, share memories, give each other love,” Mayor Christina Fugazi said Saturday night. “Unfortunately tonight, heaven is a little bigger with the individuals, children and adults that unfortunately did not make it.” In 2024, Stockton had many more homicides 54 — than other California cities of similar size, but the rate was down through October of this year, according to city data.
Fugazi recalled a shooting several years ago in which “seven people were gunned down” in the city
“Stockton is better than this. Families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive,” Fugazi said.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, from left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner attend a meeting Sunday with Ukrainian officials in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE PHOTO By CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ Investigators with the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department collect evidence Sunday at the site of Saturday’s shooting at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif.
Lawmakers voice support for reviews of boat strikes
Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.
“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” Turner said.
BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
WASHINGTON Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.
The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns.
“This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
Rep. Mike Turner R-Ohio, when asked about a followup strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening while flying back to Washington from Florida, where he celebrated Thanksgiving, confirmed that he had recently spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
The U.S. administration says the strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartels, some of which it claims are controlled by Maduro. Trump also is weighing whether to carry out strikes on the Venezuelan mainland.
Trump declined to comment on details of the call, which was first reported by The New York Times.
“I wouldn’t say it went well or badly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked about the call
The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the call with Trump. Turner said there are concerns in Congress about the attacks on vessels that the Trump administration says are transporting drugs, but
the allegation regarding the Sept. 2 attack “is completely outside anything that has been discussed with Congress and there is an ongoing investigation.”
The comments from lawmakers during news show appearances come as the administration escalates a campaign to combat drug trafficking into the U.S. On Saturday, Trump said the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should
be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Maduro. Maduro’s government accused Trump of making a ”colonial threat” and seeking to undermine the South American country’s sovereignty
After the Post’s report, Hegseth said Friday on X that “fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incred-
ible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.”
“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command,” Hegseth wrote.
Trump said on Sunday the administration “will look into” the matter but added,
“I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” The president also defended Hegseth.
“Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,” Trump said. He added, “And I believe him.”
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late Friday that the committee “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”
That was followed Saturday with the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, and the ranking Democratic member, Washington Rep. Adam Smith issuing a joint statement saying the panel was committed to “providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean.”
“We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question,” Rogers and Smith said, referring to U.S. Southern Command.
Netanyahu requests pardon to end his corruption trial in Israel
BY SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press
TEL AVIV Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges, seeking to end a long-running trial that has bitterly divided the nation. Netanyahu, who has been at war against Israel’s legal system over the charges said the request would help unify the country at a time of momentous change in the region. But it immediately trig-
gered denunciations from opponents, who said a pardon would weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that he’s above the rule of law.
Netanyahu had submitted a request for a pardon to the legal department of the Office of the President, the prime minister’s office said in a statement The president’s office called it an “extraordinary request,” carrying with it “significant implications.”
Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, after being charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters. He hasn’t been convicted of anything. Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary
His request comes weeks after President Donald Trump publicly urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu, turning to President Isaac Herzog during his speech to Israel’s parliament last month. Earlier this month, Trump also sent a letter to Herzog calling the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution.”
Herzog is a former political rival of Netanyahu, but the men have a good working relationship. Later Sunday, Israeli media reported
a small protest outside Herzog’s home, including a pile of bananas with a sign saying a pardon equals a banana republic.
In a video statement, Netanyahu said the trial has divided the country He also said the requirement that he appear in court three times a week is a distraction that makes it difficult for him to lead.
“The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division, and deepens rifts. I
am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs,” he said. Netanyahu has taken the stand multiple times over the past year But the case has been repeatedly delayed as he has dealt with wars and unrest stemming from the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
BY SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s invited the family of a National Guard member fatally shot last week to the White House, saying he spoke to her parents and they were “devastated.”
U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died after the Wednesday shooting in Washington, D.C., while her seriously injured colleague, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remained in critical condition.
The president said he’s discussed a White House visit for the parents of both members of the West Virginia National Guard.
“I said, ‘When you’re ready, because that’s a tough thing, come to the White House. We’re going to honor Sarah,”
Trump told reporters. “And likewise with Andrew, recover or not.”
In recent days, local vigils in West Virginia have honored the soldiers, including one Saturday evening at Webster County High School, where Beckstrom attended classes.
“Sarah was the kind of student that teachers hoped for, she carried herself with quiet strength, a contagious smile and a positive energy that lifted people around her,” said Gabriel Markle, the school’s principal “She was sweet, caring and always willing to help others.”
Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24 were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of Trump’s aggressive crime-fighting plan that federalized the D.C police force
A 29-year-old Afghan national faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed in the shooting, which prompted the Trump administration to halt all asylum decisions and pause issuing visas for people traveling on Afghan passports.
Funeral arrangements had not been finalized for Beckstrom according to Cathy Pettry, the owner of Dodd & Reed Funeral Home in Webster Springs. Pettry said Saturday the home has been in contact with Beckstrom’s family about services.
The hometown crowd, seated in bleachers and folding chairs, lit candles as they heard from clergy and Gov Patrick Morrisey, who said he had visited Wolfe’s family earlier in the day
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks with reporters on Nov. 6 about President Donald Trump’s foreign policy intentions, with Venezuela in particular, at the Capitol in Washington.
ing signs. But it’salso meantpushing the city’s500 residents to clean up their own properties.
Andthat’swhere herapproach gets controversial,several residents said. Because top among thereasons to live here, in this rural crook of the Cane River,isthe ability to keep an old car onyour property, an old pig in apen behind your house.
“When she came to be themayor, she said she was going to have Natchez looking like amagazine,” said Joe Walker Jr., aretiredrailroad operator.Hequestions whether that should be the goal. The 1949 Fordtruckonhis property,where he wasborn and raised, “isn’t bothering nobody,” he argued, and he keeps the grass around his vehicles short and neat. Ward Hoover’shusband stores “all kinds of stuffbehind her house,” Walkersaid, “and he’snot moving nothin’.”
Walker led an effort in 2023 to remove Ward Hooverfromoffice butfailed to get the number of signatures needed. Ratherthan turn in the signatures, he burned the paper,believing that Ward Hoover would retaliate.
But Ward Hoover and her fans areundeterred.Using wordslike “determined,” “dogged,” and “tenacious,” they describe amayor who has accomplishedmore in her shorttimethanmanyleadersbefore her
“She just has aheart forNatchez,” said Louie Bernard,the former state senator who stopped by that day in 2023 and whoworked with Ward Hoover when she served on the Natchitoches Police Jury, now calledthe ParishCouncil. “And golly,ifanybody needed to bring Natchez forward, she’sthe one todoit.”
Natchez, whichsits 7miles south of the bigger,more picturesque Natchitoches, isn’thoping these efforts land it anew manufacturing plant. Ward Hooverisn’tgunning for the next TraderJoe’s. Her needs are more basic: asafe, functioning City Hall. Asewer system that sustains itself. Aworking restroom for Pecan Park.
“It gives the community asense of pride,” Ward Hoover said, running her nails along anew,brick
PLANT
Alive oak rises from the cane, indicating the site of an unmarked cemetery that local researchers say is aburial ground for people formerly enslaved on the area’splantations. According to their research, the surrounding area includes the foundations of the former plantation house and aNative Americanvillage, possibly with more graves. Thepropertywas previously identified as adeepwater access megasite by the Ascension Economic Development Corp. Now, NEMO Industries has an option to purchasethe land for a$3billion, artificial intelligence-powered pig iron plant. Pig iron is used to make steel, and an AI-generated video on the company website states the facility will be a“self-learning” plant.
Yetwith centuries of archaeologicalartifacts and one cemetery visible on Mississippi River maps from the 1800s, independent archaeologists Don Hunter and Joanne Ryan say the area needs afull study and proper preservation.
“It needs to be preserved or treated with respectto descendants of these people, andwethinkthere’s agood chance that we can possibly identify descendants of the slaves and freedmen that
city sign, one she convinced alocal monument company to donate.
“And it teaches their children right to have pride in what they do
“My wholefight is for another generation.”
‘I don’tdoparties’
Ward Hoover’soffice is covered with photos of her,insmart suits and high heels, smilingbeside political figures.
They includelawmakers and mayors, formerGov.JohnBel Edwards, aDemocrat, and current Gov.Jeff Landry,aRepublican.In her younger days, Ward Hoover fought for African American rights in Natchitoches Parish, whereshe protested the “Uncle Jack” statue of an elderly Blackman tipping his hat. She was oncea Democrat, then aRepublican. Now,she considers herself an independent: “I don’tdoparties. I don’tdocolor.I do people.”
But she doesn’tlinger on the photos of politicians, instead drawing visitors’ attention to anotherset of framed photographs —ofher three daughtersand six grandchildren, many of them clad in caps and gowns, clutching diplomas. Just this month, heryoungest daughter,Renita Ward Williams, who earned alaw degree, was named vice chancellor at Baton Rouge
Community College Ward Hoover ticked offtheir accomplishments, andthe accomplishments of hergrandkids, who arethemselvesearningdegrees.
But she admits to astubborn streakthat extends even to them. Once, her daughter refused to give herlegal advice, instead passing alongresources meant for city leaders.“Istayedmad at herfor two weeks,” Ward Hoover said.
Sheintroducesone City Council member as “myfavorite” and points out another’s beleaguered property
Alderwoman Monique Sarpy said it can be “a challenge” to workwith Ward Hoover.The fight over junk highlights one reason why, she said. “Folks don’tminddoingwhatneeds to be done,but it’s the way youaddress it and ask it to be done.”
SinceSarpy grew up in the village,its population hasgrown, she said, though census figures show astagnation. The mainthing city leaders needtodois“give residents abetter qualityoflife.”
That fight hasits obstacles. Audits filedwith the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOfficehavewarned that “the village’sdeteriorating financial condition could potentially discourage community investment, future economic development, or similar activities.” In
worked on this plantation,” Hunter said. “And they should be involvedinthe consultation process of what is going to be done with the cemetery.”
In astatement on behalf of NEMO Industries, Blanche Gallagher,aproject manager with theTJC Group, said the company is conducting fieldworkonthe site.
“Like all Louisiana land along the Mississippi River, Point Houmas has deep historical roots that must be respected.Incompliance with federal and state regulations, NEMO Industriesis currently conducting field work as part of environmental permittingarchaeological study,” she wrote.
“NEMO is committedto protecting andpreserving anyhistoric findings in coordinationwithLouisiana’s
StateHistoric Preservation Office.”
Rivermap identification
Thecemetery appears prominently on U.S. Coast Surveys from 1877 and 1878 that have been used to identify other unmarked burial grounds along the lowerMississippi River.In the1878 survey,asmall box withcrosses inside it is visible in thespot where the live oak grows.
“Several of thosemaps actually show thelocation of plantation cemeteries,” Hunter said. “This particular one was one of the first ones that we observed and developed an interest in.”
Earlier thisyear,Hunter andRyanindependently published astudy of archivalmaterialsofthe Point Houmas land. Utilizing the
response, city leaderstouted their plantoincrease sewer rates.
This year,for the first time in decades, they did.
Improving residents’ lot is complicated for historical reasons, too, said Rolanda Teal,ananthropologist who hired Ward Hoover decades agotohelpinterview decedents of slavery who settled in the area, once home to several large plantations. The first time Teal walkedthrough Natchez, witnessing the dilapidated homes and broken windows, she cried. This area is still feeling the effects of slavery, Teal said. Instilling asense of pride in such aplace can be difficult, she continued.
“Whenyou have such anegative thought process around your ancestors, it’shard to find the glory in it.”
Ward Hoover,though, is determinedenoughtopushagainst all that,Tealsaid. “She gets something in her head and wants to see it done,” she said. “That is to be admired.
“Pat doesn’tgive up.”
‘Nothing withoutprayer’
In the hours leading up to the National Night Out gathering in Pecan Park, Ward Hoover was on one of two cellphones, reminding the city clerk to bring the giftbags, some-
surveys, U.S.Freedmen’s Bureau records,newspaper archives and additional sources, their report documentsownership,sugar caneoutput, overseer John Colfield’sharsh treatment of sharecroppers andthe names of freedmen who workedonthe propertyfollowing the Civil War.
Since thereport’spublication, Hunter and Ryan have found a1772 map showing a likely Houma Native American village on the property Because of theunique bend in the river,artifacts or burials from the village could be preservedonthe land or in the batture,the area between theMississippi River and the levee.
“The thing that’ssounique about Point Houmas is it’son apoint bar,which means the river is migrating away from it. It’sactually migrating to thenorth,” Hunter said.“So, anyarchaeological site on thatwould be preserved or hasabetter chance of being preserved because theriver is not cutting intoit.”
Graves across theregion
In the RiverParishes, hundreds of unmarkedburial grounds possibly existed at one time.Graves were discovered on land being considered for an expansion of the Shell Convent Refinery in 2013, with as manyas 1,000 people thoughttobe buried there. Following that discovery,the companydedicated amarker and hosted amemorial service in 2018.
one to grab the cupcakes, everyone to arrive early.Inher home office, she heard the back door open. “You got my wieners?” she called. “Bring them on in!”
This homeiswhere, for months, she conducted official business, taking meetings on theback deck andaccepting sewer paymentsin themailbox.Atthe old, infested CityHall, onecitystafferafter another complained of asthmaand coughing, hoarseness and headaches. Finally,Ward Hoover,too, went to thedoctor,who noted her swollen throat and told her: “You need to get out of there.”
So she started making calls.
An elegantsign stands at her property’sentrance: Hoover’sGated Horse Farm. At theend of the long, fenced driveway are goats, horses,chickensand afew heaps of oldequipment.“This is my husband’sfavorite pile,” she said, shaking her head. “When Ibecame mayor,Isaid, ‘Everybody has to clean up.’ So it was good. Youknow why it was good?”
She laughed. “Because my husband had to clean.”
The acreage was freshly mowed, however,between neat shrubs Ward Hoover called by the names of those who had given them to her When she dies, the mayor said, she plans to open up this property, offering herantiques and more to neighbors whomight need them Ward Hoover once ran aChristian bookstore and gallery and considers her true missiontobeministry
She erected atrio of short, white crossesoncityproperty and begins meetings with prayer
“You do nothing without prayer,” she said, “not in the village of Natchez.”
At 5p.m., Ward Hoover drove back to the park pavilion, where her team had filled tables with tacos andcupcakes, free backpacks and school supplies.
Ward Hoover circled, broadcastingonFacebooklive, encouraging residents to come by.“Good evening, Facebook friends,”she said, panning the park’sbenches, balloons and playground. As the light faded, kids overtook the jungle gym, yelping and laughing. For amoment, between calls and hugs, Ward Hoover watched them as they climbed.
Email Jenna Ross at jenna. ross@theadvocate.com.
Lastyear,New Orleans nativeImani Jacqueline Brown andthe Londonbasedresearchgroup Forensic Architecture debuted amapping tool of the plantations along the lower Mississippi River.The tool combines satellite imagery aerial photography and river surveys to identify likely cemetery locations.
Currently,state law prohibitsanyonefromdisturbing burialsiteswithout astate permit and requires anyone who discovers an unmarked site to report it to lawenforcement within 24 hours.
Hunter and Ryan said they know of two other unmarked cemeteries near Donaldsonville, although they haven’t had an opportunity to deeply research them. Both fall within the RiverPlex MegaPark, a17,000-acre area slated for industrialdevelopment, with one appearing in the former New Hope Plantation site on a1963 U.S. Geological Survey map
“Weonly know about the location of about 30 of these graveyards, when there were something like 1,500 sugarplantations in Louisianaalone in 1850,” Hunter said. “And each one of those had its own cemetery for slaves —atleast one.”
Questionsofaccess
Descendantsofthose buriedinthe cemeterieshave pushed foraccess to them.
ForShell,the company allowsdescendants to visit the two burial grounds on
itsproperty through scheduled visits. However,inSt. James Parish, twoLouisiana groups recently sued FormosaPlastics over access to aburial ground. Point Houmas remains on private property,and the director of the Donaldsonvillebasedcompanythatowns theproperty did notrespond to arequest forcomment leftinaletter at its door
After being informed about the likelycemetery, Kathe Hambrick, apublic historian, encouraged afull accounting of all those who lived on —and could be buried beneath —the land.
“The public deserves to know whothe inhabitants of that geography were prior to the European settlers coming to Louisiana —speaking of the indigenous people and the people who may haveinhabited that propertyasfarmers, landowners, free and formerly enslaved,” she said.
AndRyansaidthatwhile many cemeteries have likely been lost due to development, it is essential to identify and preserve those that remain.
“The cemeteries are certainly themost critical pieces of history preserved on the landscape,” shesaid. “Unfortunately,alot of prehistoricand historicsites have been lost to developmentinthe past and probably will continue to be. But finally,public awareness of unmarked cemeteries has increased remarkably in the last 10 years.”
STAFF FILE PHOTOBySOPHIA GERMER
MayorPatsy Ward Hooverpicks the dead buds offa rose bush in her yard in Natchez on Oct. 7.
ending a monthlong coaching search by landing its top target and the most sought after coach on the market. By taking the job, Kiffin decided to leave Ole Miss with the No. 7 Rebels likely to reach the College Football Playoff. Kiffin said in a statement he wanted to coach the team through the postseason, a sticking point in the timing of his decision but Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter “denied” his request.
Kiffin claimed players asked Carter “to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
“After a lot of prayer and time spent with family, I made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU,” Kiffin said in a statement posted to social media. “I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong, and investing everything in a playoff run with guardrails in place to protect the program in any areas of concern.” LSU officials were informed ahead of time of Kiffin’s intention to take the job, and they expected to finalize a deal by Sunday multiple sources told The Advocate | The Times-Picayune
athletic director the same day After Rousse caused some confusion by calling Ausberry the “acting AD,” the drama settled until Kelly filed a lawsuit against the LSU Board of Supervisors over his nearly $54 million buyout, an issue that has since been resolved. Ultimately, none of that prevented LSU from landing its top target. Its pursuit heated up Nov 17, when a private plane arranged by LSU officials brought several of Kiffin’s family members including his ex-wife Layla Kiffin, to Baton Rouge. LSU officials began to prepare a formal offer after the visit, creating internal confidence about their standing with Kiffin for more than a week. Will LSU be the place that he wins a championship? Known for his offensive mind, Kiffin has a 116-53 record across 14 seasons at Tennessee, USC, FAU and Ole Miss. He has been successful at times, but this season at Ole Miss was the closest he had come as a head coach to winning it all. He will be expected to do that at LSU, something the
The school sent two private planes to Oxford, Mississippi, to pick up Kiffin his family and some coaches Videos from the airport showed Ole Miss fans booing him as he boarded the plane With an 11-1 record, Ole Miss will make the CFP for the first time and might host a first-round game. Kiffin said this week it was “very important” to him to finish the season with the team, but Ole Miss did not want him to stay if he intended to leave for an SEC rival. The disagreement came to a head this weekend, and Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to head coach
past five years and secured their first 11-win regular season Friday by beating rival Mississippi State.
“While I am looking forward to a new start with a unique opportunity at LSU, I will forever cherish the incredible six years I spent at Ole Miss and will be rooting hard for the team to complete their mission and bring a championship to Oxford,” Kiffin said in his statement. Kiffin, 50, emerged as LSU’s top target after the firing of Brian Kelly last month. He had a 55-19 record in six seasons at Ole Miss, one of the most successful stretches in program history The Rebels won at least 10 games in four of the
Florida also pursued Kiffin for its head coach opening after firing Billy Napier while Ole Miss attempted to keep him with a contract extension Florida and Ole Miss offered Kiffin similar financial packages as LSU, according to multiple reports. Florida turned to other candidates, ultimately hiring Tulane University coach Jon Sumrall. Ole Miss also began to look elsewhere as Kiffin’s decision became clear LSU started looking for a new head coach after firing Kelly, who had a 34-14 re-
cord in three-plus seasons but never reached serious championship contention. With LSU once again falling out of the playoff race, LSU dismissed him Oct. 26 with six years left on his contract. LSU wanted to avoid another 10-year commitment with the new coach. Exact terms of the contract have not been released. LSU put together a sevenyear offer with an annual salary expected to top $13 million, sources said, which will make Kiffin one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. LSU has also prepared to commit $25 million to $30 million annually to the roster through
revenue sharing and name, image and likeness funds, which was an important factor to Kiffin. Chaos surrounded the beginning of LSU’s coaching search. Within a week of firing Kelly, LSU parted with athletic director Scott Woodward the day after Gov Jeff Landry publicly criticized him and said he would not hire the next coach Longtime LSU athletic official Verge Ausberry was named interim athletic director and given authority to lead the search.
Less than a week later LSU hired new school president Wade Rousse and promoted Ausberry to full-time
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Locations, funding mulled for I-10 bridge
Environmental review underway for construction over Miss. River
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
Traffic angst is commonplace in the Baton Rouge area.
For decades, city officials and the state Department of Transportation and Development have floated ideas for improving the situation. Potential solutions have ranged from the more modest, like widening roadways, to the grandiose, such as building a Baton Rouge
Climate scientist stands firm against pressure
Former La. wildlife and fisheries chief honored for scientific integrity
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
Virginia Burkett faced the most egregious instance of political interference in her scientific career seven years ago, she said, when political appointees during President Donald Trump’s first term tried to alter the country’s preeminent climate change report.
As a top scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Burkett had already served as lead author on the first, second and third National Climate Assessment, as well as four United Nations climate change reports. Thirty years prior, she had been the first woman to run a state wildlife agency when she helmed Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It was hardly her first rodeo confronting influential figures.
“From those early experiences starting in the late ’70s and early ’80s dealing with coastal impacts here in Louisiana, I found that when scientific findings collided with the financial interests of powerful corporations and politicians, that scientific integrity could be threatened,” Burkett said at a hotel patio in the French Quarter on a recent visit, before returning home to Sabine Parish.
But in 2018, the coastal wetlands ecologist refused to compromise her values and downplay the impacts of climate change in the report, she recalled. She convened a meeting with White House officials and maintained that the alterations would undermine the report’s integrity She told them that if they changed the findings, her team would have to go back out for peer review
“The agency scientists stood together and, in the end, the climate assessment was published as written,” she said.
Burkett’s commitment to her science landed her an international award last month from the publishers of the journal Nature.
The John Maddox Prize recognizes researchers who “stood up for science and advocated for evidencebased discussion in public policy,” organizers say The two other winners hail from Chile and Australia.
“The Maddox Prize highlights the damage done to society when good research is suppressed and when scientists are intimidated from contributing to public discussion,” said Tracey Brown, a judge for the award. “This year’s courageous winners have insisted on the public’s access to evidence.”
Burkett said the award is both “vindication and encouragement.”
“To me, it represents that you can get past all of the hostility, the retaliation, the harm to your career and just keep going,” she said of the award.
The recognition caps an extraordinary career that saw her help
loop Somewhere between is the “bump,” which would attempt to divert truckers to the old Huey P Long Bridge and away from the Horace Wilkinson Bridge that carries Interstate 10 over the river Since 2020, one project has carried perhaps the most excitement and momentum: a new Mississippi River crossing south of Baton Rouge, connecting La. 1 on the west bank to La. 30 on the east bank.
But funding, location and even the extent to which a new bridge actually would alleviate traffic in the Capital Region remain stubborn questions for consultants, DOTD officials and parish leaders as the project navigates the environmental review phase.
“I really feel like it’s going to be a challenge to get that bridge built,” said Fred Raiford, Baton Rouge director of transportation and drainage and the mayor’s designee on
the Capital Area Road and Bridge District. “I think it will. When? Who knows?” Officials and members of the public agree on the need for some kind of outlet for I-10 traffic, which has worsened in the region because of population growth following Hurricane Katrina, as well as preexisting problems like road design and city layout.
Of the three bridges in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, the I-10
bridge experiences the highest traffic volume, leading to severe congestion and deteriorated infrastructure, according to a 2023 planning investigation conducted for the DOTD by Atlas Technical Consultants.
For many observers, reducing the amount of semitrucks on the bridge often nonlocal traffic — is a solution within reach. The assumption goes that trucks would route south to a different crossing if it were available.
SANTA’S SLEIGH RIDE
ä See BRIDGE, page 4B
ABOVE: Saylor Phillips, 6, and his brother Christian Phillips, 9, work on Christmas decorations after a ride aboard Santa’s sleigh.
LEFT: Kids fill bags with reindeer food.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE Santa Claus chats with passengers on Saturday during a free sleigh ride event at South College Shopping Center in Lafayette. The free sleigh rides will be offered again Saturday, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 at the shopping center
Columnist pegged why Johnson is letting Louisiana down
Ican remember atime when I felt gratified if we had aLouisianarepresentative raised to the upper echelons of power in D.C It meant that the vital needsof our poverty-stricken population and our dangerously subsiding homeland would be more likely to get seriously addressed. Sadly, those days have disappeared, and StephanieGrace eloquently called that fact to our attention in hercolumn, “Johnson won the shutdown but lost his way.” Thank you, Stephanie, foryour reliable diligence in describing SpeakerMike Johnson’s“puppylike eagerness” to please the president.When Johnson speaks publicly,Ican almost hear him panting and see his tongue hangingout.
Yetsomany Louisiana voters seem unaware of his appalling failure to represent us.Are they deceiving themselves thathis professed political party and religious faith are directing his actions rather than face the disturbing reality that it’sactually an attempt to achieve the power that he craves? Have they even considered that sharing those labels with him does not necessarily mean they share the essential beliefs that exist behind thelabels?
Whyelse would Johnson sidestep the health care issue that so many in Louisiana desperately need? Why else would he unlawfully usethe shutdown to justify his refusal to swear in anewly elected Democrat, depriving American citizens of their legitimate representation?
In my opinion, anyone who demonstrates such alack of principles and integrity has provided visible proof that they are not to be trusted.AsGrace so succinctly concluded,“If the onlyway to stay in power is to basicallyabdicateit, then what, exactly,isthe point?”
Iwish to add my sincere congratulations to Stephanie Grace forwinning amuch-deserved prize at the newspaper conference in Colorado. The newspaper’sreaders are lucky to beable to benefit from her pragmatic political insights.
SUE GISCLAIR Baton Rouge
YOUR VIEWS
Rodeoevent awin for state, thanks to Landry
Amajor new event is coming to Louisiana this spring, and we have thevision and commitment of Gov.Jeff Landry and Shane Guidry to thank for making it areality
For its first expansion outside Phoenix, the Hondo Rodeo Fest has announced that it will bring its rodeo, concert series andfan festival to Louisiana next spring.
From the beginning, thegovernor and Guidry both saw the potential to showcase ourstate’s unmatched hospitalityand eventhosting capabilities to abrand-new national audience.
His administration’scommitment to attracting large-scale entertainment has positioned Louisianaasapremier destination for fans, competitors and event producers alike. Events of this magnitude generate jobs,
fill hotels and restaurants and inspire visitors to experience all that Louisiana hasto offer.This kind of impact happens when visionaryleadership understands how tourismand sports can drive opportunity and economic vitality
On behalf of the Greater NewOrleans Sports Foundation and the many partners who help make events like this possible across Louisiana, we appreciate the foresight and effortsofLandry and Guidry to make Louisiana apremier destination of choice for high-caliber events.
DAVID R. SHERMAN chairman emeritus, Greater NewOrleans Sports Foundation
PHILIP B. SHERMAN chairman, Greater NewOrleans Sports Foundation
Iwatched arecent broadcast on the National Geographic channel about Katrina. The basis of the biased, liberal program was to blame theU.S.ArmyCorps of Engineers, using some clipsofDr. Ivor van Heerdan’s opinionsoffor the failings of the Corps’ design of thehurricane protection system, for New Orleans. Iknew Ivor,and his flawed opinionswere based on an ignorant foundation. His knowledgeofthe history of the Congressionalfunding of the Corps was dismal. Iwas acontracted consultant to the Corps of Engineers at the New OrleansDistrict in thelate 1970s. Iremember the design work for thelevee system, and the brilliant design work that was developed along with my adviceonsubsidence rates and proper compensations for accommodations for the levees’ subsequentand inevitable subsidence. Iwas also responsible for the design of the surveyingand mapping of theentire area on both sides of the lake in the late 1970s for the sole
purpose of designing thesystem. Ialso remember that the design work and construction costs were denied by the U.S. Congress. Thanks to theCongressional delegations from Kansas and Oklahoma, thehurricane protection system forMetro New Orleanswas reduced by the “good” Congressmen of Kansas and Oklahoma. The Corps had to do as best as possible with what money was allocated to theNew Orleans District Corps of Engineers, and the less-thanoptimal design was then constructed. That was in spite of protestations of the Corps that thefunding was inadequatefor the proper construction! It seems that such historical facts have been conveniently overlooked. That was not thefault of the Corps! It was themidwestern Congressional delegations that chose to scrimp on flood protection for NewOrleans.
CLIFFORD MUNGIER Baton Rouge
Politicians like Mamdani don’toffer real solutions
Viewed from almost any rational level, recent midterm elections in the populous states of NewYork, NewJersey and Virginia reinforce the view that American politics is akin to aGreek tragedy.Inthose states voters spoke loudly at the ballot box that “everything costs too much.” Ironically,in American politics, voters usually reward those politicians who recognize their frustrations rather than those whoadvance meaningful solutions. NewYork Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is just the latest headline-grabbing cheerleader of the leftward driftinpolitical expression, without regard to the nefarious consequences of its favored policies.
If The Wall Street Journal can be trusted, the economics of Mamdani’s“reforms” do not add up. By his own campaign’sestimates, new taxes would bring in $9 billion; but the costs of funding his program of universal child care, rent stabilization, and free buses would cost $18.8 billion. Who pays forthe shortfall? Among much of the electorate, the stubborn desire to believe in a“free lunch” simply will not die. Most people would likely agree that afickle electorate will produce fickle election results. Our bitter experience with Bidenomics should have taught us that like fire, inflation is easy to start, but hard to extinguish. Inflation is caused by excessive growth in the money supply,the proximate cause of which is government spending in excess of its collected revenue (i.e., debt creation). NewYork has ahistory of one financial crisis after another The city continues to spend more than it collects, relying on shrinking surpluses to close gaps. Mamdani’s “compassionate socialism”will merely serve to widen the gaps, leaving NewYorkers with broken promises once again. Will other states follow his lead?
ROBERT
HEBERT Baton Rouge
Rabalais’ slyreferences provoke chuckles
OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER, SCAN HERE
Recruiting athletes matters as much as coaching does
It is time we pay coaches less and recruiters more (assuming they are not one and the same). Iremember when Iwas on the University of Minnesotagymnastics team many years ago and everyone on the team was from Minnesota. Later,Iwas proudofmystate when Minnesotaproduced two women Olympic gymnasts. Iwas less excited when one of these women went to Auburn (Suni Lee) and the other went toUtah (Grace McCallum)
Oh sure, Scott Rabalais is asuperb LSU sports columnist, as lately demonstrated by his online adieu to head football coach Brian Kelly But whoknew he was so clever as to slip in subtle references to Clint Eastwood and Monty Python movies (“Kelly’sHeroes” and “Lifeof Brian”)?
Imean, great Scott! DREW BROACH Jefferson
Ienjoyed watchingthe LSU women’s gymnastics team become national champions, even though only two of their 19 gymnasts were from Louisiana. Ihave to give coach Jay Clark credit for presently recruiting one of Minnesota’stop gymnasts (TatumDrusch). At least she will be performing withateam that can win it all!
JAYWIERIMAN Metairie
Saints 6,7
Shough, Taysom Hill. MARTIN AUDIFFRED Mandeville
STAFF FILE PHOTO BANTHONy MCAULEy
Hondo Rodeo Fest’sNew Orleans dates in April 2026 were announced at the Greater New Orleans SportsFoundation’sannual Hall of Fame awards luncheon on Nov6
Mamdani
In trying to assesswhat 2025 has taught us about the struggles tosave Louisiana’scoastal zone from the Gulf of Mexico and remove thestate from thelist of the nation’smost polluted, onewordcomes to mind: complicit. It means being actively involved in awrongful act. That adjective must be worn by Gov.Jeff Landry,the Republican members of our congressional delegation and— saddest of all —everyLouisianan who voted to put them in office.
Thisverdict has nothing to do with traditional conservative values: small government,fiscal responsibilityand a strong nationaldefense. Nor even the cultural battle flags today’sGOP has raised: immigration, transgender, gay and minority rights, liberal leaning universities and being considerateof others —often termed “woke.”
It hasto do withtwo of President Donald Trump’stop priorities.
The first is his drive to stop allrenewable energy programs while ramping up the nation’sproductionand use of fossilfuels.
This is adagger at the heart of the state’sMaster Planfor aSustainable Coast because emissions from fossil fuels are driving the record acceleration of sealevel rise. Research shows that if emissions are not dramatically reduced over the next two decades, 80% of our sinking, sediment-starved delta landscapes could be under water in the next 25 years.
So, at the same time the stateis searching for billions to keep some of what is left south of I-10 above sea level and prevent what could be the largest forced migration of communities in America, Trump has decided to increase the chances that disaster will happen.
And the reaction from our governor and GOP members of Congress representing those communities in dire
peril?
Either enthusiastic support or cowardly silence.
The second of Trump’stop priorities threatensnot just our quality of life, but our very lives.
This is hisrollback or elimination of more than 100 environmental regulationsthat have helped clean the poisons from of our air,water and land since the 1970s. Not surprisingly,many of those rollbacks are aimed at making petrochemical industries moreprofitable through lighter restrictions on the toxins they release that wind up in the air you andyour children breathe, the water you drink and foods you eat.
And theresponse from Landry and your GOPcongressional delegation?
More enthusiastic support, or sheepishsilence.
They havebeen complicit in Trump’s ruinous assaults on Louisiana.
Now,it’sthe fashion these days to say, “Well, they know if they cross Trump, he’llsupport an opponent against them.”
Theresponse to that from Louisiana voters should have been: “So what? They are there to represent our best interests, notTrump.”
Andthisiswhere thetag “complicit is earnedbythe state’sGOP voters,because they keepelecting these people. Thisisn’taplea for Republicans to become Democrats.It’sa call for
The marshes of southeast Louisiana are washing away with saltwater intrusion in St.Bernard Parish.
STAFF FILEPHOTO
them to open their eyes to the damage being done to their lives now and to future generations. In thenearly 50 years I’ve covered our coastal crisis, people have frequently asked, “What is themostimportant thing Ican do to help?”
For thelast 20 years, one of my answers has been “Join theRepublican Party andchange it.” That often drew laughs, but it wasn’t meantasa joke. This has always been aconservative state, so thetraditional GOP tenets are where most Louisianians feel comfortable. Butthere is nothing conservative about supporting policies that make much of thestate below I-10 uninhabitable in 30 years or pumping more poisons intothe nation’smost polluted state. Time is running out for Louisiana conservatives to find pro-science, proenvironment candidates who serve the statefirst,not apresident Otherwise, when their grandchildren ask them what they did when the coast was drowning and people were moving to other states, they can only answer: “I was complicit.”
Bob Marshall, aPulitzer Prize-winning Louisianaenvironmental journalist, can be reached at bmarshallenviro@ gmail.com, and followed on X, @BMarshallEnviro.
MARBLEHEAD,Mass. He helped supply the Continental Armyduring the early days of the American Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence. He shaped the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was amember of the House of Representatives, agovernor of Massachusetts, and vice president. He lent his name—perhaps the mostmispronounced name in American history,even more so than Kamala—tothe creative shaping of acongressional district we now call “gerrymandering.”
Whencecomeththe conviction, in America and even more in Britain and Europe, that open borders is the only moral immigration policy? Of course, noteveryone believes that, and many who do stop short of saying so. But the contrast between the rhetoric and policies of the first two decades of the century and those that have prevailed since President Donald Trump’selection is unmistakable.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, like the George Bushes, professed to want to enforce immigration laws. They decried the flood of illegals that crested in the prosperous decade before the financial crisis, and afterward saw with relief that the flow of illegals slowed.
Immigrantstothe United States over the past half-century have come mostly from Latin America and Asia from countries that to varying degrees share religious orientations, market economic norms,and cultures of literacy and numeracy with most Americans
semblement National, whoseleader, Marine Le Pen, was blocked from running by adubious courtdecision. But her 30-year-old deputy, Jordan Bartella, appearsmore popular than other parties’ leaders.
It’slikely truethat aflood of mostly illegal immigrants, like those welcomed by theBiden administration, will tendto have ahigher proportion of violent migrants than among legalimmigrants. And ahigher proportion of arrivals with adversarial attitudes toward American mores, traditions and government
As Iwrote recently,careful projections of the illegal population estimate that it peaked at about 12 million in 2007, fell to about 10.5 million in 2019, then increased by about 4millionduring the Biden administration, which essentially opened the borders tothe point of paying for illegals tolive in NewYork’sRoosevelt Hotel, two short blocks from where Jamie Dimon’s JPMorganChasewas constructing its $3 billion office tower
The impetus forthis policy came from something other thanthe usual elite economic argument that,aspopulation growth is slowing, advanced countries need more workers tomaintain economic growth. That something else can be summarized in the phrase “Orange Man Bad.” If Trump wants to stop people at the border,then we shouldn’tstopanyone there.
There is another element here, seen moreprominently in Europe. And that is the conviction that barring people from your country who are different, in ancestry or customs, from the preexisting population is invidious discrimination.
Butthat is aproblem orders of magnitude greater in Britain and Europe, where very much larger shares of immigrants, from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, are Muslims. Many are quite ready to assimilate to European mores. But many are not Theywanttoimpose their religion and their cultureonthe hostsociety,and eliteleaders of such nations have been willing to let them do so.
An exampleisthe scandal of Britain’s“grooming gangs,” often longsettledimmigrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan, who sexually abuseand enslave adolescent working-class Englishgirls
This oppression of women and violation of human rightsisvirtually unknown to American liberals. Nor are they aware, despitemention of the practice, that Britain has been arresting thousands of citizensfor social media posts that are thought to hurt immigrants’ feelings.
Political parties that campaign for restrictions on immigration are treated as pariahs with which established parties must never allow in coalition governments. This includes Britain’s Reform party,which currently has huge poll leads, and France’sRas-
Germany’sAfD, which is currently tied in thepolls, is treated with particular scorn by thetwo main parties, which, between them, capture less than 50% in polls.Within AfD’sranks are some with nostalgia for Germany’s Nazi past, and the nation’sleading parties deserve respect for their longstanding commitment to renouncing Nazism and making reparations for theHolocaust. Butit’snot apparent that AfD’s policy of restricting the inflow of immigrants, or those of Eastern European democracies like Poland and Hungary, which are decried by unelected European Union leaders, is themoral equivalent of Nazism. Excluding people with different cultures and attitudes from your country is not themoral equivalent of murdering all your Jews Thoseleaders whotreat thetwo as morally equivalent are captive to bad ideas.They have been taught to divide theworld into oppressors and the oppressed, to cast immigrants as virtuous victims and theirown citizens as culpable oppressors. They have been instructed to see colonialismnot as alimited chapter in history but as itsdominant theme, and to treat its harms as akind of secondHolocaust. From these delusions, most ordinary Americans, including recentlegal immigrantsand theiroffspring, and large numbersofordinaryBritons and Europeans, seem happily immune. Perhaps in time, theircommon sense will dissuade the elites of their “luxury belief” in open borders.
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
Gerry (pronounce it with a hard “G”like “garden”) was perhaps the most famous native of this historic seafaring town, and gerrymandering (I spent years as executive editor of the Post-Gazette failing to persuade asingle soul to pronounce that word with ahard “G”) is once again at the heart of American politics. Even so, the districts being crafted in Texas, where they are drawntofavor Republicans, and California, where the samescurrilous activity is being employed to the advantage of Democrats, lack the artistry of the original gerrymander,which won its namebecause the district here on the seacoast north of Boston looked remarkably like asalamander These maneuvers, and in Gerry’scase this virtuosity,come in service of an element of American politics that the old political warrior —who died in the role of vice president in 1814 —didn’t foresee when, having been amajor voice at the Constitutional Convention but concerned the documentwasn’tsufficiently protective of individual liberties, declined to support the final product. The founding document of the American government does not mention political parties. And yet today’spolitical strifegrows directly out of the changes in the country’stwo political parties, which are careering in opposite directions, the Republicans fiercely to the right, the Democrats equally aggressively to the left.
If William Butler Yeats were apolitical scientist, he would say that the center cannot hold because there is no center anymore. So it is lefttotwo political scientists, David W. Brady and Brett Parker of Stanford, to explain to us why, as Yeats surely would have written had he been observing American politics in this fraught time, “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the political world.”
In From Dominance to Parity: America’sPolitical Parties and the New Era of Electoral Instability,published this fall, the twoexperts argue that the nation has “moved from astate of party hegemony —the prevailing political environment in the United States in 1937 —tothe current era of party parity and its attendant problems.” Or how, to quote adifferent poet from the British isles, Matthew Arnold, “weare here as on adarkling plain/Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,/Where ignorant armies clash by night.”
Brady and Parker take us from the growth of Democratic power in and after the NewDeal to the partial realignment in the 1980s, and from the creeping movement to the Republican Party and to today’spolitical parity.“Unlike the extended midcentury period of Democratic dominance,” they write, “control of Congress and the presidency has seesawed between the two major parties since the early 1990s with neither achieving a consistent advantage over the other.”
The result: the emergence of two ideologically consistent parties in adeath struggle leading to an impasse where there is little practice in, or inclination toward, compromise.
When, more than two centuries ago,the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were themselves at an impasse —this case over whetherthe states would be represented equally in the newSenate Gerry pleaded for compromise, arguing, “Wemust make concessions on both sides” because “accommodation is absolutely necessary,and defects may be amended by afuture convention.”
The twopolitical scientists point out that no longer do morethan 20% of Republicans vote fora Democratic House candidate and aGOP presidential candidate, as they did between 1980 and 1992. In the 2012 and 2020 elections, that figure fell as low as 7%.
At the sametime, as divisions in American politics grew larger,the margins between the two parties grew smaller.Presidents routinely have becomeelected with lower numbers of Electoral College votes than their predecessors, presidential blowouts, the two write, have “gone the way of the liberal Republican.”
Back to Mr.Gerry.For 82 years from 1887 to 1969, his homecongressional district was represented by aRepublican, morethan athird of that period by one family: George G. Bates and William H. Bates. When the younger Bates died, state Rep. Michael J. Harrington broke the trend and was elected as an insurgent Democrat. Today he owns the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem.Inthe lobby of the historic hostelry is agigantic framed picture. It is of the original gerrymander.And so it goes.
Email David Shribman at dshribman@post-gazette.com
Michael Barone
David Shribman
Bob Marshall
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ButRaiford and other officials emphasized that pressure onthe Horace Wilkinson Bridge is not limited to truckers hauling goods across state lines. Locals are also highlyreliant onI-10, they said.
“I know for afact when people want to go downtown, what do they do?” said J.H. CampbellJr., chair of the Capital Area Road and Bridge District. “They jump onthe interstate to go downtown because we don’thavea lotofnorth-south arteries in Baton Rouge.”
Anew bridge would not necessarilybethe silver bullet for Baton Rouge’s traffic woes, Raiford said.
“I think it will help reduce the volume,” Raiford said. “Is it going to be the salvation? No. ButIthink thelevel of service willbebetter.”
Deateoverbridgelocation
The bridge proposal is in the environmental review process under theNationalEnvironmental Policy Act. Atlas Technical Consultants, the consulting firm working with the government on the project, and DOTD have until mid-Septembertosharetheir findings of the environmental impacts of three potential bridge sites, all locatedinIberville Parish.
The three corridors were narrowed down from 32 possible options.
“A lot of work’sgone into the three alternatives that are being fed into our (National Environmental Policy Act) environmental process,” DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledetsaid.“We believethatthis will help alleviate traffic congestion and also providethat connectivity across the river.”
One corridor under consideration,the northernmost of the
CLIMATE
Continued frompage1B
shape the world’sunderstanding of climate change and other scientific developments, often working from the small town of Many.She was also involved in key early research into Louisiana’s land-loss crisis. And, if that’snot enough, she’sa licensed pilot, too, who would sometimes commute to work in Lafayetteby plane.
‘The most painfulthing’ Burkett’sefforts during the first Trump presidency were successful, though she says they came with acost. In awhistleblower complaint last year,she describes how she became atarget: demoted and removed as chair of the U.S. Global Change Research program overseeing the climate assessment. Her department at the USGS, responsible for all climate science and land-use change research at the agency was dismantled as part of alarger attack on climate science Under the Biden administration, Burkett’stitle was restored, and she continued climatechangeresearch. But in July,the Trump administration shutteredthe global change program. Beyond the retaliation, harassment and hostility toward her,Burkett said that “the most painful thing Iexperienced was thedismantling of the critically important climate-related research and expertise.”
David Reidmiller,who was hired by Burkett in 2016 and directed the fourth climate assessment froma role at the White House, was in charge of writing the executive summary of the report that some political appointees were “attempting to water down,” he said. He described Burkett’sremovalas“aloss for the program.” “She was not only a staunch defenderof the work but was really thoughtful in her approach and had alot of experience with coastal issuesand ecosystems,” said Reidmiller, who now works at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Aspokesperson forthe USGS declined to comment on Burkett’s treatment or the issues raised in her whistleblower complaint Astiff spine
She retired earlier this year and now serves as
placements,has generated significant opposition. Thecrossing would bisect and partially destroy an old-growth cypress forest known as Plaquemine Point, which the owners say contains a thrivingecosystem of rare species and trees over 200 years old.
DOTD officialshavenot publicly indicatedtheir preferred location, which will be announced next fall. In emails previously reported by The Advocate, consultants expressed adesire to minimizeeffects to property owned by thechemical companyShintech
While theother placementswould affect utility infrastructure and pipelines, the optionthatbisects Plaquemine Point includes undeveloped Shintech land.
If sizable environmental impactsare identified during the review of the preferred location, DOTD mustundergo amore rigorous, time-consumingevaluation called an environmentalimpact statement.
“If they do find significant impacts, that could take theprocess througha longer duration,” project manager Christina Brignac said.
Fundingupinthe air
If all goes according to plan for theDOTD with the environmental review,officials must still determine how to pay for the bridge.
The most recentcost estimate for the project is$2billion, accordingto Ledet. Of that price tag, $400 million is currently accounted for Ledet said project leadersare consideringa public-private partnershipmodel in the form of atoll bridge, wherein aprivatepartner couldfinanceconstructionand be repaid over time, possibly through toll revenue.
“Looking at the tolling feasibility and then really completing
atotal funding plan is obviously something thatisa priority as we start this environmentalprocess,”Ledet said. “The work that we do on these large projects can be complex, but Ithink working through this process, you’ll hopefully seea lot of emphasis put into theproject deliveryside.”
But some officialshavecast doubt on theideaofatoll bridge andwhether it would then have thedesired outcome of diverting traffic from the Horace Wilkinson Bridge.
“Tolls can be expensive,” Campbell said.“Andthen, arepeople willing to pay the toll, or will they just continue to drive and end up back on WilkinsonorSunshine?”
Raiford was dubious, too, about aprivatepartnershouldering the costs of construction.
“You can’thave tolls to cover it all, because nobody’sgoing to do that,”Raiford said. “There’sno reason or justification forsomebody to say,‘Iwant to make that investment.’”
Alongwith aprivate-sector deal,
STAFF FILEPHOTO By JOSIEABUGOV
Virginia Burkett,a coastal wetlands ecologist whohas spent decades as agovernment scientist, gives aspeechatthe John Maddox PrizeceremonyinOctober.She wasthis year’s recipientofthe international award.
an emerita scientist at the USGS. She still lives in Many,atown of around 2,500 in Sabine Parish, where her husband Don Burkett has served as district attorneyfor over 40 years. Virginia Burkett was born inJackson and grew up in Biloxi, but she’smade Louisiana her home.
Her first job out ofcollege wasasa research scientist at LSU Sea Grant, documenting changesin coastal salinity.She later worked at the Louisiana Geological Survey,when the state’scoastal land-loss crisiswas beginningto gain wider notice,recalled Donald Boesch, amarine scientist and New Orleans native whohas been recognized internationally for his scientific achievements. Boesch and Burkett worked togetherduring those early years.
“Even back in those early days when Istarted and firstknewher,she was alwaysremarkably composed,” Boesch said.“She’s gotastiff spineand stands up for principles.” Herascendance as director of thefish andwildlife service was rare, Boesch said, as the agency was an “oldboys’ gun and bullet crowd.”Burkett introduced newthinking and reforms to the agency during her twoyears in the position.
“I can onlyimagine she was asignificant role model for others in the field,” Boesch said.
Boesch andBurkett would continuecollaborating throughout their careers, during the first national climateassessment in the late 1990s, the state’scoastal master plan and subsequent studies documenting the importance of reducing
emissionstohelp preserve Louisiana’scoast.
After her stint in state government,Burkett began working at the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette,partofthe USGS. Herformer boss, BobStewart, said hiring her “was oneofthe best decisions” he ever made.
He tried to encourageher over thedecadeand ahalf thatthey worked together, including supporting Burkett’schoicetoget her Ph.D. in forestry andpursueher pilot’slicense. She eventually started commutingtoLafayette from Sabine Parish —by plane.
many of those involved in the project are holding outhope for federal dollars. Campbell emphasized that it would be in the federal government’sbest interest to alleviatepressure on I-10, the country’ssouthernmost interstate highway. I-10 makes theHoraceWilkinsonBridge “critical in interstate commerce,”hesaid. But without afunding plan, the proposal for anew bridge is no more areality than the abandoned BatonRouge loop project.
“It’shardbeing awoman pilot, by theway,because the guys don’ttreat her that well,”Stewart said. Following herwork at the wetlands research center, Burkett assumed aseries of roleswithin the climate and land-use change division at the federalagency, culminating in her position as chief scientist. She rented an apartment in Washington,D.C., fora couple years, thenworkedremotely from Many
“I don’tknow how she pulleditoff, but she’s managed to do this national role from very remote Many, Louisiana,” Boesch said.
‘Staythe course’
Burkett said that familyand faith have been extremely important to her during the“intensehostilities”she facedatthe federal government.
“My wife Virginia is oneof the most ethical, hardworking people youwill ever meet, andshe takes herjob very seriously,soitwas extremely stressful for her, what she wasput through,” Don Burkett said.
She never considered giving in to the pressure to
change the reports. Demotion is less importantthan compromising your values, she said. During her speech in London at the ceremony for the JohnMaddoxPrize, Burkett offered advice to scientists under threat, suchasfinding alliesand keeping records of “even the mostsubtle attempts to inappropriatelyalter your work.” Her final piece of advice was to prepare for setbacksand push forward anyway “Stay the course,” she said. Email Josie Abugov at josie.abugov@theadvocate. com.
y obtained withoutcharge andwithout depositfrom thePublicPlanRoom at www.centerlinebidco nnect.com.Printed copies arenot available from theOwner or Pro‐ject Designer but arrangements canbe
New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has already started assembling hisstaff bringing several OleMiss coaches and staff memberswith him toBaton Rouge the day he took thejob,including the offensive coordinator Avideo captured and postedtosocial media Sunday showed OleMiss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.boarded one of the planesthat LSU senttoOxford, Mississippi, topickup Kiffin, members of his family and certain Ole Miss personnel.
LSU is expected to stronglyconsider retaining defensivecoordinatorBlake Bakerand otherdefensive coaches amid the transition, sources said. The only defensivecoach who came with Kiffin was his brother, Chris Kiffin, an analyst who coached linebackers this season.
According to CBS Sports, Kiffin is also expected to bring general manager Billy Glasscock, senior associate athletic director forfootball operations Thaddeus Rivers,widereceivers coach George McDonald, head strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage, co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coachJoe Cox, senior director of player personnel Mike Williams and graduate assistant Sawyer Jordan with him to LSU.
All of their names, as well as Weis and Chris Kiffin,have been removed from Ole Miss’ online staff directory
Kiffin hired Glasscock in 2024 to replace current LSU general manager
KIFFIN EXPERIENCE
LSUhas its new football coach.
Get ready for the full Lane Kiffin Experience.
We all got asample of it Sunday.There were jeers, finger-pointing (not the polite kind) andcurses at the Oxford, Mississippi, airport as the now former Ole Miss coach and his entourage took flight for Baton Rouge. Then cheers, sirens and an impromptumotorcade from Baton Rouge Metro Airport to LSU
Kiffin drove by aknot of fans poised outside the MMR Group’sprivateaviation facility,giving athumbs up out thewindow of his SUV with his right hand while he cradled acell phone in his left.
Thewhole scene was ludicrous and exhilarating at the same time, people standing in themisting rain for just a fleeting glimpse of aman whose record at LSU is currently 0-0. Butstill, on agut level, it was so completely cathartic.
“We’re never losing again!” one young fan yelled.
Kiffin has gone straight to work, assembling his coaching staff and meeting in his new office with University High
defensive tackle Lamar Brown, the nation’sNo. 1prospect, Sunday night. Brownflashed an “L” forLSU hand sign in aphoto, appearing in an instant to confirm his commitment to the Tigers with the start of the early national signing period on Wednesday.They also ventured out onto the coach’soffice balcony,giving amoment of sheer euphoria to the fans below in the rain who couldn’thave been happier if Kiffinand Brownstarted throwing $100 bills.
All this is to makeapoint. No one is neutral on Lane Monte Kiffin. He either is the hero or the villain of the piece, and by all indications, is comfortable in either role. He’s asocial media machine, delighting in getting arise out of people, good or bad.
For that reason, if he wins at LSU, Ithink the Tiger faithful will eat Kiffinupwith aspoon. This is aschool, afan base, that also delights in wearing the black hat, being the
Saints almost pull off wild comeback,but lose to Dolphins
N.O. remainsunabletoshake offseason-longproblems
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staffwriter
MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. As afinalscore, 21-17 is fairly common in the NFL. That has happened 109 times in league history,according to the website NFL Scorigami. Andnormally,the result means one team scores three touchdowns and the other scores two touchdownsand afieldgoal. Pretty standardstuff. But nothingwas normalabout Sunday’s 21-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins for the New Orleans Saints. Forget all the ways that the Dolphins who scored one touchdown with an extra point, four field goals and one “pick-two” got to those 21 points. Or theabnormal route the Saints —who scored twotouchdowns,
one two-point conversion and one field goal —took to get their 17. It was the craziness of the final minutes that will be remembered about theSaints’ latest loss. There was Devaughn Vele’s15-yard dramatic touchdown to put the Saints in apositiontotie. There was Tyler Shough’s back-breaking interception on the two-point attempt toensurethere wouldn’t be atie, returned 100 yards by the Dolphins for two points of their own. There was therecovered onside kick from thekicker whose family flew in from Ireland to watch his professional debut. And there was the stuffed Shough sneak on fourth-and-1 to seal theSaints’ 10th loss of the season, as well as eliminate them from playoff contention. (Hey,don’tlaugh. It had to happen officially sometime.)
All within thespanof42seconds of game time.
We’ve just gotto operate, and Ifeel like we did areally good job of staying focused.”
TyLER SHOUGH, Saintsquarterback, on thelast minutes of thegame
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLyNNE SLADKy
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough lookstomakeapass against the MiamiDolphins on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla
Tigers’ red-hot start continues
LSU women scoring 112 points per game
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
The LSU women’s basketball team is on a tear ahead of its ACC/ SEC challenge matchup with Duke, which will tip off at 8 p.m.
Thursday
The No. 5 Tigers (8-0) have scored at least 100 points in every game they’ve played this season. Until Friday when LSU rolled past Marist in the Paradise Jam tournament on the U.S. Virgin Islands, no NCAA team had ever hit the century mark in seven consecutive games.
The Tigers have now done it eight times in a row — and counting. They won their last two games by a combined score of 225-88.
Here are three things we learned about coach Kim Mulkey’s new-look roster in that group of contests. The Tigers are just past the halfway point of their nonconference schedule.
LSU can score
Halfway through the third quarter of its Paradise Jam title game on Saturday, LSU led Washington State 65-32.
The Tigers then spent the next 15 minutes of game time widening that advantage. If they looked up at the scoreboard after freshman forward Meghan Yarnevich drained a free throw at the 1:47 mark of the fourth, they would’ve seen that they had hit 109 points.
The Cougars, at that point of the night, were still stuck with 32. That 44-0 run was representative of LSU’s season to date. Easy offense. Suffocating defense Little let-up against an overmatched mid-major opponent that could only hang on for dear life while the Tigers kept making enough shots to extend their NCAA-record streak of 100-point games.
LSU produced some eye-popping numbers in its first eight games.
n The Tigers are scoring a staggering 112 points per game. To put that average in perspective, Michigan State is the country’s second-best offensive team, and it’s putting up 99.9 ppg.
n LSU is also shooting a hyperefficient 56% from the field and 44% from 3-point range. As of Sunday, it’s the only Division I team that’s shooting at least 55% from the field and 40% from 3-point range, per Basketball Reference data.
n According to Her Hoop Stats, the Tigers are scoring 137.6
points per 100 possessions — the top rate in the nation. In the nonconference games it played in 2022, LSU’s national title team scored 126.2 points per 100 possessions.
Some of those numbers could look different after LSU faces Duke. The Blue Devils were one of the top defensive teams in the nation last season.
But the Tigers have never played offense as well as they are now No NCAA team, arguably ever has.
Clear roles for Fulwiley, Richard
Both MiLaysia Fulwiley and Jada Richard are settling into their respective roles nicely Fulwiley is LSU’s top scoring threat off the bench. Richard is the starting point guard.
Against Washington State, Fulwiley chipped in 12 points, five
assists and four steals. Both her scoring average (16.1) and fieldgoal percentage (54%) are still career highs, as well as her steals average (4.5) the third-best mark in the country
Richard has almost twice as many assists (21) as she does turnovers (12) through eight games, and now her scoring is starting to pick up. On Friday and Saturday, she scored 25 total points after shooting 10 of 17 from the field and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.
“I thought Jada was solid,” Mulkey told The Advocate on Saturday, “and it has nothing whatsoever to do with her scoring. I’ve always known Jada could score the ball.”
What Mulkey’s starting to figure out, she said, is that Richard can run the offense and defend the point of attack like she needs
her point guards to do.
“Just be the general out there,” Mulkey said. “Be the quarterback. I just thought she had two outstanding games.”
Depth and balance
Seven LSU players are now averaging at least 10 points per game None are averaging more than 17.
Eleven Tigers are playing at least 12 minutes per game. None of them are playing more than 24 minutes per game
The distribution of minutes will likely shift once SEC play begins in January, but LSU appears to have a deeper, more balanced team than it did in either of the past two seasons. Its eight newcomers are a large reason why
The Tigers’ bench is scoring 54 points per game — the most in the country
LSU men take ‘big step forward’ at tourney
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
A clear success is the best way to describe LSU’s trip to Florida for the Emerald Coast Classic.
Coach Matt McMahon’s group beat Drake 71-62 in the first round on Friday and then beat DePaul 96-63 in the championship game on Saturday at Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida.
“This was a big step forward for us as a team,” McMahon said Saturday “Really proud of our players for their effort, their energy and their focus over the two days here.”
The remarkable showing for LSU (7-0) elevated its standing on the basketball analytic site KenPom. After entering Friday with the 37th-highest rating in the country, the Tigers are now 24th before Sunday’s games. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the past two games. Talent advantage
LSU took a jump in competition level and still looked like the superior team for both games.
The team was connected defensively, holding its opponents to a combined 38.9% from the field. The offense was also crisp. Against DePaul (5-3), the Tigers had seven double-digit scorers and scored on 13 of their first 14 possessions.
rst half on Nov 10 at
10.4 points at the Emerald Coast Classic in Orlando, Florida.
LSU’s commander was junior point guard Dedan Thomas. The UNLV transfer was able to get to the basket at will, using his tight ball handling. The threat of the 6-foot-1 lefty’s scoring made it easier for teammates like Max Mackinnon to score. The 6-6 Australian guard was among the five players to make the all-tournament team after averaging 12 points per game. Thomas was named the Emer-
ald Coast Classic MVP after averaging 15 points on 52.4% shooting, five assists and 1.5 turnovers.
New players step up Rashad King and Jalen Reece were two players who had their best performances during the tournament. King, a 6-6 senior, averaged three points in 12.8 minutes in the first five games. In the tour-
Auburn tabs USF’s Alex Golesh as its next coach
AUBURN,Ala. — Auburn hired South Florida’s Alex Golesh as its next coach on Sunday counting on him to revitalize an offense that has ranked in the bottom half of the Southeastern Conference each of the past six years. The 41-year-old Golesh, who was born in Russia and moved to the United States at age 7, is signing a six-year contract that averages more than $7 million annually to replace Hugh Freeze. Freeze was fired in early November after failing to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three seasons. Freeze lost 12 of his last 15 SEC games.
Golesh went 23-15 in three seasons with the Bulls, a tenure that culminated with USF ranking second in the country in total offense (501.7 yards a game) and fourth in scoring (43 points a game).
Michigan State fires its coach after two years
Michigan State fired coach Jonathan Smith on Sunday, two years after he was hired.
The Spartans lost eight of their last nine games to finish 4-8.
Smith’s overall record at MSU was 9-15 and just 4-14 in the Big Ten. Smith is due more than $30 million, according to terms of his seven-year contract, and the school will have to spend many millions to find a replacement.
Expectations were low for this season, and the results were worse.
The Spartans followed up wins against Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State with an 0-8 start in Big Ten play They lost to USC, Nebraska, UCLA, Indiana and Michigan by double digits before blowing a late lead and losing at Minnesota by three points.
NC State coach Doeren returning for 14th season
RALEIGH, N.C. — N.C State coach Dave Doeren is returning for a 14th season with the Wolfpack. Athletic director Boo Corrigan confirmed Doeren’s return on Sunday The previous night, Doeren’s Wolfpack beat rival North Carolina for the fifth straight year and the program is headed to a bowl game for the 11th time in Doeren’s 13 seasons.
“Dave has built a program that is centered on culture and player development — on and off the field,” Corrigan said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “You can see his passion for this program and the student-athletes in how hard our team plays and competes. I look forward to continuing to find new ways to support him and the football program.”
Jordan’s fight against NASCAR heads to court
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan’s bitter fight against NASCAR heads to federal court Monday in a jury trial that could rip apart the top motorsports series in the U.S.
nament, the transfer from Northeastern stood out as a scorer and defender, averaging 10.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
Reece, a freshman point guard, had his first signature performance against DePaul. The Orlando, Florida, native not only scored 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, but he also had six assists with no turnovers in 20 minutes.
McMahon said he was impressed with his play, which is essential as he runs the offense whenever Thomas is off the floor Jalen Reed injury
The only low moment of the tournament was Jalen Reed’s injury He suffered a lower left leg injury, according to a team spokesperson. This was not the same leg in which he tore his ACL in December 2024, which forced him to miss the rest of the season.
The injury occurred when the 6-10 redshirt junior jumped for an offensive rebound with about eight minutes remaining against Drake (5-3). After he landed on his feet, he limped to the team bench across from him.
Reed didn’t return to play and missed the following game Before the tournament, he was averaging 11 points on 60.6% shooting and six rebounds in 17.8 minutes.
In the eight games he played last season, he averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds.
The antitrust allegations leveled by Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has exposed salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances and a deep contempt between some of the top executives in the sport and its participants.
Denny Hamlin, who owns 23XI alongside Jordan, warned this weekend the gloves will be off.
“Our fans have been brainwashed with (NASCAR’s) talking points for decades,” Hamlin wrote on social media. “Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.”
Shiffrin wins slalom, stays perfect in Olympic season
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. American standout Mikaela Shiffrin dominated a World Cup slalom on home Colorado snow Sunday to remain perfect in the discipline during the Olympic season.
Shiffrin extended her winning streak in slalom to four races after also claiming the opening two races this season and the final event of last season. It was Shiffrin’s record-extending 104th World Cup victory and her 67th in slalom extending the discipline record, too.
Shiffrin added to her first-run advantage and won by a whopping 1.57 seconds ahead of Lena Duerr of Germany, who moved up from ninth after the opening leg. Lara Colturi of Albania moved up from fourth
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU guard Rashad King drives the ball up the court against UNO in the fi
the PMAC. King, a transfer from Northeastern, averaged
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU guard Jada Richard brings the ball up the court against Southeastern on Nov. 6 at the PMAC. Coach
Kim Mulkey is looking to Richard to run the Tigers’ offense.
‘I
believeinthese guys’
Desormeaux beton hisplayers andit paid off
a76-yard touchdown run to contribute to theCajuns’victory that vaulted UL into bowl eligibility
hind you, that stuff shouldn’thappen in Pee Weefootball.”
BY ERIC OLSON AP collegefootball writer
Texas A&M fell out of the top five of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in two months Sunday, Texas Tech notched itshighest ranking in 17 years and aseason-high four teams fromGroup of Five conferences are ranked as the top five got ashuffle with aweek to go before the postseason bracket is set. No. 1Ohio State and No. 2Indiana, the only remaining unbeatens, are the top twoteamsfor a seventh straight poll heading into theirBig Tentitle game clash on Saturday.No. 3Georgia and No. 4Oregon each moved up aspot, and Texas Tech’sNo. 5ranking is its best sinceitspent threeweeks at No. 2inNovember 2008. Mississippi remained No. 6 and was followed by Texas A&M, which slipped four spots after its 10-point loss at Texas. Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabamarounded out the top 10 for the third straightweek.
regular season with a31-point road win over Pittsburgh, are the highest-ranked ACC team and hope to receive aCollege Football Playoff at-large bid. Vanderbilt slipped despite beating Tennessee by 21 pointsonthe road
Being ahead coach who cares as much as UL’s Michael Desormeaux has to be agonizing at times. Take the scenario the Ragin’ Cajuns faced afew minutes into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s30-27 overtime winover UL-Monroe, for instance. It was fourth down and along one at UL’s 24 with justover13 minutes left in regulation, trailing 20-17. For Desormeaux, there was the one yard on the final play of the first half at James Madison, where he went for it and ran it right at the Dukes’ defense with no success in an eventual 24-14 road loss. This time, he had struggled to find any rhythm with UL’s offense for three quarters. ULM’sdefensive front had controlled theline most of the game. Instead of the conventional approach —knowing failure could easily lead to aloss Desormeaux went with hisgut and trusted his makeshift offensive line against the Warhawks
“I believe in these guys in my gut,” Desormeaux said. “I said at James Madison, Iwould have gone for it again. These guys deserve to have someonethat’s going to put it on the line like they do.” What away to view that situation. He trusted the loyalty between him and his players and was rewarded. BillDavis broke loose on
RABALAIS
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schooleveryone in the SEC likes to dislike. Beating you, then telling you about it.
That’sKiffin to aT He wins, all right, at least at his last two gigs, Florida Atlantic then Ole Miss. Kiffin did an excellent job in both places, going 26-13 with two Conference USA titles at FAUand going 55-19 (11-1 this season) with theRebels, who are now poised to make their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. There are few better offensive mindsin thecollege game, to boot.Since Kiffin went toOxford in 2020, no other FBS program has gained more total yards than OleMiss with 37,437 (Alabama is second with 36,257). He took aDivision II transfer quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, and turned that obscure pumpkin into Cinderella’s glittering carriage, averaging more than 300 yards per game passing. They loved him for it at Ole Miss, until they didn’t. Until he left,with the school refusingto let him coach the Rebels in the CFPormeet with the players before he left. Until he tooka chunk of his staff withhim to LSU. That chunk did not include Hammond native and defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who was hastily named Kiffin’ssuccessor
“That’swhatwetriedtodotonight,” Desormeauxadded.“I’m incredibly proud ofour coaching staff for coaching these guys throughitall.”
By that same token, you could see it on Desormeaux’sface how hard it’sbeen to produce enough consistentoffense with so many different starting lineups every week and so few healthy offensivelinemen.
“We’ve had to reinvent ourselves somany times this season,” he said.
Against theworst offense in the Sun Belt all season,Desormeaux instead watched his offense punt four times in its first seven possessions, while theWarhawks were puttingup29first downs and516 total yards.
“Yeah, it’stoughright now every day,” Desormeaux said.
“We’ve got abunchofguys (reserveOL) that are up there… they’rejust ahead of their time. It’sjust one of those things. They’re giving us every dang thingthey’ve got.
“Wetried to rungaps games, we tried to run tightzone, we tried to run outsidezone …wejust weren’tgettingmuch going in the run games.”
That offensivedesperation looked even more far-fetched with each drive. UL’s defense struggled to corral ULM’ssuddenlyexplosiveoffense
“They ran the ball at us,” Desormeauxsaid.“We didn’tdo avery good job of getting off blocks. Theone thing we talked about, we could not give up cheap bigones. We gave them way too many of those.
“Those are the things that are frustrating. When you’re in cover three andyou’vegot people be-
football coach on Sunday.
Because Kiffinisleaving in the Ole Miss program’sgreatest moment sincewinning the 1963 SEC title (to date,its last), thefeeling there for Kiffinhas gone from appreciation to animosity. It’smixed with alittle fear as well, I’m sure, fear that Ole Miss won’tbeable to reach these heightsagain any-
Yetjust when it looked like the defense was going to drop theball in the game, that unit delivered when it counted the most. In their final three possessions, ULM’s offense punted despite good field position, ran out of time in regulation after two incomplete passes and got aBrent Gordon interception in overtime to set up Tony Sterner’s 19-yard, game-winning field goal.
“I don’tthink that was what we were hoping for or expecting, or certainly not what Ithought we needed tonightout of our defense and what we needed to play,” Desormeaux said. “But madea couple plays whenever it really counted —none bigger than the pick right there in theend zone. The fumble recoveryearly in the gamewas big as well.”
In theend, his trust in that unit was not misplaced.
Through it all, Desormeaux somehow said he wouldn’tchange how this rugged season has transpired.
“I don’tregret the way things happened this year,” he insisted.
“I’m thankful that they did. I learned moreabout this team in this program and thepeople in our building than you can learn in any good year.”
Now the Cajuns can rest this week, waiting for word on their bowl destination.
“I told thestaff today that there have been somesenior groups that I’ve been worried about being the last week or month of them being in college,” he said.
“I didn’tknow if someofthese guys were ready for the world. Football’shard and the world is hard, but theconsequences are different out in the world. Idon’t worry about this group. These are good men.”
time soon. The idea that Kiffin may takethe Tigers, theRebels’ biggest rival after Mississippi State, tothose heights or beyond isn’thelping either If LSU fans worry that Kiffin may leave the Tigers for another job one day,there is validityto that. Kiffin left Tennessee for Southern California in 2009 after just one season in Knoxville, and his six seasons at Ole Miss are thelongest time he has been anywhere as an assistant or head coach. That said, as Kiffinhas changed elements about his personal life, thesame may be true for his professional life. There is certainly precedent.Nick Saban, who advised Kiffinand apparently encouraged him to makethe move, left LSUafter five seasons for the Miami Dolphins and had never stayed anywhere longer than that until he left Miamifor Alabama in 2007. He, of course, coached there for 17 seasons before retiring in 2023. What thefuture holds for Kiffin at LSU is unknowable, if limitless. The only thingtobesure of is that Kiffin will bring brashness and energy that perhaps has never been seen in theprogram Andifhewins as big as LSU hopes? The LaneKiffinExperience may be like nothing ever before.
For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter
The weekend results created two top-10 matchups in conference championship games this Saturday.Besidesthe BigTen showdown, Georgia andAlabama will play forthe Southeastern Conference crown.The otherTop 25 matchup pits TexasTech against No. 11 BYU in the Big12. The Atlantic Coast Conference game matches No. 16 Virginia against a Duke team that is 7-5and received no votes in Sunday’spoll. No. 12 Miami andNo. 13 Vanderbilt traded places in the rankings.
The Hurricanes, who finished the
James Madison, which will host Troy for the Sun Belt championship game Friday,moved up one spot to No. 19 and is the highest-rankedGroup of Five team. Three teams from the AmericanConference arebehindthe Dukes: No. 20 North Texas, No. 21 Tulane andNo. 24 Navy North Texasvisits Tulane for the American championship game Friday.Tulane,atNo. 24, wasthe only G5 team in last week’sCFP rankings.
STAFF
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Austin Thomas. It’s unclear what Kiffin’shiring means for Thomas’future at LSU.Thomas spent time on Kiffin’sstaffs at Tennessee, Southern Cal and Ole Miss beforehelefttotake his current job at LSU. Most of Ole Miss’ defensive staff members didnot follow Kiffin.Defensive coordinatorPete Golding waspromoted to head coach after Kiffin’sdeparture, and the Rebels areexpected to keep co-defensive coordinator Byran Brown, defensive line coach Randall Joyner and safeties coach WesNeighbors. Offensive line coach John Garrison, quarterbackscoach Joe Judge, running backs coach Kevin Smith and special teams coordinatorJakeSchoonoverhavenot followed KiffintoLSU. Though that would leave Kiffinwith several openings, it’sunlikely that LSU will keep many of its current offensive assistants. The new staffcould include running backscoach Frank Wilson, theNew Orleans native who took over theprogram on an interim basis after Brian Kelly was fired. He said after the Tigers lost to OklahomaonSaturday in their regular-season finale that he’d like to return to LSUifthe new coach wanted to retain him On Sunday evening, Wilson was spottedmeeting with Kiffin inside theLSU’shead coach’soffice. Kiffinwas the primary target of LSU’scoaching search,which began when the school fired Kelly on Oct. 26.
Kiffincoached Ole Miss forthe last sixseasons. He’snow leaving the Rebels behind ahead of the College Football Playoff, which they’reessentially guaranteed to participate in forthe first time in program history because they beat Mississippi State on Friday in theEgg Bowl to improveto 11-1.
Ole Miss had never won 11 regular-season gamesuntil this season.
Golding will nowlead the Rebelsinto the CFP,while Kiffin works to build his staff at LSU High school recruits will begin signingwithschoolsonWednesday,and the transfer portal will open on Jan. 2. LSU has the 12th-best recruiting class in the country,per 247Sports composite rankings. The group’stop-ranked commit is five-star University High defensive lineman Lamar Brown. He toldOn3 on Sundaythathestill plans to sign with the Tigers. Kiffin met Sundaynight withBrown. The Ole Miss coaches and staff members who accompanied Kiffin on the flight could not be seen when the planes landed Sunday night. They parked inside private hangars,wherethe passengers deboardedand climbedintoblack SUVs. Asmall group of fans had gathered outside the airport’s gates, chanting “L-S-U,” and Kiffin rolled downthe window of his car to acknowledge themwith a fist pump. The caravan then drove to LSU’sfootball operations building. There, Kiffinwill begin the early stages of assembling his new coaching staff. Email WilsonAlexanderat walexander@theadvocate.com.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin watches LSU head to the locker roombeforeagameonOct. 12 at TigerStadium. Kiffinwas named LSU’snew
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
UL running back Bill Davis celebrates his touchdownrun withoffensivelineman Bryant Williams during Saturday’s30-27
DOLPHINS 21,SAINTS17
BY THENUMBERS
tion return to New Orleans 42; Tagovailoa 6pass to M.Washington on 3rd—and—3. Miami 16, New Orleans 0. ThirdQuarter NO_Olave 17 pass from Shough (Shough run), 10:40. Drive: 11
Jordan movesuponNFL’s all-time sackslist
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
MIAMI GARDENS,Fla.—Cam Jordan has passed another Hall of Famer in theNFL record books.
OFFICIALS_Referee Alan Eck, UmpTab Slaughter,HLDavid Oliver, LJ Greg Bradley FJ John Jenkins, SJ Dale Shaw, BJ Grantis Bell, ReplayJoe Wollan.
SAINTS
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“Shoot, the last couple minutes, it was like this,” Shough said,waiving his hand in the pattern of aroller-coaster track. “We’ve just got to operate, and Ifeel like we did areally good job of staying focused.” That focus wasn’tenoughtopull off an improbable comeback. Once again this season, the Saints delivered postgame remarks about how they were proud of their fight to the end. But onceagain,they stressed theneed to start faster
As wild as Sunday’sending was, the Saints weren’t able to overcome many of the season-long problems that have plagued the franchise.
Kellen Moore may not be close to the hot seat in his first year,but the coach’sinability to self-correct their issues over the course of theyear has to be one of the more discouraging developments of the season. Think backtoMoore’s reputation before he was hired to coach the Saints. He was seen as ayoung, innovative play-callerwho thrived in three stops, fresh off winning a Super Bowl with thePhiladelphia Eagles. But against the Dolphins, and as it has beenfor most of the year,itwas Moore’sown offense that held the Saints back. The Saints went three-and-out on theiropening drivefor the sixth time in 12 games. They had 63 yards at halftime. They forced Kai Kroegertopunt sixtimes on a day that was set up to be about the kicker, not the punter
The New Orleans Saints defensive end dropped Miamiquarterback TuaTagovailoa for asack on the Dolphins’ opening drive, giving him127 in hiscareerand moving him past former Kansas City Chiefspass rusher DerrickThomas on theNFL’s all-time sacks list.
“I think BryanBresee had amiddle interior pushpressure, Ithought he was going to getit. …Really, it was aclean-up (sack),” Jordan said. “If one’sfor free, you’ve got to go earn one.” Jordan added another sack later in the first quarter,giving him his first two-sack game since Decemberoflast year againstthe Washington Commanders. With that sack, Jordan tied Saints legend Rickey Jackson on theall-timelist at least officially Sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982. Jackson, whorecorded eight sacks in his 1981 rookie season,officially has 128 sacks.
Not everything, to be fair,can be pinned on Moore. He calls the plays, but theplayers have to execute them. It wasn’t Moore’sfault, for instance, that before Shough threw an interception on his twopoint attempt, tackle TalieseFuaga committeda false-start penalty that put theSaints back an extra 5yards.
“Wehad changed thecadence when we broke the huddle,(and) Ijust didn’thear it,” Fuaga said.
“That’sonme.”
“Obviously,it’sa challenging two-pointplay when you’regoing from the 7,” Moore said.
Theroster also needs work. The Saints’lack of explosive playmakers stood in stark contrast to Miami, which has wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and star running back De’Von Achane. Achane, who ripped off a29-yard touchdown on Miami’sfirst drive, fueled aDolphins rungamethat gained 164 yards on 32 carries. New Orleans, by contrast,inched and clawed its way for every yard without Alvin Kamara (knee injury). The Saints gained81yards on 27 carries.
Butthe Saints still had achance. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel mysteriously went away from Achaneinkey situations, such as the fourth-and-1 runthat was stuffed to set up Shough’spotential game-tying drive with 3:03 left. Miami quarterback TuaTagovailoa (157 yards on11-of-23 passing) also struggled against aSaints defense thatpicked himoff once and sacked him four times. The Saints even found abit of a rhythm offensively in the second half.
Jordan is now tied for 17th on the official all-time list.Some statistical services have tracked sacksfrom before they became an official statistic, andonthat list, Jordan is now 26thall-time.
After his two first-quartersacks, Jordan now has ateam-leading 61/2 on the season —easily his best campaign since thelast time he madethe ProBowl, in 2022.
“Hard work and effort, the ability to meshwell with our D-line as well as knowing who you’re rushing with,” Jordan said. “At the end of the day,…God has blessed me with immense talentand I’m overly grateful for what he’s given me.”
Long road back
When the 2025 season began, running back Evan Hull wasathome, training and waiting for an opportunity to prove he still belonged in theNFL.
Sunday againstthe Miami Dolphins,thatopportunityarrived: Playinginjusthis thirdNFL game,Hullserved as the Saints’ No. 2back with Alvin Kamara unavailable because of aknee injury.
His statistical line was modest, with his five carries going for15 yards, but it was ameaningful day for Hull twoyears after asevere injury that nearlyderailedhis playing career just as it began.
Hull suffered atorn MCL and ameniscus root tear in the first game of his rookie season after the Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the fifth round of the2023 draft
The root tear led to an especially difficult andlengthy recovery becausethe meniscus had to be reattached
“WhenIwas talking to doctors andgetting secondopinions, it hadmealittle worried, because I’dnever dealtwiththatkind of injury before, something that kept me outfor theentireyear,” Hull said. “So obviously there was somedoubts.
“Will Ibethe sameplayer when Icome back? Andittook alot moretime than Ithought it would, even in that secondyear.Finding whoIwas as aplayer again, it took alittle bit of time into that season for me to figure it out.”
He played only onesnapfor theColts last year before being
Theshiftstarted with aseries of hard runs that put the offense in morefavorable situations. And from there, two other things mainly changed: The Saints started running moreplays from tempo, and Vele got involved.
Aftermonths of wonderingabout his role in the offense and whether acquiring him fromthe Denver Broncos was worthit, Vele hada signature day with the Saints. He finishedwitheight catches and93 yards. The27-year-old not only
waived midseason. Hull spent thesummerwiththe Pittsburgh Steelers but did not make the team out of training camp. “So to be here now is avery surreal moment,” Hull said. “This was my first full regularseasongame. (I)cameintothe gamehealthy,played through the whole game. Ijustthank Godfor that, because God has brought me through all this to this point now.”
Reid injured Saints safety JustinReid suffered aknee injury on the first play of thegame againstthe Dolphins, and he wasofficially ruled out for theremainderofthe game at the beginning of the second half Reidbriefly looked likehe’d be able to return to the game, checking back in after missing three plays. But whenthe Saints defense returned to the field, Reid remained on the sideline. With Reid outofthe game, the Saints rotated safeties Jordan Howden and TerrellBurgess into the lineup. Coach Kellen Moore did nothavean update on the severity of Reid’s injury after the game.
caught the touchdown, but he also recovered the onside kick. Unfortunately for Vele, he was also part of the “picktwo” that proved to be costly.Asheran a shallow route, Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick jumped the pass intended forthe wide receiver andran it allthe waytothe opposite end zone.
If the Saints had converted that play,noonside kick would have been necessary,and one stop from the defense would likely haveled to overtime. And if it had simply been incomplete, and the Saints still managed to recover the onside kick, they could have been in fieldgoal range to win.
“I would have liked to maybe put it outinfront alittlebit more, but (I) had to get it out of my hands,” said Shough, whowas blasted by a defender right after the throw The finaldrive didn’tgoNew Orleans’ way, either.Despite a10yard pass to Chris Olave andthen another 9-yard pass to Devin Neal, the offense stalledout in another short-yardage situation —just as it hadsooften theprevious week against the Atlanta Falcons.
“The fact that I’ve come up and say we’rea tenaciousteam, we’re ateam that keeps fighting,” defensive end CamJordan said. “When you’re fighting an uphill battle, you have to eventually reach the top of the hill.
“We’re taking shots, we’re swinging and you just wish they would fall in our favor,and they haven’t forwhatever reason this year.”
Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByLyNNE SLADKy Saints wide receiver Chris Olave catches apass foratouchdownduring the second half of agameagainst the Dolphins on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByREBECCA BLACKWELL Saints defensiveend Cameron Jordan grabsDolphins quarterback TuaTagovailoa for asackduring agame on SundayinMiamiGardens,
DOLPHINS21, SAINTS
THREEAND OUT: JEFF DUNCAN’S TOPTHREE TAKEAWAySFROMSAINTS’ LOSS IN MIAMI
SAINTS SHOWED FIGHT
1
After aleaky first half, the Saints held theDolphins to just five points in the second half, allowing the team to fight into contentionand come within atwo-point conversion of tying the game in the final minutes.Alas,the Saints’ faulty execution derailed the comeback.Afalse startpenalty on Taliese Fuagaled to adisastrous pick-twobyMinkah Fitzpatrick on the ensuing conversion try, accountingfor the final score.The Saints had onelast tryafter Vele recovereda beautifully executed onside kick by Charlie Smyth, but they failedto convertafourth-and-1 at the Dolphins’ 36-yard line in the final minute, ending the comeback attempt.
2
SLOWSTARTS CONTINUED
The Saints once again found themselves playingcatch-up.Theyfailed to gain a first down and went scorelessintheir three firstquarter possessions. Meanwhile, Miamimarchedfor a touchdown on its opening series to takeaquick 7-0 lead and addeda field goal on the first playofthe second quarter.From there, it was anotheruphill climb. TheSaints have nowscored just one touchdownin27 first-quarter drives this season.Asaresult, theyhave been outscored92-19 in the openingperiod. It wasthe ninth timein12gamesthat the Saints failed to lead for asingleminute
3
SMYTH,VELE WERE BRIGHT SPOTS
If youwerelooking fora silver lining to theloss, looknofurtherthan second-yearplayers Charlie Smyth and Devaughn Vele.Smyth,the kicker fromNorthernIreland, wasmaking his NFL debut after the Saints releasedBlakeGrupe earlierinthe week.He opened eyes by booming a56-yard fieldgoal in the first attemptofhis career.Smyth alsoperformed aperfect onsidekick in the final 2minutes that Vele recovered.Vele meanwhile, had abreakout game with eight catches for 93 yards, including aspectacular 15-yard touchdowncatch. Vele made several acrobatic and contested catchesin traffic, manyonin-breaking routes overthe middle.
‘ABSOLUTELYBUZZING’
IrelandnativeSmyth’s parentstraveltoMiami to witnesshis dazzling NFLdebut
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. It was approaching 9p.m. in Mayobridge,County Down, NorthernIreland, when the cheers roaredand the taps got busy
The native son was getting his first chance to play thisforeigngame across the Atlantic. Maybethose watching from the local pubweren’t exactly sure about the difficulty of what he was lining up for,but they knew the payoff: If New Orleans Saints kickerCharlieSmyth made his first NFL field goal attempt from 56 yards out, they got their free pint
The snap and hold weregood, the ball left Smyth’sfoot true, and the kicker didn’teven wait to watchitgo through the uprights beforehestarted celebrating.
“I blacked out. Ican’tremember,” Smythsaid. “. Ilookedupand sawit was going down the middle. Iknew I had enough power on it anyway,the way it felt off the foot.”
Smythjoineda rare fraternity as a nativeIrishman to appear in an NFL game. He has been with theSaints developing behind the scenes for thelast 18 months, but Sunday’sgame against theMiami Dolphins washis first chance to show his talent in ameaningful professional game.
The chances were limited, but boy, did he make them count
In addition to his longfield goal, Smyth also pulled off the rare successful onside kick lateinthe fourth quarter,giving the Saintsa chance at a go-aheadscore in the final minute.The onside kick was aresult of filmstudy, noting the way Miami’shands team did not block the player that would be in Devaughn Vele’sposition.
Learning an onside kick is new for Smyth, too. This specific kick wasonly put into the game plan this week.
“Wecaught our own handsteam offguard (in practice),” Smyth said. “Me and (special-teams coordinator Phil Galiano) had adiscussion about it, and we went for it. Vele did agreat job; everybody did agreat job.” And he got to do that in front of his parents and sisters, whopurchased last-minute flights from Ireland toMi-
Thelast day of November will be one to remember for sportsfans in Louisiana.
Here’s what all happened on acrazy Sunday that made for abusy dayfor thefolks tasked with putting this newspaper together
n The New Orleans Saints found their offense in the secondhalf andalmost climbed out of a 16-point hole againstthe Miami Dolphins.
n Cam Jordan foundthe fountain of youth yet again.
n Kellen Moore found outthat receiver Devaughn Vele is indeed on the Saints’ roster.
n LSU found its head coach
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByLyNNE SLADKy
Saints kicker Charlie Smyth poses with his parents, Leoand Julie, and afriend before agame against the MiamiDolphins on SundayinMiami Gardens, Fla. Smythshined in his NFLdebut withthe Saints.
ami in ordertowatch him play
Smythlearned he would makehis NFL debut Friday afternoon,and his first callwenttohis mother.His father hadtocall himback, becausehewas helping someone at the counter at the shop where he works.
His family booked last-minute flights lateFridaynight in Ireland, drove across thecountry to Dublin to make their flight along withhis kicking coach Tadhg Leader,enduredweather delays in Chicago because of snow,but they made it on timetosee Smyth play—and they’renot staying in the States for long.
“They’re going homeonMonday,because my mom’s aschool teacher and she got asub in on Monday and she’s back to work Tuesday,” Smyth said. “I don’tknowwhatmydad’sdoing; he’s trying to getsorted on his work holidays aswell.But they madeitwork.”
Leaderwas sitting next to Smyth’s family andpaying close attention to Smyth in the minutes before his 56-yard attempt. As Smythlined it up, Leader noticedhis mothercouldn’twatch.She had her eyes closed when it sailedthrough, and afew tears followed.
“I truly couldn’t have been morecon-
fident that he was going to hitapure ball, and he hit it really,really pure,” Leader said. “... That’sbased off chattingtohim every day the last week or so, when he’sbeen going through all of this to win the job, to validate to the coaching staff, ‘I’m the guy.’ He was put through thewringer this week to prove that to them.”
Smythsigned with theSaintsinMarch 2024 through the International Player Pathway(IPP),onlymonthsafter he’d kicked an American football for the first time in hislife. Theformer Gaelic football player grew up appreciating the game from afar,but he’d nevertried it for himself until he heard about aworkshopbeing put on by Leader,the IPP’s lead punting and kicking coach.
He’sthe first IPPpunting and kicking product to play in an NFLgame. Up until Sunday’sgame he’dmainly served as acuriosity —a talent who could dazzle with hisabilitytokick long fieldgoals butwhose rawness showed up in inconsistent training camppractices. NewOrleans kept himonthe practice squad,takingadvantage of the roster exemption they received for an international player,
and the patience paid off Sunday
“Charlie’s earned thisopportunity,” said coach Kellen Moore.
The opportunity came aboutbecause theSaintscould no longerbepatient with Blake Grupe. The team reached abreaking pointwith Grupeafter his seventh and eighth missesofthe season in Week 12 against Atlanta. New Orleansreleased Grupe on Tuesday,then put Smyth through aseries of competitions before elevating him forSunday’sgame.
“Tuesday was strange emotions, because you saw your opportunity potentially coming up, but seeing (Blake) like that, it wastough because we’re friends,” Smythsaid. “You getyour head right, andI was buzzing. Thursday wasabig day, andIkicked really well.
“I wasjustexcited to getthe opportunity,and to be honest, I’mhiding it a little bit. I’mabsolutely buzzing.”
Even though they had to wait for their free drink, there’sagood chance the people in the pub back homewere buzzing, too.
Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.
RESULTS
Rod Walker
n Tulane foundout that it is nowin the market for one.
n Oh, and aguy from Northern Ireland (Charlie Smyth) booted a56-yard field goal on his very first field goal attempt in an NFL game. Smyth followed that up with asuccessful onside kick that gavethe Saints achance late in what ended up being a21-17 loss to the Dolphins. History was on Smyth’sside on the onside kick. The last timethe Saints tried one at Hard Rock Stadium was Thomas Morstead’s“Ambush” to
start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Smyth’skick landed right in the arms of Vele, much thesame way that many of Tyler Shough’s passes did. Vele, acquired in atrade withthe Denver BroncosinAugust because theSaints needed abig-bodied receiver,had rarely been used. He had nine catches before Sunday.Healmost equaled that in one game, hauling in eightpassesfor 93 yards and a touchdown.The Saints, unfortunately, weren’table to move the ballmuch on their final drive that stalled on afailed fourth-and-1 attempt at the Dolphins’ 36-yard line.
“Itwas an unfortunate ending,” Mooresaidafterward.
He certainly wasn’tthe only one talking about unfortunateendings. Fans of Ole Miss football were no doubt saying the same thing(except with awholelot more curse words included) as Lane Kiffin made it official that he was leaving Oxford and headingtoBaton Rouge to be LSU’s next football coach. Kiffin was hoping to stick aroundand coach the Rebels in theCollegeFootball Playoff but
said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied that request. Meanwhile, Tulane coach Jon Sumrallmadeitofficial Sunday that he has accepted the Florida job. Sumrall could have been in aKiffin-like situation with Tulane headed to theplayoffs if they beat North Texas for the American Conference championship Saturday at Yulman Stadium. But the Green Wave administration has decided to let Sumrall stick around and coach Saturday’sgame and continue to theplayoffs if the Wave advances.
Fan bases at bothOle Miss and Tulane are split on whether their nowexes should be allowed tostick around after the divorces.
“Wejust believe that it’sthe right thingtodofor our student-athletes,” Tulane athletic director David Harris saidinastatement. “Weare just really appreciative that he has thelove andconcern for his players first and foremostinhis mind, that he wantsto help them finish theright way.”
After that, Sumrall will head to Florida, about five hours north of where theSaints(2-10) were handed yet another loss Sunday The Saints’ offense struggled early gaining just 63 yards in thefirst half
that ended with them trailing 16-0. A bright spot was the 36-year-old Cam Jordan sacking Miami quarterback TuaTagovailoa twice. Jordan now has 61/2 sacks, the most he’shad since 2022. He’d much rather have those sacks come with somewins.
“Weare ateam that keeps fighting,” Jordan said. “When you are fighting an uphill battle, eventually you have to reach the top of the hill. We are taking shots and we are swinging, and you just wish they would fall in our favor.”
The only thing falling in the Saints’ favor is their chances of landing the No. 1draftpick. With the New York Jets upsetting the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday,the Saints currently hold the No. 2draftpick.
The Saints return to Florida next week to play the TampaBay Buccaneers. The Bucs have wonthe last three games against the Saints and are looking to makeitfour straight forthe first timeinseries history ASaints upset of the Bucs sounds crazy
Notquite as crazy as this last Sunday in November was, though.
Email RodWalkeratrwalker@ theadvocate.com.
NFL ROUNDUP
Panthers end Rams’ 6-game win streak
By The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryce Young’s teammates say he never wavers in pressure situations
Perhaps that is why he thrives in them.
Young completed 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns two of them coming on fourth down, including a go-ahead 43-yarder to rookie Tetairoa McMillan with 6:34 left — and the Carolina Panthers forced three Matthew Stafford turnovers to beat Los Angeles 31-28 on Sunday and snap the Rams’ six-game winning streak.
At 24 years and 128 days, Young became the youngest player in NFL history to have 11 gamewinning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, passing reigning league MVP Josh Allen (24 years, 164 days).
“His demeanor, his aura when it comes to late drives is contagious,” McMillan said. “The proof is in the pudding. He’s done it now, what did you say, 11 times? The fact that your leader on offense can do that, you know, it speaks volumes for sure.”
Added running back Chuba Hubbard: “He’s never worried. He’s just cool as (heck).”
The win allowed the Panthers (7-6) to remain a half game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South and gave them their best start to the season since 2017 when they last made the playoffs.
CHARGERS 31, RAIDERS 14: In Inglewood, California, Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes while playing through an injury to his non-throwing hand, and Kimani Vidal made a 59-yard scoring run during the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory over the spiraling Las Vegas Raiders.
Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey had TD catches and Vidal rushed for a career-high 126 yards for the Chargers (8-4), who snapped back from an embarrassing loss at Jacksonville for their fourth win in five games to keep pressure on the Denver Broncos atop the AFC West.
Jaret Patterson rushed for his first NFL touchdown since 2021 to ice the victory with 1:55 to play
SEAHAWKS 26, VIKINGS 0: In Seattle,
Ernest Jones IV returned an interception 84 yards for the first touchdown of his career, one of five takeaways by the Seahawks’ dominant defense, and Seattle blanked the Minnesota Vikings for its first shutout victory in more than a decade.
The Vikings were shut out for the first time since Green Bay beat them 34-0 on Nov 11, 2007. Seattle’s most recent shutout win was 26-0 over Chicago on Sept. 27, 2015.
This one was a mismatch, with the Seahawks (9-3) going against an undrafted rookie quarterback in Max Brosmer, who was making his first NFL start for the free-falling Vikings (4-8). Seattle moved into a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West, while Minnesota lost its fourth straight.
49ERS 26, BROWNS 8: In Cleveland, Brock Purdy rushed for a touchdown and passed for another score in the second half, and San Francisco spoiled Shedeur Sanders’ first home start by defeating Cleveland
Cleveland took an 8-7 lead late in the second quarter when Sanders hooked up with Harold Fannin for a 34-yard touchdown and Quinshon Judkins’ run added the 2-point conversion. But San Francisco (9-4) scored the next 19 points in its third consecutive win.
All three of San Francisco’s touchdowns came on short fields — two the result of recovering turnovers and another after a 66yard punt return by Skyy Moore.
BUCCANEERS 20, CARDINALS 17: In Tampa, Florida, Baker Mayfield tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay’s defense held in the final two minutes and the Buccaneers beat Arizona to snap a threegame losing streak.
Mayfield, who started after sitting out the second half of a 34-7 loss to the Rams because of a left shoulder injury, threw for 194 yards and ran for 27 to help the Buccaneers (7-5) remain first in the NFC South.
Jacoby Brissett, making his seventh start filling in for Kyler Mur-
ray threw a wide pass incomplete on fourth-and-2 from the Cardinals 17 with under a minute remaining.
JAGUARS 25, TITANS 3: In Nashville, Tennessee, Trevor Lawrence threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns and Jacksonville beat Tennessee for its third straight victory
With the win, the Jaguars (8-4) improved their AFC playoff hopes while chasing their first division title since 2022 The Jaguars still have two games left against Indianapolis, and the Colts fell to 8-4 with a 20-16 loss to Houston. The Jaguars also beat the Titans for the sixth time in seven games.
Josh Hines-Allen had two of Jacksonville’s three sacks of rookie Cam Ward, and the Jaguars recovered two fumbles.
TEXANS 20, COLTS 16: In Indianapolis, Nico Collins scored the tiebreaking touchdown on a 7-yard run with 12:38 to play, Nick Chubb also ran for a score, and Houston’s top-ranked defense came up with a late stop on to seal a victory over slumping Indianapolis. Houston (7-5) won its fourth
SCOREBOARD
1 pass from Van Buren (Ramos kick), 11:21. OKLA—Burks 45 pass from Mateer (Sandell kick), 1:47. Fourth Quarter LSU—FG Ramos 43, 7:56. OKLA—Sategna 58 pass from Mateer (Sandell kick), 4:16. A—83,734. LSUOKLA
First downs 9 14
Total Net Yards 198 393
Rushes-yards 29-85 28-75 Passing 113 318 Punt Returns 2-5 2-35
Kickoff Returns 1-47 0-0
Interceptions Ret. 3-86 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 15-26-1 23-38-3
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 0-0
Punts 9-45.222 7-43.143 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 4-25 8-60 Time of Possession 29:19 30:41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—LSU Durham 6-42, Van Buren 5-33, Berry 14-23, Z.Thomas 1-2, Johnson 3-(minus 15). Oklahoma, Blaylock 11-42, Mateer 8-27, X.Robinson 6-9, Sategna 1-(minus 1), (Team) 2-(minus 2). PASSING—LSU Van Buren 14-25-1-96 Z.Thomas 1-1-0-17. Oklahoma, Mateer 2338-3-318. RECEIVING—LSU, Z.Thomas 3-30, Ba.Brown 3-9, Parker 2-16, Johnson 2-4, T.Green 1-30 Sharp 1-17, Hilton 1-4 Berry 1-2, Durham 1-1. Oklahoma, Sategna 9-121, Kanak 6-54, Burks 4-61, Jav.Gibson 3-66, Helms 1-16. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None. NCAA 2025 FCS Playoff glance First Round Saturday’s games Illinois St. 21, Southeastern La. 3 Rhode Island 27, Central Conn. St. 19 Villanova 52, Harvard 7 North Dakota 31, Tennessee Tech 6 Yale 43, Youngstown St. 42 Abilene Christian 38, Lamar University 20 South Dakota 38, Drake 17 South Dakota St. 41, New Hampshire 3 Second Round Saturday, December 6 North Dakota St. vs. Illinois St., noon UC Davis vs. Rhode Island, 2 p.m. Lehigh vs. Villanova, 11 a.m. Tarleton St. vs. Tennessee Tech-North Dakota-winner, noon Montana St. vs. Yale, 1 p.m. SFA vs. Abilene Christian, noon Mercer vs. South Dakota, 11 a.m. Montana vs. South Dakota St., 1 p.m. Quarterfinals North Dakota St.-Illinois
straight, moving within one game of AFC South-leading Indy (8-4), which has lost three of four C.J. Stroud improved to 3-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium by going 22 of 35 for 276 yards with one interception in his first game in four weeks. He cleared the concussion protocol Friday Collins caught five passes for 98 yards.
JETS 27 FALCONS 24: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Nick Folk lined a 56-yard field goal through a heavy mist as time expired to lead New York to a victory over Atlanta. In a game between two struggling teams that was anything but pretty, Folk’s kick was also far from it. But in tough conditions, the 41-year-old got just enough on the football to bounce back from an earlier miss and was mobbed at midfield by his teammates as the Jets fans in a drenched and half-empty MetLife Stadium went wild.
Tyrod Taylor went 19 of 33 for 172 yards and a touchdown pass and also ran for a score in his second start in a row for the benched Justin Fields as the Jets (3-9) snapped a two-game skid Adonai Mitchell had eight receptions for 102 yards and a TD, and Breece Hall ran for 68 yards and a score.
BILLS 26, STEELERS 7: In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another, Joey Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers to spring Christian Benford for a game-tilting, 17-yard scoop-andscore, and Buffalo pushed Pittsburgh around.
Buffalo (8-4) bounced back from a loss at Houston by whipping Pittsburgh (6-6) up front James Cook ran for 144 yards as the Bills piled up 249 yards on the ground and controlled the clock for nearly 42 minutes inside blustery Acrisure Stadium. The swirling winds at one of the league’s trickiest venues made passing nearly impossible. Allen completed 15 of 23 for 123 yards with an interception and a 3-yard scoring toss to Keon Coleman, who returned to the active roster after being a healthy scratch the last two weeks due to disciplinary issues.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RUSTy JONES
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce young runs against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.
ALL FOOTBALL
Nowadays, Brooks’ vision comes to life at LSU’sTiger Stadium when that catchy intro begins and thousands of football fans yell aheartfelt “LOUISIANA!”when the state’snameis mentioned in the first lineofthe song. HowGarth Brooks,The Killersand TomPetty became starsofcollege
BY NOAH TRISTER | Associated Press
When Garth Brooks recorded his version of “Callin’Baton Rouge” —anup-tempo country hit previously produced by New GrassRevival and others —he hadaspecific vibe in mind.
“New Grass recorded the song for bluegrass festivals,”Brooks said. “Werecorded thesong to be played in stadiums andarenas, with one lone purpose. Get people fired up!”
football Saturdays
What is meant by
Elder mediation aims to address conflicting issues in families and in institutions and provides aforum forfamily decision-making. Eldermediators assist with difficult conversations among family members, and they help make plans andreach acceptable outcomes to disagreements. When an elder parent or relative, forinstance, is hospitalized and needs continuing or rehabilitative care after that hospitalization, new responsibilities are thrust upon the offspring. There are often manyfamily dynamics, i.e., the maincaregiver sibling, the out-of-town sibling, the sibling that’snot trusted, etc. Old rivalries among siblings, long buried grudges, past hurts and misunderstandings can interfere with making good decisions about the aging parent. The situation regarding the parent’sfuture care becomes stressful and uncomfortable, and conflicts arise amid mixed opinions forthe parent’scare. Decisions regarding the responsibility and work of caring foranaging parent are involved, as wellaslooking at finances and long-term care issues. Many times, conflicts occur because one or moreofthe siblings is trying to gain total control of that care. Elder mediation can work to siftout an amiable solution as the elder mediator facilitates apurposefuland directed conversation with all parties, whoare all encouraged to express their opinions and concerns.
Museum displays holidaytreefeaturing origami
BY JOSEPH B. FREDERICK
The forum the mediator facilitates seeks to resolve the problemsamongthe family members forthe best interest of the aging parent. This includes allowing everyone to air their disputes, to identify the strengths and weaknesses in each opinion, and to finally agree on asatisfactory solution, asolution that all family members can live with and trust. The mediator has no authority to impose adecision so nothing can be decided until everyone agrees. To get started, the family members having adispute agree to bring in aneutral person —anelder mediator —and once one is chosen, adate is set to meet in person, or by Zoom or other teleconference methods. The mediator will guide the dialogue, encouraging all sides to work cooperatively and gives everyone achance to express their differences. Sometimes, the mediator will meet with each family member privately to discuss personal and other issues of concern, and after these exchanges, presents them to the family at large. There may be several negotiations until an agreement is reached; one that is to maintain the best possible quality of life forthe aging parent. Once an agreement is reached, the elder mediator will put it in writing foreveryone to sign and in that way, everyone has asolid
Garth Brooks performs duringhis
MICHAELJOHNSON
Morningsicknesslinkedtohormone called GDF-15
Dear Doctors: My daughtersuffered from hyperemesis while she was pregnant two years ago, and it was truly amiserable pregnancy.Isthere away to prevent this for future pregnancies? Iunderstand this condition is linked to the hormone GDF-15 and read that the key is to suppress it beforeitbegins.
Dear reader: Hyperemesis is the medical term for extreme and persistent vomiting. When it happens during pregnancy,it’scalled morning sickness. As manymothers can attest, even mild morning sickness is no picnic, and the queasyfeelings and nausea often extend well beyond the morning hours.Even without active vomiting, it makes getting throughthe day achallenge.
It’sestimated that up to 80% of women experience some morn-
FOOTBALL
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“CBR sang at LSUseems more like awar cry than a tradition,” Brooks said in an email to The Associated Press. “I get goosebumps every time Ihear them sing it.”
Callin’ Baton Rouge at LSU is just one example of atrend sweeping college football. Pep bands and fight songs still have their place, butnow fans at some of the most prominent programs haveembraced the stadium anthem as something of amodern tradition. Rock, country,hip-hop, electronic dance music different genres can work at different places. Perhaps the most famous of these is House of Pain’s“Jump Around” at Wisconsin, nowinits third decade of inspiring Badgers fans to do just that.
Others include “Mr Brightside” at Michigan, “I Won’tBack Down”at Florida, “Shout” at Oregon, “Sandstorm” at South Carolina and “Dixieland Delight at Alabama. Sometimes fans add their own colorful lines to the lyrics —agood way to get asong banned if you’re not careful.
Even Notre Dame which still puts generic diagonal lines in the end zones, and where the band plays an iconic rendition of Tchaikovsky’s1812 Overture —has introduced flashing lights and more modern music in recent years
“In the world right now, where you have to play for today and figure out what’s motivating people and what’sgetting people genuinely excited about what’s going on at auniversity,at ateam, at abrand, you have to ride that to the full extent you possibly can,” said Columbia University lecturer Joe Favorito, asports and entertainment marketing consultant. “I mean, who knew that aKillers song was going to become an anthem at theUniversityof Michigan, and how that gets played out? ‘Mr.Brightside,’ now you ask kids who go to Michigan, and they’re going there because of ‘Mr.Brightside.’ Idon’tthink The Killers ever had that in mind.”
Some schools are notable fortheir pregameorpostgame tunes —think “Enter Sandman” at Virginia Tech or “Country Roads” at West Virginia —but the break before the fourth quarterhas proven an ideal spot for a crescendo. Plus, there’san extra benefitinwaiting untilthenbeforeplaying the
ORIGAMI
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how an asteroid crash some 66 million years ago reshaped life on Earth. Talo Kawasaki, the tree’s co-designer,said the tree’s theme is “New Beginnings,” in reference to the new world that followed the mass extinction.
Locatedoff themuseum’s Central Park West entrance, theartificialtree is topped with agolden, flaming asteroid.
Dr.Elizabeth Ko
Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
ing sickness during pregnancy In some cases, the condition can become severe, known as hyperemesis gravidarum. Hyperemesis gravidarum is frequent and intense vomitingthat can lead to dehydration,electrolyte imbalance and dangerousweight loss. The condition often requires medical care. In some cases, women are hospitalized to receive IV fluids and nutritional support
As recently as 2018, thecause
of morning sickness was unclear
Butemerging genomic technologies have helped scientists identify growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) as akey contributor This is thehormone you mentioned. The placenta produces a lot of GDF-15 early in pregnancy It signals to thebody that pregnancy has begun and tomodulate immune responsetotolerate the growing fetus.
GDF-15 also appears to regulate appetite. It may be aprotective measure to steer the mother away from potentially harmful toxins and toward nutritional needs. Because concentrations of the hormone are so high and many women are sensitive to it, varying degrees of morning sickness often occur
Several large studies found a correlation between very high
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ALAN yOUNGBLOOD Florida fanssing TomPetty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’ in the fourth quarter ofafootball game against LIU Brooklynon Aug. 30 in Gainesville, Fla.
crowd favorite.
“How do you keep students at the game longer and longer? When you’reblowing opponents out, peopleare leaving,” said Jake Stocker, director of game presentation at Michigan. “If you do Brightside thatfirst break in the thirdquarter,it’sdone and peopleare leaving. .We moved ‘Mr.Brightside’ to the thirdand fourth quarter break just to set it as more of atradition there to at least keeppeopleintheir seats until that point.”
Michigan, of course,has its own famous fight song anda band that’sanimportant part of game day,but in this era of constant(and lengthy) television breaks, there’splenty of timefor everything “Wealways knowthat we have enough time in that third andfourth quarter break,” Stockersaid. “The band plays BluesBrothers andthen we do‘Mr.Brightside.’
Wisconsin’s tradition began in 1998 when tight end Ryan Sondrup, working an internship in the athletic department whileinjured, was asked to thinkofideas forgameday operations. He went to asportsbar while brainstorming with friends and teammates, andthey played songs onthe jukebox, including“Jump Around.”
Sondruptalked it over with his bosses.
“They weremoreinterested, Ithink becauseI was on the football team, in what would get the guys fired up,” Sondrup said. “Wewere talking more like before-the-game-type stuff Isaid, ‘Well, actually,ifyou couldplaysome of this during the game, like in akey moment orsomething toget everyone riled up.’ And we’d circled ‘Jump Around.’”
Thereweresome complaints from older fans about themusic, but it was ahit among students (and
amongsome of thevisiting teams),and it’s certainly stood the test of time.
“It’sall-encompassing of allpeople in Wisconsin. Everyone knows ‘Jump Around,’ ”said defensive tackle Erik Waisanen,who wasbartending thatday of thebrainstorm.“It’s been so intertwined with Wisconsin football, Wisconsinathletics There’stimesnow where because people know (his involvement), they’llbeata wedding and I’ll get avideo, and the bride and groom are Wisconsin grads and on the video,people Idon’teven know will be doing‘Jump Around’ at their wedding as one of their dances.”
While “Jump Around” had no big connection to Wisconsin, Florida fanshavegood reason to sing along with “I Won’tBack Down” because TomPetty wasaGainesville native. “Callin’Baton Rouge” fits at LSUgames for even more obviousreasons.
Brooks, however,went to Oklahoma State. The Cowboyshaveplayedhis “Friends in Low Places” at games, andBrooksmay have anew tune at some point intended for specific use at Oklahoma State games.
“Forthe last 20 years, I have so wanted to sing asong that would represent my alma mater andthe people who make that college the best. Iaminthe middle of recording asong Iwould love to pitch to them to startplaying if the song turns out the way Ihopeitdoes,” Brooks said in the e-mail. “It’s called COWBOY BLOOD. The lyric fits the cowboy life and the music was recorded to fire people up.”
AP sports writers Steve Megargee and Aaron Beardand Associated Presswriter Mike Householder contributed to thisreport
levels of GDF-15 and the likelihood of developing hyperemesis gravidarum. This has led to the pursuit of targeted treatments. Oneapproach is to suppress production or activity of the hormone during pregnancy.This may be risky due to the role GDF-15 plays in regulating immune response so that the body does not treat the fetus as aforeign presence. Another is to desensitize themother to the hormone before pregnancy begins. Acclimating thebody to the hormone before theplacenta produces alot of GDF-15 has emerged as apossible safer approach. These arepromising directions for easing the misery and risks of hyperemesis gravidarum,but they remain experimental for now.Because pregnancy involves thewell-being of both the mother
and her baby,testing any new treatment’ssafety,effectiveness and side effects is complex.
Women whohave had hyperemesis gravidarum can prepare forafuture pregnancy by consulting their doctor before conception. Adoctor can review medical history and makeplans forearly interventions if the mother’shealth appears at risk. Having good nutrition, starting prenatal vitamins and arranging follow-up care early in pregnancy may help lessen the severity if hyperemesis recurs.
Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 1450, Los Angeles CA, 90024.
Usingsocks as adustrag
Dear Heloise: With four boys in my home, we go through alot of athletic socks. If one sock gets lost or develops ahole, it becomes adust rag. But when I’m dusting, Inever spray thefurniture; I spray thesock and then apply the polish or cleaner on the furniture. This preventsoverspraying or spraying therest of the furniture. —Lana D.,inPeabody,Massachusetts Handytools
Dear Heloise: Ithink we all appreciate the now-
By The Associated Press
Today is Monday, Dec. 1, the 335th day of 2025. There are 30 days left in the year Todayinhistory: On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, aBlack seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to aWhiteman on asegregated bus in Montgomery Alabama. The incident sparked ayearlong boycott of the city’sbuses and helped fuel theU.S. Civil RightsMovement.
Also on this date:
In 1824, thepresidential election was turned over to theU.S. House of Representatives after none of the candidates (John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay) won more than 50% of the electoral vote. DespiteJackson win-
MEDIATOR
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common practiceofitems thatneed to be assembled coming with small, throwaway tools to assemble the product, which is usually furniture Irecently ordered aframed picture,and Iwas happily surprised thatitcame with an inchlong round level. What agreat ideathatshould become common practice! Thanks foryourgreat
TODAYINHISTORY
ning the mostelectoral votes, Adamswould ultimately winthe presidency
In 1965, the first “Freedom Flight” from Cuba to the United States landed in Miami. Over the ensuing eight years, the twice-daily flights allowed morethan 250,000 Cuban refugees to migrate to the United States through ajoint U.S.Cuban agreement.
In 1991, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly forindependence from the Soviet Union.
In 2009, President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into thewar in Afghanistan butpromised during aspeech to cadets at theU.S.Military Academy at West Point to beginwithdrawalsin18months.
In 2017, retired Lt. Gen. MichaelFlynn, who served in President Donald Trump’sfirst term as his
column. —Tom K., AReader Home safes
Dear Heloise: If you choose to have asafe at home, it should be fire-resistant. (Nothing is completely “fireproof.”) It should be bolted/mounted securely —preferably to the foundation —and it should also be water-resistant. Never keep your will or instructions foryour last wishes in asafety deposit box. StevenHallett, viaemail Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
initial national security adviser,pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump’sbehalf. (Trump would later pardon Flynn.) In 2023, Israel’swar with Hamas, which began in October,erupted anew minutes after aweeklong truce expired as Israeli airstrikes hit houses and buildings in the GazaStrip. Today’sbirthdays: World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 86. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 81. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 80. Model-actor Carol Alt is 65. Actor Jeremy Northam is 64. Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Walker is 59. Actor Néstor Carbonell is 58. Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman is 55. Actor Riz Ahmed is 43. Singer-actor Janelle Monáe is 40. Actor Sarah Snook is 38. Actor Zoe Kravitz is 37.
plan about each sibling’s involvement in the parent’s care. Elder mediatorshelp families come together, taking over that emotional controlsothat an effective action plan can be provided for the aging parent. Mediation is successful about 70% to 80% of the time and is less expensive than disputes that escalate into lawsuits or other public displays. Compromise is a way to peace for families in conflict, and an elder mediator is there to facilitate and encourage apositive and working outcome.
Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.
“Wewanted to focus more not so much the demise of the dinosaurs, but the new life this created, which were the expansion and theevolution of mammals ultimately leading to humanity,”Kawasaki explained on arecent visit.
The origami tree has been ahighlight of the museum’s holiday season for more than 40 years. Volunteers from allover the worldare enlisted to make hundredsofnew
Its branches and limbs are packed with origami works representing avariety of animals and insects, including foxes, cranes, turtles, bats, sharks, elephants, giraffes and monkeys. Dinosaur favorites such as thetriceratops and tyrannosaurus rex are also depicted in the folded paper works of art.
models.The intricatepaperartworks aregenerally made from asingle sheet of paper but can sometimes takedays or even weeks to perfect
The new origamipieces are bolstered by archived worksstored from priorseasons, including a40-year-old model of apterosaur,anextinct flying reptile,thatwas folded for one of the museum’s first origamitrees in theearly 1970s.
Rosalind Joyce, thetree’s co-designer,estimates that anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 origami works are embedded in thetree.
“This year there’salot of stuffstuffedinthere,” she said. “So Idon’tcount.”
Hints from Heloise
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Takea moment to breathe, thenpickupget going. Test your ideas and enforce change.The outcome will favor youif youare selective,honest anddiligent.
CAPRICoRn (Dec.22-Jan.19) Consider your options and move forward alone or in secrecy until you have everything in place. Prioritizing your emotions can lead to errors.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You will face oppositionifyou are sloppy or uncertaininyour approach. Offer proof, explanations and factstopeople who are hesitating or trying to discredit your decisions.
PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Be agood listener, but don'tfollow someone who doesn't share your values or who is heading in adifferent direction. Opportunity comesfromdoing what's best for you.
ARIEs (March21-April 19) Refuse to let emotions interfere. Organization and diplomacy will determine your success and your leadership ability. Knowing when to say no and how best to apply your talents will help
tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Stop stewing over things you havenocontrol over andstart living life your way. Discipline, coupled with creativity, will help youchange whatbothers you.
GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Achange of heartcan lead to new beginnings. Test what's available to see if it's agood fit
foryou.Share your thoughts, makea difference andenjoythe outcome.
CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Focus more on finances and lessonwhat othersare doing, buying into or want from you. Make choices that adddressyour needs You have more skills andattributes thanyou give yourself credit for.
LEo(July 23-Aug. 22) It's OK to show off if you have something worthwhile to offer. Don't be shy; use your attributes to help others, and you'll have apositive impact on those youencounter.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Think before you act or say something you may regret. You may want change,but timingisessential if youwanttomaintain your reputation and attract the right crowd.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Simplify your plans to meet financial demands and ease the minds of those fearful of failure. Talks, travel and testing your theories will encourage you to finishwhat youstart.
sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Change can be good;however, it's howyou bring it about thatmakes adifference. Discipline and innovative ideas will result in widespread opportunities, knowledge anda positive platform.
InstructIons: Sudokuis anumber-placing puzzle basedona9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row,eachcolumn and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Bridge canbeastrange gameattimes. Usually,you arehappy to have lots of honors, but occasionally you would find acontractmucheasierifitweren’tforan unnecessary high card. Do not resist the idea that an honor maybeextraneous.
In thisdeal, South is in four spades. West leads the clubking. How should South plan theplay?
South starts with four potential losers: oneheart,onediamondandtwoclubs.He has nine winners; six spades, oneheart, one diamondand one club. So it seems as if the diamond finesse had betterbe winning. In theory, this is a50-50 shot, butsurely youknowthat finesses never workonMondays! Andifthe diamond finesse is failing, is there any other way to make the contract?
Howabouttryingtoestablishdummy’s diamondsuit? As long as thesuit is splitting3-3 or 4-2 (or 5-1 with asingleton king) and trumps arenot 4-0, an extra diamondwinnercan be established.
Southshould takethe first or second club, play atrump to his king, cashthe diamondace, andcontinue withthe diamond queen
Suppose West takes that trick, cashes two club winners and shifts to aheart
EachWuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOONGOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuCtIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,”are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words,orvulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
toDAy’sWoRD EPILEPsy: EP-ih-lep-see: Adisorder marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain.
Averagemark 13 words
Time limit 20 minutes
Can you find 17 or more words in EPILEPSY?
sAtuRDAy’s WoRD —CALCuLAtED
daily in the temple, andinevery house,they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”Acts 5:42
